Chapter 23: Cafe Trouble
Beta read by Shigiya and Darklord331
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-Fuyuki-
"Damn it, Issei," Shirou Emiya cursed under her breath, once again disappointed by himself and his friend for having agreed to do something like this. "This is too much!"
"D-Don't blame me for this, Emiya! How was I supposed to know we'd be short-staffed!? Nothing is forever except change!" Said Issei while pushing his glass back up with soapy hands before aggressively cleaning the dirty dishes in the sink.
"Don't you drop that Buddhist monk wisdom on me, just make sure nothing else breaks! I told you we should have called someone else to help out!" The redhead shouted back, whipping his forehead of sweat with a towel as he handled the wok filled with yakisoba noodles.
"Who would you have even called? Shinji didn't come as I expected and don't you dare bring up Tohsaka's name or else I'll seriously try to exercise whatever curse she placed on you."
"... I mean, it wouldn't have hurt to as—wah!" He got hit in the face by a wet towel.
"I knew it, she did something to your psyche and now you're constantly behind her!"
"Are you sure you don't have a crush on the girl?"
Issei gagged, a displeased expression emerging on his face with black lines covering his forehead. "If that were to be true and such a day were to pass… then I give you the permission to seal me away and have my father perform an exorcism upon my tainted mind."
"Oi, Tohsaka is not some witch you know?" Shirou did not miss the irony of his words, having mostly said it out of amusement to which his friend scoffed.
"The world is a strange place, Emiya. You are still too young and naive to see beyond the fog."
"...what was that?"
"Don't know, I heard it on TV and it got stuck in my head." The bespectacled boy shrugged, getting an eye roll from the redhead. "But still, I should be the one asking you about Tohsaka. She's been popping up rather frequently within our conversation. How worrying… are you certain there are no hidden feelings of love from you instead? Because as your friend I can't let you fall to the dark side so easily."
"This is the first time I'm bringing her up!" Both boys continued to argue, the handful of students trying their best to stay quiet and blend in with the background. Avoid getting sucked in between the hour-long conflict between these two… while not wanting to be called out as well.
The 'grand' animal-themed cafe as it was advertised to him, was one that only had masks rather than a full costume due to budgeting. Did he have the capability to sew such costumes? Of course, he patched up enough of his own clothes to become a master at it. Or just make a copy with his Projection Magecraft, not that he would ever do it, as the risk of them getting damaged, and revealing the secret of magic was too high. The lion mask over his head sufficed.
Today, he arrived early with Issei already present before the sun had even risen, both prepared to assist his classmates with their issues. Initially, Shirou had no clue what to expect or how much he could contribute, believing that he'd most likely find himself fixing a single coffee machine to work and turning a few screws here and there before having plenty of free time helping the others with the part he actually looked forward to… cooking. Boy, how wrong he turned out to be. Issei mentioned working on setting things up and fixing broken machines, which in hindsight, were repairs that didn't take long for him.
However, before he could even greet anyone, Emiya found himself shoved into the sweltering waiting room at the back, where his classmates pleaded for him to fix the air conditioner.
Maintaining a deadpan expression, he successfully completed the task. However, his classmates continued to drag him to various areas, requesting fixes for various assortments from an old espresso machine, and boilers to plumbing. Despite Issei's earlier claim that the cafe belonged to a classmate's family with regular business, Emiya found himself doubting that claim given the chaotic state of the place. It seemed on the brink of collapse, and how it had remained operational for so long was a mystery.
Nevertheless, he helped without much complaint and now found himself back in the kitchen aiding the cooks.
As minutes turned into hours, everything gradually started to take shape and work smoothly. Posters, cardboard cutouts, decorations, and a box filled with plenty of animal-themed uniforms were brought into the storage unit instead. At exactly nine, they commenced service — later than usual but expected with all the unfinished tasks.
Customers entered one by one, and the students eagerly began their event, taking their role seriously despite the earlier setbacks. Immediately, Emiya noticed the glaring issue with these people, far too inexperienced to interact with the customers.
'I guess they did some publicity for this occasion, got a bit too popular and now there are more people here than they can possibly handle. Doesn't help that half of the class is absent due to most of them catching a cold.' One streak of bad luck after the other, he knew nothing could be done other than to focus on the current task at hand.
If this entire event failed then so be it.
His schoolmates struggled with the orders, mishandled the coffee machine, and couldn't follow simple recipes back in the kitchen. "Emiya, can you help us out at the counter? Haruna already broke one of the glasses." One of the girls wearing cat ears approached him with a pitiful face, pleading with her hands held together.
At this point, it was only a matter of time before his hair turned white. The boy basically ran this entire establishment by himself at this point. "Fine, only for a bit and I'll come back to the kitchen. Why did you have to add yakisoba to the menu in the first place…" he complained under his breath while going to the other end to help out.
"Next time… wait, no, what am I saying? Please don't let there be a next time. I won't agree to help out." He spoke, taking off his apron while letting the other schoolmates take over his station.
"Am I really hearing those words come out of your mouth? We both know you're the one usually meddling in any scenario to help people at the smallest given chance. Something tells me you would have found a way to help here even if I kept it a secret." Light flashed on the monk's glasses, as he showed a smirk which Shirou had no answer to.
"T-That's not true…"
"Did anyone tell you you're a terrible liar? Besides, you don't seem to even convince yourself." While managing the counter, Shirou took the time to think about his talk with Sakura yesterday, one that still weighed down upon him for more than one reason.
{Break}
"Sakura, we have a guest!" Walking inside, accompanied by Rider in the clothing he bought recently, the boy felt his beat loudly with each passing second. He knew Sakura came from a Magi family and perhaps was herself a Magus. His last meeting with the head of the family just cemented that belief and burned away any doubts he possessed.
This coupled with what dwelled within her heart made his blood boil in anger. The chances she feared the Supernatural world or wanted to stay away from it were logical. He wanted to give her that haven here, to give her a normal life where she'd feel at peace. Just as she knew about her background, the girl most likely knew about his nature as a Magecraft user.
Yet she never brought it up in a conversation nor did she show signs of caring about that aspect in the first place. But this peace would not last, with the Holy Grail War approaching and the possibility that other Servants would sooner or later appear made it obvious that their current life would change.
"You're worried," Rider commented as he closed the door behind. The Servant despite her blindfold has a keen sense of her surroundings and to the slightest change to his appearance. "And it's not about me."
"Can you read minds now? An interesting skill I must say." He answered with a dry voice.
"I don't need to, it's evident enough."
He chuckled at that response, "Yeah, well, I'm just unsure about how to handle some matters in the future. But let's not focus on that, I'm sure Sakura will be happy to meet you."
"... I doubt that," she whispered, remembering the scene from the day after she was summoned.
"You know, we never actually thought of a name for you," Shirou noted, humming in contemplation. "I can't exactly introduce you as Rider, that's just a blatant giveaway on what you are, even Sakura would question my thought process."
"I've already been doing that since you summoned me, master."
"Har, har. Very funny, Rider." He replied dryly, getting used to her occasional jab at his decision-making. "Well, you don't look Japanese… have any ideas on a name?"
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"...Med," the woman answered after a while, something which Shirou honestly wasn't waiting for as he expected her to remain silent without providing him with a name.
"Is that your actual name?" He couldn't help but ask to which she shrugged, neither giving a yes or no.
Before the boy could ask her another question, the sound of footsteps caught their attention. Both found Sakura coming over while wearing the apron he usually wore over her school uniform. A small gentle smile on her face, "Ah, senpai, I went ahead and started to prepare—" her voice froze, body going still, eyes widening in shock when her gaze fell on the beautifully tall woman next to him. A rather awkward silence followed, as the redhead stepped forward to break the ice.
"Sakura, this is… Med," he gestured to his Servant, the latter which gave a light nod in return — still remaining as quiet as always. "She's uh… she's an old friend of my dad. She used to work for my dad and came here for some work-related issues. I offered to let her stay here until she is finished. Don't mind the blindfold it's uh…. It's a medical mask. She has a medical condition that gives her very sensitive eyes and has to wear it most of the time."
The Matou scioness remained frozen in her spot, her eyes widened as she stared at Rider at the entrance, Shirou unable to guess what was passing through her mind.
'I believe it's better if you don't go too much into details, Master. You're digging yourself into a bigger hole with each lie.' At that, Shirou had to agree with her.
'Should have given you sunglasses…'
'Wouldn't have worked.' The way how she said it made him curious about what existed behind those blindfolds. From the dreams, he'd seen the world around from the eyes of the young girl, so she wasn't born blind nor did she suffer from some ailments. These dreams… he really didn't know how to feel about them.
"A-Ano…good evening, my name is Sakura Matou. It's… it's nice to meet you, Med-san." Sakura gathered her wits and bowed slightly, though her face seemed to be different in Shirou's eyes. It was more monotone and hard to read, reminding him of the woman next to him. "Senpai… you never mentioned about Med-san's arrival."
"Right, it was a last-minute piece of news and I barely had time to prepare for her arrival. It must have slipped my mind on telling you. Sorry about that." A quickly made up excuse, she'd seen his recent activities and must have seen how busy he was.
"Right… I'll b-be going back to finishing breakfast." The girl hastily left the room, leaving them behind. Rider on the other hand held back the urge to sigh at the situation, though she hadn't gotten a perfect grasp on Sakura's personality yet — she had a pretty good idea on her relationship with her Master after observing them for so long. No, there were multiple people she kept tabs on around him, and how he kept missing the signs of these girls' attraction to him just left her bewildered.
She couldn't tell if that was endearing or frustrating.
"Looks like it went well," Shirou said while scratching the back of his head in annoyance at the situation, "Sakura is a good person, I'm sure she'll warm up to you soon and be more talkative around you. She's just a bit shy at the moment."
"You don't say."
Regardless, a part of the Servant found the entire scenario amusing, curious to see where it led.
{Break}
"Hey, Emiya! We have another customer!" A classmate called his name, prompting him to quickly plate the last order while letting others in the hectic kitchen handle the rest. Walking to the counter, he was surprised to find two foreigners who certainly weren't from Fuyuki. The tall man with long, smooth black hair flowed behind his back and seemed to be well-taken care of, wearing expensive attire rarely seen in the city and more of something of . The… girl? Yes, the girl next to him had her face covered by a strange black and gray coat. An attire that did not suit the rather blistering heat outside, not the ideal weather for what she had. The closer he looked, she possessed distinct features that made it clear she wasn't Japanese — just like the man next to her.
Fuyuki wasn't a big tourist city, so encountering foreigners here was rather unusual. So far, the only foreigner he met this last month alone was none other than Bazett.
Approaching them, Shirou wondered if they knew Japanese or if he would need to use some English. "Welcome to Paws and Latte. What would you like to have today?" Normally, customers would sit at a table and wait for a waiter or waitress, but these two had come directly to the counter. "..."
He waited and waited some more for the man to respond, getting no answer which made the boy grow confused about what was going on. Shirou looked at the man, raising an eyebrow at the strange gaze he received from the other side, one holding traces of shock, confusion, and… fear?
Strange…
"Excuse me?" He tried again, speaking in English, hoping the man understood him this time. Waver's eyes shook slightly, his posture stiffened and dread spread over his being. This made Shirou wonder if the man perhaps did not understand English in the first place.
"One Roarin' Raspberry Macchiato and a Tropical Toucan Iced Tea. Sorry about my mentor, he's still a bit tired from our long trip from England." Instead of the man, the woman next to him answered, for a moment finding strands of grayish hair color with a hint of her green eyes peeking through the hoodie as they peered at the menu written on the chalkboard behind him.
'A burst of raspberry sweetness in a classic macchiato and a refreshing iced tea infused with tropical fruit flavors.' For all their issues, the class at least came up with creative names and rather good combinations of recipes for drinks. "Alright, I'll get your order in a bit. Please take a set in the meantime!"
As Shirou turned his back, Gray pulled Waver away from the counter and to the seat furthest away in the corner. "Is something the matter?" she commented, after having witnessed her mentor throw some brief glances at the back from time to time. Clear signs that something was putting him on edge about the boy. Yet no matter how much she studied him, nothing in particular stood out from the red head.
Waver tried multiple times to pull out a cigar from his pocket but hesitated due to the no smoking rule posted on the wall next to them. Other than that, she found other common signs, from tapping legs to his previous absent-minded reaction which was very out of the norm. "Are you two acquainted?"
"Acquainted? No, this is the first time I met that boy." He answered, getting a hold of his emotion as his fear started to subside. "I just… blanked out after hearing something, it brought up bad memories of the past. He's not related, far too young and his appearance is far too different to have any connections."
After his return to the Clocktower, other than having to deal with the fallout of Kayneth's death and the heavy losses the El-Melloi family suffered and him having become the one to shoulder the blame… Waver tried to gather information from the Masters from the Fourth Grail War. Whether they were still alive or not, whether it be out of morbid curiosity or to plan for a contingency plan in case he ever met them again. More of the former now that he thought about it.
One of these people was Saber's Master, the infamous Magus Killer whose name alone gave him nightmares, though not as bad as his memories of the Golden King and Saber herself. Still a deadly individual… one that suddenly dropped out of the face of the world. 'I found no traces of his existence for so many years that it's very likely he died from the fire…'
Kiritsugu Emiya's life was shrouded in mysteries. Other than his affiliation with the Einzbern who hired him in the first place, he knew next to nothing. Whether he had a family, a wife, or perhaps even a son remained a baseless assumption.
Yet to hear someone bear the name Emiya made all those ideas resurface with vengeance and put into question if that man truly died.
'Damn it… not even a day in this cursed town and I already nearly got a panic attack.'
His apprentice continued to speak, "You are obviously worried about something. It would help a lot if you told me what was going on." The young woman knew that there existed more to his words than what he had told her. A part of her wanted to joke if he swung the other way but making such a joke at this moment did not seem appropriate nor did it suit her taste for that matter. Perhaps staying around with Lady Reines was a bad influence on her behavior after all.
Waver shook his head, "It's nothing of that sort, I'm just being far too paranoid. It's not uncommon for people to share the same last name and be completely unrelated." He honestly felt bad for the boy, not wanting the latter to believe he'd done something to earn such a reaction.
Soon their order arrived and the duo found themselves shocked at the taste.
"It tastes like something you'd get from a high-end cafe with premium ingredients. Not something that came from a themed cafe run by high school students from the looks of it." The man said, having his worries wash away with each sip of his macchiato, his eyes glancing at Gray, who was fully immersed in her iced tea, letting out a quiet hum of delight. The heat coupled with the cloak did not exactly invite a comfortable feeling to anyone that looked at her. "This is exactly what I needed."
Now that he thought about it… this opportunity could be seen as a miniature vacation before the main event. To indulge himself with comfort by seeing what the country truly had to offer before going about making preparations for the summoning. Everything was ready, from the catalyst to planning their strategies by using his past experience as a platform to gain an advantage over the other contestants.
"So, what's next after this?" Gray asked, getting curious about their following day.
"Reconnaissance in a way, many years have passed since I last came to this city and plenty has changed. We should get an acute understanding of our surroundings and plan for the best area to set up a base amongst many things. Second is communication, we can't do anything drastic without consulting with the Second Owner. A Lord encroaching upon their territory is a major deal that cannot be overlooked in case I was instead a random Magus. A good opportunity to set up some connections and even information, very likely said the second owner to also be a Master." If he recalled, the Church also possessed a strong presence, for obvious reasons, so they needed to meet those people as well.
"You planned this thoroughly, didn't you?" Gray noted, having already emptied her drink within seconds before waving one of the students for another item on the menu, a Cheeky Cheetah Cheesecake this time, which was swiftly delivered.
"But of course, all of these are matters that I could not accomplish early on in my first attempt. I admit, perhaps the end result could have been different if I held more knowledge of my surroundings." Though his voice held confidence, they were hollow to the man. Who was he trying to fool but those around him?
Even with all the knowledge in the world, Waver just failed to imagine himself with Rider taking down Gilgamesh. That man was just an obstacle that no amount of strategy could ever take down without an absolute Noble Phantasm of equal power to his Ea… thankfully the likeness for him to be summoned again was next to none.
"What about the former Enforcer?"
"What about her?" He had a faint idea of what she was trying to insinuate.
"Well… what if she happens to be one of the Masters?"
Her face flashed before his mind, their brief meeting in front of the Galiasta estate. "Nothing. One of our goals is to not search for additional trouble, we don't start a conflict with someone just because they are wanted individuals. Otherwise, we'll end up in losing positions in the long run. But if she proves for certain that she is an enemy and we can't end it peacefully… then we'll take care of her like any other hostile Master."
Gray nodded, eating the last piece of the cheesecake, going for another piece, only to her dismay, found that she had already emptied her plate — thus quickly ordering a Parrot's Paradise Pie this time. "When do we start?"
"Not anytime soon. We still have ample time to prepare—hm?" Right in the middle of his sentence, Waver's words came to a halt as his eyes were attracted to two figures walking inside the establishment. A similar reaction spread from his apprentice to every single person inside the building, some out of wonder, amazement, and… confusion like him.
"..."
Purple…
The two English duo were unable to take their gaze off her appearance. Though he was nervous about her presence, it felt oddly familiar and dreadful. His hands unconsciously went over to grab a cigar from his suit, tapping it against the table while Gray continued to consume her fifth plate while switching her attention between the woman and her food. 'That woman, no, it can't be…'
At least she seemed to enjoy her time here.
"Sakura, Med?" Shirou came out soon after, his face stunned at the presence of the two individuals before him. "What are you doing here?"
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(A few hours before.)
The sun hadn't fully risen yet, but the birds started chirping with the sound of leaves rustling from the wind. Rider sat at the table, wearing her new attire with a cup of warm tea nestled between her hands, Shirou having left a while ago and having instructed her to remain behind for today.
A decision she vehemently pushed back, given how much danger it posed to her Master. Without her by his side, the boy was open to an attack from both the enemy Masters and possibly other Servants. Yet he remained insistent on going alone, stating that he'd be back soon and that she needed to build up the image of a proper guest to Sakura.
Speaking about the Matou girl, Rider carefully observed her as she moved around the kitchen without saying a word. The blue haired girl had lost her smile and that cheerful face she put up whenever around Shirou. Now it looked empty, devoid of life and emotions, making the Servant feel like she was looking into a mirror. Rider didn't know how to formulate it, but a not-so-small part of her mind was curious about Sakura, to know more about her story and involvement with her master on her end — which obviously were of a romantic nature. Yet Shirou showed no signs of knowing about that side of hers, oblivious to the clues presented right in front of his face.
Sakura walked back into the living room, with her own cup of tea, sitting down in front of the Rider on the opposite side of the table. The TV wasn't on, and the silence accompanied by the sound of the wind outside did not help to alleviate the somewhat tense atmosphere. The Servant knew about Sakura's nature as a possible Magus, hailing from an important family that he wished to keep her away from. This coupled with her senses picking up the ever so slight traces of Magical Energy fluctuating within her body ever so often.
"Thank you for the tea," she spoke first, willing to start the conversation instead of dealing with the awkwardness between them.
Sakura's eyes looked up for a moment before they glanced back down. Her head ever so slightly nodded as she replied with a monotone voice. "You're welcome."
The longer she looked at Sakura the more sympathetic Rider felt. She could not exactly pinpoint the reason behind it nor could she factor why the blue-haired girl brought on such a reaction, but it pushed her to want more from this interaction. One thing she needed to get out of the way of her previous reaction was, "You know what I am."
A statement more than a question, a topic she preferred to not beat around the bush and act clueless as it served no purpose personally. For she believed that a different approach suited her rather than the one her Master conjured up. And just as expected, Sakura nodded her head again without hesitation, a bit taken aback by how forward Rider was with this revelation. "There is no need to hide it, your reaction back then was obvious enough."
"Ah," it was odd how different this person behaved with Shirou around, almost disturbingly so. Such a demeanor did not belong to an average person or even a Magus for that matter, it was no different to a broken person keeping a facade. "Don't tell senpai."
Rider shrugged, "I have no reason to, Master ordered me to keep up my current appearance around you and act normally… and something tells me he also suspects something but is unwilling to face it."
To that, Sakura clenched her cup tightly. "He… he's doing so for my sake, he wants to keep me safe."
Protecting her from what? That part he never revealed to the purple haired Heroic Spirit. However she also never asked, given Shirou wasn't one to hide anything purposefully from her if she asked. In fact, she felt the boy was far too honest for his own safety, if she'd been a more vicious Servant with ways to use the Command Seal to her advantage or even meddle with the contract itself — then it would be an easy task with him as the Master.
Then again, he strayed from the idea of what a Magus was. Carefree? Not entirely so, just different sets of morals and values. The desire to reach the Root, and attain a form of absolute power, wealth, or influence did not seem to be his main objective… rather she herself wasn't certain what he even desired from the Grail.
"If you don't mind me asking, how long has it been since you were summoned?" Sakura asked with a whisper, a question Rider felt no harm answering.
"It's been a few weeks by now, not even a month has passed." Strange how time flew by so quickly, it hasn't felt that long, to be honest.
"He… he hasn't been in any danger so far, right?" Sakura asked which Rider nearly scoffed at.
"No, well, not in any danger so far but Master can be stubborn at times which will land him in plenty of trouble eventually." At this point, she wouldn't even be surprised if he suddenly tried to join her to battle another Servant.
To her surprise, Sakura giggled, light returning to her eyes as her body became less tense than before. "That sounds like him alright, he's very stubborn to a fault and will jump into any situation without thinking at times."
"So you know it too, huh. I'd much prefer if that weren't the case, he should be thankful we haven't encountered another Servant yet."
"Did he get hurt while with you?"
"Yes," she answered without hesitation. "Not against any enemies but rather in his training. He keeps asking me to spar with him and doesn't know the meaning of giving up." She lost count of the amount of time he threw up from a single kick, was rendered unconscious for a minute, or suffered from multiple head trauma. How he hadn't been comatose by now or how he managed to recover the next day with little change was a mystery, though she just attributed it to his general weirdness.
"Don't bother trying to stop him. It's like you said, senpai is stubborn to a fault. He once tried to attend school and work while covered in bandages. I don't know what could have led him to getting hurt so much but he always dodged my questions when I ask."
Rider tilted her head, "I feel like he'd listen to you if you tried to be more forward with him. You love him after all, don't you?"
"—!?" The sudden words from her mouth surprised the girl so much that she suffered from a fit of coughs, having spit out the tea while Rider slowly sipped hers without breaking her covered gaze. "Y-You… You… I don't know what you're talking ab—"
"You almost devoured his lips when he was sleeping a week ago." Her dry tone cleaved through the atmosphere and rendered Sakura speechless. Horror flashed before her eyes as the realization that Rider saw that moment of weakness filled her mind. Yet the following words managed to calm her down considerably.
"No, he doesn't know, I didn't bother telling him. I know you must have had your reasons, so I won't pry about your behavior back then. Master trusts and holds you especially dear obviously, so there is no need for me to treat you as a possible threat."
"..." Rider noticed the lifeless eyes return once again to the girl's eyes as she finished her phrase. "...Senpai is too trusting, he shouldn't be like that for someone like me. I… I don't deserve it."
"Why?" Rider asked, curiosity once again getting the better of her. "I believe you two get along like a perfect couple. You already live in the same house and so do plenty of activities together like newlyweds. So what's stopping you from just confessing?"
Sakura grabbed her skirt tightly, her knuckles turning white from the grip, unwilling to look the Servant in the eyes. "Because I'm dirty. My body is… tainted."
Rider frowned, the hint behind those words being more than enough for her to piece in the underlying meaning. "Master doesn't think so."
Sakura laughed self-deprecatingly, "Senpai doesn't know everything that happened to me. When the day comes that he learns the truth… He'll… He'll look at me with disgust, that I know. I don't want to live through that, so that's why for now I'm more than happy to cherish what we have here, because it won't last." She took a deep shaky breath, for the first time looking at Rider with a smile that was both genuine and pleading. "Can you keep him safe? Please. He won't listen to my words so I have no one to rely on but you for this — even though this is the first time we met."
"I promise," Rider answered without hesitation. "I'm his Servant, so it's my duty to keep him safe. But I also feel you're being too hesitant. You may know him longer than myself but I personally feel Shirou isn't the kind of person who will judge you like that. You should be more bold or else nothing will go through his thick head."
Wait, didn't he say that he was going to work at the animal themed cafe she heard his friend talk about before? This sounded like the perfect opportunity to help these two get along and try to reduce the awkward atmosphere between them.
"Med-san?"
Sakura watched in confusion as the person before she got up from her seat, walked towards her, and gently grabbed her wrist.
"I can't protect my Master while I'm here, but I also can't disobey his orders to look after you while he's there. So, the best way to fulfill my duties is to bring you along at the cafe, you wouldn't mind that, right?" Somehow, she was certain that using this as a way to deepen their bonds wouldn't dissuade Sakura from joining her, but using the promise as a device, then she had no reason to refuse.
"E-Eh?" Sakura let herself be guided by Rider outside without much resistance, still processing her words and before she knew it, found herself outside the gates still wearing the apron. "W-Wait! At least let me change into something better looking!"
"Don't worry, I think Master has a fetish for you in an apron."
"M-Med-san!?"
A small smile bloomed on Rider's face, despite the rocky impression between them at first, she found herself taking pleasure at the girl's reaction. Similar to the boy, it made her want to push such reactions more frequently.
{Break}
(Back at the cafe)
"Sakura, Med?" Shirou came out soon after, his face stunned at the presence of the two individuals before him. "What are you doing here?"
Shirou almost had the glass within his grasp slip and fall. He worried that something bad must have happened for them to show up here, but seeing the calm expression on Rider's face and red faced Sakura still wearing an apron, he became confused more than anything else.
"I-I was-M-Med-san forced m-," Sakura could barely finish her phrase as Shirou drew closer, both embarrassed and flustered especially with this many eyes looking at them! She threw a dirty look at the tall woman behind her who seemed to be enjoying the show!
'Help me out, please!' She tried to convey with her gaze but the Servant just gave her an encouraging nod. 'Med-san!'
"Are you sick, Sakura?" Shirou drew closer, his hands on her forehead as his touch pushed her to the limit. Why wasn't he hesitant to do such a thing in public!? Did he fail to sense literally everyone watching them like some sort of theater play?
"I-I just want to visit senpai and help out if I can…" that was the only excuse she managed to muster. "You don't mind if I stay h—"
Her voice got cut off by the sound of the bell chiming as the door was pushed open. The sound of two girls talking to each other filling the quiet room.
"I really don't have the time for this, Ayako. Didn't I tell you that I need to take care of some personal affairs today? You can't just show up in front of my house and drag me out here… also, how did you even know where I live?"
"Oh cheer up, Rin! I promised my upperclassmen to show up at their little cafe with a friend and you were the only one that came to mind. I just happened to cross paths with this priest fella at the park who recognized me as a student from Homurahara. He told me he was another student's caretaker and confirmed when I mentioned your name. So I just asked the guy about your address, how nice it would be to spend some time with an old friend and he immediately agreed without much trouble. Also, you were sleeping when I arrived! Who sleeps this late in the day?"
"That damned priest… Also, you rang at seven in the morning on a weekend! Who wakes up this early outside school hours!?"
Both brunettes quarreled with each other, their conversation soon dying down as they noticed the strange atmosphere. Their eyes widening as they found familiar faces within the establishment.
"Sakura?" Whispered Rin.
Ayako on the other hand hadn't expected to find a certain redhead wearing a waiter suit with cat ears. "Emiya?"
"Ayako? Tohsaka?" A similar reaction showed on Shirou's face.
"Tohsaka!?" While a dread filled voice sounded from the kitchen as a certain monk in training found his friend once again facing that manipulative witch.
"Tohsaka?" Waver at the far end reacted to the name, having drawn parallel to the name shared by the Second Owner of Fuyuki.
Gray on the other hand kept her gaze locked in on Shirou, her plate empty as she tried to call him on multiple occasions for another refill but he kept looking past them.
"..."
Rider on the other hand felt her amusement grow, taking a seat on a vacant chair while waiting to see how her Master was going to handle the situation.
As for Shirou, he just felt a headache assaulting his mind. This coupled with an ominous chill at how Rin turned her squinted gaze at him and the hand that still rested upon Sakura's forehead.
'What did you do, Rider…'
'Just following your orders, Master.'
Why did it sound like she was having fun with all of this?
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The next 5 chapters of Snafu, and my other Fate fics (Fate Coiling Sword with 3 chapters, A Fake Familiar Reborn with 3 chapters, Steel Eyed Faker soon to be 3 chapters, Hound having 1 and To love a sword having 4 chapters) are already available on my P@treon. With 4 more Broly chapters at /NimtheWriter. Also, I post commissioned arts on each story, already posted a few on an Archer's Promise, Broly and Snafu.