Chapter 2: The Makings of a King

Shirou meets Gilgamesh

*One Week Later*

It's been about a week since Kirei officially adopted Shirou and boy had finally been released from the hospital. It had taken quite some coaxing from Kirei to get them to allow a boy who couldn't see to leave, but he managed to convince them.

The boy's new father had brought him some clothes to change into after his release. Appropriate considering that all of the clothes he had been wearing when he entered the hospital were half burnt and covered in an odd combination of mud, blood and some gunk that he really didn't want to know about. The red haired boy was now wearing a simple short-sleeved black shirt and pair of long, gray jeans, complemented by brown loafers. He was also still wearing the bandages over his eyes.

They were on their way to the Kotomine Church, Shirou's new home. The brown haired man did no favors for the red haired boy whose eyes were still covered up. Because of his lack of sight and the older man's lack of care to help, Shirou was forced to navigate entirely by sound, listening to his new father's footsteps. He managed to stop hitting things after about ten minutes, which would impress most.

"We've been walking for like 20 minutes already. Where is this place?" Shirou asked in a irritated tone.

"Actually, we're here." Kirei said as the approached the ominus building. "Well, tell me, how do you like it?"

Shirou moved his head questioningly. "You are aware that you're asking a person who can't see his opinion on how something looks right?" Shirou asked wondering if the man next to him was serious.

"Oh, that reminds me," Kirei started as he reached into his pocket, "Your glasses arrived the other day." He then pulled out a normal looking pair of glasses. He handed them to the redhead.

"Wait a minute, so you've had these all day and you still let my walk for almost a mile blind?" Shirou was currently wearing a 'What the fuck?' expression on his face.

"My apologize, " Kirei said in a way that almost sounded sarcastic, "they totally slipped my mind until now."

Shirou simply sighed as he undid the bandages around his eyes. As he opened his eyes, he was amazed. He remembered how things looked to him while he was in the fire. Everything was so much clearer to him now. It was almost like the world was in slow motion and his brain was working at a hundred miles a minute. 'If it's like this now,' Shirou thought, 'I wonder what it's gonna be like after I put the glasses on.' So he did just that, and as fast as the earlier sensation came, it left. Time returned to normal and his brain was reading the world one word at a time again. Confused the boy looked up at his father. "Hey, I thought these were suppose to make my eyes better."

Answering the unasked question, the brown haired man replied, "They're suppose to make your vision 'normal', not necessarily better."

Now that Shirou had the bandages off, he could see the smirk on Kirei's face. He didn't really know why, but it seriously annoyed him. With a sigh, Shirou looked at the church. Immediately, he knew that something was wrong with it. For a church the place gave off an aura that was oddly demonic. Shirou sighed, "Well I guess this is my life now.

*Two Days Later*

Shirou opened his eyes to see the sun. He quickly shut them again and sat up in his bed. "Man, I've got to move my bed. The sun shines right on my face." He mumbled as he grabbed the glasses on his bedside and put them on. The redhead stood up from his bed and headed to the kitchen to make some breakfast. It turned out that Shirou had a natural talent when it came to cooking. With no memories, everything was just trial and error for him, and he was lucky enough to find something that he was actually good at right away.

Dear my disrespectful son,

There are several funerals today that I have to sermon, so I will not be getting back until later tonight. I leave you in charge of the church in my absence.

-From Kirei Kotomine

P.S. There is some leftover Mapo Tofu in the refrigerator in case you feel the need to eat.

"Yeah, sure, leave a 7 year old who's lived here for 2 days in charge of the entire building. [Sigh] Just what I would expect from the guy." There was absolutely no way he was going to eat any of that extra spicy tofu his dad made. He wanted to still be able to use his taste buds by the time he hit puberty.

Shirou quickly made himself a simple breakfast of bacon, eggs, and toast. 'Well it seems that cooking is one talent that I have.' He thought to himself as he placed a plate of food on the dining room table before heading back to the kitchen to clean up. Placing what he wasn't going to eat into the fridge for later he walked back towards the dining room only to hear the unmistakable sound of a fork hitting a plate. A he entered the room he found something that he didn't expect.

It was a girl.

But not just any girl. One look and Shirou could tell that this girl wasn't normal. She was around his age, maybe a year or two older. She had glorious blonde hair and hair that extended to the top of her thighs and her eyes were a excellent blood-like crimson. Her attire consisted of a pair of green camouflage shorts and a gold trimmed blue shirt that exposed her midriff. Over this was a simple white hooded sweat jacket. All in all, she was an extremely beautiful girl.

However, the thing that gathered most of Shirou's attention was what she was doing. She was sitting at the table with a serene and blissful expression on her face. And she was eating the food on the table. Shirou's food. The food that he spent half an hour preparing. "You know, most people consider it rude to eat someone else's food without permission." Shirou sad loudly, making sure that she heard him. The blonde girl looked in his direction for the first time, a look of surprise on her face. The multiple food crumbs on her face made it clear that she hadn't bothered with a napkin. It was kinda cute. The same way a puppy chasing its tail is cute. Completely stupid, but you couldn't help but smile when you saw it. Shirou was no exception. "You might want to wipe off your face a bit." He said.

The girl looked confused. Then suddenly she blushed and quickly grabbed a napkin, proceeding to hurriedly wipe her face with it. "Oh, pardon me." She spoke with a smile. "I was just so enraptured by the smell that before I knew it, I had already begun eating. You are truly a magnificent chef. I have never had a meal quite like this even during my rule."

Shirou looked at her with a blank stare. 'What does she mean by rule?' He sighed. "Well whatever, I try not to get irritated by stuff like this. One must be able to overlook the small blotches of irritation to be able to perceive the full image. Me getting upset does nobody any good." 'Besides, I've got extras in the refrigerator.' He sat down.

"Oh, how kind of you Mister" She spoke, still wearing the same smile. "But I feel that I would be doing you a disservice if I didn't give you something in return." When she finished speaking, a golden ripple formed in the air behind her, greatly perplexing the redheaded boy.

'What exactly am I looking at?' he asked himself in confusion. Before he could asked the question out loud, a golden vase came out of the portal and was quickly grabbed by the girl.

"This Mister," she gestured to the vase, "is some of the best wine that history has ever, or will ever see. Please accept it as an apology for eating your food earlier." She stretched the arm with the wine out, obviously wanting Shirou to take it.

Shirou gave the wine a blank stare before speaking. "Thanks for the offer, but I'm underaged. I don't drink alcohol."

The girl seemed surprised, before she pulled empty hand up to her chin and a look of understanding graced her face. "Ah, yes, that is a law in this time isn't it. My bad then." As she spoke, the vase of wine turned into of golden dust and disappeared. "Well, since it's an apology for pertaining to food, a culinary based gift doesn't seem to far out of place." Another golden ripple appeared, and out of it came a large white cloth. " This is the Tablecloth of the North Wind. With a simple chant, You can summon the most glorious foods with little to no effort on your part."

Shirou looked at the cloth, and, unlike the last gift, he thought about it. "Hmm, no. Sorry, but I happen to enjoy cooking. If I could just summon food whenever, I would lose the opportunities to master something that I find relaxing and fun."

The girl seemed more surprised at this, but remained undeterred. "Very well," as the table cloth disappeared the same way as the wine, the girl summon some glass bottles filled with various powders, flakes, and liquids. "If you enjoy cooking than these spices and herbs should be pleasing. They are some of the rarest in the world. I'm quite sure that a few of these don't even exist anymore."

"Hmmmm," Shirou hummed, "definitely tempting, but my cooking still has room to improve. If these spices are as rare as you say, than I would feel terrible if I wasted then on dishes full of flaws"

The girl looked at him skeptically. "Huh, alright I understand. Even if I don't totally agree with your cooking needing improvement. Okay, how about-"

*45 minutes Later*

"A spear that always pierces the heart." the blond girl spoke as she pulled out a red spear.

"Seems kinda brutal for conventional use, doesn't it?" the redhead responded.

"Alright then, how about cloak that perfectly will hide your presence?" a black cloak emerged from another golden ripple in space.

"I'd rather learn to conceal my presence naturally, instead of relying on some tool, if it's all the same to you."

She then summoned a golden machine. "How about a machine that can turn even the most poisonous meats into delectable cuisine?"

"Yeah, I'd rather not take a chance with poisonous meat either way."

Gilgamesh, or "Gil" as she prefered, was very perplexed by the boy. He was a conundrum to her. Not since she met her friend Enkidu had she had such a hard time understanding what someone was thinking. That was honestly one of the reasons why she was so disappointed by the modern world. Humans now a days were just so easy to see through. There were so many of them and most of them had the same intentions: money, fame, power, woman. The same old boring stuff. It was no wonder that such a great amount of people ended up being useless.

But this boy. He didn't seem to be after anything. She had offered him items that 99.99% of modern people would eagerly kill for, and he turned it all down without batting an eye. And true, while his reasons seemed logical, she just didn't see the values of the pros vs the cons being close enough not to take most of the weapons, artifacts, and treasures. Hell, she could even feel her older version empathizing with her confusion towards the boy in the back of her head. And those two didn't get along about anything.

But there had to be something this boy wanted. She wasn't going to lie to herself, at this point it was more about her pride than than a token of forgiveness. "There must be something that you crave. Tell me and I will acquire it." Normally, she would never offer herself to do a favor like that, but this boy's lack of care for the items in her treasury had managed to wear her down.

"Hmm," the boy hummed, " Well to be honest, I can't think of anything. I'm an amnesiac 7 year old boy with pretty much no drive in life other than to trying and enjoy it. The most I could really ask for is someone to talk to. A friend I guess." He finished, not thinking about the implications of his words.

Gil looked at him oddly. 'A friend? Is that all he wants? All of the world's greatest treasures at his fingertips and he simply wants a friend?' Her mind suddenly flashed to a memory:

There was a beautiful young woman with golden hair and crimson eyes, sitting on a solid gold throne. She looked over her kingdom with a look of annoyance. She had in her possession quite literally everything that the world had to offer, yet why wasn't she happy? Was there something she was missing? That shouldn't be the case. Her life was as fulfilled, more so than humanly possible. So why could she not wear a true smile upon her gorgeous face?

Suddenly, her heard someone walk into her throne room and turned around to see who dares to enter her palace without permission, but the words died in her throat. She was very surprised by the person's appearance. It was impossible to tell their true gender due to the combination of baggy clothing and face that could pass for either a beautiful woman or a handsome man, not leaning at all to either side. The guest had long, flowing, green hair and matching eyes, but what really caught Gilgamesh's attention was the look upon the intruder's face. It was an odd look that said something along the lines of, "I am not entirely sure why I am doing this". The intruder walked a bit closer to the king before speaking. "Hello, King Gilgamesh. My name is Enkidu. The gods have apparently seen it fit to send me to punish you."

This boy.

This boy that did not care for any object, no matter how powerful.

This boy just wanted a companion in this world in which they can put their trust.

At this point Gil had a large smile upon her face. Not the normal, amused smile that she usually wore in her child form, but a true honest mile that showed nothing but joy and care. It was a smile that she hadn't worn in millennia, not since Enkidu, her best, and to-date, only friend, had died.

Making up her mind, the blond haired girl stood up, walked to the redheaded boy, and offered her him her hand. "Well if that is what you want. Then I believe that I would have no problem being your friend. What do you say?"

The boy looked at her strangely. Obviously, trying to get her to be his friend was not his intention, but he didn't seem to be complaining. He smiled and took her hand, shaking it, softly at first, but firmly after noticing the strength of her grip. "I would like that. Oh, now that I think about it, we haven't introduced ourselves yet. My name is Kotomine, Kotomine Shirou."

'Kotomine?' She thought. 'Does Kirei-san have a child?' "Well Shirou-kun, it's nice to meet you. My name is Gilgamesh. You may call me Gil."

And with that a beutiful and life changing relationship had begun for Shirou Kotomine. It was the first of many that would soon come to his life, but definitely the most prevalent and would set the groundwork for all that he will become.

(A/N: I honestly thought of ending it here, but then I thought, "Nah")

*Several Hours Later

"Kirei Kotomine was returning to the church after a long day of sermoning funeral. 'Hmm, this is going to be particularly long few weeks. With all of the deaths in the fire, I'm going to be busy. But it's actually kind of ironic. After all, I'm partially responsible for all of those deaths, and now it's my job to bless the souls of the dead as they enter heaven. Not only that, but I also managed to find a child in that lovely blaze. He has good enough magic circuits. What should I do with him? I could make him a prana battery for Gilgamesh-sama. He doesn't really seem to trust me, so it will be slightly more difficult to get him to play along with any scenes that I might have. Well, I suppose that I'll have to figure that out at a later date.' He finished his thoughts as he opened the doors to the church to see a very unexpected sight.

"Checkmate" A woman said as she moved a white pawn piece forward. She was quite an attractive woman. With long golden blonde hair and piercing crimson eyes. Her attire consisted of simple long sleeved white v-neck shirt and tight brown pants that ended at her mid-calf. She wore elegant flat-footed white shoes. Finally, she wore golden jewelry in the form of a necklace and earrings.

"Ahh, I see," the glasses wearing redhead said as he looked at the board, "even a simple pawn can decide the outcome of a game if used properly."

The girl smirked and crossed her arms. "Correct, you are learning well" she spoke.

"Okay," the boy said, "but did you really have to beat me sixteen times in a row to teach me the importance of every individual piece."

"Well, perhaps I over did it slightly, but you learnt what I was trying to teach you. It's a very important lesson if you want to be able to properly command groups. It was also to remind you exactly who the teacher is."

Kirei was perplexed by what he was seeing. True, he half expected his adopted son to run into Gilgamesh while he was away, but he hadn't for the king of heroes to apparently take a liking to the boy. "Well, well, what seems to be happening here?" Kirei asked as he walked up to the duo.

They turned in his direction. Gilgamesh then turned back to Shirou and spoke. "Well Shirou-kun, I believe that that is all for today, you may go."

"Alright then, see you later then Gil-chan" at her words the boy collected the chess pieces and proceeded deeper into the building.

The former king of the world turned back to the priest and began to speak. "Oh, hello Kirei-san. As you saw, I was just teaching Shirou-kun a very important lesson."

The elder Kotomine tilted his head slightly in confusion. "Well, please pardon my forwardness, but I am a bit curious as to why you would decide to do that, you majesty. It seems somewhat out of character for you to bother teaching someone something unless it served as a means to amuse yourself."

Gil smirked. "Well Kirei-san, if you must know, I have decided to turn that boy into a king, suitable to rule beside me. While my kingdom was without doubt a great one, I ruled it in solitude and loneliness before I met Enkidu and it got worse after my friend died. I've decided that when I eventually reclaim this world, I want to be able to share it with someone close to me." She then stood up and pointed to the man. "So as Shirou's new father I expect you to teach him all that I cannot. You are admittedly strong for a human. And I will not allow my friend to rot down on the earth surrounded by hordes of mongrels while I stand so close to the heavens that I can't even distinguish him anymore. Do not fail me Kirei Kotomine, or I might have have to reconsider allowing you to live, even if it is only for my amusement." With those words, she walked away, leaving an amused and slightly confused Kirei.

'Well, I guess I know what to do with little Shirou-kun now.' The brown haired man thought to himself with a smile.