Ezikiel Astrea POV
The alarm in my room rings out I calmly stand up with both Divine Protections of Clean Body and Clothes Materialization activating.
The year is now 2004 and my life has been a long one.
I've saved many people, killed many people to ensure that the world was not destroyed, and this process has repeated itself since then.
A simple black jacket, red shirt, and dark blue jeans replaces my sleeping attire as I walked out of my sleeping quarter heading down the hall.
I pause mid step upon catching sight of myself in the mirror.
The face that stares back is one I've worn for centuries now unchanged, untouched by time or death. Tousled red hair, perpetually unkempt, frames a youthful face that bears no wrinkles, nor signs of aging.
My blue eyes once vibrant and full of fire are dulled by the weight of everything I've endured.
They look more like glass now clear but empty inside.
I try to force a smile on my face, but it simply feels to fake like it always did so I gave up.
Moving towards the kitchen I quickly prepared a simple breakfast of scrambled eggs mixed in with some veggies, red pepper flakes, and salt.
I ate my food at a steady pace after that I left my apartment towards the local grocery store where I worked.
The morning air was crisp the sunlight soft as it filtered through the tall buildings of Fuyuki City. Everything looked so normal so peaceful. Birds chirped from telephone wires, students rushed past on their way to school, and an elderly couple walked hand in hand across the street.
I walked down my usual route giving a couple of nods to some of the people that I normally passed by.
The world has changed a great deal since the old days but somethings will always remain the same war, corruption, and greed.
The bell above the door of the shop jingled softly as I entered.
"Morning, Ezikiel-san!" called out the owner's daughter Yui she was seventeen, bright-eyed, always smiling.
"Good morning Yui-san," I replied with a faint nod that was all I ever managed and yet she greeted me every day as if I was someone important.
I slipped behind the register, exchanging places with the night shift clerk and began my usual routine stocking shelves, ringing up customers, and of course pretending.
Pretending to be normal, pretending to be human but no amount of time could erase what I truly was.
Sword Saint.
Hero.
Monster.
Puppet of Gaia.
TYPE Earth
Failure.
I found myself staring out the window again eyes unfocused, as the people walked by.
They're all alive, they're safe so that should be enough... right?
"Ezikiel-san, could you help me in the back? One of the boxes is too heavy," Yui called from behind the store.
"Of course," I said banishing the unwanted thoughts away.
I walked into the backroom helped lift the box as she directed, and nodded once more when she thanked me.
Her smile was warm yet I didn't know how to return it I hate myself for that.
The door to the store slides open and a familiar girl with red hair, amber eyes, and white tannish skin greeted me.
Her attire consisted of a simple zipped up black/white track suit jacket and a pair of blue jeans "ah Shiro back again so soon?" I asked.
She gives me a cheeky smile stepping in with a small bag tucked under her arm "yeah, well Fuji-nee ate all the snacks again so I figured I'd better stock up again."
Emiya Shiro was a rather curious girl to me.
Every time we encountered one another I would always feel a strange pull on my being one that I hadn't felt since so long ago.
Like a distant dream from a far-off memory.
Maybe it perhaps was.
Most of my earlier memories if I am being honest are missing from my mind Gaia tells me that I've simply suppressed them with one of my many protections.
I didn't bother to check if she was right though since I must have had a good reason to do so.
I let out a breath that could almost be called a chuckle "she seems to have a tendency to do that a lot from what you've been telling me."
"Tell me about it," Shiro grinned as she moved past the shelves "honestly, I don't even know how someone like her still has a job as a teacher I'm pretty sure she's just a raccoon in disguise."
I let out a chuckle at her words "raccoon in disguise, huh? That's an interesting way to put it."
Shiro's grin widened, clearly pleased with herself for the comparison "well, it's true! She's always snatching up food wherever she can, leaving me with nothing it's honestly like living with a walking garbage disposal."
We conversed for about two minutes until she went about her shopping once she finished I scanned her items "so I am assuming you'll be spending the rest of your evening helping Kurosaki-san over at her bar?" I asked.
A strange look appeared on her face "of course she could really use the help in her old age."
I nodded, scanning the last of her items "old age? If I were you I'd recommend not saying that within her vicinity otherwise she just may take it in the wrong way."
Her face went red as she shook her head rapidly "it's not like I mean anything bad by it...it's just that when I see someone in front of me that needs help, I can't just stand there and do nothing while they struggle besides is there really something wrong with helping others," Shiro tried to explain.
Is there really something wrong with helping others? I thought to myself as certain memories came to me.
Memories of the countless lives I had failed to save, of the lives that came to an indirect end because of certain magi trying to hunt me down, the lives I had personally taken for being direct threats to Gaia,
All for the sake of protecting the world and everyone else in it.
"No," I finally answered her breaking the silence that had stretched between us "...I suppose there's nothing wrong with it, not at all," I am lying to both her and myself.
I did my best to not let the bitterness make itself known as Shiro gave a smile "see Ezikiel you get it whenever I try explaining it to my guardian she just keeps making fun of it," she grumbled "anyways I'll be back again with some packed dinner for you since you're probably going to be pulling an all nighter again," then like that she was gone without even letting me decline.
I let out a sigh "that girl is just too idealistic," I muttered returning back to my work.
-end of chapter one-
Your thoughts on this chapter? I know it's not much and is a bit short but I think I'll take my time with this one before diving into the holy grail war.
I just keeping jumping into that right away.