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Entry tags:

(no subject)

Who: Sakura Matou (

returntospring), Shirou Emiya (

wontdieifkilled), Rin Tohsaka (

gandrdere), and Kariya Matou (

wormed)
Where: New Bark Town
When: April 16th; afternoon
Summary: Reunion time!!! There will probably be a lot of tears involved.
Rating: PG? Also potential spoiler warning for Fate/Zero and Fate/Stay Night!
Log:

[This weekend had been an emotional roller coaster for Sakura. First her father - she still considered him such, despite everything - had shown up, and that conversation had been all kinds of awkward and uncomfortable. Then Kariya had shown up, and well... Sakura had practically begged Shirou to take her back to New Bark Town. She didn't even completely fill him in on the situation, because her uncle was alive and here and only a short trip away.

She couldn't settle down the entire trip there, all ten hours of traveling, and when they finally arrived, she practically jumped off Shirou's Charizard the moment its feet touched the ground. And then she took off - moving quickly, but not quite running - searching...

The town was small. He shouldn't be that hard to find, right?]

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[ Rin had a lot of things in her mind. She had a lot of things, and a lot of plans were getting laid in her mind. She would have gone to whenever her father was first...but Sakura was a priority for her. It was as if the things she couldn't avoid but live through in the past were back to torment her, and she was not leaving her sister to her own devices. She sort of wanted to see her uncle as well, although she wasn't sure of what she was going to see, or how she would react.

All she could do was sticking close to Sakura and look for the man as well. ]

[Shirou brought up the rear of their little group. He left Dyrnwyn out for now -- he was confident that Kariya would pose no threat to the girls, but one could never be too cautious. He looked around for the man as well, though generally more reserved. Shirou had no direct connection to Kariya, so he planned to stand back and let the three greet each other.]

[[It had taken all of Kariya's self control to prevent him going out and looking for the girls himself.

For now, he contented himself with sitting under a tree near the town entrance, letting Wurmple climb over his body. It stunned him, how little pain her movements caused him, even on his more sensitive left side.

First Sakura, then Rin, and now practically being healed...if he could stay here forever, he would.

He could see a group of three people approaching, so he stood up, eyes widening. Kariya didn't recognize the boy from first glance, but the other two...there was no mistaking them.

His hands began to tremble.]]

[It was almost... creepy? Unnerving? They seemed too harsh, but those words were the only ones that came to mind when Sakura finally spotted him. He was exactly the same as he was the last time she had seen him, despite all the years since then. She knew the concept of parallel universes, so him being alive and still young wasn't too far of a stretch... but still.

She didn't stop running until she was within a few feet of him - she hadn't even looked back to see if Rin and Shirou were following her - and it takes her a moment to finally say something.]

It... it really is you...

[ Well, she had not expected to see him like that. Then again, he should be dead- and this thought made Rin consider the way she was treating this. Without realizing she had already put an ice cold front. She was, sometimes much to her pain, her father's daughter, and the things that had happened, sad as they were, had been dealt in a such a way she couldn't bring herself to the same degree of emotional display her sister was certainly allowed to.]

Do you remember him as that too?

[ She hadn't run, and so Rin caught up moments later, eyes fixed on the man, measuring him, seizing him for a long moment. ]

[Shirou said nothing. However, he did stare. The man looked like he'd suffered a severe stroke. Shirou hadn't known what to expect, but it was safe to say that this wasn't part of it.]

[[The girl...no, god, the young woman standing in front of him.....Kariya could barely breath. She was so beautiful, so perfect, it was like....

....was it possible? Could he have succeeded?]]

Sa....Sakura....

[[Almost afraid to touch her in case she disappeared, Kariya stepped forward gently, raising his trembling hands to lightly trace his fingers across her cheeks. She was real. She didn't disappear.]]

You're....oh, Sakura....

[[Suddenly, standing before this beautiful woman made him hideously self-conscious of his appearence; Kariya quickly covered his face with his hands, trying vainly to hide the irreprable damage as tears spilled out through his fingers.]]

Sakura, I....!!

[Sakura spared one glance back at her companions - at her sister, specifically. She hadn't known if Kariya visited Rin at all in those final days before things started up, but the other girl's question certainly answered that.

She didn't even know if Rin had any remaining feelings for the man. They had both greatly enjoyed playing with him when they were children... but times changed. So her gaze lingered for another moment, an almost pleading look in her eyes, before she turned back towards Kariya.

Slowly, gently - she didn't know the extent of the damage to his body, so she didn't want to accidentally hurt him - she wrapped her arms around the man, smiling through her own tears.]

I missed you, uncle.

[ Rin is going to let them have their moment. She's glad Kariya is here, yes, but the one who should be greeting him is already doing so, which means Rin is going to fall back to Shirou. She can talk with the man later.

She does take notice of his state though. She needs to know how he ended up like that. ]

[Shirou watched as Sakura went to her uncle and Rin fell back.]

...Waiting your turn?

[A softly-spoken question.]

[[When she embraced him, Kariya flashed back to that moment in the Matou house when he said his goodbyes to her. He had hugged her, trying to ignore her confusion, trying to comfort her. Had he managed to? He didn't like to think about. He couldn't think about it. All he could ever focus on was saving her.

So now, when she returns the favour; embracing him, trying to comfort him...oh, he didn't know God could ever be so merciful.

It's all he can do to return it, trying not to touch her with the mangled skin on his face. How could someone as ugly as him taint something so beautiful?]]

I....I missed you, too. Look how you've grown! You're almost taller than your old uncle, now!

[She laughs a little at that.] I don't think I'll ever be taller than you, no matter how much I hope.

[It's... strange, almost, talking about something so casual... But it's good, too. Dwelling only on the bad things isn't what they should be doing what was supposed to be a happy(?) reunion.]

[ On the back, Rin is smiling a bit. ]

This is pretty much what I wanted to see, actually.

Heh.

Make sure you take some time with him, too. Sakura wasn't the only one he wanted to meet here.

[[Kariya gently releases her from the hug, leaving his hands on her shoulders, squeezing ever so gently. Turning towards Rin, he continues to smile that warm smile.

God, how long has it been since he was this happy?]]

You don't know how much joy it brings me to see you two girls together.

[Sakura smiles, but it's... a little different than usual. Things were a little rough when they both first arrived here, thanks to Second Magic Shenanigans, but... they're more or less smoothed out by now. Right?]

I'm happy as well, to have so many important people here with me. [Rider's still missing, and that worries her. But it's still nice.

She then turns to Rin again.] You can come closer, you know.

I know.

[ Still, she stalls a bit before finally getting closer, arms wrapped over her chest. ]

I'm glad you are alright, uncle, but I'm worried about your condition.

[Shirou, meanwhile, chooses to hang back. He's only tangentially related to this.]

You don't need to worry about me, Rin. I'm fine.

[[....if you're worried now, sweetheart, he's glad you didn't see him before Mum worked her magic...]]

To think you two are all grown up, now! I simply can't believe my eyes!

[[alskjdasd this is the happiest day, he cannot take all this happy-

....wait a minute who the hell is that

Let him just stare at you curiously, Shirou. He'll wait for one of the girls to mention you.]]

[Sakura notices Kariya's gaze, and can't help but smile brightly. She's not sure how well they'll hit it off, but... seeing two of her most important people meet is definitely a good thing. R-Right?]

Ah... this is Shirou, uncle. He's... [She falters, only for a quick second.] a very dear friend.

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