ITP: Hero Question

[fatestayhome]

[Video]
[For some reason today, Shirou felt like pouring what's left of his broken existence into someone else besides Issei and Saber.

In layman's term, Shirou's feeling talky talky today about his idiocy (Rushing into a Shadow battle to save someone.]

...

What is a hero to you all?

[Still, asking a deep question like this is not Shirou at all.]

Comments

[maguskiller]

[This is a worrying question, coming from Shirou. Then again, he was already aware of his desire to be a hero.]

An individual who saves as many lives as he can.

What's a hero to you, Shirou?

[fatestayhome]

...someone like you, I suppose.

[YEP DAD LOOK WHO ADMIRES YOU.

...also your biggest fan but that's a given.]

[maguskiller]

That's... slowly becoming a dream I can't pursue anymore. Regardless... thank you.

Did I ever talk to you about this?

[fatestayhome]

...I don't think you have, well, in your current time, that is.

[maguskiller]

I likely will at some point, then.

[That confirms he didn't tell him during his younger years. Maybe he waited until the literal last minute. Regardless, it's too late to tell him to ignore the words of a regretful dying man. Still, Kiritsugu knows his son. He knows he wouldn't be following this path if he had ever discouraged him from doing so.]

[Then... what inspired him? What could ever possibly convince his older self to allow Shirou to follow in his footsteps?]

Do you remember me ever telling you about it?

[fatestayhome]

...yeah.

[That was the turning point of his life.

The day where he took up Kiritsugu's ideal as his own.]

[maguskiller]

I see...

[Even with the age difference, Kiritsugu knows his son well enough to know the significance behind that single word.]

In that case, I must have told you how a hero works in real life. To be a hero is to choose. To save someone means not to save someone else.

Would you be willing to follow a path like that, Shirou?

[fatestayhome]

No.

[Stated so blatantly that Kiri might find Shirou's subtlety is like that of a hammer.]

I'm going to continue on this path to save everyone.

[maguskiller]

...I see.

[Kiritsugu looks outside for a moment, contemplating his son's words.]

It will be tough.

[Truthfully, he had already considered this as out of the question. Kiritsugu discarded saving everyone as a possibility around the time his mentor died. He may consider it naive, but that's not the important thing here. Shirou still has faith. He hasn't turned into his father. If he keeps on this path, then he may come across hardships, but may result better for them. He doesn't have to meet the same fate.]

[Let's hope he never meets Archer.]

[fatestayhome]

I know.

But I'll see this through to the end.