Reborn in Type-Moon: Starting by Adopting Sakura - Chapter 33

Sakura flicked on the TV early that morning.

“Ooh, this kind of story is right up Manaka-nee’s alley,” she said, settling back into the couch.

If Manaka had actually heard that comment, she probably would have flashed one of those sweet, angelic smiles that somehow made people's blood run cold.

King of Knights didn't respond—maybe because she agreed, or maybe because she was too busy working her way through another slice of cake—but she gave a little nod.

The whole report had this weird, creepy urban legend feel to it. Some reporter was standing outside a Fuyuki inn, delivering the most boring possible account of what should have been a genuinely disturbing story.

Five elementary kids had just vanished into thin air, and the media was already spinning it as "kamikakushi"—the old folklore about people getting spirited away by supernatural forces.

It was less actual journalism and more like something from a tabloid horror magazine.

"Hm?"

Yuu wandered out of his room and glanced at the screen, still half-asleep.

Five missing students... but instead of asking hard questions about the school or the staff who were supposed to be watching these kids, the report was all about ghost abductions and interviewing random locals about supernatural nonsense.

He caught sight of the logo in the corner of the screen and everything clicked into place.

Right. That was one of Reiroukan's media companies.

Which meant this whole mess probably involved one of their schools, and they were already working damage control.

He could predict exactly how this would play out. In a few days, the school would announce that all the supervising teachers had "resigned" in shame. The administration would hold some big press conference full of bowing and public apologies.

Of course, those teachers would just get quietly shuffled off to other schools in the network. Any bad press would slowly disappear as Reiroukan pulled strings behind the scenes.

It was textbook stuff for them. The Reiroukan family had deep roots in the magecraft world—they knew how to make problems go away.

Dozens of schools around Tokyo dealt with death-related incidents every year. This was just business as usual.

If this had happened somewhere in central Tokyo, it probably wouldn't have made the news at all. The fact that it was even being reported meant someone on the Fuyuki end had screwed up the coordination.

Yuu glanced at the morning news and basically shrugged it off. Yeah, in Tokyo, this was just another minor blip on the radar.

Sakura took another bite of cake and grabbed the remote.

"Today's horoscope for Gemini: love is in the air! Pink is going to be your lucky color, and your lucky number is three. All you Gemini girls out there..."

Honestly, what Sakura was really worried about right now was whatever kind of "juice" Manaka-nee was planning to make for lunch.

Was it going to be tomato this time?

Bitter melon?

...Please, not celery.

Ugh.

...

Fuyuki.

The apartment was dark and damp, with that gross moldy smell that seemed to stick to everything.

Ryuunosuke had turned the walls of his "murder room" into some kind of twisted art project—blood smeared in patterns that probably made sense to him and no one else.

He was crouched down next to Keita Minato, who was tied up in the corner. The kid's mouth was gagged, arms bound tight, and his eyes were all puffy from crying. Pure terror and pain written all over his face.

"Hey, kid... do you believe in demons?"

Ryuunosuke cocked his head to one side, acting like he was really thinking about something deep while staring right into the boy's face. He wasn't expecting an answer, obviously—he just wanted to watch the fear get worse.

"You know what's funny? The newspapers, all those magazines—they keep calling me a demon. Isn't that just ridiculous? I mean, I've only killed what, a few people? One little bomb could blow past my numbers in half a second."

The more excited he got talking, the more the kid shook. And the more the kid shook, the more Ryuunosuke wanted to keep going—especially when there was fresh blood around to really set the mood.

"Well, whatever. Let them call me a demon if they want. But if real demons are actually out there somewhere, then me pretending to be one... wouldn't that be kind of rude to the actual demons?"

"I mean, if I'm running around calling myself a demon... hmm... am I basically just impersonating them?"

Like he was genuinely wrestling with this deep moral question, Ryuunosuke picked up a scalpel and slowly drew it across Keita's skin.

"Anyway—let's keep having fun."

Time had this funny way of flying by when he was enjoying himself. Before he knew it, the sun had gone down and it was well past midnight.

After he'd bandaged up Keita's wounds, Ryuunosuke wandered into the kitchen to grab something to eat.

That's when he spotted it—

The silver case was still sitting there in the living room.

"...Huh?"

He popped it open.

Inside was a white skull mask.

"Ooh, now this thing looks expensive."

Anything that had to do with death always caught Ryuunosuke's attention, like a magnet.

He picked up the skull mask and held it up to the dim yellow light, turning it around in his hands.

…

"I'm truly sorry, Tokiomi-sensei."

Kirei had never felt this ashamed in his life.

Well, at least he knew he should look like someone who was ashamed. The shame, the regret—all the right emotions arranged just so. Inside, though? The thrill was almost unbearable. Losing something that valuable, watching his own father bend himself into apologies, groveling like this... It was intoxicating.

"My son's mistake is unforgivable. I don't expect you to forgive him for this."

Risei Kotomine bowed low in front of Tohsaka Tokiomi. His white hair made him look every bit his age, maybe even older. It wasn't the guilt over the lost relic that was weighing on him.

It was just—he couldn't wrap his head around how his son, who was usually so careful about everything, could screw up this badly.

But what was done was done.

Tokiomi stood there with perfect posture, one hand behind his back. When he saw his old friend bowing like that, he stepped forward and put a hand on Risei's shoulder.

"Risei, enough of this. We've all had moments where our attention slipped. Kirei isn't the first person to make an error in judgment, and he won't be the last. What's done is done. Our energy is better spent on solutions than recriminations."

The old priest's face was mapped with deep lines, and he shook his head slowly. "I appreciate that, Tokiomi-kun, but my son and I—we have to make this right. As for the relic... we'll find a way to replace it."

"You're being too hard on yourself. Kirei's already helping me with the Grail War. I'm the one who should be thanking you."

"Tokiomi, please. Don't be so gracious about this. It would eat me alive."

Tokiomi's tone softened. "Let's not get stuck dwelling on what happened. We'll figure something out together."

Even as he said it, though, Tokiomi felt that familiar weight in his chest. There was absolutely no way he could go back to Yuu and ask for another relic. His pride just wouldn't let him do it. But honestly, he was just as shocked as Risei when he'd heard the news.

He couldn’t fathom how Kirei, of all people, had let this happen. It felt like some kind of cosmic joke.