Night fell, and Morpheus lounged quietly on the sofa in the living room. Though Emiya Shirou's house looked like a traditional Japanese residence from the outside, the interior blended tatami mats with modern touches like sofas.
This made Morpheus wonder about Emiya Kiritsugu's choices. Had he aimed for a cohesive classical style with the Japanese aesthetic but added sofas for practicality?
Of course, these were just Morpheus' musings.
As he sat there, contemplating whether to buy a phone once he'd earned enough money, Tohsaka Rin's voice broke his thoughts.
"Morpheus."
"Not asleep yet?" Morpheus asked.
"No…" Rin hesitated, then continued, "I have something to talk about."
"A beautiful girl inviting me for a chat on a quiet night? Should I be excited?" Morpheus teased, staying outside her room.
Even if she was in pajamas, Morpheus felt it was proper to respect her space. Barging in would be creepy, wouldn't it?
"Come in and talk," Rin said.
With her permission, Morpheus entered the spare bedroom in the Emiya house where Rin was staying. One side of the sliding door was open, letting in bright moonlight that illuminated the room clearly without a lamp.
Rin had climbed out of bed, sitting in her pajamas, bathed in moonlight.
Under the moon's glow, the girl had an oddly captivating allure.
"By the way, about what you said earlier," Rin started, glancing at Morpheus with a slight smirk, "it could be taken as harassment."
"Harassment? I was just voicing my thoughts," Morpheus replied, unfazed. "When a beautiful girl calls me over at night, any normal guy would be thrilled."
"Enough of that…" Rin shook her head. She realized arguing with Morpheus was futile... his thick skin and shamelessness were unbeatable.
She shifted to the question she really wanted to ask.
"Do you know Matou Sakura?"
"No," Morpheus answered without hesitation, telling the truth.
"But why do I feel like you two know each other?"
"I really don't know her. This is technically my second time seeing her. The first was at school. I considered scouting the Matou residence before, but their bounded fields were too strong, and I didn't want to tip them off, so I gave up."
Rin stared at Morpheus, stunned. She hadn't expected him to have planned to investigate the Matou family so early. He was that invested in the Holy Grail War!
No, his goal wasn't to win the Grail but to prevent tragedies. It made sense he'd focus on the war's participants.
Rin, having spent time with Morpheus, reflected silently.
Morpheus continued, "But you're right. I also feel like Sakura might know me."
"Sakura? Calling her by her first name already?" Rin raised an eyebrow.
"I'm lazy."
His blunt response left Rin speechless. Fewer syllables were indeed less effort.
"Have you two discussed me?" Morpheus asked.
"A little. By the way, do you think she's a Master?"
"She is."
His unsurprising answer prompted Rin to seek any chance Sakura wasn't involved. "You've found proof?"
"When she came this morning, there was clearly a Servant hiding nearby. I don't know if Saber or the others noticed, but I could sense it following Sakura.
"That makes it obvious... she's one of the Masters in this Holy Grail War. As for her Command Spells, they're not on her hand. Could they be hidden elsewhere?"
"Right! No Command Spells on her hand!" Rin mused, struggling to think where they might be. "It's hard to guess... there are too many places they could be!"
"Then don't dwell on it. Sakura's definitely a Master, and she's hiding her identity. As the Matou heir, she's a tragedy... a big one," Morpheus said, subtly watching Rin's reaction.
Her expression shifted, growing tense. "What's wrong with the Matou family?!"
"Why so nervous? They're your rivals. If they have issues, shouldn't you be relieved? It's not like they're dying."
Morpheus' casual tone didn't ease Rin's worry. She turned her face slightly but pressed, "What secrets are the Matou hiding? As a Tohsaka, I need to know!"
Morpheus smiled. "But prying into a magus family's secrets is like declaring war, isn't it?"
Rin's face darkened, her expression like someone forced to swallow something vile.
What do I do? Morpheus is right... this is magus family etiquette. I shouldn't break these rules. I'm a Tohsaka, heir to this land's overseers!
Rin's heart wrestled, but her resolve won out.
"As your Master, I order you to tell me... what secrets are the Matou hiding?!"
It's all for Sakura, my only sister!
Rin declared this inwardly.
But Morpheus wasn't ready to spill so easily. "Then tell me... why are you so desperate to know the Matou secrets?"
Seeing his obvious grin, Rin stiffened, retorting, "Because I'm the overseer of this land! Even if that role's less relevant now, I'm responsible for this place!
"If the Matou secrets pose a huge threat, I have to intervene for the people here!"
"Good excuse. I'll accept it," Morpheus nodded, making Rin sigh in relief, thinking she'd passed. But his next words nearly made her scream. "So, this has nothing to do with Sakura being your sister, right?"
Rin's heart stopped, then raced like she'd been in a crash.
Her eyes went blank, then widened. She nearly jumped up.
Pointing at Morpheus, she stammered, unable to form a coherent sentence.
"Y-You… You… You…"
"So, my poor Master's lost her ability to speak?" Morpheus teased.
Taking a deep breath, Rin exhaled, struggling to speak. Her mouth felt out of control.
"H-How… How did you know?!"
Finally, she got the words out.
"With my incredible abilities, of course!" Morpheus replied.
Rin remained in shock. What secrets could I possibly hide from him? How much does he know?!
It seemed not just her secrets but the Matou family's were an open book to him!
A wave of embarrassment from being exposed hit Rin, her cheeks flushing, her body heating up. But as the shame faded, she felt a strange relief.
No longer needing to hide her thoughts, she embraced a reckless abandon and said directly, "Fine, I'm worried about my sister. Can you tell me now?"
"Of course," Morpheus nodded gently, then revealed a harsh truth. "Sakura isn't being groomed as an heir."
Rin didn't grasp the cruelty at first. "So, Shinji's the heir?"
"Why do you think so un-magus-like?" Morpheus critiqued her reasoning, seizing the moment as she puffed her cheeks in irritation to continue. "Shinji isn't the heir either. The Matou family head has never changed... it's always been one person. Understand?"
"Always one person?!" Rin pondered, her eyes slowly widening. A simple sentence made her feel suffocated.
"One person? The Matou family has centuries of history. You're saying the head has never changed? But history shows different heads…"
Rin stopped, then, under Morpheus' gaze, slowly said, "You mean the heads we've seen… were all one person?!"
"Exactly. By using fresh bodies to stay alive. Just swap bodies... preferably ones with better aptitude.
"He wouldn't want a useless body, so Shinji's not the heir. The heir is Sakura's body... not her soul."
The simple explanation revealed the Matou family's horror and cruelty. Rin suddenly recalled a man from her childhood... someone shy around her mother, kind to her, always smiling.
"So, Uncle Kariya left the family because he learned this?"
"Oh, Matou Kariya. Another tragedy. He knew the truth but fell into it, and in the end, it was his own choice," Morpheus said.
Rin looked at him, shocked. "You know that too?!"
"Matou Kariya, a participant in the Fourth Holy Grail War. He'd left the Matou family but returned for your sister, Sakura. But that undying old timer never cared about winning. He just wanted to see the traitor who defied him suffer.
"For Kariya's fate, I bet the old timer was thrilled for a long time. Maybe he even thought the suffering wasn't enough."
"What happened back then…" Rin asked cautiously.
Morpheus looked at her with pity. "Are you ready to know everything? Your father's death, the source of all these tragedies?"
"I…" Rin wanted to say she was ready, but his pitying gaze and the truth it hid weighed heavily on her.
She couldn't say "I'm ready." After hesitating, she said, "Not now. Tell me about Sakura first!"
Yes, nothing else mattered now... only knowing what happened to Sakura!
"I can tell you that directly. Sakura's body has been tortured and modified to adapt to Matou magecraft and the old timer's spells. She's been subjected to worm bites in their nest, forced to become a vessel for them.
"From the moment she was taken, she's endured this torment until she adapted enough to live a semblance of a normal life.
"As for why she's at Shirou's house, it's to monitor him. As Kiritsugu's son, he could affect the Holy Grail War, so the old timer needs to keep tabs on him."
Rin's eyes blazed with fury. She'd never imagined her sister's suffering could be so horrific. Morpheus' brief words painted a nightmare beyond comprehension.
To call it hell was no exaggeration, yet Sakura had never told her!
"No, it's my fault. I never asked her…"
Because of the damned magus family rules, she'd never inquired!
Rin's fists clenched tightly, her anger desperate for an outlet.
"The old timer's obsession is to use the Grail to extend his life. So, imagine how great it'd be to destroy the Grail in front of him, ending the Holy Grail War for good?" Morpheus said, fanning the flames with his plan.
If the old Rin might've hesitated, the current one didn't. Her only thought was to make that undying old timer pay!
***
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