Walking to school, Emiya Shirou found the journey unusually challenging today.
It wasn't due to road construction or anything like that. In fact, the street was relatively empty and spacious.
Even if he wanted to act out some chuunibyou fantasy, Shirou felt there'd be no issue.
The real reason the walk felt tough was the two girls beside him: Tohsaka Rin and Matou Sakura.
One was the school's renowned refined lady, the other a gentle and sweet underclassman. Most guys would be insanely jealous to see two such girls walking with him, but Shirou didn't consider it a good thing.
From the moment they left the house, they'd been walking for over ten minutes, and in that time, Rin and Sakura hadn't said a word to each other. Yet, even without words, Shirou could feel the charged atmosphere between them.
It was a palpable tension, a silent rivalry, radiating an unmistakable "keep out" vibe.
After a moment's thought, Shirou slowed his pace, letting the two girls walk ahead of him.
Perhaps their silent standoff had finally run its course, because after a while, they started talking.
Rin spoke first.
This girl, who in Shirou's mind was the quintessential high-class lady with few friends, turned to Sakura. "Matou-san, you seem quite interested in a certain someone."
What was Rin talking about? Who's this "certain someone"? Was she referring to Morpheus? Shirou wondered silently.
"A certain someone?" Sakura replied with a slight smile. "What do you mean, Tohsaka-senpai? I don't quite follow."
"Oh, really?" Rin smiled back, as if Sakura had said something amusing.
Shirou felt increasingly validated in his decision to hang back and let them walk ahead.
If he were still walking side by side with them, he'd be drowning in awkwardness, probably wanting to dig a hole with his toes.
At the same time, Shirou couldn't help analyzing the situation.
Strange. Morpheus is a Servant, so he shouldn't have appeared here before. Why is Sakura so fixated on him? And it's clear Rin's noticed too. Sakura's not the type to act like this, but she's definitely clashing with Rin now…
Could it be that someone who looks like Morpheus met Sakura before, maybe even got along well with her, so now she's curious seeing Morpheus?
Or is it because she noticed Rin and Morpheus seem close, and that piqued her interest, leading to this behavior?
But… Sakura and Rin don't even know each other well. There's no reason for her to act like this…
The more Shirou thought, the less he understood. Despite knowing Sakura and Rin, he suddenly felt like his years at school had taught him nothing about them.
He couldn't help but want to sigh. He hadn't known Rin's true nature until last night's events revealed she was a magus who'd summoned a Servant and joined the terrifying Holy Grail War.
No, he hadn't even known about the Holy Grail War itself. He'd always thought being Kiritsugu's son made him special, but now he realized he was just an ordinary person.
Thinking I'm some kind of hero is pretty chuunibyou. Believing I have special magic is chuunibyou too. But now it seems everyone's just as ordinary as me, Shirou thought, ignoring the girls' rivalry.
Maybe I should learn from Morpheus too? His magic seems powerful, far more… mysterious than what I learned from Kiritsugu. It's like something out of legend.
But Shirou hesitated. It'd be rude to just ask him to teach me… Though I really want to learn…
Meanwhile, Sakura's vague response, laced with a clear competitive edge, made Rin pause.
Sakura's likely participating in the Holy Grail War too. With Shinji leaving Fuyuki, it's obvious he's avoiding trouble.
Shirou's a Master too, so there's no need to hide much here. But I don't know if Sakura's actually joined the fight yet, so I can't just say it outright. Still, her attitude toward Morpheus…
Rin spoke up. "Matou-san, I have a question, and I hope you'll answer."
"What is it, Senpai? If I know, I'll definitely answer," Sakura said with a smile.
"I just noticed you and Morpheus seem to get along well. Do you know each other?"
"Really? I do feel a connection with Mr. Morpheus, like meeting an old friend I haven't seen in ages."
"Oh? An old friend? That's surprising. I recall this is his first time in Japan," Rin said, her mind racing again.
Wait. Morpheus said he almost joined the Clock Tower as a student, and his habits seem modern. Could there be a parallel version of him in this world that Sakura met?
I need to ask him what era he's from. If that's the case, dealing with Sakura could get tricky. It might even affect her social circle…
But another worry crept in.
What if she knows the Morpheus I summoned? No, maybe not "knows," but she's clearly very interested in him. If she keeps approaching him, I don't even know what trouble might come…
What do I do? How do I explain my relationship with Morpheus? If I'm not careful, Sakura might overthink things…
For now, Rin could only suppress the issue. Without understanding Sakura's true intentions, she felt completely on the defensive, unable to counter effectively.
She couldn't help but grumble inwardly about the absent culprit.
Ugh, this is all Morpheus' fault! Why is Sakura so fixated on him?!
***
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