Chapter 360 - My CO Stash #60 - Not So Ancient History by MachineExDeo (PercyJacksonXFate/staynight) (1/2)

-Old and cynic Shirou is easily best Shirou/ It's honestly pretty cool how Nasuverse is so compatible with Riordanverse!

Synopsis: After a life mixed with chaos and contentment, Shirou woke up in a new world, very similar and yet so different from his own. Now he must contend with powers far beyond his level, protecting his friends and countless innocent people from being caught up in a war beyond their wildest imaginations... Alright, maybe it wasn't so different after all...(Cover image doesn't belong to me)

Rated: T

Words: 26K

Posted on: m.fanfiction.net/s/12902064/1/Not-So-Ancient-History (MachinaExDeo)

PS: If you're not able to copy/paste the link, you have everything in here to find it, by simply searching the author and the story title. It sucks that you can't copy links on mobile (´ー｀)

-I'll be putting the chapter ones of all the fanfics/originals mentioned, to give you guys a sample if you wan't more please do go to the website and support the author! (And maybe even convince them to start uploading chapters in here as well!)

Chapter 1-3 (exceptional)

In whatever life he lived, Shirou Emiya always seemed to attract the strangest people. Then again, perhaps his unorthodox mindset was to blame. Rin always did say he was distorted.

He didn't think it was just superstition. His foster father was a notorious assassin, his guardian was a hyperactive yakuza princess, and as a child his roster of friends included a monk, a prodigy mage, a rapist and… Sakura. Granted, some of those details were unknown to him at the time, but still.

Despite knowing this tendency, he couldn't help but think his two new friends were a just a bit stranger that what was warranted.

Perseus, Percy Jackson smelled like saltwater. All the time. He could be covered in chili or wet paint, both instances that he had observed, and he would still smell like a fresh ocean breeze. Grover Underwood, his crippled companion, was harder to place. His scent mingled together the forests and what seemed like… goat hair.

The strangers didn't end there. Two of their teachers in particular made him weary. Mr. Brunner was middle-aged man in a wheelchair, who smelled like coffee and horses. But behind his gentle countenance, Shirou recognized the hardened instincts of a warrior. He had no doubt that Mr. Brunner was much older than he seemed. Ms. Dodds was just smelled… bad. Sulphur and aged leather was a surprisingly bad c_o_c_ktail. But more alarmingly was the killing intent that she emitted sporadically towards, well everyone. But mostly Percy.

Now, he may be dense, but stupidity was something that Rin had beaten out of him a long time ago.

It only took one accidental meeting with a dryad for him to learn of the supernatural of this world. What he found did not impress him. Gods. Demigods. Monsters. The Underworld. Olympus. The Mist. Camp Half-Blood. Camp Jupiter. It took him four years to gather that much information as discreetly as he could. It could have taken a fraction of that time, but his adopted family was rather… overbearing. His excursions were difficult enough to manage.

”Mr. Emiya. May I trouble you for your opinion?”

Shirou finally acknowledged the elbow jabbing into his side and turned his attention to the painting that Mr. Brunner was gesturing to. ”That is the Titan, Kronos, eating the gods.”

”Correct. Kronos, the Titan King was afraid of being overthrown. As his children were being born, he swallowed them whole, except for the youngest. Mr. Jackson, what happened to Zeus?”

Percy adopted the look of a goldfish before the answer came to him. ”Ahh… Kronos' wife, she fed him a rock instead of Zeus, then she hid him away.”

That part of the myth always confused Shirou. He knew that divinity did not always equate to intelligence, but he also knew they were all pretty ruthless. One would think that killing a baby would not be as reviled as eating it alive. But he supposed legends were legends for a reason.

Of course, he could admit that he was a bit biased. He could vividly remember a past conversation with Rider, one of the rare moments where she was comfortable enough to totally open up to him. She talked of the selfish, cruel and meddlesome gods. It would seem the gods here were no different, even after thousands of years.

”Ugh, all due respect to Mr. Brunner, when are we going to use this in the real world? Am I gonna apply for a job and say, 'No, I don't have any special skills, but I can tell you about the legend of Kronos and the gods!'” Percy griped as he ate his sandwich.

Grover and Shirou exchanged an amused glance. This was a common complaint from Percy, but he didn't fool either of them. They knew that Mr. Brunner's class was his favorite since it was the only one where he could enjoy class and even excel. What Shirou didn't say was that there would probably be a need for that knowledge very, very soon.

Their friendly banter was unfortunately interrupted by the charming Nancy Bobofit. The redhead had been a constant thorn in their sides. Shirou preferred to see the good points in people, but this girl was just unbearable. She constantly made fun of Percy's dyslexia, Grover's disability, and Shirou's Japanese heritage. Her most recent annoyance was dumping her culinary disaster of a lunch into Grover's lap.

Shirou immediately grabbed a hold of Percy's arm, to stop him from doing something incredibly stupid that would land him in detention. Again. But it seems his efforts were for naught.

In plain view of everyone, a tentacle of water wrapped around Bobofit's waist, and yanked her into the fountain.

Before any of them could protest, their Math teacher had swooped in and had taken Percy away for a talk. Shirou did not miss the panicked look on Grover's face and the anxiety over Mr. Brunner's. ”Grover, think fast!” Grover yelped and nearly dropped the apple that he had thrown his way. ”Hold on to that for me please! I need to use the restroom.”

Percy ducked down on to the marble floor, Mrs. Dodds missing him by mere inches.

”Give it to me!” The creature hissed, her veiny skin pulsing in rage. She tucked her wings in, diving forwards, but an abnormally long sword slammed into one of her wings, pinning her to the walls. Growling, she attempted to grasp the short red hilt, but found her body sluggish and numb, her energy sapped by the blade in her flesh.

”I've never your seen your kind before, but I'm glad that these work on you.” The Black Keys have been his go-to weapons when fighting these monsters. While their original purpose was to fight against demons and vampires, they were also highly spiritually effective against those who are deemed 'evil'. It would seem that most, if not all monsters qualify. For example, right now the Internment Rite has fully petrified Mrs. Dodds.

”Release me, morta- ”

Shirou didn't let her say another word. With a snap of his fingers, Mrs. Dodds burst into flame, until she was reduced to scattered golden dust. ”It seems a normal school life is beyond my capabilities.” He muttered.

He dismissed the Key and faced his shocked and awe-stricken friend. ”You have questions.”

”As do I.”

They both turned to see Mr. Brunner and Grover at the hall's entrance, the former looking grave, and the latter incredulous. Shirou noted the bronze pen in Mr. Brunner's clenched fist. Anaklusmos. Xiphos. 0.914 meters in length. 2.27 kilograms in weight. Celestial Bronze. Wielded by Zoe Nightshade. Wielded by Heracles. Wielded by-

He tore his gaze away from the magic item as Mr. Brunner resumed talking. ”This is not what I had hoped to happen when I said this trip would be educational.”

”I don't know, Mr. Brunner. I feel like Percy will learn quite a lot today.”

”No. It is far too earl- ”

”Ok, all of you. What in the hell just happened? And will you please not talk like I'm not here? Somebody start explaining or I'm gonna start having a psychotic break!” Shirou could hear the growing distress in his voice. It was a stark reminder to everyone in the room that Percy was not a warrior. He was an twelve-year-old boy. This needed to be handled gently but firmly.

”You heard him. I don't know about either of you, but I'm not going to lie to a friend. Especially not about something this important. This life-changing.” He turned to Percy, whose confusion was only growing. ”Alright Percy. As of now, you have entered a new world. This world is dangerous, confusing, which is why Mr. Brunner wants to tell you nothing about it.”

”That makes zero sense. If it's dangerous, shouldn't I know everything I can?”

”Knowledge is power Perseus.” Mr. Brunner cut in. ”And the more you possess, the more of these monsters that you will attract. If you truly wish to know, then I promise I can tell you everything and answer any question you might have, but only after summer vacation begins. That's when we can get you to safety.”

Percy looked at both of them. ”Those monsters. You can kill them?”

”I've been killing them for years.” Shirou assured him, getting narrowed eyes from Mr. Brunner. ”And Percy? 'Safety' is a relative term. No matter where you're told, if you are what I think you are, these monsters will be the least of your problems. But I will protect you.”

One might call that hubristic, but Shirou meant every word of it. Even if he wasn't a friend, Percy was innocent. He wasn't a fighter, just a confused youngster who was in way over his head and needed reassurance that he was going to be alright. No, that wasn't giving him enough credit. He was more than that, Percy was as bullheaded and as strong-willed as they came. He didn't trust people easily, and he needed to know that he could do something on his own.

He needed a sword.

He looked once again to the scattering golden dust on the floor, the spiderwebbed marble walls, and looked back at him in resolution. ”Tell me everything.”

Chapter 2

Having to relive one's childhood years wasn't as advantageous people would think. An old soul in a new body would seemingly have many head starts, but also many difficulties. Learning to walk and speak and eat and most importantly, fight in a body with a mind that registered the actions as second nature was difficult, like learning to ride a bike, but the direction of the handle bars was reversed. You had a theoretical understanding of how it would work, but implementing it is another story.

But Shirou was nothing if not diligent, and he was considered a prodigy by the age of one, fluent in English and well-versed in mathematics and sciences. Despite this, he chose not to advance his academics. He already had a college degree anyway, as well as several qualifications which probably wouldn't do much good here. But he couldn't leave his new family behind.

The foster home in which he lived housed nearly a dozen children, all of them left on church doorsteps or hospital emergency rooms, and taken in as wards of the State, according to the Safe Haven laws. The matriarch of the house, an old widow named Linda Strauss, wasn't the most caring guardian, but she kept them fed and clothed, and even aided the other children with their homework, comforted them in times of distress. She was quite tight-lipped about herself, but she provided a home for many children, even before Shirou was born, so he considered her someone to respect and not just someone doing it for the government checks.

In the absence of a warm parental figure, Shirou stepped in as much as he could. After regaining his higher motor skills, he tried to make the house a home. Home-cooked meals that kept within their grocery budget, nutritious packed lunches, picnics in Central Park, tutoring them when needed, repairing the house. He didn't know much about 'traditional' families, but he did whatever he could do to make these children feel wanted.

…Considering the streaks of white in his hair, he shouldn't be surprised they started calling him Gramps.

Rider once called him the world's deadliest mother-hen. He supposed he should be flattered.

When it was time to enter middle-school, at the behest of Mrs. Strauss (as well as the nagging of several younglings), Shirou accepted a place in Yancy Academy as part of a government-funded youth-outreach program. Apparently, the social workers that regularly visited their home had pegged onto Shirou's supposed genius, as well as his reluctance to advance. Some of them had pushed him, claiming that he was wasting his potential, some had found it endearing. Mrs. Strauss' brand of encouragement really stuck to him

”Go get a college degree and then you can pay me back for all the food you've used up. If I'm lucky you can take a few of these brats off my hands.” Were her exact words.

If there was one thing that Shirou had learned in his life, was that information was invaluable.

So much of the pain and suffering of the Holy Grail War could have been avoided if he had more information. If he knew about Sakura's circ_u_mstances, he could have done more to get her away from the influences Shinji and Zouken, and plan against them, or done something more to stop her from feeding on people of Fuyuki. If he knew about Avalon, the holy scabbard that Kiritsugu had placed within him, he could have used it to improve her health. If he knew more about his own magecraft, he could have awakened Unlimited Blade Works much earlier. Even a small fraction of it would have been useful in the War.

Even later in life, this adage proved true. That wasn't to say that a lack of information would ever deter him, but he had learned how useful it could be, and to take whatever opportunities he could to increase or improve what he had. What brand of thaumaturgy does the target possess? What about Mystic Codes? Known allies? Frequented locations? And so on.

That was why he spent four years exploring his environment as much as he was able. Why he took online courses to learn Ancient Greek and Latin. Why he had managed to build an information network spanning the entire North American continent. Though granted, that network was far too whimsical to really be under his control.

When he was eleven, Yancy organized a weekend camping trip. He took this opportunity to slip away, fooling the household into thinking he was unreachable at the camp-grounds, and fooling Yancy into thinking he was ill, long enough to take a taxi and track down Camp Half-Blood. It honestly was not that difficult. The overpowering scent of divine blood could be smelled for miles. He wondered why the place was not constantly attacked, and upon arrival he found the answer.

He didn't dare enter the place, not because he couldn't overcome the wards, Rule Breaker or Gae Dearg would make good work of every single protection here. But not only did he not want to strip these people of their protections, but he was sure that would draw too much attention.

Instead, he contented himself with reinforcing his eyes and ears and nose at night and walking around the valley to peer inside. Curiously, it seemed that without Reinforcement, the Mist could still affect him. Perhaps since the Mist obscured the concept of sight, Reinforcing the eyes' ability to 'see' overcame that.

He could have gone in the day, but the dryads sleep at night, so no-one would be there to watch him. Even without anyone to eavesdrop on, nor anyone to observe, he learned a lot. He learned of the 12 cabins, each one coated in the smell of a different divinity. Wine, ozone, a sea breeze, forestry, he could guess that they represented the Olympians. The strange barrier centered on a stranger pine tree. The god within the large camp-house who reeked of wine and the goddess who exuded warmth.

He also knew that what Mr. Brunner said was true, the more a demigod knew, the stronger their 'scent' became. Once the demigod confirms his/her own heritage, their identity is cemented in the world. And honestly, if Percy was any younger, or if he attended a different school, he would be tempted. But he believed in protecting the youth, not coddling them. If Percy knew what was out there, he could decide for himself whether or not he wanted to learn to protect himself, and chances are he would. Demigods were a resilient breed.

With every question asked, he gave the most comprehensive answer he had available, with no omissions. He idly remembered his incessant questions to Kiritsugu about magecraft. About his past. His foster father was a man who was haunted by his past and wanted nothing more than to protect his son from the horrors he himself had faced. Shirou loved the man dearly, but he couldn't help but wonder how differently he would have seen him if he knew of his past as the Magus Killer from the beginning. Maybe it wouldn't have changed much, but he would never know.

”So, any more questions?”

The four of them were sitting at the fountain again. Shirou had bought Percy a blueberry slushie, in the hopes that it would help to calm him down and make the explanations easier. It proved to be an unwise idea, as the cup was empty, and Percy looked like he was about to throw it all up.

”Dude… so… you're not a demigod?” Percy breathed out. ”Just… you're like a wizard?”

And if that didn't trigger some déjà vu. ”Well, yes. I call myself a magus, but it's essentially the same thing.”

”Right… oh, man, what am I gonna tell Mom?”

”Your mother most likely knows.” Mr. Brunner said. ”If your father was a powerful god, it's likely that he told her so that she would prepared for the incoming threats.”

”Threats?!” Percy said alarmed. ”Is my mom in danger? I thought you said normal people were off the monster radar?!”

”They are.” Shirou assured him. ”The threats are against you. Percy, I could sense the power coming off of you from a mile away. What do you think would happen if monsters attacked you and your mother just happened to be nearby? They don't care about collateral damage. Why do you think Ms. Jackson married Ugliano? His stench of cigarettes and alcohol mask yours.”

”She married that disgusting creep because of me?”

”I believe so.”

”Oh, hell…”

Shirou sympathized. He had only had the disp_l_e_a_s_u_r_e of meeting the vile man once, and he truly had to admire Sally Jackson. Her strength of character was truly astounding if she was willing to put up with that beast with a smile on her face for the sake of her son. Which is why he saw this as the perfect way to get rid of the man, once and for all.

”Do… do you know who my real father is?”

”We can't know for sure until he claims you. ”

”But we can make a few educated guesses.” He cut in. He normally wasn't this rude, but this censorship was irritating him. Besides, Percy might not have been the brightest mind out there, but he would probably figure it out now that he was thinking about it. ”Percy, you love the ocean, you always smell like saltwater and you can hold your breath underwater for ten minutes. Ms. Jackson said that your father was lost at sea. Not dead, lost at sea. Twenty minutes ago, a water fountain grabbed a bully who was angering you. So, who is your father?”

A moment of silence. Percy's eyebrows knitted together as he worked through the clues and his knowledge of the gods. Realization came across Grover and Mr. Brunner's faces as the answer came to them. ”Holy shit.” Percy breathed out. Normally Shirou would admonish him, but he supposed that Percy needed the catharsis. ”Holy mother of- My dad… My father is…”

”Perseus, don't!” Mr. Brunner nearly roared.

Percy slapped his hands over his mouth, getting a smile from Shirou. And the boy claimed he was a slow learner. ”Yes. Poseidon, god of the seas.” Grover bleated in alarm, he and Mr. Brunner looking up at the sky, but there was nothing. Shirou's smile only grew.

”Wait a sec, why can you say it, but I can't?”

Shirou gave a self-deprecating smile. ”I'm mortal. The gods couldn't care less about me, and a few magic tricks won't change that. Until they directly point their eyes at me, I'll be off their radar. Otherwise every mortal studying Greek myths will set them off. If you want to talk about him, just call him You-Know-Who. It's worked for me this far.” Not to mention the levity that came from the ridiculous pseudonym of a fictional character tended to undo some of the awe and revelry for the gods.

”So that is how you managed to get so much information without anyone learning of your existence?” The teacher mused.

”In part. I did receive some… alright a lot of help. And no. I won't say who.”

”Let me just check something.” Percy waved his hands. ”Since I know all this stuff now, that means this 'scent' on me is stronger now? Which means more monsters?”

”More monsters.” Shirou admitted bluntly. ”You're still a child, and untrained, so they won't be much of a threat. But as you grow older, your godly blood will become more pronounced, even if you hadn't been told of the truth about your heritage.”

”And those monsters… they think I stole this weapon? That's what Ms. Dodds said, right? Where is it? Where is the weapon?”

”Yes. Zeus' master bolt went missing several weeks ago, and he has been blaming your father for the theft. I'm sure you've noticed all the bad weather recently? If your father claims you, in Zeus' eyes that would be the same as saying 'I'm guilty.'”

”But I've got nothing to do with it!”

”That won't matter to him, Perseus.” Mr. Brunner said softly. ”Gods cannot interfere with each other's power directly. They must use intermediates, like their children. As things stand, the only basis for Zeus' accusations is his paranoia. That will change if he learns of your existence. The instant that happens, it might as well be a declaration of war.”

”…War.” Shirou could hear the feeling of being lost in his friend's voice. It was understandable. To a boy who had grown in a time of peace, even in a tumultuous household, war was such a foreign concept, its true horrors was far beyond his ability to comprehend. ”Is that why you two are here? You were sent to watch me, so you could arrest me or something?”

”What? Perce, no!” Grover stammered out. ”We didn't even know about your father. I mean, we had suspicions, but all we know is that you were powerful for your age. We came here to protect you!”

”Protect me? Dude, no offense, but unless either of you can grow claws or bat wings like Ms. Dodds, or can shoot swords out of midair, how exactly would you have planned to protect m- ”

A ring of metal stopped his words. A meter of Celestial Bronze erupted from Mr. Brunner's hand. The blade, shining like a mirror, reflected Percy's sudden awe. ”Perseus, just because you cannot see something, doesn't mean it isn't there. That's a mindset you should adopt very quickly. If you want proof, look around you.”

Not a single person reacted to the deadly weapon that sprang up in the middle of the park. Their eyes briefly noted the pack of children having lunch, sometimes fl_i_c_k_i_n_g over to the man in the wheelchair, but their attention was snatched away just as quickly. Percy looked back at the sword held high, and his eyes nearly popped out when he saw it flicker from a sword to a bat to a walking stick.

”This is… a lot to take in.”

”Which is why I wanted to wait until the summer when you can have time to process.” The teacher glared at Shirou, which he ignored. ”At the camp, you would have been near people who have had similar experiences, and you would be under heavy protections.”

Shirou suppressed a snort at the so-called heavy protections. ”Maybe from monsters. What about the gods?”

Grover choked on his apple. ”Shirou, you can't just stay stuff like that! People have gotten blasted for far less!”