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.

A Phone Call

It was a weekend morning at Fuyuki City, and the two remaining members of the Matou Clan were spending it at their shared apartment. Kariya was at the living room table, working away at his computer on his latest stories, while Sakura was busy cleaning the kitchen. That meant that Sakura was conveniently-placed to answer the phone when it rang, the young woman putting down the brush she'd been using to scrub the stove before pulling off a glove, and then picking up the kitchen extension.

"Hello," she said into the receiver. "This is the Matou residence, Sakura Matou speaking. Can I help you?"

"Hello, child." Louis Cyphre cheerfully returned the greeting. "How are you today?"

"Father!" Sakura happily recognized his voice. Pulling off her other glove, she turned to lean against the countertop before continuing the conversation. "I'm doing just fine today, thank you. How about you?"

"About as well as might be expected."

"Oh?"

Louis laughed. "I'm currently standing in the middle of the Australian Outback," he said. "Attending a ceremony to officially break ground on the construction site of a major new solar park."

"Sounds fun, I mean, it's basically a party, isn't it?" Sakur asked with a laugh of her own.

Louis laughed again. "I suppose…a very formal party, but a party still for all that." He agreed. "Though the company could be better. The ceremony's crawling with two-faced politicians, only really tolerable as far as their usefulness goes, along with corporate types. The younger ones of the latter aren't so bad, but the older ones…ugh. That said, the actual engineers who'll be attending are quite interesting to get along with, and those few environmentalists present are a breath of fresh air, I'll tell you that much."

Sakura laughed again. "…enjoy yourself, father." She said.

"Thanks," Louis said. "I'll do what I can. What about you though? What are you doing today?"

"Right now, I'm cleaning the kitchen." Sakura said. "Afterwards, I need to buy groceries for the week, sans any vegetables or meats, as I prefer to buy those fresh on the day itself or the night before whenever I can."

"Household chores, eh?" Louis asked. "Well, I suppose it can't be helped. And there are humble but important lessons to learn from actually cleaning your own house, which can be useful in life."

"I'll take your word for it."

"Hmm…that said, surely you don't plan on doing household chores the whole day?" Louis asked with faint concern. "It's a weekend, Sakura. You should enjoy yourself a bit."

"…I don't really have what can really be considered hobbies." Sakura uncomfortably replied. "I only recently got control of my life and before that…well, I was just basically keeping a front of normality, plus a little breathing room, though even that was only another way to keep me under control."

"…well, I'd say now's a good time to learn some hobbies, what with you having your life back and all that." Louis said firmly. "Listen to daddy, Sakura: don't spend the whole day doing chores."

"Understood, father." Sakura said with a small smile, feeling very warm on the inside. "I'll see what I can do this afternoon."

"Hmm, sounds good." Louis said approvingly. "So, what's been happening over there since we last met? I've been hearing some things along the grapevine, but I'd rather hear it firsthand from you."

"Hmm…well, a few interesting things have happened over the past month or so…" Sakura admitted. "Most recently, a couple of weeks back Astraea showed up."

"Astraea…?" Louis echoed in surprise. "The Astraea…? I've been told there were signs of her getting involved, but they were vague and circumstantial. And now you're telling me she's actually here?"

"Yup…though she goes by the name of Luviagelita Edelfelt right now." Sakura said. "Or Luvia, for short."

"Hold on for a bit…" Louis said, and the conversation was put on hold for a couple of minutes. Then there was a long and sharp note, and her father was back on the line. "There, I just made sure no one can eavesdrop on us. You were saying?"

"Astraea, the or a goddess of justice is here on this plane of reality or timeline." Sakura said. "Apparently, during the Lovecraft Incident, she sought out a suitable avatar, and found one in the Finnish magus Luviagelita 'Luvia' Edelfelt, who seems to be quite respectable even for a magus. And based on my observations, she and Astraea suppress the worst of each other, and bring out the best of each other instead."

"A very suitable avatar, then." Louis mused. "Though I have to wonder what Astraea offered this Luvia that she accepted becoming an avatar."

"I don't know." Sakura admitted, though her tone turned sour soon after. "But I can guess."

"Oh?'

"Astraea was Emiya-sempai's patron in the Vortex World." Sakura explained. "Together they became the High Justice, and in that time Astraea perceived the whole of sempai's heart and soul. For all that sempai had become completely twisted to become the High Justice, deep down…well, you get the idea."

"…Shirou Emiya…he's the young man you're interested in, isn't he?"

Sakura laughed, though her cheeks turned pink. "It's that obvious?" she asked.

Louis gave a good-natured snort. "Sakura, you know what I do." He said. "And considering how long I've been around and doing what I do, I've got plenty of experience in reading people. Yes, it's that obvious. But don't worry, I approve."

"Really?"

"Of course," Louis said. "Sakura, Shirou Emiya became a Reason Bearer. I might not approve of his Reason any more than you do, but regardless of that fact, no one becomes a Reason Bearer without great strength of will and spirit. Even if it was a different life and even literally a different world, Shirou Emiya has promise. So yes, you have my blessing to chase after him."

"Even without it, I'd have chased after him."

Louis snorted again. "Rebellious, aren't we?" he asked, amused. "Ah well, I suppose it comes with being Human…the best part of you. And I was quite the rebel myself."

"Was?" Sakura teased, and shared a laugh with her father. "Anyway, back to Luvia and Astraea…my guess is, Astraea shared what she knew of sempai to Luvia, and intrigued her enough with the idea of getting close to him. And when they became one and the same person – more or less – intrigue turned to attraction…of the romantic kind."

"Hmm…is that so?"

"Father, please don't do anything to Luvia." Sakura sternly said. "While she can be troublesome, I can deal with her myself. Besides, when all is said and done, she does seem the good sort, not just by magi standards or that of ordinary people, but of ours as well."

"Really?"

"Yes," Sakura said. "You know as well as I do that becoming an avatar doesn't just require consent on the part of the person in question. It also requires strength of will and spirit. Also while Astraea's power boosts Luvia's, that's just it: it boosts Luvia's power. And from the look of things, Luvia was already quite the powerhouse even before she became an avatar."

"You respect her." Louis said. It wasn't a question.

"Yes, I do." Sakura admitted. "Is it wrong?"

"Don't ask stupid questions now."

"Sorry…but yes, I respect her." Sakura said. "She showed me how strong she was when we sparred the day after she arrived."

"So, who won?"

"It was a draw."

Louis burst out laughing. "A draw…?" he echoed. "I'm surprised that you'd settle for a draw."

"Normally, I wouldn't." Sakura admitted. "But like I said, it was a spar. Things would have ended differently if we'd put our lives on the line, but that'd have wrecked a lot of what was around us."

"True…no need to frivolously throw around one's power when one doesn't need to." Louis sagely said. "Very mature, Sakura."

"Thanks, father."

"It's true though."

Sakura smiled with a soft hum. "In any case," she continued. "I'd like to win sempai's heart fair and square…"

Sakura trailed off, deciding not to tell her father that Queen Titania had bound her, Luvia's, and Shirou's fates together. Who knows how he might react to that, and she'd rather not cause trouble with the fairies. Besides, if it came to it, she'd just have to break fate to her will.

Surely it couldn't be that hard, after everything she'd done.

"Hmm…if you're sure…" Louis said.

"I'm sure." Sakura said with a nod.

"Alright then…anything else you'd like to tell me?"

"Hmm…well, before Luvia arrived, me and sempai took a month's leave from school together."

"Why?"

"We went on a training trip, just outside the city." Sakura said. "We convinced Cu Chulainn to hone what we'd picked up during the Conception and before that to a fine edge, and he did just that."

"I know the Hound of Ulster." Louis said with a sigh. "As the leader of our kind, I approve your gumption and choice of a teacher, but as your father…are you really alright, Sakura?"

"…after the Vortex World, it really was nothing more than all but literal back breaking exercise." Sakura said after a moment's thought. "So yes, I'm alright, father. And so is sempai, if you wanted to know."

"Hmm…" Louis hummed, sounding unsure. "And? What did you learn?"

"I can dodge without thinking now." Sakura said. "Well, I already knew how to do that, but um…I don't really need to be conscious to dodge, I just do. I also have better control over how fast I can go, and my movements when it comes to fighting hand to hand are smoother now. More fluid, and less that of a brawler or a thug in a street brawl."

"Is that all?" Louis asked, sounding a bit disappointed.

"He thought us the runes." Sakura added. "Just the basics, or at least what he said what every housewife or homemaker back in his day and age could do, though he did give us a set of practice runic arrays as a parting gift. Something we could practice and safely – for a given value of safety – experiment with in the future."

"…now that sounds useful." Louis said approvingly. "As the Chinese say, learn the way, and learn your own way."

Sakura laughed. "Speaking of which," she said. "He taught us the basic forms of Irish – or at least his – styles of spear and sword fighting. And seeing as sempai already knows the basics of kendo, he merged what he already knew with what Cu taught him, essentially forming the basics of his own unique style."

"Like I said," Louis said. "He's a very promising young man."

"It still needs quite a bit of work, though." Sakura pointed out. "At least, that's what Cu said, though sempai agrees."

"Modest, isn't he?" Louis remarked. "He seems even more promising now."

Sakura laughed. "I'm sure sempai would love to hear that." She said. "Hmm…apart from that, well, nothing else really stands out. Oh wait…that's right, before I went on that training trip, I sent Pale Rider after Zouken, though I'm not sure if he's been caught yet…"

"Oh he's been caught alright." Louis said, with a tone that would have sent figurative shards of ice down most men's spines. "And I've prepared quite a welcome for him. Don't worry, child. You will have your turn. Be patient, because when it comes, it'll be even more satisfying than it would be now."

Sakura grinned viciously, her eyes alight with unholy fire. "I look forward to it." She said, and Louis laughed. "Apart from that though…nothing really seems important, though there was a memorial service at school nearly a month ago, which we unfortunately missed. It was for everyone in the staff, faculty, and student body who didn't make it through the incident. They set up a shrine at school too for them. I've paid my respects…I still have a measure of responsibility in what happened to them, after all."

"Don't let it get to you, Sakura." Louis said. "You have a share in the responsibility, yes, but it's not solely on your shoulders."

"I know." Sakura said. "But thanks, father."

Louis hummed approvingly. "I also hear though that mother's been hospitalized." Sakura continued after a moment. "Apparently, she hadn't been eating, and it took too much of a toll on her health. And to think you went to all the trouble to raise her from the dead…what a waste."

"She's not really a good example," Louis began. "But she's still your mother, Sakura. She bore you and birthed you, and you can't deny that."

"…fine. I'll send her a fruit basket later, anonymously."

"…I suppose that is fair."

Sakura hummed in her turn. "…thanks for calling, father." She said after a long moment. "It…means a lot. Though, I really wish you were here, in person."

Louis sighed regretfully. "I wish I could, child." He said. "But…"

"Yeah," Sakura said as he trailed off. "You're a busy man, with a lot of things to deal with not just on this plane of reality, but on many others as well."

"Even I can't be omnipresent…but tell you what," Louis said. "I'll be sure to be there on your birthday, March 02. How does that sound?"

"I'll be looking forward to it, father!"

Louis laughed, though he quickly broke off. "Sorry, Sakura," he apologetically said. "But I've got to go."

Sakura nodded, despite knowing he couldn't see it. "It's fine." She said. "Though it'd be nice if you could call more frequently."

"No promises…but I'll do what I can."

Sakura giggled. "Deal…and thanks again, father." She said.

"Alright then…take care of yourself, Sakura."

"You too, father."

Louis hummed in acknowledgement, and then ended the call. Sakura returned the phone to its cradle, and taking a deep breath, returned to her chores. Despite that, the morning seemed much brighter now than it was before.

A/N

Interlude is up, no comedy this time, but character development and heartwarming moments between father and daughter.