Prologue part three

"... So Karasuba why are you still here?" I asked Karasuba as she remained behind while the other members left.

"I am your sekirei is it not my duty to remain by your side?" She responded with her usual smile on her face as she gave me her answer, but that felt wrong destined one or not. I could somehow feel that deep down she didn't care about any of that rather, all she cared about was seeking out her fallen star just like me.

"... I see then do what you wish." I laid myself back down onto the bed and pulled the sheets over me. I was too fatigued and injured to deal with her right now. It would be best for me rest now and recover so I could effectively deal with the problems and issues about finding Miyu and the sekirei plan.

"Shirou... my ashikabi." Karasuba said sweetly as she moved towards me, her long soft flowing hair that was tied into a ponytail was let down as her grey eyes stared into mine, her face slowly closing in as her hand slowly reached into my clothes.

"... Karasuba let go of my gun." I intercepted her hand with my own, grabbing her wrist the moment she took hold of my mystic code. This was my only possession I had left within this world and my only weapon. There was no way I was going to hand it over even if it was my so called sekirei or destined partner.

"Come on Shirou, I just want to have a look." She asked me with a small smile on her face but was met with my own steely gaze.

"... If you return my bullets to me then I would consider it." I couldn't open the case without my magecraft, so I needed to retrieve my origin bullets from her if I wanted the mystic code to be used with it's full potential, otherwise I would probably purchase a different gun that was more suited to the task.

"..." She paused for a moment to consider the offer before letting go of the mystic code and reaching into her pockets. Taking out the origin bullets she stared at them for a time before asking me a question.

"Shirou you are an enigma, one that just appeared suddenly out of the blue." She paused for a moment before continuing.

"Normally that wouldn't concern me but this little thing here does." She played around with one of the bullets before narrowing her eyes which confronted mine.

"So I have a question for you. Just who are you Shirou Emiya?"

"... Don't you already know the answer to that Karasuba." I wasn't going to reveal anything vital without having a proper grasp of the situation let alone in this condition but I could at least tell her this much.

"..."

"I am Shirou Emiya the ashikabi of sekirei number 04 Karasuba."

"Hahahaha that's right." She started to laugh to herself as if she asked something stupid before throwing a single origin bullet at me. I guess that was the most I could get by giving her the bare minimum but at least it was a start.

"For now Shirou I would keep these four until next time." Karasuba said as she pocketed the remaining origin bullets.

"Sweet dreams Shirou." I expected Karasuba to leave the room after this but she moved to the left side of the bed before going underneath the blanket.

"... You too Karasuba." I could feel my heart and body slowly heating up as her scent washed over me. Our bodies touching one another despite having ample room. Was this one of the duties of an ashikabi or a sekirei?

No I should stop thinking about theses matters and focus on recovering. Closing my eyes I could feel my lust dying down as I embraced the encroaching darkness, going deeper and deeper into the abyss.

"Is this a dream?" Opening my eyes I found myself standing in the middle of nowhere, the only surroundings being a never ending landscape of snow and ice. Was this my past conscience haunting me for choosing Miyu over Sakura on that day?

"I guess I never did get over it." I smiled to myself derisively as the snow continued to fall from the skies, resembling that specific day. The day where I had truly lost everything but it was also the day I had finally made my resolve, so why would it haunt me now?

"... Help me." My thoughts was interrupted as by an icy voice crying out from far away.

"I don't want to be alone." Again I could hear the same icy voice crying out for help but wasn't this just my dream?

"... Is anyone there?" I started to move towards the voice as I trudged through the harsh icy winds and snow. I didn't know why but I couldn't leave the voice alone, it was as if there was someone pushing me forward from behind.

"I'm scared." The icy voice was slowly increasing in volume which means I must be getting closer but I was slowly losing strength within my body, the harsh weather, land and memories was slowly but surely taking its toll on me. I couldn't go on for much longer.

"It's cold being all alone in the darkness." I could hear the despair within the voice, I knew that feeling all too well especially the effect it could have on one's psyche if it was left for too long...

"Trace on." If this was truly a dream then I should be able to use my magecraft without any consequences. Reinforcing my entire body I sprinted across the snowy landscape searching for the voice or the source of my regrets if this was truly my nightmare.

"It hurts, please help me." I heard the voice cry out from my left and with that I had finally tracked down the source.

"... Strange." In front of me was a small cavern of ice and an unknown figure with its back turned to me. I should have easily made out the figure's appearance but something appeared to be obscuring my vision.

"I see." Looking down I noticed that my body was fading away was this the price of using my magecraft or was the me in reality waking up?

"Don't worry I'm here, your not alone." I pulled out Sakura's scarf and wrapped it gently around the person's neck. I could feel myself fading away faster with this act but at least I made in time.

"Warm, I feel warm." Akitsu felt the touch of soft fabric around her neck giving her a warmth that she never felt before. Hope started to fill up in Akitsu, as she heard of this situation before from other sekirei, that one day they met their ashikabi through a dream.

"Are you my ashikabi?" Her voice shaking with trepidation and excitement as she turned around to face the sudden presence but was met with darkness.

"... I see it was just a dream." Akitsu let out a resigned voice after all she was still in the middle of being tuned, she couldn't have an ashikabi yet. But still the warmth she felt couldn't be faked could it?

Hesitating Akitsu's cold fingers slowly reached out to her neck but was met with no interference, the scarf that warmed her up a moment ago was no more. Once again she was all alone in this world of ice and snow.

"What do you mean her tuning failed?" Takami said as she barged into the laboratory, having received an emergency call from one of the tuners working on the project.

"I don't know what happened ma'am but the sekirei crest appeared on her head and" The tuner who was in charge of the project attempted to explain the situation to Takami but she wasn't having any of it.

"Tch I see the sekirei crest appeared on her forehead. The single numbers really are hard to tune... Damn it if only Asama were here..." Takami mumbled to herself once she saw sekirei number 07 being winged preterm, she was no longer capable of finding her destined one her ashikabi.

"But Ma'am wait! I did everything properly!" The tuner desperately tried to defend himself from any blame, but Takami wasn't listening to his excuses.

"I left her to you because you insisted you could handle it! I can't leave any sekirei in the hands of someone who doesn't even know the extent of his own capabilities" Takami snapped at the tuner as she saw a pathetic arrogant man who overestimated his own capabilities and tried to avoid all responsibility for his failure.

"We're scrapping number 07 and im pulling all the tuners off the sekirei plan!" Takami said angrily as she pushed past him while ignoring the man's plea and his efforts to stop her from leaving.

"Wait, WAIT!" The man could only watch his superior leave helplessly while he was left behind with his failure.

"It's not my fault! It's not my fault! It's not my fault!" The man started to experience a panic attack as despair started to seep in his entire body. His entire life and livelihood went to ruins because of his mistake and not only that he was just fired along side with his entire division.

How could he face his fellow researchers after this, how could he face division S his rivals without them mocking him for his mistake, it would be a stigma that he could never erase.

"...It's your fault! You! YOU! If only you would just disappear...! The man needed an outlet someone or thing to blame for his mistake, and he latched onto the closest being, the one that caused this mess to begin with by being winged preterm. In his rage and despair he attempted to erase his failure from existence by strangling her.

"...Ah, ah AAAAAAAHHHH!" In a panic, sekirei number 07 protected herself from the mad scientist by releasing frozen icicles, killing the man and destroying her surroundings.

"I am a failed product so I was scrapped... thrown out broken." Tears started to fall from her eyes as she picked herself up from the frozen ground, she didn't know what to do, she wasn't wanted she was broken she couldn't have an ashikabi anymore.

But she didn't want to die all alone in the darkness she wanted the warmth from her dream, she wanted to find her destined one, someone who would accept her despite being broken, she wanted an ashikabi even if its only in name but most of all she wanted to have wings, so she chose to escape the destroyed laboratory.

A siren went off the moment the cameras caught sight of Akitsu using her powers and escaping from the laboratory. It alerted the security system and the squadron of solders on site whom was in charge of its defence.

"This is director Minaka speaking, I repeat this is director Minaka speaking." A voice could be heard throughout the building through the speakers setup inside the rooms and corridors.

"The scrapped number 07 Akitsu is escaping from the vicinity of sector D and is heading towards C, I want all soldiers to intercept the scrapped number and buy time for the disciplinary squad to arrive. You have permission to use severe force but only as a last resort and if the sekirei is resisting.

I repeat the scrapped number 07 Akitsu is escaping from the vicinity of sector D and is heading towards C, I want all soldiers to intercept the scrapped number and buy time for the disciplinary squad to arrive. You have permission to use severe force but only as a last resort and if the sekirei is resisting."

The electronic voice cut off as Minaka finished his speech. He sat in his usual spot as he murmured to himself with a smile on his face as he watched the footage before the cameras was taken out by Akitsu.

"Now I wonder how you would fare scrapped number 07 Akitsu, would you manage to escape in time or would you be brought back to be terminated. Or would a third option appear and you would find an ashikabi who would accept you." Minaka murmured to himself with a grin on his face as he watched a different screen that showed Shirou hanging onto Karasuba for support as they slowly moved towards Akitsu.

"Come on men you heard the director our mission is to find the scrapped number 07 Akitsu, and buy time until the disciplinary squad arrives in which case they will take over. We also have permission from the director to use severe force if the sekirei resists. Alright lets move out." The squad leader said to his men as they ran through the corridors of the building heading towards sector C to form a perimeter.

"This is squad 01 we are at the north side of sector C, we do not detect the scrapped number anywhere within the vicinity." The squad leader of 01 squad reported in to the other squads.

"This is squad 02 we are at the east side of sector C, we do not detect the scrapped number anywhere within the vicinity however we have found traces of her powers." The captain of 02 reported in as they surveyed the broken wall, it was frozen solid and it had a gaping hole in it. Small trickles of sweat found its way down the soldiers of squad 02 as they started to realise the dangers of their adversary, scrapped or not it was still strong enough to easily break down the reinforced wall with ease.

"This is squad 04 we are at the south side of sector C, we do not detect the scrapped number anywhere within the vicinity." The squad leader of 04 squad reported in to the others squads, now they needed to wait for squad 03 to report in so they could form a proper perimeter as they slowly closed in.

"Sir why are we doing this in such a roundabout manner, why can't we just all rush in to find the scrapped number. Actually why don't we use the security cameras to track her down and have all the soldiers meet her there." One of the soldiers questioned his squad leader as he was confused at the tactics being employed.

"You been with us for a some time now Ben but you are still too green. You haven't met a sekirei before have you? They aren't human they could easily wipe the floor with us soldiers, its best to buy time and leave them to the disciplinary squad. Beside you haven't met the director before have you? This is all a game to him and as soldiers it is our duty to follow orders and not question them so start moving." The squad leader replied to his junior as he gave him a hit on the back with his hand.

"Roger that." Ben replied despite his confusion.

"This is squad 03, 05, 08 we found the scrapped number 07 Akitsu, she is located at C2 laboratory and is currently resisting, we can't hold out much longer our weapons aren't making a dent, we need heavy reinforcements NOW, our men are getting killed out there. I repeat we need heavy reinforcements we can't" The voice cut off as the radio went dead.

"You heard them she is located near C2 laboratory, we need to group up with the other squads and form a defensive line." The squad leader said to his men in a calm voice despite feeling nervous himself, he cannot allow his men to see him falter as that would lead to their deaths he must remain strong and confident.

"This is squad 01 to all remaining squads we need to form a defensive line near C2 to intercept the scrapped number, we cannot allow her to escape." With that command the remaining squads moved towards C2 in a hurry as they stampeded their way across the corridors with their heavy equipment.

"There she is the scrapped number 07 Akitsu stop her men." One of the squads moving towards C2 encountered Akitsu as she was running through the corridors.

"Open fire and then disengage we can't fight her head on, we need to buy time for the other squads to reinforce us." The soldiers obeyed the squad leaders command as they opened fire at Akitsu and slowly retreated. Their duty was to buy time, not to die a needless death in a frontal confrontation.

"... Ice needles." Akitsu blocked the bullets by freezing the water vapour around her creating a wall of ice that appeared as needles. The hail of bullets didn't even penetrate the first layer of icy defences.

"Impossible she isn't even winged she's just a scrapped number so how could it have no." An icicle pierced the solider's heart killing him instantaneously during mid speech as he was reloading his weapon.

"... Icicle Snow Storm" Akitsu lifted her right hand creating an enormous amount of icicles within the air before releasing them with devastating force. The barrage of icicles decimated the area leaving behind nothing but rubble and corpses in its wake.

"..." Akitsu continued onwards ignoring the lone solider who was still clinging onto life with an icicle stuck inside of him, she needed to escape before it was too late.

Ben coughed up blood as he was dying from his wound, nevertheless he refused to die without fulfilling his mission. Desperately crawling over to the fallen radio, he needed to alert the remainder squads about the threat before it was too late.

"This is squad 04 we found her at sectorrr." He collapsed before he could finish his sentence, his last thoughts wasn't about his family, nor about the sekirei and their powers rather it was the satisfaction of completing his mission as a proper solider.

"This is Minaka speaking, I repeat this is Minaka speaking." Once again an electronic voice boomed throughout the building.

"All soldiers are to return to their original posts, the disciplinary squad has arrived and would take care of the scrapped number. I repeat all soldiers are to return to their original posts as the disciplinary squad has arrived."

"Now what would you do Shirou?." Minaka murmured to himself as he watched the video feed with full attention, he had set up the situation for them to meet each other alone by pulling away the soldiers and Natsuo, after all it was only fitting for a game master to entertain his players.

"..." Akitsu quickly ran past MBI's defences, destroying all the cameras and obstacles in her way by freezing them or piercing them with icicles. She had finally nearly made it out of MBI's complex she was a couple of metres away from leaving the complex but a pair barred her way.

They made for a weird sight, a heavily injured person who looked like he was going to drop dead was leaning onto his partner, a beautiful tall grey haired woman wearing a grey haori and wielding a long sword.

"... Black sekirei number 04 Karasuba." Akitsu recognised the woman barring her path to freedom, and with that recognition came a sinking feeling. Karasuba was the strongest sekirei MBI had to offer, being a part of the disciplinary squad from the very start and now she was its leader.

She had unrivalled power and was famous for her love of battle and hatred for humans. But even a sekirei like her was able to be winged, and found her destined one, her ashikabi something that she would never be capable of. Pain gripped her heart the moment that thought passed through her head.

"Hey you there, if you have time, how about a match?" Karasuba said with a smile on her face as she drew her sword, while she carefully laid her ashikabi down on the ground.

"..." Akitsu knew she couldn't win against Karasuba, but she wasn't going to be terminated without a fight. She may be a scrapped number but she was also a sekirei, a single digit at that.

"..." Both sekirei prepared themselves for the incoming clash but a voice interrupted the fight, stopping it before it could begin.

"Wait Karasuba, I want to make sure of something first." Shirou said in a calm authoritative voice as he stopped his sekirei from attacking. He had a feeling that she was the one that called for him in his dream, that she wanted someone to help her, that she wanted someone to pull her from the darkness as she didn't want to be alone. That she wanted to find that warmth that could melt her ice.

Shirou gestured towards Karasuba who begrudgingly helped him up once more, this time without the careful touch from before as she was annoyed at the fact that Shirou stopped her fun. Using Karasuba as a crutch he looked Akitsu directly in the eyes as he asked his question.

"Were you the one that called for me."