"…See you tomorrow, then."
Late that night, Shirley said her goodbye after leaving Kiritsugu's house. As she reached the doorway, however, her gaze lingered on the white lilies glowing faintly in the darkness.
One particular flowerpot—its blossoms now completely withered—stopped her in her tracks as though an invisible hand had seized her.
"Shirley? What's wrong?" Kiritsugu asked with concern.
"The ability to make flowers bloom forever..." Shirley murmured softly. "It's truly a wonderful form of magecraft."
Kiritsugu blinked in confusion.
"But... you can do it too, can't you?"
"I can only manage flowers. Professor has gone far beyond that." She lowered her eyes. "His medicine could one day free humanity from death itself."
"I still hope his work can be used for the good of the world... that people will eventually understand him."
"Even though Professor has already given up on that dream..."
She looked at Kiritsugu, her eyes filled with hope, yet tinged with an indescribable sadness.
"Kelly... I know you'll make it happen."
"Huh?"
Kiritsugu scratched his head.
"Shirley, aren't you Father's best student? I haven't even become his apprentice yet. If anyone's going to carry on his work, it should be you—not me."
He wasn't disappointed by that thought.
He had already accepted that his father's knowledge and research didn't necessarily have to be inherited by his own son.
If Shirley inherited everything instead...
...that would be just as good.
After all, someday they would become one family.
The thought filled Kiritsugu with quiet anticipation.
What he couldn't understand was why Shirley placed such enormous expectations on him.
Shirley merely smiled and gently shook her head, melancholy flickering across her face.
"I'm not his student."
"At most... I'm just his assistant."
"Or a helper. Someone who does odd jobs."
"I've never truly been worthy of being called his disciple."
Following her sorrowful gaze, Kiritsugu looked toward the flowerpot.
The white lily Shirley had cultivated that very day had already withered.
Its life had been even shorter than that of an ordinary flower.
"How could this..."
He crouched beside it, hoping there might still be some way to save it.
"It's no use, Kelly."
Shirley knelt beside him.
"A failure is still a failure."
"Now you understand, don't you?"
"My talent simply isn't enough to inherit Professor's brilliance."
"That's why..."
"When Father Simon speaks badly of Professor..."
"I can't even find the words to argue back."
She gently nudged Kiritsugu's arm with her head, like a cat seeking affection.
"Kelly..."
"You're the one Professor has chosen."
"The research Professor and I are doing now..."
"It's all preparation for the day you inherit everything."
"The time just hasn't come yet."
"That's..."
Kiritsugu felt an ache in his heart.
Long ago, he had already come to think of Shirley as the closest family he had besides his father.
When she was happy, he was happy.
When she was sad, he couldn't help feeling the same.
"Come with me."
Seeing how dejected he looked, Shirley abandoned her own attempt at seeking comfort and instead took his hand.
She led him deep into the forest until they arrived at a crystal-clear lake hidden among the trees.
The lake reflected the endless sea of stars overhead.
Its gentle ripples made it seem as though the entire night sky had descended upon the water.
"So beautiful..."
Kiritsugu couldn't help whispering the words.
He wasn't sure whether he meant the starlit lake...
...or the girl in the white dress leading him by the hand.
"It is, isn't it?"
His sincere admiration brought a smile back to Shirley's face.
She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear before letting go of his hand.
Standing before him with her hands clasped behind her back, she leaned forward slightly, youthful and graceful beneath the moonlight.
"Kelly..."
"What kind of adult do you want to become?"
"Huh?"
Kiritsugu froze.
His eyes darted about nervously before he finally forced himself to meet her amber gaze, doing everything he could not to look anywhere else.
"When you inherit Professor's research..."
"How will you use it?"
"You'll possess a power capable of changing the world."
"Changing..."
"...the world?"
"That's right."
Shirley nodded earnestly.
"If it's you, Kelly..."
"I'm sure you can."
"I promise."
"Uh..."
Kiritsugu fell silent.
He had never dreamed of anything so grand.
His wish was almost embarrassingly ordinary.
It was simply...
...the girl standing before him.
To worry when she worried.
To smile when she smiled.
To become her entire world...
But—
"I..."
"It's a secret!"
In the end, he couldn't bring himself to say it.
Turning his flushed face away, he tried to hide his embarrassment behind an exaggerated show of pride.
"Aww~~~"
Bathed in moonlight, Shirley's bright eyes lingered thoughtfully on the faint blush coloring his cheek.
The corners of her lips slowly curved upward.
"Then..."
"I'll see for myself what kind of man you'll become."
"Until then..."
"I'll stay by your side."
"Is that okay?"
As she spoke, she leaned closer and affectionately bumped his shoulder with her own.
"..."
Kiritsugu didn't answer.
The blush on his cheek had already spread all the way to his ears.
"Ahh~ You're so adorable!"
Unable to resist any longer, Shirley hugged the shorter boy tightly from behind.
Then, like an older sister playing with a child, she lifted him and spun him around in circles.
"Gosh..."
"So?"
"Can I?"
"H-Hey—!"
"O-Okay already!"
"Just stop spinning me!"
Between his frantic struggles and panicked protests, Kiritsugu unknowingly agreed to Shirley's promise that they would remain together in the future.
Yet Shirley, now completely caught up in the fun, had no intention of putting him down.
She laughed with pure delight.
"Hahaha!"
"Kelly, you're so cute!"
"Geez...!"
He was shorter than her.
Weaker than her.
Before long, Kiritsugu gave up resisting altogether.
Then, suddenly realizing how closely they were pressed together, he froze as though struck by lightning.
His face became so red it looked ready to burst.
At that moment...
The hearts of the boy and the girl beat as one.
...
The next morning—
Kiritsugu was still half-asleep when his father, Norikata Emiya, woke him.
Norikata's expression was as gloomy as ever, seemingly unchanged.
Yet somehow...
Kiritsugu sensed a trace of unfamiliar emotion hidden beneath it.
Surprise?
"Good morning, Father."
Rubbing his sleepy eyes, Kiritsugu greeted him.
"Kiritsugu."
"You didn't enter my workshop last night, did you?"
Norikata asked calmly, as though it were an entirely insignificant question.
"Huh?"
"No... I didn't."
Kiritsugu answered instinctively, completely puzzled.
"I see."
Norikata nodded.
Before leaving, he paused.
"Kiritsugu."
"Don't go into the village today."
"...Father?"
"Did something happen?"
Kiritsugu asked in confusion.
"Just stay inside."
"Whatever you do, don't leave the house."
Without another explanation, Norikata turned and walked away.
"What was that all about...?"
Still not fully awake, Kiritsugu scratched his head in bewilderment.
Since I'm already up...
I might as well go back to sleep.
He and Shirley had stayed out talking until very late the night before.
With the lingering sweetness of those memories filling his heart, Kiritsugu lay back down...
...and drifted peacefully back to sleep.
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