FSN HF Epilogue 02 (Normal End) (EN)

And I wake up.
I don't feel tired, and my body and mind are refreshed.

"――――Huh, Senpai?"
We should've been sleeping together, but he's not in the futon.
I look at the clock, and it's already ten o'clock.
"Oh, he went to make breakfast."
Pretending to understand, I get up.

I'm surprised by how light I feel.
What's wrong?
All he did was make love to me, but it feels like the chains have been removed from my limbs.

"Oh――――right."
My body burns with heat as I recall what happened.
I slept with Senpai last night.
...Senpai lost one of his arms after coming home from the forest, but everything's going to go well now.
I feel great, so I can have Rider do more.

Nothing bad will happen now.
Senpai and Nee-san are here. Everything's going to turn out fine...

"Ah――――!"
...A bad dream.
Why did I dream about the worst possible outcome?

"Senpai?"
The wind feels good.
The porch is filled with light, and walking here lightens my heart.
My body feels light as a feather.
Maybe I lost some weight while I slept.

...To be honest, I'm on the heavier side, and I'm fighting against the scale every night.
But it's never done any good, and if Senpai says something like,[r]
"So you're the type that looks skinnier with clothes on."

I'll faint, so it'll be great if I'm to lose some weight.

"Senpai――――?"
I feel amazingly refreshed, and the world looks different just by walking around.

――――My body's so light.
The air tastes good.
My heartbeat feels so warm.

It's a feeling of freedom, as if the poisons in me were taken out.
The worm Grandfather implanted within me,
the black mud entangling my heart,
the dream stuck in my mind, everything disappeared, and――――

"Senpai?"
There's no one here.
The hallway's quiet.

"Senpai... Senpai...?"
There's no one here.
Warm sunlight.

"Senpai―――Senpai...? Oh, are we playing hide and seek?"
There's no one here.
A cool breeze.

"Ha――――that's strange. Senpai's only hiding."
No way.
It's impossible for nobody to be here.
Because that was just a bad dream-

But the last time I saw him...
...His body was breaking apart.

"No―――it's just a lie, right, Senpai?"
Yes, it has to be a lie.
A body that wasn't human.
There's no way he can move with that body, so he should be waiting for me somewhere around here――――

"Senpai――――Senpai――――"
But.
The date I saw in the living room was―――ten days since that event, the end of February.

"Ah――――no......"
I fall to my knees.
I understand everything now.
No, I knew it the moment I woke up, but I pretended not to notice.

"No―――please, please come out, Senpai...!
I-I can't be alone! I need to be with you, Senpai! Senpai, Senpai, Senpai...!!!"

My mind whites out.
It's painful not to be able to go crazy. All I can do is cry.
That's all.
I'm a coward and a crybaby, and I don't know how else to make up for it, so I can't even appreciate the fact that I'm alive.

That's the end of the long winter.
I'm freed from the chains that bound me for eleven years, but I lost my only guide.

"...Man, you're really obstinate. To be honest, I was taking you lightly."
The boy bluntly said this.
An amazed expression and a deep sigh.
...She was prepared for that.
The girl associated herself with the boy knowing that she was going to be hated.

But somewhere in her mind...
...Was a thought that she didn't want to be hated by the boy, and at the same time...
"Oh, but we have to redo this before that. I'm the one going to be causing you trouble, so I should be the one asking you.
―――Please give me your best regards, Sakura. I'll have you take care of me until my wound heals."
...As she watched him cough to hide his embarrassment, she wanted to value that thought.

It's spring.

"...Phew. We can finally settle down for the time being, Sakura.
The Association's inquiry is finished, Kirei's successor is a good person, and nobody blames us for any of it.
I guess this is a happy end."

Nee-san's strong.
She was more sad than I was, but she got her energy back as spring arrived.

"By the way. Do you want to come to my house, Sakura? If you're going to give up the Matou mansion, it's going to be better if you come to my house, right?"

I appreciate her concern.
I've always dreamed of being able to live with Nee-san in her house.
I can't bear spending the night by myself, and I don't know what'll happen to me after Nee-san goes home today.
―――But.
That's why it's even more important to grow up.

"...I see. So you're going to manage things by yourself? I won't force you, then. I'll be at my place until I graduate, so at least come over when there's no school."

Before heading home, Nee-san tells me she'll be waiting for my visit.
...It must've been caught in her hair when she came here.
A pink flower petal flutters through the air.

"Hm? Oh, is this your first time cooking, Sakura?"
It wasn't true, but I wasn't skilled enough to say I was good at it.
I read a lot of books before I came here, and I'd had my share of cooking classes.
But I was really, really scared of having someone eat something I'd made.

"That's not true. I can make easy dishes."
"Well, that's not what I mean... Hmm, I guess you'll get used to it.
All right, let's start with the basics. It's hot, so watch out."

"The basics" turned out to be riceballs.
We made them together.
I thought he was making fun of me.
I sulked a bit.
But when I looked up, I saw he was serious, and I couldn't get mad at him.
And――――

"Then we'll trade. I'll give you mine, so I'll have the ones you made."
He ate the riceballs I'd just made.
He ate something I made and thanked me for the meal.

I don't know what he wanted to teach me.
But I felt less awkward starting the next day, and I wanted him to eat my meals again.

It's spring.

"...Really, Sakura-chan? It'll help me out if you're the manager, but..."

I got much more money than I expected when I sold the mansion.
It's more than enough to maintain this house.
I went and asked Fujimura-Sensei's father to give me the right to the land, making sure I can keep this house.

"...I'm glad to know how much you like him, but...
Sakura-chan. Shirou's not going to come ba――――"

I just shake my head.
Fujimura-Sensei shrugs,
"All right. I'll leave this house to you."
...and leaves the house with a motherly smile.

I recall a painful memory.

"...Sakura. Let's go somewhere far away once this is all over.
We've never gone anywhere for fun, right? It's good to go off and enjoy ourselves once in a while."

In dead seriousness, he said there's nowhere we can't go if we put our minds to it.
I smiled, since he was so pure.

"―――All right. Then it's a promise. Let's go there together once you get well and once this whole mess is over."

Yes―――the promise is...

It's spring.
I think I haven't seen someone for a while now.

It's painful to be alone.
My memories keep looping in my head, and I want to turn the power off.
It's fortunate that I don't miss people, but then, why...

―――Of course. You took lives, so take responsibility, Sakura――――――

...Yes, I have to do something.
It's painful to be by myself or to be with others, but I have to do something I can.

But I don't know how I can atone.
I can't think of anything I can do for others.
So this will be for myself.
I'll grow one flower every year for the promised day.

It's spring.

I'm getting used to being alone, and it's getting fun to be with others.
But it's still scary.
Talking to someone makes it feel like the whole world is condemning me as punishment.

―――But I'll protect you. I'll protect you from everything. It may be hypocrisy, but my ideal has always been to protect the one I love―――

He's really selfish.
I think it's the worst when he says whatever he wants and doesn't actually protect me.
So I'm not going to forgive him.
I'm going tell him a lot of selfish things to bother him.

Hm―――but I'll forgive him.
He says it's hypocrisy, but his words alone calm me down so much.
He's irresponsible, but I love him, and he loves me.

It's spring.

It's spring.

It's spring.

It's spring.

No one comes here.

I'm not sad.
But I'm waiting so calmly for the spring that I sometimes doubt my sanity.

I'm not sad because I have certainty.
I believe I'll be compensated for all my pains.
But there's one worry.

"...You're late, Senpai. I'm going to get old at this rate."

I hope I can be healthy until that day.

It's spring.
I haven't been able to move my body to my satisfaction recently.
I go out into the yard and sprinkle water like always.

"Sensei―――! I'm here to help!"
My student comes.
A student came and asked for instructions, even though I taught myself and don't have much skill.
The Tohsaka's new heir is a good girl, just like Nee-san.

The lights are scattered.
I sit in my usual rocking chair and stare at the yard.

"Oh. Please don't sleep, Sensei. I want to hear about the old days after I'm done."

That's something that's fun for me too.
I can only recall words now, but words become stories, repeating the good old days.

"Oh, you smiled. I like your smile. You're really beautiful, not like my greedy grandma."

The sun's warm, and time passes by gently and sometimes like torture.
I keep planting seeds for the promised day.
Flowers of redemption.
I'll wait for spring here until I'm absolved.

And it's spring again.

The years are as long as a blink of an eye.
I close my eyes and open them.
The hill is covered with cherry blossoms.
The boy, appearing just like he was before, is waving his hand on the familiar hill road―――