A/N: As usual sorry if there's any mistake and enjoy.
"I'm so glad you're alive!" exclaimed Astolfo who jumped at the recently conscious boy and hugged him. Astolfo rubbed his head on the boy's chest as he thanks god, ignoring the Ruler next to them.
"Let me see him. Step aside." demanded the Ruler. Her order fell upon deaf ears, she sighs and with her hand she placed it on Astolfo's forehead before pushing him away from the boy and landed on the unconscious body of Gordes who's now without a servant.
The Ruler, Jeanne, placed the palm of her hand onto the boy's chest. She closed her eyes and steady her breath, "Siegfried's heart seems to be functioning fine." said Jeanne. She removed her hand and looked at the boy, "There are no records of such an incident in previous Holy Grail Wars." she informed him.
"Siegfried?" The boy asked, "The Hero from the Song of Nibelungs?" he asked again for clarification. "I have his heart?"
"Don't sweat the details!" Informed Astolfo who's now crawling back to the boy, happy and glad the boy is fine. "You're okay now! That's what matters now right?"
"I cannot deny that." answered Jeanne a troubled look on her face before her eyes widen as she sensed another presence closing on their area.
"Rider." A man called out to Astolfo.
Astolfo stood up and turned towards the man who called out his class name. "Hello, there." He greeted the man, who revealed to be Darnic their leader and the rest of the servants and masters, calmly though his calmness slowly fades as he sees a pale looking body being carried by the hands of their berserker in bride outfit; But before he was able to speak regarding the extra body Darnic cuts him off.
"Rider, care to explain?" Darnic asked. "Who is this Servant here?"
"I'm Ruler, in charge of overseeing this Holy Grail War." answered Jeanne herself as Caster materialized behind her. "Who is the boy you're bringing with you?" it was her turn to ask.
There was a short pause before Darnic answered, "A trespasser."
"I see." was what Jeanne let out, "I assume you'll be calling the law enforcement to deal a fitting punishment correct?"
"Yes." Darnic responded.
"Seeing as he'll be returning to town, I'll take the boy you have with you with me." The Ruler demanded. "That way the matters will be handled quicker."
"I'm afraid not." Darnic denied, "As you can see the boy with us is currently in a grave injury without any proper treatment he'll die." he reasoned.
Jeanne turned her head toward a certain archer who's holding his master's wheelchair. "Archer of Black, Chiron." she said, "A wise sage who taught many that would later became famous Greek Heroes and one of them managed to earn the title of Gods of Medicine, healing, rejuvenation and physicians if I'm not wrong."
"You are correct." answered Chiron, "Asclepius was one of the many pupils I had."
"Then surely you're quite well verse with healing mage craft. One must know them in order to teach them after all." said Jeanne, "That said, Heal the boy immediately." she ordered with a stern voice.
Archer made eye contact with Darnic, waiting for his order. "Archer, do what the ruler wants. Heal the boy and hand him over to her." he ordered and Archer did just that.
The boy was laid nearby ruler's grasp before being healed or at least closed the wound. "He should be alright, he lost a lot of blood but with proper rest and enough food he'll be up in no time." Chiron advised.
"Thank you." thanked the Ruler, while the issue with the trespasser was done the tense atmosphere was not yet lifted as another matter needs to be brought up which would be about the boy.
"Darnic, I could use that homunculus for the core." spoke the caster of black.
"Rider, hand him over." Darnic ordered the pink hair paladin.
"I refuse." Astolfo responded with a serious tone.
Despite the refusal of the rider, Darnic needed the homunculus and thus responded by giving him a warning, "Do not make us waste a Command spell on this!"
Before any move were taken, they were cut off by Ruler. "Enough." she said. "You may not drag him into this Grail War."
"What?" Asked the caster.
"Even the Great Grail War has rules." Ruler reminded them, "He did not willingly join the fray."
"But he is not unrelated as well as the other boy. The Homunculus has the heart of Saber and the unconscious boy has been part of the war ever since he set foot in the town close by along with Saber of Red's master." Darnic interjected.
"Even so, he has not become a servant." Ruler defended as the homunculus stare down on his chest, clenching the part where his... Saber's heart located with a very anxious/concerned look on his face. "As for the boy... is there even any evidence that suggest he's part of the Reds? He might just be a bystander who happens to be around?"
"Perhaps" Darnic answered Jeanne's question, "On Romanian soil, a private citizen can only have nonlethal firearms unless you can obtain a hunter license then you'll be able own hunting rifles. You can shoot lethal firearms at shooting range but you can't own them unless you are part of law enforcement or military. I doubt he's part of the military nor be any part of hunting club." Darnic concluded before continuing, "It is clear as day he's part of enemy. More over regarding the Homunculus, he's merely a resource to be used in the war. No personality, past, nor family, he is made simply to fight."
Jeanne quiets down before responding to Darnic, "That might be the case. However the homunculus acted to preserved his life and without any concrete evidence this trespasser is not part of the war if he is then you can do whatever you want to him the next time you meet until then..." she stood up grabbing her flag pole and twirls it before pointing the sharp ends towards Lancer of Black, "I will not let any farm be afflicted upon them." she threatens them.
Seeing the folded flag, Vlad the Lancer stares at it with wide eye. "The maiden of Orleans.." He mentioned as the flag revealed the Ruler's identity.
"By my true name, I will not hand them over." said Jeanne, tone indicating that she will not take no as an answer. She will bring the two boys with him forcefully if she has to.
A young magus from the team Black approached the servant belonging to his sister and asked the Archer, "Archer, do we have a chance if all our servants attack her at once?"
"No." The Heroic spirit of Chiron answered before stating the reasons why, "We have no knowledge of her noble phantasm. Moreover Ruler always has an overwhelming ability. an absolute power over us Servants. The same command spells that masters has."
"Rider." Vlad called out, breaking the silence and the thick atmosphere. "Do you consider what you did a despicable act of treason?" he asked.
"No!" He answered, no tone of regret indicated in his voice. "I believe that I did the right thing!"
Vlad let out a chuckle of amusement, "Yet you may not go unpunished." he said before calling out Caster who materialized in front of the Rider, lifting his hands forward Caster cast a spell and binds Rider's hand encasing them with solid hard rock.
"Oh well," said the rider nonchalantly before walking towards his team. Darnic was about to interrupt but his servant Vlad demanded the they were done with the whole situation.
Before both party leave Vlad asked the Ruler servant a question. "Ruler, as my sister before God, will you join forces with us?"
"No." She refused, "As long as you fight for the Grail in an honorable fashion, I will not interfere whatever may happen." After receiving his answer, the Lancer left with his steed and slowly the masters as well with Rider as the last one because he had to convey one more message to the Homunculus he had saved,
"Well then, This is the extent in which I'll be able to help you. Goodbye! You'll be fine! You can live on your own two feet now. Go to town, see new faces, learn to love and hate people. Live a Happy life. Got it?"
There was a pained look on the Homunculus's face and a tinge of uncertainty, "I.." he trailed off.
"Live!" The rider shouted causing the boy to flinch. "You're allowed to now. Mhm and if you still have doubt you can start by befriending that kid, it's not much but it's a start." The rider finishes before leaving with his master whom had jealousy written on her face.
As the masters and servants of black slowly disappeared into the woods, Jeanne lowered her body next to the boy. She turned towards the Homunculus, "A help please?" She asked. A few moments passed, Y/n was put on the back and shoulder of the Servant, simply put a piggyback ride. "shall we go?"
"But where to?" the Homunculus asked.
"A place where you can be free." She answered, "By taking you there, I'll fulfill my vow. You can trust me, lets go." She starts to walk away from the the direction the Masters of black going and thanked the God that no fighting had occurred and how light Y/n weighted.
In a Church somewhere in Romania, the halls were lit by the light from the moon. A priest sat on a bench while Karna stood behind it leaning on a Pillar. "The enemy seems to have taken Spartacus." said the Priest.
"Nothing we could've done. He just ran in by himself." Responded not the Lancer of red but the recently materialized Rider of red and of course the Archer was there too.
"We had no way to save him." said the Archer.
"If you say so, I will not doubt you." Responded the priest before he questioned the servants regarding a certain servant, "By the way, Saber of Black has fallen. Any idea what might've happened?"
"Is that so?" Rider asked, it was just earlier he fought the saber and then he just dies moments later? that's a bit shocking to say the least.
"The circumstances are baffling. It seems he ended his own life." speculated the priest.
"He must've opposed his Master. It is not uncommon." replied the Archer.
The priest asked the Lancer who had been listening silently. Lancer voiced out his thoughts, "He did not strike me as the suicidal type. Something must've happened to him, who knows." After ending his sentence Karna immediately de-materialized himself, leaving the room.
"Also, before I leave, it seems that the enigma you were wondering about was not a servant, not even from the Black team. They tried to attack them while we we're escaping." Archer inserted her own info into the conversation.
"I see, thank you." Thanked the priest and with that Archer and rider left leaving the priest with his thoughts, 'Who are you and why did you appear?..' the question that constantly plague his minds ever since that incident happened with his "vision".
In an underground prison cell a loud voice could be heard, "Ow, ow ow!" the paladin lets out, his hand chained above him and tears about to flow from his eyes. "Do we really have to do this?" asked the Paladin who's in pain.
"We lost our strongest Servant, Saber!" said his Master as she pushed some kind of stake into his servant's hand. "All because of you!" she shouted furiously.
"It's not my fault." stated the servant, "Saber chose to sacrifice himself for what he believed in. Sadly, I can't claim credit for anything that happened." The master not saying anything but puffing out her anger, plunges the staked deeper into the Paladin's palm making the Rider servant squealed in pain before leaving out the cell and slamming the prison door. "Owie.. she's so mean!"
A faint blue glow appeared in the cell, it was the Archer of Black Chiron that materialized in front of the Rider servant. "Should I've done something?" he asked tone just a little bit guilty.
"It's not your fault." responded Astolfo, "I do something stupid; they chew me out and give me a slap on the wrist." said the rider, accepting the punishment for what he did.
The archer could only smile, it could be because of Rider's words or action or both, at the Paladin's response, "They said you'd lost your mind, but it hardly seems misplaced to me." said the Archer before continuing, "Count Vlad is a wise leader. You should be released soon."
"Now if only that boy could live a happy life..." he trailed off feeling slightly unsure of the boy's fate.
"If Saber's heart also strengthened his body then he should be fine." The Archer attempted to ease the Rider. "He will be able to live freely as a human being."
"Jeanne D'Arc swore to protect him too." he told the Archer and himself. "Though I'm slightly annoyed she gets to steal the show right after showing up." Archer could only nod at the words before he was asked by the rider, "The other boy that Jeanne D'Arc saved, why do you think she saved him too? he was clearly part of the war"
"Not sure, maybe he meant something to her or maybe just like you she wishes to save him simply because it's her job as heroic spirit." Answered the Archer before leaving the cell and Astolfo.
Underneath the partly cloudy night, The homunculus and Jeanne D'Arc who's carrying Y/n at her back was walking up a hill before The homunculus stopped walking to say something random such as " I can breathe more easily now." informed the brunette.
"You ought to remember that feeling." replied The Ruler.
"Why's that?" asked the homunclus.
"To live is to endure hardships and occasionally suffer." Answered the Blonde maiden. "But if you remember this sensation it should give you the courage to keep going." As the words left the maiden's mouth, the homunculus looked down and denied of having any courage. "Rider told me how you refused to die and chose life instead. You didn't accept death but instead chose the path which required courage. I'm sure that's the reason why he protected you." encouraged the maiden.
The homunculus looked at the item he was given to by one of his savior, Rider. It was a sword covered by a white sheath with golden decoration. Seeing the sword, Jeanne asked whether or not it belonged to the Rider. The homunculus told the Ruler that it was indeed Astolfo who gave it to him and asked her whether he should return it to which she replied by saying, "If he gave it to you then it's yours to keep."
Satisfied with the answer, The homunculus decided to kept the sword with him and continued their walks but Jeanne strikes up another topic to discuss, promptly halting the homunculus from walking. "I just realized we have yet to introduce ourselves."
"I don't have to introduce. I don't even have a name." said the brunette as he now stood behind Jeanne." she lectured.
"Then let's start with that." Responded the Ruler servant, "A name's an important piece of one's identity."
It took only a few seconds for the homunculus to decide on his name and the name he chose was "Sieg." and when the maiden wondered why the Homunculus whos's now goes by the name Sieg told her that he choses the name because it was to honor the servant who saved his life, Siegfried the saber of black.
Now that Sieg has introduced himself, it was the maiden's turn and Sieg asked her whether he should call her 'Holy maiden' or something else. Jeanne told him the she was just a Servant Ruler and insisted that she was not worthy of having such title and it was decided that he would to call her Ruler.
As the introduction ended, sound of stomach growling could be heard from Sieg. They found a place to rest, Sieg sat on a large rock while Jeanne sat on the ground and leaned on the very rock which Sieg sat on. Y/n was laid on the ground with his head being placed on the ruler's lap.
Sieg held a paper bag which Jeanne gave him, he rummages through the bag and brought out a ball of bread. "What is this?" he asked.
"An army marches on its stomach" answered Jeanne. As his question was more or less answered, he finally understood the discomfort rumbling within his stomach he brought the ball into his mouth and ate it. A slight shift in movement made by Y/n caused the two to stare at the boy who seemed to have a good dream judging by the peaceful expression on the sleeping boy's face.
Seeing Y/n face was enough to brought a smile upon the ruler's face. 'Must be a nice dream he's having' she thought to herself, she brought her hand towards Y/n's hair with the intend to brush his hair to the side but as she touches it a vision appeared, the sight alone made her blood run cold. 'No..'
"Ruler?.." Sieg called out.
Ruler snapped out of her trance as Sieg called out to her, she acted as nothing had happened earlier. "He's sound asleep, even when we talked he kept dozing. Must've been a good dream." She said as she hid her worry with her signature smile.
'Dream..' Sieg thought to himself as he stared at the back of his hand and wondered about his dream about being in a cave with a large dragon who told him to not forget before swallowing him up. His eyes trailed at the sight of Jeanne and the other male within their company. 'I wonder what he dreams about.'
It was like any other Sunday morning, the sun is shining and the birds are singing. The sun shines through the window of an apartment and illuminates the rundown room of the apartment. A woman with long dark silky hair could be seen sitting on a sofa and close to her was a very young boy with a short (Insert colour) hair, the boy laid his head on her lap in silence enjoying the tunes hummed by his mother as she play with his hair. The sight of the mother and the child could be described as serene.
As time passes, the sun sets and night has arrived. Y/n's mother cooked him spaghetti to eat for dinner. His mother hardly joined dinner, while he ate she went to her room to change for her work. Every night she told him to go to his room and sleep early before she went out dressed lightly and showed so many skins, he never pried as to why she dressed like that to begin with nor what her job was though he was curious what it was especially during the night where he could not sleep and heard his mother and some other strangers shouting but rather than in pain or sadness it was completely the opposite, it was pleasure but he did not know that all he knew was that her mother enjoyed it and craved more judging by her tone throughout the night.
And when morning came, he would wander into the living room to see his mother tattered with some marks on her skin and sometimes without clothing as well as some money on the table and again he did not ask her a thing though he did wonder if whether the other person was his father but like many other question in his mind he never ask her because to him it was normal, to him this was the same thing that occurred before and would most likely occur again... not that he knew what was happening anyway.
Y/n searched the kitchen for food but found it hard due to his small height and had to drag chairs just to reach the kitchen counter top, open cabinets and the fridge. The rustling sound had awaken his mother who groaned as she sat up and covered herself with anything she could get her hands on. "Y/n sweetheart, it that you?" she asked.
The small figure walked out to reveal himself and rubbed his tummy, "Hungry." he simply said.
"let mommy change first okay?" She said with a smile, His mother tried to stand but her legs began to wobble and made her almost stumble. 'Damn' she cursed inside her mind. "Y/n could you help me please?" she asked and Y/n quickly goes to his mother his steps patters along the way, he grabbed his mother's hand and places it on his head and puffed his chest as his face shows a hint of pride. His mother tilted her head in confusion until Y/n tugged the his mother's hand which was still placed on his hand it only a matter of time until she realized what he was doing, he was using himself.... as a human crutch!. A short trip to his mother's room and Y/n waited outside her room of course but after a few moment his mother exits wearing a new set of outfits, a sweater and short jeans. "Let's go get you some food." she said as she slowly walked with the help of her son.
Together they ate breakfast in silence and after that sat in the living room, staring into nothing and just enjoy their mundane life until Y/n walks away to his room and came back with an old magazine he found. "Read." He said in a monotone voice.
"Eh? this one? are you sure? it's not a fun book you know?" The mother asked him.
"No book." He replied.
Mother lets out a small chuckle, whether it was because she find it funny or merely to laugh by the fact she didn't or couldn't afford a book for her child. "Okay then come here." She said as she pat on her lap signaling the boy to sit there and even though his expression didn't show he emitted a vibe of excitement and climbed onto his mother's lap and leaned on her body, her chest acting as a pillow. It was quite comfortable. During the hours, Y/n asked many questions ranging from how to pronounce the words he found and its meaning and his mother would answer them as much as she can until Y/n was finally tired and fell asleep. Her mother noticed the silence and rubbed his head with a smile on her face. "Almost there..." she whispered. "Just a few more then you'll be able to attend school.. make friends and grow to be a fine man.." she continued before tears starting formed, "I'm sorry.." more tears flow as she hold him tight. "I'm sorry we have to live this way."
The tears dropped on top of Y/n's head, the droplets slowly pushing him awake. His eyes blinked slowly and opened to see a different ceiling, 'A dream?' he thought to himself before noticing that he's now facing an unfamiliar ceiling, he sat up and found himself on a bed and an alien surrounding. "Where am I?" Y/n asked himself before the sound of door opening attracts his attention. He searched his body for his weapons but could not find anything, "Right." he said as he finally remembered what happened to his weapon.
"Oh you're awake." A boy who seemed to be just a tad younger entered the room holding a sword. A short silence between the two males and an awkward atmosphere fills the room until the boy decided to speak, "I should introduce myself, I am Sieg." He move his free hand forward for a handshake.
After a few seconds of contemplation, Y/N took the boy's hand and introduces himself. "Canaan." Well introduce himself using a fake name of course, 'Sorry Canaan.' he apologized for using one of his acquaintance's name because one can never be too cautious. "Where am I?" the now called Canaan asked.
Sieg looked around the room before answering the question. "This house belong to a man named Serge. He has agreed to take us in.. at least for a while."
"I see." was what Y/n let out before he took a peek at a nearby window to see the still dark sky. "What time is it?" He asked another question.
"It's.... its still dark out..." Answered the brunette, a little uncertain of the time.
Y/N did not respond to the answer and his eyes trailed towards the sword. "Give me your sword." He demanded.
"....what?" Asked Sieg.
"You heard me. Give me your sword." Y/n repeated as he reached towards the sword in white sheath. Sieg backed away from "Canaan" and held the sword closer to him. "I need that sword." he finally grabbed it and a tug of war occur.
"No!" Sieg shouted as he pulled his sword with all his might and same goes for Y/n.
"You are not going to use it since you're not going anywhere!" Y/n tried to reason. The tug of war continued for quite a while, "Just give me it dammit! why won't you let me have it!" Y/n pulled Sieg's sword more forcefully.
"Because.." he trailed off before releasing a grunt, "Because someone special give it to me!" he shouted in return. Y/n did not respond and kept pulling and eventually both parties tired themselves out especially Y/N since he just wake up after all and thus is weaker compared to his usual self.
"Fine." Y/n admitted before letting go and exit the room and leaving the brunette alone, heading downstairs. Once he arrived he met eye contact with a middle aged man, 'Must be Serge.' he thought to himself before approaching him.
"Oh you're already awake." Serge said with a relieved tone. "Why don't you take a seat, I'll make you some coffee." He gestured to a nearby empty seat. Y/n tried to stop him from doing since he wanted to leave the place and head towards the town but the man was relentless and still wanted to show some hospitality. He came back with two new cups and set them on the table, "So why the hurry?" Serge asked as Sieg finally appeared an took a seat.
'Think Y/n Think' he thought to himself and search for a reason. "I have a family back at Trifas, I've been gone for the whole night. They must've been worried about me, I need them to know I'm okay." He answered while complimenting himself on coming up with such a lie not noticing Sieg looking down as if he has some conflict within himself.
Serge hummed as he rubbed his chin in thought, "The young lady asked me to take you in but she never did say I couldn't let you go." He said before standing up and reaching for his key to his vehicle, "Let's go. Don't wanna keep your family waiting now do we?" he said as he gestured at the door with his head. "Keep the house safe yeah?" He asked the other male in the house could only respond with a nod.
Serge exited first and head towards his old brown pick up truck. "Oi Sieg." Y/n called out the homunculus. "I apologize for my behavior earlier, shouldn't have done that especially towards the person who saved me." Y/n said as he looks away.
"I was not the one who saved you." said Sieg before he told Y/n that the one who saved them was a young woman with long blonde braided hair and other details about her including her servant class. It was Sieg's turn to ask Y/N and he asked him whether they would meet again, Y/n responded by telling him that if Fate wills it then they will before leaving the house and into the car's seat heading towards town.
Meanwhile somewhere else, the lady and her assassin was being comfortable in their nest or a house they probably stole after murdering the tenants or owner. Reika Rikudou, the master or should we say the 'Mother' of Assassin of Black sat on a sofa looking at her murder daughther who stares out the window across from her, "Everyone suddenly disappeared, such a drag." said Reika to her 'daughther'
"A real drag." responded the little assassin, "I'm hungry." if it were like any other night where people would go out, she'd be hunting them down and gobble their hearts to recover her mana her mother was not a proper mage and thus unable to supply her with enough mana for her to stay and fight for the grail and grants her wish.
"The next town is Trifas." Reika told her servant, "Do you want to try there?" she asked her.
"But there are servants." The little murder machine informed her 'mother' of what or who accommodates in Trifas.
"We can trust neither the Reds or Black faction." Reika adds another problems.
"Such a Drag." repeated the cute Crit Monster machine.
"A real drag." Reika repeated, "But still, we should go take a look." she advised her murder daughter just like the saying of you won't know till you try it.
"We can just hide our presence but what about you mother?" The little servant ask her master as she's concerned for her safety. Reika could handle a normal Human but Magus and Servants are way out of her league, fighting a magus is already a death sentence with her being a normal human.
"I'll be fine. Don't worry about me." replied Reika as her daughter now snuggle her up close. 'That's right, If I'm not wrong about him then I don't have to worry about those magus. Now if only I knew how to meet him again' she thought to herself with a smirk, plan in mind involving a certain youngster.
"I see, but don't push yourself." Assassin responded as she leans in on her mother who's now rubbed her head.
"You should be the one to not push yourself." said Reika to her servant, a child that has to fight just to survive so she could have her wish granted. Assassin agreed before being told to rest for the night which she happily obliged, thus ending the day.
[END]
A little peek at Y/n's childhood, also I imagined smol Y/n had that Renge's (from Non Non Biyori) expression/face.