Fate: A Dragon's Journey

After walking for over ten minutes, Haruki frowned. The church was still a long-distance away. More importantly, it was on top of a hill. Rin could walk just fine, but Sakura was a different case. Even if she seemed normal, Haruki didn't feel right about letting her use so much physical strength.

"Sakura, wait."

Sakura stopped, tilting her head in confusion.

'Was she always this cute?'

She seemed almost irresistible to him. An urge to spoil her rotten washed over him. His acceptance of Sakura as a partner flooded him with numerous new feelings.

Sakura's confusion only grew when Haruki took her bag. He handed their bags to Rin, who begrudgingly accepted.

"Senpai?"

Haruki leaned and swooped Sakura into his arms. Sakura panicked and latched onto his neck in a hurry. A princess' carry on a street crowded with civilians left her flustered. Haruki found her rather light compared to his expectations. He wasn't accustomed to his growing strength.

"I'll carry you."

Sakura couldn't look into his soft eyes brimming with affection. He had changed. The way he looked at her was different from before. As if his mother's death had pushed him into seeing her as more than just a little sister.

Rin stared at the two with a wide-open mouth. These two were flirting all around as though trying to rub it in her face. She turned her head and clicked her tongue.

"Braindead lovers."

Haruki chuckled at her sneaking complaint. Sakura was still staring at him as if looking for an answer to this princess' carry, her pale cheeks dyed in a crimson red.

"Just take it as my payment for everything you did for me."

She made his home lively. After all, his house used to be rather quiet with only two people around.

Sakura felt a heat growing in her abdomen. It flowed through her lower body, making her panties sticky.

"I understand… I'll rest here," Sakura said and buried her head in his chest. She couldn't let him see this side of her. It was unbearably hard to hide her growing lust, taking every bit of her willpower. Yet, she never stopped approaching him.

Physical pain?

Nothing was more agonizing than the hungry worms devouring every unit of her Od.

Mental pain?

Her spirit had been broken again and again under Zouken's approach to tamper with her magic circuits.

She had grown used to every kind of pain. If it meant spending just one more minute with Haruki, she was willing to endure more pain.

Haruki made Sakura as comfortable as he could. With the sun setting in the distance, Haruki carried Sakura through the steep road. His mother had an old car parked somewhere in the next building garage, but he couldn't drive because of license issues.

A slow walk for over thirty minutes brought the three before the church. Rin lightly kicked the double door standing in her way. The steel door creaked as it slowly opened. Haruki strolled through the open area outside the church until he was literally at the church's door. He let Sakura down at her request. She stretched her arms, a few tears creeping out from the edges of her eyes.

Haruki noticed the Command Spells on the back of his hand and frowned.

'I shouldn't have command spells if I'm Caster's Master.'

He tucked his right hand into his pocket. Rin hadn't spotted his Command Spells yet. Her knowledge of the Holy Grail War was limited, so he could bluff his way out of her questions. But Kirei was a veteran. The priest will immediately guess him to be the Master of two servants. Haruki wasn't ready to show his hand to the Master of Gilgamesh and Cu Chulainn.

"Thank you, Senpai."

Haruki returned a soft smile as he patted her head with his left hand. "Let's meet this shady priest then return home."

Rin giggled. His nickname for Kirei couldn't be any better.

"Yes. He is a mage. A fake priest without a doubt. Did your… mother meet Kirei before?" She carefully asked in a patient voice, without any intention to scratch his wounds.

"I don't know about that."

Archer materialized behind Rin. "I'll keep watch for an ambush."

Unlike his cynical words, his frowning expression seemed serious. Could he have known Gilgamesh's identity? Haruki had no idea if Archer remembered Gilgamesh from this timeline.

"Well, go on."

"Where is Caster?" Archer questioned.

"Probably cooking food," Haruki said with a half-shrug of his shoulders. "I don't know for sure."

"It's a war, Master's ally. You may have grown stronger since our last meeting but you'll undoubtedly die if Master was a typical mage."

Archer stared at him for a second before he faded into prismatic particles.

"Thanks for your advice, Archer. But I trust Rin. At least I hope Sakura's sister doesn't betray my trust." Haruki glanced at Rin with a smile. "Right?"

Rin raised her hands to her chest defensively and gawked at him. "Y-You. Of course, we're allies. I won't fight him until he tells me everything."

The latter half of her words were directed at Sakura.

"Cute," Sakura muttered from the side. "Rin Nee-san, you're the best Nee-san!"

Sakura buttered up her sister even more, lowering any chance of Rin and Haruki fighting in this war. As long as she was there to connect Haruki and Rin, Haruki will have an ally in Rin.

"Let's move, hmph!"

Together, the three of them walked into the church.

Darkness lingered in every corner. The structure was anything but holy in its appearance and its aura. The statue of a praying woman stood beyond the rows of chairs. Under the statue, a man could be seen in dark vestments. Holding a holy book in his hand, the man prayed as though he was a diligent priest.

'Fucker.'

Haruki cursed the seven generations of the sadist priest.

Kirei turned around. Looking at Rin standing with two strangers, he flipped his book shut.

"Ho. Rin, I expected your visit for days. Now you come with two strangers. A surprise indeed."