A New Child

Chapter 6: Daughter

Chapter 6: Daughter

When Shirou woke up and made his way out of his room, he saw Tiamat sitting on the couch, petting a small creature. It looked like a fat beaver without a tail. Shirou looked up at Tiamat to see an emotion he hadn't seen from her before. Anger.

"Mama...?" Shirou slowly approached the woman. Did he do something wrong? He tried his best to be a good child for Tiamat. Did he fail? Was she going to abandon him?

"Good morning, Shirou," Tiamat turned and smiled at the boy. Nothing about that smile was genuine. It wasn't like the one Shirou had grown to love. "Please do not worry. I just found something... unsettling on my evening stroll last night."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Shirou's response was immediate. Tiamat had done so much for him. If there was something he could do... anything he could do...

"Shirou... would you like to have a sister?" Tiamat asked. Shirou walked over to the couch and sat next to Tiamat. The rodent sniffed at Shirou before licking his cheek. The young boy giggled at the action. "Ah, this is a capybara. Although its diet doesn't consist of worms, I wanted to make something that would put her at ease, so I made some changes."

"Worms?" Shirou looked up as he pet the friend-sized creature.

"Shirou... I found a young girl... younger than you. They were hurting her," Tiamat's gaze hardened. "I heard her soul... like I heard yours. I can't just stand by. I will be going to rescue her, but if you don't want someone else to live with us, then I will leave her with Gilgamesh."

Shirou sat in silence as he mulled over Tiamat's words. Someone was hurting and Tiamat wanted to save them, but Tiamat wanted Shirou's permission before bringing her here... Shirou smiled.

"You gave me this chance to live. It wouldn't be fair for me to take this chance away from someone else," Shirou smiled up at his mother. "If I can be a little bit more like you, I'll do it."

"Thank you... what a mature child I have," Tiamat smiled. She stood up and placed the capybara down on the floor. The creature followed her as she poured some water into a glass. Tiamat put her hand above the glass and light started to shine from her palm.

"When I bring the girl, please have her drink this," Tiamat said as she placed the glass on the table in front of him.

"What is it?" Shirou asked.

"Something that will make her feel better," Tiamat replied softly as she lifted the capybara up. "I shall return soon."

"Good luck, Mama," Shirou said. A small but genuine smile grew on Tiamat's face before she vanished in a flash of light.

-

When Tiamat appeared back above the horrendous pit, she considered blowing the place sky high once more. She knew of many creatures that resided in her sea that would be more than happy to do so.

I have to remember why I'm here, Tiamat thought to herself. The capybara in her arms took one look at the mound of worms and its eyes widened. It struggled in her arms for a little while before looking up at Tiamat with a pleading gaze.

"Yes, my child. You may eat as much as you wish," Tiamat floated down and placed the capybara beside the pit. The small creature dived into the pit of worms and started to feast. Capybaras were herbivores, but Tiamat had made some modifications. Along with eating different types of plants, she specifically added the crest worms to its diet. Furthermore, she had prepared a microorganism that would eat away at the crest worms in the girl's body before placing them in the water she had prepared.