Fate/Alternative

15 - Karma

Unlimited Blade Works crumbled around them. They stared at the remaining version of their friend who sat quietly on the ground.

"Hey... don't look at me like that." Karma wiped the tears away from his face, "This is a lot for me too, you know."

He slowly stood up. Most of the world had already crumbled away. Karma's alter ego, Seven, had dissolved into nothingness.

"This place is out of time for now. I'll... see you all soon... I guess."

And just like the rest of their surroundings, karma disappeared.

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The docks were empty. Everything that was once there was destroyed by Seven. The three friends stood alone. Seven nor Karma were anywhere to be seen.

"Where did he go..." Harry whispered.

He looked around desperately seeking out his family. He walked around a little.

"He said we'd see him soon." Shirou said, "Where could he be?"

"The grave." Artoria gave her guess, "Maybe he went back there."

So they made their way the lonely hill at the edge of the ocean.

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Karma stood alone on the hill. The grave stuck out of the ground to his right. He looked over the edge of the cliff in front of him at the water.

He wondered if there was any real purpose to the path that he walked. He didn't want to give it up, his still lingering anger saw to that. But at the same time, he wanted to stop Lev Lainur for the sake of others. For the people he now had deep connections with. He had finally accepted it. The fact that he deeply cared for them, the fact that he wanted to save the world for their sake and not his own.

He realized a portion of his anger was directed at himself. He was always useless when it mattered. He was to late to save One and to slow to stop Lev from finding out about the Holy Grail. Even during the Cavalry Challenge he himself had to be saved.

He couldn't accept the fact that he was always to weak. He had spent years studying, training, and traveling in order to trace weapons. Yet he always found himself more than one step behind. But he absolutely refused to disappear. He wanted to enjoy himself with those precious to him without roping them into his revenge. But that seemed impossible now.

"Karma!"

He turned around and looked at the three people who panted at the bottom of the hill. He smiled gently at them.

"I kind of hoped you wouldn't come looking for me." He said.

Harry walked towards him.

"I tried to kill you, so wh-"

He was interrupted by Harry hugging him.

"I was worried about you!" He cried, "You weren't you! And now you are! The real you is back."

Karma hugged back gently.

"I wouldn't say I'm the real me." He said, "Seven existed first, so I guess I'm the fake."

"That doesn't matter. You're you."

Harry pulled away and took a few steps back.

"I always knew you were a crybaby." Karma joked.

"You say that, but your crying too."

Karma touched his face, feeling the wet streaks on his face.

"I guess so."

Artoria stood silently waiting for him to notice her. Harry turned around and looked at her a moment before giggling. He took Shirou by the arm and began to walk away.

"Let's give them a moment, shall we?"

The two stood looking at eachother. The silence was unbearable, yet neither of them really knew what to say. How could he apologize? How could she say that she understood? But it had to be done.

"I'm sorry." Karma clenched his fists, "I couldn't keep my promise to Arthur or to you."

"You don't need to be." She said, "you don't need to keep a promise as false as that one."

She moved closer and wiped away his tears.

"When you've suffered as much as you have, I can understand you being so selfish." She said

"Careful, I might start crying again." He said.

She looked at the simple wooden grave next to them.

"He was the one inside that other world." She remembered, "What was he to you?"

"He... was my friend." He said, "The first friend that I remember having. He was murdered, and I didn't even mourn him. I simply stopped thinking about him and eventually decided that I wanted revenge."

She looked at him suprised. He hadn't mourned.

"How can you live like that? Didn't it hurt when he was gone?" She asked.

"What would being sad change? Crying won't bring him back to life." He said, "We must have trusted that man. But he tortured us in ways that I can't explain. But One always had spirit. I couldn't understand him, yet I wanted to be like him."

He fell to his knees. She hugged him closely as he began to cry again.

"I've only ever had artificial connections to people. Even with Harry it started out that way." He talked loud enough for only her to hear, "So I want something genuine."

She grabbed his face and kissed him. It was long and drawn out, yet both their hearts yearned for moments like this.

"What I feel has always been genuine." She held his face in her hands.

He put his hands over hers and felt their warmth. He couldn't help but feel his heart beat in his chest.

"No matter what it is you want. No matter what Lev Lainur is up to, I'll always be here to help you."

They sat on that hill for what felt like hours in each other's embrace.

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So I'll end this book here on a happy note and start a second book that will ultimately end this story at a later date. I'm mostly doing this so I can start on a book that incorporates Karma into the main Fate/Stay Night story.