Loop 13
Day 1
Town・Day 1 Sea of memories
“Fuji-Nee?”
The one person I did not expect to wind up at the harbor got there before me.
“Oh, Shirou―――whatcha doing out here?”
“You, too. What were you doing at the harbor?”
Something doesn't feel right.
Seeing her face from dawn to dusk, then bumping into her at a place like this just seems rather unusual.
“Hmm, skipping school just to wander around here is no good, Shirou!”
“Speaking of which, aren't you supposed...”
“Well, guess I'll have to let it slide for today... it's right before the long weekend, after all.”
I thought she'd drag me to school by the ear, but it looks like she's in a good mood today. Safe for now.
...No, wait. Even in a good mood, it's not like Fuji-Nee to forgive skipping school. Rather, she probably isn't feeling that well.
“...You don't seem to be in character...”
“You think so?”
“Well, you know, the usual Fuji-Nee is, like...”
Stepping onto the pier, I strike a dramatic pose.
Something sailor-like, with a pipe in his teeth - a grizzled seawolf, or the guy in the Wataridori series.
“I am a woman of the sea, fall in love with a bird of passage and you'll be burned―――stuff like that.”
“Ahaha, it's amusing, but I suppose it does fit.”
“...I don't know, but now this feels even more strange.”
It's just a brief image; it'd be odd to see actual sailors at this harbor, after all.
But then, with Fuji-Nee here, that wouldn't look particularly out of place.
“So, are striped shirts and sailor's trousers still around nowadays?”
“Hm, a sailor uniform might even look kinda good on me, yeah?”
“It was like that back in the day... ah, pardon me for not bringing a set.”
The image of someone over 20 in a sailor uniform is a bit severe.
At this port, a real sailor's uniform might actually look good on Fuji-Nee, though.
“Speaking of the sea... I went chasing after Kiritsugu-san around the time I was still wearing one, too.”
Gazing at the distant sea, she mutters something longingly.
He went overseas on a freighter that he boarded at this harbor. I wonder what Kiritsugu was thinking.
When I told him to go by plane, he said, "No, no, Shirou, hiding among cargo on a boat is what makes the trip such a novel adventure, don't you think?"―――
“Yeah, it's a good thing you didn't follow him, I think.”
“Indeed. And I had no passport, I'd have been sent right back home, anyway.”
“..................”
Would she have followed him if she had one?
And not just the passport, she'd need a visa and all that, too. Even then, I still wouldn't recommend being Kiritsugu's companion on one of his reckless adventures.
Fuji-Nee is a girl, after all.
“When Kiritsugu was about to leave, I chased him all the way to here, but I couldn't ask him to take me along...”
“...So that's how it was.”
“His parting words were "Take care of Shirou!", and nothing else.
Maybe I should have done the impossible and paid him a visit, just to see what he was up to while abroad.”
She laughs weakly.
Even through my own perspective, it's not as though I could tell what he had been doing overseas.
He'd just come back with all kinds of nonsense stories that I looked forward to. Neither of us knew when he would come back, so we waited for him together.
“Maybe I should have gone, too...”
“Yeah, surely it wouldn't have killed him to bring us along, for once.”
“You've no idea where the old man could have been going, though.
A place like Europe would be fine, but what if it's, say, somewhere in the middle of Africa, solving an ancient mystery left behind by an alien race?”
...Wouldn't be quite that absurd, but there's a good chance it wasn't that far off.
Andes, Amazon, Kiritsugu went everywhere.
Some of the odd souvenirs that he brought back looked as if a trapped spirit was about to emerge from them.
“Africa? Hey, they have tigers there, don't they?”
“I have a feeling they don't. And if they do, I doubt having one jump out in front of you is a good time to take a picture.”
“It's okay, Big Sis will take care of a tiger in one blow... Or will she...? A 3rd dan in kendo on one side, but a wild animal on the other is almost like a gun... Hmmm...”
Who do you think you are, Katou Kiyomasa? To fight a tiger on equal terms, you'd have to be at least on Saber's level.
Fuji-Nee's already started sparring with an imaginary tiger. Looks like she does think her odds of defeating a tiger are high enough already.
“...This is hard. If only I had a fine ancient sword...”
“Ah, don't you dare bring up the old man's collection over this. Besides, Kiritsugu is―――”
A magus, so Fuji-Nee's a warrior?
...Perhaps it's the dock's atmosphere that caused memories of dad to resurface eventually.
Perhaps Fuji-Nee got a little nostalgic, too―――
“...But Kiritsugu... Oh well, let's stop there.”
“Yeah, we should.
Say, how about we go overseas sometime together instead, Fuji-Nee?”
Oops.
I think I just said something stupid.
“Nope! I'll be the one to take you abroad instead. You'll have a trip after graduation, right?”
“Ugh, travel in the company of a teacher right after graduation... I think I'll pass―――”
“Oh you, don't be shy, Shirou!”
“D-Don't be ridiculous, it's nothing to do with being shy! Totally inappropriate, that's what it is!”
Day 3
Ryuudou Temple・Day 3 Adventures of Himuro Kane
The gate at the top of Ryuudou Temple's long, long stairs.
The gatekeeper here, a swordsman from another time, Assassin Kojiro, does not reveal himself.
Instead, the one watching the gate is―――known as "Madame" among friends, a cool-eyed girl.
“...Not yet here, as I thought.”
“You mean... Issei?”
Although it just doesn't seem likely that she would have anything other than student council matters with Issei.
“Ah, it's you, Emiya. So you're a close friend of the Son of the Temple.”
“An undesirable yet inseparable relationship, I guess... Do temples interest you as well, Himuro?”
Something on the temple gate she was watching must have piqued her interest.
Perhaps that Aun statue is the work of the famous Buddhist image maker of the Kamakura period... is that what she's thinking?
“Yukika did say that she saw him.”
“Saw?”
“A person that looked like a samurai―――Makidera thought it was a ghost and got scared. Something odd.”
...That would be Kojiro.
It's not like I could tell her, but her guess isn't that far off.
But why would Saegusa be able to see him...?
“However, I can't imagine a ghost inhabiting a temple gate. But if there is one, wouldn't that mean this temple has a serious lack of virtue?”
“It would mean it's not their specialty. That prayers and exorcism are their weak points.”
“Don't know about sects, but had there been a monk of high virtue, he'd clean up any mischievous apparitions in no time.”
“Shouldn't ghosts be only visible at night, though?”
“It's the opposite. You can easily mistake some other illusion for a ghost when it's dark out.
Whereas in broad daylight, you'd easily see what might have confused you at night―――a ghost might end up being just some withered pampas grass.”
I see, that's the voice of reason.
Unfortunately for an intellectual like Himuro, there is indeed a ghost here.
Himuro is looking around the temple gate once again―――
“Except, there wasn't anything to mistake for it. A puzzle, indeed.”
Thus, being unable to find a logical explanation for this phenomenon bothers her.
“Maybe there is one, after all. Legends of desperate defeated soldiers fleeing to the temple and whatnot.”
“Are you the kind of guy that believes in those things, Emiya―――?”
“You can't really prove they don't exist, either.”
Illya or Tohsaka could probably give you a ton of model evidence that they do, in fact.
I get a feeling that she would try to bring all magic under one grand unified Himuro theory.
“You probably think they don't. I guess you're an atheist, or rather, a materialist?”
“That's mean. I just need the reason why they would exist―――saying it's the gods' will isn't good enough.”
I listen to her in amazement.
As if being lectured by a chemistry or physics teacher, my head drops.
No man should be able to match wits with her.
Well, we do have pretty deep conversations sometimes.
“Assuming that it does exist, someone from local history or Ryuudou Temple's death registry would be my first guess.”
“So if you find a matching historical figure, that would be it?”
“It would certainly make me feel a bit better if I did.”
I see―――it's the lack of certainty that makes her anxious.
“As Yukika said, it's a mystery, after all. Disappointing.”
Saegusa's report isn't one she can just dismiss, it seems.
But what will Himuro do if Makidera starts acting up?
“Say you do discover a ghost. What then?”
“...Haven't thought that far yet.”
...Presume that you're about to meet an unknown something that may or may not exist - is that too tall of an order?
Himuro appears to be considering her options.
“No, it'd be worrisome but not a problem.
That's when we turn it over to the specialists.”
“Like Tohsaka?”
“What are you saying? There are experts right over here―――should a ghost appear out of nowhere, they'll figure it out.”
I see, so that's how.
Did no one tell her that there's nothing resembling the "power of Buddha" kind of abilities at Ryuudou household? Tohsaka's talent runs in the family, at least.
“Alright, I'll go look around the temple grounds. If I see the Son of the Temple or someone, I'll be sure to make them talk.”
“I don't think Issei knows about the ghost, though.”
“Can't see the forest for the trees, perhaps. If that's the case, I might as well just quietly have a prayer while I'm here.”
“Like, for academic success and stuff?”
Someone as determined as Himuro got to wish for something to that effect.
However, turning around suddenly―――
“―――For true love.”
“Huh?”
Words I couldn't imagine hearing came out.
Love? Himuro? I mean, who?
“You seem to be surprised again, Emiya.
Does the fact that I desire a good match offend you?”
“Well, of course not, but...”
“That time in the park, when I spoke about a love affair, you seemed to have thought it strange, too. What do you really think?”
It's just that it was completely out of the blue.
I mean, much like the one now.
“...I don't want you to take it the wrong way, but asked like this, it's not like I'm interested in you.”
“It's alright. Essentially, I have neither charm nor sex appeal, I get it.”
“You got it all wrong.
Oh well. Ghosts, love, same thing. Unexplored, unseen things are what captivates me.
Because both are picture perfect.”
“?”
“Do not ask.
Even if I do wish for true love at this temple, it's for the good of the sweethearts I'm watching over―――I have not yet thought about my own love. Well then, come and pray for a good match with me, Emiya.”
Having left me with those words, she sets off towards the gate at a brisk pace.
“..................”
What can I say.
At our school... some people live in a different world.