Fate Series: Mordred Oneshots

Sunrise is Always Red

I was thinking of something else for a different story and this came up so I used it. No spoilers, just borderline fate content.
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        Red. He didn't hate the color, but he didn't particularly like it either. He preferred the metalic silver that his servant showed him every time they made eye contact. The sun was rising again now, but it was always stained with red. The sky itself did not always contain this color as the sun mockingly peered over the horizon every morning. Instead it was (y/n)'s vision that was always drenched in the color. It was something he was born with.

        (Y/n) was not just a mage of a well off family. His family was the Association's personal hitmen of sorts. From birth, he had been trained to kill, and it was also from birth that he would see red whenever he killed during the night. He didn't see it as a curse though it did become a nuisance at times. Once the sun rose to a certain point, he would see normal colors again.

        To no surprise of him or his family, he was chosen to participate in the holy grail war. He didn't know a thing about servants, but he was somewhat interested in the details of the war. It was rumored that one could grant any wish upon defeating the other six servants and claiming the grail for themselves. As for what his wish would be...

        "Do you like the sunrise, master?" Mora asked. She stood with her back to the brick wall of the alley as (y/n) stared through the cracks of the buildings ahead to catch a glimpse of the sun that always seemed to ridicule him.

        "I don't dislike it," he answered, turning to her with a shy smile. It took no effort for him to end a life, but in the face of a woman like Mordred Alter, he sometimes found it hard to function. "But I guess I don't really like it either," he added. "Do you like the sunrise?"

        "You always say that when I ask you anything. Do you not have your own opinions?" She ignored his question. "Tell me, is there anything that you yourself like?" She had asked him this before, and he always said the same thing.

          "I'm sure there's something. Everyone likes something." His words caused a sigh of annoyance to sound from her.

        "How come you always have that disappointed look on your face when you kill someone? I've known you for a month now, and I can tell that you're bored of everything. Don't you want to have some sort of enjoyment?" (Y/n) didn't fail to notice that she was slowly approaching him as she spoke. He couldn't help but notice, especially since he was constantly aware of his surroundings. "You haven't ever wanted to do something that you enjoyed?"

        "Is it not a normal thing for me to not know?" (y/n) wondered. He didn't have much contact with others his age especially now that he was past school-age, so he was not exactly the prime example of a young person.

        "I may have just arrived in this era, but I know for sure that you aren't acting like you are supposed to," she explained.

        "How can you be so sure that everyone else isn't doing it wrong?" he countered.

        "I'm quite sure. Besides, I saw you show it once. Just once, and recently, you showed a little bit of that smile of yours. If I were a saint, I'd dare say it was a blessing to see even if for a moment. And of all the things for you to react that way to...."

        "Saber. I don't like killing," (y/n) said. He knew what she was talking about. He hadn't meant for her to see either. "Truthfully, it bothers me. What you saw was not enjoyment," he spoke.

        "Heh...you expect me to believe that? You fought one on one with a servant's master, and you expect me to believe that you didn't enjoy the thrill of the battle? That smile didn't leave your face until you realized you were winning and that was just how quickly it took you to realize it. You're bored, admit it!" Mordred edged him on and was far too close now that she had neared his personal space.

        "I didn't-" he silenced himself when Mora pushed him back against the wall. He hadn't realized that he was unconciously trying to give himself space, but she did and quickly put a stop to it.

        "You're a cold blooded killer with a genuine heart. It's almost scary...but that's what I like about you. Don't worry, I was just joking around. At least you finally told the truth. Anything else you wanna say? Like maybe something you like this time?" she said with a smirk. Even if there was something he wanted to say, he couldn't get the words out, not with Mordred Alter being so close by. "Nothing?" she questioned. He slowly shook his head and avoided her gaze. "Oi, look at me." Without wasting a second she had turned his head toward her again and left her hand on his cheek. The blank stare she gave him only made his current predicament worse as he internally melted from lack of functioning. "So they really do turn red. Thought I was imagining things. Did you know they do this? Your eyes?"

        "What?" He only managed to speak because of the topic of conversation. Sure he knew that his vision went red after killing someone during the nightly hours. The effect hadn't worn off yet, so he still did see nearly everything in hues of red at the moment. However, not once had anyone ever told him that his eyes themselves turned red.

        The pupils of your eyes, they're supposed to be black but they are red right now. I've always wondered if it was a trick of some sort. Sorry, that's the only reason I'm starring so long. It's just weird is all." With that she let him go and backed away to give him the space he had been trying to gain before.

        "No one has ever told me that," he admitted as he looked down to the dirty pavement to avoid looking directly at her. His vision was beginning to fade into the colors of daily life.

        "It's not like anyone has the chance to say anything about it. You're usually killing whoever sees you. Just imagine your bounty facing death and just deciding to point out a detail like that," she laughed. That was quite true especially considering the conditions for his eyesight changing. "Oh? You did it again. You just did it just now," Mora pointed at him with a grin.

        "No I didn't," (y/n) denied, looking out into the street knowing well that he did. He couldn't help but at least smile at those words.

        "Don't think I can't see you over there. Look back this way!" she called to him. He couldn't. It's not that he didn't want to but rather, the colors were coming back. Red faded into oranges and yellows, and light hints of purple and teal reverberated across the sky as the sun rose to ridicule him once again. He couldn't tear his eyes off of the scene.

        "I'm not really supposed to give out any information about myself since it's a rule that my family follows as killers, but I do like you. That much I know," he spoke when he sensed that Mora was close enough to hear him speak with such a low voice. His gaze got too close to the sun itself forcing him to snap his eyes shut, nearly hissing in pain. And as usual, the sun brightened as if laughing at his misfortune.

        "You should wear shades," Mordred Alter spoke as she reached up to catch his hands before (y/n) could rub the pain away from his eyes. She did so herself instead and when he dared to open his eyes again, he was met with the metalic silver that he had grown to like quit a lot.

        "We should head home. Wouldn't want any servants to appear," he softly spoke. He nearly panicked when  Mora kept still and stared at him again. "I...I might need to handle another case when I return. My family....relies on me...a lot," he grew quieter with each phrase realizing that Mordred was beginning to smile at him.

        "You're annoyingly charming," she spoke as she let him go and turned to leave. He trailed behind her, stuffing his hands into his pockets and stepping over the dead mage in the alley. "You're going to win this war. I'll make sure of it. Someone like you shouldn't have to die because of something like this. Let's get going. I'm sure you'll want to be back before the sun gets too bright. I'll grab some shades for you tonight when we go hunt down your next assignment."

        "Okay," was all he could manage as he and Mordred Alter went back to his family's hidden estate. Sunrise is always red. The nights are never as dull and blue. And he liked it that way even when his eyes saw his world in a different hue. Because alone he would carry out his assignments, but now he had someone to accompany him. "I really do like you."
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Wasn't sure if I should have gone into more detail on the background of the actual grail war or not. Maybe next time I will unless this was okay as is. I also think Mordred Alter would be less worried about being a girl and far more bold than normal Mordred. Just my thinking though, I could be wrong. Anyways, until next time you spectacular readers!