June 21, 2004.
5:42 PM.
Japan, the Green Leaf City inbound expressway.
A black sedan sped down the fast lane of the highway.
Illya, seated in the driver's seat with her seatbelt fastened and her hands on the wheel, was delighted.
"Sasuke, I like this car Rin gave me."
The person sitting in the passenger seat was Sasuke Uchiha.
Sasuke reclined calmly against his seat and silently nodded.
After the matter involving Sakura Matou had ended, Rin Tohsaka wanted to express her gratitude and asked Sasuke and Illya whether they needed anything.
Naturally, Sasuke did not.
Illya, on the other hand, asked Rin Tohsaka for a car.
Illya had originally owned a car, but it had been caught up in the battle between Sasuke and Gilgamesh, leaving not even ashes behind.
Not only could Illya drive, she had a license and was quite skilled behind the wheel.
Sasuke had no idea how many times he had heard Illya say that along the way, though he had not responded even once.
Perhaps because it was a workday, there were not many cars on the road.
Still, theirs was probably the fastest car on this highway right now.
Illya had already overtaken countless vehicles along the way.
But this was neither the car's limit nor Illya's.
In any case, safe driving was what mattered.
Sasuke's phone, tucked in his pocket, chimed with a text message notification. Illya asked:
"Has Kaoru already arrived in Green Leaf City?"
Sasuke calmly pulled his phone from his coat pocket, checked the message, and replied:
"Yeah."
"She got there not long ago. She said she was going to drop off her luggage at the hotel first."
Today was the first day of Homurahara Academy's school trip.
It was a short group excursion involving an overnight stay, attended