Asagami Fujino

The negotiations went smoothly. According to Kiritsugu, when he went to demand compensation and Fujino herself from his superiors, Fujino's father had already intended to hand her over. He was only concerned about the dignity of an old-fashioned great family.

When Kiritsugu said he could pay out of pocket, the other side agreed. After a couple of polite remarks, they handed her over.

When Kiritsugu walked out of the Asagami Family estate, his face was frighteningly grim. He was furious!

She was his own biological daughter, yet he had sold her off for a mere five million. When I gave up my own daughter, it was to save the world. Did he really think the world was worth five million yen?

They were both people, so why were their aspirations so vastly different?

And so, Fujino became the sixth member of the Emiya Family. Although Fujino was riddled with illnesses in The Garden of Sinners—congenital analgesia, neuromyelitis optica, and apparently chronic appendicitis—there was no denying that her ability was truly powerful.

More importantly, all of those illnesses could be treated!

First was congenital analgesia. Calling it that was one thing, but in reality, she had simply taken too many painkillers. So a few bottles of sports drinks would be enough. Painkillers were not good stuff; if she ended up with congenital analgesia, she might die without even knowing why.

Then there was neuromyelitis optica, an acute or subacute demyelinating condition in which the optic nerves and spinal cord were simultaneously or successively affected. It was characterized by acute or subacute blindness in one or both eyes, accompanied days or weeks before or afterward by transverse or ascending myelitis.

It sounded pretty badass, and the original Fujino really had gone blind, but in reality, any major hospital could treat it.

Finally, there was chronic appendicitis, the serious illness that had nearly killed Fujino. It was truly dangerous... my ass! It was just appendicitis. Any hospital capable of surgery could cure it, not to mention that she had not even developed it yet.

Fujino's story taught us that illnesses had to be treated. You could not try to save money by randomly popping medicine, or you might fail to cure the original illness and end up giving yourself a new one.

Once everything regarding Fujino had been arranged, Asagami Fujino disappeared and naturally became Emiya Fujino. But whether she was Asagami or Emiya, one thing was certain: Asagami Fujino, one of Type-Moon's Four Great Whatever-the-Hells, was gone. She would never exist again in this life.

Fuyuki City, Emiya Residence.

"Yo, we meet again, little miss." A young man born with the look of someone doomed to be plagued by women flashed his standard smile and greeted Fujino, who was spacing out beneath a tree.

"Huh? It's you!" Fujino still remembered Shirou vividly. After all, the former had used the Mystic Eyes of Distortion to twist off the latter's arm. It had been so bloody that anyone would remember it for the rest of their life.

"Oh, that's right, it's me. I took a liking to your power, little miss, so I had my old man spend five million to dig you out of your home."

"My... power?" If she could, Fujino would rather not have the power that had brought disaster upon her.

The Asagami Family had originally been a renowned demon-exorcising lineage, yet they raised the "demons" they captured as guardian deities. As a result, the Asagami bloodline, which should have been demon-exorcising blood, became mixed with demonic factors. Like that unfortunate one-quarter split between dominant and recessive traits, as the blood continued to mingle, the Asagami bloodline grew thinner and thinner, and the family's decline was related to this as well.

"Demons" possessed the power to distort nature, and people carrying demonic factors might display supernatural abilities. Fujino was one such person.

What was laughable was that although the Asagami Family had introduced "demons" themselves, they were filled with fear and taboo toward this power and unwilling to let the outside world know about it, even though it was merely power.

Moreover, just as natural diamonds were always more expensive than artificial ones, Fujino's Mystic Eyes of Distortion had formed naturally. Naturally, they were much stronger and far more precious than artificially created Mystic Eyes.

"I don't think I possess any power that can do anything for you. My power only creates disasters." Fujino shook her head. When she was young, she had been ostracized because she could distort objects without touching them.

"Disasters? It's only power. No matter how many people a sword kills, it can never be the sword's fault. The idea of 'it wasn't me, it was the weapon' is wrong to begin with."

"But am I really human? Everyone in the village always called me a monster. Even Father..." Fujino lowered her head as she spoke. I once broke his arm. In his eyes, I must be a monster too!

Watching Fujino bury her head like an ostrich, Shirou truly wanted to give her a knuckle rap. But considering that the effects of the painkillers had not worn off and she was still in a state of congenital analgesia, he gave up on the idea.

"They say you are one, so you are one? How could that be?!" Shirou's words made Fujino abruptly raise her head.

"Eh?"

"Just like how I'm called Emiya Shirou today, and tomorrow I could be called Emiya Dirt-Dog. But those are only names. I'm still me; I won't really become a dog just because of what I'm called. Understand?"

"Mm." Fujino nodded vaguely.

"As for your sense of pain, we can set that aside for now. As long as it's a problem, it can be solved. There are no unsolvable problems, only wrong solutions," Shirou said.

"People die when they are killed, but every person has their own value. You do too. I'll help you master the power that is rightfully yours."

"Why? Why would you help me?" Fujino asked. From childhood to now, Fujino had never met anyone who truly cherished, loved, or cared about her. Everyone treated her like a monster.

Now, someone had suddenly appeared who was willing to talk to her and tell her that he was willing to help. It made Fujino feel as though none of it was real.

"Um... I guess it doesn't really count as helping you!" Shirou thought for a moment before answering Fujino's question. "Because I want to, so I help you. That would be more accurate."

Fujino: ???

What kind of answer was that?

Seeing the question marks practically covering Fujino's face, Shirou continued, "If I have to put it bluntly, it's just as I said earlier. I took a liking to your power, and I want that power to serve me. Think of it as a transaction!"

"Mm, I understand." Fujino said. Heaven knew what exactly the girl had understood. "My power will serve you. I'll prove the value of my life that way. That's enough, right?"

Although it was a little different from what he had expected, it was not wrong either.

"More or less. Let me introduce myself. My name is Shirou, Emiya Shirou."

"Asagami Fujino. My name is Asagami Fujino."

Without realizing it, Fujino had already been thoroughly talked into it by Shirou. In the future, she truly became a source of strength by Shirou's side and shone brilliantly in the battles to come.

Of course, that was a story for later. The current Fujino was still just a little girl lacking in ability, the lowest combat power in the Emiya Family.

"Now, we'll start with the basics. First, clean up the yard."

"Yes!"

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