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Chapter 2: Home
It had been roughly half an hour since Sakura arrived and she had yet to let go of Medusa. Although Atalanta, the caregiver, referred to her as Rider, the woman insisted on being called Medusa. Even when she set Sakura down, she still held onto her hand with both of hers and hid behind the woman.
"What dost thou like to eat, child?" Atalanta crouched down to Sakura's level, but stayed a few feet away.
The young child poked her head from her hiding place and stared at Atalanta for a couple seconds. "I… wouldn't want to im… im..."
"It is alright, young one," Although Sakura couldn't find the right word, it seems Atalanta recognized what she was trying to say. "You can have whatever you want here."
"Mm…" Sakura paused. "Can I please have some tofu…?"
"It shall be d—" Atalanta stopped mid-sentence. She just realized she didn't have a cook. "I shalt be right back. Medusa, can thou take care of the young one?"
"Yes Master," Medusa nodded.
"I apologize, my child," Atalanta refrained from putting a hand on Sakura's head, but smiled at her nonetheless. "I must contact one of my… friends. Please wait a little longer."
"Okay…" Sakura nodded before hiding behind Medusa again. Atalanta then briskly made it back to the terminal. She channeled prana around her and the screen flared to life. She quickly sat down and clicked the small grail icon.
"Thank the gods," Atalanta muttered as she saw a search bar on the top of the window. She immediately typed "cook" and hoped for the best. To Atalanta's delight, it seemed to work.
There were precious few options that appeared, and Atalanta scowled at them. Displayed next to the portraits of Servants were their skill ranks in cooking. Atalanta hovered over a certain servant. As much as she dislikes it, her children will only have the best.
EMIYA opened his eyes and immediately scowled. He was standing in his old family estate with no master in sight. He waited for the grail to provide him with the information he needed, and only scowled deeped when he received it.
He turned his head as he heard footsteps. When he saw who it was, he almost traced Kanshou and Bakuya, but stopped when he felt his connection to her.
"So you're my master, huh?" The Nameless Archer chuckled dryly and shook his head. "What a strange twist of fate."
"It is… good to see thee again, O Nameless Archer," Atalanta seemed uncomfortable, but held a courdal smile nonetheless. "I have a task of utmost importance for thee."
"What is it?" EMIYA tensed. From what little he could remember of the previous war, Atalanta was a serious and prideful woman who never asked for help unless she absolutely needed it. Atalanta's expression changed into one of focus and determination.
"I need you to cook."
Atalanta's friend was scary. When he walked into the kitchen, he immediately looked at Sakura and scowled. The young girl let out a squeak and hid behind Medusa, barely peeking out to see what the man would do. He looked up at Medusa and nodded.
"Medusa," He said.
"Archer," Medusa replied. She reached back and put a hand on Sakura's shoulder. Sakura flinched, but held herself closer to Medusa. She appreciated the reassurance that she was there and protecting her.
The man, Archer, stared at Medusa with an unreadable expression before walking over to the fridge and taking out a package of tofu. Atalanta then walked back into the kitchen and sat down at the table.
"Come sit," Atalanta said, beckoning the two over. Medusa turned around and gently lifted Sakura up. She sat down and placed Sakura on her lap. "Archer was nice enough to offer to cook for us for the foreseeable future."
"We need to consider the other needs of the children," Medusa said, placing her hand on Sakura's head. She looked uncomfortable at first, but closed her eyes as relaxed as Medusa started to rub her head. "We're going to need a teacher, first of all."
"I think I know someone," Atalanta nodded.
"I suggest you also rescue another child. It's not healthy for children to stay away from social interaction for too long," Medusa added, looking down at Sakura and smiling for a second before focusing back on Atalanta with a serious expression. "I can take care of Sakura for now."
"Many thanks, Medusa," Atalanta nodded before walking out of the room.
"Rescue?" Sakura looked up at Medusa.
"Rescue. You see, we find… special children who need our help," Medusa smiled down at the child, choosing her works carefully. "There are a lot of bad people who don't like these special children, so we take care of them and protect them."
Sakura turned her head and stared off into space for a little while. She stiffened as Medusa pulled her into a hug.
"It's okay," Medusa whispered. "He won't hurt you anymore."
Sakura started to cry.
Atalanta sat down and looked at the list of names. She recognized a few of them from her previous war. She looked at the names and then the filter button on the top right. She clicked it and found a few options. She could sort by name, age, magic potential, and priority. The priority had an asterisk next to it, so Atalanta clicked it.
*Priority is judged by the user's morals and ideals and will sort names based on how much they need saving in the eyes of the user
A good place to start as any, Atalanta clicked the sort button and then the first name on the list.
/
Illyasviel von Einzbern was bored. She was laying in bed, staring at the ceiling. When was the last time she went outside?
Right… that time, Illya thought to herself, sighing. I really miss Papa. I wonder where he is.
She then sat up when she saw black mist start to form into a mass before your bed. When the mass of black mist faded, Illya's eyes widened.
"Mama…?" Illya's eyes widened.
"Illya," Irisviel smiled at her daughter. Her smile was sad, something Illya has never seen in her mother, but she was just happy to see her Mama again. "I'm afraid I don't have much time. I have something very important to tell you."
"What is it, Mama?" Illya asked. She wanted to run up and give her the biggest hug in the world, but something told her that she shouldn't. She didn't know what, but she stayed put in her bed.
"Your father, Kiritsugu adopted a son. This is why he never came back to you."
Atalanta was seething. She could practically feel the malice dripping from that spirit. She didn't know what it was, but she knew that it wasn't good.
It's trying to manipulate her, Atalanta grinded her teeth. Using children for nefarious purposes is one of the most unforgivable crimes in Atalanta's opinion. She immediately clicked the "recommended" button on the summoning menu and started the summoning process.
"No…" Illya's hands on her head as she felt her world shatter. "No, no, no! It can't be true! Papa loves me! He promised he would come back!"
"He won't," Irisviel's smile didn't even move. "He died earlier today."
"He… what?" Illya looked up at her with wide eyes, tears already spilling.. "He… broke his promise?"
"Yes," Irisviel looked down, but her smile didn't change. "He's a disloyal and dishonest man. He even k—"
"Get away from my daughter!" An identical voice shouted. Illya looked up to see… another Irisviel? She was wearing the Dress of Heaven and she charged at the other one.
"You… How are you here?!" For the first time, the first Irisviel's smile vanished and was replaced by a vile sneer. At that moment, Illya knew that… thing wasn't her mother. The real Irisviel would never make a face like that.
"I'm here to protect my daughter from you," The real Irisviel had a hardened look of determination.
"You cannot stop me," The Fake Irisviel let out a wicked smile before fading back into black mist. Irisviel stood in front of her daughter protectively until all of the black mist had faded. As soon as it did, the woman spun around and tackled her daughter in a hug.
"Illya!" Irisviel exclaimed as she squeezed her daughter.
"Mama!" Illya started to sob into her mother's shoulder. "The fate Mama said all these terrible things… she said that Papa didn't love me!"
"Oh, Illya," Irisviel broke from the hug and held her shoulders and looked at her with teary eyes and a shaky smile. "Papa loved you so much. He tried to see you so many times but Acht never let him. He was really sick, too. He never stopped thinking about you, even as he raised Shirou."
"Shirou…?" Illya sniffed a couple times. "Is that Papa's new son?"
"Yes," Irisviel nodded. "He's such a good child. I bet he would be really happy to have an onee-chan."
"Really?" Illya's eyes brightened.
"Yes, but I have to go now," Irisviel looked behind her at the closed door. "We can't see your brother now. It isn't safe. Do you want to come with me?"
"Yes!" Illya didn't even hesitate. She hugged her mother again, clinging onto her as if she were going to vanish with only a moment's notice. "Please don't leave me!"
"Of course," Tears fell from Irisviel's face as she softly embraced her daughter. "Let's go home."
With a flash of light, the two of them were gone.
Thank you for reading! First of all, I'm aware that the Angry Mango appearing as Irisviel only happened in the anime, but I thought it would be a bit more interesting like this. Please continue to leave your thoughts and child suggestions in the comments. Don't forget to join the Discord in my bio!
