Fate/Infinity Shuffle

Chapter 255 – Hanafuda:

(WARNING: This chapter contains heavy and sensitive topics. Proceed with caution and read at your own accord.)

Matou Sakura, EX Ranker and one of the Original 21. And as of recent, the discovered traitor amongst them. But one wonders why exactly that is.

The tale started a few years prior. It was a shock to have both parents disappear from early on in her childhood. And unlike Rin, Sakura wasn't strong-willed. So while Rin managed to remain in her household, with frequent visits from Kirei, their now legal guardian, to make sure everything was correct.

But Sakura was handed to the Matou household. And for a while, everything was fine. The household was of her, her new older brother, Matou Shinji, and her new Grandpa, Matou Zouken. Matou Byakuya and Kariya worked overseas, and were successful businessmen. Money would never be an issue to the households of the Matou and the Tohsaka.

"Eh? M-Me? Inherit the business?" Sakura had to confirm her grandfather's words.

"Yes… You see," a coarse voice of many years escaped the wrinkled man. "you may have been adopted into the family, but you are the better suitor."

"G-Grandpa, I'm only 12…"

"Not right now, of course. You can be quite the silly girl sometimes." It was hard for anyone besides Sakura and Shinji to detect warmth in his voice. "For when you grow up."

"I…" Sakura didn't know how to describe the sensation. Just the other day, she admitted that she had never been able to pick a profession to aim towards. And now, one was being offered to her. And on top of that, it was the business her dad and uncle did to give money to the households, hers and her sister. She couldn't be happier, in a way. This would mean she could supply to Rin and that Rin would never ever have to work a day in her life! In Sakura's mind, Rin deserved a break. She studied so hard that by the time she was eleven, Rin had already skipped a few grades. "I'd really like that! But… what about Shinji? Won't he get part of it too?"

"Your borther…" The old man sighed. "I don't know how to say this, but your brother isn't suited for this."

"Eh? B-B-But why?!" Nervousness began to swell up. "Shinji… Shinji should get it no matter what. After all, he's…"

"I understand blood is an important link. Don't misunderstand. But you are also a part of the family, blood or no blood. Secondly, you have something your brother doesn't have."

"What?"

"Your brother may have grades as great as yours, and a good appearance, but he is a kid yet to mature, at the end of the day." Zouken pointed out. "If things don't go his way, he will make life hell. In a way not suitable for a work environment. It's good to have strong willpower, and your brother has plenty of that. But his reactions will always be the wrong ones. You, on the other hand, you've gone through a tremendous loss in life already. You've grown. You've matured. You've got willpower as well, but you know how to think before acting." The old man gave a smile that only his grandchildren found to be not creepy. "Thus why I think you're better suited."

"You really think it's a good idea?" Sakura became concerned. "As you said, Shinji… can lash out pretty harshly. How do you think he'll react?"

"That's something only the future will tell. Which should be near. Because I am going to tell him just that." Zouken stood up from the chair, doing his best to walk with the cane, but to little effect. He almost tripped over, caught by Sakura. "Unhand me, Sakura…"

"No, grandpa. Go to bed and rest. I'll speak with Shinji."

"Are you sure?"

"Well, I have to start somewhere. Right?"

Zouken let out a chuckle that essentially said 'That's the spirit.'

It would be a few hours before Sakura called Shinji to her room, once Zouken was already deep asleep.

Their relationship as siblings was… alright. There was a slight stigma at the start from Shinji. 'This person isn't my sister.', he'd think. It was actually a victory when he called Sakura by 'sis' for the first time. They had never bonded in any particular way that would fortify their bond. After all, they were still 12 and 13-year-olds. But they got along just fine. Watched some shows together, played boardgames when both had nothing to do and wanted company, and even helped each other studying.

"Hey sis. What's up?"

So it was quite a surprise for how things turned out.

Sakura made her best to not come across as 'cheerful' or 'prideful'. But that didn't matter.

Once the news were given, the stone-faced teen let out a "Ah… so that's how it is." And he lunged at her.

Multiple screams were hurled back and forth. Sakura kept begging for her brother to stop. This was too much. Reacting like this to something that was out of her power?

Yet, Shinji kept responding with knife-shaped words. 'You could've said no.', 'You're not even their relative.', 'I'm a spoiled kid? We live in the same house! Don't think you're better than me just because your parents died!'

How does one describe an event that lasted an eternity, yet it was over before one knew?

…Rape has never been about pleasure. It is a matter of power. Of dominance.

That was what Sakura learned that night, much to her horror.

"If you do something out of line again, I won't hesitate in doing it again."

Sakura missed school in the following days. A simple excuse about catching a cold would hide everything. In those two days, she didn't eat. Barely drank water, only the necessary. She didn't want to get off the bed. Every time she did so to fetch water, her legs would shake tremendously from the fear. She spent the hours staring at the ceiling of her room, with the door shut close.

They were siblings, why did Shinji do that? Why did he lash out like that? How did he even learn about it? His anger was so unfiltered, so raw.

You really think that Emiya is going to save you? Shut up already! I can't stand that name anymore. If you want to squeal anything, do it like a pig!

The insults were engraved on her mind. And on top of that… Shinji knew. He was told in secrecy that Sakura liked a classmate of his that would sometimes come by. Emiya Shirou. A young boy that whenever one asked what he wanted to become, he would say, with a white, bright smile 'I'll become a hero that saves everyone!'

If that was a joke, Sakura took it literally. She even admired him, to an extent. She had come across and spoken to him a few times during school. But perhaps calling for him during her time of peril wasn't the best course of action. A silly fantasy, she guessed. But it's not like she had anyone else. She did have Rin, her sister, but… 'I don't want to bother her.' Even though Rin was many times smarter than anyone else she knew, she would refrain from asking for help from her sister.

"Oh, right…" Something suddenly hit her. She's not a virgin anymore. That's an important thing, right? Would Shirou…

Even though she didn't want to think about it, it was hard to not have so many different, loud, rambling, painful thoughts echoing inside her head.

Much to her dismay… it wasn't the only time it happened.

Whenever something happened that lead to a heavy discussion between the two, Shinji would strike like such. She stopped resisting. It was a way to just 'get over with it', in a way.

It wasn't often, but neither was it rare enough to be able to bear the pain.

At some point, during the year she was 13, she wandered around the city aimlessly after school. She didn't want to go home. Not when almost anything could set Shinji off.

She came across a a large household. A Japanese-style home, rather large. One would think it was owned by the yakuza or something. She stared at the front door for a moment. Would she be able to climb the door over and hide inside?

"Sakura?"

"Eek!" The young teen jumped at the call of her name. And she didn't recognize the voice until she look at the person properly. "S-Shirou? What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same." He wasn't mad, just genuinely curious.

The peppy smile she was able to wear on command appeared. "Oh, just… walking around. I felt like taking the longer path home. And it's the first time I really gave this house a good look. It's quite big."

"Yeah… How unlucky can I be?"

"Eh? What do you mean?"

"This place belongs to my dad. Illya and I live here whenever our parents leave the country for a trip."

"Really? Why?"

"It's more secure, according to dad. I'm not sure how it works, but I'm not going to question my old man. But that means I have to clean the whole place the day before, and… well…" Shirou let out a sigh. The bigger the house, the more he had to clean.

"…Can I help?"

"Hm? Help?"

"Yes. I'd really like to help you cleaning. That's one of my specialties!" Sakura pointed out.

"But I couldn't make you." He didn't like the idea of bothering his underclassman. "What about your place?"

"It's fine, really! Besides, you shouldn't be doing this alone."

Eventually, they agreed on Sakura helping Shirou out. And it was quite an evening for Sakura. A couple of hours spent with Shirou, cleaning and conversing. It was… refreshing.

Real conversations again, no feelings of fear of saying the wrong thing. A 'thank you' at the end. And on top of that…

"A key?"

"It's one of the spare keys to the house. If you ever need to come here, feel free. Oh, and if you'd like as a thank you, you can come over for dinner tomorrow. I bet Illya would like to meet you."

A bright moment of overjoy.

For the rest of the day, there was no real darkness, no real fear.

She accepted the invite. And the following was just as great. A young Illya got to meet her and the three ate dinner together. They didn't get along right away, but once Sakura figured out how the ten-year-old reacted to things, they began to get along.

And as a result, Shirou began to get along more and more with Sakura at school. Hang outs became a habit, and dinner together was almost a tradition whenever their parents were out.

Sakura began inviting Rin over to the dinners, which she accepted. And then Illya started bringing in her friend Miyu. Then Luvia, Miyu's adoptive sister, started tagging along as well. It was quite the coincidence that Luvia and Rin were, well, rivals. But they promised to behave during these dinners. One of Rin's acquaintances, Ayaka, joined these as well, as according to Rin 'she didn't have many friends'. Sakura began to help cooking, with a different style compared to Shirou's. And Rin began to add in her own cuisine too.

Some dinners even evolved into sleepovers between the whole group. Even Issei, Shirou's classmate and friend, would join on rare occasions, despite belonging to the Ryuudou Temple.

Sakura didn't remember exactly why all of them decided to sit by the edge of the open hallway and just stare at the night sky. It was probably something Miyu suggested.

And it was a nice moment for Sakura, when she was 14. The two younger girls were chatting about the latest episode of the magical girl anime they were watching, Rin was humming cheerfully, Luvia tried to search for constellations alongside Ayaka, Issei meditated quietly, and Shirou stared at the full moon.

Can this moment last forever?

Perhaps not. But that was the same night where their lives changed.

Illya's eyes were the ones to spot them at first. And everyone else followed their trail. A set of odd Cards fell from the sky? No, they had to be carried by the wind, right?

Each one of them caught a Card. And they weren't the only ones to get these magical objects. They didn't understand them at first, and it took a few days before everyone with Cards gathered together. A total of 21 people, of different ages, but mainly teenagers. And after some accidents, with a slight sense of coincidence, the system of the Cards was figured out.

Include, Install, and Transport.

And at first, they didn't know what to do with them. They all knew it was a rather dangerous tool, to say the very least. All 21 of them were aware of that.

"What can we do about it?"

"Are these the only ones?"

It didn't take long before more Cards began to appear. The reason was 100% unknown to them. But once the phenomenon spread, Shirou came up with an idea of sorts. Well, it would be better to call it 'outsourcing'.

A classmate, Kishinami Hakuno, a videogame enthusiast, seemed to have a good mind for all sorts of situations. So, coming clean about the existence of these Cards and ask for help to find a sort of system to keep these in 'check', so to say. Rin, in turn, had heard about someone in a similar vein from a colleague. And once she got to contact Jinako Carigiri, and linked her with Hakuno, the initial premise began to be developed by the two.

A Game. There was no need to be in fear all the time, every second, if instead of a potential nuclear warhead, people looked at these Cards and thought they were a Game. A Sport. Of course, that was far from a perfect plan. But ti was a start. These original 21, these would be the 'EX Rankers', the very top, would be the objective: to gain the right to challenge these legends incarnate, in a sense.

Once the Cards propagated more and more, the more people joined the Team of Admins and helped in one way or another. Such as Aozaki Touko, who began reverse engineering the Cards to figure out certain details. And the initial premise of the Game was… dodgy. But Hakuno and Jinako worked together in calls to improve it more and more. Eventually, just like with their relationship, the Game came to look like it did in the present day.

But Sakura, initially, was happy with this appearance of the Cards. Once she got the hang of it, she came to learn she was quite a great fighter. Therefore, if Shinji by any chance were to do it again… she could defend herself, right? She'd just have to say one word and then kick his ass!

That was rationalizing. And it ended up backfiring.

She didn't understand why she didn't do what she told herself she would do. Was it because, somehow, she didn't want to hurt her brother? Or was the effect of these moments compelling her to freeze?

The sleepovers continued. And while there were multiple rooms, unless one asked to, they would draw lots to sleep in pairs in the given rooms. Company was always nice, after all. Miyu and Illya would be the exception and always be together. Which made sense, given they were the youngest ones of the group. Hell would ensue if a room happened to have Rin and Luvia together.

Sakura decided to stay in a room alone for that night. She didn't want this secret, this 'humiliation' to be revealed by accident in a fit of nightmares. They happened to wake her up that night. She didn't scream, simply jolted up with a ragged breath. Better than usual, to say the least.

"Hey, Shirou?"

Hmm? Rin's voice? Coming from the room next door?

"Can't sleep either, Tohsaka?"

"Not really, no."

She didn'twant to eavesdrop, but Sakura was… curious. The boy she liked and her sister. They got along, but she wanted to know how they acted towards each other when alone. How good a friends they were, potentially.

"Nervous about something?"

"For you to be asking, that's because Mister Emiya has something on his mind."

"Don't call me that… And what's on my mind is something dumb anyway. What about you?"

"Well… College is building up pressure."

"You skipped grades often, it's bound to happen. No?"

"Maybe. Sometimes it just feels frustrating. A big workload… These dinners and sleepovers are the only moments I get to enjoy with my friends."

"I take it they're precious then. I'm glad."

"Of course they are! Are you an idiot or something? That was a given."

"I'm not taking insults from the girl that can't use a VCR properly."

"H-Hey…!"

Sakura giggled. They had an amusing banter. Perhaps this would calm her down. A 'dumb fantasy' began to be contructed in her mind. Perhaps once Sakura and Shirou became adults and, who knows, became a couple, Rin could come over for lunches and dinners and joke about marriage. That would be nice, right?

"And you? Why can't you sleep?"

"Probably because I have a crush on a girl."

"Eh? Really?! Mister dense-as-metal Shirou has a crush on someone?"

Sakura's eyes widened. This was new! Her heart began to beat fast…

"I bet it's Sakura, isn't it? You two have known each other the longest, and you two are practically married anyway. Doing house chores and cooking together. It's quite nice."

Sakura's heartbeat even faster. What her sister said made sense, right?

"I really like Sakura." A smile began to widen. "But I have a crush on you, Tohsaka."

"…Eh?" Sakura's eyes almost became bleak. A thousand needles were driven into her throat.

"Eh? EHH?! E-Excuse me, did I hear that right?"

"Yeah. I like you, Tohsaka."

"W-W-W-What are you on about? T-This is a prank, isn't it?! You're being so blunt about it!"

"I'm quite serious. I've never really asked anyone to be my girlfriend, so I thought a more direct approach would work."

"D-Did you set us up in the lot?"

"This was a coincidence, actually."

Rin was completely red at this point.

"…You know I don't have any experience with this sort of things, right?"

"Neither do I. I don't think that should make a difference. So, Tohsaka: would you like to be my girlfriend?"

"…Yes. B-But if you screw up in the first two weeks, we're breaking up immediately!"

"Ah, I'm glad you're giving me a chance. Sleep well, Tohsaka."

"…Sleep well… A-And don't you dare join the futons while I sleep!"

"I wasn't thinking that. You need to relax. Hope you sleep well."

"Don't brush me off like that!"

…She was happy for her sister and Shirou. Right?

That's what she told herself over and over again. As their relationship began to evolve, becoming more of a couple than Sakura and Shirou ever looked, the harder it was to keep the fake smile on. Sometimes, the urge to throw up would come if she saw the two together, all lovey-dovey…

One year later, a similar moment happened. However, this time, Sakura couldn't sleep. Once again, she asked for an empty room. And at this point, it was like fate was working against her. As she stayed staring at the ceiling above her, similar to how she had done before, she heard the door of the room next-door slide open. And… muffled moans?

Wait… No.

Sakura made her best to not make a squeak as she walked over to the hallway and cracked open the door to peak inside. Her eyes widened.

Shirou and Rin continued kissing, and kissing, and blushing, and embracing… It didn't look like it was going to stop any time soon.

"Shirou…"

"Toh- … Rin." He moved down to her neck, and his hands began to undress her.

"S-Someone might hear us!"

"Everybody's asleep already. Besides… wasn't this your idea?"

"I-I didn't think you'd follow through! But…" She suddenly moved in for a kiss.

…It was quite torturous for Sakura. It wasn't just the image of her sister and the boy she liked about to and having sex that tormented her. It was also the fact that she couldn't look away. And seeing the two smiling and happily consummating… She had never experienced that. She wished she did… ever so deeply. And her heartbeat, despite painful, raced. As Rin and Shirou let out moans of pleasure, her breathing became heavy, the skin on her face, pink, and her hand slid downwards…

Once the two teens had finished, Sakura's mind couldn't take it any more. Almost like a robot, she waked back into her room and simply grabbed the key that was offered to her a couple years back. And then, she left the house.

It was a summer night, during the rain season. A light drizzle came pouring down. And it didn't really matter to her. Silently, she once again, walked through town without a destiny in mind.

She didn't even remember climbing stairs, but she somehow ended up on a forest-like area behind the Ryuudou Temple. And she didn't know what set her off. Once she thought to be truly alone, she let out cries, yells and wails amidst the rain. Her fists pounded against the muddy floor, as hatred began to surface.

Because after all, what did she do? What did she do to deserve all this? What did she do to have her parents die? To have her brother rape her for petty motives? To have the one person she had ever liked snatched away by her sister?

Whenever she looked forward to something, it would disappear from her grasp in the best case of scenarios. And sometimes, it would lash back at her.

"What a pained soul. Here, I shall offer you shelter."

That's when she met Kiara. The only one that was able to hear the screams of the 15 year old.

"I will listen to whatever burdens your soul carries. And in return, I shall offer you love to heal your wounds."

Something about this woman felt… comforting. Charismatic, even. What else did Sakura have to lose?

As her clothes were washed, she explained the events of her life to the nun.

"So you truly hate this world. An inhumane truth. That's what's so beautiful about you." Genuine words of kindness that twisted around the madness and the hatred. "Do you wish for this world to vanish all at once? Then I shall assist you. And in turn, you'll assist me in this common goal."

That was the earliest point of when Sakura could be labelled as 'the Traitor'. Because that's she began assisting Kiara. She was the one to leave the Avenger Card for Shinji to use and create havoc. With instructions regarding Mary and altering people… She even revealed the episode about the Cards that held a golden Archer that was incredible powerful, who took over Hakuno when he Installed it out of curiosity and had to be stopped by Shirou and the others. They won by a hair, to say the least.

And finally, she stole the Cards of her Teammates and handed them over to Kiara. Including her Rider Card, for she no longer needed it.

One of Kiara's devotees managed to steal the Card of a Ruler in the Northern Part of the country. In fact, the email Hakuno had received the day prior was about said robbery.

And that's what she used right now. The original user couldn't even use a tenth of its true power. While Sakura was a natural. She didn't understand why exactly…

CLASS: Ruler

IDENTITY: B.B.

ALIGNMENT: Chaotic Neutral

STATS:

- Strength: D

- Endurance: C

- Agility: C

- Mana: A+

- Luck: EX

- Noble Phantasm: EX

CLASS SKILLS:

- Magic Resistance: B

- True Name Discernment: B

- God's Resolution: B

- Territory Creation: A

PERSONAL SKILL:

- Self-Modification: EX

- Aurea Boura: EX

- Ten Crowns: C

NOBLE PHANTASM:

- C.C.C. 'Cursed Cutting Crater': Anti-World EX


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