Chapter Two: The Blossom Which Brings Hope

Saki carried the tea tray down the hall with practiced balance. Her mother liked tea at the same time every day and the girl refused to disappoint her. The auburn haired, aqua green eyed fourteen-year-old was eager to be on time today. Today was the day she was supposed to start studying more advanced forms of her family's magic. The aspiring magus couldn't wait to get started.

She was on the verge of knocking on the door to her mother's study when she froze. She had heard a gentle thump, as though a book had been dropped to the floor. The auburn haired girl listened more intently. There was a soft sob coming from inside. Saki never saw or heard her mother cry.

"Mother?" said Saki, turning the door's handle and pushing in. "I brought your tea…"

She stopped in her tracks. Her mother was slumped over the couch clutching a piece of crumpled paper in her hands. Saki instinctively dropped the tea-laden tray.

"Mother!" cried Saki, rushing to her mother's side and placing a concern arm around the magus. "Mother, what's wrong? Is it Father? Did something happen to…"

"No." said Saki's mother, wiping a tear from her eye. "Your father's fine but he found something important."

"Did he find the artifact he was looking for?" asked the teenage girl hopefully.

Apart from seeing him leaving the house in the middle of the night once, Saki had never met her father. All she knew of his work was that it involved conflicts on the other side of the world and hunting down ancient relics. Her father never neglected his family though. He always remembered to send birthday and Christmas presents, ensured his girls had enough food on the table and new clothes on their backs, and frequently wrote letters of encouragement. One of Saki's fondest wishes was to someday meet her father and spend time with him.

"Yes, it's over there on the table." said Saki's mother, pushing herself onto the couch. "But it isn't the artifact that's so important. He was investigating a strange source of mana in North America and discovered something we thought was long gone."

"What is it?" asked Saki, joining her mother on the couch.

"It is a powerful object called the Holy Grail." explained her mother. "It nearly wiped out the world last time it was summoned. If it really has revealed itself once more, then your father has to secure it before anyone else can."

"You're talking about the Holy Grail?" exclaimed Saki. She'd only heard her parents talk about it twice and neither of those times was it with fondness. "So the Holy Grail Wars are going to start again?"

"It looks that way." sighed her mother, standing up and approaching the table holding an opened box.

Saki joined her mother at the table and peered into the box. Inside was a shard of wood. She reached in to touch it but her mother grabbed her hand.

"What is it?" asked Saki. "Is it cursed?"

"Your father wouldn't send something like that to me." said her mother. "You just aren't ready to handle such a rare item, that's all."

"Are you going to help Father get the Grail?" asked Saki. "Can I come? I can be your assistant."

"No, Saki." said her mother with a shake of her head. "You are too young to be involved in the Holy Grail Wars. Your father and I will deal with this alone. I'm sending you to live with your aunt until this is all over."

"But Mother…" started Saki. She stopped when her black haired mother turned to face her.

"My beloved daughter." said Saki's mother, cupping the teenager's face in her hands. "Your father and I gave you a name that reflected our desire to see hope for this world blossom in the next generation of magi; and you, Saki Tohsaka, will lead that generation into the future. That is your purpose. Do you understand?"

Saki dropped her head and started at her feet. She nodded and Rin gave her daughter an approving smile. She looked about the room, her eyes resting on the spilled tea on her carpet.

"I swear Saki, you've got a long way to go before you can serve tea as well as your father." sighed Rin, placing her hands on her hips.


That night, Saki sat on a bus bound for Tokyo. Her mother thought she had boarded the bus that would take her to the other side of Fuyuki City: the bus that would take her to her aunt, Sakura. Saki hated the thought of deceiving her mother as she had but there hadn't been any other choice.

"Am I making the right one though?" she whispered to herself as she looked at the small box in her hands.

Her father once told her she needs to follow her own path, no matter where it took her. Was this the sort of thing he had in mind? Would he be fine with her going behind their backs like this? The words written in the note her father had written to her mother were burning in her mind. He had vowed to put a stop to the Holy Grail Wars once and for all, no matter what the cost.

"Mother…Father…you've done so much for the world and for me." said Saki, clutching the box in her slender fingers. "The least I can do is return the favor. I'll destroy the Holy Grail for you. I'll destroy it so we can finally be a family."

As the fourteen-year-old magus drifted off to sleep, she felt a gentle prickling against the back of her right hand.