Tonight, the Matou household was unusually quiet.
Byakuya had gone to Tokyo to attend a business forum organized by the Ministry of Commerce, and afterward, he would be going abroad with some business partners for inspections. He wouldn't be able to return home for at least half a month.
Justeaze went to the Einzbern Forest. During this time, she planned to keep a close eye on Irisviel and see if she could obtain a complete "human" heart from her.
Kariya and Lancelot, as well as Shinji and Scáthach, the two pairs of master and servant, went out separately for a night outing.
That bastard Caster, after retreating from Einzbern, started summoning monsters in the underground sewers. Unable to be as rational and cold-blooded as Tohsaka Tokiomi, the uncle and nephew duo had no choice but to continue venturing into the underground sewers to exterminate the monsters.
The difference this time was that Scáthach joined the monster extermination team, significantly reducing the area Kariya had to cover, and Shinji no longer had to worry about encountering danger without anyone to rescue him.
In the spacious three-story Western-style house, only Sakura was left behind.
In the quiet night, a six-year-old girl and a cold, empty home seemed incompatible with happiness.
Sakura did feel a bit uneasy and lonely, but only a little. She knew that her brother and uncle would come back soon. She wanted to rest early, wake up early, and prepare a delicious breakfast to keep them energized.
Just the thought of Shinji and Kariya fighting over food made Sakura feel a sense of accomplishment.
"Hehe, I'm capable too, you know?"
"Meow~"
"Squeak~"
The two familiars lying next to Sakura responded as if echoing her words.
Although they were Alchemy Constructs and Elemental Aggregates, under the guidance and assistance of Justeaze, Sakura had given the familiars life and intelligence. They were now smarter and more human-like than real cats and mice.
The large pendulum clock in the living room struck nine times.
"Oh dear, it's already nine o'clock. It's time to sleep."
Sakura was a very obedient child. When she said she would sleep at a certain time, she did exactly that. She rubbed her eyes, turned off the lights in her room and the hallway, and crawled into her warm blanket.
Just as she was about to follow the meditation technique taught by her mentor to harmonize her body and mind for a quick sleep, the sound of "ding-a-ling" came from downstairs.
"A phone call? Who could it be?"
Sakura put on a coat and hurriedly ran downstairs, picking up the receiver.
"Hello, this is the Matou residence."
"Sakura, is that you?" She was familiar with this voice.
"Mother... ah, no, Aunt Tohsaka."
"Sakura, is Kariya there? Please let him answer the phone." Aoi's voice sounded urgent.
"Uncle is not home. He's gone out."
"When will he be back?"
"I don't know, Uncle didn't tell me," Sakura shook her head and curiously asked, "So, what happened?"
"Rin, Rin ran away from home."
"What? Sister—!"
Upon hearing this news, Sakura also became anxious, even subconsciously using the term "sister" that should have been abandoned.
"Where did she go?"
"Fuyuki City. She left a note on the bedside table saying she was going to find her missing classmate. Sakura, if you see Kariya, tell him what I just said."
Before Sakura could reply, the call ended abruptly without even saying goodbye, indicating Aoi's anxiety.
As Sakura listened to the dial tone, her mouth pouted involuntarily.
"Sister ran away from home?"
In her memories, her sister was so perfect, excelling in everything she did. She was both a mother and a father and Sakura's pride.
Before coming to the Matou household, Sakura loved following her sister the most, acting like her little tail.
How could such a sister run away from home? It's not like her reckless brother and uncle.
To find a missing classmate?
Missing?
Missing!!!
At that moment, Sakura, just like her sister Rin, remembered the recent uproar about children going missing.
No, her sister might be in danger!
Finally realizing the situation, Sakura hung up the phone and hurriedly ran into the underground workshop.
Mobile communication in 1994 was not advanced enough, and the signals were difficult to penetrate the ground and reach the underground sewers. To contact Shinji and Kariya, they could only rely on the large-scale communication spell set up by Scáthach in advance.
"Brother, it's Sakura. Mom just called and said that sister ran away from home—"
...
Receiving the contact from his sister, Shinji's first thought was—self-destruction is indeed a tradition in the Tohsaka family. Tokiomi self-destructed, and now Rin is doing the same. They truly live up to being father and daughter.
Fortunately, Sakura had already left the Tohsaka household and quickly grew under the guidance of her mentor. Otherwise, she might have already rushed out to find her sister instead of calling him, her older brother.
The biggest difference between adults and children is not their physical bodies but their logic and thinking patterns.
Based on the information conveyed by Sakura, Shinji easily deduced Rin's course of action.
Although Rin possessed top-tier magical aptitude, she was still young and had not mastered long-distance teleportation. The only way for her to travel from the Zenjou household to Fuyuki City was by taking the train.
Fuyuki City had only two train stations, Shintou Station and Fukayama Station. The Tohsaka and Matou households were both in Fukayama Town. Rin couldn't possibly go to her father's nose to find someone. If she was discovered, her adventure would come to an end.
The answer was clear—
"Sakura, contact Uncle and tell him that your sister might have gone to Shintou. Ask him to start searching from the train station."
After ending the communication with Sakura, Shinji turned to Scáthach and said:
"Master, please go back and pick up Sakura. I'll fly over first. If there's any news, I'll inform you immediately. Keep in touch."
The reason for going back to pick up Sakura is that Sakura and Rin are sisters with a close relationship. Scáthach can use this connection to perform prophecy-based magecraft and locate Rin.
"Understood." Scáthach knew that time was of the essence and quickly left in her spiritual form.
Shinji found the nearest exit and left the underground sewer. There was no time to clean up the garbage now.
If he remembered correctly, Rin had indeed gone on an adventure in "Fate/Zero." Interestingly, there were two versions of this adventure. In Gen Urobuchi's original novel, Rin was too scared by the monsters left behind by Caster before she found Kotone and was eventually saved by Kariya. In the 2011 anime adaptation, Rin showcased her potential as a future protagonist, using her strength and wit to successfully disrupt Ryuunosuke Uryuu's crimes and rescue her friend.
But now, due to Scáthach's relentless pursuit, the Caster faction didn't dare to act as recklessly as they did in the original timeline. Since Father Risei temporarily changed the rules, there had been no reports of their criminal activities.
Shinji naturally assumed that they had become more cautious and that no children would be captured, and Rin wouldn't have the chance to play hero (and risk her life). However, he underestimated the madness of these lunatics. While Caster launched an attack on Einzbern Forest, attracting everyone's attention, Ryuunosuke began his criminal activities and even kidnapped Rin's friend, setting Rin on her adventure (suicidal mission) to find her friend.
The timeline once again returned to its predetermined course.
Whether it was a mere coincidence or the inertia of fate, Shinji didn't know. All he knew was that he couldn't let his interference strengthen the defense around Ryuunosuke, ultimately causing Rin to lose her life.
If that were to happen, Sakura would suffer for the rest of her life, and Shinji would live with guilt.
"Rin Tohsaka, I beg you, please take it slow."
Regardless of the loss of magical power, Shinji flew in the air on his flying shoes, continuously praying.