ChaoticChaosArt, But Chill

I think people aren’t willing enough to acknowledge that Kiritsugu groomed Maiya. Although I am willing to make an argument that when they first met he didn’t have any intention of sexually grooming her because the only reason that they eventually had that sort of relationship was because of Kiritsugu’s relationship with Irisviel, he 100% at least somewhat deliberately groomed her in a non-sexual manner. Kiritsugu took in a vulnerable person and raised her to be his assistant, with Kiritsugu ending up being the only thing she finds any meaning in.

Their relationship is extremely unhealthy, but there is a bit of nuance that by no means excuse Kiritsugu’s actions but does make it really interesting from a character writing perspective.

We don’t have a canonical age for Maiya but we can do a little guesswork. We know based on her backstory that by the time she has met Kiritsugu she would’ve been old enough to have both gotten pregnant and given birth. Based on what she says to Irisviel in their scene together in the shed we know she got pregnant almost as soon as she was biologically physically able to. When this would be isn’t known, but given that she was almost certainly malnourished, she would most likely be on the older end of the average range of menarche. In regards to Kiritsugu we know he hired by the Einzbern’s at the age of 20 and based on the way that they act like, he and Maiya had worked together during Kiritsugu’s active era for a decent gap of time.

Thus, I’d estimate their ages when they met is Maiya being in a roughly 14-16 age range and Kiritsugu being in a roughly 16-18 age range. Although their age gap is smaller than one might first assume, their relationship is still grooming because of the power imbalance. I do not intend to in any way defend Kiritsugu’s actions; however I do feel the need to acknowledge that there is something tragic about them. Two young people who have been exposed to the horrors of war, the worst of the worst of humanity, severely damaging their ability to make normal connections and yet they still form a relationship that’s toxic and can’t even be described as a friendship and yet still has an unconventional closeness to it even if Kiritsugu isn’t willing to acknowledge that it does.

Kiritsugu and Maiya’s relationship is supposed to parallel Natalia and Kiritsugu’s relationship, with Kiritsugu taking the way he was raised and applying it to Maiya. The way they raised people wasn’t good but did serve the purpose of helping them to survive in a harsh and cruel environment. Again, this doesn’t excuse the fact that Kiritsugu groomed Maiya but it does give some slight explanation.