No Longer a Tohsaka

Miyama, Commercial Street.

A young man wearing a hoodie and jeans strolled towards his destination on the bustling street. His eyes, deep and black, framed a sharply defined face with a sword-like brow and a slight pout to his thin lips. Despite the simple attire, a noble air surrounded him.

In his hand, he held the hand of a little girl in a blue dress. She was petite and delicate, her large purplish-blue eyes resembling a startled fawn in the woods. She trailed closely behind the young man, anxiously surveying the world outside.

Observing the timid Sakura, Arkhan couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Logically, Sakura, having grown up in Miyama, should be familiar with her surroundings. However, her expression now was filled with evident confusion and resistance.

At an age where carefree innocence should prevail, she had already lost her fair share of it. No matter who experienced such events, they would probably end up like this.

'Tohsaka Tokiomi, you really are a man laden with sins.'

Arkhan shook his head, suppressing his discontent and anger. Children are perceptive to emotional changes, and if Sakura noticed his shifting mood, it would only worsen her feelings of inferiority and fear.

After a while, he crouched down and ran his fingers through Sakura's soft black hair.

"How? Anything you want to play, anything at all? I can spend the whole day playing with you." Arkhan asked with a warm smile.

Before leaving, he casually took one of Kayneth's black cards, containing enough funds to buy half of Fuyuki.

Apart from a few outliers, most mages weren't short of money. Especially for a Lord of the Department of Mineralogy, mundane wealth was just a string of meaningless numbers.

Just the materials Kayneth used for his jewel magecraft alone were enough to provide an ordinary family with a worry-free life in the current economic downturn for a lifetime.

"Really... Can I?" Sakura looked up at Arkhan, her large eyes filled with evident timidity, yet containing a hint of expectation and hope.

"Of course, today you're my little princess, fulfilling your wishes is my mission." Arkhan said gently with a smile.

Without delay, he accompanied her as they strolled down the commercial street. Perhaps due to the gas leak incident from last night, the pedestrian traffic was not high like usual, giving the street a somewhat deserted feel. However, for the naturally timid Sakura, this might be considered a good thing.

The psychological trauma from her past experiences had cast a heavy shadow over her psychology, turning her once cheerful disposition into one filled with fear and aversion towards the outside world.

In such times, administering a strong medication would only intensify her anxiety. Slowly exposing her to the outside world seemed to be the better choice.

People don't transform overnight; rushing the process only leads to failure.

Changing Sakura's mindset wasn't something that could be accomplished in a day. Only time could wear away the shadows of the past, bringing her back to the path of a normal girl.

However, she was still a seven or eight-year-old child, naturally pure in nature. Before long, she immersed herself in the atmosphere of freedom, and the melancholy aura around her eased slightly.

Finally, a bright smile adorned her face.

"Onii-san, Onii-san, I want to eat that!" Sakura tugged at Arkhan's hand, her thick and long eyelashes blinking like butterflies as she excitedly pointed to a shop not far away selling takoyaki.

It was evident that the shop was quite popular, with a queue that stretched about seven to eight meters long, creating a unique sight on the otherwise quiet commercial street.

"Okay, you stay here, and I will get it for you right away." Arkhan chuckled, ruffled her hair, and walked toward the end of the line.

Ten minutes later, he returned with freshly cooked takoyaki, only to find her staring blankly in another direction.

"Sakura, what are you looking at?"

Perplexed, Arkhan followed the girl's gaze and spotted a mother-daughter pair casually strolling about a hundred meters away.

The mother had luscious, long, dark green hair, a gentle and serene smile, and an aura of refined elegance, clearly a well-bred lady from a prestigious family.

The daughter, dressed in a white top and a red skirt, with sleek black knee-high socks and her smooth black hair tied into twin tails, exuded an air of maturity beyond her age, revealing the potential of a beautiful woman when growing up.

'Tohsaka Aoi... Tohsaka Rin...' Arkhan's eyes narrowed slightly. He hadn't expected to encounter this mother-daughter duo here.

Seeing the anticipation in Sakura's eyes, he sighed inwardly but maintained a smile as he patted her head.

"Want to go say hello?"

Arkhan didn't particularly want Sakura to interact with the Tohsaka family, but ultimately, they were her family, and he had no right to interfere with her wishes.

Sakura seemed tempted for a moment, but after a brief pause, her eyes dimmed.

"No need... Onii-san is participating in the Holy Grail War after all... Meeting them now might cause you trouble. Besides..."

Sakura whispered, lowering her head slightly, and hands tightly clenched. Soon, her body slightly trembled and tears streaked down her clean face.

"Sa-Sakura is... no longer a Tohsaka..." Sakura whispered while choking.

Hearing her saying that, Arkhan's eyes revealed a hint of complexity. After a moment of silence, he crouched down, gently patting her head.

"Okay, I will listen to you. Now, let's have these takoyaki. I worked hard to get them, and they taste really good, y'know." Arkhan said with a warm smile.

Sakura nodded, taking the takoyaki from his hand and eating it slowly while her tears fell to the ground.

After finishing, he wiped away the tears on her face with a tissue, then glanced at Rin and Aoi in the distance. He immediately walked away in the opposite direction while holding Sakura's hand.

Rin and Aoi, who were choosing winter clothes in front of a clothing store, suddenly felt an inexplicable impulse. Unconsciously, they both turned their heads, their gaze instantly fixed on the figures of a man and a little girl in the distance.

"Okaa-san, isn't that... Sakura?"

Rin asked her mother while her eyes showed a hint of hesitation. Even though she hadn't seen her sister in a year, the familiarity from the depth of her blood was something she couldn't ignore.

Seeing the little girl's figure in the distance, Aoi's pupils contracted for a moment, but after a while, she resumed her normal expression, showing a gentle smile as she affectionately touched her daughter's head.

"Don't think too much, Rin. You just miss Sakura too much, so you're mistaking people." Aoi said softly.

"Is that so...? But it really looks like her. Should I go ask?"

"Don't be stubborn, Rin. Have you forgotten what your father said? Don't linger outside for too long during this time; it's dangerous."

"Ugh..." Rin pouted slightly, then sighed. "Fine, I got it..."

"What a good girl... Ahh, the clothes in this store look nice. Let's go in and take a look."

The moment they entered the store, Rin turned her head again, only to find that the familiar figure was nowhere to be seen.