Disclaimer: I do not own the Fate franchise it belongs to Kinoko Nasu and Type-Moon. I also do not own the Megami Tensei franchise, it belongs to Atlus.

Aftermath

Chapter 23

"Oh, so you're wearing some of the jewelry you were gifted already?"

"I am." Sakura answered Taiga honestly as she sat down across the breakfast table in the Emiya Mansion's living room. "Though it's only the less flashy ones right now. Sorry, Pixie."

"It's fine." Pixie said, literally sitting on the table next to a bowl filled with chilled strawberries and cream. "No need to show off, I guess. Though, I expect to see you wearing that gift I gave you when going to big parties and other events like it, alright?"

Sakura laughed. "Of course," she said, and Pixie grinned.

The rest of the people also smiled at the sight, though Luvia was more than a bit smug that it was her gifted jewelry that Sakura was wearing right now. Ultimately, the only thing really exotic about the diamonds on Sakura's earrings were that they were taken from Jupiter's core. Appearance-wise, they looked the same as any earthly diamond, casual onlookers never to know better.

Luvia blinked, and then allowed herself to be served rice by Sakura. It had taken a bit to get used to eating Japanese food on a regular basis, but after so long in Japan, not only had she gotten used to it, she'd made it a regular part of her everyday life.

Oh well…if it meant getting to live with her darling Shero, then it was fine. Besides, it wasn't as though it was something to be endured. Both her darling and the demoness she shared him with were fine hands in the kitchen.

It was only just and right to admit that truth.

"Come to think of it," Sakura began to say. "It's only a few weeks left before the cherry blossoms start to bloom. Right around the end of the school year too."

"And?" Taiga asked.

"Well, it's good to plan in advance, right? So, I was thinking if any of you had any ideas for what you wanted for when we go cherry blossom viewing in the future."

"Oh yeah, that's a great idea." Shirou agreed.

"Yes, I think so too." Taiga said, surprisingly calm. In the next moment though, she began to act as expected, rudely pointing her chopsticks at Sakura while wording off a list of food. "Hmm…well, you can't beat the classics, so how about dango, mochi, onigiri, chirashi sushi, inari sushi, temari sushi, and futomaki?"

"Fuji-nee, that's rude." Shirou said sternly before brightening up. "That said, all those sound good, right Sakura?"

"They do." Sakura agreed. "I think we can prepare all those in time for the cherry blossom festival. Apart from those though…hmm, I was thinking of making milk pudding and cookies. Just to add something…different, but not too different…"

"Variety's not bad." Shirou agreed, and Taiga nodded in agreement.

"If it's you, Sakura-chan, then I'm sure it'll turn out just fine." She said. "Though, it might be best to make it fit the theme of the occasion, but no pressure, alright?"

Sakura nodded, while Luvia finished chewing and swallowing. "Is it alright if I join you for the festival?" she asked. "I'm willing to help with the preparations if I must."

"Of course!" the chorus came, and Luvia smiled.

"Splendid!" she said. "In addition to helping, I might have a few ideas to add to our menu for the festival if you're willing to hear it."

"Go ahead." Shirou invited.

"Well, you see I know this really wonderful recipe for cake, which while not fitting with the theme…"

"The general theme is to have fun and enjoy watching cherry blossoms dancing in the breeze with friends and family." Sakura lightly interrupted before beaming at Luvia. "Go ahead and bake whatever it is you have in mind. We'll trust in your judgment and cooking ability."

Shirou nodded in agreement, as did Taiga, while Pixie gave Luvia a thumbs up. Luvia didn't hesitate to smile back. "Of course," she said. "Just leave it all to me."

"Sakura…?"

The young woman turned in question at the tentative voice behind her, mismatched eyes falling on Rin. "Tohsaka-sempai…" she said in recognition. "Can I help you?"

"Can we…talk? Just the two of us? In private?"

"…alright."

Sakura gestured for Rin to take the lead, the older woman doing so towards the rooftop. She did so with a nervous and apprehensive air, while in contrast Sakura was calm and relaxed. Making their way to the destination, Rin closed and locked the door behind them, before setting up a bounded field to keep anyone from listening in.

"So," Sakura began while leaning against the safety railing along the edge of the roof. "What do you want to talk about?"

"I don't know if you've heard but…mother's in the hospital, and has been for a very long time now."

"I've heard." Sakura said with a dismissive gesture and tone that had Rin flinching. "Father – my father not yours – told me."

"…I see." Rin said before swallowing dryly and bringing up a forced smile. "You know…it would mean a lot to…to mother…and to me…if you would come and visit…"

"No."

"…what?"

"I said no."

"Sakura, please." Rin pleaded. "Mother's barely hanging on to life…in fact, the only thing keeping her alive at this time are the machines in the hospital."

"And that matters to me, why?" Sakura asked, still with that unconcerned tone and expression.

"She's your mother, Sakura!" Rin exploded, not in anger but despair. "She bore you! She gave birth to you! She took care of you when you were a baby! She cried when you left! Every single night! In fact, it's because of guilt at what was done to you, and that she did nothing to know or do something about it that she's in the state she's in right now!"

Sakura briefly closed her eyes while using a little finger to clean an ear. "I already sent her a fruit basket for the first four sentences of what you just said." She remarked, and causing Rin to reel back as though struck. "Yes, I've heard them before. Father said them. The latter three are new, though. Hmm…I wonder…should I really send a fruit basket again? I wouldn't want to be repetitive…a teddy bear…"

"DON'T YOU CARE AT ALL?" Rin screamed.

"No, I don't." Sakura said with an annoyed expression on her face. "Just like none of you cared at all back then, or even now."

"THAT'S NOT TRUE! SAKURA, WE…!"

"Shut up." Sakura said, the laconic expression and the calm tone it was delivered with shocking Rin into silence. "All actions have consequences, and don't you forget that. I got through my share. You…? Your family…? You're all trying to avoid your share of the consequences, and trying to use me to do so. No, I don't think so. It's time to face the music, and then…"

Sakura paused and sighed, before looking ever so faintly sympathetic. "Move on." She said.

Giving Rin a curt nod, she trolled past, flaring her power ever so faintly to shatter Rin's bounded field. But even as she unlocked and opened the door, Rin spoke up.

"You're so cruel." She whispered.

"…I stopped being a good girl a long time ago." Sakura said. "You can blame the Crest Worms for that."

Rin laughed, high and shrill, and actually causing Sakura to turn and look at her in surprise. After a moment, Rin looked up, and then at Sakura, her face twisted in rage and disgust, while tears freely flowed from her eyes. "Yeah…you became everything they wanted you to be." She spat. "Whether it's the Matou…or your monster of a father…you were too weak to stand up against them. Too weak to stand up for what was right, for who you were and should have been…instead, you became just like them!"

Sakura's eyes narrowed, but then she looked away, her expression pitying. "Typical…" she said.

Without another word, Sakura turned and left, leaving Rin alone on the rooftop. Clenching her fists hard enough to draw blood, Rin barely had time and control to restore the bounded field before throwing her head back and screaming herself hoarse. Then falling to her knees, she pounded at the floor hard enough to crack and break concrete, blood and tears alike mixing with the shattered and powdered stone, as Rin sobbed and screamed out of control.

"So…"

Sakura glanced to where Luvia was sitting at Shirou's other side, eating a packed lunch just like and with the two of them. Shirou did likewise. "So what?" they chorused.

Luvia's smile widened. "Going off from where we left off this morning," she said. "What are your plans for spring break? Or in Shero's case, after graduation?"

"…spring break is like two or three weeks long." Sakura said after a moment. "And that includes the cherry blossom festival. I'd only have enough time to prepare for and enjoy that before having to get ready for the next school year."

Sakura paused, and then tilted her head. "Or not," she said with a shrug. "High school isn't compulsory anyway. I could always just drop out."

"Huh?" Shirou said in surprise. "Hey, hey, Sakura are you serious?"

Sakura grinned at him. "Well, yeah." She said. "All that gold the White Rider gave me for my birthday…it's enough for me to live the rest of my life like a queen without needing to work a single day for a living."

"Seriously?"

Sakura laughed. "Just kidding." She said. "But seriously speaking…I don't think I really need to finish high school. I could get an internship in my father's company, and once that's done, get an assignment somewhere else in the world."

"Assuming your father just doesn't put you to work as one of his agents from the start." Luvia remarked.

"True…" Sakura said with a shrug. "I wouldn't mind, so long as I don't get a post just because I'm his daughter and all that."

"Sakura, you getting an internship in his company or getting put to work despite being a high school dropout would be because you're his daughter." Shirou pointed out.

"…in the latter case, I'd have earned my stripes in the Vortex World." Sakura countered. "In fact, that could even be seen as my internship."

"…but is that really what you want?" Shirou asked.

"…no." Sakura admitted after a moment and a deep breath. "No, it isn't. I…don't really know…what I want…at least not the specifics."

Shirou and Luvia stared at Sakura for several moments, and then the former smiled, and returned to his meal. "Well, that makes two of us." He said. "I mean…there's still the promise I made to my dad, and…I still…I still want…"

Shirou paused and sighed before shaking his head. "The details of how to do any of that are just so damn fuzzy." He said. "Guess I'm going to have to figure it out before trying to do it, or I might just end up repeating past mistakes."

"Yeah…pretty much…" Sakura agreed.

"I think so too." Luvia agreed.

The three of them ate in companionable silence, but as she finished and replaced the lid on her lunchbox, Sakura spoke up again. "You know," she said. "If I do drop out of high school, and with sempai here graduating, we'd have all the time in the world to enjoy after the festival. While I don't really have anything in mind for what to do then, from the sound of things you do, don't you Luvia?"

"I have a few ideas, yes." Luvia admitted. "In fact, it might even be a solution for both your woes."

"Oh?" Sakura asked.

"Let's hear it then." Shirou said.

Luvia smiled, and the fact that her eyes weren't glowing meant what was to come was Luvia alone speaking, uninfluenced by Astraea. "I once heard a saying that if you only ever look at a mountain from one direction," she said. "You'd only ever know and appreciate one side of it. That's why you should look at it in as many different ways as you can, that way you can know and appreciate it all."

"I'm not sure I understand…" Sakura cautiously said, but Shirou was nodding.

"You're saying we should look at our…at what we want for our futures, in more than just one way." He said.

Luvia nodded. "Yup," she said. "In other words, find a new perspective for your lives, beyond what you have now, and add more experiences to color yourselves with beyond what you've experienced so far, both the good and the bad. And learning the lessons from them, find what it is you really want your lives to come out as in the end."

"And…how do you suggest we do that?" Sakura asked.

Luvia beamed. "Want to go on a world tour with me?" she said. "Of course I'll ask you both to contribute, as I'm sure you can afford to shoulder some expenses…wait, no…"

"…if it's about my funds," Shirou interrupted with a prim tone and expression. "There's no need to worry. I can contribute ample amounts if it comes to that."

"Really?" Luvia asked.

"Yeah," Shirou said with a nod. "I mean, I live simply, but not out of necessity. Dad left me quite a bit in a trust fund, and he invested a good amount too with help from Raiga-san. I mean, they get a fair share in those investments, but yeah…I don't really need to work to live either. Though, just like with my part-time job before…the incident, I like to…keep busy, I guess."

"Oh darling, you're such a dear!" Luvia gushed, quickly pulling the surprised Shirou tight.

"Hey!" Sakura protested, forcing her way into the embrace against Luvia's token resistance. "Don't steal a march now!"

"Humph…darling can only marry one woman, you know?"

"Says, who?"

"The law says so!"

"Mortal law says so. Nothing in divine or demonic decrees says so!"

"Well, the one god's decrees do…"

"…does that even apply to us?"

"…guess it doesn't…"

"…then share!"

"Oh fine!"

Shirou sighed, no longer resisting as he used to the covetous embrace of the two young women in his life, much less the all-too-common arguments with him in the middle. He'd gotten used to it all by now. "So…" he began, in an effort to bring the current argument to a peaceful conclusion. "World tour?"

"Yes!" Luvia eagerly said.

Sakura was more hesitant, remembering the open gift from her father, but then again, there was no time limit attached to that. That said…

"Don't you have responsibilities to fulfil to your family?" she asked Luvia.

"Like I've said before," Luvia said. "Marjatta's much better suited – and more willing – to handle all those for me. Of course, she has my hand if she ever needs it."

"Hmm…okay then, I guess?"

"Sakura-chan…!"

"Hmm…? Fujimura-sensei…?"

Taiga ran up to Sakura as she was about to join the kyuudo team for practice after class. "Don't worry, I just need to talk to her for a bit…in private." Taiga said to the team through the door, and then closed it. Then taking Sakura by the arm, led her to a quiet corner. "I got a call from your father just now."

"Father?" Sakura echoed, before her expression turned serious. "Did something happen?"

"He didn't say." Taiga said while handing Sakura a note on which an address had been scribbled down. "He only said he wanted to speak to you and Luvia-chan after school ended for the day."

"That's no problem." Sakura said, before blinking in realization. "Wait, no…shouldn't I…"

Smiling, Taiga quickly relaxed the younger woman. "He said you can finish your clubs as well." She said. "It's urgent, but not that urgent."

"Okay…" Sakura said with a nod. "I wonder what's it all about, though."

Taiga shrugged, and then gestured towards where the rest of the kyuudo team were already busy. "Get going, Sakura-chan." She said.

Sakura nodded, and did as she was told. Already, the team had divided into practice groups, taking turns loosing arrows at targets across the range, while the team's senior members gave commentary and compliments, or shouted admonishment. Before she could join a group though, Sakura was being pulled aside – again – by Ayako.

"What did Fujimura-sensei want to talk about?" she asked.

Sakura quickly explained things, and at the end of which Ayako was frowning with her arms crossed over her chest. "I'm getting a very bad feeling about this." She said.

"…that's not very reassuring." Sakura said softly.

"Yeah, I know." Ayako said with a sigh. "So I hope it's just that: a bad feeling, and nothing more. Because if it isn't…then damn, here we go again."

Sakura's face tightened at the thought of yet more of what had happened months ago, and which in some places around the world, was still happening. She also wondered if the looming specter of Goetia was involved in this matter, and if she had to make her choice so soon. "Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst." She said softly.

Ayako sighed again. "…that's still not very reassuring." She said, before giving a weak smile. "Though, your dad's got a reputation for planning, so who knows? You, him, and Edelfelt just might be able to do something before things come crashing down again."

"I certainly hope so, sempai."

Ayako smiled, and then patted Sakura on a shoulder. "Right…" she said. "Anyway…you should get started on your practice."

Sakura nodded, and went off to join the rest of the team. While she didn't really need to practice, given her supernatural physique and skill, she still did, if only to consciously internalize the ability to use a bow instead of just being dependent on passive attributes. Besides, it helped with her peers, joining in on practice instead of standing around and wordlessly boasting of her ability.

She wouldn't call them friends, but they were friends, a welcome change from the way things used to be before the Conception.

Louis greeted his daughter with a hug as she and Luvia joined him and Yuriko in a function room at a hotel in the heart of Fuyuki. "How are you?" he asked as they separated.

"Just fine, father." Sakura replied.

"And how was school?" he asked.

Sakura smiled. "Delightfully normal…for the most part." She said.

"Oh?"

"…Tohsaka confronted me again." Sakura said. "Tried to guilt trip me into reconciling, and playing happy families with them. I told them to face the music, and move on."

"Ah…I see." Louis said with a slow nod. Luvia though, snorted.

"Still trying to avoid their responsibilities?" she said while taking a fork and stabbing it into one of the amply-offered finger food on the table. "Tohsaka has nerve. I should speak with them at length on the matter."

"No, leave them be." Sakura said. "That's only giving them an excuse to air their excuses and show off their wounded pride. It's like…I don't know, feeding animals in the wild. Let their well-deserved guilt eat away at them, until they either finally take on the consequences of their actions, or get destroyed by their own guilt and weakness."

"Hmm…a valid argument…" Luvia softly mused, golden light flickering thoughtfully along her irises.

"And how was your day, Star Maiden Incarnate?" Louis asked, and causing Luvia to give him a flat look.

"In reverse order…not yet…" she said, before shaking her head at Sakura, who also gave her a flat look. "But my day was good enough. In particular, the wrestling club is finally getting somewhere close to my standards. Still a long way to go, but they're finally getting there."

"I'm glad to hear it." Louis said with a smile.

"Well, can you blame them?" Sakura said while taking a seat. "I mean…you were the one who started the wrestling club, so none of the members really had much to start with and which you could build on. Speaking of which, I have absolutely no idea how you managed to get Ryuudo-sempai to agree to a wrestling club. From what I know, getting him…I mean, her, to start a non-academic club is like pulling teeth."

Luvia smirked, the golden light in her eyes going out. "Oh, I have my ways." She said.

Meanwhile, in the darkened confines of the Student Council President's office, soft sounds could be heard, involving one Issei Ryuudo, her desk, and several clandestinely-taken pictures of Shirou Emiya in various states of undress.

Yuriko similarly smirked, knowing what the Star Maiden Incarnate-to be had done to get her way. Louis coughed, and gestured for them all to take their seats. "Anyway," he said. "Let us get down to business. Feel free to eat and drink as we proceed, but also make sure to pay attention."

Sakura and Luvia nodded, and at a gesture from Louis, Yuriko darkened the room and turned on the projector. "There has been an alarming development as of late." He said. "While it has always been known that the Forces of Law would inevitably move to check us, we have recently confirmed that not only are they preparing to do so, but they have also established and are moving to consolidate their power base."

Sakura raised a hand, and Louis gestured at her. "Yes, Sakura?" he prompted.

"Shouldn't we involve the rest of the Ring of Gaia in this?" she asked.

"We should…but the chapter masters will handle that on their own." Louis answered. "I've also sent the relevant findings to the rest of our allies, but…! What we'll be discussing tonight will be of especial importance to you, Sakura, as well as to you, Miss Edelfelt."

"Why is that?" Sakura asked.

"Because you're my daughter, Sakura." Louis said with a smile. "Not only that, but you made an enemy of the whole of the Forces of Law for causing a Conception to rebound. Or have you forgotten what Kagutsuchi told you before your confrontation? Or my warning from several months ago?"

Sakura's face hardened. "Point taken." She said. "And let them come. I've faced them before in the Vortex World, and I'll face them again here and now if I have to."

"That's my girl." Louis said with a smile.

"And what of me?" Luvia asked.

"Well, it's less you, Miss Edelfelt, as much as it is what you represent." Louis said with a nod. "You are the senior representative of the Mages Association present, and heir to one of the families that make up the Coalition for Progress that represents your kind's greatest chance to break free of the chains enslaving them to the Great Will, if indirectly."

"…Solomon's wisdom?" Luvia asked, irises glowing as Astraea provided a relevant revelation. "I see…so Law is behind the alliance, are they now?"

"What alliance?" Sakura asked. "Coalition? Freedom for magi from Solomon's wisdom? What's going on?"

"All in due time, daughter." Louis said. "Now, allow me to explain."

"…Father Raphael was right." Rin said.

In the next moment, Tokiomi was there, holding his downcast daughter tight. They embraced each other in silence, and then he was stepping away, gently holding her by the arms. "What happened?" he asked.

"I spoke to Sakura earlier." Rin said. "Tried to get her to see our side of things…to get her to see mother…that she wasn't the only one who suffered…that we suffered too…that we never knew much less planned for her to go through what she went through…but she spat on all of that and turned her back on me! On us!"

"Oh Rin…" Tokiomi said softly.

Rin shook her head. "I was a fool." She bitterly said, clenching her fists at her sides. "Like I said, Father Raphael was right. My sister is dead. She died long ago. My sweet…kind…dear sister…who could never hurt a fly…who loved us all and who we all loved…who'd never turn her back on us…"

Rin paused to level a glare at Tokiomi. "Matou killed her!" she spat. "They took her from us, hollowed her out, and left her a…a…a tabula rasa, a vessel to be filled with lies and poison from the Fallen Angel!"

Once more, Tokiomi pulled his daughter into an embrace, Rin returning it to cry silently for several minutes into his chest. As her tears ran their course, Tokiomi pulled away, and gave Rin a kerchief.

"There has to be a way to help her." He said softly.

"…how?" Rin asked bitterly. "And is it even possible?"

"It has to be." Tokiomi said, stroking at his goatee with eyes narrowed in thought. "As you said, Matou left her a tabula rasa, which was then filled with the Fallen Angel's lies and perversions. There has to be a way to empty the latter away, and then cleaning the figurative scars they and Matou left behind, restore Sakura to the way she was, and used to be."

"…you're a very optimistic person, father." Rin softly remarked.

"So long as it's possible…"

"Do we even know it's possible?" Rin interrupted.

"Even if it isn't, then we'll have to count on a miracle!" Tokiomi snapped. "And we know those are possible…we saw it with your mother, didn't we?"

"I…yes…yes we did…"

Rin looked away in shame, and found herself pulled into a hug again. "It's alright…it's alright…" Tokiomi repeatedly whispered to her. "I don't blame you for losing faith and hope…after everything you – we – went through, it's only to be expected. But, now that we know there's more to…miracles, beyond what we've always thought, and that there is truth in the faith of our ancestors…"

"…we have to hold onto faith and hope more than ever." Rin said with a nod. "Yes…you're right…you're right…and I'm sorry…"

Tokiomi smiled, pulling away and wiping a tear from Rin's eye. "It's alright." He said. "Like I said, I don't blame you."

Rin nodded again, and then her face fell. "Father…" she whispered. "What if…what if Sakura doesn't…"

Tokiomi briefly looked away, and then taking a deep breath, turned back to Rin. "…sometimes…" he began. "…sometimes…just like babies sometimes need a knife to be born, people have to be forced into the right path."

Rin nodded, only the slightest bit uncertain. "Yes…yes of course…" she said, once again hugging her father. "…you're absolutely right…"

A/N

Just a reminder for those unfamiliar with SMT lore, Yuriko is the Human alter ego usually used by Lilith, just as Louis Cyphre is the Human alter ego usually used by Lucifer.

And damn, Shirou is one lucky bastard in these timelines, isn't he? He's literally caught in the middle of a busty brunette demoness and an even bustier blonde divinity, both competing (non-violently) for his affection (not that they would mind sharing him either).