This took even longer than the last chapter to release. Uh...oops. Vacation time and minimal access to internet gets me in a writing mood at least. Also, there is a slight timeskip in this Chapter so if anyone is confused about the cast's ages after this, know that I will be answering these questions in the Review Corner after this Chapter. So let's get to it!
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Shirou didn't quite expect school to be as boring as it was.
Which isn't to say that Shirou had any particular expectations. Even with Shinji's constant bombardment of information regarding the school experience, Shirou casually regarded these with a certain amount of hesitation. Such was needed when Shinji Matou was your friend.
The young Magus Family member was curious beyond his years and mischievous to boot. A bad combination for a reserved yet insightful child like the youngest Emiya.
Perhaps that dynamic was the reason Shirou felt Shinji was so endearing as a friend.
The fact that he was the heir to a Magus Family without being able to do Magecraft was also a curiosity Shirou struggled with as well.
Shinji had mentioned how the Matous were declining in strength over time, although for some reason believed that he would be the one to return the family to it's former glory.
Shirou inwardly believed that such a thing was impossible. And yet that impossibility gave meaning to his friend's resolve. So he never voiced his opinion on the fact. His own dreams and goals were also considered unachievable by most anyway.
Another part of their recent talks had been about Shinji's younger sister, recently adopted into the Matou family and yet capable of performing Magecraft at an acceptable level for her age.
That topic was particularly relevant when considering that Shinji's sister and Shirou's own older sister were practically inseparable, not to mention the talk of all other students in Homurahara.
Practically attached at the elbow, Illyasviel von Einzbern and Sakura Matou were almost always seen together. And to everyone's eyes, Shirou and Shinji both still had no idea why that was.
So with all attention diverted from him and with his only escape from normalcy during the day being Shinji's antics, Shirou could wholeheartedly say that yes, School life was indeed pretty boring.
"Hey Emiya, you can hang on to my lunch box if you want."
Shirou's musings were disturbed by his friend's voice at his side and he turned to nod at him in silent acknowledgement.
Preparing boxed lunches for School was also a part of Shirou's daily routine ever since his first day at Homurahara one year ago, and he could say he was getting quite good at it.
After all, he had plenty of practice, between preparing his own bento, Shinji's and Illya's.
Sometimes Illya had him prepare an extra one for her and he could easily guess Illya's intentions for the additional bento.
With the bell signaling the end of their school day, Shirou waved goodbye to Shinji before moving to stand by the front gate where he always waited for Illya to meet him.
His thoughts idly drifted once more upon thinking of Illya. Both Shirou and Kiritsugu had been hesitant about Illya's choice to enter school at the same year as her brother despite her being eligible for classes a year ahead.
She had been adamant about being with Shirou during the majority of her school day only for her to ignore him in favor of Sakura a few months later.
Speaking of which, there they both were, heading his way.
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Wait what?
Illya and Sakura could be seen making their way to where he stood and Shirou was unsure of how he should proceed. Whenever Illya told Shirou that they would be walking home together, she was always on her own.
"Ah, Shirou! Sorry to keep you waiting!" the Einzbern called out to him and he gently waved at the approaching pair.
"It's fine, I haven't been waiting long. By the way, is Shinji's sister walking home with us?"
Upon hearing herself being mentioned, the timid girl visibly shrank beside Illya before shyly exclaiming.
"N-no, I was just escorting Senpai cause I wanted to talk to her a bit more…"
Her voice got lower as the sentence went but Shirou was able to get the gist of it before nodding slowly.
"Right. So you're fine with walking home on your own? We can go with you if it's-
Illya promptly stood in front of the purple haired girl so as to interrupt Shirou before clinging to his arm with haste.
"It's fine Onii-chan! Sakura can handle herself just fine."
She turned to look at her before whispering something about their "previous" talk that Shirou honestly couldn't quite hear about and wasn't rude enough to pry about. So he simply accepted the situation for what it was before saying goodbye to Sakura with Illya in tow.
The walk home was uneventful and silent, a fact that Shirou didn't mind. After all, Illya usually took it upon herself to make conversation with him so if she didn't have anything to talk about, it must have been an unfulfilling day for both of them.
"You aren't gonna ask what's the deal with me and Sakura?"
Shirou heard her say before calmly shaking his head.
"Nope."
"Aren't big brothers supposed to care about who their little sister spends time with?"
"You're the older sister. You should be asking me."
With a sigh, Illya playfully/mockingly assumed a sweet tone before speaking.
"Oh my dear Onii-chan, how was your day at school? Did you have fun? Learn anything new? Meet any girls that caught your eye?"
"Meh. About the same as yesterday."
"...I'm beginning to think you don't want to talk to me."
"And I'm beginning to think that you're fishing for me to ask about your personal life. Is there a problem with Sakura?"
"Y'know you've never asked about that either? You really don't care about your sister do you… Even Shinji has asked Sakura about us."
"First of all, Shinji can't help that he's nosy. Also, Shinji is vain enough to believe that anything Sakura does can reflect on him, being the older brother and all. If I were to get in trouble however, you'd be called a bad influence as an older sister." Shirou reasoned proudly and Illya pouted in turn.
"It's not like anyone can tell I'm the older sister. You're still taller than me."
"But not by as much. I remember you barely came up to my shoulder a year back. Now we have about half a head's worth of difference between us."
"Whatever. You still haven't asked about Sakura."
"Do I have to?"
"If you don't, I'll tell Papa about the weird sword you've been trying to hide from him.
The lowest of blows that could be struck. Shirou regretted that day with all of his being.
The one time he had been far too exhausted to retreat back to his room after late night projection training was also the one time he had forgotten to lock the door to the Storehouse. Illya had come to wake him up come morning when she saw the shining wonder of craftsmanship that is Merodach.
Or at least a Projection of it that Shirou immediately dispelled before she could tell that it was a Noble Phantasm.
"You know that's not fair."
"You're never one to play fair anyway."
Shirou sighed. No matter what he said, it seemed like Illya was desperate to get something off her chest. He would play along.
"Fine, I'll bite. When did this whole thing with Sakura start anyway?"
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9 months prior
Illyasviel von Einzbern would argue that Shirou's friend probably overhyped the whole school thing just a bit. The teachers were awkward, classes seemed to be below her level of education in comparison to the Einzbern Family's homeschooling and all of her classmates kept shooting her weird looks. She guessed it had something to do with her height.
She inwardly sighed. She'd show them. It wouldn't be long before she grew into a refined and beautiful lady just like her Mama. They'd see.
The weirdest thing about the whole experience however was the ever present stare following her around in the halls between classes. And since it was only noticeable in between said classes, it most likely belonged to either an upperclassman or an underclassman following her around.
She never brought up the issue with her brother since whoever it was never seemed to cause any trouble for her. But the odd feeling that came with being so obviously stalked never went away and before long, Illya resolved herself to confront them.
So, one day after classes, as soon as the halls were emptied and she confirmed that her target was still there, she quickly retreated from where she stood and went into hiding, waiting for her pursuer to make their move and reveal themselves.
Illya heard a gasp from where she previously stood before the noise of soft footsteps running towards her echoed across the hall. The Einzbern smirked.
With a mischievous grin on her face, she jumped out from the corner she was hiding behind and at her stalker, bringing them and herself to the ground harshly before making sure to pin them below her with all the strength she could muster.
Finally she raised her gaze to observe who exactly the one bold enough to so openly follow her around was and she gasped at the realization.
"Y-You're…"
Young Sakura Matou, an underclassman of hers and Shirou's friend's little sister.
Also the girl she had met during her family's first visit to the Matou Household.
And though their meeting was far from normal, she didn't expect it would lead to this.
"U-Um. S-Senpai… Could you please… get off me?
Illya had been too flabbergasted at the revelation to notice the compromising position she had found herself in, straddling the poor girl's waist as her hands firmly pinned Sakura's own pair to the cold floor, her own white hair flowing downwards and almost reaching Sakura's flushed face-
"Ah!"
With a weak gasp, Illya quickly relinquished her hold on the younger girl and stood up straight while avoiding eye contact. Sakura did the same although much slower, the shock still fresh in her mind.
A few moments passed and neither made a move to leave or try to start a conversation and Illya resolved herself to continue with her original plan of interrogating the person following her around for the past couple of months.
"Sakura… why have you been following me around?"
"W-Well, you see Senpai…"
Illya wasn't exactly sure how she should feel about being called Senpai by Sakura, or anyone for that matter but she didn't voice her issue as she let the timid girl elaborate.
"I was very surprised to see you here when I started school, I thought I wouldn't get to see you that much after that night…"
Illya nodded. The night they met was clearly not going to be a regular occurrence for anyone involved and Sakura probably had no way to know they were all entering Homurahara at the same time.
"So when I realised I'd be able to see you every day, I was very happy. This… This isn't normal for me…"
Illya nodded again. She had to be patient with Sakura. Their first conversation had been nothing if not sensitive in nature and Illya had already guessed that Sakura wasn't exactly happy with her life.
"But even if we were a class apart, I figured I could still see you whenever I wanted to. So...I followed you. I-I'm sorry. The night we met, the things you said… they affected me and I've wanted to feel that again. Seeing you brought me a sense of calm and peace I thought I lost a long time ago."
Illya didn't know exactly what made Sakura's life as miserable as it was. But she guessed the things she lost had something to do with her family. Shirou had mentioned she had been adopted by the Matous and by the looks of it, she must have been happier before the whole thing happened. It really must have been terrible for the poor girl and yet she felt that the words they shared were still true even after all this time.
Somehow, she could relate to a girl who felt like she had no one in the world. Even being surrounded by a loving family now couldn't erase the fear of losing everything and everyone she loved. That fear had nagged away at her psyche and mocked her optimism, bringing her down to a new low for her young life to the point where she had accepted that her Father had abandoned her and betrayed her Mother.
So she slowly grabbed Sakura's small hands and smiled at the young Matou brightly.
"Y'know if you just wanted someone to talk to, you could have come to me anytime. No need to follow me around everywhere."
Sakura blushed at the proximity the two now had before nodding in silent agreement. Her heart swelled at the feeling of comfort that flooded her being once more, and she felt like she was back at her room all those months back with the same girl in front of her telling her that everything would be okay.
A small part of her was even willing to believe in Illya's optimism. Even when her own mind and body knew that her torment would continue for years to come, she could at least grasp at this small ray of comfort in her life with all she had left in her.
That was after all what she wanted in the first place. Rin couldn't offer her that anymore, no matter how much either of them probably wished for things to be different.
But Illya was different. From their first meeting, Sakura could tell that Illya both understood her pain in someway and had already moved past it. Perhaps she could help Sakura find her own way through the dark…
"Very well. If it's not too much to ask for, I'd like to talk to you more Senpai."
Illya beamed once more. She found that having Sakura open up to her brought her a great amount of personal satisfaction and she lowered their still intertwined hands to look at her.
"Then let me walk you home. We can talk about anything you want on the way."
Months later, Illya and Sakura found that they had grown practically inseparable much to everyone's confusion. They weren't in the same class, or even the same year, and everyone knew that they hadn't been as close at the start of the school year so their relationship growing as it did was curious enough on it's own. It wasn't long before their brothers were dragged into this mess without their volition. People were always curious and seemed to believe that Shirou or Shinji would know something about their sisters' growing friendship seeing how they were close themselves.
They would always be as confused at the fact as everyone else.
Things got even more confused when the information about Illya's age spread around the school. And while it didn't affect her life in any way, the fact that she was 2 years older than Sakura and yet only one school year ahead of her only added to the growing confusion around the topic.
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Shirou however only acted oblivious for everyone's sake. He had been perfectly capable of making both his own assumptions and realisations regarding his Big Sister's relationship. The fact that he decided to keep quiet and not ask her about it was merely a result of his passive nature.
He also never mentioned the topic to anyone not involved. So them knowing about it only meant that it was more obvious than anyone realised.
"Shirou. I believe that Illyasviel and Sakura are in a relationship."
Shirou sweatdropped at the memory of Artoria dragging him to the side so as to relay this world breaking information to him. When he asked her where she found out about it, Artoria merely shook her head and mentioned that she had been seeing the two walking home on numerous occasions already and that their close proximity during those walks tipped her off when she spotted them one day while she was out.
Shirou quickly corrected her, pointing out the fact that they were merely good friends.
But again, Shirou wasn't oblivious. And they weren't going to be kids for much longer.
So he prayed for his Sister. With wisdom beyond his years he prayed that she had the strength to keep up with the outwardly reserved Sakura. Shinji always said that his sister could be scary at times and Shirou had no reason not to believe his friend.
"So that's everything?" he finally inquired and Illya nodded.
"Yup. Feels good to finally get everything off my chest. Any questions?"
"None. I already knew pretty much everything."
Illya's jaw dropped and she stopped walking, watching as her brother calmly kept on, nearing the entrance of their house before turning back to look at her with a quizzical look.
"You're just going to stand there? C'mon I have to prepare dinner and we're already late. Fuji-nee is going to eat everything straight out of the fridge at this rate."
She could only pout and shake in silent rage as she approached her idiot brother who's grin only served to aggravate her even more.
"Shirou you dummy…"
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Review Corner Time!
Sonic 2610: Shirou is desperately in need of fighting style that can abuse his reckless nature while also embracing his adaptability. Unfortunately, any attempt they undergo to develop such a roundabout way of fighting can't properly be adjusted unless Shirou is faced with a variety of opponents. So it will likely take quite a bit before he falls back on his taught forms and starts relying on anything resembling Archer's own fighting style.
Rhyn3: Shirou's age at the start of the story is 7 years old. That's when Kiritsugu found him. From there, Illya's retrieval, the meeting with Zouken, the fight with Kirei and Artoria's recovery all take quite a while. Add to that the time spent training with Shirou and Illya as well as the wait until the start of the school year and you already have something close to a year passed already. Add to that the entirety of their first school year that occurred during the time skip and Shirou should be close to 9-10 years old depending on who you ask. This would make Illya a year older and Sakura two years younger than Illya. This means that the Holy Grail War is set to start in about 7 years. For clarity's sake, this also puts Waver's position in the middle east and away from the Clock Tower for about a year more and Rin has already passed the 6 month wait Kirei had talked to her about at the end of Fate Zero and has been receiving lessons from him for a little over a year now as well.
I hope this clears up any confusion.
You also had several more questions and theories about Servant Summons (which again are strictly confidential until the time they are revealed) and about the mysterious figure in Shirou's Reality Marble. To that I can only say that the relic he is resonating with is affecting him in a way that is alluded to in the Story's title.
comrade-elmo-1: I have to be honest, your series of reviews over the chapters really cracked me up. It's always fun being reminded that the story isn't only progressing for existing readers but is also attracting new ones that are able to form their own opinions on it over a shorter period of time and I have to say, the context they have in comparison makes for pretty interesting Reviews. Hope you will continue to enjoy as we go forward.
A guest mentioned that Artoria should probably reclaim Avalon. To that I answer that everyone already agreed that removing it from Shirou might have side effects that can affect him outside of his recovery, and as we have seen with his Reality Marble, that may or may not have been the smartest choice. Additionally, since Shirou can quite handily project Avalon should anyone need it (although not perfectly at least for a while longer), it is better left in his "hands".
NotSpecialDude: Artoria's issues are far from resolved in terms of her needing a mana source for active combat but for all intents and purposes, if she doesn't push herself she isn't in any immediate threat of disappearing. That is at least one positive of her condition post 4th HGW.
As you might have guessed already from the Chapter, Rin's issues with Illya aren't going to be strictly limited to her appearance/heritage. She can't help but be overprotective and even if she hides it well, she's always cared deeply for Sakura and looking after her during their time apart. So Rin will have a few words for the Einzbern soon enough.
As for Illya's weapon, the name Angel's Poem was inspired by a particular Craft Essence from FGO. And the whole idea was something I found particularly sweet during my initial drafts so I stuck with it. And for all intents and purposes, it is Illya's main weapon throughout the story so she gets much use out of it.
Lastly, for the sake of the story, anything related to the Einzberns Magecraft and ways is dead and buried apart from their contributions towards the Heaven's Feel Ritual. That's all I can say.
Dan1142000: I was under the impression that the more complicated a weapon the more difficult the projection is. If I was incorrect that is entirely my fault and while there is history between Archer and guns, since I haven't played Extra aside from being annoyed at it's mechanics and my experience with Extella titles, his relationship with them is going to be as stated for the story. In the end it doesn't affect anything major and adds an interesting dynamic between the siblings' ways of engagement.
SentinalSlice: Yeah, I'm pretty sure if Archer Gil were to be resummoned it would most likely be with a full Treasury since conceptually, it is an extension of his Legend. By that assumption, should Gil be eliminated, any treasure still remaining in the world would disappear with him. But since that has always been how I assumed it would work, it doesn't change anything for the story. It's just interesting to think about.
ReinKasahi: You were close to at least one of these and it just so happened to occur in a roundabout way in this Chapter instead. Oops. :)
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In any case, this has probably been the longest Review Corner to date. So much so that I'm beginning to feel guilty over inflating the word count with them. But it is an acceptable loss. We wouldn't be able to interact with eachother in the same capacity without them and in the end, I'm grateful for all your questions and interaction with this story. Because of you, we have broken was past 50.000 views and I hope you all will stick with me as we steadily move all the pieces in place for the future arcs. As always, stay safe and I'll see you next time.