Author's Note:

I'm sorry this is so late please forgive me

Finals was meh. Straight Bs everywhere but World History make my parents disappointed (and being Asian is so fun sometimes yay)

I should really stop playing FGO as much as I am right now. This summer is not going to be fun, and I want to work on this as much as I can heading forwards.

Storywise:

This is going to be interesting. It's a style I've never tried, but I'll try and see how it goes. I was going to write a 10K update, and then I realized that I was a month behind schedule.

Think of this as Part 1 of Illya's first day. I might combine chapters later, but I wanted to get this out.

I feel like I'm fucking up interactions. If you notice me doing this, please comment in a review.

To the disclaimer!

I DON'T OWN FATE. THE FOLKS OVER AT TYPE-MOON OWN ALL FATE-RELATED PROPERTIES.

Triple-Linked Crane Wings

Chapter 5: Midnight, Midday

The year wore by, bit by bit.

The seasons came, with fall turning to winter as the air cooled, winter turning to spring as the cherry blossoms bloomed, and spring returning to summer once more with the equinox's arrival.

Kiritsugu Emiya had returned home after his brief stint in recovering from the injuries suffered during the raid on the Einzbern mansion. Despite the horrendous injuries he incurred from his fight against All the Evils of the World, along with the curse he suffered as a result of rejecting the corrupted Grail, he came home, just as stone-faced as he was when he had left.

However, something was different.

While his daughter could tell that something had changed, she could only feel that something had shifted, that a small part within him had shifted ever so slightly from his two-faced persona between work and family to a single parent.

Taiga, even in her youthful cheer and force of personality, noticed the shift in his mood.

"He~y Kiri! How are you doing today?"

"I'm doing well, Taiga." A smile. "Thank you."

"Aw, thanks!"

Yet even with his shift in his mood, something was missing.

Something that would distract both Taiga and Illya from his wellbeing, well-intentioned as it was, was needed. He could feel the curse of regret beginning to grow within him, dripping like a leak of red and black mud into the rest of his body. Even with Avalon's (incredibly reduced) effectiveness, the curse would inevitably overtake him.

And he would fail to save the one person he had left worth saving, if he didn't try to truly be the father he once pretended to be to Illya.

It was this drive that he had, smaller in scope as it was, that prompted him to ask her a question one night.

"School?"

Illya paused while grabbing a spoonful of rice, considering her father's question. Then, she chewed the thought as she slowly began to move the spoon towards her bowl.

"What's that?"

She heard her father sigh, muttering under his breath.

"Ah, I forgot."

Illya walked back to sit down after getting her rice, with Kiritsugu trying to explain what a school was.

"It's...think about it like this. It's a place where you meet other people that are your age, and you spend the day with them."

"You mean like you and Mama on that one time you left me with-"

"Not exactly." Illya took the time to take a sip of green tea.

"See," Kiritsugu motioned, "you go to school to learn."

When Kiritsugu said the last word, he saw Illya barely flinch. Her voice wavered, as she timidly asked:

"...learn?"

Inwardly, he cursed the Old Man.

"People go to school to learn about the world. How it works, what's out there, how to live in it." Illya began to relax as he said this. "Most people learn how to read, write, and do math, and then they're ready for their life afterwards."

"But here, you have the opportunity to learn a lot more."

Kiritsugu added a spread of his hands around the room to emphasize his point.

"How so?" Illya asked, now curious.

"Here, there's a lot of topics in school besides the ones I mentioned. History, Science, along with many others. You might like some of them. You might dislike some of them. But even the ones that might seem boring can be incredibly useful later in life."

"You're sounding more like an old geezer!" Illya teased, with Kiritsugu continuing his explanation. "You're not that old! Besides, you'll be here for a while longer, right Papa?"

His heart winced as Illya asked this. Yet, he chose to continue.

"Along the way, you'll meet some people. You might like some, you might dislike some."

"But in the end, it's the experience that matters."

Kiritsugu's face changed from contemplation to a serious, yet caring look. Illya began to listen, her thoughts slowing down to hear Kiritsugu's somewhat hollowed voice.

"Illya. I want you to know that I care about you. Your mother, she never saw the outside world until it was too late to truly enjoy. Yet she enjoyed every single moment that she could while she was still here."

He breathed, shifting where he knelt.

"When we came to Fuyuki 2 years ago, Irisviel was excited beyond belief. Even the small details of modern society were amazing to her, things that we take for granted."

"She had read about the world, watched movies, and knew what to expect. But when she actually experienced the world firsthand, it was a completely different experience."

He paused for a brief moment, then asked:

"Do you remember when me and your mother left to come here, and we tried to look for acorns?"

Illya shook her head. "I remember that you and Mama left, but I don't remember what happened."

Kiritsugu continued. "There was a...woman, who was with us at the time. She came with us to Fuyuki."

"And even though both were unaccustomed to Fuyuki - no, the world in general, together, they enjoyed their time together."

"I couldn't understand at the time how much that meant to her, but-"

Nearly on the verge of breaking down, he steeled himself, and turned to face Illya.

"It's the fact that I never understood how much seeing the world meant to your mother that made me realize how much it might mean to you."

"You might still be young, but you have the opportunity to see the world, and get used to it. Irisviel would have been proud of you, for understanding the world she had only had a taste of experiencing."

"I know you might not be comfortable with the idea right now, Illya."

He slowly placed his hand on top of hers, gently showing his affections and the little love he could express.

"But my wish is for you to be happy."

As he finished, the room was silent. Not a sound could be heard, inside the Bounded Field put into place around the residence. Nothing, not even the subtle rustling of leaves could break the silence that Kiritsugu's words had imposed.

Kiritsugu's face was serene, almost donning a smile. To Illya, it was a happy expression, something that, despite her Papa's hands being rough and callused, showed his love for her.

The room laid silent, as she thought about what her father had just said. Her eyes looked down at the table, subtly avoiding looking at Kiritsugu, yet not completely shunning him.

"...is that what Mama really would have wanted?"

Not accusative.

"Yes, Illyasviel."

The near-smile remained.

"...then I'll do it."

She suddenly sprang up from the table, rising from her contemplation in kneeling to stand.

"If Mama would be happy, then I'll do it."

Kiritsugu finally smiled.

"Then that settles it."

The year wore by, bit by bit.

It had been decided, with Kiritsugu's proposal, Taiga's acceptance, and Illya's agreement, that she would go to school at the beginning of the first term of the next year.

She was already decently knowledgeable, at least for someone her age. Even holed up in the Einzbern mansion so far away in Germany, she had learned much about the world.

Now, it was time to make use of it.

The cherry blossoms bloomed once more.

Lazily, Illya yawned, as she slowly rolled out of the futon. The morning was chilly, but not cold, though Illya felt the floor grow frigid as she began to walk through the wooden hallway.

The sunrise had already passed, its initial rays of light giving way to a wide array of accented shadows lining the yard outside. Quietly, she stepped towards the kitchen, unwilling to accidentally wake up her father before breakfast was ready.

She reached for the refrigerator's handle. Taking out 3 eggs and some butter, she promptly closed the door.

As she prepared the eggs, she waited for her Papa to trudge towards the low table.

All of a sudden, she heard the yell of a certain tiger.

"Morning, Illya-chan~~!"

"Wha-?"

Illya barely avoided Taiga's embrace, her instinct guiding her to dodge.

"Gah!" The Tiger of Fuyuki began to rise, moving towards Illya. "Nee-san, what are you-?"

She suddenly felt her body being gripped in a vice between Taiga's strong arms.

"It's finally that day~!" Taiga cheered, as Illya tried to escape her grasp.

"Nee-san, I-"

"Oh, I'm so excited! Aren't you, Illya-chan~?" Taiga began to stretch out her cheeks.

You do know I'm not eight years old anymore, right?

Illya tried to respond clearly, to no avail, as Taiga continued.

Suddenly, the two heard the smoke detector going off.

Silence followed, before Illya yelped, looking towards the kitchen.

"The eggs!"

Fortunately for the two and Kiritsugu, who had been woken up by the smoke detector's alarm after Illya had attempted to salvage the eggs, Illya was ready to cook.

The two sat around the table, watching curiously as Illya cooked once more, now with full focus.

Illya had taken up cooking as a hobby in the time between her arrival in Fuyuki and the present. While she was progressing slowly, her cooking was more than enough to satisfy Taiga and Kiritsugu.

Even if it was simple, seeing her Papa and onee-san happy made her mood all the more happy.

"Uwaa~" Taiga munched down the rest of her food, with Kiritsugu and Illya chewing slowly. "You've gotten better, Illya-chan!"

"Ah, t-thank you nee-san..."

Blushing slightly at Taiga's compliment, Illya began to finish her own food.

As she did so, Kiritsugu set aside his bowl and finished chewing.

"This is good, Illya. Thank you for the meal."

Neutrally said, he began to rise. "I need to get something for Illya, Taiga. Can you help her while I'm doing that?"

Taiga nodded, as Kiritsugu gingerly walked down the hallway. Once he had disappeared from view, she looked towards Illya, who was frozen where she sat, looking at her plate.

Worried, she tried to grab her attention.

"Illya-chan? Are you OK?"

"...Papa was happy."

Illya's expression had entered what Taiga knew as Kiritsugu's usual, empty face. Taiga didn't know what it was exactly that brought it on, but she could tell that Kiritsugu was hiding something. Unwilling to pry, however, she inched away from doing so. All she knew was that Illya had suffered some kind of trauma along the way to Fuyuki.

Immediately, Taiga went to go towards Illya, to try and snap her out of her trance.

"Illya-chan, you don't have to think that. Kiri is always happy when he sees you." After stroking Illya's long hair, she took her into a tight hug.

"Besides, today's just for you!"

"Eep!"

"So, let's get ready!"

The Homurahara Academy uniform was something completely foreign to Illya.

Sure, she was used to the concept of dresses and coats. Even in seclusion, the Einzberns acted the part of nobility and the pomp that came along with it. Her former dresses back in Germany may have been long gone, but she could barely remember the looks and appearance of her clothes, along with her mother's.

A uniform, on the other hand, was a completely different story.

Getting the uniform on was easy enough, with Taiga's help. That wasn't the problem, though.

The problem was the nigh-alien appearance of Illya's uniform as she looked into the mirror.

"Nee-san! I-I...I can't wear this!"

Taiga tried to calm her down, as Illya began to panic.

"It's just a school uniform, Illya-chan. You'll get used to it by the end of the week."

"But it's too hot and itchy everywhere..."

"Relax." Taiga stroked her hand through the white hair of her 'little sister'. "Now, breathe in."

Illya followed along.

"Then breathe out."

Illya exhaled, prompting Taiga to talk again. "It may be uncomfortable at first, but you'll get more comfortable as time goes on."

She pointed to a picture that was lying near the doorway.

"See that? That's me when I was in school!" The white-haired girl listened, interested in hearing more.

"To be honest, when I was your age, I hated those uniforms." Taiga's eye began to twitch. "Personally, I think the boys' jacket felt more comfortable then all the stuff we had to wear."

A moment of silence ensued, before a sound came to either of them.

Suddenly, she clapped her hands.

"Regardless!" She looked back at Illya, energy bursting through her voice. "My experience should be a great life lesson to you, Illya-chan!"

"Yeah?" Illya asked, excitedly.

"Even if you're hampered by something, you should always continue on!"

Illya's mood dropped like a rock.

"That doesn't help me a lot, nee-san..."

"Hm?" From the midst of her 'wise sage mode' (as she'd call it), she noticed Illya, who moped downwards.

Then, she realized her error.

"Ah!" Taiga sprang back up again. "What I meant to say is, that even if something blocks your way, you should never lose sight of the true goal!"

"But how?"

"In your case, Illya-chan, it's going to school!" The brown-haired woman pointed towards the doorstep. "If you want to make Kiri happy, then you should go to school! If you don't want to make Kiri happy, then you can stay home!"

"...huh."

Illya began to think about it. Even if I'm not happy...if doing something makes Papa happy, then that's...

"Besides, he's thinking about you too, Illya."

Taiga was now in her true 'big sister mode'. Soothingly, she spoke.

"It's your big day. He wants you to go out and see other people, but you already know that, don't you?"

"Mmhm." She nodded.

"So go out there and have fun!" With a short, yet powerful push, Taiga pushed Illya towards the doorstep.

"Ah!"

Suddenly, as Illya tried to escape her daze, Taiga bolted out the door with her bag, in haste.

"Oh no no no! I'm gonna be late!"

In the distance, her 'older sister' waved. "I'll see you later, Illya-chan!"

"Bye!"

As the gust of air faded away, Illya sighed.

Finally, it was time to go to school.

She walked down the street, mindfully perceptive of her surroundings. While the cold air swept across her face and her body, the lack of a wind helped to stop her from shivering under the rising morning sun. Crossing from street to street, and road to road, she stepped.

On one of the many streets that lead to Homurahara Academy, a bird caught her eye. For a second, Illya watched with interest, slowing down, as the bird flew around the sun, choppily ascending until it reached its perch.

It was at this moment of distraction that Illya walked straight into someone else.

"Ah!"

A flurry of papers flew out of the other person's hands like a flock of birds, as Illya regained her bearings. It took only a moment before she began to profusely apologize.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't see you there! I-"

The girl, Illya had finally registered, stopped her with her hand. Then, silently, she began to pick up the scattered papers, the bystanders who had originally saw the incident beginning to walk away down the ends of the street.

"Um..." Illya nervously began. "D-Do you need any help, miss-"

The girl stopped her collection, pausing as if she was thinking. Then, slowly but subtly, she nodded, the sun finally shining on her hair.

As the girls picked up papers, both remained quiet, even in the midst of Illya passing papers to the other. Both of them kept to silence, eventually whittling down the intially large spread of the scattered papers into a single, if ruffled pile.

When they had finished, the other girl bowed to Illya, and began to walk down the street.

As she walked, Illya finally regained her perception, and noticed her clothing. It was a near-mirror image of her own, except with long streams of black hair flowing out from her back unlike Illya's own white, and the pair of glasses that sat nested on her nose.

For whatever reason she had, she began to run to catch up to the girl.

"Hello!"

The girl turned to look at Illya, peering back to her left. Illya held onto her backpack, bashfully rubbing her head.

"Um...I was wondering, but...are you going to Homurahara Academy?"

"Yes, I am." The first time she had heard the girl talk. Her voice felt empty, hollow, as if there were wisps of wind held on every word she spoke. "And I presume that you are, too."

"Right! Uh..."

Illya's body trembled with nervousness. Beyond Taiga and some token interactions around Fuyuki, she had never interacted with anyone her age, let alone another girl that was her age.

"..."

"..."

The two were silent, returning to the status quo of quietness.

In seconds, it was broken with another shock.

"You don't have to apologize. It's my first day. I should be apologizing to you for the inconvenience that I may have caused." The girl smiled, for no apparent reason. It was as if the entire incident was intentional.

Illya responded almost immediately. "No, no! I should apologize to you for making you late and...and..."

She trailed off, as she looked at the girl's watch.

"...w-what time is it?" Illya nervously asked, beginning to sweat at the thought of being late on her first day of school.

The girl's expression returned to a completely neutral face, almost as if it were made of stone. She looked at her watch for a second, before she took off her glasses, with smile returned.

"Just enough time to run to class and get there before 8 o'clock."

The girl began to run, entering something akin to a full sprint.

"W-Wait!"

Illya began to run once more. In seconds, she had caught up with the other girl, on the paved paths leading towards the school.

As quickly as the race (if it could be called that) began, it ended as soon as both of the girls had sprinted at full speed through the gates of the school.

"Wait...where are you going?!" Illya shouted, with only her adrenaline keeping her from keeling over and falling.

As the two ran up the stairs, the other girl replied.

"The fifth floor, first room to the left!"

Even though she had begun with a confident smile, the black-haired girl was beginning to show signs of exhaustion. Despite her condition, though, the papers that she had been carrying ever since they had collected them stayed in place, failing to stray or blow away from their carrier's embrace.

Four flights of stairs later, the two ran into the classroom, sore and physically exhausted.

All of the conversations that had been taking place stopped immediately as they walked in. Both recognized the looks of surprise and subsequent murmurs between the other students that greeted them, as the two limped to their desks.

Five seconds after doing so was the point at which the bell rang.

The classroom turned silent, just as it had under a minute ago. And yet, five seconds passed.

Not a single word.

Ten seconds.

Not a single sound.

Fifteen seconds-

"I'M COMING!"

-and the Tiger of Fuyuki had arrived, proceeding to trip on the ground and fall onto the floor face first.

Never had anyone in the classroom see anyone's face show so much emotion within a single expression, at the moment Illya saw her 'older sister' trip on the ground. A kaleidoscope of surprise, followed by realization, and then finally shock followed, as the red-eyed girl let her setting sink in.

"..."

"..."

"...should we do something?"

A wave of murmurs swept through the entire classroom, until someone spoke up.

"We could try to wake her up."

Nods of acceptance followed.

"OK, then." The student walked forward, and prodded Taiga's head.

"Hey, Taiga-sensei."

The Tiger's hand twitched.

"Taiga-sensei..."

Her other hand twitched.

"Maybe one more time, to be on the safe side?"

"Taiga-"

"DON'T CALL ME TIGERRR!"

All of a sudden, the student that had tried to wake the sleeping Tiger up rose, and launched a punch at the 'offender'. They had had no time to dodge, before they keeled over, and whimpered as the so-called homeroom teacher rose.

"Let that be a lesson to you all!" Taiga roared. "Nobody calls me Tiger!"

"Ah, Fujimura-sensei...that's your...uh..." someone stuttered, still in shock over their homeroom teacher's show of force.

"Hm?" The teacher looked at her, and realized what had happened.

"Oh, um..."

The unfortunate student silently walked back to where her seat was, holding her side as she sat down.

"I...suppose it's time to begin!"

And the first morning of Illya's school life had begun.

Lunchtime came earlier than expected. To Illya's eyes, the morning had passed swiftly, but her experiences gained made up for the time she lost track of.

Slowly, as she left the classroom, she walked to the stairs just next to the room, and began to climb the steps to the rooftop.

Students came and passed, but as she ascended, the amount of students she saw plummeted. As she walked up the final steps to the door leading to the rooftop and grasped the doorknob, she expected a clear view of the city in the distance.

The door opened, and Illya gasped.

The view was incredible. A cloudless sky formed a beautiful ceiling of light blue and warming sun far above her vision. She looked up, and saw a perfect view.

"Wow...!"

The red-eyed girl witnessed the mundane beauty of life. To the ones who lived it, mundane was just that. But to the foreign, another 'world' and its mundane was exotic and unfamiliar, a way of life that was intriguing and fascinating.

"You really are odd."

"Eep!"

Her immersion was broken by the sight of a black-haired girl.

A familiar black-haired girl.

"W-Wait, when did you get up here?"

"About a minute ago." The girl's blank expression was back. "I was looking around the school and noticed you staring into the distance."

"...anyways, I-"

"May I..."

A look came to her face, something that Illya found hard to identify. It was an expression of...nervousness? Embarassment?

"...may I eat lunch with you up here?"

Illya balked instantly.

"Wha-wha-wha-what?!"

The black-haired girl quickly shut her eyes, clutching her lunch in her hands as she began to briskly walk back towards the door. "I'm sorry for troubling you, then."

"Wait!"

Illya's hand was stretched forwards. The girl looked back, pensive.

"D-Don't be sorry..." Illya motioned towards herself with her hand. "It was just...really sudden..."

The other girl began to walk back towards Illya. "I didn't mean to make it sound like I didn't want to be with you or anything."

Suddenly, Illya bowed down on the ground.

"I'm sorry for being impolite and inconsiderate to you!"

Amber eyes widened.

"...um..."

Then, they softly narrowed with a playful grin.

"I guess that means we're equal, then."

"...right."

The two of them sat on the roof, quietly eating their lunches.

It didn't take long before a conversation began.

"So..."

"Hm?" The amber-eyed girl paused, her hand frozen in the act of picking out rice with her chopsticks.

"Where do you live?"

After a brief moment, she swallowed, and replied.

"I live in Miyama. Near the shopping district, actually. Though, my parents aren't exactly rich or anything."

She paused for a moment.

"The house is comfortable, if a little bit small."

"But it's nice having a home."

As she began to eat again, she stopped.

"How about you?"

"Oh, I..."

Illya thought for a second.

"I live in Miyama, too, actually!"

"Hm." The other girl nodded, as she chewed.

"Though...it's a little further away."

"Hm?"

"Yeah. It's closer to the sea, but a little close to the shopping district."

"Hmm." The amber-eyed girl, finally finished with her lunch, began to think, as she hummed.

"I don't think I ever asked you what your name is."

"Huh?"

Suddenly, she realized the meaning of her question. "Ah!"

Nervously, she bowed.

"I-I'm Illyasviel von Einzbern, but y-you can call me Illya for short!"

"..."

The other girl's face was blank.

"...you had that rehearsed, right?"

Illya blushed furiously, embarassed at her hesitation.

"Don't worry, you don't have to be that formal." A warm smile donned the other girl's face.

"B-But..."

"Here, this is how I do it."

The other girl bowed, though in a casual way that was devoid of any feelings of being automatic.

"Nice to meet you."

She raised out her hand, reaching out.

"I'm Miyu Aoki."

And this is where Miyu comes in.

Before you ask, this is not Prillya!Miyu. While some of the core aspects of her should remain the same, she's not the same person.

Part 2 should be coming soon. If you want specific updates on the story status, check my profile.

Please leave a review, whether it be something you enjoyed or constructive criticism!