Retake Five (Illya's Problem)

The bond between a father and daughter is one of the most unique and powerful emotions in the world.

A father will use every means he can think of and act upon to dote on his daughter. This feeling is nearly perfect—so long as it exists, even time cannot erode it.

Kiritsugu Emiya, though notorious in the underworld for his methods, his reputation as foul as gutter oil.

But there's no denying that as a father, he was almost irreproachably excellent. Even if he once personally put down his own daughter for the sake of the world... that was all in the past, just like the saying goes—it's over!

Since the past is behind us, we should properly face the present. And now, this good father has run into a headache of a problem.

"Kiritsugu is mine—don't you dare try to take him away!" Ilyasviel stood in front of Kiritsugu, glaring at Shirou with hostility as she shouted at him.

"Huh? What?" Shirou's face twisted. What kind of nonsense was this?

"Kiritsugu is Ilya's Kiritsugu alone. I won't let you steal him!" Ilyasviel said, puffing up her cheeks in anger.

Seeing the situation spiraling in some bizarre direction, Ahad wisely stepped back a few paces, keeping a careful distance from Shirou—neither too close nor too far.

Ahad was at a loss too. He didn't dare get closer, afraid Shirou might lose his temper and take him out along with everything else. He didn't dare run either, worried Shirou might snap out of it and, in a fit of displeasure, annihilate him on the spot.

No doubt about it—in the world of mages, anyone with real power tended to be a bit unhinged. Who knew if this guy might suddenly decide to blast him to dust on a whim?

Shirou slapped a hand to his own forehead. Right, now he got it! Now he understood why so many families didn't want a second child—it was purely out of fear the older one would throw a fit, leaving the parents caught in the middle, pleasing no one.

A love triangle was nothing compared to this!

In his past life, Shirou had no siblings, and his parents had died early. He was a tech-savvy handyman who could fix almost anything, practically a jack-of-all-trades, but a shut-in was still a shut-in—he'd never even held a girl's hand before he died. So he had no clue how to handle this situation.

So Shirou shot a pleading look at Kiritsugu, only to see the man's face looking like he'd just lost his own father. Then Shirou glanced out the window... he was so far from it, he couldn't see a damn thing!

And so—

"Uh... well, old man, you and Ilya haven't seen each other in ages, so I won't butt in. Mr. Ahad, come with me—I have something to discuss."

With that, Shirou grabbed Ahad and bolted for the castle's top floor, where the Einzbern's Magic Workshop had always been located.

"Shirou..." Watching Shirou's small figure drag Ahad away in a frantic escape, Kiritsugu couldn't help but feel a bitter pang.

He understood the uniqueness of this adopted son of his—an existence akin to a Servant, with power nearly matching one. And a maturity that was practically wasted on his cute appearance, along with a touch of a split personality.

When around him or familiar people, Shirou always smiled warmly, his thought patterns wildly unpredictable, capable of anything on a whim. But when it came to action, his tone turned cold and mechanical, like a machine.

Kiritsugu Emiya didn't want to control Shirou too much. In his view, a son should be raised free-range. He might warn Shirou if he strayed off course, but he wouldn't heavily influence his lifestyle or values.

"Hey, old man. Ilya only has nineteen years to live, right?" In the Einzbern's Magic Workshop, Shirou asked Ahad.

"...You're correct, Mr. Emiya." Though unsure how Shirou knew, Ahad answered truthfully after a moment's silence.

"I figured..." Shirou paused in thought. "Then you must have a way to solve this, don't you?"

"..."

Ahad wanted to say no, and that was the truth. But with Shirou's power holding him in a vice grip, he wasn't sure if honesty would get him terminated.

"Tell me the truth. Lying is pointless." Seeing Ahad hesitate, Shirou added.

"Yes, Mr. Emiya." Ahad breathed a sigh of relief, glad he wouldn't be eliminated for telling the truth.

"Though the Einzbern are a family of homunculi, Ilyasviel is special."

"Go on." Shirou's tone was flat.

"Ilyasviel was an accidental product of a human and a homunculus—neither fully human nor fully homunculus. We're powerless in this case." Ahad said.

The Einzbern family were all homunculi; they had no concept of "treating illness." If a limb was damaged, they simply replaced it with a new one, like swapping out a flat tire on a car.

Ilyasviel's mother, Irisviel, was the finest creation of Ahad's generation, her performance as the Lesser Grail rivaling Justeaze's. If Ahad hadn't wanted to study something useful from Ilyasviel, he'd likely have disposed of her already. Don't be surprised—that was mages for you. Most mages were beings ruled by reason over emotion.

"...Is that so?"

Shirou felt like grabbing Ahad by the collar and demanding what use he was, but after a moment's thought, he realized it would be pointless and dropped the idea.

The distant sky was ominously dark, calm on the surface but clearly a facade. The calm before the storm was always an illusion. But this was the Alps—the low temperatures here ensured storms were out of the question.

Shirou watched Kiritsugu and Ilyasviel playing below the castle, then looked at the dark clouds in the distance. "That cloud's black as coal, and the pressure's unnaturally low... Is it a blizzard?"

"Sigh. I'm still not comfortable leaving the house to Fujimura-sensei." After a moment, Shirou shouted to Kiritsugu, "Hey, old man! I've been thinking—I'm not at ease leaving the house to Fujimura-sensei, so I'm heading back to Fuyuki first. You bring Ilya back soon too!"

With that, Shirou used Hierro to launch himself into the air. His flight speed could reach Mach 1, and with Sonido, he could circle the Earth's equator in just fifteen hours.

A Vasto Lorde-class Arrancar's stamina let Shirou burn through energy freely—he could fly like this for a whole day.

Shirou left behind only the lingering sonic boom, unsettled air currents, and a stunned Ahad.

Yes, Shirou had done this on purpose, to intimidate that old fox Ahad. After all, in Shirou's eyes, most mages were untrustworthy.