"I say, Miss Matou..."
The blue-haired boy raised his eyebrows repeatedly, speaking in a voice squeezed out between clenched teeth, directed at his sister, who was engrossed in a Greek mythology book.
"What is it, Young Master Matou?"
The purple-haired girl responded without lifting her head.
"And which Young Master Matou are you referring to? Me, or that kidney-deficient elder of ours? If you don't clarify, how am I supposed to know?"
"Hard to say... who could it be?"
The purple-haired girl twirled her hair playfully, humming softly. Her smug expression made the blue-haired boy itch to mess up her hair.
"Forget it..."
The boy sighed helplessly and spoke in a tone of resignation: "Do I have to attend today's viewing party?"
"Hm?"
Hearing the sensitive phrase, the girl finally lifted her gaze from the book.
"Miss Matou, I think you've misunderstood me. Can you stop playing games with me? If you really want to hit me, you don't need an excuse—just go for it. I'll lie on the floor and let you do whatever you want."
"Don't make it sound like you're some innocent girl surrendering to a criminal."
The girl shot him a look of disdain.
"Huh? Where did you even get that comparison, Miss Matou?"
The boy turned to his sister, visibly shocked.
"Isn't that your favorite type of metaphor? What's wrong, can't take it when it's turned on you?"
Her tone was brimming with schadenfreude.
"Miss Matou, you're overthinking it."
"Not at all. I've seen your drafts. That's exactly the kind of tone you love to use." The girl gave a triumphant smile. "Young Master Matou, isn't it actually you who has a problem with your smart, charming, and adorable sister?"
The boy stretched his neck and replied, "How could I? Miss Matou, you should be more confident. Since when have I ever defied you?"
"I say, could you two siblings stop talking in such a bizarre way?"
An exasperated voice came from Rin nearby.
"Bizarre?"
Both Shinji and Sakura raised their heads in perfect unison to look at Rin, speaking at the same time.
"Is that so, Miss Tohsaka?" x2
"Enough! You two, go hash it out in the little room!"
Rin pointed to a door in the distance, her voice tight with irritation.
"Well, I would if I could move," Shinji muttered, glancing down at himself. At the moment, he was tied to a chair in a shibari style.
As for why it was shibari...
Shinji could only attribute it to the craftsmanship of the Ryougi household.
Perhaps because his appearance was so comical, the employee lounge fell into an awkward silence.
Under the combined gazes of Rin and Sakura, Shinji began to sweat. He desperately wished the ropes would loosen up a bit to cool him down.
"Pfft—"
"Hey, Rin! You laughed, didn't you?"
"You two continuing to argue is just wasting time."
Ignoring Shinji's protest, Rin flashed a devilish smile and suggested, "How about a democratic vote? There are three of us here. We'll vote on whether Shinji can go home."
A democratic vote?
Shinji almost laughed out of frustration at Rin's proposal.
Three people, with himself being the only one who wanted to leave—what's the point of that vote?
He had already guessed Sakura's thoughts.
She was likely worried about feeling embarrassed during the viewing party due to certain scenes, so she had prepared to divert attention with a sparring match (with Shinji as the opponent).
Rin's intent was even simpler. She wasn't interested in hitting Shinji herself, but she sure enjoyed watching him get beaten—immensely.
Damn it, it's all because of that naive Sakura! If she hadn't handed the job of capturing me to Shiki-senpai, no one would've guessed there's an explosive scene in Episode 4 being shown today.
Shinji's death scene had been filmed in extreme secrecy. Even among the Servant cast, only a few knew about it.
Most of the crew only knew Shinji's character would die; the how remained a mystery.
But Shinji was certain that if given the chance, they'd all happily watch for fun.
In short, he couldn't sit around and wait to die!
He needed a way to leave quickly without embarrassing Sakura.
Shinji knew dragging Sakura back home wouldn't work, as it wouldn't stop others from watching Episode 4 of HF.
By tomorrow, the nosy Servants would definitely fan the flames when they all gathered again.
"I think," Shinji began, "with just the three of us, it doesn't really qualify as a democratic vote, does it?"
"What, are you suggesting we bring the Servants in to watch you make a fool of yourself?"
Sakura teased with a cold smile. Confident in her advantage, she maintained a calm demeanor.
"Go ahead, Onii-sama. What's your idea?"
"How about we play a censored version instead?" Shinji suggested, looking between the two ladies. "I have a special version here, tailored for internal viewing."
Normally, internal versions were longer than the original. However, Shinji's version not only wasn't extended but had much of the content cut down instead.
To be safe, Shinji added, "Miss Matou, what do you think? Surely you're not the kind of naughty little sister who just wants to beat up her brother for no reason, are you?"
His clumsy attempt at reverse psychology was instantly seen through, earning him a dramatic eye roll from Sakura.
"Heh~ You'll stop at nothing just to avoid a beating, huh?"
You said 'beating,' didn't you?! So all that talk about sparring practice was just an excuse, right?!
"Self-preservation is a basic human instinct," Shinji muttered, maintaining a low profile despite his inner ranting.
Shinji knew that surviving today meant keeping his head down for now.
Just you wait, Sakura. I'll live longer than you and play "It's a Beautiful Day" on a loudspeaker at your funeral!
"Alright," Sakura finally nodded. "What's your plan?"
"First, help me untie these ropes, and I'll head to the studio and grab the special version of the DVD," Shinji explained quickly.
"Hmm..."
Sakura pointed her slender finger at Shinji. "And how do I know you won't just grab a random version and trick me?"
"That's simple—we can preview it before everyone else arrives."
Shinji was confident that the version he had prepared would satisfy Sakura, especially since the attendees of the screening were mostly familiar with the series. They wouldn't need the same level of exposition as regular viewers.
What about Shiki-senpai?
Traitors have no rights to complain!
"Fine. But you'd better not go back on your word," Sakura said, preparing to untie Shinji.
However, just as her hand touched his chest, the lounge door burst open.
"Master! We're back—wait, what are you two doing?"
Arturia, carrying several items, froze at the sight of Shinji and Sakura. Without waiting for an explanation, she turned around.
"Sorry for interrupting. I'll tell everyone to come back in 30 minutes."
"GET BACK HERE!"
Shinji roared like an angry dragon.
"Too bad," Sakura said sweetly, retracting her hand and settling back onto the couch. "It looks like today is your unlucky day, dear Onii-sama."
Shinji pressed his lips together. He felt as though the universe itself had it out for him, always timing his humiliations perfectly.
As Shinji contemplated whether to visit a shrine or ask EMIYA for spiritual protection, others began trickling into the lounge.
"My, that Ryougi girl is so handy to have around. With her help, everything was a breeze," EMIYA said, praising Shiki as he unpacked food containers from Gilgamesh's treasury onto the table.
"An entire feast prepared so quickly," Gilgamesh said, narrowing his eyes at EMIYA. "You faker! If your hands so much as scratch one of my treasures—"
Enkidu casually slapped Gilgamesh on the back of the neck. "Come on, Gil, don't be so stingy."
"Ah, this is wonderful! Food, drinks, heroes, and a great story to enjoy!" Iskandar boomed. With a swing of his sword, he cut the ropes binding Shinji without damaging his clothes.
Under normal circumstances, Shinji would have cheered for Iskandar's precision. But now, he almost wished he were still tied up.
"Come on, Master, what are you waiting for?" Iskandar thrust a DVD case into Shinji's hands.
"Start the movie! Everyone's waiting!"
"It's not a movie..." Shinji mumbled, but it was pointless. No one was listening anymore.
"Hurry up, Master!"
"Everything's ready—food, drinks, all of it! Just waiting on you!"
"Master, there's no summoning ritual today, so we've got time to start early. The food's getting cold!"
Are you all just waiting for me to pull the trigger on myself?
Shinji glanced at Sakura, who only gave him a helpless look.
"Fine, I'll play it," he said, resigning himself to his fate. He unwrapped the DVD, inserted it into the player, and pressed play.
As he returned to the couch, Shinji picked up a piece of tuna sushi. Shiki's cooking was undeniably excellent—the freshness of the fish, the buttery richness, the sweetness of the rice, and the blend of flavors were truly top-notch.
But for Shinji, it tasted like a final meal before execution.
Meanwhile, the Servants were relaxed, chatting and laughing as they awaited the start of the episode.
The fourth episode of Heaven's Feel began immediately where the third left off. The ominous black shadow attacked Rin while everyone else was off guard.
"Rin!"
Archer reacted swiftly, shoving his Master out of harm's way and taking the attack in her stead.
Crunch!
The sound of a blade piercing flesh filled the room.
"Archer?"
A stunned Rin, now out of harm's way, stared at her Servant in shock, unable to process what had just happened.
Both the characters on screen and the viewers in the room realized the same chilling truth—Archer was done for.
The episode opened with a nightmare scenario for the protagonists, setting the stage for chaos to come.
<+>
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