When the freed captives left, we rejoined the Tohsakas for a meal. The sisters were glued to each other, their eyes puffy but their smiles were blinding. Tokiomi Tohsaka, seated at the end of the table, toyed with a cup of wine while I related the sanitized version of our trip.
I had barely touched my plate, the imported lobster challenging me to take a bite.
-"...and then I bought a horse, some supplies and-"
Rin's eyes widened comically and she tapped the side of her glass with a spoon. I stopped talking when she took the lead.
-"The smell of incense and Mana was on the air, it was child's play for me to to find that...flesh market"
She shivered and hugged herself.
Tokiomi grew concerned and extended a hand to caress Rin's hair.
-"What happened there that disturbed you so much, my gentle flower?"
She bit her lips, drawing blood, but refused to say anything. Eventually, her eyes found mine and no words were necessary.
-"I killed them all, leaving no witnesses."
It wasn't a lie per se...
Tokiomi brought his arm closer and between Sakura and him, they made a Rin-sammitch.
-"My gentle flower, my heart grows heavy with sorrow that you had to learn that lesson so young."
He kissed her brow and spoke, as a magus and as a father.
"One cannot survive on elegance alone, my dear daughter. One must, at times, descend into violence. Such is the way of the world."
His face turned and focused all his intent on me, daring me to break eye contact.
"How many lives did you put an end to that you are retelling this without stuttering? Two, three?"
The lobster was getting cold and I needed the fuel.
-"Five on the first room, two at the...DAMN...this stuff is guuuuddd..."
Mr. Tohsaka was appalled at my table manners, but Root above, this was goooood.
"...chwo at the shtairs... then...fifteen guards inside?.. Pass the salt please?"
Lobstery goodness...creamy, a touch of wine and coriander, and goat cheese...I smacked my lips. This was heavenly.
"Then what?..Chirty...chirty 'o fowty cliens...dis is sooo guuud..."
Sakura and Soon-to-Be-Daddy in law, were left blinking. I didn't know if my face dripping cheese sauce was the problem.
I took a paper towel and cleaned my mug.
-"Something else on my face?"
Dad measured Mr. I cannot Believe it.
-"We are known as Magus Killers for a reason."
Tokiomi recovered first, composing himself. He took a long pull from his cup.
-"You murdered over fifty foes in front of my gentle flower. It is a Root damned miracle that and a testament to her mental fortitude that she isn't a total nervous wreck."
The same energy buildup that identified him as a powerful magus filled the air, even the bottles started to shake.
"In the chaos of battle, a spell can go astray, crystals shatter and if a single hair of-"
Rin placed a hand over his closed fist. The effect was instantaneous, cutting the flow without violence.
-"And here we are, eating together. As mum would have wanted."
At the mention of the late Aoi, they gathered, it wasn't a hug but a mass of limbs and souls poured over the same space.
-"My my, when did you become a young woman? I would swear it was yesterday that you broke the wards around the cookie jar.."
After that, the talk devolved into a contest on who could slay their own progeny first. The weapon of choice? Embarrassing tales of a misspent youth. Mum
took the gauntlet and shared in painful detail how a toddler, with no real resemblance to me, placed a Nerf Gun into the weapon's locker. When a werewolf broke into our home, she grabbed the first gun in the stash and the werewolf received a Nerf to the eye. Not to be undone, Tokiomi riposted with the untold saga of two rugrats placing wards against mosquitoes on their beds. Yet there was an inverted rune and it attracted the bloodsuckers instead of repelling them.
The sisters lowered their heads in shame, both accusing the other of messing it up.
Dad took out his wallet and displayed for all to see a picture of me against the wall, ice-cream motif adorning the room. This is how you teach about magical contracts. Tokiomi howled with laughter and wiped at his eyes. He took out his own wallet and displayed the mayhem caused by Sakura when she tried to cast Jewelcraft using candy.
I took the sisters away from the table and let the old people do what old people do, while making a hasty exit to salvage any leftover dregs of face we could. When we reached the balcony, Sakura looked at us and asked in a low voice.
-"I know my sister...she was distraught beyond reason and happy at the same time. Tell me, future brother in law, and tell me true."
She grabbed me by the shirt and her nose crushed mine.
"Am I going to be an aunt?"
