Fate: Emiya the Host

"You, are you serious?", To make sure she didn't mishear, Rin asked again for confirmation.

"Yeah, very serious," Starting today, Shirou wouldn't reject any food.

Except for the mashed potatoes from His Majesty Gawain.

Whoosh!

Never expected the boy to have such determination, Rin quickly turned around, biting her thumb, face a little red.

She seemed to have thought deeply, tsundere-ly turned back, put her hands behind her back, and said, "If that's the case, then... fine, but, don't force yourself if you can't finish."

Worried Shirou was pushing himself, Rin reminded, "What's left, I'll bring back and take care of."

This sentence was actually a bit subtle.

As a rich young lady, she probably wouldn't eat leftovers, so the person who'd eat the leftovers...

She brought the lunchbox from the corner and saw Shirou's subtle expression.

Rin belatedly blushed, "Don't, don't misunderstand. I didn't plan to feed it to the pet at home..."

The words following that had too much ambiguity, even for her, she needed psychological preparation to say it, "You... what you can't finish, I'll eat it all!"

She seemed to have gone all in, finally stubbornly adding, "After all, wasting food is a shameful act."

"On this point, I totally agree," Shirou smiled and put away the lunchbox.

Because even the mashed potatoes from Gawain could be used to plaster walls, or as a blunt weapon.

"Thanks for the meal. As for the lunchbox, I'll wash it and bring it back to you tomorrow."

"Ah, mm," Rin shyly turned her face away, "You can just leave it there directly..."

"Wait a minute!", Reacting like getting electrocuted, the girl quickly turned her head, eyes wide open, "You finished eating?"

"Yeah," Shirou had already cleaned up, smiling as he replied, "Both boxes finished, don't worry."

"No no no...", Rin pointed at him, "You're kidding!"

The girl let out that unique and cute shout toward Shirou, "Your eating speed is way too exaggerated, even the pet at my house isn't that fast."

"Hmm?", A rather rude comparison, seemingly remembering something, Shirou politely asked, "Um, if I may ask, your pet at home... it's not called an automatic vacuum cleaner, right?"

"Hah?", Without speaking, Rin's expression of: How did you know that? had already betrayed her.

So Shirou quickly said, "Thank you, no need to answer, I already understand."

Then, after hesitating only a second, Shirou said, "Um... if there's time, not just if there's time, anyway, I think when you and your family are raising that kind of special 'pet', you should ask Sakura..."

"Your mom can also help," Worried Rin couldn't swallow her pride, Shirou added this.

At this moment, Rin had a screen full of question marks.

'No, what are you even saying?'

'I recognize every character, but the combined meaning... why do I not understand?'

Thanks to this interruption, she successfully forgot about the lunchbox matter.

Afterward, the two stood in front of the safety net, overlooking the sports field.

After a while, with class time approaching, Shirou decided to ask.

He wasn't really dense, how could he not notice the obvious change in the girl?

"Rin," Shirou asked with a slightly uneasy and complex tone, "are you Rin... Or Tohsaka?"

"Yes," The girl whispered into the wind, "This question had to be faced sooner or later."

"But I'm still surprised," Rin turned her face sideways. A fleeting moment of absolute beauty flashed by, even the wind felt breathless.

She smiled like that and said, "I thought you'd pretend you didn't know anything. So, does this mean... you've decided to choose me?"

Facing forbidden time. Perhaps even heartbeats froze, breathing chose to pause.

In the next second, the world might come to an end, under such circumstances, the girl said a shallow yet direct confession.

In that moment, Shirou really couldn't breathe.

Just before speaking, he even felt his throat was stuck, letting out a brief choking sound.

A very clear issue was revealed.

When he reached the Heaven's Feel, Shirou only chose Illya.

He didn't become a Hero of Justice, he really only chose Illya.

However, now, standing right in front of him, he was directly facing Rin.

Which meant, there must be some reason that made him appear in this world again, unwaveringly choosing the girl. Only that would make it possible.

But... he had no memory.

An unexplainable fear arose in his heart.

Because of lacking experience, he could firmly make the decision to reject the girl. It absolutely wasn't because he didn't like her.

It was because he liked her... or rather, precisely because he liked her. He didn't want to continue making mistakes.

Instead of being unclear and unable to give the answer she deserved, it was better to explain everything before impossible expectations took root.

Even if the relationship dropped to zero and they never spoke again.

He still didn't want the girl to wait pointlessly because of him. And the smart girl had also sensed this.

So before him, she confessed in a way that was sure to be rejected.

"I...", A single word, as if it took all his strength. The usual "I'm sorry", like a stuck gear desperately trying to remain in place, wouldn't move.

His lips were going numb, trembling.

Even so—

"I'm sorry," No matter how painful, it had to be said.

He didn't want to become someone irresponsible.

So, "I don't like you" was a lie. But "can't give you the right answer", was the truth.

'Therefore, this is fine.'

'This is...'

A soft palm climbed up his cheek.

"Just a little joke and you're about to break down, huh!"

When that delicate face came close, Shirou suddenly realized, the girl was smiling effortlessly.

If there was any burden at all, it was probably just that her joke caused someone this much pain, and she felt guilty.

"Don't worry, Shirou," She spoke with a carefree tone, "It's okay to be a little greedy. Of course... I know you're not ready. Actually... I thought you'd say you want them all."

Rin chuckled, looked toward the sky, "It's okay, Shirou. Whether it's Tohsaka, or Rin, we both love you."

"So," She leaned down, kissed the boy on the cheek, then with her own unique playful smile said, "You just need to be yourself, without any burden. Shirou is Shirou."

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