Shirou pondered as he strolled atop a wooden platform with his father, Kiritsugu, at the Fuyuki City Harbor. The warm sunlight bathed the harbor as father and son walked side by side, creating a peaceful daytime scene. Gentle waves lapped against the wooden beams beneath their feet.
Despite spotting a nearby ferry and fishing ships in the distance, Fuyuki City Harbor could be considered relatively deserted. The pier, which would be crowded in any other popular city, was only populated by a few dedicated fishermen casting their lines into sparkling water.
Fuyuki City was a small, yet fairly modern, city thanks to a recent government-led modernization program. However, its population amounted to less than a hundred thousand, a pittance for a Japanese city. As a result, daily life was quieter, with residents opting for relaxed walks rather than the typical rush of a major city.
For Shirou, a quiet city was preferred. He couldn't recall his preferences before the fire, but he now enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere that allowed him to taste the salty breeze and admire seagulls gliding gracefully overhead. Their cries echoing in the air.
The simplicity of this environment appealed to the core of his being, free from needless complexities of the modern age. It felt as if he were closer to the essence of the world, where he could sense the natural laws that governed reality. It was much preferable to the faster-paced lifestyle of Fuyuki City's Shinto district, which he had to endure during his trips to the library.
The Shinto district, a clean and modern area with high-rise buildings, was currently undergoing extensive construction. The great fire that struck Fuyuki had left over half of the district in ruins, sparing only a few areas. Investigations into the cause of the fire were ongoing, but the emergency services had not been needed for a while.
The fire had ravaged the district, destroying 134 buildings. Many of them had collapsed, unable to withstand the fierce conflagration. The effects of the fire were akin to a natural disaster on the scale of a tsunami.
Shirou wondered about the cause of the fire, but he refrained from asking his father. Kiritsugu's pained expressions whenever they passed construction sites on their way to the library made it clear that there was more to the situation then met the eye.
Perhaps that was one of the reasons why his father brought him to the harbor. Shirou looked at Kiritsugu, noticing his weathered face and his usual messy hairstyle that spiked up in all directions. For once, his father wore a casual attire instead of his signature black trench coat ensemble.
Kiritsugu, catching Shirou's gaze, offered a soft smile, which Shirou returned. The due paused momentarily, with Kiritsugu placing his left hand on Shirou's shoulder, guiding him toward the center of the harbor where shops selling fishing paraphernalia were located.
"Shirou, let's go fishing." Kiritsugu declared, attempting to infuse a hint of cheeriness into his tone—an atypical behavior for the usually brooding man Shirou had known so far.
"Fishing?" Shirou questioned.
"Yes. Fishing. While being scholarly at your age is a rare and positive trait, it would be good for you to enjoy more of the environment. I wouldn't want you to spend all your days at the library."
"Ah, is this why you have been bringing me on 'outings' these past few days?"
"Well…" Kiritsugu winked and smiled slightly at Shirou as he continued, "The other day, you didn't seem to enjoy our trip to the riverside park, so I assumed that you would be the type to prefer areas closer to nature."
"I was fine with the park really…" Shirou asserted in a sheepish tone. He tried to convey his feelings about the matter. "It was just that I felt that it was too crowded."
Kiritsugu quirked an eyebrow at him, prompting him to continue with his explanation.
"It's just that there were other kids around. And well, when they came up, I didn't know what to say."
"It just didn't seem natural, starting a conversation out of nowhere. I felt that we were too different to communicate. I didn't know how I was before, but guess I wasn't interested in discussing the same topics."
"Hmm…" Kiritsugu pondered for a moment before speaking. "Well, that's the purpose of these trips I keep bringing you on."
"I suppose you might find me annoying, but it would be good for you to find something you like, other than reading. We need to create new memories to replace the ones you lost due to the fire."
"Take some advice from the old man here. Will you?"
Kiritsugu gave a cheerful smile to Shirou. He tried his best to channel the cheerful spirit of his late wife. As much as it was an antithesis to his personality, it would be the best way to help his emotionally disorientated son.
Kiritsugu tried to drench up long forgotten embers of memories from his youth before the incident on the island. He attempted to recall how it was like being a boy of Shirou's age. He shook himself away from the memories and gave himself a reminder that it was best not to push his son too much. Their circumstances were very different.
They stopped the conversation as they resumed their walk. Each felt that they said too much, neither of them were particularly chatty individuals. However, even as Shirou walked, he felt his steps become more purposeful, filled with anticipation for the future.
Kiritsugu spotted a nearby small fishing boat docked nearby and flagged the fisherman down. He paid for the fisherman to bring them out deeper into the sea, away from the coastline. The boat, around ten meters long, was powered by a small motor. There was a small cabin for where the controls of the boat were located. As the motor was left running when the fisherman caught notice of Kiritsugu, they were able to quickly get out to sea.
Shirou was quiet throughout the boat ride. He was observing the waves, the sightings of marine life. He silently observed and took a mental snapshot of everything he was seeing. Cataloguing the sights of what he saw and categorizing them into his understanding of the world.
The boat was soon stopped at a calm stretch of sea. The fisherman had turned off the engine a while ago, allowing the motor to cool down. The duo found themselves at the edge of the boat, where they could rest their butts upon a trunk. They gazed out at the expanse of water, the simmering sunlight dancing on its surface. They stood in comfortable silence, appreciating the beauty of the moment and tranquillity of their surroundings.
After having their fill of immersing themselves in the serene scenery, Kiritsugu approached the fisherman and engaged in a brief conversation. Successfully persuading the fisherman at lending out the tools of his trade, Kiritsugu returned with a case and fishing rod already equipped with a reel. The fisherman's rod appeared well-used yet reliable; a modest tool compared to the expensive rods favored by some anglers.
Sitting back down next to Shirou on the trunk, Kiritsugu secured the rod to the gunnel of the ship before placing the case on his lap. Shirou watched as Kiritsugu opened the case, revealing a compartmentalized interior filled with an assortment of lures and baits.
Shirou was allowed to make a choice from the collection. Not feeling entirely comfortable with the live bait, he hesitated before jabbing his finger at an artificial lure. Kiritsugu picked up the chosen lure—a colorful rubber fish that resembled a sardine.
Despite his father's apparent lack of fishing experience, the universe seemed to play a curious trick as the knot Kiritsugu tied, though appearing incorrect, miraculously bound the string attaching the hook and lure together.
With the successful threading of the lure, Kiritsugu flicked his wrist and cast out the line into the still waters. It seemed that his father was displeased with the distance that he sent the hook as he quickly reeled the line back. He proceeded to offer the rod to Shirou, allowing his attempt. While Shirou gave it his best shot, as a child lacking the strength of an adult, his attempt fell short as well.
The duo continued to attempt casting the line at a satisfactory distance, exchanging the rod back and forth before Kiritsugu, having finally gained some sort of proficiency, sent the hook sailing through the air, the line unraveling and trailing behind the arc of the attempt until it gently kissed the water's surface in the distance. Shirou, impressed by the throw, settled in for a long wait.
As they waited in comfortable silence, Shirou heard a faint sound of snoring. Turning his head slightly toward the cabin, he discovered that the fisherman had dozed off, exhausted from waking up before dawn for his day's work.
Realizing this was the opportune moment, Shirou decided to ask the questions that had been weighing on his mind since that fateful night of his first nightmare about the fire. Judging by his father's improved mood over the past weeks, with his recent actions even deserving the description 'fatherly', it seemed to be the best time to make an attempt.
"Ne, Kiritsugu…, Could you tell me more about the world of magic?"
"Tell you more about the world…?" Kiritsugu was momentarily surprised by his son's request. He had anticipated questions, of course, but he expected Shirou to first demand to learn magecraft. It was a surprise that Shirou's curiosity was directed toward the moonlit world.
I shouldn't be surprised. His circumstances have made him very different than a normal child after all. Kiritsugu contemplated. Inclined to answer his son's inquiry, while he acknowledged that he had his hesitations about teaching magecraft, educating him about the world as whole was a different manner. Besides, perhaps he would be less inclined on pursuing magecraft if he gained a broader understanding of the world.
"While Magical energy exists, along with other forms of energy that can induce supernatural phenomena, they can all be referred to as Mystery."
"Mystery? Is there a solution then?" Shirou questioned, puzzled by the term.
"In this context, Mystery refers to the mystical rather than an unknown problem. But both meanings stem from the Greek word 'Mystêrion'. And while there is no problem, there is a solution, of sorts."
"The path to the solution has been sought by Magi ever since before the common era. The obsessed call it the truth to the world around us. It is more commonly known as the Root….
As Shirou listened to his father's explanations, he was captivated, eagerly absorbing the additional knowledge to what he knew about the world. Occasionally, he voiced his questions, but for the most part, he remained silent, content with the newfound understanding of the world around him.
At that moment, Shirou had never felt more at peace. It felt, for the first time since he woke up from the fire, that there was meaning to his existence. He felt emboldened, his body filled with a strange sense of energy.
Observing Shirou's deep focus and heightened awareness, Kiritsugu felt a slight sense of concern. However, he dismissed it as mere childlike fascination. He was glad to see his son's eyes fully present in the world, no longer displaying the slightly unfocused gaze they typically held.
Ignorant of his father's observation, Shirou felt that, for once, everything was right with the world. He had found a sense of purpose in understanding the truths of the world.
Authors Notes:
Just wanna show the bond of Shirou with Kiritsugu. Kiritsugu is not OOC here. We know that he can be fairly charming in canon, evidenced by Taiga's crush on him. He was never described as a bad father, just bad at purposely teaching Shirou magecraft wrong. He was a pretty good father to Illya and with last chapter's understanding, he's gonna do something about the messed up kid of his.
Canonically, Kiritsugu was hesitant to teach Shirou magecraft due to his motive to learn magecraft. There was a conversation with Taiga in the VN, ' If you carelessly teach him Kendo, he might just use that katana and hurt somebody one day.'. I think its fair to say he didn't want Shirou get in a situation where he would cause hurt to himself or others.
But as a decent father, he still wants to help his son which is why he initially teaches Shirou kendo first, perhaps archery too but that isn't really mentioned in canon. It makes sense too as Shirou's main motive is to gain strength over his helplessness in the fire. While my Shirou still has nightmares due to the cursed fire, it doesn't really affect him much psychologically aside from sacrificing his memories to the fire this time.
The real concern for Kiritsugu later on, would be that Shirou is too much of a typical Magus, wanting to know about the 'truths' of the world. But we'll see how that development pans out. This is due to his origin of conceptualization.
We know that Origin has pretty large effects psychologically as evidenced by Shirou's sword origin. But there are other effects like Kiritsugu despite not being used to tying a fishing knot, is able to get it to bind together due to his origin of binding and severing, though alignment plays into it. How it affects Shirou is that in combination with his lacking memories due to the fire and the desire of wanting to reconcile what he knows, he has an innate unconscious compulsion to understand the truths/concepts of the world.