Emiya Kiritsugu scanned his surroundings, eyes and ears searching desperately for any sign of life in the demolished city.
Fire blazed around him, the heat near unbearable to his skin. His lungs burned as he choked and struggled to breath in the smoke. Debris crumbled and shattered loudly, and he tried to ignore the faint bloodcurdling screams, to no avail.
It was a tragedy. A nightmare. Hell, brought to life.
And it was all his fault.
Kiritsugu ran through the landscape, looking for any sign of life. There must be someone, anyone alive that he could save. He sought the Grail so that he could save everyone, but he had brought upon destruction instead.
He didn't know how long he was there. Didn't notice his own failing body, eyes quickly growing duller...
Until he spotted a glowing white figure bounding from afar.
It didn't look human. Perhaps, a remnant of the corrupted Grail. The mysterious figure ought to alarm him, but by this point he couldn't care less.
Kiritsugu followed the white glow, until it stopped at one point before disappearing. He approached the place where it vanished and found a boy lying on the ground.
Alive.
.
.
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Kiritsugu found the boy again in the hospital, awake and, most importantly, alive.
"Hey," Kiritsugu smiled softly, eyes flickering to catch the boy's name from the patient's information attached to the bed. "How are you doing, Shirou-kun?"
The boy, Shirou (in katakana, no family name, curious), stared at him, brows furrowing. "You are…"
"Ah, my bad. I haven't introduced myself," the magus scratched his cheek. "My name is Emiya Kiritsugu. I brought you to the hospital yesterday."
"I remember," the boy nodded, before looking down to his lap. Kiritsugu could barely catch him murmuring, "I can only remember you…"
This...was unexpected. "You can't remember anything else?"
The frowned some more, before shaking his head. "No. Only...Only the fire, the-the screaming, the…"
"And me."
The boy nodded in relief at his interjection. "And you."
There was a long, awkward pause. Shirou remained silent, while Kiritsugu struggled to find any topic of conversation that does not involve the fire and could be had with an amnesic.
"...Say," Shirou began, beating the magus to it. Kiritsugu pathetically latched to the boy's words in relief. "Do you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
"The laughter."
Kiritsugu strained his ears and heard nothing but the steady beeping of the heart monitor and the faint bustling of the hospital. No laughter. Not that anyone could laugh in this kind of situation. "No?"
Shirou blinked at him in confusion. "It's very loud. And it's getting louder."
"...What?"
The boy gradually tensed, before glancing at the ajar door. Kiritsugu followed suit.
Nothing.
Kiritsugu quickly turned back when he heard the boy whimpering.
"Shirou-kun, what's wrong?" He asked worriedly. The boy had turned deathly pale in the span of a few seconds. "There's nothing there."
"I-it was…," Shirou leaned back, blanket bunched up tightly in his arms as he shook in fear. "C-can't you see? It was dragging an axe!"
Shit. Hallucination? His situation was way worse than Kiritsugu had first thought.
Abruptly, Shirou gasped, before scrambling to get up.
"Whoa, whoa! Calm down, Shirou-kun! You can't -"
"It's going to eat them!" Shirou wailed as he tried desperately to escape Kiritsugu's firm grip. "I - you've got to help them! It's going to eat -!"
Then, the boy froze, before falling limply in his arms.
"Shirou-kun?"
"...Too late…," the boy murmured.
Before Kiritsugu could ask further, there was a commotion outside. Doctors and nurses rushed past the room they were in, shouting and swearing. Kiritsugu went to peek from Shirou's room to see what was going on.
It was moments later when Kiritsugu learned that a patient had just passed away from cardiac arrest.
It was a coincidence. It was perfectly normal to have people dying in a hospital.
"I-It's going to eat them -!"
But Kiritsugu couldn't shake off the feeling that something was really, really wrong.
.
.
.
Kiritsugu found out that Shirou was an orphan. Whether his parents had perished during the fire or he was orphaned even before that did not matter.
There was also the problem of leaving Avalon unattended in Shirou's body. The Noble Phantasm had saved the boy's life, but it had also painted a target on his back.
Mind made up, Kiritsugu came back the next day and nervously asked Shirou if the boy would like to live with him.
Shirou said yes.
.
.
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A few days after he was discharged from the hospital and moved to the Emiya residence, Kiritsugu found his adopted son cradling a…
Uh, a fat cat.
The cat looked vaguely like a maneki-neko, but no cat should've looked eerily like the ceramic figurine. Kiritsugu thought the cat was just a doll Shirou had found until it yawned.
(Kiritsugu refused to admit that he had jerked in surprise.)
"...Where did you find it?"
Shirou heaved and adjusted his grip on the cat. Judging by the discomfort in his face, the cat must've been terribly heavy. "In my room."
In his room? Kiritsugu frowned. Did the cat sneak in? Was it the presence he felt from the Bounded Field around the house?
If that was the case, this cat was no normal cat.
"You can't keep it, son," Kiritsugu said sternly. Because the cat might be an enemy's summon, a Magical Beast, someone disguising as a cat, a remnant of the Mud…
"B-but, Nyanko-sensei is…," Shirou pouted and shuffled his feet.
His adopted son had named the cat.
Kiritsugu was doomed.
"...Give me the cat," he sighed. Shirou hugged the cat more tightly. "I won't chase it -"
"It's a he."
Kiritsugu rolled his eyes. "- Him away. I just have to check if he has fleas or something and deem him safe, before you could keep him."
Kiritsugu swore the cat gave him a stink eye when he said that.
"Go help Taiga move the boxes," Kiritsugu told his son when Shirou refused to leave him and the cat alone. He couldn't check the cat using magecraft if his son remained here. "I'll let you know when I'm done."
Shirou hesitated, before obeying reluctantly.
Now that he was alone, Kiritsugu eyed the cat suspiciously. The cat stared back in a deadpan. Without breaking eye contact, the Magus Killer opened his desk drawer and took out his gun, before pointing it at the cat.
"I know you're not a normal cat," he said, eyes narrowing. "Reveal yourself. Who are you?"
The cat was silent for a few moments, before…
Kiritsugu jerked in alarm when the cat went poof and disappeared from his grip.
"Shit!" Kiritsugu turned left and right, gun pointed everywhere. It dawned to him that the creature must've gone to chase after his son -
Suddenly, hot air blew on to his face.
Spluttering, Kiritsugu shot the wall in panic. He cursed himself for not having his Thomson Contender with him and only a normal gun. Before he could race out of the room and get his trusty Mystic Code, however. there was another poof and a slap on his face.
"You moron!" A high-pitched voice resounded, prompting Kiritsugu to whirl around and point his gun at the...speaker…
The cat spoke. And he was waving his short paw, scolding him.
"You're too damn loud!" the cat shrieked, livid. "What was that?! You'll alert the other humans if you do that!"
Kiritsugu backed away slowly, gun still ready to shoot. Definitely a summon. Or a Phantasmal Beast. "What are you?"
The cat snorted and sat still. "I am the great ayakashi Madara, Shirou's bodyguard. And lower your weapon, human. It'll have no effect on me."
Of course, Kiritsugu refused to do so. He had heard of the youkais and ayakashis, and not all of them were good. "Bodyguard?"
"Yeah, duh. I'm not a threat. If I am, I would've eaten you by now."
Actually, if this beast had eaten him, that would be the best way to kill it. Kiritsugu's magecraft would surely tear the beast apart from the inside -
"Oi, get your mind out of the gutter," said beast grumbled. "Wished you could see my true form. It'll make things faster if I could just scare you with my magnificent form. Quite unfortunate that you're like that Tanuma brat."
Kiritsugu twitched. The hot air just now...
"As I was saying, I'm Shirou's bodyguard," Madara huffed. "I'm his protector, even before the damn fire."
Kiritsugu blinked. "You know Shirou before that?"
Madara sighed.
"I know his parents. I was his father's partner before he passed away during the fire," the beast grimaced. "Natsume, that fool... What prey died before his predator? I'm his protector for a reason, dammit."
It was strange to hear the grief and regret in the beast's voice. Kiritsugu, despite his paranoia, lowered his gun.
"...Was it you who guided me to Shirou?" Kiritsugu enquired. "I remembered seeing a white glow during the fire."
"Indeed," Madara hmphed, before eyeing the magus. "I was in my true form. I had to constantly use my light to drive away the corrupt energy, but by doing so I couldn't move Natsume's brat away without scorching his body. It seems that you could see my light even though you can't see my true form."
A creature of light...Kiritsugu struggled to connect that concept with the fat cat in front of him.
"Dad? Nyanko-sensei? You okay?"
Both magus and beast turned to see Shirou peeking into his study.
Before Kiritsugu could say anything, Madara waved dismissively. "Nothing's wrong, Shirou. Kiritsugu and I are just getting to know each other."
"...That's a gun."
Kiritsugu quickly hid his gun and laughed awkwardly. "No, no. This is just a toy. Like he said, we're just getting to know each other."
Shirou blinked in surprise before turning to his adopted father. "Dad, you can understand him?"
It then dawned to him that his son could understand the ayakashi too. "Shirou, you too?"
Shirou visibly brightened. "Yeah! I thought it was only me. Fuji-nee can't understand him either. Dad, have you seen Nyanko-sensei's true form? It's amazing!"
Kiritsugu had many questions, but he chose to shake his head in negative, ignoring the smug fat cat. "No, I haven't seen it. I think I can't see it."
Shirou visibly deflated. "Oh…"
"Hmph, this lowly human is not strong enough to see my magnificent form," Madara tsked. Kiritsugu would love to squish the fat cat with his feet, but this beast seems to be quite powerful and his son was here. "Shirou, tell this human how amazing my true form is."
Shirou did exactly that, chattering rapidly and captivating Kiritsugu with how lively he had become. The magus wondered if whatever Shirou had seen in the hospital (and sometimes around the house) were the invisible youkais, and if Madara's words were to be trusted, Kiritsugu was a tiny bit relieved that his adopted son was not fully unprotected from the world Kiritsugu knew nothing about.
.
.
.
Kiritsugu learned many new (uncomfortable) things that day.
Firstly, Madara a.k.a. Nyanko-sensei(?) looks like a giant white wolf in his true form, if Shirou's words were to be believed. Apparently, Madara could fly too. Kiritsugu found it extremely challenging to replace the fat cat image with an imaginary wolf, so he immediately gave up.
Secondly, the beast/cat was a glutton as well as an alcoholic, as he immediately asked for food and sake once Shirou was off to help out the Fujimuras.
Thirdly, apparently Shirou was a magnet of youkai, as Madara was not the only ayakashi in the vicinity. Once the food was out in the open, some of them simply floated and disappeared into thin air. Madara told him that there were around a dozen more ayakashis around them that Kiritsugu could not see.
When Shirou came back to take the cat away, Kiritsugu took out another bottle of sake and drank himself silly.
.
.
.
Kiritsugu was actually grateful for Madara's presence around his adopted son, because the beast indeed helped to protect his son whenever Kiritsugu could not.
Not that he would admit that out loud.
Because of that, he trusted Madara (and the other invisible youkais that seemed to be as protective of Shirou as the fat cat) to leave his son in his care before leaving to try and save his daughter.
Unfortunately, due to his failing condition, the Einzbern barrier which should've been easy enough for him to break became impenetrable. He came back to Japan time and time again with no result.
One day, after his fourth attempt, the ground around the Emiya residence shook. Kiritsugu rose in alarm, before hesitating when he noticed his son smiling brightly at nothing.
"Misuzu!" he bounded towards the yard and talked animatedly to no one. The wind blew softly around him.
It always felt strange to see his son doing this, especially knowing that ayakashis were involved.
"Who is it? Judging from the earthquake, it must be someone big."
Madara huffed in amusement. "That's Misuzu, a powerful bull ayakashi. He'll be here to temporarily replace me."
Kiritsugu blinked, before turning to the cat in confusion. "Replace you?"
Madara eyed him carefully, before sighing. "Of course he didn't tell you. Shirou is Natsume's brat, after all. Your adopted son told me to help you in your next escapade."
...What. "You're his protector. You can't leave him."
"That's why Misuzu is here. So too are Hinoe, Hiiragi and many others. Shirou basically has an army to protect him," Madara said simply. "Look. I normally wouldn't even think about offering you help, but Shirou had asked me personally and I'll be damned to see him disappointed again."
Kiritsugu was at loss.
(In the end, he accepted the ayakashi's help. It was strange to carry a fat cat in his bag, though sometimes when they had to go through international custom, Madara had to turn into his true form and remain invisible. Strange, but his presence actually brought him comfort.
When they reached their destination, Madara tore apart the Einzbern's barrier, while Kiritsugu wasted no time to rush in and get his daughter. He didn't think this attempt would be successful, and when it did, he didn't know how to escape the compound.
Kiritsugu was in the midst of cursing himself when something brushed his chest and lifted him up, before making him and his unconscious daughter fly at top speed.
By the time they reached safe ground, Kiritsugu was close to freezing himself to death.)
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fin.
Author's Note:
Just a brain fart. Prolly won't continue this. Let me know if anyone wishes to adopt this fic.