Prologue continued: The night of another descent

------------------ Shirou Emiya ------------------------

"I already told you not to worry about it, it was just a small favor I did for Tohsaka -senpai."

"Is there something I need to do that requires me to take a two-week break from classes? And I'll have to stay at her place?"

"Why ask so many questions? Such a controlling nature isn't good. Haven't you heard of A-srt-aks-a-an-an?" (The novel website doesn't skip words.)

"I don't think you're at the age where you need to be sensual."

"Who says that? Look at Sakura, she's the same age as me, but she already has the potential to be a good wife and mother."

It's quite rare to see two young people living in the Emiya Residence arguing about something.

This brother and sister, whose relationship was always so harmonious it seemed unnatural, hadn't last argued in ages. (From the novel W. LEDU. M)

It seems to have been when she was very, very young, a little girl who kept clamoring to be that person, but was ignored and laughed at by the middle-aged man and the boy.

For nearly ten years afterward, although there were occasional minor disagreements, no disputes that could be described as arguments occurred again.

So what exactly ignited the sparks of "war"?

Let's start from the beginning.

"Hey, Shirou, there's something I need to discuss with you."

The boy, who was doing his morning exercise, heard a familiar voice calling him, but there was a hint of unnaturalness in the tone, as if there was something he was reluctant to say.

"Hmm, what's up? Speak—and put out that cigarette!"

His words were abruptly changed when Shirou saw that the Jizi who walked in was carrying something in her mouth.

"Hey, you're not saying no, this isn't a real cigarette."

Despite grumbling to herself, Jizi still took the cigarette off her hand and threw it away. Once it was out of her grasp, the cigarette butt quickly decomposed into a cloud of light particles and disappeared.

"It can't be anything that isn't real!"

The cigarette was actually a fake created by Jizi using magic; it contained no nicotine or tar. There's a little story behind why Jizi wanted to learn how to make it.

Kiritsugu had a severe smoking addiction, and Shirou and Jizi's repeated attempts to persuade him to quit were largely ineffective. Even when all his cigarettes were confiscated and destroyed, he could always find new ones from various places. After one anti-smoking campaign failed again, Jizi began to develop this Magecraft of producing fake cigarettes.

The next day, when Kiritsugu lit another cigarette, his adopted daughter was surprised to find the same one dangling from her lips.

From now on, if you smoke one, I'll smoke one too.

The tiny girl, barely reaching Kiritsugu's chest, declared solemnly while smoking a cigarette.

Thus, the cigarettes that had accompanied Kiritsugu Emiya for most of his life said goodbye to him forever.

I thought that was the end of it, but after Kiritsugu's death, Jizi would gradually start performing that meaningless Magecraft again from time to time, puffing out smoke.

The sight of a beautiful, well-dressed girl smoking was rather unsightly, so Shirou and Taiga were trying their best to get rid of this habit—however, confiscating cigarettes wasn't enough; unless Jizi completely lost her Magecraft abilities, they could only verbally forbid it.

Fortunately, she's quite obedient; if reminded, she'll still take it away.

What's going on?

Jizi hesitated for a long time without saying anything, which made Shirou sense that something was wrong.

"Could it be something dangerous? (Novel website has many words)"

"Haha, yes, I will!"

Sure enough, even though she couldn't hide it, Shirou had known her for so many years, could still catch the fleeting panic on Jizi's face. This girl might be able to lie to others, but she was far from fooling anyone.

"That Tohsaka guy, if I don't remember, he's Magecraft, right? (Novel website has quite a few words)"

"Yeah, that's strange."

Two years ago, after Jizi and the Tohsaka Family got to know each other, their relationship deepened, and the other party made a formal visit to the Emiya Residence. During their exchange, they got to know each other a little.

"... Anyway, I'll probably need to take about two weeks off in a while, and I'll be staying at Tohsaka -senpai's house. That's settled then, Shirou, all you have to do is say 'okay'."

"Okay—you bastard!"

It seems Jizi blurted out his entire purpose without offering any reasons, but without even knowing what he actually wants to do, how could he possibly agree?

And that's how the argument at the beginning came about.

-------------- Sakura Matou -----------------

"... Sakura... is the same age... a virtuous wife and loving mother..."

Just as I was about to knock on the door, I suddenly heard a name and instinctively withdrew my hand.

"... Tohsaka... you know her too..."

"No! If you don't explain clearly..."

"Ugh, this is so annoying... Anyway, I'm leaving!"

The sound of footsteps pounding echoed, and then the wooden door in front of Sakura was suddenly flung open. The person who opened the door had probably intended to run away quickly, but because Sakura blocked their way, they couldn't stop their steps and knocked Sakura to the ground.

Ah~

"Ouch!"

There were still several layers of snow on the ground, so Sakura, who fell backward, wasn't seriously injured. As for Jizi, she landed on top of Sakura, and thanks to the latter's rather well-endowed body, she was also unharmed.

"Oh, Sakura, you're here! Sorry, sorry—but it's perfect timing, Shirou is all yours now."

Having honed her swordsmanship skills under Taiga Fujimura for many years, Jizi stood up almost instantly. She also helped Sakura up, then pushed her towards Shirou, who was chasing after her. Taking advantage of his frantic attempt to catch Sakura, she disappeared in a flash.

Hey! Jizi!

"It's only two weeks! Anyway, with Sakura around, you won't be lonely!"

So you two had a fight?

"Ah, not really -- I just think she should have made things clearer."

Sakura was already seated at the living room table, with a steaming cup of tea in front of her. Shirou, after distributing the fried eggs from the pan to two plates, also sat down.

"Jizi has reached his rebellious phase."

"Sigh... It's really a bit unexpected for someone as easy to deal with as her to suddenly do something like this."

Sakura listened with a smile as Shirou poured out his troubles to her, and her mind gradually recalled some memories of her time with that person.

I initially got to know her simply because she was my senior. When we occasionally bumped into each other here, she would just nod coldly and then either go about her chores or go back to her room.

However, as the number of visits to the Emiya Residence increased, the two interacted more, and occasionally, their usually expressionless faces would even exchange a smile.

In an attempt to get closer to her senior, Sakura secretly practiced cooking at the Emiya Residence. Due to her lack of experience, she made a lot of mistakes. When Jizi came in and saw the messy kitchen, her expression was quite frightening, and Sakura was prepared to be scolded. Later, Kiko did roughly pull Sakura out, but instead of the lecture she expected, she took out a first-aid kit and very carefully treated Sakura's wounds.

"... It's nothing serious, just be more careful next time."

Jizi told Ying to rest aside, and then cleaned the kitchen by herself. Then, for the first time, she took the initiative to speak to Ying, although her words were very weak.

Furthermore, Sakura noticed that Jizi's face seemed slightly flushed at that moment.

Is she shy?

Known as the "Ice Queen" at school, Jizi was considered unapproachable by everyone. What was the truth behind her perpetually cold demeanor? Was she simply too shy? Sakura felt something interesting was amiss.

Later, after inquiring with her seniors, her speculation was confirmed.

"Jizi, that girl seems aloof, but it's just a facade—because acquaintances eventually part ways, and she's actually terrified of loneliness. To avoid the pain of separation, she simply avoids getting to know new people—though that's true, she won't refuse if someone approaches her. By the way, her personality will undergo a complete reversal once you get to know her better, so you'd better be careful."

After the kitchen incident, Sakura and Jizi went shopping together in the shopping street to replace the broken dishes. On the way, they awkwardly tried to start a conversation about Sakura wanting to learn how to cook.

"Well then, I'll teach you."

That's what I was told.

So from then on, she went to Emiya Residence every day, where Jizi taught her cooking skills step by step. Gradually, they inevitably became acquainted, and Sakura witnessed how Jizi treated acquaintances.

Actually, she's an incredibly caring, gentle, and considerate person, but occasionally has a bit of a devilish side. Everyone else is completely fooled by appearances. If someone called her an ice queen or a flower of the plateau, their jaw would probably drop to the ground.

Later, we both went on to the same high school. Although we weren't in the same class, we saw each other a lot. I felt that she had changed a bit after she went to high school; she wasn't as unapproachable as before.

"... Sigh, I really don't know whose daughter she is. I feel like she's about to change her surname to Tohsaka..."

A key word mentioned by Shirou in casual conversation pulled Sakura out of her memories— Tohsaka.

Well, it happened in the end.

Two years ago, I returned to Fuyuki City and, because of the Fujimura Group, I also got in touch with the Emiya family. I heard that at that Jizi, I was taken in as a disciple—of course, only in name, and in reality, I was more like an assistant. I never give a good look to Jizi I meet for the first time, but I unexpectedly got along well with him, and the two became acquainted very quickly, much faster than before.

However, it was precisely because of this influence that her personality gradually became more well-rounded, and at least in high school, the term "flower of the plateau" was never used again—of course, perhaps because that nickname had already been taken.

Should I change my surname to Tohsaka? If Jizi goes to the Tohsaka Family, could I come to the Emiya family? Sakura suddenly had this thought.

This is just wishful thinking. Sakura is well aware of the situation; her grandfather would not allow her to do such a thing. Although she can enter and leave the Emiya residence, it is only at her grandfather's secret behest. He seems to want to use this to monitor the house.

Both Senpai and Jizi are Magecraft, but Sakura doesn't think their skill level is high enough to attract Grandpa's attention. However, Grandpa's thinking is beyond his comprehension anyway, and this provides him with a good reason to get close to Senpai.

That being said, Sakura did notice something strange: whenever she was close to Jizi, she could always feel an attraction emanating from her.

No, it's not attracting anything, but rather attracting the techniques Grandpa left in his body.

What this ultimately means, Sakura tried hard not to think about it too much.

Let's cherish the ordinary yet precious moments of everyday life as much as possible, at least until the ceremony begins.

----------------------------- Kiko Emiya -----------------------

Jizi still remembers the expression on Rin's face when, two years ago, during the final stage of helping Rin clean the Basement, she found an old Mask in a corner where dust had accumulated to a depth of two or three centimeters.

It feels like seeing a child with a beloved toy, or finding a long-lost relative, or even reuniting with a long-lost lover.

She roughly snatched the Mask from her hand, barely noticing the dust on it. Her movement seemed to indicate she wanted to pull it into her arms, but at the last moment she realized there were outsiders present, so she stopped.

To outsiders, this action might seem a bit ridiculous, but Jizi couldn't laugh at all. After seeing Rin's expression, she felt a sudden pang of heartache and tenderness.

If she hadn't managed to control herself at the last moment, she felt she would have instinctively hugged Rin and comforted her.

Why would he care so much about this girl he's only met a few times? Is this what they call fate?

"Tohsaka- senpai!? I'm here."

"Oh, just a moment," the girl in casual clothes opened the door and welcomed Jizi in. "I already told you to just call me Rin, no need to be so formal."

"Well, sometimes it just comes out naturally." Actually, Jizi also calls Rin by his name in her heart, but when they're face to face, she sometimes feels pressured by the other person's imposing presence and unconsciously uses honorifics.

"I'll be troubling you these next few days, please take good care of me."

"Not at all, Jizi's arrival has been a great help to me."

The two entered the house. Since they often went there, Jizi had left slippers and clothes there. She naturally changed her shoes and went to the living room with Rin.

"Did Emiya agree?" The novel website doesn't skip any words.

"Well, he's not my guardian, I don't need his permission to do what I want."

"Oh... but do you really understand what we're about to face?"

"Of course, I made this choice after fully understanding all the dangers. I want to be with you, Rin, and stand by your side to offer my support. This is the path I've chosen."

"Since that's the case, I won't say any more—but don't worry, we will definitely achieve final victory."

"Yes, it definitely will."

The conversation abruptly ended because, no matter how confident they were, Rin and Jizi were still just teenagers. Their previous boasts were merely attempts to persuade others; they themselves weren't sure how much of a sure thing they had.

"Well," after a moment of silence, Jizi spoke again, "Have you found the sacred relic?"

"Okay, we'll use this one."

Rin took out the old Mask. Although it had been washed many times, Jizi still felt that it was dirty. Moreover, a large piece was missing from the bottom of the left eye, and Jizi felt uncomfortable every time she saw that jagged break.

"Is this really okay?" (The novel website doesn't skip words.)

"No problem! This will definitely summon the strongest Servant. It's the catalyst my father used in the last war."

Jizi didn't want to dampen Rin's spirits, so she swallowed the words, "But Tohsaka must have lost, right?"

"Don't worry, even if Heroic Spirit's abilities are average, with my magical enhancement, there won't be any problems."

That's true. Rin's Magecraft talent is terrifying. If she were to become an ASTR, Heroic Spirit who isn't utterly useless would receive a qualitative leap in performance.

"Is the Magic Circle and materials ready?"

"Hmm, that's settled then. Two o'clock in the morning the day after tomorrow will be the best time."

"Then let us march forward for victory!"

At this point, Jizi was completely unaware that she was about to face not only the future, but also the future she had personally abandoned.

--------------------------ps------------------------

P. S. 1. One more preface chapter... then I'll pause updates; I need to go back to playing HF.

P. S. 2. I've finished most of the "Hookup" series. Next, I can try updating another book. I'll try my best not to mess it up, probably...

0.75. Prologue: The Night Returns

0.75. Prologue: The Night Returns was typed by a member of [*][Novel. net].

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