"Phew..."
Sakura sighed as the Tohsaka mansion finally came into view.
Until last year, she had returned here to Fuyuki City, Japan, from London. Perhaps it was because of all the paperwork needed to leave Academy City, or because her sister, who she always came back with, wasn't here, but the fatigue from the journey felt more intense than usual.
Sakura looked up at the mansion.
Having been adopted into the Matou family as a child, Sakura had very few memories of living in this house. However, she was certain this was the place where her very first memories were made.
Fun memories from a time when she knew nothing.
But Sakura wasn't so caught up in the past that she would feel sentimental about it now. Her only feeling was a simple, "I'm back."
It was summer, and the sun was strong, though not as much as in Academy City. Just as she was about to go inside, the door opened.
Emerging was the current head of the Tohsaka family, a young woman currently studying at the Clock Tower in London: Rin Tohsaka, Sakura's older sister.
"What are you doing standing there?"
"Oh, nothing, just thinking."
Sakura pulled her suitcase and walked toward the entrance. Rin opened the door wide to welcome her.
"It's been a while, Sakura."
"Yeah. I'm home, Sister."
The two sisters were finally reunited after a long time.
---------
After the Fourth Holy Grail War, Rin and Sakura's lives took a very different path from the original story.
First, as for Sakura, with the Matou family gone, she moved to the Clock Tower in London with Waver and Kayneth once the Holy Grail War was settled.
From there, she participated in the El-Melloi family's reforms while researching magecraft to fight alongside Shou.
As for Rin, with the death of her supposed guardian, Kirei Kotomine, managing the family's land became more complicated. Amidst the chaos, her mother, Aoi Tohsaka, died from an illness.
This made managing the land even more difficult, but the El-Melloi family—namely, Kayneth and Kiritsugu—intervened.
Having already planned to dismantle the Grail, the two seized full authority before any unwanted interference could occur.
It was during this process that the sisters were reunited.
From then on, the two sisters devoted themselves to studying magecraft together.
Relatives of the El-Melloi family managed the Tohsaka land and mansion, and every summer, the sisters would return to perform various tasks.
The first thing the two would do together was:
"..."
Pay their respects at their parents' grave.
Their parents had died when they were young, but the turns of fate had brought the separated sisters back together.
They reported this fact to them every year.
After visiting the grave, they walked to the next location while inspecting the property.
In between, they made small talk.
"So, did you finally get to meet your 'beloved,' the one you've always talked about? How was it?"
"Oh, stop teasing me, Sister."
"But I'm curious! The hero who became Sakura's motivation. You met him, right?"
When the two were reunited, they had talked about their pasts to some extent. At the time, since Sakura was still being treated for the effects of the worm, the cruelties she suffered at the Matou house were only vaguely mentioned.
As was the fact that by some twist of fate, Sakura had become a Master and summoned a Servant, how that Servant saved her, and how many people were saved because of him.
And how, since then, she had dedicated herself to studying magecraft, saying it was her turn to save him.
Sakura's skill eventually caught up to and then surpassed Rin's, who had started her training earlier. The two were in a constant state of friendly rivalry, pushing each other to improve.
Rin hadn't been slacking off. On the contrary, she was giving her all as the head of the Tohsaka family. For Sakura to be able to catch up to her was no ordinary feat.
Seeing Sakura like this, Rin had once asked her:
---------
"Sakura, why are you working so hard? You don't have to push yourself so much to study magecraft."
"Huh? Didn't I tell you before?"
"I heard. You want to repay the person who helped you during the Holy Grail War, right?"
"Yeah."
"But you don't even know if he really exists. He could have been lying about coming from the future."
"He wasn't lying."
"O-oh, really...? But even if it's true--"
"'Even if'?"
"I-if you were to meet him, he might say 'I'm fine, I don't need your power, Sakura.'"
"If that happens, I'll just help him on my own."
"U-um... right..."
---------
In reality, when they reunited, Shou had no memory of the Holy Grail War, so his reaction was more one of confusion than rejection.
(Now that I think about it, this girl is so intense.) "So, what happened?"
"That's a story for when everyone's here, okay? I think they'll all want to hear it."
But seeing Sakura look so happy blew away any of those thoughts.
More than that, the way she was teasing her. Rin caught the hidden meaning and grinned.
"Hmph, so something did happen? I'll be waiting to hear about it!"
"Sister, stop! Ugh!"
It was a joy to see her sister's love life going well.
As they chatted and walked, they arrived at their destination: a Japanese-style house on a small hill.
They rang the doorbell, and the door opened immediately.
"Oh, Sakura-chan, Rin-chan! It's been a while~"
"Hello."
The woman who appeared was Irisviel von Einzbern, whose beauty was as youthful, if not more so, than it was ten years ago.
"It's hot, so come inside. Kiritsugu and Maiya will be back from shopping soon."
The Japanese house, which had served as their base during the Holy Grail War, was now where the Emiya family lived their daily lives.
"Oh, Sakura, Rin, you're here."
"We've been waiting for you!"
Two children appeared from behind Iri.
One was Illyasviel von Einzbern. It was technically strange to call her a "child" given her age.
She was the child born between Iri and Kiritsugu—a homunculus—whom Kiritsugu and Alter had retrieved from the Einzbern family after the Holy Grail War.
The other was a real child, a boy who was ten years old this year. His name was Takuya Emiya, the child born to Kiritsugu and Maiya after the Holy Grail War.
During the Holy Grail War, Kiritsugu and Maiya had engaged in sexual activity as a dress rehearsal to sacrifice Iri and to get used to betrayal.
Takuya was the child conceived during that act.
When that fact came to light, it caused its own set of problems, but that's a story for another time.
"It's good to see you two."
"Yeah, Takuya-kun, you've gotten so big."
Takuya, Sakura, and Rin were as close as siblings with a large age gap, having known each other since he was a baby. Unlike Illya, who was a homunculus and whose growth had stopped, Takuya was visibly growing.
"Y-yes, thank you..."
When the two of them looked at him, Takuya shyly looked down.
As the body grows, so does the mind. This stage, from mid-to-late elementary school, is when interest in the opposite sex begins.
For Takuya, Rin and Sakura were just too radiant.
Illya watched her brother's behavior with a look of displeasure.
"Hmph, Rin and Sakura have gotten bigger too. Especially Sakura. Rin, you should try a little harder, shouldn't you? You're the older sister."
"Mind your own business! And what are you looking at?!"
"Oh, nothing~"
The height that was almost the same when they first met had been completely surpassed.
It couldn't be helped with a body whose growth stopped before its second growth spurt, but Illya was also secretly jealous of how the two were growing more and more feminine each year.
Iri watched her children's growth with a warm smile, but then she saw two figures on the property and waved.
"You two! Welcome home!"
It was Kiritsugu and Maiya, who had gone shopping. Their complexions were better than during the Holy Grail War, and they carried shopping bags in both hands.
"We're home. And welcome, Rin-chan, Sakura-chan."
Sakura and Rin bowed their heads.
"Alright, let's take a break, and then we'll head to our usual spot, shall we?"
---------
The "usual spot" Iri suggested was a public bathhouse.
A super public bath near the station.
It was the same place where she, Shou, and Waver had gone during the Holy Grail War. A few years ago, they had happened to pass by and went in on a whim.
Since then, it had become a tradition for everyone to go to this bathhouse whenever they got together.
"Well then, Iri, see you later."
"Okay, if you finish first, wait for us at our usual spot."
The group split into the men's and women's sections.
To enter the bath, they naturally had to take off their clothes.
"Hmm..."
"What's wrong, Illya-chan?"
"Sakura, you've grown a lot compared to last year, haven't you? In many ways. A lot."
At Illya's words, everyone's gaze focused on Sakura.
Sensing the dangerous atmosphere, Sakura quickly covered her body. The twin mounds wrapped in light blue underwear shifted their shape slightly.
"I think it's because I'm in my growth spurt. I've been exercising a lot lately, too."
"Exercising?"
"My school there is a Butei high school, and I also joined the Magecraft Administration Bureau. There's physical training without magecraft assistance."
"I see, that makes sense..."
"Right?! Your breasts are so big, but your body is so well-proportioned!"
Rin also started to observe Sakura's body with interest. Illya nodded repeatedly, looking even more excited.
At this age, she didn't bathe with her sister or expose her body to her.
But the fact that they came to this bathhouse every year meant their growth was being observed annually.
Being seen once a year might actually make the changes more noticeable. The fact that her own body, due to various circumstances, had barely grown was also a reason for Illya's particularly strong reaction.
"Rin... well, you're about the same, aren't you?"
Since she was being looked at directly, her words contained more pity than before.
Smile.
"What's that supposed to mean, Illya?"
"Ow, ow, ow!! Your fingers are digging into my head!!"
Rin's fingers dug into Illya's skull with a thump. Illya thrashed around, but Rin's grip didn't loosen.
Rin wanted to talk back, but telling an un-growing, child-like body, "Haha, you're a child's body!" would only make her feel empty.
"Girls, all three of you. Don't make so much noise, you'll disturb the others."
"That's right, let's talk about everything slowly while we're in the hot water, okay?"
Maiya and Iri, who had already undressed, stepped in to stop them, and Rin casually took her hand off Illya's skull.
"I'm sorry, Sakura-chan."
"It's okay, Iri-san."
Sakura smiled and took off her underwear.
"But... so that's it."
"W-what is?"
Despite apologizing, Iri was staring at Sakura's body.
Now that she was completely undressed, her embarrassment was far greater than before.
"Yes. It's just..."
Iri leaned in close to Sakura's ear.
"...you and Shou-kun finally got together. I'm so happy for you."
"W-what?!?"
Sakura turned beet red, realizing the meaning of "got together." Where did she get that idea from? Of course, she had a guess which part she was looking at, but she couldn't believe it.
"H-how did you know...?"
Sakura couldn't help but ask.
"Well, I know now."
"Now? ...Oh!"
She finally understood that she had been tricked, but it was too late.
"Seriously, Iri, you're such a tease."
"Hehe. Because to me, you and the others are like my daughters."
As they talked, the women headed toward the bathtub.
---------
"Cheers!!"
Glasses clinked.
The table was filled with party platters. This, too, was a regular sight when everyone gathered.
They had returned from the public bathhouse, and it was now dinnertime.
It had become a given for this family to gather like relatives during the Obon festival.
"So you were able to reunite with him."
"Yes! This April!"
Sakura nodded with a smile in response to Kiritsugu's question.
"That's good. After that, I tried to investigate the students enrolling in Academy City, but I couldn't find him."
"Oh, Kiritsugu got to hear from Sakura-chan first."
Kiritsugu had received an email from Sakura ahead of time. Iri was pouting about it.
"Iri-san is still not very good with electronics."
Over the past ten years, Maiya's way of addressing Iri had changed from "Madam" to "Iri."
"T-that's not true! I even use a computer now!"
"Really? If so, you could send an email with just their address."
"An a-address...? I'm sorry. I only use it for searching..."
She was able to make phone calls with a cell phone without any problems, but anything beyond that was still difficult.
"Well, well, if you're going to say that, my sister isn't good with them either."
"Ugh."
Ever since the topic shifted to her, Rin, who had been completely silent, choked up.
"W-what do you mean?! Is being able to use a device so great?! It's fine, I'm not inconvenienced by it!"
Mages are generally weak with modern machinery. In this group, the only ones who fit that stereotype were Rin and Iri.
The wave of technological innovation was reaching even the world of mages. No matter if you were born into a mage family, it was becoming rare for a child of a certain age to be unable to use electronics.
"It's normal these days. Even I and Takuya have our own devices now."
"What?! Takuya-kun has one, too?!"
"Yes! I got it as a gift to celebrate turning 10!"
Illya proudly puffed out her chest, while Takuya held his device with both hands, half-hiding his face with it.
"When I was Takuya-kun's age, no one even had a cell phone..."
"That just shows how much things are changing every day, Sister. You should get a device, too. If you get a good AI, you barely have to operate it yourself with voice recognition, you know?"
"No, I'm fine... I wouldn't be able to use it well anyway. I don't intend to spend unnecessary money."
Rin's specialty, Jewel Magecraft, as the name suggests, uses and discards jewels, making it a money pit of a magecraft. The Tohsaka family wasn't poor, but she didn't want to spend money on things she didn't feel were necessary.
"That... might be true..."
Sakura, for her part, recalled that Rin was the classic example of a mage who couldn't even use a cell phone properly.
"But you should at least learn how to use a phone. It'll be easier to contact you, and for Shou-kun's matter this time--"
"Oh, that's fine. I'll get to see him in person next month anyway."
"Huh...?"
Sakura tilted her head, confused by Rin's nonsensical words.
"Hehe, I didn't tell you, but..."
"You didn't tell me? Or is it that you couldn't contact me because you can't use a phone?"
Rin glared at Illya.
"I didn't tell you, but! --I'm going to the Clock Tower branch in Academy City starting next month."
"...What?"
"It's a command from my teacher. He wants me to help out El-Melloi-sensei... Sakura? Are you listening?"
Of course, she was listening.
(I'm happy that my sister is coming, but she's going to meet Shou-kun? My sister? ...Will it be okay? In a lot of ways...)
Sakura thought to herself.
--------------------------------------------
🚀 Want Early Access (80+Chapters ahead ) & Bonus Content?
"Loving this story so far? You can read ALL chapters RIGHT NOW by joining my P4tr3on!
✨ Unlock instant access to the full completed novel
✨ No waiting for daily updates
✨ Support your favorite degenerate author (that's me!)
Only $5.99 for the full experience!
🔗 Check my profile for the Link!!