Hello, it's wonderful to see the reception the last chapter got!
Also, I added another Author Notes at the end of the chapter rather than so that people may have a better understanding of what I wanted to say after reading this chapter.
Also, last chapter has been reworked with the error of Eto being the foster sibling rather than step.
Beta read by D-Quarter005 (Co-writer) and NimtheWriter
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-Fuyuki-
A few days had passed since the incident in the shed. Eto found herself looking worriedly at the boy before her as he put on his shoes to prepare to go to school. "Are you sure you can walk? You don't have to push yourself. A few days of missing school wouldn't do you any harm."
Turning nerves into circuits; just achieving one would cause a blinding amount of pain. Shirou failed, his attention slipping which caused a backlash that nearly resulted in something she didn't even want to think about.
'His body is tense, he's still not fully recovered…'
Truthfully, she would have preferred to keep him here longer, but the boy was very adamant that he was perfectly fine and just needed a few days of rest before being back to his optimal self.
"Just yesterday, you were barely able to walk properly without feeling cramps all over your body. It's a miracle you got by without any permanent injuries; don't push yourself for something as small as this."
"I told you I'm fine, nee-san," he answered, giving her a reassuring smile, obviously trying to dissuade her from taking over. "It's not that big of a deal. The old man checked my body and said I didn't suffer from anything permanent. It's just my body was momentarily paralyzed due to the shock of my circuits backfiring," he casually replied without a hint of worry or regret.
She noticed how he didn't even feel sorry about what happened and showed no sign of fear or regret nor any willingness to stop. It left her frustrated beyond belief, balling her hands into fists as she didn't like seeing such a look on his face. "Besides, he promised to teach me how to use my magecraft more efficiently, didn't he? So it's not like I'll make the same mistake again."
"That's not what I'm worried about; it's you, Shirou. I don't want you to do such a thing without my knowledge and possibly end up... Why didn't you tell me about this in the beginning? I practice magecraft too, you know." Despite her unique half-ghoul physiology, her magic circuits were identical to a human's and she still relied on them to channel magical energy when using magecraft.
Although Kiritsugu had recently begun helping her with magecraft, she was mostly self-taught using the books her mother left her. Noroi had very limited knowledge on magecraft and like any pure ghoul, couldn't use it himself. To practice magecraft by herself with just a few books acting as her guide was risky and dangerous, which was why she never truly went in-depth with the latter parts recklessly.
The boy arched an eyebrow, looking at the ceiling as he pondered on her question. "I don't know, I just didn't think I needed to ask anyone for any kind of help. I knew what had to be done and just had to make sure that I would get used to the pain, and it was working. With my progress, in a matter of months or probably a year, I would have been perfectly capable of creating new circuits without any issues," he thoughtlessly replied in the same casual tone.
"But why not ask me for help? You knew I was practicing magecraft for much longer and even mastered some of the basics. It would have been easy if you'd just come and talk to me…"
"Well, I didn't want to disturb you over such a small thing."
"Small thing..." Her left eye twitched. She was seriously starting to lose her mind at the way he was handling the entire situation. The way he acted didn't make sense, to view mortality and the chance of dying so casually as if she wouldn't care disturbed Eto to many degrees. 'I have to make sure he's safe. I can't let this happen again.'
The memory of his body spasming and going completely still, the lack of response and cold gripping onto his skin still came back to haunt her in her nightmares. In that moment, she truly believed that he had died, and the terror that befell her was something she hadn't felt in a long time. An overwhelming amount of regret and self-hatred flooded her, knowing that she could have prevented it if she had paid more attention, if she had arrived earlier instead of hesitating.
It was a complicated emotion to explain. The young girl felt a sense of unease as memories of the past re-emerged. The people she had met while living in the twenty-fourth ward, people she considered to be friends or even family. Most of them wound up either dying at the hands of other ghouls or hunted down by the CCG. It eventually reached the point where she started keeping everyone at a distance for fear of losing them suddenly.
Yet here she was, starting to worry and care about others once more. No matter how small it was, the feeling was still there and that scared her as she feared that tomorrow she'd lose them as well.
"Nee-san?" The boy was slightly taken aback as the green-haired girl came over and hesitantly wrapped her arms around him, bringing him closer and tightening her hold as she buried her face in his shoulder. He didn't know what to do but continued to awkwardly pat her back as if to reassure her that everything was all right.
"You don't have to be dramatic, I'm fine, aren't I? I've survived worse in the past."
Perhaps that wasn't the best thing to say, as her grip tightened and she shook slightly; afraid to let go as if the moment she did, he would disappear.
"I'm going to be late for school. Taiga is going to be mad if she learns that. You know how troublesome she can be." His voice lightened, trying to ease the atmosphere, having some effect as the girl reluctantly let him go. Her eyes were shadowed by her hair as she whispered,
"Be safe. If you're not back in time, I'll come looking for you."
"Now you're just being unreasonable. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself."
"And I, as your sister, don't need to listen to such things to worry about you."
With that said, he walked out of the house while Eto watched him go, her own troubled thoughts occupying her mind. Her attention went back to the living room, which she found to be empty, and she remembered that Kiritsugu was likely still in bed. Glancing at the clock, she calculated how many hours until Shirou came back from school and sighed.
"Alright, I have my own studying to do as well."
Now fueled with the added resolve of looking after her brother, and a new determination not to slack off on her own magecraft studies, she walked into her room and retrieved her mother's books on magecraft. Although a number of the spells were either too dangerous or too complicated to try practicing on her own, she had already read through most of them.
Flipping through one of the books, she thought to herself, 'If Shirou is that determined to learn magecraft, I'll have to teach him myself starting from the basics. Maybe that way, I can keep him from trying anything crazy like that again.'
There was no way her adopted father could take on the role of teacher and impart any kind of useful knowledge upon the boy. Having been on the receiving end of some of his attempts at educating her, she could say with certainty that he was one of the worst teachers she had ever known.
This was made worse by the fact that he couldn't even demonstrate any of the basic spells due to his destroyed magic circuits.
'Let's see; first, I'll help him activate his magic circuits and then… We'll start with simple spells first: Reinforcement, Structural Analysis, and…' Flipping to the next page, her fingers went to the third spell that, according to both Kiritsugu and the book, was one of the weakest spells and commonly used by every beginner magus; 'Projection.'
Structural analysis involved using traces of magical energy to send a pulse throughout an object or person to detect any basic details. Reinforcement entailed infusing an object with magical energy through a specific method in order to strengthen its existence in some way. This could mean making a piece of steel harder to break, a knife sharper, or a shield sturdier.
'Body reinforcement? No, that's far too advanced for Shirou to attempt. Hmm, I'll have to hide this book from him, or he might try it if he reads it.'
And finally came the third spell, which she believed wouldn't pose as much difficulty or danger to the boy: Projection magecraft. Simple enough, it involved creating a lesser replica of a simple item, destroyed upon the slightest crack or imperfection. It didn't consume much energy and was deemed useless by everyone.
Harmless, and a perfect addition to teach a novice.
Yes, the girl huffed with pride as she picked out these spells, knowing they were perfect to teach him. So without further ado, she started to study them in greater detail and practice them, wanting to create a perfect course to teach the boy and ensure he would never hurt himself again.
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(Several hours later.)
It had already been more than an hour since Shirou's school day should have ended, and she found it harder and harder to concentrate on her studies as there were still no traces of Shirou returning home. Her fingers tapped against the table as she felt more and more stressed.
"Did he make a stop at the supermarket? No, that can't be it. We did our grocery shopping two days ago, so there's no need to go there. Did he stay behind to help the teachers? But why is it taking him so long? He should have called me by now."
The more she thought about it, the less calm she felt. Fearing that something bad could have happened to him, she decided to take it upon herself to go find him.
"Shirou!" Walking down the streets near the park where she knew he would take the path to return home, the young girl called his name, wanting to find him. "Hello, have you seen Shirou, this boy?" Holding a picture of his face, she asked some of the people about his whereabouts but received no helpful answers so far.
"Sorry miss, I don't think I've seen him."
"That young boy? I know him; he's helped me carry my bags across the street. A gentle soul, but unfortunately, I haven't seen him, little girl."
From businessmen to elderly women, some of whom recognized him, all said they hadn't seen him. She was getting more desperate, her imagination going wild as the scenarios he could have been in became worse by the second.
'Did V find my location? Did he get kidnapped by them, or did a ghoul find him when he was making his way back?'
Each scenario was worse than the last. Her mother's diary mentioned V, a secret organization that operated in the shadows to maintain a balance between human and ghoul societies. Given that Shirou was human and wasn't a threat to their status quo, V probably wouldn't kill him… probably. But other ghouls, well, that was an entirely different scenario. She'd rather her worst enemy find him than those of her own species.
Without even realizing, the young girl walked into the park with her gaze still locked on the picture she held in her hands, wondering if she should ask Taiga and her grandfather for help. But before she could make a decision, her ears picked up the sound of commotion nearby.
"Hahaha, look at him! He's together with the weirdo!"
"Ouch! Not the face!"
"Get him! Why are you all just standing there like ducks?!"
"Grab his hair! Ouch! He bit me!"
The sounds of a tussle, voices of young children filled with anger and pain, echoed in the air as they seemed to be in some sort of brawl. Unknowingly, Eto automatically started to walk towards the source of the sound, her body freezing as she came upon a sight that made her blood boil and her teeth grind against each other.
There, she saw her younger brother, surrounded by a handful of bullies, getting beaten up yet fighting back at the same time, though obviously overwhelmed. But what caught her attention the most was the sight of him standing unwaveringly in front of a young girl, her eyes gazing back at him with confusion. However, Eto did not pay attention to that. The corner of her right eye slowly turned black, her iris threatening to change into a bloody crimson hue.
And just like that, her body moved on its own.
"Urgh!"
"My nose!"
"Mommy!"
In an instant, she struck down all of the boys surrounding Shirou with enough strength to make them bleed, her anger boiling over despite her attempts to hold back. One of them flew back until his head struck the wall, rendering him unconscious. But she paid no attention to them; her entire focus was on the red-headed boy who looked at her in shock.
"Nee-san? What are you doing here?" Shirou asked, his voice filled with confusion.
Her trembling hands went to his face, slowly wiping away the blood as her nose started to twitch at its scent. Almost immediately, it created a tingling sensation within her stomach, a slight pull that made her want more. However, the moment her mind realized how enticing the smell was, the only feeling that could emerge in her heart was pure disgust at herself, an unending amount of rage that nearly tore apart everything in its path.
"What happened to you? Why were they trying to hurt you?" she demanded, her voice trembling with a mixture of concern and anger. Trying to regain control to not let the initial feeling she got from smelling his blood overwhelm her, the answer she got made her more worried and frightened than anything else.
Shirou, for the first time since she met him, smiled, an expression so pure, so jovial that it stunned both her and the girl still standing behind him. Without a trace of pain, anger, or sadness, but pure joy.
"I was saving someone, her name was Sakura! She was being bullied by these people and I didn't like that," he explained.
An answer that should have been quite normal for any person to say in such a scenario. No one liked to see an innocent person get hurt or bullied by any kind of group. The desire to help them was perfectly natural. But in this context, thinking about the expression he had shown, which never appeared once in the past, made the girl have a stray thought at the very depths of her mind.
'Something is not right with him,' she thought.
"Ah, your eye… what happened to it?"
"—!?"
Eto's mind froze up, instinctively covering her right eye as a wave of panic settled in. In her moment of anger, she'd forgotten about her kakugan. "S-Shirou, i-it's not what it looks like!"
It was a moment she dreaded for a while, a scenario where her nature was laid bare for him to see and judge. To find out she had been a ghoul and possibly become disgusted or even afraid of her existence was an all too common reaction from various people.
Yet rather than fear or revulsion, the boy came closer and gently moved her hand away, staring right back at her kakugan with a hint of worry.
"Did you get hurt? Oh wait, is this part of your magecraft? It looks cool!"
"C-Cool?" There was wonder, a rare moment of child-like awe as he smiled rather than sneered. Neither choosing to run away nor curse her existence, yet it was then she remembered that he most likely didn't even know what a ghoul even was.
She chuckled, unsure about what to do or even say as the boy continued to wait for an answer. 'If I tell him, he'll most likely not want to ever be near me again.'
It was bound to happen at one point, sooner or later. Believing she could keep such a secret hidden indefinitely was naive at best. Coming to terms with reality, she smiled at Shirou before gently pushing his hand away.
"I'll explain it to you later, this is not the best place for such a conversation."
"Oh, okay," he agreed easily, going back to speak with Sakura and leaving Eto swimming in her own thoughts. Slowly, her right eye turned back to its normal appearance.
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Walking back home, the young girl decided to carry her brother on her back the entire way, his foot having gotten swollen. Even though he resisted the idea, claiming that it was too embarrassing, she didn't listen to him and forced him to comply.
As for the girl, Sakura was her name, Eto recalled. She'd been grateful towards them, more specifically with her brother who just smiled and mentioned that it was nothing. She came to learn that neither one of them knew each other prior to this event, Sakura being younger than Shirou and attending a different school.
They talked, accompanying her close to where she lived before parting ways.
Now back at their house, both faced Kiritsugu sitting in the living room with a cup of tea and the TV on. His expression turned worried as he looked at Shirou's state, but Shirou was the first one to speak before Eto could.
"Don't worry about it," he said. "I saw some kids bullying a girl and went over to help her. Nee-san here was amazing and took care of them in a single second! I didn't even know she could move so fast!"
Now, the Magus Killer's gaze turned sharp, going from Shirou's to instantly staring at the very depths of her soul.
"I-I-I made sure they weren't hurt," she stammered while explaining the situation. "One was unconscious but didn't suffer any broken bones or major injuries other than some bruises and cuts. The others ran away before I could call the cops."
She hoped Kiritsugu didn't think she lost control of her powers and went berserk on a bunch of kids. Despite how he treated her throughout this entire time, Eto knew perfectly well that the moment she lost control, there would be no hesitation for even this weakened version of the assassin to pick up his gun and shoot a bullet through her head. And truthfully, she wouldn't be able to forgive herself if she were to reach such a state with Shirou around.
"I see…" was all the man said before slowly getting up from his seat. His height towered over them as he approached with steady steps. She instinctively closed her eyes as his hand reached over, expecting to be hit or scolded about her actions. But instead, her body froze as she sensed a gentle hand softly caressing her hair.
Looking back up, she found Kiritsugu with a gentle smile on his face as he spoke softly, "You did good. Protecting your younger brother is what I hoped you would do from the beginning. You shouldn't be afraid nor ashamed of anything; that's the duty of an older sibling."
The moment he said those words, her eyes moistened, and the remnants of anger and rage that stubbornly stayed in her heart slowly evaporated as a strange sense of peace fell upon her, enveloping her being. Holding back her tears, she nodded her head, not trusting herself from breaking and crumbling apart if she tried to talk. Nearly doing so, Shirou did the same, both of them patting her head, a sensation she thoroughly enjoyed and never wanted to end.
"But I still have something to say to you, Shirou." This time, his voice turned stern as he brought his attention to the redhead. "While I commend you for trying to help someone in need, you shouldn't just jump into a situation where you are at a clear disadvantage. Going up against a handful of kids your age is just asking to be on the losing end."
Expecting some remorse and understanding from the young boy, Kiritsugu was met by the opposite as Shirou stared back in defiance.
"But there was no one there who was going to help her, no matter how much I would have waited. And I couldn't just stand there while she was being hurt by them. Even if I get hurt or ganged up on by all of them at the same time, if it means she gets saved, then there's nothing wrong with that."
"Shirou..." Kiritsugu trailed off and Eto saw a flash of worry pass through his eyes. It was the same kind of expression she held when they had their talk this morning. "Regardless, even if you helped someone, you must promise me to not do so again in the future," the old man said.
Unfortunately for them, Shirou remained stubborn and quiet, refusing to add any other words nor make such a promise in the first place.
"I won't get hurt next time if I have more means to protect myself. Like using magecraft to make myself stronger. If I knew how to do that, then I wouldn't have gotten hurt in the first place," Shirou said without hesitation, which only made the man shake his head. It was clear there was more he wanted to say but refrained from doing so, either knowing that it wouldn't have mattered because the boy was too stubborn to listen, or for another reason she couldn't figure out. But he turned and went back to his seat, finishing his cup of tea before looking back at her.
"There's a first aid kit in the kitchen, use it on Shirou, and both of you join me at the porch. I believe it's time for me to take my role as your teacher seriously," he instructed.
"Wait!" she interrupted suddenly. "About you teaching Shirou magecraft, can I help too?"
Kiritsugu raised an eyebrow. "I don't have a problem with that but why? You're already much further along in your studies than him."
"I know but I still want to help. I only started learning magecraft a few years ago, so I'm not that far ahead. In fact, I think it will help me to see things better from Shirou's perspective. I've even started reviewing the more basic spells for beginners. I-"
Here, her voice faltered. "I don't want him to accidentally hurt himself again."
Kiritsugu nodded knowingly. "I think I understand; I don't see any harm in you teaching him. In fact, it would be ideal, as I can't help him that much anymore." With him agreeing to the terms, she quickly went to her room with the boy still hanging on her back to apply first aid.
A few hours later, they all gathered in the living room. "So, Shirou, I want to know why you tried something so reckless like trying to turn your nerves into magical circuits in the first place?" Kiritsugu asked, to which the boy got confused and tilted his head.
"What do you mean why? You're the one who told me that's how a magus creates circuits to use for spells," Shirou answered genuinely. His response had Eto staring at Kiritsugu with a murderous gaze as it dawned on her that he was the one responsible for the boy nearly killing himself.
"Why would you teach him something like that?!" she couldn't help but shout in disbelief and anger. "You, out of anyone, should know what kind of danger such a practice would bring upon one's body. Are you an idiot?!"
It was rare for her to shout at anyone, let alone Kiritsugu, but this action in particular was just too much for her. Unable to give her a response, the old man just sighed and nodded his head. "Right, I take full responsibility for this mistake."
"I'm sorry to say this, Shirou, but that step isn't necessary for a magus. A true magus doesn't need to create circuits. Instead, they're born with them naturally, inherited from their family lineage," Kiritsugu revealed to the boy, who went wide-eyed at the revelation.
"In most cases, you just need to learn how to activate them. Creating new ones is a desperate move only a suicidal person would attempt. I had hoped the experience would be enough to dissuade you from pursuing magecraft. The moonlit world is a dangerous and unforgiving place filled with more enemies than allies where the slightest misstep could get you killed or worse. I don't want you to suffer like I did. That's why I tried to discourage you from learning magecraft. But it seems my attempt ended up making things worse and nearly got you killed. Can you ever forgive me?" he asked remorsefully, fully willing to take blame for his actions.
"You don't have to say sorry, I understand," Shirou answered without missing a beat. "Now, can you teach me how to activate my circuits?" he asked enthusiastically, fully moving past the previous topic without taking any of it to heart, something that made the man sigh, not knowing whether to feel relieved or exasperated at how easily Shirou accepted his apology.
"Alright, I'll teach you. So, let's start our lesson. Your sister will help."
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"Existing magic circuits?"
Within the living room, Shirou muttered with confusion as he heard Kiritsugu's explanation regarding the basics of magecraft. Starting with a quick lesson on magic circuits that explained how they existed naturally within the soul and bodies of an average magus.
"You think I have those?"
"I believe so," answered Kiritsugu with a slight nod, taking a sip of his cup of tea before looking back at his son with a more serious expression. "You most likely have a handful of them at the very least, but we can't be sure without checking first. There are many cases of children who had magi as their ancestors and inherited them, although they're often diluted and weakened with successive generations."
That's when he turned his attention to Eto, the girl nodding before walking forward and making the preparations. "It varies from person to person, but there is a way to forcefully activate one's magic circuits with someone else's help — unfortunately, I can't help you in that regard."
"Why?"
"Due to events of the past, my circuits aren't what they used to be, so I will guide your sister through the process to help you in my stead."
He didn't expect Shirou to have many circuits, given the average magus had about twenty with some new to the supernatural world with no notable lineage having less. But, if Shirou managed to have anything close to that, it would be the most ideal outcome. As for the boy's biological family, that topic was never brought up as he knew the mental scars from the fire were still fresh.
"Will it hurt him?" Eto asked, slightly worried that her actions might harm him.
"Don't worry, at most, it will be no different than a shock, and will only hurt for a second," assured Kiritsugu with a warm smile. "There are other ways, which consist of using the method I gave him before. Some people are able to activate their magic circuits by practicing nerve circuits. But we've seen how that went with him, so we may as well stay away from it."
The girl nodded, looking back at her little brother, who didn't seem concerned about the entire ordeal. Quite the opposite, he was very much looking forward to it. 'I can do this, just gotta be more confident.'
So, she took a deep breath and followed her father's instructions.
"All right, Shirou, take a deep breath," she said, placing her hands on his back, focusing on her next move. Activating her mental trigger, which consisted of imagining herself biting into her own flesh, she sent a small, quick pulse of magical energy into his body.
"Aargh!" a shout of pain escaped his mouth, shaking Eto quite a bit as she momentarily believed that she had done something wrong and messed up.
"Shirou!" Her heart shuddered, caught off guard by the exclamation of pain causing her to instinctively shout his name. Doubts filling her mind when seeing the boy momentarily collapse on all four limbs and take deep breaths of air. "Is he okay?"
The former Magus Killer, still maintaining his calm, went over to check, his face fully focused before he nodded. "He's fine. Activating one's magic circuits always has similar effects. Slight shock but otherwise, nothing harmful."
"That wasn't as bad as I expected it to be," the boy said, slowly catching his breath and trying to sit back up with Eto helping him.
"Think of magic circuits as being no different than a muscle," Kiritsugu explained. "This is the first time you're truly using them, and you will feel sore for the next few days. To fully develop them, you need to practice regularly, just like a muscle. If left unused for many years, they atrophy. But since you're young, you'll recover sooner."
After that, came the stage to make a few other checkups. Kiritsugu was curious himself if Shirou would have enough circuits to even be considered a magus. Worst-case scenario would be he had less than a handful, not even enough to cast a single spell. But after a few more minutes of research and checkups, Kiritsugu was stunned by his discovery.
"Five, ten, twenty… twenty-seven? That…that's certainly unexpected," he whispered to himself, gaining a confused stare from the young girl and boy who waited for him to elaborate. "As I said, an average magus would at most have twenty circuits, but you have more than that and their quality isn't bad either."
"That's amazing!" exclaimed the green-haired girl, clapping her hands together and looking at the boy with hopeful eyes. "This means I can teach you about magecraft without worrying about anything."
"You're the one who's going to teach me spells?" Shirou said, looking at her with confusion.
"Yes," answered Kiritsugu first. "Eto and I have already talked about it and we agree that she would be a better teacher for you. To start with, she'll be teaching you three spells taught to most newcomers: Structural Analysis, Projection, and Reinforcement. Practice them regularly to get a good feel of your circuits, and they're also safe enough to not cause you any permanent bodily harm."
Eto nodded, fully taking in each word without missing anything. She made a mental note to keep Shirou from using Reinforcement on himself until he'd adequately mastered it. Reinforcement on one's body was useful, but extremely dangerous if anything went wrong. Her thinking was interrupted when Shirou suddenly cried out as a surge of pain spread across his body.
"Ah!"
The same image of a gun's hammer being pulled back replayed in his mind as he went through the same procedure of activating his circuits like before. Instantly, a second wave of electric shock spread across his body, though less painful than the first.
"Careful! You've just unlocked them and your entire body is still very sensitive. It's better to let it get used to them first and heal," said Kiritsugu, already sighing as he saw him try to rush through the process. "Take it slow; you don't need to be in a hurry. You walk the path of a magus, and if you're not careful, you can cause permanent damage or even end your life. Follow Eto's lessons carefully. Don't try to rush, or you'll end up regretting it."
With that, the group agreed to end it for today, with Shirou being helped back to his room and Eto returning to hers with a lighter heart. She jumped on her bed, a smile slowly growing on her face. Thankfully, everything went well today.
She was very worried that upon opening his circuits, Shirou would find himself with less than the bare minimum to be even considered a magecraft user. Yet fate did not disappoint her, as not only were such worries proved to be false but he even stood slightly above average in terms of number of circuits.
"Hm?"
The girl's attention was pulled towards the sound of someone knocking on her door. Going over to check, she found Kiritsugu standing with a document in his hand.
"Shouldn't you be going to sleep, old man?"
He sighed at her response, "Not you too, Shirou is stubborn enough to keep speaking to me that way, but you're old enough to know better, Eto."
"I know, it's just fun to use it. But I'm being serious, you should be in bed right now; you're gonna have a headache in the morning again if you stay up too late."
Unlike Shirou, she had some idea of the curse plaguing his body. That was what he told her it was, a curse, neither providing any details nor explanation about how, where or when he got it. His prior words made it clear that it slowly ate away his health each passing day, a reality that worried her constantly.
"I can take some pills to alleviate some of the symptoms, and it has been getting more and more bearable lately."
"You don't need to lie to me."
"..."
An uncomfortable silence fell between them. If the day ever came where Kiritsugu met his end… Eto worried about the impact it would have on Shirou. Having heard and even seen with her own eyes how his past trauma still haunted him with Kiritsugu serving as his main pillar of support. "Did you have something to say to me?"
He nodded, "I believe it's time for us to address a topic that even Taiga has been bringing up a lot lately. Concerning your education and how it is best for you to start attending school; Homurahara middle-school to be more precise."
He passed her the document, which turned out to be an application with her name on it. Homurahara? She was pretty certain that was the same name as the high-school Taiga was attending.
"School?" That caught her off-guard; the sudden topic caused her previous thoughts to take a seat at the back of her mind as she repeated the word to herself. "I'm sorry but… this is kind of coming out of nowhere. Why now of all times?"
"You're still a young child in her early teenage years, girls your age all attend school while you, so far, have stayed home reading and studying magecraft. It's something I've been thinking about for a while and Taiga has been bringing it to my attention rather frequently lately."
She wanted to add that a large chunk of her time was also spent writing a book. An activity, she secretly started without anyone's knowledge as she got the idea from reading other novels — wanting to share a story of her own. Though, the thought of either Shirou or Kiritsugu reading it and giving her their thoughts was kind of embarrassing. She wanted it to be perfect before showing it off to the two of them!
"I've also made no effort into teaching you other subjects and that is something I wish to correct before it's too late. I have spoken with Taiga's grandfather, he will forge the necessary documents and handle the legal procedure and formalities to make you attend middle school even though you haven't gone to any school prior."
"B-But I'm so far behind with many subjects!"
"Taiga will handle that, she will be your tutor and help you catch up with everything. Trust her; even if she tends to act odd at times, that girl is gifted at teaching others according to her grandfather."
To be honest, Kiritsugu was initially against it. The idea of a half-ghoul studying amongst other children had left him on edge. There were just too many unknown variables for him to make such a decision and his degrading body made it harder.
But over time, the wariness went away as the girl proved herself to be more and more reliable and someone he could trust. Starting to see her in a similar light as Shirou, his third child that had the right to live a regular life despite her anomaly.
It made him realize that Illya was in a similar state, and he had been treating Eto like those who saw his daughter as nothing but a puppet. For him to share their train of thoughts would be hypocritical and an aspect he did not wish to continue practicing.
"I… I don't know, won't I have less time to look after Shirou?"
"I understand why you're worried about him; his recent incident had me worried too, but I'm certain that he learned his lesson and since we've taught him how to properly use his circuits, I doubt anything bad will happen anytime soon. But of course, it'd be best to keep an eye on him from time to time. You won't be alone in this, and he is a grown boy capable of taking care of himself if taught properly."
School… the girl didn't know how to feel about it.
A new experience that made her slightly fearful, a new environment where she would be completely out of her element and surrounded by strangers. It made her worried but a part of her was also curious about living such a life — one that she previously believed to be impossible.
Observing the female students chatting with their friends as they returned from school had always piqued her curiosity about such a life.
"If all things proceed smoothly, then you will get started next week. I have already bought the materials you'll need as a student and tomorrow, we'll go get you measured for a school uniform."
Just as he was about to leave, Eto brought up a topic that had been occupying her mind since this morning. "Shirou… he… he saw my kakugan."
"..."
A deafening silence descended between them.
"It happened this morning, when I found him getting attacked by those kids. I got angry and… I didn't even realize it until he pointed it out. He thinks it's part of my magecraft and I promised to talk to him about it later, but I couldn't bring myself to tell him today." Her voice trembled, her fear of rejection growing each moment and making it that much harder to tell the truth.
"You want to tell him it is part of your magecraft? He doesn't know what a ghoul is nor what it means to have a kakugan, it is a simple solution."
"No!" She answered immediately, "I don't want to lie to him, not like this for the rest of my life. I don't want to give him another reason to hate me more."
She wasn't blind to the fact that such a lie was bound to fail eventually with costly consequences.
"You think he'll hate you when you tell him you're a ghoul?"
"I know he will, everyone else did — even you."
A somber expression befell Kiritsugu's face as she mentioned that, yet it wasn't something he could deny. Another regret added to his ever growing pile, one that continued to weigh down on his mind every time he looked back on it.
"I'm… I'm just not sure what to do anymore, if I continue to stay quiet he'll just come and ask for answers."
"Shirou is not 'everyone,' he's still young and cares about you; keep that in mind. But, whether or not you want to keep this matter hidden is completely up to you. I can't make that choice for you. Though I can tell you that none of us hate you nor do I fear your nature as a half-ghoul anymore."
"I thought you were worried that I would lose control and harm someone," she whispered quietly.
It hurt Kiritsugu to see her in such a state, which only served to further affirm his decision to give Eto a life where such thoughts would go away.
"You didn't lose control when saving Shirou from bullies nor when you found him in the shed. You were able to stop him before he went too far due to my own negligence. By this point, I know you're not the kind of ghoul who loses control easily or sees humans as nothing but food; you're nothing like those monsters and should never think of yourself as one. I trust you and so does Shirou, so just enjoy your life. Go to sleep, I will take you to meet the principal tomorrow morning. I'll do all the talking, you just need to be present, that's all."
He yawned, clear that his drowsiness was catching up to him. So gently patting her head, he went back to his room, leaving Eto standing in front of the door in silence.
A lone tear streamed down her face as she felt a wave of warmth filling her heart.
(Next day)
"How was school today, Nee-san?"
Sitting at the porch, the young girl was greeted by Shirou, who came over and sat next to her, having just returned from school a few minutes after she came back with Kiritsugu. The atmosphere was serene, with a gentle breeze rustling the leaves of nearby trees, and the distant sounds of birds chirping in the background.
"It was okay, I guess. The principal didn't even ask me any questions. We just went over my application and took some measurements for my uniform. I'll be starting soon. Taiga also mentioned she'll be stopping by more often to tutor me," she explained, her voice carrying a hint of relief.
"That's great. Now you can hang out with friends," Shirou replied optimistically.
Friends? She doubted it. Eto had no real plans for socializing with any of the local students. Instead, she was hesitant to even talk to them. Prior habits and experiences resurfaced every time she thought about it. Anxious to avoid her identity and location being leaked, she preferred to keep herself low-key at school, even requesting Kiritsugu not to use her original name in the records.
"Say, do you remember what I told you yesterday?" she asked, knowing this subject couldn't be avoided any longer.
"About your eye? I thought it was your magecraft. If it's some family secret, then you don't need to tell me," Shirou replied respectfully.
A secret it was, though she did not want to deceive him like that. Reinforcing her resolve not to take the easy way out by simply lying, she took a bated breath and replied, "That was my kakugan."
"Kakugan?" Shirou asked, his brow furrowing in confusion.
Obviously, he wouldn't know what that was or what it meant. Without any prior knowledge and understanding about what a ghoul was, it didn't help the situation.
"Before I answer that question, tell me, Shirou, have you heard about ghouls?" she inquired, hoping to gauge his level of knowledge.
He nodded with some hesitation, closing his eyes to think about the question she asked. "I think I know what they are. Aren't they those zombie-like creatures you see in movies and games? Some of the students in my class play such things, and I've seen some books about them."
As expected, what he knew came from fiction and cultural references. The boy was still young, and there was no way Kiritsugu would teach him about every kind of species in the supernatural world — making it clear to her that he wanted Shirou to live a peaceful life.
"Well, there are ghouls that closely match that. They're usually a corpse that's been reanimated by vampirism. But what I'm talking about is a different kind of ghoul.
"There's two kinds of ghouls?" Shirou asked as his eyes widened in wonder.
Eto chuckled at his question and nodded. "There's the undead kind that you're talking about and then there's a living variety that's treated as a separate species from humans."
"Living ghouls?" Shirou's curiosity was piqued.
'He looks so innocent' Eto thought as she smiled sadly. "Have you heard about any of the attacks going on in Tokyo in the news?"
"You mean those cannibal murders? I remember hearing some of the adults talking about them. I think one of them said it was a ghoul; is that what you're talking about?"
She nodded. "Those are living ghouls or gallu as the Mage Association and the Church call them. Most normal people aren't aware of the difference, so it's common for people to call them ghouls. A lot of them live in Japan, especially in Tokyo so that's why you hear about them so much. The only kind of food they can eat for sustenance is human flesh and their own kind."
"Have you ever met one?" Shirou inquired, intrigued by the topic.
She hummed, her feet swaying back and forth as she looked at the orange sky. The setting sun created a serene atmosphere that helped to calm her nerves. "I have, more than you would think."
"Did they attack you and try to eat you?" Shirou's concern was evident in his voice.
"No, you can think of gallu like regular people; there are good ones and bad ones. Their biology is very similar to humans to the point that they can easily live amongst them without anyone knowing. But, like I said, they can only eat humans and other gallu as their stomach will just reject anything else and they could even starve to death. But yes, I have met plenty of gallu who helped me in the past. It's especially thanks to a few of them who went out of their way to help me that I'm still alive today."
"Really? I didn't know that," Shirou admitted, surprised by the revelation.
She took a deep breath.
"There are a few ways to identify them, even though it may seem difficult, given they look like any normal human. The first is their inability to consume regular food. The second is their eyes. When they use their powers, their kakugan shows, which causes the white of their eyes to turn black and the iris red." Eto turned her attention to him, letting her kakugan appear willingly this time, feeling anxious as she waited for his reaction. Her heartbeat sounded like a drum in her ears and part of her expected him to recoil in fear and possibly run back to his room.
"You're… a gho— I mean, gallu?"
"...yes."
"The same one that can't eat anything else but blood and flesh to survive?"
"... Y-yes."
Yet, much to her surprise, Shirou proved to be an odd one. Rather than reacting in fear, his next question confused her.
"Wait, so all of the times I made those dishes for you, and you said they were good, was that a lie?" There was some trace of betrayal and disappointment in his eyes, but the reason behind them was so different that she didn't even know how to answer.
"Eh?"
"So is that why you and the old man disappear at night? I don't think you would attack someone just to eat them, so where did you get the food?"
"H-He would contact some people who would bring us limbs and body parts from people who had already died from natural causes." She answered hastily, not wanting him to believe that she hunted down innocent people just to satiate her hunger.
"So then, you never really liked my cooking." The sadness in his voice grew as he looked down, making her panic as she waved her hands.
"No! I can still taste and eat regular food! I'm not a complete ghoul, I'm only half so I'm still part human. Meaning, I can still eat regular food and I love your cooking! I would never try to deceive you like that Shirou! It's thanks to your cooking that I don't have to eat human flesh as often as I used to! But, I still have to eat it once in a while."
"You're not lying?" Shirou's voice held a note of skepticism, his brows furrowing slightly as he searched her eyes for any hint of deceit.
"I swear!" Her response was immediate and earnest, her eyes meeting his with unwavering sincerity.
"Then that's good, I was worried there for a second," he replied with a relieved smile, one that she shared before realizing how far they'd veered off topic.
"You're not afraid of me?"
Shirou shook his head, "Why would I be?"
"Because I just revealed that I'm a half-ghoul known to eat people?"
"You haven't tried to eat me before… you just laze around in the living room and read books all day." She didn't know why that dry response hurt her pride. "I'm more scared of you breaking something when cleaning the house than of you trying to eat me."
"You don't have to say it like that…"
Why did this conversation take such a turn?
"Well, I am surprised that you're a ghoul. But you've never given me any reason to fear you nor have you tried to eat me. So I don't see why I should be afraid of you all of a sudden because you told me you were a ghoul. Plus, the old man wouldn't have let you stay with us if he thought you were dangerous," he said clearly, without a hint of deception.
"..."
"Were you being hunted because you're a ghoul before coming here? Is that why the old man took you in?"
She was in a limbo, absent-mindedly nodding her head. "Hm?" She finally noticed that Shirou had placed both his hands on her shoulders.
"It's okay, I don't know the details but no matter what, we'll keep you safe here. If anybody tries to hurt you, I'll protect you. It doesn't matter whether you're a ghoul or a human, you're my sister and that's all that matters."
As if recalling something, the boy told her to wait and quickly went inside before returning, holding a wrapped box in his hand, passing it to her as she looked at him with curiosity, wondering what it was. He chuckled awkwardly while scratching the back of his head.
"Well, the old man and I wanted to celebrate you getting accepted into school. Taiga especially insisted on getting you some sort of gift and before I returned home, we stopped by the mall. I don't know what the others prepared, but I got you this, I hope you like it."
Placing it in her lap, Eto slowly unwrapped and opened the box, her eyes widening as she took out the small, red stuffed teddy bear inside.
"It's not much, I know and perhaps I could have gotten—"
His words halted as before he knew it, a pair of arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer. Shirou found himself within the embrace of his sister as she hugged him tightly, her shoulders shaking and smile growing. "You dummy, I love it, it's perfect."
Unlike this morning, he didn't resist out of embarrassment and just reciprocated the hug.
"But you did get one thing wrong," she said, pulling away to look in his eyes. "It's my duty as your older sister to protect you, Shirou; not the other way around." There was no longer any hesitation or fear in her voice. At that moment, the CCG, other ghouls, V; none of it mattered. Only a single resolve burned brightly within her heart.
'From now on, I will make sure that you are safe. I will protect you.'
Protect him from the dangers that made her life a living hell in the past.
.
.
.
"You told him everything didn't you?"
After her conversation with Shirou, the latter returned inside to prepare dinner while she remained seated outside snugly hugging her new gift. The smile on her face refused to die down anytime soon as she hummed peacefully without the slightest worry in her mind for the first time in what seemed like an eternity. Perhaps this was what it felt like to live without hiding your true nature.
"I did, I told him everything about what I am and what I have to eat to stay alive."
"Judging from your actions, I take it he handled it well?" Kiritsugu asked, smiling as well as he gazed at what the girl held in her hand.
"Strangely enough, he seemed more worried about the possibility that I might not have liked his cooking." She answered with a chuckle, still unable to grasp how that boy could have reached that kind of conclusion when someone confessed to him that they were a man-eating ghoul.
"Do you find that strange?"
"I would be lying if I said no, but still I am happy with his response. He's far too accepting for his own good, showing little to no fear even in front of someone easily capable of killing others. I guess I'm just worried that attitude will land him in a lot of trouble in the future."
The man scoffed, neither disagreeing or agreeing with her words. She was right after all, between the incident at the park and nearly dying while trying to create pseudo magic circuits, his adopted son didn't show a healthy sense of self preservation. His eyes clearly showed that he had no regrets and would do the same thing again if put into a similar situation without hesitation.
"I have to agree with you on that, but I can rest easy knowing that he will not be alone."
"You know, this made me realize how lucky I truly am. As far as I'm aware, there are no ghouls like me who managed to get a comfortable life free from bloodshed, let alone a half-ghoul. I know not all of them are bad people, they don't want to kill innocent people just to survive and they are being ruthlessly hunted down each day. I hope that one day I can help them experience this same feeling."
The man frowned at her answer. "It's understandable that you want to help them, but keep in mind, it's impossible to save everyone. Don't let your ideals trap you in that train of thought or it will cause you more pain than anything else."
Kiritsugu's words echoed in Eto's mind. Even after living with him for so long, she still knew next to nothing about his past other than he used to be a mercenary of sorts. But the way he said that made it clear that it was something he had probably experienced.
"Don't worry, I would never do anything that would put you or Shirou in danger. I may want to help, but I won't sacrifice my family to do it. I won't let anything threaten my family again.
"I see, but that's a matter for your future self. For now, it's best to focus on the present."
"I will, you don't have to worry about that." Hearing her say that, Kiritsugu nodded before walking back inside, followed by Eto shortly after.
Shirou behaved the same as usual as they ate dinner, the entire ordeal and consequences Eto feared of her revealing her nature merely becoming a bygone thought.
For now, she just wanted to enjoy the moment.
AN: As this is an AU where Tokyo Ghoul and Fate/Stay Night co-exist, there are technically two types of Ghouls:
The first type is the second stage of vampirism - a decomposing corpse incapable of coherent thought that instinctively seeks flesh and blood in an attempt to reconstruct it's body and relies on its sire's magical energy to keep from decaying further.
The second type is a humanoid species of unknown origin that can only feed on the flesh of humans and their own kind. Given the living state of their bodies, they're often nicknamed "living ghouls."
The Church and the Mage's Association officially refer to them as Gallu - the Mesopotamian origin for the word "ghoul."
Hope this clears up some confusion as other questions will be addressed will be addressed later on as the story progresses.
Also, I have been told that the website is very buggy lately, so if something does not seem right or the chapter shows up blank then let me know.