Disclaimer: I do not own the Fate franchise it belongs to Kinoko Nasu and Type-Moon.

Peaceful Days

Chapter 5

"You're pretty good." Sakura observed as her counterpart loosed an arrow from her bow, which flew about sixty meters from the beach across the water to punch into a target floating in the sea. Cheers went up from the kids at the sight, while Kirsikka stepped back with a nod at them and at Sakura.

"Thanks." She said. "But you're pretty good too."

Sakura smiled. "Well, not really…I just practiced a lot, that's all." She said, bringing her bow up and nocking an arrow to the string. "And…it was a long time ago. I'm actually quite rusty right now."

Then pulling the arrow back on the string, she sighted the target, steadied her aim, and then loosed. Again, an arrow flew out over the waves, and punched into another target also bobbing in the sea. Kirsikka whistled at the sight. "If this is your archery when you're rusty," she remarked. "I wonder how it was when you practiced regularly."

Sakura chuckled. "If you think I'm good, you should see Shirou's skill with the bow." She said.

Kirsikka chuckled at that, before turning to look where Shirou was setting up a telescope on the beach for later, Mikasa sitting nearby staring at the young man with her tail waving lazily against the sand. "He was the only one as good as me, if not better, back in school." Kirsikka admitted. "Or at least his counterpart was, but even without seeing it, I don't doubt Shirou here was – is – just as good."

Sakura looked curiously at Kirsikka, and then briefly mulling it over, pressed on. "What about…Shinji?" she asked.

Kirsikka glanced at her sideways, and then briefly mulling things over in turn, shrugged. "Okay, fair enough." She said. "He was good too…at least as good as I was."

"Hmm…big sister told me you cheated by reinforcing yourself back when you were in school." Sakura remarked with a small smile, causing Kirsikka to look at her with pursed lips.

"I didn't mind having to compete fairly with Emiya-sempai." She began. "Or for that matter, with anyone else in the Kyuudou Team, or our rivals from other schools. They were good sports about it, so I didn't reinforce myself against them. Shinji, though, was a complete ass."

Kirsikka paused while stepping forward, and nocking a new arrow to her bow.

"He was always boasting about his scores, and acting like a know-it-all to just about everybody on the team." She continued while taking aim. "Not to mention having a bad habit of practically hazing new team members by forcing them up to the target range despite having only the barest training and practice in how to use the bow. That, and pointing and laughing along with all those shallow morons that only joined the team because Shinji was in it."

Kirsikka paused again, evening her breathing before loosing her arrow. "Honestly," she continued as the arrow punched into the target in the distance. "I'm surprised neither Mitsuzuri-sempai or Fujimura-sensei eventually punched him in the face. That, or how none of the newbies eventually did."

"Well, Mitsuzuri-sempai had to be an example." Sakura said with a sigh. "And Fujimura-sensei is, well, a teacher. She can't just hit her students even if they're being bullies. As for the newbies, they were underclassmen, and big brother was also popular, so they probably didn't want to risk picking a fight with him. But, what did you do? Aside from showing big brother up, that is."

Kirsikka shrugged. "I showed him up in front of all those girls." She said. "And I showed up all those girls too. Then I helped out the newbies, practicing with them and teaching them how to use the bow. Since Emiya-sempai had already quit the team, and Mitsuzuri-sempai had to keep a professional distance as captain, that made me popular among the newbies. It drove Shinji mad."

"…I'm honestly surprised he didn't complain to…to Zouken, about that." Sakura carefully said.

Kirsikka snorted. "And what would he have done?" she asked. "It's not like he could publicly or even privately but officially complain I was using magic to cheat."

"Good point." Sakura said, looking out to sea thoughtfully for several long moments. "And…he might also have been more…frustrated, at big brother's counterpart. You showed him up not just as an archer, but also as a magus, while also setting yourself up as the helper to big brother's bully."

"In short," Kirsikka said. "I used Shinji being an ass to make myself look good."

"And you didn't even have to make him look bad." Sakura added with a nod. "He did all that by himself."

Kirsikka snorted but said nothing more. Sakura was likewise silent, even as she nocked an arrow to her bow, and taking aim, loosed at a target in the distance. Again, the arrow punched into the target.

"…poor big brother." She finally said. "He was smart, you know. I mean…he was cruel, petty, and vindictive…but he didn't have to be. He just…didn't get the chance to be better."

"…you're a very forgiving person." Kirsikka remarked.

"I'm not one to judge." Sakura softly said. "And besides…it's not that I'm forgiving big brother. I just…"

Sakura paused, lowering her face and causing shadows to fall over her eyes. "…I just pity him, that's all." She whispered. "He deserves that much at least."

Kirsikka pursed her lips at that, knowing from past talks with Rin – and her own assessments of the wretch's character – that pity would have been the last thing Shinji wanted. If being publicly humiliated by getting his boasts beaten and someone else getting looked up to in his place made him angry and resentful, then pity would have driven him berserk. And it apparently had, enough to commit sexual assault.

And ironically, that only made him more pitiful – pathetic, even – that he needed to violate others on such a profound level to feel better about himself.

Kirsikka closed her eyes, and then opening them, reversed her arrow before stabbing it into her hand. "What…?" Sakura gasped in surprise, the kids doing likewise.

Kirsikka smiled, and passing the bloody arrow close to her lips, whispered an aria. "The Sun's almost completely set." She said while nocking the arrow. "Shall we wrap this up with a bang?"

Sakura's eyes widened, and then Kirsikka was taking aim. Then evening her breath, she loosed, the arrow flying out over the waves to punch into the target, which then imploded inwards at the point of impact, sucked into a micro-singularity, the pop of air filling a vacuum lost in the sound of the waves. "Your turn." Kirsikka said.

Sakura blinked, and then briefly looking torn, took a deep breath. Then clutching an arrow tightly in a hand, she held it close to her breasts, while keeping her eyes closed. For a few moments, nothing seemed to happen, then Kirsikka blinked and narrowed her eyes as the temperature around them dropped by a couple of degrees. At the same time, what looked like red-edged strips of black paper wound around the arrow, completely wrapping it up even as Sakura opened her eyes.

Then she nocked the arrow to her bow, drew back, aimed, and loosed. It flew over the waves, and slamming into the target…

…simply reduced it to nothing. Or so it seemed, the target more likely just broken down into prana which the young woman then consumed for herself.

"Bravo." Kirsikka simply said.

Sakura beamed at her, saying no words where none need be said.

Kirsikka stretched her limbs, before falling back to rest on her hands. "Dinner was good." She said.

"Do you really think so?" Rin asked.

The two of them sat opposite each other over a bonfire, Mikasa warming herself to one side while Little Rin busied herself with a snow cone opposite her familiar. In the distance, the Emiyas (and Rider) were clustered around Shirou's telescope, peering up at the sky and at the stars and constellations thereof.

"Grilled squid and fish with mussel soup made for a refreshing contrast after all the red meat during the day." Sakura said.

Rin laughed. "Well, I'm glad to hear that." She said. "Just make sure to save some room, we'll still be here for another two days and one night. Oh, and I still expect to see you swimming at some point."

"No promises are made."

"Sakura…!"

Kirsikka just smiled and shrugged, before staring into the fire. Then before anyone could stop her, she reached in, picking up a glowing, red-hot ember and rolling it around in her hand. "Funny…" she said. "…I've always known that with little big sister's circuits as part of my crest, I could bypass my own elemental limitations…but I never really got around to doing it, until I met you."

"You were feeling guilty." Little Rin pointed out in a sing-song tone.

"Shouldn't I be?" Kirsikka asked.

"No."

Kirsikka just smiled wider before tossing the ember back into the fire. "Thanks, Rin." She said. "For helping me get over it, even by just being there for me…and for inviting me over to this little get-together. It's barely been a week or so, but it's been fun."

"Hey, you're family." Rin said with a shrug. "And while some of our…relatives, never really knew what that meant, I do. We do. So, you're welcome."

Kirsikka tilted her head, only to drop whatever it was she was going to say at a commotion from the Emiyas. Apparently, the children were arguing over whether a star was Deneb or Vega, with Kiritsugu arguing the former, and the twins the latter. Rin shook her head at the sight.

"If Lord Animusphere saw this…" she said.

Kirsikka snorted. "Which one?" she asked.

"Yes."

Kirsikka gave a barking laugh at that. "True!" she said, and Rin smirked. "Though, I suppose that goes for anyone from the Department of Astrology. Then again, I wouldn't be surprised if any 'outrage' is just keeping up appearances, when they act the same way in private, or even in public when they were children."

Rin snorted in her turn. "Funny you should say that." She said. "You see, there was this one time I was attending a convention with master, when this group of numerologists started arguing over how a numerological array should return with a result of either 47 or 48. Then one of them called another an ass, and it wasn't long after that when the first punch got thrown."

"…fortune-telling is crap, but divination is serious business, I guess." Kirsikka mused. "I imagine you wouldn't be much different if say…you and Luvia had to argue whether to use one kind of jewel or another."

Rin opened her mouth…

…and then closed it as an inexplicable chill struck her. "Point." She admitted. "I don't think that's happened yet, but who knows?"

Kirsikka smirked in her turn. "Any other amusing stories you'd like to share from when you were bouncing around as the Wizard Marshal's apprentice?" she asked.

"Bouncing around, really?" Rin echoed skeptically before shrugging it off. "Anyway…hmm, let's see…well, there was this one time where a team I was part of had another member who couldn't read maps. He did something that particularly stands out, when we were looking for a place to quietly set up a new camp out of the way, by suggesting this part of the map that was already clearly marked unsuitable."

"Why not?" Kirsikka asked.

Rin grinned. "It was a toxic waste dump." She said. "Enforcer Briones was pissed by the sheer stupidity. She said, and to quote, read the sign! It's a toxic waste dump, and it'd be a perfect place to camp if you wanted to sit back and catch some grays. The only problems are that you'd start sprouting tumors and vomiting blood after a few hours…"

Rin trailed off as Kirsikka laughed her head off. "That's stupid!" Little Rin protested. "Who was that stupid person, wanting to go camp next to toxic waste?"

"Some guy named Fermiano Galliasta." Rin said with a shrug. "I've never heard of his family, to be honest, and while I'm no snob, I heard they were being courted by Lord El-Melloi II, at least until his sister found out. Word is she blew her top, and after seeing Galliasta couldn't even read a map, I'm not surprised."

"Whatever happened to that guy, anyway?" Kirsikka asked while wiping a tear from an eye.

Rin shrugged again. "He eventually tried to cut a pair of high-tension cables." He said. "With his bare hands, mind. I mean, yeah, his family apparently specialized in electrical manipulation, but…let's just say the Human body isn't meant to handle over 10,000 volts."

"Unless it's you, of course." Kirsikka said with a smirk. "Or me, since I, well, have your circuits."

"Well," Rin said while preening herself. "You know me. I'm special."

"That you are."

Rin tilted her head. "What about you?" she asked. "Anything funny you'd like to share?"

"…hmm…well, there was this one time with Flat…"

"Oh, this is going to be good."

Kirsikka chuckled. "I don't know why, but he was tinkering with a golem for some reason." She said. "Then Gray passed by, distracting Flat and causing him to cross a pair of wires or their equivalent."

"What happened then?" Rin asked.

"The golem…well, it didn't quite go berserk…" Kirsikka said, shaking as she tried to hold her laughter back. "…it just…well, went off-tangent, literally just punching holes through walls and stomping anyone who tried to stop it until it reached Lord El-Melloi's office. It then made a beeline for Trimmau, and well…"

"It didn't…!" Rin said in horror, causing Little Rin to fall back, laughing so hard she was kicking her legs in the air.

"It did!" Kirsikka gleefully said while laughing. "And right in front of Lord El-Melloi too! Flat ended up having to clean toilets for a whole year for that whole mess…which ended up cut to just a month after he somehow caused a toilet to collapse into the floor below it. After that, he was placed on library duty."

"And he didn't mess anything up? That doesn't sound like Flat."

"Well, if he did, I didn't hear of it, and if so, it was probably covered up."

"That's more like it."

Kirsikka snickered. "Ah, the Clock Tower…" she said wistfully. "It's a festering cesspool of incompetence, bigotry, envy, and ambition, but you can never say life there is uninteresting."

Rin clicked her tongue. "This is true." She said, before sharing a smirk with her sister.

"Ah…" Rin groaned in relief as she sank into her bed in her room in the beach house, freshly-bathed and wearing clean clothes. "…finally some rest…it's been a busy day…"

"Well, rest up good, because tomorrow will be just as busy." Kirsikka chimed in, lying in the bed above Rin's own, the two of them sharing a room with a double-decker bed. "Mind you, it's not bad. Busy, tiring, but not bad…definitely not boring…very fun…if today was any indication."

"Glad to hear it." Rin said. "Hey, what about Little Rin?"

"She's a spirit, remember?" Sakura asked back. "And she wanted to sleep outside, considering Mikasa's loitering on the roof. That, and she doesn't actually need to sleep, seeing as sleep is a biological function, and she has no truly biological body of her own."

"…that's so messed up…"

"…even more messed up is the fact that we're discussing it so…casually…"

"…that, and everyone is fine with it…"

"…"

"…"

Despite not being able to see each other, the sisters shared a smile between each other. "How about Sakura and…Shirou?" Kirsikka asked after a moment.

"What do you mean?" Rin asked in confusion.

"They're sharing their room with Rider and their kids, right?" Kirsikka asked in follow-up to her previous question. "In short, they've no privacy, but from what I've gathered they're very…in love, with each other. Except they're with their kids, so…"

"…Kirsikka?"

"Yes."

"Shut up."

Kirsikka burst out laughing. "Fine, fine." She said. "Anyway, good night, Rin. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Hmm…good night, Sakura."

Kirsikka snorted. "Sakura…there's my name…" she said softly. "…my real name…not some Finnish placeholder…yeah, good night, Rin."

The following day dawned warm and sunny, promising another day of family fun under the Sun. It all started with breakfast, served out on the beach house's veranda, including pancakes, hotdogs, corned beef, fried fish, poached egg, and steamed white rice. The children had fruit juice to wash it all down, Rider and Shirou had coffee, while Rin and Sakura (both of them) had tea. There was also plenty of water on hand for those who wanted it.

"Sakura…I mean, Kirsikka," Rin abruptly said. "You will swim."

"I…"

"No buts."

"Agreed." Sakura unexpectedly chimed in.

"No point in coming to the beach if you aren't going to swim." Shirou added practically.

"You – probably – wouldn't have anything that none of us here haven't already seen." Rider piously expressed her opinion.

"What's wrong, Aunt Kirsikka?" Kiritsugu asked innocently. "Are you scared of the water or the sea or something?"

"Well, that's rude." Kirsikka scoffed, causing Shirou to cough and give his son a disapproving look.

"True…but it's a valid question." He said before sharing a smirk with Kiritsugu. "In fact, I'd follow-up with are you scared of the Sun?"

"…"

"A little Sun won't hurt you, Kirsikka." Rin gleefully continued. "If anything, you could use some Vitamin D."

Kirsikka rolled her eyes, and drinking from her teacup as she did so. Then she blinked, as she spotted something out of the corner of her eyes. It was just a glimmer of light, like the Sun off of brightly-polished metal, coming from behind the headland…

…and then a big white yacht was sailing out into view, all but causing Kirsikka to drop her teacup.

"What the hell?" Shirou exploded, and getting up from his chair.

"This is a private beach, isn't it?" Rider asked.

"It's supposed to be." Sakura replied.

Little Rin sniffed the air, and snickered mischievously. "I smell Edelfelt." She said with another snicker, Mikasa meowing in agreement as she jumped onto her master's head.

Rin groaned, even as her face turned red. "Luviagelita. Edelfelt." She forced out. "Of course. Who else could it be?"

A/N

Sorry for the long delay in updates, but here's the newest update, featuring more interactions between Sakura and Sakura. Rin and Sakura trade stories about the Clock Tower, about the sheer comedy that can result when you pack nerds and inbred dandies in one place (that, and another reminder why Flat should never be left unsupervised).

And finally, Luvia arrives. Because it just wouldn't be fun without our favorite Suomi.