Fuyuki City, Miyama Town's shopping district.
Outside Fish Fresh House.
Sasuke's life seemed to have settled back into a quiet routine.
Although a foreign girl named Illyasviel von Einzbern had joined the Sakura household,
they all got along well. At least, that was what Kaoru Sakura thought.
Sakura Masayoshi hadn't objected, either. After all, having the house grow livelier wasn't a bad thing.
The peaceful days made time fly by.
More than two months had passed since the Holy Grail War in Fuyuki ended.
It was now early April.
Kaoru Sakura had moved up from her first year of high school to her second.
And today was the first day of the new school year.
It was also the opening ceremony at Homurahara Academy.
Since moving up to a new year was a meaningful milestone, Kaoru Sakura wanted Sasuke and Illya to come with her to take commemorative photos at school.
Because it was the first day of school, the day's proceedings would be over by noon, in accordance with school rules.
Of course, that was mainly because Kaoru Sakura didn't belong to any clubs at school, so she didn't have to help recruit new members for one.
If she had to be called anything, Kaoru Sakura was a member of the Go-Home Club.
So that afternoon, Kaoru Sakura planned to go shopping with Illya and Sasuke.
As for Sakura Masayoshi, he didn't like crowds and planned to stay at the shop by himself.
After breakfast, they all headed to Homurahara Academy together.
Sasuke had been waiting outside the shop for Kaoru Sakura and Illya for five minutes already.
But another five minutes passed, and there was still no sign of Kaoru Sakura and Illya coming out.
Sasuke was used to this by now, so he couldn't be bothered to say anything.
At last, after yet another ten minutes, Kaoru Sakura and Illya came down from the room on the second floor.
Since she was going to school, Kaoru Sakura, being a student, was simply wearing her uniform.
Today, Illya wore a white shirt as her base layer, paired with a black ribbon tie and an unzipped black leather jacket.
She wore a black pleated skirt that fell below the knee and a pair of black boots.
"Ba-bam!"
Like an announcer introducing a performer, Kaoru Sakura supplied the fanfare for Illya's entrance, then asked Sasuke with complete seriousness:
"Bro, what do you think?"
Sasuke remained expressionless, but in the end, he still let out a sigh.
"I think you should be worrying about whether you're going to be late."
Kaoru Sakura waved a hand dismissively.
"We don't have classes today. It doesn't matter if we get there late."
"Doesn't Illya look just like one of those cool, badass big sisters from a manga?"
Sasuke had never read manga, so he didn't answer Kaoru Sakura's question.
Seeing this, Illya couldn't help sighing, her helplessness plain to see.
Kaoru Sakura had started dressing Illya as soon as she got up that morning, and they'd lost count of how many outfits Illya had changed into.
In a way, it took a special talent for Kaoru Sakura to wear Illya out just by changing her clothes.
So Illya urged Kaoru Sakura, who had dressed her up like this:
"Alright, Kaoru. Let's talk about this while we walk."
At Illya's prompting, they finally set off for school.
Before they left, though, Kaoru Sakura tossed her schoolbag to Sasuke.
Then she stood behind Illya, rested both hands on her shoulders, and called out energetically:
"Okay!"
"Bro, Illya!"
"Let's go!"
Sasuke had already gotten used to the awkwardness, while Illya was still getting used to it.
Sasuke slung Kaoru Sakura's schoolbag over one shoulder and carried the camera bag too, following behind Kaoru Sakura and Illya with an impassive expression.
The deep blue sky was cloudless, and the golden glow of dawn bathed all of Fuyuki.
The fresh air lifted their spirits.
On the way to school, they passed quite a few students in Homurahara Academy uniforms, most accompanied by family members.
The streets were positively brimming with youthful energy.
With Kaoru Sakura keeping things lively along the way, the trip wasn't boring.
But just as they reached the school gate, Sasuke and the others ran into Shirou Emiya and Rin Tohsaka.
In the distance, Shirou Emiya and Rin Tohsaka were walking together.
Kaoru Sakura had confirmed that the two of them were dating, though she didn't know exactly what had happened between them.
And apparently, Shirou Emiya had been the one to confess.
There was no way to keep something like that under wraps, and Rin Tohsaka had no intention of having some secret underground romance with Shirou Emiya.
So before long, just about everyone at school knew.
Kaoru Sakura had successfully shipped a real couple.
She'd also gotten to know Rin Tohsaka a little over the past while, such as when she went to the Tohsaka Residence for afternoon tea.
So when Kaoru Sakura saw the two of them, she went straight over.
"Good morning!"
"Morning, Rin! Senpai Emiya!"
Rin Tohsaka smiled at Kaoru Sakura as she jogged over.
"Mm, good morning, Kaoru."
Beside her, Shirou Emiya nodded.
"Good morning, Sakura."
After speaking, Shirou Emiya glanced at Sasuke and Illya, who were standing nearby.
Shirou Emiya didn't feel too awkward around Sasuke. After all, they'd fought side by side during the Holy Grail War.
But Illya had once been full of murderous intent toward him.
Although that aura had faded from Illya by now,
Shirou Emiya still felt somewhat guilty whenever he ran into her.
That was because when Shirou Emiya had learned about Kiritsugu Emiya from Saber, Saber had told him about the Einzbern family.
He'd also learned Illya's identity.
If he got the chance, Shirou Emiya still wanted to talk with Illya about Kiritsugu Emiya.
Perhaps there had been some misunderstanding.
While Shirou Emiya was still thinking about all this, Kaoru Sakura brought him back to the present.
Kaoru Sakura looked at Rin Tohsaka.
"Rin, could I trouble you to take a picture of us at the school gate?"
"I'll take one of you two, too!"
Rin Tohsaka was stumped by the request and hesitated for a moment.
"Ah... that..."
But Rin Tohsaka soon found someone to help. She grabbed Shirou Emiya and pulled him over.
"Let him do it. He knows more about this stuff."
Shirou Emiya knew Rin Tohsaka wasn't very good at using a camera, so he chuckled and looked at Kaoru Sakura.
"Let me do it, Sakura."
Kaoru Sakura had no objections. She immediately took the camera bag from Sasuke and handed it to Shirou Emiya.
Then Kaoru Sakura directed Sasuke and Illya to stand on either side of her.
At Kaoru Sakura's special request, Sasuke and Illya both wore cool, distant expressions.
Sasuke was told to put both hands in his pockets, while Illya was told to raise her chin slightly and look aloof.
Only Kaoru Sakura, standing in the middle, smiled.
After the photo was taken, Kaoru Sakura checked the shot on the camera and thought it looked incredibly cool!
It was a little goofy, sure, but it made for a great keepsake.
Just as Kaoru Sakura was about to take a picture of Shirou Emiya and Rin Tohsaka,
she really wanted to ask them something.
Why hadn't Sakura Matou, who was in the same class as her, come to school with them today?
And Kaoru Sakura and the others hadn't arrived particularly early, yet she still hadn't seen Sakura Matou.
Had she arrived early?
Or was she absent?
But since Shirou Emiya and Rin Tohsaka were already dating, Kaoru Sakura had enough tact not to ask in the end.
Before you continue