The first thing Shirou felt when he woke up was the pain. A dull, relentless ache spread through his body, as though every muscle had been wrung dry. He shifted slightly, and the soft rustling of blankets reached his ears.
He opened his eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling, its surface stained with faint watermarks. A thin beam of sunlight seeped through a gap in the curtains, casting the small, plain room in muted light.
"You're awake."
The voice startled him. Shirou turned his head sharply,
Shirou tried to sit up, but his body protested, and he slumped back onto the bed.
"Don't push yourself" the man said, leaning back slightly. His gaze softened, though the weariness in his eyes remained. "You've been through a lot. It's a miracle you're alive."
"Where…?" Shirou's voice cracked, and he swallowed, his throat dry and raw. "Where am I?"
"A safe place," the man replied simply. "For now."
Shirou's mind struggled to piece together what had happened. Flashes of the fire, the suffocating heat, and the man's face swam through his thoughts.
"Who are you?" he asked finally, his voice small but steady.
The man was silent for a moment, his gaze distant. Then he spoke, his tone calm but laced with something heavier.
"Kiritsugu...Kiritsugu Emiya."
The name meant nothing to Shirou, but something about the way Kiritsugu said it made it feel important.
"You saved me" Shirou said, his words more a statement than a question.
Kiritsugu nodded. "I did."
"Why?"
The question hung in the air between them. Kiritsugu's expression tightened, and for a moment, he looked as though he might not answer. But then he sighed, running a hand through his hair.
"Because…I had to" he said finally. His voice was low, almost a whisper. "Because no one else could."
Shirou frowned, not understanding. "What about my family? Did they—"
Kiritsugu's expression darkened, and Shirou's words faltered.
"There's no easy way to say this" Kiritsugu began, his tone heavy with regret. "You were the only one I found."
Shirou stared at him, the weight of the words pressing down on him like the rubble he had crawled through the night before.
"I'm sorry" Kiritsugu added quietly.
Tears welled in Shirou's eyes, but he bit his lip and held them back. He didn't want to cry in front of this man, this stranger who had saved him when no one else could.