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581: As mentioned in chapters 3 and 4, Tiamat is currently in posession of Avalon and plans to give it to Shirou for his birthday. I'll leave a little fun fact here for everyone. When concerning canon characters, this fic's worldline is a fusion of both Fate and Tsukihime. Feel free to make conclusions with that information as you will.
Chapter 6: Daughter
When Shirou woke up and made his way out of his room, he saw Tiamat sitting on the couch, petting a small creature. It looked like a fat beaver without a tail. Shirou looked up at Tiamat to see an emotion he hadn't seen from her before. Anger.
"Mama…?" Shirou slowly approached the woman. Did he do something wrong? He tried his best to be a good child for Tiamat. Did he fail? Was she going to abandon him?
"Good morning, Shirou," Tiamat turned and smiled at the boy. Nothing about that smile was genuine. It wasn't like the one Shirou had grown to love. "Please do not worry. I just found something… unsettling on my evening stroll last night."
"Is there anything I can do to help?" Shirou's response was immediate. Tiamat had done so much for him. If there was something he could do… anything he could do…
"Shirou… would you like to have a sister?" Tiamat asked. Shirou walked over to the couch and sat next to Tiamat. The rodent sniffed at Shirou before licking his cheek. The young boy giggled at the action. "Ah, this is a capybara. Although its diet doesn't consist of worms, I wanted to make something that would put her at ease, so I made some changes."
"Worms?" Shirou looked up as he pet the friend-sized creature.
"Shirou… I found a young girl… younger than you. They were hurting her," Tiamat's gaze hardened. "I heard her soul… like I heard yours. I can't just stand by. I will be going to rescue her, but if you don't want someone else to live with us, then I will leave her with Gilgamesh."
Shirou sat in silence as he mulled over Tiamat's words. Someone was hurting and Tiamat wanted to save them, but Tiamat wanted Shirou's permission before bringing her here… Shirou smiled.
"You gave me this chance to live. It wouldn't be fair for me to take this chance away from someone else," Shirou smiled up at his mother. "If I can be a little bit more like you, I'll do it."
"Thank you… what a mature child I have," Tiamat smiled. She stood up and placed the capybara down on the floor. The creature followed her as she poured some water into a glass. Tiamat put her hand above the glass and light started to shine from her palm.
"When I bring the girl, please have her drink this," Tiamat said as she placed the glass on the table in front of him.
"What is it?" Shirou asked.
"Something that will make her feel better," Tiamat replied softly as she lifted the capybara up. "I shall return soon."
"Good luck, Mama," Shirou said. A small but genuine smile grew on Tiamat's face before she vanished in a flash of light.
When Tiamat appeared back above the horrendous pit, she considered blowing the place sky high once more. She knew of many creatures that resided in her sea that would be more than happy to do so.
I have to remember why I'm here, Tiamat thought to herself. The capybara in her arms took one look at the mound of worms and its eyes widened. It struggled in her arms for a little while before looking up at Tiamat with a pleading gaze.
"Yes, my child. You may eat as much as you wish," Tiamat floated down and placed the capybara beside the pit. The small creature dived into the pit of worms and started to feast. Capybaras were herbivores, but Tiamat had made some modifications. Along with eating different types of plants, she specifically added the crest worms to its diet. Furthermore, she had prepared a microorganism that would eat away at the crest worms in the girl's body before placing them in the water she had prepared.
As the capybara approached the small girl, feasting upon the fanged monstrosities, the girl started to stir.
The first thing Sakura saw when she awoke was a small, brown creature sniffing her face. Sakura immediately started to fear for the creature's safety, but whenever a worm tried to bite at it, it chomped down on its attacker before swallowing.
"H-hello," Sakura addressed the creature, taking her mind away from the pain as she looked at the animal with confusion.
"Hello, young one," Sakura heard a female voice in her head as she started to float. Sakura's eyes widened in fear as she started to flail in the air. As she rose from the pit, she saw herself approach a woman. A woman with long, curved horns and eyes with butterflies in them.
"Angel…?" Sakura muttered. The angel came for her? Was the angel going to save her?
"Not quite, my child," The voice replied as she floated down into her gentle arms. This warmth… it was unlike anything Sakura had felt before. Even when Aoi, her own mother, would embrace her, it didn't feel this warm and loving. "I have come to save you, however. I shall take you away from this place."
"R-really?" Sakura couldn't help but be skeptical. No one had saved her before, so why did this person appear before her now?
"Really," The woman smiled down at Sakura, the butterflies in her eyes flapping their wings. "I shall take you to my home. When I do, my son will be waiting for you. He will offer you something that will remove the worms inside your body."
"You… you can do that?" Sakura's eyes started to water. The pain… the pain was going to go away. The terrible feeling in her body every time the worms violated her. It was going to go away. It was all going to go away.
"Of course, my child," The angel replied. "Now, hold on tight."
Sakura clinged onto the woman. This woman… She was her savior. With a flash of light, the two of them had vanished.
It didn't take long for Shirou's mother to return. Tiamat appeared with a small girl with long, purple hair in her grasp.
"We are here," Tiamat said as she set the girl down. The girl, however, continued to cling onto Tiamat. "My child, you must let go. There is still much I must do."
"Please don't leave," Even though Shirou was still young and inexperienced in the ways of life, he could still recognize the pain behind her voice. It was the same pain he felt when he waded through that fire.
"I will return soon, my child. For now, Shirou will take care of you," Tiamat assured the girl with a gentle tone.
"S-Shirou?" The girl took a moment to look away from Tiamat to look at the boy. Shirou flinched and grabbed the glass of water and offered it to her.
"Mama told me to give this to you," Shirou said.
"T-thank you," The girl took the glass and sipped at it. She then started to gulp down the water before it was completely gone. The girl's grip on Tiamat loosened as she sat down.
"I shall return," Tiamat said before vanishing in a flash of light. The girl let out a small cry, reaching her arm out for Tiamat before lowering it. The look of sadness in her eyes casued a dull pain to ping in Shirou's heart. He didn't know what it was, but he wanted it to go away.
"I'm Shirou," The young boy tried his best to emulate his mother's tone of voice as he spoke. "What's your name?"
"Sakura…" The girl looked up at Shirou, her eyes wide and watery.
"Mama's going to come back. I promise," Shirou assured the young girl.
"But… but what if she doesn't?" Sakura asked.
"She will. Mama's super strong," Shirou promised. Sakura took a deep breath.
"Is… is it okay if I hug you?" Shirou asked. Sakura didn't reply, but she scooted over to Shirou. The young boy wrapped his arms around Sakura. He could feel her shake.
"She'll come back," Shirou promised once more. "She always does."
When Tiamat returned, the capybara was still munching on the worms, but a wraith was making its way down the stairs, glaring at the creature with rage.
"You," Tiamat's voice rang across the room. The ground started to shake as she let her rage bubble forth. The wraith had a look of sheer horror once he registered who was in the room with him.
"It was you…?" The wraith asked in disbelief. The form he had was quaking as Tiamat approached him. He had taken the form of an old man, but Tiamat could see through him. She saw the decaying, rotten soul that wasted away in his pathetic vessel.
"You have no right to address me," With the wave of an arm, the old man was sent flying to the other end of the pit. He crashed into the wall, an invisible force holding him up. Tiamat slowly floated over to him, her eyes full of rage and contempt. "You humans… you are blessed with the ability to grant life and this is what you do with it. Disgusting."
Tiamat flicks her hand and the capybara vanished, sent back to the house to spend time with Shirou and the little girl she had rescued. The ground beneath Tiamat's feet started to shift and change until it was replaced by pitch black water. A small dragon rose from the pool, letting out a mighty roar.
"No… no, you can't do this!" The man screeched as the dragon breathed fire upon the pit, burning every last worm to the ashes. The old man let out a scream of fury as a wave of insects crashed through the entryway towards Tiamat. The Primordial Mother did not even turn. A second dragon rose from the primordial waters and with the help of the first, started to burn down whatever insect got in their way.
"You are the epitome of why humans disgust me," Tiamat flicked her wrist, and the man's arms were separated from his body. He let out a cry of pain that Tiamat ignored. "You do anything for power. To ruin a child's innocence like that. To torture a child like that."
"So this is about Sakura?" The man let a sadistic smirk spread across his face. "Well if that's the case, you— AGH!"
The disgusting creature was cut off when a third dragon appeared from the sea and bit off the man's lower half.
"So that's her name," Tiamat's rage had smoothed over in her voice. While she still let her anger be known, this worm wasn't worth losing her cool over. "She will live a prosperous life. A life without you in it."
"Tch, you can kill this body, but you won't be able to—" The worm cut himself off with another scream.
"I noticed that you have placed a few worms in the girl as well. I have already made steps to eradicate those as well," Tiamat said. At this point she was completely calm. This… thing will die, and Sakura will get to live a good life, free from the chains of these worms.
"Please… please don't kill me!" The man's tone completely changed. In the face of certain death, his tone changed to one of fear. Tiamat turned to see that the worms that the dragons had faced were all dead. She motioned to the dragons and they all made their way back into the sea. Before long, the water had vanished, leaving only the cold ground.
"Thank you…" The man's voice was shaky and filled with terror.
"I did not say I would spare you," Tiamat let the man's torn body fall to the ground. "Enjoy your meal, my child."
The last thing Makiri Zolgen saw was a capybara with gluttonous eyes and unbelievably sharp teeth.
When Tiamat returned to the house, she was immediately bombarded with two child-shaped projectiles. Tiamat smiled as she wrapped her arms around both of her children.
"Sakura," The young girl flinched when she heard her name. "The man who hurt you is gone. He will never come back."
"G-grandfather's dead?" Tiamat clenched her fists as she pulled the children closer. That monster was her grandfather? She regretted not killing him slower.
"Yes, little one. If you want to live with us, then you are welcome," Tiamat replied. Her heart shattered when she saw Sakura start to cry. The Primordial Mother could scarcely imagine the life she had lived to be like this.
"P-please," Sakura whispered.
"Of course," Tiamat replied, kneeling down so she could get a better grip of her two precious children. "Welcome home, Sakura."
Clapy Blapy