DISCLAIMER
The following is a fan-based
FICTION
F/SN, F/Z, F/KPI and other products related to the Fate Series are all owned by TYPE-MOON, Kinoko Nasu and Takashi Takeuchi.
Please support the official release.
Chapter 17: Inception, Worm and Wormlet
A full day of relative quiet had gone by at the castle as we recovered from the quick-paced escalation we had faced in the last week.
The final day before Touko Aozaki reaches Fuyuki to finally provide with her services and give me some advice about the situations at hand.
She was experienced in neutering threats early on, so it was a sure matter of fact that the woman would know how to properly deal with the Wraith that was Darius Ainsworth.
Pandora had been carefully secured away from everyone's sight, the girl still given the chance of enjoying some food during lunchtime and dinnertime. She was also given some pretty clothes and toys to try out and keep herself away from boredom itself.
The blonde was mostly harmless if kept at distance and away from her Box, her case being fairly complicated and surely going to require the direct intervention of some specialists from Clocktower; maybe some Enforcers if the Ainsworth managed to somehow fix the fragmented portal and invade this dimension.
With Sakura deprived of her Berserkalot Card and safely monitored in her new room, I was left to study the case I had been given and the little unexpected development I had now to face in the form of the furious plum-haired girl.
This version of my little sister was legitimately angry at what had just happened, after all Kuro had attacked her 'without an apparent reason' and that had surely sparked a furious outburst that lasted several hours.
She was so angry that she tried to refuse eating her share of lunch and dinner that were served by battle-trained Homunculi, only the threat of being force-fed managed to get through her stubborn resistance but other than that she was despondent to anything else.
Trying to dialogue this soon would surely fail and, truth be told, I was unsure of what I was supposed to say with her without getting shouted at for having 'attacked her' in an indirect way.
Rightfully so, I was also careful to chide the tanned Einzbern for going for that dangerous and life-threatening attempt on her own, the girl now forced to endure what I considered to be the best kind of punishment that someone like her could have to face.
At first Chloe was confused by my demands, almost eagerly jumping at the opportunity to don the purple-themed clothes that came from Germany, the ones that she had been meant to wear if things hadn't changed much in this timeline; if she had remained one with Illya.
Giggling melodiously as she went to try the dress she was meant to have used in formal occurrences, the girl expected me to be dejected by her reactions but, much to her initial surprise, I was smugly smiling while Gilgamesh tried to hide a smile on his face.
Artoria looked surprised at my little request, but there was also a melancholic stare that I was quick to identify while the others were partially-distracted from it because of the tanned Einzbern's amusement.
Saber did meet with Illya back in the castle in Germany in the FZ timeline and… maybe that was bringing up that kind of sadness attached to the specific nostalgia; Something I needed to help her with in the near future, this kind of feelings going to surely become a problem for her if I didn't intervened soon.
Luvia was frowning at this, praising the clothes as something incredibly pretty and even going as far as to ask if it would have been possible to get a blue copy of it.
As I accepted her little request with a kind smile, Ko-Gil decided to answer for me and he wasn't anyway near lenient as I would have been in this kind of cases.
Possibly because the blond was slightly at odds with the girl, especially after I had been reprimanding him for not stopping her when he could have back when he knew of her intentions.
He pleaded that it was because she would have still gone anyway and that any attempt at stopping her would have resulted in a stronger reaction, but I knew very well that it was a lie to mask up something I was already aware of.
The normal Kid Gil was a mirthful child that would let some 'jokes' pass by for the sake of creating an amusing situations, couple this comedic touch to the grittier taste from Angra Mainyu and… he was a very sadistic young boy.
My lecture got him quiet, surprisingly enough he didn't deny the accusations I had thrown at him, further cementing that he was indeed in the wrong over the subject.
"You know that you are supposed to wear that even at school, right?" He asked with a cheeky tone. "That you can't change to your regular uniform?"
The tanned Einzbern stopped with her happy twirling, stilling as her wide eyes snapped at me with some confusion before she stomped until she was standing in front of me. "What?!"
"I decided to send a message to the principal and Taiga to tell them that you were going to present yourself with some traditional German clothes because of some festivity happening right now," I replied with wider smile, cautious to not spring the frowning girl. "They were elated that you were going to go at school with elegant clothes, Taiga even asking if she could make a special lesson in English about Germany and their traditions."
Her frown deepened with some irritation and she stood quiet just for a brief moment as she thought about the proper reaction to give out to my smug expression.
"You are a jerk, Shinji," She said with a small pout, eyes rolling. "I mean, if I was the one getting hurt you-"
"I would have tore apart whoever decided to attack you in a safer and non-life-threatening manner," I chimed in with a sigh, my hands quickly reaching at her pouty cheeks and pulling a little, causing her to squirm in minor surprise and pain at the sudden torture. "I remind you that the punishment is for being dumb, not because you went against a possible treat, you dummy."
For some reason, the moment the last two words left my lips the girl seemed to ease for an instant, a blush erupting on her features and causing her to back away from this little escalation.
"I-It wasn't that bad-"
"You were almost drained out of mana, your body was close to collapse at the lack of energy and that is why you aren't going to be the one escorting me today with your whole core recovering."
Kuro pulled away from my hold with a huff, arms crossing in annoyance. "W-Well, at least I'm fabulous."
She truly was, that adorable clothes truly brought out a regal cold beauty element out of her appearance and part of me contemplated if this punishment was influenced by the fact I had always wanted to see Kuro with FSN Illya clothes or not.
Diverting away from that digression, I shifted my attention back to Artoria and Luvia. "You are and… I hope you two are ready for today's task."
The two blondes nodded almost at the same time, the shorter female smiling happily at the Tyrant and… Artoria gave a nod back to the child, sporting a small smile of her own.
Kuro seemed ready to say something more about the matter but, before she could try and bring even a word out, our attention was taken away by the distinct noise of a car's horn echoing through the walls of the fortress.
I snorted, Gil giving a bright smile as he took the lead out of the room as we all soon followed; Kuro looked confused as she took her school bag and walked up to where we were going and… she froze as we finally reached the entrance of the castle, her sight finding a distinctly familiar car and an even more familiar woman waving happily at her while holding a camera.
"Chloe-chan~! You look so pretty!" Irisviel von Einzbern giggled happily, the car having two extra passengers in the form of Illya and Miyu.
Both girls seemed surprised as well for this development, but when Kuro turned to glance at me… well, she found a knowing smile as I was well aware of this interesting visit as I was the one that asked the Einzbern matriarch if she could accompany the tanned girl to Homurahara for that morning.
The woman accepted without hesitation and now… she was here. And her pseudo-daughter was rightfully furious at me for this little deception.
A deadly glare ensued and she looked positively ready to jump on me. "W-Why!"
I blinked and merely shrugged, but what followed was hardly-innocent as it might seems.
After all, I was more pissed than her.
"When I first found you, back before I had Sakura removed from your proximity, I thought that you were dead," I finally admitted with a simple frown. "I felt my heart dying for that very moment, even though Ruby told me that your vitals were still stable, I felt at fault for pushing you to commit that difficult situation."
Her eyes were wide open and she was kept quiet as I continued to speak, but still I decided to start walking towards the car, the girl following closely as we did have just a little amount of time before having her turn out late.
"I was so certain that I had been the cause for your pain, that I could have been capable of making sure that Sakura had been neutralized before this happened and..." I blinked, then nodded. "I'm not angry at you, I'm angry at how you took things in your hands without backup or support. This why you will experience this discomfort; a fraction of what I truly felt that day when I got you back to the castle.
There was silence, the girl was listening raptly at my words and appearing quite mortified at hearing my own plight at what had happened almost two days earlier.
Her shoulders were tense but she finally nodded at me. "I-I see."
A little smile was painted on my face at that and, before she could turn and enter the car, I reached out her hand and stopped her. "Kuro."
The girl turned slowly, a little surprise at this approach and feeling unsure about what I planned to do with her but…
I gestured her to lean closer, the girl frowning at the request but complying as I slowly went forward and… planted a quick peck on her cheek. A blush erupted almost immediately but I was quick to speak before she could ask why I did that.
"Do learn from this mistake, I know you can do and… do smile at school," I said while nodding at her. "You really look fabulous."
Face sporting a confused but energized expression, the Einzbern merely nodded before waving and entering the car with a small twitchy smile.
Before I could have the chance of moving away from the vehicle, I heard a familiar giggle as the pale-haired mother jumped in action and started to affectionately tease the poor girl, Illya and Miyu looking fairly surprised of my action themselves and deigning me a confused and inquisitive look.
I merely shrugged and snorted as I turned back to walk inside the castle followed by the rest of the group.
There was still much to do about what had happened between Sakura and Kuro and… now it was about time to check where my lovely sister had set her hideout.
The first clue I decided to use to backtrack Sakura's past steps was to go through her possible modus operandi upon entering this dimension.
As much as the girl was so soft-spoken and seemingly naive about the world, she was also incredibly cunning about the things she was accustomed with and… she was also capable of remembering where she had lived for years.
This was the first time I had ever gone this close to the grounds were once the Matou's mansion existed, the ruins of the scorched building leaving a somewhat unsettling sensation at seeing these instead of the decaying part of town.
Gone was one of the symbols of 'my childhood', now a grand grave left for everyone to look from afar.
The place was deemed haunted by the neighborhood, the eerily ominous feeling reaching out to those that merely looked at the area, feeling a bitter taste reaching mouth as if bile building up from the stomach was tried to burst out.
And that was something that happened even to those that had been unaware of the happenings within the house prior to its destruction.
It was disorientating as a first experience, but I stepped up inside as I was used to much worse than this little frightening stare.
Luvia was attached to me, shivering a little as her whole body and mind was screaming fear at being in the proximity of this place and even someone as battle-hardened as Artoria seemed affected by being there, her whole self tensed up and her guard ready for any attack.
Not a positive sign for sure but… we had to check there before going elsewhere; Sakura had to have tried to control this place as a hideout, so maybe it was here?
What a difficult complication to deal with!
Just as we passed the ruined gates, I found myself mesmerized by the noisy silence that was evident from that destroyed mansion, the laughs of that disgusting old man still persisting even now that he was long deceased.
Seriously, was I walking on cursed grounds or what?
Before I could call off the visit at the visible lack of hints that could lead us to where Sakura might have taken refuge until two days ago, my attention was drawn by a detail I had not noticed at first.
While the manor had been horribly mauled by what could be considered Zouken's last stand against Zelrecht, I couldn't help but notice a particular section of the place that just was… confusing.
There were two small dirt-filled sections that were meant to be used to grow some flowers by the entrance, something that had to have been ruined by the flames just as it had happened to the building… but there were some growing flowers there.
While plants could have grown after the fire, the kind of flowers I was looking at were not among those that could have been conceived without an artificial touch bringing them here.
They looked healthy, domesticated and… well-cared for.
My sight heightened as I started to look around some more, dragging the visit for a little more than I had expected it to be as we slowly ventured to see the entire proximity of the destroyed house, my eyes keeping a wary look as I had a feeling that we weren't alone in that specific time of the day.
Moments of restless calm passed, the agitation brewing inside my core was close to burst out as my nerves were quick to call out the mansion as a dangerous place to be wandering around without more precautions.
But the curiosity was here, my mind was yelling at me that it couldn't be possible for anything dangerous to have settled here of all places and… then I saw them.
My chest tightened in sudden panic, my eyes going wide open in silent horror as I froze on spot at the shocking sight I was presented in what could be described as a 'seemingly normal scene' to be looking at.
I was dreaming, there was no way in hell that this could be a normal predicament. This has to be a nightmare!
Luvia was shocked too, but it was confusion more than anything dominating my brain right now and Artoria seemed ready to bring up Excalibur Morgan at the surreal picture presented to her.
I blinked as the plum-haired girl sighed happily, blissfully unaware of our presence as she continued to water some flowers.
She was wearing a simple white sundress and she seemed slimmer than she should look like.
Sakura Matou seemed to be having a quiet moment of delightful peace in that simple task of gardening, her mind completely devoted in tending at the flowers growing by the side of the mansion while a figure watched her silently go through this activity.
Sitting in the stone bench just a few meters away from the teen, the bald head of one Zouken Matou was enough to send me in a dreadful fit and… he slowly turned to look at our general direction.
I expected a disgusting smile, a devious idea at the opportunity presented by this careless wandering and-
I-I chewed too much, I was already trembling more than Luvia and the little blonde was having trouble keeping me from not falling on the ground and… the elder merely looked surprised if not confused by our presence.
Maybe he had been unprepared too? Maybe this was our chance to get out of there before things could turn even worse than-
"Sakura-chan," He finally stated with a tired voice. "There are some… intruders."
-now.
Gulping nervously, I braced myself as the young woman reacted at those words.
The warning was quickly heard by the girl, the teen jumping up in surprise and causing the small watering can to fall on the floor, spilling the entire content on the dirt beneath her shoes.
Sakura Matou looked shocked at seeing the three of us and her violet stare briefly lingering with the two blondes' before she ended up glancing right at my eyes.
I saw surprise, confusion and… realization and mortification. It was a flurry of emotions that looked so genuine and so innocent.
Why, why was I subjected to this? Why was this happening to me?!
And while panic was consuming my already-damaged sanity, the scene continued to unfold and bring out some more uncertainty to what was currently going on here.
"I-I didn't expect that you-" The girl tried to say, blinking before glancing at the old worm. "G-Grandfather, what is-"
"It would seem like your version was ultimately," The founder of the Matou Clan stated, his darkened eyes boring dully at mine. "And this mysterious Matou decided to finally investigate about us."
W-What? They expected this- why were they even-
At those words, the female Matou seemed to ease up and give me a kind smile; trying to get me to calm down as I was incredibly agitated by what was happening right now.
"W-Who are you two?" I bluntly demanded, my face the palest possible. "I-I know that Sakura is safe and that Zouken died years ago, so who are you two?!" I ended the question with a loud-pitched tone, regaining some bearing over my fear and starting to think about what I was supposed to do now.
Run, my brain screamed to run without giving a look back at the sight and… maybe torch this place.
This was an illusion, it should have been one and yet the two girls standing by me seemed to be seeing the same thing I was. That meant that… that, they were really there.
"I suppose that you aren't truly that much aware of what is happening in this universe, not as much as Zelretch had intended you to be at least," The old man said with a sigh, slowly standing up from the bench and carefully turning to look at us better. "Still, it's interesting to see whom could have been my grandson if Byakuya hadn't run away with his brother."
I tensed up again and prepared to tell Salter to jump at the attack as dark mist started to cover the entire frame of the elder, the darkness lasting several moments and disappearing to reveal… someone much different than the decrepit old worm.
Gone was the close-to-death appearance, his entire appearance was… rejuvenated. He looked much younger, still old enough to appear as a grandfather and… he had hair.
It was styled similar to mine, the dark-violet tone of his hair had grayed down to a light gray but, instead of the same-color eyes I was greeted with a pair of red orbs.
It took me a moment to connect the word 'Zelretch' to the current change, my eyes widening once again as I took a step back from the man. "A Dead Apostle."
Luvia gasped and stepped a little closer to me, while Artoria's eyes narrowed at the smiling vampire as the elder started to clap his hands at me.
"Impressive, that is a correct statement, yes," The man admitted happily, his eyes glowing powerfully and mirthfully. "So there is still some hope that you aren't going to be a threat to us and… maybe we can discuss rather than fight with each other."
"What is there to discuss with something worth killing on sight," I snarled back at him. "That was the last step to shatter your own humanity-"
"H-He isn't a horrible person," Sakura piped in nervously, her eyes darting from her grandfather to me… and then back to Zolgen. "W-While the Association has warranted the full extermination of Dead Apostles, grandfather is now sane again and… and he stopped hurting me since Zelretch-sama made him sign that Geis-"
"WHAT?!" I shot back as my panic was overlapped by utter shock and confusion, my eyes then turning at the still-smiling bloodsucker. "What is she talking about?!"
Yet the man didn't reply at first, his stare slowly dropped at… my lower face?
"You are bleeding from your nose," He commented quietly, his index aiming right at the little string of blood slowly leaving from my left nostril; I blinked and my hand was quickly checking as… I was truly bleeding, self-shock at this discovery.
But the man was hardly done with me. "What is the current stage of your body? How much did the Crest Worms already consume your prana and-" He paused a moment, initially frowning before gracing me with a wide-eyed look. "How many do you have?! You barely have the Circuits to dignify this unnatural number and-"
"G-Grandfather!" Sakura interrupted with a stern look. "I understand the interest but… he isn't a specimen."
Zolgen blinked and slowly nodded at her chiding, bowing his head a little and-
What is going on with these two? Why was the man this submissive to her?!
It should be the opposite! Even in case of Geis, the man would have continued to be the hierarchical leader of the clan and-
I stopped for a moment, my thoughts intensifying in crystallizing a guess that was as surprising as terribly possible; A guess that explained why Zolgen was this much submitted to Sakura's words and why he wasn't making much of a fuss over it.
A traitorous thought, but a sure possibility considering what I could drawn from the little hints given and-
"S-Sakura," The girl glanced back at me, eyes giving curiosity at being called. "Y-You are the head of the Matou Clan!"
There was silence and… the young woman slowly nodded, surprise evident in her features. "I-I am but- how do you know about this?"
Everyone was looking at me with a confused look, shocked by this wild guess of mine that was seemingly correct in the long term and…
Zolgen cackled.
It wasn't the same pitch as his more repugnant version, rather it was something a little more elegant than else. It was a slight improvement than the coughfits-inducing laughs of my grandfather.
"Yes! I knew that Zelretch wouldn't have told me about your brilliant mind and then show me someone lesser!" He chuckled, amusement dripping from his fanged smile as he leaned forward. "It's a waste! To think that I would have wasted this goldmine of an heir for the sake of turning him a specimen is-"
"I wasn't a specimen." I interjected curtly, my dry comment seemingly plunging a metaphorical dagger right on the vampire's heart. The man looked confused at my statement and I sighed before giving out the truth.
"This is punishment," I said vehemently. "Punishment for interrupting 'training' sessions."
Sakura gasped, eyes widening as she suddenly started to walk towards me, ignoring as Artoria summoned Excalibur Morgan and Luvia prepared to turn in Kaleid Sapphire-
But the plum-haired girl didn't care as-
-She dropped to her knees and delivered a heartfelt close hug.
"I-I'm s-sorry!" It was a prelude for thousands of apologies, sobs mixing between those and bringing me to a state of utter speechless.
My strength was forfeited as I felt my eyes watering up at the situation, the pressure immense and my core quivering tiredly as I returned the hug and placed my chin on her shoulder.
I started to say 'sorry' myself.
Sorry for being a bad big brother,
Sorry for not being there to protect her,
Sorry for not being strong enough to keep her safe,
Sorry for… for failing her so much.
And in that very moment, the world made by others was forfeited for the sake of family. This Sakura was the one that was granted a happy ending and… his heart steeled at the chance of doing the same with his own sister.
A bond formed by uncertainty but sureness, by chance but destiny, by desire and temperance.
The world rolled, but the two keep hugging.
AN
So, I've discovered that there is a very minuscule section of the manga that does 'partly' address the Matou Situation. Sakura is a Matou and she is Shirou's kohai… but she seems far happier compared than her other selves and there is no mention of Zouken.
The manga in question is Prillya 2wei Volume 1 Chapter 4.5, BTW. (It contains a Yamcha EE too, my God~!)
Next chapter will see Luvia-tan making discoveries about Shinji's families from the most 'trustworthy' source over the matter.
And yes, I didn't explain what is truly going on as of why Zouken is alive, a vampire and… Sakura is happy and the head of the family. Next chapter will bring an answer to that, I just wanted to show some emotional break before giving something logical and worth some reasoning.
P a treon . com (slash) socialistbukharin
k o-fi . com (slash) justbukharin
REVIEW Q&A!
Maybe: He went for a walk, it was midnight and… it was in a forest. Yes, I can now see an unplanned EE here. Hehe~!
Runelt99: Zouken would hardly risk himself for the sake of the Grail. It's more plausible he would meddle during the dismantling process to try and gather enough materials to make another Grail… with Sakura as a Lesser Grail. Not much of a happy ending there;
Yes, I did brainfart that one, my bad;
I think it was mentioned in the Manga.
Byayan: No, there isn't an Avenger Card as the Avenger Class was never created in the Miyuverse Holy Grail War. The Ainsworth took over the system and tried to create a rigged competition that would still see them winning and… Shirou is a lucky but dense moron with lots of swords. Speaking of Shinji's Class, I'm not sure. Either Avenger or Ruler would serve him well since he doesn't have a true wish and… maybe also Beast? (As Dark Shinji.)