Ch9: Sakura's Treasure

The recurring dream…...back when I was years younger, but still not pure….

The middle school bell tolls and that sound would always be followed by the sound of of writhing and my skin would begin to itch. It was time to visit that perfect family. I had sharpened my cooking skills since last time. The kind boy and that perfect little girl, I was ready to really surprise them this time, but something in me was calling me to go "home". Something was different today. I approached the door. There it was the sound. The sound would only get louder. The sound of swarming, of writhing, permeates the basement below. The worms in me responds to that sound, signaling their brood. They writhe, they itch, telling me that "Grandfather" was waiting. What happened to those who disobeyed "Grandfather" didn't have to be said.

The worms swarm around the center and one might think something was being devoured, but in truth, something was being formed. In the center, from all that wriggling, all that writhing, it forming that familiar rotten shape.

"Grandfather," I call out, but he's lost in his thoughts, laughing before settling down.

"So The Magus Killer has passed."

Emiya senior was someone I have never met. Shinji and I were originally ordered to confirm his death. A few days ago, the two siblings invited me to visit their father's grave. I had left a few of Grandfather's worms behind that day to check the remains. Hopefully, the two of them didn't suspect anything, or else...

"There are still more chances, but still, …the bombing of the leylines…..an 8th card…... to think he was that meticulous …yet he could not foresee his own death…...that young heir to Emiya right now….…...must be lost right now….quite a pity really.."

The sound of crying, the stench of rotting flesh, yet it is nothing compared to that man's laughing.

"Grandfather?"

He wasn't paying any attention to me. I was after all nothing more than a cooking utensil for whatever he was trying to cook. He writhes, he screams before he is able to get his composure back. Grandfather hasn't been well for a while…...

"..This imaginary number region…..a place that boy can't reach alone….…is an 8th card…an 8th trial...for Emiya's little project, but I have my own in need of testing.…..Sakura..," his voice writhes and shifts before falling on me.

"Y-yes."

I take pause for a moment. Even though I wasn't taught much about mage-craft, there were still things I had come to know. "Imaginary Numbers", that was my affinity wasn't it? Then that means…

"It seems I need to do some replacing soon, but that's a trifling matter right now, sweet child. The sun hasn't set, but it's time for you to sleep…..," were words that contained no kindness.

I fall into a second dream.

It hurts. It hurts. A stabbing pain, but I'm used to this pain. What is this? A dark place indiscernible place. Sharp, ornate objects were covered in muck, but that did not detract from their beauty, their craftsmanship. Even in the dark, they were shining. It was a waste that they were merely used to pin a petite worm on display, a parody of a constellation. Still, why was I hurting?

"Holy ?" was some indiscernible grumbling, yet I understood that grumbling.

The sound of chains, clear like a bell. It was clear what was happening. That distant imposing figure, slowly approaching, a tarnished rabid mass of black with gold underneath was after something. He was seeking, he was searching, he "desired", he "wanted". In his sight was a small wispy little worm. It was the farthest thing from divine, yet those divine ethereal chains wrap around the broken ugly thing.

It looked so light, it could not be called something with substance, a shadow, yet underneath, there was flesh. He pulls out an uncountable number of tools to dissect the thing that was caught. Was this the thing he sought? Flesh rends, flesh is flayed, but flesh returns. It hurts. It hurts. The shadow won't break because it was already broken from the very beginning. It hurts.

"Holy Gr..ail?"

It seemed something was off. In the end the tarnished king, despite all his divine power was only an "owner" not an "eater". The ensnared broken shadow was something small and rotten, but in this world, it's the smallest of life that eats everything in the end. It was an "eater", so it will "eat". Ethereal beings were its natural food after all.

"..."

That tarnished golden figure didn't notice a thing. The morsel of ether could not perceive the threat. From the the start, the golden figure was already pre-digested by something else. Black tendrils wrap around the chains and wrap around the blackened ethereal morsel. The shadow was only eating something akin to vomit after all, so this ending should have been expected. The owner struggles against the mud, the shadowy tendrils, but in the end, the hollow shadow was the natural enemy of ethereal beings. If food cannot be cut apart, then swallow it whole. Eat, eat, eat. Stuff it all in the "stomach", but the "meal" wasn't happy in the "stomach". Something just wouldn't digest. The "stomach" is ripped and torn with the most wondrous of cutlery. A shining light in the dark. It hurts, it hurts. A stomach ache. It felt something was being drained from me, but what? I'm not…...Something was wrong. Something was not right. That's right, the right way to "eat", such a thing exists. There is always a right way and a wrong way. Reach for it beyond all the bile and juices, rot the obstructing flesh away, grasp the rectangular thing at the core and take it in.

"Install."

"This poorly made vessel…..."

The alarm clock rings and my eyes widen awake. Clutched in my hand was an ornate card, inscribed with the word "Archer". The 8th trial in a mock Grail War prepared by the late Mr. Emiya, or at least that's what Grandfather thinks. It has been years since Grandfather passed this card to me for further "testing". It hates being inside me. It was something that belonged to a "dream", but that just makes me wonder if the life I'm living right now was a lie. I needed to get up early as I always do to get breakfast ready. I hunger, but food won't appease me. So unlady-like. My older brother wasn't awake yet, but that is to be expected. Part of the reason I get up early in the morning is so I can avoid him. To avoid Rider as well. To avoid a certain part of my reality I wish wasn't true, but enough of that.

A high school junior, that's what I'm supposed be right now. I need to focus.

I clean and tidy myself or as much as something like me can be cleaned. I put on my uniform and put on my shoes and exit the Matou building. I make my way to them. I make my way to the Emiya home.

As I'm greeted by an otherworldly girl I do not know, I'm forced to accept the reality of the coming days, of the Holy Grail War.

It was lunch time. In the classroom, there was whispering, insinuations about Shirou's preferences were surfacing once again. Miyu stands up from her desk and leaves with Saber. No one says a word. No one says a word again, until she was gone. The whispers assault my ears. I endure it. I pack up my bento and pick up the bento Miyu had left behind.

I wait a while before following behind with the bento boxes in tow. I walk out of the classroom and tail the small girl and her Servant. Sometimes I wonder if she knows. Sometimes I wonder if he knows. I must have been suspicious, yet they kept me by their side. Did they have ulterior motives? I purge the thought. Shirou and Miyu were pure. They simply gave me the benefit of the doubt. They trust me. They even gave me a key to their home. I didn't want that perfect family to be a lie. Even if that is the truth. My legs move on their own.

Along the halls, there was only that annoying chatter. Annoying, incessant chatter. If only it would stop. He wasn't like that. She wasn't like that. Shirou is just kind to everyone including kids. Shut up. Shut up. An ally of justice can't overlook lost children. Miyu is his only family left so its only natural for him to be protective. Shut up. Shut up. It's not wrong to be considerate to little kids, mongrels. I never liked those rumors, but the barking never stops.

He was a pure boy. His sister was a pure girl. The rarest of treasures. The perfect siblings. The perfect family. Different from mine. To challenge that purity must be a crime. I don't stop to listen. I don't stop to listen. Mongrels ignorant of worth all around me. It was all nonsense anyways, but there were a few words I could pick up from all the barking.

"White hair and red eyes?"

Could it have been her? The one who my pitiful brother was at the mercy of. The one my pitiful brother had no power over. "The Servant you summoned was weak! So weak, that kid said it would even be a bother killing her!" were his words as he hit me yesterday. He hit me. He had hit me over and over. Still, it didn't hurt. The pain didn't compare to the pain in my dreams, it was mere confirmation that reality wasn't a dream. That perfect family was real. He hit me, but I paid no heed to him, just as Grandfather paid no heed to him. Attention was all he really wanted. He hit me and hit me, but it didn't matter because what was already broken can't be broken any further. Hitting me was pointless, but living things can't help what they long for. Maybe a small part of me had still wanted to be an ideal little sister, maybe I still do?

"You're not doing it right. If you want to draw blood, you have to put your back into it..…," were my words of advice to him yesterday. He ran from me when I said that. That brother of mine really likes running doesn't he?

Did I see him running in the halls just now? It was against the rules, but it didn't matter, there was something far more important on the line. If he was running for his life, then what I heard earlier was no delusion. That kind boy was in danger. That perfect little girl was in danger. Considering who Shirou was with right now, my legs were already breaking those same rules. Faster.

Miyu breaks into a run. I follow her and quicken my pace. Even with those shorter legs, she manages to be faster and disappears from my vision. My bruised body couldn't keep up. It didn't matter, I knew her destination. I continue to trail that perfect little girl even if I could not see her.

A perfect little sister that wanted to be a doctor. A girl that only wanted to help others just like her older brother. Her vacant expression from back then, how dare they compare it to mine. I always wondered what her father, Mr. Emiya the "Magus Killer" was like. I never met the man, but that girl must have loved her father. That girl must have been sad when he was dying. She must have been devastated when he had died. That was why she could never smile back then. She can't be the same as me. I never met him, but he must have been a great person to be revered by children like those two. I continue running.

"Magus Killer" was what Grandfather called him and an "Ally of Justice" was how Shirou described him to me. Surely two names that go hand in hand. Magi were all monsters and those who fought monsters are called heroes. It made perfect sense. Liar. Only a "hero" could have such perfect children so kind and so pure. Children with unwavering determination and dedication. How envious. It was only natural for monsters to be attracted to them. Like me. Monsters are fundamentally empty creatures that seek, that steal, to make themselves whole. I continue running without stopping.

I run and run, but my bruised body isn't quick enough. I avoid gazing at the people around me. Normies. Still, I can't do something that will make those two upset. Mongrels. I ignore them. I make my way to the staircase. Miyu must have already reached the roof already. My feet stop before I ascend. Too quiet. Am I too late? My thoughts race to the worst possible conclusion. I was expecting a loud crash, nasty squelching sounds, but my thoughts are broken by a creaking hinge.

White hair and red eyes. They stare at me intently for but a second, but the petite little figure descends down the staircase without skipping a beat with a merry tune. My cheeks were wet. Was it over? That monstrous little snow devil doesn't pay any attention to me. I grip the card in my pocket tightly. My instincts told me that girl was dangerous, but I was more so. Tasty too. The red eyes of hers were fiercer than what Miyu's had been. I could feel that smug sort of self-assured confidence. She was clearly "that" type of person.

"What were you thinking you idiot!" was a familiar smug voice behind me that must have belonged to…..

"That's not cute Rin, you lied about the "running" rule," the little white haired girl says.

"Skipping in circles is just as bad!" Tohsaka replies.

It's her, Tohsaka, the "school idol". Tasteless mongrels. Tohsaka glances at me for a moment, but returns her gaze to the little fairy. The two figures retreat in the distance paying no heed to me. Tohsaka, the school idol lives in a different world from mine. The past is the past. The present is the present. I grip the card in my pocket tightly and contemplate "punishing" those two, but there was something far more important I needed to confirm. Shirou was the strongest person I knew after all. I couldn't imagine him dying to a little mannequin. My heart had not given up hope it seemed.

My legs are already moving before I could think. I ascend the steps in an instant with the bento boxes still in hand. I needed to confirm it. I kick open the door and see my two treasures unharmed. Thank goodness. Shirou and Miyu were unharmed. I was smiling for a moment, but my eyes were drawn to Miyu's adorable downtrodden face. Miyu was unhappy, just like those days in the past. That diminutive mannequin must have done something unforgivable. Taken something irreplaceable.

"Sakura?" were Shirou's words to me. Was there something on my face?

"What is it, Senpai?" I say with a soft smile. I take the two in my vision.

In front of these precious siblings, I had to keep on smiling. I had to remain gentle, because I didn't want to tarnish the irreplaceable treasures in front of me any further. I continue smiling and approach the smaller girl, hugging her. Warm. Pure. Precious. I was trying to soothe her, but in the end, it seems like I was the one being soothed.

"Sakura?" she says my name. That soothing voice.

"Yes?" I say to her.

"Can you get away from her," was the voice of a fourth wheel who was staring right at me. A pure righteous knight lady, yes, of course the Servant would match the summoner. She's wary of me. Jealousy?

"Can't breathe," Miyu says to me.

I release her with the word, "sorry" and a gentle smile.

"She didn't do anything to you did she?" I ask.

"It's nothing," which were unconvincing words as her smile was clearly strained. I present her with the food she had forgotten, as well as an extra portion for Saber.

"You forgot your lunch," I say to her and she faithfully responds like the good girl that she is.

"T-thank y-you," was her proper response. Was she blushing?

I turn to her older brother who was doing his best to smile. It's a strained one, but when hasn't that been the case? That mannequin must have done something, but now isn't the time.

Lunch period wasn't over, so we share a moment not far removed from the one in the morning. This precious family, this most valuable of treasures. Such a family was too good to be true, but that was why I had to protect it. The truth is never good enough. I find myself staring at the blonde glutton. The thing that didn't belong. The precious normal days have already ended. Those days were a lie from the start.

The knight continues to eat with unimaginable haste and the little girl who was supposed to be the "Master" stares at her own meal, wondering how much she would get to eat. Wondering if she should tell her "Servant" to stop. Maybe I should have prepared even more food. The kind boy beside me continued to look uneasy as he ate, just as it was the case with breakfast.

The coming days will not be kind, that was the truth. It had already begun. I cannot deny the "truth" any longer. The Holy Grail Farce. Question is, where did that little mannequin live? Where can I find her? Good children must be protected, but by that same token, bad children must be punished.

"Sakura?" Shirou says to me. Was there something on my face? He was about to say something, but he was having trouble finding the words. How cute. He finally finds the resolve to speak.

"P-please don't get involved," was his plea towards me. It was almost a whisper, maybe even a prayer. Maybe he didn't actually want me to hear, but I heard it.

"It's fine, you'll be there to scold me right?" were my playful little words.

He tenses up at my answer, but he accepts it even if he doesn't smile.

"Yes,...stricter than anyone else," were his almost inaudible words. Pained, but sincere.

Thank goodness. Sincerity from him was a rare treat for me. A rare truth as comforting as a lie. The smile on my face right now was just as sincere.

"Of course you would, Mr. Ally of Justice."

He makes that complicated expression of his again that borders on embarrassment and frustration.

"For the last time, don't call me that," were those familiar words.

"Yes, yes."

Just because the "lie" was ending, didn't mean I have to stop smiling. Beyond the truth and the lies, I had long ago decided what was precious to me.