Fate/Zero

Title: The Sage's Disciple [Fate Zero SI]

Synopsis:

After appearing in the summoning circle of a serial killer with a mysterious mask on his face, the protagonist takes up the pseudonym of "Crow" and scrambles to survive the events of the Fourth Holy Grail War as the Master of Caster. Fortunately for him, Gilles de Rais isn't Caster this time.

Genre - Adventure

Rated: T

Words: 54k+

Status: Complete 😊

Spoilers:

Chapter 1

You know your day has fucked up when you suddenly find yourself facing down a serial killer after popping out of what looks like a magic circle made of blood. The fact that he's supposed to be a fictional serial killer doesn't really help, given that he's literally standing right in front of me. Well, balancing on one foot while drawing said magic blood circle with his other one.

We both stared at each other for a beat.

My reaction was to introduce my fist to his very punchable face before he got more than a syllable out. Now, I'm not a huge musclebound guy, but I can throw a mean left hook when the need arises. Thank whatever god is listening that I had martial arts training so I didn't break my fingers while doing so.

Uryuu Ryuunosuke went down like a sack of potatoes. The crunch against my knuckles indicated that I had likely broken his nose, among other damage.

I waited for a moment to make sure he wasn't going to get back up. Longest moment of my life, let me tell you. Thankfully, he was out like a light. Unsurprisingly for a guy built like a twig, he really couldn't take a punch.

Judging by the red streaming down his face and the rapidly purpling skin around his nose, getting laid out by two hundred pounds of Appalachian Germano-Irishman probably won't be good for his complexion.

I nudged his ribs with my foot to double check before kneeling down and putting a hand over his mouth. Not sure if it's good news or not, but I didn't end up shoving his nose back into his brain as he's still breathing.

Only now did I turn my attention to myself. While I was dressed in my normal clothes, there was an addition that I didn't notice until then. My fingers probed the outline of something on my face. I can't see it because of the angle and the lighting, but it felt like it was an old Renaissance plague doctor's mask. Or rather just the upper half of one. With the hood of my jacket pulled up, only my hands and the lower half of my face were exposed.

"The hell?" I muttered.

A whimper from the other side of the room snapped me back, reminding me that I wasn't the only one in here. A kid, couldn't have been more than five or six, was crudely tied up and gagged with tape and cloth.

I remembered this part. As such, I tried not to look in the direction of the flashing TV.

Rising to my feet, I quickly made my way over to him, though I stopped as he recoiled. Right, I probably looked like some demon to him, appearing out of nowhere like I did. The mask didn't help.

Slowly, I crouched down and pushed my hood back before sliding the mask off. I tried to give a reassuring smile, but I don't think it worked, "Can you understand me?"

The kid went stock still, panicked eyes roaming over my face, before nodding once.

"Good. Good," I replied, keeping my smile in place, "Okay. I'm gonna get you out of there. Roll over and hold still a minute so I can get your hands loose."

It took a few seconds for me to pick away at the edge of the duct tape before I got a good hold of it. With a few tugs, I pulled it loose before going to work on the strips binding his legs together while his freed hands pulled the gag out of his mouth.

I never really thought about how small kids his age could be. When the boy stood up, I was still taller than him even when crouched down. He was trembling too. I think adrenaline was the only thing keeping him conscious.

His eyes started to move over towards the TV. I shifted so that I was on the side of him facing away from it, "Look at me," I urged. He glanced at me before slowly moving back.

I could see the vague outline of a human head against the light. I tried again, "Look at me."

This time he obeyed.

Making sure to keep his attention on me, I continued, "What's your name? Do you have family or friends nearby?"

"Kazuo," He nodded shakily, though it takes him a moment to find his voice. I broke a little from how listless it sounded, "Aki-chan lives a few houses down."

"Alright, good," I sighed with relief before looking the boy dead in the eye, "Kazuo, I need you to be strong for a little bit longer," I looked around for the most likely exit. Keeping myself between him and the…bodies, I led him to the door, "Can you make it to Aki-chan's house by yourself?"

Seeing freedom must have sparked something, because Kazuo perked up a little bit. His nod was a little more determined, "But what about you?"

I gestured back to the other room, "I'm gonna keep an eye on him. Make sure he doesn't get away," I waved a hand, "Now go on."

As his little hand grasped the door handle, Kazuo paused before looking back, "Arigato, Karasu-san."

With that said, he disappeared into the night.

I watched the darkened doorway for a moment before I snorted, "Karasu-san, eh? Guess I did kind of look like a crow-man."

That little spark of amusement only last for a split-second before I quickly found myself face-first in a trashcan, emptying my thankfully empty stomach as I came to terms with my first thoughts on my situation.

Oh God, I was in the Nasuverse.

After cleaning myself up, a glance at the unconscious serial killer on the floor reminded me that he hadn't been tied up yet. The roll of tape he'd used to restrain Kazuo was still sitting on a nearby table.

I used the rest of the thing to hog-tie his hands and feet together behind his back, which gave me an opportunity to empty his pockets and examine his hands. No command seals. He hadn't finished the ritual.

Then how the hell did I end up here?

Picking up the stack of clipped papers that had been Ryuunosuke's "grimoire," I flipped through until I saw a diagram that closely matched the one currently on the floor.

Gotta say, it was awfully considerate of his family to write this in English. I'd have been completely lost otherwise.

Say what you will about his morals, the psychopath had an eye for details. I couldn't find any differences between what was on the page and the blood circle. I stashed the notes in my jacket pocket.

I could use it…no. I didn't want to be in the Grail War. No matter how helpful a Caster might be in getting me home. Besides, the environment can affect the Servant summoned. I didn't want to get involved with any Servant that would correspond to this.

Problem now is the circle itself.

I could leave it as is. Ryuunosuke's been leaving them at his previous killings. The issue is that those didn't work. But this one does and in canon it summoned a Servant. Any magus worth their salt would recognize it. And if the wrong magus in the wrong place decided to flip on the news at the wrong time…

The Association would bring down the hammer. Given the size of Fuyuki and how far it would spread before it could be halted, I could be safe in assuming the result would be nuclear in scale at worst. At the very least, it would involve Kazuo and any family he has left, his friend and her family, any other friends he has and their families, and so on.

Depending on how fast Kazuo ran, the police could be here in about ten minutes or less. I didn't have time to clean this up. Luckily, there is another solution.

With three trips and one more visit to the trashcan, I pulled Kazuo's parents' bodies into the entryway without getting blood on myself before covering them with coats. I only have so many clothes and I don't want to get questioned by the police.

I dashed into the kitchen, well aware that time was running out. I managed to find a bottle of what I assumed to be sake and a cloth, though I had to scramble around the drawers to find a matchbook.

With my improvised Molotov cocktail in hand, I stepped back out into the living room. Popping the cap off of the sake, I stuck the cloth in.

As I was about to strike a match, I looked at Ryuunosuke on the floor. I was about to murder this ma- no, thing. No matter how empathetic I was, I felt no urge to save him.

Though he wasn't awake to hear it, I felt I had to say something aloud anyway, "People call you a demon. I know you're not one, but it's a fitting name nonetheless," I scraped the match against the box, causing it to flare to life as I slipped the matchbook into a pocket. Holding the bottle in one hand and the match in the other, I finished, "I hope you like fire, because you're going to see a lot of it in hell, Demon."

I lit the cloth and threw the bottle at the circle. When I ran, I only paused to scoop up the mask.

A/N:

If you want more chapters, just search for the Title and the Author name!