Shirou opened his eyes, he blinked, he looked at the mirror again, attempting to get the traces of sleep out of his appearance. He had woken up prematurely again, he never managed to get a constant sleeping schedule right, he looked at the clock before cleaning himself, it was three at night and he wasn't completely sure he would be able to fall back asleep.

It was the night after the encounter with the female Magus. Shirou was yet again failing to keep himself asleep for a long period of time beyond a few hours. While the great fire that had led to his adoption by Kiritsugu was a rather harrowing event, Shirou felt that with Kiritsugu immediately inserting himself into Shirou's life in a fatherly role had enabled Shirou to be well adjusted after the event. A big part of that was undoubtedly Shirou's missing memories of his life before but while the doctors had deemed him to suffer Amnesia from the trauma of the event, the possibility of him suppressing it unconsciously was a rather large one. While his memories could be just missing, Shirou had not been motivated by a sense of loneliness of being an orphan alone in the world to go diving down too deep into the line of thinking that could lead to feeling the loss of his life before as well as the loss and absence of his presumed family. He supposed that he did not feel one way or another about his life before, rather than out of any profound or petty emotional reason, Shirou had just lacked the emotional depth as due to his Amnesia there was no positive or negative feelings about his family or his past life. As a child of the age of seven, even with no prior memories, he was still far more invested in the mystery that was Magecraft. This had allowed him to dwell on that as well as integrating himself into his strange new life with Kiritsugu. No. Shirou considered himself a well-adjusted individual after such a traumatic event but it had seemed that his body thought differently. Shirou would often wake up with spasms in the initial new month and year with Kiritsugu. He had taken up meditation as a result of that, allowing him to get a degree of rest while not suffering from his body's reactions. It was better now that a few years were past, but due to having to suffer without much sleep for so long, even with a peaceful rest, he was accustomed to few hours of sleep.

Shirou considered trying to force himself to sleep but had decided not to, it was no great loss after all, he decided to spend his time reading a book that he had seen lying around and promptly nicked at the Tohsaka mansion. He had decided in the moment that if it was left lying around it would be no great loss for the female Tohsaka and even if it were missed, surely such carelessness from a Magus deserved to suffer for such a callous act?

After opening the cover, his mind drifted off disturbingly quickly to the events of the day. He had made his decision a few days ago and considered it for even longer but this was not Shirou wavering from his choices. No, he was resolute. There had been almost no thought needed in his initial stages. Shirou was unusually apathetic at his age due to having to start with a clean slate relatively late in his early development but he supposed that his mindset would apply differently to individuals he cared about, he did not know for the only individuals he did care about were fine until Kiritsugu started showing signs about his health. Shirou was unsure exactly how to put into words how he personally felt about Kiritsugu's failing health but through mediation sessions had centered towards a sense of concern on behalf of his guardian.

The predominant priority for Shirou was mostly to discover more about the situation. It was not a situation that he had been prepared to find himself in after all. If it was anyone else, he would have asked directly but this was regarding Kiritsugu here. As fatherly as he was towards Shirou, he still had a colder and more withdrawn stance towards events in life, his father was absolutely not the type to tell Shirou the truth. He was suffering under a curse, that much anyone with knowledge of Magecraft would be able to tell but how was Shirou to know more? There were no avenues possible other than Kiritsugu who would be able to tell from Shirou's prodding what he was seeking and discourage if not forbid him from knowing more. It was still a duty of a son to do what he could for his father however, even ignoring the debt of life that he had owed Kiritsugu. In the mind of Shirou, Kiritsugu represented a true definition of a hero for not just saving but taking in him after the fire. Thus, even when there was no obvious avenue for Shirou to provide his help, wanted or not, he would have to make an avenue and find a way to help. He had made the actions to pave the path into his objective, the rest was up to what he could do with what he had gained. It was his duty to maneuver himself around the situation with Tohsaka after their deal. He was unsure if she would be overly frosty and hindering even with a Geis but he had nothing to go on about her deposition.

Shirou had not known much about the Tohsaka beyond his father's notes. There was an idle note of the young Tohsaka's existence but it had only mentioned that before the onset of the Holy Grail War, she had been spirited with her mother to somewhere safe. Any chance of her being in the war was immediately dismissed by Kiritsugu thought there were idle theories about the extent of her progress in Magecraft. Shirou had considered that it might have been better for him to inquire with the Matou's due to their superior knowledge with regards to curses but a consideration was all there was to that line of inquiry.

Shirou reflected on his prior interactions with the female Magus. There had not been much as assess about her. She was cautious, which provided no indications towards her nature but he noted that an interesting observation was that she was not or had not provided him with the idea that she was a rash individual. She had not attempted to attack Shirou on both occasions, whether due to being wary of him or the gun he had pilfered from Kiritsugu's storage was unknown. Shirou was left with the impression that he had thrown her off balance with his manner of approach and confrontation. He had expected at least an attempt of attacking him. He was not confident for his chances of victory even with a gun, even at the age of ten, who knew her progress in Magecraft? The biggest unknown factor was her magic crest, which as a Tohsaka, she no doubt possessed. If she was able to access an integral portion of the abilities within the crest, he would have been in trouble. She had accepted his deal surprisingly easily though even with him not giving her much of a choice.

Shirou considered it best to perhaps initially display a degree of subservience towards her. It was not as if she could do much to him with the Geis active on both sides but a less aggressive relationship would be better if he did not want her to actively or passively hinder him. Well, there was not much he could do beyond that. Since the deal had already been made, Shirou would just grit his teeth and move on, no matter how the future would turn out. He resumed to the book after the resolution of his thoughts and reaffirmation of his conviction.

It was a book about origins, it was rather just a rather basic introduction but Shirou had lacked much reading material with regards to Thaumaturgy so he gave it a shot when he found it lying around, he had found what he previously knew of the topic to be rather intriguing and wanted to know more as well as try to discover a method of discovering and awakening his Origin if he desired.

He recalled Kiritsugu once mentioning that he had a dual origin of severing and binding, it had seemed that the then Lord Emiya had conducted a ritual prior to Kiritsugu's birth that had revealed his origins and thus resulted in the naming of Kiritsugu by his parents according to his origins of severing and binding.

The book mentioned had provided an insight to a topic Shirou knew the name of but not much beyond. The "awakening" of an Origin. It had mentioned that to "awaken" an Origin was akin to the act of better understanding one's soul. Due to Magical energy being spiritual in nature, to gain a deeper understanding of one's soul could provide a possible boost to the individuals future endeavors in Magecraft. There was a warning in the book that to awaken the Origin of an individual could potentially alter and effect the individuals in extreme ways, impacting their choices and in some cases even altering or setting in stone the fate of the individual. However, the book had also dismissed its own warnings and mentions that a true Magus would accept the consequences and reap the potential rewards of awakening one's Origin to advanced his or her path to the Root. After all, part of being a Magus is to already accept to walk with death.

Kiritsugu would be back in the country in a few hours' time. While Shirou hoped that his father had succeeded in his quest, he doubted it considering the apparent difficulty. As such, Shirou had been rather looking forward to his return as Kiritsugu had made a call to Shirou about obtaining some rather strange items for a ritual. Kiritsugu mentioned that it was related to an artifact the Kiritsugu had come by on his journey.

Shirou idly wondered what it may have been, he knew that it was something that would benefit him as he had no doubt that this was his birthday present. While his birthday had been acknowledged, it was a rather dull affair. It was fine for Shirou, he had not thought about it one way or another and Kiritsugu just didn't seem like to type to focus on such occasions. His father while appearing cold was actually quite affectionate to individuals within his circle. While Kiritsugu had been fine leaving Shirou alone while he went on his trips, knowing his father, Kiritsugu had probably still felt guilty about his trip and had arranged for an opportunity to purchase a gift that would cater to Shirou's interest in Thaumaturgy.

Throughout his adoption and revelations about Kiritsugu, he had learned many things about his Magus Killer and they had developed a surprisingly close fatherly bond. While there was much to be said about his father such as his inability to cook something edible and his bouts of melancholy, there was no denying that Kiritsugu was sincere in raising him.

While Kiritsugu was more withdrawn naturally, he had always tried to act warm and fatherly towards Shirou, while his father had known that Shirou was not nor would ever be a regular child due to his experiences, he had nonetheless attempted to provide happiness to Shirou's life.

It was through his experiences that Shirou had started idolizing Kiritsugu, he did not care what had led his father to aim to be the best parent for him, an orphan of no relation whatsoever to Kiritsugu but Shirou was glad for it nonetheless.

Shirou had accidentally found out an awful lot about his father but it was with getting a possible glimpse of Kiritsugu's experiences that stressed the fact that Shirou was grateful to the elder Emiya. It was not an obligation for Kiritsugu to take him in and treat him like a true son.

The man had already saved Shirou's life, he could have left him in the orphanage and Shirou would still be indebted to him. He could have ignored Shirou and just spent all his time on his goal but he had not. He had tried to balance his time between his mysterious objective and spending time as a father to Shirou as best as he could.

It was through this that Shirou had developed such an appreciation for Kiritsugu's presence in his life, for as far as he knew as a clean slate from the fire was that life was about discovering new things, to indulge in one's desires. Kiritsugu had shattered his belief by his selfless actions of taking in Shirou.

Shirou had discovered the fact that there was a possibility that the actions of the Magus Killer could have been the cause of the fire but Shirou had not lingered too much on that fact. As far as Shirou knew, Kiritsugu had already gone far and beyond just being able to redeem his possible guilt.

There was no doubt in his mind and heart that Kiritsugu had adopted him because he had wanted to out of a degree of kindness in his heart. Kiritsugu may not have been aware but his actions have displayed his authenticity.

Shirou flipped another page on his book about origins, he hadn't had a meeting with the female Magus since the events of the previous day but he inwardly made a note to himself to discreetly return the book once he had finished reading it. He would not want to add an extra factor to his complicated situation with the Tohsaka girl…

Kiritsugu had returned at dawn, he had felt dissatisfied about his failure once again to retrieve Illya. The Magus Killer had a lifetime of experience and without excessive pride could claim that he was one of the best at taking down or getting around bounded fields. As proud and skilled as the top Magus in the clocktower were, Kiritsugu had still been a noteworthy individual even with his lack of skill as well as education in Magecraft. While he was not a major threat worthy of a designation like a dead apostle, he was still considered a threat to the vast majority of the Magi.

He was better at the destroying and discovering loopholes in bounded fields than of other aspects of Magecraft but it had seemed that his better skill was not particularly effective at retrieving his daughter from the Einzberns. Normally Kiritsugu would already have bypassed flaws in the bounded fields without even bothering to take them down. The Einzbern properties were different however.

After a few years in his marriage with Irisviel and the subsequent birth of Illya, Jubstacheit had requested that he improved the bounded fields in the Einzbern properties. He had agreed after some negotiations for payment. It was not an issue for him at the time, he had after all happily married into the Einzberns with a daughter and while the Holy Grail War was not to start for several years, there was nonetheless a possibility of taking the Einzberns out of the equation through a pre-offensive or a kidnapping attempt prior to the war. To not consider the possibility and protect against it without the benefit of hindsight would to the height of folly.

Everything was going well at that time. As such when updating the bounded fields, he had closed up every loophole possible that was able to allow an enemy to enter the properties. It was the best decision that he could have made at the time, any individual that was able to bypass the Einzbern properties whether through brute force or through indirect actions could and would have been a threat to his wife and daughter. Nothing was to be left out, his family would be safe.

He had tried a different approach on every journey he took on his quest. While the Einzberns had many holdings throughout the globe from their vast wealth gained from Alchemy, there was only one building that Illya would be in, the main Einzbern castle. At least, the target was a fixed factor.

Part of his quest aside from directly prodding the defenses of the Einzbern was to acquire magical items that would be of relevant assistance to his quest. Such an item would not be common but he had heard mutterings through his career across the globe. There were items as well as mystic eyes that had the power or utility to take down, dismantle or alter bounded fields. A factor was the cost of such a purchase, however if pushed Kiritsugu would be able to acquire significant amounts both from what he already possessed and what he could further acquire legally or not. The bigger factor was the fact that such items while available to purchase at magical auctions would come with the requirement of obtaining the invite. A member of the powerful Magus family such as the Einzbern even with the lack of status in the Clocktower would be able to easily obtain such an invite. Kiritsugu as he was now however would not be as excellent a candidate that would be 'deserving' of such an invite. Kiritsugu had not the best reputation in the Moonlit world and even disregarding his reputation, he had been out of action for a while so any positives he could obtain with his reputation would be minimal. Even if he were to use it to his advantage, he would draw too much attention on both himself and potentially his Son. This was something Kiritsugu resolved not to do. As such, the only path for the Magus killer was to work in the shadows and wonder around and hoped his lucked pulled him to a path that would be helpful. As evidenced through the experiences that he had undergone throughout his life, Kiritsugu did not have much luck.

Kiritsugu sighed, he took a step into the Emiya residence, he had smelt something cooking, it was most likely breakfast. While Shirou had a talent for the culinary arts, he had no personal interest in it, nevertheless, what he made was still a pleasure to consume. As a father, Kiritsugu had wished for both his children to obtain blissful lives, but by his abilities, Kiritsugu resigned himself with trying his best that he could with Shirou with the time he had left. There was not much he could be able to do for his other child after all...

Kiritsugu had returned in the morning, he had spent the day recovering and after the coming home celebration that Taiga had spontaneously decided needed to happen after coming over, he had asked Shirou to meet at the yard after Taiga had left. Kiritsugu had wished to talk to Shirou about his Magecraft.

At the yard Kiritsugu had pulled out a box containing a small black rod. This was his only result of his Journey. It was something he had found that was thought to be useless but Kiritsugu had recalled an experience during his past career with a Magus culture in Africa that had utilized such a rod for a unique ritual. The rod once removed from the case was heavily saturated with magical energy. It looked on the edge of overloading. While it was pure black, it possessed a formless but crystalline property not unlike a jewel.

"This is an Yliaster Rod, it is made out of ether, the fifth element and through alchemy imbued with the essence of Yliaster."

"Yliaster, is a type of formless energy, it is a factor, concept derived from alchemy. It represents a formless origin in which alchemy can be conducted."

"Through its representation and energy, it will allow us to conduct a ritual which will open a miniscule connection to the root, allowing for us to know your Origin. Now quickly step into the magical circle that I made."

Shirou stepped into the circle. It was a simple circle containing a five-pointed star. The circle was drawn with chalk. Directly in front of Shirou, the rod was placed down, at the other four points of the star, there were metal buckets containing a lit fire, a bucket of water and a bucket of dirt. The final bucket was empty but likely could be used to represent a container for air. Around the yard in strange locations, the strange items that Kiritsugu had asked Shirou to purchase were present, Kiritsugu had lit them up with a strange blue fire that had not burnt the items.

"While as a Magus conducting a ritual, one would conduct it in a workshop preferably adequately isolated from the outside world in order to reduce interference, the reason we are not conducting this ritual within the thick walls of the Shed is due to this ritual being rather unique."

Shirou was silent through Kiritsugu's lecture on the ritual. Absorbing the information greedily. The book he had read had enhanced his already slight interest towards the topic of Origins, now he was presented with a chance of awakening his Origin. He had no reservations, he cleared his mind and tried to entrance himself into a serene state. Magical rituals were to be taken seriously or great peril would befall the victim who disregarded what it meant to be a Magus.

"Now, activate your magical circuits."

Shirou activated his magical circuits and adjusted his breathing patterns, he made sure that that the magical energy flowing through all of the twenty-seven circuits were as smooth and pure as possible. Kiritsugu stood outside at the base of the star in front of the rod and started chanting.

With Fire, the connection is sparked…

The flames in the bucket erupted, blazing higher and faster than before, there was a faint red glow in the magical circle.

With Water, I establish the flow…

The water in the bucket started flowing around in a circle, creating a vortex in the bucket. The glow in the magical circle brightened and changed to a light blue glow.

With Earth, the connection is strengthened…

The dirt in the pail started rattling, some pieces of dirt getting out of the bucket. The glow once again changed, it lit up and switched into a brown glow.

With Air, the connection is projected…

There was a gust of wind and air started gathering around the bucket even becoming visible. The glow brightened to the level of a lightbulb and stabilised into a white glow.

With Ether, I manifest the connection, may the connections resonate and reveal the reality…

The glow changed in colour for the final time, turning the brightness into a blackish purple glow.

Shirou felt his circuits at full output, they were straining from the sudden surge of power, he was calm however, his breathing steady.

He felt a final rush of power, his circuits straining to the point of bursting, for a moment he had thought he blacked out. He felt a bond to an otherworldly location that had felt more abstract than an actual place. He doubted that he would be able to pinpoint it even if he were a first-rate adult Magus of an advanced skill; the connection was but an instant but it had felt right. Indecipherable information rushed through his head and when the rush of power had ended, he had fallen to his knees.

Shirou blinked, his head straining to keep him looking upright, he saw that the magical circle had disappeared, so had the buckets. He saw his father walking quickly towards him, looking concerned. Shirou had maintained a steady respiration cycle throughout the ritual but his lungs were now demanding more oxygen even when it was already full. It was an intense sensation.

The ritual had worked, Shirou had collapsed but he had indeed received a rush of information in the form of vague sensations. It was not through steps that Shirou could describe what he had learned, he had just known instinctively the moment the ritual ended. That was not the priority however, in opening the connection to the root, no matter how minute, it had resulted in information about his Origin being granted to Shirou. The means of transport however were through magical energy… pure untainted magical energy of the highest potency directly from Akasha.

The ritual had just ended but Shirou had felt an intense agony. Never had such potent magical energy in such amounts filled his 27 magical circuits. If Shirou had waited but a second more, the energy would be summoned back to the Root. However, Shirou was under agony, he had felt pain before, but this was of a different variety.

When Shirou had first activated his circuits, it had felt like a small electric shock. His father had cautioned him about not straining his circuits in fear of hindering their future development, as such that was the only time where he had felt a sense of pain in his circuits for, he had no need nor desire to needlessly stress them.

He had felt greater pain from the fire as he could recall vividly. But this was a different sort of pain, instead of an external pain, this had felt as though he was going to explode from the magical pressure inside him. It was but for a single moment, but it was nonetheless unbearable.

Strained by this sensation, Shirou currently possessed one wish, he wished for relief, he wished that the pain would end, he wished that he was eased from the pain. And with that wish made, his twenty-seven circuits lit up at maximum output, and with a desire for relief, supported by an instant with the power of the Vortex of Radix…

Relief was willed into existence…

An object, taking the form of a scarf materialized into existence and gently wrapped itself around Shirou's neck. Shirou had been granted a reprieve from the unbearable pain that was in his magical circuits. In that moment, Shirou felt a soothing pleasant warmth. He felt as if all his worries went away. He had felt great, refreshed and content.

Shirou would have said that at the moment the scarf wrapped around his neck that he had felt better than he ever had if not the fact that it was untrue. He recalled one such incident. It was at the moment where he had woken up from surviving the fire. He felt the exact same sensation currently. It was different though, there was the sense that this sensation, this feeling would not leave him, that it would not just stay for an instant, that as long as he desired, it would continue providing him… relief…

"Shirou… How are you feeling? "

Kiritsugu had caught up, he had helped Shirou in standing back up. It was in a span of seconds but the Magus Killer had witnessed the events of his son in temporary agony and falling to his knees, he had been concerned, he had then witnessed a royal blue scarf with golden decorations materialise and wrap around his son. It had seemed that whatever had plagued his son had immediately seeped out of his being.

Kiritsugu was also rather relieved. While for a Magus with adequate knowledge, finding one's origin was relatively easy, however it either required the correct magical tools or intense pain. He himself had undergone a ritual to determine his Origin through using pieces of his crushed ribs, however he was not conscious while it was happening and the information had to be imparted to him rather than learning it himself.

"Swords and… Swords and Concepts…" Shirou replied, he had not gained any tangible information that he would be able to recite directly but somehow, he knew in his very being that as long as he possessed the correct knowledge and ability he would be able to manifest mysteries regarding the form of his abilities.

"Sword?" Kiritsugu inquired. It was replied with a nod from his son. Kiritsugu looked contemplative, it was long a held discovery that Origins mostly manifested themselves in abstract forms. He had not known that an Origin could be a physical object. He also noted that his son possessed a dual Origin like himself.

While Origins were supposed to be immensely private, as part of a soul of a Magus, the research into Origins had been quite widely documented. While dual Origins were not extremely rare, just unusual, they tended to resonate and be of a similar nature to each other. His own Origin of Severing and binding was related no matter how unfortunate the effects were. It was an important observation to note that Shirou's Origins were seemingly unrelated. Kiritsugu was not sure what to make of such an observation but his instincts had told him that it was an important observation.

He wondered how had his son's Origin would affect him in different ways. In another way, it had seemed that one of his Origins had already started affecting him. The effects would certainly provide an explanation as to how his son had been able to project a noble phantasm albeit at a high cost of magical energy even with an advanced process. While Shirou's improvement on the relatively useless skill of Graduation Air had served to improve as well as streamline the process, it would not provide a regular Magus with the strangest and desirable ability to project a Noble Phantasm. It was known that as long as one produces Magecraft corresponding with one's Origin, it could be greatly boosted by the individual's connection to the root through their Origin when performing that specific aspect or type of Magecraft. That was the only and most obvious reason as to the cause of the ability of the younger Emiya.

"What is that?" Kiritsugu questioned, he put the thought of the discovery of his son's Origin at rest, more concerned about how an object even one as harmless as a piece of clothing had appeared out of nowhere upon the completion of the ritual.

There was not much to be expected from the ritual. It created a temporary but limited connection to the Root for the individual which would through the anchor to his or her Origin, agitate and awaken the Origin as well as provide knowledge of it. There were cases where the individual upon awakening his or her Origin through the ritual would unconsciously attempt Magecraft corresponding with the Origin but this situation was slightly irregular.

"I don't know, I think it was somehow projected by me… I'm not quite sure how I had done it without meaning to but I don't think it is dangerous…" Shirou replied with a small shake of his head, not comprehending the presence of the object but somewhat expecting the question based on his father's thought process.

Shirou removed the scarf around his neck, he placed it on his hand. He tried to gather magical energy from his circuits to cast a structural analysis spell on the object. His circuits were empty, even his Od was at a minimal level. He concentrated his breathing and gathered enough mana in his circuits before casting the spell.

It had required almost no energy to analyze the scarf even in his deprived state, there was no structure to the scarf at the internal level, the scarf was not empty thought it felt like it but it was rather a shell for something. This meant that it was probably a product of graduation air. What was strange however was that it was undergoing no rejection from Gaia. When Shirou had projected and analyzed the projected object, apart from the obvious observations about the structure of the object, he was provided with the knowledge that the object would fade away and that the object did not belong in the natural order of things, being made out of air. The scarf however had felt permanent, akin to an object made naturally. Beyond that, it had also felt everlasting, like whatever could be done it and it would still be able to exist, a contradiction to the nature of the Scarf. He had told his father as much, only getting a slight frown.

Structural analysis had provided him with nothing. It had told him that he was the creator of the scarf and that it had just been created. His instinct however had provided him with extra information. It was unknown how, but he just knew that the scarf was relief. Possibly from what he experienced, the ultimate form of relief, even.

"My circuits are empty of both Od and Mana from making the projection, however something tells me that this scarf somehow is relief. As in the idea that this scarf is the exact embodiment of what feeling one would attribute to relief. This would explain why the pain from the ritual suddenly subsided… It could have been an ability manifesting as a result of my Origin that allowed me to create an object out of a concept."

"Hmmm…" Kiritsugu hummed, not having much insight that he could provide in response, he had known that Origins could provide its users with abilities, he had experienced it and used it to his own benefit in his line of work after all. However, it was an Origin differing from his own and not much was publicly known about the manifesting of aspects of Origins into mysteries. He dared not offer some potentially harmful advice to his son.

"Why don't we turn in for today, Shirou? It will be better to rest after such an experience."

Shirou nodded as a reply, he turned around in the direction of his room, having a smile as he walked, touched by the concern of his father. He clutched the scarf to his neck, tying it around carefully. He was once again enveloped with its warmth. He went to bed, content with the results of the day. He was too exhausted both from his magical supply being emptied and a strange mental exhaustion to think too much on the events of the day…

Authors Notes:

Shirou reflects on his encounters with the female magus, allowing us to get a deeper insight into his motivations, as well as the degree of the conviction towards obtaining the help he needs in discovering the nature of and potentially curing Kiritsugu's Magical curse. In learning the degree of his conviction towards the well-being of Kiritsugu, we also see his thoughts on the elder Emiya and the degree of attachment towards Kiritsugu. It is important to recall that he was effectively born at the age of seven after losing or suppressing his memories, as such he is but a baby hatchling with regards to noticing and recognizing his own feelings even with a sensation as simple as concern towards an individual. Shirou has a strong attachment towards Kiritsugu that could hint toward his later descisions. One must take note of the distinction that rather than like canon Shirou who is also attached to Kiritsugu, this Shirou's attachment has no link whatsoever toward wanting to emulate his savior.

Shirou is also slightly apprehensive towards the aspect of having to deal with Rin in the future. He doesn't know where he stands with her and really doesn't care how he is regarded in her eyes. However, he wants there to be no conflict that could hinder his path of trying to help Kiritsugu. He will keep this line of thought in mind first for his future interactions with Rin.

This is a shameless and unsubtle attempt of inserting Shirou into his future path and discovering his path in Magecraft by giving him such a method of discovering his Origin but really it is the fastest way that I could drift him towards the main points of my story. I could have engineered a different incident and expended the story to the wider world of Type-Moon and Magi or even OCs but I would just be writing myself into a hole later on in the story. Besides, I quite like the manner in which I introduce him to his Origins. To expend the story would be to disregard what happens with his regular pre Holy Grail War Life and throw him into the thick of things but this way allows me to expend on the line of plot of Shirou's attachment towards his father and Kiritsugu's illness. This also provides an interesting parallel towards regular Shirou in that this Shirou is more aware and observant and a hypothetical universe in which canon Shirou notices Kiritsugu's failing health could be interesting for his reactions alone.

While Kiritsugu fails on his journey to retrieve Illya once again, he comes home with something positive for once. A unique ritual in which I devised according to canon rules. I find the challenge of working with canon rather than breaking canon or around canon more interesting.

While in the beginning of the Story Shirou has already awakened both his Origins after the implantation of Avalon, to awaken his Origin and be consciously aware of his Origin is a different thing. Considering all canon example of individuals who have awakened their Origins have also been aware of it, I don't suppose my approach breaks or intrudes on canon.

Also here are some details towards Shirou's tracing of the "scarf".

During the ritual, a link to the Root is formed. Due to his Origin and the awakening his Origins, he is able to pull on the infinite energy from the Root but in a single instant. He pulls pure and large amounts of energy from the root in order to grant his 'wish/desire'. Due to his Origins, assisted with the Root, he manifests the Physical Embodiment of Relief in the form of a scarf.

This is basically the maximum potential of Shirou's powers or will be for a while. Basically it's just a scarf but its also a object of the same tier as Avalon and Ea in which its the actual concept of a thing. Like literally nothing will provide more of 'relief' than the scarf the scarf is actually the embodiment of everything that is relief. The only perks are that it can't be destroyed and that it will provide relief.

However, as useless as the scarf is, while it is a physical concept of relief, to experience relief beyond not feeling pain is also to not be actively dying. As such, beyond the Main concept that is the Mechanism of the manifestation of the peak of Shirou's powers, most objects have secondary uses. Due to this, beyond a primary concept in which the scarf is best at, a secondary concept of relief is to not be actively dying even if you're feeling peachy. Thus, the scarf provides a secondary healing ability which will heal all wounds that doesn't kill Shirou. Lancers spear will still gut Shirou like a fish. It might shrug off Rin's Grandr's though. So I suppose that the Scarf provides relief from all wounds, heals some wounds and provides a minor (B- rank) Magical resistance.

Its a useful object but nothing game breaking. It still is fueled by the power of Akasha though so I suppose its abilities seem apt.

Noble Phantasm

Conceptual Scarf of Akasha

Type: Magical Object

Rank: EX (But it still is just a scarf)

Range: Upon direct interaction with the object

Maximum amount of targets: Whomever is touching it?