Tohsaka Tokiomi put down the telephone receiver, which was emitting a busy signal, and a clear crack appeared on his elegant mask.
The call was from his wife, Aoi, and her voice was filled with irrepressible panic—Rin, their daughter, had been missing since last night.
According to Aoi, Rin seemed to have snuck out of the house, likely wanting to come to the Tohsaka Residence to find her father.
(Looking for me?) (But I haven't seen her at all!)
A chill crawled up Tokiomi's spine to the back of his head.
The chaotic battle at the port last night, the humiliation of Archer, the visit from the mysterious Caster and her master, the unpredictable performance of Assassin, plus the inexplicable and persistent discomfort in his own body... Everything was in disarray, and he hadn't paid any attention to whether there were traces of a child near the residence.
If Rin really had come nearby last night, what would she have seen? The battling Servants? Or something even more dangerous? Could she have been dragged into it?
"Kirei..."
Tokiomi rubbed his throbbing temples, forced himself to calm down, and activated the emergency communication magecraft with his disciple.
The message was concise and heavy: Rin is missing, possibly lost or encountered an accident near the residence last night. Order Assassin (Hundred Faces) to search with all their might, but it must be done secretly to avoid alerting the enemy.
After doing this, he felt a wave of collapse-like exhaustion.
It was not just the consumption of magical energy, but a deep sense of powerlessness.
The Holy Grail War was far more dangerous than he had anticipated; even he, as a master, found it difficult to move, and now it had even implicated his family.
(Rin... where exactly are you?) (Please, don't let anything happen...)
A familiar, cramping pain came from his abdomen, more intense than before.
Tokiomi clutched his stomach, his face pale as he leaned back against the chair.
The food for the past few days had been prepared by trusted people in the residence; what on earth could he have eaten that was tainted?
The soft morning sunlight spilled through the gaps in the heavy velvet curtains onto the bed in the guest room.
Tohsaka Rin opened her eyes, feeling groggy, as if she had slept a long and heavy sleep.
She blinked her still-sleepy blue eyes and habitually reached out to hug the rabbit doll at the head of the bed, but her hands grasped at empty air.
(Huh? My room...)
Memories gradually returned—sneaking out of the house, wanting to go to the Matou Family to find Sakura, seeing a strange person at her own doorstep, then being covered by the mouth by a strange Pink Hair big sister, and then... a pain at the back of her neck, and she knew nothing more!
She sat up abruptly and looked around vigilantly.
An unfamiliar, spacious, and luxurious room; it was not the Tohsaka Residence.
Then, her gaze fixed on another bed nearby.
A small, thin figure was curled up in the soft duvet, with long purple hair exposed, sleeping soundly.
Rin's breath hitched instantly.
(This figure...) (Sakura?!)
"Sakura! Is that you, Sakura?"
She couldn't help but call out, her voice filled with unbelievable surprise.
The girl on the bed was startled awake, sitting up groggily, her amethyst eyes filled with the haziness of just waking up as she looked toward the source of the sound.
When she saw clearly that it was Rin, those eyes that were always shrouded in gloom instantly lit up, as if infused with starlight.
"Si... Sister?"
Sakura's voice was very small.
"It really is you! Sakura!"
Rin jumped off the bed, ran over barefoot, and hugged her younger sister tightly. Her eyes instantly turned red. "Thank goodness! You're okay! I, I thought..."
She remembered her bad premonitions about the Matou Family and felt lingering fear.
Sakura was held by her sister; her body stiffened slightly at first, then slowly relaxed. Her small hands gently hugged Rin back, and she buried her face in her sister's shoulder, letting out a muffled "Mm".
The familiar warmth dispelled the chill of last night's nightmare.
"Where is this? How did we end up together?"
Rin let go of Sakura and looked around the room, asking in confusion, "I remember I seemed to have been knocked unconscious..."
Sakura explained as clearly as she could: "It was Sister Long Night Moon and Sister March 7th who saved me and brought us here from that dangerous place. This is... Einzbern Castle, the place of another master participating in the Holy Grail War. They said it's safe here for now."
"Long Night Moon? March 7th?"
"Are they also a master and a Servant?"
Sakura nodded.
Just then, the door was gently knocked on and then pushed open.
A pink head poked in; it was none other than March 7th.
She had a bright smile on her face: "Good morning, little ones! Did you sleep well? Time to get up and have breakfast! The lady has prepared a su—per rich breakfast!"
As soon as Rin saw March 7th, she immediately jumped up like a bristling kitten and pointed at her: "Ah! It's you! You're that bad big sister who hit me!"
"Eh?! No, that's not it!"
March 7th waved her hands hurriedly, explaining with a panicked expression, "The situation was urgent back then! You were about to shout, which would have alerted the people fighting inside; it was very dangerous! I was doing it for your own good! And... and didn't I bring you here safely afterward!"
She tried her best to put on the most innocent expression, blinking her big eyes.
Sakura also gently tugged on the corner of Rin's clothes and whispered, "Sister, Sister March 7th and Sister Long Night Moon are good people; they protected me."
Looking at her sister's trusting eyes, and then at March 7th's guileless, even slightly clumsy, sincere appearance, Rin's tense hostility relaxed slightly, but she still pouted and huffed: "Well... even so, you can't just knock people out!"
"I'm sorry!"
March 7th put her hands together and apologized sincerely, "Next time... uh, I'll try not to use this method! Alright, alright, let's go eat first. You need to be full to have the energy to be angry, right?"
Under the temptation of delicious food (and Sakura's persuasion), Rin reluctantly agreed to put aside her "grudge" for the time being.
She took Sakura's hand and followed March 7th out of the room.
The gorgeous and ancient decorations inside the castle made her unable to help but look left and right, whispering in wonder.
"Um... Sister March 7th,"
Walking down the corridor, Rin couldn't help but ask curiously, "Are you really a Servant?"
"Mm, I guess so." March 7th nodded, having already gotten used to the term Servant in this world.
"Then what is your class?"
Rin pressed, her eyes sparkling with curiosity about the "mysterious".
"Uh..." March 7th's face instantly fell, revealing an awkward and reluctant expression, and her voice dropped, "It's... Berserker..."
"Berserker?!"
Rin exclaimed, her big blue eyes looking March 7th up and down.
This Pink Hair big sister in front of her was actually the legendary Berserker who had gone mad and lost her reason? But then she thought about the force with which she had been neatly knocked unconscious last night.
"Mm... come to think of it, it actually seems quite reasonable."
Rin stroked her chin, wearing a "I understand" expression like a little adult, "After all, the way you act does have a bit of a violent tendency."
"Hey! How is that reasonable!"
March 7th couldn't help but retort, puffing out her cheeks, "I call this efficient action! And I'm usually very gentle, okay! It's just that the class... influenced my style a little bit!"
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