06—Tenuous
Unlike his first day at this school, Taiasu serves as far less of a distraction. With the day cut short, students are too focused on their plans for the weekend to pay him more consideration than a few curious glances. Having grown accustomed to him as well, despite his absence yesterday, the instructors also pay him little mind beyond a cordial greeting.
But with everything still quite new to him, his eyes wander throughout the room during first period, settling on the faces of those he knows. The trio of girls he'd met his first day here, who make up an odd yet well-balanced mix. Tohsaka's friend, the archery club captain, Mitsuzuri, who radiates an aura of positive energy and enthusiasm, and never seems to have a broad smile far from her face.
Then first period ends with a familiar resonant chime sounding through the school, and it's off to Tohsaka's second class. Taiasu follows in her wake as they draw a few curious looks. But with it being Tohsaka, who's not known for interacting with those outside her tight-knit circle, no one asks why, for the second time in two days, she has a strange child in tow.
Second period begins in a small room. One Taiasu surmises is acoustically insulated by the muted sounds entering from the hall. Several students filter in, each holding a different instrument. Some carry small stringed instruments. Others, brass or wood-wind. Inside the room, Taiasu immediately recognizes a piano, occupying most of the corner in which it sits.
Huh… A musical instruction class, I guess? But what's her instrument?
From what he can tell, Tohsaka carries nothing. Curious, not only about that, but all of it, Taiasu situates himself in the back and out of the way, where he wanders the room with his widening eyes. Of course, he draws a few curious stares, but those inclined to take such a class are also accustomed to having audiences at their practices, rehearsals and performances. So whatever distraction he brings is brief, and those who give him their consideration quickly refocus on their stands and sheet music.
Each performs well, but most have room for improvement. Still, Taiasu keeps such observations to himself. Then, Tohsaka takes center stage. Everyone seems to settle themselves in, exchanging a few nervous, even anxious, glances.
She still doesn't have an instrument…?
Taiasu tilts his head, wondering until the moment Tohsaka draws in a breath, full and deep, filling her lungs.
A few others have the unenviable task of following in her wake, but all Taiasu can hear are the words to the song with which Tohsaka had filled the room, a cappella style. Naturally, an unfamiliar song. But even with that being the case, he could tell it was something masterfully performed. Even if only by the reactions of the other students. Some eyes widened with wonder, others narrowed with open envy, while still others shone brightly with deep admiration.
He's still trying to commit the moment to memory when, muted this time, that familiar four-note chime breaks his focus, announcing the classes end. Still breathless with wonder, he shuffles along in Tohsaka's wake as she steps into the hall.
That was…
"… amazing…"
The rest of his thought falls from his mouth, and Tohsaka glances down at him from the side.
"Hm? What's that, now?"
"Just…" Finding his mouth dry for how long it's been since he'd wetted it, he coaxes some moisture into it. "Just… hearing you sing is all. It was…" Unconsciously, his mouth drifts up in a deep smile. "It was beautiful. That's all…"
Tohsaka blinks down at him from the side. Used to receiving such words as open flattery, thinly veiling some hormone-driven, poorly concealed ulterior motive, yet finding none of that here, she only finds herself flushing a light shade of red.
"Ah… thanks. I guess…" she mutters.
Fortunately, from her periphery, she spots someone familiar laboring under a heavy load, and it serves a perfect distraction from her flustered feelings. Breathing out a relieved sigh, she takes a moment to fix her face before interceding.
"That's quite a lot. Need a hand, Sakura?"
"Huh—?" Sakura looks up, distracted from her discussion with Rider about where Taiasu had been, and has to readjust her unsteady steps under the stack of papers she carries. "Ah, Tohsaka… Senpai—"
"What are these? Handouts?" Tohsaka reaches over, taking a sheet from the stack and scrutinizing it. "World history, huh? Hm… That would be my homeroom teacher." She frowns down at the sheet in her hand. "That Kuzuki. What's he thinking putting this much in one girl's hands? Here, let me take half."
"Wait, Tohsaka—you're a girl too, right?" Taiasu says, grinning as he recalls her agitated response to last night's verbal jab. "At least that's what you said, right?"
From the side, she shoots him a sharp glare. Already, she's forgotten how she'd felt, hearing the sincere compliment he'd paid her after hearing her singing voice.
"Yeah, I did. Because I am. What of—?"
"Well, if you're both girls, what makes you more qualified to carry them than… uh…?"
Now realizing in whose company he currently stands, Taiasu's voice trails. For her vision being obstructed by the impressive paper stack, Sakura has yet to see him. But now, hearing his voice, she adjusts herself so she can look down.
"Taruko-kun, too…?"
"Ah—" And with being acknowledged, Taiasu lets out a small noise. "Y-yeah… Hi, Sakura…" Frowning, he stares at the floor, scuffing his feet, recalling how they'd parted ways yesterday. "Good seeing you…" he mumbles, futzing with his fingers.
He then furrows his brow, irritated.
—Damn it! This is stupid! If I keep going like this, I'm just going to make her uncomfortable!
After a small breath, he forces an awkward smile, then lifts his head so he can look her in the eye. "Is everything well?"
At first surprised, Sakura shows a sincere smile, then gives an awkward nod for still trying to steady the paper stack. "Things are, yes. And with—" She shifts again awkwardly, and the papers slip. Seeing the impending mess, Tohsaka moves to help her remain steady. "—Thank you, Tohsaka-senpai. And with you?" With everything under control, she looks back down at Taiasu. "Is everything okay with you?"
Taiasu nods, and his smile relaxes into something more natural. "Glad to hear that. And yeah, I think so." His smile then lifts into a full grin. "But Tohsaka was about to offer her help, right? But why don't you let me carry them?"
"Huh?" Tohsaka frowns down at him, folding her arms. "Why? You think I can't?"
Taiasu laughs, then shakes his head. "Perish the thought. I just thought it would be easier for everyone."
Tohsaka and Sakura blink through exchanged perplexed stares before the former shrugs, then nods. "Well, if you're offering, sure. I don't see how, though." She then sighs, shaking her head as she measures the paper stack against Taiasu's stature. Holding them like that, they'd definitely be over his head.
Taiasu smirks at her statement. "It'll be fine. Let me see a few of them."
Tohsaka nods again, then takes about a quarter of the stack and passes them down. Taiasu takes them in his hand, then flips his pack open. As she watches, Sakura's eyes widen, recalling and realizing.
Right, that! I'd forgotten! He even slid an entire bow into it! How did he—?
Yet as she watches him struggle, his face contorting with a frown and brow creasing inward, it becomes clear something is off. The pack is small, but not so small it couldn't fit a few simple sheets of paper. Especially after defying conventional physics by swallowing whole an entire bow.
"Gods… damn it…! What—?!" He lets a singular curse slip free as he struggles with the papers and his pack. Failing to enter, they fly from his grip, scattering into the air. Taiasu groans, palming his entire face as they flutter down, one landing on his head while the rest float to the polished hallway floor like freshly fallen snow.
"WHY?!" Taiasu groans again, glaring down at the papers with a heated frown.
"Taruko-kun?" Sakura tilts her head, confused, while Tohsaka shows an unreserved grin.
"Something wrong, little man?"
"Yeah, I'd say so!" he grumbles, kneeling down and collecting a few fallen pieces of paper. He tries again to fit them into his pack, but it refuses them. They slip around the opening as if some unseen barrier thwarts his efforts. "There's no reason they shouldn't fit! I know there's room! And I've been able to fit everything in here! From swords to axes, bows, gun-blades, armor, and even—"
Among the mundane, he recalls something else. A far heavier burden he'd once carried. And with that memory, others which haven't been recalled in an age stir, paling his complexion and parching his mouth.
The primal Titan had again risen, summoned forth by the Kobolds kept under his thrall even in their master's absence, only to be felled once more. A feat accomplished at Taiasu's hand, along with a few other brave souls. He'd delivered the report of their victory in person to the Storm Command, back in Limsa Lominsa. Shortly after the joyous news had been received, he'd been contacted by the Scion's leader, Minfillia Warde.
She said… Her words about what he could expect on his return echo in his mind. A hero's welcome… It wasn't… It wasn't—!
The papers in his hand crinkle as he crushes them in his grip.
At her request, he returned to Vesper Bay, an arid, small yet bustling savannah port town north and west of Ul'dah, then made his way to the Waking Sands, where the Scions based to avoid political meddling from three of Eorzea's major city states. On arriving, he discovered a small group of troubled onlookers standing outside, trembling in the wake of something which had only just transpired.
He could feel his throat constricting, dry as the air he was then breathing, and just as it is right now.
On entering to see the problem for himself, his breath failed him. The moment he stepped foot inside, his eyes beheld a fellow Scion and one of his kinsmen—a Lalafell, like him—collapsed on the ground. He'd rushed to his side, but found no life in him.
And it wasn't just him… Everyone… Everyone—!
Scattered throughout the Waking Sands were those he'd come to know and call comrades-in-arms, felled one after the other. Strewn about with all the care and concern of the papers he'd just dropped.
Eighteen in all… Twenty with the two uniformed Garlean soldiers. I should've been there! I could've—!
The last person he'd seen was Noraxia—a Sylphan emissary from the Black Shroud, wearing a mask that looked like a large maple leaf, and dressed in an outfit reminiscent of a tree or bush—who used what remaining life they had to deliver to him Minfillia's warning. To seek refuge at the Church of Saint Adama, north of Camp Drybone in Eastern Thanalan, before finally breathing its last.
They were twenty-one…
Remembering it all, Taiasu's hands shake, and he grinds his teeth. Though it's been an age, the memory is still as vivid as the day it happened. Especially with the Echo resonating with the dying Sylph, showing him every savage moment of what had transpired. Hardened soldiers gunning or cutting down the Scions before they even knew what was happening, then slaughtering those who remained like helpless lambs.
It was me! Livia said it! That… fetid SOW! I was the one they were after! If I'd been there, no one else… NO ONE—!
Everything surges back in waves, recalled for the last act he'd performed to pen the closing words of that grisly chapter in his life. After arriving at the church to which Minfillia had told him to flee, one matron, a Sister named Eluned, suggested it.
She said it might help bring me closure, but…!
So, at her behest, he returned to help bury the bodies.
And somehow… Somehow—!
But how could he, being not even a full yalm tall, ever hope to carry them outside with the respect due them? Yet he found a way, unconventional though it was. Somehow, gently, incomprehensibly, he slipped a few of his fallen fellow's resting forms into the pack at his side.
I was so numb… I couldn't even fathom at the time…
And he thought it best not to try.
"Taruko-kun?"
"Kuh—!"
Taiasu startles as someone speaks his name. He shakes his head, returning to the present and looking up into Sakura's worried eyes. He glances over at Tohsaka to see her holding half the remaining papers stacked in her hands, having taken them from Sakura, while looking down at him with a perplexed frown.
"It's just a few papers. Nothing worth getting so upset over," she says, shaking her head.
"No, it's not that…" Taiasu says, frowning bitterly. But she is right. It was an age ago, and I can't keep blaming myself for it…
Sighing, he tries to relax his scowl as he kneels down to collect the scattered leaflets into a pile which he can carry in his hands instead of his pack.
"Then what was it?" Curious now, Tohsaka tilts her head as he picks up the last few. "You were making quite a face just now."
"Just some unpleasant memories, is all." Again, he both sighs and shakes his head as he stacks the papers in a neat bunch. "Something from a long time ago."
"Oh…"
Both Sakura and Tohsaka speak in the same instant as Taiasu looks up from the paper stack. The few he'd crushed in his hands, he now slips into his pocket, relieved to find them received.
Unlike how his pack had rejected them.
"Sorry about those. I hope it won't be a problem."
Still unable to force away his scowl, he's at least able to relax it into a semi-neutral line. Trying to bolster his spirit, Sakura shows a calm, sincere smile as she shakes her head.
"It should be fine. But why weren't—!" As she's about to finish her question, a few students walking past make her reconsider.
Shoot. I can't ask about that pack with them around. I'll absolutely have to ask him later. I'm desperately curious to know.
With that distraction ended, Tohsaka looks at the stack of papers in hers, Sakura's and now Taiasu's, hands. "So, where are we going with these, Sakura? To your classroom?"
Sakura shakes her head, then looks toward her sister, showing an awkward smile. "Not to mine, no. They're going back to Kuzuki-sensei. He said he's recalling them because of a spelling error." She sighs, then shakes her head again, but out of slight exasperation this time. "Oh, and before I forget, thank you for the help. Both of you."
She smiles down at Taiasu, who still wears a troubled expression he just can't seem to part with yet. But hearing her words and calm tone, so different from the one she'd spoken with yesterday, helps set his mind at ease.
"Sure, it's fine. I was around, anyroad."
And now, finally, he's able to show a warm, if still unsteady, smile. Tohsaka paces between them with her eyes, showing her own small smile of relief. Once which narrows in surprise at being relieved.
That's strange… I didn't think it bothered me they were on the outs, but seeing them getting along after what he told me yesterday… I guess I was?
She clears her throat. "So these are going to Kuzuki's room, then? And all because of a spelling error…" She breathes out a small, tired sigh. "Well, I understand. Kuzuki's really stubborn." As she talks, everyone walks, with Sakura leading the way. "He even canceled a whole test once, just because of a small spelling mistake."
As they walk while they talk, two phantasmal spectators follow in their wake, unnoticed by most of those around them.
But not by each other.
As plainly as he'd seen Taiasu the past evening, Rin's Archer now senses another Servant's presence. And that Servant, Sakura's Rider, senses him as well. Neither can verbally communicate this to their respective Master, but in the same moment, both convey their discovery into their respective Master's mind.
'Rin. Not to alarm you, but I'm sensing a Servant nearby.'
'Mast—er—Sakura. Please do not be disturbed, but I am detecting another Servant's presence.'
Within Archer's words, Rin can detect unrestrained glee. And she's certain if she scratched the surface of those words, beneath their shallow veneer, she'd find a completely different set unabashedly reading 'Told you so.' But despite the amusement he apparently finds in this set of circumstances, it's not his tone in her mind she focuses on, but his words.
'Another Servant?' She frowns, glaring down at the paper stack she carries.
'Yes. Very near. In this same hallway, even. I'd say they were following us.'
Imperceptibly, she breathes out a small, vexed sigh. 'Fine. I don't need to see your face to know you're loving every second of this, but you can save what you want to say for later. This is no place for a battle. Just… keep monitoring them, I guess.'
While Tohsaka holds her discussion in brief silence, Sakura startles inwardly at her Servant's words, nearly missing her next step.
'A Servant…? Is it the one from yesterday?'
'I do not believe so, no. They seem to lack that Servant's raw power. Still, please be on your guard.'
Sakura flits her eyes to her side, toward Tohsaka, who shakes her head, trying to recall what she'd been saying before Archer's voice interrupted her thoughts. It's then Sakura realizes to whom this unknown Servant likely belongs, and the apprehension gripping her weakens.
'It's alright, Rider. I'm fairly certain I know whose it is. And I doubt she would try anything here. Just keep your eyes on them, please…'
And doubtlessly, her Servant has informed her of Rider's presence.
Brief quiet dominates their discussion as Sakura recalls the last thing Tohsaka had said. Desiring to get their discussion back on track, if for no other reason than to distract from her Servant's disconcerting revelation, she speaks her own thoughts regarding it.
Their common instructor's unwaveringly straight-laced nature.
"Kuzuki-sensei canceled a test? You mean the school's exam?"
And with that statement, Tohsaka remembers what they'd been talking about.
"Right. It was last year's midterm, I think." She sighs, shaking her head and bringing herself back into her student's mindset. "He came in before everyone had even finished filling in their names and said in his usual tone—" She deepens her voice, frowning seriously and extending an index finger toward the ceiling. "—'There was a spelling mistake, so one of the questions is wrong. For that reason, the midterm will be postponed to a later date.' Everyone was surprised. Even today, the teachers still talk about it."
Sakura chuckles at the impression. "But that's just like Kuzuki-sensei, though. He doesn't think teachers should make any mistakes."
"He goes too far, though," Tohsaka says, returning her voice to normal. "You'll realize it soon, too. Kuzuki is stubborn as a boulder or a mountain goat."
"Hee-hee. Tohsaka-senpai, you must like Kuzuki-sensei. It's rare to hear you talk about someone like that."
She looks up to see Sakura wearing a small, amused smile. "Really? Well, I do think he should be more flexible, but…"
Thinking, she frowns down at the floor. … but I also think he's not bad this way.
Among the school's instructors, two teacher's stand out from the rest, contrasting with each other in style, attitude and disposition. One filled with eccentric energy, well liked by every student, and the other a stolid, strict disciplinarian, commanding the respectful fear of every student. With Fujimura being the carrot, usually easy to deal with even despite her capricious nature, it's Kuzuki who brings the stick as the school's most stone-faced instructor.
Tohsaka lifts her thoughtful frown into a light smile as she draws the comparison, then looks over at Sakura again. "You'll see what I mean when you reach second year, since he teaches ethics, too. But more importantly, is it alright if I ask you something, Sakura?"
"You just did," Taiasu mutters absently, having been quiet and lost in thought until just this moment. "Ah—!" He winces as both Tohsaka and Sakura turn their heads, frowning sharply and suppressing a light chuckle, respectively. "Er… Sorry. I didn't mean… It just slipped out."
"Uh-huh." Tohsaka sighs, then turns her head to look over at Sakura again. "Anyway, it's about yesterday."
Sakura looks back, her smile dipping at Tohsaka's serious tone. "Something about yesterday, Senpai?"
She nods. "Yeah. Were you talking to some strange foreigner?"
"Oh…"
Sakura's steps slow, and she lets her gaze drop. She can feel her face flush briefly, but not in that pleasant, comfortable way it does whenever she gets flustered around Shirou. What she'd said to him about the man Tohsaka now speaks of rings through her mind. And along with it, an uncomfortable, twisting knot in her chest for having been seen talking to someone she'd openly admitted was a 'good-looking' stranger.
"Y-you were watching, Senpai?"
"Just by chance." Despite her concerns, Tohsaka lightens her serious tone into something more cordial. "So, what was it about? Is he someone you know?"
Sakura shakes her head, and the red falls from her complexion. "No… Well, he was a strange person."
The question recalls to her mind more about the odd individual whom she'd seen lurking about. That they'd never spoken before that night. And despite the unusual words he'd said, there was no reason she could think of to tell Tohsaka about that. All she could tell was that he was some strange person saying strange things she couldn't understand.
Nor did she want to.
Nee-san has enough going on, keeping the town safe from things like Taruko-kun. And now, having become a full-fledged Master. She doesn't need to be worrying about odd strangers.
So she concocts a reasonable misdirection. "He seemed lost. He asked me lots of things, but I couldn't make out what he was saying, so, um…"
Frowning, Tohsaka breathes out a small sigh while she recalls their interaction. The man had stopped only briefly, and they'd then parted ways. Beyond that, all she can recall was something tangential Taiasu had mentioned.
What was it…? Something about this guy hanging around? But is this all it was? Hmm… Still, Sakura's explanation brings with it a sense of relief. I'm glad to hear it wasn't anything like I thought. I knew she wasn't the sort to get mixed up with strange guys like that.
Tohsaka's thoughtful frown relaxes into a small, relieved smile. "I see. Sorry for being nosey. I was just curious."
Sakura nods, reflecting her smile. "No, it's fine. Um…" She glances at a nearby classroom door, her destination, to which their walking discussion has led them. "Right here is fine, Senpai. I can just hand these to him now."
Tohsaka also nods, then passes her stack back to Sakura. She then leans down, taking Taiasu's from him so Sakura doesn't have to. Watching Tohsaka lean down toward him, Sakura wonders briefly.
He said he was coming back, but that was before he bumped into Nee-san… I wonder…?
"Say, Taruko-kun, are you still planning to come back?"
As she asks, her mouth turns up in an expectant smile, remembering how fervently he'd declared his intent. Pulled from his thoughts, Taiasu looks up, tilting his head.
"Huh? Am I—!"
He recalls it as well. With everything the past day had been—running into Tohsaka in the park, first fending off then encasing her Servant in ice, then the meal, the stones and aether shards, crystals and clusters (and with that thought comes a visceral shudder as the bright flash and the explosion blaze in his mind)—it seemed to have been lost in the shuffle.
"Ah… I mean…"
He looks over at Tohsaka, who arches her brow. He then recalls something else from the past day. While he's remembering those things, Tohsaka's mind buzzes with thoughts of her own.
Well, it's his decision, but I still want to know more about those strange stones. And there are other factors to consider—
"But you're still staying over at Shirou's, aren't you? I mean…" He frowns thoughtfully, scuffing his foot. "I could pay a visit for dinner, maybe? But I wouldn't feel right just hanging around like a loose third wheel."
At his observation, Sakura can feel her face flash red, while that same observation pulls Tohsaka from her own silent musings with a slight smirk.
Not exactly subtle, little man, but still…
Her smirk lifts into a full smile as she nods her agreement. "He's right, Sakura. And if he doesn't have a problem with it, there are still a few things I want to know." She then sighs, shaking her head as she recalls a few of their discussions where she'd tried to get her questions answered.
And gotten little for her efforts.
"Even if he can't answer them right now, I feel like they'll come. Eventually."
Too busy being flustered, Sakura's unable to even wonder what those things could be. All she can offer is a simple nod as she tries to force the red from her face, nearly tumbling the papers she holds to the floor before Tohsaka steps in to help her steady herself.
"Careful, Sakura. It'd take a while to pick those up."
Sakura breathes out a small sigh, then nods again. "Right. Thank you, Senpai." She then nods down at Taiasu. "And you also, Taruko-kun."
Tohsaka reaches for the door to slide it open, then hesitates, turning her head toward Sakura again. "Say, Sakura, how are things?"
Between what she witnessed last night, and the discussion they had later through Taiasu's strange pearl, she has a sound idea. But there's still something, perhaps some instinct, which drives her to ask, anyway.
Sakura looks from the door, back at Tohsaka, and shows a radiant smile. "Things are well, Senpai. Better than they've been in a while, in fact."
Showing her own light smile, Tohsaka nods back at her. "Well, you spent last night at his place, so I would imagine so." She sighs, then frowns as she realizes what lurks beneath her question's surface. "But what brought that about? Has Shinji been mistreating you again?"
Just hearing the name mentioned sets Taiasu's teeth on edge. Between what he'd seen of the boy, both in the dojo and the first night he'd spent here, combined with what he'd seen of his physically violating Sakura in the vision the into which Echo pulled him, it's all he can do not to sneer or spit at the ground.
I can't believe she'd just… be okay with all of that…!
Everything she's said of her brother on those few occasions when she spoke of him rings in his head. All of it could be distilled as the words of someone suffering from Stockholm's syndrome. And despite it all, Sakura's smile lifts, even into her eyes, which slide closed as she shakes her head.
"No, it's nothing like that. You don't need to worry about that, Senpai. Niia-san has been kind recently."
"—Tch!"
A small sound Taiasu can't keep from slipping through his clenched teeth as he clicks his tongue behind them. Both Sakura and Tohsaka glance down at him to find his face flush, and his hands shaking. Sakura's wide smile narrows with some concern, while Tohsaka arches her brow.
"Something to say, little man?" Tohsaka asks.
"Ng…" Scowling, he chews his lower lip. "No… It's nothing. I just didn't like my first impression of him, is all…"
It's all the truth he's willing to share. The rest is Sakura's, to keep or to speak, and all he can do is respect and accept that.
Whether or not he likes it.
Tohsaka tilts her head, parsing his words. I'd say he's got some keen instincts, then. But if Sakura… She then glances over at Sakura, who breathes out a relieved sigh at his silence as her smile returns. If she's able to smile like that, then there's nothing for me to say. At least, not for right now.
Slipping her hand into the door's handle, Tohsaka pulls it open, then motions for Sakura's entry. She smiles once more, nods her thanks, then walks through and inside, keeping the paper stack steady. Taiasu eyes her back as she approaches the teacher sitting at his desk and sets the papers down. Once they are, and her hands are free, his eyes slip closed.
'Sakura…'
As gently as he's able, he projects his thoughts through the pearl in his pack into the one he'd given her. And from there, directly into her mind. Sakura stiffens, but she's able to keep herself from betraying any other indications. Whatever Kuzuki notices, he says nothing, simply nodding his approval of her efforts.
'T-Taruko-kun! That startled me! What—?'
'Sorry, but this bothers me more than it should. I know it's none of my business, but I won't be able to think straight unless I say something.' Time slows as they hold their private discussion. For his thoughts being directed at Sakura, Tohsaka remains oblivious. 'I don't even know what I want to say, but I can't keep silent! I know what you've said, but everything I've seen and heard, both my first day here, and in what the Echo showed me—it's all just so horrible! How can you openly say that he's been kind after—!'
'Taruko-kun…' Within his mind, he can almost hear her letting out a small sigh. 'I can see why you wouldn't understand. And I don't accept or condone those things… What you've seen. But what I said is true. Before, when I was all alone…'
It was some time after Zouken had started 'teaching' her that Shinji had returned from studying abroad. At first, he treated her much like any brother might a little sister. Not with outright cruelty or contempt, but, well, like a brother. Not always sweet and innocent, but at least during that time, his bullying behavior was simply that of a younger brother.
It changed when he learned that she'd inherit the Matou house's mantle by becoming its true heir, then escalated after his father died. All she can do is try to explain this to him. During those dark few years, when he'd been more of a brother than a bastard, he was the only person she had to rely on.
'… So that's how it is.'
Taiasu remains silent for a moment, trying to digest this information. He can still feel his face taut with a sharp scowl, and his hands clench at his sides.
'That may be, but… I still don't like it. I'm just glad Shirou asked you over. I wouldn't like the thought of you being there by yourself with him treating you the way he does.' With his piece said, Taiasu breathes out a frustrated sigh. Sakura leans her head forward, staring at the room's floor as Tohsaka pulls the door closed. 'I won't say anything, because it's not mine to say. Sorry for bending your ear… I just couldn't let it alone. But I'm glad you're in a better place, and I'm really glad you're not—!'
Upset at me anymore…? Just before he completes the thought in her mind, he hesitates. Maybe she isn't, but it's probably better for me to keep that to myself. If I say anything, she might get annoyed. Not that I'd blame her.
'—in that situation anymore. Hope I can make it over for dinner.'
Still irritated, Taiasu breathes out another sigh as he turns from the door. Tohsaka blinks down at him, then shrugs her shoulders as she walks from the door. Hearing her feet clip against the school hallway, Taiasu looks up, then follows.
'Thank you, Taruko-kun. And I hope so as well.'
Even as Sakura says this, Taiasu still picks up on something forlorn in her tone as her words echo in his mind.
End Notes
This chapter contains another nod to canon in the world of Final Fantasy XIV - Something which often happens in video games is how reactions to death are often glossed over. For good reason, as it would quickly kill the pacing if every single death affected the characters as it does in real life (and other non-video game media).
In this case, I wanted to address what transpired properly, as it was wholly glossed over in canon how someone could stuff an entire corpse into a small and unassuming pack (given little more than a hand-wave in some flavor text on a key item related to the quest), and the emotional impact that might have on someone having to do it.
I wanted both to give it a nod here, and expand upon it in this chapter.
So, I did.
Well, I tried at least.