Part 123: The return of the orange man / Dojo scenery / Cogwheel

Music: Gentle Everyday



Fuji-Nee is silently peeling oranges.
On the table are two orange skins shaped like flowers.

"……"
Is it some curse that she can't even skin an apple, but she's rather talented at artistically peeling oranges?

"I decided to take it later. I just wanted to complain about those stories before I took a bath."


"What? Come on, it's such an old story, and Sakura-chan was happy to hear it too. Instead of that… here, finish your quota. You should eat one a day."
She takes an orange out of a small box and throws it to me.

"Whoa… hey, I won't be bought off with just an orange.
Thank God it was Sakura. Don't tell that story at school, okay? People like Issei would worry."



"I'm saying, don't tell Sakura either. She'll just be bothered if you tell boring stories like that. …Well, I don't think it'll happen again, but I'll get mad if it does."


I glare at Fuji-Nee to show her that I'm serious.



But Fuji-Nee just grins widely and she seems very pleased.

"…Oh, now you're pissing me off. What are you inferring, you stupid tiger?"
I glare at her stupid face.


"I don't care if I'm a tiger. I'm right, aren't I? You didn't want Sakura-chan to know, right?
You wouldn't care if everyone else found out you wanted to be a superhero, but you're embarrassed about Sakura-chan knowing."
"Wha"
I-I don't think so…



I guess you finally started to notice Sakura-chan, huh?
I'm worried as a teacher, but I'm quite relieved as your guardian."

She says so with great emotion, then she throws a whole orange into her mouth.
Fuji-Nee can eat things as big as her fist in one bite.
I guess it'd be an attractive quality somewhere in the Savanna, but I don't think an older woman needs such wild charms.


"Huh? Senpai, weren't you taking a bath?"
And Sakura, finished with the dishes, comes into the living room.

"Yeah, I put it off since I wanted to tell Fuji-Nee something. Sakura, you want an orange?"
I reach for the stack of oranges.
It's a strange turn of events, but staying here with them should be fun too.


"Oh, I got some from Fujimura-Sensei just now. They were really good."


"Sakura-chan can't eat fresh fruit.
So she won't eat it unless you cook it or freeze it like ice cream… oh, is it almost time?"


"Yes. I'm done cleaning up, so I'll be heading home for today."


"I see. Then I guess I'll leave too. Let's go, Sakura-chan. It's getting dangerous outside lately, so I'll walk home with you."

Fuji-Nee ceases her mass consumption of oranges and stands up.
Her actions are almost those of a responsible elder.


"Uh… is that all right, Sensei?"


"Of course. I'm in charge of you two, so I have to see you home. That's okay with you, right, Shirou? You'll lock up the house and go to bed after we leave, okay?"

"All right. With Fuji-Nee, you should be fine even if a molester or a bear jumps out for you."


"I don't know about that. I don't think I'd be able to beat a bear. …No, I can't. So if that happens, I'll run back here. Then we can beat it up together and have bear stew tomorrow."

Fuji-Nee smiles confidently.
…Yeah.
Fuji-Nee usually does her own thing and causes havoc, but when she's acting as a teacher, she's a very responsible person.

Music: Stop




"Yes. Good night then, Senpai."
"Yeah."
They leave the house.
I follow them out to the entrance and lock up the house as Fuji-Nee instructed.



Training (Magic Circuit) - In a stunning array of phallic imagery, Shirou inserts burning rods into his backside. It helps him sleep at night.



Awakening - After a late evening with burning rods in his backside, Shirou dreams about 'swords'. In a completely non-gay way. Nope, not gay in the slightest.

Since we visited the dojo this time, when we return on day 2 the scene is changed ever so slightly. So slightly, in fact, that you'd probably never notice without a handy flowchart.

Music: Gentle Everyday



Music: Stop



"Well, Fuji-Nee is using it for herself, though."
I hear that this place was Fuji-Nee's playground even before I came here.
But I became Kiritsugu's student and started using this place a lot, so Fuji-Nee hated me back then.

"…Well."
There's only one thing to do now that I'm here.
Even a magus cannot neglect to train their body.
One of the requirements for a magus is to have excellent physical abilities.

While Kiritsugu was alive, we had many matches here.
Well, it was pretty much him beating on me, so I didn't learn anything about how to win in a fight.
…But I think I learned the difference between a fight and a battle.
In other words, I was taught the difference between killing your opponent and beating your opponent.

Knowledge and experience are different.
Unless I know in advance, it's hard to tell whether I'm involved in a fight or a murder.

…It's a simple story.
As long as you learn magic, you might destroy yourself, and times will come when you have to fight.
For a magi, a fight means killing each other.
So I think what Kiritsugu wanted to teach me was to prepare my mind for the prospect of death.





Breakfast - Shirou chats with Sakura about why he quit the archery club.



Everyday (II) - Mitsuzuri tells Shirou that Shinji is an asshole, as though it's supposed to be surprising. Afterwards, Shirou gives Issei his meat.



Pipeline / Tohsaka Rin (I) / Love's magical ranger force - After hearing Issei preach the evils of the Tohsaka, Shirou heads to work. He's early, so he detours through the burnt wreckage of his former life. After work, he thinks he sees Rin on top of a building. When he finally gets home, Taiga beats him senseless with a poster, then they smoke a couple bowls and mellow out for awhile.



What is burned in - Shirou wakes up from a drug nightmare at the ungodly hour of 6am. What a slacker.



Unnatural Mark - On the way to school, Sakura notices a bleeding welt on Shirou's left hand. Eh, it's probably nothing.



Night of fate - Shirou stays late at school, busily cleaning up Shinji's mess. As he leaves, he sees something he really shouldn't have and he's made to pay the ultimate price.



One more time - Miraculously revived, Shirou cleans up his own murder scene and then heads home. Lancer attacks once again and beats Shirou up. Shirou runs away like a little girl, then summons one.



Promised Sign - Shirou's new pet pushes Lancer back with an invisible sword until she gets stabbed in the chest. It looks like it probably hurts. Lancer flees, and Saber engages Archer and goes for the throat.