Replies to my Reviews
Sypho Dias: EMIYA Alter's stats are on chapter 4
Chapter 16: Matou Misery III - The Melancholy of Sakura
"Hm..." Kirei Kotomine paused in his survey of the Matou Mansion two hours after the supposed death of Zouken Matou, eyeing the many metal shards left over from the intruder's rampage. 'So far, I have yet to find any blood at all. Assuming that whoever did this succeeded in killing Zouken Matou, what are the fates of his scion? Were they killed as well? Or were they taken?'
Pausing at the massive tunnel which bored through the house's outer walls and many rooms until it reached the catacombs, Kirei looked around and noted the straight path of damage. 'The intruder never branched off in a searching manner. Their target was Zouken and everything else was ignored. The fact that they broke through several walls in an effort to get at him suggests that this was a personal endeavor and the attacker possessed a means of knowing exactly where their target was.'
Coming to the end of the tunnel and looking at the utterly devastated catacombs, the theory of this being a personal vendetta grew stronger as Kirei noted the rotting corpses of Zouken's many, many Worms.
All completely inert.
Confirming the absence (and likely death) of the Makiri Patriarch, Kirei retreated until he was outside the house again. Satiating his curiosity, Kirei picked up one of the few still intact swords and held it up to observe.
"Unbelievable..." Upon close observation, Kirei suddenly realized what had been confusing him ever since he stepped in a place that looked like it had offended Gilgamesh.
The blades were not real.
"Gradation Air... No, this is far more advanced..." Kirei muttered as he experimentally broke the sword in half. It took him far, far more strength than he expected but-
*crack!*
*krrssssssh!*
-there it was. The telltale flash of azure sparks and flames at the irreversible damage done to Projections. As it faded away from Kirei's hands, he was now even more plagued by the question that bogged him from the very start.
Who did this?
Who got to Zouken before Kirei could have had the joy of taking his life himself?
"Urgh..."
'A blessing unto the Lord!' Kirei's widened in surprise as a small, humanoid thing slowly inched out of the ground. 'A completely separate batch of Worms buried deep in the earth and prepped as an extra body? I knew that detestable maggot would've found some way to cheat death as usual.' "Zouken Matou, may I ask who I can thank for reducing you to this pitiful state?"
To his surprise, Zouken briefly stared at Kirei in confusion before shaking with low, rasping laughter. "My future dear grandson-in-law, of course. Apparently, he found out about my granddaughter's training methods and... ha... did not approve."
'So Sakura Matou has somehow gained an ally who possesses similar protectiveness to Kariya but none of the weaknesses? Well done, girl.' Kirei nodded in intrigue. It seemed that he'd have to pay more attention to Sakura as well instead of just Rin. "I'll have to give my congratulations to Shinji Matou, then. With your defeat, he is now a lot more closer to succeeding you as the head of the Matou Clan."
The amusement in Zouken's eyes died as he scoffed and spat. "Shinji? Sakura is the one with far more chances. With the inclusion of Shirou Emiya's seed into our bloodline, the Matou will truly flourish again."
Shirou Emiya?
Shirou Emiya, the son of Kiritsugu Emiya?
Shirou Emiya, the son of Kiritsugu Emiya, was the one to break into the Matou mansion, reduce it's owner to such a pathetic state and make off with his grandchildren?
Never before had Kirei Kotomine been so glad and happy to have been woken up earlier than he had to on a Saturday.
"So am I correct in assuming that the Matou children are currently with Emiya at the moment?" Kirei inquired as he surreptiously prepared himself. Emiya had done well to present this chance to him. It was a bit sloppy to not make sure that an enemy like Zouken who was confirmed to usually switch bodies did not have a spare lying around, but Emiya's mistake was most likely due to his inexperience and inadequate knowledge, and could therefore be forgiven.
Besides, Kirei finally had the chance to perform a long overdue exorcism.
"They may think themselves safe from me, but-?!" Zouken's reply was cut off as Kirei gripped the back of his head tightly with a single hand before slamming him facefirst into the ground without mercy, shattering the already fragile bones in the frail body.
"Do not be so surprised, Zouken Matou, but I am still at heart, a Priest and an Executor. It is only natural that exposing such weakness to me was practically an invitation." Taking relish in the terror that had replaced the Wraith's smug attitude, Kirei began the Baptism Rite.
"I will kill. I will let live. I will harm and heal. None will escape me. None will escape my sight.
Be crushed.
I welcome those who have grown old and those who have lost."
The Baptism Rite was the sole magical Mystery that was permitted to be learned in the Church. The teachings of God were considered to be the greatest and noblest of all weapons against spirits within the systematic basis of their magecraft, so the chant was a key of providence that eliminated wondering souls with the holy words of the Bible.
"Devote yourself to me, learn from me, and obey me.
Rest. Do not forget song, do not forget prayer, and do not forget me."
It was a simple ten-count ritual that was instantly effective once completed. It did not have much effect upon the physical world as it was solely intended for spiritual bodies, and as such, had near absolute power over them.
"I am light and relieve you of all your burdens.
Do not pretend. Retribution for forgiveness, betrayal for trust, despair for hope, darkness for light, dark death for the living."
The ritual in itself would be exceptionally damaging to Zouken Matou as he was essentially a spiritual existence that used his wretched Worms to anchor himself to the World.
Normally, it would not be fatal due to his 'true self' being safely nested in the body of his granddaughter.
Normally.
"Relief is in my hands. I will add oil to your sins and leave a mark.
Eternal life is given through death."
However, Kirei was willing to risk a bet that Shirou Emiya had already taken care of that problem, seeing that his 'soul' had resurrected in a body currently too unfit for him instead of automatically taking over his granddaughter's body.
The sheer panic in Zouken's eyes was a delicious confirmation that Kirei's hunch was correct.
"Ask for forgiveness here. I, the incarnation, will swear."
"[Kyrie, Eleison.]"
The dome of ethereal light that had slowly been hovering about them brightened and expanded into an erupting blast, forever damning Zouken from the World.
The moment he was done and Zouken had been excised, Kirei stomped on his body and crushed the head against the ground, brutally deforming the carcass with his conveniently durable boots.
He'd have to put extra effort into cleaning them later, but Kirei considered it a worthy sacrifice as he kept on desecrating the body of the very recently deceased old man.
Finally satisfied that Zouken's carcass had been properly strangled, stabbed with some Black Keys, stomped on again, set alight, pissed on, and finally set alight some more with some napalm he just happened to have on him at the time, Kirei exhaled with the air of someone who just finished a satisfying chore as he exited the Matou residence. With Zouken gone for good, he'd have to alert Gilgamesh and revise some now unnecessary plans.
This day couldn't possibly get much better than this.
"Good morning, Father Kotomine." A woman in workout clothes greeted as she jogged past.
"Good morning to you as well." Kirei greeted back, only for his eyesight to be caught by the motions of her long dark hair tied in twintails. 'Oh. Rin is most likely unaware of this development.'
Never mind. It seemed that the morning could actually get much better than before.
The moment Sakura Matou woke up in her bed, she could instantly tell something was off with her body even with her lethargy. Breathing came easier to her, as did moving and virtually everything else.
But yet, something felt as if it was missing. It only took her a few moments of pushing herself up and rubbing the clouds out of her eyes to realize what it was.
'The Worms... are silent...? No... sleeping...?'
A very brief channeling of the Od in her body gave her information that she didn't believe she would've ever encountered.
Sakura Matou's body was completely Worm-free. Even the Grail shards that had been implanted all those years ago had also been removed.
Beyond that, her natural forty Magic Circuits flared to life after years of atrophy, causing a soft cry of pain... that wasn't followed with the usual scurrying of Worms within her body.
"What happened?" Sakura hugged herself in shock.
"Emiya happened." Shinji Matou bluntly replied just as he entered her guest room. "How are you feeling, Sakura?"
"Nii-san..." Sakura blinked uncomprehendingly at the kindness her brother's tone. "I can't..."
She clutched at her chest. "I can't feel Grandfather anymore."
To her surprise, Shinji's shoulders sagged. "That's good. That means that Emiya's maid knows her stuff."
Sakura's eyes widened. "Morgana operated on me? She... She fixed me? But Grandfather wouldn't have-"
"That's right." Shinji interrupted her. "This was a two-part job. Morgana safely got the Worms out of you while Emiya went after Grandfather."
'...no. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! No! No! No! No! No! NO!' Sakura leapt out of the bed and tried to barrel past Shinji, ignoring the pain from her weakened body. "He can't! He'll die! Why didn't you stop him?! I thought you cared in your own way! He'll be dead like Uncle Kariya!"
"Emiya isn't as weak as Uncle Kariya!" Shinji snapped back, rendering her quiet. "Emiya went and killed Grandfather. You want proof of his success? He's been back for over an hour and has been sleeping off the exhaustion. We both know that Grandfather wouldn't have let Emiya walk away if he had won. Add in the fact that he's not here in all his wormy glory after all of his work on your body got undone just proves that he's not alive to do so!"
Sakura blinked in disbelief as she fell back onto the bed. Grandfather was dead? Senpai fought him? Senpai fought him and won?
The absence of the ever present squirming in her body that had persisted for years seemed to act as a confirmation to that seemingly blasphemous thought.
Sakura slowly trembled, covering her eyes with her arm as tears dripped down her face and onto the bed.
It had happened.
It had actually happened.
It hurt so much to hope that this wasn't a dream.
Because if this was a dream, Sakura wasn't sure how she would survive if she woke up.
When Shirou finally woke up and entered the sobbing girl's room, Shinji was dealt with the hilarious sight of his little sister tackling him down to the ground as she started to cry anew before he bid his exit.
'What happens now?' Shinji pondered. All this time, he'd lived for the sake of impressing Grandfather, so that the centuries old man might be motivated into actually doing something to make him a Magus.
'Where do I go from here?' Shinji didn't know.
"Are you alright, Shinji?" Morgana called out, gaining the bluehead's attention. "You seem rather... lost."
"...I feel lost." Shinji sighed as he leaned back against the wall. "With Grandfather dead, I... For all my life, I've wanted to be a Magus... I wanted... I would've done anything to live up to the stories I read growing up...! But..."
Shinji slid down until he was sitting. "Reality is often disappointing."
Morgana tilted her head, observing him with an air of curious interest. 'Should I or should I not? Should I try to help him with his issues? Will my methods even work for a Magus of this era?'
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Follow me, Shinji. I have something that might help you." Morgana stated as she headed away.
What had she been thinking?!
Whether it worked or not, why should she ignore such a prime test subject practically offering himself before her?!
Phew, for a second, Morgana thought that Shirou's 'goodness' might've been contagious.
*Riiiiiiiiiing!*
*Riiiiiiiiiing!*
*Riiiiiiiiiing!*
"Uuuuuuurghhh!" Rin Tohsaka growled from under her covers as she blearily glared at the offensive antique phone, so, so, so far away from the bed. "Oh, shut up! Stop ringing! What cruel son of a bitch would be calling me on a Saturday morning?! It's only... 09:13?! Now I'm awake almost two hours earlier than I have to on a Saturday?!"
Growling out some curses under her breath, Rin crawled out from underneath her blanket haven and approached the phone, rubbing her eyes a bit while picking it. "Hello? Tohsaka residence."
"Good morning, Rin. How are you on the fine morning? I certainly hope that you aren't wasting it by sleeping in." Kirei Kotomine's annoyingly cheerful voice grated into her ears from the other side with an amused tone.
'If only there was a Gandr that could be transmitted through phone lines...' Rin's eyebrow twitched at the sound of the loathsome man's words. "Do be careful, Priest. What do you want that you're calling me at this time?"
"I am simply calling to inform you, Second Owner of Fuyuki, that Zouken Matou is dead."
It took a good twenty seconds for Rin's brain to comprehend exactly what the priest had just said, and even then she had trouble believing it. Looking back on the event later, she'd have betted her entire gem stock that Kirei had savored every second of it. "…what?"
"I believe you heard me the first time, Rin. However, I shall indulge you this once. The old worm is dead." The voice on the other end replied with a hint of amusement. "I had the personal privilege of dealing with his corpse. And no, I did not exterminate him myself."
Ignoring his wistful tone, Rin was thrown for a serious loop as she tried to comprehend what this could mean. In a way, this was bigger than anything that could have potentially occurred in the upcoming War.
Even before that, it drastically changed the power balance in Fuyuki now. The Matou name was now down to just Shinji and Sakura (a former Tohsaka might she add), and without Zouken to muck about anymore, Rin's position in the area had just gained a significant degree of weight.
Screw sleeping in now, Rin should be spending the next couple of hours busy looking at the old contracts between her family and the Makiri to see what this event truly meant for her…
Hold on a minute...
"Wait. How?" Rin managed to rasp out as a very important fact just occurred to her. "A… person... like that would not die so easily."
That was not an understatement. There had been records of random members of both the Tohsaka and Matou clans, along with many other Magi from other factions, trying to kill Zouken over the years, methods and all. None of them worked in the slightest and those who had tried and failed were never heard from again. It was virtually an unspoken rule from her father that Zouken was off limits if she knew what was good for her.
So who...?
"Ah, now that I believe is the true interesting part." Rin could almost feel Kirei grin on the other side of the line. "The one responsible for Zouken's death was none other than your schoolmate, Shirou Emiya."
Rin's insides turned to ice at those words. "…what?"
"Indeed. He did quite the damage at the Matou mansion. Then again, I should've expected no less from the Magus Killer's son. You don't need to worry, though. He definitely took Sakura Matou alive, even though I have no clue of his intentions."
Rin's mind went blank at that tidbit. Shirou Emiya had taken Sakura? The Homuhara Brownie was a Magus and had taken her sister alive? How long had he and his father been in Fuyuki?
Rin balked at how little she knew about Shirou beyond school rumors. He was the 'Homuhara Brownie' who would fix everything that needed to be fixed in the school for free. He was Ryuudou's sole friend who wasn't part of the student council. He was also the sole friend of Shinji Matou, which had definitely drawn attention as his influence made him slightly less of an asshole to others, meaning that he'd naturally be close to Sakura as well.
That last bit was very notable due to the fact that Sakura actually smiled a lot more in his presence.
On one hand, it would be a very bad idea to go after the one who had essentially killed an immortal.
On the other hand, even if Sakura was a Matou, she was still born Sakura Tohsaka and was her little sister. Plus, Kiritsugu Emiya, the man who had essentially been the Baba Yaga of the Moonlit World, was already deceased. His son shouldn't be as dangerous.
It's amazing how a rational person overcome with rage and panic could easily discard their reasoning.
"And that is all. I just wanted to call to make sure that you were up to date, Rin. Be sure not to act too reckless, alright?" And with that, Kirei cut off. Again, Rin would've betted her gem stock that he had known exactly what she would be doing in the next few hours.
"You... just want me to read this grimoire?" Shinji frowned as he looked at the plain-looking book in his hands. According to Morgana, Shirou had found it some years ago. "What's the catch?"
"That grimoire has a special power from what I believe." Morgana revealed as she motioned for Shinji to sit down in the middle of Shirou's shed. It wasn't his true Workshop so she believed that he wouldn't mind. "It has the power to completely reactivate dormant Magic Circuits, pushing them to the level of a seasoned Magus, with a catch as you said."
Shinji's eyes widened as he gawked at the book in his hands. All this time, the answer to all of his problems had been with Emiya?! 'Wait... It's not like Emiya would've known that I needed this book. Besides, she clearly said that this came with a catch.' "So what am I giving in exchange for this?"
"Your ancestry." Morgana bluntly revealed the flaw of the ancient grimoire she had actually created centuries ago. "I believe you know what happens when you... wipe a virus-ridden computer? It's like that. All of the gathered information passed down from your ancestors would be essentially deleted. Even for someone like Shirou-sama, even he had enough of a Magus-like attitude to know that he could never give such a book to anybody at all, as nobody would actually accept and try to use that grimoire."
'Ah... So that's why...' Shinji tightened his grip on the book. 'Yeah, this grimoire would be such a turn-off as many standard Magi who are actually proud of their bloodlines... However...'
Shinji opened the grimoire with gusto. "My bloodline's been dead for years. Add in the fact that Grandfather's in it too, something like wiping clean my DNA history actually sounds like a bonus, instead!"
"I should have expected as much." Morgana smiled in approval and masked interest. 'I wonder what effects will be granted to a magus of this era?'
"Let's see now." Shinji muttered as he started off. "'Magecraft can essentially be divided into two types. The first is the type that certain races are naturally born with.' Obviously. 'The second type is usually more of a unique skill than Magecraft that is granted from a foreign entity, often manifesting as a form of self-expression.' Huh... That's pretty..."
The text on the book began to waver, almost like a heat haze, almost startling Shinji until he started to feel dizzy. "What in the…?"
He gaped at the text as it began to swirl and merge together.
That's when he heard the voice in his head.
"𝔚𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔦𝔫𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔢𝔰𝔱𝔢𝔡 𝔦𝔫? 𝔚𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔡𝔬 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔞𝔠𝔠𝔢𝔭𝔱? 𝔚𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔡𝔬 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔡𝔢𝔰𝔭𝔦𝔰𝔢? 𝔚𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔡𝔬 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔡𝔢𝔰𝔦𝔯𝔢? 𝔚𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔡𝔬 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔰𝔬𝔯𝔯𝔬𝔴 𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔯? 𝔚𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔡𝔬 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔴𝔬𝔯𝔰𝔥𝔦𝔭? 𝔚𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔡𝔬 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔳𝔬𝔴 𝔱𝔬? 𝔚𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔡𝔬 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔱𝔯𝔲𝔩𝔶 𝔩𝔬𝔫𝔤 𝔣𝔬𝔯?"
The text merged more and began to form an image.
'Th-This book…it's drawing me in…' Shinji felt his mind waver under the strange book's effect.
"𝔄 𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔯𝔦𝔟𝔩𝔢 𝔪𝔦𝔯𝔯𝔬𝔯 𝔬𝔣 𝔱𝔯𝔲𝔱𝔥 𝔩𝔦𝔢𝔰 𝔟𝔢𝔣𝔬𝔯𝔢 𝔶𝔬𝔲. 𝔄𝔫𝔡 𝔫𝔬𝔴, 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔱𝔯𝔦𝔤𝔤𝔢𝔯 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔴𝔞𝔰 𝔞𝔩𝔴𝔞𝔶𝔰 𝔭𝔯𝔢𝔰𝔢𝔫𝔱 𝔦𝔫 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔥𝔞𝔰 𝔟𝔢𝔢𝔫 𝔞𝔴𝔬𝔨𝔢𝔫."
The voice spoke and the last thing that Shinji saw was the image of his own face looking back at him from the book.
"𝔑𝔬𝔴, 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔣𝔯𝔬𝔪 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔬𝔲𝔱𝔰𝔦𝔡𝔢 𝔥𝔞𝔰 𝔟𝔢𝔢𝔫 𝔟𝔯𝔬𝔲𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝔱𝔬 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔦𝔫𝔰𝔦𝔡𝔢. 𝔏𝔢𝔱'𝔰 𝔟𝔢𝔤𝔦𝔫…"
Shinji lost consciousness to the real world.
"𝔚𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔦𝔰 𝔐𝔞𝔤𝔦𝔠 𝔱𝔬 𝔪𝔢?"
'Magic? Not Magecraft? I... I don't know. Something great and mysterious. What I've always wanted to have, just once. What I've been yearning for.' Shinji replied, holding out his hand in his mind.
"𝔚𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔡𝔬𝔢𝔰 𝔐𝔞𝔤𝔦𝔠 𝔪𝔢𝔞𝔫 𝔱𝔬 𝔪𝔢?"
'Power. A great power that can create miracles and shatter limits. An amazing power that clears away everything in my path.' Shinji imagined clenching his fist as he spoke.
"𝔚𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔨𝔦𝔫𝔡 𝔬𝔣 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔦𝔰 𝔐𝔞𝔤𝔦𝔠 𝔱𝔬 𝔪𝔢?"
'Magic... would be like the ocean, I guess. Fathomless, infinite, and ancient. An aspect of life that even after centuries upon centuries, humans have never fully reached it's true depths.' Shinji's imagined fist was engulfed in a torrent of dark water, swirling around almost violently.
"𝔚𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔡𝔬 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔰𝔢𝔢𝔨 𝔦𝔫 𝔐𝔞𝔤𝔦𝔠?"
'To become an amazing wizard. Like the stories I grew up reading. I want... to be able to invoke marvels in others like my ancestors did in me.' The ocean torrent shifted and frothed as it formed the images he had seen and dreamt of all those years ago.
"ℑ𝔰 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔞𝔩𝔩?"
'If... If I can… I want to be better. For Sakura and Uncle Kariya. And Emiya, too.' Shinji grimaced at the shame that coursed through him at that moment. 'If it were possible, I want to become a Magus they'd be approving of.'
"...𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔫 𝔦𝔣 𝔪𝔦𝔫𝔦𝔰𝔠𝔲𝔩𝔢 𝔠𝔬𝔪𝔭𝔞𝔯𝔢𝔡 𝔱𝔬 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔰𝔦𝔰𝔱𝔢𝔯, 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔡𝔦𝔡 𝔰𝔲𝔣𝔣𝔢𝔯 𝔞𝔰 𝔴𝔢𝔩𝔩 𝔲𝔫𝔡𝔢𝔯 𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔴𝔢𝔩𝔣𝔞𝔯𝔢. 𝔄𝔩𝔩 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔭𝔬𝔴𝔢𝔯 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔴𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔫𝔬𝔱 𝔟𝔬𝔯𝔫 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥. 𝔅𝔲𝔱 𝔭𝔬𝔴𝔢𝔯 𝔴𝔦𝔩𝔩 𝔟𝔢 𝔤𝔦𝔳𝔢𝔫 𝔱𝔬 𝔶𝔬𝔲."
Shinji got the distinct image of his face from the book looking self-deprecating at his answer.
"𝔅𝔲𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔱𝔬𝔬 𝔦𝔰… 𝔚𝔢𝔩𝔩, 𝔉𝔄𝔗𝔈 𝔥𝔞𝔰 𝔫𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯 𝔟𝔢𝔢𝔫 𝔨𝔦𝔫𝔡 𝔱𝔬 𝔱𝔥𝔬𝔰𝔢 𝔴𝔥𝔬 𝔴𝔞𝔩𝔨 𝔞𝔩𝔬𝔫𝔤𝔰𝔦𝔡𝔢 𝔇𝔢𝔞𝔱𝔥."
"…Nii-san." A voice called out to him. "Nii-san. Nii-san, wake up."
"Sakura?" Shinji blinked awake as he sat up from where he'd been sitting. A quick glance to the grimoire showed that it was now completely blank of the texts. "How long has it been?"
"After separating from Senpai, I came here to see you convulsing." Sakura frowned in worry. "Morgana told me not to disturb you, but what were you doing?"
Shinji raised his arm and all of a sudden, knowledge seemed to rise to the forefront of his mind. It wasn't like he took the necessary seconds to think through the formula necessary to do a spell.
Like a well practiced motion done for years, Shinji already knew what to do without knowing. Because after all-
("Is that...?"
Shinji ignored Sakura's gasp, trying to fight back the burning in his eyes as he saw aquamarine circuit-like lines glow under his skin as an orb of water suddenly manifested and splattered off his hands onto the floor.)
-Shinji Matou already had the magical knowledge and capabilities.
And now, he had the necessary Magic Circuits that had been missing.
"Now that we're alone, Morgana." Shirou closed the door behind him, locking them both in his room. "I'm very thankful for what you did for Sakura and Shinji, but I still need to be sure on where we stand."
"Very well." Morgana replied as she took a seat on his bed and crossed her legs. "What do you want to know?"
"Why did you do all that for Shinji?" Shirou instant queried as he magically switched to his home clothes. "I've always been confused since you spared Shinji's memories as well instead of just mine, but you also went and modified his body to fix his Magic Circuits despite the fact that he won't be able to offer you what I am. What's your deal with him?"
"Nothing." Morgana shrugged. "Other than a little experiment I wanted to check, the thing is... Shinji actually reminded me of myself a bit."
"...how?"
"Don't you pay attention to your History lessons?" Morgana huffed. "You forget that my rage against my little sibling started from my birthright being passed over to King Arthur. I know what it's like to be born as a heir... only to be found unworthy for something beyond your control as it was given to the one who came after...!"
Morgana steadied her breath as she felt her prana start to slip from her control. "Just think of the benefits, Shirou. You saved your friends, I got rid of those revolting Worms, the boy safely gets the power he wants and is freed from further corruptive depression, and might I add that Shinji showed me the most amazing gimmick. He called it a flamethrower of all things and apparently, everyone can- Wait, I'm getting off topic."
"It's fine, Morgana. I just needed to know." Shirou sighed as he sat down beside her and flopped back onto his bed, uncaring as Morgana laid down beside him. "It's just that... it's easy to overlook over Sakura's case but... Shinji did suffer as well, even if not as badly as Sakura did. I just care for him."
"I find myself envious of him." Morgana stated as she idly stroked Shirou's hair. 'I didn't have a Shirou in my time. Maybe... Maybe I wouldn't have become quite a villain back then...'
"Senpai, I... Eh?" Sakura opened the door, only to pause at the sight of Shirou and Morgana in such a incriminating position, with the boy having dozed off again. "Wha... Wha..."
As expected of Morgana to take advantage of Senpai when he was vulnerable!
(Or at least, that was how it was to Sakura's memories.)
Morgana looked at her, then looked at the asleep Shirou, before gently clapping her hands in realization and shifting to make space between her and him. "Okay, Sakura! Come on!"
"I'm not going to 'come on'!" Sakura replied in embarrassment, putting down the tiny part of her that wanted to leap at her invitation. "If Senpai's still tired, I'll talk to him later. Nii-san's returned back to the Matou house. He told me not to follow him."
"Obviously." Morgana rolled her eyes. "Do you actually want to return there?"
"...no-"
"Then, what's the problem?" Morgana got off the bed and approached Sakura, grabbing her chin so that they could lock eyes. "We both know that as the master of the house, Shirou won't mind you staying here. In fact, I'm pretty sure you practically have a room here already."
Sakura blushed and looked away. "It's just a guestroom Senpai usually indulges me with."
"And nobody else. You're not the only friend he has, Sakura." Morgana released her and opened the door to leave the room. "But don't forget that you're still the closest one he currently has as both a person and Magus. The only one closer to him like that is Miyu."
And with that, she left, leaving Sakura alone with Shirou. After a bit of internal arguing, Sakura gently laid down beside him, watching his sleeping face as she remembered sobbing into his chest mere minutes ago. "I don't deserve you... But I want to..."
"You do deserve me, Sakura." Shirou spoke up, opening his eyes to see the surprise in Sakura's eyes. "You may think otherwise, but from the moment I gave you a key to my house, I've always considered you family. And I won't allow my family to say stupid stuff like not deserving to be saved."
"Senpai..." Feeling like her heart would burst, Sakura couldn't take it anymore and kissed Shirou in a passionate embrace, rolling him over so that he was below her as she straddled him.
Shirou kissed her back just as fiercely, running his strong hands over her body and making Sakura annoyed at the clothes preventing her from feeling the heat of his palms.
She wanted him to touch her everywhere, to be baptized by his heat and love.
When Shirou's hands slipped under her top and rubbed his palms against her skin, slowly massaging and kneading her flesh until he finally made his way upwards and palmed her breasts, Sakura whined as she grinded her aching core against the bulge she could feel pressing against her. Her moans became gasps as Shirou switched their positions and started to nip at her neck and shoulder, with her mewling feverishly as she wrapped her legs tight around his waist.
"Senpai, please..."
Shirou didn't reply as he lightly pinched her nipple, earning an adorable yelp when he gently pressed his thumb in like it was a doorbell.
"Aaaah~!"
*Ding-Dong!*
Sakura actually growled as she glared in the direction of where the front door. "That better be either Miyu or Fujimura-sensei."
"They both have their own keys and wouldn't have bothered using the bell." Shirou replied as he reluctantly pulled away, much to Sakura's annoyance as she readjusted her clothes as well. "I'll have to go answer that."
"What are you talking about?" Sakura frowned in confusion. "Don't you usually have Morgana to do that for you?"
Shirou blinked. "Oh. Right."
Having a maid, even if he were to ignore Morgana's true identity... would need some getting used to.
As Rin was let into the Emiya estate by the maid (He had a maid?! Seriously?!), enough time had now passed that Rin was severely regretting her hasty decisions.
Coming here without even the slightest bit of preparation left Rin feeling like a total fool! Emiya would be well within his rights to kill a Magus as unprotected as her right before him, especially as she had rushed here with malicious intentions.
Now she had been forced to endure sitting in the living room with the maid standing by and keeping watch over her until Emiya arrived.
"So it was you, Tohsaka-san?"
Rin turned to see Sakura right there, thankfully unharmed. However, the brief flash of surprise in her eyes disappeared, leaving behind a familiar blank look.
"Thank you, Morgana." Shirou said as he approached as well, completely calm in her presence as he nodded at the maid. "You can go now."
"Excuse me then, Shirou-sama." Morgana curtsied before leaving as Shirou and Sakura took a seat at the table, the both of them sitting opposite her.
"So..." Rin glared at Emiya, irked at how unbothered he was to have the Second Owner directly investigating him. "You're a Magus, Emiya?"
"Yeah. What of it?" Emiya shrugged. "As long as I'm not hurting any civilians or interfering with your business, I've never had a reason to get your attention as a Magus."
"I se..." Damnit. Completely unconcerned. Rin would have to change her tactics.
"So... Are you aware of what happened to the Matou Estate, Sakura?" Rin started off, hoping to gauge their reactions. "As the Second Owner of Fuyuki, I'd like a honest account from you two before I have to meet Shinji."
"..."
"...you won't need to bother Shinji while he's fixing their home." Emiya replied when Sakura did nothing but silently glare at her. Taking a serious look that Rin rarely saw on him, he spoke the damning words himself. "I personally attacked and laid waste to Zouken Matou, with full intentions of taking Sakura and Shinji away from his custody."
Rin felt like a livewire had been jammed into her spine. It was true, then. "Why did you do so?"
At that moment, Emiya's amber eyes grew frightening cold, with Rin almost imagining that they glinted silver for an instant. "I killed Zouken because of what he'd been doing to Sakura and Shinji. Hell, even if they weren't my friends, I still would've...!"
"Senpai, your hands." Sakura said softly as Emiya had started clenching his fists hard enough that blood had started to drip down onto the table.
"Sorry." Emiya relaxed and with a soft mutter, did something that caused the cuts from his fingernails to glow and heal, with even the blood being absorbed back into his skin.
"I can take it from here, Senpai." Sakura gently patted the redhead's shoulder.
"As you are undoubtedly aware, Nee-san," Sakura stated that bit with heavy bite and sarcasm, causing Rin to wince. "Nine years ago, our father handed me over to Zouken Matou because of... what was the reason again?"
"...Zouken wanted a heir because the Matou were on the verge of extinction." Rin tonelessly supplied. "Because of the alliance between our clans, Father obliged with one of his two gifted daughters."
"Ah, that's right... That was the excuse he gave." Sakura scoffed. "Looking back on it, how could Tokiomi have been so stupid?"
It was like an unexpected stab wound, hearing her little sister say their father's name so dispassionately. "Father did what he had to do! The both of us had immense magical potential and he didn't want either of us to squander it! Zouken may have a- Well, Zouken may have had a revolting personality, but I'm sure you still learned magecraft under his tutelage!"
Sakura frowned slightly at Rin in bewilderment before she seemingly realized something and shot back as she erupted into humorless laughter. "Pft... PFTHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"Sakura..." Emiya awkwardly patted Sakura's back when it looked like she might actually choke from laughing too hard. "I, um... I don't think... Tohsaka knows what Zouken actually did."
"Do you even know what being the Matou Heiress means, Tohsaka-san?" Sakura asked sharply, her laughter stopping in an instant. "Do you know what Zouken taught me to make me his perfect successor even though I came from another family?"
"He... He took the Matou Magic Crest from Shinji and gave it to you?" Rin weakly guessed.
"No. Thankfully, Nii-san has never had the misfortune of receiving such a thing. From the very moment I entered his home, I was taken to a pit of Crest Worms and tossed inside." Sakura revealed, her eyes going blank as she revisited unpleasant memories. "Do you know what Crest Worms are, Tohsaka-san? I understand your confusion, so let me enlighten you. Crest Worms are exactly as they sound like: Magically modified worms with the intent of passing on the accumulated knowledge to whoever is in charge of them. But in the end, they are still worms and will always act as such unless made to do otherwise by Zouken. When they... sensed me with them, they were directed to enter my body without eating through my skin or eyes... so they shoved themselves through my nose, my mouth, my-"
Sakura took a shuddering breath, clutching Emiya's hand tightly. That was probably a good thing as Rin barely noticed that it had made him clutch back and stop clenching his fist to the point of self-harm again. Rin herself had to fight down the bile rising up in her throat.
"According to Zouken, I'd been screaming and crying nonstop for you and Tokiomi and Aoi. Crying three whole days for help that never arrived. When help did arrive, it wasn't even my own original family that came. Uncle Kariya had visited you people and was apparently the only one with the common sense to not leave a child with Zouken Matou!"
Sakura's prana slowly filled the air, poisoned by the sheer negativity she was exuding and Rin was too distraught, too shaken to properly defend herself from the poison that seemed to be stabbing into her lungs.
Why else could Rin feel like she was suffocating?
"Back then, I didn't understand. Why he could be so cruel and depraved. But Uncle did. Even though he had rightfully abandoned his family, Uncle rushed back to help me! He took the Crest Worms so that I wouldn't have to! He threw himself into that death-filled war despite his horrible chances! All for the chance that he could save and take me home! But still... He still died... Kariya Matou failed..."
Sakura choked as tears slid down her cheeks and Rin suddenly wondered if she had ever had the chance to properly grieve.
"After he died, I actually thought of killing myself, you know."
""What?!""
Rin's cry was echoed with Emiya's as the latter turned to stare at Sakura in shock. "Sakura...! Are you still...?"
"Ah! No, no, no!" Sakura fervently shook her head. "Even as I thought that, I was... too cowardly to actually go through with it... Plus, it felt like I might have betrayed Uncle after he had done so much... Then I met Senpai."
Sakura's smile turned so warm that Rin felt whiplash. 'How can she smile like that? After everything she's telling me?'
"I know this sounds rather obsessive." Sakura's expression turned sheepish. "But Senpai and his family are the only reasons I have to smile everyday. He, Miyu and Fujimura-sensei were so kind to me, they never cared about my abnormal behavior, they never bothered me about why I would be spending as much time as possible away from home and... When I discovered that Senpai was a Magus, I had the horrendous, treacherous thought that it might've all been fake."
Sakura turned to smile at Emiya. "Do you remember that day, Senpai? When a child was about to be run over by a speeding car? Most Magi wouldn't have cared in the slightest and the few ones who would have cared would have hesitated with using their Magecraft so openly... But you didn't."
"So you noticed back then, huh..." Now it was Emiya's turn to look sheepish. "I thought I had done well to play it off as hysterical strength at the time."
"Senpai, you crossed 16 meters in an instant and stomped on the car's hood hard enough to totally halt its movements and smash it's engine into the tarmac." Sakura revealed, much to Rin's shock. Even when Reinforcing her own muscles, she couldn't swiftly pull out that much power. "There's no way that a resident of the Moonlit World would've been deceived by something like that being labelled 'hysterical strength'. It was then and there that I knew that Senpai's kindness had never been a lie. Because it was that same kindness that prompted him to save me and Nii-san by killing that Worm."
Things started to make a horrifying amount of sense to Rin now. Sakura's borderline dependency on Emiya at school. His attack on the Matou Residence.
"How... How long did you know about Sakura, Emiya-kun?"
"Er..." Emiya actually turned to look at the clock. He... He couldn't be possibly- "14 hours, 20 minutes now. When Shinji broke down and finally told me everything, my priority was to ensure Sakura's safety by getting rid of the Worms in her system. When that was done..."
This time, Rin didn't miss the Steel that replaced his eyes. "Zouken was just a walking corpse that needed me to remind him so."
'He's only known for less than a day. While I... I...' Rin took in a deep breath, desperately trying to keep her emotions buried, to keep her mask intact. She couldn't allow herself to be compromised, not now, while she was sitting across from two almost-definitely hostile Magi.
This wasn't supposed to have happened. This shouldn't have happened!
"I-I didn't know." Rin's voice was distant, sounding unconvincing even to her own ears. "I had no idea."
"You don't have the excuse that Senpai does, Tohsaka-san." Sakura scoffed. "He never knew that my hair and eyes used to match yours, which should've been a blatant warning sign on it's own. He also didn't know Zouken in any format beyond him simply being my grandfather. Even so, he still knew that I felt far too comfortable here than my own home and would never chase me away. Not like how you would've acted."
She… She had abandoned her little sister, turned her back on her, while that had been going on, while such evil had been happening right under Rin's nose.
And Emiya was the only reason that said evil was no more, after mere hours of knowing about it, compared to her years.
"I'm sorry!" She choked out, making Sakura's gaze turn to her in surprise. "I'm so sorry, I didn't know! I swear I didn't, I-I-"
"Maybe so..." Sakura's tone was icy. "But in the end... You could compare it to a race. It doesn't matter if you were close by an inch or a mile... Senpai reached me(the goal) first."
"...w-what about the alliances between our f- the Matou and Tohsaka?" Rin asked, loath to continue that part of the conversation but aware that she needed to handle that matter as soon as possible.
She couldn't return later to settle the matter, she knew she wouldn't be able to.
"...that's something you'll have to take up with Nii-san." Sakura bit out, causing Rin to realize that she'd definitely fucked up again. "As for me, that's no longer my concern. On paper, I'm still a Matou, but as far as I'm concerned, I'm just... Sakura nowadays."
She didn't identify herself as a Matou anymore, but she also didn't identify as a Tohsaka.
Rin's hands started shaking as the burning in her eyes and throat grew. "I understand, Sakura-san... I-I'll take my leave, then, Emiya-kun."
"Don't be too harsh on each other." Emiya spoke, gaining both their attention. "The both of you just experienced your perspective of everything you've known being irreversibly turned over. You need some time to cool off so let's all meet again after or during school on Monday."
Not trusting herself to speak, Rin stiffly nodded, taking the offered chance and leaving as soon as she could. Just as she succeeded in putting on her shoes, she heard Sakura's last words just as the tears finally came down.
"You're too kind to people who don't deserve it, Senpai."
Shinji Matou was faced with a full-on existential crisis. Thanks to his friend, his entire worldview would be forever different.
How was he going to properly recover?
"Aren't you a little young to own this huge mansion?"
"Yes. Yes, I am." Shinji finished writing the necessary details for what he wanted and handed it back to the foreman. "That should be everything."
"...okay, then. As long me and my boys are getting paid as agreed and all the forms are in order." The foreman shrugged as his workers got started on fixing the damage to the Matou Mansion. "So let me get this straight. While we're fixing up the damage, you want us to add an inner archery range-"
"Grandfather never let me have one and now, he's not around to stop me."
"-space for where you're going to planting some blueberry vines-"
"It'd be nice to have easy access to my favorite fruit. Plus, I could maybe take up gardening as a hobby."
"-a sauna fitted in a way that includes a waterfall-"
"I visited one like that once and fell in love."
"-a large aquarium which you will be providing the fish for-"
"Now I won't feel bad for always tossing away the goldfishes I win in festivals."
"...this is the estimated price." The foreman handed Shinji a paper after scribbling on it. Shinji took one look at it and typed some numbers on his phone. When the foreman got an alert on his own phone, he opened it to see that he'd been sent half of the money.
"You get the other half when you're done."
"A real pleasure doing business with you, kid." The foreman shook Shinji's hand firmly before turning to his workers. "All right, we've got a deal! Let's get to it!"
Everyone had different methods of grieving for their deceased grandfather. Shinji's method was to turn Zouken's mansion into one literally designed for his enjoyment.
It would take so much for Shinji to recover from his dear grandfather's death.
"Dammit. So even that failed?"
In the darkness within Mt Enzou, Angra Mainyu grimaced as the corruption he'd added into Lancelot's Card got absorbed by the offshoot of his that was hiding within Kiritsugu Emiya's son.
He was now out of options.
Angra Mainyu sighed as he finally prepared to act earlier than he wanted to. "Fine… I'll do it myself."
Omake: Ritsuka and Argonaut's Grail War Act 2, Scene 1
Kariya Matou sipped his tea in bliss, idly watching Sakura sharing a blanket with Ritsuka while they slept. While he had been somewhat leery about forming an alliance with Ritsuka and Caster, it really turned out for the best.
Zouken was deader than dead.
(Kariya resisted the urge to sing and dance on the spot. Again. Byakuya certainly didn't hold back when he pissed on the burning corpse. If he'd been just as drunk, Kariya might have joined him.
What a shame.)
Both him and Sakura had been cleansed of those wretched worms, with Caster doing something that gave him a better set of Magic Circuits which allowed him to properly support Berserker.
And now, Kariya found himself a bit lacking in motivation to actually continue the War, as that he could now actually think clearly without the constant pain.
(The lack of pain just made it easier for him to relish the sight of Berserker and Caster tag teaming against Tokiomi's Servant.
That was a beautiful moment when they had both landed their punches in unison against Archer's armor, denting it bad enough that even Kariya could see it from a far away; albeit with some really good binoculars.)
He honestly didn't want to return Sakura to her parents, having finally realized that as much as Aoi (and maybe Tokiomi, that bastard) loved her children, they were still Magi in their core.
It also helped that Sakura agreed herself that she wanted to stay with her uncle, which prompted a fresh wave of happy tears from him.
Now, how would he get around to convincing Caster to aid him in kidnapping Shinji from his deadbeat brother?
"Master..."
"Hm?" Kariya tilted his head in response. Another thing that his lack of constant pain fixed was that his communication with Berserker was now much better. What is it, Berserker?
"I see... Lady Sakura's sister... alone in the city..."
Kariya frowned and looked at the clock. It was 11pm. "Why did Aoi allow Rin out so late?!"
"Should I... retrieve Lady Rin...?"
"No. Follow and guard her in your astral form." Kariya sighed as he prepared to leave. "I'm on my way."
Maybe he could kidnap Rin as well? Unlike Tokiomi, Kariya was the one with two Servants on call.
Wait, Caster might see it as a selfish ploy of his to upstage Tokiomi.
Later on, Caster did see it as that, glaring the sheepish Kariya while the kidnapped Rin was happily distracted with being reunited with her sister and Ritsuka, whom both sisters commented looked like a male version of her.
Fortunately, Caster hated Tokiomi too, which made Kariya feel a lot better about his alliance with him. Anyone who hated Tokiomi and properly cared for children without seeing them as tools was clearly a reasonable person.
For the first time since he came home, Kariya finally felt on top of things.
Then Caster dropped this bomb.
"Oh, right. Assassin's still alive and looking for us. Just wanted you to know."
"What?!"
Damnit. Kariya should've known better, considering his usually abysmal luck.
KingVessel: Ouch. Poor Rin. It's not fun to be the latest to the 'in' and be so horribly left behind. Also, don't expect Sakura to revert back to being the nice gal anytime soon whenever Rin's in the picture. After all, Dark Sakura's very existence proves that just because she's broken doesn't mean that she can't cut others with the shards and just because she's saved doesn't mean that years of built up resentment haven't permanently warped her psyche. Frankly, it's not outright stated... but I'm pretty sure she qualifies for a Reality Marble like Shirou does.