Part 56: Funny lion / Bare-Knuckle Rin

Music: Madder Red Town



"Fuji-Nee, did you eat that apple?"


"Yeah, I did. It was sweet and sour and good."

want to eat… apple…

"I see. Then it's your turn. Give me a gift for what you've eaten."


"…? Gift… you mean oranges?"
"…I won't ask how you came to that conclusion.
I'm just telling you to give me the gift you have for me. Don't tell me you forgot what you said before leaving this morning."



Fuji-Nee puts a strange paper bag on the table and empties it out.

""
This is unexpected.
I don't think it's like Fuji-Nee to remember about her promises.
"…But, what is that? For me, um…"
No matter how I look at it, it just looks like garbageI mean, a mountain of stuffed animals.


"For Shirou, I have this Aztec stone mask. Your room's empty, right? It should increase the warmth a bit if you have this there."


She hands me a heartful and suspicious mask fashioned like a sun.
It's a thing about size of a baseball, with soft stuffing in it.

"…Fuji-Nee. Was this a hundred yen each game?"


"Yeah, it was a lot of work getting that. I never gave up and in the end, I had the guy working there take it out for me."
She's laughing in embarrassment, but I'm scared to think how bloody the fight must have been.

I would pay money to see a fight over a claw game prize.


"Umm… I also have a Chinese dragon, bat, crab, cow, snake, charging soldier…"
Fuji-Nee happily separates the mountain of stuffed animals.

A few stuffed animals roll off the table and the living room becomes a mess in an instant.
…It's getting messy, but since Fuji-Nee seems to be having fun, I don't want to stop her.

"Well, I'll take it. You should clean up once you're done sorting them."


"Yup, I know."

I go back to the kitchen with the stuffed animal in my hand.
Then.


She must have just passed by, as I see Saber at the entrance to the living room in a really bad mood.



"Saber…? Are you done with the bath already?"


"Yes, it was very nice."
She answers in her usual manner, but she enters the living room unsteadily like she's sleepwalking.

Saber walks like that to the table and stops right in front of a discarded stuffed animal.


"Taiga. Is this puppet modeled after a lion?"


"Eh? Yeah, it looks like it. That's a baby lion."

"……"
Saber is silently staring at the stuffed animal at her feet.

"Are these puppets yours, Taiga?
Um, like those puppets over there…"


"Yeah, do you want some? I can give you some if you want," Fuji-Nee asks Saber lightheartedly.

"!"
Whoa, what is Fuji-Nee thinking…!?
She should be able to tell that Saber's in a bad mood, so why is she asking her such a ridiculous thing!?
First of all, does she really think Saber would want such a thing?


"Do you want it? It's no good if I keep it, so I can give it to Saber-chan."
Fuji-Nee holds up the stuffed lion, not noticing Saber's dislike.

Saber takes it and…


"Please."
…Steps forward seriously and accepts it.

Music: Stop

"…Huh?"
My mind freezes.
What kind of an illusion is this?
Saber is holding that chunk of uselessness like it's really important.

Music: Madder Red Town





"Don't worry about it. That's not a tiger."


…Hold on. There was something wrong with that comment, Fuji-Nee.

"But I'm a bit surprised. You like this kind of thing, Saber-chan?"
"Yes. I have longed for something small and cute.
I have not had many chances to hold such a thing."

Saying that, Saber looks down at the stuffed lion in her arms.
That face, looks like





"?"
…What was that?
I felt like I saw… something weird.



Saber nods with the same smile she had looking at the stuffed lion.


"It does not mean I like them, but I have a bond with them.
I once took care of a lion cub and I was happy that the child was attached to me.
So since that time, I have had feelings for them.
Originally, I was more linked to dragons, but…"


"Then I realized that otherkin were nonsensical, and so I became a furry."


"I see, a lion cub… oh, aren't lion cubs like cats or something? Don't they bite and scratch and all?"



She looks so happy about that. "He totally scratched my face off. It hurt like awesome."

I only took care of him for about a month, but I wish I could have been allowed to be with him until the end."


"I see, I see. But that's hard. Lions get really large. A normal house can't keep them, so you have to let them go."
Fuji-Nee nods to herself.



""
I don't know what sort of magic it had on it, but…





…A scene I shouldn't know about pops into my head.

""
…I know myself that it's something like dizziness.
But still, I cannot shake it off.

…Her own memories.
An event that really did happen in the past.
Saber, rubbing her cheek against the lion, looks like a girl her age should.
I don't know if this is just a momentary thing.
All I know is that I find this dizziness special.



He makes it sound so flattering.

Music: Surrounded by Smiling Faces



"…I wonder if something happened to her outside."
I don't think Tohsaka is the type to make that kind of mistake, but I think she does make big mistakes sometimes.

Only when it's important.

"I guess I'll go take a look."
I should be fine by myself if I'm just going to go search around the house.






"I'm home. What, are you greeting me in an apron? You look pretty good in it."

Tohsaka makes that humorous comment without even twitching her brow.
…She's scary.
People who can put on a serious face while joking are the scariest.

Some people find the opposite far more terrifying.

"Tohsaka, what were you"
As I try to ask her what happened, I notice the blood on her hand.
…A small stain of blood and a swollen index finger.
Could that be…?

"Tohsaka. I'm going to guess about something bad."


"What? I won't listen if it's anything stupid."
"It's not. Have you punched someone?"


"Correct. I gave that annoying Shinji some knuckles."



Tohsaka snorts and passes by me.

"……"
I see, some knuckles for Shinji.
Now I understand the blood on her hand and the swelling on her fingerhang on!!!

Music: Today's Meal



Someone had to.


"You're being loud. He was being annoying, so I beat him up."

"Beat him up… you mean, with bare knuckles?"


"Bare as it can be. A grizzly bear, too."

Why is it that every time I think, "the original can't have said that," I always find out that it does? Incidentally, I'd have translated it, "bare like a grizzly bear." At least she seems to be saying it was "grizzly bear level" bare. I'm sure one of you can correct me, though. Here's the line: 「ベアもベア、グリズリー級にベアよ」

Tohsaka snorts again.



Music: Stop

A brief silence.
I don't know what to say, so I just shut my mouth and cause an awkward silence.

Music: Surrounded by Smiling Faces

"…Let's get back to the main subject.
You said you punched Shinji, but why?"


"It's only natural I punched him. He was talking about things like me joining him, and you being useless so I should give up on you.
He said stupid things after calling for me, so I punched him to make him shut up."

"……"
No, isn't that a little too short-tempered, Tohsaka?
…Or could it be?
Did Shinji say something stupid enough to even piss off the ever-calm Tohsaka?

How can he not understand why Rin wouldoh, right. Shirou


"…Why are you looking at me like that? I'll say this, but I'm the victim here."
"No, both sides are equally responsible, right?
…But still, why would Shinji say something like that to you? He said he wanted me to cooperate with him."


"Who knows? Maybe he thinks of you as a rival or something. He was acting weird ever since I told him I was living with you."

"What!? Tohsaka, you told him about us!?"


"Yeah, I did. I think it was yesterday morning. Shinji called me and said proudly that he became a Master like me now. He pissed me off, so I told him that you were the same too.


I thought he learned his lesson, but he was waiting outside my house for me a while ago."


"So, I told him I'm living at your house now and I didn't have any intention of cooperating with a half-assed Master like him… what, was that bad?"

No, honey, you did good.

""
That's generally bad.
Shinji is very conscious of Tohsaka under normal circumstances, so this is like pouring oil onto a fire.

…Well, but still… I see, I get it now.
I understand why Shinji only saw Tohsaka as the enemy, and why he kept asking her to cooperate with him.
In a word, he


"But it's strange, isn't it? I wonder why he's so fussed up about me. Judging from his personality, I wouldn't expect him to want to cooperate with anyone."
No.
It's because Tohsaka Rin is important to Matou Shinji.

"It's not strange at all. I think you're a special person for Shinji.
His was a family of magi originally, right?
ThenI think he admired you since you were of the lineage of a magus family like him, and you still retain the blood of it."

That's why he's persistent about Tohsaka.
I think Tohsaka Rin has been a target of his affections from even before this Holy Grail War started.




"I'm going to have to go bathe now. I wonder if the bath is ready yet…"

It must have been a real surprise, as Tohsaka stands pondering.


"…Oh, I remember. Come to think of it, Shinji asked me out when I was a first year."
She makes a terrible "gah, I forgot about it" reaction.
…I'll sympathize with Shinji, just for now.

I won't.


"Whoa, no wonder he never gets enough of talking to me. I understand now."
"…That's fine. So, how did you reply?"



I can't stand it if I'm not the first to make a move in a contest.
It's like I can't get in the mood unless I'm setting the mood, or like I don't feel like it if someone else starts a match."

In other words, she's a butch in search of a femme.



She must really live following only her feelings.

"Tohsaka. You suck at rock, paper, scissors, right?"


"Huh!? Wait, how do you know that!?"
…As I thought.
Of course, if she likes to make the first move, she would be weak against a later move.

Music: Gentle Everyday




"I see. Well, I saw Taiga do so, so I thought I should as well."



"Fuji-Nee is just playing around. She's not much of a reference, so be careful from now on."


"…I see. I was referencing Sakura before, so you never warned me, but…"
"No, I'm not angry. I worked hard to make it, so I just want you to have it at its best. So, getting back to the original conversation…"

"……"


"Shirou, I'll take seconds. Give me lots of stuff in my miso soup."
"All right. How about you, Saber? I bet you're hungry since we worked harder today."


"Not really. But I will take another just in case."
"Yeah, go ahead. If you also started recklessly raiding the fridge at night because you were too hungry to sleep, I'd die of shock."


"……"


"Hey, that's terrible. I told you that wasn't me. It was some burglar that raided the fridge."

"Then could you tell that robber that she shouldn't just eat meat, but that she should eat vegetables as well? And tell her not to finish off all the desserts in the fridge as if that's what she was after. Geez, she's like a hungry animal or something."


"What!? Don't call me a tiger!"
"Whoa, I didn't call you that! Ow, hot! Don't throw the hot white radish, you idiot!"

"……"


"Shirou. It seems the pot in the kitchen is boiling."
"Huh? Oh, hold on Fuji-Nee, I need to turn the fire off."


"All right. Bring me some chicken and boiled egg in soy sauce quickly."

Bring me some, too.

"Roger. Then keep Fuji-nee company, Saber."


"Yes. Please do not rush your cooking, Shirou."



I get up.
…Oh yeah.
Why has Tohsaka been quiet all this time?

"Tohsaka? Does dinner taste bad?"


"No. It's nothing, so don't talk to me."
She looks away sullenly.
…Hmm. She's not the kind to drag that thing about Shinji out this long, so maybe something has irritated her.

Music: Stop

Dinner ends as usual and Fuji-Nee goes home satisfied.
Saber and Tohsaka are in the living room.
It was an awkward mood before, but since I've trained with Saber for the past two days, it doesn't feel awkward anymore.

"Saber, you can go to bed. I'll do the rest."


"No, I will stay awake until you go to sleep. I would also like to learn from Rin how skilled you are in magic."

"I see. Then let's go to Tohsaka's room a bit earlier than usual. You don't mind, Tohsaka?"




"What does that moronic womanizer have that I don't, anyway?"

For some reason, Tohsaka says this with the same displeasure she had when we were eating dinner.
"I'll be waiting in my room, so come when you're done cleaning up.


…And I'll also be skipping school from tomorrow on. So come to my place in the afternoon."
Tohsaka leaves the living room, still in a bad mood.


"Shirou, did you do something to Rin? She seems angry."
"Did it seem that way to you too?
…I don't know. I didn't do anything to anger her."



A jealous lesbian is a terrible thing.