In the morning, the residence was very quiet. It was still early for school, so Sakura and Miyu were both still asleep.
A sizzling sound echoed in the kitchen as Ritsuka held a spatula, frying eggs for breakfast.
"Hi hi, Ritsuka, I'm here again!"
Bang—!
A wooden rice scoop hit her forehead. Taiga, who was wearing a motorcycle helmet, was knocked straight to the ground. Ritsuka didn't even look back as she took bacon out of the refrigerator.
"Ritsuka... let's duel!"
Taking her tiger shinai from her back, Taiga swung the weapon with full momentum, striking poses with a series of swishing sounds.
Since being knocked out in a few moves by Ritsuka in a swordsmanship match years ago, she was finally issuing a duel challenge again, prepared to avenge her previous humiliation. While Ritsuka was busy with part-time jobs and housework, she hadn't stopped her training for a single moment!
"Today, I will..."
"Taiga, pass me the spoon."
Without looking back, Ritsuka watched the rice that had finished steaming and transferred the fried eggs from the pan to a plate.
Reaching out, she took the spoon Taiga handed over and washed it carefully at the sink. Ritsuka easily brushed past the sudden incident... Fried eggs, bacon, and a bowl of hot rice—Taiga forgot everything and sat at the table with a smile, waiting for the meal. Her eyes curved into crescents, and her mouth turned into an M-shape.
"Teacher, you still have to prepare for class, so eat first. I'll go call Miyu and Sakura to eat."
"Okey-dokey!"
Taiga stared at the table and began to enjoy the delicious breakfast, tossing the tiger shinai aside. Ritsuka, meanwhile, walked out of the living room.
Walking through the cool hallway, she reached the washroom, from which two different voices could be heard.
Ritsuka's footsteps paused, she made a small fist, and lightly knocked on the door—
"Miyu, Sakura, wash up quickly and come eat. Don't waste time."
"You both woke up late today, so you're going to be late."
Behind her were the snowmen Taiga and the others had built in the yard last night. Ritsuka looked at the sky; it was indeed no longer early.
Class started at 8:30. If she was late, she was sure Taiga-sensei would take the opportunity to mess with her, as that woman loved to pester people.
Due to factors like the number of students, the Honnoubara Academy in Fuyuki was quite relaxed in its management of students.
A rustling sound came from the washroom, and the door slowly slid open. Miyu just poked her head out. "Okay, Sister, we know."
"Hurry up."
Confirming that the two weren't going back to sleep, Ritsuka let out a yawn.
Returning to the living room, Taiga had already finished eating like a whirlwind. Used to this, Ritsuka began to clear the table.
"Oh, right, Ritsuka. I went to call Shinji, and that guy surprisingly didn't oversleep today."
"Let me tell you, when I went to find him today, those dark circles under his eyes were incredibly exaggerated."
Blah blah blah... Taiga talked incessantly, excitedly sharing what she had seen and heard today. Shinji's situation was indeed a bit strange.
Ritsuka rubbed her chin, her expression becoming slightly serious as her eyes flickered. Did he run into a 'honey trap'? Did they pull out something bigger than his?
So he was too scared to sleep?
However, Ritsuka felt a bit of regret that Taiga hadn't witnessed any of Shinji's famous scenes. After all, it wasn't easy to catch such an opportunity; perhaps Taiga would have given Shinji a sound thrashing in a fit of bashful rage, which would have counted as Taiga helping Sakura vent some frustration.
After some idle thoughts, Ritsuka shook her head and looked at Taiga. "Teacher, don't you need to prepare for class today?"
"Hmm...?"
Taiga froze for a moment, then immediately picked up her tiger shinai and rushed out of the house.
A moment later, just as Ritsuka began serving rice for the other two, Taiga rushed back, grabbed her helmet, and ran off again.
"Ritsuka, see you later!"
"Okay."
Like a gust of wind, Fujimura Taiga rushed out of the Emiya Residence and sped away on her small motorcycle, leaving a trail of dust behind.
After another while, the two girls, still slightly dazed, walked to the dining table and began to enjoy their breakfast.
The peaceful daily life continued, but dark clouds gradually gathered in the sky, making the atmosphere a bit oppressive, as if a heavy rain was about to fall.
———
———
The crystal dice rolled on the desk; Ritsuka was quite bored during the lunch break.
It looked like it was about to rain outside, but since the temperature was low, there was a high possibility of another snowfall.
Sakura was nowhere to be found. Having finished the lunch prepared in her bento box and with nothing to do, Ritsuka began to fiddle with the crystal dice. Since the thing was a die itself, there was no problem with tossing it a couple of times, even if it didn't roll any numbers.
A figure draped in something like a cloth with a greatbow on its shoulder landed on the top face.
"I rolled an 'Alcides'?"
Ritsuka smiled to herself. Actually, it would be nice if there were a female figure in the crystal dice; as long as she was easy on the eyes, Ritsuka might be able to stare at it forever.
Spacing out could pass a significant amount of boring time.
"Did Sakura go to look for Shinji? That guy, really, not coming to school... Taiga will definitely scold him to death when she finds out."
Shinji hadn't come to school; he had simply vanished today. His seat in the classroom remained empty, and when Sakura found out during the lunch break, she also disappeared.
"Julian isn't here either. Why has everyone disappeared?"
With all her acquaintances gone, everything suddenly returned to absolute silence, with only Miyu left by her side.
It felt a bit like how she felt just after losing Kiritsugu... "Whatever, I'll go look for them too."
There was still quite a bit of time before the end of the lunch break. Ritsuka, whose grades were decent, decisively chose to cut class and left the classroom through the back door.
Holding her keys, Ritsuka first went to the Kyudo Club to see if that guy was slacking off there.
Unfortunately, the Kyudo Club was extremely quiet, and the teacher hadn't lent out any other keys that could open the club doors. Looking at the locked door, Ritsuka had to go elsewhere.
Crossing the playground and easily jumping over the academy wall, Ritsuka arrived at the neighboring Elementary School Section of Honnoubara Academy, then left the school from that side's wall and walked along the streets of Fuyuki City.
The sky was an oppressive gray, with thick dark clouds covering the city.
Tossing her tied-up ponytail, Ritsuka watched the snowflakes falling from the sky with a bit of rain mixed in. She immediately ran to a deserted park and stood under a pavilion.
"Hum hum hum..."
Suddenly, a small figure entered her field of vision, and the relaxed, happy humming also caught Ritsuka's attention.
It was a blonde girl about elementary school age.
With blonde vertical drill twin tails, the loli, who was about the same age as Miyu, glanced at Ritsuka standing in the pavilion and then hurriedly ran to the side.
On the other side, a red-haired loli with twin tails ran into the park and happened to come face-to-face with the blonde girl.
It was clear they knew each other, and the red-haired loli was the one looking for the other. The two began to talk, the newly arrived loli wearing a helpless expression.
"Erica..."
"That is...?"
For some reason, a very strange sensation made Ritsuka's whole body stiffen, her gaze lingering on the two girls.
Even though they were just two foreign-looking girls, one of them made her skill [Minds Eye (True)] keep alerting her, while the other... caused the crystal dice to react violently.
Subconsciously pressing her right hand, an image appeared directly in Ritsuka's vision—it was Alcides, with two lines of characters appearing below... [Alcides (Archer/Avenger)]
[synchronization value (3%)]
...The synchronization value rose by a notch and continued to increase slowly, roughly 1% every ten seconds.
What was happening?
Ritsuka stared intently at the two little ones, a drop of cold sweat sliding down her cheek.
"Hey! Big sister over there, what are you doing?"
Suddenly, an extremely dangerous aura rose from the girl with red twin tails as she turned her head to look at Ritsuka, who had been staring at them.
Along with it, she also showed an innocent and pure smile.
"I'm hiding from the rain. Where are your family members? Do you want me to help you make a call?"
Taking out her phone, Ritsuka suppressed the shivering sensation and feigned composure. The illusion of being stared at by a wild beast made her smile a bit stiff.
It was like the first time she encountered a lion; she had been only seven years old then.
It was the feeling of being targeted by a top predator.
'What on earth are these things?'
Ritsuka glanced at the image in her vision; the synchronization value column had already reached 9%.
"Thanks for the kind offer, Sister, but there's no need to trouble you."
With a cheerful smile, the other party waved her hand, and the two little ones left together, running out of sight along the street outside the park.
Clenching her fingers tightly, Ritsuka breathed a sigh of relief.
"I feel like that girl's aura... is a bit like Alcides..."