Chapter 2

"Big brother, big brother. Wake up," a soft voice called to him, and he felt a pair of small hands gently pushing him. Shirou muttered in his sleep, turned over, and instinctively reached out. There was now a warm and soft presence in his arms, reminding him of the pillows in his bed before he crossed over. But this presence felt a bit strange...

And it was also warm and soft, with a faint voice in his ear: "Bro...brother...?"

Gently, Shirou opened his eyes and saw a shy face. His confused spirit instantly woke up and he sat up straight.

"Sakura...I'm sorry, I squeezed you again," Shirou apologized with a guilty expression.

"It's okay," Sakura sat up again, shaking her head and speaking softly.

Shirou scratched his head, a little embarrassed. He used to have a habit of sleeping with pillows and always liked to hug something, so he just acted instinctively.

Actually, this wasn't the first time something like this had happened. Shirou's house had two floors, with the first floor comprising the entrance and living room, while the second floor consisted of three rooms - one for Mr. and Mrs. Fujimaru, one for Shirou, and the last one was a storage room. As Mr. and Mrs. Fujimaru had welcomed Sakura into their home, but her room had yet to be tidied up, she had been staying with Shirou and sleeping in his room.

Fortunately, Shirou was still a kid otherwise, his parents, who had just taken in a daughter, would have likely chased him out of his room and insisted he slept in the living room. After all, it was deemed inappropriate for males and females to sleep near each other.

The problem was that Shirou's physique was still that of a child, yet his mind was that of a normal teenager in puberty. Fortunately, his physical maturation was not yet complete, and his hormones were not yet in full swing. Nonetheless, these days, Shirou still subconsciously regarded Sakura as a pillow in his dreams...

"Brother, don't sleep. Aunt Chiyo called us for dinner," Sakura climbed off the bed and said to Shirou with a serious face.

Shirou's biological mother's name is Chiyo - Fujimaru Chiyo to be exact - and his biological father is named Fujimaru Narita. Both of them were abandoned children from the 1960s who, in an act of retribution against their respective parents, renounced their inherited surnames and created a new one. It is rumored that they first met in an area abundant with gourd vines, which inspired them to adopt the surname Fujimaru.

Sakura had been with the Fujimaru family for three days, and by all accounts, she should be addressing Fujimaru Chiyo as "mother." However, she was still unable to muster the courage to say it, instead addressing her as "aunt" and Fujimaru Narita as "uncle."

As the Fujimaru couple had experienced abandonment themselves, they could empathize with Sakura's emotions and chose not to impose the change of address upon her. In fact, their treatment towards Sakura was even more amiable than their attitude towards Shirou.

This is simply ridiculous!

Sakura and Shirou went downstairs and arrived in the living room, where his mother, Fujimaru Chiyo, had already made breakfast, with sandwiches and milk.

At this time, people did not have the concept of nutrition and health, and breakfast and dinner were casually made as long as there was no risk of food poisoning. More practically, all three meals were instant noodles, which were economical and saved time, especially for those who had already joined the ranks of the unemployed.

Fortunately, Mr. Fujimaru Narita, the mainstay of the Fujimaru family's economy, worked very hard because of his experience as an abandoned child and was highly valued by his boss, so the Fujimaru family's economic source was relatively stable.

Mr. Fujimaru had already gone to work early, so at the moment, only Shirou, Sakura, and Mrs. Fujimaru Chiyo were eating at the dining table.

At the dining table, Mrs. Fujimaru was as warm as ever towards Sakura, asking her questions and making her feel a little awkward with her enthusiasm.

"Shirou, hurry up and eat. Don't be late for school, or I'll have to beat your butt open," Mrs. Fujimaru threatened sternly.

Shirou was speechless. This is a typical example of a mother who has a daughter and forgets about her son.

"Okay," Shirou replied weakly, dragging his voice out.

Getting through compulsory education in the previous life was not easy, but now, with a new account, it's time to go back to school again. Fortunately, the difficulty of the course in Japan is not as scary as in China, and the physical education teacher does not get sick frequently. Unfortunately, Japanese primary school students inherited the excellent tradition of being chuunibyou and have no interest in communication at all.

Recently, the rerun of "Dragon Ball Z" on the TV station has rekindled the chuunibyou spirit of these primary school students, and it is embarrassing to see them playing the poses of combining in broad daylight.

"Sakura, Aunt Chiyo will take Shirou to school first. You stay at home and don't wander around," Fujimaru Chiyo took Shirou to the door and entrusted Sakura, who was at home.

"Okay, Aunt Chiyo," Sakura nodded.

"What a reassuring, well-behaved child, unlike some big brats who still need their mothers to take them to school."

Shirou expressionlessly: "Actually, you don't have to send me."

"Shut up, no talking back to me," Fujimaru Chiyo patted Shirou's head and then showed a smile to Sakura before closing the door.

Recently, there have been several student disappearances in Fuyuki City - a total of seven. This is enough to alarm any mother, and Shirou, who is well-known for his involvement in the Holy Grail War, knows that these disappearances are the work of serial killer Ryuunosuke Uryuu, who has come to Fuyuki City and is treating it as his hunting ground.

Mrs. Fujimaru, indignant, asks Shirou what kind of scum Sakura's parents are to abandon such a well-behaved little girl. Mrs. Fujimaru has grown to really like Sakura, who is well-behaved, sensible, cute, and obedient, and almost fulfills all of Mrs. Fujimaru's idealized expectations of a daughter. However, Shirou has no expression on his face, probably because Mrs. Fujimaru is projecting her own experience of being abandoned in her youth onto the situation. Shirou doesn't believe for a second that Sakura was abandoned by the Tohsaka family.

Sakura's black hair and green eyes, although sometimes sad, still retain the purity and liveliness of a child. This means that Sakura has not yet been passed on by the Tohsaka family to the Matou family and has not undergone modification by the worm.

Sakura has been cautious about the outside world since coming to the Fujimaru household but also shows a strong desire to go outside, leading Shirou to believe that she has run away from home and is experiencing conflicting feelings about wanting to return. The Fujimaru family, however, does not know this background information and believes that Sakura's behavior is due to being abandoned by her parents and longing for them, probably because they are projecting their own experiences onto the situation.

Accepting a runaway like Sakura is not a big problem, but the problem is what will happen when the Tohsaka and Matou families come looking for her?

Both families are magus families, with one led by an old pervert who has been alive for hundreds of years, while the Fujimaru family is just a normal family. Even Shirou, who will eventually awaken and become an ally of justice, is currently just an ordinary brat who has not yet awakened, and it is certain that they will not be able to block the magus families from finding Sakura.

"Forget it, we can think about that later. After all, we're just kindly accepting Sakura into our home, it's not like they would kill us all, right?" Shirou thought, pushing these worries to the back of his mind.

It's gradually time for school.