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The following is a fan-based

FICTION

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Chapter 3: Homecoming (3)

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Kujo Sakura should have known that her family's plans to enjoy the holidays in Fuyuki wouldn't have lasted for long without facing something crazy, but she had to say it 'took a while' before the trouble came to horizon.

The first few hours of her stay in Fuyuki had been relatively normal. As usual, Illya and Shirou were bickering with one another on who would spend time with her, Joji was giving her a rundown of how things were in New York as he mentioned having 'helped around in opening a few hospital with Grandpa Jojo', and Shizuka and Jolyne were chatting earnestly about girly stuff.

Despite Joji providing quite the commentary to nod from time to time, Sakura didn't exactly feel connected around. It was just a strange thing she had started to perceive ever since she had gone through the process of obtaining ｢One Vision: Absolute｣, her mind being unable to wrap around socializing and her feeling ostracized by her own self.

She never brought it up to her parents, feeling glad that they ruled it out on her just growing up rather than this being a specific issue, but also feeling upset that she couldn't find a solution to it. It was like the experience of almost turning into a Beast had left a lingering inhuman approach to her mindset and, with it, a general inability to fully relate with others. From a rather cheerful and determined girl, Sakura knew that she was slowly becoming a shell of that.

The dark-haired girl could still entertain amusement, friendship and all of that and more. But it felt less important than it had been before. It felt like she had to struggle to get to the point she could 'understand' others. This time, while she was in Fuyuki, Sakura had put herself to work for a simple goal: overcome this issue and retain control of her emotions once again.

That was the plan, she didn't expect it to happen without some issues as troubles seemed to come out of nowhere. And while she wasn't sure where and when, the girl was vigilant for any issues. In an ironic view of the situation, that was pretty much a behavior her mother lamented she inherited from her father. Jotaro Kujo had never stopped being worried for threats, even when his family was around. And while Fuyuki was meant to be a safe place ever since the Holy Grail was destroyed, that didn't stop paranoia from building up potential issues still relevant to it.

The Magus Association, from what Caren had told her about, had never accepted the loss of that artifact, and even with Zelretch's own investigation bearing confirmation that the Holy Grail had been corrupted during the Third Holy Grail War, a few of the families that had put stakes on it had not relented the possibility of retaliation.

They hadn't done anything because Zelretch was invested on the topic and unwilling to let any plot to go through, but surprises happen and Sakura had a whole adventure giving her experience on what sort of shocking revelations to expect from that sort of circumstance. Beyond that, Sakura was also looking for a way to be out of the house.

She didn't have many friends at home and those that were quite tight to her had decided to go for holidays away from California. Thus, Sakura was more than happy to see if she could find something to distract her for these few months spent there. Getting a tour of Fuyuki by Illya was the best way to start it. As everyone was busy moving their things to the Emiya compound, Sakura was given a first-hand experience of her cousin's... eccentric driving.

She knew Auntie Iri was like that when it came to cars, but Illya was a menace on two wheels. The adrenaline-driven giggles didn't help soothe her worries for the few close calls they got during that 'joyride'. Eventually they stopped for some ice cream and they started to talk about the events that happened in Italy.

"Wait, wait, wait-" Illya exclaimed, eyes wide open. "You mean to tell me that you went against a... Beast?"

Sakura nodded, unsurprised by the reaction considering it wasn't something one could say they do on a normal basis.

"And you almost turned into one."

"Yep."

"But," Illya paused, catching up with her mind with her mouth. "You... are you alright, Saku-chan? Like, that wasn't something you can just deal with and keep quiet about."

"Dad knows, same for grandpa. But... I didn't tell mom."

"I think you should tell her. I mean, you would have to explain a lot but..." Illya huffed. "I think you are just hurting yourself with that."

"I-"

A hug was not what she imagined to be subjected to. Also, when did Illya get these big breasts? While normally she wouldn't think of this sort of detail, the fact that the silver-haired young woman had brought her head to nuzzle onto those, well... it was difficult to ignore. But as the hug continued, Sakura closed her eyes for a moment, not noticing that the whole city had started to glow in a bright light and soon the warmth of the hug was gone.

In fact, Sakura's eyes snapped wide open as she found herself sitting on one of the benches in the local park... and it was night. She blinked, her gaze looking left and right before she heard a muffled whimper coming from... beside her. Resting on most of the bench was a young woman with long purple hair. She looked to be in pain, shuddering as she tried to hug herself in an effort to endure some sort of... attack?

With the shock factor finally lessening, Sakura jumped in action and started to check on the girl's condition. She was breathing tiredly, she had her eyes closed and- Sakura started to use Hamon on her. It was instinctive, with Grandpa Jojo having told her many times that Hamon was an instant heal for those that needed help and were human.

Training had been a thing since she came from Italy, having learned from experience to not rely on others for healing. Healing Stands were rare, and those weren't safe gambles like Hamon was. She just didn't expect for this recently acquired ability to not be enough to handle this issue. In fact, Hamon seemed to fix it... but create another problem.

The girl started to seize up. Without wasting any time, Sakura decided to go deeper and manifested ｢One Vision: Absolute｣, her Stand carefully using a move her father had told her about while mentioning how he helped her and, through this, she was able to discern that her heart had suddenly stopped. As the Stand's hand grasped the organ and started to pump Hamon through it, Sakura also noticed the darkened veins-like lines on the girl's arms, legs, neck and face.

Those were... her Magic Circuits? Were those damaged too? How did something so bad unfold so quickly?

Despite the tedious task at hand, the fixing took numerous minutes which Sakura couldn't count on the spot as too busy to handle the extensive problem, and the end result was satisfying enough. The plum-haired girl's breathing was now on a more proper pace, she was no longer writhing in pain and the Circuits had been fixed. Leaning back, Sakura thought on what had just happened and who this girl was.

For some reason, the girl's face felt familiar to her and, as she seemed to finally drag herself out of her slumber, weakly opening her eyes, it hit Sakura on her face. She knew who she was looking at and yet... that was not possible. This was wrong, it couldn't be.

"W-Who are you?"

"M-Matou-" No, that's not- that's not- "Matou Sa-Sakura."

"Kujo," She blurted out weakly. "Kujo Sakura."

Her counterpart's eyes widened as she seemed to realize what was going on and...

What the hell just happened?!

AN

Meanwhile, in a nearby Castle.

"Waaah! I was so close to smooch Saku-chan and then this happened~!"

Smol!Illya stares at her older self with a flat look, her maids unsure of what to do and her Berserker... frowning at the sight.

"Why that me looks like a sad wimp? And who is 'Saku-chan'?"

Old!Illya stops crying and glances at Smol!Illya. "Let me tell you something called Yuri~."

For some unknown reason, Smol!Illya feels threatened... and intrigued by that offer.

REVIEW Q&A

Neogoki: It's not just a 'singularity', but a multi-faceted one. One where there are so many wrapped up at once that Chaldea's system can't detect it as a proper singularity but rather something different. But eventually, something may end up being noticed as the story progresses.