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

Resolution

Chapter 5

"They are here."

Sakura looked up from a wedge of obsidian ten meters long, sitting in the middle of a massive mandala carved into the ground. Iron filings filled the mandala's grooves, bronze tripods standing around its exterior at regular intervals holding aloft braziers filled with glowing coals. Small, flight-capable automatons regularly dropped incense into the braziers, sending clouds of sweet-smelling smoke into the air.

Other tripods stood around the ritual chamber, holding great, flaming bowls of bronze, providing light and heat in the ritual chamber. Then there were the cats, thirty of them all, sitting relaxed at intervals of a meter around the circle, either patiently waiting or curiously looking at either Sakura, Rin, or the automatons flying by overhead.

"Who?" Sakura asked, traversing the mandala to stand outside. "And where?"

"Our half-siblings." Rin remarked dryly. "Rin and Sakura Matou…they're at the Tohsaka property."

"…go deal with them, please." Sakura said with an annoyed note. "I'm in the middle of a ritual."

Rin hummed as her lips curled in amusement. "Do I reveal myself," she asked. "Or should I keep pretending to be dead?"

"Do as you like." Sakura shortly replied, and Rin cackled before rubbing her hands together.

"This is going to be fun!" she said, before shifting to feline form and running out from the ritual chamber, thence the corridors of Ryuudo Temple, out into the open before using a hidden mandala to teleport all the way across the city in an instant.

Meanwhile, inside the ritual chamber, Sakura took a deep breath. "Let's go, everyone." She said while simultaneously drawing her Azoth Dagger.

"NYAA-!" the cats chorused, before rising to their feet and checking each other's distances. Then they sat down on their haunches, and began to sing, rhythmically bobbing their heads even as Sakura slit her wrist, blood splattering on the mandala and causing it to dimly ignite with corposant. "NYAA-! NYAA-! NYAA-! NYAA-! NYAA-! NYAA-! NYAA-! NYAA-!"

Sakura held out her hands, smaller mandalas lighting up in the air before them. "Blood is the stuff of souls." She said softly, the mandalas flashing once before drifting forward and away, stopping only to hover above the colossal wedge of obsidian. Again, the mandalas flashed, then reorienting themselves horizontally, merged into one before growing outwards to match the mandala carved into the ground below. Magical energy began to shimmer in the air, forming an unseen wall that followed the boundaries of the mandalas above and below, and encapsuling the obsidian wedge within. Then Sakura began to cast a ten-count, her words contrasting with the background meowing of the felines that served as her acolytes in this ritual.

I am the First and the Last.

By my will, frozen fire was reshaped by the hands of men,

The better to serve my purpose,

And outline the path that leads to the Gates of Heaven.

For mine birthright is dominion over Imaginary Numbers,

And lordship over the metaphysical.

Now, let my will be done,

And frozen fire bridge the physical and metaphysical,

That in the fullness of time,

I would open the gates that I see in my dreams.

The instant Sakura finished her aria, the mandalas flared bright…

…and then went out in an instant. Likewise, the fires in the bowls and braziers around the room also went out, any unburnt fuel turned cold as ice. A colossal amount of prana was consumed in an instant, the feline acolytes bowing and pressing their noses to the ground in ritual conclusion. Then they turned to Sakura, who was heaving and struggling to breathe, before she raised a hand to her nose and wiped away a streak of blood.

"I…I'm fine…" she said in response to the unspoken question, the closest cats giving reassuring purrs before rubbing against her ankles.

Then she looked at the obsidian, and despite the pain wracking her body, the burning in her throat and lungs, and the rich iron in her mouth, smiled. How could she not? She had succeeded, after all, all single glance at the obsidian wedge showed that much. The great shard of volcanic glass didn't seem to be there at all, almost looking like a hallucination than something real that occupied space, half-folded into Imaginary Numbers Space as it was.

It made all the time, effort, resources, and personal cost to get to this point worth it.

"One down," Sakura said softly, her blood pulsing feverishly through her veins. "Nine more to go."

"I would say 'welcome' except that'd be lying."

Rin and Sakura Matou blinked in unison, before looking down at the source of the voice, and saw a black cat sitting on her haunches staring at them with unnaturally-golden eyes. "You're a familiar, then." Rin said.

"I am." The cat replied. "And I am not. I am bonded with Sakura – Sakura Tohsaka, mind – but I am no common familiar. I am a guardian spirit."

"Nii-san!" Sakura said in alarm, and shrinking behind her big brother.

"We're not here to cause trouble." He quickly said.

"I certainly hope not." The cat said. "That would be…inadvisable, and would end very badly for you. But where are my manners? I am Mikasa, guardian spirit and companion to your elder half-sister…and she asked me to tell you to leave, and never come back. Well, you can stay in the city for up to the end of the year, after which…well, if you stick around it might be kinder to just charge at Sakura – Magus Tohsaka – screaming while swinging a sword around. For now, though, you'd be well-advised not to poke your nose into her business. Such as the work on her house at present."

"Even though she poked her nose into our family's business?" Rin asked.

Mikasa laughed. "Your grandfather was a monster." She said. "Didn't you know that?"

"Dad told us about him…"

"Then you should understand why Magus Tohsaka did as she did." Mikasa replied. "Your family took advantage of her family's hospitality, with your grandfather in particular devouring innocent people living in this city to prolong its unnatural life. All the while the rest of your family did its bidding without question. That said, Magus Tohsaka isn't unreasonable. Her ancestors did conspire with your grandfather, after all, and while knowing about its unsavory habits, looked the other way. Likewise, most of your ancestors simply resigned themselves to their fates, with the sole exception of your father, who turned his back on and abandoned his family's disgusting legacy. That much at least is worthy of recognition."

"…why so hostile then?" Rin asked.

"Do you know what your mother did?"

Rin looked troubled at that, as did Sakura. "She…she left our big sister behind…" the latter eventually whispered.

"But it's not like she didn't have good reason!" Rin burst out. "I mean…she murdered her own sister, for gods' sakes."

"So she did." Mikasa admitted. "But in magi society such things are normal, expected even, when it comes to disputes over a family's legacy and questions of inheritance. Surely, your mother knew this, and should not have been affected so deeply."

"Y-you're not serious!" Rin spluttered. "My s-sister…she's not serious…about that…is she?"

"Nii-san, we're in public…" Sakura worriedly said, tugging at her brother's sleeve.

Ghostly laughter echoed in the air as Mikasa licked at a paw. "Don't worry." She said. "I've already made sure random pedestrians and the like can hear us, much less notice us. As for your question, Rin Matou, yes, Magus Tohsaka is serious. What you should be asking instead, though, is why your mother was so…troubled, by Magus Tohsaka claiming her inheritance over her sister's cooling body, when Aoi Tohsaka was so sanguine over discarding her child. And not once…but twice…"

"…what?" Rin asked in surprise.

"What do you mean by twice?" Sakura asked.

Again, ghostly laughter echoed in the air. "They never told you?" Mikasa asked, rolling around on her back and staring at the Matou siblings upside-down. "Oh this is just rich…I'm literally rolling on the floor laughing here…are you sure you want to know the truth? I'm not hearing a no…alright then…Aoi Tohsaka walking out the door when Magus Tohsaka was eight wasn't the first time she abandoned her child. Oh no…it was the second time…the first time was when Magus Tohsaka was five, and her father and predecessor made the decision to sell her out to your grandfather, to become his heir given your uncle and cousin's…worthlessness. Supposedly, at least, since evidence since points to this being a scam, and Magus Tohsaka was meant to become some kind of test subject instead…"

Mikasa stopped rolling around, and once again sitting on her haunches, licked another paw clean as the Matou siblings gasped in horror. "…back to the main point, though," she continued after a moment. "Aoi Tohsaka was quite sanguine at the prospect, with a family friend at the time even describing her opinions as…I believe she said "I abandoned all hope for happiness when I married into a magus family", or something like that."

The cat seemed to shrug, then getting up, walked forward to rub at Rin and Sakura's legs and ankles, the siblings staggering around to avoid stumbling over the guardian spirit. "In short," Mikasa concluded. "She already knew what being a magus involved, whether it was selling your own flesh and blood out to fates worse than death…or murdering your own sibling to claim their inheritance."

"You're lying." Rin ground out. "Mother would never…!"

"I could be lying, yes." Mikasa admitted, padding away and sitting next to the Tohsaka property's entrance. "But if I am, why didn't they tell you about the first time? Curious, isn't it? But like you and I said, I could be lying. If so, all you have to do to find out the truth is to ask your parents. Surely, they wouldn't hide it, much less lie to you, would they?"

Rin grit his teeth, staring down at the cat and its golden eyes seeming to mock him, clenching his fists while struggling to keep his temper in. It was so…tempting, to lash out at this beast for all the insinuations it made against his parents, but – for now, at least – reason prevailed. Doing so would be ill-advised, even against an ordinary cat which might retaliate with fangs and claws leaving painful wounds and potential rabies infection, among others.

A guardian spirit, though? Cuts from claws and puncture wounds from fangs would be the least of his worries if he picked a fight with one. There was also his sister present, and Rin didn't want to see her get caught in any potential crossfire.

Granted, Mikasa could be lying about being a guardian spirit, but Rin doubted it. He wasn't a very good magus or spell-caster, but he was good enough to sense the vast power hidden behind Mikasa's seemingly-diminutive appearance.

"Let's go, Sakura." He said instead, turning away and gripping his sister's hand while walking away.

"W-w-wait!" Sakura said, pulling free and turning back to Mikasa. "I…look, we didn't want to start a fight. We…I just want to see if we can…I could meet with Sakura-nee. Try to…start over…"

"Is that why you're here?" Mikasa asked. "Why you came not just to this city, but to this property, even?"

"I…well…yes…"

"She is not here." Mikasa said. "And I'm not going to tell you where she is. I'll tell her about what you wanted, though. Then we'll see if Magus Tohsaka is willing to meet with you. In short, she'll decide whether or not you ever get to see each other."

"I…I see…" Sakura said, looking and sounding downcast.

"Go." Mikasa said, though she looked surprised when Sakura gave a deep bow, ran after her brother. Her own namesake – for all that Mikasa hadn't used her other name – gave a curt nod at her, before leaving with his sister, the two of them whispering urgently to each other.

She did give a sniff at the air, though, irises narrowing at the smell she was getting from the siblings. Then there was how…close, they seemed to be to each other…

…oh. So that's what it was.

Even without Zouken the Matou are still so disgusting, I swear to the gods.

"You are dastardly." Sakura (Tohsaka) said while walking over with two cups of coffee on saucers. A tray floated behind her, with two slices of cake on saucers with forks sitting on it.

Rin nodded her thanks as Sakura placed coffee and cake on the table before them, before similarly sitting down opposite from Rin. The two of them sat at a table under a pavilion-like section of the open-air area of their suite at Fuyuki Grand Hyatt. Although it wasn't quite dusk yet, the sky above was already starting to shade down as the Sun sank slowly but steadily towards the horizon.

"Well, I am your sister." Rin remarked, causing Sakura to laugh. "That, and we've met some of my counterparts from other timelines. Considering how callous I can be in those timelines, whether deliberately or because I was too gutless to do the right thing…yeah, I can definitely be dastardly if I put my mind to it."

Sakura hummed, holding her coffee under her nose to enjoy its bitter fumes before taking a sip. "…maybe I should have named your familiar 'Mikoto' instead of 'Mikasa'." She mused.

"What?"

"'Mikoto'…it can read as 'truth' when written down, can't it?" Sakura asked. "And you are, in a way, the truth of what I am now. Whether as the sister whose murder let me become who I am today…or whose continued presence in my life helped ground me while growing up."

Rin coughed, a flush coming over cheeks as her tail waved and her ears twitched in agitation. "You give me too much credit." She said, taking a drink of her own coffee.

"You mentioned your counterparts from other timelines just now, didn't you?" Sakura asked again. "Weren't they messed up not just by growing up alone, not to mention that snake Kirei's influence? Perhaps Murderer Blue would be even more twisted, beyond simply just a façade for the benefit of the rest of magi society, had you not been there."

"…eh…I still think you're giving me too much credit." Rin coughed. "For all we know, you might have ended up with Shirou instead of him shacking up with Ayako."

"Well…if you put it that way…" Sakura thoughtfully remarked, wondering what might have been had she ended up with Shirou. While she stayed in touch with Jeweled Sword Blue's sister, given the difference between them, she didn't seem an accurate reference for a relationship between Sakura and Shirou. "…there's still how you turned the truth against our half-siblings."

Rin snorted. "It was just the simplest and easiest way to get them to fuck off after they tried defending mom leaving you behind." She said. "And it was true. Mom couldn't handle you killing me, but she was perfectly fine with you being whored off when you were just five? That's a bad joke."

"Well, it is." Sakura remarked while cutting into her cake before winking at a surprised Rin. "From a cosmic perspective, that is."

Rin blinked, and then laughed. "True!" she said. "To say nothing of how stepdad and mom named their kids after us both. They might as well literally be our replacements. That's just so pathetic I don't even…"

"I…am not surprised."

"Yeah, me too." Rin grumbled while spooning a forkful of cake into her mouth. "It'd be even creepier if they were both girls too…not that it isn't already creepy as it is, not to mention…surreal. I mean, I know that 'Rin' is a unisex name, but still…"

Sakura hummed, the sisters eating in silence for the next few minutes. Then Sakura finished, and replacing her fork on the saucer, took a drink of her coffee. "You are sure?" she asked.

"About what?" Rin asked after finishing chewing and swallowing.

"About our half-siblings sleeping with each other?"

"It sure smells that way…ugh, I don't want to talk about it. How'd things go on your end? Well, I know you succeeded, but no complications? And what about the other cats?"

"No complications. As for the cats…well, they deserved reward for helping me today."

"And?"

"I gave them a reward."

"Oh? What kind of reward?"

"Hey, where's the fifth crate?"

"Huh…it should be right…there…what the hell? Where's the fifth crate?"

"That's what I asked!"

A pair of workmen offloading a fishing boat at Fuyuki's waterfront started shouting and cursing as they realized one of their crates was missing, filled brimming with fish caught earlier in the morning out at sea, before the Sun had even risen. After a few minutes rummaging around, they found an unmarked bag instead, and opening it, found it filled with bundles of cash and a letter.

"My cats needed the fish." It read. "Here's the payment, market price plus twenty per cent. Regards, Anonymous."

"IS THIS FOR REAL?" one of the workmen shouted in outrage, and drawing the captain's attention.

"What's going on down there?" he yelled while clambering down a ladder. "And why the hell aren't you putting your backs into it? The catch isn't going to unload itself, you know!"

"Sir, someone stole a crate full of fish."

"WHAT?"

"They…um, left this note. And some money…"

The captain grabbed the bag, pulled out a bundle of cash, and quickly checking it through, picked up the letter with a suspicious look on his face. Suspicion turned to exasperation and disbelief as he read, before taking a deep breath after finishing.

"Seriously…?" he asked no one in particular.

Elsewhere, Sakura was washing out an empty crate, while large numbers of cats happily munched on fresh fish not far away.

Rin laughed her head off as Sakura finished telling her about how she rewarded the cats who'd helped her enchant some obsidian. "Now that's what I call quid pro quo." She said with a big grin. "They help out with some complicated magic, and they get fresh food afterward in return."

"Hey, fair's fair." Sakura said. "Besides, what else am I going to reward them with? Money? Cats don't need money. Likewise for clothes. Or land. Or anything else that might interest people. Not that that's a bad thing. Cats are less likely to stab you in the back, after all, compared to most other magi or even spell-casters."

"True." Rin said with a nod while taking a drink of coffee. "Mind you, though, you're still going to be enchanting plenty of things in the future, right? And those rituals will need help from the cats again. And while fresh food really is the best reward for them, you might want to be more…careful, when you get the fish. Otherwise, rumors might start spreading about someone filching fish from the waterfront and leaving bags of cash and unsigned letters behind."

"Rumors aren't necessarily a bad thing." Sakura said. "So long as they don't mention or imply magic and the supernatural, that is. That said, I do get what you mean, and I'll keep it in mind going forward."

Rin nodded and took another drink of her coffee. "Now then," she said while replacing her mug on its saucer and sitting back, looked up at the darkening sky above. "What will our…family, do next?'

"We'll find out soon enough, I'm sure." Sakura remarked.

"Hmm…you're probably right."

A/N

And the cats return, once again serving as acolytes for another one of Sakura's rituals, this time involving a really big chunk of obsidian.

At the same time, Rin and Sakura's half-siblings show up…and they have the same names. Just different (biological) fathers. Rin Matou is also male. And Rin/Mikasa seems to think they're sleeping with each other. Regardless, things just got a little more complicated.