From birth to adolescence, the term "mother" was unfamiliar to Kiritsugu.
As far as he can remember, he only has a father and no mother.
So much so that when Natalia told him about his family, Kiritsugu's first reaction was - "Do you want to be my father?"
Of course I was scolded immediately.
"Don't get the gender wrong, you rude kid. At least say mother."
However, this also became Kiritsugu's first impression and memory of the concept of mother.
If there was anyone who could be his mother, it would be Natalia and no one else.
He dreamed many times that he called her mother, but when it came time to call her mother, he could not make any sound. His embarrassment made everyone feel unfamiliar.
"Hey, you can't do this. Act like a man and take responsibility for your actions." Natalia complained dissatisfiedly, "Where is the decisive kid from the past? Or were you lying to me when you said I was your family?"
"I didn't lie to you!"
"Then call it."
"M... "
"M what?"
"Mother... "
After blushing for a while, Kiritsugu finally uttered two syllables.
"Speak louder, I can't hear you, haven't you eaten yet?"
"Mom!" Kiritsugu said desperately.
"Ah, yeah." Natalia was also a little dazed.
She had been waiting for this word "Mom" for many years, and so had he.
Now, this day has finally come - fate, this mischievous bastard, is finally reliable for once.
He slapped the table excitedly and proudly, and shouted: "Scream again."
"No more shouting. I don't want to be played by you."
At this time, Kiritsugu regained his composure and refused with a cold face. This was his usual approach to dealing with Natalia.
Natalia has succubus blood, although it is very thin and doesn't allow her to seduce men everywhere, but she is still somewhat affected. Specifically, she spends money lavishly, spends whatever she earns immediately in casinos, bars and other places, and flirts with Kiritsugu whenever she has time.
Kiritsugu, who was not yet an adult at the time, blushed at first, but the more he did so, the more excited Natalia became, and later she developed the habit of responding coldly. Seeing Kiritsugu's expressionless face, Natalia also lost interest, and it was the same now.
"If you don't call me, someone else will. Remember your name is Irisviel, right? The little devil calls me mom. You are the little devil's wife, so you should call me mom."
"Mother?"
Irisviel was not as shy as her husband, she tilted her head in an idiotic manner and blurted out the answer.
"Mother."
"Hey, kid, learn from your wife." Natalia nodded and teased Kiritsugu.
“Maiya-sister, you should call me mom.” Irisviel said naturally.
"Me, me?" Maiya never thought that this fire would burn her, "Can, can I?"
"As long as you are willing." Natalia nodded gently. She liked Hisau Maiya more than Irisviel because she saw her own shadow in Maiya.
"Mother... "
Maiya's reaction was exactly the same as Kiritsugu's. She was born as a war orphan, and she had never been called by this name with special meaning.
"Yes, Maiya."
At this time, Illya also came to join in the fun.
"Dad's mother is grandma, grandma."
"Okay, okay." Natalia laughed out loud. She hadn't been so happy in a long time.
All the past grudges and unhappiness disappeared in the laughter.
Next, it was the turn of another person—the person who had the greatest influence on Kiritsugu and was also his first love.
"Kelly..."
"Xia Lei..."
They still looked at each other as usual, and still used the same affectionate names as in childhood, but the two pairs of eyes looking at each other were no longer the same as before.
Xia Lei's eyes were no longer a beautiful amber color, but turned into a weird red. This bright red once again revealed the deepest scar in Kiritsugu's heart.
Kiritsugu's eyes also lost the clarity and brilliance of his youth, and were filled with vicissitudes of life, which was the so-called mature trait after experiencing too much, enduring too much, and being hurt again and again. This trait made Xia Lei feel heartbroken.
"sorry... "
"sorry... "
Same time, same words, almost exactly the same pace.
"Why apologize..."
"Why apologize..."
Another perfect sync.
Kiritsugu's previous denial and Shinji's identification just now were actually unnecessary. This exact same pace can only be achieved by family members who have lived together for a long time.
"You go first."
"Okay, I'll go first."
Finally out of sync, but still a show of tacit understanding.
"I... couldn't save you. If I had realized your true feelings earlier, maybe you wouldn't have become like that..."
Xia Lei is the purest dream in Kiritsugu's heart.
Only in front of her would he reveal his softest and most innocent part.
Only in front of her was he the carefree boy, not the cold disguise in the future.
"Why apologize? Kelly did nothing wrong."
Xia Lei, who still maintained her girlish appearance, spoke in a very soft voice, just like the sea breeze that flowed between them when they first met.
"I have done all this to myself. I was unwilling to accept this and I was jealous of you, so I wanted to steal the teacher's medicine to prove that I could do it. In the end, I ended up like that because of my greed."
"..." Kiritsugu's fists clenched involuntarily.
"Kelly doesn't need to apologize. I'm the one who needs to apologize. It's because of me that Alimare Island is like that. It's because of me that everyone died. It's all because of me... And I made Kelly make such a terrible choice. I... I... It's all my fault."
"No! No... No..."
"That's it. Don't comfort me, Kelly. You never had this gift before. You're so smart, you should have known it a long time ago, right?"
"Ugh!" Kiritsugu's fist landed heavily on his leg, his nails almost digging into his flesh. As Xia Lei said, he really didn't have the talent for this.
"I heard from Miss Natalia that it's all my fault that you're on this path and in so much pain. Kelly, I want to see you just to apologize to you. I'm sorry, Kelly. You deserve a brighter future and a better life, I..."
Xia Lei shrank her body, almost choking but no tears came out. Because the dead can't shed tears, all she could shed was blood.
"Kelly, you can hate me and blame me as much as you want. I just hope you can live every day happily like before..."
"It was the way it was before..." Kiritsugu closed his eyes and shook his head, "It can't go back to the way it was before."
"Kelly!"
Xia Lei panicked instantly and was about to speak when she heard Kiritsugu say again.
"Although I can't go back, I can promise you that I will spend every day happily in the future. I can do it now."
“Yes, it will definitely work.” Irisviel held her husband’s hand and slowly smoothed his clenched fist. “You have me, Maiya, mom, and sister Xia Lei—”
"—and me!"
Illya was afraid of falling behind, so she couldn't wait to take the position.
"We must be happy."
The innocent and simple wish completely shattered the man's cold and hard outer coat, and the tears that were thought to have dried up long ago were used again after many years.
"Yes, we will be happy."
PS: I will add one more thing, which I probably won’t be able to write about in the future. Although Natalia likes to tease Kiritsugu, she actually doesn’t do anything to him. She is still very innocent at heart, and she really loves Kiritsugu.
PS2: I always think that writing fan fiction is to make up for the tragedy, so I gave Kariya hope and changed the fate of Sakura and Fujino. And Kiritsugu, the most miserable character in Fate, I want to give him a happy ending, so I took great pains to design this paragraph. I hope you will like it - that's what I think, a saint is a saint, whatever you want, it's better than those people with distorted values.