towerofanimus | arrival

Entry tags:

arrival | open

Characters: Sakura Matou and YOU
Setting: Dorm Floors, Library, and Cafeteria though meeting her in between floors works as well.
Format: Action, while I can do prose it takes me longer
Summary: Sakura arrives, becomes confused, and then becomes even MORE confused after meeting the people she meets. And then she solves her problems with cooking. That's legit, right?
Warnings: None for the actual post but I know the thread between her and Rin is probably going to get violent. I'll add more if needed.

[Dormitory Floors]

[ After arriving and eating her god awful oatmeal, Sakura enters room 1-01 to find her things and take stock of everything that she's arrived with in her trunk. Not a lot, but it's still comforting to find that she has some things from home. After perhaps talking with a few roommates, she exits her room and wanders on the other dorm floors, mostly to try to find anyone she knows. Particularly Senpai, Nee-san, or Rider, but for some reason she has a feeling that they aren't here. ]

[Library]

[ While she's not a book worm by any means, she knows that being here without any knowledge is a bad idea. Sakura's a smart girl so she hits the books, trying to flip through and find any information about where she's stuck at.

Of course, she's not having much of any luck. ]

[Cafeteria]

[ After all of that, she decides to relax a bit by cooking a meal later in the day. Fried rice is on the menu, served over the best cuts of fish she could find in the Tower's stock with tons of veggies and other goodies stuffed into the rice. She's even cooked a sauce with a bit of spice to it to serve over it. She made enough for multiple people, and she doesn't particularly care who comes to eat, so feel free to serve yourself and join her for a meal. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[He lets go, doesn't try to prolong it too much -- she's not his niece, just as Shinji isn't his nephew. He'll always have moments where he forgets to take care with the distinction, but this, at least, isn't one of those moments.

Instead, he sits beside her, and almost as an afterthought tugs his plate across the table. It's a strange time to take the small bite that he does, but if he lets it get cold, she'll probably never forgive him and he wouldn't forgive himself, either.

After a moment, he begins speaking again. It's still quiet, but oddly, a lot more awkward.]

If it's a burden that in any way came from being a Matou, then we share it. [It's strange to sit here and say this to a girl he technically barely knows, but she is Sakura, and she deserves to hear it even if he probably can't do much to help with whatever it is she's carrying.] I know it's... hard to think of the Matous as a family. It may be impossible. There are too many things-- ah, I'm not getting this right, am I?

[He takes another bite, thoughtfully. It's familiar, this atmosphere. The little girl in his memories has unmistakably grown up a Matou, sad as it is.]

I guess what I want to say is that no matter what your name is or what's happened... Sakura is my niece. You are my niece. And if there's anything you need or-- don't need from me, let me know. Okay?

[ Even though she always knew it was impossible she really always did want to be a family. To get along with the Matous. That's probably the only reason she endured Shinji as long as she did.

But he was still wrong. Wrong about them sharing the burden of being a Matou. There's no way that Kariya could have been carved into a vessel for the holy grail. He couldn't possibly understand how it felt to turn on everyone you love and try to destroy them by any means necessary. ]

You don't need to tell me that we're related, and I that can count on you. Nothing can change that, regardless of what your reasons were for not participating in the fourth war.

[ Yes, she just did go and assume that. Sakura was never very good at trusting in people, and had even doubted the man she loved and her own sister at one point. Besides, she certainly wouldn't have blamed him, and would have considered him the smarter of the two Kariyas. ]

[Being a Matou makes you into a lot of things, but 'family' is probably among the least of them. The mansion has been a house of glass walls since he was born, proof against anyone's efforts to do more than crack them. They might even be older than Zouken. Just how many generations of Matous have cursed this family? Their karma had to come from somewhere.

And Sakura was family long before she was a Matou.

It makes her words hit all the harder, but maybe that was necessary, to crack that glass wall. He'd never even stopped to contemplate the thought, never mind the fact that she'd think it.

... It's not surprising that she'd think it of him.]

Sakura. I did fight in the Fourth War. [There's a certain resignation in his voice.] I don't have proof, other than being a magus, but please believe me.

[ Sakura lets that sink in, thinking about it for a bit. All she could think of was a myriad of possibilities which only seemed more impossible than the next. ]

I suppose for whatever reason your body acclimated to our magecraft better than you did in my world. I apologize, I made an assumption that was incorrect.

[ Though she's still going to assume that he died during the fourth war as well. After all, in her mind, him living to see the fifth war would have been impossible. ]

... You don't have to be so formal. [It's disorienting enough to try to dissociate her from the Sakura he knows when she looks just the same, even if he's pretty sure he could distinguish them otherwise. It's just uncomfortable to have her talking to him in such a stiff way on top of it.] This entire Tower is filled with Second Magic, it can be a little hard to navigate. So you don't need to apologize.

[He sighs a little, wondering what else he's overlooked. He has some idea of what kind of world she must have come from, even if he doesn't want to. The Tower seems so intent on mocking him; it's no longer a surprise.]

I was born with enough magic to sustain the Crest Worms, and Berserker. You've met... the other Kariya Matou here?

A-Ah, I apologize. [ The request made her drop her guard a bit, but she'll do her best to comply. Sakura does want him to be comfortable around her, he's still Uncle... ]

I have met him, yes. As you can tell, he was not born as fortunate as you were.

[And there she goes, apologizing right after he told her not to. It forces him to suppress a smile, but Kariya doesn't remark on it, because he knows how it goes. Even if he'd rather have avoided the other topic.

He doesn't have the first clue how to approach it, even if it's inevitable -- not with Sakura. The only thing he knows is that she shouldn't be troubled by the fact that her uncles can't resolve things between themselves. That's the one thing she should never have to see.

After a long moment, the words he finally manages are somehow matter-of-fact.]

No, he wasn't. He's stable, though -- he probably gets some help here in the Tower.

[It's help he wouldn't otherwise get, if Kariya knows himself and the War; but he keeps that part to himself.]

I'm very glad to hear that. But I'm just as glad to see that you're doing well.

[ Less for her to worry about, since in her eyes she's going to have to mother the other Kariya a bit... and try to figure out who all was helping him. Sakura has a lot of pies to bake... ]

I'm doing just fine. Even for us, though, it's an adjustment, isn't it? Though you've probably not been here long enough to see much of the Tower.

[And if he knows Zouken, and the Matou magecraft, he doubts Sakura is as prepared for this place as she could be. It's honestly difficult to say which alternative is preferable in a situation like hers.]

[But still, in that case, he has responsibilities as her uncle that he can't ignore. His next words are considerably more serious.]

This isn't a safe place, Sakura. That's something you need to keep in mind while we're here -- the cafeteria and the dormitory rooms are all right, but you should avoid going most other places alone. I don't know if they're summoned creatures or just wildlife here-- [wildlife in a tower, really] --but there are a lot of them.

[A moment to let it sink in, then he relents, going back to his food.]

I'll do my best to help you, but you need to be careful, all right?

[ She wants to protest, but even she understands how useless her magic is here. If anything, during a tight spot, she'd probably be in the way instead of being helpful.

So instead, she just slaps on another smile. ]

I understand, I'll do my best to be careful. But when you say wildlife... do you mean wild animals, or something else?

Edited 2013-03-26 04:13 (UTC)

It's hard to give a name to all of them -- there are some in the shape of animals, and others in the shapes of people or toys, so you can never be too careful. They're manifestations of the Tower. Some floors are particularly dangerous.

[He hums thoughtfully, turning a brief, contemplative look on his not-quite niece. He's not normally an expert in self-defense, even with all his unwilling experience, but Sakura, too, is a Matou magus. There are certain things he can do for her that he otherwise can't.

One of which is raising the level of her magecraft, but that possibility is easily discarded. It's selfish of him, in a way, but that's the one thing he absolutely won't do.

When he starts speaking again, it's a little abrupt--]

If you ever need help, just call for me. One of my familiars will be nearby.

[He hasn't made anyone else aware of their surveillance, but this Sakura might be able to understand. In some way. Rin, too, is far too aware of the Worms and what they can do -- but she's far too headstrong to accept more direct protection.]

[ She manages a nod. Sakura's trying to imagine the monsters that might lurk around and was hoping to get a more clear idea of what she was getting herself into by just being here; but it seemed like even Kariya didn't know what to expect. Not a good sign. ]

I can manage that. I have a servant of my own here as well, so I should be just fine.

I don't know if anyone's made a catalog, but-- Ah. [He looks down at his food in an inexplicable fit of embarrassment, which just comes across as a sudden stumble in his speech.] I have been taking some pictures. Some of the creatures are a little hard to capture, but those might be more helpful than descriptions.

[Yes, uncle does stroll around the Tower snapping candid photos of the wildlife. It's not exactly his area of expertise, but it's at least helpful enough for him to remember what to send a single Worm after and what to run away from really fast.

He just hadn't thought to show it to anyone else so far.]

... You said you have a Servant? [He's not sure why he didn't expect that. If Sakura is the Matou heir, then--] That does help. I'll be able to sleep easier, too.

[All these mixed blessings.]

Who is it?

I would love to see them sometime.

[ Not only would it be incredibly helpful, but Kariya drawing is something that she wants to see as well. ]

It's... ah, well, it's the black Saber here. I don't know if you've met her yet, but please, keep in mind that just like every servant, she has my best intentions in mind.

[ She honestly has no idea how Alter Saber would get along with Kariya, but her instincts say that they wouldn't get along too well... ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

arrival | open

Unlimited Blade Worms okay no I ruined it goodbye

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