It was almost six o'clock when Shirou woke up, and the light streaming in through the window was already a little bright.
Shirou lay beneath the warm covers, with Tiamat still asleep beside him.
The Goddess of Creation rested her head on her beloved son's arm, a blissful expression on her sleeping face.
Although he knew he had already gotten up rather late today, the sight before him was simply too beautiful. Shirou couldn't quite bring himself to end this seemingly eternal moment.
Just a little longer...
No, if I don't get up soon...
Sakura might already be in the kitchen...
And if I wait until she finishes breakfast and comes here to wake me up...
At that thought, Shirou called softly, "It's morning, Tia."
"Mmm~ I want to stay with Shirou a little longer~"
Tiamat didn't even open her eyes, merely murmuring in an adorable voice.
Perhaps her pillow was simply too comfortable. Instead, she wrapped her arms around Shirou's waist and sank into an even deeper sleep.
Beneath the covers, their bodies were pressed closely together.
Sigh. You really are hopeless.
Shirou wrapped the arm she had been using as a pillow around Tiamat's shoulders.
After enjoying that brief moment of peace for a little while longer, he gently slipped his arm free.
"I'm going to make breakfast, Tia. You can sleep a little longer."
As though she had picked up on a particular keyword, Tiamat slowly opened her drowsy eyes.
"Breakfast... Oh, right. Shirou's breakfast... I have to make breakfast for Shirou."
"Leave breakfast to Sakura and me this morning. You can sleep a little longer."
Tiamat sleepily shook her head and struggled to sit up.
"?"
Shirou frowned in confusion. Then...
Tiamat gave the boy a warm, loving smile.
"Shirou, it's time to eat..."
Shirou: "......Uh."
Tiamat folded her arms beneath herself, making the visual impact of the pose even stronger.
...
"What's wrong, Shirou...?"
Tiamat blinked and tilted her head in confusion.
That smile just now had been far too dazzling.
Even if Shirou could rely on reason to overcome the goddess's temptation, there was no way he could refuse that smile.
Shirou shook his head and shifted forward on his knees across the bedding.
He moved in front of Tiamat and wrapped his arms around her slender waist...
...
Shirou stopped in his tracks.
The aroma of breakfast drifted down the hallway, accompanied by the practiced rhythm of a kitchen knife.
From the sound of things, Sakura was already about eighty percent done preparing breakfast.
Unfortunately, Shirou was already completely full.
He felt a little guilty toward her...
Shirou sighed and walked into the kitchen.
"Oh, Sakura. You're here."
"Good morning, Senpai. You slept in a little today. I was just about to come wake you up."
"Sorry. You're making breakfast again?"
"Mm-hmm. You're always looking out for me, Senpai. And last night, it was thanks to you that the misunderstanding got cleared up."
Sakura Matou wiped her hands on her apron and smiled at Shirou. "I want to do something for you too, Senpai."
If Tiamat's smile was that of a goddess who embraced everything, then this girl's smile was that of an angel.
An angelic smile with "Special Attack Against Evil." It struck Shirou straight through the heart.
"Guh..."
"What's wrong, Senpai? You suddenly look awful."
"No, um... Thank you, Sakura. Really."
"It's nothing."
"Let me help too."
"Okay."
Shirou and Sakura stood side by side at the sink.
"By the way, on days when Irisviel and Fuji-nee aren't around, I don't really mind skipping breakfast."
"You can't do that!"
Sakura Matou reacted far more strongly than Shirou had expected.
"You're still growing, Senpai. You absolutely cannot skip breakfast!"
Shirou said, "But doesn't Tohsaka skip breakfast all the time?"
Sakura replied, "Tohsaka-senpai is a girl, so it's fine."
"What kind of logic is that?"
"Don't you want to grow a little taller, Senpai? Then you need to eat a proper breakfast."
No... I've already been spoiled by Magic. I know I'll grow to 187 cm after I turn twenty, so it's fine.
It's really fine. Even if I'm still only 167 cm by my third year of high school...
Ugh. I guess that still bothers me a little.
"Come to think of it, Sakura, on the days you come over here, what do they do about breakfast at the Matou house?"
The people currently living in that gloomy Western-style mansion weren't limited to Sakura. There were also Byakuya Matou and Shinji, along with Kariya, who occasionally stayed the night.
Even if Rider was a Servant and didn't need to eat, what did those three do for breakfast?
After Shirou asked, a long silence filled the kitchen.
"Sakura?"
"My brother is still growing too, so it's fine if he skips breakfast, right?"
Sakura Matou replied coldly.
That is not what you just said!
Sakura Matou normally listened to almost anything Shirou said, but she seemed strangely stubborn about this particular matter.
Was there some hidden reason behind it?
Was she trying to condition his stomach into one that "couldn't survive without Miss Sakura Matou's miso soup every morning"?
The purple-haired girl lowered her head and murmured, "Besides, on days when Irisviel-san and Fujimura-sensei aren't here... those are rare chances for me to spend time alone with you, Senpai. I don't want to give them up just like that... N-no! Never mind! It's nothing!"
Sakura Matou had accidentally let the truth slip, and her cute face instantly turned bright red.
Shirou: "......"
So that was it.
To him, they were merely ordinary mornings, but Sakura had been looking forward to them.
Sorry. I never noticed.
"Sakura."
"What is it, Senpai?"
Did he see through my impure thoughts? the girl wondered nervously.
"You can make your chopping a little more efficient. Like this."
As he spoke, Shirou moved around behind Sakura Matou.
"Huh... Senpai?"
The girl's eyes widened, and a moment later, her mind dissolved into complete confusion.
And really, that reaction was only natural.
Shirou pressed himself against Sakura Matou's back and reached around her from behind, placing his hands over hers as she chopped the vegetables.
"Like this... See? Isn't it easier to cut now?"
Holding Sakura Matou's hands, Shirou effortlessly sliced through the lettuce while explaining the technique.
The girl, however, was in absolutely no state to learn anything.
Her beloved Senpai had his chin resting against her shoulder, and she could feel his breath brushing against her ear.
Sakura Matou had been a frequent visitor to the Amamiya residence for the past eight years, so this was hardly the first time she had come into physical contact with Shirou.
But never like this.
This...
In this position, it almost felt as though her small body had been completely enveloped by his.
Senpai's chest was broader than she had imagined.
His long fingers. His palms, calloused from sword training.
His gentle, resonant voice, and the strangely sweet, milky scent of his breath.
All of it made it impossible for Sakura Matou to focus on chopping vegetables.
Overwhelmed by this almost unreal happiness, the girl's shoulders began to tremble.
"Ah...!"
Sakura cut her finger with the knife.
Shirou froze. "Sor..."
"I-I'm sorry! It's because I'm so clumsy!"
Before Shirou could apologize, Sakura Matou beat him to it.
"No, it was my fault."
"You didn't do anything wrong, Senpai! I'm the one who messed up!"
Sakura Matou bowed deeply, while Shirou scratched his cheek awkwardly.
He had only meant to reward Sakura for all her hard work, but somehow it had backfired...
If Rin had seen that just now, she probably would have shouted, "No sexual harassment!" before firing a Gandr at him.
Maybe that really had been too much?
"Give me your hand."
"Um... Yes, Senpai."
Sakura Matou obediently held out her hand, allowing Shirou to heal the cut with Magecraft.
"There. All better."
"Thank you, Senpai."
Sakura Matou's eyes were slightly moist as she cradled the hand he had treated as though it were a precious treasure.
Then she gathered her courage.
"Um, Senpai... Could you teach me again?"
"Sure. Of course. I'll teach you as many times as you need."
Shirou pressed against her back once more.
"......"
Although Sakura Matou's small body trembled faintly again, she quickly adjusted.
And so, Shirou successfully taught her a useful little trick for chopping vegetables.
Incidentally, the following morning, Sakura Matou very unusually did not come over to help with breakfast.
Maybe it really had been too intense after all?
...
Shirou couldn't spend lunch break alone with Tiamat today either. He had been called over to help the track and field club repair some equipment.
Since the girl asking was from Tohsaka and Mitsuzuri's class, and Shirou knew her, it was hard to refuse.
Shirou Amamiya, Homurahara's legendary repairman.
As long as it was an inanimate object, no matter what it was, one touch from his hand and he could fix it right before your eyes!
Today, too, he repaired an old horizontal bar and several hurdles in five seconds flat.
"It's fixed! That's practically cheating! You're amazing!"
Kaede Makidera, one of Rin and Ayako's classmates, the track and field club's ace sprinter and the girl nicknamed the "Homurahara Black Jaguar," shouted excitedly.
"Much appreciated, Amamiya. I'll thank you on Kaede's behalf, since she apparently doesn't know how."
Kane Himuro, another of Rin and Ayako's classmates, the track and field club's high-jump ace and the bespectacled girl known as "Miss Himuro," spoke in her usual cool tone.
"Ah, since you helped us out, Amamiya... Would you like to have lunch with us?"
Yukika Saegusa, the third of Rin and Ayako's classmates, was the track and field club's manager and resident idol. Compared with the other two, she was an ordinary but cute girl.
"No, I've got something else to do..."
Just as Shirou was about to make his escape, two hands landed on his shoulders.
"Come on, what's the harm? Everyone in the club already got a boxed lunch, and since a few people didn't show up for practice, we have some left over. Amamiya, would you help us finish them?"
"Okay. In that case, I won't say no."
If he always worked for free, people would eventually start treating him like someone they could conveniently order around. Accepting an appropriate thank-you now and then was perfectly reasonable.
Besides, eating lunch with the track and field club was a fairly novel experience.
"I'm digging in."
"Go ahead. It's nothing fancy," said Yukika Saegusa, the manager who had prepared the boxed lunches.
Kaede Makidera said, "Looks delicious. Much appreciated, much appreciated... Although I heard Amamiya is quite the gourmet."
Kane Himuro added, "Indeed. Rumor has it that a Matou underclasswoman from the middle school division delivers a luxurious 'jade box' bento to Senpai Amamiya every other day."
That was the first Shirou had ever heard of it. He rolled his eyes.
"Speaking of which, Amamiya..."
"What?"
Kaede Makidera stopped eating and stared at Shirou.
"How far have you gotten with Tohsaka?"
"...Cough!"
"Ah, Amamiya, have some hot water. Don't choke."
The track and field club manager handed him a cup.
After taking a sip, Shirou said, "Tohsaka and I aren't in that kind of relationship."
Kaede Makidera continued studying his face suspiciously.
Shirou had an excellent reputation, and even his face looked unusually honest, so in the end she believed him.
"I see... The rumors were so widespread that I thought... Sorry. I got the wrong idea."
"It's fine."
Just as Shirou breathed a sigh of relief, Kane Himuro suddenly spoke.
"They may not be dating, but Amamiya does occasionally prepare lunch boxes for Tohsaka."
"What?"
"I once saw Amamiya's lunch box sitting inside her desk."
"......"
Cold sweat broke out across Shirou's forehead.
"So you really are secretly dating behind everyone's backs!" Kaede Makidera shot to her feet and shouted.
"You and Tohsaka do seem like a good match, Amamiya. I'm rooting for you," Yukika Saegusa said.
Kane Himuro nodded. "Though I do feel a little sorry for Matou and Kaede."
"I have no idea what Makidera has to do with this, but Sakura knows about it. In fact, Sakura and I made that bento together."
"Wh-what─────?!?!?"
Kaede Makidera's eyes went wide.
"You can juggle Tohsaka and Matou that effortlessly... And it's not just at school. There are all kinds of rumors about you outside school too... Amamiya! Just how many women have you fooled around with?!"
As one of Rin Tohsaka's few friends, Kaede Makidera held a rather unrealistic image of her.
She had completely failed to see through Rin Tohsaka's perfect facade, regarding her as a proud, untouchable flower far beyond anyone's reach.
Watching the goddess in her heart be conquered by a boy from the same school left her with a frustration that was difficult to put into words.
At this rate, their rare chance to enjoy lunch would be ruined, so Kane Himuro smoothly changed the subject.
"By the way, Amamiya, have you heard? Apparently, a mysterious beauty has been showing up around the shopping district these past couple of days. All the boys are talking about her."
Shirou frowned. "No. Why are you asking me?"
"You're popular with women, Amamiya. I thought she might be someone you know."
That actually made Shirou a little curious.
"What kind of person is she?"
"A foreign woman with beautiful, long purple hair."
Yukika Saegusa counted off the details on her fingers. "She's tall, has an amazing figure, and dresses really stylishly. She's even prettier than models doing location shoots."
"..."
Shirou had a pretty good idea who this mysterious beauty everyone was talking about might be.
If it was her, then causing a commotion simply by walking down the street was hardly surprising.
"So you do know her, Amamiya?"
Kane Himuro narrowed her eyes sharply, but Shirou neither confirmed nor denied it.
Kaede Makidera gave an irritated snort from the side.
"Amamiya doesn't even care when the topic is beautiful women. I guess that's what happens when you're a harem guy with women hanging off both arms."
...
After school, Shirou stopped by the shopping district to pick up a few things on his way home.
There, beneath the setting sun, he came across an unusual sight.
Shinto was one thing, but seeing men openly hitting on women in the normally safe shopping district of Miyama Town was rare.
A long-haired woman over 170 centimeters tall stood by the roadside, surrounded by two or three men.
"How about going to see a movie with us after this, pretty lady?"
They were inviting her along in light, flirtatious tones.
The woman they were hitting on, Rider, looked thoroughly annoyed.
"Sorry. I already have plans."
"That's exactly what you said yesterday! And you still ended up alone!"
At those words, Rider finally remembered that these were the same men who had tried to hit on her the day before.
"Come on, you're obviously alone, right? So why not come hang out with us somewhere?"
Rider sighed.
Just as she was about to reject them in much clearer terms...
Their eyes met.
A few meters away stood a high school boy carrying a shopping bag.
Shirou: "......"
Rider: "......"
Right in front of the men, Rider strode quickly over to Shirou and affectionately clung to his arm.
"Let's go, honey."
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