Truly for Waver, Japan was not his favorite place to be or even to live, let alone in the city of Fuyuki of all the places that have come and gone in the Land of the Rising Sun.
And to think that it had all started because of a dispute with his teacher at the Clock Tower, the Lord El-Melloi, Kayneth Archibald, who had discredited his research related that a magus regardless of his lineage could be a great magus.
Naturally, for a magus as traditionalist as Kayneth, who came from a prestigious and long lineage of magic ... Well, it was no surprise that the older man mocked his work and beliefs.
Which resulted in him ending up stealing the summoning catalyst from his teacher who was to participate in a special ritual, a sort of secret magical competition between magicians in the East ... The Holy Grail War, for a wish to the legendary eponymous object for the winner of said ritual.
It was not when Waver entered the front line that the young man realized that instead of "competition", it was better to consider it a slaughter. Now the name "Holy Grail War" made more sense in the London magus' head.
Having summoned the Servant Rider, the King of Conquerors, Iskandar himself, Waver took refuge with an elderly Australian couple named Glen and Martha Mackenzie, who had moved to Japan forty years ago. The young magus had hypnotized them into believing that he was their "beloved grandson" visiting from England.
And so officially began his journey in the Holy Grail War, having his first encounter with his teacher Kayneth during his Servant Lancer's combat against the Servants of the Einzbern, Saber. Where Rider had declared that he preferred a thousand times more Waver as Master, who entered the battlefield at his side, than Lord El-Melloi, who hid in the shadows.
His pursuit of the Servant Caster and his Master, who left a pile of corpses in his wake until he had finally been defeated in a combined effort ... Although not very coordinated by Servants Saber, Lancer, Archer and Rider, despite the Servant Berserker's interruption and other details, Saber had disintegrated the Servant of Magic with her holy sword.
The great banquet of kings, where Saber, Archer and Rider, the Servants of Royalty had discussed their views, and their ideals had clashed with each other before the attack of the Servant Assassin, but the latter had been eliminated with utmost ease thanks to Rider's last Noble Phantasm.
The Army of the King of Conquest.
Ionioi Hetairoi.
An irregular Reality Marble, which combined the desires and wills of Alexander the Great and his army by embodying the lands they conquered with their power and strength. Needless to say, Assassin, had been crushed before the power of countless soldiers and warriors who, even while speaking their names in history, once again followed their lord through time and space.
Finally, the Holy Grail War would end, and despite not having come close to victory, Waver felt that he had come out of the "competition" very well. Saber had attacked them believing that they had kidnapped their Master, when in fact it had been Berserker's doing, and then Rider and he had their final battle against Archer.
The Golden Servant, who the London magus had failed to discern his true identity despite the fact that he had released several of his Noble Phantasms, having proven to be a complete monster. A force of nature stored in a single man with the power to level continents with ease. No matter what the King of Conquest attacked with, he had failed to even scratch Archer.
However, despite Rider and Waver's crushing defeat, the latter could not help but look at his Servant with admiration bordering on obsession. Even with his Reality Marble and his army decimated by that thing Archer called "Sword", even when his beloved horse Bucephalus had fallen from the sheer number of swords that had pierced his body, even with the swords and spears that had pierced his skin ... Iskandar continued onward ...
To nothing but his bitter end ... Yes, it could not have been otherwise.
Chained by the Chains of Heaven, Archer pierced the heart and in turn destroying his Spirit Core on the spot, then sparing Waver's life as a last show of respect to his defeated fellow king, and even though the magus wanted to hold a grudge against the Golden Servant, he knew Rider wouldn't have liked it ... The guy would most likely have beaten him up for acting so childish!
So therefore, despite feeling the loss and missing Rider to this day, a feeling that might never go away until the end of his days, Waver would simply fondly remember the closest thing he had to a father figure in his life until the end.
And so he decided to live life beyond an investigation or trying to prove something to someone, something Rider had taught him. So he stayed with the Mackenzies, even though Glen had discovered the whole deception, even though he didn't know how they had been fooled.
And despite being a little upset about what had happened, the older man's anger had completely disappeared when he saw the smile and happiness with which his wife Martha spoke of her "grandson Waver Mackenzie", after all, she had not smiled since ten years ago on the last visit they had had from their son and his family, who had not had any contact since then.
Glen had regretted deep down bringing his family to Japan because of that, however, against all odds there came an element that had brought happiness back to the elderly couple, who were Waver and Alexis, the pseudonym of Rider, a duo that despite having deceived them, there was a strange openness about them and at no time did they do anything to hurt them, but only wanted a place to stay.
It was because of this that Glen had allowed them to go through with the act, he had even asked Waver to stay as long as he needed so Martha would be happy to live with her "beloved grandson", plus the old man enjoyed doing the old activities he did with his grandson, now with the magus. Especially watching the sunrise from the roof of the house.
And so Waver had lived the last month in Fuyuki, truly living a life but not letting go of his responsibilities as a magus but in a more flexible way. Foremost was learning Japanese, which with the help of Glen, Martha and other teachers at the school where Glen works part-time as an English teacher, Waver had been able to learn to speak Japanese fluently despite his noticeable British accent.
There were still certain details like reading or writing in kanji, but nothing that a couple of months of study wouldn't fix. All thanks to the young man's ingenuity and maybe a little bit of Magecraft to speed things up didn't hurt at all.
On the other hand, Waver had gotten a part-time job to save money, even though his classmate Melvin Weins had given him enough money for a round-trip ticket from London to Fuyuki, his plans had changed with the end of the Holy Grail War and the influence Rider had had on him.
He didn't want to go back to the Clock Tower, at least not for now. Rider had taught him that there were indeed things beyond a library or research, he had taught him to truly live, something the withdrawn young man was sorely lacking.
So he would live, experience new things and gain experience. He would travel the world, learn and continue to enjoy the meaning of living without regrets.
But he would give time to time, in order to do that he needed money for it, so to get it he needed work. So, by the time Waver managed to speak and understand Japanese to an acceptable level, the black-haired young man began to look for some employment.
In the end, Glen had helped him to get a job with an old friend of his, where the pay was pretty good considering all the physical labor involved at times and the night shifts.
A job in Copenhagen, a liquor store and bar in the evenings. Knowing the older man's taste for drinking from watching him compete several times against Rider, it was no wonder that he would get along so well with the owner of one of the best bars in Fuyuki.
Since the owner's daughter was studying hard in high school, the place needed an extra pair of hands to help out and since Glen was a great friend of the man, he had asked the favor to give his "beloved grandson" a job, something the owner was more than happy to do due to how busy the place got at night.
At first, Waver was happy and at ease with his job... For the first five minutes. It also didn't help that his first shift was in the evening ... What? A young man who was still growing still needed his eight hours of sleep, in fact, Waver slept ten hours of well-planned sleep so that both his skin and hair would be at their peak! Something the young magus had stopped doing during the Holy Grail War because of all the night battles and hoped to get back into the habit until he started this job in Copenhagen.
Moving things around, acting as a waiter, helping to get the drunks out of the place ... He did terrible as a bartender almost breaking five glasses and spilling tequila on a woman.
But worst of all were ... them.
Some petty criminals who had come to the Copenhagen like dogs from home and started causing a ruckus most of the night. They were really noisy, disturbing the other patrons of the place, spilling food and drink all over the floor, as well as greatly inconveniencing the women present with their degenerate comments, especially the waitresses.
But the breaking point was when the one who seemed to be the leader of the group began to make advances to the owner's daughter who had arrived to help out on that busy night.
And then ... Waver cursed Rider from the deepest recesses of the Throne of Heroes to influence him enough to do the next stupid thing.
Fight.
...
That guy was tall, at least a head taller than Waver, while the daughter of the Copenhagen owner, whose name was Otoko if he remembered correctly, was a couple of inches shorter than the London magus.
"What do you say, honey?" the man asked with false friendliness. He had dyed blond hair and clothes similar to those of a generic biker. All his friends were dressed just as ridiculous with haircuts that only came into fashion in the eighties.
The young girl had brown hair with sharp, feline-like features, in fact, that was one of the reasons her close friends called her Neko out of affection. But Otoko frowned when the guy called her that but only said what she came to say.
"I told you that you and your friends better leave tonight, you are causing too much trouble and you are disturbing the other customers with your presence."The brown-haired young woman told him firmly even though she knew who she had in front of her and her reputation.
"Oh, come on, don't say that. We're having fun here, and I know you'll have fun too if you join us for a while. Although if you want we can have a good time you and me somewhere else." The guy replied with a wicked smile while his eyes looked at the young high school student with lust.
Many of those present glared at the man, especially the Copenhagen employees, who knew that Neko was just in high school, but no one was more furious than the boss, who watched with frustration and helplessness as that guy tried to flirt with his daughter in such a vulgar way without being able to do anything for fear of invoking the wrath of the current Genbu of Fuyuki.
"I would love to..." Started to say the brown haired girl to the great dismay of many and jubilation for the dyed blonde haired man and his friends, until Neko finished the sentence. "Take these jars of beer and partillos on your head. However, I have no time to waste on someone like you, besides, it would be a waste of a good liquor." Then, she looked Genbu straight in the eye with an expression full of fierceness. "So you're absolutely not worth it!"
The whole place fell into a stony silence when the young Neko finished saying those words, the spectators were speechless as they looked at the girl with concern, especially the employees and the head of Copenhagen, while Genbu and his companions stared at the brown-haired girl with confusion before they started to laugh with amusement and mockery at her words.
The blonde-haired man was the one who grinned the most mischievously. "To tell you the truth, you're my type, what can I say?" He said with a shrug as Neko flinched at his words. "I like my women to be strong and feisty like you. However ..." She gave a dark look at the brown-haired girl. "The only thing you'll get is hurt by acting that way with me."
After saying that, Genbu grabbed Neko's arm forcefully, which would probably leave a bruise. Such an act of violence started to alarm everyone in the place, trying to get the police authorities to please come and resolve the situation.
But ...
This act was also the trigger for an event ...
The appearance of a hero ...
The birth of ...
A new Genbu.
A hand grabbed the blond-haired man's shoulder, causing him to turn around. His attention along with that of the other onlookers focused on that of a young man with long black hair tied in a ponytail and wearing the Copenhagen uniform.
"Uh?" Was all Genbu could utter before the young man's fist went straight for his face.
And even if it was for a mere second, he thought he saw blue lines above the skin on his arm, but he didn't have the time to process it when everything turned to darkness.
...
You know, Waver? I really like strong people. Whether it's physical strength, power, mentality, even ideals.
If they're weak-willed I don't care much for them... Oh, but don't worry! Even though you're a dwarf there's a great strength in you! I can see it in you even if you don't realize it's there!
But... Those who think or pretend to be strong, even though they are weak ... There is nothing that sickens me more than that.
Therefore, to the strong I will conquer their hearts with my strength. But the weak ...
I will conquer them with my smile!
...
'How idiotic of you to think you can solve things with a simple smile, Rider.' Waver thought bitterly, looking around him with contempt.
On the floor of the Copenhagen, around the black-haired man were scattered the crooks next to their leader painfully on the floor of the place, in a semi-conscious state, although it was noticeable that some of them were already in the realm of Morpheus thanks to Waver's actions.
"Where did all his sneer go, eh? Or was it just an act to look strong?" Said the young magus seriously under the incredulous gazes of the spectators around him.
Naturally, the young Londoner noticed all the stares and attention he was getting, which made him curse to himself in his mind, as a magus shouldn't draw attention to himself to hide the mysteries of magecraft under any circumstances and here he was, acting like a hero ...
For some reason, he felt that Rider would be proud of him if he could see him right now.
"Well, I'm off." Waver announced heading straight for the exit of the premises. "Sorry for all the inconvenience, I won't be coming back to."
However, before he could finish speaking and in turn leave the Copenhagen, a hand grabbing his arm brought him to a complete stop. Turning around, the black-haired young man discovered that the person who stopped him was no one else but Neko, the girl those men were harassing and at the same time, the owner's daughter.
"Wait! Thank you very much for saving me." exclaimed the honestly grateful girl.
"Huh?" It was the smartest thing the magus could say. After all, he wasn't used to this hospitality from people other than Glen and Martha after spending so much time in the Clock Tower.
"Well done!"
"He's a hero!"
"Such bravery!"
"And strength!"
"And very handsome too!"
"Huh? Huh? I what... ?" Waver stammered, not quite understanding what was going on and all the fuss they were making over the simple fact of beating up some thugs.
And everything became even more complicated when his boss, Neko's father approached with a grateful expression quite evident on his face.
Her boss put his hands on her shoulders. "Thank you, thank you very much indeed, Velvet-san ... No, what am I saying? I thank you from the bottom of my heart, Genbu-sama."
"Eh?"
That had been the straw that had broken the camel's back
...
It was not that he returned to the Mackenzie house, where Glen and Martha explained to him what had happened after Waver had explained what had happened at the store. After a long talk where the elders looked worried and the irritated young man had understood the situation.
He was Genbu now, one of Fuyuki's strongest fighters apparently along with Suzaku, Byakko and Seiryu.
Waver had not stopped cursing his predecessor until today.
By making an act of humility he had drawn a lot of unnecessary attention to his current life when he saw his face on the news the next morning, who just wanted to live it normally for now, He just wanted that fame in the Clock Tower and when he is about twenty centimeters taller, by the holy Akasha!
However, Waver couldn't help but scoff a little at the former Genbu's poor ability, although he was warned to beware of the other gods of Fuyuki, who were a completely different story.
Apparently, the Genbu title was one that changed from person to person a lot, like a kind of shirt that passes from person to person. But everything changed with the others, the current Byakko title holder has not changed for five years, and whose title holder is a high school girl! While Seiryu is considered even stronger than her.
Those were subjects she couldn't defeat in a straight fight... Nor was it her intention. What he had done was simply an accident that shouldn't have happened and he had simply done it because those guys were interrupting his work. It had not been entirely an act of nobility but neither was it with much selfishness.
However, under normal circumstances, the existence known as Waver Velvet would not have defeated a guy much taller and stronger than him. But therein lay the facade that everyone saw in the young Londoner, a disguise that only Glen had seen through... But only on the surface, just the tip of the iceberg that only the more hidden side of the world was aware of.
Waver Velvet was not a completely normal young man and he had something that most of the world's population lacked even though he was not a prodigy but in the future would be consummate at his craft.
He was a magus.
Naturally, there was some Reinforcement in his weak body to improve his strength and speed to something more respectable. It was something that would be practically useless in a Holy Grail War with the opponents he had on that occasion, but quite effective with normal humans like the previous Genbu and his gang of few nuts.
Also, the reason he didn't act much earlier was because he was making a concoction with different Copenhagen liquors with his knowledge in alchemy to spread a scent all over the place to weaken and confuse the criminals, it had mainly taken time finding the right wavelength so that it would only affect the crooks.
But at this point, Waver thought that was a mistake, as he could have knocked everyone unconscious and then called the emergency authorities and left as if it was none of his business.
However, a part of him felt that he would not feel satisfied with taking that course of action ... So he did something that Rider would have done.
Surely the King of Conquerors would be laughing affably at Waver's expense right now, or at least that was what the magus thought, so that tempered some of the irritation he felt at his new social position in Fuyuki, even though he already had plans to leave the title when it was time to leave for a trip around the world.
She wasn't giving it up now because of certain benefits it brought, such as higher pay as well as discounts at all Fuyuki stores, which was too good to give up. He even had a discount on airline tickets!
So what happened in Copenhagen that night was both a blessing and also a curse.
A curse? Yes, you are wondering why that is, well...
"Come on, Genbu! The break is over!" exclaimed his boss.
Although the man was grateful for the young man's actions, work was work, and as a good boss he had to get all the juice out of his employees no matter who they were.
"I'm coming... And don't call me that way!" The young man chattered tiredly and sweaty, he had just had a five minute break, where before he had spent almost all day moving boxes and he was still exhausted.
Besides, he hated that silly title with all his heart!
Little did he know that in a few years he would get much worse titles when he reached a respectable position in the Clock Tower.
...
Back at Homurahara Academy, it was still break time and we found two brown-haired friends hanging out near the school's kendo training dojo.
One of them was Fujimura Taiga, the infamous Fuyuki Tiger, "Byakko", considered the second strongest person publicly in the city, obviously surpassed by Seiryu. Next to her was her best friend, Hotaruzuka Otoko, also called Neko by her friends due to the girl's dislike for her real name.
The two were having a fragrant discussion about boys, an unheard of topic that they would never expect the Yakuza princess to actively participate in, but considering who the people they were talking about were, then it was somewhat understandable.
"I can't believe what you said about the new student!" Neko exclaimed. "You literally admitted that you will commit a crime, an attempted murder no less! Have you gone crazy already, woman! Your grandfather is putting weird ideas in your head!"
"Leave my criminal grandfather out of this!" Taiga replied forcefully. "I have my reasons, so don't meddle in my affairs with Mori!"
"Can't you see you've gone too far with that Mori guy? Our teacher almost had a heart attack when you said the word kill! - Neko said alarmed but at the same time worried about her friend. "It's already too much, this is already an obsession, Taiga-chan!"
"Obsession?" Fuyuki Tiger repeated with indignation. "You call that an obsession? There hasn't been a single day that you haven't talked about your Prince Charming Genbu since that incident at your father's liquor store!"
At that moment, the young woman with feline features blushed slightly but didn't for a second lose her stance on the subject.
"At least I didn't say anything about hurting or killing him like you did!" She exclaimed back to her friend.
Both young women looked at each other fiercely, although Neko didn't stand a chance in a fight against Fuyuki's infamous Byakko, this was not a fight of power or strength, but a fight of wills and if you were as stubborn as the kendo master, Fujimura Taiga, then you had a minimal amount of victory.
Unfortunately for the second strongest person in Fuyuki, some reasoning came into her head after pondering for a few seconds as she looked at the serious, disapproving but extremely worried face of her best friend. Neko and she had a lot of history together, she was one of the few people who didn't push her away for belonging to a Yakuza family, plus she never feared for her abnormal strength and extreme skill in kendo, in almost every sword school in the country.
But most importantly, Neko cared about her well-being more than anything else, there was never any envy or jealousy between them, and here she was, criticizing her friend, when she feared she might make the worst mistake of her life.
Taiga looked down at the ground when she recognized that she had been defeated. She closed her eyes and let out a deep sigh, which strangely made her feel a little better, then looked seriously at her best friend, who was looking at her with curiosity and mild bewilderment.
"I ... I think you're right." Fuyuki Tiger slowly admitted.
"Huh?" Was Neko's only answer. It was strange that her friend would give in to an argument with how stubborn she could be.
Taiga stroked her left arm with her right hand, revealing a somewhat vulnerable side of her persona that very few knew about her, only the most trusted would drop her facade of an enthusiastic, impulsive and eager to fight girl. All to demonstrate the true stripes of the Byakko.
"Perhaps you're right about this slight obsession with Mori ..." Started to say the young girl, before being interrupted by her friend.
Neko raised a doubtful eyebrow. "Maybe? Slight?" She said with a noticeable wariness tinged in her voice.
"Okay, you're right about my obsession with Mori." The Yakuza princess corrected herself as she rolled her eyes, such an action bringing a slight smile to her friend's face. "But it's a hard thing to explain to someone who follows the path of martial arts..."
"Is it really that complicated? Like in the Karate Kid movie?" Such words from her best friend made Taiga roll her eyes.
"Please don't compare those fictional things with real life." Taiga begged her.
"Then explain things well!" Neko exclaimed with noticeable exasperation on her face.
"It's complicated to express these feelings that my heart feels, don't you understand!" roared Byakko equally exasperated.
The daughter of the Copenhagen owner stared quizzically at her friend. "Are you sure you're not in love?"
"Are you sure you don't want to train kendo with me?" Taiga answered with another question while smiling very innocently at her friend, who paled as if she was a ghost.
"D-Don't worry, I'm f-fine." Neko assured her with a nervous smile.
The Fuyuki Heavenly Tiger sighed wearily before turning her gaze to the side, staring at nothing at all as she went into deep reflection while talking to her friend.
"Actually, I can't tell you what love is, but I can assure you that it's something beyond a normal feeling, but something deeper than I've ever experienced in my life." Taiga said in a distant way, while Neko listened with full attention and remarkable intrigue. "But, there is something... There is something about him that I can't ignore."
"W-what is it?" asked the young girl with feline features anxiously.
At that moment, the eyes of both girls connected, the brown eyes full of determination with a similar pair but full of doubt.
"A something that I too want to reach even if it's for a single second in the twilight of my life."
I want to be the only one above the unyielding skies.
...
A very normal trio was walking at a moderate pace through the streets of the Miyama district, however, they were on the opposite side of the residential area of Japanese houses. In contrast, the red-haired boy accompanying his black-haired classmate and her maid with features very similar to that of her young miss were walking through the area of foreign residences.
The Tohsaka home, where Rin and Anne lived. The ancestral home of the Tohsaka for centuries since the first Tohsaka, who was originally from China with the surname Yuan, came to Japan, settling in Fuyuki because of its powerful ley lines.
Although that is something the red-haired Emiya Shirou did not need to know at all. Therefore, she simply kept walking along with the Tohsaka family members, without the knowledge that she was actually going to the home of a family of magicians.
But there is no happier person than an ignorant, uncaring person of the world around him, so for Shirou he was simply going to the home of one of his classmates to hang out as ... Friends?
Could he consider Rin a friend? Well, the little altercation that morning aside, they got along relatively well, even though the dark-haired girl had a horrible personality, but at least she wasn't that bad.
Besides, having friends was ... Good?
The redhead's thoughts stopped at that moment when they arrived at what could be considered a foreign mansion. Although it wasn't as big as a castle, it had a similar structure with a considerable size. In addition, it was very well maintained, something that was surely worked by Anne, who executed it with ease and effectiveness belonging to an incredible housekeeper.
"Well, this is my home, what do you think?" Rin asked Rin with an excited smile to her classmate, after all, it was the first time she brought a ... Friend? Yes, a friend home. Her late father would never have allowed it, so that his heiress could focus entirely on her magical studies.
But now, the man was no longer here to prevent it.
"I think... That it's a bit big." Shirou commented giving the Tohsaka's "house" another glance.
Anne chuckled before opening the gate at the entrance to allow the children to pass. "Yes, a little, sometimes I think that when they bought this house a long time ago it was to make up for something."
The two children looked with confusion at the maid as they crossed the threshold and walked straight to the entrance of the house.
"Make up for something?" Rin asked confused by the young woman's words.
Anne smiled with slight derision. "Oh, you'll understand when you're older."
But the Tohsaka heiress pouted. "I hate having to grow up to understand things." She said but didn't argue further with her maid until she reached the front door.
'Me too.' Thought the older black-haired woman with some bitterness.
Without further ado, Anne opened the front door of the mansion and let the children in. Rin walked without a care in the world, after all, it was her own house. Meanwhile Shirou looked with curiosity and surprise at his classmate's home. He had never seen houses with western decoration in his life, so it was a new but at the same time a pleasant surprise this new experience.
Rin turned to look at Shirou with a big smile while her hands were on her hips. - Now, Emiya-kun, what do you think of my home? -
"It's... It's amazing, Tohsaka-san." Shirou said in response, honestly impressed by some of the Victorian-style decorations. There were things that were old but still kept in impeccable condition.
Anne positioned herself beside Kiritsugu's son. "Even though it might be a bit old-fashioned, there's some pretty good stuff around here."
"Moo, don't despise Otou-sama's classic style." Said the little Tohsaka with a pout as she sent a stern look at her maid.
"I think..." The boy began to speak, drawing the attention of the residents of the Tohsaka mansion. "I think it's great. Old things have their own charm, besides, they retain a history behind them that I think it's good to appreciate."
The girl and the young woman were silent under the red-haired man's sincere opinion, however, the silence was cut short when a slight giggle escaped from the red lips of the Tohsaka maid.
"What an interesting trial, Emiya-kun." Anne said before looking at Rin. "Ojou-sama, I'll go make some tea and bring cookies for you, I'll call you when I'm ready the-."
However, before the black-haired woman could finish speaking, a door opened and someone walked in.
"Rin! Have you seen Sakura?" Said a recognizable adult and female voice.
Shirou was surprised when a middle-aged woman who looked a lot like Rin, he could almost tell she was an adult version of his classmate. However, the woman was in a wheelchair, moreover, there was something in her gaze ... Her pupils were dilated, her eyes glazed over and that vacant smile.
Something was wrong with that woman.
"Okaa-sama, what are you doing out of your room?!" Rin exclaimed to her mother.
"Rin... - Said the older woman before focusing her gaze on the redhead. The woman smiled so brightly that ... It was wrong. - Oh, we have visitors... ?"
"Okaa-sama..." At first the younger Tohsaka hesitated but the next second she spoke. "This is Emiya Shirou-kun, a friend from school."
"Oh, a classmate! That's wonderful, Rin." Aoi said delighted before smiling at the red-haired boy. "Sakura would love to meet you, but where did that little girl go?"
Shirou didn't know why, but he noticed that every time Rin's mother said the name of that "Sakura", the atmosphere in the room became more and more tense.
But the whole situation disappeared when Anne opened her mouth.
"Rin, why don't you take your mother to her room to rest? I'll take care of our guest, then I'll go take care of your mother, can you do that?" Said the maid with a thoroughly professional note in her voice that left no room for argument from any of the parties involved.
Rin nodded, a somber air hung over her. Again the redhead felt the presence of that "shadow" pressing against the girl's back. "Understood, Anne-san."
The younger black-haired girl grabbed the handles of the wheelchair and started to carry her mother away.
"Rin, shall we go look for your sister? Oh, maybe Tokiomi will cheer up and help us!" Aoi said cheerfully as she clapped her hands excitedly at the "family game" they were having.
"Sure, Okaa-sama." Said the Tohsaka heiress in a funereal tone, before taking her mother to another part of the mansion.
Finally, Shirou and Anne were left alone in the living room.
- You must have questions, don't you? - The black-haired woman asked smugly.
The redhead shrugged his shoulders. "I have intrigue but I don't think it's any of my business. The last thing I want to do is get into a place where I'm not wanted and hurt the situation even more."
Anne was silent for a few seconds, processing the wise words a seven-year-old had just uttered.
"Well... If you're going to be friend with the Ojou-sama, you better know where you stand." Said the servant girl calling the red-haired boy's attention. "I won't give details, but Rin's parents and her sister had a ... Altercation."
Shirou raised an eyebrow in surprise at the woman's tone. "Altercation?"
"As I said, I won't give details. But his father died, his mother ended up with brain damage and now she ended up like the time." Anne explained tersely in a solemn tone.
Mori's foster brother looked down, processing what little information the maid of the Tohsaka household had told him, before realizing that she had omitted a certain part.
"What about her sister?" He asked as he realized that Anne had not said whether she was alive or dead.
"She disappeared."
"Disappeared?" the boy asked with some doubt.
- She disappeared. - The older woman confirmed before looking at the Magus Killer's possible son. - I hope this doesn't provoke a hint of pity in you, Emiya-kun. There is nothing the Ojou-sama hates more than receiving pity. -
Shirou was silent after those words, Anne stared at him waiting for him to say something at the end, but when she saw that he wouldn't, she started to withdraw...
- I think I understand. -
But just as she was about to cross the threshold to the kitchen, the red-haired young man spoke, attracting the woman's attention completely.
Shirou looked down, it was hazy but he could remember the screams, the worry and the desperation of his birth parents taking him from his old home in Shinto. He still remembered the pain of having ashes and toxic smoke in his lungs, the people suffering around him ...
But the biggest impression of all was his brother's smile. In the face of all calamity, adversity and suffering ... That smile brought what Shirou thought he had lost.
Hope ... Even though he didn't know what to do with it.
- I wouldn't appreciate pity at all either, but anything else... - The red-haired boy said thoughtfully.
- Something else? - Anne asked really intrigued by what he would say.
Then the redhead's copper-colored eyes connected with the young woman's heavenly eyes, and perhaps it was her imagination but the boy's eyes seemed opaque, bearing much resemblance to the dead eyes of a fish.
- A reason to smile again. - It was the last thing Shirou said before continuing to look at the antiques in the Tohsaka's living room.
Seeing that the boy would not continue talking, Anne retreated to do what she had to do, but with a very heavy thought in her mind.
'Emiya Shirou ... More interesting than I originally thought.'
...