Author's Warning:

The first paragraph may be somewhat disturbing to some people. If you know Sakura's family's situation, then you know what the paragraph will be about. If you don't, well here's a taste of what it is like. If you wish not to read it, skip to the second paragraph.

Chapter Three

Sakura lays down bare on the cold floor. She already knows the routine of what happens in the basement of the Matou house. Her body is covered instantly by the crest worms of this family. For the past ten years these worms have constantly violated her in every place imaginable. When she first was sent down here by her grandfather, she screamed and screamed wanting out but the door was locked. It took some days before her screams stopped and a few more before she completely lost her sense of self. The worms suckle her breast, forcibly invade her most private of parts, and leave absolutely nothing of her untouched nor unentered. By now her eyes are lifeless and she remains emotionless through it all. She knows there is no escape from this nor does she keep any hope for salvation. Those are lost like her virginity was from the "love" she's received from this so-called "family" of hers. Although for the first time in years, her mind is puzzled and is in need of being solved despite where she is.

"There's something about Senpai's brother that I can't quite figure out." She speaks out loud to herself. "Unlike everyone else I've come across, he feels foreign like he isn't from this world. Not only that, but he's definitely harboring something. Could it be that he is a magus? Seems unlikely since the Tohsakas would have noticed something and Grandfather would have as well. Although he could be an unknown magus who hides under the radar. Judging from his spar with Senpai, there was some kind of power surrounding him. Do the Emiyas also use magic of some kind? I haven't noticed anything like that with Senpai though. Mason did say that they were adopted, so could his former parents have provided some sort of magecraft for him to use? It's possible, but if I wanted to look into it I would need to learn his previous family's name. Wait, does Senpai know about his brother's power? I'm not certain since normally magus keep mage craft secret from others even sometimes from their family, so there's a chance that he doesn't know. I should get to the bottom of this for Senpai's safety."

An old man stands quietly at the top of the stairs listening in on Sakura's thoughts. He turns and leaves when she stops talking and thinks to himself. So there's something interesting about one of the Emiya boys. If he indeed has magical abilities, I can see why Kiritsugu adopted him. After all, everyone in this type of life needs a successor. Whether the boy will be a magus killer like his father remains to be seen. Perhaps I would make use of the boys in some way since they seem to have a connection to Sakura. This coming Holy Grail War shows an interesting promise. He smiles at this thought.

Mason is walking when he sees a familiar purple hair girl down the street as if searching for something.

"Hey what are you doing Sakura?" Mason calls out to her.

"I…" She trails off trying to think of something to say. I can't very well tell him that I'm trying to investigate him. "I was just going for a walk."

"Same here," He says. She's definitely doing something else than a simple walk, but this seems like a good opportunity to learn more about her. "Would you like to walk together?"

"Ummm…" This would save me the trouble of trying to find a good time to talk to him. "Sure." Sakura replies.

"Great! Let's be off then"

They begin to walk together. Although both of them have the same motive for each other, neither starts a conversation. They go up and down streets trying to figure out the right way to talk. Asking about personal information would seem too straightforward and less likely to succeed, they both think to themselves. As time goes by, Sakura gets an idea.

"So where did you learn to fight like that?" She asks Mason.

"Oh you mean the spar with Shirou? I learned it from a Jed- I mean from a teacher from a former dojo I used to go to." He quickly changes.

"Why did you stop going?"

"Uh… because it was forcibly destroyed."

"Oh, but what about the teacher you mentioned? You have a dojo at your house, so couldn't you keep getting lessons from him there?"

"That's not possible."

"May I ask why?"

Mason's face frowns and he looks down, "She died."

"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

Mason looks up and forces a smile, "Don't worry about it, I'm fine. It happened about ten years ago."

Ten years ago? Sakura thinks, Isn't that about the same time as what happened to the city? He mentioned it before.

"Anyways, enough about that." Mason proclaims. "What about you?"

"Me?" She says confused.

"Yes, I would like to know a bit about you."

"Like what?" She says guardedly.

"Well you know about my family already, so what's to know about your family?"

"Oh well there's just my brother and our grandfather."

"I've met your brother already."

"You have?"

"Yes I ran into him with Shirou at school the other day an-." He stops and looks around.

Sakura is confused about what her companion is doing. He makes a variable of faces as he is looking around. At first it was curiosity but it changed to shock, then anger, and finally worry. He obviously senses something for him to look like this, so he must have some kind of power. She thinks to herself. But what is causing it? He then grabs her and runs into an alley. She lets out an audible "yelp" being pulled. He covers her mouth and puts a finger on his lips. She nods and he lets her go. They remained hidden for a minute. Sakura is unsure of what is happening but decides to trust his judgment not knowing what all Mason is capable of. Then a group of people in black robes walk on the street and pass the alley they are in. Mason gets a concerned face as he watches them. After they leave, he breathes a sigh of relief.

"Um Mason," Sakura starts, "could you… could you explain what just happened?"

Mason answers, "You remember how I was gone for five years?" She nods and he continues, "Well during that time I undiscovered an uncomfortable cult. To sum them up, they bring nothing but destruction where they go. And if they are here then it's not good."

"What cult are they?"

"They call themselves 'The Cult of Nihilus'."

"Nihilus?"

"Uh…" Mason stumbles. How do I explain who he is without giving away who I am or anything believable? "Darth Nihilus is an incredibly dangerous and ancient Sith Lord from outer space that consumes life to feed his never ending hunger." To people here that probably sounds like something parents say to their children to keep them from acting up. Wait if I remember correctly, there's tons of religions and myths on this planet. I can just say he's one of them. "He's an evil god from some myth they worship. He basically exists to be offered sacrifices for eternity."

Sakura grows concerned for two reasons. One because she fears for Shirou, the other because they seem to be here fairly close to the upcoming war and something is telling her that it's no coincidence. Although she doesn't think she's ever heard of this god from any myth. This whole situation needs further investigation for her.

"We should follow them to see what they are doing here." She comments.

"Are you crazy?" Mason asks. "They're dangerous and you could get hurt. I'll investigate them by myself. You stay here."

Surprisingly to him, Sakura grabs his arm before he can walk away. "If they are so dangerous, then why are you going by yourself?"

"You saw my spar with Shirou, I can handle myself just fine."

"I'm sure you can, but so can I. I'm not as helpless as you may think." My days of being with those crest worms have seen to that. Besides this is a chance to see if I can confirm my suspicions of you harboring some sort of power. she thinks to herself.

Mason sees the deamination in her purple eyes. She seems so shy, so her acting this way is very surprising to me. Perhaps some of Shirou's stubbornness has rubbed off on her. Though does this "not as helpless as you may think" have something to do with that darkness I'm feeling from her? There's a risk she may discover what I am, but at the same time I may discover something to confirm my suspicions. I just hope that curiosity doesn't kill this cat. "Fine. Let's get going, but follow my instructions."

She nods and they carefully start to follow the group from a distance.

Author's Note:

Well sorry for the wait everyone. I rewrote this chapter multiple times before I got something that was acceptable for me. It's a bit short, but I wanted something for you guys to have since I plan on spending a decent amount of time about what Mason and Sakura will have in store for themselves in the next chapter. As for why the beginning is like it is, well it's Fate and there's no short of fucked up things that have arrived from it. On to another note, it seems as if both Sakura and Mason may get the chance to find the answers hey are searching for about each other. And what does this "Cult of Nihilus" plan for? Well I can tell ya you'll have to wait, although I'm sure some can get a good guess as to what they are planning. Also don't worry, Shirou is still a protagonist and will be getting some chapters focused on him in the future. I'll try to not take so long for the next chapter dear readers. Anyways thanks for reading and I'll talk at y'all again!