A Twist of Fate (Fate Zero & Fate Stay/Night:UBW)

Sonnet 19: Chapter 3

Commander Eritrea was perusing a stack of application forms for new recruits. As she stamped her approval onto the document, a knock was heard.

"Come in." she said, putting away the forms and getting started on the reports Ryuunosuke had given her that morning.
"Ohayo, neesan!"
"Illya! You shouldn't be here, you know, neesan is working."
"Aw, really? But I brought donuts! What a pity, suppose I'll just eat them myself-"
"On second thought, come in! Neesan could use a little break." chuckled Eritrea, both impressed and amused by Illya's persuasion tactics.

Eritrea wiped off a chocolate smudge from Illya's ruddy cheeks.
"So what brings you here, princess? Got bored pestering Rider?"
"Actually I came to see how you were doing, neesan."
"I'm feeling a little hyper now, thanks to all that sugar."
"I meant your job offer, neesan."

Eritrea sighed, knowing that even though her cousin had the appearance of a child, she was very much the opposite. Perhaps making a clean breast of her emotions right now would be better than pretending everything was alright.

"I don't know, Illya. About the Association, this Shinigami business, Diarmuid and Archer... Everything is a mess and your neesan doesn't know what to do about it."
"I think you do know, you're just afraid to do it." said the homunculus, putting her little hand over her cousin's.
"Can't we all just stay together? If I leave it feels like it was all for nothing. If I was goanna leave eventually then why come back in the first place?"
"Well you see, neesan, I think it's like this." said Illya, picking up the last donut. "Do you ever think, 'why eat a donut if I'll finish it in a few bites?' Maybe you'll get a little sad when you realize you're about to finish it. But knowing that only makes you cherish it even more."

Eritrea answered her cousin with a quizzical look, not really knowing what she meant.

"The point is, neesan, the donut is not forever but we are given the chance to savor every bite of it. Even if we don't spend our lives together forever, it doesn't mean that what we had meant anything less. We love you and we will respect whatever decision you make, provided it's made with hope and courage, not fear and guilt."

In that moment, the Commander felt less of an adult compared to the person before her. She smiled fondly at Illya, proud of her maturity. Having said that, the homunculus hopped off her chair and made her way to the door.

"Illya?"
"Hai, neesan?" smiled the girl, turning around.
"...Thank you."

She nodded, giving her neesan an adorable thumbs-up as a sign of encouragement before skipping out of the office.

I learn something new every day. thought Eritrea before resuming her work.

The hours ticked by and not long after, she had another visitor.

"Afternoon, Commander. I'm here for the reports you got this morning."
"Perfect timing, Ryuunosuke. I've just finished them. I'll be leaving early today, after I write one other thing." said Eritrea, handing over a stack of folders before switching out her ball-point pen for fancier stationery.
"That was quick! Otsukare sama deshita!" 

Curious about this 'one other thing', Ryuunosuke peeked at his superior from behind the documents he was holding.

"Oh? A fountain pen? What's the occasion?"
"You'll know soon enough." smiled Eritrea, her eyes to the paper. "If Waver doesn't find this later today, be a dear and give it to him for me before he goes home."
"Can do, boss." beamed the young man, with his eyes closed into slits and one hand raised in cheeky salute. "I'll be on my way then, thanks for finishing the reports!"

Once she finished, Eritrea left the office and headed for the train station. Just another cycle she repeated everyday, and it wasn't likely to change now.