I didn't expect people to be actually excited about the Aozaki sisters. I mean, they are more of a background/behind-the-scenes character like Zelretch. I never thought casual TYPE-MOON fans would know about them. Maybe FGO helped.
Anyways, a short chapter from Shirou's beginning!
For one Shirou Aozaki, the start of his new life was, in simple terms; quite insane.
One second, he was being carried in the arms of a vermillion-haired sky blue-eyed angel, the next, he was under the observing gaze of a reddish orange-haired, rusted red-eyed woman with a ponytail.
He was also confined to an operation bed with leather stripes, which didn't help with the forbidding atmosphere. The woman in question leaned down and put her face right next to his. Her glasses reflected the pale fluorescent lamps above.
"Hello, little one. My name is Touko Aozaki. I apologize for this...less-than-welcoming room, but I must make sure that you didn't suffer any mental trauma and aren't...influenced by your recent experiences. Are you feeling unwell right now?"
Shirou shook his head. Touko smiled cheerfully and snapped her fingers. In some way Shirou didn't know, the leather straps simultaneously snapped open, and his limbs were freed.
Shirou sat up and flexed his fingers. He felt...wonderful. A lot better than the...fire. The mud. The burning of his own flesh as he walked.
His thoughts must have shown on his face, for Touko reached over and gently patted his back in reassurance.
"Don't worry. You are alright now. Take a deep breath. Can you remember anything from your past, before the fire?"
Shirou shook his head, only to stop when he found out he did remember one single thing...a faint echo of his past, of what he once was.
"...Shirou. My name is...Shirou. Nothing else."
The woman -Touko, nodded.
"Shirou. You have two paths that lie ahead of you. The first is-", she pointed at herself. "-to become my son. I shall adopt you and you'll take on the name Aozaki. The second is to go to an orphanage...though I must warn you, the possibility of you dying in the following years is exceptionally high if you choose to do so."
Shirou's head perked up at the word 'dying'. He seemed to be suddenly interested in what Touko has got to say.
"Why do you say so?", he asked. Touko's lips quirked upwards. A macabre sense of amusement danced within her pupils.
"There are multiple reasons. First and foremost, you are a survivor of the Fuyuki Great Fire...an unnatural flame of curses that consumed thousands in a matter of minutes. Your reason for survival would be enough to encourage the crazed mages out there to put your head in a jar. The second reason is that the mud from the fire actually gave you life. In other words, you are a living curse with no intention of cursing. You will be the ideal ingredient for a weapon. Third-"
She reached out her hand and trailed her finger across his skin. His skin seemed to ripple and tingle under her touch.
"-77% of your body is remade from parts of my latest work. I am a seal designate...well, former seal designate, which means while the Mage Association is no longer actively hunting me down, there are still a lot of mages who would kill their parents, children, relatives, friends, and dogs in a heartbeat for a piece of my newest combat doll...you."
Shirou blinked, a little taken aback by Touko's revelations. Contrary to what Touko and he himself expected, he resolutely accepted the fact that there were mages and associations out in the world like secret organizations, who were basically, mad scientists.
After all, there was no reason for Touko to spin off a fairy tale just to trick him. Even kids wouldn't get tricked by those nowadays. If she wanted to manipulate him, she would've used a different tactic.
He licked his dry lips and cocked his head to the side for a while in thought. Touko waited patiently beside him for his decision.
"So...either I risk getting turned into a genuine pig by crazy people, or get adopted by you?"
Touko smirked. Her glasses flashed as she took them off and pocketed them. Almost immediately, her demeanor shifted into one more rough and masculine.
"You get the gist. I promise that I'm nothing like those crazy old geezers out there. I'll teach you magecraft to protect yourself against outsiders. I'll be your protector. Now, what is your choice?"
Shirou's answer was instantaneous.
"You."
Touko smiled a feral smile. She looked like a tigress who had at last found her cubs who had wandered off.
"Welcome to the family...Shirou Aozaki."
One Year Later...
An entire year had passed under the personal tutelage of the Aozaki sisters.
Shirou was by no means stupid, and he had guessed correctly when he presumed that people would torture their entire family to learn from one of Aozakis for one day, never mind both.
He was learning from them every day and night.
Shirou wondered why Touko and even the laid-back Aoko protested against him going to school until he reached thirteen, though he had a good guess why.
The way Touko frequently recast barriers and how Aoko visited him every day showed how much of a salivating prize he must be to the dangers outside. They most likely wanted to make sure that everything cools down before he was introduced to the public as an Aozaki.
Besides, he was undergoing a cram course of basic training for a mage. He needed to learn how to protect himself...which wasn't going as well as he had hoped.
He frowned for the hundredth time when the stone cracked inside his hand.
"Shirou."
He looked up to see Touko with her eyebrows raised in amazement.
"You have shockingly abysmal talent in magecraft in general, other than projecting cursed weapons. We might really need to incorporate Aoko's barbaric magecraft if only to stabilize your execution."
"Hey!", an indignant voice called from beside him. Aoko was currently cuddling him on her lap like a teddy bear. It was her favorite passing time activity, and she was adamant that Shirou accepted.
"Don't discourage Shirou! He already has abysmal talents! We don't need him to lose confidence in himself as well!"
"Thanks a lot for your vote of confidence, Aoko-nee.", Shirou muttered with a sigh.
Aoko gasped with an exaggerated expression of shock.
"Is that my precious cutie-pie learning sarcasm from my sister!? Quick, spit that out! It's bad for your health!"
Touko's eyebrows twitched as she lit her third cigarette in the hour since Aoko arrived through her window...which now lay shattered on the floor. It was an expensive bulletproof window reinforced by a primordial rune, but against Aoko's bullshit True Magic, it didn't stand a chance.
She pointed her palm at the window and activated the repairing spells she had cast beforehand for this likely event, and took a deep breath to calm herself.
"My foolish little sister's nonsensical antics aside...", Touko pointed her cigarette at Shirou. "Try Aoko's single verse Notarikon incantation with my runes as I've taught you."
Shirou shrugged and picked up another stone engraved with normal runes. Primordial runes were too volatile for him to use, after all.
"א (Aleph)!"
With a shout, he flung the stone etched with 'ᚹᛁᚾᛞ (wind)' across the training hall.
The stone flew for several yards before it burst apart in a great gust of wind, strong enough to knock down a full-grown man. Shirou jumped up and pumped his fist into the air in excitement.
"Yes!", he cheered. "At last, I did it! I successfully activated-"
"-a rune which I personally engraved on the stone in a semi-activated state.", his adoptive mother finished for him. He deflated slightly.
Warm hands reached down and patted his head.
"Oh, shush. Ignore the meanie. She's just being a grumpy slouch since I'm here.", Aoko cooed as she continued to comfort Shirou.
Touko bristled and rose to her feet, pointing a finger in accusation at her sister.
"You broke my window three times in one week!", she screeched.
Aoko started to sweat profusely. She waved a hand at her sister and hauled Shirou over her shoulder.
"Let's go grab some food, Shirou~. Ciao~!"
"Aoko-"
Then, before Touko could stop her, she proceeded to jump out of the window and broke it in the process...for the fourth time this week.
Touko's screams of fury were music to her ears.
Notarikon (Branch of Kabbalah)
א(Aleph):
The first letter of the Kabbalistic alphabet. Not to be confused with the Arabic alphabet. Aleph symbolizes the wind and air.
"God… breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and Adam became a living soul."- Genesis 2:7
Aaaaaaand rap! Review yah Aozaki worshippers! Review again!
X-kalibuuuur, over and out!