Chasing You Through Time

Counter Guardian: Emiya Shirou

Leaving the Grail War, I rematerialized in a tragic land to fulfill Alaya's will. To save humanity, again. I stood in an empty city, a foul stench stinging my nose. I knew the smell well, it was the smell of death. Dead bodies were collapsed on the streets, the buildings ransacked and cleared out, only more bodies to inhabit them. There was absolutely no life in that city. On further examination, I noticed something interesting.

Crouching down beside a young woman's body, I pulled my jacket up over my mouth and nose to help drown out the smell. It didn't help much in the clutter of decay. The woman's cheeks were hollowed out, revealing bone beneath, and her flesh thinning. But there was no injury, no blood stains, not even a rip in her thin blouse. Moving on, I realized they were all like this, and their positioning was strange too. The bodies aligned the sidewalks, with the occasional on the cross walks. Some cars seemed to have crashed, but most were parked along the roads. Buildings were raided, but not broken. There were no signs of conflict and chaos, yet death lined the streets. It's like everyone just laid down and died. The thought sent an unnerving chill down my spine. Standing up and rolling my shoulder, I tried to numb myself from the anger and sickness that swarmed in my gut.

I began walking through the city that was by no means small, trying not to focus on anything in particular. It was about an hour of walking before something flickered in the corner of my eye. A person. A living person. It was a man peeking past the corner of a building, and the moment our eyes ment, he ran. I dashed after him into the alley way. He was quick, but not fast enough for me. Grabbing his tattered hoodie, I pulled him back, shoving him up against the wall. He gasped, trying to regain some of the breath that was knocked out of him. Legs flailing a few inches above the ground, the boy kicked at my shins. Pale face, and eyes full of freight, the kid looked somewhere in his early teens. His feathery brown hair flopped back and forth in front of his pale blue eyes as he struggled in my grip.

"P-please don't hurt me." The kid stuttered out, his struggling ceased. He was a small guy who looked like he ran from more fights than started. With even the slightest twitch in my hand, his whole body tightened, eyes squeezing shut. Yeah, he was harmless.

I released my hold on him, letting him down gently. His eyes slowly opened, legs becoming noodles as they touched the ground. I had to grab his arms to keep him from melting to the ground, he was shaking so bad.

"Sorry about that," I gave him a soft smile trying to calm his nerves a little."What's your name, Kid?"

"W-w-wha-what?" It only took him about a year to get out that one word.

"Your name, I assume you have one?"

He lowered his eyebrows at me, gaining some confidence from somewhere. "Why do you want my name?"

I grunted a laugh, "Last I knew, it was polite to tell your name to people you meet." I let go of his arms now that his legs seemed stable enough to hold his body. "I'm Emiya, by the way." When I held out my hand to him he just stared at it cautiously, until, eventually, he took it.

"Alexei."

"Pleasure to meet you, Alexei." The boy just gave me a small nod as he shook my hand, not sure what to do. Once introductions were finished the questioning began. "Now, Alexei, why did you run from me?"

"I thought you might be a soldier." He pressed his back further against the wall, "You're not one, are you?"

I shook my head, "No, well probably no whatever you're thinking of, anyways."

Alexei tilted his head a little in confusion. Then glancing nervously to the side, probably checking possible routes of escape, he asked, "Then what are you?"