The Clover Kingdom's Hero of Justice

A Boy's Dream

The orphan boy known as Shirou awoke. In a strange city covered and engulfed in scorching red flames, that seemed to be corrupted by some darkness. He picked himself off the ground, wondering through the wreckage.

To most, this would have been a terrifying reality. But to the disconnected boy, it was nothing but a foreign dream, one that did not belong to him.

Shirou walked past the destruction, like he did every night, ignoring the cries of pain and the pleas of salvation; knowing that they were fake, created by the dream. Eventually, he reached the summit of the fallen buildings, leaving the flaming city and approaching a hill in the middle of a desolate wasteland.

He reached the top, he always did. Overlooking the scenery of a desert filled with more metal that there was sand. Shirou waited at the top, knowing what was meant to happen next; a calm voice calling.

"You're here again, are you?" questioned the surroundings, causing Shirou to look to the plain sky. "What a persistent boy you are, Shirou"

"It isn't like I have a choice" responded Shirou, yawning at the conversation. "Could you stop showing me this damn place"

Shirou glanced back at the burning buildings in the background, quickly vanishing into the distance by a sudden sandstorm. When the city disappeared, Shirou turned his attention back to the strange sky, that shun a vibrant blue without a sun.

"Do you have a problem with it?" Questioned the voice, earning a blank glare from the red hair. "I'll have you know that it's from my earliest memory as a child"

"Then you had a really crappy childhood" bluntly said Shirou, with no instant response from the surrounds.

"It wasn't all bad...considering the rough start, I really can't complain about my youth" solemnly stated the voice, slightly surprising the red hair while gaining some sympathy from him. "Wasn't it the same for you?"

Shirou didn't respond, opting to stay silent instead of answering the question. Accepting that the boy wouldn't merit a response to his curiosity, the voice changed the subject.

"When are you going to use your Grimoire, Shirou?" Questioned the surrounds. Again, earning utter silence from Shirou. A loud audible sigh could be heard echoing from every direction. "You're still scared of what happened two years ago, aren't you"

"Of course I am" said Shirou, his hands clenching and shaking at the mere thought of the events. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Suddenly, Shirou felt something solid fit in between his fingers, he looked down to see his Grimoire. The covers of the book were polished metal, with intricate engravings, and the spin having golden strips.

Shirou turned the book to face the front cover, he instantly saw the difference between his Grimoire and everyone else's. He slightly chuckled before throwing the fake book into the empty desert.

"I'll admit, what happened two years ago was my fault. I over did it with the amount of mana that I flowed into your body, I wanted you to be acclimated to my power. I thought with your Grimoire, you could handle my mana but I overestimated your abilities" said the surrounds, Shirou did not responding to his reasoning. "I am truly sorry for the pain that you had to suffer through because of my mistake, Shirou"

"I couldn't care less of what you did to me" suddenly spoke Shirou, quickly confusing bodiless voice. "What I don't want to do is endanger my family ever again!"

Shirou's shout echoed throughout the empty dream, followed by total silence from both parties.

"You're certainly selfless, aren't you" jokingly scoffed the voice, gaining a comical vein popping out of Shirou head. "But then again, you wouldn't be Shirou if you didn't have such a characteristic"