"Shirou, I love you."

The knight proudly proclaimed to the boy, no her lover. He stood there, basking in her glory one final time. They had done it, they were victorious and their contract was over. He knew what the outcome would be, and now he finally confronted it. The wind calmly blew, as blinding light emitted from the knight. He closed his eyes, the light being too much for his eyes. When they opened again, the knight disappeared, with no traces of her left. He stared into the sunrise, knowing he would never forget this moment. Or any moment the two of them shared in their short time together. But he was happy, genuinely so. Despite the short tenure, he found love that he had never known before. The knight had stolen his heart and would remain, forever etched into the boy's soul...

Shirou woke from his peaceful slumber. Once again, Saber was the only thing on his mind. When confronting these memories, it came with many emotions. Happiness for meeting her, for falling in love with her. She understood him when no one else could, and vice versa. The two developed a bond that could never be severed, no matter how apart they were. But given the nature of their ending, these memories were tinged with sadness. Make no mistake, he told her everything he needed to say. There were no regrets about what happened during their tenure, he was fully sure of it. Although he did long for her at times. It was only natural someone would long for their lover. Despite his sad feelings, it didn't make him extremely depressed. Tohsaka thought he would be, but he wouldn't succumb to such feelings. If anything, his sad feelings gave him unwavering determination, to see her one day. To continue the dream they both held dear, forever in each other's arms.

Looking around his room, he eyed the small lion plushie on the floor. He held the plushie, remembering the day it was bought. He had to remind Saber she was still a girl. She could see herself as only a servant, but he would never see her that way. Despite her stubborn insistence, all Shirou saw was the beautiful girl who stole his heart. He smiled recalling how she thought she was strange for liking lions. Shirou sighed, he couldn't sit here and think about Saber the entire day. He had other responsibilities to attend to. He put the plush on his bed, letting it sit in full view. It would be another typical weekend for the boy. Illya would drop by as usual, and the two would do something.

Sure enough, as the afternoon rolled in, his sisters were at his doorstep. Fuji-nee would talk about something in her usual way, and Illya would be playful as always. Once Fuji-nee left, it was the two of them again in the Emiya residence.

"Shirou, we should decorate the house." That was a terrible idea to Shirou since he liked how simple the interior looked.

"Why would we do that?"

"I don't know, it would be more interesting than just sitting here." She got up, heading to the other rooms. Specifically, she made her way into Shirou's room. When entering the room, she stopped when she saw the stuffed animal sitting on the bed.

"Shirou!" Shirou quickly got up from the kitchen and headed in the direction of the voice. Of course, Illya would go into his room, but he quickly remembered. Usually, he hid the plush where no one could see it. But it was sitting there in full display. He quickly made his way to his room. He knew Illya would have something to say about the plushie sitting on his bed.

"What's it, Illya?" Illya pointed at the tiny plushie Shirou forgot to put away earlier in the morning.

"Since when were you into stuffed animals?"

"Oh, that. That isn't exactly mine."

"Then, who does it belong to?" Shirou thought of how he would explain it to her. She had interacted with Saber before, mostly in a hostile manner. However, the two were more cordial once Illya was taken in. Saber even cleaned up Illya's face in the dojo that one time, after tiny crumbs were still on the white-haired girl's face. So it wasn't like Illya didn't know about Saber's soft side and maybe possibly had some inkling about his feelings for her. She was smart that way, picking up on details others wouldn't care to notice. Besides, the two of them were fairly open with each other since Illya revealed parts of her past a while back. They trusted one another, so he might as well share.

"It was Saber's. I bought it for her on a date we had." He went on talking about the date and the many events that transpired. The more he talked about it, he couldn't help but laugh at some parts. Saber's awkwardness was adorable, and it was still funny to think about. He decided to leave out their little falling out since it did somewhat damper the picture he was painting for Illya. He looked over at her, who stared at him with no reaction on her face. This surprised him since he thought she would tease him.

"Aren't you going to say something or tease me?"

"Why would I? It was obvious to anyone you two were a thing. She was going easy on you during your training session because she didn't want to hurt you."

"That's pretty observant of you, Illya." He chuckled, remembering how easily Saber defeated him during their training session. "Even if she was going easy, she beat me extremely easily."

"Yeah, I guess so." Illya was reacting with no emotion whatsoever. He thought she would ask him more about their relationship. But here she was, talking as if she wasn't fully invested. But Shirou decided he wanted to reminisce more on Saber, continuing to speak fondly about the blonde-haired girl.

"She was amazing." Shirou's mind was filled with memories of the blonde girl. His cherished memories of her played in his mind like a beautiful melody. "Despite our problems, I never saw someone more beautiful and headstrong than her. She-"

"She was also a failure." That immediately snapped Shirou out of his thoughts. How could Illya say that about Saber? What would she know about the knight?"

"Illya!"

"What? It's true."

"Saber isn't a failure, she never failed me when I needed her!"

"Then tell me Shirou. Who failed our family in the Fourth ritual? She failed to win the grail! All she had to do was bring it, and then Papa and I would have a happy life!" Ah, there it was. It was natural Illya felt resentment over something significant like this. The voice of a hurt child's sadness finally let out, after years of pain. Judging by her outburst, she didn't know the true nature of the grail. The darkness that corrupted the cup that almost swallowed Shirou on that final day.

"Illya, I understand you are frustrated. However, even if Saber successfully helped win the grail, there wouldn't be a happy ending for you. The grail was corrupted, there was no incentive to win it." Illya looked up to him, her eyes widened in horror.

"Shirou, what do you mean by corrupted?" Shirou let out a deep breath, it was time to explain the horrid event he went through that day.

"During the battle, Kotomine threw the contents of the grail at me. The final words he said were "Angra Mainyu". After that, the contents enveloped me whole, as I was dragged down to a hell I couldn't fully comprehend. I couldn't get up, no matter how hard I tried. I felt intense malignancy, a great evil taking over all my senses. Then, there were faces screaming, thousands of them circling me. I thought this was the end, I was going to die here. But it didn't end up that way. Somehow I was able to pull myself out of it. Kotomine again drowned me in that hell, but I was able to project Avalon inside me and get out of it. I rushed at him with full speed, using the Azoth dagger I plunged it into his heart, killing him." This was the abridged version of what happened, he didn't need to give all the excruciating details. He looked at Illya, who was processing everything described to her.

"Angra Mainyu." The name was uttered slowly, but Shirou could tell it had significance to her. She took a deep breath, facing Shirou with her eyes no longer widened.

"As you know Shirou there are seven classes of servants." Shirou nodded but was confused about where this was going.

"There was an eighth class, a violation summoned by the Einzberns. This forbidden class was Avenger. That is the class of Angra Mainyu, the one branded with all the world's evil. Through the events of the third ritual, Angra Mainyu somehow made his way into the grail, corrupting it forever. The corrupted contents are what the priest used, and what you felt was Angra Mainyu's essence drowning you.

"And, the Einzberns weren't aware of the corruption?"

"No, we didn't know. It was thought that after his defeat, Angra Mainyu wouldn't cause issues. As you can tell by your encounter, that was wrong." Her features saddened again, as she looked off in the distance. "This means, there was no hope for me. The grail would have been corrupted during the fourth ritual. Even if won, it would have only caused sadness and pain." Shirou knew all too well the results of the grail, he was the breathing example.

"Which is what ended up happening with the fire. And what caused Kiritsugu's untimely death." Illya knew about the fire, but Shirou's other statement alarmed her.

"Papa was cursed, wasn't he?" Shirou solemnly nodded. Kotomine was 100% truthful with him, telling him how he was responsible for Kiritsugu's death. He had to have tainted him with the cursed substance like he tried doing to Shirou. It was all meant to get a rise out of him, which it did. The rage he felt for Kotomine was nothing he ever felt before. He was glad that man was gone, after everything he had done. He hadn't told Illya the details in the church basement, and possibly never would.

"At least it's over. Suppose it does ever come back again, I'll dismantle that stupid cup to shreds," Illya vowed. Shirou let out a little smile on his face at her sincere words. Having cleared up her misconceptions, Shirou decided to clear Saber's name with her actions during the recent war.

"Saber may have "failed" in the previous war, but she didn't fail this time. The two of us achieved a victory beyond the grail. When it came to fighting, she was excellent. She defeated Gilgamesh on her own and without that, I wouldn't have been able to save you." Shirou gently explained to Illya, hoping it thoroughly destroyed her notion. Surely, Illya had to have seen her merits based on the information they discussed. That her "failure" in the fourth war was something beyond her control.

"Shirou, will you always speak of Saber like this? Always filled with nothing but love and admiration? Will you always be intensely passionate for her, even decades after the war? Your time with her was short, yet you can still speak fondly of her."

"You're right, Illya. Yes, it was short but that time meant everything to me. To answer your questions, I will never forget her or lose the love I have for her. I believe one day we will meet again. No matter how many decades it takes, we will reunite." The answer to this question easily came to him. No matter what, his resolve would never break. Illya let out a smile at her brother's sincerity. She didn't fully believe in their reunion, but for his sake, she would. She sighed, feeling the need to apologize for her outburst.

"I'm sorry, Shirou for my words on Saber. I'm just...frustrated. I'm frustrated by the life I had to live because of the grail. I'm frustrated with the grail ruining happy memories from my past. I'm frustrated by the grail taking away people I love. I'm frustrated being exploited by others because of the grail. Saber isn't the one I should be angry with." She let out a bitter laugh, something Shirou had never heard before. "It's my ancestors who are responsible for the corruption." All Shirou could do now was point her to a better future. That's what he's been doing since the end of the war, after everything he went through.

"You're free now, Illya. Whatever way you want to live won't be dictated by the grail."

"It seems a little late, doesn't it? Another bitter laugh escaped from her mouth, something that still sounded so wrong. She felt the warm arms envelop her small frame. She looked up and saw the red-headed teen pulling her into a hug. There were many other instances of him initiating a hug, but it still felt foreign to her. Usually, she was the grabby one, constantly hugging Shirou in front of others and when they were alone. But, she was grateful that someone cared to do the same to her. To show physical affection to her meant a lot, for someone robbed of it for years. It didn't take long as tears trickled down her eyes, as she cried in the comfort of the one she loved the most.