Beta read and Co written by Gamercrusher55 and Shigiya.
LEMON Warning!
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-Fuyuki, Shinto Hotel Luxury Suites-
(A few days before)
The elevator gave a low chime before its doors slid open, revealing a long hallway lined with polished floors and soft lighting that tried too hard to hide the rot beneath. It was a normal corridor by hotel standards–clean, quiet, and almost welcoming–yet it reeked of tension to her. This wing was reserved for Atrum's subordinates, and the atmosphere reflected that. Calm on the surface, but one wrong move and it would all explode.
"Will you pick up the pace? Stop walking so slow and come over here," the man ahead barked without even looking behind.
Following the man, stepped out a woman who looked like she'd just walked off a fashion shoot that couldn't decide between casual and provocative with a light application of make-up. Her gray-green hair fell in sharp, sleek strands around a face that was equal parts youthful and meticulously made up. The white tank top clung like it was on a mission, paired with hot pink sweatpants that somehow managed to be both comfortable and a statement. Her figure was the kind you'd expect to see airbrushed on a magazine cover—curves, hips, and all—but here she was, real and unapologetic. Attractive? Undeniably. Confident? Absolutely. Though she might've toned it down a notch if she cared what anyone thought. Beside her, the guy she was with had been staring since she stepped out of the elevator, his gaze about as subtle as a wrecking ball.
"Don't you have any consideration for a frail woman? I believe I am keeping an adequate pace." She replied coolly, neither bothered nor even angered by the kind of response she got from the impatient henchman in front of her. "I have a name too, Mr. Henchman number one."
Talking man stiffened in place, a vein throbbing on his forehead as he slowly whispered. "Tch, try acting coy with me again, and I don't care if you're the boss's favorite toy, I will punch you."
"Wah, scary~."
They continued to walk in silence through the hotel's normal hallway for residents, where most of Atrum's subordinates had been staying while they weren't working. "Oi, what are you doing?" He asked, seeing the woman stop following him. "Are you wasting my time again!?"
"Not really, just observing the hallway for anything exploitable."
"Don't start talking nonsense, fucking whore."
"At least call me Riki." She added, not at all bothered how her words kept pushing the man further to his limits. His face turned red with anger at this point. "Since you won't even use my real name, then surely a nickname will suffice. Oh look over there… the vent is big enough for me to pass through…"
"Just shut to hell up, Reik—" the man immediately halted his words when he turned around to find the woman having the same lazy smile on her face, the edge of her mouth stretching further as he nearly fell into her trap. His heart pounding, a dangerous smile that even after being exposed to for many days kept making his heart skip a beat.
No wonder the boss liked her.
"Just… just follow me."
Soon, the woman and that brute walked in silence until they eventually came to the room where the individual in question should have been waiting for them. "Alright, once we go in don't start blabbing out of nowhere, okay?"
"Yes~"
"..."
Taking a deep breath, he knocked at the door again, uttering loudly, "We're working for Sagara's boss. Is he here?"
A few seconds went by, yet no answer came from the other side. Weird, he was pretty sure this was the address, and the number in front of the door matched. Taking a look around, spotting no other soul aside from them, but clearly this was where they were intended to meet the Galliasta Magus or his associates. Feeling something amiss, he still knocked again but without saying a word.
No answer.
Still, years of experience told him that something was not right. There were no bounded fields or any sort of spells as far as he could tell. "Stay back, the last thing I want is to die if the goods get damaged."
"..."
Now the silence came from behind, a chill creeped up his spine and he turned his attention back to the woman only for her to be standing there staring outside the window showcasing the nightlights of Fuyuki with a dazed, almost lost look in her eyes. Any movements or even him calling her out prove to be useless for she did not even seem to notice him anymore.
"What the hell is happ—urgh!" his voice came to a stop as an intense source of pain sprouted from his chest. Eyes looking downwards only to widen with horror to see the sight of a bloody sword sticking out of his chest. The weapon appeared from the other side of the door where he could even see the skeletal hand that was holding it.
Both of which crumbled in seconds, disappearing without a trace as his body fell to the ground with any signs of life disappearing from his eyes.
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"Hm?" A few seconds passed, and the woman regained clarity, as if having been woken up from a strange state of slumber, she came to her senses. "Oh my, and here I thought my first time getting this distracted by the beautiful view of the city would have ended with Tokyo. Hm? Ah…"
Only as she took a step forward, the brunette heard the sound of her high heels stepping on some sort of puddle. Discovering blood pooling onto the ground, all of it coming from the corpse right next to her. The large hole in its chest still gushed with what little blood remained.
"Mr. Henchman number one?" Despite this discovery at first she showed no signs of fear or even sadness. Just a plain confusion and shock as her mind tried to catch up with what happened, going so far as to slightly nudge the man to make sure he was dead.
Before she even realized he was dead, she instinctively covered her mouth to muffle her scream, her face suddenly going pale at her first sight of a dead body.
"MRRRRRRMPH"
Her legs shook and a part of her immediately sought to go as far away from this as possible, but halted as if she knew that, that be it was where she went or the sound she would make would decide if she lived or if she died.
Spotting the hole in the door, she stepped closer and, almost on autopilot, twisted the handle. The door groaned open, revealing a dimly lit, lavish room that looked about as menacing as a spa day. No killer in sight. "Hello~? Mr. Atrum?" she called out, her tone more curious than concerned.
Surprised and wondering how the man had died with no one present, she walked in, her curiosity soon came across a small bundle under the bed, pulling the cloth away only to find something she had not expected. "Children? Where did all of these kids come from?" A handful of them were sleeping peacefully, completely detached from anything that had happened just now and leaving her a bit stumped.
"... Did we really get the right room? There's no way they…?"
The surrounding stirred, the very space around her almost coming to life and transforming without the woman even realizing it. A strange light flashed before her eyes, making her fall into a trance-like state, no longer present in mind alone.
One by one, she grabbed a child and walked to the exit of the room, the previous corpse now no longer in sight or even the slightest trace of blood. The door itself has been fixed, and the surroundings are returning to resemble that of a luxurious room.
{Break}
"Hoh, interesting."
Within a dark room with the only source of light being the very Moon from the outside and a small crystal ball emanating a gentle glow, Caster watched the scene of the newcomers arriving in the room. The death of the man who, for the most part, felt something was off about the entire situation, she had to give him mild credit for, but it was too late.
As for the woman, Caster didn't know much about her beyond what Atrum had let slip after his chat with Sagara. Apparently, she was a prostitute—though that label felt too simple for someone like her. Sure, she had the kind of looks that could make men lose their heads, but there was something… off about her. Not your average working girl, that much was clear.
Blood did not faze her as it normally would have; there was a separation from where she was and reality. Death brought no too drastic a fearful reaction, which made her believe this to be a Magus, or at least someone outside the norm. But a simple hypnosis spell worked without any resistance, which led her to believe this to be at most a third-rate magecraft user who got lucky, or even at least just a regular person.
Still, as she watched the woman carry the kids away from the building, ignoring the other corpses of people stationed in different parts of the building and even complaining about having her high heels getting dirty — Caster couldn't help but laugh.
A sliver of genuine amusement, something she hadn't felt in a long time, settled quietly in her chest. "My, oh my, no matter the era, I suppose interesting people can always be found at every corner of the world." As for her fate after this small… incident, Caster paid it no mind. Atrum would not dare to waste any more resources on some prostitute hiding about, and as far as anyone else was concerned — she was just busying herself inside this room and finishing her little project with the leylines.
Still, best to keep an eye on that woman, just in case she needed her again.
{Break}
-Emiya Residence-
(Present)
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(Lemon warning)
"Just for today, I want you to love me."
There were too many things happening at once in his life for Shirou in Fuyuki, it was simply too much to keep up with. Each day brought new people, new complications, and he was starting to feel like he was drowning in it all. In the middle of this chaos, his home remained the one stable point—where he could breathe, reflect, and prepare for whatever came next.
But this... this particular moment shattered that calm. The words Sakura had just spoken were something he never expected to hear. Not from her. They sounded like something pulled from the depths of his more vivid dreams, the kind he usually woke from feeling embarrassed, ashamed, and restless. Lately, those dreams have been appearing more often, with more than just one familiar face involved.
"S-Sakura…" By some miracle, he managed to squeeze out these words, wondering what exactly happened for the young girl to take this particular approach. Heart beating like a drum, a slightly flushed face, and eyes filled with pure astonishment, he waited for her answer. "You don't… You don't have to go this far."
Mind reeling with what was mentioned, trying to make sense with little success. Was the battle against Berserker the reason? Had he done something to make her do such a thing? 'No, that can't be.'
The moment inside the bathroom, it did not happen because of what he thought and Shirou could not deny that at this point he was just trying to come up with a cause… unable to see why Sakura saw him under such a light to begin with. He wanted to know more, ask questions as to what happened to her, what that old monster did to her and reassure her that everything would be alright.
Yet here he was, Frozen in place at the mere touch of her fingers gently gliding around his chest. Feeling the flight cold breeze as his shirt was removed, the look in her eyes growing more hazy, filled with a fog of pure desire and lust. "Senpai…" she whispered, visibly pushing back against those feelings.
The same happened with him, the entire time his eyes taking in the sight of her exposed upper body, A large pair of plump breasts, pinkish nipples fully erect. His heart skipped a beat when her delicate fingers took hold of his own, leading them to her chest, where the first touch brought out a sensual moan from the girl.
"I… you can feel my heart, right, senpai?" She asked with a whisper, to which he nodded, both of their hearts beating erratically. She felt like it would burst out of her chest at any moment. "I know you kept quiet about many things for my sake, but… I can't. My body is burning up, every second around you feels like pure torture for me lately."
He didn't doubt her for a second—her words were honest. But the way she described it, like her body was on fire just being near him, he needed to know more. "Sakura," he started, his voice steady but edged with concern, "What's really going on with you? Is it… the worm?" No point tiptoeing around it now, especially when he felt her tense up the moment the word left his mouth.
Despite being without a trace of clothes in front of him, with his hands still groping onto her chest, for the first time she looked away with shame. "Yes, It's the crest worm of the Matou family, related to the magecraft used by grandfather with there being thousands more of these familiars around the manor."
Her voice quivered, visibly trembling ever so slightly.
"It draws from my magical energy, nurturing my body to transform a girl without Matou blood into someone capable of wielding their magecraft. But the constant siphoning causes my body to heat up with several… side effects, one of which flares up every time — even more so when I'm around you." Her body moved, her hips swing back and forth on top of him as he could feel the damp sensation of crotch grinding against his member, bringing out a groan from him.
"S-Sakura," He called out her name, sensation involuntarily making him need her breast, the softness, the overall feel and the touch of her nipples against his fingers making the experience more addicting than he ever thought.
"It was manageable at first, I could masturbate quietly in my room. But each day, my body just kept wanting more, and just touching myself alone somewhere quiet was no longer enough. Like an inch deep within that cannot be reached, so I started taking risks. Whenever you were taking a shower, whenever you were out late, or whenever you were within your shed… I would use your belongings to make myself feel better. I smelled your clothes, I touched myself at the sound of you showering, I even did it right next to you when you were sleeping."
The sweet scent of honey, The wet patches he would occasionally find in his room, and scratch his head in confusion at their presence, it all made sense to him now. Yet despite everything she said, the only reaction that came out of him was his member hardening even at the image conjured by his mind.
"Hn!" Her body stiffened as she continued to rub herself, his grasp on her breast coming more tighter, yet she seemed to enjoy it. "You see, senpai, that's the kind of girl you kept around you for so many days. A tainted girl who can only think about pushing herself onto you whenever you least expect it! Someone you risked your life at every opportunity yet she can only just think about herself! It's weird right? You must feel disgusted at this site, right!? But I can't help myself! No matter how much I try it just keeps getting worse! Even now just a simple touch almost made me climax and it made me crave more of it! A dirty woman you took under your roof! I… I-I—!?"
With each sentence that left her mouth, the louder her voice became. The despair and shame on her face grew by the second until tears started to stream down her cheeks. The way she described herself, it almost made him certain that the girl sought an extreme reaction from him of some sort, for him to prove her point and agree with those statements.
But he couldn't do so.
How could he call such a girl dirty? Whatever Zouken did to her, he swore to make him pay one way or another, but for now — he could not just sit there and listen to this nonsense.
So by forcefully gathering his wits and strength, the boy got up from the ground and pressed his lips against hers without any hesitation. His other free hand tracing the back of her neck till he gently pulled her deeper into the kiss.
It was clumsy—he had no idea what he was doing, no clue if this was even close to how it was supposed to go. But before he could second-guess himself, she met him halfway. Her lips were soft but insistent, pressing against his with a hunger that surprised him. Her legs hooked around his waist like they'd done this a hundred times before, her hands tangling in his hair to pull him closer. Then her tongue slid into his mouth, bold and unapologetic, exploring like she owned the place. He froze for a second, caught off guard, but she didn't give him time to think—just took what she wanted, leaving him no choice but to follow her lead.
An addicting taste filled his mouth when their tongues finally met, the flavor he could only describe as sweet yet somewhat pleasant at the same time. She, too, must have been tasting his, but instead of pulling away, her hand wrapped behind his neck and pulled him closer.
Seconds passed, and both indulged in the feeling, only separating just to take a breather. A string of saliva connecting their lips. "Hah… hah… hah…" Intense, that was the only way he could describe the experience, and overwhelmed by how Sakura took control bit by bit.
"I don't think you are a dirty woman or tainted like you keep saying," He whispered, grabbing her by the waist to make sure she wouldn't leave him. "We have known each other for years, I got to see you closely every time and not once such thoughts ever crossed my mind. Whatever Zouken did to you, all of the things you believe will make me look at you differently. It's just not true."
Her breast trust against his chest, he could feel her heartbeat just as she could feel his. The warmth she gave off, her very presence that made his body want to push her to the ground and take her as his. All of it screaming for him as more blood rushed to his crotch.
"... You're not lying, are you?" She asked, both surprised and having a slight amount of disbelief in her eyes as he smiled at the girl. "Then prove it to me. Show that you don't see me in that light and take me right now."
She had no idea the effect those words had on him, this mere action of keeping his calm having become much more difficult. Like the voice of a siren playing hypnotic music to his ears, forcing his body to almost act in a different way than what his mind wanted. Part of him wondered if the only reason he could keep his sanity for so long happened to be because of being exposed to Rider for so long.
The very allure coming off of this woman was much different to the Servant, both innocent yet very erotic.
Shivers spread across the skin when her hand trailed downwards, rubbing the bulge that desperately wanted to be set free. A chuckle escaped her lips when he let out another groan and squeezed her waist harder, taking in her scent, which only served to chip away at his sanity down to nothing but a storm of lust.
"You became like that because of me, didn't you..." No words left his lips, the very action of him nodding was too much for him to bear.
Sakura's hands were delicate and slow, teasing him with gentle strokes along the fabric of his pants and tracing her fingers against his length. "Just stay still, let me handle this."
Her hand slipped within, removing the layer of fabric and let out a small gasp as his member sprung out, firmly pressing against her slit. The juices coating it, the urge to surrender to his instincts, and push it in almost overtook his rationality.
"Ah~! So this is it… senpai's dick… it's big… and warm." Her honey-filled voice reached his ears, sounding increasingly more erotic than ever before. "I-If I don't do it correctly or it starts hurting, then let me know, okay?"
Hurt? The only thing that brought him any sort of discomfort at this moment was the sheer effort he was investing to hold himself back. For Shirou feared the things he would do to her if he let his instincts take over, the girl in his embrace felt almost fragile, and he did not want to hurt her.
Eyes shining with various emotions, his eyes widened when her mouth opened, tongue sticking out with a thin trail of saliva dripping on the tip of his dick. He could not contain himself, a sharp breath leaving his lips when her hand finally grasped his dick. Sakura smiled at him and continued to play with it, wasting no time to stroke the member, her touch being the sweetest thing he has ever experienced and not wanting it to end. She continued to stroke it with more vigor, making him shudder at the new pleasure. The sensation felt like a burst of electricity coursing through his spine, all the way to his mind where it intensified with each of her strokes.
Her breasts felt so soft in his hands, like fresh marshmallows, and they weighed heavily upon them. So far, he only knew Rider that had a bigger chest than hers, and Bazett as well when he took care of her after the fight against Caster… maybe three with Luvia — but he never gave those thoughts any attention at the time. Deciding to save that question for later, he started to play with them like a child with a new toy. Sakura moaned when he started to squeeze them.
The redhead started to play with her pink nubs, tweaking them between her fingers and feeling them harden further under his touch as her cries of pleasure became intoxicating to listen.
Not a second later he felt her fidget on his lap, grinding onto his exposed groin, coating it more with her juices while her hand played with the head of his dick. She pulled him closer to her breast, nearly suffocating him. Without even having control of his actions, Shirou found himself sucking on them like a babe, his tongue playing around with her nipple. "A-Ah! Senpai~! N-Nothing is going to come out of there~!"
Sakura leaned forward, the sensation of her soft and warm breath on his neck, biting his ears making him bite on her nipples harder.
"Hmmmm! A-Aaaaa—mmm!"
He released her breast from his mouth and pulled her into a kiss, making sure to keep Sakura in place as his hand started to move to her rear. All of his actions were purely fueled by desire without any thought put into them, but the way she was moaning told him that he was at least doing a good job. Her actions were almost torturous, the feeling of her fingers caressing his flesh making him tremble.
His heart raced, every breath he took felt heavy as his lungs tried to take in as much oxygen as they could.
"Ah!" He couldn't take it anymore, his cock throbbing with desire as his hands slipped down her skirt and grabbed her ass and went further until it reached her pussy, a single touch making her body tremble as more liquid came out from the orgasm.
Shirou did not want her to stop, the desire to just throw her down and thrust himself inside of her growing stronger with each passing second. But he held himself back, wanting the moment to last as much as possible.
She was wet and warm, the scent of her sex filling his nostrils and clouding his thoughts.
His fingers dug into her skin, her moans of pleasure and excitement ringing in his ears as his fingers went deeper. His heart was beating faster, the lust within his veins pumping his member with every second. She was so close, he could feel her wetness and warmth.
A whimper left her mouth when he pulled away from her, his hand moving towards her chin and lifting her gaze towards his.
The look of pleasure and desire in her eyes was unmistakable, her cheeks flushed as she stared at him with longing. Sakura licked her lips, her breathing becoming heavier as her grip tightened on his cock.
"S-Senpai! Hah… hah… I… hah… I can't wait anymore!"
"I'm close too!" He couldn't resist, his hands wrapping around her waist and pulling her close.
The sensation of her breasts pressing against his chest was indescribable, his hands moving up her body and cupping her mounds again. Her eyes widened when his tongue brushed against her nipples, her breathing becoming heavier as the pressure built.
"Senpai!"
Despite feeling a bit overwhelmed and lost, he continued to follow through with his actions until the boy could no longer hold back. "Sakura!"
With a word of warning, he could not hold back as his thick ropes of semen burst out of his cock, coating her in his seed, to the point where he thought that someone accidentally spilt paint on her. His cum being all over her hair, face and breasts — slowly trailing down her body. The girl, not stopping her movement and pumped more and more until it stopped. "I-I'm sorry," seeing her state, a moment of panic settled in Shirou.
So lost in the moment that he ended up covering her, the sight itself made the fire within him burn with more intensity. Erotic beyond belief, making him more entranced than any of those porn magazines Shinji would occasionally show him back in the day when they were still friends. He tried to remind himself that this was Sakura, who he'd known as a staple of his life, and as basically a part of what made this place home. Ashamed of himself, he needed to act quickly before things got more awkward because of him. "I'll b-bring a tissue for you, just give me a sec—ughn!"
Yet as he tried to get up, his entire body came to a screeching halt when he felt her grip on his shaft tightening. "Sa… Sakura?"
Looking back at her, He saw her gaze still intently looking down at his dick. Breathing heavily with they're being no changes to her expression, liquid trickling down her pussy. "You got hard again."
His face flushed crimson, unable to say anything otherwise, as he felt a bit ashamed of his libido.
"—!"
The girl moved, pushing onto his chest until he found himself on his back, looking at her on top of him, going back to the position they were before. But this time, the emotions within her eyes were much more intense. "Senpai's scent… your essence is all over my body~!" Her hands lay across her body, further rubbing the semen onto her skin until she touched her lower parts. Rubbing it and mixing both of their essence together. "More, I want more of you inside me this time."
He gulped, unable to lie to himself that at this moment, he felt a bit intimidated. But that emotion was quickly replaced by something else as she grabbed onto his shaft and placed it right at her entrance. Pushing gently until her slit was pressed against the tip of his cock.
"Finally… I love you, Senpai."
A whimper escaped his lips, but the girl did not stop her descent. He could feel the heat radiating from her, the sensation of her walls tightening around him as he was pushed further into her depths. He could feel his mind getting overwhelmed, unable to think clearly due to the pleasure, but the sight before him made the effort worth it.
She looked beautiful, the way her body arched and her head tilted backwards as she moaned his name, the sensation driving him insane. His sanity was dwindling with there being nothing but a thin membrane separating his mind from turning into something that might hurt her.
"So deep! Yes… senpai hah… this feels… hah… too good!" The way she wouldn't stop swaying her hips, grinding and jumping up and down from his cock with nothing but the sound of her moans and their skins hitting one another filling the room. "Ah!... Mmm! Ah! Aha… Aaa!"
At first her movements were slow, but by now it has turned intense, wild and frantic. Her walls gripping onto his penis as if to never let go. The sight of her hair dancing in the air, the ecstasy on her face… the lewd expression on her face that he never imagined to ever see outside of his dreams. Her breasts bouncing without anything holding them, still coated in his essence.
All of it served to further stimulate him and make the pleasure practically unbearable. "Ah, ah. Ha, aha… It's getting bigger, Senpai… Does it feel good…? Mm… aha, ah! …Ah… It feels good for me too!"
"Sakura, if y-you move so quickly then I won't be able to—"
"I can't stop!" She exclaimed, leaning down to seal his mouth with hers, breaking it and starting to suck on his neck and grabbing onto his hair while her waist continued to move up and down at a faster rate. "Sorry… ah! Aha!... Hah…. Ah~! I can't control myself anymore, I want more of you! I can't stop my hips… I don't want to stop!"
At that moment, Shirou felt his mind turn hazy, and any form of reasoning left him immediately.
"Ah!"
His arms grabbed onto her waist, his hips started moving, slamming her down onto his cock without stopping and listening to the sounds of her cries. He didn't slow down in his thrusts, and Sakura was fine with that—happy in fact.
She didn't want him to go slow, she didn't want him to be gentle. Fucking with her powerful thrusts their sweat-covered bodies rubbing against each other, both of us lost in total euphoria. After years of his confusing emotions, all of the moments he found himself gazing at her body when she was not looking, the dreams he would have at times, all of the pent-up sexual frustration were being released at this very moment.
Wet squelching could be heard in the room while Sakura moans left her lips. He watched as Sakura's breasts jiggled from his thrusts, before rising up and engulfing one of her nipples in his mouth, doubling her pleasure.
"Ah, senpai! You really love them, don't you?" She giggled, a statement he could once again not deny.
After a while, he let go of her breasts and grabbed her wide hips, and started to fuck her faster, Sakura wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs tightening around his waist, she moaned loudly from his actions as he continued at a faster pace. Her inner walls further tightened around his shaft.
"Aaargh!" Shirou felt the pressure building and about to be released at any moment, the smallest trace of clarity making him realize what he was about to do, and thus attempted to pull his cock out.
"No!"
But the violet-haired girl sensed his intentions and plunged back in, pushing his member deeper than it ever went and making it impossible to hold it in any longer. "Aaaah!" he let out a roar as he filled her with cum, his orgasm hit him like a truck, the intense feeling washing over him and leaving him gasping for breath.
His cock twitched inside her, his cum spilling into her womb, coating her walls and filling everything. Sakura twitched, having orgasmed multiple times, continuing to extract as much as she could from him and not leaving a drop. "All of it… give it to me…"
She leaned against him for support, while he pulled himself out, letting more thick globs spill from her gaping snatch. Thus felt the last remnants of his energy fade away like a candle being snuffed out–his body nearly collapsing backward, with nothing there to soften the fall.
"—?"
Only for something soft and squishy pressed against the back of his head, slowly pulling him down till he came to rest on what felt like thighs. Opening his eyes, despite exhaustion making such a task difficult, he managed to catch strands of purple hair filling his vision and Rider looking down on him with a small smile.
'How long were you here?'
That was what he wanted to say but such words did not come out of his mouth, only drowsiness taking over his consciousness and his eyes slowly closing. Soft hands gently caressing his face with a phrase reaching his ears.
"You did well, Master."
(Lemon end)
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{Break}
(A few hours later)
Rider had to admit, she never would have believed that things between her Master and Sakura would have reached this point so early. Not that she was complaining, the young girl deserved a bit of happiness and had eyes on the boy for quite a while, evidently, but the said boy in question was not exactly the best at reciprocating those feelings in a proper way.
From the moment she was summoned till now, his personality became clearer to her and she could see that even if he held feelings for her, he would never be the one to take the first step. This was further amplified by another side of him that she discovered recently, a side that made her realize that the boy was incapable of accepting the idea of someone else loving him.
Or maybe he did, but just could not bring himself to accept that, cornered into a destructive mindset that would sooner or later lead to his death.
In a way, she was happy that Sakura gathered the courage to do what she did, for it not only saved the girl but also grounded the boy. "You're already awake?" She said, being pulled away from her thoughts as she sensed someone walking to the porch. Seeing it was none other than Sakura who had woken up a few minutes away from dawn.
"You look healthier," Rider commented, seeing the natural glow to her face with any presence of that built-up frustration being completely gone. Rider could swear that she could see a healthy afterglow on the girl. Her words made the girl flush with embarrassment, said reaction that made her want to tease her even further. "I'm surprised you can walk after how wildly you two were going back there."
Which she did.
"R-Rider! Don't say that out loud!" The violet-haired girl reacted, aghast. "You were watching?"
"Of course." She answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "I had to make sure he performed adequately, if things were to get awkward or you were to get cold feet, then maybe I could have done something to spice things up~."
Though her words sounded suggestive with her tone not helping with that impression at all, Rider had not really planned to interfere at any moment back there. Sakura deserved to have her peace, a moment where it was just the two of them without any third parties interfering for no reason. In a strange way, she felt proud that the girl was able to accomplish that without her help.
But much to her surprise, the girl actually came forth and hugged her out of nowhere. The action was so sudden and unexpected that the Heroic Spirit found herself stunned, not knowing what to do or even say at that moment.
"Thank you, Rider. For giving me courage and taking care of senpai." She said warmly, voice sounding a bit muffled but clear to Rider, who nodded.
"Don't. I did nothing to earn such praise. This was all due to your effort."
"No, I mean it. Without you, I don't know when exactly I could have gotten the strength to do such a thing, and without you, I don't know if he would have even been around long enough to survive half of the things that have happened so far. You are just as important to us as he is to me."
"..."
She did not know what to say in return. Express gratitude for what was mentioned? Dismiss those claims as major exaggerations? Or even deny them? Even with those options, the woman just could not bring herself to do so and just kept her silence. Noting something else within Sakura's voice.
"You know, when you and he were facing Berserker and his Master, I hated no one else more at that moment than myself."
"Sakura…"
"No, let me finish, please." The girl insisted. "I am not like my sister, who is a prodigy. I am not as hardworking as him and I lack plenty of traits to make me a competent mage. Even though I am one, I was unable to do anything back there to come up even with some spells to my knowledge, I was no different from a helpless person who needed to be saved again. I hate that feeling, I do not want him to always jump in the middle of danger and put his life at risk for my sake while I stay behind and do nothing."
"But you are doing something," Rider added, caressing Sakura's face with a bit of hesitation. "Wouldn't he feel more motivated with you by his side? He has something to fight for, something that will keep him alive."
"Eh?"
She wondered if telling her about what she learned about her Master back then with the ideal, whether or not she would come to realize that there was something seriously wrong with him, and how he needed something to keep him from going even further past a certain point of no return. But she doesn't want to do so behind his back, not like this at least.
"Nothing."
The young girl sighed, "Even if that is the case, I wish… no, I know I can do more." As she said that, The sleeves of her hand will be pulled back to show three distinct patterns present at the back of her hand, which were not there before. Rider's mouth was slightly agape with shock and she immediately reeled in any emotions.
"It was only a matter of time, I knew this and so did Grandfather. With the Matou being one of the founding families that created this system, it had to happen. I am the only eligible one; onii-sama does not possess any working circuits to be chosen." She knew that her brother had them, but it would take an impossibly vast amount of energy to open them, according to her grandfather, and even attempting to do so was a waste of time. Her hand rested on top of her chest, "He already knows."
Rider felt a heavy feeling force its way in her being, but before she could say anything, Sakura spoke once more.
"I don't plan on abandoning senpai, nor will I ever betray him. I cannot even think of doing such a thing in the first place, no matter how much pain my grandfather may put me through." She clenched her hands, taking a deep breath and looking at the Servant where her blindfold was. "I also do not plan on running away forever and hiding behind Shirou. I want to protect him, the same way as you do. We both know what Nee-san plans to do, for all we know, she has already accomplished it. At this point, I am probably the last one remaining."
"We can think of another way, Sakura." Rider insisted, not liking where this was going. "The strain on your magical energy alone holding back your condition will be…" Rider didn't want to finish the thought.
"I wish that were the case, but that would only mean asking senpai to go above and beyond again to save me while putting his life in danger. He already has enough to deal with, and the last thing I want is for him to attempt the impossible. Again, I don't want to abandon him and… I will deal with my grandfather myself. He's calling me back."
Even with the blindfold, Rider's frown could not be hidden. "Shirou will just storm into that place, you know it."
"But that won't solve anything but just make grandfather more angry. He can't kill him."
She'd seen too much of her grandfather's invincibility to ever consider anyone could kill him. She knew that his true self was too hidden for just anyone to locate. She could still remember Uncle Kariya. Her hand unconsciously formed into fists, squeezing tighter and tighter until her nails almost punctured her palms. She banished the thought of the only one who tried to save her long ago, who genuinely cared about her more than her parents. She knew too much and saw too much to hold onto such hope as she watched him die.
Sakura smiled, taking Rider's hand into hers and looking at the woman with a gentle smile. "Just keep him safe, make sure he does not do anything that might endanger him, and have him know that I will be back. Buy me time."
"You are asking me to go against my Master's wishes."
"I am," she did not bother to hide or even tell any lies. "I can't have this conversation with him, he would never agree to it. But… just once, I want him to look at me as someone reliable."
"What if this plan of yours, whatever it might be, ends up not working?" Rider asked again, her emotions getting more riled up by the second, more so than she ever imagined to feel for someone else. "A Servant will not magically solve everything."
"Grandfather will not risk counting on luck alone, I'm sure he has something prepared for me." Sakura answered with confidence. "And I came to learn and understand more about his magecraft than anyone, it won't just be a Servant alone."
She did not want to let go, Rider hated that idea and wished things could be different. But she had no choice but to trust the person in front of her, hoping that whatever she had planned would work out.
"...Don't blame me if by dawn the first thing you hear outside your house is him screaming your name and busting through the door without any sense of self-preservation."
Sakura chuckled, "I won't. Besides… I think he's too exhausted to wake up that early." She gave the Servant another hug, this one lasting longer, and even took the opportunity to whisper. "Next time… c-can you give me some tips on how to make him feel better during sex? I-I don't think my method was really that good…"
Rider found herself a bit caught off guard; the girl sure had gotten quite bold after a single session with the boy. Whether or not it was a good thing, she couldn't tell, "Of course, though don't you feel even a bit defensive with someone like me getting this close to your relationship?"
Sakura shook her head, "No, as long as it's you, for some reason I don't mind."
"..."
Again, Rider did not know how to feel about that.
After that, she watched the girl gather little to nothing of her belongings before making her way to the gates. Bowing one last time and walking away in the distance, though, before she left, she saw Sakura grab a particular item from Shirou's shed before leaving.
Woosh!
As soon as Sakura's figure disappeared in the distance, Rider instantly reappeared across the streets, where beneath the bushes a small worm crawled across the surface. With a single action, her boots squashed the creature before it could even react.
An expression of disgust momentarily flashed across her face as she looked in the distance.
"You really are underestimating to what lengths he will go through… stay safe, Sakura."
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The next 5 chapters of Snafu, and my other Fate fics (Fate Coiling Sword with 3 chapters, A Fake Familiar Reborn with 3 chapters, Steel Eyed Faker soon to be 3 chapters, Hound having 3 and To love a sword having 4 chapters) are already available on my P@treon. With 4 more Broly chapters at /NimtheWriter. Also, I post commissioned arts on each story, already posted a few on an Archer's Promise, Broly and Snafu.