Seeing Sakura's surprised expression, Shinji continued nonchalantly, "Sakura, you might not know this, but even though the Matou family is no longer a family of magicians, we are the wealthiest family in Japan in modern society. As my only sister, you're practically a princess now."
Before Shinji could finish speaking, Sakura, overwhelmed with emotion, threw herself into his arms.
Nestling against Shinji's chest, Sakura whispered, "Brother, I love you the most."
"Did you like the surprise?" Shinji asked, gently rubbing her hair with a smile.
"Yes, I did."
"That's good." Shinji then looked up at the three signs with a soft gaze. "Winter has ended, and spring has arrived. 'Spring Sakura'."
"'Spring Sakura'," Sakura repeated softly, looking up at the signs.
Shinji extended his hand with a smile. "Let's go, my princess."
"I'm not a princess!" Sakura's face turned red. "Brother, stop using such embarrassing titles!"
Despite her words, Sakura eventually placed her hand in Shinji's.
At 5 PM, Shinji, who had just gotten off the bus, glanced at Sakura. She was still excitedly flipping through the photos taken at the amusement park and the Ice and Snow Kingdom. He sighed lightly and shook his head.
To think he'd lose to a girl in having fun.
Before 2 PM, they had tried out all the rides at the amusement park without a single break. After eating the sandwiches and bento Sakura had prepared, they toured the ice sculpture exhibition and went skiing. Except for mealtime, they hadn't stopped all day.
Even when a stranger tried to chat Shinji up, Sakura, unable to contain her excitement, had dragged him away to the next activity before he could even give his name.
Perhaps it was because she'd been repressing herself for so long, Shinji thought.
...
Walking alongside Sakura, Shinji suddenly thought of something.
"By the way, Sakura, you can bring your friends here on your days off."
"Okay."
Wearing a small crown from the amusement park and holding a teddy bear with balloons, Sakura responded.
Knowing his sister didn't have many friends her age in class, Shinji added, "You could invite people like Ryougi... I mean Mitsuzuri, Emiya, or even your sister, Rin."
At this, Sakura fell silent, her head lowered.
Understanding Sakura's complicated feelings towards her sister, Shinji spoke gently, "Listen, Sakura. Your sister cares about you a lot, even if she seems cold at school. She's asked me about you several times in private."
Sakura interrupted him, her head still down. "So, you and Tohsaka-senpai often meet in private?"
"Just occasionally." Shinji, oblivious to Sakura's thoughts, answered casually. "Anyway, if I didn't tell you, that idiot would never say it herself."
"To say anyone is at fault would be incorrect. This is the fate of magicians. Even if you hadn't been sent to our family, you would have been sent to another magical household.
When a magical family has two children with magical potential, but only one can inherit the family's crest, the other child faces a fate similar to yours.
Your biological father made a rational choice from a magician's perspective, and not just as a magician but as a father in the magical world. The eldest naturally inherited the Tohsaka family's crest. But what about the younger daughter with similar potential?
To avoid wasting your magic circuits and protect you from the Mage's Association's scrutiny, as well as to uphold the alliance between the Matou and Tohsaka families, your father, Tohsaka Tokiomi, adopted you into our family a year before the Fourth Holy Grail War, making you my sister.
Do you understand now?"
Shinji's tone remained calm and objective, while Sakura listened quietly, her head still lowered.
Sakura wasn't foolish. These things made sense upon reflection. However, she couldn't easily reconcile why it had to be her and not her sister.
Of course, Shinji only explained this to alleviate Sakura's complex emotions of admiration and jealousy towards Rin.
In Shinji's mind, it was still Tokiomi's fault.
Blaming rare attributes, potential scrutiny from the Mage's Association, and the need to preserve Sakura's talents... all excuses!
Nonsense!
Why didn't you take proper precautions in the first place?!
Would there have been so many problems if you had?
Giving so many excuses, saying that the chance of the second child having magical potential was like winning the lottery...
Bullshit!
You know very well the odds, don't you?
Didn't you know that foreign genes in your lineage produce twins?
Even with the official background supplementing various settings and portraying Tokiomi in a positive light, to me, it's still three words:
Can't be absolved!
A gentleman, huh? A gentleman who doesn't...
Hold on! A gentleman?
Could it be that Tokiomi's gentlemanly ways are of the kind that all men are?
For some reason, Shinji suddenly felt a breakthrough in his thinking...
Cough, cough... Just kidding! Got sidetracked there!
(Note: Tokiomi's mother, Rin's grandmother, was one of the heirs of the Edelfelt family in the Third Holy Grail War. After losing, she stayed in Fuyuki, married Tokiomi's father, and effectively betrayed her family. This is a major reason for the animosity between Rin and Luvia. The Edelfelt family's magic is based on twins—each generation has two heirs. Therefore, the birth of Sakura with magical potential wasn't just a coincidence or a result of Tokiomi saying that Aoi was an excellent mother; there was some genetic basis as well.)
"Harboring some resentment is natural after eleven years of suffering, but..."
Suppressing his anger, Shinji spoke again, kindly soothing Sakura's emotions. He stopped and gave her a broad smile, placing his hand on her head.
"If you can't let go, you won't be able to move forward. Just as I said before, the long winter has ended, and spring has arrived.
Though it seems abrupt, the cycle of your painful life has been broken, and your life has entered a new chapter. You can now turn the pages yourself."
Looking at Shinji's smiling face, Sakura became dazed, whispering, "Brother..."
"Alright, let's go home." Shinji removed his hand and started walking again.
Sakura stood still for a few seconds, then quickly caught up and clung to his arm, asking curiously, "By the way, Brother, do you have a girl you like?"
"Huh?" Shinji was taken aback. "Isn't your topic change a bit too fast?"
"I was just curious."
"Not right now." Shinji shrugged and sighed. "And I don't know if I ever will."
"What kind of girl would you like, Brother?" Sakura asked earnestly.
"Why are you asking such questions?"
"Please tell me, Brother!"
Seeing Sakura's serious expression and eyes, Shinji finally waved his hand dismissively and said, "It's hard to say until you actually fall in love. Besides, liking someone and dating them are two different things. At least for me, they're two different things."
"Huh? Liking someone and dating them are two different things?" Sakura was puzzled.
"Yeah," Shinji shrugged lightly, speaking in an indifferent tone. "For me, dating someone must be based on the premise that we could end up in the same grave after death."
Seeing Sakura's confusion, Shinji smiled and continued, "You don't need to worry about it. Just know that so far, your brother isn't the type to selflessly sacrifice for someone else. In short, I'm the worst type for a girl looking for pure love."
"No, Brother, you're an amazing person! I admire you so much!"
"Of course," Shinji stopped again, flicked Sakura's forehead gently, and smiled while winking. "Otherwise, how could I be your brother?"
Holding her forehead, which had turned slightly red, Sakura stared at her overly familiar yet strangely unfamiliar brother in a daze.
"Let's go home. By the way, we should buy some groceries before we get back. Is there anything you want to eat?"
"The cycle of your painful life has been broken, and your life has entered a new chapter. You can now turn the pages yourself."
Sakura thought about Shinji's words, then smiled and quickly caught up, holding his arm again.
"Why are you clinging to me again? It feels a bit strange to do this outside," Shinji said, a bit helplessly.
"It's fine, because we're siblings."