253A/N: Well... isn't this a surprise that I am doing a story outside of the usual stuff I have done before, but a writing contest came up from Alex-kellar on deviantART, and yes this is a crossover between Fate and Infinite Stratos, a very rare combination that is rarely used on Fanfiction...
Looks at stories...
RARELY used indeed... anyways here's a portion of my entry to the writing contest. Ladies and gents, I present to you... Infinite Blade Works! Enjoy!
Chapter 1: The Mysterious Boy
It was a nice summer day in Japan, clear blue skies, nice warmth from the sun, and some people out and about minding their own business… well most of them are.
"I swear I will one-up her at her own game…" a girl hissed out. This particular girl had long brown hair in a messy ponytail that was held together with a green ribbon. She was wearing a white, collared, sleeveless blouse, a pale blue skirt, thigh-high stockings, and brown shoes. This girl's name is Houki Shinonono, and though to any passerby she seemed to be absentmindedly walking around a random neighborhood, in reality, she was looking for something.
"Now… where to start looking…" her eyes seemed to be daring left and right, particularly the houses looking for a small detail of said homes… a 'For Sale' or 'Open Home' sign. Why would this girl be looking for a house that is for sale you ask? It's all fair for love and war, specifically against a blonde from England trying to win the affection of a certain boy. Now Houki rarely ever used her family fortune for anything, but it seemed that desperate times called for desperate measures.
"You may have Ichika as a roommate, but I'll be sure to get him all to myself in more ways than one!" the voice of a certain English blonde rang in her head. Every time Houki would replay that line in her mind, something in her snapped, and her determination to do this increased tenfold. She would not stand for something like that, it was already bad enough when the rest of the student body would try to get Ichika for their own fantasies they have read or imagined, but if other girls that actually knew Ichika for who he was and still pursue him… she had to act and fast!
"Hrrrrrgh…" Houki was walking down another street, this time she was walking away from the places of the common neighborhood and instead started to walk into another neighborhood of the more expensive homes, as much as she reluctantly did not want a home as expensive as these, her drive to get closer to her childhood friend prevailed over her own mind of ideals in living in a simple home. As Houki continued to look for anything pertaining to a property that is for sale, she finally stumbled upon what appeared to be a much larger property than the other expensive-looking homes in the area. It seemed to be a big complex, considering the size of the perimeter walls.
The walls themselves were made of stone, wood, and white plaster while at the top of the walls had blue Japanese-styled roofing on them. When Houki walked to the front there was also a large gate that was slightly taller and wider than the walls, but still had the same roof style. Walking under the large gate entrance she saw an "Open House" sign, though the price was very expensive, it was nothing that she could handle. Walking up the stone walkway, Houki saw a few buildings that seemed to be spread about the complex, though considering the outer perimeter, there may have been more to see behind the few spread out buildings. The main entrance wasn't too bad either; it had the same Japanese style roofing with an intersecting roof and had a sliding wooden door as the front entrance.
Walking up to the sliding door she knocked a few times, and after a minute the door slid open revealing what appeared to be an old man of full gray hair and a grey beard, his eyes were the color red, but he had a small and kind smile. He was wearing a dark blue kimono and was wearing white socks.
"Ah, are you here for the open house?" the old man asked.
"I am," Houki simply replied.
Stepping aside, the old man simply gestured Houki inside, said the girl simply did so. Looking around she saw that the main entrance was a small room with the floor of blue tiles and a wooden step leading into a hallway with a wooden floor and a few doors on the left while there seemed to be more at the end of the hallway at the right.
"I'm surprised, someone as young as you are interested in a house like this, are you sure you can afford something like this?" the old man inquired as he slid the entrance door closed.
"As long as it fits my goal, I can afford it," Houki replied seriously, her look with determined conviction.
"I suppose it'll do, come this way then, there's a lot to show here," the old man walked ahead, the small smile never leaving his face. It took about half an hour but Houki saw most of the property. Apparently, there were a total of five buildings three of which make up the majority of the main complex, it had a spacious living room and kitchen combo, several rooms for not only the owner but also for a few others with plenty of storage to spare. There was also a decently sized bathroom across from the living room and even a small guest room outside the main building but still had a wooden path to it. Houki noted the massive space the property also had behind the main complex but also noticed something as well.
"What are those two buildings there?" Houki gestured to the two remaining buildings, one in the very back that was one story and the other towards the far-left wall that was two stories.
The old man answered politely, "Ah those would be the dojo," he paused for a second, "Do you compete in Kendo by any chance?"
Houki nodded, surprised that this property had a place where she could potentially train, amongst other things.
"Well then miss I suppose since you seem interested why not check it out hm?"
Houki was already starting to walk ahead of the old man towards the one-story building. Up close the style of the building was different in roofing as it was dark brown and had a wooden foundation, an actual dojo. As she walked up to the door, she heard a loud crash coming from inside. Alarmed, Houki opened the door and saw that the room was in disarray, however in the middle of the dojo floor appeared to be a young boy around her age lying unconscious on the floor. He had auburn hair and was wearing jeans, black and white tennis shoes, and a dirtied and torn blue and white long-sleeved shirt. It appeared the boy seemed to have been in some sort of fight as Houki noticed a bunch of bruises on his face and arms. Looking around Houki saw one of the windows in the dojo leading to the outer wall was broken as well.
"What happened? I heard some sound from the inside," the old man came right behind Houki and laid eyes upon the unconscious boy. "Oh my…"
Rushing up to the body Houki first felt for a pulse and found a very faint one. Slightly relieved she then turned the boy over and noticed that there were a few more cuts on his arms, left cheek, and the ride side of his abdomen all of which had very minimal bleeding but still Houki started ripping a portion what remained of the boy's shirt and started making a makeshift bandage for the cut on his arm and abdomen and some were used to dab the bleeding in his left cheek.
Looking towards the old man she exclaimed, "Well don't just stand there call an ambulance!"
Nodding the old man stepped outside and started running towards the main complex doing just that with the phone inside. A few minutes had passed but the paramedics arrived and loaded the unconscious boy on a stretcher. One of them actually walked up to both Houki and the old man.
"I apologize in advance but considering you are both the only witnesses to see the young man in this state we need your testimony," he said.
"Very well, but I suppose we could accompany him to the hospital to see if he is alright?" Houki asked.
The medic nodded, and both he, the old man, and Houki boarded the ambulance and rushed towards a nearby hospital.
It wasn't long before the ambulance arrived at the hospital, while the paramedics unloaded the stretcher that held the unconscious boy and quickly wheeled him inside to get him checked over Houki and the old man remained behind as they still had to offer a testimony to the paramedic, who was now accompanied by a police officer who had a notepad and pen out.
"All that I know is that I heard a noise from inside and once I opened the door I saw him lying on the ground badly hurt, and one of the wooden window frames broken," Houki truthfully stated. She was able to recall most of what she saw once she opened the door to the dojo on the property, but a question that lingered on her mind was, how did that boy get there?
"I see thank you for the information ma'am," the officer said, then turned to the old man, "Do you have anything to add sir?"
"None at all I'm afraid after this miss ran into my dojo after hearing that noise I saw her tend to the boy's wounds," the old man gestured towards Houki before realizing something, "Oh, I never even got your name miss."
Sighing a little, Houki decided to say her name despite not really wanting to, "Shinonono, Houki." The old man merely nodded.
"Well Shinonono-san it was very quick thinking on tending to the boy's wounds, it could have been worse if you had not done so," the medic replied while the officer continued to write in his notepad.
"Well I think that is all I can gather from the both of you, but sir I'm afraid I will have to have a team investigate the scene considering the damage Miss Shinonono-san talked about on your property if that is alright with you?" the officer asked the old man.
"Oh I don't mind officer, take all the time you need," the old man nodded along with his statement.
"Very well then, good day to both of you," the officer bowed and proceeded to walk away.
With nothing else the medic decided to speak up, "Well I would suggest that both of you stay until the doctors are done with checking the boy's condition until then have a good day to both of you." With the medic now walking away himself it was now Houki and the old man left outside, both decided to go to the hospital's waiting room until someone would give them a status of the boy.
It was only about three hours of waiting until a doctor came out into the waiting room, finding both Houki and the old man sitting in the waiting room. Walking up to both of them she asked, "Are you the two people who came with the auburn-haired boy?" Both of them simply nodded. "Come with me then."
Standing up and following the doctor both walking is silent though Houki was tenser while the old man was simply silent because he wanted to. It was only about a minute of walking when Houki decided to break the silence.
"How is he, doctor?"
"He's relatively okay, besides the cuts on his arms and face, there were a few bruises on his body, an x-ray scan also showed a few hairline fractures in his right forearm. Other than that it will take a few days before he can be discharged from the hospital, though his arm will be in a sling for a few weeks for those fractures to heal properly even with the medication of speeding things along," the doctor glanced at the tablet she was holding before continuing, "He is currently asleep, but he should be waking up in a few minutes as the anesthesia should be wearing off by now." The doctor suddenly stopped as well as Houki and the old man, looking to their right the doctor stopped in front of what appeared to be the room where the mysterious boy was apparently.
Opening the door, the doctor gestured both of them inside before going in herself, the remaining two people following suit. The room was a basic hospital room, a sink counter on the immediate right, a window on the far end, a television screen to the left, and one bed where the unconscious boy lay on the far right. Said boy was now wearing a hospital gown, with a bandage now covering the cut on his left cheek, and his right forearm was covered in a simple cast. He was also connected to a heart monitor that was next to his bed, beeping at a normal pace. The boy himself looked somewhat peaceful oblivious to the three figures standing in the room, though it didn't last for very long as his eyes began to flutter open.
"What…?" he finally muttered out his vision blurry at first, blinking a few times before his vision finally adjusted he noticed he was in some sort of hospital room, and three strangers surrounding the bed he was currently laying on, an old man, and woman who from what she was wearing was a doctor, and finally a girl who appeared to be a few years younger than him. "Where am I?" he asked hoarsely while trying to sit up on the hospital bed.
Deciding to answer the boy the old man replied, "Relax my boy, you're in the hospital, earlier you were found unconscious in my dojo, and this young lady tended to your wounds until help arrived," he raised his hand in a kind pointed gesture towards the younger girl in the room.
"Oh, I see…" the boy then broke into a small cough, the doctor quickly went outside of the room and came back with a small cup of water.
"Drink this, you seem to have been through a lot lately," the doctor said in a serious voice as she handed the boy the cup of water, to which he grabbed and downed immediately, "Now considering we could not find some sort of identification on you, care to tell us your name?"
Finishing the water and lowering the cup down to his lap, the boy took a sigh in relief and spoke, "Emiya, Emiya Shirou."
"Well Mr. Emiya, care to explain why you, a fifteen-year-old, was found unconscious in this man's dojo in your injured state?"
Shirou's eyes widened a little bit, fifteen, he was certain he was seventeen. Glancing at the reflection of the television screen said otherwise, he was sure he was supposed to be looking a bit older! Looking down on his empty cup, Shirou closed his eyes and tried to recall what he was doing before waking up in the hospital. He seemed to be struggling for a few minutes, but nothing seemed to come up, only flashes appeared in his mind that did not make sense.
A young girl with black twin tails…
A young blonde woman dressed in blue and silver armor…
A blonde-haired man with a cocky smirk…
A young white-haired man dressed in red…
A hill of swords…
Opening his eyes, Shirou looked at the doctor with a somber look in his eyes, "I'm sorry, but I can't remember." The old man smirked subtly.
"I see," the doctor replied, scribbling something down on her notepad, "well then I suppose we have your name at least." She looked back at Shirou and to the other two people in the room, "I must be tending to other patients but the two of you can leave whenever you want, that is until visiting hours are over. Until then if you need anything Mr. Emiya there's a button on the headrest to call a nurse." The doctor then walked out of the room, opening and closing the door gently behind her.
Shirou then turned to the remaining two people in, well his hospital room. First to the girl, who seemed to have caught on.
"I guess I haven't introduced myself, my name is Shinonono, Houki, a pleasure to meet you Emiya-san," Houki did a small courtesy bow after introducing herself.
Shirou then turned to the old man, expecting some sort of name from him as well. But before the old man was able to say anything there was a knock on the door.
"Excuse me Miss Shinonono, are you here?" the voice seemed to belong to the police officer from earlier.
Houki's eyes widened a bit, "Oh, come in!"
The door opened and the police officer from earlier walked inside, a serious expression on his face, "I'm sorry if this is a bad time but do both of you have time right now?" the officer asked both Houki and the old man.
Houki turned to Shirou, but the boy only gave a small smile and nodded in understanding. The girl then turned to the officer, "If it's that urgent I suppose we can spare a few minutes."
Nodding the officer exited out of the room followed by the old man, and Houki. Said girl turned to Shirou and mouthed to him a quick "We'll be back," before exiting the room, leaving the auburn-haired teen to himself.
Outside the room, the police officer then turned to both Houki and the old man, "Sorry to disturb you both, but we may have a situation," the officer then turned to Houki, "Miss Shinonono are you for certain that the boy was the only one you saw inside the dojo?"
Confused by such a question, Houki recalled back to seeing the unconscious Shirou on the dojo floor, there was plenty of light in the room and while it was in disarray, there was no one else she saw inside. "No there was no one else besides him, why?"
The officer only sighed in response, "It's nothing of your concern, though, I'll have to have a word with him though," as he gestured his head towards the old man. "In the meantime, I suppose you can go back to your friend," gesturing to Shirou's hospital room door. Nodding in understanding, Houki walked back inside Shirou's room as the door closed behind her.
Houki saw Shirou staring at the window to the outside world, a look of deep thought etched on his face. Sighing he looked away and saw Houki right by the door, he then gave the girl a small smile. "That didn't seem to take long, where's the old man?"
"He's still talking to the officer about something, probably because it is his property they have to discuss the damages," Houki said half-heartedly, though in truth she was kind of suspicious of why the officer was asking about if Shirou really was the only one she saw. Something about it was kind of suspicious to her, Houki then mentally shrugged it off, she'll worry about it later, plus the authorities should have it under control. Her face then turned to concern, "How are you feeling?"
"Sore, but I'll manage somehow," Shirou replied rolling his left shoulder slowly wincing slightly as he did so, "I felt like I came out of a marathon or some fight maybe, but it doesn't seem to be too bad."
Houki responded with a small snort in amusement, recalling Shirou looked like it was more from the latter than the former hearing his response. "Well, the doctor did say you'll be here for a few days until you can be discharged but you still have to wear that cast on your arm for a few more weeks for the fractures in your arm to heal," she relayed from the doctor getting a nod from Shirou, "what are you going to do once you're able to leave the hospital?"
Shirou blinked at the question, then gave it a moment of thought, but nothing was coming to mind, "Not sure, I still can't seem to remember a whole lot other than my name."
Houki mentally slapped herself, of course he wouldn't be sure, considering the fact that he can't remember anything besides speaking Japanese and his name, Shirou was practically stuck until his memories came back quickly… if at all. Wondering what to do, the door suddenly opened, realizing she was still in front of the door Houki quickly walked to Shirou's bedside as the old man walked back into the room.
"Sorry about that, the officer and I had to settle a few things regarding what he found at my home, nothing too big," the old man said offhandedly, "So my boy, how do you feel?"
"Sore, really sore," was Shirou's only reply, making the old man chuckle, "I'm sorry about your dojo sir, I heard that when I was found, the room was a complete mess." Shirou's face then became somber, "If you want, I can help with repairs once I can leave the hospital," he offered.
"Oh nonsense my boy," the old man responded, "the inside can be repaired quickly, and the window, you shouldn't worry about either, since you have that cast I doubt you will be permitted to do any heavy work," he pointed out making Shirou wince, "Besides, it will only take about a week to get it fixed, it is only a wooden window frame after all." The look from the old man said more than enough for Shirou to not attempt to help in the current state the latter was in, so reluctantly Shirou dropped the subject.
Thinking of the large property again, Houki was again wondering about her original agenda for the day, finding a house to be closer to Ichika. Her mood took a nosedive realizing most of her day was spent on something other than trying to get closer to her crush/childhood friend. The old man seemed to notice Houki's expression right away.
"Are you still interested in buying the property Miss Shinonono before, well… all of this happening?" the old man asked. Houki looked back at the old man slightly surprised, "Your face said everything," he replied quickly, "I have been around a long time, it isn't that hard to figure out young kids like you and their thoughts."
To Houki, it kind of made sense, but it was still slightly unsettling to hear that. Through her mind, it was indeed a nice property but it was spacious, too spacious for her alone. However, it was the only property she had seen that was close to Ichika's neighborhood…
…
"I am interested, and actually will be willing to buy it actually," Houki replied, her voice held with conviction and serious intent. The old man couldn't help but slightly chuckle at Houki's serious face on the property.
"Alright then, well while the dojo is being fixed, we can talk about the paperwork, and you and your friends can move in once everything checks out!" he said joyfully.
"Uh, friends…?" Houki asked, slightly nervous.
"Well, it is a big property, I assumed you had at least one other person that will help you to keep the property clean at least, it is proper to do so in case you have guests over." the old man said in a slightly serious tone.
Realizing the problem, Houki's mood took another nosedive, she did not really have any peers or other friends at the Academy that were interested. Ichika was out of the question immediately because he was already her roommate at the academy and would already live relatively nearby if she was able to procure someone who could be her housemate for the property in question. That was until her eyes settled on a slightly confused Shirou, the gears turning in her head as a possible plan had formulated in her mind.
"Shirou," Houki began slowly, "considering your circumstances, would you be willing to be my housemate for this property, at least until your memories come back?"
Shirou's eyes widened slightly, very caught off guard on such a question being asked. The first thing that went through his mind was that he wasn't sure what the property even looked like, all that he was able to gather was that it was something the old man was looking to sell said property. "Um, are you sure, I don't want to be a burden?" Houki's reply was only a simple nod, the determination still etched on her face.
Mulling it over after a few seconds, he sighed and nodded. It's not like he had any other option, plus at least it would give him a place to stay once he was discharged from the hospital.
"Splendid!" the old man said in response, "I will procure the necessary paperwork over the next few days, we can discuss everything here as well until Mr. Emiya is able to leave the hospital, and give him a proper tour," as he finished the old man was smirking subtly, but this time Shirou thought he looked familiar from somewhere…
"Well I must get started, have a good day both of you Miss Shinonono, Mr. Emiya!" the old man then walked out of the hospital room. It was until he was walking down the hallway did both Houki and Shirou realize something.
"Wait, we still don't know who he is!"
Word Count: 4,330
A/N: AND that's a wrap for this chapter, I could've written more but several factors kind of got the better of me a combination of IRL stuff hitting the fan, and if I wrote more I would've changed the chapter title for the third time XD. Anyways I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter, thanks for reading, be sure to leave a favorite if you liked this and follow if you want to stay up to date when I update this story (I swear I will try my hardest to reach the word count for this before the deadline). Be sure to leave a review if you like, constructive criticism is appreciated! Stay safe and stay cool!
P.S. I'm sure y'all know who the old man is, I wasn't being very subtle about it, lol!