I Never Asked You To Save Me

Ela stepped closer, the faint, shimmering glow of restorative magic gathering at her fingertips as she gently placed her hand over Shirou's chest.

"Just give me a moment," she murmured softly. A wave of soothing, warm light spread across his battered frame as the rhythmic syllables of her chant filled the quiet clearing. Before his eyes, the deep lacerations began to knit themselves closed, the dark bruises fading rapidly into smooth skin. Within minutes, the crushing weight of exhaustion lifted, and Shirou's physical strength returned completely.

"There. All healed." Ela offered him a small, proud smile before her expression instantly shifted into a theatrical pout. "So? What on earth are you doing out here in the restricted depths of the forest? If I hadn't arrived exactly when I did, you could have been in serious trouble."

"Tch… just shut up," Shirou muttered, turning his face away to avoid her piercing gaze. "If I hadn't wasted my energy protecting those idiots, I could have handled that oversized dog easily."

Ela narrowed her eyes, hands finding her hips. "What?! First you tell me to shut up, and now you're complaining about being saved? Do you even realize this is the second time I've had to pull you back from the brink of death?"

"I never asked you to," Shirou shot back coldly, his voice laced with stubborn pride. "Not before, and not now."

The tension between them tightened like a drawn bowstring—until a sharp rustling echoed from the dense bushes ahead. Instantly, both of them raised their guard, eyes locking onto the shifting leaves. But the defensive stances dissolved as familiar figures stepped through the foliage.

Chris emerged into the clearing first, with Alicia following closely behind. A heavy wave of relief washed over them the moment they spotted Shirou standing completely unharmed.

"Shirou! You're alright!" Chris sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair. "And Big Sister Ela—you're here too."

Alicia rushed forward, her face pale with lingering worry as she inspected Shirou anxiously from head to toe. "Are you hurt anywhere? You're not hiding any wounds from us, right? Big bro—" She cut herself off abruptly, the final words catching in her throat as she realized what she had almost called him. Instantly, a deep crimson flush exploded across her cheeks.

Chris chuckled warmly at the slip, a mischievous glint in his eye. "So, you've started treating Shirou like real family now, huh, Alicia?"

"N-no! That just slipped out, it doesn't mean anything at all!" she stammered, her voice cracking as her face grew even redder under their stares.

Shirou blinked in absolute confusion, while Ela tilted her head to the side, equally lost in the sudden emotional exchange.

Chris only laughed harder, the heavy tension of the forest completely dissipating. "Well, setting that aside—Big Sister Ela, why don't you come visit the orphanage with us? Cherry and the others would be absolutely thrilled to see you again."

"I was actually planning to," Ela replied warmly, her demeanor softening. "Until I literally stumbled across this reckless kid—looking like this." She pointed a mocking finger at Shirou, a smug smirk playing on her lips.

"I was still fighting just fine!" Shirou protested, his brow furrowing.

"Yeah, sure you were," Ela said dismissively. She turned her attention to the flustered younger girl. "Come here for a second, Alicia."

Alicia obeyed hesitantly, still a little shy under the older elf's gaze. "What is it, Sister Ela?"

Without a word of warning, Ela reached out and firmly pinched both of Alicia's cheeks, stretching them wide.

"Oww! That—that hurts!" Alicia whimpered, squirming frantically to break free.

"Good. Now that miserable, worried look is completely gone from your face," Ela said playfully, releasing her with a satisfied nod. "Alright then—let's head back. I can't wait to see Sarah again."

As the small group made their way back down the winding dirt path, the evening sky began to turn to shades of deep purple. Alicia tilted her head curiously, looking between the two. "So… Sister Ela, you already knew Shirou from before?"

"Of course. He was with us back at the camp," Ela said with a calm, nostalgic smile.

Chris frowned slightly, his analytical mind catching the phrasing. "Camp? You mean the frontline war camp?"

"Ah…" Ela scratched her cheek awkwardly, realizing her slip. "Well, yeah. He was found unconscious near the battlefield, so Sarah brought him back with us." She deliberately left the heavy truth unsaid—that Shirou was actually the surviving son of the late Demon Queen, Eliza.

"I see," Chris murmured, satisfied enough with the explanation as he kept stride.

Before long, the familiar wooden frame of the orphanage came into view, its rustic walls bathed in the bleeding golden glow of the sunset. Out front, Cherry and Vanessa stood like sentinels, their eyes fixed expectantly on the tree line.

"There they are! Oiii!" Cherry shouted, waving her arms vigorously—until her gaze landed squarely on Ela. In an instant, her excited relief curdled into sheer dread.

Cherry turned on her heel to bolt back inside, but before she could take a single step, thick, vibrant vines sprouted rapidly from the earth, binding her ankles firmly in place.

"Let me gooo!!" Cherry yelped, flailing wildly as she struggled against the magical constraints.

"Well, well… where do you think you're going in such a hurry, Cheru?" Ela's smile curved into something distinctly, mischievously dark.

"Cheru?" Shirou blinked, staring blankly.

"No! Don't call me that! Don't you dare use that name!!" Cherry shrieked, her tough warrior exterior entirely crumbling as Ela calmly and relentlessly advanced on her.

"Aww, don't be like that. I've been waiting all day to smother my cute little Cheru again," Ela cooed, open arms ready.

Shirou tugged urgently at Chris's sleeve, eyeing the chaotic display with silent bewilderment. "What is happening?"

Chris only chuckled, entirely unfazed. "It's simple, really. The exact same way Cherry is overbearingly attached to you, Sister Ela is… attached to Cherry."

"I… see," Shirou muttered, staring blankly as Cherry continued to wail in the background.

Before he could process it further, Vanessa suddenly rushed forward, throwing her arms tightly around his torso and burying her face in his chest.

"Shirou!" she cried, her voice breaking completely as tears dampening his shirt. "I'm so sorry… it's all my fault you got hurt out there…!"

Caught entirely off guard, Shirou stiffened like a board, his hands hovering awkwardly in mid-air. He cast a desperate, pleading look toward Alicia and Chris, silently begging for a rescue. But Alicia only covered her mouth with a small, amused smile, and Chris looked away entirely, grinning knowingly at the boy's misfortune.

As Ela continued to drown Cherry in unwanted affection, the rest of the children began filing quietly back into the warmth of the orphanage.

Later that evening, after the excitement had settled, Shirou and Chris stood behind the estate, stacking heavy logs of firewood from the storage shed. The rhythmic, heavy thuds of the wood clunking together filled the quiet twilight air.

"You really should be resting," Chris said after a moment, noticing Shirou hefting a massive pile all at once. "I can easily handle the rest of this on my own."

"I'm fine," Shirou replied firmly, tossing a log onto the pile. "Whatever that stupid elf did to me… it feels like the injuries never even existed."

Chris chuckled, placing another piece of wood to stabilize the stack. "Well, that's just the reality of things when your personal healer happens to be one of the Seven Pillars of the realm."

Shirou froze mid-step, a heavy log hovering precariously in his grip. "Seven… Pillars?"

"They're said to be the strongest mortals alive," Chris explained, his tone turning respectful. "Beings so overwhelmingly powerful that people say they could rival the power of the gods themselves."

Shirou nearly dropped the firewood in sheer shock, his eyes widening. "The gods? No… that's impossible! They rule over the three realms—Mother always told me their authority and power were absolute. Are you trying to tell me these Pillars could actually defeat a god?"

Chris shrugged casually. "That's only the theory. But the wartime rumors say… at least two beings in recent history have already slain gods."

Shirou’s heart began to hammer violently against his ribs, his breath catching. "…Who?"

"They say the first was the Demon Queen Eliza," Chris answered slowly, his voice dropping an octave. "During the climax of the great war, she supposedly cut down hundreds of divine entities who intervened."

Shirou's chest clenched with a painful, suffocating mix of pride and sorrow. He kept his lips pressed tight, saying nothing.

"And the second," Chris continued, a note of deep reverence entering his voice, "was the war hero herself… Mother Sarah."

Shirou's eyes went entirely wide, a cold fury rippling through his veins. Sarah…? Killing a god—that's completely unforgivable!

"Who really knows, though?" Chris interrupted quickly, misinterpreting the boy's intense silence. "A lot of it might just be tall tales to boost morale. Nobody alive actually saw them do it, and Mother Sarah has never claimed such things herself."

Shirou bowed his head, his shadow lengthening in the twilight as his mind tangled into a dark knot of conflicting emotions. "I see…" he muttered, his voice barely audible.

Chris studied the boy's rigid posture warily, his eyes narrowing as a sudden thought struck him. "Wait. Shirou, don't tell me you're planning to—"

But before Chris could even finish the warning, Shirou suddenly tossed the entire armful of wood away. The logs tumbled noisily across the dirt in a chaotic scatter.

"I've decided!" Shirou shouted, his fists clenched tight as a fiery, reckless determination erupted in his eyes. "Stupid Elf! Hey, Elf! I'm coming to challenge you right now!!"

And with that mad, sudden declaration, he bolted at full speed toward the orphanage entrance, his voice echoing through the quiet evening with an unshakable, wild zeal.

Chris stood entirely frozen, staring blankly into the empty space where the boy had just been, before letting out a massive sigh and pinching the bridge of his nose. "Unbelievable… completely unbelievable."

Beside him, the carefully stacked firewood pile collapsed a little from Shirou's reckless drop, and Chris bent down to fix it, shaking his head in weary amusement.