This is a story about an "Ally of Justice."
It began one day, twenty years ago.
…
On a small island in Southeast Asia, nearly cut off from the rest of the world.
Golden beaches.
An endless expanse of azure sea beneath an equally blue sky.
Rows of tall coconut palms swayed gently in the ocean breeze.
A black-haired boy, barely eight years old, leapt fearlessly from a ten-meter cliff.
Like a diver taking a leap of faith, he plunged into the crystal-clear waters below.
Splash!
A plume of white spray shot more than three meters into the air.
As soon as he surfaced, a chorus of children erupted into cheers.
"Kelly is amazing!"
Swimming back to shore along the base of the cliff, the boy named Kelly wore a smug grin.
Resting one hand on his hip, he said with exaggerated modesty to the boys and girls around him, all dressed in colorful swimsuits,
"It was nothing. That was easy."
From a very young age, Kelly had possessed courage and nerve far beyond his peers.
Naturally, he had become the children's unofficial leader.
Whenever he went out, there were always several younger kids happily trailing behind him.
Honk! Honk!
"Shale!"
Hearing the familiar horn from the road lined with coconut trees, Kelly's face immediately lit up.
He waved enthusiastically toward the coffee-skinned teenage girl driving an old pickup truck.
"Shale!" ×4
The younger boys and girls echoed his greeting energetically.
To them, she was practically their big sister.
"Kelly! Sorry to keep you waiting!"
Shale had promised to pick Kelly up on time.
She had simply been delayed by household chores.
"No problem. We were having fun, right?"
Kelly turned to the younger children.
"Yeah!"
"Big Sis Shale, do you want to play too?"
"Really?"
Shale smiled.
"I'll pass this time."
After parking the truck, Kelly climbed into the passenger seat with practiced ease.
Leaning out the window, he waved goodbye.
"Let's play again next time!"
"It's a promise!"
The children waved back with reluctant smiles.
They even chased after the pickup for several hundred meters before finally stopping.
Sometimes, the older brother or older sister who plays with you during childhood becomes someone you remember for the rest of your life.
Perhaps that was exactly this kind of memory.
The children all lived by the coast.
Kelly and Shale, however, lived deeper inland, hidden within the dense forest.
It was a precaution—meant to avoid attracting attention and to stay hidden from certain people searching for them.
After getting into the truck, Kelly found his eyes drifting toward Shale.
She wore a simple white summer dress.
Its hem reached just above her knees, revealing athletic legs as sleek and powerful as a leopard's.
Thin lace straps rested on her shoulders.
Her collarbones were completely exposed, while the faint curves of adolescence hinted at the woman she was gradually becoming.
Kelly unconsciously swallowed.
Shale was one or two years older than him.
Since girls matured earlier than boys, she was also noticeably taller.
To Kelly, she was the very image of the kind, dependable older girl he secretly admired.
Her amber eyes were especially captivating.
Her jet-black hair was tied into a neat ponytail, giving her an energetic and straightforward appearance.
As they drove home, Shale began telling him the history of the island.
"Kelly, do you know how this island got its name?"
"No..."
"Oh, right. Doesn't Alimango mean 'crab'?"
"That's right."
"A long time ago, this island was a place where people worshipped the Sea God."
"One day, a young girl couldn't find any food for her sick mother."
"With no other choice, she stole the offerings that the villagers had prepared for the god."
"As punishment..."
"She was transformed into a crab."
"So that's the origin?"
Kelly sighed.
"That's a pretty cruel story."
"And the shrine dedicated to that god happens to be on the mountaintop."
"Right next to your house."
"The villagers avoid going anywhere near it."
"They say it's unlucky."
"They even warned me that entering it carelessly would invite divine punishment."
"Really?"
"But everyone treats me perfectly normally."
As the pickup passed a small church, the priest standing outside smiled kindly and waved at them.
Kelly and Shale returned the greeting with smiles of their own.
"That's because nobody thinks of you as an outsider anymore."
"In this village..."
"Everyone already considers you my little brother."
A gentle, contented smile appeared on Shale's face.
"Ha…"
The moment Kelly heard the words little brother, he let out a long sigh.
"Little brother..."
"You've completely become part of this village."
"As your big sister, I'm really happy to see how much you've grown."
She smiled brightly.
"I-Is that so..."
Kelly leaned back with both hands behind his head and turned away, his cheeks faintly flushing.
"Mhm."
Shale nodded happily.
"When you first arrived, you were bullied pretty badly."
"People even teased you because your name sounded strange."
"Weren't you the first one to say my name was weird?!"
Kelly protested.
"And you're the one who started calling me 'Kelly' in the first place!"
"That's right!"
"You're the real reason those older kids bullied me when I first got here."
"So you'd better take responsibility!"
"Hahahaha!"
Shale laughed so hard she nearly slapped the steering wheel.
"Okay, okay!"
"I'll take responsibility!"
"But..."
"Your real name really is hard to pronounce."
She scratched her cheek awkwardly.
"Kelly…"
"Kelly…"
She tried several times but still failed to reproduce the pronunciation she wanted.
Kelly sighed helplessly.
"It's Kiritsugu."
"Ke-ri-to-gu!"
She repeated it confidently.
Unfortunately, her Southeast Asian accent twisted the pronunciation beyond recognition.
"Not even close..."
"Huh?"
"Really?"
"You're kidding!"
Shale wore an exaggerated expression of disbelief.
Kelly—
Or rather, Kiritsugu, as his name was actually pronounced—
Decided not to correct her anymore.
He was convinced she was doing it on purpose.
As for why...
He had no idea.
The two looked at each other and laughed.
"Hey!"
"Watch the road!"
Kiritsugu suddenly shouted.
"Huh?"
Shale instinctively turned her eyes back to the road.
Her pupils contracted.
Without hesitation, she spun the steering wheel hard, yanked the handbrake, and threw the pickup into a perfect drift.
The truck narrowly missed a massive boulder sitting beside the road, one that served as an improvised speed bump.
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