"Tohsaka, you're a bit later today than yesterday. Did you get all the clocks at home fixed?"
Ayako Misuzu was as energetic as ever today.
"No, I didn't sleep at all last night..."
"You didn't sleep all night?! Tohsaka, are you okay? Are you feeling unwell?" Ayako Misuzu showed a look of concern.
"I'm fine. More importantly, have you felt unwell lately?" Tohsaka Rin gave a wry smile, then shifted the topic elsewhere.
Looking at Tohsaka Rin, Ayako Misuzu felt she was a bit strange today, but she couldn't pinpoint exactly what was wrong.
"It's good that you're okay. I've been exhausted lately..." Ayako Misuzu looked toward the Kyudo Club dejectedly, as if suddenly losing her steam. "That guy Shinji has been getting more and more out of hand lately. If he's not picking on the newcomers, he's causing trouble elsewhere. This morning, he even had a conflict with his own sister. Can't that guy act like a Vice Captain for once!"
Tohsaka Rin's heart stirred. She looked at Ayako Misuzu, hesitated for a moment, and finally asked, "What happened between Matou Sakura and Shinji Matou?"
"It seems Shinji kept bullying Sakura until she couldn't take it anymore and fought back. She sent Shinji straight to the infirmary. The members of the Kyudo Club were shocked; no one expected the usually gentle and silent Sakura to have such a side." Ayako Misuzu sighed. "Sakura is truly pitiful. Even though they're both descendants of the Matou Family, she seems to be constantly bullied by them."
Tohsaka Rin fell silent. Because of the non-interference pact established between the Three Founding Families for the Holy Grail War, she hadn't had a proper conversation with Matou Sakura in a long time.
"By the way, you should be quite close to Sakura privately, right? Could you help persuade her? She seems to be considering quitting the Kyudo Club lately."
Tohsaka Rin's pace faltered. She turned to look at Ayako Misuzu. "Quitting?"
"Yeah. We've already lost one key member; if we lose Sakura now, the future of the Kyudo Club will be in jeopardy..." Ayako Misuzu let out a sigh like a CEO facing an unavoidable bankruptcy.
"I understand." Tohsaka Rin nodded and looked at Ayako Misuzu. "By the way, what makes you think Sakura and I are close?"
"Eh? Because you were talking to Sakura at the stairwell yesterday. And also, I've always felt that the ribbon Sakura wears on her head really matches your style..."
Watching Tohsaka Rin's retreating figure, Ayako Misuzu felt something was odd but couldn't say why. After entering the school, her sense of fatigue grew even stronger.
"Ah... Have I been too tired lately?"
After entering the school building, Tohsaka Rin found a secluded spot.
"Akatsuki, what do you know about Sakura's situation?"
"Me? Why do you think I would know?" Akatsuki stepped out from behind her, looking at Tohsaka Rin with a strange expression.
Akatsuki had parted ways with Tohsaka Rin near the school gate, but Tohsaka Rin could feel that Akatsuki hadn't actually gone far. After all, this was likely her first time at this school, so she wouldn't wander off before getting familiar with it.
"Ayako has the aura of magecraft on her; she must have been tainted by it last night. Combining that with what Saber said about you hurriedly drinking her blood before leaving..." Tohsaka Rin stared intently at Akatsuki, as if trying to find a flaw in her expression. "As much as I don't want to believe it, you probably found out that Ayako was in danger through some means, right?"
Akatsuki nodded.
"I just gave Sakura a different choice." Akatsuki looked away. She certainly wouldn't tell Tohsaka Rin that she was a transmigrator and had already turned Matou Sakura into her progeny.
"'Sakura'? Since when did you and Sakura get close enough to use her given name?" Tohsaka Rin crossed her arms, looking as if she intended to make Akatsuki confess everything.
Akatsuki shrugged. "That's my private business and has nothing to do with you. If you hadn't clung so tightly to the non-interference pact of the Three Founding Families and noticed Sakura's suffering sooner, she wouldn't have become mine."
"Become mine."
Hearing those words, Tohsaka Rin was momentarily stunned, seemingly pondering their meaning. However, in the next instant, a surge of rage rushed to her head.
"What did you do to Sakura?"
Just as she was about to step forward and grab Akatsuki's collar, a voice interrupted her.
"What are you doing? It's almost time for class."
Souichirou Kuzuki's steady voice came from behind, and Akatsuki vanished in the blink of an eye. Tohsaka Rin had to stop her advance, taking deep breaths to try and calm herself down.
Tohsaka Rin took a deep breath and turned to face Souichirou Kuzuki. She struggled to control her expression, trying to make her tone sound calm.
"It's nothing. I just encountered an unpleasant cat."
Souichirou Kuzuki looked at Tohsaka Rin but didn't say much more.
"Class is about to start. Get yourself ready." With that, he walked toward the classroom.
Tohsaka Rin grit her teeth. Akatsuki's words kept echoing in her mind. She decided to find Matou Sakura after school to figure out exactly what had happened.
"But the boundary field in the school is also a troublesome issue... Tsk..."
After finally enduring until school was out, Tohsaka Rin hurried to the Kyudo Club. However, she didn't see Matou Sakura. After asking Ayako Misuzu, she learned that Matou Sakura had already left.
"Sakura? She left a long time ago. Maybe she's feeling unwell; she looked very pale."
A sense of unease welled up in Tohsaka Rin's heart.
"Rin."
Archer's voice helped Tohsaka Rin regain a sliver of rationality. After getting Matou Sakura's location from Archer, she ran toward her without stopping.
"Sakura!" Tohsaka Rin stepped forward quickly. Matou Sakura looked up, her eyes revealing confusion, helplessness, and a hint of bewilderment.
Tohsaka Rin looked at her with heartache and asked softly, "Sakura, you..."
Tohsaka Rin suddenly froze. She didn't know what to say. Since Matou Sakura left the Tohsaka Family, she had rarely contacted her. Now, she didn't know how to start the conversation.
Matou Sakura remained silent with her head down, the school lawn reflected in her dull eyes.
A gust of wind blew, lifting strands of Matou Sakura's hair.
"Tohsaka-senp... no, Sister." Matou Sakura finally spoke. Her voice was very weak, like paper that would crumble at a touch. Hearing this both familiar and foreign address, Tohsaka Rin felt as if she were rooted to the spot.
After Matou Zouken's control vanished, Matou Sakura regained her human emotions. However, the decades spent living in the Matou Family were like a nightmare tightly gripping her throat.
"Sakura..."
Tohsaka Rin wasn't very good at understanding others' feelings, so she often failed to empathize. Consequently, in this situation, she didn't know what the right thing to do was.
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