Chapter 2: Hectic start

Beta read by Shigiya

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-Yuuki household-

After that initial rollercoaster of emotions and unexpected events, both Ringo and Saibai returned home with a little bundle of red hair and amber eyes, having fallen asleep at some point. A short while later, Ringo opened the door when she heard the doorbell ring, finding a familiar face.

"You finally came." She said, letting this person in.

They had a doctor come to their house, not wanting to stay in that hospital for another moment after what supposedly happened with Shirou. They didn't trust anyone, aside from their friend, who joined them a few hours later, to sort things out.

"This is a nightmare." Kinoshita Toshiaki, the head of the hospital of Sainan, said as he tiredly sat on the sofa with a glass of cold juice in front of him. "If the general public finds out about this… then this would cause a huge scandal. How could I have missed this!?"

His firm hand patted his back, "Oi, don't sweat it, Toshiaki. I know this is not your fault. These scums can infiltrate any part of society without being detected." It was Saibai holding a can of beer while his wife joined them in the living room with Shirou.

"I sure hope so. I'll have to sweep over every inch tomorrow and find those behind this and how they did it in the first place." He said seriously, knowing how dangerous this case was. "Well, anyways, bring the child over, I can perform a quick check up."

"Careful, he's still sleeping." She said after putting the baby gently on a small bed.

The man then started some basic check-ups on the child.

"Well, when you told me that he was found abandoned in an alleyway beside the dumpster with a wild dog about to attack him, I was worried about some minor injuries, scars, or even an infection." The family held their breath before sighing in relief when Toshiaki waved their worries away with a thumbs up. "There's no trauma, injury, or any signs of malnutrition for now. He's a perfectly healthy baby."

"Thank God for that." Ringo breathed out in relief. Who knew just how long Shirou was left there under those harsh conditions?

"And the bad news?" Saibai asked the doctor, expecting a 'but' at any moment. "A grown man can get a fever from staying out in this weather for too long. I can't imagine what a baby would have to go through. Not to mention he wasn't even covered by a blanket or anything to protect from the elements."

Again, his friend shook his head.

"It's a bit early to tell whether he'll get a fever or not. I don't see any symptoms or a high body temperature. I must say, the little guy is very healthy, considering where he was a few hours ago. Our records don't show any shots given to the boy, so you'll have to get on that soon enough. Also…" he laughed a bit, wanting to lighten the mood a bit. "He really looks like your son. The same shade of hair is the major similarity. You did a good thing adopting him, I feel guilty about what happened to him under a foster home, and I know you'll take care of him like true parents."

Both parents were happy with his words. It warmed their heart, knowing that the man knew they would treat the boy like one of their own.

"Hehehe! You've known us since Uni. Of course, we'll be the best parents in the world!" Saibai responded proudly. His wife at his side also nodded in agreement.

"What about his name?" Ringo asked, holding the little bundle close to her chest. "I know we finalized the documents and kept Emiya… but what if someone comes and tries to claim him back?" She absolutely did not want to let go of him to anyone else, he was their son, and that was final.

"Hmmm, well, you probably won't have to worry about that. Our records have shown that both of his parents have died, and there were no mentions of any grandparents or guardians anywhere. I initially suspected that someone manipulated the data and went to the police for further investigation, but I still found no one alive with the last name Emiya and related to his parents. So you don't have to worry. The name Emiya won't bring you any trouble."

They nodded.

"Thanks again for the adoption papers. I don't know how many hurdles we would have needed to go through without your help and Hanako-san." Ringo said, knowing that such a process could have taken days or weeks if it weren't for their friends' help.

"Don't worry, it wasn't that much work, to begin with. If someone wanted him, they wouldn't have abandoned him in the first place. Now, if that someone were to come back out of nowhere, then the police would get involved."

As they kept talking, none of them realized that the young redheaded boy had long since woken up since the doctor arrived and heard their conversation from the beginning. There was some shock on his face, disbelief, confusion, and anger, but they soon got overwhelmed with frustration.

He couldn't move, he couldn't talk, so he would need to… endure his current state before digging for the information he needed to figure out what the hell was going on.

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{Break}

(Several Years Later - Yuki's residence)

It was a beautiful morning. A peaceful and cheerful one. The sun shone its glorious bright and warm light on the city. The sounds of birds chirping and fluttering in the trees...

Yes, it was a very beautiful day.

Under the bright sun and the sounds of birds in the air, a single figure could be seen behind a certain house's backyard. The figure is a young boy, one that looked to be about roughly nine years old.

With the same shade of hair as his 'mother' and eyes that resembled the color of liquid amber. He acted quite differently from the kids his age, preferring to spend his time sitting outside on the porch and looking up at the night sky. Always stared at everyone for an uncomfortable amount of time, causing some of them to become unnerved by his steely gaze and that frown of his just made it look like he wasn't constantly mad or bored.

It was truly quite a strange sight to see from someone so young. Nevertheless, no one would get weirded out for long as his cuteness kept attracting them back to the boy and his attempt at acting older than he already was, just made them gush — much to his dismay.

Today, that same boy sat calmly outside near the garden. The wind gently blew through his chair, ringing the bell chimes and setting a peaceful atmosphere.

"What's this?"

It was a young girl… his younger sister, Mikan Yuuki. She resembled Saibai the most with his brown hair that eerily looked like the top of a pineapple and his golden brown eyes, her face though was just like Ringo's, cute and adorable with her chubby cheeks—who also happened to be six years old. She sat in front of him, his chin resting on her head as if reading a certain book he asked his… 'father' to buy not that long ago. She was pointing at the image of a painting from long ago.

"That's the legend of King Arthur, a famous ruler, warrior, and knight from Britain. It's an old tale, with stories about the Knights of the Round and great battles, and it even has two mighty dragons. You'll probably learn about her—I mean him, during your history classes."

She opened the cover of the book, showing the first chapter of the story, before tapping her big brother on his hand.

"Read it for me, please?" She asked cutely, looking upwards with pleading eyes, that would make any normal person crumble.

Unfortunately for her, he was harder to convince than Rito.

"No," he denied her request immediately, making the little pineapple puff out her cheeks. "You're smart enough to read already. Don't use those puppy dog eyes on me just because you feel lazy, Mikan. They might work on Rito– then again, what doesn't work on him."

"Pwease?"

"No."

That only made her pout further, a bit angry that she couldn't get Shirou to read her a story once again. He only did that a few times when she was having trouble sleeping or was scared, and she was always captivated by his storytelling about powerful heroes from legends. Yet whenever she wanted to listen to more of his story the next day, he would decline.

And she was not lazy!

"You spend all afternoon sitting mindlessly here, Onii-chan." She muttered unhappily, trying her best to show her displeasure to her brother.

"Hm, wrong, I'm just contemplating the meaning of life and the mystery of the universe." He said without hesitation, closing the book and putting it away with the rest of his collection.

"You're weird."

"So it seems."

The Heroic Spirit known as Emiya… or as he was called now, Shirou, grew used to his unexpected new life since his recent 'death' as a Servant. He didn't remember what happened after bleeding to death near Rin's bed. He was too weak to think clearly back then, keeping himself alive long enough for the fake priest to graft his arm on the boy and to endure the corruption inside his Spirit Core.

When he closed his eyes and waited to be returned to the familiar barren wasteland of swords and a sky filled with moving rusted gears — he instead saw a giant slobbering dog in front of him.

At first, he immediately thought that he had come to face a Phantasmal creature that had canine features. Maybe Alaya didn't waste any time with him and sent the Counter Guardian in the middle of a war or something — not like it didn't do that before. This creature was probably a hellhound who somehow managed to grow the size of a giant Cerberus. He let his instincts take over and was prepared to kill it on sight before it could attack him.

But it was then he found out that he could no longer move like he used to.

And more shockingly, his killing intent managed to frighten the dog so much that it began barking at him.

That was his first sign that something was terribly wrong.

And before he knew it, here he was, adopted for the second time with a brother and sister. His biological parents apparently died before his birth… how convenient. He found it ironic how no matter which version of Shirou Emiya, he would never get to know his real parents.

Always getting adopted in the end.

'Thankfully, my dad isn't an infamous hitman who used to dream of becoming a hero.'

He checked, not wanting to have history repeat itself in another twisted way. In the end, that man was just a manga artist with eccentric behavior, and the same could be said for Saibai's wife as well. The latter was a famous fashion designer who frequently traveled around the world. One would think her being the most normal person in the family, but she was just as weird and eccentric as her husband. She always measured women with her hands, somehow getting the exact measurements by technically molesting them and beyond his understanding, able to get away with it. He even expected that some of her clients enjoyed it as many would return and claim that their old clothes no longer suited them and would need to be measured again.

"Where is Rito?" He asked, thinking about his so-called 'brother'.

"He's probably playing games or watching TV," Mikan said as she relaxed against her brother's chest and just enjoyed the breeze and his warmth.

No matter how cold the outside was, her brother always made things bearable for her, he was warm. As long as she could remember, he acted more like a mother than a sibling at times. She found this spot quite comfortable, and it made her always feel sleepy after a bit. The girl already started to doze off, much to the dismay of the former Counter Guardian.

"Well, aren't you choosing the best time to fall asleep?" He said dryly, not moving a muscle as he let the girl enter a deep slumber.

"Good morning, Shirou-kun." Some of the neighbors greeted him as they passed in front of the house, to which he returned.

Shirou… it felt weird to have people call him that name once again. It wasn't like he could ask them to call him Emiya or Archer or anything else for that matter. Though he did succeed in making most students call him Emiya. His status as being adopted by the Yuuki family was known by the teachers and principal, but most of the students didn't know that — they were too young to care about such things.

Now he was used to it, but in the end, he was still confused with his situation.

Why was he here?

What happened after he died?

Who was responsible for his current situation?

All of these questions remained unanswered for years, eating him up on the inside till he was forced to just put them aside for now.

Everything had its time. Worrying about something he couldn't control and creating more problems in the future was not a good option. He learned to adapt, act normal, and keep his mind blank for the most part. Pushing away that small smidgen of hope that he somehow was freed from Alaya's control, which in itself couldn't be possible.

"Hn," he groaned while carefully picking Mikan up in his arms.

She was light, a small bundle of cuteness who would constantly tail him like a puppy. Even while going grocery shopping for his absent-minded parents or for a short walk in the park, Mikan always grabbed onto his shirt or hands and accompanied him everywhere like a lifeline. Why she developed such a clingy personality remained a mystery to him, she didn't do that with anyone else in the house.

It felt… weird.

'She is not my sister.'

Even he couldn't bring himself to believe those words that would constantly surface in his mind. It was a hard reality to accept. He couldn't be a good brother.

Not a monster like him.

"There we go." Emiya placed the girl on the living room sofa, putting a pillow under her head and a few dozen pillows just beside her in case she didn't fall down while turning in her sleep.

"Hm, she'll feel cold."

Winter season was close, and the temperature had already started dropping every day with signs of dark clouds. So he got a small blanket and made sure to cover the girl properly.

"You're a real piece of work." He said while pinching her cheeks, making the girl frown in her sleep, twitching her nose.

He resisted the urge to smirk.

For a second, his mind flashed with a distant memory of his own. A girl with silver-white hair, porcelain skin and blood-red eyes. One that excluded so much brutality, cruelty, and childishness in the eyes of many. Unlike some versions of Shirou Emiya, he never truly connected with his version of Illya. He couldn't even remember her face from memories — always seeing the ones from other timelines. It was a loss he never truly experienced nor cared about. This applied to most people from his past, aside from a few exceptions.

But seeing Mikan made him wonder… if things were normal, would this have been how it felt to be a big brother? A desire to keep his sister safe so strong that it would overcome his need to become a hero back then…To have that one thing to protect, without the destructive goal of becoming a 'Hero of Justice' to destroy his future, that single shining light that kept him moving despite the odds.

Two shining lights in this reality, for she was not his only sibling.

Emiya then stepped into the bathroom and started to wash his hands, the face facing him from the mirror, making the former Counter Guardian take another deep breath.

'Get used to it for now,' he thought to himself before drying his hands and heading to the second floor, 'You'll never know when this will end.'

The house where he currently lived was not as large as his old one, one that could be considered a small inn judging by how large it was. This one counted as a conventional two-story house that could be found in a normal neighborhood.

The first floor of the house had a living and a dining room as well as a kitchen. With three bedrooms, one for his parents, one for Mikan, and the third for him and Rito to share. The Yuuki family was financially stable enough to have another room added to the house. He tried to convince them to just build a shed he could use as his main bedroom, and while his… 'father' loved that idea — Ringo immediately denied it.

"I won't allow my precious baby boy to leave the house till you're thirty!"

Talk about overprotective parents, and he wasn't even leaving the house. The shed could have been built in the backyard!

And would he even be alive then? A morbid way of thinking, but he never did experience growing old while alive, and with his luck… trouble would soon find its way toward him.

Going back to the house layout, there was another bathroom upstairs with no showers. He cringed, remembering the times he had to teach both Rito and Mikan how to use the toilet. The latter was never a problem. She learned things quickly. But Rito, on the other hand… yeah, he had a bad tendency to trip on the floor over the slightest amount of water. Heck, Emiya began to believe the boy could even trip over thin air.

His very nature was borderline pure clumsiness.

In the future, he was going to have to watch him carefully. If such a trait continued to persist in his older years… then Emiya dreaded having to deal with possibly having police officers at the front door talking about how Rito ended up 'assaulting' a girl. Or worse, having Mikan fall victim to his clumsiness as well.

Emiya finally arrived in front of the room he shared with Rito. Opening the door, the boy walked inside a big room with two beds on both sides. The left side of the room was clean and tidy, having a Spartan look to it with minimal decorations or any kind of posters and a plain looking bed. On the other side, it was the polar opposite, with posters about Gundams, anime characters, and a game-themed bed.

Sleeping on the bed was his younger brother, Rito Yuuki. He had orange-brown spiky hair, a few shades lighter than Ringo. Sharing his mother's face as well, with golden brown eyes nearly similar to Mikan's. But to others, every kid in the family had nearly the same features, even himself.

"Oi, wake up," he said, shaking the sleeping kid. "Lunch will be ready in a bit, get up and go brush your teeth."

Rito grumbled and groaned while lying down, but that only lasted for a second before he realized his brother was waiting for him.

"Mm… Nii-san?" Rito opened his eyes, finding those familiar amber eyes that always come to wake him up in the morning.

"No, I'm a random stranger that came to wake you up," Emiya said sarcastically.

"Oh." Rito sat up with a small yawn. "I overslept again..." A small embarrassed smile came to his face, remembering how he fell asleep late due to playing a recent video game his brother got him as a gift.

Emiya sighed, "It's fine. You're still young. You can slack around a bit longer." He grabbed the clothes on the floor and put them in the corner for laundry.

"I'm not a child anymore, Nii-san," Rito said, frowning a bit from how he kept getting treated like this despite being nearly the same age as the boy in front of him.

The redhead boy patted Rito's hair, "Yes, yes, you are. And it's okay to act like this. Enjoy it while you can."

It didn't take long for Rito to get freshened up and come down to the kitchen. He laughed a bit when he saw his sister surrounded by a literal fort of pillows like some kind white turtle, with his brother stoically cooking food in the kitchen.

"Is Mikan not eating with us?" He asked, still watching her little sleep in her little nest.

"No, she needs to sleep for now. And I also gave her a bit of udon to snack on during the day. I don't think she's even hungry." Emiya answered, finishing up the last of the preparation.

"Ah, cool. What did you make?" Rito grew excited while smelling the amazing aroma wafting all over the kitchen.

Grrrrrrr!

His stomach growled in hunger, he wasn't even hungry before this, yet Shirou's cooking always made it come back so easily for seconds.

"I made some simple miso soup, grilled mackerel, steamed rice, and some boiled vegetables. It ain't much, but that's all there was in the fridge… I'll have to go grocery shopping as well, it seems."

"Wow..." Rito unconsciously licked his lips, salivating at the sight of such amazing food.

One thing was for sure, his brother's cooking was the best that he's ever tasted. They seldom went to eat outside due to his cooking skills, which he never minded. His Mom and Dad would even regularly come back home early from their work just to eat more of Shirou's food.

{Break}

Emiya watched his younger brother ravenously devour the food, somehow managing to not stain his clothes in his messy eating. It brought him great joy to see people appreciate his food… an old spirit who barely felt pride with his other abilities and skills — cooking always held an important place in his heart. That joy had nearly died out as he spent his time as a Counter Guardian, but it slowly came back with time the longer he cooked.

"Ah, it seems we're also out of milk." Their fridge was almost empty, Saibai having been busy these last few days with his approaching deadline, and Ringo getting more orders for her clothing designs made them a bit more absent these last few days.

They weren't neglectful people. He saw how much love they had for their children and him. Always trying to be there for their kids despite their work. He did promise to take care of the house and kids when their work started to pile up, which was a bit harder to convince them of in the beginning. But after tasting his food and watching the sparkling house after a single day of work — they relented.

"Rito, I'm going to the convenience store to get some ingredients and milk. Take care of Mikan, and don't let any stranger inside no matter what."

Rito nodded, giving him a salute "Don't worry, I'll make sure everything is fine when you get back!" This was one of the few opportunities he would have to impress Shirou. He would make his brother proud! "Oh, and I'll also water the plants."

He nodded, Rito has had a particular interest in gardening ever since he was a little child. Both of them made sure to properly take care of the garden each day, sometimes spending hours with Mikan to go through everything.

"Alright, I know you'll do well. I'm off. See you soon."

Taking off his apron, Emiya grabbed a grocery bag and some money from the cupboard before heading out.

The road was empty. He couldn't see a single person walking through the streets nor even hear any cars in the distance. It was a peaceful atmosphere that always gave him goosebumps with how surreal it felt at times. Nearly letting his paranoia get the better of him on multiple occasions with how such a reality couldn't be possible for him. That all of this was just a cruel illusion that the Corrupted Grail must have cast upon him to make it easier to absorb him. For how minute that possibility was with his connection to the Counter Force, it was more realistic than to believe Alaya would just… let him go.

It was an impossible scenario.

Another strange fact about this world. He knew he wasn't in the same reality as the one he was used to. Fuyuki didn't exist, and he had never heard of Sainan once in his life. Not to mention the abundance of Mana in this world. It wasn't exactly as dense as during the Age of Gods, but it was still plentiful for him to feel the effects when using his magecraft.

Bam!

The door of his house opened loudly, followed by the footsteps of slippers running behind him.

"O-Onii-chan!" It was Mikan, running towards him like a lost puppy and teary eyes, rushing into the boy in a tackle, which barely budged him. "I want to go as well!"

She immediately grabbed his shirt, giving him a pleading gaze. One thing he knew, once she got hold of him, not even the combined strength of Ringo and Saibai could pry her away from him. Mikan was unusually strong when it came to him.

This girl…

"I'm just going to buy some groceries. Why bother coming with me? You were just sleeping right now."

How did she even know he left the house? He made no noise when closing the door! It couldn't have been Rito. He wouldn't disturb his sister in her sleep, as well.

"Mnn!" she shook her head, continuing to remain stubborn.

The boy sighed when he saw her wearing slippers that wouldn't be ideal for the road. So to the girl's happiness, he gave in.

He sighed, "Go put on your shoes"

...

"You're becoming a bit too clingy, Mikan."

"I was bored." She said, not willing to meet his gaze, as she held his hand.

"Then play some games with Rito."

"No, I don't like those games."

"You could have continued sleeping."

"Don't wanna."

No matter what he said, she refused to listen. By the time he decided to give up, they had already reached the store. The store clerk greeted him, recognizing him as a regular. His sister's eyes immediately zoomed in on the ice cream section, where she stared at the blue popsicles.

"You want some?" He asked, examining some of the vegetables and putting them into the basket.

"N-No, I don't want anything."

For her age, he noticed how she was unnaturally mature. Acting like an older kid and always interested in things like cooking and house chores. Whether that was his fault or someone else, who knew?

Rolling his eyes, he went and bought the popsicle for her. Her eyes widened as she saw him opening the wrapper and giving it to her.

"Don't hesitate to ask me for anything. We aren't poor. I can easily afford you anything here as long as you ask."

She hesitated a bit before accepting it. A beaming smile came to her face as she tasted the treat.

"Thank you Onii-chan!"

There, now she acted like someone her age should.

The lady behind the cashier cooed at sight, finding the siblings' interaction to be just adorable.

"Shirou-chan, you don't have to pay for that popsicle. It's on the house!" Just seeing Mikan's reaction to her brother giving her a treat, made her heart melt with cuteness. The idea of taking any money from them made it unfeasible for her.

Emiya appreciated her gesture, and both thanked the lady before leaving the store with a bag filled with vegetables, fruits, and milk.

As they walked back home, Mikan insisted on helping him out and carried one of the bags in one hand and ate her popsicle with the other.

"I think that's too heavy for you. Let me do it." He said, noticing the girl start to sweat from carrying the bag, which was a bit heavy for someone her stature.

"No," she denied. "I want to help you."

Rolling his eyes, Emiya let her carry on. If she wanted to act stubborn, then who was he to say no? And he was sure she would cave sooner or later.

"Onii-chan, how are you so good at cooking? Mom and dad can't make anything as delicious as you. Dad even burned the kitchen once." Mikan asked curiously.

"I guess it's from experience. The more you practice something, the better you'll become at it. My ability to cook isn't that amazing. Rito is better at gardening and has a greener thumb when it comes to plants. He's also better at games and so on."

She gave him a deadpan look, "I don't think being good with video games is that impressive." An idea flashed in her mind.

"Can you teach me?"

They stopped. He wasn't expecting that kind of question from her.

"Teach you? You mean teaching you how to cook?"

She excitedly nodded her head.

He pondered for a bit, not turning her down immediately. Mikan was still very young. He doubted a six-year-old could use kitchen utensils like knives and the stove without getting hurt. But he knew her. She wouldn't give up so easily and could end up going behind his back and trying to cook on her own to try and impress him.

"There is no way I'll let you handle a knife without proper supervision. Maybe we can start slowly by making easy things that don't require possibly cutting your hands or dealing with hot oil."

His words made Mikan jump for joy, "Yay! When can we start today? Please! Please!"

Wow, where did that energy come from? Hmm, maybe they could start simply with a salad or rice. Just to get her used to the things around the kitchen.

"Fine, just this once."

A few seconds later, they arrived at a crossroad, the walking sign shining green with no cars in sight. So, they continued walking halfway across until Archer's ears twitched.

SKRRRT!

Crash!

He turned his head, noticing a luxurious car driving at them at full speed. The driver's head was against the wheel, no longer conscious of seeing the danger ahead. It seemed that he had already stepped on the breaks before, the tires screeching loudly with white smoke coming from the friction.

It was going to hit them!

His body reacted instinctively.

Emiya quickly moved, grabbed Mikan, and held her tight to him.

"Wah!" Mikan cried out in surprise, her eyes closing from fear.

All sounds around him vanished as his eyes sharpened at the vehicle in front of him. The mental image of a gun's hammer firing came to his mind, his 27 circuits humming with power. Magical energy started circulating — a light cyan circuit pattern spreading around his legs. He pushed himself away, both he and Mikan dodging the car at the last second before the vehicle crashed against a metal pole.

Bam!

The impact was strong enough to crush the front side of the car like a pancake. Metal debris flew everywhere, with some cutting his hands as he placed around his sister's face — thankfully, no shards flew inside his eyes. Black smoke filled the inside of the car, making it impossible to see anything in it.

Everything happened so fast that Mikan didn't even have the time to process it. Her mind was in shock as she buried her head in her brother's chest. Her heart was beating like a drum, and her ears were ringing from the sound of metal crashing metal.

"H-Help!

A cry from what sounded like a young girl came from the car, followed by a few fits of cough and banging on the door's window. That person was in a state of panic, unable to see or even open the door.

"Mikan, stay back!!"

"O-ONII-CHAN!?"

"Now!" He shouted, making the frightened girl comply and ran a good distance from the crash.

Emiya rushed at the vehicle, which showed signs of igniting. The smell of fuel was already invading his nose, catching the sight of sparks coming from the engine.

"Cough! Cough! So-Someone, help!"

Yes, it was indeed the voice of a young girl.

"Urgh, it's blocked!" Emiya tried to forcefully open the door but failed. Even while reinforcing his limbs, his younger body still couldn't reach the same realm of strength he possessed in his older form. Another factor being the window was stronger than regular car windows, having another layer of protection.

"Get away from the window!" He shouted, hoping the girl would listen and not get seriously hurt for what he was about to do.

The boy clenched his fists, focusing all of his power on striking the glass.

Crack!

The first hit managed to crack the glass, his hands going numb already. Emiya gritted his teeth before once again punching the glass at full strength.

The window shattered.

'Finally!' He thought while coughing from the cloud of smoke hitting his face, the car getting worse.

He moved quickly and unlocked the door before opening it. Inside, he found a young girl with blonde hair that was lightly permed in the back and curled into spirals over her shoulders. She was barely conscious, her face filled with tears as she struggled to breathe, as the fumes were getting into her lungs.

"I got you!"

Emiya grabbed her hand and pulled her closer to him. He did the same for the driver, who, fortunately, wasn't stuck in his seat.

Psh!

"—!"

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a small fire form on the crumpled-up hood of the car.

"Hah!" Grabbing both of them, he got out just in time for the entire thing to catch fire. His body pushed itself to jump a fair distance away from the flaming vehicle.

He breathed heavily as he turned his attention back to the girl who was in a fit of coughing, her breathing becoming ragged.

"Are you alright?"

She wasn't answering him. Her eyes barely opened as she probably couldn't even properly see his face. He checked her state, making sure she didn't get injured or having any problems with her breath, finding no such things. He stiffened when doing the same for the driver. He checked the driver over and then shook his head.

"His heart..."

Emiya closed his eyes when he heard the sound of a siren in the distance. Thankfully, that was all he needed to do.

{Break}

-Sainan Hospital-

Saibai was panicking, running as fast as he could up the stairs and through the halls of the hospital. With Rito in his arms, he dreaded what he was about to find out. He was in the middle of his work when he got a phone call from the hospital. He dropped everything and came running to the hospital after picking up Rito.

Ringo took an emergency flight back to Japan, canceling her latest fashion show, and would reach Sainan in a few hours.

He bumped into a lot of doctors and nurses while running through the hall, many shouted at him to slow down and to be more careful, but he ignored them all while he carried Rito in his arms.

"Shirou! Mikan!"

Saibai shouted their names as he reached the patient's resting room. Bursting through the door, he found himself in a white space with six hospital beds attached in a row, and only two of them were occupied.

In the corner were his son and daughter, the former bandaged up from head to toe. The boy leaned calmly against the bed, stroking Mikan's head as she clutched his stomach, having fallen asleep at some point with tears in her eyes.

"Hey, dad, you don't look so good." He said with a smirk.

Saibai's eyes watered, immense amounts of relief flooding his body as both he and Rito ran up and hugged the boy.

"Nii-san!"

"Shirou!"

The redhead groaned in discomfort, not liking the sensation of so many people suddenly hugging him out of nowhere. His face turned disgusting when both father and son started crying loudly with their snot staining his robes.

"Ew, both of you get away from me. I'm not dead yet. And be quiet, Mikan just fell asleep, and I don't want her to start crying as well!" He said while hitting them on their heads.

"Uwaa!!!! Shirou! When I got that call from the hospital, I thought that... I thought that..." Saibai couldn't finish his words. "W-What happened? Did you get hit by a car? Where is that bastard!?"

Before he could lose his temper, a nurse came and calmed him down.

"Calm down, sir. Your son is fine, for the most part. He suffered a few cuts and burns to his hands but nothing serious. We've treated his wounds and even scanned his body to search for any broken bones or infections and found none. He can return home tomorrow at the latest."

The man thanked the nurse, grateful that nothing harmful had happened to his children.

"Oh, and he even saved two people from a burning car crash!"

.

.

.

"Ehhh!! Nii-san is a hero!?" Rito shouted in surprise, his eyes widening with stars in the middle of them as he gazed at his brother in awe and admiration.

Something that further soured Emiya's mood.

"I'm not a hero." He said while flicking Rito's head, causing his little brother to wince at the attack.

What a day, he was only going for a simple grocery run with his little sister and nearly ended up getting rammed by a car. On top of that, he was forced to save the people in the car. The driver had suffered from a heart attack during the drive, which the staff here managed to treat just in time.

The girl was brought to another room. Apparently, her parents came by and reserved a private room for themselves. The doctors mentioned how she was just exhausted from the incident, having fallen into a deep sleep to recover properly from the smoke inhalation.

His luck just loved to throw him random curve balls, didn't it?

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The next 5 chapters of Snafu, Harry Potter and my 3 other Fate fics (Fate Coiling Sword and To love a sword having 3 chapters) are already available on my P@treon. With 4 more Broly chapters at /NimtheWriter. Also, I post monthly commissioned arts on each story, already posted a few on an Archer's Promise, Broly and Snafu.