(3rd's pov)

Sella was reading a book in her room as she was lying in bed. She couldn't really focus on it as her mind was occupied with other things, and most of them were surrounding Illya at the moment.

Illya was hiding something from her. She could feel it. Leysritt tried to reason with her saying that it was normal for a girl her age to hide a thing or two, but it didn't help with Sella's worries. Not to mention yesterday and that 'sickness'. Illya wasn't sick, but it was a counter-reaction to Illya's seal opening.

The seal should only open during life-or-death situations, so Sella was anxious, rightfully so, not that she knew.

It didn't help her stress that Shirou was robbing her of all of her work. Thanks to him, she could barely take her mind off her worries because he finished her work too fast.

Sella looked at her sister Leysritt who was soundly sleeping in the bed beside hers without trouble. She sometimes envies her sister's nonchalance, but she knew that if she wouldn't be the responsible one, the whole house would be in shambles.

Then she remembered Shirou again, and her mood worsened. She just wants to fulfill her assigned duty, which is being this household's maid, but because of Shirou and partly Sakura, her work is shrinking at an alarming rate, and soon she would become a good-for-nothing freeloader.

She couldn't let it happen! Leysritt is the one who already took the role of a freeloader maid in this house, so she couldn't allow herself to relax.

*Crack*

The sound of the entryway entered Sella's ears. It was certainly unusual. She didn't have any idea who that could be at this hour, so she decided to check it out and made her way downstairs, unsure of what she was expecting to find.

Halfway through, the entrance was already in her field of vision, but her eyes went immediately to the person on the floor.

"!? Illya-San!?"

Seeing the young girl unconscious, Sella hurried to check on her but couldn't find the cause of the condition, so she took Illya to her room.

As the maid put Illya in her bed, she didn't need to wait long for the young girl to regain consciousness.

Seeing this, Sella went to the kitchen to get Illya a glass of water to drink.

After Illya had rehydrated herself, she put away the glass and stayed quiet. She obviously didn't want to talk, but Sella as the person responsible for her needed to ask regardless.

"So... no matter what... you won't tell me what happened?"

"I'm sorry..." That was the only answer Illya gave Sella.

"I don't mean to reproach you, but even so, we were tasked with taking care of you while your mother is away. I can't just give my approval on you leaving at night while you won't tell me the reason."

Sella was trying to reason with Illya and hoping that the elementary school student in front of her would open up about whatever was haunting her, but her words caused an outburst in Illya.

"I won't do it again!!! ... No more..." Illya muttered the last part so quietly that even Sella, who was sitting close to her, couldn't catch what she said. 

"... So, it's okay for me to believe in you, yes?" Sella finished Illya's sentence, or at least what she assumed it was because she could see that Illya didn't plan on doing it. One look at the young girl could tell anyone that she didn't plan on sharing anything with anyone.

During the whole conversation, Illya was hugging her pillow lifelessly. Her eyes were also devoid of usual joy.

Sella was worried, but she couldn't force Illya to speak to her. It wouldn't work and could make the whole situation worse and Illya more closed off. She looked like a shell of her former self.

Sella didn't know what she should do. Should she give her some space or push further? Both options could be correct but also horribly wrong.

The silence continued until someone knocked on the door, which surprised both Sella and Illya, although the latter didn't react much and just was looking in front of her but not looking at anything in particular, although hearing the voice of the newcomer, she flinched.

"I'm coming in."

It was, of course, Shirou, who was dressed up even though it was already late in the night, but there was a reason for that. In fact, there were two reasons. One true, and the other is an excuse.

"Shirou? Did we wake you up?"

Sella asked, and Shirou just smiled gently at her. When he walked up to her, he put his hand on top of her head without explaining anything and just saying.

"Leave it to me."

In normal circumstances, Sella would get angry at Shirou for patting her head and would've slapped away his hand, but right now, she felt like she could depend on him, so she allowed it for now.

"*Sigh* Understood." Sella stood up and walked to the door, and as she was walking through the room entrance, she stopped, turned around, and bowed. "I wish you luck... and thank you."

For Shirou, her gratitude wasn't needed as he was only doing what an older sibling should, but it was welcomed regardless, so he gave Sella a slight nod of acknowledgment.

With that said, she closed the door leaving Shirou and Illya alone in the room. The young boy took Sella's place and sat where she previously was seated. For the first few moments, the sibling didn't exchange any words.

"Illya, can you look at me?" Shirou tried to talk as gently as possible. He was aware of what was going on with Illya. That's why he tried to be as careful as possible.

Illya, hearing her brother's voice, was troubled by his presence for the first time in her life. Normally she would be rejoiced by spending time with Shirou, but right now, he reminded her of Archer too much. Red hair, his voice, and his build. They are too similar. She could ignore it at the beginning as being a coincidence, but at the moment, her thoughts were drifting to negative ones more easily.

What if she not only almost killed a human being, but that human being was her beloved older brother?

She tried to put these thoughts to the back of her mind and lock them up there, but it was currently impossible for her.

Illya was not responding to Shirou, so the boy tried to ask again. "Illya, can you turn your head and look me in the eyes?"

This time Illya followed his request, but as soon as she laid her eyes on Shirou, a silhouette of the injured Archer overlapped her brother.

She instantly panicked as she grabbed her head with both of her hands and screamed as she started crying.

Without a second of delay, Shirou pulled his younger sister into a hug.

"Shhh... It's alright. Nothing is going to hurt you here. You are safe."

He said these comforting words as he was gently stroking the back of her head. This gesture made Illya flinch, but feeling safe, together with all the accumulated stress, made Illya unable to hold back her tears and started crying in her brother's arms as she hugged him back and buried her face in his chest.

"Let it out. You'll feel better."

---

After Illya had calmed down, she returned to lying in her bed feeling a bit better but also embarrassed because she showed her 'bad' side to him.

"Thank you... Onii-chan..." Illya thanked Shirou shyly.

"You are very welcome, Illya, but I didn't do anything more than what any other older brother would do."

And silence entered the room once more.

Shirou waited patiently for Illya to start talking about anything. She didn't need to confess about her outings or anything serious like that. He just waited for her to begin talking of her own accord, which would be a big step for her tonight.

Illya was fidgeting in her bed, opening her mouth, trying to say something only to close them before even a word left them.

Shirou didn't hurry her and was rewarded with Illya finally speaking up.

"Onii-chan... can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

Illya tried to find the right words and finally started talking.

"Onii-chan, what would you do if you realized your dream, but it wasn't what you expected, and it was even scary...?"

Shirou went deep in thought as he tried to find the right answer.

"Dreams can change, and it's not always what we imagine them to be. When I was younger, I wanted to become a hero of justice, but as I got older, I realized that it was an impossible dream. It's not wrong to abandon a dream. It would be foolish to continue following a goal that would lead to your destruction."

Shirou, while answering Illya, got a strange feeling. Something similar to disgust but not quite that, like remembering an old bad memory caused by one's bad decision.

"But what if you quitting would trouble others? Trouble your friends..." Illya argued with some uncertainty.

"It depends. Some people would blame you for running away, but there would also be people who wouldn't. Who knows what will happen."

This wasn't the direct answer that Illya was looking for. She was lost and wanted someone to show her direction that she could follow at that moment.

"What would you do, Onii-chan?" This time the little girl asked in a way that she would get a more detailed answer.

Shirou smiled gently at Illya, seeing what she was doing.

"Even if I told you, it wouldn't help you. I am me, and you are you. We are different people with different views and different experiences. If you followed exactly in my footsteps, you wouldn't be happy even if it's easier, but I can help you decide for yourself with the least amount of regret."

Illya hearing her older brother started listening even more carefully.

"First, think about what you want to do and why you want to do it. Then think of what you would lose by choosing what you want to do because every choice has its consequences. By selecting one thing, you are going to lose the other. Now imagine the other choice. What if you did what you think you should do? Just like before, visualize what you would lose with this choice. Now you have two different outcomes, so you can choose a path that you will regret the least."

Hearing the red hair advice, Illya didn't know what to think.

"That's a very pessimistic way of thinking, Onii-chan..."

"That's true... If it helps you, you can think about what you will be gaining from your choices. I usually skip over that part." Shirou answered awkwardly.

He didn't even notice that he was doing that. While deciding to help the girls with gathering the cards, what to do with the Saber card, if he should be anonymous or not, and so on, Shirou was always weighing cons and rarely pros. It could be a characteristic of his from before he lost his memories.

Illya went quiet, thinking about Shirou's words.

"I'm sorry if it doesn't help Illya..."

"No! I mean, I was just thinking about what you said."

"I see, but you should probably go to sleep. You look like you really need it. You can think about your dilemma tomorrow. If you still don't feel alright, you could even skip school. I'll help convince Sella, but I doubt she would say no to a cute little thing like you."

Not expecting a surprise compliment, Illya's cheek started getting slightly red. It was a good sign, though. This reaction coming from her showed that Illya's mind was in a state where she could get embarrassed, and, at least for now, her depressing thoughts stopped.

"Onii-chan... stop teasing me..."

Shirou chuckled.

"Alright, I'll leave you for tonight."

The young Emiya was about to stand up the hem of his shirt was grabbed.

"Onii-chan... can you hold my hand until I fall asleep?" The request was childish in Illya's mind, so she wasn't sure if she should've asked it, but right now, she wanted her brother to be close by, and to her delight, he agreed.

Despite her terrible experiences today, Illya had a very peaceful night.

---

After Illya was deep asleep, Shirou took a last glance at her before he exited the room. He would want nothing more than going to take a shower and then go to sleep just like his little sister, but he went to the kitchen first, where a certain, worried maid was drinking a glass of water.

Shirou surprised Sella by sneaking behind her and poking her cheek. 

Because of that, she threw the glass in the air, and it would have broken if not for Shirou catching it.

Sella glared at the eldest son of this household, but it didn't faze Shirou one bit. She looked like a kitten compared to the lion, which was Saber.

"Don't look at me like that. That's what you get for spying on my and Illya's conversations."

Hearing that, Sella avoided Shirou's eyes but was also surprised by his awareness of his surroundings.

"... How long did you know?" Sella asked in shame. She knew that what she was doing wasn't appropriate, but her worry about Illya was greater than Shirou's and Illya's privacy. Although she was about to burst into the room when she heard the scream, but she decided to trust Shirou.

"Since the beginning. You weren't exactly hiding, but I can't blame you. Illya wasn't in the best state of mind today, but she should be better now."

Sella breathed out in relief. While she was already aware of that but hearing that directly from Shirou was a confirmation that she needed.

"Thank you, Shirou... I don't know what I should do..."

Shirou sighed, shook his head, and flicked her forehead.

"You don't need to thank me for something like that. Of course, I would do what I can to help my sister, and I would do the same for the rest of the family as well, but if you want to thank me, let me cook for the next week every day."

Sella wasn't happy with Shirou flicking her forehead or hearing his 'demand', and Shirou's smirk didn't help with it one bit, but to his surprise, she agreed. It was meant only as a joke, but Emiya won't say no to this nice bonus he got.

---

END

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