Shirou Wakes Up

A year had passed since Shirou entered Sakura's soul. His estimation of being able to leave within three months couldn't be more off the mark.

While it was true that the reconstruction of her Magic Circuits only took that long, he did not account for what would happen after that.

The Holy Grail fragments that Zouken had embedded within her had undergone a miraculous transformation. Originally, they had been completely incompatible with Sakura, and would cause her extreme amounts of pain.

However, Kiritsugu's Origin Bullet had somehow 'Bound' it in a way that was beneficial for her.

This caused a massive increase in Sakura's capacity as well as need for Prana.

In fact, it was much like Artoria's case, where she had a Magic Core. The requirement to start it was an extreme amount of Prana, but once started, it would be an almost endless source.

The Fuyuki Grail was actually just a clump of Mana which had the function of amplifying one's will.

Since such a clump of Mana had merged with Sakura and turned into a Prana source for her, the amount required to start it was tremendous.

So much so that he had to fill Avalon to the brim with Prana multiple times in order to activate Sakura's Magic Core.

That was what forced him to stay for another 9 months.

Right now, those nine months were over. With one last injection of Prana, Sakura's Magic Core would activate, her Magic Circuits would start to work, and he would finally be able to return to his own body.

As the last drop of Prana trickled from Avalon to Sakura, Shirou felt something pulling him from behind. With no intention of resisting, he let himself be acted upon by the force and his consciousness flew out of Sakura's soul. The moment he left, a new pillar suddenly shot out right where he was standing.

Shirou's luck had once again saved him from a calamity. Or was it something else that saved him?

---

"Doctor, doctor, those two have woken up!"

"Those two?! Impossible!"

"It's true! Quickly, come!"

The doctors at the hospital had all but given up on Sakura and Shirou. There was not even one who believed that they would wake up. After all, their conditions were something beyond what normal doctors knew or were capable of.

The duo had been dubbed "The Sleeping Beauty" and "The Prince" by the staff. They had been named as such in the hopes that they would wake up. No one wanted to see such young children confined to a coma.

Now, after an entire year, none of the staff expected that it would come true.

The first doctor to arrive was called Takechi. As a veteran doctor with over 20 years of work experience, he had in fact been the first one to proclaim that they wouldn't wake up. He had done so only after 4 months had elapsed, as he wanted to make sure there were no errors.

After that, he had been tasked with keeping a careful watch on the duo's vital signs and conditions. Today was supposed to be another such day. He would go into the ward, look around a bit and scan through the nurse's report before doing whatever else he needed to do.

However, when he arrived at work today, the nurse had practically screamed in his ears about their awakening.

After he performed a cursory check of Sakura's and Shirou's bodies, another doctor had arrived. Soon after, practically every doctor on shift at the hospital and with nothing to do was there. There were even some who neglected their duties to be there.

After all, for them, this was the biggest medical miracle in the last decade.

However, it wasn't as if Sakura and Shirou were sitting up already. The only thing that indicated that they would wake up was the increasing activity of their bodies, which was picked up by their sensors.

This corresponded with the time that Shirou was injecting the last round of Prana into Sakura.

Thankfully, the hospital did not have the equipment to measure Prana, or else it would have caused a huge ruckus.

By the time Shirou's consciousness returned to his own body, the doctors had already run several preliminary checks and were anxiously waiting for them to wake up.

One would be able to hear an excited murmur making its way through all the staff present as they waited.

Shirou's eyes suddenly snapped open. Taking everything that was around him, his only thought was that the air tasted delicious, despite being completely contaminated by the smell of antiseptic.

It was like that scene three and a half years ago. The bright lights flooded his eyes as they darted around, trying to find Sakura.

When he laid his eyes on her form, he discovered that he was still holding onto her hand. Tightly gripping it a bit more, the squeeze hastened Sakura's awakening as her eyes opened.

"Huh… where… is this?"

Sakura's purple eyes flashed as she observed her surroundings.

Feeling a warmth coming from her hand, she looked down and saw Shirou's connected to it.

It took a while for her to register it, but a blush slowly crept up as she quickly loosened it.

Darting a look at Shirou's face, she found that he wasn't affected in the least.

"OOOOOOHHH!! You finally woke up! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Before anything could happen, the entire room burst into cheers. Despite having noticed them earlier, Sakura and Shirou were still shocked by the sheer volume of their celebrations. Even the entire hospital could hear them.

One of the nurses who was in charge of the two ran up to them, grabbing both their hands.

"You have no idea how happy we are you guys are awake. This is a miracle!"

Sakura's confusion was evident on her face. For the past two and a bit years with the Matous, no-one had been happy when they saw her. No-one had greeted her, and no-one even spared a glance at her.

The only one who had done so was Kariya, but he had died three years ago.

When all was said and done, this was the first time that anyone had told her that they were glad she was awake.

Tears gathered in her eyes as she looked on at the doctors' glee. They officially started rolling when Shirou scooted over a little and slightly embraced her.

Shirou had also seen and understood what just happened. That knowledge chipped away at his current personality, and it seemed like the small yet warm light within him had grown slightly larger.