CHAPTER 1.8 - GROCERY SHOPPING

"Do we really need this much?" Shirou asked, observing the ridiculous amount of groceries in the shopping cart.

Beside him stood Tamamo, sporting a white shirt under a pink jacket, black shorts, black stockings, and somehow managing to hide her fox ears and tail. "Of course! Didn't you see how bare your fridge was?" she replied.

Last night, they had planned to have dinner, and Kiritsugu initially wanted to order takeout. However, Tamamo offered to cook instead. That's when she discovered the sorry state of their fridge, with hardly anything inside to prepare for dinner. An irritated Tamamo then sent Kiritsugu to buy enough groceries for her to cook.

"Honestly, young master, how can the two of you live like this?" she remarked.

"Well," Shirou chuckled, "Dad is a terrible cook, I mean really terrible. Once he attempted to make sunny-side-up eggs, and he ended up serving some black, hard thing. We ended up ordering a lot of takeout"

Shirou continued, "To be fair, I'm trying to learn how to cook for the two of us. It's not as delicious as your cooking, but at least it's edible."

Tamamo playfully ruffled Shirou's head. "Would you like me to teach you how to cook later, young master?"

"Yes, please," Shirou eagerly responded.

Tamamo couldn't help but smile at how adorable her master was. "For now, though, we need to finish our shopping," she said, bringing up a list. "How about we split the tasks, young master? I'll take care of the vegetables and meat section, while you search for condiments and dairy products." She handed the list to Shirou.

Shirou nodded as he took the list. Glancing at it, he remarked, "Wow, this is quite a long list."

"It sure is, right? Can you handle it, young master?" Tamamo asked.

"No problem," Shirou confidently replied.

"And don't forget to grab another shopping cart first," Tamamo reminded him.

"Will do. See you later, then, Tama-nee," Shirou said, waving his arm.

Tamamo waved back. Her master truly was an endearing boy. She had to resist the urge to hug him constantly. But for now, she had groceries to attend to.

Meanwhile, Shirou was managing just fine on his own. He placed three bottles of soy sauce, two bottles of chili sauce, two bottles of olive oil, and several other condiments in his cart. He also added cartons of milk, yogurt, almond milk, and various types of cheese.

While walking down the aisle, he noticed a girl about his age crouching down with two bottles of soy sauce in each hand, muttering to herself. Curious, he pushed his cart closer to the girl. It was then that he noticed the two bottles were from different brands.

"Hello!" Shirou greeted him.

The girl jolted a bit before turning her face. "Yes? Can I help you?" she asked.

"Um, I see you talking alone here. Do you need help?" Shirou asked politely.

The girl looked mildly offended. "Uh, no? Thanks for the concern, but I don't need any help," she huffed.

Shirou sheepishly smiled. "Ah, okay..." He could have just left her there, but Shirou being Shirou, he continued, "So... what are you doing?"

"I'm comparing the price, volume, and value of these soy sauces," the girl answered without even looking at Shirou.

"I see, so there's a difference?"

The girl now turned her head back at Shirou, annoyed. "Of course, there's a difference. Some brands offer a not-so-high-quality product but with an expensive price. On the other hand, there are also some not well-known or new brands that offer more or less the same but cheaper."

Shirou gave it some thought. "So it's better to just buy the cheaper one, right?" he pointed to the bottles in her hands.

"In most cases, yes. But this cheaper soy sauce brand is a new one," she said, raising the bottle in her right hand. "The other one, though, was what I used to buy before, but they spiked the price for some reason."

The girl muttered again before stopping and looked straight at Shirou. "Why in the world would I tell you all of this?" she snapped.

A random boy approaching her, offering help for some reason, and now listening to her rambling about soy sauce of all things.

"Because... you're a nice person," said Shirou.

The girl opened her mouth, then closed it, before opening it again. "Why don't you just go on your own way? Clearly, you're not here to just bother me, right?"

"I've already done most of my grocery list," Shirou nudged at his shopping cart.

"...That's a lot of groceries."

"I know, right? And this is just one cart. Tama-nee is also using another one. We're currently stocking up on everything."

"How about this?" Shirou then said. "We're going to shop together. You clearly know more about shopping than me, and I will accompany and help you if you need me!"

The girl eyed Shirou with a strange look. On the bright side, she didn't sense any ill intent from the boy. "What's in it for me? There's no benefit for me to go along with you."

"I, uh... will help you carry your basket with my cart?"

"I can do it myself."

"You won't be shopping alone by yourself?"

"I'm used to it, really."

Shirou pondered for a moment before offering, "...I'll buy you some snacks?"

Immediately, the girl's eyes widened, and she smiled brightly. "Deal, no takebacks."

Shirou happily nodded. He then offered her his hand. "My name is Emiya Shirou."

The girl accepted his hand. "Rin, Tohsaka Rin. Nice to meet you, Emiya-kun."

Rin then put the cheaper soy sauce bottle into her basket and gave the basket to Shirou. "You said you'll carry it, right?" said Rin, smiling sweetly, a little bit too sweet if you asked Shirou.

"Y-Yeah," said Shirou as he took her basket and put it in his cart.

"Then let's go, Emiya-kun."

"Ah, wait for me, T-Tohsaka."

Shirou hurriedly pushed his cart to follow Rin, who immediately bolted to the snacks aisle. Well, at least things worked out in the end for him. When he looked into Rin's eyes, he saw something familiar—the look of someone who had lost something. Of course, he was familiar with that look; he saw it every day in the mirror, after all.

He then had this gut feeling to not leave her alone by herself. Something told him that he might regret it if he left her. He didn't exactly think that he would save her, but he definitely would help her—just what a hero would do.

...

"Now look at you, mister," Tamamo smiled teasingly. "I leave you for a moment, and you go and get yourself a cute little girlfriend."

"It's not like that, Tama-nee!" Shirou retorted, his face turning red.

Beside him, Rin stood, her cheeks tinged with a noticeable blush. She couldn't deny that she enjoyed Shirou's company much more than she had expected. Initially, she dismissed him as a clueless yet kind-hearted boy who would buy her snacks. However, spending time with him had changed her perspective of him for the better. He was a mixed bag of cluelessness, kindness, thoughtfulness, and patience—a perfect example of the kind of nice kid every parent would want. He was a good company,great even, but there was no way she would admit that out loud.

Rin glanced at the young woman she assumed was Shirou's guardian. They didn't appear to be related—perhaps she was a babysitter?

Tamamo noticed Rin staring at her and introduced herself. "Hello there, I'm Tamamo. I'm this little guy's guardian," said Tamamo as she ruffled Shirou's hair.

"Tama-nee, h-hey!" Shirou protested, clearly embarrassed by how Tamamo treated him in front of Rin.

Ignoring Shirou's cries of embarrassment, Tamamo continued, "I'm sorry if Shirou caused you any trouble, really."

Rin quickly responded, blushing slightly, "Ah, my name is Tohsaka Rin, and no, Emiya-kun didn't trouble me. We just... went to pick up some things together," she then smiled. "He even offered to buy me some snacks, so I'm actually the one who troubled him."

"Oh ho," Tamamo's eyes widened with interest. She then turned to Shirou, a mischievous grin on her face. "So you bribed a girl with snacks to spend time with you, huh? Shirou, you playboy..."

"No!/That's not what happened," both Shirou and Rin retorted at the same time..

Feeling she had teased them enough, Tamamo just laughed before saying, "Easy there, kids, I'm just kidding."

"H-Hmph, it's not like I enjoy Emiya-kun's company. I just wanted some snacks for myself," Rin huffed.

Tamamo, with a knowing smile, just played along. "Sure, Rin-chan."

Feeling they had wasted enough time fooling around, the three of them then went to wait in the cashier line. They agreed that for convenience, Rin's groceries would be added to their purchase and checked out together. Things went well for a while until it was almost their turn, and Rin opened her bag to get her wallet. To her horror, it wasn't there.

A pale expression washed over Rin's face as she frantically searched every nook and cranny of her little sling bag. But her wallet was nowhere to be found. Had she forgotten to bring it? Cold sweat trickled down her forehead.

Shirou noticed Rin's distress and asked, "Tohsaka, what's wrong?"

Rin turned to face Shirou, her expression stiff. "A-Ah..."

"Hmm?"

"I-I forgot to bring my wallet with me."

Rin bit her lip, wondering what to do. With the cashier inching closer and time running out, she decided on the most reasonable course of action.

"Umm, Emiya-kun, it seems that I can't pay for my groceries. I'll just return them and come back later," said Rin, a little embarrassed.

Shirou, observing Rin's state, stepped forward and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "No, it's okay. We'll just pay for yours as well," he said, trying to calm her down.

Rin was taken aback by his statement. "E-Emiya-kun, it's one thing for you to treat me to some snacks, but paying for all of my groceries is a completely different matter!"

"I know, but it's fine. It's clear that you just had a stroke of bad luck, and I want to help you," Shirou insisted, unmoving.

"B-But what about the... money? It's not exactly cheap, you know."

"It's fine, right Tama-nee?" Shirou sought confirmation, glancing at Tamamo.

Tamamo, who had been silently observing, nodded in agreement. "Yup, as long as Shirou is okay with it. After all..." Tamamo pulled something out. "...your father gave me this."

Rin's eyes widened as she saw Tamamo casually waved a black credit card. Had she accidentally befriended a filthy rich boy?

After completing their purchases, the three of them made their way to leave.

"I'll say this again, Emiya-kun. I'm really grateful for what you just did. I'm in your debt," Rin bowed in gratitude.

Shirou, unsure how to respond, simply smiled sheepishly. "Seriously, it's not that big of a deal."

Rin shook her head. "No, a debt is a debt. I will definitely pay you back later."

Feeling slightly uncomfortable with Rin's sudden formality, Shirou decided to propose an alternative. "Tohsaka, how about this? Instead of you paying me back for today, how about... we just become friends?"

Friends help each other, or so Shirou believed. There was no need for any debt. Rin was dumbfounded, her mind momentarily blank before rebooting itself.

"...friends?"

"Yes, like for starters, I'll just call you Rin, and you can call me Shirou."

"Pffft," Rin couldn't hold back her laughter any longer. "Hahahaha, you certainly are one strange boy, Emiya-kun. No, Shirou."

"That's just how I am," Shirou said, smiling while scratching his cheek.

As a magus, having friends was not high on Rin's priority list. Perhaps she would find some magecraft-related colleagues, associates, and connection in the future, but actually befriending them wasn't expected. Yet, in less than a day, Shirou had managed to worm his way into becoming her friend, albeit in a very unusual way.

"Okay then, let's be friends. Again, I'm thankful for today," Rin said as she grabbed her bags.

"Do you need help with those too, Rin?" Shirou pointed to her bags. "We can give you a lift back home if you want."

"No, that's okay, Shirou. My house isn't that far away—only a couple minutes of walk, really," Rin politely declined.

"Well, if you say so, I guess I'll see you later?"

"Yes, see you later, Shirou." Rin smiled before she departed.

Shirou waved at her, then turned back to find Tamamo grinning mischievously at him.

"Tama-nee, no," he said with a sigh.

"What? I didn't even say anything yet, young master!" Tamamo teased.