Shinji Matou at Your Service-Chapter 956: Come on, Call Me Mom

After that, things became simpler.

Because of her lingering feelings for Kiritsugu, Shirley became one of the few pacifists among vampires. She didn't kill or directly drink blood, instead relying on blood packs or other methods to sustain her needs.

This naturally caught Natalia's attention because she lived similarly. The two outcasts gradually grew closer, and after a long conversation, they were both shocked to discover that the person they both cared about was the same. Could there be a greater coincidence in the world?

Their shared concern brought them together as intimate partners, and this emotion—one that prevented them from fully becoming monsters—strengthened their bond. Together, they began searching for news of Kiritsugu.

However, after blowing up the plane, Kiritsugu married Irisviel and disappeared from public view. He was only briefly active during the Fourth Holy Grail War in 1994 before vanishing again. This made their search difficult and caused them to feel disheartened multiple times.

Fortunately, both of them were just as tenacious and determined as Kiritsugu. Once they set their sights on a goal, they didn't look back. Whenever they had the chance to go out into the world, they would do everything they could to continue their search.

Their persistence finally paid off. During a mission to Japan, in a small city in western Japan, they finally uncovered leads about Kiritsugu.

While familiarizing themselves with the area, they overheard a mother and daughter in white clothing, who casually mentioned the name "Kiritsugu." This immediately caught their attention.

Quietly following the mother and daughter to an old-fashioned Japanese-style house, they saw the family name "Emiya" written on the gate in kanji.

"Kiritsugu" was an uncommon name, and paired with the unique surname "Emiya," fate had brought them together.

With a bit of effort, they obtained the Emiya family's registration information. Upon seeing the mature yet familiar face, Shirley and Natalia were certain: this man was their only attachment in the world, their last remaining family.

Since Kiritsugu wasn't home and they were no longer human, they didn't rush to appear before Irisviel and Illya. Instead, they chose to observe the Emiya household from the shadows.

Shirley, having become a vampire while still a young girl, was relatively immature emotionally, so she visited the Emiya house more frequently. Natalia, being more composed, visited less often.

Originally, they were planning to wait until Kiritsugu returned, intending to watch him from afar and see if he was living well. That would have been enough. However, they didn't expect an enemy to suddenly attack the Emiya household.

At the time, Shirley was just outside the wall. Seeing this, she immediately notified Natalia, who had stayed behind. When Berserker was about to kill Irisviel, Shirley rushed in and saved her.

Though Natalia teased Shirley for being foolish, she knew she was just as foolish herself. Both of them—no longer human but Dead Apostles—had long since prepared for the worst. Their bodies, kept alive only by blood and sheer willpower, meant little to them. If their remaining existence could do something for the last family they had, then all those years of waiting wouldn't have been in vain.

Of course, just as Kiritsugu had survived great ordeals, these two women, who had both suffered greatly, did not continue to face misfortune. The good karma Kiritsugu had earned in his later years began to manifest, resolving the crisis.

And it was at this moment that the person they had both been longing for finally appeared before them.

"What a mess of coincidences. It doesn't even sound real," Shinji commented after hearing their story.

"But it checks out logically. I don't see any flaws—what do you think, Shishou?"

"They're not lying. At most, they've withheld a few things," Scáthach responded with a faint smile, showing her admiration for Shirley and Natalia. They hadn't bowed to fate—they had grasped it by the throat.

"Then there's no problem," Shinji chuckled.

"There aren't many things in this world that can fool Shishou. I doubt these two newly turned Dead Apostles have that ability."

"From here on, it's an internal matter for the Emiya family. It's not our place to interfere. Though, if I could offer some advice: you might want to ease up on your instincts. After all the years they've spent waiting, they didn't do so just to have a gun pointed at them. And based on recent surveillance, they haven't attacked anyone for blood. Even I, a professional vampire hunter, would turn a blind eye to their way of living."

"Yeah, that's just the way he is," Natalia said with a smile as she fished out a pack of cigarettes from her pocket. She took one and tossed another to Kiritsugu.

"If he didn't act that way, I wouldn't have ended up in this half-dead, half-alive state. I know him too well, just as he knows me."

"..."

Kiritsugu, who had remained silent throughout the conversation, wordlessly accepted the cigarette and lit it.

It was the same familiar brand, the same familiar taste. After all, it was Natalia who had taught him how to smoke.

Exhaling a puff of smoke, he finally forced himself to speak, his voice trembling slightly with both anxiety and fear.

"Do you... hate me?"

"Hate you? Hate you for what?" +

Natalia responded with a question.

"What kind of mother would hate her child?"

"But... I tried to kill you!"

It was the heaviest killing Kiritsugu had ever committed in his life, even more painful than when he had killed his father.

"Idiot," Natalia replied with a chuckle.

"I've already told you—I know you, just as you know me. You knew I would do whatever it took to survive, and I knew you would sacrifice a few to protect the many. I was just a little slow to react, that's all. I didn't expect you to act so quickly. I really should have retired back then, but you had already surpassed me. I'm proud of that."

"Natalia..."

"It's not that I didn't feel any hatred. At first, I did hate you. I wanted to tie you to a rocket and launch you into the sky with a missile. But after hearing what you said to me at the end, I realized it didn't matter anymore."

"..."

"You told me back then—I was your family. No one had ever said that to me before. So, kid, as long as you still consider me family, I could never hate you, even if you want to kill me again."

"You... are my family. You always have been," Kiritsugu said, repeating the words he had once spoken.

"Though I no longer deserve to say that."

"Idiot. Whether you deserve it or not isn't for you to decide. If I say you are, then you are."

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With practiced ease, Natalia gave Kiritsugu a light flick on the head. She had done it countless times before.

"Come on, call me mom."