The International Airport buzzed with movement.
In the international arrivals area, suitcases rolled, voices blended in different languages, and the automatic doors opened and closed without rest.
Amid the crowd, a young woman stood out without trying. Her straight, glossy black hair fell into two ponytails that caught the light every time she turned her head.
She wore a red turtleneck sweater that highlighted the fair tone of her skin, a short plaid skirt peeking just beneath a dark brown trench coat, and black tights that traced the shape of her legs. Despite the commotion, she remained calm.
It was Rin Tohsaka, just arrived from London.
With one hand, she elegantly held the handle of a small suitcase and with the other she scrolled on her phone. Her delicate, perfectly shaped eyebrows were slightly furrowed as she muttered under her breath, "Unbelievable… I told her it wasn't necessary for someone to come pick me up…"
She paused for a moment in front of the glass doors, letting the stream of people pass her by, and looked again at the last open conversation on the screen: Marin's confirmation message.
"And yet she insists on sending her boyfriend… so annoying."
She sighed in resignation before slipping the phone into her coat pocket, but only for a few seconds before taking it out again. Her gaze moved among unfamiliar faces, trying to spot the person she was supposed to find.
She recalled the description Marin had given and froze for an instant, incredulous.
"'Very handsome, very handsome… so handsome you fall in love at first sight'… ahh, so typical of Marin."
With a small huff, she unlocked the screen again and scrolled. The photo appeared after a couple of messages full of emojis.
It was an improvised but striking shot: a lit stage, white lights, and at the center, a man with a silver electric guitar. White hair, amber eyes serene yet carrying a wild edge, a sharp jawline, and a bead of sweat sliding down his neck.
The photo was a bit blurry, but it still conveyed an intensity that seemed to pierce through the screen.
"..."
Rin stopped unconsciously, letting the crowd flow around her, the blue of her irises now reflecting the glow of the image.
"…Tsk," she clicked her tongue almost imperceptibly, looking away, though a faint warmth had colored her cheeks. "He really is something…"
"Rin Tohsaka?"
A deep male voice broke in behind her just as she was thinking.
Rin's body reacted before her mind, and she spun on her heels with a slight start.
Before her stood a tall man, dressed simply but with a presence that couldn't go unnoticed.
He wore a black cap pulled down nearly to his eyebrows and a white face mask that hid much of his face, leaving only deep amber eyes visible, eyes that seemed to take in everything.
'Those eyes…' for a moment, her mind went blank.
Her brain, almost unconsciously, calculated: over six foot three. The thought hit so quickly it made her blush slightly without knowing why.
"Excuse me."
The same voice sounded again, clearer this time. The man raised a hand and hooked his fingers on the edge of the face mask, pulling it down.
At that instant, Rin felt her pupils contract.
It was him.
The man in the photo Marin had sent her… but in person he was different… more intense. In the picture, he seemed magnetic and distant; here, standing in front of her, he was imposing.
Without the stage lights softening his outline, Damian's jaw looked sharper and his features more defined. Yet the faint smile that curved his lips slightly disarmed that initial impression.
"Sorry, I know this disguise is a bit discourteous." He remarked while also taking off the cap, letting some rebellious white strands of hair instantly fall out of place. "But if I don't…"
He didn't finish speaking, and in the distance, screams and squeals erupted. A group of girls had recognized him and were already pointing excitedly in his direction.
With a quick motion, he put the cap back on and adjusted the brim, hiding his face again.
A spark of understanding shone in Rin's eyes; she stepped forward and slightly bowed her head.
"Excuse my lack of courtesy, Mr. Damian."
When she straightened again, she was surprised to see that he, without asking permission, had already taken hold of her suitcase handle. His large, steady hand held it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"This way."
Damian spoke without boasting, just a calm tone as he signaled with his chin toward the VIP corridor. Then he started walking.
Still a little unsettled, Rin followed a half-step behind.
'Isn't he being too casual…?' she thought, biting her lip, but said nothing. It was hard to interpret each of his movements; his walk was relaxed, unpretentious, yet carried a certain confidence that kept her alert without knowing why.
Under the parking lot lights, a jet-black Alphard stood silently.
Rin's gaze paused for a moment on the driver's chest, where the discreet silver emblem of the Gojo family gleamed under the light.
The driver opened the Alphard's door, bowing his head in a respectful greeting.
"Get in."
Damian's voice sounded with a natural authority as he stepped aside to make room for her.
Rin entered, bending carefully. A faint scent of cedar surrounded her the moment she stepped in; as she adjusted her coat, the edge of her trench brushed Damian's knee and he reacted without thinking, gently taking it to hang it on the side hook.
This gesture unsettled her for a moment.
The driver closed the door quietly. Through the rearview mirror, his eyes briefly met Rin's before he immediately looked away.
"Is the temperature okay?" Damian asked while clicking to adjust the seat's heater control. "Marin always complains that I keep it too low at home."
As he removed the face mask, Rin found herself staring at him for a couple of seconds before realizing she was counting his eyelashes.
The smooth start of the engine gave her an excuse to compose herself.
The Alphard slid out of the parking lot, and Damian, without taking his eyes off the road, extended a cup toward her.
"Honey yuzu tea."
It was warm, and Rin felt the heat in her palm when she took it.
"Marin insisted that I bring it to you. She said you never drink water on planes."
"..."
Rin stayed silent, the thermos between her hands, before letting out an almost imperceptible sigh. 'Honestly… Marin still treats me like a child.'
Through the window, the airport was getting smaller and smaller, and the gray cityscape began to expand.
Damian unlocked his phone, and the background image lit up: Marin making a funny face.
"She'll get home at twelve," he commented, turning the phone to show her. "She said she wants to make you oyakodon."
The steam from the tea rose gently as Rin lowered her gaze a little, hiding something between nostalgia and warmth.
Damian tapped the edge of the screen and turned it off. After that, he didn't say anything else. He leaned back against the seat and turned his face toward the window.
The faint smile that had accompanied him vanished as if someone had switched it off, and his expression became serene.
The atmosphere inside the car changed, and the constant hum of the engine and the soft warm air from the heater filled the space, amplifying the new silence that fell over them.
Rin held the still-warm cup between her hands. She thought about saying something to break the tension — "Has Marin's cooking improved?" or maybe a "Thanks for going through the trouble" — but as soon as those words reached the tip of her tongue, they sounded forced, and she swallowed them back.
"..."
The silence weighed heavier than she expected. It was a thick silence, not exactly hostile but dense enough to make her feel uncomfortable without knowing why.
She shifted her gaze to the tea and focused on the steam rising, drawing fleeting shapes in the air.
!
Then, a subtle but sharp sound cut through the stillness: the dry tap of a knuckle against the leather armrest.
Almost immediately, a discreet electronic hum came from the front of the car.
Rin blinked in surprise as she watched the partition panel behind the driver slowly rise, sealing off the rear compartment and isolating them completely.
The faint hum of the engine seemed to fade, as if someone had abruptly disconnected them from the outside world.
Her heart skipped a beat.
She lifted her head abruptly, the cup still between her fingers, and sought Damian's eyes. A sensation of isolation she couldn't explain surged inside her, but it lit up all her senses.
"Rin Tohsaka."
Damian's voice sounded soft, but every syllable pierced the air like a fine needle.
He didn't take his eyes off the urban landscape sliding past the glass.
"Did you come here to participate in the Holy Grail War?"
!
Rin's whole body tensed.
An icy wave ran down her back and settled at the base of her neck. Her pupils shrank into tiny points, and her grip on the cup tightened so much that her knuckles turned white.
Her other hand, the one resting on her lap, moved behind her back, ready to form a seal if necessary.
The warmth and calm the yuzu tea and Marin's promise had brought vanished without a trace.
In their place came vigilance.
Damian, on the other hand, seemed not to notice the tension that had taken hold of her. Or maybe he did and simply didn't care. He remained leaning back with a relaxed air, though his eyes, when they finally turned toward her, no longer held any trace of that distracted warmth.
"It doesn't matter whether you've returned for the Holy Grail War or not."
His voice stayed serene, and there was still an almost imperceptible echo of the warmth he had used earlier when mentioning the oyakodon. But his eyes… his eyes weren't smiling.
"Just make sure this," he paused briefly, and the faint curve of his lips seemed gentle, but there was something unsettling in his gaze, "you don't tell Marin."
"…Alright."
Rin's voice was low. Deep in her eyes, caution remained, tight as a spring, but even so, she nodded slowly.
However, her mind was racing at full speed, questions crashing into each other: how did Damian know about the Holy Grail War? Who the hell was he really? She couldn't feel the slightest trace of contractor magic in him… was he hiding it too well? Was he using some unknown method to mask it?
Or maybe… he didn't even belong to the world of magi?
Satisfied with her answer, a smile returned to Damian's face, yet his eyes did not soften.
They stayed fixed on her with an inquisitive glint.
"That's good." His voice grew a little lighter, though the undertone didn't lose its firmness. "Will you only be passing through? You'll have to go back to Fuyuki soon, right?"
As he spoke, his fingers drummed against the armrest, a small sound that set an uncomfortable rhythm.
"This Holy Grail War…" he added lazily after a pause, "…is still in Fuyuki, isn't it?"
!
The impact wasn't heard, but it was felt, silent waves spreading inside Rin's chest.
'He didn't just know about the Holy Grail War… he also knew where it's held.'
'And, worse, he said "this"...'
"…Yes."
Her answer came out almost inaudible, and yet she felt that with that single word she had confirmed too much.
In her mind, there was no doubt left — this man knew far more than he let on.
"I like that."
Damian's smile widened slightly, but behind it, a cold gleam appeared.
"As long as you don't come to disrupt my life… I won't interfere in your war either."
But suddenly, the atmosphere inside the car shifted.
It wasn't her imagination; the air seemed to grow heavy, denser, as if the heater had shut off and an invisible cold seeped between the seats.
Rin gripped the cup so hard her nails nearly sank into the porcelain.
Damian leaned his head toward her, closing the distance before she had time to retreat.
"To be exact," his voice dropped low, "don't disturb my circle of life."
"Otherwise…"
His eyes locked fully onto Rin's, and every shadow of expression vanished. What remained was an utterly neutral face — no anger, no emotion, only emptiness.
"…I will tear your Holy Grail to pieces."
!
Rin's heart shrank as if an invisible hand had suddenly squeezed it. For an instant, it stopped beating, and the next thump was so strong it shook her from within.
She didn't even have time to question how absurd the phrase sounded. It didn't matter that "tearing the Holy Grail to pieces" was, in theory, impossible — her instinct screamed before reason could intervene.
Absolute danger.
That was the signal that shot through every fiber of her body.
Magic surged inside her on its own; she felt the gems hidden in her pocket begin to heat up.
It wasn't a joke!
Her pupils contracted with pure terror.
She could "feel it": the destructive will behind those words was not just mere talk. It wasn't the ignorant arrogance of someone who didn't understand what they were facing.
It was a simple declaration from someone who truly could do it — with the same ease as breaking a glass.
And he would. Without hesitation.
The icy echo of the threat lingered inside the car, clinging to her skin like an invisible layer. Rin stayed rigid, sweat forming on her forehead.
"He…"
Suddenly, a brief laugh broke the suffocating stillness that had filled the car.
The tension in the air dissolved at once, and Damian's frozen expression disappeared, replaced by an innocent smile, even with a hint of apology.
He raised an eyebrow playfully, as if the previous moment had never existed.
"Did I scare you, Rin Tohsaka?" His tone turned casual, with a reassuring touch. "Sorry."
Rin remained motionless, stiff like a statue, unable to process the sudden change. Her mind went blank.
Damian leaned in slightly toward her, closing the distance.
"It's just that… there was a lunatic before," he murmured with a gesture of annoyance and a hint of resignation, "who didn't take my warnings seriously and, in the end…"
He paused for a moment and clicked his tongue, "…ended up destroying my house. It was really a hassle."
Then his tone shifted again and softened. The look he gave Rin was sincere and open.
"So… yeah, maybe I was a bit harsh just now, but it wasn't against you. I just want to avoid something like that happening again."
For a moment, he seemed to hesitate, then smiled with a touch of conspiratorial warmth:
"By the way, don't tell Marin what I just said, okay? If she finds out I scared you, she'll get mad at me. And when Marin gets mad… I get headaches for days."
Rin: "…"
Her fingers were still clinging to the cup, but now it wasn't out of fear; it was because she felt the ground under her feet had shifted and she didn't know how to react.
In the blue of her eyes, confusion, disbelief, and a trace of irritation all mixed together.
Just a moment ago, this man had radiated such lethal coldness it had frozen the blood in her veins and threatened to destroy the Holy Grail itself without blinking. A second later, he was a boyfriend worried his girl might scold him.
She felt as if she had been thrown onto a roller coaster without a harness.
The chill still lingered on her back, but now it mixed with an almost surreal feeling. She looked at Damian's face, so full of "sincerity" and "innocence," as if nothing had happened, and her mind simply stopped.
This man… he's definitely insane!
________
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