the One Before You Is Not the One in Your Heart
…
Kiritsugu looked up.
The moon had vanished.
In its place hung a pitch-black void, radiating an ominous, unsettling presence.
"That is the Holy Grail."
Shirley's gentle explanation filled Kiritsugu with disbelief.
That thing... is the Holy Grail? You've got to be kidding.
"It's not fully formed yet, but its vessel has already been filled. All that's left is for someone to make a wish."
"Only then can it—I—truly descend into the outside world."
"So... please."
"Give it—give me—a physical form."
As she spoke, a faint, almost imperceptible, seductive smile appeared on Shirley's innocent face.
She took one of Kiritsugu's hands and gently guided it to her cheek.
Like an affectionate pet seeking praise, she rubbed her face against his palm. A rosy blush spread across her youthful, wheat-colored skin as her other hand lightly traced across his chest over his clothes, slowly moving lower, attempting to entice him with an understanding of human desire that was unnervingly intimate.
"..."
Kiritsugu remained expressionless.
He allowed the provocative gestures to continue without reaction.
His hollow black eyes were half-hidden beneath his bangs, making it impossible to read what he was thinking.
"Kerry... in this Holy Grail War, only you have the right to decide what form it—I—will take. So, as the one destined to claim the final victory..."
"Ah..."
Shirley suddenly let out a soft cry.
Kiritsugu had abruptly seized her wrist, stopping the wandering hand in its tracks.
His face darkened.
"...You're not Shirley."
"Tell me."
"What are you?"
"I am Shirley."
She answered with the same warm smile.
Yet there was something profoundly unnatural about it.
She looked human.
She behaved like a human.
And yet every instinct screamed that she was not.
The eerie presence surrounding her was identical to the black void hanging overhead.
Visually, there wasn't a single flaw.
But—
"The Shirley in my memories was far more reserved... far brighter than you."
"All I can feel from you is endless darkness."
The real Shirley...
...had been left forever in that summer night buried deep within his heart.
Yes.
Kiritsugu knew the truth better than anyone.
Shirley had died long ago.
"So answer me!"
The Thompson Contender appeared in his hand.
Its black barrel was leveled directly at Shirley's forehead as he demanded,
"Who are you?"
"That's true."
She sighed softly.
There was no panic at having her disguise exposed.
Instead, she smiled calmly.
"I won't deny that this is merely a mask."
"If I don't wear an existing personality as an outer shell, I can't communicate with other people."
With her hands clasped behind her back, she gave him a playful wink before skipping past him like an ordinary young woman completely at ease in front of the person she loved.
She walked toward the shoreline.
Eventually, her graceful figure disappeared from Kiritsugu's sight.
When he turned to look again—
Shirley was gone.
In her place stood a silver-haired woman wearing a man's trench coat.
Her imposing figure, strikingly well-developed physique, and mature beauty gave her an overwhelming presence.
Unlike Shirley's gentle warmth, this woman exuded unwavering confidence.
A self-assured smile never left the face of the ageless succubus-like beauty, inspiring an inexplicable sense of reassurance.
"...Natalia?!"
For the first time in a long while, light returned to Kiritsugu's hollow eyes.
His pupils trembled uncontrollably, exposing the turmoil within him.
If Shirley had been an unattainable first dream—
Then Natalia had been the future he had actually been capable of reaching.
I could have endured the darkness... if I had never seen the light.
The pain of losing something after finally obtaining it was infinitely crueler than never having possessed it at all.
Kerry had been powerless to save Shirley.
But Kiritsugu...
Kiritsugu could have saved Natalia.
If only he had been just a little more selfish.
So why...
Why couldn't I do it?
He questioned himself.
Not only did his eyes tremble—
Even the hands holding his pistol began to shake.
"Mhm."
"Natalia" responded with a chuckle.
"Kid, I've been dead for years, and you still haven't grown up."
"Didn't you say you'd never cry again?"
"I..."
Kiritsugu found himself speechless.
"You see?"
"Natalia" spread her hands.
"The personalities I've recorded—Shirley's and Natalia's—are completely authentic."
"In fact, I understand them better than you do."
A smug smile curved across her lips.
Crossing her arms beneath her chest, she looked at him with playful mockery.
"You've put that girl on far too much of a pedestal because of childhood memories."
"The truth is, if the Dead Apostle incident had never happened on Alimango Island..."
"In another timeline, Shirley wouldn't have been able to resist the temptation forever."
"Before long, she'd have taken the initiative and tried to seduce you—much like what I just did."
"And you probably would've gone along with it."
"After all..."
"What teenage boy could resist the girl he loved making the first move?"
"Human nature has never withstood temptation."
"I know that better than anyone."
She paused.
Then she walked over to Kiritsugu, shoved him backward onto the sand, and effortlessly pinned him beneath her.
"Just like this."
"This is what this woman truly desires in her current state."
"She wants you, Daddy Kiritsugu."
Straddling him, Natalia leaned down until her lips hovered beside his ear.
Her warm breath brushed against his skin.
Her voice was soft and intoxicating.
And that forbidden form of address—
The sensation was like heaven and hell intertwining at once.
In an instant, Kiritsugu was dragged back to the night before that fatal mission.
It was Natalia who had taught him what it meant to become a man.
And then—
She died.
Killed by the artillery shell that Kiritsugu himself had fired.
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