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The following is a fan-based
FICTION
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Chapter 17: New Troubles, New Dates
"So, are you going to talk or is brooding silently and conveying your feelings of anger through deep glares a family trait?"
My question gained a frustrated look out of the boy I was looking at quite intensely. Neatly-tied up with more chains and provided with full watch as I interrogated him. Sigma was one of those characters one has to be careful about. Not because he possessed skills which made him a dangerous individual, but because he knew how to use what he had to his own advantage in a cynically cruel way.
He was trained to be a killer, a professional assassin. Take Kiritsugu and remove both his childhood and his heroic ideals, this was Sigma. Now, many would be swift to call him a 'tool of murder' due to this depiction, however there was something that made him stand out from the classic child soldier: he was aware that freedom was within reach and thus reached for it.
To be fair, it wasn't like the group that 'produced' him had enough manpower to spare to keep an eye on all their subjects. In fact, if I remember correctly, the organization had died a fast death because of the Magus Association catching it and dealing with it as swiftly as possible. They weren't much, but they were planning some potential damage to Magi's affairs. Still, Sigma... how do I break the subject without sounding too boring?
Born through the abuse of Hisau Maiya before she met Kiritsugu, the young man went through something similar to the Spartan-II project from Halo: Indoctrination, magical enhancements at the expense of a natural growth, and set a limited lifespan which, until I was proved incorrect, could be reversed to a normal one.
I was quite sure that this break out of his wasn't canonical at this point since he was introduced in Fate/Strange Fake which was... well, years after Fate/Stay Night. And yes, I know that some events in the timeline are different in the Prillyaverse but... this was not one of those. It just shouldn't be possible within this context since Kiritsugu would have done something about this.
He would have noticed already wheter he was retired or not. So, the point of this interrogation was not to determine who he was, but what he was doing here and if he was still tied to the organization that groomed him to become a vicious mercenary. And before I could do this, I found the task hindered by a complain coming by a certain irritated pinkette.
"Ne, Mastah! I can interrogate him myself."
Eli was malding. That was the best way to describe her irritated mood as she murderously glared at the one that bested her like that. It had been a surprise to me, two Servants got screwed with the simple task of guarding an unarmed individual and got counter-captured because of it. I didn't see myself in a better position to stop him if Sigma somehow broke from his restraints right now, which is why Quartz was monitoring what his hands were doing at the moment, floating right behind the 'prisoner'.
"You lost that privilege when you skipped your duty and pleasure by bickering with Setanta and give our guest the chance to cause you two issues," I remarked, the lengthy lecture that preceded this entire circumstance fresh in our minds, mostly theirs, and I could tell this by the flinches coming from both Servants. "So, I will take care of this matter myself."
The girl looked ready to wage war to get through with her demands, but my word was final and she could tell from the equally-intense glance I threw at her. She moved her gaze elsewhere after a while, deciding to just brood and see what I was going to do about this. After all, I couldn't just let it be after what had just happened.
"Now, you can try and play the 'tough and yet righteous' Rambo or you can be honest and tell me why are you here, Sigma?"
The mention of that name alarmed the young man, with his eyes narrowing onto me as he studied me a bit more. I remained quiet for a moment, expecting him to keep his silence so I could grill him a bit more but-
"How do you know my name?"
"I know many things. I am an agent of someone that knows a lot of things too, like the fact you are here and causing a lot of issues already."
...
"Who are you? You know my name."
"I am someone with a name, just like you, except I am not in the mood to play the question game. I want you to tell me why you are here."
I didn't hesitate to press the matter. I wasn't in the mood to play it nice and peaceful with someone that could potentially kill people if given the means to. He continued to look at me, potentially within the effort of trying to understand who I was. Finally, he seemed to concede to the lack of hints in that regard and sighed.
"I am looking for my mother."
I nodded. "Hisau Maiya, assistant to Emiya Kiritsugu. Do you understand that forcing your way into finding them will only set you up for trouble with the Magus Killer?"
"He retired," The boy replied and I scoffed. "Didn't he?"
"He retired from active businesses, but he is still quite operative with some tasks to keep up with the expenses. Sustaining a family ain't cheap."
The boy's eyes flickered at that. "I wasn't aware-"
"And you were walking into a potential issue that could have seen you killed or worse if you hadn't been prevented from getting witnesses to magecraft," I interrupted, having a lot more to say than just that. "Do you even know how close you were to getting the Association to paint a target on you and hunt you down?"
"...I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize. Not to me, maybe yourself, but... I believe you are not a bad kid, just upset and particularly frustrated."
"I'm not a child."
"Indeed, you are a super-soldier in the body of a child. My bad."
His left eye twitched at that flat rebuttal, but Sigma kept quiet.
"Do you have a name beyond Sigma?" I asked.
He slowly lowered his head. "No."
"...Then perhaps it would be better if you pick one, even if for the time being," I reasoned calmly, getting a questioning look from him. "Kiritsugu's children are not aware of his past and his business. And I think it would be in your best interest to keep a 'normal' identity until within safe walls."
A nod, but he looked hesitant. "I'm not good with names."
That caused me to sigh loudly. Really? Why is it that numb killers have that lack of creativity for simple things but are extremely good when killing people? Yes, training helped, but some things should be naturally imprinted by this sort of training. Improvising? What if he had to come up with a quick cover during a mission? Would he just stutter?
I held back my own irritation on the matter and threw out the first name I could think of. I mean, I had one on my tongue that matched just right with this individual. "Sai. Your name is Sai for now."
"How is it written?"
I bit down a groan at this request, and went on to retrieve a pen and a piece of paper. After a few minutes of dialogue, the boy was freed from his chains and I was glad that he tried to not do anything funny. He could have still caused issues, so Quartz continued to watch over him as I retrieved a glass of water and an apple. The boy expected the beverage, but not the fruit. When I mentioned it was best for him to have all the energy if he ended up facing Kiritsugu, he took my words as true and proceeded to accept my 'offerings'.
Twenty minutes later and after I was done setting both Eli and Setanta for some chores while we were out, Sigma and I made our way to his current destination. Strolling through Fuyuki seemed to calm the young man some more as I could see him look around with the same awe of someone that knew this was potentially going to be his home for the time being. It wasn't stupid to assume this much.
Kiritsugu may find his arrival worrying, but he knew better than to be opposed to an idea his wife may accept wholeheartedly. I could already imagine them housing him as their nephew, and Illya calling him 'his cousin' or something like that. We were soon there and I rang the doorbell. Sella came to check, the maid clearly busy with other chores but being the only one nearby to answer the door.
"Yes?"
"Apologies, is either Kiritsugu-san or Irisviel-san at home right now? I found this young man asking around about them, so I helped him to get here."
Just a matter of being a good samaritan. Nothing more. Plus, I wasn't lying since I did find him asking around, but I omitted the fact he had come close to badly wounding an old man out of irritation and that I had to stun him twice before getting him to calm down from his assassin mode. Sella frowned hard at that, but her gaze moved to the young man beside me and she picked up that it was important. A nod later, we were briefly inside the Emiya's house. Well, I was briefly, while Sigma was dropped in there.
To my surprise, Kiritsugu was in the house and Irisviel was not. His wife had gone out with Illya to buy some groceries, while Shirou was busy doing his homework. Leysritt was in the living room, but she was so engrossed in the current program shown by the TV that she didn't even notice what happened. I would have been surprised if she just dropped it all to check since that would have been the most not-Liz's behavior possible.
Plus, less people to chat with meant less reasons to worry for any issues. Kerry gave me a long look when I relayed an explanation on how I got involved which was full of suspicion and uncertainty about my truthfulness, with 'Sai' speaking up to support this excuse giving me the chance to leave without further interrogation. Was I going to worry about any new issues in that regard? Maybe, or maybe not. It all depended on Kiritsugu and... Maiya. I could see the woman wanting to be 100% sure that someone that interacted with her long-unknown son was worthy of neutral trust or suspicion.
Just as I was on my way back home and completely done with this, I ended up in a phone call with... Taiga. Now, having looked back at how the day went, I had high expectations for it to be some sort of bad news. Turns out I was wrong and that it was actually the young woman mustering enough courage to ask me on an actual date.
"Oh? I suppose that would be a date."
"Y-Yeah. It's not a formal one so-"
"Dress for a date, but not too formal. I know."
I could hear her blush through the phone. An absurd feat, I know, but I would go as far as say that it was possible because of her ears ejecting steam at hearing this.
"Yes, I- uh... I guess then we shall meet... at your house?"
"Sure thing."
"Good then... see you soon, John-kun."
"See you soon... Taiga-chan~."
I think I heard the beginning of a giddy yell when the call ended, the girl having yet to get accustomed to getting called 'Taiga-chan' and... Let me be clear: It was adorable. And I cracked a smile at how delightful Taiga was by trying her hardest in this relationship. That's not to say that I wasn't, but I was also being careful.
Differently from the brunette I did have some issues on the side which threatened this situation so... I had to be careful. Really careful. Still, the day was over and I could finally catch some rest for good. The next few days proved to be calm and all but... then the first ramification of Caren knowing this situation started to manifest and...
It got a bit awkward for me and... Caren.
AN
Now what's left to see is how will 'Sai' integrate in the Emiya Household and how will things turn on Caren to make things awkward for her too. Oh, it will be so glorious~!
P.S. I now have a discord server! Discord .gg/ceBMM2Zz6c
REVIEW Q&A!
Djdan5555: It will go into canon Prillya plotline too.
The Embodiment of Weirdness: CT is for Clock Tower, while Idiota is Idiot in Italian.
Darkscythe Drake: Yes.
King0fP0wers: He will not babysit Sigma tho.
Sugoijack9: Yes to all.
Kyugan: She wasn't mentioned, but since Fate Zero didn't happen, she has to be still around and working for Kiritsugu.
Giuseppe: Sigma is one of the Masters in Fate/Strange Fake, plot happens after Fate/Stay Night.
Dat-boi-waddup: Yes.