A heavy shake rocked the ground. Haru and Taiga stumbled, but Assassin stood steady, glancing up like he knew what was coming.
'An earthquake?' Haru thought. 'Or a Servant fight's aftermath?'
For a battle to do this, it was unreal.
"It's almost time…." the Assassin muttered, turning to go.
Taiga stepped up, loud and bold. "Running after losing, mister? Do you even have any warrior's pride?"
Haru's pulse jumped. 'Is she provoking him? Let him leave, sis. You are not scared but I am. you're not! I'm hurt; I just want to go to a hospital!'
Most Servants would snap at that, defending their honor, but the Assassin didn't care. He ignored her and vanished into the dark.
"Phew…" Haru let out a breath, his legs shaky.
"Taking a cheap shot and running away. He really has no guts!" Taiga griped, still mad about his punch.
"Forget that. The building's collapsing. We need to go!" Haru said, then remembered. "Your grandpa's tearing up the city looking for you. If you don't show up soon, who knows what he'll do."
"Oh, right!" Taiga perked up, slung her sword over her back, and crouched.
"What are you—"
Before Haru could finish, she scooped him up; one arm under his shoulders, the other under his knees. With "'Heave-ho," she lifted him.
Yes, a princess carry… but something felt wrong.
"Wait, what are you doing? I can walk!"
Taiga grinned wide. "Don't be shy, little bro. This is my big sis moment! Don't worry, I'll get you out safely!"
"Does your shoulder hurt? I've got chocolate, my emergency stash. Here, take some."
Haru thought about arguing, but as the chocolate melted in his mouth and her lively energy pressed close; her soft chest brushing his face, he figured, 'Maybe this isn't terrible.'
Don't misunderstand, Haru was seven. No weird thoughts. Just… enjoying it.
'Wait, I'm seven. If I peep at a girl bathing they'd just say, 'He's too young to know,' right?'
'Damn…I've been missing out!'
'Ahem!' Purely to save time, Haru went with it. No other reason.
Just as Haru was enjoying the special treatment, Taiga gasped, stopping so fast she nearly dropped him.
Haru grabbed her neck. "What's wrong?!"
"Look… someone's there."
They got closer, and Haru's face went white.
A massive hole gaped in the ceiling, cutting through the floors to the sky.
In the rubble, a slim figure lay half-buried, still.
Her armor was shredded, showing pale skin mixed with blood. Her golden hair couldn't hide the awful wound across her chest.
"…Is she dead?" Taiga whispered, seeing no breath.
Haru knew that she was not dead, but…
"Yeah, probably. Let's go."
"Huh? Oh, okay." Taiga looked back, but the building shook harder, and she moved on.
In her arms, Haru wrestled with himself. Gilgamesh dying would be a win; no more stress, and Rias could ditch being a Master.
The building could fall any second; carrying her would slow them down.
He owed her nothing.
He shouldn't care.
So why did his chest feel tight?
"Damn it!"
He cursed, tapped Taiga's shoulder, and jumped down.
Ignoring her surprise, he reinforced himself and dashed back through the rubble in five seconds.
Taking a deep breath, he lifted Gilgamesh in a princess carry.
"Hiss!"
Pain stabbed his left arm from Assassin's shot. He pushed more mana there, dulling it and boosting his strength.
'Am I insane?!'
Running back for her, he must be crazy!
With reinforcement, she was light. Only then did he notice how fragile she felt.
'So light, like a feather… Did she carry Uruk with this body?'
He shook it off and ran back to Taiga.
Seeing him with Gilgamesh, Taiga smiled gently.
"Alright, little bro, stay close. We're getting out together."
Dust fell around them. Taiga looked back and grinned "Once we're out, you're explaining everything."
—--------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Hey, do you like flowers?"
A silver flash crossed his mind.
That woman always smelled of disinfectant and flowers. He never minded; actually, it felt nice.
How did he answer?
"…Not really. I know the basics for rituals, but beyond that—"
"Boring."
She pouted, almost sad. "Why did I fall for such a dull guy?"
He wondered too. She was beautiful, despite her health. She could've had anyone, why him?
"Who knows?" She tapped his nose. "Maybe your face is just too interesting."
"Interesting? My face… how?"
In the mirror, it was plain, maybe stern. "Interesting" didn't fit; "stiff" did.
"It is interesting."
Her cool hands held his face. "Always so serious, like you're paying for the world's sins; a real monk's face."
That made no sense. How could that draw anyone?
"No, no… it drew me!"
Her lips met his, cold but warm, taking his breath.
"Your gloom, your dullness, everything about you pulls me in."
"…Why?"
She widened her eyes, then laughed. "You're asking why… Hmm, maybe I love you, but I don't expect you to love me back."
No reason.
She loved him without cause, knowing it'd end badly, yet ready to give it all.
…Why?
He didn't get it then.
Even after marriage and a child, he didn't. He felt like a machine, empty of feeling.
Since he could think, he'd questioned his purpose, deciding he had none and he was fine with that.
But she tried to prove him wrong, using her life to show me that my life mattered.
…She failed.
She took her own life, hoping her death would spark something in him, even a flicker.
But he felt nothing; no sadness nor any guilt.
Instead, a strange thought: "If only I'd killed her."
Maybe that would've changed him.
Assassin said people see someone special before dying.
He saw a flower and the woman who loved it: his wife, mother of their daughter.
Was she special to him?
Hortensia…
Even now, after casting so much aside, her name stayed.
For years, it was a sharp rune, distracting him at bad times. As an Executor, it was a weakness, so he locked it away.
Maybe an excuse. Really, he feared it would shatter him.
Like a bug that fears light, he was afraid of this woman and this feeling worsened after she died.
How do you block a ghost?
Hortensia, Hydrangea, Caren.
"Hey, do you like flowers?"
A sting hit his chest.
Even now, facing death, he still didn't care for flowers.
But…
"I don't hate them."
—--------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Cough….cough, cough!"
The violet coughing jolted him awake. Cold air filled his lungs, pulling him back.
"I… didn't die? My heart was pierced through"
Kirei Kotomine stared at his chest. The bullet hole was there, but the blood had stopped. Pain pulsed, proof he lived.
After confirming, relief came first.
Then doubt: Why relief? If life meant nothing, death shouldn't matter, nor should living feel good.
'Do I… not want to die?' he thought.
'Is there something I can't let go? Something… holding me?'
A silver flicker crossed his mind.
His chest ached, deep and sharp.
"Maybe… I just want to see the hydrangea again."
Kirei went quiet. That flower was gone and even if he searched all the flower shops in the world, he would not be able to find another hydrangea that was exactly the same.
But there was a chance.
The hydrangea left a seed. With care, it could bloom like its mother.
He stood up, unsteady, and limped toward the exit. For the first time, his will to live burned bright.
The Grail was behind him, but he didn't look back, didn't pause.
He didn't need it anymore.
The pain told him his heart wasn't hollow; it was flesh, capable of "feeling," even if just an illusion.
Or maybe self-deception.
But even if the odds were tiny, he'd chase it.
He'd give everything to reach that light, even if it burned him out.
"I… want to live!"
—--------------------------------------------------------------------------
One man's Origin was "Reversal," a twisted nature finding joy only in ruin.
Another's was "Severing and Binding," but never the same.
Assassin had shot a bullet of his Origin into his Master, but it missed the heart by a fraction. It remained in the gap between flesh and nerves.
No surgeon could do it, but with Assassin's Noble Phantasm and skill, it happened.
The "Reversal" urge started, but another Origin cut it off, then tied it anew.
Like a knot in a thread, thicker where it broke, Kirei's change was uncertain.
Maybe it's salvation or maybe ruin?
Either way, with that bullet inside, his life and soul would shift.
One question remained: Why did the Assassin go so far to change Kirei? What did this man mean to him?
....
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