Sakura was awoken by a small ticking sensation on her cheek. She turned and opened her eyes to be met with the beady eyes of a capybara.
"Good morning, Ichiban," she muttered as she petted the small animal. She knew she shouldn't pamper the animal who killed her grandfather, but she couldn't help it. He freed her from her hell. Him and Tiamat.
It had only been a day since Sakura was whisked away from her home, but she felt more safe than she had in months. Tiamat was the exact opposite of Zouken. She was kind and loving. Even though she had just met Sakura, she loved and treated her like she loved Shirou.
"Mama doesn't choose favorites," Tiamat had said. Sakura still had to get used to the floating woman and her large horns, but after the pit, she was willing to do anything.
Those words meant a lot to Sakura. Tiamat already saw her as her child. Not someone she saved or an unfortunate little girl. Sakura was Tiamat's child, and she wouldn't have it any other way.
Speaking of Shirou, the boy was nice. He was helpful in showing Sakura around the house and was a joy to be around. Despite his upbeat personality, Sakura was able to recognize a familiar hollow feeling behind his smile. She saw that look in her eyes whenever she looked in the mirror. Something bad must have happened to him.
"My child, are you awake?" Sakura heard a knock on her door.
"I-I'm awake," Sakura replied. She brought her arms and knees closer to her as the door opened.
"Good morning, Sakura," Tiamat had a reassuring smile on her face. Something about Tiamat's demeanor made Sakura feel safe. She couldn't place what it was, though. "Shirou has prepared breakfast for us. Would you like to join us?"
Sakura hesitated. She had dinner with the two the previous night and the dynamic was almost jarring for her. It was so... positive. Dinner with the Matous was a silent affair. Both Sakura and Shinji were too afraid to speak in Zouken's presence. That is if Sakura even got to eat.
"It's okay to say no," Tiamat's voice snapped Sakura from her thoughts. "Take you time to heal."
"Thank you," Sakura nodded and forced a smile. Tiamat's smile seemed to waver as she closed the door. Sakura looked down at her blanket. Did she disappoint Tiamat? She didn't want to let down the one who saved her. Should she swallow her fears and go? As she started to make her way out of the bed, she heard a knock on the door.
"Sakura?" It was Shirou this time. He opened the door and walked in with a plate of omurice. "Mama won't tell me what happened, but she said you needed time. You should still eat, though."
"Thank you," Sakura muttered as Shirou placed the food on the nightstand beside the bed.
"Mama and I are going to get me enrolled in school later. She told me that you can come if you want," Shirou said before turning.
"Wait," Sakura raised her voice ever so slightly as Shirou made his way to the door. He stopped and turned. "Did... did I do something to make Tiamat mad?"
"I don't think so?" Shirou tilted his head. "The only time I saw Mama mad was yesterday before she went to rescue you."
"I see... thank you," Sakura muttered.
"You're welcome!" Shirou chirped, oblivious to Sakura's inner torment as he left.
"Why do I keep causing trouble...?" Sakura whispered as she placed her head on her knees.
-
Rin heaved a sigh. Kirei said she was going to be here with her new books at 10 am, but it was noon and he still hadn't shown up. He was always like this. Trying to find any way to be an inconvenience in her life.
She was just about to lay down and sleep, but as she closed her eyes, she heard the sound of the front door opening.
"Of course he arrives now," Rin muttered to herself as she made her way out of her comfortable position. "I had to wake up early for this."
She made her way down the stairs and into the library to see Kirei placing books on the bookshelf. Luckily, he was placing them in the correct position.
"Took you long enough," Rin grumbled. Kirei turned around with his smirk wider than usual.
"I apologize. I had some business at the Matou estate," Kirei responded.
"The Matou estate? What's going on over there?" Rin asked. She felt like she had to know. She was the Second Over, after all.
"Someone finally decided to kill Zouken," Kirei said. His tone sounded... relieved? "Praise be. He's very hard to kill."
"He's dead?" Rin's eyes widened. Zouken might have been a magus, but he was just an old man. He understood why a twisted person like Kirei wanted him dead, but who else would. Then, realization dawned on her. "Wait, if he's gone, where's Sakura?!"
"She was nowhere to be seen," Kirei shook his head, his smirk not fading. "Matou Shinji was found sleeping on his bed. He has been moved to a foster home since he has no other family."
Rin almost didn't hear the last sentence. She was already running out the door.
Sakura... Rin thought. She remembered Kirei's warning about a dangerous magical creature, but she didn't care. Whether she might run into it while looking or whether the creature was the one who took Sakura, she didn't care. She would save her sister if it was the last thing she did.
-
As Kirei made his way out, Gilgamesh was walking down the street in Kirei's direction.
"Greetings, my king," Kirei bowed to Gilgamesh.
"Get up. We have a problem," Gilgamesh's tone was quick and sharp. Kirei did so, but he was completely unconcerned.
"What seems to be the problem?" Kirei asked.
"Don't play dumb. It's unbefitting," Gilgamesh replied. "You're well aware of why Tiamat went after Zouken."
"It was because of the girl, correct?" Kirei remembered Gilgamesh talking about it earlier that morning as he left to investigate the scene. "Why is this a problem?"
"We're using children as batteries, Kirei," Gilgamesh's eyes narrowed. "We need to change that before she comes after us."
"It shall be done," Kirei said without argument.
"See to it that it is," Gilgamesh turned around and stalked off. Kirei's smirk widened. To see a divine spirit in pain... he wondered what that would feel like.
-
Sakura, meanwhile, was shyly gripping Tiamat's hand as they made their way to Homurahara Elementary. She had decided to go with Shirou and Tiamat to get Shirou enrolled in school. As she sat silently with the receptionist, the door flew open.
"Made it!" A teenager with brown hair and eyes was the one who Sakura saw. She was holding a stack of papers and was panting heavily. She then turned to look at Sakura. The two stayed silent for a few seconds before she spoke up. "Oh, hello."
"Hi..." Sakura looked away from the energetic woman. She didn't have the energy or willingness to deal with the energetic woman.
"Hi! I'm Fujimura Taiga," The woman placed the stack of papers on the desk and sat next to Sakura. "What's your name?"
"Taiga, don't you have to get back to class?" The receptionist asked. She didn't sound irritated or annoyed, but the tone of her voice proved that it wasn't the first time this had happened.
"Eh, I'm doing fine in English," Taiga waved the woman off. "Plus, if I want to be a teacher, I should be doing this kinda stuff."
"Whatever you say," The receptionist took the stack of paper and rolled her eyes.
"I'm sorry, what was your name again?" Taiga turned back to Sakura with a bright smile. The teenager seemed nice. Sakura couldn't see any maliciousness behind her eyes.
"Sakura," The girl forced a smile as she introduced herself.
"Well, it's nice to meetcha, Sakura," Taiga said as she put her hands behind the back of her head and leaned back in the plastic chair she was sitting on. "So, what are you doing here in the office? You don't seem like a bad girl."
"Oh, my... mother," The word felt funny on Sakura's lips, "is getting my brother enrolled."
"Oh, are you two transferring?" Taiga flicked her eyes over at Sakura.
"Shirou is, I think," Sakura thought. It was a little odd that he wasn't enrolled in school already, but Sakura hadn't really thought about it.
"Oh, I didn't know Tiamat had another kid," Sakura saw Taiga's eyebrows raise.
"You know her?" Sakura tilted her head.
"We're neighbors," Taiga replied. "Now that I think of it, I was at her place the other day and I didn't see you."
Sakura winced. Her situation was the last thing she wanted to explain.
"Uh..."
"I found Sakura in a rather... unfortunate family situation," Both of them snapped their heads to see Tiamat approaching them with Shirou holding her hand and smiling. "A family friend offered to handle the paperwork tonight, but Sakura is a part of the family now."
Sakura felt herself tense again. She still wasn't used to considering Tiamat and Shirou as her family, so hearing those words made her heart constrict in a way she couldn't describe.
"Oh," Taiga's smile faded rather quickly. She then turned to Sakura and smiled, but she could tell that her smile wasn't genuine this time. "Well, I guess I'll be seeing you a lot from now on."
"Speaking of which," Tiamat turned her head towards Taiga. "Are you sure you don't want to live with us? I can—"
"It's fine, I promise!" Taiga shouted, the humor in her voice returning as her smile became more relaxed. "Anyways, I should get back to class. It was nice seeing you!"
Before anyone could respond, Taiga had shot up from her seat and sped out of the room. There was an awkward pause before Shirou broke the silence.
"Mama, can we have ice cream?" Shirou asked.
"Yes, my child," Tiamat nodded. She then offered her free hand to Sakura. The girl in question looked at the hand for a second before hesitantly reaching out. Tiamat waited patiently for Sakura to grab onto her hand before tenderly wrapping her fingers around hers. An indescribable feeling washed over Sakura. It was making her... happy?
I like that, Sakura thought as she let a smile effortlessly rise from the corners of her lips.
"Let us go," Tiamat's voice was gentle. With the smallest of tugs, Tiamat gestured for Sakura to stand up. The happy family of three then walked out of the office, hand and hand.
-
Rin looked at her compass as she made a right turn. If there was a high source of magic energy in town, it was as good a place to start as any. Since she didn't take the time to prepare, she only had one sapphire and her family heirloom on her. She was averse to using the mana stored in the large jewel she had gotten from her father, but if it was to save Sakura, she would have done anything.
She only realized that she had taken the route she normally took to go to school when she saw the group of buildings in front of her. She looked down at her compass and it pointed east. Rin breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't want to start a fight in school. As she turned, she saw a woman with long, silver hair holding hands with Sakura and a redhead.
Images of the deranged murderer she saw during the fourth war filled her memory. The entire scene played out in her head at a rapid pace, ending with Kariya's disturbed face. Fear gripped Rin as she remembered the monster that had attacked her. Adrenaline pumped through her body and she resolved herself.
"Get away from her!" Rin gripped her sapphire as all three of them turned and she threw it. As soon as she did, her face turned pale. There were so many things that she should have thought about. On top of risking the statute of secrecy, that particular gem was meant to explode. Even if the woman didn't use one of the children as a shield, the blast was likely to reach her sister as well.
Much to her relief and horror, the woman let go of Sakura's hand and grabbed the gem. Right before it was going to explode, she wrapped her fingers around the gem and the gem inside flashed blue as it exploded. Rin's horror only worsened as the woman was completely unaffected as the sapphire detonated in her hand.
"It's dangerous to be playing with such things, young one," The woman's voice was smooth and her eyes showed no malice. Instead, they showed... butterflies? It was then that realization struck Rin.
That's... that's the creature, Rin thought to herself. She took a step back. She was so dead. Dead couldn't even describe how dead she was.
"Nee-san?" Rin barely heard Sakura's voice, but it was enough to snap her from her fears. Yes, that's why she set out here. That's why she risked her life. For Sakura. Even if she was a Matou, she was still her sister.
"Sakura! Get away from her!" Rin shouted, making a finger gun with her hand. She hadn't had many chances to experiment with her crest since she got it, but she was quickly running out of options.
"I didn't know you had a sister," The woman turned to Sakura. The girl in question nodded shyly. "Would you like her to come with us?"
"I... I would like that," Sakura said softly. The interaction stopped Rin from blasting off the gandr she was preparing. Wasn't this woman coercing her?
"Child," The woman turned back to Rin with a welcoming smile. "Would you like to join us for some ice cream?"
Rin could have said a thousand things. She could have shot the woman. She could have used her heirloom. She could have done something. But instead, she just looked at the woman with the most flabbergasted expression.
"What?"
-
Gonna keep things a stack solid. I completely forgot about this account. I'll start uploading here again along with my other stories. If you're into Emiya Shirou getting his ass isekai'd, I suggest you stay tuned. Thank you for reading.