A Budding Alliance

Sakura chopped up the large yellow onion into fine wedges as her Senpai tended to the roux behind her on the stove. She was nearly done, and was somewhat thankful for the work keeping her mind off of this situation she had gotten herself into.

She was undoubtedly still concerned about Rin, who had been unconscious for two hours now. It was Emiya-senpai's idea to start preparing dinner while Lancer stayed in the room to wait for him to come to. While she was known to be somewhat oblivious at time, it seemed she was able to tell how worried she was.

Unfortunately, she had misinterpreted what had her worried, but Sakura was touched, nonetheless. It was an odd feeling, having others actually care for your wellbeing out of genuine concern rather than some form of self-interest.

"Sakura," She was snapped out of her contemplative state by Emiya-senpai's voice, "Are you done with the meat and vegetables? The roux will take a bit more but the dashi is more or less done."

"Ah, yes senpai." She replied, meeting the red-head's gaze and noticing that the blonde flour and butter mixture Emiya-senpai had been stirring had turned a chocolate-brown.

Emiya-senpai smiled, "Great! You can fry the meat and veggies into the pot before adding the dashi, then." She opened the lid of the decently large pot full of gently simmering brown liquid that had been infused with Kombu, Katsuobushi and a single chicken bouillon cube beforehand.

Sakura cocked her head, the part of her that was quite fond of cooking (and, she believed, somewhat accomplished in it) making her say, "Senpai, isn't Japanese-style curry usually made with just chicken bouillon or the stock from the fried meat and vegetables?"

Emiya scratched the back of her head sheepishly, "It's… well, it's my own recipe. I think the extra umami from the traditional dashi makes it a lot more delicious."

"I see…" Sakura said, and before she could stop herself she blurted out, "Shouldn't we caramelize the onions? It'd add a lot more savory-sweetness to the curry that way."

Emiya-senpai's eyes brightened and she let go of the wooden spoon she was using to stir the roux with. With a wide smile she clasped both of Sakura's hands in hers, "That's brilliant! That way we could also add half the spice mix into the onions so that they can infuse into the oil and release more of their aroma!"

Sakura felt a bit embarrassed at the praise, "W-well, it isn't anything special… I just suggested it since I saw it once on TV."

"Either way, it's a great idea. I'm really glad I have someone to cook with me, for once." Emiya-senpai said, as she let go of her hand and went back to stirring the roux so that it didn't get burned.

Sakura was rather surprised, "Um… Didn't you tell me that Fujimura-sensei practically lived with you? I thought that she must've helped with cooking, seeing as how you live alone."

Emiya-senpai's expression darkened in a mixture of exasperation and disappointment, "The only food-related job Fujimura-sensei does around the house is eating." Her voice was grim and small as she added half of the spice mix to the roux.

"Eh…" Sakura said, trying to not laugh or seem amused.

"You must really have a high opinion of Fuji-nee, Sakura." Emiya commented, somewhat sheepishly. She added some tamari, ketchup and oyster sauce into the now deeply brown colored roux.

"Well… I don't know. I know she can be a bit childish but she always came across as someone who can be dependable when it mattered." Sakura said truthfully. "Maybe she thinks that you can feed yourself so just doesn't try to get in your way."

Emiya-senpai sighed as she turned off the heat and carefully removed the roux after thinning it with some of the dashi and put it on a far corner of the kitchen counter. "I guess… But I wish she wouldn't come across as a freeloader most of the time."

Sakura giggled despite herself, "You shouldn't talk about your teacher like that, Senpai."

"I guess so…" Emiya-senpai's voice trailed away as she took another large non-stick pot to caramelize onions in some vegetable oil.

"U-um…" Sakura said slowly, "Maybe do it in a stainless steel pot? You won't develop fond properly if you do it in a non-stick one."

The slapped her hand loudly on her forehead, "Of course! Thanks Sakura, I was working on auto-pilot there."

"It's no problem… I hope I'm not being too much of a bother…" Sakura said, bringing the chopped onions to the stainless steel pot her senpai had brought out. She scraped the chopping board with the knife into the slowly simmering vegetable oil. There was a low hiss as the onions hit the simmering oil.

"Not at all!" Emiya-senpai said while waving her hand airily. "As I said, it's actually really nice to cook with someone. Makes it feel less like a chore and I'm more inclined to experiment."

"…" Sakura remained silent, but was thrilled on the inside. Despite the repercussions that might come later, she felt… "at home" here. Almost as if she's a normal person that doesn't have those… things crawling about inside her.

"I wish you could come over like this often…" Emiya-senpai said in an offhand voice, "It'd be a nice change from my regular routine."

Sakura looked sideways, her eyes wise and almost not believing what she had heard.

It was some sick joke, right? Some depraved higher being that ruled her fate was setting a stage to another twisted comedy. It began with a promise of some semblance of idyllic happiness, a faint ray of hope in the abyssal despair, only for the light to be snuffed completely and her being dragged deeper into the pits of hell as the punchline.

But… Was that really the case? The person beside her was smiling so gently, so genuinely as she busily bustled in the heat of the kitchen… the same person who defended her selflessly when others would've simply looked away…

How could she call that deception?

Actually, she could… But that would mean to tell herself that she wasn't worth saving. She wasn't worth defending. She was filthy, sub-human even. She was tired of telling herself that endless despair was her lot in life.

She wanted to resist.

"Y-yes. It would be wonderful… I-uh, actually would love to cook together occasionally." She said, trying to contain the quiver in her voice.

Emiya-senpai beamed at her before returning to the curry they were preparing, now the seared meat, caramelized spiced onions and chunks of carrot and potatoes swimming in the umami-packed dashi.

"I'm…" Sakura said, swallowing as a lump in her throat came up, "Thank you."

"Hmm…?" Emiya-senpai looked up at her and gave her a quizzical look.

"Oh-um, it's just that we don't really cook that often at home, seeing as it's just me." Sakura quickly said a half-truth, "Grandfather is on a… special diet and Nii-san usually eats outside. So I don't bother too much for my own meals."

"Sakura!" Emiya-senpai scolded, "That's not good for your health! You're still growing and you need to eat balanced meals."

"W-well… I'm trying not to gain too much weight!" Sakura said rather defensively.

"Hmph! I can't believe Mitsuzuri hasn't rubbed off on you. Isn't she still captain of the archery club? She doesn't buy into this nonsense about staying petite, and neither should any girl." Emiya said, still in that sister-like lecturing demeanor. "If you want to watch your weight, exercise with me instead of starving yourself."

"Maybe I will," Sakura said, a wide smile plastered on her face… It felt almost unnatural, and her face muscles were stiff. When was the last time she smiled so elatedly?

"I apologize for butting in." A male voice came from behind them. Sakura and Emiya-senpai turned simultaneously to see the blonde man in silver armor behind them. "But the Master of Saber has awakened. He asked to see you, Mashiro."

"Thanks, Lancer." Emiya-senpai said, smiling, "I'll be there in a bit. I just need to finish up with making dinner. Sakura, why don't you go ahead with Lancer?"

"But… Senpai, Tohsaka-senpai asked for you specifically. It'd be rude if I showed up instead." Sakura said sincerely, "You can go ahead! I'll keep watch over the pot."

"Well… It's almost done anyway." Emiya-senpai said, "I just need to mix in the roux. It'll just need to simmer after that. Let's finish up here and we'll be there in five minutes."

Sakura nodded, and Emiya senpai looked at the blonde. Sakura noticed that he seemed to be sniffing the air with a blissful look on his face.

"Lancer?" Emiya-senpai said, either not heeding or not noticing that fact, "I'm sorry for asking you this but could you tell Tohsaka to wait a bit? We'll be there soon."

Lancer swiftly straightened up, expertly hiding the fact that the scent of cooking food had been able to entice him, "W-well, he was having a conversation with Saber. While I wasn't able to catch anything specific, I gathered that it was private in nature. I think it won't be a problem if we're a bit late."

Emiya-senpai cocked her head a bit but shrugged dismissively nonetheless, "Okay, I guess. Why don't you take a seat and we'll call you when we're done."

Lancer nodded enthusiastically in response, and it was with great difficulty Sakura was able to suppress her laughter. She really couldn't recognize herself today.

"It took you longer than expected… Was there a problem?" Rin asked them as they all entered into the room. He was sitting on the bed, his hands together and his elbows on his thighs while his chin rested on his overlapping fingers. Saber was leaning against the wall near the foot of the bed, right beside the window, her hands crossed and face stoic.

Sakura was quite surprised, she expected Rin to be a lot less calm in these circumstances.

"We were just finishing up making dinner." Emiya-senpai said matter-of-factly. "Lancer said you were having a private conversation with Saber so we decided to give you some privacy."

At that, Rin looked at Lancer and scowled. Unfazed, the blonde replied, "I apologize, but it wasn't deliberate. We Servants have sharper senses than normal humans, so I was able to tell that you two were speaking. However, I assure you that I did not hear anything specific."

Rin sighed, probably deciding that it didn't really matter that much and addressed Emiya-senpai, "So… I guess that the chances of you not getting involved have significantly gone down with Lancer being summoned."

Emiya-senpai nodded in response, looking a bit worried, "So now what?" She asked, "You wanted to take me to see the Overseer… Now that Lancer's been summoned, do you think that they'll be willing to help."

Rin considered for a moment, "Honestly? If it were any other Overseer, I would've said "Yeah, there's a good chance", but with this specific person…" His voice trailed off, a look of disdain flickered on his face beneath the concern, "Regardless, we're still trying it. He's our only hope, after all."

Emiya-senpai nodded, and Sakura's previous elation had been drowned out by a flood of dread. Was Senpai going to become another casualty of this accursed Holy Grail War?

"T-Tohsaka-senpai," Sakura spoke up, and Rin's eye's snapped towards her, "Even if… Even if the Overseer refuses to help, you'll help Emiya-senpai, right?"

There was a brief pause where the room seemed to get colder from the silence, "I will. Without a doubt." Rin said, straightening up.

Sakura's heart felt a lot lighter seeing that her brother hadn't given up all of his humanity in his effort to be the next mage in the Tohsaka line.

She was about to give a sigh of relief, but Rin continued in a resigned voice, "However, that's only until she's an unaffiliated third party. The moment she decides that she wants the Holy Grail for herself, we'll be enemies."

He looked at Lancer without a hint of hostility, however the Knight took a slightly more aggressive stance from the previous upright and regal posture. "Is that acceptable, Lancer?"

Sakura bit her lip, her heart deflating like a punctured balloon as she looked at the handsome blonde.

There was an awkward silence where both men seemed to seize eachother up, intense aqua dueling with a shocking blue, but Lancer restrained himself, "I guess it's only fair that you and your Servant would not give your desire for the Grail to aid a competitor, regardless of whether they were originally an innocent bystander."

"I assure you though, even if she decided that she wanted to win," Rin continued calmly, "I would offer to cooperate until we were the last ones standing. Knowing Emiya, she would be the kind of participant I would be at ease about the most. She wouldn't drag innocents into this just to win the Grail." Rin added the last part, seemingly to make sure that he wasn't doing it out of the consideration that Emiya-senpai would be an easy person to beat if it were down to only them. And that statement restored all of Sakura's faith in him.

"Well… Thanks, I guess." Emiya-senpai said. She really looked like she couldn't think of how to reply.

"That is most noble of you." Lancer said approvingly, a slight smile coming to his lips, "And I would happily work with such a comrade and Master. As a Knight, I wish to make this war one where the participants can fight fairly and honorably."

Saber snorted and entered the conversation for the first time, "With Servants of classes like Assassin and Caster running about, I doubt that you'll get what you want. We even had Berserker try to kill your Master and Sakura earlier tonight just because they saw us fighting."

"I know." The knight replied, a subtle crease forming on his forehead, "I am not naïve enough to think that everyone would fight honorably. The prospect of having ones deepest desire granted can and will make even the most virtuous of people resort of unscrupulous means. But I will not tolerate someone endangering the innocent, whomever they may be."

"Well then," Rin said as though to settle the conversation, "let's head over to the Church as soon as we can." Rin motioned towards his blood-stained clothes, "I'll need to clean up this first, though. Thankfully it won't be really noticeable at night and because my clothes are already black and red."

"Wait, you can change into my Old Man's clothes." Emiya-senpai spoke up, "I've kept them in his closet. They might be a bit big, but I think they'll do for tonight."

"Thanks, Emiya." Rin said with a small smile.

"Um… I'm sorry to ask you this," Emiya-senpai turned towards Sakura, "But could you set the table while I get some clothes out for Tohsaka?"

Sakura smiled and shook her head, "It's no problem at all! It's you we should be apologizing to for having dinner here so suddenly."

Saber, on the other hand, simply disappeared wordlessly.

Rin nodded at Sakura with a slight smile as he followed Emiya-senpai out of the room after she explained to her where everything was. Sakura herself was about to go set the table, but was stopped by Lancer's voice.

"Uh… I'll help you set the table, Lady Sakura." Lancer came forward with a smile.

"Oh…" Sakura felt somewhat awkward at the offer, but accepted nonetheless, "Well, thank you. It would be nice to have some help."

The Blonde Knight stepped outside the room behind her without another word and followed her lead. The long, Japanese-style hallway of the building almost gave off an aura of melancholy in the silent night. Even their footsteps on the wooden floor sounded mournful, as though they were the chaotic beats of funeral drums.

"This place… It's seen tragedies." Sakura whispered to herself unconsciously. But the feeling wasn't "evil", unlike the Matou Mansion… The house itself was in respectful mourning. For whom, she did not know, but the person undoubtedly wanted to make this house into a warm home…

"Indeed." Lancer said in an indiscernible tone, which made Sakura jump, "Ah, I'm sorry if I was interrupting you. I assumed you were speaking to me."

"N-no need to apologize!" Sakura stammered, "I was just thinking out loud."

"I see." Lancer said lightly.

With that they began walking again, perhaps in a slower pace than before. The silence between them was becoming more and more awkward though. Every second made Sakura more and more self-conscious.

She was almost relieved when Lancer inquired, "If you don't mind me prying… How did you come to that conclusion? I gather that it's your first time visiting this place."

Sakura bit her lower lip, debating whether she should tell him… But she decided to remain silent.

Lancer seemingly understood and refrained from inquiring any further.

Sakura was still unsure whether telling him was the right idea even as they were setting the table (she couldn't stay serious, however, as she could practically hear how much Lancer's mouth was watering as he handled the curry-filled pot)… But nonetheless, perhaps it was a harmless bit of information to give to a non-Caster Servant.

"My elemental affinity and Sorcery Trait is Imaginary Numbers." Sakura said, not looking at Lancer. Lancer stopped in his tracks and looked up at her, "While I'm not really trained in Magecraft, because Imaginary Numbers are related to The Sixth Imaginary Element, also called "Demons", I can sense residual human wishes and emotions. It's not really a useful ability on any level."

"I see…" Lancer said pensively, "However, I wouldn't call it "useless", per se."

Sakura looked up at the knight, not really sure why he thought that. A somewhat wistful smile played on the Knight's lips as he explained, "Personally, I think it's an extraordinary gift to be able to discern all the emotions that goes into an object or place… Being unable to understand the hearts of people is something that led to the fall of many a monarchs."

Sakura gave a curt nod affirming her understanding. She had been attentive in her Social Studies classes enough to understand that, despite the near-absolute power that Monarchs wielded upon the land he ruled and its inhabitants, he was more or less powerless if no one supported him. Uprisings and rebellions drawing on the fomenting rage of the masses, while not always enough to usurp, was usually an exceptionally weakening for the regime. Outside political forces or quislings from within the nobility took advantage of those times to strike down the royalty.

"Well…" However, she couldn't help but point out a glaring weakness in that reasoning, "I'm not really royalty, so it's still a relatively useless ability for me."

Lancer grinned rather sheepishly, "Indeed. I was just pointing out that your ability is far from useless despite its limited immediate use to you."

Well, perhaps the blonde was just being nice, but Sakura sensed something else behind his words. He was a Knight, from what she gathered from his brief conversation with Emiya-senpai after his summoning. Perhaps he had some experience with that type of situation he described. Where the king he served was overthrown by the people because he could not understand what they truly wanted.

"Oh, you guys are done setting up!" Emiya-senpai's voice brought her out of her reverie. Both she and Rin behind her had entered into the room, the latter now wearing a black, long-sleeved t-shirt with white accents on the cuffs and collar. It was a bit big for him, but not noticeably so.

"Welcome back." The Knight said gently.

"Sorry for the wait." Rin said, his eyes towards Sakura, "Busybody-san over there insisted on leaving my clothes in the washing machine." His tone was light, almost playful. He was obviously annoyed somewhat because they were delaying the meeting with the Overseer, but Sakura guessed that he disliked that person enough that he couldn't begrudge anyone giving him an excuse to delay a meeting with him.

Emiya-senpai, on the other hand, simply rolled her eyes at him as she brought over the rice cooker and placed it near the edge of the table, "I was trying to be considerate, Tohsaka-san."

"Yes, yes, thank you very much. You're a lovely hostess." Rin said, half-jokingly and half genuinely sincere, "But we've already lost a lot of time… Honestly, if I didn't suspect Berserker and Archer to be still skulking around nearby, I would've been really annoyed by the delay."

"So you suspect that they might have traps set up nearby already?" Lancer asked seriously, his eyes swiftly going from the steaming curry to Rin in an instant.

"Of course." Rin said, making himself comfortable in front of one of the white ceramic plates set on the table, "I guess I should tell you that the Einzbern Master, who is the Master of Archer in this war, seems to have a personal grudge against your Master. We encountered her earlier tonight and she gave us something of a "warning"."

Lancer's face darkened instantly, his hand that was resting on the table balled itself into a fist. But it didn't last and he took a deep and slow breath as though to steady himself.

"…You look really worried, Lancer." Emiya-senpai voiced what all of them present were probably thinking. Rin was looking at him, a single eyebrow raised in curiosity.

"Naturally." Lancer said, his demeanor stoic and composed, "My Master has caught the eyes of many since before my summoning, and being concerned is the right reaction, if a superfluous one."

Sakura nodded, but couldn't help but hear insincerity in his voice.

"Worrying is superfluous?" Emiya-senpai asked as she scooped the steaming rice from inside the rice-cooker on the table with a paddle and served all of them one by one.

Lancer nodded curtly, "Indeed. If one knows the gravity of a situation, worrying oneself is simply putting strain on the heart and brain. That energy would be better spent trying to remedy the situation."

Rin snickered a bit at the statement. Lancer's blue eyes were filled with a hint of displeasure as he asked, "What do you find so funny about that?"

"Honestly, I agree with you. As far as it goes, what you said was factually correct." Rin stated simply, "But that's in the realm of "Correct but not necessarily Right"."

"…The way you phrased that made it sound stupid and self-contradictory, Tohsaka." Emiya-senpai said before he could continue, earning a giggle from Sakura and an amused impression from Lancer.

Rin, on the other hand, was irked, "Let me finish! It's actually smarter than it sounds." He cleared his throat almost like a teacher attempting to get his student's full attention in a subtle way, "As I was saying, you're technically right that worrying doesn't solve anything. But we're not just robots that can turn off a certain function at will whenever we please. Concern is a natural byproduct of emotional investment."

"…So you mean that if you're emotionally invested in something, you're worried regardless of how you express it?" Lancer asked quietly.

Rin nodded in reply, "That's the gist of it. Honestly, most people would find someone who's totally unconcerned by an alarming situation either extremely arrogant or unnervingly detached. Being concerned is fine, but letting it hinder your judgement or weigh you down mentally is when it's really harmful."

"Um… I guess I'm sorry I spoke before you finished. Hahaha…" Emiya-senpai told Rin.

"You should be." Rin huffed, turning his head away from Emiya-senpai crossly.

"Ehehe… W-well, let's dig in! The curry's getting cold." Emiya-senpai said in a hurry, attempting to salvage the situation. "Oh, wait! What about Saber?" She added with an afterthought as everyone picked up their spoons.

"I asked her to scout ahead to make sure that we aren't caught off guard by enemies." Rin said, "Don't worry, Servants don't really need to eat."

"Oh… I see. But I guess I'll still save some for her." Emiya-senpai said softly. Sakura couldn't really discern the emotion in her voice, but she understood that she didn't really have totally positive feelings towards that particular Servant for some reason.

"Itadakimassu!" Sakura said with the others as she dug her spoon into the rice covered in the silky, spicy-smelling curry. She decided to pick up a piece of carrot with the curry and rice first, and put it into her mouth.

A burst of savory-sweet hit her tongue, and she couldn't help but letting out a small "Mmmm!". The curry had such a nice velvety texture that seemed to coat the whole tongue and every grain of rice without being oily, and the savoury-sweet flavor that hit first and foremost was accompanied by a nutty and earthy flavor, undoubtedly from the dark roux and cumin in the curry powder mix.

There was something else giving it a depth of dark flavor, which Sakura assumed was the cocoa and instant coffee mix Emiya-senpai had added despite her hesitations (which she was glad about, as the complexity it gave the whole thing was excellent). The chunk of carrot was perfectly tender and had absorbed the flavor of the dashi well, and had also gained some of the spicy, peppery flavors of the spice mix.

Each time she chewed, bits of almost disintegrated and jam-like spiced caramelized onions would give a wonderful texture and sweet-savory-spiciness to the whole mix.

She swallowed the wonderful mouthful, and the aromatic spices lingered along with a kick of piquant flavor on her palate. She quickly picked up a chunk of beef with the next spoonful and took a bite. As expected, the meat was juicy and tender, filled to the brim with the spicy-sweet-umami of the dashi and spiced caramelized onions along with its own savory and smokey flavor from the lovely crust from being seared beforehand.

"Oh wow!" Rin said appreciatively, "This curry is one of the best I've had in some time. Great cooking on your part, Emiya."

"Yes, it's really delicious, Senpai." Sakura said wholeheartedly before digging back in. She could barely stop herself from wolfing down the whole plate before her in one go.

"Eh, it did turn out good… but that's thanks to Sakura really. You should be praising her too." Emiya-senpai said sheepishly, but still looked appreciative of the praise.

"This food…" A third voice said, and Sakura was somewhat flabbergasted by the borderline reverent tone, "Ah, I see… so cuisine has come so far in all these years from those simple boiled potatoes…"

"Are you… are you crying, Lancer?!" Emiya said, her tone bordering on unnerved.

"N-no!" The Servant protested, wiping the moistness from his eyes "I'm simply overwhelmed by the spice!"

Rin had a somewhat perplexed expression in his eyes, but it quickly turned into a look of mischief, "Oh boy, if you're overwhelmed by this little spice, I can't imagine what your reaction would be to my Chinese cooking."

Lancer, who had resumed eating the curry rice fervently, perked up his ears. Rin's grin became borderline wicked as he continued, "I was thinking of repaying Emiya for dinner by making lunch tomorrow. But I guess I'll just stick to the idea of making western, if one of the people eating wouldn't be able to take it. Mashed potatoes, perhaps. Too bad they're somewhat bland, in my opinion…"

"I-I don't really mind that much." Lancer stammered, all the color in his face draining at the mention of potatoes followed by "bland", "I mean, it would be cruel for you to make such a large change in plans simply on my account."

"Oh no, no, no!" Rin said with that wide smile while the two girls looked on with pity towards the blonde who had taken the bait, "It's no problem for me, Lancer. Honestly, it'll be less of a bother cooking it because it's fairly simple compared to Chinese... Though I do admit that I'm disappointed not being able to cook some Suanla Choushou..." Rin added the last part in a very convincing act of disappointment.

The blonde almost fearfully asked, "If I may ask... What's that, exactly?"

...The prey had taken the last bait, and Sakura sighed in unison with Emiya-senpai. What came next was an extremely candid and vivid description of the dish and its flavors (Sakura herself was salivating a bit; Rin should consider working as a food writer) along with the details of how he tried to improve that dish further and the resulting "masterpiece". It took Sakura all of her will power to stop herself from giggling at the expression on Lancer's face.

Lancer, now mortified, went back to eating the curry… perhaps a bit more enthusiastically, if that was even possible. It was obvious he was savoring the delicious food as much as he could before (what he probably assumed) a return to bland, tasteless potatoes.

Sakura could just exchange a half-amused and half-pitying smile with Emiya-senpai.

"Well… I guess it's good to see those two getting along?" Emiya-senpai said to her, her phrasing making it sound more of a question than a statement.

Sakura couldn't help but agree.