Fate Identity Reborn

by Nick of Fire

Kirei Kotomine, at the temptations of Gilgamesh, gave in to his dark desires and caused a flood of death and tragedy. But, what if he didn't give in and remained true to his ideals? A cavalcade of changes would follow. The birth of the makeshift family of Kirei, Rin, Sakura, and Caren. Another makeshift family of Artoria, Irisviel, Illyasviel, and Gray. This is a new Fate.

6. Chapter 6: Your Sister and Yourself

Fate/Identity Reborn Chapter 6: Your Sister and Yourself

Sakura pulled up her scarf to protect her face from the nighttime chill. Her upper lip curled to touch her nose, feeling its coolness. It was especially cold out as Sakura, Rin, and the invisible Saber were jumping from rooftop to rooftop across Shinto.

It had been a few days since Saber was summoned and the Holy Grail War had officially begun. The last Master had summoned their Servant earlier that morning.

Tonight was their first patrol for enemy Servants and Masters. It made Sakura anxious, but she at least had the distraction of being chilly, but that really just replaced one unpleasantness with another.

As Sakura jumped to the top of another skyscraper with legs enhanced by reinforcement magecraft, she thought of how hectic the Holy Grail War was proving to be. They hadn't even encountered any enemy Servants or Masters yet, but they already faced numerous walls to overcome.

Saber didn't have her memories so she was weaker than normal. There were two Einzbern homunculi who were making the outrageous claim that the Grail was evil. There's another Einzbern homunculus who was strong enough to eradicate the rest of the Einzbern family. Saber was actually a Counter Guardian who was tasked with killing an Einzbern homunculus. Keeping everything straight was mentally taxing. Navigating this war would be like trying to travel through a forest while blindfolded.

Rin was definitely hiding her own exasperation, Sakura could feel it. She had to carry so much weight as it was, all thanks to their idiotic Tohsaka legacy that father forced on them. Now, Rin had all this extra nonsense to deal with. Sakura wanted to help carry her load, but at this point, she didn't know how. She could watch her sister's back in the war and fight with her, but that wasn't enough. Sakura felt as helpless as she did during her days with the Matous. She decided not to follow that line of thinking anymore. It would be a surefire way to make herself have a panic attack.

"Sakura, what's wrong?" Rin asked.

"Nothing's wrong."

"Sakura, it's obvious you're worried about something."

"How can you tell?"

"I'm your sister, I know these things." Rin was smug as she said that.

"Actually, you just look worried. It's obvious to anyone." Saber chimed in as she went from incorporeal to her physical form. Rin pouted a bit at her attempted cool moment getting ruined by Saber.

Sakura held one of the ends of her scarf in her hand, running her thumb across it back and forth. "I'm just thinking about everything going on. The Holy Grail War, the Einzberns, everything."

"There's no need to worry. When you and I work together, we're invincible."

She knew it was just talk, but Sakura still felt herself getting a little swept up in her sister's faux confidence. But, it was that same facade that made Sakura feel the need to protect Rin. She was like a pillar trying to hold up the whole sky.

"Sakura." Saber whispered as she got closer to Sakura. "You're worried about helping Rin, aren't you?"

Saber somehow knew exactly what Sakura was thinking. It wasn't as if Saber didn't seem like she had good insight, but she was amazing at reading people.

"Yes." Sakura whispered back. "I want to protect Rin, but I don't know how beyond just helping her fight and making sure she doesn't make any mistakes."

"Why isn't that enough?"

"Because, there'll be enemies in this war that are so strong and smart, I can't see how I would be useful."

"You lack confidence. I have an eye for competency, and you're more competent than most people."

"Really?"

"I'm a Heroic Spirit, I know these things." Saber imitated her Master's earlier attempt at being cool and winked. Sakura giggled.

"Hey, what are you two laughing about back there." Rin said.

"Nothing, Master."

Rin turned her head away. She definitely knew she was being made fun of.

"By the way, Sakura. I feel you don't give Rin enough credit. You naturally assume Rin will be helpless without you."

"I don't think that. Rin's amazing at everything. It's just that she makes mistakes…a lot."

"Having you around is a great boon for Rin, there's no doubt about that. But, I think both you and Rin don't trust each other's competency enough. You each think the other is unable to take care of themselves when alone. I think this might stem from your unusual connection."

"What do you mean by that?"

"How often are you and Rin together every day? How much time do you spend apart?"

"I don't know about exact times, but we're together pretty much all day, every day. The only times we aren't are when it's literally not possible for us to be together."

"And you don't see why that's odd?"

"No, why?"

"People normally don't spend every waking moment together, not even with people they really love and care about."

"Really?"

"Yes. I think you and Rin have reached a point where you act as if you have one shared identity. You're incomplete without each other. That isn't a good thing."

"I think you might be exaggerating, a-and even if you're not, what's the problem if we have a shared identity like you said?"

"It isn't just a shared identity. It's an inseparable identity. You can't even imagine your sister being able to function without you. You live for each other and that's it. Do either of you have any friends?"

"Well, no."

"Do you have anyone you're close to besides each other?"

"We have Kirei. He's our adoptive father, basically."

"That's it, one person?"

"Y-Yeah."

"That's not healthy. Honestly, it feels as if your relationship is bordering on becoming incestuous. As you are now, you're so reliant on each that it'll lead to disaster. You need to have your own separate lives. You are individual people and there will be times where you're separated from each other and you'll need to be self-sufficient. Otherwise, you'll both just crumble when a serious crisis happens when you're apart."

That made sense. It did. But, it couldn't be right. Sakura and Rin just really cared about each other. It wasn't a problem. Saber just didn't understand. Then again, she had enough intuition to immediately tell what Sakura was concerned about. Maybe Saber had a point.

"Saber, that's enough." Rin said. She was listening?

"I'm just trying to help you. You have serious issues that you aren't recognizing."

"Saber, I don't like you barging into our personal lives. It's none of your business. Sakura, we're fine."

"You're not protecting Sakura by-"

"Saber, be quiet! You don't know anything about us! Quit acting like you're so much smarter than us and that you know best and…whatever! Just be quiet!"

In response to Rin's eruption, Saber closed her eyes, deciding to let things lie for the moment. She returned to Spirit Form and Rin and Sakura continued traveling in silence.

In Sakura's mind, she kept thinking of Saber's criticism. Sakura and Rin did rely on each other a lot. There wasn't anyone else Sakura knew who had a similar relationship to the Tohsaka sisters. Every time Sakura had a panic attack, Rin always helped her through it. Without Rin, what would happen if Sakura's anxiety flared up? Would she be able to handle it? She might not be able to. She might just break.

Rin was prone to making mistakes, but was that only because she relied on Sakura to make up for those mistakes? If it weren't for Sakura's doting behavior, would Rin be more diligent? Was Sakura actually hurting Rin more than she was helping her? A pang of guilt hit Sakura in the chest.

If Sakura and Rin's connection was harmful, should they try to stand apart more? But, Sakura didn't even know how. Should she try and make friends to spend time with? How do you make friends? How does it work? Sakura had zero experience with befriending others. She knew how to scare others away, but not how to attract them.

One of the most disconcerting parts was Saber mentioning the 'incestuous' feel of Sakura and Rin's bond. Did people think they were in a sexual relationship? The thought made Sakura's stomach churn. The idea that the Tohsaka sisters would be intimate with each other in that way was gross. But, it wasn't hard for those kinds of rumors to form considering how they monopolized each other's time. Sakura's expanded perspective was allowing her to see her and Rin's interactions the way other people could.

"Master, I sense a Servant nearby."

Breaking out of her thoughts, Sakura's focus sharpened.

"Where are they?" Rin said.

"A little to the west of here. From what I can see, they're within a tight cluster of buildings. I assume they're somewhere among the alleys."

"Does it seem like they're trying to attract attention?"

"They may or may not. They aren't actively sending out a signal, but they aren't trying to hide either."

"It could be a trap, but it might just also be that the Servant is doing something they have to be manifested for." Sakura said.

"Considering they're likely in a place without much free space, they may plan on using it to their advantage. If they have good speed and agility, are able to attack rapidly, or have attacks that can cover large areas, we'd be cornered." Saber said.

"We'll stick to the rooftops as we approach for now. If they're in the alleys, we'll attack from above. Sakura, get your jewels ready. Saber, materialize so you can act fast but try to suppress your power so you don't attract too much attention. We'll all communicate only through telepathy from here on."

Following orders, Saber manifested and took the lead, Sakura readied four jewels which sat between the fingers of one hand, and the group made their way towards the enemy.

"There's the block where the Servant is." Saber telepathically said while pointing. The block was full of nothing but abandoned buildings and a maze of alleyways. A perfect battlefield. "Wait, something's wrong." Saber landed on a rooftop that gave a full view of the abandoned city block.

Sakura and Rin dropped next to the Servant. "What's wrong?"

"I sense the equivalent of a single Servant's magical energy, but it's split between three spots. It's as if it's a single Servant with three bodies."

"Is that possible?"

"It isn't unheard of for multiple individuals to share a Saint Graph and be summoned together as a single Servant. It's rare, but not impossible. Each individual body is likely not as strong as a normal Servant of the same class and level, but they'll likely be deadly efficient when working together. I'd want to take time to strategize, but they definitely know we're here and are probably preparing to attack."

"In that case, let's-"

A green light encased the area. A rectangular barrier surrounded the building they were on. A Bounded Field had been activated. The potency of it made it clear it was High-Thaumaturgy. This must have been pre-prepared. But, how did they know which building they would stop on? No, they didn't know. The barrier was likely prepared so it could be created anywhere within a certain zone.

Wait, another rectangular Bounded Field formed at the center of the abandoned city block. The two barriers were likely connected.

"Sakura, we need to go!" Rin grabbed Sakura's wrist and began to run to get out of the barrier. It didn't seem solid, so it likely wasn't fully activated yet.

Sakura felt herself get grabbed again. It wasn't just her, but Rin too. They both were pulled into the arms of Saber who jumped back. The area they were about to pass through became the target of a projectile, a jewel. Jewel magecraft? The gemstone exploded into flames that left a hole where a third of the rooftop once was.

A tingle gave Sakura goosebumps. The Bounded Field was activating. The greenness grew brighter until it flashed.

The green faded and suddenly Sakura, Rin, and Saber were somewhere else. They were in the middle of a dark alley full of trash. Saber's back hit a wall before she fell and landed on her feet, still holding on to the Tohsaka siblings. Sakura remembered the second barrier and realized that the two Bounded Fields were meant to teleport Sakura and co into the middle of the abandoned block. It did so by teleporting things in the space demarcated by one barrier to the other. The main purpose of such a tactic was obvious, so they'd be stuck in the middle of a pre-planned ambush.

Magical energy flared at three points surrounding the block. It must have been the three bodies of the Servant. The power was massive, greater than anything that Sakura had ever felt before. It was almost enough to make Sakura have an anxiety attack all on its own. It was like watching the buildings around you collapse while being unable to do anything to escape the debris. This must have been a Noble Phantasm that was about to activate. For the first time, Sakura was going to see the awe-inspiring power of a Noble Phantasm.

Streams of electricity-esk red energy arced through the sky from the three surrounding points. They connected above the block and a dark orb formed from the coagulating mana. It grew and grew as the area was dyed in red. The sphere opened up to reveal a giant eye looking down upon the area, its pupil shaped like a square. The harrowing transformation of the area made Sakura tremble, she barely managed to stay on her feet when she was released from Saber's grasp.

Sakura's eyes stung. Her skin burned. Breathing was like inhaling glass. Dizziness hit her in waves. Her mouth tasted of blood. It felt like wax was building up in her joints. Even after reinforcing herself with magical energy, the redness continued to assault her. The Od within her was getting ripped from her body. Her flesh was going to melt away into blood and magical energy. This was a Bounded Field meant to dissolve all life. They needed to leave, fast. They'd be lucky to survive ten minutes in this place. Even Saber wouldn't last forever.

"Sakura, stay by me!" Rin said.

"Right!"

Flying in the sky above, coming from the three points the Bounded Field originated from, was three figures. They were the enemy Servant.

All the bodies were all identical in appearance. They were women and their eyes were covered by purple blindfolds, or were they masks? They had pink-purple hair nearly as long as their whole bodies were, even as they were styled into twintails. They wore white mini-dresses that showed off their tall, voluptuous forms. Their outfits fit into the goth lolita aesthetic, especially with the lace bonnets they had. It was hard to get any idea about their identities based on their odd appearances.

Their eyes may have been obscured, but they could clearly detect Sakura and co.

The fight was about to begin. They were going to fight being beyond humanity. It was really time. It really was. Sakura's breathing was accelerating. No, not now. She couldn't freak out now.

A hand on her shoulder. It was Rin. Just her touch made Sakura's nerves lessen just a bit. She was okay. Rin was with her, so she'd be okay.

It was time. The first battle of the war was now.

All three of the flying women clenched their hands, fingers digging into their palms. The sight made Sakura wince. Upon unclenching, blood flowed freely from the wounds the trio created. That sanguine liquid shaped into red spears that flew down towards Saber and the Tohsaka sisters. Each of the flying women unleashed several dozen crimson pikes.

This was bad. The alley was so congested that there was nowhere they could quickly dodge.

Both Sakura and Rin were ready to throw the gems they held to counter the first wave of spears, but Saber reacted before they had the chance. In her hand, magical energy gathered and formed into a weapon. Was it her Noble Phantasm, or just a normal Mystic Code?

The armament invoked was an Azoth Sword. It was just like Rin's. Did Rin's Azoth Sword act as a catalyst? It would explain some things. But, the Azoth Sword was shorter than the average, just like Rin's. Why would they have the same modifications to their weapons? Could it just be a coincidence?

Saber broke the sound barrier. She was like a one woman army. She danced around Sakura and Rin, slicing apart each blood pike that got within range. Even as the red weapons blended in with the bloody coloration of the world the Bounded Field created, Saber didn't miss a single one. Despite the spears numbering over five hundred and continually increasing with each consecutive wave, they still got eradicated by Saber's swordsmanship.

This didn't make sense. Saber was moving so fast that her agility had to have gone up a whole rank. She must have had a skill that could augment her parameters. Saber probably wasn't even aware of it. She was moving on instinct, relearning her own capabilities as she fought.

The style of swordsmanship Saber used certainly wasn't any kind of old style. Actually, it lacked any sort of particular style. It was focused on efficiency above all. It wasn't the swordsmanship of a swordsman, it was the swordsmanship of someone who owned a sword. The art of the blade was not Saber's passion. She definitely wasn't meant to be in the Saber class. She only possessed the class through some technicality. She just so happened to have some trait or armament that qualified her for the class.

Either way, she was effective. Her whole body was less than a blur. After a point, Sakura could only catch occasional glimpses of Saber's form. The wind was getting kicked up so much that it was like a hurricane had condensed into the alley. Saber was marvelous. Even if she couldn't see her anymore, Sakura was captivated by Saber's display of skill.

But, this wasn't a good environment for her to slowly grow back to her full strength. Her magical energy was getting sapped by the trio above's Noble Phantasm. She'd tire out in not too long. To top it all off, considering that the enemy Servant(s) were using projectiles, they might have been an Archer. Archers have a class advantage against Sabers.

Sakura had to help.

As her eyes locked with Rin, Sakura knew they had the same idea.

The sisters tossed some obsidians upward toward the three-bodied Servant.

The Bounded Field may have been draining magical energy from living things, but it didn't seem to be very good at absorbing it from objects. This meant that the Tohsaka family jewel magecraft which focused on pre-charging gems with magical energy was perfect for this.

"Gewicht, um zu Verdoppelung!" the sisters incanted in unison.

The obsidians became iridescent with silver light. A couple red spears destroyed the stones, but that was okay. They were merely a beacon. The true attack would come from above.

What looked like distant stars in the red sky twinkled. A downpour of silver bullets made of magical energy came down towards the three flying women.

All three women in the air shifted one of their hands towards the falling lights, firing half of their flow of red spears up at them. As they countered the attack from above, they were only sending half as many pikes towards the Tohsaka sisters and Saber as before.

If they could just destroy the remaining spears heading for them, Saber would have the chance to counterattack.

Sakura and Rin readied and threw more jewels. Rin's released a wave of ice and Sakura's provided extra magical energy to enhance Rin's spell. "Neun, Acht, Sieben. Stil, schießt Beschießen, Erschießung!" The spell formed icicles that fired at the next wave of blood spears. The masses of ice couldn't destroy all the spears themselves, but as they slowly whittled away and shattered, they created a wave of cold that froze all the blood projectiles currently fired. The frozen spears all crumbled into powder, leaving a clear path for Saber to attack.

Not a micro-instant was wasted. Saber shot upwards like a rocket, creating a shockwave that toppled Sakura over into the arms of her sister. Targeting one of the flying trio, Saber made a mighty swing as she soared past her. Saber's prey managed to sway out of the way of getting sliced clean in half, but she was still cut two-thirds of the way through at the waist. Organs spilled out of the split created as Saber continued her ascent. Before she continued too far upwards, Saber grabbed one of the injured woman's twintails.

"Stheno!" The other two identical women cried out. They thrust their hands towards Saber, ready to launch more blood attacks.

Pulling the woman she grabbed closer, Saber held her Azoth Sword to her throat.

"Don't move or she dies." The other two members of the trio became still, unwilling to risk their third. Saber fell back to the ground and landed safely. The woman in her grasp didn't squirm. She knew not to agitate Saber and risk getting her head cut off.

They were in an advantageous position now. It wasn't only because they had a hostage, but because they also knew their identity now. The other two women screamed 'Stheno,' who was one of the Gorgon Sisters. It didn't take genius to notice their covered eyes, which likely hid Mystic Eyes of Petrification, their blood abilities, with enchanted blood being a quality of Medusa, and the fact one of them was named Stheno. They were the Gorgon Sisters. Their class was still a mystery. Sakura's current best guess was Archer, but it wasn't definitive. Either way, they were in a good spot at the moment. The question was how to proceed.

A hiss of pain. Snakes. Saber was suddenly wrapped up in snakes. They were biting into Saber's body, probably injecting her with poison while sucking out her blood and magical energy. The snakes were coming out of the bloody palms of Stheno. No, they were coming out of the blood itself. Sakura just remembered that Medusa' mythical blood was supposed to be able to create living things. How could she forget something so obvious? She was useless.

Sakura was about to try and do something, but she stumbled again. She was really losing magical energy fast. The Bounded Field was wearing on her. She ended up leaning into her sister again. Was she really helpless without Rin?

"Läßt!" Magical energy in Saber's dagger burst out. In a rising slash, Saber's energy cloaked blade sliced apart most of the snakes assailing her, though Stheno jumped out of the way before she could get caught in the slash. Another swing and the remaining snakes were cut apart.

Läßt was the activation word Rin used for her Azoth Sword. Sakura was getting an idea of Saber's identity and it was confusing.

Stheno returned to the sky, her sisters flying to her side. They were speaking but Sakura couldn't hear them. The other two Gorgon Sisters, Medusa and Euryale, were clearly showing their concern for Stheno.

The three sisters reached to the back of their heads and removed the masks covering their eyes. When their eyelids raised, there was a low boom. Their eyes were like the one staring down from above. Their pupils were square and the eyes had a jewel-like quality to the way the light refracted off them.

Six Mystic Eyes all focused on Saber and the effect was immediate. Parts of Saber's body began petrifying. Skin, muscle, tendons, cartilage, bone, and blood all turned to stone. Mystic Eyes of Petrification were of such a high caliber that they were considered among the strongest Mystic Eyes. They were lost to the modern world so if they sold them on the Rail Zeppelin, their family would be wealthy for generations.

Not wasting time, Saber shot off the ground again towards the sisters. Saber wouldn't become a statue immediately, so if she could defeat the Gorgon Sisters fast enough, she'd be okay. The trio began firing blood spears again, but Saber diced them up before they became too numerous like before. Saber was getting slowed by her petrification but she still managed to defend against every crimson lance.

Saber and the Gorgon Sisters ended up in another mid-air exchange, and with so little space to jump in that the Tohsakas couldn't intervene without the risk of hitting Rin's Servant.

But, Sakura once again noticed something.

From their vantage point, the Gorgon Sisters should have been able to spot Sakura and Rin while keeping Saber their main focus so they'd all be turned to stone. So why weren't they trying to petrify the Tohsakas along with Saber? Unless they didn't want to risk certain people getting caught up in their look of stone.

People like their Master.

Sakura saw her sister raise an arm, Magic Crest glowing. A series of Gandr were fired with the rapidity of a machine gun. Those dark bullets collided with another series of Gandr. Rin must have sensed the incoming assault before Sakura. It was a good thing she did, or Sakura wouldn't have reacted in time. As the shots canceled each other out, Sakura spotted the one who fired the opposing Gandr salvo.

"You use Gandr as well? Don't tell me, you must be the Tohsaka Master. Oh, this is perfect! I will be able to properly avenge the Edelfelt family on the first night of the war! Ohohohohohohohoho!"

The woman's blonde hair was in curls and she wore a blue dress that screamed aristocracy. Behind her was a giant man in a suit with a short mohawk and sunglasses. Sunglasses at night, really? He was really dedicated to his look. The woman said she would avenge the Edelfelts. The Edelfelts were basically the Tohsaka family's rivals, excluding the other Founding Families but they weren't around anymore. They participated in the Third Holy Grail War and were defeated. They apparently hated the Japanese because of it. They especially despised the Tohsakas, probably because they were the ones to defeat them in the Third War.

The Edelfelts wanted revenge on the Tohsakas. Of course, more headaches they were going to have to deal with because they were Tohsakas. Sakura hated her and Rin's lineage more and more every time it came up. The Tohsaka name wasn't something honorable, it was just a curse.

"I'm surprised you'd so openly state the name of your family." Rin said. "You do realize that secrecy is supposed to be key in the Grail War, yes?"

"How could I defeat my family's greatest enemy without letting them know it was a member of the magnificent Edelfelt family who brought them to their knees?" The blonde woman had a level of smugness on par with Rin. Impressive. And it was also related to her family. Of course. Magi cared so much about their stupid families.

"So you're in this to avenge your family's dishonor. Sorry, but if they lost the Third War, I don't see how you'll be any more of a threat now. The Edelfelts are just a bunch of delinquents who get into fights and steal from other families. There's no elegance to a family like yours."

The blond's smile turned into a furious sneer. "You talk like your family isn't a shambling corpse trying to drag itself forward. Your representative in the last war got assassinated and his Servant had to keep fighting without him. If you want to talk about unimpressive showings, let's talk about that."

Rin's teeth grit. "What did you say, bitch?" Oh no. Rin hated it when anyone badmouthed their father.

"Do you not understand me? Have you Tohsakas fallen so low that you've regressed and forgotten human speech? Truly a tragedy! Ohohohohohohohohoho!"

"That's it! I'm gonna rip your head off!" Rin let go of Sakura and rushed forward.

Green light. A rectangular barrier, one like the Bounded Field that was used to teleport Sakura and co earlier, but smaller. It encompassed the entire area Sakura, Rin, the Edelfelt woman, and the large man were in.

A flash.

Sakura was somewhere else. She was inside a building. It looked like an empty office building. Abandoned cubicles were everywhere. Rin was gone. The blond and the giant man were gone, too.

This was likely another building in the abandoned block. There must have been space warping Bounded Fields prepared all over the area as part of the trap the Edelfelt woman and her Servant(s) set. Sakura assumed they must have decided to separate her from Rin so they could pick them off one by one. After seeing how the Tohsaka sisters were so effective when they worked together against the Gorgon Sisters, that was a smart call on their part.

Also, that Edelfelt woman probably wanted to personally bash Rin's face in for insulting her family.

The question was whether Sakura was alone and the blond and the large man were fighting Rin together, or if Sakura and Rin would each have their own opponent to face.

Another rectangular Bounded Field, this one small enough that it barely fit the man who appeared from it. The large man with the mohawk. Was he the one who created the teleportation barriers? If so, then he probably set up dozens of those Bounded Fields throughout the room.

Rin was alone with the other woman in that case. Would she be okay? Sakura needed to get to her and fast to back her up.

But, Sakura was also alone. She was about to fight a life or death battle alone. The Gorgon Sisters' Noble Phantasm still covered the area and was draining the life out of Sakura. She wasn't anywhere near top condition. The large man didn't look to be affected by it. He and the blond must have been immune thanks to their Servant's ability to discern who was and wasn't a target.

The cards were all stacked in the enemy's favor. Both Sakura and Rin were alone and helpless. They didn't have each other's support. They were already running out of steam due to the red Bounded Field that had devoured the block. How were they supposed to pull off a win? Were they even going to survive?

No, Sakura needed to focus. She couldn't have a panic attack right now. She had to just focus.

A finger pointed forward, Sakura fired off a few bundles of magical energy. They were basic and unlikely to do much damage if they hit, but Sakura just wanted to test the waters.

Another small Bounded Field appeared around the bullets and warped them away. Sensing an increase in mana behind herself, Sakura rolled out of the way of her own bullets as they teleported behind her from another green Bounded Field.

The man was the one that created the Bounded Fields and they were all over the room. He'd be able to warp anything he wanted to whatever position was most advantageous to him.

Bounded Fields all around Sakura activated. What appeared in them were boulders. The man put a hand forward which lit up magical energy and the masses of rock all darted towards Sakura to crush her. He had the element of earth and he used his Bounded Fields to grant himself an infinite supply of 'ammo.'

Dodging would be pointless. She or the boulders would just be teleported around so she'd be in danger again.

"Fixierung, Eile Salve!" Sakura extended her finger and spun around, firing a barrage of Gandr shots all around her. The runic projectiles perforated all the boulders with such force that they pulverized. Gandr wasn't Sakura's specialty, nor was offensive magecraft in general. She specialized in support abilities so the kind of gatling attack she just performed wasn't something she could do many more times, especially as she continued to feel the red veil over the area try and dissolve her. That's why she needed to fight smart. Sakura tossed a jewel into the air as the mohawk man summoned more boulders. "Stark Groß zwei!"

The gemstone shined with a bright light that blinded the man despite his sunglasses. Sakura immediately started running from the spot she was. The massive stones all crashed into each other as the large man made them charged for where Sakura once was in response to being blinded. The light didn't just block vision, it blanketed the area in magical energy to obscure Sakura's position from being sensed. This was Sakura's opportunity to counterattack. Another jewel magecraft spell would release too much magical energy to be hidden by the light, so the man would sense it and escape through his Bounded Fields. Instead of doing that, Sakura used a subtler spell that the man wouldn't detect.

Throwing multiple jewels all over the area but not activating them, Sakura tapped into her element, Hollow. The Hollow affinity allowed Sakura to access Imaginary Number Space, an alternative space outside of normal reality. Using it as a pocket dimension, Sakura made it so the scattered jewels all entered Imaginary Number Space midair. This caused them to become completely undetectable and untouchable to humans, magi, or even Servants and put them in a sort of stasis. They all sat in the spatial position they were at when they entered Imaginary Number Space and would only come out when Sakura wanted them to. They were an undetectable trap.

Sakura hid inside one of the cubicles as the magecraft flash bang ended. The mohawk man could see again and immediately sensed Sakura's magical energy. Sakura wanted the man to assume that she was just making a desperate attempt to hide and that was what the obscuring light was for, keeping her true plan secret. More boulders appeared and were directed to collide with Sakura.

Unveiling another deluge of Gandr, Sakura eliminated the boulders and left the nearby cubicles, including the one she was in, a mess of fragments. Sakura readied her legs and put a large amount of magical energy into reinforcing them, so much so that it felt like her muscles were being cooked.

As her legs were decorated with lines of green, Sakura used the special Bajiquan stance she had learned from Kirei. With only the slightest step aided by reinforcement magecraft, it made it look like Sakura was teleporting as she closed the distance between herself and the large man. He jumped in surprise. He was so unprepared for Sakura's sudden movement that he wasn't able to activate any of the Bounded Fields between himself and Sakura to warp her away before she got in close.

Sakura was about to punch but a Bounded Field appeared around the man and he teleported away.

He reappeared from another Bounded Field and-no! He decided to reappear at the one spot that wasn't close enough to any of the jewels in Imaginary Number Space. If Sakura tried to use any of them, he'd be able to react fast enough to evade them. Did the man know what Sakura's plan was? No, there was no way he could have. It was just horrible luck.

The same trick wouldn't work twice. Sakura had to think of another way to get the man to teleport again.

But, she couldn't think of anything. Any spells she used would get warped back at her by the Bounded Fields. The only kind of magecraft she had that couldn't be affected by the barriers would be those involving her Hollow element. She could channel it into blasts of magical energy, but the Hollow element isn't very effective on living humans, it was better for spiritual bodies. She'd be able to hit the mohawk man, but it wouldn't do much most likely and he probably wouldn't even bother to teleport away. Things Sakura put into Imaginary Number Space couldn't be affected by Bounded Fields, but nothing she put into the pocket dimension could move. They always entered a static state.

Theoretically, if she were to enter Imaginary Number Space, she could use her control over it to allow herself to move. But, that was crazy. Imaginary Number Space was hostile to life. Putting a person in it would kill them.

Well, she could use the same control she had over the Hollow element that would allow her to move in the alternate reality to also protect herself from its harmful effects. But, the amount of focus it would require was immense and the strain it would put on her was more than anything Sakura had ever endured before. This wasn't even considering the fact that Sakura was being slowly killed by the Noble Phantasm that had covered the block. Sakura was nowhere near the condition she'd need to be in to pull off a crazy stunt like moving through Imaginary Number Space.

But, what other choice did she have? It was either try it and maybe die, or don't and definitely die. Then Rin would be all alone. That wasn't acceptable. Sakura would take any risk for Rin.

Another set of Boulders encircled Sakura and fired.

Clearing her mind, Sakura stepped forward. Her body seemed to vanish into the air. She was entering Imaginary Number Space. As soon as the smallest tip of her forehead crossed the boundary between realities, Sakura felt pain. She was enveloped in pure suffering. It wasn't like the worms of the Matou house. That felt invasive, disturbingly intimate. This was a form of agony that made Sakura feel like an intruder. She was entering a space that wasn't constructed for entities of her kind. She was a fish trying to fly. She was going against the very laws of nature and she was being punished for it.

Her whole body finally entered Imaginary Number space and all Sakura could feel was a torturous sensation as her very being was getting assailed by the entire universe she had entered. There was nothing else.

She had to focus. She had to try and disregard the pain to allow herself to move. She accessed her element to start pushing back at the reality that was trying to squash her. Her body began to move slightly. It was like trying to move when your body is encased in solid concrete.

Sakura moved a nanometer. All her pain and effort, and she had made it one nanometer.

How much time had passed? It didn't matter. Sakura's sense of time was long dead.

She just had to focus. She had to cling to what she was fighting for. Rin. She was fighting for Rin.

She had to go help Rin. Once she crossed over to her enemy and defeated them, she would be able to go to her sister. She just wanted to see her sister. To feel her kind hand stroke her head and tell her it would be okay.

The pain. The pain was everything. Sakura was suffering and it was because of Rin and her desire to win this stupid Holy Grail War. She was only participating to honor her family. The Tohsakas.

Fuck the Tohsakas.

This stupid family name was ruining Sakura and Rin's lives and Rin dared to say it was a good thing.

Was she stupid?

Definitely.

Everything was stupid. The Holy Grail War was stupid. The Tohsakas were stupid. Rin was stupid.

Sakura was stupid.

Sakura was the dumbest of all. She knew how stupid Rin's goal was, and yet she still agreed to help her. She knew it was dangerous, asinine, pointless. But, she still agreed to help.

Because, Sakura wanted to see her sister happy. Sakura just wanted Rin to be happy.

The same things that made Sakura mad were the things that made Rin's life difficult, and yet she didn't become bitter or complain. She took it all on the chin and embraced it. Sakura wished she could do that.

Rin was light. That wasn't her element, but it should have been. Rin possessed a purity that was like a work of art. It made Sakura want to cry. Something so unsullied needed to be protected. Rin deserved to get everything she wanted.

And that was why Sakura was fighting.

Wait, Sakura had done it. She had crossed the distance and bypassed all the Bounded Fields. It felt like years, but Sakura did it. She was where she needed to be.

Breaching out of Imaginary Number Space with a gasp, Sakura reentered the normal world. Not even a second had passed since she entered the alternate dimension. Blood leaked from every orifice on Sakura's head. The blood evaporated from the enemy Servant's Bounded Field, causing Sakura's head to be cloaked in a red mist.

The large man was surprised again by Sakura's sudden appearance.

On autopilot, Sakura swung her leg in a side kick that hit the large man's torso. Ribs audibly cracked from the strike's power.

The man warped away once more. This time, he reappeared in a spot that was perfect.

Out of Imaginary Number Space, a jewel pooped out right next to the mohawk man. The did a double take as Sakura spoke out the incantation.

"Ein Körper ist ein Körper!"

An explosion of destructive light came from the gem. Nearby cubicles disintegrated. A third of the spacious room was engulfed by the detonation. It was so bright that Sakura had to wait for it to finish to be able to see the results. As Sakura waited, she could feel the entire building shake. She needed to focus just to not fall to her knees.

The light receded. The man was nowhere to be seen, but the nearby walls and ceiling were charred black. There must have been nothing left of the man's body after taking that kind of spell at point blank range.

Sakura had just killed someone. It was a first time experience that would normally scar a person, but the enervation of Sakura's stamina made it too trying of a task to contemplate the ramifications of her actions. She was sure she'd have some kind of mental breakdown about it later when it sunk in as to what she had done, but that didn't matter for the moment. She just needed to get to Rin.

Wait. Why did Sakura sense magical energy behind her?

Sakura couldn't finish turning around as she was hit in the head by a punch that sent her skidding across the ground. When she stopped, her body was sprawled across the floor. Blood drained from a gash in her skull before evaporating from the red Bounded Field.

Sakura's blurry vision caught a look at the one who hit her. It was the mohawk man. He was alive. Sakura had difficulty discerning details, but he looked really injured. His suit was just some strips of cloth and his sunglasses were gone. He was painted red by his blood. He must have teleported away from the explosion in time to survive, but not before getting hit by a little bit of it.

He was weakened. This would normally be Sakura's chance to finish him off, but she wasn't even sure she'd be able to stand up. She twitched a finger and a scorching pain shot through her nervous system. Doing anything hurt. Even breathing caused the sensation that Sakura's lungs would burst at any moment.

The Noble Phantasms effects were getting more difficult to resist. Sakura's skin felt like wax. The outer layers were melting away. Foam was coming from her mouth and getting stuck in her throat. It was becoming difficult just to take in air.

A boulder appeared above Sakura. It fell down at the large man's command. The rock pounded into Sakura. She reinforced her body, but it didn't stop her skin from ripping open in various places. Sakura's eyes began bulging out of her head. The boulder kept pressing harder into her. The giant man was using his earth magecraft to actively press the rock into the Sakura. The floor beneath her began to crack, as did her bones. The pain began to fade, as did most sensation she felt.

Sakura was dying. Despite her desire to help her sister, she was going to die. Her will to stand by Rin's side wasn't strong enough.

This was it. Rin was going to have to live without a sister. Hopefully, Rin would make peace with that.

But, Sakura wasn't okay with that.

Sakura didn't want to die. Not because she wanted to be with her sister. She just didn't want to die. Who cares if Rin could live without Sakura? Sakura wanted to live. Her whole life, Sakura's self-preservation instinct was neglected for the sake of Rin. But, how could Sakura take care of Rin if she couldn't care for herself? No more fighting for Rin. Now, Sakura would fight for her own survival.

The will inside Sakura sparked alive again. The Magic Circuits inside Sakura all overflowed with magical energy as Sakura pushed herself to the limit.

She had one last idea, but it was dangerous, and not just for her, but for Rin and Saber, too. To use such a strategy was selfish. But, Sakura decided that for once, she was going to be selfish.

All the remaining jewels in Imaginary Number Space phased back into normal reality. They all lit up as they charged up the same spell. It would be a simple series of magical energy detonations. There were five gems so the spell would have the power to even kill a Servant. It would be completely unfocused, too. That meant that the detonations would simply spread out. For a spell of this potency, that meant it would raze the entire city block at a minimum. Not only Sakura and her opponent, but Rin, Saber, the Gorgon Sisters, and the Edelfelt woman would all be consumed by it too. They'd likely all die if they didn't escape in time.

"Fünf, Drei, Vier. Riesig und brennend, das ist ein Ende."

All the jewels exploded.

The large man acted fast. He needed to stop the blasts to save both himself and the Edelfelt woman. He activated all the Bounded Fields in the room. The entire room was filled with green rectangles. As the explosions passed through the Bounded Fields, the magical energy from them got teleported away. He likely had more of these Bounded Fields in areas of Fuyuki that were secluded in case he needed to do something in secret. That likely included places he could safely discharge the magical energy like the forest. He was essentially sucking up the explosions as soon as they were created to neutralize them. He was straining himself, especially in his wounded state.

It was now or never.

Sakura reinforced her body to the point that the Magic Circuits that lit up against her skin were releasing tiny bolts of leaked energy. She pushed the boulder on top of her, causing it to break apart from her strength.

With a forward flip, Sakura got onto her feet. The large man just finished warping away the explosions and he was wobbly on his feet. For at least a moment, he'd be too tired to activate any more Bounded Fields.

Her body still reinforced Sakura, ran towards the man with such might that the floor she tread upon was destroyed, leaving holes with every step. The distance was closed and Sakura just had to deal the knockout blow.

Sakura remembered all the years she spent learning Bajiquan from Kirei. She needed to pull out a move that would be sure to end things. Her feet planted firmly, her body twisted to put all her weight and magecraft boosted strength into one punch. She unloaded Eight Grand Openings – The Standing Upward Cannon.

Her fist was drenched in a green glow from her circuits as it rose in an uppercut. It crashed into the large man's chin and Sakura could feel his jawbone crumble. His mouth nearly blew apart and most of his teeth turned to powder. The strike sent the man skyward and he flew through the ceiling headfirst. He was lucky that Sakura wasn't at full strength or that punch would have made his head pop like a water balloon.

The man fell back down through the hole his body made in the ceiling and hit the ground. He was nearly motionless, but a few twitches revealed he was unconscious, not dead.

Sakura looked down at her defeated enemy. She considered whether it would be safer to kill him. The answer was that it would, but she wasn't sure she was ready to take a life, and she was too tired to contemplate the idea.

She just needed to leave the Gorgon Sisters' Bounded Field. Sakura wasn't planning to go help Rin anymore. For one thing, she was too drained to be of any assistance. Second, she was going to be dissolved completely if she didn't get out of the Noble Phantasm, stat.

On shaky steps, Sakura went up to the nearest door and opened it. The new room she found had a window. Sakura opened and jumped through it, landing on her side and definitely breaking another couple bones, but she didn't care. She needed to leave as fast as possible.

Reinforcing her legs again, Sakura got up and dashed through the maze of alleys. Her mind was in a haze. She was running on fumes and as soon as she stopped to rest, she wouldn't be able to get moving again. She finally found her way to the outer sidewalk around the block and the edge of the red barrier.

Touching the barrier, Sakura's hand was repelled and burned. The Bounded FIeld was meant to prevent escape. But, Sakura still had one ability that could let her get through it.

Sakura grit her teeth, stepped as close to the Bounded Field's edge as she could, and entered Imaginary Number Space again.

The pain was worse this time. Sakura was barely able to fend off the hostile reaction the alternative space had towards her. The only reason Sakura was able to get through it was due to the distance she needed to cross being much shorter this time and her consciousness being so dulled that she barely felt any sensory input at this point.

The journey through Imaginary Number Space ended and Sakura was one the other side of the red Bounded Field. The relief of everything not being tinted red was mixed with the sense of release Sakura felt at not having her entire body be under constant assault from something or other.

But, as her blood no longer vaporized and gushed from all over her, Sakura smacked into the ground. She couldn't move. Even attempting to actuate her Magic Circuits would kill her. She had no way to heal herself. She was seriously going to die. She finally got out of the barrier, but she was going to die anyway.

It wasn't likely that there was anyone around. The other blocks around here were all pretty much abandoned, too. If there were any other people here, they were probably only in an area like this to buy drugs or the like. If those types of people were to find Sakura, she'd be lucky if they just left her to die. They might just kidnap her to sell her as a sex slave or something. Getting violated daily wouldn't be anything new to her thanks to the Matous.

Sakura really did have the worst luck. Who else would be given by their father to another family who tortured them relentlessly then someone with the absolute worst luck?

"How lucky for you that I like taking walks in secluded places. We're both really lucky. You don't get left to die and I get to see you in such a miserable state."

That emotionless voice. It was familiar. Sakura knew who it was, but she wasn't able to make the connection. She was too tired.

Hopefully they'd save Sakura. That was Sakura's last thought as she went into unconsciousness.