The quiet hum of the TV filled Gudako Fujimura's room as she settled onto the couch, a microwaveable TV dinner in her lap and a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. It was rare for her to have a night off, and she'd planned to spend it with a cheesy horror movie—something light, fun, and utterly ridiculous. She took a sip of her drink, preparing herself for an evening of guilty pleasure viewing.
But the room had other ideas.
Just as she was getting into the movie, the TV screen flickered, the image distorting with static. Gudako frowned, tapping the remote. "Oh, come on. I didn't summon a bad connection."
But before she could switch it off, the static resolved into something far more unsettling—a pair of pale, delicate hands pressed against the inside of the screen, long black hair obscuring a ghostly face. Then, slowly, the figure began to emerge, crawling out of the screen and onto her coffee table.
Gudako's fork froze mid-air as she recognized the ominous figure of Sadako—the unmistakable terror of Japanese horror. Except this Sadako wore a small Servant insignia pinned to her tattered dress.
Sadako, now fully materialized in the room, stood there with her long hair partially covering her face, a soft aura of gloom emanating around her. She glanced at Gudako, silent as ever, awaiting a reaction.
Gudako blinked, lowering her fork. "Sadako… I was having dinner."
Sadako tilted her head, her expression unreadable under that curtain of hair. There was a beat of silence before she raised one ghostly hand, a VHS tape dangling between her fingers like an offering. She leaned forward slowly, almost as if she were asking, Want to watch?
Gudako sighed, setting her food down. "I know you're a Caster Servant and all, but I didn't think that meant you'd pop in during movie time. I was aiming for cheesy scares, not… well, this." She gestured at the eerie figure standing in her living room.
Sadako's shoulders drooped ever so slightly, a hint of confusion in her stance. It was almost as if she didn't understand what she'd done wrong. She held out the VHS again, persistent.
Gudako raised an eyebrow, taking the tape. "Fine, fine. Let's watch it. But next time, can you give a little warning before crawling out of my TV, or use the door for once?"
Sadako gave the faintest nod, taking a silent seat beside her. As Gudako clicked the VHS player on, she felt Sadako lean in, just a little closer than usual, her ghostly presence chilling yet strangely calming.
"Welcome to movie night, Sadako," Gudako muttered, raising her fork to her mouth once more.
Sadako might have been the epitome of horror in a dark room, but tonight, she was just another part of Gudako's unorthodox, mismatched family of Servants. And as the opening credits rolled, Gudako figured she could get used to this strange companionship—even if it came with the occasional crawl out of the TV.