Chapter 6: Shirou: Thanks a lot, Shinji!!

Chapter 6: Shirou: Thanks a lot, Shinji!!

“Ilyasviel!”

At the temporary set inside the Einzbern Castle, Shinji called out, voice cutting through the quiet like a director with purpose—which, technically, he now was.

They’d just finished trial shooting a scene where Illya kidnaps Shirou. It had gone well, all things considered, but Shinji thought there was still room for improvement.

“What is it, Shinji onii-chan?”

Illya bounced her way over to him, big ruby eyes blinking up at him like the perfect chibi mascot of the film.

Shinji crouched down to meet her at eye level, a rare moment of sincerity crossing his face.

“You did great,” he said. “But if you can make that innocent expression a bit more natural, it’ll be perfect.”

Among the main cast, Illya had the biggest gap between her personality and the character she had to play. Most of the others—Shirou, Rin, even himself—only needed to slightly adjust their usual behavior to fit the script. But Illya was a different story entirely.

In this world, the little princess of the Einzbern family hadn’t gone through the same dark experiences as her Fate/Stay Night counterpart. She really is a sweet, innocent, slightly spoiled young lady.

Which made her role all the more difficult.

The Illya in the movie wasn’t a traditional villain, but rather a morally ambiguous figure—cute on the surface, but dangerous beneath. And that duality demanded a surprising level of acting finesse.

To her credit, Illya was putting in the work. Even though her performance wasn’t flawless, her progress was obvious from one take to the next.

But perhaps it was the way her character was supposed to be older than Shirou. Illya had been trying to come across as more mature, and that effort made her performance feel… strained.

“You’re doing great, Illya,” Shinji said gently, placing a hand on her shoulder. “But I know you can do even better. Didn’t you tell me you were a genius actress? Let’s see that potential.”

Illya puffed out her cheeks, scrunching her nose with an adorably defiant look.

“I will!”

Back when she’d called herself a genius actress, she’d only been trying to get more screentime—which, in her mind, meant less time in school.

To her horror, Shinji had not only not let her slack off, he’d hired her a private tutor. A one-on-one tutor. Just for her. Because, of course, she was the only elementary schooler in the entire cast.

It was basically a more intense version of regular school!

“Shinji, you big meanie!”

Illya glared at him with a pout and a blush, clearly activating her most powerful I’m-actually-super-mad expression pack.

Too bad Shinji was completely immune to loli charm. He waved her off with a single, businesslike motion. “Alright, go get ready.”

A makeup artist immediately rushed to follow her, prepping both Illya and the soon-to-be-kidnapped protagonist, Shirou Emiya.

They weren’t filming the real takes yet. These were still test shoots—experimental runs while Shinji and the cinematographer adjusted the camera positions, lighting angles, and framing.

Shinji had imagined most of the shots while drafting the script, but as a beginner director, he quickly discovered that theory and practice were very different beasts.

On top of that, the cinematographer wasn’t someone he’d trained himself, but a professional hired from a production company. The guy was talented, yes, but getting on the same wavelength as Shinji was proving to be a slow, meticulous process.

“Man…” Shinji slumped in his director’s chair with a weary sigh. “No wonder all the top directors have their own go-to crews. If I had a regular team, I wouldn’t have to re-teach everything from scratch every time I make a film.”

‘Note to self: start building a personal crew.’

He grabbed the mic.

“Lighting, ready!”

“Actors, ready—Action!”

Thanks to all the test runs they’d done so far, both the crew and the lead actors—Illya and Shirou—were able to slip into their roles quickly.

Just like the script said, Illya stepped into the center of the room, slowly entering the frame of Shinji’s camera.

As Illya stepped into her designated spot under the lights, Shirou—bound tightly to a chair—let out a weary breath. His voice came out tired but determined.

“Let me go, Illya. No matter what you say, I—”

Illya placed a delicate finger on his lips, silencing him with the innocent smile only a young girl could wear.

“Shirou, you’re being so difficult,” she said sweetly. “Listen carefully, okay? Right now, you’re like a little bird in a cage. Whether you live or die—it’s all up to me. So you really shouldn’t say things that might make me angry, mm?”

She leaned in close, on purpose.

Her ruby eyes shimmered in the low light, drawing Shirou in like some kind of enchantment. The longer he stared, the more he felt like those eyes were pulling him in—devouring him whole.

“I’ve waited ten years, you know. If I just killed you like this, it wouldn’t be any fun.”

“W-What...?”

That voice—soft and playful, like a child begging for a new toy—sent a chill crawling up Shirou’s spine. For a second, he forgot how to breathe.

He glanced at Illya again, instinctively pulling at his restraints.

And then—

[No good—these knots are solid! What the hell? This isn’t stage rope!!]

Shirou looked down at the ropes binding him. Before he could even process what was going on, Illya’s voice rang out again.

“This is the last time, Onii-chan. I’ll ask you one more time.”

There was no cruelty in her tone—only excitement. Her eyes were bright with anticipation as she stared at him.

“Shirou, become mine.”

She said it in that unshakably sweet voice of hers, as if she were asking something as innocent as sharing a snack. But there was no room for refusal in her words. Illya looked less like a child and more like a fae creature—beautiful, ethereal, dangerous.

“Hhk—!”

Shirou sucked in a sharp breath. Something cold crept up from the soles of his feet all the way to his scalp. For some reason, he really felt like this girl—his sister, for god’s sake—actually intended to make him hers.

“I’m not yours, Illya. I have Saber,” Shirou said, forcing the words out. “As long as she’s with me, I’ll fight on as her Master.”

He gritted his teeth, clinging to the script like a lifeline. ‘This is acting. This is just acting. This isn’t real.’

“......”

Illya didn’t answer immediately. She simply looked at him—expression unreadable.

Then, slowly, her eyes dimmed. Her smile vanished like sunlight behind clouds.

“I see. So even you are going to betray me, Shirou.”

Her voice was calm. Detached. She turned away, taking a step back with a grace that was far too composed for someone her age.

“Fine, then. If Shirou won’t listen to me... then I won’t listen to Shirou, either. I’ve been letting you all off easy until now. That ends here.”

There was only killing intent in her voice.

She reached out and casually picked up a metal prop knife from the nearby table. The blade glinted under the lights as she ran the edge just barely down the bridge of Shirou’s nose.

The cold sting of steel kissed his skin. He could feel it.

“Illya!” Shirou’s face changed. “What are you doing?!”

At that moment, he genuinely thought she was about to kill him.

Meanwhile, hiding in the shadows behind the camera, Shinji was shaking with laughter, hand clamped over his mouth to keep from ruining the shot. The knife bit had been his idea—to inject a little real fear into Shirou and force a more intense performance.

Judging by how terrified Shirou looked in the monitor feed, it was working like a charm.

“Relax. I won’t kill you... yet,” Illya said, her voice cool and composed as she set the knife aside.

“But I am going to kill Saber and Rin now. That should make you regret it... just a little, right?”

Shirou stared at that adorable, innocent face—and yet, all he could see was a demon hiding behind the mask of an angel.

He struggled desperately against the ropes, but they were far tighter than he’d expected.

“Don’t talk so casually about killing people! That’s not something you should do! Illya, you’re still just a kid, okay? A child shouldn’t be doing things like that… right?”

By the end of his sentence, his voice had shifted into a fearful, pleading whimper.

Illya blinked in surprise at his reaction, momentarily stunned by the desperation in his tone.

But only a moment later, she recovered, putting on another cheerful smile as though nothing had happened.

“Too bad! I’ve already killed people before, Onii-chan~”

She said it with a bright, happy expression, like a child sharing a fun secret.

“I actually thought you’d take care of that seaweed-head for me, you know? But in the end, I had to do it myself. And seaweed tastes suuuper salty~”

“……”

Sitting in his director’s chair, Shinji could feel the mocking gazes directed his way—and he was very sure there were more than a few.

A quick glance with the corner of his eye confirmed it: Rin, Sakura, and Arturia were all shooting him those looks.

[These little brats... just you wait! One by one, I’ll get back at you all for this!]

Shinji fumed silently, all while signaling the cameraman to zoom in on Illya’s face for a close-up.

While everyone off-camera watched the scene with amusement, Shirou—still tied to the chair—was very much not enjoying himself.

Especially now, as Illya, with that strange little smile still on her lips, began walking toward him again.

“I-Illya! You—!”

Shirou began to thrash harder, struggling against the ropes, but they wouldn’t budge.

Three meters. Two meters. One meter. Half a meter…

As the distance between them shrank, the danger pressing in around Shirou grew ever stronger. His instincts screamed at him, but no matter how he fought, the ropes refused to loosen.

“I’m sorry, Shirou.”

Illya stopped right in front of him, reached out with her free hand, and gave his cheek a gentle pat. Her smile was at once innocent and… seductive.

“Killing Masters—that’s what the Holy Grail War is.”

She said it so casually. So matter-of-factly. As if there were nothing wrong with it at all.

That was the girl named Illyasviel von Einzbern.

A devil with the face of an angel.

“Cut! Great work, everyone!”

Shinji finally called out, stopping the scene.

There was still a little left to shoot for this segment, but if they went any further, Shirou really might have had a panic attack. He was the film’s lead actor—there was no way they could afford to break him halfway through the production.

As for the final few lines, they could always film them later. It’d be a good excuse to change the camera angle anyway.

“Shinji onii-chan! I was amazing, right?”

Illya bounced over to Shinji, dropping the little devil act immediately and switching to her usual cheerful self.

“You were the best,” Shinji said, grinning as he ruffled her hair.

“Heehee~”

Beaming, Illya skipped off to find her parents, her mission to impress complete.

“Thanks, Shirou. You did well.”

With a snap of Shinji’s fingers, the ropes around Shirou suddenly loosened.

Shirou wasted no time scrambling to his feet, pressing a hand to his chest as he tried to calm his breathing.

“Seriously, I thought I was going to die just now,” he groaned. “Illya really looked like she was about to kill someone.”

His voice still trembled with lingering fear.

“I can’t believe she’s actually that good at acting… Could she really be one of those ‘natural-born’ genius actors?”

His voice was tinged with a hint of envy.

As the lead actor, it had taken him ages to settle into the right mindset for filming. And yet his little sister had dropped into character in just a few lines—like it was second nature to her.

“Oh, that?” Shinji shrugged casually. “I had Illya use a little suggestion magecraft on you during the scene. Just a light hypnotic effect to help you get into character more easily. Looks like it worked pretty well—your acting’s improved a ton.”

Shirou’s face twitched violently.

“…Thanks a lot, Shinji!!”