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pyropsychiccollector · 5 years

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Fate Zero: Part Four

Risei Kotomine stood calm and composed as he went to answer the door. Though it wasn’t a very big congregation that he led, the church still received visitors on occasion. He knew that it wasn’t any of his parishioners at the door, however… because it was far too early in the morning.

Risei took a composed breath before opening the door – unsurprised to see his son on the other side, looking as impassive as ever.

“We have a problem.” Kirei blandly reported.

Soon enough, they were in the basement as Kirei passed on Assassin’s recent discovery. The Servant himself was outside the church and patrolling the perimeter, ensuring this meeting was an ironclad secret. Risei appeared more troubled as Kirei went on, and when he’d finished speaking, there was only one solution the elderly man could think of.

“Caster has just become the very top priority… If he and his Master have no intention of respecting the rules that the Holy Grail War has established for hundreds of years, then we will postpone the war until they are eliminated. Minor rule changes fall under my purview – we’ll have all of the Masters work together to defeat Caster.”

Kirei raised an eyebrow at the notion of Masters collaborating.

“Will we really have to go to such lengths? All Assassin need do is get a clear shot, and he can take out Caster… We have yet to discover their main base of operations, but they poke their head out of the rabbit hole often enough that executing them would be a trifling matter…”

Risei shook his head and fixed his son with a stern glance.

“You have found and identified Caster, but this specific Servant will be too difficult to handle on your own. Neinhart was once a member of the Spriggan 12, before he attempted a coup and was imprisoned for life. Cobra is formidable, but the Spriggan 12 were personally picked and trained by the Black Wizard, Zeref himself. We cannot assume an attempted assassination will survive first contact. Keep an eye out for him in the meantime, but do not engage until we at least get Tokiomi in on the hunt as well. Hades will be of immense help to you and Cobra.”

Kirei’s eyes fell as his expression remained blank.

“… Understood…”

~*~

Dust blew through the air amongst the ruins as a gust of wind passed through. The dark-haired man made clinking noises with his metal boots as he walked past so much rubble, keeping an eye out. The sky, the clouds tinged brown, appeared ghastly and filthy, indicating the kind of battle that had raged in this area very recently; it really wasn’t pleasant to linger here, but the dark-haired man couldn’t just leave. At last, he spotted a solitary living figure amongst the corpses and ruins – hunched over as he sat on a large piece of wall. The other man’s face was obscured by his intertwined hands as he appeared deep in thought, but Gajeel would recognize that shock of pink hair anywhere.

“Oi, Flamebrain! What’re ya doin’? Let’s go home!” He called out exasperatedly.

The pink-haired man, wrapped in a tattered gray cloak, his arms covered thoroughly in wrappings, didn’t answer for several moments, but when he did, Gajeel felt incredibly uneasy.

“Go back, Gajeel. I’m not done.”

Gajeel’s face scrunched up in confusion and bewilderment.

“What are you talkin’ about? You annihilated this fortress, Natsu! There’s nobody left!”

“There are. They just have different bases.” Natsu grunted, his eyes narrowing into a sharp glare as he peeked over his hands at Gajeel. “I’m not done until they’re all dead. Until I wrap my hands around the throats of every last one of those bastards… Until their bones are reduced to ash…!”

Gajeel’s eyes softened, the longer he stared at Natsu. He couldn’t help feeling anything but pity for his Guildmate. Natsu couldn’t be blamed for turning out like this; no matter how murderous he had become, it was all completely natural. Hell, if Levy had…

Gajeel shook his head as he couldn’t even finish that nightmarish thought.

“Natsu. We can’t just let ya run off half-cocked! If I let you go, Gray ‘n Mira are gonna have my head on a pike…!” He growled as Natsu stood up stubbornly, turning his back to the Iron Dragon Slayer. “Just think about what you’re doin’! You can’t stoop to their level! Come back with me!”

“I’m already worse than them, Gajeel… It’s too late. I’m gonna finish what I started, and I’m gonna protect you all. Don’t follow me.” Natsu coldly bit out.

Gajeel gnashed his teeth as he took a step towards Natsu’s retreating back.

“Salamander…!”

“Tell Happy to stay with Lisanna, and not to come after me.” Natsu droned in an equally cold tone. He spared no more words even as Gajeel continued to call out to him.

Gajeel would never see him again.

~*~

Waver awoke with a desperate gasp, panting soon after he sat up in bed and covered in sweat. He looked around his darkened bedroom, and found there to be no threats or anything amiss. As he got his breathing under control, he stared down at his blanket-covered legs.

“Was… Was that a vision?” Waver muttered to himself. In all his research on the Holy Grail War, the topic of visions had never come up… But that had definitely felt so real. It had to have been Gajeel’s memories of when he was alive. “But… how…?”

The blanket bunched together in Waver’s clenched fists as he tried to think about it logically. The only thing that came to mind… was that their connection as Master and Servant must have allowed him to see a glimpse into Gajeel’s past. But even so, the ‘how’ wasn’t really important… What concerned Waver was the contents of that memory. The Fairy Tail Guild was one of the most legendary organizations of mages in the world, and many of their exploits had been recorded exhaustively. While Waver had only been able to get the bare-bones summary of their history while on the flight to Japan, nothing that was recorded seemed all that… dark.

But that memory had definitely been real. The wretched sky, the soot-filled air, that carnage and those ruins, and that tense standoff with Berserker… Or rather, Natsu Dragneel, as he’d been known in life. That hadn’t been just any old dream conjured by his imagination. And Gajeel had felt so pained and filled with regret about letting Natsu go like that… Waver didn’t really understand why Gajeel hadn’t gone after him; Rider wasn’t the type to hesitate, but in that one instance he had. And he apparently regretted it for the rest of his life.

“Where am I gonna find out more about Fairy Tail’s history, though…? It’s not like I can just walk up to Rider and demand he tell me. And I don’t want to waste a Command Seal and get him mad at me…” Waver sighed as he ran a hand through his hair agitatedly before flopping back on his bed, staring up at the ceiling with mild frustration. “… Guess I’ll think on it tomorrow.”

Up on the roof of the Mackenzie household, Gajeel sat cross-legged. A light breeze blew his hair around a little, and the Iron Dragon Slayer’s eyes were fixed on the nightlife scene of Fuyuki. Unconsciously, he clenched his fists tightly.

~*~

Gray leaned back against the wall and sighed raggedly as he crossed his arms, staring up at the ceiling. Despite swearing fealty to Kayneth, the man had more than a few harsh words to say about not slaying Erza on the spot… Not that Gray particularly cared what his Master thought about that “failure”. He was gonna win the Grail for Kayneth – that wasn’t about to change. But no matter how loyal he was to his new Master, he wasn’t so devoid of honor that he’d strike Erza down when she was distracted by Flamebrain of all people…

The Ice Mage clenched his teeth and clutched his arm tighter as his thoughts drifted there…

“Natsu…” Gray growled and swore under his breath. Before he could continue that line of thought, a feminine giggle gathered all his attention.

“Kayneth’s words still echoing in your ears? You should have just let me tear into him. It’s not like he’s above criticism~…” The woman slowly strode up to Gray, hands clasped behind her back. The Ice Mage merely rolled his eyes in annoyance.

“Criticism and beating a dead horse are two completely different things, Sola-Ui… I wasn’t about to let you humiliate him, too. He got enough of that from Berserker and Rider…” Subconsciously, his grip around his forearm tightened again. Sola-Ui tilted her head curiously.

“You know he wasn’t exactly right for beating your ‘failure’ like a dead horse? I mean, it’s not like there will never be another chance to defeat Saber. Kayneth’s just obsessed because Sabers tend to be the strongest Servants…” Sola-Ul traced a lazy semicircle around Lancer, a cocky grin tugging at her lips. “It’s too bad in this particular War, Lancer rises above all others, eh?”

Gray scoffed, arms dropping to his sides as he narrowed his eyes at her.

“Flattery will get you nowhere. I know my own limits. Every single Servant in this War could take me on… I’m not even gonna rule out Assassin or Caster, who I haven’t seen yet.” He craned his head to the side as his fists stayed clenched at his sides. “If I have my way, three of ‘em are gonna be my responsibility. Counting Erza.”

Sola-Ui frowned, and her brow furrowed.

“Three? Not six?”

“I dunno who Caster and Assassin are yet, like I said. And Gajeel… I wouldn’t care if someone else took him out.” He curled his fists hard enough that even Sola-Ui could hear them. “Hades, though… And Erza and Flamebrain… I have to settle things with them personally. Hades goes without saying. Erza, I would have taken her on personally even without Kayneth’s obsession… And Natsu…”

Gray trailed off there, unwilling to say another word about Natsu. Sola-Ui’s frown deepened.

“History says you and Natsu butted heads with every chance you received… Is it just a fire and ice thing?”

The Ice Mage snorted derisively.

“If it was something as cliché as that, I wouldn’t even bother making it personal.” He began to walk away from Sola-Ui, despite her protests. “Don’t think about it too much. It’s between me and him. I know exactly why he’s in this thing, and I’m gonna stop him… at any cost…”

As he shimmered away into his spirit form, Sola-Ui scowled in frustration, leaving their conversation at that. Even in spirit form, Gray felt like rolling his eyes.

‘It’s like she’s an unholy combination of Juvia and Ultear… Ugh. I don’t wanna even imagine that.’

~*~

Kiritsugu frowned as he pored over the maps and photos sprawled across the table. He knew that the Grail War was just starting, but there were far too many unknown variables – and that wasn’t even counting the Noble Phantasms, which they hadn’t seen any of, yet.

“We barely even know where anyone is holed up…” The Magus Killer muttered. “Tokiomi hasn’t left Tohsaka Manor even once. Kayneth has turned a hotel into his personal workshop… Kirei Kotomine, Kariya Matou, and Waver Velvet are constantly on the move… And Caster… he and his Master must have some base of operations, but finding it isn’t going to be easy.”

Erza sighed breezily as she entered the room, clad in a suit and dress pants combo that Irisveil had picked out for her.

“Natsu and Rider will come to us when they’re ready. Dragon Slayers have noses like no other.”

Kiritsugu narrowed his eyes at the small sign of fondness in her tone. He stared up at the redhead sternly.

“Even if they were your Guildmates in life, we still have to take them down.”

Erza averted her eyes from Kiritsugu’s, but the Magus Killer could tell she wasn’t having doubts.

“You don’t need to remind me… I am well aware of the nature of this war.” She looked back into his eyes with just as much steel behind them. “It is you who seems to need reminding about your role… As my Master, you should not go around behind my back to assassinate enemy Masters. By doing so, you’re not only endangering your own life, but also dishonoring me and the other Servants who are fighting this war for your sake as well as theirs.”

Kiritsugu rolled his eyes and snorted at the mere notion of ‘honor’.

“Honor? There’s nothing more facetious in this world. You’re not going to win a war with petty ideals like ‘honor’. Victory comes to those who will do everything in their power to claim it… You can’t afford to hesitate even for a second, because that one second is all the time the enemy will need to cut you down for their own selfish gains. Wars aren’t won on platitudes.”

Erza’s nostrils flared as she glared Kiritsugu down.

“I know how wars are fought…! And I have won my fair share without compromising my ideals!”

Kiritsugu placed a hand on his hip casually, not growing annoyed by Erza’s tone in the least.

“Perhaps you did… But did all your Guildmates, I wonder?” He arched his eyebrow critically as her eyes widened, shocked he’d bring them up. “Maybe before the war with Tartaros, your Guild was a collection of saints, never killing their opponents. But like it or not, you all wiped out the Guild of Tartaros, and your very own rival, Mirajane Strauss, harvested their souls to fuel her own power. Lancer, Gray Fullbuster, became a Demon Slayer after inheriting his father’s will. Furthermore, in your war with Alvarez, Laxus Dreyar and Rider killed two Spriggan Shields. And let’s not forget the fearsome Acnologia… all of your beloved Dragon Slayers annihilated him.”

Kiritsugu took his hand off his hip and deepened his frown.

“That doesn’t even cover all the legends that came after Alvarez… Especially after your death. Though… frankly, it’s probably for the best that you don’t seem to have that knowledge. You might look at some of your fellow ‘Heroic Spirits’ very differently if you did.”

Erza’s hands curled into fists. The more Kiritsugu lectured her, the more she found herself absolutely seething.

“You speak as one from the present day, who never knew the tribulations we had to go through… The hardships, the heartache… I don’t claim that we were perfect. But we never abandoned our loyalty. Our bond. We were all that we had. And that bond… prevented us from succumbing to the darkness, even in our own hearts.”

Kiritsugu took out a lighter from his pocket and lit up a cigarette. He puffed smoke calmly, much to Erza’s irritation.

“… And what do you suppose happened when you lose ‘all that you had’? I think the two you were closest to in life can answer that… And luckily for you, they’re both participating in this war so you can ask them yourself.” Kiritsugu stared at Erza out of the corner of his eye as he began to move past her. “Put away your pride. If you want to show your friends mercy, win this war for them. I guarantee your own desire, your own wish… will be far kinder than theirs.”

Having spoken his peace, Kiritsugu strolled out of the room, leaving the scarlet knight with much to think about.

~*~

Aoi was startled when the doorbell rang. Rin wasn’t due back from school for a few hours yet, and hardly anyone stopped by in the middle of the day like this. When she opened the front door, she half-expected Tokiomi or some messenger of his… But what she saw was even more shocking than that.

“Sakura…?!” Aoi gasped, hands flying to her mouth impulsively. She appeared a bit malnourished… But that was definitely Sakura, standing there politely and offering a pleasant beam.

“Mom…!” She couldn’t help releasing a small laugh as she threw her arms out as she tackled Aoi with an affectionate hug.

Aoi didn’t even have to think twice. She held her formerly estranged daughter tightly and cried. Even if she knew it couldn’t last… Even if this was some cruel trick by the Matou Clan Head, Aoi would treasure this moment forever. Because she never thought she’d be allowed to hold Sakura in her arms ever again.

It felt like an eternity before she registered the second figure standing at the front door. He’d previously let Sakura have this tender moment with her mother before he couldn’t help himself and step into view to get a good look at the reunion. A warm smile tugged at his lips.

“Sakura really missed you, Aoi… I would’ve been a monster to keep her from you.”

“Kariya…” Aoi whispered hoarsely, wiping at her tear-filled eyes confusedly. And despite how happy she felt in this moment, she couldn’t help but ask the question that plagued her mind. “Why have you brought Sakura here…? You know… what we did…”

Despite how sad Aoi sounded, Sakura looked up at her mother calmly and without a hint of anger.

“Mother… It’s okay! You and father… only wanted the best for me…” Sakura couldn’t help smiling bittersweetly. “It was really scary living with the Matou’s, but Uncle Kariya and Mister Natsu saved me! And Uncle Kariya says we’ll be able to live together as a family again!”

Aoi looked awestruck as she processed her daughter’s words. She stared up at Kariya in disbelief, and he offered a hearty grin in return.

“It’s true. Sakura’s free, Aoi. I… I joined the Holy Grail War because Zouken had promised me that if I returned victorious with the Grail, he would free Sakura! But my Servant, Natsu… he annihilated Zouken. He purged my and Sakura’s bodies of that old vampire’s worms, and he secured Sakura’s future! She will never again be violated by the Matou’s twisted Magic… If she still wants to become a Mage, I won’t stop her. But she won’t have to do a single thing for the Matou’s!”

As Kariya’s words sank in, Aoi’s eyes softened, and she gently smiled, reinforcing her hug with Sakura.

“Kariya… thank you.” She whispered softly. “I don’t know how I can ever repay you…”

Kariya shook his head, a slightly amused grin tugging at his lips.

“Just take care of Sakura, at least until this War is over. If Tokiomi still insists on sending her away… I’ll take her so that she won’t have to go through any more horrors with different Mage families. And then… we can play in that park, like we used to… in better days…”

Aoi’s eyes fell to Sakura as she petted the top of Sakura’s head.

“Kariya… I’d… I’d like that…” Aoi hesitated in showing her agreement. She looked up at him again, but this time with concern. “You’re still going to participate in that War?”

Kariya’s eyes fell as he shoved his hands in his jacket pockets.

“… I have to.”

Aoi hugged Sakura tighter as she looked up at Kariya with some distress in her eyes.

“Kariya, you’ve saved Sakura! You don’t need to risk your life anymore…!”

Surprisingly, it wasn’t Kariya that spoke, but Sakura.

“Mister Natsu’s hurting…” Sakura didn’t pause even as Aoi leaned back to look her in the eyes. “Uncle Kariya promised he’d help Mister Natsu so that the pain would go away…”

Kariya made a small, bitter snort of amusement.

“It’s my fault for listening to Zouken… I brought Natsu into this world under a madness enchantment. I can’t just send him back after all he’s done for us. He deserves peace, too.”

“Kariya…” Aoi whispered softly.

The pale-haired young man gave a reassuring grin.

“I promise. Once I’ve helped Natsu win the Grail, I’ll be back! And I’ll even make sure Tokiomi makes it home, too! I’ll do it for you, Aoi. And for Sakura and Rin.” Kariya turned on his heel and stepped away from the front door, throwing his hood up over his head again. He waved his hand lazily as he departed.

Aoi and Sakura both watched his retreating back, feeling anxious about Kariya’s decision. Sakura seemed to want to go with him, but Aoi kept her close. The least she could do was be the mother she was supposed to be for Sakura.

… But that didn’t make her feel any better, just letting Kariya go like that. He was doing so much for them… and all she could do was watch him march off to war. If he did make it back, as he promised… she would let him adopt Sakura.

It was the least she could do for her longtime friend.

#Fate/Zero #Fairy Tail #Kirei Kotomine #Risei Kotomine #Natsu Dragneel #Gajeel Redfox #Waver Velvet #Gray Fullbuster #Sola-Ui #Kiritsugu Emiya #Erza Scarlet #Kariya Matou #Aoi Tohsaka #Sakura Matou

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dante-heller · 5 years

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Risei: "These tired old eyes of mine will finally see a wonderous miracle be performed."

I mean... They would if you opened them.

#dante watches fate/zero #risei kotomine

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avicebro · 6 years

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#mods are asleep post young risei #kotomine risei #grandpa #fate/apocrypha #RISEI WAS A BEEFCAKE #THAT'S WHY HANSA LOVES HIm

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coe-lilium · 7 years

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the-cyanide-exploder ha risposto alla tua foto “*annoyed, pedantic voice* And another thing, A-1 Pictures. Where the...”

"He's Caren's uncle" Y E E E U P

Idea for the inevitable flashback post vol2: extended Kotomine family feels.

Don’t be cowards, A-1, if you managed to cram every Round Knight in ep 6, you can do this too.

#the-cyanide-exploder #risei is bound to appear #but gimme more #fate apocrypha #shirou kotomine #fate series

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morsking · 4 years

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i was told to come here for fate zero kotomine kirei questions? i was thinking about kirei in f/z and realized i don't think i actually completely understood his arc and specifically how it relates to his spirituality/belief in God? can you explain to me what happened to this strange knife-throwing man

i’d be VERY happy to, i love talking about kirei even if i don’t do it very often.

this is something that becomes a little more clear later on in heaven’s feel but the gist of it is that kirei has an inexplicably sadistic nature he does not understand where it comes from or why he has it. for the majority of fate/zero’s first part, he doesn’t even know it exists until gilgamesh slowly draws it out of him by making him deconstruct his own thought process and personal beliefs.

kirei was raised catholic and had a priest for a father, so kirei had catholic teachings of altruism and asceticism hammered into his young brain on top of risei’s, his father’s, expectations and desires for kirei to be “pure and beautiful”, just like kirei’s name suggests.

kirei, however, secretly felt repressed by those teachings and expectations since forsaking personal happiness and helping others never brought him any joy, and because he never felt any joy in helping others, he reasoned that joy and pleasure were sinful indulgences that a believer, much less a priest, should never partake in. he therefore internalized displeasure and complete emotional detachment as a natural and righteous state of life. this, coupled with the catholic belief that selflessness in life would mean salvation in death, resulted in kirei becoming far too guilty to ever chase after pleasure because doing so would mean betraying not just the faith in his Lord, but also all the hard work and love his father had put into raising him as a pure and beautiful person. kirei respected his father’s ideal and tried his best to live up to it, but fundamentally could not understand it, and he could not love the man it belonged to. in response to these emotions, kirei resorted to grievous and deadly methods of self-harm to keep himself walking the righteous path.

nevertheless, kirei could not contain his curiosity (and unbeknownst to him, his yearning) for pleasure and travelled the world attempting to find meaning and enjoyment in different activities. he graduated top of his class, skipped grades as an exceptional student, worked diligently as an executor, and even ate some of the most exquisite delicacies known to man... and found them all tasteless and unfulfilling. kirei was a truly hopeless individual with no direction or sense of self and personhood. he had failed to find meaning in basic, and even some luxurious, delights every human being desires to experience.

in a desperate, final gambit to connect with the inner humanity he lacked his entire life, kirei attempted to fall in love with a woman called claudia ortensia. claudia was terminally ill, and was not expected to live for much longer. while she did love him, he could not bring himself to reciprocate despite his best efforts. they were together for two years and had a child, caren, out of wedlock. throughout his time with claudia kirei could only find salvation in claudia’s suffering. but claudia, an incorregible saint, was willing to suffer if it meant bringing him joy and salvation. claudia slowly died, and soon enough her time was at hand. kirei believed that as her husband it was his duty to at least say his farewells on her deathbed. as claudia lay dying, kirei relayed the simple fact to claudia that after all their time together, he did not love her. to prove him wrong and save him, she disconnected her life support machine. kirei cried at the sight of wife selflessly dying to save him, and claudia, with her fading strength, told him that those tears were proof that he did love her, and that love is proof of his humanity.

unbeknownst to either of them, the true reason kirei cried was because he didn’t get to kill her himself.

kirei handed over his child to the church. if marriage did not save him, parenthood wouldn’t either. kirei contemplated suicide, but instead opted to return to his teachings and live as an executor, craving even the most artificial of purpose to justify his existence.

we then reach fate/zero. kirei is at his lowest emotional point, and sensing the pit in his soul yearning for purpose, the grail bestows him with command spells. kotomine risei contacts his ally tohsaka tokiomi, and takes kirei under his wing as an apprentice in magecraft.

kirei is a natural prodigy at magecraft, and is able to almost master every single discipline before abandoning it in frustration at his failure to find fulfillment and joy in it. (interestingly enough, he has a particularly high affinity for spiritual healing and surgery.) while kirei intends to follow tokiomi and risei’s orders to crown tokiomi as the victor of the grail war, he secretly begrudges being a bored pawn with no freedom and bears no actual loyalty to either of them.

in the world’s most bizarre boy-meets-girl scenario in the history of anime, kotomine kirei learns of emiya kiritsugu. kiritsugu is a mercenary employed by the einzberns to participate in the holy grail war. he has fought in countless battlefields, only joining the fight when combat is at its fiercest. he has killed scores upon scores of mages who deviate from the clocktower’s rules, and has been reported to have taken extreme measures in his assassinations such as bringing down an entire commercial airline just because his target was in it. kirei is mystified by kiritsugu’s lack of moral restraint, personhood, and regard for his own life. kirei immediately projects his own lack of self into kiritsugu and is desperate to understand him. he vows to meet kiritsugu in battle to finally grasp the answer to the question that is his existence.

as he attempts to meet kiritsugu throughout the story, kirei is approached by gilgamesh, the world’s most ancient hedonist. gilgamesh senses that kirei is repressing a fundamental part of himself, and that’s the true source of kirei’s unhappiness. gilgamesh attempts to make kirei realize that kirei has never lacked anything, he’s just tried to avert his gaze from the truth of his own nature. gilgamesh tells kirei that pleasure and joy aren’t things that are inherently sinful. human beings instinctively seek pleasure as and end in and of itself, and kirei is no different. because pleasure is a natural human drive, it can never be something unforgivable. to drive his point further, gilgamesh asks kirei that if he can’t see himself winning, then he should try to imagine a scenario where the war’s weakest combatant, matou kariya, does.

kirei does try, but before he can tell kirei what he envisions, gilgamesh stops him. gilgamesh reveals that there was no point to engaging in speculation when kirei asks if there was one, but the fact kirei did anyway shows he found a meaningless notion entertaining, and therefore, fulfilling. this comes to a head when kirei decides to heal kariya’s burn wounds after his confrontation with tokiomi. kirei experiences a rush he’s never felt before. he hasn’t just helped kariya stay in the race for the grail out of his own volition, he has done it against his master’s orders and best interests.

when risei is killed by kayneth, kirei finds his grief to be oddly forced and empty. surely, he must be devastated at the death of his father, the man who loved him, raised him, taught him, and made him who he is today. but strangely, his grief seems to be directed at something else. that’s when gilgamesh appears to him and tells him the reason why he’s sad isn’t that his father died, but that kirei didn’t get to kill him himself. this shocks kirei to his core, but he’s also forced to entertain that notion. once he realizes that gilgamesh IS right about what kirei really wanted out of his father, he’s ordered by tokiomi to leave japan and exit the war as demanded by irisviel if an alliance between the tohsakas and the einzberns against the matous is to take place. kirei secretly meets with gilgamesh, who is bored and frustrated with tokiomi, and they agree to partner up and kill tokiomi. kirei realizes that there was a satisfaction in killing tokiomi and having the last thing he ever saw be kirei betraying him and asserting his personal desire over his obligation to his teacher.

kirei, now fully committed to discovering what he yearns for the most, tells kariya he will allow him to duel tokiomi once more in exchange for bringing him the container of the holy grail and the person closest to kiritsugu: irisviel. unbeknownst to kariya, tokiomi’s wife aoi has been summoned to the church by kirei. kariya finds tokiomi already dead, and aoi walks into kariya holding tokiomi’s corpse. aoi believes kariya has killed tokiomi, and angrily accuses kariya of never having loved anyone. kariya reaches the breaking point of his rage and suffering after being rejected by aoi, the person he was enduring torture and humiliation for, and asphyxiates her in madness. realizing what he’s done, kariya runs away from the church wailing in grief and guilt. kirei and gilgamesh had watched the whole affair, and kirei realizes that what he finds meaning and pleasure in is inflicting suffering upon others and watch them collapse under the crosses struggles they carry. while he does not understand why he is this way, he nevertheless wants to find out to feel complete and intends to use the grail for that purpose.

kirei meets with irisviel, and demands answers for his questions about emiya kiritsugu. irisviel reveals kiritsugu is not the heartless killing machine kirei believed him to be, but fundamentally an altruist who wishes to shower the world in peace and blessings and seeks the grail for that purpose. she condescends kirei by telling him kiritsugu is not like him, he is far better and that’s why kiritsugu will not lose. finally understanding the man whose nature has eluded him and finding where kirei’s karma stands in relation to him, kirei kills irisviel and vows to destroy kiritsugu’s dream with his own hands.

when kiritsugu and kirei fight and the grail interferes by crowning kiritsugu the winner rather than reach a stalemate, kirei watches kiritsugu speaking with angra mainyu. he observes kiritsugu realizing that what he wanted all along was to live peacefully with his family even if it meant forsaking the world to a violent extinction. he is baffled at kiritsugu rejecting the cursed genocidal grail, and demands kiritsugu to hand it over if he doesn’t want it, because kirei has the need to find the defining principle of his own existence. after kiritsugu kills kirei and has saber destroy the grail, the curses that spill out of it engulf kirei’s corpse and resuscitate him. angra mainyu has declared kirei as the winner for the sake of using him as an anchor and a midwife for his eventual birth.

upon seeing angra mainyu’s catastrophe, kirei concludes that the calamity he is standing over is what his heart has yearned for all this time. he laughs in shock, irony, and glee that despite kotomine risei’s righteous nature and teachings, kirei is simply a monstrous and heretical cur who thrives in the agony of mankind. when gilgamesh asks if the sight of angra mainyu’s birth has satisfied him, kirei replies that it doesn’t, because kirei has been shown the end result of his desire rather than the actual philosophical principle and logical process that guides to the outcome. so for the next 10 years, kirei wrestles with the fact that he still cannot abandon his teachings and his obligation to be somewhat helpful as a priest for the desire to reject and challenge god and allow angra mainyu to fully manifest in this world and engulf it completely to finally give his existence meaning and validity because he knows his impulses to be wrong and yet needs to know why he has them and whether he is still worthy of living while having them. he is willing to manipulate and kill and betray and curse and deprive and destroy the world just for that chance at redeeming his existence because not understanding himself and having denied himself joy for so long has utterly broken him as a person and this is all he has left after a lifetime of denying himself happiness, empathy, and understanding to work through his feelings. to bless angra mainyu’s birth as a man of the cloth would reconcile his religious principles and belief in a merciful all-loving god with his yearning to accept and comprehend himself, because if angra mainyu can be allowed to live and prosper in this world while being the unforgivable culmination of all sin, then maybe he can too. (this is also a powerful and intimate parallel to both shirou and sakura that deserves its own post that i may or may not write later.)

that’s pretty much his development throughout zero and his defining character struggle in fate/stay night. this is something that spring song will delve into further and it’s actually quite interesting how such a bastard of a man suddenly becomes so sympathetic towards the end of the entire game.

grace if you ever have time for it i heavily encourage you to read through the heaven’s feel route whether through letsplayarchive or by playing realta nua yourself whilst we wait for a spring song release in the west because your perception of everyone will change drastically as you understand them at a much deeper level the movies could not show because of runtime constraints. i hope this explanation wasn’t too long or convoluted or raised more questions than delivered answers. three good friends of mine, thessaliah, kurozu501, and avicebro here on tumblr can probably elaborate further and offer more insight if you’re interested.

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ranma-rewatch · 4 years

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Episode 7: Enter Ryoga, the Eternal ‘Lost Boy’

Hey, it’s Ranma Rewatch, I’m on episode 7, and I don’t want to waste too much time with the preamble. I am super excited for this episode, my boi is here, I really hope it holds up, see you after I watch it again!

That wasn’t exactly how I remembered it, but not in a bad way. The episode starts with a short scene that has become pretty freaking iconic, and has been sampled in dozens, if not hundreds, of AMV’s: A man cloaked from head to toe, walking through a desert, his eyes barely visible under goggles. It is a really cool shot that catches the eye right away.

We cut from that to that same person approaching a small village, deciding to throw off his concealing clothes to reveal his typical yellow and green outfit, with a bandanna around his head and an umbrella on his back, which he takes out to slow down his descent when he jumps off a cliff. This village happens to be being attacked by a huge wild boar, wrecking everything in its way, but this fellow is able to stop the animal with little effort and send it flying. When the grateful villagers approach, he only has one question for them: where is Furinkan High School?

At first they don’t understand the question, until they look at what he has for a map and realize it’s of Tokyo. The problem is, this young man is on Shikoku, a completely different island in the archipelago. They point him in the right general direction, and he reveals before the scene ends that he is specifically trying to find Ranma Saotome.

Speaking of the show’s titular character, we get a small scene of him in his cursed form being blackmailed by Nabiki into wearing women’s clothes because all of his stuff is in the wash. After that, we get another scene of the mysterious umbrella-wielding stranger asking someone for directions to Furinkan High School, but this time he’s in Hokkaido. Once again a completely different island, only this time on the opposite end. Fun fact: Hokkaido was the inspiration for Sinnoh in Pokemon!

We get another small cut-away to Ranma in various outfits, then another of our new character somehow ending up back in that village he was in earlier. The point is being made clear to us: he is terrible at getting where he wants to go, but is also so inhumanly strong and resilient that he has no trouble surviving in the wilderness in the process.

What seems to be the next day, he finally gets to where he’s going, just as school is letting out for the day. Ranma is being chased by Akane for something, though we don’t know exactly what. (Of course, we know their dynamic well enough by now to know it’s almost certainly something Ranma did to annoy her.) The newcomer slams into the ground where Ranma is landing at the same time, leaving a crater in the cement from the force of his landing, all while screaming how Ranma has to die.

The problem is, Ranma has no clue who this guy is, which pisses him off to know end. Even after he brings up that his vendetta has something to do with Ranma never showing up for a duel, Ranma still struggles (and fails) to remember this guys name, but luckily he gives it to Ranma anyway: Ryoga Hibiki. They went to Junior High together, and they’d agreed upon a duel, but it never happened because Ranma wasn’t there when Ryoga arrived.

Now, Ranma protests that he waited in the agreed upon empty lot for three days before taking off for China with his dad, which is honestly more time than most people would have waited. As we already know though, Ryoga can’t seem to get anywhere quickly, so he got there on the fourth day. Oh, and the lot was right behind his house.

The crowd of students who only moments before considered him with awe over his fantastic martial arts abilities are now looking at him like a buffoon, and Ryoga is ready to get his revenge on Ranma already. But Ranma puts a pause on that, runs out, and comes back with a bunch of different kinds of bread. Why? Because bread was the reason for their duel in the first place. Their school was only for boys, and getting food at lunch was a nightmare. Ranma ended up snatching the last piece of bread just before Ryoga could get it time and time again, and all the bread he brought was one of each type he’d taken years before.

But Ryoga doesn’t care about that, making it clear that the bread isn’t something he cares about anymore, that Ranma has put him through hell, even if Ranma has no clue what he’s talking about. But before they can get a proper fight going, Ranma runs away, losing Ryoga enough that when he starts busting up the school looking for him, he ends up going the wrong way and out of the area entirely, leaving Ranma and Akane to wonder where he went. We do get to see where before the episode ends: once again back in that village that had the boar problem, where he gets a meal before running out into the evening to find Ranma once more.

Like I said before, this episode wasn’t entirely how I remembered it. Namely, there was a lot more humor than I remembered. For the most part, that’s not a bad thing, there was actually some really good comedy, and I don’t feel like it trampled over the more serious parts of the episode.

If it isn’t clear, I am going to say right now that I did still love this episode. The animation was really on-point, some of the visuals of Ranma darting around people or the brief combat he gets with Ryoga just looks beautiful. Also, even though we don’t get a fight between the two just yet, it’s already solidly communicated, through Ryoga easily beating the boar, barreling through steel barriers, and hitting the ground so hard it destroys concrete, that he is strong as hell.

As much as I love the opening desert shot, I actually think my favorite part of the episode is some of the conversation between Ranma, Akane, and Ryoga. Ranma straining his brain to remember who Ryoga is killed me. It was weirdly relatable too, I’m sure many of us have run into someone who obviously knows us, while we can’t even remember how we know them, let alone their name. The fact Ranma actually specifically bought one of each bread he’d taken from Ryoga before was kind of cute, more than I expected of the usually flippant martial artist.

There’s also an exchange I’ve seen on Tumblr a few times in screencaps and gifs, and there’s a reason people love to share it. When Ryoga says he’s going to destroy Ranma’s happiness, there’s this shot of him freaking out, only to turn to Akane and blankly ask if he is happy, to which Akane doesn’t understand why he’s asking her. They take such a trope-y line from a character seeking revenge and turn it around into a really good joke.

There was also a really interesting thing I noted in terms of translation. After hearing about the string of times Ranma stole bread from Ryoga, Akane makes an analogy to why it mattered so much, but it’s different from dub to sub. In the English Dub, she says the straws broke the camel’s back, a common phrase that seems to fit the situation. But in the English Sub, she says (loosely remembering) “enough dust can make a mountain”, and I think that actually fits much better. After all, we soon learned that the bread isn’t really why Ryoga is angry, but once you do know everything that happened that led to Ryoga’s rage, that analogy fits perfect: it isn’t so much one specific event, as a collection of small events that collected into an enormous vendetta.

All my compliments aside, I did have some issues with the episode. Some of the comedy didn’t really work for me, and that was most true with the early scenes of the Tendo girls trying to dress Ranma in Akane’s clothes. Some parts did make me chuckle, but on the whole the mini-plot made me uncomfortable. Primarily because, as I’ve said before, I feel like the best way to look at Ranma’s cursed form is as a trans man. Even though his body has changed, his gender hasn’t, he’s still a man. The scene has Ranma protesting again and again that he is a man, even as they try to dress him as a woman. The idea of some cisgender folks trying to force a trans man into women’s clothes just...isn’t very funny to me. It’s kind of terrible, at least from a more queer perspective. That complaint done, let’s do the character spotlight.

Oh come on, who else did you think I was going to do? If it isn’t clear yet, Ryoga Hibiki is my favorite character in the series, and he has been since I was a teenager. Who knows if that will remain true this entire watch-through, but so far I’m not liking him any less. I’ll get into why, but first let’s talk about his voice actors.

The voice actor I’m more familiar with, his English one, is Michael Donovan. Like most of the actors for this dub, he’s someone who worked with the Ocean Group for a lot of series around this time period. That said, if you’re a fan of the Fate franchise, he has done some voices in Ufotable’s recent anime adaptations, playing Risei Kotomine and Zouken Matou. In Japanese, his voice actor is one Kōichi Yamadera, and he continued the pattern of voice actors who are well-known in Japan for dubbing English works. He’s most well-known for dubbing over Jim Carrey in a lot of movies, but he’s done a ton of others as well. In anime, some of his notable roles include Spike Spiegel, Beerus in all the recent Dragon Ball movies and anime, and Gentle Criminal in My Hero Academia. Seriously, diving into this guy’s list of roles is like swimming in an ocean of great roles.

So, how do they do? Well, so far I’d say I like both of them a lot, but they do play Ryoga differently. At his core, Ryoga is actually kind of a perfect microcosm of the tone of the series itself. Ranma 1/2 is simultaneously a shonen battle anime, a romantic harem series, and a wacky comedy. Ryoga is someone who takes himself very, very seriously. His desire for vengeance against Ranma isn’t a joke, and neither is his ability as a martial artist. But he’s also a doofus who ends up crossing the length of Japan several times because he can’t follow directions properly and the reasons (so far) for his hatred of Ranma are completely laughable.

I wouldn’t say that Michael Donovan’s performance lacks seriousness, in fact when he wants Ryoga to sound menacing I think he does it well, but on the whole he leans more heavily towards the comedic parts of the character. Meanwhile, Yamadera’s Ryoga hasn’t really sounded silly once to me. He plays the character dead straight, and let’s the comedy come through in the contrast between that demeanor and the circumstances around him. We’ll have to see as we go, but I actually might be preferring the Japanese performance so far, a rarity for me.

Okay, so, why do I love Ryoga so much? There are SO many reasons, many of which I won’t go into just yet because I’ll save them for when they appear in-series. But there is still a lot shown in this episode that I feel I can discuss. To start with, I adore his design. I don’t mean the cloak and goggles, though those are absolutely awesome, I’m referring to his standard mode of dress. The yellow and green as a color scheme, with accents of black to top it off, is something really unique. I don’t know enough about art to really articulate why, but I just love every touch of his design. My favorite small touch has to be the yellow strands wrapping around his lower legs, clashing with his otherwise dark green lower half. I have no clue what they’re supposed to be for, but they just add something, almost making him look more rooted to the spot of wherever he’s standing, more solid.

That is a good word to use for Ryoga in general. Even though we haven’t gotten to see him in a proper fight just yet, we’ve seen quite a lot of evidence of his main attributes. In Dungeons & Dragons terms, Ryoga is making out his Strength and Constitution. He hits like a truck and he can be hit by a truck without slowing down. I love that because it contrasts so perfectly with Ranma’s strength: his speed and precision. I adore it when rival characters actually have qualities that make the fights between them more interesting from the contrast, and Ryoga fits the bill there quite well. He’s also a good foil in terms of personality: Ranma is easy going, likes screwing with people, and is quite quick-witted; Ryoga has a hot temper and a long memory for grudges, hates it when people trick him, and tends to let his emotions do the thinking for him.

I will say it feels like his character has some classic Early Installment Weirdness, as he uses his umbrella quite a bit in this episode. If I remember correctly, after his introductory arc, he doesn’t use his umbrella much at all for the rest of the show, preferring to rely on his fists. It definitely feels like they hadn’t quite nailed the character completely yet, if that makes any sense.

Ryoga is also doing that thing where he’s seeking revenge and really angry, but refuses to talk about why, drawing out the mystery as long as possible. While that trope can become annoying, I don’t really mind it in this case. This isn’t a situation like Godot from Ace Attorney, where Ryoga is purposefully hiding it for some grand plan or something, or to teach a lesson. Ryoga doesn’t go into specifics because A) he thinks Ranma should already know; B) Ryoga is very mad; and C) he doesn’t want anyone else to know his secret. I’m not saying it isn’t stupid that he doesn’t tell Ranma why he’s mad, but I am saying that it’s in-character.

Are you surprised that I adore this episode? You shouldn’t be, I’ve been gushing about it this whole time. Even with the parts I found more rough to watch, this is still my favorite episode of the series thus far, putting the rankings at:

Episode 7: Enter Ryoga, the Eternal ‘Lost Boy’

Episode 2: School is No Place for Horsing Around

Episode 6: Akane's Lost Love... These Things Happen, You Know

Episode 4: Ranma and...Ranma? If It’s Not One Thing, It’s Another

Episode 5: Love Me to the Bone! The Compound Fracture of Akane's Heart

Episode 1: Here’s Ranma

Episode 3: A Sudden Storm of Love

The big question is: will the next episode of this four episode Ryoga arc be even better? We’ll find out next time with Episode 8: “School is a Battlefield! Ranma vs. Ryoga”. See you then!

#episode 7 #Enter Ryoga the Eternal ‘Lost Boy’#ranma 1/2 #ranma saotome #ryoga hibiki #anime analysis #anime rewatch

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faterevivescere · 3 years

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The Holy Grail War | Prologue 3

🎵🎵🎵

"Hello, everyooooone!"

Father Amedeo Abbatangelo speaks, throwing his arms out to either side as he grins at the lot of you.

Something about this priest strikes you as... Odd. You did get passed a document detailing the first three Fuyuki wars and their oversees, the latest of them being one Kotomine Risei- yet he has died some years ago, and his son, one Kotomine Kirei, had no interest in this...

Thus, Father Amedeo was chosen, perhaps simply by luck of the draw. He's too long in the wrong places, too angular- something about his general existence seems to put you ill at ease just by viewing him, despite the rampant smiles and closed eyes.

The woman standing next to him removes her aviators wordlessly.

"My name is Father Amedeo Abbatangelo. Haha! Ahh- and this is Olga!" He gestures to his companion before continuing.

"And those two are who I'd like to consider being 'Team Foreigner'! How exciting, no? We have my protégé, Aino Camsanguine, and.... The Foreigner! Hah! Can't go spoiling all these little secrets, mm?"

A nervous girl steps down from a set of stairs from the floor above you, followed by the sound of... Jingling bells? Behind her a man of clear Jesterly disposition follows, smiling and winking as he waves at all of you.

"These two are the official church representatives, while I am simply overseeing these affairs. I assume you all read the, ahhh- the information before coming here? And if not, well- good luck you, I suppose! Hah. Oh-"

Ruler coughs into her hand, as if telling Amedeo to get on with his rambling.

"Of course, of course~! Moving on. The rules of this little game are relatively simple. You're all here to receive the Holy Grail! Wow, what an honor. No fewer than six servants must fall in order for the grail to be ready, so I hope you're all excited!

"Anyways. My business here is to make sure none of you, well... 'die-die'," said while producing air quotes with his fingers. "Defeated masters may find refuge in my humble sanctuary at the church. I'm here to clean up your messes, help you retrieve whatever you may need to make this little game go smoothly... you name it, I've probably got it! Haha. Uh. Anyways, try not to go and do any of this stuff in front of civilians, alright? Because, part of my job description is silencing witnesses, and I don't reeeeeealllyyyyyy want to do that!! Haha. And, um- oh, thank you, Ms. Ruler! Here are your Catalysts!"

With those words, Ruler steps aside to reveal the basic, broken down altar of the church. On it seven small packages lie, each with a name tag attached to them. Your names.

"I chose these per~sonally, so if you don't like what you get, tough! This isn't a gacha game! Haha. I definitely didn't choose these at random, though. Haha. Hah. Yes, alright- go ahead and take them."

He glances to Ruler, then back at everyone else, like he's just remembered something.

"—Lodging! Gracious, right- for those of you who don't have a place to stay, the church can arrange for suitable living quarters for all of you who need it. Although, I do know some of you have set up living situations for some of you. Haha. I won't come to fix the plumbing for you outside the church's living quarters. Outside of my job description! Ah- Aries and Ms. Förstner in particular, you two might benefit from a room at La Casa di Abbatangelo! ...Haha. Ahh... Anyways..."

Ruler is already getting ready to leave, her expression neutral yet annoyed. You all get up to gather your packages, and some of you may even take a peep to see the catalysts for yourself.

"Alriiiiight~! You can leave now and go summon your servants, haha. Ahh.... consider this an official truce, hmm? So, don't go killing each other for a few days at least! If you break the truce, Ruler will kill you!! Haha! Ahhhhhh... This is to ensure that everyone has their servant, and that, uh... that you're all ready, yes? As soon as the truce is done, you can all get started with this whole... nasty business of fighting for the grail! Hah. Go at your own pace... have fun... don't be safe! Or... whatever! At least go and get to know the people you're killing first... Ehehe. Have fun!"

And he waves one unnaturally elongated arm, looking more and more like an inflatable tube man by the minute...

Ruler rolls her eyes, as if she could ever be commanded by this man. She stops at the door as it swings open without her touching those heavy, rotten hinges. And she turns to speak to all of you.

“... I am Olga of Kiev, Ruler. I must reintroduce myself, for the words of that snake do my role no justice. I am unaffiliated with both your Association and with this- church.” She spits the last word out. “I am here only at the behest of the grail, to ensure this war is just and fair. Overstep your boundaries and I will end you. Play by the rules, and you will enjoy my oversight with no issue.”

She puts her aviators back on, and soon enough you hear the sound of the Harley rev through the air as she drives off to god knows where. Amedeo covers his mouth with a single hand to hide- a laugh, perhaps? And so... You are free to go. Unless you are one of those poor souls who has to negotiate with Amedeo for lodging.

You must hurry, though. The sun will soon begin to set... And your Servants all await within the Throne. For the Erroll Holy Grail War has officially begun.

#prologue

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andersunmenschlich · 4 years

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Walking, Thinking

物心ついた時から、彼にはどんな理念も崇高と思えず、どんあ探求にも快楽などなく、どんな娯楽も安息をもたらさなかった。そんな人間が、そもそも目的意識などというものを持ち合わせているわけがない。 From the moment awareness arrived, he found it impossible to consider any ideology worthy of reverence, found nothing like pleasure in any pursuit, received no refreshment from any entertainment. A human like that could never have anything like a sense of purpose.

なぜそこまで自分の感性が世間一般の価値観と乖離してしまっているのか、その理由すらも解らなかった。ただとにかく、どのような分野であろうとも、前向きな姿勢で成し遂げようと思えるだけの情熱を注げる対象が、綺礼には何ひとつ見当たらなかった。 He didn't even understand why his sensibilities deviated so greatly from conventional values. In any case, regardless of the field, he poured himself into it with a passion whose only thought was mastery of the subject—but Kirei never found anything in any of this.

それでも神はいるものと信じた。まだ自分が未熟であるが故に、真に崇高なるものが見えないだけだと。 Even so, he believed that God was real. He just couldn't see what was truly worthy of reverence yet, that was all.

いつの日か、より崇高なる真理に導かれるものと、より神聖なる福音に救われるものと信じて生きていた。その希望に賭けて、縋った。 Someday he would be guided to a more noble truth, be saved by a more sacred gospel. He lived believing that. Gambling on that hope, he clung to it.

だが心の奥底では、綺礼とて、すでに理解してしまっていたのだ。もはや自分という人間は神の愛をもってしても救いきれぬと。 But in the innermost depths of his heart, Kirei already knew: even God’s love couldn't save a person like him.

そんな自分に対する怒りと絶望が、彼を自虐へと駆り立てた。修身の苦行という名目を借りて、ただ徒に繰り返された自傷行為。だがそうやって責め苛むほどに綺礼の肉体は鋼の如く鍛えられ、気がつけば他に追随する者もないまま、彼は『代行者』という聖堂教会のエリートにまで上がりつめていた。 Anger and despair with such a self drove him to push his body past its limits. Under the pretext of moral discipline, he hurt himself purposelessly over and over again. But as he did this, his body was forged like steel by every torture he put it through. Without really realizing it, he rose so far as to become one of the Church's elite, an Executor—without a single person ever coming near to rivaling him.

誰もがそれを "栄光" と呼んだ。言峰綺礼の克己と献身を、聖職者の鑑として褒めそやした。父の璃正とて例外ではなかった。 Everyone called this "glory." Kirei Kotomine's self-discipline and dedication were praised; he was held up as a model clergyman by everyone. His father, Risei, was no exception.

言峰璃正が息子に向けている信頼の程、綺礼は充分に理解していたし、それがどうしようもなく的外れな誤解であるという現実には、内心、忸怩たるものがあった。この誤解はきっと生涯、解かれることはないだろう。 Kirei understands enough to know that the level of faith Risei has in his son is an incredible mistake, a complete misunderstanding of the shameful reality of Kirei's true heart. This mistake will almost certainly be a lifelong one; it's not likely ever to be dispelled.

綺礼が内に抱えた人格の欠落は、今日に至るまで誰にも理解されたことがない。 To this very day, the emptiness in Kirei's character has never been comprehended by anyone.

そう、ただひとり愛されたはずの女にすらも― Yes, even the one woman who had probably loved him—

「……」 "......"

立ち眩みに似た感覚を覚えて、綺礼は歩調を緩め、額に手をやった。 Experiencing a feeling like vertigo, Kirei slackened his pace and put a hand to his forehead.

死別した妻のことを思い返そうとすると、まるで靄がかかるかのように、なぜか思考が散漫になる。霧の中で断崖絶壁の縁に立つような気分。その先には一歩たりとも踏み出してはならないという、本能的な忌避感。 Whenever he tried to think back on the wife he'd lost, it was as though a fog descended—for some reason his thoughts became vague. It was a feeling like standing on the edge of a precipice, surrounded by mist. An instinctual feeling of danger that says not to take even one more step.

気がつけばすでに丘の麓だった。綺礼は足を止め、はるかに遠ざかった頂上のヴィラを顧みた。 Wrapped in his thoughts, he'd reached the foot of the hill. Coming to a halt, Kirei looked back up at the villa on the distant hilltop.

今日の遠坂時臣との会見で、ついに満足な答えを得られなかった最大の疑問……その問いこそが、綺礼にとっては最も気懸かりだったのだが。 The question he had never gotten a satisfactory answer to during today’s audience with Tokiomi Tosaka.... That question was, for Kirei, the most worrying.

何故、"聖杯" なる奇跡の力は言峰綺礼を選ぶんだのか？ Why did the Holy Grail, the power of miracles, choose Kirei Kotomine?

#Fate/Zero #Kirei Kotomine #言峰綺礼 #book 1 #excerpt #English translation #old

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