Remnants of Blue Skull.

In a straw house, Erza was beginning to slowly wake up. Her brown eyes opened. Everything was blurry for her for about a few seconds before her eyesight finally improved.

'Where am I?' She thought confusingly to herself. Slowly getting up, she flinched from the sudden pain on her neck. It was then, she finally remembered what happened to her.

"You're awake?" She saw Shirou walking towards her with a hot bowl of potato soup with beef. The smell coming from it nearly enchanted her, the aroma was something she never experienced before. She had quite a number of delicious food from her travels, yet this one was certainly the best smelling one. She would've jumped and swiped the bowl from his hands right away if he wasn't the same guy that killed the two 'innocent' civilians...

"It's you!" She yelled and pointed her finger at him trembling in anger. She held in the slight pain that had once again burst from her neck and ignored it. She tried to requip her sword, but she was magically depleted. No matter how desperate she was, she could not feel her magic opening a "door" to her armory. She could barely even requip a simple spoon, much less a sword. She eyed the bowl of soup, before looking back at Shirou with a glare. Even with her stomach growling, even if she starved, she would not give in to a possible trap.

"Come, eat this. It should help you feel better." Shirou said gently, motioning her to come to grab the bowl of potato soup. Seeing that she still didn't move even though she was obviously hungry, he let out a sigh.

"Look, I'm not who you think I am. Those two "innocent" people were mages. In fact, they were aiming to attack you as soon as you clashed with Totomata." Shirou slowly began to explain himself. He first began with his speculations, as to why these two mages might attack Erza.

"What I am thinking is that these people are probably two new mages. Properly only learning only 1 or 2 spells. At best at the max of 3. It's obvious from there inexperience and how much they panic." He delved in further into the subject. As soon as he did that, it seemed that Erza was finally willing to believe him, albeit unwillingly. It seemed that the only reason she did so was that of the hunger she was experiencing. Thus, while he was explaining the whole situation, she was just sitting there, eating her potato soup while a weird glint appeared sometimes in her eyes that reminded him of his landlord, Taiga. Seeing that she was enjoying his soup and also listening to him, he began to soon explain what exactly what he was doing here.

"I'm a Fairy Tail member you see, same as you." He took off his somewhat damaged clothes. Looking at it for a moment, he couldn't help but sigh. This wouldn't happen if he had worn his battle outfit right from the beginning, along with his cloak that was made from a holy shroud.

Then again, who would've expected that someone would throw a powerful spear? It wasn't as strong as a noble phantasm, but it was enough to burn his skin due to its properties and destroy his clothes a bit. He simply wore a brown cloak and a simple white shirt that was given to him by Makarov simply because he told him this, "You need more than just one set of clothes boy. Even that brat Natsu and Gray have different types of clothes, they just barely wear them."

It was ludicrous, but he could understand the old man. It was weird, as both him, Rin, and Saber only ever had two outfits that they occasionally wear. They barely ever switched out of them except on rare occasions...

How weird.

"I apologize! If you wish, you may punish me as you will!" Erza immediately got up, withstanding the pain she felt as she placed the bowl of soup on the ground and bowed. It seemed wrong to Shirou, as her figure seemed to eclipse someone else for a slight moment. Although her personality was really different compared to her, it sure seemed to him that Erza would one day be someone similar like Saber. Although slightly different personalities, Erza could have the chance to walk the path of...

"Umm, Shirou?" Snapped out of his thoughts, he looked at the young Erza who stared at him with guilt, curiosity, and confusion.

"I'll accept your apology since this is the first time its happened. Though, I'd appreciate if you never do that again." He said softly. He couldn't blame this girl no matter what. She was a member of a guild that his master was in after all.

"Once you finish healing, head back to the guild. This job is risky, and the task is not something you are ready to complete." Shirou told Erza, who in went 180 on him.

"I can handle it!" Erza glared at him causing him to sigh and shake his head. This time, his eyes steeled as he stared at the red-headed mage.

"Listen well, while I am not familiar with the mission rankings. This is a C ranking mission. If I am right though as to who it is behind the whole mess, this can very well turn into an A or maybe even S class mission." Shirou knew the girl was nowhere near battle-ready. Strong as she may be, she didn't have the experience to watch for traps nor deal with people who are way above her own skill. He had seen the girl fight. Yes, she was strong, but stronger than the Guild Master of the Blue Skull? Not likely.

"That's all the more reason for me to stay! Even if I can't, you should leave too! This is well beyond your capacity as a wizard. Wait until Gildarts or Mystogan comes back to handle it. For now, though, we should just leave." Erza seemed to change her mind about handling it. If it did become an S-Class mission, they should both leave. She knew her limits. S-class wizards aren't merely a title. They were beings who can truly have the rights of creating their own guild. Normal wizards couldn't even dream to land a scratch, much less even defeating them. While Erza herself was an S-class wizard, she wasn't as strong as the veterans who've earned their title for years. Both her and Mira didn't have the right to fight against these strong hardened veterans. Not even Laxus.

There was a reason why Fairy Tail always stick by the rule that you have to first attend the S-class trials for a reason. These types of missions can guarantee a person's death if they are not properly prepared.

"I probably would've listened to you. Truly, but sadly..." Shirou looked away, staring far away at a distant location. If one were to wear a pair of binoculars and stare closer, they would've seen a small rundown building on top of a hill with a blue skull flag sitting right beside it.

"This is something that I have to do. Innocent lives are at stake, and if I were to turn my back on them, I would go against the very Ideals I fought so hard for in the past years. I would stop becoming Shirou Emiya..." Erza was confused at what he said. Not the beginning, but just the ending. Sure, you can go against the very ideals you fought for, but what does this have to do with it causing you to stop... Well... being you?

She couldn't understand-no, it was more like she couldn't comprehend such a fact. Erza had no idea why, but when she stared at Shirou, the land seemed to change for a slight moment. A land that had no life but was filled with nothing but swords.

Swords

Swords

Swords

Swords

Swords

Thousands of weapons, perhaps even millions surrounded him on a hill. The numbers were uncountable, yet they seemed to represent who he was for some mysterious reason.

His whole life was...