Headache-Inducing Sasuke

Kaoru Sakura laughed so hard she nearly lost her breath. It was a rare sight to see her big brother get put in his place.

Perhaps caught up in Kaoru's laughter, Illya turned aside and covered her mouth as she giggled. Her shoulders shook with every laugh, and she was every bit as delighted as Kaoru.

Seeing how much fun the two of them were having, Sasuke's expression soon returned to normal, as if his earlier embarrassment had been an act.

Determined not to waste food, Sasuke forced himself to cram the remaining half of the taiyaki into his mouth, despite his disgust.

By now, Sasuke had grown somewhat used to the taste, and in the end, he managed to keep his expression under control.

The two girls fell silent and stared at Sasuke in disbelief.

To make sure their prank on Sasuke would work, Kaoru and Illya had tried it on a test subject first.

One bite had been enough to make them lose their composure.

What's more, they had given Sasuke twice as much!

How was that possible?

Seeing them staring at him, Sasuke turned straight to Kaoru and calmly scolded her:

"Kaoru."

His voice made Kaoru's hair stand on end. Usually, that meant she'd made Sasuke angry. She immediately sat up straight and stammered:

"Y-Yes... Big Brother!"

Seeing Kaoru strike such a pose, Sasuke felt a headache coming on. It made him look like the villain.

Sasuke sighed and slowly got to his feet. It seemed the wasabi really had gone up his nose, because even speaking made his throat catch:

"N-Next time you waste food, you'll have to eat my cooking from now on."

"I'm going downstairs to keep an eye on the shop."

With that, Sasuke glanced at Illya once more.

Though Illya looked harmless now, and got along with Kaoru like a sister, she was still a dangerous person taking part in the Holy Grail War.

But with Kaoru there, Sasuke couldn't say anything about it. Rather than worry himself by watching them, he went downstairs to mind the shop.

Kaoru had no idea about any of that, so as soon as Sasuke was gone, she couldn't hold back any longer and burst out laughing.

"Ah—"

"It's been so long since I've had this much fun."

"Even if this fun came at Big Brother's expense."

"So, Illya, I've decided. I'll go out this afternoon and buy Big Brother a present as an apology. I'll make him lots of delicious food afterward to make it up to him!"

"What do you think, Illya? You haven't really explored the shops around here yet, have you?"

"Want me to show you around while we're at it?"

Illya had no reason to refuse. It was daytime, after all, so her presence wouldn't put Kaoru in danger.

With that in mind, Illya smiled back.

"Then I'll leave it to you, Kaoru."

Kaoru waved her hand carelessly, showing that it was no trouble at all.

After Kaoru led Illya out, Sasuke quietly made a Shadow Clone to follow them.

The shopping street wasn't very large. It wouldn't have mattered much if Kaoru had gone out alone, but with Illya by her side, things were different.

Sasuke was only looking out for Kaoru's safety.

He didn't care if Illya noticed him, as long as Kaoru didn't.

After Kaoru and Illya left, Fish Fresh House fell completely quiet.

The shopping street was just as still.

It was two or three in the afternoon on a weekday, so there weren't many people out.

This was usually the most relaxing time of day for Sasuke.

The sea-blue banners on either side of Fish Fresh House fluttered in the breeze.

It seemed the rain had washed Fuyuki clean the day before. The sky was cloudless, bright blue and clear, with the warm sun hanging overhead and shining down on the earth.

Some people might have found this kind of life dull and boring, but to Sasuke, it couldn't have been better.

The neighbors got along. There were no disputes, let alone wars.

Life was peaceful and stable.

That held true in any world.

Unfortunately, life was always full of surprises.

For Sasuke, the Holy Grail War and the concept of Magecraft were just such surprises.

Fortunately, Sasuke had the ability to deal with these things, so everything was still under control. He just found it troublesome.

Time passed minute by minute, and nothing unusual happened at work that day.

Before long, evening arrived, and Kaoru and Illya still hadn't returned.

With a Shadow Clone following them, Sasuke wasn't worried. He was just curious how they'd managed to spend the whole afternoon browsing such a small shopping street.

As Sasuke pondered this, two unusual customers came to Fish Fresh House.

Or rather, Sasuke had already picked them out the moment they entered his field of vision.

Farther down the street, Shirou Emiya and Rin Tohsaka were walking together.

Shirou Emiya carried a bag full of groceries. It was obvious he'd come to the shopping street to buy food.

In fact, Shirou Emiya had visited the shopping street for ingredients plenty of times over the years. He'd even bought fish from Fish Fresh House on several occasions, which Sasuke had caught himself.

Sasuke had never paid much attention to it before. He saw so many customers each day—why would he take special note of one student?

Shirou Emiya had thought much the same. It was only when he remembered today that he needed to come to the shopping street to buy fish that he realized the ordinary fishmonger was such a powerful mage.

Though Shirou Emiya was still shaken by Sasuke's killing Shinji Matou, when all was said and done, Shinji had been at fault.

So when the two of them stopped in front of Fish Fresh House, the atmosphere was a little strange.

Rin Tohsaka, standing beside Shirou Emiya, didn't care about any of that. She glanced into the shop.

"Is Kaoru not here?"

Sasuke, who had just been wondering why Kaoru and Illya still hadn't returned, now hoped they'd stay out a while longer.

The thought of those two groups running into each other gave him a headache.

"She went out."

Sasuke gave her a perfunctory reply, then turned to Shirou Emiya.

"Looking for any particular kind of fish?"

Shirou Emiya nodded slightly and looked at the refrigerated display case in front of the shop.

"Sorry for the trouble, but could you recommend something reasonably priced?"

Sasuke thought for a moment, then answered smoothly.

"Tuna."

"Cheap and tasty, with few bones."

Shirou Emiya quickly searched his memory for recipes, then nodded decisively.

"Then please give me two trays of it, already sliced."

Most people preferred to buy fish that had already been cut up for convenience, so Sasuke prepared trays of popular fish each day and stocked them in the refrigerated display case.

Fish Fresh House didn't sell fish from the previous day, so everything in the case was fresh.

That was one reason Fish Fresh House did so well.

Sasuke took two trays of tuna that had been sliced that afternoon out of the refrigerated case and told Shirou Emiya the price.

Just as Shirou Emiya was about to pay and leave, a surprised cry suddenly came from farther away:

"Rin-senpai and Shirou-senpai!?"

That's right.

It was Kaoru and Illya.

Sasuke could already feel a headache coming on.