There is a child on the roof of a mansion.
The child is crying, but he is also smiling kindly....
There is a voice whispering in the distance.
An angry female voice.
The child says something, but no one can hear it.
The boy...
He threw himself from the top of the roof....
***
Suddenly Sakura opened her eyes feeling an unbearable headache. A sharp and painful sensation also throbbed inside her belly and between her legs, which made her pout as she woke up.
With small beads of sweat trickling down her chest, she took a few seconds to process everything she saw inside her dreams and, after calming down a bit, whispered:
"That boy..."
She saw him on top of that building, crying and away from everyone so no one could reach him.
"Again..."
Ever since she summoned Toru, she's been having these strange dreams where that same boy is the main character.
'Every time I wake up, his face is erased from my memory and becomes a distant, blurry memory...'
For her it was like living in that moment of the dream, and then forgetting it when she woke up, as dreams normally do.
Still, this has been happening to her for two months now. Somehow she is getting used to this, so she simply ignored those weird dreams and sat up in bed.
As she got ready to go take a shower, the door resounded twice with two soft knocks. Those two knocks Sakura knew very well.
There was no need to go and open the door, for....
"Good morning, little sister!"
"Good morning, ma'am!"
The animated Reines entered the room together with her Mystic Code "Trimmau". Everything was so noisy that this woke Sakura up completely.
'Who are you, what are you doing in my house?'
She asked. Reines looked disappointed for a few seconds.
"What do you mean you don't know who I am? Just because we haven't been able to see each other for the past few days is no reason for you to forget me. To think that you could forget me hurts me so much, my adored little sister. Don't ever make jokes like that again."
"You're the only one who makes those kinds of jokes."
"Well, I can't deny that. Anyway. I was talking to my beloved brother a few minutes ago. I left a very bad taste in his mouth, as usual. Looks like things will be more interesting from now on."
"What do you mean?"
"That you should ask him. I, for now, will be off to continue doing my own thing. Still beautiful and lovely as ever, my little sister."
As swift as a storm, as dangerous as the storm itself, Reines left the room after those brief words.
The room fell into a strange awkward silence after that.
However.
[She's a year younger than you and yet she still treats you like you're the younger sister?]
Toru's voice rang in her mind.
"That's just the way she is. I'm never going to understand her. Although it's not like I need to understand her either. I can only hope that she doesn't do anything rash, but I know that's never going to happen. She's more cunning and clever than she looks."
[Seh... I've already seen her many times. She seems to be suspicious of us]
"Even though I told you to stay hidden, it seems even that doesn't help when I'm so obvious with how I feel. Sooner or later I'll be found out. When that happens, I hope I'll have figured out how to apologize for not saying anything sooner."
[Well, that's not my problem in the end. You decided to hide me from others, you must bear the trouble you created]
"How cruel you are, but I guess I deserve it."
At that last, Toru, who lay dematerialized in a corner of the room, stared into the void waiting for anything to happen, but simply that awkward silence returned.
There's not much he can say to her, but she does have a lot to talk to him about. Still, it's embarrassing for Sakura to be so intimate with Toru just like that out of the blue.
She wants the relationship to progress slowly and without interruptions, so she could afford to enjoy her teenage romance with this boy.
Well, if you have a boy who has the personality of a rock, that would be very difficult.
"I'm not giving up."
She was determined to move forward.
Although that last thing Toru didn't understand. He just looked at the girl who clenched her fist with determination.
***
The door to Waver's office opened.
The man in question, who was lying face down on the sofa, sighed tiredly after that girl came to bother him.
"I was just saying it was too good to be true."
He thought Reines would never come back, but dreaming so much brought him back to reality all at once.
Anyway, the one who opened the door was Gray, who, at the same time, looked at a pile of photographs strewn across the desk.
"This is... a monster?"
She asked. That completely ignited Waver's professor mode, who got up from the couch and began explaining that what's in the pictures is an angel.
This startled Gray, who was looking at the picture of a strange creature composed of strange wheels and white feathered wings with eyes.
The door again opened.
"Good morning..."
Sakura entered the room. This would normally be a fairly normal thing for Waver and Gray, but as Sakura entered the office, a strange heavy feeling accompanied her.
Gray narrowed her eyes for a moment thinking what that was, but her curiosity about the strange being her mentor referred to as an "angel" was more important to her at the moment.
"That's...a wheel? It's an angel, isn't it? I mean a Throne?"
Sakura asked.
"Right. Angels are popularly known as humanoid beings of great beauty whose wings and halos shine to the farthest reaches of existence. But that's all wrong."
Sakura and Gray looked at each other before turning their attention to this lecture by Professor Waver.
"The popular image of angels is based on the goddess of victory Nike from ancient Greek mythology. It is really disappointing how the view of human beings in the past can change what is experienced today. If we think about it objectively, if the image of angels remained as in the past, many would fear these entities. Well, in short, angels are not very attractive to the human eye."
"That's true...I guess..."
Gray was raised with a religion based on Christianity. In fact, she had that image of angels as humanoid creatures, but it seems her beliefs weren't quite right.
"Although there are exceptions. An example would be Archangel Lucifer or Archangel Michael. They have always been depicted as humanoid beings close to god."
Waver sat back and looked at the pictures on the desk.
"Back to the subject. This is related to my next mission. My adored sister has given me the assignment to go to Adra's Separation Castle. A very annoying place, really, but I was planning to go anyway."
Sakura knew about that.
There was a picture of the castle on the table, a castle that was shaped like a giant white marble arch with strange symbols on it.
Looking at the picture, Sakura thought the castle itself looked like an angel. She also remembered one of the most difficult missions her father has to accomplish.
"It's because of the El-Melloi family's Magic Crest, isn't it?
"Yes. That old man, the owner of that eccentric castle could heal Magic Crests. It seems he died and somehow or other my teacher's name was in his will. Now that my professor is gone, and since I occupy his title right now, I'm afraid I have to go in person to that castle."
'It looks like this is all going to get troublesome again.'
Waver seemed to have a talent for attracting misfortune. It seemed that this moment was one of those where misfortune knocks on his door and drags him right into a place of pure trouble.
"Gray, as annoying as it may be to you, I'll need your help. I suspect a lot of things about that place right now. So I need you to protect me. Can you come with me?"
"Uh, yes. No need to ask. I'll come with you."
"I see. I thank you. We'll leave early tomorrow morning. And Sakura. You stay at home. Study the last subjects I left you since they will be useful to you later. I really don't know how long it will take so I must apologize in advance."
Sakura hesitated for a second.
"No need to apologize... it's just that..."
[You want to accompany your father too, don't you, you want to protect him...]
She listened to Toru's voice. He was right at this moment, for somehow Sakura, hearing that her father would need Gray's protection, inevitably thought that she could protect him as well.
She wants to go...
She wants to protect what little she has left....
Yes, Sakura doesn't quite trust Gray, but that wasn't the point.
[If you want to do something, do it and don't be quiet!]
With his dull, monotone voice, Toru put his disembodied hand on Sakura's shoulder.
"Is something bothering you?"
Waver asked. Gray looked at Sakura silently waiting for an answer, but Sakura didn't seem to want to say anything.
Still...
"I want to go too..."
With a dull look, she clenched her fist.
"It's been a long time since we've gone on a mystery adventure. I was really wondering when you'd take me with you to those mysterious cases the Clock Tower gives you..."
Although no one could see it, Toru nodded.
It's annoying for him to see his Master's indecisiveness. Giving him a little push lessens the boredom and annoyance he has to go through.
It wasn't a very kind motive to help someone, really.
Waver then placed both elbows on the table and interlocked his fingers.
"I really can't take you, remember what happened last time? Don't think I'm blaming you. I never did, but the last time you were with me you almost died...and the first time was like that too."
He stood up and walked over to Sakura. He put his hand on the girl's shoulder and looked into her eyes.
"My duty is to get you away from danger. I won't allow a repeat of that time."
Waver may be a coward, but when someone brave is needed, that heroic spirit appears in front of him. With his red cape billowing in the desert wind, majestic alongside his army.
However, regardless of whether these words made Gray admire Waver for his decision to protect Sakura, the girl glared back at him.
"Father... I am no longer a child. I can't allow you to protect me anymore. If you think it's your duty to protect me, that only makes me feel angry. It makes me feel like you're obligated to protect me..."
"... ..."
Waver sighed.
"If you get like this I won't be able to refuse..."
Faced with an irrefutable argument....
'How weak'
[How weak]
"How pathetic!"
Gray thought, as Toru whispered in Sakura's mind, ending with Add screaming to the four winds.
"You let yourself be pushed around by your daughter! What kind of father are you! No! Are you even a man!"
One insult after another, as if they were a pile of stones being thrown towards Waver. This same man shrugged his shoulders. Sometimes, the comments of others could get hurtful, however, he quickly recovered from that and ignored the talking bucket.
"You must understand that this is not something I would like you to get involved in. This is part of my debt. If you're willing to get into it..."
Sakura nodded.
"You adopted me. The moment you signed those sheets of paper, I was already involved in your life."
Waver smiled upon hearing that.
"I understand... I see..."
He walked over to the door and grabbed the knob. He paused there for a second before pulling the door and said:
"Get ready, we leave first thing tomorrow morning."
After that, the man walked out of the office and left these two girls alone.
Gray looked at the door a little confused, but then put her thoughts in order and turned her gaze in Sakura's direction.
"I've never seen you talk to your father like that..."
"Uh... well..."
Sakura ducked her gaze. She was embarrassed.
"I regret..."
Witnessing this, Gray smiled softly under his hood.
'A father and daughter acting like one...'
Thinking about that... made her remember that it had been a long time since she had seen her mother.
'It's been a long time...'
In turn, Toru looked at the pictures on the table. The place shown there, for some reason, interested him quite a bit. Also, without realizing it, just by being present in the room, his negative emotions were affecting Gray, which made that girl start thinking sad thoughts.
[It seems like it's obvious that I'm going to that castle too!]
He said to Sakura, but she didn't answer him due to the fact that they are together with Gray at the moment.
In the end she could only think that, if something dangerous happened, she wouldn't hesitate to call Toru, as he is much, much stronger than any Magus nowadays. That's why he is a Heroic Spirit in spite of everything.
[I think you should start calling me Assassin. If you know my name, someone else might as well and that's a problem].
Toru walked to the door to leave. Before stepping through the wood, he whispered inside Sakura's mind.
[You shouldn't feel bad about calling me Assassin, for at the end of it all... Assassin... that's what I am]
"Uh?"
"Sakura?"
She was very confused to hear that. A distant memory from twelve years ago flashed through her mind. The image of that dull-eyed boy....
To be continued...