7 Shirou Emiya has a dream

[Shirou POV]

I am dreaming. A strange dream. It's the lifetime of a man. That man was the hero of justice I once aspired to be. He desperately tried to protect everything, to save everything, constantly struggling. His life was intense.

No matter how desperately he sought, how frantically he struggled, they slipped through his hands. Still, while shedding tears of blood, he never stopped struggling. Why did he go to such lengths...

That man experienced survivor's guilt in his youth as he was the sole survivor of a major disaster, his body lived yet his soul died that day. He wanted to atone as the survivor so he doesn't consider his life as his own. He swore he'd never let another tragedy happen again. He gave up his name and his humanity and swore that he'd live for those who had died and not for himself. His warped ideals of becoming a hero of justice is how he grew up.

He made the promise come true by stopping those who tried to use strength for their own self interests. He believed that anyone who acts selfless and stays true to one's ideal can become a personification of justice. He was addicted to the feelings that his devotion to others gave to him. By volunteering and resisting, his self-righteousness allows him to save others. While it was for selfish reasons, his desire to help others led to him becoming a legend among them. Under his altruism he was just in truth a mercenary and he was alone only for a short time. He had friends who approved of his ideals and took charge of all things. Thanks to them, he was able to immerse himself deeper to his sense of duty.

In his last moment of saving everyone he smile with happy emotion, one of the cores of a nuclear power plant has a melt down. He went into the core to stop it and bypassing the security on the way. he died as true hero, but no one remembered his name after he stopped the bomb.

that man he accepted the people's justice without defiance. In the final moments before his execution, he thought he would be killed by righteous hatred but it was karma. Thus he became a hero with no name. His death showed the public the very sort of embodiment of justice that they yearned for.

But even then, the man died smiling. He was satisfied. I was speechless at this. The next moment, the scene shifted. Before I knew it, I was standing in a barren wasteland. A small hill was visible in the center of the wasteland, bristling with countless swords.

I could see that the hill too was pierced with countless swords. And atop the hill, a man was kneeling. I knew that he was the man who had lived the life I just witnessed. Unconsciously, I approached him.

I drew closer bit by bit. The end of the ideal of a hero of justice. If I hadn't met Illya and the others, I might have ended up like him.

"...you are satisfied with what you have achieved..."

"..."

"Hey, you are satisfied with what you have achieved"

"..."

I yelled at the man sitting on the sword hill. I could see his face, full of hope, I don't know if my voice is reaching him.

However, I couldn't help but scream at the utter stupidity. The man, his face twisted, his eyes wide open, stared blankly at the sword embedded in the wasteland. He has been forgotten by everyone he was near and dear to, his family, his friends and those he was close to while he was alive before his death.

"My body..."

"Huh?"

"...is made of swords."

Amid the man's extraordinary life, as I joined him in despair, such a phrase suddenly came to mind. Not a voice. From within me, such words floated into my head. I have no idea what that mean.

"...Emiya Shirou."

"Huh?"

"What is your inner landscape?"

As I was dumbfounded by the strange words that suddenly appeared, the man standing on the hill of swords looked at me and asked. I was about to ask how he knew my name, what he meant by that, but my vision began to fade.

It seems that I'm about to wake up from the dream. The moment I realized this, the man standing on the hill of swords smiled faintly. As if to say that he asked a meaningless question. Ah, why do I understand what this man wants to say?

"I will protect my family!"

"...I see. Then, you should do so."

I didn't understand the meaning. I don't even know who this man is. But there I was, shouting what I desired to the man. His voice in response seemed somehow content... and I felt a slight relief at it.

.........…

"...Lately, I've been having strange dreams."

When I came to, I was awake on my bed in my room. What on earth was that dream about? It felt different from the dream I'd had about Miyu before. That dream was something that I could hardly believe was real.

"...I woke up early again..."

Just like last time. The sky was just beginning to turn light. From that, I could guess that the sun had just risen. Now, what should I do? I thought for a moment and suddenly came up with a brilliant idea. That's it...

What if I made a packed lunch for Illya and Miyu? Today is Saturday. Elementary school is off. High school is also off, but I have morning practice for club activities. Illya and the others said they were going to do special training in preparation for the battle with Caster.

Miyu lives in the mansion across the street that Luvia suddenly built. Miyu was supposed to say that she was training to fly in the sky with Luvia. If I gave Illya a lunch for Miyu and let them train together, they should become friends.

Could Illya, who can already fly, teach Miyu how to do it? I'm convinced that my sudden idea is a perfect plan. It would be even better if they watched magical girl anime together.

"They should become friends!"

Once that's decided, I need to get started on making lunch for both of them right away. While I'm at it, I'll make breakfast for this morning too. I, intoxicated with my own brilliant idea, naturally didn't have any doubts about this plan that had just occurred to me.

As a result, I completely forgot about the maid who would be annoyed. This is probably the reason why I'm often told that I'm absent-minded. I'm sorry. Please forgive me, Sella. I had completely forgotten.

.........…

"...!"

Awkward...! I was being glared at by Sella in front of the prepared breakfast. Although it's a situation I've experienced several times, today was different from usual. Sella's gaze was several times sharper than usual. The reason for that...

"...Shirou, what does this mean?"

"Well, Sella..."

"When on earth did you improve your cooking skills to this extent!? And you've even perfectly finished cleaning! How much of my job do you intend to take over!?"

That's what it was. I was surprised myself while making breakfast. For some reason, I was in unusually good form and was able to do considerably better than usual. Moreover, it was done in a very short time. My body moved on its own. In a good mood, I also finished cleaning.

Cleaning was done quicker and easier than usual. Of course, I had finished making lunch for Illya and the others. When Sella woke up, she was stunned to see me doing housework more efficiently than usual. Then Sella, who came to her senses, tasted the breakfast and realized that my cooking skills had greatly improved.

"You've been secretly honing your skills... to take my job. Were you that dissatisfied?"

"No, no, you're mistaken, Sella. Calm down."

"...sniff..."

"Whoa! Don't cry, Sella! I didn't mean it like that! Uh... uh..."

"Ah..."

She's really crying. This is not good. I stroked Sella's head in confusion. There's no way I could be dissatisfied with Sella. Sella is as important to me as Illya. Liz too. I wanted to convey that, so I said,

"I need Sella. I've never thought about taking Sella's job. So, Sella, please calm down. I don't want to see Sella cry. So, okay?"

"Yes, yes..."

That's good. Sella stopped crying. It seems like her face is a bit red. What's the matter, Sella? Sella and I stared at each other for a while.

"Stare..."

"Huh!? Liz, Liz!"

"Whoa!? What's up, Liz!?"

"...Sella and Shirou are flirting."

"What!? No, no, no, no, no! It's not like that!" (Shirou & Sella)

"I'll go tell Illya♪"

"Liz, wait!"

"Wait, Liz!"

That's going to make things awkward! Sella and I chased after Liz, who happily headed towards Illya. The Emiya household was peaceful this morning as well.

.........…

"Good morning,Onii-chan."

"Ah, yeah, good morning, Illya."

"What's the matter?"

"No, it's nothing..."

After that incident, Sella and I managed to stop Liz. So, Illya is unaware of what just happened. For some reason, Illya's innocent gaze made me uncomfortable, making me feel strange. I wonder why?

"Um, Illya. You said we would do special training today, right?"

"Yeah. What about it?"

"Look, I made lunch. I woke up early to do it."

"Wow, thank you, big brother! Huh? But there are two here. Why? Did you make one for Rin too?"

"No, this one's for Miyu. If I recall correctly, Luvia said that Miyu will also do special training for flying, right? I thought, why not do the training together..."

"...Miyu's..."

I tried to communicate my planned strategy, but as expected, Illya didn't seem too enthusiastic. Well, it wouldn't be easy, I suppose. Ideally, I would like to mediate between them, but it wouldn't mean much if I did. Unless Illya and the others become friendly on their own, they can't be real friends.

All I can do is provide an opportunity. But I trust my beloved little sister. I believe that Illya will certainly become true friends with Miyu. After all, Illya is my sister. She's a kind girl.

"Since she lives in the house across from ours, why don't you invite her when you go out? You can use my lunch as bait. It's a great chance to make a new friend, right? It might be nice to teach her how to fly too, don't you think?"

"...Big brother... Yeah, you're right... I'll try to have a little chat with Miyu."

"Yeah, that's my Illya."

With a proud feeling, I stroked the head of Illya, who responded with a slight smile. After all, Illya is my beloved sister. She's a very kind girl. If I leave it to Illya, things should go well. I'm confident of that, as I head off to morning practice for the club.

.........…

"Senpai, you seem to be in great shape today. And you look very happy. Did something good happen? About your sister perhaps?"

"Ah, Sakura... Yeah, actually, it seems like Illya has made a new friend. I don't know why, but my bow is performing exceptionally well."

I responded to my junior in the club, Matou Sakura, who had spoken to me. Indeed, as Sakura said, for some reason my bow was performing exceptionally well today. I thought this might be the result of using Archer's card, but there would be no point in explaining that to Sakura.

So I decided to stick to talking about Illya. Come to think of it, I wonder how Sakura knew about Illya. Moreover, for some reason, Sakura had a subtle expression when mentioning Illya's name. I wonder what that means.

"Is that so? That's good to hear, senpai. Hehe, you really care about your little sister, don't you? That's nice..."

Ah, right. Sakura has a brother she doesn't get along with very well. That's probably why she's envious of the relationship between Illya and me. Shinji, what a troublesome guy. As an elder brother, he should be kind to his little sister. Sakura's brother is in the same class as me.

Matou Shinji. He has a high pride and acts childishly. The recent incident when he tried to mess with the transfer students, Rin and Luvia, and was harshly rejected is still fresh in my memory. It was entirely his fault, and I couldn't sympathize at all.

Even such a helpless brother is family to Sakura, I suppose. I feel sympathy for the steadfast Sakura. So I stroke her head, as she smiles a little sadly. That's all I can do for her...

"S-senpai!?"

"It's okay, Sakura. As long as you don't give up, you'll get along with Shinji someday."

"Y-yes! Thank you! That's right! I shouldn't give up! I feel a little bit more spirited!"

"Is that so? That's good."

Her face is somehow red, but it seems she's feeling better. While being healed by Sakura, who had regained her smile, I worked hard in the morning practice that followed. And during that morning practice, I realized one thing. This is definitely...

It seems that the senses of the Heroic Spirit, Archer, still remain even in everyday life. The power I gained by sacrificing everything. It seems that there were indeed some changes after all. Every time I transform with that card, this sensation seems to grow stronger.

Perhaps, the dream I had this morning was also influenced by that. The man who appeared in that dream might be the Heroic Spirit of Archer. If that's the case, how much burden does that Heroic Spirit carry? I recall that intense way of life.

"Hey... Who are you exactly?"

I took out Archer's card from my pocket and asked that question. But as expected, there was no answer. While feeling a little exasperated at myself for taking the dream seriously, I still couldn't help but be curious about the true identity of this Heroic Spirit.

.........…

"...Emiya-kun."

"Tohsaka? Why are you at school on a day off? And, have you been watching the archery club from there all this time? Why..."

When the morning training was over, and I was about to change and go home, Tohsaka was at the entrance of the archery range. Tohsaka had a complex look on her face as she spoke to me. Why was she looking like that? I couldn't help but tilt my head at her behavior.

"...The girl you were talking to earlier, Emiya-kun..."

"Earlier? Ah, you mean Sakura. Did something happen to Sakura? Do you know her?"

"...Well, something like that."

Tohsaka, for some reason, looked pained. What's going on? Sakura and Tohsaka know each other? Come to think of it, Tohsaka did say she used to live here in Fuyuki. Could it be someone she knew from back then? But this expression...

It doesn't seem like they were just acquaintances. What was the relationship between Tohsaka and Sakura? But this atmosphere doesn't feel like I can just casually ask. I have a feeling it's not a domain I should intrude on. It's just a hunch, though.

"So, what's the conversation about?"

"Well, do you know anything about... that girl's family situation?"

"Huh?"

"That is... her relationship with her family..."

"Why don't you ask Sakura directly? I think she'll be here if you wait a little."

"That's a bit..."

"Ah, see, here she comes, Tohsaka. There's no problem if you know each other, right? Let's go."

"Wait a minute, Emiya-kun! Let go of my hand...! Please, let go!"

"Whoa!"

"What!?"

"Senpai? Eh!?"

I was puzzled by Tohsaka's ambiguous attitude. I decided to take Tohsaka to Sakura, even if it was a bit forceful. I grabbed Tohsaka's hand and pulled, and Tohsaka resisted. That would have been okay. It would have been.

How did this happen!? I lost my balance due to Tohsaka's unexpectedly strong resistance and ended up being pulled backward. Involving Tohsaka, who was behind me, I fell dramatically. Even that would have been fine.

But for some reason, I ended up falling in a way that covered Tohsaka. From a distance, it would look like I pushed Tohsaka down. To make matters worse, my hand that fell...

"Ah! Kyaah!"

"It's not on purpo... gahh!"

My right hand was on Tohsaka's chest! Of course, I didn't mean to do that, but Tohsaka wouldn't care about that. As expected, I passed out from a fierce slap from Tohsaka to my chin. Stronger than Sella... weren't you supposed to be a magician...?

Those were my last thoughts...