I
I am a survivor. A sign of strength. The desire for hunger.
Like a radiant knight which sought to protect.
I too sought to protect through means of strength.
So why is the world so cruel.
A feeble body, a distorted mind, and the talent of a donkeys behind.
Oh world. To whatever being wishes to hear me.
Grant me the will to simply keep striving forward no matter what.
Do not let me stop.
Do not let me falter.
Do not let me yield.
Like the radiant knights in the fields of blood.
Or a star in the sky without end.
Allow me to become an unstoppable force.
A radiant person --
Sincere, honest, and brave.
Allow for me to smile, a genuine smile filled with warmth, a comforting kind.
*Let it be me who upholds justice and righteousness, to love the cosmos and the cities.
Though I feel afraid, I shall move forth without a doubt, my blade tuned to the sharpest might.
It must be I who shines, brighter than any blade or star may ever shine.
--Like a hero from great tales.
The dead will speak no words.
They shall tell no tales.
It must be the living who move for them.
For everything they stood for and meant.
When the end comes, let it be for the salvation of a new world, and world where stars may fly freely.
With the strength of human hands.
I will cleave into a future where all is set in stone.
Where no more wars will ever be fought.
{Fate/Eros - Fragmented Stellar}
Holy Grail Wars.
The product of magus coming together for slaughter, all for a wish.
Nearly a decade ago was the 4th grail war, held in Europe.
There, they held no winners of war. Only survivors lucky enough to keep their lives.
Kanjo Kuruoka.
Mida Kuruoka.
Father, Mother. That is if I were generous enough to call them that.
For they held no value to me. Instead it was the servant they happened to have summoned.
Saber.*
The best in history she called herself.
Wielder of two swords.
Tamer of demonic swords.
Miyamoto Musashi.
Hair silvery white.
Eyes blue like the sky itself.
Her swords glimmered through the night as she covered them in blood. Wiping most of the competition with ease.
Swear it that we will meet again.
Even after the tragic end of the 4th Holy Grail War.
A orb as deep and as black as the void presented itself before the grail, engulfing it in it's nothingness.
And as such, so did all of the stars in a 3km distance.
Like a hellish nightmare one simply cant escape.
A void--
{Fate/Eros - Fragmented Stellar}
The glimmering sunlight peeked through the curtains, shining down onto a messy bed before me. The birds outside were singing praises as the sound of trains and cars far off in the distance could be heard, not even managing to wake the limp body under said messy sheets.
Even despite not being such a morning person myself, I simply had to rise at the wake of dawn, unlike the person I call older sister.
"Hey, wake up. It's almost time for your first class of the day."
Nothing.
Walking over to the curtains, I split them apart, exposing the bright warm sun to her, only for her to crawl deeper under her pile of blankets.
"Wake up would you? It's about to be lunch time, and if you dont wake up soon, we won't have enough time to eat and make it in time for you lectures."
Yuki groaned for a bit before tossing and turning in bed.
"Ughh... C'mon Kunoku... Five more minutes..."
"Five more minutes and I'll simply be on my way to class."
Having no other choice but to take my threat at face value, Yuki sits up on the bed, rubbing her dreary eyes, adapting to the noon's light.
Dressed in nothing more than a loose tank top and shorts, she crawls her way out of bed, grabbing her towel and set of clothes from her nearby closet.
"I want a nice plate of stir fried beef with pineapple!"
She calls out as she makes her way down the hall and into the washroom, shutting the door behind her before giving me a chance to retort her lunch choice.
(What a headache of an older sister she is...)
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I make peace with myself and walk downstairs, leaving my school bag and sports bag on a sofa near the front door before making way into the kitchen.
(Stir fried beef with pineapple... Hmmm...)
Having put on an apron, I open the fridge to look for ingredients.
By no means were we short on any ingredients at all. Our butler Pierce made sure our supplies were well kept and stocked up.
(Let's see... Some flank, baking soda, cooking wine, corn starch, soy sauce, siracha--)
Gathering everything onto the counter, I start to get to work, slicing the beef thinly and making sure to let it marinate and breakdown properly. As for the rest of the dish, it's going to take a while to prepare so I'll have enough time for the meat to marinate.
(--Pineapples, bell peppers, fish sauce, shallots, garlic, ginger.)
Once everything was finished, I tossed the beef into the hot pan, letting it cook on both sides before removing it and putting it aside. Next came the vegetables, letting them cook till nice and tender before adding the pineapple chunks and beef.
By the time that Yuki was done with her shower and in her clothes, lunch was only a few minutes away from being served.
Walking down the stairs, steps heavy with all of the books she carried in her bag, Yuki joined me in the kitchen, tiptoeing over my shoulder to get a good look at her lunch.
"Are you done yet?"
"Almost, just wait at the table."
Yuki gives me a big teasing grin before hugging me from behind.
"You got it boss!"
With a few extra minutes to plate, I bring the food over to the table, one plate for me, another for Yuki.
"Go on. I hope your happy with it."
Yuki grabs a pair of chopsticks and instantly starts to dig in. Which isn't too much of a problem considering how tight on time we are before lectures start.
Between bites, Yuki would glance at me.
"So, you're dead set on participating in this Holy Grail War?"
"Yeah..."
I considered acting all sheepish. I wanted to show that I was nervous, even a little scared at what could happen in the future. But now, I see no other choice but to move forward.
"Im certain about it."
"Do you really want to see her again that badly? Isn't one big sister enough for you?"
"I'm pretty sure you're more than enough. But I simply want to learn more from her."
(Musashi's last stand... Her attempt to cut through the void.)
Permanently engraved into my mind. Through the countless battles, through her training and showing off her skills.
Every single bit of it I have memorized.
"Sword freak."
"Worry about your own things won't you."
Yuki sighed, finishing her plate of food before abruptly getting up from her chair.
"And that's exactly what I'm doing. I just want to see you safe, you god damn brat."
Yuki's concerns aren't outlandish, more of the norm considering what's going to happen soon.
But I'm certain of it, the arc of her sword.
(I need to see it one more time.)
"Don't worry. I'm sure that the two of us will sweep through this Holy Grail War quite smoothly."
Finishing my own plate of food, I grab our plates and soak them in the sink as I grab my bags, leaving through the front door behind Yuki.
"Then I can only wish the best for you Kunoku..."
Getting into our car, we make way through the roads and traffic, arriving at our university with half and hour to spare.
We simply go to our lectures, study in the down time, attend clubs like kendo, martial arts, photography, and at the end of the day, the two of us go home.
With the sun gone and the moon starting to rise, we get back into the car and ride home.
"Hey Kunoku?"
Yuki grabs my free hand, holding onto it tight as the wind flows through our hair out on the open back roads. The stars starts to slowly make their appearance the further away we get from the bright city as the sounds of crickets and other animals make themselves known.
"Yeah, Yuki?"
"You're not doing this because you believed what your parents said about you, right?"
Worry, if it wasn't present before, it most certainly is now.
"Y- You're a great mage! You learn theocraticals super quickly and your memorization is among the best too! A- And your swordsmanship, it's good, great! You're already better than everyone in the kendo club, and even won nationals last year!"
After letting her ramble on for some time, I give her hand a little squeeze.
"I simply want to get rid of all the injustice in the world, Yuki. And my method of choosing just so happens to be the sword."
Letting go of her hand, I give Yuki a pat on the head. Yuki must've had it rough worrying about me so much.
We were childhood friends, only because she came from the great Aozaki family. We spent lots of time together and played together whenever my parents weren't looking. But after losing my family, the Aozaki's took me in.
I often wandered around alone, lost and empty. Without my parents telling me exactly every single thing to do, every single goal they had set for me, I was clueless about what to do with my life.
So I often found myself at the beach on late nights. It was seemingly comforting to listen to the waves crash onto shore, breaking the pitch silence of the night.
And the moonlight that reflected off of the ocean's surface, it revealed how deep and dark the ocean truly was.
Tempting--
The endless sea, vast without an end to the eye.
How it was filled with wonders.
How it would drag you into its depths.
--Like a warm blanket, suffocating you under the world's weight so you could never resurface.
"I promise you, Yuki, that I'll win no matter what. That is my knight's oath to you."
Yuki glares at me for a bit, probably thinking whether or not she should hit me while I'm driving.
"No, I want you to promise that you'll stay alive. You don't have to win."
"Then I swear on my honour, that I, Kuruoka Kunoku, shall both win and stay alive."
Having gotten what she wanted, Yuki lets out a sigh of relief.
The rest of the drive home was quiet. We park in the drive way and bring our bags to our rooms before I make my way back downstairs and into the backyard.
In the vast open estate, there alone was only a single shed that held all of my childhood. The books I read, the boxes of drawing supplies I hid from my parents--
"I suppose it's about time..."
--And Musashi's sword.
Setting up the summoning circle, I use her blade that was left behind as a summoning catalyst.
Let silver and steel be the essence,
Let stone and the archduke of contracts be the foundation,
Let silver be the colour I pay tribute to,
Let cleave a blade that space shall fall,
Let the desire to win be our will,
I call forth thee,
Submit to me and become my blade,
My will creates your body as you blade creates my destiny,
A hero of epic table shall heed to the call of the Holy Grail,
Swear upon oath here
Humans will create the virtues of "heaven",
Conquer and dominate over the evils of the mind,
Sharp and swift with the blade,
Cleave and slice through all other blades,
A sword that reaches the skys beyond and into the cosmos,
From the Seventh Heaven, attended to by three greet words of power,
Come forth from the ring of restraints,
Protector of the Holy Balance!