Time flew by in the blink of an eye. Ritsuka lived an unprecedentedly peaceful life, cooking and cleaning every day. Her only options were playing with Miyu or training.
While the days passed quickly, a problem continued to loom over this fragile family: as Miyu grew, the power known as the Divine Child was nearing its end, and the limit was Miyu's upcoming sixth birthday.
According to the ancient records of the Sakatsuki Family, there were only seven days left until the Divine Child's power would disappear...
Morning arrived. Listening to the pitter-patter of the rain outside, Ritsuka, who woke up on time, let out a yawn and then gently pried away Miyu's arms, which were wrapped around her.
She climbed off the tatami mat with clean, efficient movements. Putting on her slippers, Ritsuka headed to the kitchen to begin her routine of making breakfast. It was still a bit early; Kiritsugu, who often stayed up late, and Miyu were usually still deep in their dreams.
A light rain fell over Fuyuki, pressing down the gradually rising heat in the air and filling it with a fresh scent.
A cold wind blew. Ritsuka shivered as she stepped out of the room, immediately closing the door behind her to prevent Miyu from catching a cold while sleeping.
Having lived here for nearly a month, she was already well-acquainted with the place. Ritsuka walked quickly to Kiritsugu's room, intending to clear out the daily trash.
Gently pushing open the door, Ritsuka froze in place. Kiritsugu sat in a corner by a low table surrounded by a haze of smoke, constantly leafing through the ancient books in his hands.
"Kiritsugu, did you stay up all night again?"
Ritsuka pinched her nose as she walked into the room to open all the windows for ventilation. The morning sunlight shining into the room made Kiritsugu squint uncomfortably. After pulling an all-nighter, his eyes were bloodshot and looked somewhat terrifying.
"And smoke less. Your health isn't good to begin with."
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Looking at the non-stop coughing Kiritsugu, Ritsuka's face was full of worry. Recently, Kiritsugu's physical condition had been deteriorating day by day, and seeing a doctor hadn't helped.
It was clear that Kiritsugu's health was already terminal. A certain substance was constantly eroding his body, leaving it riddled with holes, while he himself seemed to have given up on trying to recover, resulting in his terrible daily state.
"Don't push yourself too hard. That... it's Miyu's birthday in a week. She wants to spend time with you too."
Ever since bringing Miyu back, Kiritsugu had rarely appeared in her sight, mostly keeping himself locked in his room, likely flipping through ancient books and fighting an internal battle.
Ritsuka still remembered what Miyu had asked her before. She had asked if Kiritsugu hated her, which was why he was unwilling to sit and eat with her.
"..."
"Lately, has Miyu still been showing her Divine Child traits?"
After a long silence, Kiritsugu finally looked up at Ritsuka and asked a different question.
Ritsuka, who was about to take the ashtray to be washed, paused for a moment and then gave a bitter smile. "She's becoming more and more like a human."
Just as Ritsuka hesitated, worried that this news might affect Kiritsugu's emotional state, Kiritsugu suddenly grinned.
"Ritsuka, you are a good sister, but you are not a good warrior. I have been secretly observing your interactions with Miyu every day, so I have long been prepared."
An unbreakable knot in his heart, a distorted fantasy born from a certain event—these things had left this old man battered and bruised, but now he let out a sincere, albeit somewhat lonely, laugh.
"I wanted to save the world, to save everyone in it, but I took too many detours and hesitated before the final step to success."
"I probably... won't be able to hold on for much longer."
Kiritsugu suddenly coughed up a mouthful of black blood. A strange substance within the blood, resembling black mud, stuck to the floor and emitted an eerie smell.
Before Ritsuka could even react, Kiritsugu collapsed with a thud and fell into a coma... In the blink of an eye, the moon was bright and the stars were sparse. Ritsuka, who had carried Kiritsugu to the hospital, returned to the residence with the now-conscious Kiritsugu.
After eating dinner and coaxing Miyu to sleep, Ritsuka stepped onto the wooden corridor, came into the courtyard, and found Kiritsugu sitting by the edge.
Kiritsugu heard the sound but didn't turn his head. He just looked down at a puddle on the ground after the rain, using it as a mirror to look at himself and the bright moon hanging in the sky.
His chin was covered in stubble. Compared to his former high spirits, Kiritsugu lamented in his heart that he had finally grown old... "Kiritsugu, how are you feeling?"
Rubbing his messy hair, Kiritsugu let out a low laugh. "I'm alright. Hasn't it always been like this since that time?"
Ever since that time, when he encountered that all-consuming black mud, Kiritsugu's physical condition had been deteriorating day by day.
It was that thing that had triggered something.
Carrying a bowl of brewed medicine, Ritsuka gently placed it by Kiritsugu's hand, then sat cross-legged a short distance away, also beginning to admire the night view.
"—I have been making mistakes for the sake of what I believed to be right."
"And to correct those mistakes, I kept making even more mistakes. In the end, I've lived my life to become what I am now."
Gulping down the bitter medicine in one go, Kiritsugu, whose chest felt tight, took a deep breath and put a Pocky in his mouth. Just like before, he used snacks to suppress his nicotine addiction.
"Perhaps I have neither the qualification nor the ability to make choices on behalf of humanity?"
"When everything I did failed, I began to pursue easy and convenient miracles, but there aren't that many miracles in this world."
Kiritsugu placed the bowl back between them, chewing on the slightly sweet biscuit stick to relieve the bitter taste in his mouth.
His eyelids lowered, looking at the moon reflected in the water, he spoke slowly, "I, who pursued miracles, was like a monkey reaching for the moon in the water... going through a journey like a lightless night—searching for that invisible moon."
Crunching the biscuit stick, Kiritsugu seemed to be lamenting his life, as if mocking his own cowardice.
"Don't be like that, you're talking like someone seeing their life flash before their eyes."
Ritsuka felt a bit panicked, but she forced herself to calm down and showed a smile. "People who believe in miracles are as great as the miracles themselves!"
"Yes, perhaps that is indeed the case."
Kiritsugu turned slightly and looked at Ritsuka's profile, smiling from the bottom of his heart—a smile of relief and peace.
"I don't have long to live."
"Nonsense, there must be a way to deal with that thing inside you. Just give me a little more time, and I will find a miracle."
The beautiful and exquisite crystal dice floated up slowly. Kiritsugu couldn't see it, but it was Ritsuka's only hope now—the hope to cure Kiritsugu.
She wasn't clear on how this thing operated, but it was the basis for her becoming stronger. Getting an ability similar to a doctor's might be possible, right?!
Every day, Ritsuka thought of ways to derive the power to heal Kiritsugu from it, but half a month passed quietly. Aside from 'Emiya Shirou's' synchronization value increasing by 0.5%, this thing hadn't changed at all, and Miyu's power was becoming less and less apparent.
With the image of the moon reflected in her eyes, accumulated tears slid from the corners of her eyes as Ritsuka closed them.
"I have made too many mistakes. Perhaps the only right thing I did was saving you from the ruins."
"Ritsuka, you're right. I've always been a terrible guy. I hope you don't follow in my footsteps."
Kiritsugu took a handgun from his coat—the Mystic Code he had always used, a large-caliber hunting handgun, the Thompson/Center Arms.
Mystic Codes are divided into Support Mystic Codes and Limited Functions. The first type is used by Magicians to supplement mana when using magic, while the second type has pre-set effects that manifest when used.
Kiritsugu's gun was undoubtedly the second type, and it was also the source of his title as the Magus Killer—a powerful weapon specialized against conventional Magicians of the Moon World.
Along with it were thirty special bullets, Kiritsugu's trump card, the Origin Bullets.
"...Kiritsugu?"
There was no response. Kiritsugu simply packed the bullets and the gun together and placed them in Ritsuka's hand.
"Don't look down on it. It might not be as helpful as the help your ability gives you, but it's better than nothing, isn't it?"
"Store them in your crystal dice. Carry my share with you and protect Miyu well."
The conversation ended. Seeing the Mystic Code and bullets disappear into Ritsuka's hand, Kiritsugu chuckled with satisfaction and reached out to pat Ritsuka's head.
He slowly pulled a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and began to puff. The pungent smoke made him cough, but Ritsuka didn't stop him from continuing. The two of them silently maintained this state.
Finally, the two of them—
Watched the stars together all night.