-Fuyuki, Japan-
Loneliness has many forms. Humanity shapes loneliness. The human mind, which easily molds itself to the conditions it faces, is what gives meaning to that simple word.
"Okā-sama..."
That lonely little girl at that moment shook hands with her mother, who lay in a wheelchair staring into the void as if her soul had been lost in the tragedy three years ago. Much of the city went up in flames with an explosion, glowing brightly, making it as if the cold, dark night looked like a sunny desert filled with corpses.
"Let me take you back to the hospital."
Thus, the little girl pushed the wheelchair back to its destination.
***
Later that day, the little girl arrived at a large mansion, tired from walking so much. She opened the door, for this was her home, and noticed that the place was very quiet. Still, not caring about this, she advanced with an expressionless face and explored the place with complete familiarity.
She passed her mother's room.
By her sister's room.
Through her father's office...
And as she reached the end of the hallway, the little girl simply looked down at the floor.....
"There's no one here anymore..."
Tōsaka Rin was left alone in this place. Alone in this big mansion so silent....
-London, United Kingdom-
He moved leisurely through the city. There was no hurry for him, for surely the decision he just made ruined his life, but there was nothing more he could do. To fulfill his promise to Iskandar and his pact with Toru, this decision was necessary.
"As always..."
The streets of London were filled with people talking nonstop. They were all going about their ways erratically, making them look like a bunch of mice running away from a predator.
In this place of old brown and gray buildings, bustling and bustling, this man, the new Lord El-Melloi, sighed wearily feeling all the burden now on his shoulders. In his hand he held some adoption papers he had just signed. Now, being one of the Lords of the Clock Tower, it is impossible that, with certain illegalities, the Matō family will try to claim Sakura.
"I don't know how I'm going to tell her though."
He decided that he'd better leave such things for the Waver of the future. Now he had to make sure Sakura hadn't burned down the house. For that he had to go over that enigmatic bridge present in this city, for the house is located in one of the suburbs on the other side of the bridge.
-On the outskirts of the Whitehall and Westminster district-
The place was full of identical houses, but somehow each one of them looked strangely well in this place. In this specific district there are several areas where tourists stop by to have their pictures taken. One of those areas is the very famous Big Ben, but that old clock is quite far from this area.
The house in front of this man, looking like the others, was made of brown bricks with slightly elongated windows. On the streets there were several parked cars and trees dropping their dry leaves on the ground. It was the typical sight that a local would see as commonplace as opposed to tourists passing through the area.
Waver ignored this, as he has had to see the same scenery for the past three years. He pulled the key out of his black coat and opened the door with a soft click that surely alerted Sakura.
"I'm home."
Said the long-haired man taking off his scarf and coat then leaving them on the coat rack by the door. He walked relaxed to get to the living room, but frowned and his shoulders shrugged when he saw the demon himself attacking Sakura.
Well, it wasn't a real demon, just this man's exaggeration. What his eyes actually saw were little Reines sitting next to a timid Sakura who looked like she didn't know how to get out of this situation.
"Oh, my dear brother has arrived."
Waver could only frown at the sight of Reines.
"Sakura, I told you not to open the door to strangers."
"Is this how you treat your beloved sister, idiot brother?"
"Yes. Now get out of my house! You ruin my peace!"
If anyone saw Waver yelling at a girl like that, they would surely be seen as trash, but that was far from the truth. Waver did have a reason to be so hard on this demon with the face of a little girl.
Reines has a sharp tongue and is as cunning as an old fox. Her appearance deceives anyone, even Sakura.
"What a cruel brother, can't I visit my little sister even for a few minutes?"
"She's not your sister, demon."
He resigned himself to raising his voice again. He just didn't think it was worth it.
"What do you mean she's not? If you're my brother, and you adopted Sakura, that makes her my little sister."
Sakura's eyes widened. She didn't know any of this and now she was very confused. Even though she was being submissive to Reines a few seconds ago, her expression changed to a more intense one, judging for herself that what the blonde girl said is true.
"Explain..."
From one second to the next, Reines and Waver ended up on their knees on the floor with Sakura sitting on the couch watching them silently. She folded her arms waiting for that explanation from these two people.
"And why am I on my knees too?"
Reines asked, to which Waver replied by ducking his head to avoid looking Sakura in the eyes.
"Me, don't ask me."
With that answer, Reines felt that looking for more than that answer would be problematic; she would come out of this situation badly. So she looked for the easiest way out of this problem.
Standing up as if nothing, looking at Waver with a smile of cheerfulness, she said to Sakura:
"My dear brother will explain it to you. I'm out of my free time. See you later, sis."
"Damn traitor..."
Said the man. Thus, as quickly as she appeared, Reines ran out the door to avoid her "little sister's" fury, thus leaving Waver alone in this cold war.
"Well, I..."
There was no escape now.
"Is what Reines said true?"
At Sakura's questioning, Waver looked up. He felt that going through the adoption paperwork behind this girl's back was a stupid thing to do. She already had her family in Fuyuki, but his selfishness drove him to sign those papers.
Still...
"Yes, it's true. I thought it was the best option in case the Matō come after you. That way I can stop them from taking you back."
Sakura's stern look softened after hearing that. She bent down and grabbed Waver by the cheeks.
"So you're my father right now?"
Speechless, Waver felt all his strength go the moment he heard that. A father... that's right. He is now the father of this little girl....
"Are you...?"
She asked with trembling hands. To which Waver could only think.
These past three years Sakura has been constantly thinking about how her father abandoned her to another family without hesitation. How her sister didn't even visit her and that now, out of nowhere, she has a new father. There was a lot of information to process.
'You're supposed to abandon me in the future too...I can't just think that this will have a happy ending.'
Her trauma with abandonment kept getting bigger over time. This led her to not want to trust that Waver will be by her side forever. She thought that at some point this man will also go away and leave her to her fate. But with this, she didn't know if she should stop thinking that way.
A father...
Tokiomi, being her father, never deigned to say more than two or three words to her before walking away or standing beside her for a few brief moments. All that man had in mind was benefits for the Tōsaka family, but not including his youngest daughter.
A father...
Although not related by blood, someone who truly treats you like a son can be called a father. Sakura knew that. These past three years this guy has always cared about her. He has nurtured her, protected her and taught her the values of a decent person in this Magus society. The complete opposite of Tokiomi.
If that's not being a real father, she didn't know what was.
"It's supposed to be..."
Waver replied nervously, to which Sakura gave him a soft smile by wrapping her arms around this person's neck.
"Thank you... father..."
"Father...?"
Sakura accepted this too quickly, but he understood that this was because of her past. He could do nothing to help her in that aspect now, but from now on he would continue to care for this child as always. She should grow up hoping to see Toru and become a good person. That's what a father should do... be attentive to his daughter and love her so that she doesn't feel abandoned.
This girl has lived many things for being the daughter of a Magus, but....
'This time it will be different...'
-Days later-
Waver again arrived home after a long day of work solving some minor mystery for the Clock Tower. He opened the door as dejectedly as ever and left his coat and scarf on the coat rack to go straight to the living room.
That's where it happened...again....
"Someone summoned the devil in my house!"
Waver's overreaction to seeing Reines enjoying a cup of tea next to Sakura was priceless. Reines just drank some more of the tea and looked Waver in the eyes with that innocent smile, but with many hidden intentions.
"Oh, my beloved brother. You should stop calling me a demon. Can't you see that your dear little sister is adorable and not at all like a demon?"
"That's a lie! Demons can take any form they want!"
That, according to some bible texts, is correct, but not all demons can take any form they wish. Demons are not like the nahuals of Mesoamerican mythology, who can even turn into animals.
"And you, Sakura - haven't I told you not to open the door to strangers?"
Reines interrupted before Sakura could answer.
"Again with the same thing. I'm not a stranger, I'm your adorable little sister. Face it."
Seeing that Waver was suffering with her presence, Reines smiled at ease with this. This guy's suffering for her was very pleasurable.
In this girl's twisted mind, this was the relationship a brother should have with his little sister.
"Anyway, why are you here, Lucifer?"
"Can't I visit my family? I wouldn't have to come all this way if you had accepted my offer to move into our family's mansion. Of course, if you don't want to, lovely Sakura will, won't she?"
She looked at Sakura and Waver touched his head painfully. He prayed that she wouldn't accept, for he doesn't know how Reines would change Sakura if they both live in the same house.
"I'd rather stay here with father. I've already gotten used to this house and no matter how much I try to live in another one, I wouldn't get used to it."
Reines sighed in disappointment.
"Well, it can't be helped. If you change your mind, little sister, the doors of my home will always be open to you."
"Uh, yes. I appreciate the offer."
Seeing the disappointment on Reines' face, Waver gave a thumbs up approving 8/10 for Sakura's rejection.
She, in response, flashed a crooked smile. The one who is now her father has the same childish attitude as Reines. In fact, even though the two had no resemblance or blood relation, they acted like two relatives who hated each other. or was that wrong? Sakura didn't know. Her sisterly relationship with Rin was very strange at times.
So, from that moment on, Reines started to go to Waver's house whenever she had free time just to greet Sakura and get along better with her. And although it may not seem so, Sakura always sympathized with her despite her sadistic attitudes with her adoptive father.
The truth is that Reines just wanted one more friend. Being the daughter of a Magus family is difficult and stressful. That's why visiting the lovely Sakura had become an oasis in this hellish magical world.
All that became so everyday, because the more the days, weeks and months went by, these situations started to become habits.
-Three years later-
Sakura's twelfth birthday arrived. Hopefully, Waver managed to escape for a few moments from his duties as Lord of the Clock Tower to buy a cake and have a quiet celebration at home. In fact, right now, while heading home past the big bridge, in his hand he was carrying a box with the blissful cake.
With a slight smile on his face, he thought about how Sakura has lived so far. Life is quite strange, for who would think that from the failed pact between a mediocre Magus and a Servant of the Assassin class so much would happen.
"Sakura likes pizza. I'll order that for dinner."
With his mind in the clouds, relaxed with the hustle and bustle of this place, he moved forward at ease with everything he has experienced. Yes, it's hard, but when an adorable adopted daughter waits at home, that man felt his heart healing from all the wounds of the past.
He thought that the least he can do for Sakura is to be a good father and celebrate her birthday no matter what, because it's been six years since it all started and that little girl just keeps growing up.
So, among so many positive and negative thoughts mixed in his mind as usual, he arrived at the door of the house and used the key to open it. However, before entering he prayed to whatever gods were present that the demon had not invaded his house.
As he closed the door leaving his coat and scarf on the coat rack, he sighed in relief to see that Sakura was quietly studying with some opera playing in the background.
"Welcome, father."
She said, to which Waver held up the cake saying:
"Happy birthday, Sakura."
"Oh, thank you."
Those simple words of thanks were enough for Waver.
Putting aside her studies for a few seconds, Sakura helped her father put the cake on the table, but realized that this one was too big for two people.
"I think it's too much..."
"Yes. I guess when I bought it I didn't think it through."
At that, two soft knocks sounded on the door. Sakura looked away because she recognized those two knocks on the wood. On his side, Waver didn't take any importance to this and went to see who the sudden visitor is, but when he set a foot near the door, he felt a very familiar shiver. He still decided to open the door, but when he saw the cheerful Reines waiting on the other side of the door next to a Maid with skin made of mercury, he immediately slammed the door in her face.
Frightened by Satan's presence in this house, he turned around and sat down on the couch to relax.
"Who was it?"
"Nothing and no one. Someone we don't know."
Click... the door lock rattled and the door opened showing that the mercury-skinned maid's finger had used her skills to open the lock on the door.
Waver felt his youth slip out of the window as the princess of the Underworld approached the scene.
"That was very rude, brother."
Reines whispered in his ear and Waver felt an incredible urge to run out of that place, but Sakura's voice stopped him.
"Good afternoon, sister."
Hearing Sakura's voice greeting her, Reines felt at ease. Two years ago Reines asked Sakura to stop calling her by her first name and simply call her "sister".
"Good afternoon, Sakura. I didn't forget your birthday. So I brought you a present. Trimmau."
Reines snapped her fingers and the liquid-metallic-skinned maid approached with a paper bag decorated with a blue ribbon. Trimmau (Mystic Code) as well as Reines calls her, handed the gift to Sakura and she accepted it with a slight bow.
"I thought you could use a nice dress that you can go out and show off in. Then I'll buy you some shoes to match the dress."
"You're not going to manage to buy her off with a change of clothes. She won't go with you."
"It's worth a try, my dear brother."
Watching these two fight was like watching a black fox and a white rabbit arguing. Sometimes it was funny to Sakura, but when this was repeated every time her father and Reines meet, it stops being funny and becomes overwhelming.
Even so, there was no way to break up this fight. She could only hide in a corner and wait for the storm to blow over.
'A complicated sister and father...'
At least life in this house is quite lively and will be for years to come.
A very lively family, so are these mysterious Magus.
To be continued...