[Your condition is terrible.]
[You feel your connection with Tohsaka Sakura weakening little by little.]
[But at the same time, you find yourself recalling some past events.]
By the Holy Lake, just as you were about to completely vanish.
"King Lot, do you still wish to reunite with them?" A voice reached the knight's ears.
"Yes," the man replied without hesitation.
"Understood." "In that case—you are permitted to reside within Excalibur Gallatin."
[The voice appeared only for an instant.]
[So much so that you doubted whether you truly heard it.]
[Your consciousness, once again, blurred.]
Inside Fujimura Taiga's residence.
As agreed, Tohsaka Rin arrived. Although she had mentally prepared herself, seeing Ian's current state still made the girl frown.
"It's that serious? Who was it..."
"It was Teacher Vivian." Tohsaka Sakura tightly clutched Ian's hand, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably. "She's the one who hurt Mr. Ian like this!"
"..." As the future heir of the Tohsaka family, Tohsaka Rin did not completely lose her judgment just because of her sister's one-sided story. Ian was injured; there was no doubt about that. But—the girl's gaze lingered on the incredibly shocking wound on the man's shoulder. This didn't look like magecraft; instead, it seemed more like he had been wounded by some sharp weapon. And more importantly, there were no traces of prana left on it. Tohsaka Rin believed her sister could also see this, but was simply too emotional right now to notice.
However—now didn't seem to be the time to dwell on such things. Tohsaka Rin looked at the man lying on the floor, her expression very complex. Frankly speaking, if she were to think about the problem from a purely utilitarian perspective, she should have flatly refused when her sister Tohsaka Sakura asked for help. After all—Ian's class was Saber, a difficult enemy for her own Servant, Archer Atalanta. If he could die tonight, their situation might become much easier later on.
But—Tohsaka Rin found that she couldn't. She couldn't in every sense of the word. She knew perfectly well how much her sister cared about Ian; she knew perfectly well how much her Servant cared about Ian; and more importantly—Tohsaka Rin clutched her chest. She found that she also cared about him somewhat. So in the end, the eldest daughter of the Tohsaka family still couldn't bring herself to refuse. She left her Servant Archer Atalanta to look after their mother, Zenjou Aoi, then rushed as quickly as possible to the place where Tohsaka Sakura and Ian were living together. And then, it was this scene.
"Sister?"
"Sister!"
"Sister?!" Tohsaka Sakura called out three times, finally pulling Tohsaka Rin out of her contemplation.
"Sister, what do we do now?!" The girl's voice was filled with urgency.
"..." Tohsaka Rin didn't answer her. Instead, she walked to the edge of the room, closed all the windows, and then drew the curtains tightly. Instantly, the room became pitch black. Tohsaka Rin's voice, too, slowly emerged at this moment, a tone of seriousness tinged with helplessness.
"Sakura."
"I don't need to tell you... you should know that Ian's injuries are very severe right now, right?"
"I understand," Tohsaka Sakura quickly replied.
"Mm." Tohsaka Rin nodded, then sat beside the man. "Then—you should also know that a Servant's existence in this world is fundamentally tied to the Master's prana, right? As long as the Master's prana is abundant enough, even if a Servant suffers severe injuries, there's a chance for recovery."
"But—given the current situation, your amount alone might not be enough. So..." Tohsaka Rin's face flushed slightly. Such an embarrassing act was too difficult to voice. But for Tohsaka Sakura, who was also a magus, the words spoken so far were enough for her to understand the underlying meaning.
"So, Sister wants to lend me prana? By doing 'that' together?"
"You!" Tohsaka Rin never expected her sister to be so direct about saying something so explicit. But admittedly, it simplified things quite a bit.
"That's right. Believe it or not... I think this is the only method worth trying."
"..." Tohsaka Sakura was silent for a while, then finally nodded. "I understand. In that case—let's start immediately!"
The desire to save Ian outweighed everything else. Tohsaka Sakura didn't care if this threesome would damage her relationship with Ian. But at this moment, she could only choose to trust.
"...Okay," Tohsaka Rin no longer hesitated.
And so—a table, moved by the combined efforts of the two sisters, appeared in the room. Then, two sets of Homurahara Academy school uniforms, a ridiculously large white bra and underwear set, and a cat-patterned underwear set joined the floor.
Tohsaka Sakura took a deep breath and directly lay on the table. She requested to the rear: "Sister, please."
"Understood." Having answered her sister, Tohsaka Rin was dumbfounded. She never expected that she would one day be "serving" the same man alongside her sister.
However—it wasn't entirely unacceptable. Tohsaka Rin looked at Ian in front of her, feeling no real aversion. After all, this guy's habits and temper were simply too good. If anything, the Saber class still held a considerable attraction for her.
No! Tohsaka Rin, what are you thinking?! The girl shook her head, casting away those strange thoughts. She reached out her hand towards the man. She touched him. It was a more powerful presence than she had imagined. Gradually feeling this Servant's "thing" that she had never touched before, Tohsaka Rin, her face flushed with shame, began the preparatory work for her sister and Ian's connection. She felt this might be a very long process.
However, quite fortunately, though the heavily injured Ian's consciousness was unclear, his body's instincts remained. Tohsaka Rin, too, experienced what it meant to grow in stages. She was ashamed, but knew she couldn't stop.
"Sakura, here it comes."
"Mm~" Tohsaka Sakura responded to her sister while adjusting her posture (meaning, arching her hips), allowing Tohsaka Rin to see the optimal position for her and Ian's prana connection.
"This is... too weird!" Tohsaka Rin said, her face red. Then she helped Ian, allowing him to begin prana replenishment with Tohsaka Sakura. Watching her sister's one-sided vigorous effort, Tohsaka Rin's throat subtly constricted. To be honest, she was getting a little overwhelmed herself. After all, despite being under the guise of saving someone, what was happening in the room was truly too boundary-crossing.
Forget it, don't put any more psychological burden on yourself. After all—Tohsaka Sakura's amount alone might not be enough.
Convincing herself thus, Tohsaka Rin leaned next to Ian. She took the man's two hands and guided them to her chest. Normally, this would be tantamount to inviting him to do as he pleased, an act of courtship. But Tohsaka Rin had no time to think about such things. The girl's breathing quickened. She sat on top of her sister Tohsaka Sakura, and amidst the ingress and egress of the prana replenishment mechanism below, she kissed the man's lips.
Soon, the girl found herself shamefully reacting.
How nice... if only Ian were my Servant, I could order him to do something for me right now, couldn't I? Alas, he wasn't. She, no matter when, was merely a wing-woman.
How unfair... But there was nothing she could do. Tohsaka Rin could only free one hand, attempting to satisfy her own needs.
Within the room that night, the voices of the Tohsaka twins rose and fell, gradually quieting only after the man's body trembled a few times.
[The excessive prana replenishment was indeed effective.]
[The damage caused by Gáe Bolg Alternative is gradually being healed.]
[But at the same time, you are recalling more about yourself.]
[For example—]
[Those calls heard when you were close to death.]
[Was that... the voice of a 'spirit'?]
Inside the room. Tohsaka Sakura held Ian, her expression still very tense. The girl's warm breath gently caressed the man's cheek, silently conveying her current worry.
On the other side. Having over-committed to prana replenishment and lacking previous guidance, Tohsaka Rin, having over-stimulated herself, was completely sprawled on the tatami mat. She knew she was in a disheveled state, but there was nothing she could do. And even worse—the girl looked at Ian, still motionless in Tohsaka Sakura's arms, and realized her failure.
Damn it! Two people's worth of prana, and it still wasn't enough to save him?! Whose attack was that anyway?!
But... if she hadn't hesitated when she received the call and had rushed over immediately, would the outcome have been different? Just as Tohsaka Rin was silently blaming herself, their combined efforts summoned a miracle. The man's finger moved, and then he opened his eyes.
"This scent... it's Sakura, indeed."
"Eh?!" The Tohsaka sisters exclaimed simultaneously.
"Mr. Ian~" Tohsaka Sakura buried her head into the man's embrace, nuzzling like a kitten. "You're finally awake. I thought... you were going to leave me."
"How could I?" Ian gently stroked the naked girl's head. "I wouldn't leave without a word."
"But speaking of which—" The man looked at the naked Tohsaka Rin on the tatami mat, his expression a little confused. "Why are both of you..."
"It's all because of you!" Tohsaka Rin's face was flushed with embarrassment. She used one hand to cover her top and the other to cover her bottom—though she wasn't really covering anything. "I... and Sakura were replenishing your prana!"
"..." The man paused, then realized. "I see."
"Then who was kissing me just now..."
"It was me!" Tohsaka Rin shouted. "Can't you tell the difference?!"
"I've never done that with you before... so of course I can't tell the difference," Ian replied, a little helplessly.
"..." Tohsaka Rin was speechless.
"Anyway, that's what happened," Tohsaka Sakura explained.
"Understood." Although two bare beautiful girls were in front of him, the man's tone was as serious as ever. "Thank you both very much."
"But... when did Rin arrive... I didn't see her at first, did I?"
"..." Tohsaka Sakura was silent for a moment, then replied: "I came looking for you... after all, Mr. Ian's condition was already very bad then."
"..."
"..."
The atmosphere became somewhat silent for a moment—between the two sisters. Ian didn't want to see this, so he looked at them and said: "Sakura, and Rin... you don't really dislike each other that much, do you?"
"..."
"..."
Another moment of silence. This time, it was Tohsaka Sakura's turn to break it. She said: "I understand now... Sister, you were right that day, you actually didn't do anything wrong. During the time I wasn't here, Sister had to take care of Mom, and maintain the Tohsaka family's reputation all by herself, besides handling many other things. Even if I hadn't been sent away... your life wasn't as good as I imagined."
"Sister." Tohsaka Sakura bowed down to Tohsaka Rin on the floor. "I'm sorry. I said the wrong things that day—you are qualified to represent the Tohsaka family in the Holy Grail War."
"..." Hearing this, Tohsaka Rin sighed, smiled slightly, and struggled to get up, then helped her sister. "Although it was indeed hard, it was all worth it. And... I also did wrong that day, I shouldn't have hidden this from you. I'm sorry, Sakura, Sister was wrong."
"But—!" Tohsaka Rin looked very seriously at Tohsaka Sakura, "I absolutely cannot withdraw from the Holy Grail War! I have my own resolve!"
"Mm, I know." Tohsaka Sakura replied with a smile. "So let's continue participating with the premise of being cooperative rivals."
"Mm, that's a great idea!" Seeing the sisters finally reconcile, Ian breathed a sigh of relief.
However, Tohsaka Sakura also asked at this moment: "By the way—Mr. Ian, so what exactly happened? I... still want to know."
"That... might take a long time to explain," the man replied.
"It's okay." Tohsaka Sakura took Tohsaka Rin's hand. "Sister and I will listen patiently!"
"Eh, me?" Tohsaka Rin was a little surprised.
"Yes, you." Tohsaka Sakura leaned close to her sister's ear and quietly whispered an incredibly embarrassing truth. "Sister... you were actually secretly pleasuring yourself in front of him for a long time just now, weren't you?"
Tohsaka Rin froze: "How... how did you know?"
Tohsaka Sakura smiled slightly: "Because Sister was so focused, you didn't even notice it landing on me... Like waves, how could I not feel it? But don't worry, I won't tell anyone."
"Besides, if you stay—"
"If I stay?" Tohsaka Rin, her curiosity piqued, pressed on.
"If you stay—" Tohsaka Sakura licked her lips. "You can figure out what happened while also playing with Mr. Ian's 'thing'~"
"..." Tohsaka Rin turned her face away. "...You should have said so earlier."