After Kiritsugu returned to Fuyuki with Illya, a new life began for the Emiya Family. Sella and Lizelotte had come to Fuyuki with Kiritsugu and Illya as well. The two of them had originally been Illya's "accessories," obeying Illya's every command without question. With Illya's request added to the mix, the Emiya Family officially grew to five members.
At four-thirty in the morning, Shirou opened his eyes precisely on time, not a second early or late. Then, while the other four people in the house were still asleep, he began his morning training.
In truth, Shirou's so-called morning training was merely about gaining further control over his body. He knew his own situation well. He lacked combat training and real battle experience, and most importantly, he had power but didn't know how to use it!
For example, in Fate/Apocrypha, Red Lancer Karna accepted Amakusa Shirou Tokisada's order to attack Ruler Jeanne. As one of India's greatest heroes, setting his parameters aside for the moment, Karna, one of the Golden Rule trio, excelled not only in weapons and equipment, but also in martial skill.
By contrast, as a Ruler, Jeanne had undoubtedly received top-tier parameters from the Holy Grail, along with a Unique Skill called "Revelation" that warned her away from danger. In theory, even if she couldn't win, she should still have been able to run. Yet she had nearly been killed, and Black Saber Siegfried had ultimately saved her.
The Little Sun and the Holy Maiden had demonstrated through their own actions that fighting depended not only on parameters and equipment, but also on skill!
After morning training ended, Kiritsugu and Illya were still asleep. Shirou began preparing breakfast with Sella.
As for Lizelotte, although she was also a maid, she and Sella were complete opposites when it came to housework. One was capable of everything, while the other was hopeless at it. Thus, Lizelotte naturally became something like an adorable mascot.
Once breakfast was ready, Shirou knocked on Kiritsugu and Illya's doors to wake them for breakfast. As an aside, because of Shirou's gentle personality and Kiritsugu's persuasion, Illya's attitude toward Shirou had begun to change as well. From resistance, to less resistance, to outright switching sides.
Because his previous self had been born in the nineties, Shirou's thinking was broader than most people's. A shut-in was a creature capable of making himself happy without ever leaving home.
Shirou had once been a shut-in too, and under the many interesting little things Shirou came up with, the Illya ship sank.
After breakfast, Shirou would begin practicing with firearms. This originated from his previous self's childhood fantasies and his habit of rummaging through boxes and cabinets. No matter who hid something in the house, they could never keep it from Shirou.
The firearms Kiritsugu had once used were no exception; Shirou dug them out as well. After much pestering, he got Kiritsugu to teach him how to use them.
Oh, and there was another reason Shirou did this: he truly did not want to go through elementary and middle school again. It wasn't as if he were a lolicon. School could go to hell!
Shirou possessed remarkable talent in shooting as well. In only half a year, he graduated from complete beginner to someone capable of shooting proficiently. Well, at least he wouldn't have to worry about Spear of Thunder missing its target in the future.
Next came lunch. Shirou had an obsession with meat that ordinary people could scarcely imagine. At his most extreme, he had even made tofu and potatoes taste like meat!
Kiritsugu had reminded Shirou of this before, saying that children shouldn't be picky eaters. But Shirou bluntly told him, "Can't be helped. Just like you're a man, old man, I live to eat meat. Even if I stuffed myself to death on meat one day, I'd still die happy."
Although he had no idea what being a man had to do with Shirou eating meat, Kiritsugu couldn't say much after Shirou put it that way. Otherwise, Shirou might turn even vegetables and radishes into meat-flavored food.
Then came the afternoon.
The Emiya Family was filled with a relaxed atmosphere in the afternoons. All the men in the household accompanied Illya as she played. Occasionally, Fujimura Taiga would visit as well. After learning that Illya was Kiritsugu's biological daughter, she had developed a great interest in Illya.
Thanks to her bold personality with a touch of childishness, Taiga quickly hit it off with Illya.
After dinner, the Emiya Family returned to quiet. Illya, Sella, and Lizelotte, the three homunculi, were limited to twelve hours of activity each day, so they went to rest early.
After returning to his room, Shirou continued practicing Projection and Reinforcement magecraft. After returning from Einzbern, he had also asked Kiritsugu about healing magecraft.
The light in Kiritsugu's room was always on, and sometimes Shirou saw Kiritsugu searching for something.
This life continued for half a year. Starting in the spring of 1995, Kiritsugu began going out, leaving for months at a time. Both Illya and Shirou were dissatisfied with this, but neither said anything. The Emiya Family had all been raised free-range; as long as no one was in mortal danger, nobody interfered.
And so, in June 1995, after entrusting the house to a not-entirely-reassured Fujimura Taiga, Kiritsugu took his entire family to Kanbako City.
In the car traveling from Fuyuki to Kanbako City, Kiritsugu drove from the driver's seat. Shirou rested with his hands behind his head and his eyes closed, while Illya pressed against the window like a curious child, watching the scenery fly past outside.
"Hey, old man, is there something major going on that you're dragging us all to Kanbako City in such a hurry?" Shirou asked without moving from his seat.
"Yeah, that's right. After asking around in many places, I learned that there is a very skilled dollmaker in this city named Aozaki Touko. Perhaps she can solve Illya and the others' problem."
Kiritsugu glanced at Shirou, then turned his eyes back to the road. He was driving, after all. A moment of carelessness could get them killed.
"Dollmaker... Aozaki... dollmaker..." Shirou muttered to himself twice before asking, "Are you sure she'll be useful? Illya and the others are homunculi, not dolls."
"That Aozaki Touko isn't an ordinary dollmaker. She's the youngest Grand Magus I know of," Kiritsugu answered.
"Oh, never heard of her!" Shirou said coolly, looking out the window as though he were thinking about something.
Shirou was lying. He had seen The Garden of Sinners. There was no way he wouldn't know Aozaki Touko, though he didn't know much about her.
She had become a Grand dollmaker at twenty, hailed from a family of magi, and was proficient in Rune Magic. Unlike that fraud Darnic, she was a genuine Grand Magus.
"..." Kiritsugu suddenly fell silent.
The car grew quiet as the Emiya Family drove into the small city known as Kanbako City. Five more years. Shirou clearly remembered that in five more years, the story called The Garden of Sinners would begin. But for now...
Heh heh, who cared!
Before you continue