It was a day much like any other day for Sakura. That was to say, she was currently being harassed by a number of older boys from her class. The 11 year old didn't know exactly why they did it (she never did), but she doubted that there was really any reason necessary. She was tainted after all, meant to suffer for reasons she would never really understand.

Although, it was worth noting that she couldn't even really bring herself to care as the boys shoved her around the street and hit her. This was barely anything compared to the hell that awaited her back at her home. Considering the things that she had already been through, it was sometimes a wonder that she could feel anything at all.

She didn't know how long it continued, only that at some point a new voice emerged throughout the jeers. "Oi! The Hell's going on here?"

As she had been knocked on the ground a few moments prior, she couldn't really see the newcomer past the other boys. All she saw was a pair of legs clad in the uniform pants from her school. The eldest bully turned away from her to address him. "None of your business, twerp! This girl walked down our street without payin' the toll, so now we haveta take it out of her!"

Was that the reason? Sakura didn't know. It was just as likely that the boy made it up on the spot. The other boy, the new one, gave a snort. "Yeah, because beating the girl up will totally make her want to come down this road again. Are you stupid as well so cowardly to fight people who can't fight back?"

The other boy growled. "That's it! We're gonna make that ugly face of yours even more messed up!"

One of the other two boys that had been hitting Sakura didn't seem too keen on this plan, though. "I don't know about this, boss. I think I've heard of this guy. Some of the kids in class said that there was this troublemaker with burn scars and red hair that picks fights with high schoolers."

"Don't be a wuss!" The leader shouted. "The kid probably just made those storied up to make himself sound cool. Now get him!"

The three surged forward to tackle the other boy, but he dodged out of the way with surprising skill before moving back in to strike. As Sakura sat up, she was impressed to see the boy deftly moving in between the other 3, punching and kicking without talking any hits in return. It was clear that he had some kind of training in combat, and was more than a match for the 3 youths standing in front of him.

A few moments later, the three were knocked down or knocked back, groaning in pain. As they picked themselves up, the cautious one from before said "Y-you are him! You're the Red Haired Devil!" With that the three of them ran past Sakura, trying to get away from him. She looked after their fleeing forms dumbly, not quite believing what had just happen. Her attention returned to the boy that saved her as she heard him walk over, and for the first time she got a good look at him.

The boy looked to be about a year older than her, and had short, somewhat pointy auburn hair. More notable though were the burn marks on his face, some of which went down past his collar. She saw more on the back of his hands, and wondered if his whole body had them. His amber eyes weren't looking at her at the moment though, instead looking intensely at fleeing bullies.

"Never matters how many I stop," He said, seemingly to himself. "There's always more. This world is filled darkness and corruption. I wish I could just burn it all away…"

Sakura began to shake slightly at this statement. She knew she was one of those things filled with darkness and corruption, and at that moment the boy looked so resolute. He would find out what she was and dispose of her. At that moment, the boy was terrifying.

He then looked down at her. "Are you alr- Holy Crap you have no pupils!" he shouted as he pointed and gawked at her.

Annnd the moment was over.

Sakura froze, feeling stunned, incredibly confused, and having no idea how to respond to that. It was true that the 'training' that Zouken put her through had made some physical changes to her eyes, but they had a very light mystic effect on them that kept non-magi from noticing anything. And magi usually had more grace or simply didn't care about such mundane things. She had no idea how he noticed, but the sheer unexpectedness of the comment completely wiped away any fear she might have had for the boy. Stranger still, she felt oddly hurt by it, as if she cared what he thought about such a trivial thing.

Apparently some of what she was feeling translated to her face, as the boy's eyes went wide and he started waving his hands in front of him. "Oh God, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to make you upset! Please don't cry!"

Sakura titled her head and scrunched her face in confusion at the boy's panic. It was almost like he was concerned about her. But that couldn't be right. No one could have concern for something like her.

The boy continued "I mean, it doesn't look bad, it just looks different! You still look really pretty, casue your hair and eyes look like Sakura blossoms!"

She froze at this, and stared at him in wonder. "…Really?" she asked in a quiet voice.

"Yes!" He said with some exasperation. "God, why do girls keep asking me that? Why would I lie about them being pretty? It's almost like they can't see it's total obvious."

Sakura felt herself blushing faintly. She couldn't remember the last time someone complemented her. She tried to thank him, but it came out as a stutter.

He seemed to interpret this as her still being upset as he said "Ah man, I screwed up didn't I?" He fretted some as he scratched the back of his head. "I got to make this better somehow. What would Tsun Tsun say if she saw this?" He turned away from her and took a lecturing pose as his voice shifted to a higher pitch. "Pyro, you idiot! I suppose it's only natural that an uncouth lout like you would insult the girl he's saving. You haven't even helped her off the ground yet! Now take responsibility for this and treat her to something nice!"

He stopped and snapped his fingers. "Treat! That's it!" he turned back to Sakura and held out his hand to help her up. "I'm sorry about all that earlier. How about I get you some ice cream, my treat?"

Sakura blinked. It had been years since she had ice cream. She used to love it before she went to live with the Matou, before everything became worse. After a moment's hesitation, she reached out and took the boy's hand, deciding that yes, she very much wanted this boy to get her ice cream.


"Shirou, why did you bring some random girl to my house?" Rin asked as she suspiciously eyed Sakura as the other girl tried to nervously hide behind Shirou while gripping his arm.

"Well, I certainly wasn't going to bring her back to the church." He said, as if that was the problem. "I mean, I live there and I sometimes find it kinda creepy. Given the day she's had, I felt that I needed to bring her someplace more homey, you know?"

Rin's mouth twisted. "I meant, why is she still following you around? Doesn't she have a home to go to?"

"Oh," he said as he scratched his head. "Well, she said she wanted to hang out with me some more."

"S-sempai has been very nice to me." Sakura said before shuffling a bit farther behind him.

Rin frowned as she considered the situation. Of all the people he had to bring home, why did it have to be her? The magus has mixed feelings upon seeing her sister again. She was at least a little glad to see her, but since she now belonged to a different family, that sort of made them rivals. Different magus families, even ones that were allied, often had to make sure that the other wasn't hiding a knife behind their back. For various reasons she had to keep Sakura at arm's length, and not even let Shirou know of the fact that they were siblings.

Of course, had Rin known then that Shriou had shown her sister more kindness in the past four hours then the girl had gotten in the past four years, Rin might have been more considerate.

Shirou gave his oldest friend a frown of his own. "Hey, don't look so scary, Tsun Tsun. She's had a bad day, so be nice and properly introduce yourself." As he said this, he gentle pulled the other girl around him and nudged her towards Rin.

"Don't call me Tsun Tsun!" She barked at him for was must have been the thousandth time. She calmed herself down and turned to her sister, wanting to get this farce over with. "I am Rin Tohsaka. It is a pleasure to meet you." She said with a curtsy.

"Ah," Sakura said nervously as she curtsied back. "Sakura Matou. I'll be in your care."

"See, you get along just fine. I think you'll be a good influence on her." Shriou said with a smile.

"And why do you think that?" Rin grumbled.

Shirou's eyebrows rose slightly and he began ticking off his fingers. "Well, you're really smart, outgoing, confident, you could teach her that thing you do when you look even prettier than usual and it kinda radiates off of you…"

Rin's face went red and she sputtered in frustration. He was doing that thing again. That thing where he compliments her so much that if it were anyone else she would know they were patronizing her, but Shirou was just so damn honest and sincere and – Gahh! It always made her feel too many conflicting emotions and confused. Then she gets angry at him for making her confused, as it was clearly his fault.

Before she could get to that stage though, he then looked at the two girls thoughtfully. "You know, there's something about you two. Something similar, yet different. It's like you're related somehow…"

Rin and Sakura shared a glance. It would be bad if he figured out that they were sisters. Then they would have to start explaining things, and that could lead to all sorts of uncomfortable questions. Like why they were separated in the first place, or just what Sakura's magic training was, or-

Shirou suddenly snapped his fingers. "That's it!" he exclaimed before pointing at Sakura. "Dere Dere!"

The two girls stared at him in bafflement as he continued. He pointed at Rin "Tsun Tsun," then at Sakura "Dere Dere". He did it again. "Angry. Nice. It's like you two complement each other perfectly. I'm a genius!" He declared as he put his hands on his hips.

It was quiet in the hall for a moment before a growl emanated from Rin's throat. Right. That's my Shirou Saying Stupid Things limit for the day. Back to anger. And with that thought, the magus threw herself at Shriou with a scream and tackled him to the ground, pummeling him with her small fists.

This might have been disconcerting for the boy if it wasn't all too familiar. "Damn it Tsun Tsun, why do you keep randomly attacking me when I say things?!"

"Because you keep saying stupid things!"

"Ah! Sempai!"

This event basically summed up how the next 5 years or so went for the three friends.