Shirou Emiya "S" Trailer
Shirou tinkered with his weapon as he performed maintenance and made some minor enhancements. Technological advancements had been experiencing a boom the past few years, including weapon technology. The blades were semi-detached from the crossguard as he made changes to the gun barrel and magazine.
Assembly always came easy to him, but Kiritsugu's guidance gave him intimate familiarity with gunnery. It was funny. Shirou had experience and felt comfortable with them, but the guns were his least favourite component of his weapon. The twin blades were the form he used more frequently even if it was the area he had the least training in. They were created by a memory of a pair of swords he'd seen before. It helped that he didn't have to worry about reloading his weapon when using them as swords. They also became a bow when the swords attached at the hilts.
Carrying arrows were a pain. It was easy enough when practicing at a range or helping with patrol in an isolated area, but it was more annoying when moving about as proven when occasionally travelling with Kiritsugu.
Well, that was in the past now.
Even so, Shirou could remember that smile he gave when saving him. He could remember Kiritsugu's weary soul as he mentioned that not everyone could be saved. Still, he had witnessed Kiritsugu do what he could to curb the threat of grimm.
The happiness of saving someone. The restless continuation of protection even after denouncing his old dream. Shirou found value in it. He felt a spark of contentment when Kiritsugu sounded relieved by his words.
Shirou hadn't been allowed on all of Kiritsugu's trips, though. He frequently left alone. Shirou didn't want to pry on the person who offered him so much, but it had left his mind to wander many times. Was is for a threat level Shirou wouldn't have been able to handle? Was it something to do with the Fujimura's? He wasn't blind to their activities, yet he actively chose to ignore it like the other townsmen. Was it something personal?
Anima was an individualistic place. Somewhere people were told to take hold of their own destinies. Somewhere where people could rise to fame, but it came with a lot of other problems. It was as much of a place where people could hide or pirate. The Kingdom of Mistral liked to try an enforce it's rule over Anima when governance was overtaken by a new council after the war decades ago. Their attempt was a colossal failure, yet the Kingdom continued to believe their ruled the continent. In truth their rule only extended to about a seventh of the continent, and even there their rule wasn't iron-clad.
The town he resided in was outside Mistral's control. Shirou had every reason to believe the Fujimura's dealt in some shady businesses, but they also provided many of the men that protected the town from potential grimm and bandit attacks, though rogues rarely came around these parts – presumably from the Fujimura's influence. As long as the townsmen weren't personally effected, they turned a blind eye for that reason.
He heard the door open.
"Shirou~" Arms draped over his shoulders before wrapping around his neck. "I'm hungry." It was still hard to imagine Taiga and her grandfather to be central people to that group though. They were excitable people to say the least.
He felt exasperated fondness. They didn't start off close but she inserted herself in his life anyway. Even more so when after one trip Kiritsugu never returned.
"I'll start cooking right after I finish with this. I'm almost done."
"Mmm." Taiga peaked over his shoulder. "If you're playing around with your weapon again, you should at least give it a name."
"I told you, it doesn't need one." Nameless. Shirou deemed it unimportant. While he held some fondness, it was ultimately a replaceable tool. Come to it, he would use any weapon.
"Naming things are half the fun. I named all of mine." Taiga knew her way around a sword and staff. It was scary how talented she was. She wasn't a huntress, she recently became a teacher for non-combatives, but she used to participate and win in tournaments. Shirou was happy that she wasn't risking her health or life in combat, but it still hurt his ego to know she was more qualified than him.
Shirou finished his weapon maintenance, cleaned up, and walked into the kitchen to begin preparing dinner. He could hear her stomach growl even so far apart. "You can always eat at home of you're so hungry."
"And miss out on your cooking? No way!" Taiga had been tapping her hands lightly against the wooden table until he commented, at which time she slammed them down shaking the table. "As it is you're going to leave me soon. All the way off to Mistral."
"They have the most resources." He technically could keep helping out as he had been or even start wandering like Kiritsugu had. Kiritsugu never had a license and things worked out just fine. There was still a lot Shirou felt he could learn though, so what better place than for a school for huntsman and huntresses.
Taiga elbow rested on the table, bringing her arm up to use as a headrest. She smiled fondly towards Shirou. "Still doing it for that dream of yours?"
Shirou was a little flustered. Taiga supported him, but she also teased him a lot. It was a little hard to handle.
He stubbornly refused to answer, bringing his attention back to the food so it wouldn't burn. He plated everything before setting the food on the table before sitting across from Taiga and joining her as she had already started helping herself to the food.
After dinner, Shirou cleaned the dishes before grabbing Nameless. He was going out to help on patrol.
It had been calm. That was a good thing. A world where no one needed saving, that was his dream. It was contradictory to his desire to save people, but not having his short moments of twisted joy was nothing compared to the fear, sadness, and desperation people were in from needing to be saved in the first place.
Shirou could still recall the fire and destruction as he fled saving only himself.
It should have never happened.
No one should ever have to feel that way.
No one should have been left behind.
His attention is brought to the sky as he heard a familiar cry. A griffon. Pesky things. Winged grimm were particularly dangerous as walls didn't act as a barrier to them.
Shirou slid the bow off his shoulder and held it out with his left hand. His right palm opened to create a blue outlined weapon with his semblance and further manipulated it to better suit as a projectile. He pulled it back, past the point of feeling tension until he couldn't pull it back any further. He aimed and it shot up into the sky hitting the griffon. The grimm returned to dust and his semblance created weapon sparkled away in blue.
It was useful, but he had average amounts of aura.
He continued his patrol looking for other grimm, but the area was clear.
Shirou looked up at the shattered moon.
Someday, he'll achieve more.