Disclaimer: I do not own the Fate franchise it belongs to Kinoko Nasu and Type-Moon. I also do not own the Megami Tensei franchise, it belongs to Atlus.
Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi
Chapter 13: L'Imperatrice (Part IV)
Rin raised an eyebrow as Sakura laid out her lunch for the day, which was surprisingly heavy. Two sandwiches made with black bread, sliced sausages, cheese, tomatoes, and lettuce (considering how dense black bread was that was saying something), along with what looked like six cabbage rolls. She also had a sliced apple or two, maybe more considering how many slices there were in the container when she unsealed it, and around five or so hardboiled eggs in another container.
She also had a banana, of all things.
"Did we miss something?" Shirou eventually ventured. "You're eating for two or three today, from the look of things."
"I won't be eating dinner tonight." Sakura replied, already peeling her banana. Once it was peeled, she took a bite, taking care to finish chewing and swallowing before continuing to speak. "Ritual requirements and all that."
A wordless chorus of acknowledgement went up around the gathered students, which included a trio of magi and a pair of normal Humans. "Need any help?" Rin offered.
"…with the other ley-lines, sure." Sakura said after a few moments, simultaneously thinking it through and finishing off her banana. "I have to be the one to finish disconnecting this ley-line from the Fuyuki Grail, otherwise we might end up with some really serious complications. Rituals are no joke."
"What kind of complications?" Rin asked.
"A catastrophic magical backlash for whoever tried to take my place in tonight's ritual, or tried to hold a different ritual than the one that needs to be paired with the one I held during the New Moon earlier this month." Sakura said. "A curse of misfortune might also get set off, whether on me or people around me for not finishing what I started…the local flora and fauna around the ritual area might also start dying off…random paranormal activity might also start popping up around the parts of the city the ley-line runs through, like say statues weeping tears or blood, people's dreams or nightmares manifesting in phantasmal illusions at night, everything made of glass in a building just shatters…things like that…"
"Yeah…serious complications…" Rin sickly echoed.
"…we see your point." Ayako agreed, and both Issei and Shirou nodded as well.
"That said," Issei began after a moment. "I must say I'm not surprised about a…ritual significance, existing in that you have to hold – presumably – the same ritual not just twice in the same month, but on the opposing paired nights of the New and Full Moons."
Sakura just shrugged. "There are always two sides to an equation." She said. "They also have to be balanced with each other. That much holds true whether it's science or magic."
Issei nodded. "Yes," He said before giving a cough and then a look at Rin. "I don't know much about magic, but from what little Rin risked to share with us in the past, that much should have been obvious in hindsight, given the principle of equivalent exchange, and all."
"That," Ayako chimed in while picking up a piece of scrambled egg with her chopsticks. "And magic and science are supposed to simply be two sides of the same coin."
"There's that too." Issei agreed with another nod. "On that point…I don't suppose you could be bothered to share the details of your ritual with us? Such as how it works?"
Sakura just smiled as she finished off a hardboiled egg. "Sorry," she said. "But you know as well as I do that magicians – or rather, magi – never tell the secret behind their tricks."
Issei chuckled and nodded in agreement. "True enough," he said. "I apologize if I caused offense, rest assured it was not intended, and of course, I do not hold your secrecy against you. It was only expected, after all."
"None taken." Sakura graciously said, before pushing some of her lunch containers forward. "Have some eggs and cabbage rolls, if you want. I think I can share a bit. Oh, and for Ryuudo's sake, the cabbage rolls have minced meat inside."
"The warning is most appreciated." Issei said while taking a hardboiled egg. "I'll just have an egg then."
"I'll try a cabbage roll." Shirou said, already taking one.
"Likewise." Rin agreed.
"…I'll just have an egg." Ayako said.
They ate in silence for a while, but eventually, they finished, and then they just sat around on the rooftop, taking in the Sun and the breeze. "It's starting to get hotter." Ayako mused after a while. "Summer's almost here…and summer break, of course! Any plans, you guys?"
"Sorry, but I've got other ley-lines to disconnect from the Fuyuki Grail." Sakura said. "That, and as Second Owner I've got to keep shop, so to speak. You don't need to hold back on my account, though. By all means, go and have fun."
Sakura paused, and then grinned. "Just make sure to bring me some souvenirs." She said with a wink.
That got a few laughs from everyone around. "I was planning on making a pilgrimage to Enryaku-ji on Mt. Hiei in Shiga over the summer, actually." Issei admitted. "We'll be graduating from high school come the end of this school year, after all. It's practically the start of the rest of our lives…I understand it might come off as old-fashioned, but I think…no, I believe some reflection on my life so far would do me much good."
The magi present just smiled. "Hey," Rin said after sharing looks with Sakura and Shirou. "Magi like us have no right to talk down on someone for being spiritually-conscious. That'll be like the pot calling the kettle black, and all."
That got another round of laughs, and Issei nodded his thanks. "That said," he began. "Just like Edelfelt here said, there's no reason to hold back on my account. By all means, go ahead and have fun, made good memories to mark the end of our adolescent years. Though, I won't ask for souvenirs."
"Too worldly for a monk-in-training such as yourself?" Sakura asked with mild teasing.
"…perhaps." Issei said with a smile.
"Well," Ayako began while looking at Rin. "I was thinking of going north, to Hokkaido, you see. Just to see the sights, you know? And then work my way down from there, seeing the sights across Japan over the summer…what do you say?"
"I wouldn't mind coming with you," Rin said at once. "But, let me check with my mom first."
Ayako pursed her lips at that, and then sighing, shrugged. "Fair enough, I guess." She said. "What about you, Emiya? Any plans for the summer?"
"Nothing as big as yours," Shirou said while rubbing the back of his head. "Maybe a trip or two to a nearby beach, otherwise I'm just staying and relaxing at home."
"Boo." Ayako jeered while giving Shirou a thumbs-down. "That's so boring, Emiya. Can't you think bigger for once? Come on!"
Shirou just chuckled before shrugging and spreading his hands. "What can I say?" he asked. "I'm a simple man with simple tastes."
"Nothing wrong with that." Sakura said with a nod. "Knowing who you are and what you want from life is an important part of self-awareness."
"Indeed." Issei agreed with a nod of his own. "Wanting a simple life with simple pleasures is nothing to be ashamed of. On the contrary, it is something to be admired."
"I knew you'd say something like that." Ayako said with a roll of her eyes, and then lying down on the ground with her hands folded behind her head. "Honestly…you're all such a boring bunch…"
"…speaking of plans, though," Rin said after a moment. "I actually wanted to invite you over to my place for lunch this Saturday. How about it?"
"What's the occasion?" Issei asked in surprise. "That's not a 'no', mind."
"Sakura invited us to dinner over at her place earlier this month." Rin said with a nod at her sister. "So, I'd like to return the favor."
That caused a chorus of understanding to go up. "You don't have to go out of your way to reciprocate dinner at my house." Sakura said afterward. "I never expected anything in return for that, except for things to, well, become…normal, I suppose, between us."
"Then I just want to return the favor." Rin said with a smile. "How's that?"
"…thank you very much." Sakura conceded. "I'll be sure to be there."
"Likewise!" Ayako loudly said, scooting over and placing an arm around Rin's shoulders.
"Well, if everyone's coming, I should go too." Shirou said with a nod.
"Do we have to dress formally for this lunch too?" Issei asked. "I don't really mind, of course, but it would require advance planning."
"No, nothing so formal." Rin said with a shake of her head. "Just a lunch between friends and siblings."
"I see." Issei said with a nod. "Then of course, I will be there."
"Great!" Rin said with a beaming smile.
"Mother will be there, won't she?" Sakura asked Rin as they stood alone together in the ladies' room. Much like at the rooftop earlier, a simple bounded field kept eavesdroppers from listening in.
"…well, it's lunch at my house…" Rin replied. "…so, it's unavoidable mom will be there. Is that a problem?"
"She and I didn't exactly get off on the right foot the last time we met." Sakura pointed out.
"I know." Rin said with a sigh. "And she doesn't exactly approve of my closeness with our friends, like I've told you before…still…I don't think she'll cause trouble. If nothing else, now that the invitations have been given, taking them back wouldn't look anything good. And mom's really sensitive about giving the proper appearance, and looking…inhospitable, is anything but proper."
"Hmm…trying to see if our mother can start over with me and our friends, huh?" Sakura mused, and getting straight to the point of Rin trying to handwave Aoi's likely presence at Rin's planned Saturday lunch event.
"Is it wrong to hope?" Rin asked.
"No," Sakura said with a shake of her head. "Though, it should be tempered with a dose of realism. That, and you should be ready just in case your hopes fall through in the worst possible way."
Rin took a deep breath and shook her head. "I guess so, huh?" she asked.
Sakura just hummed. "…earlier I said you couldn't help with the ley-line I'm working on right now." She said. "But I also said you could help with the other ley-lines. Draft up a plan for disconnecting them from the Fuyuki Grail, then send it to me. I'll look it over and then tell you when to go ahead."
Rin smiled at Sakura's changing the topic to get her mind off their only remaining parent, and raised an eyebrow at what Sakura was telling her to do. "Don't you trust me?" she asked, and causing Sakura to give her a deadpan look.
"I do trust you." She said. "But these things have to be properly documented. That, and it's best to plan things in advance, so we can also see in advance if we left a loose end untied here or there."
"True," Rin admitted. "Less chance of things going wrong that way…right then, I'll do just that."
Sakura nodded, even as the warning bell sounded one minute before lunch break ended. "Come on, then." She said while dispelling the bounded field with a simple hand gesture. "Afternoon classes are about to start. Let's get going."
"Yes, let's." Rin agreed, and led the way out of the ladies' room back to their classroom.
"What's all this?" Aoi asked in surprise later that evening, after Rin returned home much later than she usually did. The reason why was fairly obvious, though, given she came home with plenty of grocery bags with her.
"Groceries." Rin laconically replied.
Aoi blinked in confusion. "I'm…pretty sure we don't need any groceries right now." She said. "I mean, apart from fresh vegetables, as the help buy those every morning so we always have the freshest ones available, and anything else can wait until the weekend…"
"Yes, but I can't wait until the weekend." Rin interrupted while beginning to gather her groceries. "Well, apart from the green stuff, of course, but that's only for the best."
"Why, though?" Aoi asked.
Rin hesitated ever so briefly. "…I'm having a lunch party on Saturday." She finally said. "So, I needed to make preparations as soon as possible. Haste makes waste, after all."
"A lunch party?" Aoi echoed. "I don't really mind but…you should have consulted with me first."
Rin was silent for a long moment, and then she sighed. "I should have, in hindsight." She conceded, inwardly knowing that the whole reason she didn't was to avoid any obstruction on the part of her mother. "And I'm sorry for that."
Aoi sighed in her turn. "Have you sent out invitations yet?" she asked.
"Yes."
Aoi sighed again. "Then it's too late to think things through." She said. "Backtracking now would only tarnish our family's name and reputation."
Inwardly, Rin smiled. Her mother was thinking and acting exactly as she predicted when it came to this, ensuring that any of her idiosyncrasies wouldn't get in the way. At least, so far they hadn't gotten in the way.
"Please don't do this again without consulting me first, Rin." Aoi said with half-hearted sternness. "I know you're the Tohsaka heiress, and it's good that you're feeling the role out by taking the initiative much more often these days, but I'm still your mother. This is still my house. And I don't want to see you make any more mistakes that could cost us even more than what we've recently lost. Don't leave me out of the loop again."
"I…I promise to do better." Rin said while looking away. Despite all her mother's faults, that was exactly it: Aoi was still Rin's mother. Sakura had the advantage of growing up without Aoi in her life, and someone else had filled that role, but Rin had no such advantage. "But…you know I can't promise that. Like you said, I'm the Tohsaka heiress. I'm a magus, and…you're not. There are just some things I have to do…I…I'm sorry…"
Aoi stared at her daughter for a long moment, and then sighed. "I know." She said, and holding tightly to herself. "That's probably the best I can get on this. But it's alright. Even before you were born, I knew I would have to bear with this. Marrying into a magus family…you can't have the happiness of a normal family…I can't…we can't…"
Rin was silent, staring at her mother with an unreadable expression on her face.
No.
That's wrong.
We're not normal.
But that doesn't mean we can't be happy.
We were happy once.
We could still be again.
But how can we when you think that way?
"Who's on your guest list, anyway?" Aoi asked.
Rin blinked and coughed to regain her composure before answering. "Just my closest friends." She said. "Shirou, Ayako, and Issei, though…Sakura will be coming too."
Aoi silently brooded for a couple of moments before replying. "Repaying your…sister, for dinner that one night?" she asked. "I suppose that's only proper."
Rin was silent, and then after a moment Aoi continued. "I have nothing against the Emiya boy, seeing as he's both a fellow magus and your apprentice," she said. "But like I've said so many times in the past, it's not proper to be so close to either Mitsuzuri or Ryuudo. Being friends with them is fine, just…not as close as you've let them become."
Rin looked away with a sad expression on her face. "I'll put this away, then." She said, taking her groceries and hurrying away.
"It's what your father would have wanted, Rin." Aoi sadly finished, and causing Rin to pause across the foyer.
"I know." She softly admitted, before continuing on her way.
Elisa wordlessly offered Sakura a tray as she returned from her ritual grounds, come the sunrise. There was pasta there on a plate, penne cooked in white sauce with bacon and mushrooms, along with several slices of garlic bread. A saucer next to the plate had a large square of chocolate brownie, drizzled with more chocolate sauce, and there a glass of fruit juice, the glass beaded with moisture from condensation.
A hot and filling meal washed down with a cool, refreshing, and sugary drink, with more sugar in the dessert. Just what was needed after an exhausting, all-nighter of a ritual, especially since Sakura wouldn't be getting any sleep until night fell again.
"Thanks." Sakura simply but heartfeltly said, taking the tray and setting it down on a nearby table before sitting down and tucking in.
Elisa nodded before silently striding off, letting the other PMCs nearby keep watch. A few minutes later and she returned, bringing a couple of coffee mugs with her. One she handed to Sakura, who set it aside for later, to be drunk with dessert, while Elisa started sipping at her coffee.
"Well," Sakura said as she paused eating to catch her breath and pace herself. "This ley-line's done, though, I'll have to start with the next ley-line come the New Moon. Assuming Rin doesn't come up with her own means to disconnect the ley-line from the Fuyuki Grail by then. I could use the help."
Elisa raised an eyebrow at that. "Are you sure you can trust her?" she asked.
Sakura glanced at Elisa at that, but the older woman held her ground. After a few moments, Sakura smiled. "Playing the Devil's Advocate, aren't we?" she asked.
Elisa smiled back. "Someone has to." She pointed out.
"True," Sakura admitted. "I'd like to trust my sister, though in any case I am taking precautions with regard to any help she offers."
"Oh?"
"She can't touch the ley-lines without me sanctioning it first." Sakura said with a shrug. "Any help she offers has to be submitted to yours truly for review and approval. That way, anything…inappropriate, or unnecessarily risky would be noted in advance and thus nipped in the bud."
"And anything promising could be refined further before implementation." Elisa said with a nod, before tilting her head. "Or, if she deviates from what was sanctioned, you have ground to stand on during the aftermath."
Sakura was silent for a long moment. "I really hope it doesn't come to that." She finally said. "I want to trust my sister."
Elisa was similarly silent, and then Sakura sighed. "I'll have to come up with other precautions, just in case." She said. "Much like when it comes to this Saturday's lunch."
"…surely magi wouldn't break the sacred truce of hospitality?" Elisa softly asked after a moment.
"That only comes into play after the guest has been offered and partaken of a meal by the host." Sakura said before pinching the bridge of her nose. "Hope for the best but prepare for the worst…"
Sakura paused and tsked to herself. "…all this endless intrigue and paranoia among our kind," she muttered. "It's the part I hate the most about being a magus. A shame it's just unavoidable, one way or the other."
Elisa couldn't say anything to that.
Rin was washing her hands in a sink during morning break when Sakura quietly sidled up to her. A gesture from a finger, and a bounded field to keep eavesdroppers away was up.
"Can I help you?" Rin politely asked.
"I was going to ask you the same thing." Sakura replied.
"Not really…" Rin said in response to the unspoken question. "…I mean, I have problems of my own right now, but they're nothing I can't handle."
"Hmm…even if it's just talking about it," Sakura remarked. "I'd like to help."
"…as expected, mom wasn't very enthusiastic about Saturday lunch." Rin said with a sigh after a moment.
"Any particular details she was particularly disapproving of?" Sakura asked.
"Well, for starters she didn't like me deciding to hold a lunch party without consulting her first." Rin said with a shrug. "That's a fair argument, in hindsight."
"True," Sakura agreed with a nod. "She's still your mother, after all, and you are a minor in her house, at least for now."
"Yeah, but there is a reason why I didn't consult with her beforehand." Rin continued. "If I did, well, I doubt I'd have gotten any further than considering holding a lunch party. Not that she actually knows that, nor can I actually tell her."
Sakura nodded again. "Indeed." she said before tilting her head. "Anything else mother has a problem with about your upcoming event?"
"The guest list, of course." Rin said with another sigh. "She's fine with Emiya, since he's a fellow magus and an apprentice of a sort…"
Sakura raised an eyebrow at that strange description, but said nothing and just let Rin continue.
"…Ayako and Issei, though…" Rin said with yet another sigh. "…well, you already know about that."
"So I do." Sakura said with a sigh of her own. "With that kind of thinking, it's a wonder you even have hired help at all."
"Does your help know about magic?" Rin asked.
"Yes." Sakura said while looking at her. "Sure, they're bound by geis to ensure secrecy, and their memories will be altered once they leave my service, but they know. They have a right to."
Rin blinked at that. "What?" she asked in surprise, and Sakura tilted her head.
"Depending on how bad an experiment could go," she said. "The entire house could go up like a bomb. Each and everyone of them are likely to die in such an outcome. They're literally putting their lives on the line working for me. If they're going to die, then they should die knowing why."
"…does the rest of Edelfelt follow that kind of thinking?" Rin asked after a moment.
"Mostly, yes." Sakura said with a nod. "There are exceptions, especially if the hired help aren't in any real danger and are just there make up for numbers."
"I see." Rin said with a nod. "I'm…not sure I agree, but I can see and understand the reason."
"That is fair enough." Sakura conceded with another nod.
"Anyway…" Rin said with a deep breath, and briefly closing her eyes to collect her thoughts. "…back to mom and the guest list…strangely enough, when I mentioned you were coming over lunch, she didn't really react."
"Oh?"
"Hmm…now that I think about it," Rin said. "Yes, it was like she was trying not to think about you at all."
Sakura snorted. "So that's how it is, huh?" she asked. "I'm not what she expected, nor am I acting like how she expected me to, so mother decides to just put me out of mind. In other words, pretend like the problem doesn't exist…well, it's fine. It doesn't bother me."
Rin pursed her lips at that, but said nothing. On one hand, seeing and knowing her mother and little sister not particularly caring about each other was…troubling, but on the other hand, given the circumstances around them…
"…yes, well," Rin said with a cough, and deciding to address that issue another day. "Like we discussed yesterday, for all mom's problems with the guest list, now that the invitations have been passed out, it wouldn't do to go back on them. It just isn't done."
Sakura chuckled. "Just as planned then." She said, and Rin laughed as well.
"Quite," she said. "Though, it's not like I'm cleanly getting away with it."
"And how does mother plan to punish you for being such an impertinent child?" Sakura asked.
"She's forbidden the help from helping me ready Saturday lunch." Rin said. "Something to teach me the literal weight of responsibility, she says."
Sakura snorted. "As if you don't already know that," she said with a sneer. "Has mother forgotten about your recent troubles in the Clock Tower?"
"I don't think she has." Rin uncomfortably said, and refraining from pointing out there was no way their mother could ever forget. The Tohsaka patents at the Clock Tower, and the parts and pieces of the Tohsaka Crest taken away aside…considering the price Edelfelt had exacted in return for their help meant that Aoi would never forget.
Not when she had the scars on her belly to remind her.
"…I'll defer to you on that." Sakura said after a moment. "If you ever need help for Saturday lunch, just ask. I can help, if you want it."
"Thanks for the offer." Rin said with smile, and inwardly surprised that Sakura would know her way around a kitchen, considering how…aristocratic, she was. She'd expected Sakura would have let her help do all the dirty work around the house for her.
Of course, she could just have been bluffing or was being polite offering help, but still.
"But I've got it covered." Rin finished. "It'll just take a little more effort than expected, that's all. Besides, once I pull it off completely on my own, it only means mom won't really be able to say anything against our little lunch party this Saturday. At least, I hope she doesn't."
"Hmm…we can hope." Sakura agreed.
A/N
Ugh…I hate writing Aoi Tohsaka's POV. It just makes me feel so…
…disgusted? Repulsed? Exasperated? Exhausted? I don't know. It – she – just feels off as a person/character in every way possible.
