Snake in Worm's Clothing 5 - or 'This feels familiar, and yet Shinji does get some Ws against Zouken' (Fateverse, Shinji!SI)
It was morning at the Garan No Dou. I had been punished for 'stumbling on the wrong crowd' as Touko labeled the Ryougi family in the form of 'stolen candy'.
I was indeed most sad, but I kept my wits to myself to not complain as I focused on 'ignoring' the close-up I had in either dying or get sold as a sex slave. Either way, I was no longer going outdoors without a switchblade after what happened.
I thought that this side of Japan was safe, but I was really worrying that it may not be the case from the way things were turning into. At least Sakura was a smart cookie that wanted to go outdoors only if I was around her. Holding hands, exchange silly talks, and then meeting with Fujino-nee.
That last one was by far the most hilarious thing that unfolded. Sakura was utterly mesmerized by her 'older lookalike' and Fujino herself allowed a hint of surprise as she crouched to better look at Sakura.
"Pretty." was what Sakura said to the student and... it had an effect. Fujino's smile was definitely bigger than it was when I would visit on my own and-
"S-Stop it, you brat," Azaka snarled as I gave her a nice kick on the shin. "That's aggression."
"And your attempts to corrupt my Imouto are molestation, pervy-nee."
"D-Don't call me that!" She howled, but I busted her trying to convince Sakura that 'siblings can be loved lots more than one would think'.
Nice interactions, but overall not the point of going outdoors with Sakura. In fact, the point of wandering around was to keep Sakura more accustomed to not be holed up in a building. The last thing I needed was to turn my little sister in a NEET, and I knew that it was best to get her accustomed to a somewhat hostile environment rather than keep her cushioned and sheltered all the time.
Touko had already nagged at me about it, lamenting that I was going to cause Sakura some issues if I didn't let her develop a backbone. So, I had to keep an eye out for trouble, and flash my knife a few times to enjoy a relatively nice stroll in the park once in a while.
Another month went by, and I admit that I was feeling anxious over the approaching deadline of the 'three months' for the trip to London. We needed to take that flight because Zouken could still find us here in Japan.
Just another month of raising no supernatural issues and we would be out of Zouken's reach.
Of course, I had to screw myself with those hopeful thoughts as my luck decided to pull a Murphy on my lil' bum.
"I got a call from people of the Ryougi Group. They want you and Sakura."
That announcement from Touko had me going through a mini-heart attack. "W-What?"
"Their boss wants you both to tag along for his daughter's birthday."
...Oh, okay that's- Wait, that's not fine at all!
"I know I am asking too much, but is 'no' truly an impossible option?"
I mean, I am not trying to raise hell, but I kind of don't want to go to that event due to Shiki being Shiki, and because her daddy is a Yakuza boss with big ties with Tokyo businessmen.
"Do you want me to rip off our deal?" Touko asked back and I smiled. "Glad to see your understanding and... Sakura-chan?"
"Y-Yes, Touko-san?"
"You need a proper new dress. It's only fair that a pretty girl such as yourself gets a fitting attire for such an important event."
Sakura perked up at the comment, and I rolled my eyes since it was blatant favoritism. I am a pretty boy myself, but since the redhead is a diehard girl-lover, it was only fair to say that she favored ladies.
Still, I saw no genuine reason to whine as Sakura's new dress was just adorbs. It wasn't too different than her usual, but it was a soft red and half-sleeved.
"How is it?"
"It looks wonderful on you, Imouto."
The girl beamed at my comments, and soon it was time to... face the music.
We were taken to the Ryougi family's home by a car driven by a trusted member of their 'clan'. The ride was silent as Sakura and I waited patiently to arrive, two gift boxes sitting on our laps. We were left at the open gates of the complex, the guards checking for any suspicious things and... nodding in relief as soon as they confirmed we were not carrying around bombs in the boxes.
Soon we were taken into the complex, led around a few halls and finally we were brought to the living room where... only Shiki was there. I had expected at least her mother there, maybe her father too, but the room was just occupied by Shiki. And a tiny chocolate cake with '12' written atop of it sitting on a small table.
"Hello."
Shiki blinked, her eyes narrowing at me and then at Sakura.
"This is my sister, Sakura."
Sakura bowed her head. "N-Nice to meet you, Shiki-san."
"Father didn't lie," She mumbled, walking up to us and... bowing her own head at us. "Welcome."
"Happy birthday, Shiki-san."
Sakura copied my words with a quieter tone and the three of us moved to sit by the table. The room was sober, and it lacked anything that could make it stand out as a living room beyond the small table and a few pillows to sit on.
Not exactly a place I would feel at ease to enjoy a birthday party- if this could be called one as the birthday girl hardly looked aware of what was to be done as she kept quiet, studying my sister and I
"Is this the first time you held a party for your birthday?"
Shiki blinked at my question, and it took a while for her to answer it. "Yes."
"Well... we brought you some gifts."
The girl nodded and then eyed the boxes. Curiously so, she first opened Sakura's box and... stared at the plushie she just received. I was still recoiling from the news that Neco-arc is a thing in this universe somehow and-
And I fucking blamed Zelretch for this as I knew he had something to do with this.
Shiki spared it an extensive look and... gave it a hug.
"It's quite soft," She muttered, then looked at Sakura and nodded. "Thank you."
"You're welcome, Shiki-san."
For a brief moment I swore I saw Shiki smiling, but then the older girl turned to the other box. My box. She eyed it with deep intrigue. Maybe she thought I was going to give her something useful for her future, but my choice had been one led by a 'look into the past'.
Just not her past.
As she removed the ribbon and then lifted the lid of the box, she stared at a tinier rectangular box. She retrieved it, giving it a perplexed glance and then opened it and... paused at the item held in it.
"Glasses...?"
"I asked Touko-san help with those. From my understanding, they should act as a 'hard switch' when you want to have your... ability under control."
Shiki blinked in surprise at that explanation and then frowned at me to ask more words.
"It keeps you under control without demanding too much willpower."
That sounded more dumber, but to someone like Ryougi Shiki, this was a blessing. I had thought how Tohno Shiki had to face some hassle with that sort of power, so using the same glasses Aoko gave him felt like a strangely fitting solution.
Instead of hesitating any further, Shiki put those on and... she froze up. I felt a deadly shiver go down my spine as I saw that intense reaction on her face. Then, as if nothing had happened, Shiki shifted the glasses' bands a bit and smiled in relief.
"Thank you."
It worked. I can't believe it fucking worked.
"I am glad to hear that, Shiki-san."
The rest of the party was surprisingly tame. Shiki hardly showed any sign of instability, appearing more at ease as we ate the cake after a quick 'happy birthday' chant. She appeared pleased by the overall tame event, and this sprung a few more 'playdates' as Touko tended to call those.
An interesting turn of events considering that, as the last month in Mifune Town passed, it was time for Touko to get her part of the deal delivered, and for Sakura and I to make sure to keep in contact with both Fujino and Shiki.
After all, our flight to London didn't mean we were going to stay away from Japan forever- only that we were going to learn how to purge worms out of our hometown.
AN
Thus the Mifune Town Arc comes to a closure and... it's time for two siblings to be taken in by an old man that 'is totally not a vampire by recent lore admission'.