Compared with the dull, tedious lessons at school, Sakura preferred bustling around the film set with her older brother.
Unfortunately, as filming neared its final stages, Shinji sent the students on the crew, Sakura included, back to school.
To be honest, Sakura didn't have many scenes in the movie. Shinji was filming the Fate Route, not the Heaven's Feel Route, so Sakura's screen time might not even amount to a fraction of the female lead Tohsaka Rin's.
On set, Sakura mostly served as Shinji's assistant, helping her brother take care of all sorts of odd jobs.
Even though the work was dull, she simply liked the atmosphere and environment of the set more.
Because that was where she could find a weird, hilarious pervert in a blue bodysuit, a considerate Sister Rider, a Saber who loved the food she made, and... the older brother she, Matou Sakura, admired most: Matou Shinji.
At the thought, Sakura felt an urge to drop her textbooks and run off to work on the set.
Sadly, she could only imagine doing that. Shinji would never agree to it. Though Shinji always doted on Sakura, he never let her do as she pleased when it came to her studies.
What scene is my brother filming now? Is it one with Miss Artoria?
The thought crept into Matou Sakura's mind.
In an instant, the white lines on the sports field she was staring at seemed to change. The abstract lines gradually took on the shape of a person: slightly tousled, medium-length hair, a gentle face, deep eyes, and an ever-confident expression...
"Brother..."
Sakura chewed on her pen, imagining Shinji standing on set with his director's megaphone, confidently calling the shots.
He's only just come back from overseas, and he immediately threw himself into so much work. Why can't he stay by my side?
"Matou-san..." Taiga Fujimura soon noticed Sakura acting strangely. "Sakura!"
The girl was completely lost in her daydream and didn't hear Taiga at all.
Smack.
After calling out several times without getting a response, Taiga walked over and gently tapped Sakura on the head with a book.
"Uh... Teacher Fujimura..."
Only then did Matou Sakura snap out of it. She looked at Taiga Fujimura, unsure what to do.
"Sakura..."
Sakura's pitiful, animal-like gaze left Taiga feeling helpless. She sighed and said, "I know you care about Shinji's movie, but I still hope you'll pay attention in class. Otherwise, what would be the point of Shinji sending you to school?"
Sakura's lips moved a couple of times before she lowered her head helplessly. "I'm sorry."
Taiga didn't make an issue of it. She spread her hands and nodded repeatedly, speaking to herself. "I understand. It's your beloved older brother's movie... It's not just you; I'm incredibly excited too! I can't wait for it to come out!"
"After all... this is the first movie I've ever acted in~~"
Taiga playfully raised one foot and winked at the whole class.
The entire class was so embarrassed that they fell into a strange silence.
"..." N
She's already a 25-year-old woman. She should stop pretending to be a cute young girl. N
"...Did she get the part by putting on a tiger suit and making a cameo?"
No one knew which warrior had said it, but someone had actually spoken up while the whole class was dead silent.
"Who just said 'Tiger'? Come on out here! I'm going to give you a super-duper extra-credit worksheet package!!"
Taiga waved her textbook around and roared like a tiger.
"Sorry, sorry, Teacher Tiger~"
"I said, don't call me Tiger!" Taiga returned to the lectern and smacked the desk. "How about this? When Sakura's brother's movie comes out, we'll all go see it as a class!"
"But you'll have to pay for your own tickets~"
Taiga playfully winked again.
"What the heck?!"
"Teacher, you're treating us!"
"Yeah! To celebrate your acting debut, you should treat us!"
"Not a chance! My salary isn't that big!"
Taiga slapped the desk as she spoke.
"Hahaha~"
For a while, the classroom was filled with cheerful laughter.
"Ah, Brother..."
Sakura sighed helplessly. Ignoring the noisy classroom, she turned her gaze out the window once again and waited for class to end.
While Sakura had no choice but to endure the "torment" of school, the FSN Film Crew was busily filming the final scenes in the studio.
After several months of filming, the FSN Film Crew's work was nearing its end. Over the past few days, Shinji had finished almost all of the scenes, including the battle at Ryuudou Temple. Only the final scene of Artoria passing away peacefully remained.
Artoria deserved a mention. Though the King of Knights' acting was still quite inexperienced, after reading plenty of romance novels and manga on Rin's recommendation, she'd managed to discover at least a little of her girlish side.
Her acting was nowhere near the level of the great masters, but it was just about good enough for a commercial movie like this.
In fact, because Lady King of Knights took her work so seriously, she was arguably the most consistent person on the entire crew during filming, aside from Gilgamesh.
It couldn't be helped. Gilgamesh's role was too simple. Even if he just stood in front of the camera and acted like he was having a grand time, they could still use some of the footage—as long as he didn't block the camera with his Gate of Babylon, of course.
As FSN filming gradually neared its end, Shinji began carefully evaluating the crew members.
Though it was uncertain whether the movie would succeed, Shinji had already reached agreements with several Mage Families, so he would definitely move on to his next project. The only question was which movie to make.
Filming this one had given Shinji a thorough understanding of the advantages of using Heroic Spirit Actors. Unless something unexpected happened, he would likely use the same approach for his next movie.
If he stuck with that plan, then the filming location would have to be restricted to Fuyuki City. Because of the Holy Grail and the Ley Lines, the Heroic Spirits would consume a great deal of magical energy if they left the city.
As a result, putting together a relatively stable film crew in Fuyuki City was essential.
That said, not everyone would be able to stay on Shinji's team.
Those who were merely average or who didn't take the initiative to work weren't under consideration.
Shinji had already drafted a preliminary list of names. Once filming ended, he would discuss things with each person involved.
The crew was currently filming the scene in which Bedivere said goodbye to Artoria. It was the final scene of the film, and everyone was preparing for it in high spirits.
Of course, Bedivere wasn't being played by Bedivere himself. Shinji had already used up all seven Servant slots and couldn't summon another Servant.
Besides, Bedivere only had a few scenes in FSN. Summoning a new Servant for that would be far too extravagant.
Shinji hadn't hired a foreign actor for a cameo, either. Instead, he had Yan Qing disguise himself as Bedivere based on Artoria's description.
The situation had a certain resemblance to the 2006 FSN TV series, where Ayako Kawasumi had pulled Mamiko Noto out of the hallway and asked her to voice Little Bedivere.
Though Little Yi Ge was usually a nobody on set, he did work at a Model Worker's pace. Aside from cameo appearances as Caster Medea, the gatekeeper, and Little Bedivere, he would also occasionally disguise himself for a bit part when the scene needed one or two extras.
Though Little Yi Ge never showed his face in FSN, he appeared here and there throughout the entire movie.
Shinji suddenly felt that changing his plans partway through and summoning Yan Qing might have been the best decision he'd made while filming the movie.
On set, Yan Qing, dressed as Bedivere, had no idea what his Master was thinking. He was looking sadly at Artoria, who lay beneath a tree.
At that moment, the faint glow around Artoria gradually faded, signaling that the last force protecting her was disappearing.
"I'm sorry... Bedivere. This time, my sleep... may last a little longer..."
With a gentle, relieved smile, Artoria quietly closed her eyes.
The light, representing the morning sun, slowly shifted onto Artoria, while a gentle breeze stirred the artificial forest.
Yan Qing stood there, quietly watching the King's figure, immersing himself in the feelings of the knight.
This must have been what that knight had always hoped for.
A peaceful sleep.
The King he had served, who had fought all her life, could finally find peace at last.
And so... he was overjoyed.
The breeze brushed the knight's face. He had proudly guarded his King, and now he smiled from the bottom of his heart.
The war was finally over.
"Hey, are you watching, King Arthur—"
Looking at the sleeping King, the knight whispered.
"—the continuation of the dream..."
"Cut!" Shinji rose from behind the camera and announced loudly, "That's a wrap on FSN!"
"Fantastic!"
"We're done! Hooray!"
"Haha! We did it!!"
At Shinji's words, everyone on the crew burst into cheers.
Artoria got up and tidied her hair, then hurried over to Shinji first to congratulate him.
"Master, I did it."
"Yeah, thank you, Artoria. You really are the best Servant!"
Shinji opened his arms and hugged Artoria, even leaning in to rub his face against hers.
"Master?"
Artoria raised an eyebrow.
Shinji quickly let go of Artoria and began hugging the other members of the crew one by one. They all laughed and hugged him in celebration.
Everyone was overjoyed. The pride of completing an entire movie was impossible to put into words.
After celebrating for a while, the crew began packing up the props on set. They said their goodbyes, then left one by one.
The once-bustling studio gradually grew quiet.
Technically, they should have held a simple wrap party, but the main student actors weren't on set, so Shinji decided not to throw one.
Still, he promised the crew that they'd have a grand celebration banquet once the movie came out.
After seeing off the last few crew members, Shinji went to check the temporary storage room. He made sure the filming equipment was intact and carefully counted the footage.
He hadn't realized how much there was until he counted it. Shinji had filmed nearly fifty hours of footage over the past few months.
More than half of it consisted of NG takes, but that didn't mean it was useless. They might use some of the footage for deleted scenes or behind-the-scenes features on the DVD.
"Brother, what are you doing?"
After finally making it through the school day, Sakura hurried to the set as fast as she could. With help from the others, she found Shinji in the storage room.
"Oh, Sakura. I've got a headache."
Seeing his little sister's curious gaze, Shinji sighed helplessly.
"I have to edit about 120 to 150 minutes of footage out of nearly three thousand minutes. Just thinking about it gives me a headache."
"Is that so..." Sakura looked up at him, sounding a little disappointed. "So you'll still be busy for a while?"
"Yeah. Post-production isn't just editing. There's sound effects, background music, visual effects... Never mind, let's not get into all that."
Shinji shook his head, putting those worries aside for the moment.
"By the way, did you come here for something?"
"Um..."
Sakura opened her mouth but hesitated.
In the end, she gave Shinji a perfect girlish smile.
"It's nothing. Do your best, Brother."
Sakura ultimately held back from asking Shinji to stay with her and instead offered him her encouragement.
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