Shirou Emiya bit into the crispy taiyaki. The scent was enticing, and the red bean filling inside was deliciously sweet.
Though he'd heard about taiyaki before, this was his first time actually trying it—and it was even better than expected.
"This is really good," Shirou praised.
"Of course! Taiyaki is super tasty!"
Sakura smiled brightly at his praise.
Taiyaki was one of her favorite treats.
"Shi... Shirou? Is that you?"
A voice suddenly called out.
Shirou froze and turned toward the sound.
Lisephyr stood there, octopus balls falling from her hand as her eyes welled up with tears. She stared at Shirou and Sakura.
"Lisephyr... what a coincidence…"
Shirou's face twitched slightly.
Did he just get... busted?
"Shirou—who is she?!"
Lisephyr pointed at Sakura, her voice trembling with emotion.
Originally, she had planned to ask Shirou to walk the food street with her that evening. But something happened during their call—Shirou had abruptly hung up.
Upset and frustrated, Lisephyr had come out by herself.
By now, Kushuri had probably realized she was missing and was frantically searching for her.
But never did she imagine that, alone and wandering the food stalls, she'd bump into Shirou—and see him with an unfamiliar little girl.
Sakura, frightened by Lisephyr's tone, hid behind Shirou.
Shirou hadn't expected Lisephyr to react this intensely.
Thinking it over… yeah, maybe he had gone too far.
After hanging up on her, he immediately took Sakura out for taiyaki.
"Lisephyr… Sakura's just my little sister."
Shirou scratched his head, though the phrase "a sister with purple hair has a unique flair" randomly popped into his mind like a song lyric.
"Shirou… even now, you're still lying to me!"
Tears finally streamed down Lisephyr's face as she turned and ran off.
In her eyes, his explanation was obviously a lie. How could someone with red hair have a little sister with purple hair?
"Lisephyr!"
Shirou called out, but when he looked back at Sakura clinging to him, he gave up chasing after her.
Was it really that serious…?
"Sakura… did I do something wrong?"
Sakura didn't fully understand the situation, but she felt like it was her fault somehow.
"No, Sakura. You didn't do anything wrong."
Shirou reached out, wanting to pat her head—but stopped midair. His hand hovered for a moment before he sighed and lowered it.
---
In the days that followed, Lisephyr didn't call or message Shirou even once.
"Peace at last... but why do I feel like something's missing without Lisephyr shouting in my ear all the time?"
Sitting on the couch watching TV, Shirou rubbed his chin and muttered to himself.
Sakura, on the other hand, had quickly adapted to her new life. She no longer cried or begged to go home like before.
She now enjoyed sitting beside Shirou on the couch and watching TV with him.
---
Night fell again, and darkness once more blanketed Fuyuki City.
After ten long years, Makiri Yaken (formerly known as Matou Kariya) stood at the gates of his old home once more.
Not long ago, he had reconnected with his childhood friend, Aoi—and that reunion had prompted him to return to the Matou residence.
He knew all too well the state of the Matou family now.
When he learned that Tokiomi Tohsaka had given his daughter Sakura to the Matou family, he was filled with overwhelming fury.
In fact, he now harbored deep hatred toward Tokiomi.
He had once believed that Tokiomi would bring happiness to Aoi. But once involved with a mage family, such ordinary happiness became a luxury.
If he couldn't give her happiness, then why take her as his wife?
Why go so far as to give Sakura to the Matous?
Now, Yaken knew—he was the only one left who could save Sakura.
"I thought I told you... I never wanted to see your face again."
The speaker was a bald, mummy-like old man, so shriveled and hunched that he looked almost inhuman.
He was clearly surprised to see Yaken return.
"What a disgrace," Yaken sneered. "I heard you adopted the Tohsaka girl—what, still clinging to some fantasy about preserving the Matou bloodline?"
Even when facing Zouken Matou himself, Yaken showed no fear. Even knowing that the old man was a powerful magus, Yaken didn't flinch.
No one, not even Yaken himself, knew exactly how long Zouken had been alive. His shadow had loomed over the Matou family for generations.
Yaken loathed him—deeply. Even if Zouken killed him right now, his hatred wouldn't fade. That's why fear was irrelevant.
"And you think you're qualified to say such things? That fool Tsunenori's children no longer have magic circuits. The Matou bloodline is finished. And yet you—you had more talent as a magus than he ever did. If you hadn't left the family, we might not have fallen so far…"
Zouken's voice trailed off before he could finish.
There were still many unknowns surrounding Sakura's disappearance, but Zouken had no intention of revealing that she had already been taken from the house.
"Enough with the nonsense. Just tell me what you want. Don't pretend to care about the Matou family's future. No matter how many centuries pass, you're not dying anytime soon, are you?"
Yaken's tone was cold.
"A family's magecraft legacy must survive… And with the Holy Grail…"
"The Holy Grail, huh? So after all that rambling, this is really about the Grail."
Even though he was interrupted again, Zouken remained unbothered.
Yaken had long known what the old man truly desired: immortality.
And the Holy Grail—the omnipotent wish-granting device—was the miracle that could make that dream a reality.
"The Holy Grail War comes once every sixty years. The Matous have no one to send into this one… But even if we miss this war, that girl's womb will produce an excellent magus one day. She is, after all, a fine vessel."
A disgusting smile crept across Zouken's face.
Even now, he refused to admit that Sakura was already gone. He seemed to have already guessed that Yaken had some special connection to her.
Yaken's mind filled with Sakura's face—so small, so young. She was even younger than Rin.
She didn't deserve such a cruel fate.
"In that case, let's make a deal."
Yaken gritted his teeth.
"Oh? I'm listening."
Zouken was clearly intrigued.
"I'll enter the Holy Grail War and win it for you. I'll get you the Grail. In exchange—release Sakura."
That was the reason Makiri Yaken had returned to the Matou house after ten years.
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