On a soft, large bed, a delicate little girl lay, her eyes closed. Fear occasionally flickered across her face, and sweat covered her forehead, dampening the hair at her temples.
'No!' the little girl shouted, opening her eyes. Her blue eyes were filled with terror.
(Before being modified, Sakura had black hair and blue eyes.)
'You're awake.' A gentle voice came from the side. Sakura looked toward the sound and saw Asagami Fujino leaning against the wall. She was stunned for a moment before saying, 'You're that big sister!'
'You remembered.' Asagami Fujino smiled and came to Sakura's side, placing a hand on her sweat-dampened hair and gently stroking it. 'How do you feel? Better? You were having a nightmare just now. Don't worry, with me here, nothing will happen.'
Feeling the warmth on her head, Sakura felt an unprecedented sense of relief. It was as if something had been touched within her; her fear vanished, and a faint smile appeared on her face.
'Mhm,' Sakura responded softly.
'That's good.' Asagami Fujino smiled and asked, 'How about staying by my side from now on, Sakura?'
'Staying by big sister's side?' Sakura looked up into Asagami Fujino's eyes.
'Yes, by my side. Sakura wouldn't want to go back to that place, right?'
Asagami Fujino's words triggered Sakura's memories. Scenes from before flashed through her mind, and her body began to tremble slightly.
'Don't worry, I'm here.' Asagami Fujino hugged Sakura and gently patted her back.'Stay with us from now on, Sakura. I'll take good care of you.'
'Mhm.' In the warm embrace, Sakura agreed. She had nowhere else to go.
'Sakura is so cute!' Looking at Sakura in a black princess dress after her bath, Asagami Fujino couldn't help but want to hold her close and dote on her.
'Am I cute...?' Sakura's face had a faint blush, and she gripped the corners of her dress, lowering her head.
Asagami Fujino gave a helpless smile. Children in Japan seemed too precocious. While helping Sakura bathe earlier, she had accidentally exposed a bit of her true nature, which made Sakura look at her differently afterward—like she was looking at a pervert. Asagami Fujino wasn't sure; she wouldn't go as far as using her ability to peek into Sakura's heart.
'Alright, Sakura, let's go out. I'll introduce you to the others in the family.'
'Okay, Sister-sama,' Sakura replied. The reason she called Asagami Fujino'Sister-sama' was, of course, because of Asagami Fujino herself. It sounded quite nice, and Fujino was in a good mood.
'Alright, let's go. Sakura will be very happy here.'
'Okay, Sister-sama.'
The Tohsaka Family was a premier noble family in Fuyuki City, and as the head, Tohsaka Tokiomi was an elegant man and the administrator of the city's leylines. However, at this moment, after hearing the report from his disciple Kirei Kotomine, his elegance had vanished.
'What did you say?!' Tohsaka Tokiomi looked on in disbelief. 'The Matou Family has disappeared? Who did it?'
Although the Matou Family had fallen into decline, Tohsaka Tokiomi knew very well that even a declining Matou Family was not someone anyone could easily deal with, let alone making the Matou Family disappear so silently.
"It should have been done by a Magus," Kirei Kotomine said expressionlessly.
"A Magus? Which Magus would be so bored as to destroy the Matou Family?" Tohsaka Tokiomi frowned; he had to take the existence of a Magus seriously.
"It's hard to draw a conclusion, but we found no traces at the scene. In this situation, we speculate that only a Magus could have taken action," Kirei Kotomine said.
"The Magus closest to Fuyuki City is the Fifth Magus, but I heard she hasn't awakened yet, right?" Tohsaka Tokiomi said.
"Yes, but my father has a guess," Kirei Kotomine said.
"Brother Risei? What did he say?" Tohsaka Tokiomi looked at Kirei Kotomine.
"My father's speculation is that the person who acted this time should be the Magus of the Root, the one mentioned by the second magus, Mr. Zelretch, who can freely enter the Root."
"How can this be! Why would such an existence appear here in Fuyuki City?" Tohsaka Tokiomi said, losing some of his composure.
"Wait!" Tohsaka Tokiomi thought of something: "I heard before that the Magus of the Root lives in Misaki City, so appearing in Fuyuki City isn't that much of a stretch, but why destroy the Matou Family?"
"Wait!" Tohsaka Tokiomi asked Kirei Kotomine: "Did you see Sakura?"
"No, Sakura was not found in the Matou Family home," Kirei Kotomine replied, still expressionless.
"Could it be that Magus took Sakura away?" Tohsaka Tokiomi guessed. This time Kirei Kotomine did not speak, watching quietly.
On the other side, Asagami Fujino appeared in front of a monastery.
---------------------------------
I hope you're enjoying the fanfiction so far! If the story has you hooked and you can't wait to see what happens next, you can unlock 30 chapters in advance over on my Patreon: patreon.com/TLHimejima1
Every bit of support means the world to me so if you're loving the ride, don't forget to drop a Power Stone and let me know.