"Sorry for the wait, Taiga."
Shirou rushed to make breakfast for him and Taiga, having whipped-up a dish that would satisfy her at the very least in record time. Shirou put the prepared dishes for himself and his guardian on the table and they sat down to eat.
"I've always known you to be an early riser, Shirou," Taiga said before taking a bite. You're usually up and ready to go by this time. Is something wrong?"
Shirou was quick to deflect.
"No, of course not..." he said as he watched Taiga happily eating without a care in the world.
"If you say so..." Taiga shrugged, taking another bite. "I was initially worried when breakfast wasn't ready when I came."
"More like on the verge of having an existential crisis," Shirou remarked bluntly, having known for years how much Taiga adored his cooking. He was sure Taiga would feel like she was having the worst day ever if she never got any of it.
Shirou's guardian always used to say, "a day without Shirou's cooking is like a day without sunshine."
That summed up Taiga's reaction this morning when Shirou didn't have breakfast ready. Taiga immediately stopped and huffed in annoyance at Shirou.
"Oh, stop it," Taiga then sighed. "I miss the days when you weren't so sassy. Come to think of it, that was before you introduced me to Arturia. Where is she anyway?"
"She and Rin went out," Shirou told her. "Speaking of, I wanted to talk to you about her. It's really important-"
"Oh my god, you're going to propose!" Taiga cheerily exclaimed out of the blue, catching Shirou off guard.
"What?! No! I mean- not yet-"
"I'm kidding! You're both too young for that!" Taiga said, stifling a laugh and making Shirou feel embarrassed for falling for it. She then put her chopsticks down and leaned forward to reveal to him, "Besides, I know you two have only started a relationship. I honestly thought you would've ended up with Sakura, but apparently Arturia is really special to you. I could tell just by seeing you two together."
Shirou blinked in surprise as Taiga sent a smile his way like any proud parent or older sister would.
"You've... always known?"
Taiga affirmed with a nod.
"I'm not ignorant, Shirou. I've been young once too you know..."
Shirou was surprised. He had no idea that Taiga was aware that Shirou and Arturia are in a relationship. Granted, she has no idea just how far he and Arturia were at this point, nor how they really met; something Shirou was grateful for.
He dreaded how Taiga would react if she found out he and Arturia had already-
"But seriously," Taiga then said, stopping Shirou's train of thought. "What's up?"
Shirou gathered his wits quickly. Ever since he and Arturia woke up and discovered the state of the Saber's body, Shirou needed to know what exactly caused Arturia to wish for such a thing. He knew the heart of the issue came from whatever she and Shirou's guardian talked about during Arturia's birthday party.
"What were you and Arturia talking about last night?" he asked Taiga, who then looked at him with slight surprise.
"Hmm? Oh, just girl talk, mostly," she said cautiously, and Shirou could tell that Taiga does not have reason to believe she did something wrong. "You know, for turning seventeen, Arturia looks really young. I just thought it curious..."
Taiga's sincere confession made Shirou want to know more.
"Is that all?"
"Well," Taiga starts, visibly pondering. "Now that I remember, I also mentioned how at her age she should be growing in womanhood more than she has. Arturia must happen be a late bloomer."
"I see..." Shirou's face did not show it, but inside he was astonished. Could Taiga's off-the-cuff comment about Arturia's body cause the Saber to become self-conscious? Was that the reason for her wish?
The thing that bothered Shirou was Arturia did not feel comfortable sharing this information with him last night after the party. Was she too ashamed?
No, Arturia would never let such a miniscule thing like self-image bother her to the point where she would not confide in Shirou. There had to be more to it...
He suddenly recalled Arturia's words last night when Shirou asked her what was upsetting her:
"I... don't know if you would even understand..."
Shirou wondered what it was about her wish that Arturia felt she could not share with him. Does she not trust him?
"I didn't offend her, did I?" Taiga suddenly said after an awkward silence, snapping Shirou out of his thoughts. "Was she upset afterwards?"
"Uh..." Shirou was not sure how to answer. He could not reveal the situation of Arturia's current state with Taiga. Thankfully, Taiga was not waiting for an answer as she seemed to be rambling.
"I mean, Arturia was awfully quiet after that. It was just you and her after the party, you maybe could've – Oh..."
Taiga suddenly stopped and stared at Shirou with a look of realization. He did not like the growing smirk on her face.
"Oh what?" Shirou found himself asking.
"You and her were alone together," Taiga said in a suggestive tone. "Sorry... did that end up icing your game, man?"
Shirou had to resist the urge to groan at that outdated remark. Taiga thought she might have spoiled Shirou's "alone time" with Arturia. So instead, he facepalmed...
"Taiga, it's not 2004... no one my age says that kind of stuff..."
"Thought that was still the lingo kids use at school," Taiga remarked with slight embarrassment. "Whoops..."
To Shirou's surprise, Taiga suddenly grabbed his free hand, prompting him to look at her.
"But really, I'm all for you wanting to get closer with your special other," she said to Shirou, expressing her support for him and Arturia, until she added, "as LONG AS you keep it "clean" between you two..."
Shirou sighed as Taiga gripped his hand harder to emphasize her point. He was glad Taiga was blissfully unaware that he and Arturia were well past THAT point, despite staying "clean" since the Saber's return.
"Of course, Fuji-nee..."
"Good," Taiga affirmed, letting go of him and returning to enjoying her meal. "Anyways, Arturia is not cross at me, is she? Is that what why she left so early?"
"No," Shirou replied before finally allowing himself to eat the breakfast he prepared. "She can never be upset with you. She just wanted to have fun with Rin today for once."
"Where did they go?" Taiga asked curiously.
"You know..." Shirou starts. "Getting manicures, going shopping, trying on dresses... the things girls do."
Taiga giggled, buying Shirou's response.
"Oh, you are so naïve Shirou. There's more to girls than just fawning over pretty stuff."
Shirou watched as Taiga finished her breakfast by taking one last, blissful bite. Taiga wipes her mouth with a napkin before she continues.
"But I'm glad Arturia and Rin are hanging out being buddies. I'm sure whatever they're doing, they are having lots of fun..."
Shirou could only laugh awkwardly, hoping Rin was not having a hard time finding clothes for Arturia before they all went to Ryudou Temple to seek Caster's help. Hopefully Medea could find a way to hide Arturia's new body from Taiga lest explain how she magically got it. She, Issei, and Ayako CANNOT know anything about magecraft. Shirou was sure Rin could procure clothes that fit Arturia despite the Saber's new "proportions."
After all, how hard can shopping for new clothes be?
______________________
Meanwhile...
Rin had taken Arturia to Verde, the largest local shopping mall in Fuyuki's Shinto district. Having already spent what little money Shirou gave her on breakfast, Rin quickly hit the clothing stores with the Saber in tow. They needed to find clothes that will fit Arturia's newly matured body, starting at a Japanese brand store that Rin visits frequently.
And right away, they were encountering problems. Two very big ones in fact...
"Would you STOP squirming, Arturia?!"
"It's not going to fit, Rin!"
Arturia and Rin secluded themselves in a fitting room inside the store. The Tohsaka mage was struggling to fit one of the bras she picked out for Arturia over the Servant's massive chest.
"It will if I can just get the hook in!" Rin said as she strained from pulling the two straps of the bra behind Arturia. The mage's frustration was palpable, and her hair was a mess. "Help me out here!"
"How?!" Arturia asked, wincing in pain as Rin tugged back hard on the bra she was wearing, which only BARELY covered the Saber's breasts.
"Suck them in, MAYBE?" Rin bluntly remarked as she continued to pull much to Arturia's discomfort.
"I'm sure that's not now breasts work!"
"THOSE aren't breasts," Rin retorted with slight envy. "They're freaking anti-aircraft cannons!"
As they kept struggling, they heard a knock on the door from one of the store clerks.
"Is everything alright in there, ladies?"
The employee's voice was full of genuine concern, almost as if she was afraid of even asking. Arturia and Rin were aware that they had been secluded in this fitting room for over half an hour and knew they would eventually attract suspicion.
Thankfully, Rin accounted for this.
"Oh yeah... everything's fine!" She called out in a fake cheery voice. "Just trying out a bunch of stuff...!"
"Okay..." the employee said with uncertainty. "I'll leave you be then."
"Thanks!"
They heard the footsteps of the employee as she slowly walked away, and Rin returned putting all her might in connecting the hook and loop behind Arturia's bra.
"Stop it Rin," Arturia said in pain. "This hurts!"
"Hold on..." Rin lets up for a moment, catching her breath. "Let me try something."
The mage presses her foot against Arturia's bare back, earning a yelp from the Saber as Rin resumed pulling against the straps, bringing the hook and loop ever so closer together...
"There we go!" Rin said as she pulled the bra together with all the strength she could muster. "I... almost... got it...!"
The mage strained as she brought the two connecting points closer and closer unti...
(*click*)
Rin let go as the connection was made and Arturia's bra was finally secured.
(panting) "We did it..." said an exhausted Rin as she wiped the sweat off her forehead. "Turn around, Saber. Let's see how it looks..."
"Okay..." Arturia replied with obvious discomfort in her voice. With a blush, the Saber turned one-eighty degrees on the spot, letting Rin observe how her bra fit at the front. The Tohsaka mage could see just how much Arturia's bra was struggling to contain the "bounty" that the Saber was wielding. In fact, Arturia's breasts were compressed to the point where they were spilling out on the edges of the cups, like they were pushing against them. Rin was cautiously optimistic they would hold.
"Looks a little tight, but other than that-"
(SNAP!)
Without warning, the straps from the back of Arturia's bra broke. The Saber yelped in surprise as thanks to her breasts, the loose bra was flung right in Rin's direction.
"Ack!" Rin let out as she stumbled upon the broken bra landing on her face. She quickly yanked it off and saw Arturia covering her exposed breasts with her arm in a blush. Rin sighs in disappointment.
"Well, that was our last one, the biggest yet," Rin said as she tossed the broken bra aside. "Add that to the dozen or so you already broke..."
The bra landed in a pile of ones that Arturia tried on already; all were previous failures.
"Pardon?" Arturia retorted in offence. "I broke?!"
"Yeah!" Rin shot angrily at the Servant. Both girls were frustrated at the fact that they'd wasted time in this shop for nothing. "It's your fault for having a bust bigger than any Japanese woman could possibly have! I don't care how much anime exaggerates otherwise!"
They then glared at each other in silence before they eventually came to their senses. Arturia's face fell with guilt while Rin took a deep breath and put a hand over her forehead.
"I'm sorry," Rin said to Arturia. "I'm sure this is stressing you out as much as it is me."
"I should be the one apologizing Rin," Arturia told her shamefully, reaching for her raincoat to cover herself. "I inadvertently dragged you into this..."
"I'm okay with helping a friend out..." Rin told Arturia as the Servant changed back into her blue leotard in a flash. "We just need to be trying the more "western" clothing stores; might have better luck there."
"Right," Arturia said reluctantly as she slipped on her raincoat and put the hood over her head. She and Rin departed the store, not before Rin "charmed" one of the clerks to believe that the pile of broken bras left in the fitting rooms was because they were defective.
"With that out of the way," Rin said to Arturia as they exited the store, walking past ignorant shoppers. "Mind telling me why you wished for those things in the first place?"
Rin pointed at Arturia's chest for emphasis. Reluctantly, the Saber answered:
"It's complicated."
Rin noticed Arturia turning her head away slightly to hide a blush, which the Tohsaka mage found amusing. She knew it was a rarity for the King of Knights to want something for herself.
"Embarrassed?" Rin teased her friend lightly. "You can tell me anything, Saber. Afterall, what are friends for?"
Her assurance prompted Arturia to look at her.
"You know Servants can't age right?" Arturia asked seriously after a brief silence. Despite knowing all about Servants, who were basically familiars, Rin did not immediately understand what Arturia was getting at.
"Yes, but- Oh..." Rin stopped in realization before continuing. "You were thinking about you and Emiya-kun."
Arturia nodded. What occurred to the Tohsaka mage was the apparent limitation of servants not being able to age would be problematic for the Saber and Shirou, especially considering that two of them are involved romantically.
"I WAS after Taiga commented on my development," Arturia revealed in admittance. Rin watched as the Saber brushed back one of the bangs of her blonde hair anxiously. "I knew people would get suspicious if I couldn't grow. Not to mention Shirou when he'd eventually..."
Rin sensed that there was more to Arturia's answer.
"If you were so concerned with how Shirou would appear next to you down the line, then why wouldn't you wish to age with him?"
Arturia blushed even more in embarrassment.
"That... did not occur to me when Shirou surprised me with the cupcake," she revealed as the Saber cast her head down to hide her blush. "When he told me to make any wish I wanted, I found myself less concerned about him, and more about how I would feel if I looked like a grown woman. I... admittedly became excited and I didn't want to wait."
Seeing her friend this embarrassed made a smirk grow on Rin's face, which quickly vanished when Arturia looked at her again.
"Before I continue, you know that I only looked like an adolescent, right? I'm actually over 30..."
"You mentioned that before..." Rin replied. "Why was that?"
"Because when I pulled the sword from the stone, my body stopped aging. It made convincing people that I was a boy much easier. Afterall, nobody in those days could accept a woman as king..."
"Uh huh..." Rin said absently as she briefly paused to glance at a store window, behind which were mannequins garbed in the latest fashion. Arturia didn't mind this as she knew Rin maintained some attention.
"I put aside all sense of self for the good of Britain; what I wanted never mattered until..."
"Until Emiya-kun got you to come out your shell, am I right?" Rin finished for Arturia as they resumed walking, dismissing the apparel.
"That's one way of putting it..." Arturia remarked. "The thing is, since coming back, I've wondered in the back of my mind how I'd look if I felt more my age. Mature, beautiful, and- uh..."
"Sexy?" Rin said after Arturia's hesitance, coyly smiling at the Saber.
"Womanly." Arturia curtly corrected; the Saber's vain attempt to preserve her dignified image amusing the Tohsaka mage. A slight smile then grew on Arturia's face as she goes on to explain; "It just never came to the forefront until Taiga brought it up. When Shirou presented me the candle, I found myself wanting such a thing, even though I had no reason to believe it would come true. Otherwise..."
"I get it," Rin assured her, knowing Arturia would wish to age like any human had she known her wish would come true. "I guess it would pay to think about your wishes more carefully."
Having listened to Arturia so far, Rin shared a curious thought with her.
"What I don't get is why the Holy Grail would also alter your class if all you wanted was a new body. Hopefully Caster can explain."
"Maybe..." Arturia remarked half-heartedly. Rin sensed her reluctance...
"Hold on," she said, making sure she had Arturia's full attention. "Are you really on board with this?"
"I am not with anything concerning Caster..." Arturia replied coolly.
"No, obviously," Rin said before clarifying; "I meant in undoing THIS."
The Tohsaka mage gestured by looking over Arturia's body from the feet up. Arturia looked at Rin in surprise before sadly admitting:
"I am not sure yet..."
Awkward silence followed, making Rin feel a bit ashamed for questioning Arturia on the matter of her new body. To be truthful, Rin was slightly envious that Arturia was much more endowed than she was currently. If Rin had the choice to have a body like Arturia's, she herself was not sure she would give it up even given the circumstances. It seemed that Arturia warmed up to the prospect of living in this new body of hers; especially if it made it easier for her and Shirou to have a relationship in the long-term. Rin had to be the realist in this situation however...
"You know," she started hesitantly. "I'd love to tell you that you can keep those cannons if they make you feel good about yourself. However, we can't let any Taiga, Issei or Ayako see you like this, otherwise they will know about magecraft."
"What will happen then?" Arturia found herself asking, dreading the answer as Rin leaned in closer.
"The Mage's association is obsessed with keeping magecraft a mystery," Rin explained as hushed as she could, being careful despite the bystanders around them minding their own businesses. "As it's the ignorance of the World at large is what keeps it powerful. It diminishes the more ordinary people with no prior knowledge find out. I imagine the association will take them out if I don't."
That shocked Arturia, forcing herself and Rin to stop walking.
"You mean-?!" she exclaimed without being too loud, yet Rin stopped her.
"As part of the Tohsaka family and therefore patron mage of Fuyuki, I'm responsible for keeping magecraft secret here in the absence of the church OR the association. Why do you think Bazett ordered Lancer to kill Shirou when he stumbled upon me fighting them with Archer?"
Arturia stared at Rin, forced to accept what the Tohsaka mage was telling her.
"So what you're saying is... if the others see me like this, you will-?"
"NO, Saber," Rin cuts her off resolutely. "Believe me, taking out Taiga and my classmates, as much as I dislike Issei, is the LAST thing I'd ever want to do."
Seeing Rin's conviction made Arturia want to believe her, but deep down...
"But if it comes to that, will you still...?"
The Saber trailed off on purpose, knowing Rin understood her full well.
"Never, but the association is much less forgiving than I am..." Rin said somberly before they continued through Verde. "We'll see what Caster can do for us-"
"Nee-san?"
The sound of a familiar voice approaching them grabbed both Arturia's and Rin's attention. They looked ahead and saw Sakura Matou walking towards them with Rider beside her. The taller woman appeared to be holding two shopping bags for the purple-haired girl, who had a purse slung over her shoulder while wearing a button coat that was partially open.
"Sakura!" Rin greeted as the duo stopped in front of her and Arturia. "Didn't know you were going shopping today..."
"Well, Rider here needs a wardrobe update," Sakura said gesturing to her servant wearing a black turtle-neck sweater.
"To my reluctance you forgot to add," Rider coolly remarked to Sakura with no hint of enthusiasm. "I could be reading my book right now..."
"It'd be bad if I kept you at the mansion all day, you know," Sakura replied with gentle concern for her friend. The purple-haired mage then turned her attention back at her sister and Arturia. "By the way, Rin, who's your new friend-?"
Sakura stopped when she recognized the blonde in the raincoat.
"-Wait... Saber?"
Arturia lowered her hood in response, and she saw both Sakura and Rider staring at her with surprised expressions, albeit Rider only mildly so.
"Hello Sakura..." Arturia greeted, and Sakura was astonished at how different she looked, and her height.
"It is you! When did you...?" Sakura's gaze wandered down from the Saber's face to her chest, peeking from the one open button on Arturia's raincoat. "Uhhh..."
"It's a long story..." Arturia said, noticing Sakura slowly close the top her own coat, perhaps out of shame. The Saber's gaze did not linger on her for long as she noticed Rider smiling coyly at her, almost as if something awful happened to Arturia and Rider was taking great pleasure in it. "Something funny, Rider?"
"Oh no..." The Servant named Medusa replied with a sarcastic undertone. "it's quite unfortunate actually."
Arturia narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"Not sure I like your tone..."
Rin and Sakura quickly became aware of the growing tension between the two Servants as Rider's posturing appeared to further irate the Saber. Especially after she says:
"Now you will know how what it's like..."
"Why are you saying that like it's a bad thing?" Rin asked Rider accusingly.
"That's what I would like to know," Arturia added in a firm voice, her pride not letting her back down from whatever cryptic insult Rider was directing at her. Rin grew nervous as the Servants continued staring each other down, which was easier for Arturia as she was much closer to Medusa's height now. Rin knew that's Sakura's Servant was attempting to get under Arturia's skin and was worried this was going to turn into a fight, in a public place no less.
Thankfully, Sakura stepped in to break the tension.
"Pardon Rider, Saber-san," she said embarrassingly to Arturia. "Her views on a woman's body differ from the norm..."
Rin breathed a sigh of relief when Arturia relented and turned to the purple-haired mage.
"How so?" Arturia asked curiously and Sakura told her:
"Would you believe that in Rider's family, having a smaller body and flat chest was seen as more desirable? That was her wish..."
Now it was Arturia and Rin's turn to be surprised.
"Really?"
Their combined response prompted Rider to explain herself.
"That's right. You have no idea how much I was envious of Saber for having my desired appearance. Now I can relish in the fact that she is no different from me; to be big and lumbering..."
Arturia glared at Medusa again as the sly smirk on the Rider's face grew.
"You know, Rider," Sakura cuts in to humble her Servant. "Arturia's chest may be bigger than yours, but you still inch her out in height..."
"Hmm?" Rider's smirk disappeared and her smug expression was replaced with one of sad realization. "Oh..."
Rider turned away and cast her head down to sulk, leaving both Arturia and Rin to look on in confusion.
"Forgive her," Sakura lightly pleaded to them. "Her height is a sensitive topic for her. Her sisters used to tease her relentlessly as Rider grew while they still appeared young."
"How young?" Arturia asked, now feeling some pity for the Rider, who now had a dark cloud over her head.
"Children..." Sakura replied. Glancing away, Arturia and Rin noticed Rider had turned her back away and shivered as she slowly brought a hand up to her chest. Medusa's voice was shaking as Arturia and Rin could barely hear her whisper:
"Two... useless... sacks..."
"Is she okay?" Rin asked Sakura while pointing at the distressed Rider.
"When she first told me this, Rider was having traumatic flashbacks," Sakura replied and then adds with a shrug, "She'll get over it..."
"If you say so..." Arturia said cautiously as Sakura affectionately patted Rider's shoulder. The purple-haired mage then addresses the Saber.
"So, Saber-san," she turned to Arturia while still comforting Rider. "How did this happen?"
"A birthday wish gone wrong..." Arturia replied, knowing the subject shifted back on her and her new body.
"?" Sakura tilts her head, dumbfounded. Rin nods, affirming for her sister that Arturia was not kidding.
"We were just here getting Saber here new clothes," Rin then told Sakura. "Then we are going to Ryudou Temple so that Caster could maybe fix this."
Sakura slowly nodded in understanding before asking the duo:
"Did you two just get here? You two aren't carrying shopping bags."
"We've... had some trouble so far..." Rin's awkward reply was followed by her stealing a stern sideways glance at Arturia, who turned away slightly in embarrassment. Neither would elaborate on their shopping experience so far today any further.
Sakura did NOT need to know how many bras they broke trying to find one for Arturia's new "weapons."
"Well, the store me and Rider came from has a sale going on," Sakura told them. "They had stuff that fits Rider, so you two can try there."
"Thanks. We will," Rin expressed her gratitude before adding, "By the way, Sakura, did you leave Shinji at the mansion?"
"Yes," Sakura answered rather solemnly. "He didn't feel like going out with us."
Arturia's eyes narrowed, knowing anything involving Shinji would be distressing for Sakura. Rin's tone then turned serious.
"He's not giving you any grief, is he?"
"Not really," Sakura admitted, but the sad look on her face did not fade. "In fact, he sort of secluded himself from me and Rider. It's like he's almost ashamed to be anywhere near us."
"I'm not surprised," Rin remarked without any sympathy for the estranged Matou boy. "That punk should be more than grateful that you spared him from me pulverizing him let alone let him stay with you at the Matou estate."
"He wasn't always like that, Nee-san," Sakura then said firmly, and somehow Arturia felt inclined to believe her from the purple-haired girl's newfound resolve. "And you know something? Starting over is scary, and I would know ALL about that..."
Arturia and Rin could not agree more with Sakura on the merit of her statement alone. They both remembered when they went to see Sakura in the hospital with Shirou after freeing the girl from Angra Mainyu's corruption. Upon recovery, Sakura only remembered fragments, and learning in detail what she did; corrupting Saber, tormenting Shirou and Rin, and even forcing Rider into her full Gorgon form in a last-ditch effort to kill them...
Sakura was beyond distraught, nearly inconsolable. Not even the fact that Zouken Matou, nor Shinji, had any influence over her life anymore did nothing to ease the pain. The purple-haired mage found herself lost and aimless after the Grail war, unable to bear being around Shirou or Rin after knowing the damage she caused; all by her repressed pain and insecurity from years of mistreatment under the Matou's. If not for all of them reaching out, including Arturia who had forgiven Sakura for turning her against Shirou, Sakura would never have found the strength to move on.
This life Sakura had now, living her life with her friends and being free of Zouken's worm, it was her second chance. Something she wanted to extend to Shinji even after everything he did to her.
Arturia once again in admiration of Rin's sister when Rin herself asked Sakura out of the blue:
"Have you still been practicing?"
The seriousness in Rin's voice prompted the Saber to pay close attention.
"Yes," Sakura answers. "I've stayed in the limits, like you said..."
"I've made sure of that," said Rider, apparently snapped out of her trauma and wearing a look of sheer determination. "Rest assured; nothing will happen on my watch."
Arturia was in the dark at what the trio were talking about, but it made her wary, nonetheless.
"Good," Rin said with a nod. "We'll work on it more later. Take care of yourself, Sakura."
"See you later, Nee-san," Sakura replied as she and Rider prepared to leave. "Tell Shirou-senpai I said hi."
The purple-haired mage then turned to Arturia.
"And Saber, I hope things work out with..."
Arturia understood as Sakura trailed off while the girl took a glance over the Saber's body.
"Thank you, Sakura." She then turned to Sakura's Servant and said evenly, "Rider..."
"Saber..." Rider replied in the same manner; tense but civil. The duo then departed, leaving Arturia and Rin alone in front of the department store window. Once Sakura and Rider were far enough away, Arturia questioned Rin, curious to know what she and Sakura were talking about.
"What was all that about "practicing"?" the Saber asked, having a feeling that whatever that was about, it was more significant than Rin and Sakura were letting on. Rin was reluctant to answer, but she left the curious Saber with:
"I'll tell you and Shirou when Sakura is ready..." her response was calm and sincere, affirming to Arturia it was indeed a big deal, yet Rin was silently relaying to the Saber that she should trust her for the time being.
But it still put Arturia on edge...
"Come on," Rin then said casually, changing the subject. "We still need to get you new clothes, as well as support for those cannons..."
Rin's playful remark made Arturia relent, and she walks with Rin further into Verde, back to hunting for clothes for the newly grown Saber to wear. Arturia put her concerns about what was going on between Rin and her sister aside for the time being to focus on making her presentable for the trip to see Caster at Ryudou temple.
Perhaps even impress her beloved Shirou in the process...
TBC