After some time, Tsutsumi stirred awake, blinking at the sterile white of a hospital ceiling. He turned his head slowly, noticing a familiar figure nearby.
"You're awake," a gentle voice said. Recovery Girl walked over, her expression lined with worry. "How are you feeling, my boy?"
"Recovery Girl…?" he muttered, surprised to see her.
"You're lucky a classmate found you before it was too late," she replied, tilting her head back with a sigh.
Tsutsumi's gaze drifted to the side, where an orange-haired girl with a ponytail on the side stood.
"Hi, I'm Kendo Itsuka," she said, relief flickering in her eyes. "Are you okay?"
"She's the one who carried you here after finding you bleeding out in that alley," Recovery Girl explained with a small smile.
"I see…" Tsutsumi exhaled, forcing himself calm. "Thanks… I'll be fine."
Kendo's brows furrowed. "Tsutsumi-kun… what happened to you?"
The words slipped from his mouth before he could stop himself. "They took my sister."
He pushed against the bed, trying to stand. Both Recovery Girl and Kendo rushed forward to steady him.
"Tsutsumi-"
A new voice cut in. Turning toward the door, Tsutsumi saw Aizawa entering with a frown heavier than usual.
At first, Aizawa had assumed Tsutsumi was skipping classes out of stubbornness. But when Jiro admitted he hadn't come home in over a week, and then Kendo Itsuka stumbled across his bloodied body in a back alley, Aizawa's worry had hardened into fear.
Now, seeing him alive, relief mixed with frustration.
"Aizawa-sensei…" Tsutsumi muttered.
This time, Aizawa didn't stop him from rising. He simply waited, eyes locked on him. "Tsutsumi, what happened?"
"They took my sister," he repeated, voice raw. Too desperate to bother with lies.
Detective Tsukauchi entered behind Aizawa. "Please, tell us everything you can."
"I said, they took my sister! Now get out of my way!" Tsutsumi tried to push past, but Aizawa stepped in front of him.
"You're not thinking straight. Calm down!" Aizawa snapped, his capture scarf ready at his side.
"Tsutsumi-kun, please," Tsukauchi urged. "At least tell us more about her."
"My sister's name is Tsutsumi Miyu. She's twelve. Black hair, purple eyes. This tall," he gestured roughly to his chest. "She spent her life trapped inside those silent walls. I taught her everything I could, gave her books, promised her I'd show her the world. I even promised to take her to the beach…" His hands trembled. "But they kidnapped her before I ever got the chance. Now MOVE!"
He surged forward. Aizawa's scarf lashed out, restraining him. "You're injured and unstable. I can't let you leave like this."
Tsutsumi's glare shifted to Tsukauchi, only to find the detective staring at him in shock. His quirk, Lie Detector, hadn't reacted once. Everything Tsutsumi had said was true.
"I don't have time for this!" Tsutsumi barked.
Attack Ride: Invisible.
His body vanished before their eyes.
Aizawa instantly activated Erasure, scanning the room, nothing. Tsutsumi was gone without a trace.
"Tch…" Aizawa muttered, frustration and worry tightening his jaw. "So that's how the problem child keeps slipping away."
...
Reappearing in that world, Tsutsumi's eyes swept the streets until they froze on a small, dirt-stained white hat lying in the middle of the road. Miyu's hat.
His chest tightened. Grabbing it, he broke into a sprint.
"Miyu!"
He tore through the city, every corner, every alley, every shadow, searching for her. But no matter how far he ran, she wasn't there.
"She's not here either…" he muttered, peering into the empty church. He turned to leave, only to crash into a tall figure.
"What the?"
"Welcome, lost lamb," the man said evenly. He wore the black and purple vestments of a priest, his hands folded neatly behind his back. "You stand before the Holy Church of Fuyuki."
The priest's calmness clashed with the storm raging in Tsutsumi's chest.
"Sorry, I don't have time for sermons." Tsutsumi moved to step past him.
"Where are you going?" The priest did not move. His voice was quiet, yet cutting. "You don't even know where Sakatsuki Miyu has been taken."
Tsutsumi froze mid-step. Slowly, he turned back, his eyes narrowing. A Rider Card slipped into his hand. "Don't tell me... You also..."
"Not only rash," the priest replied, unbothered, "but also wrong."
"Lost child, what you need to do now is understand what is happening first." Tsutsumi's hostility sharpened, but the man simply spread his arms as if inviting him to strike. "Observe to gather information. Analyze to make a plan. And prepare your heart for the decision. If you don't, you'll make the same mistake again."
"Who are you? How do you know about Miyu?"
The priest's eyes held no malice, only a calm, unwavering weight. "No need to be alarmed, I'm only someone who monitors and observes. I don't intend any harm to her."
Turning, he pushed open the heavy doors of the church, the groan echoing through the night. "You should now be aware of the identity of the people who kidnapped Sakatsuki Miyu and their goals. Do not suspect an observer on the sidelines who never interfered."
Tsutsumi's cold gaze locked onto the man for a moment before followed inside the church. "Please tell me. What is their goal and true identity."
"Einzbern." The priest said as he walked slowly toward the altar.
"They are a famous family of magi, having existed for a thousand years. A bunch whose only trait of magecraft is producing Homunculi. They have sought after the same wish for a thousand years. An overly grand, overly childish, and overly idealistic wish. Do you know what that is?"
He paused before the altar, letting the silence stretch.
"How would I know something like that?" Tsutsumi reply.
"You of all people should understand it." The priest reply back, which confused Tsutsumi.
He then continued. "The continuation of humanity's history. Without caring about the method, saving humanity from its doom is the wish of the Einzbern."
Tsutsumi widened his eyes, realizing that this was the same goal his adopted father in this world had when taking in Miyu.
To save this dying world by using Miyu's wish-granting.
"They captured Sakatsuki Miyu to wish for humanity's salvation. Is that not justice?"
The priest asks, as Tsutsumi just stares blankly at the man.
"For two hundred years, the Einzberns, who sought a miracle beyond human power from the Holy Grail, have been repeating a certain ritual. There have already been four instances of that ritual, the Holy Grail War, but all have ended in failure."
"Holy Grail War?" Tsutsumi repeated the ritual name, first time hearing about this.
"A ritual of slaughter where the winner obtains the Holy Grail. The Fourth War ended six years ago in the worst way possible. You witnessed it yourself, right?"
He asks, but Tsutsumi said nothing; that part of this version of his memory, he hasn't unlocked it yet.
"In that war, the previous head of the Einzbern, alongside the others who helped him, were completely destroyed, leaving Julius as the only survivor. However, that boy must be planning to restart the Holy Grail War by himself, using Sakatsuki Miyu as the vessel for the Holy Grail."
"All for the sake of saving humanity."
Tsutsumi's fists clench upon hearing those words.
To save humanity? By sacrificing the life of a single individual, whose only crime was being born?
The glasses in the church reflecting his image were replaced by the image of Decade.
Like how the moment Decade is born, the worlds with begin to end, and the only way to save them is by killing Decade.
This world is dying, and the only way to save it is by sacrificing Miyu.
"To abandon and sacrifice the minority to achieve the goal of humanity's salvation. Are you going to reject that?"
Tsutsumi was so lost in thought that he didn't even realize the man had already approached him, now standing over him, his calm gaze locking on to him. "Then, make your decision, Tsutsumi Ryoko. To observe… or to oppose. No matter which path you take, the justice you cling to will shatter."
...
Tsutsumi approached the location of the Einzbern's main base the priest had given him.
But the instant he crossed the threshold, the space before him rippled and twisted, an unseen force repelling him, hurling him back to the exact spot he'd started from.
His teeth clenched, breath ragged. "I see… so you won't even face a devil who seeks justice?" he muttered, voice trembling with rage before erupting into a roar that split the silence.
"Get out here, Julius! I know you're there!"
Only silence answered.
His chest heaved, his throat tight. The words ripped out of him, raw and jagged.
"I… I admit it! I'm just a devil in human skin! One who knows and can only admire justice! I could never save anything!"
His voice cracked, echoing back at him like mockery.
"A form of justice. A form of family. A form of human… I was only chasing after them, only imitating them, to cover myself, a demon in human skin!!"
The confession tore him apart. His hand shook violently as he clutched at his chest, as though trying to hold together what little of himself remained.
"I was wrong from the start… even I know that. But… that's why…" His voice broke again, softer now, desperate, almost pleading.
"I… wanted to start being something real!!"
His knees buckled, slamming into the cold stone. The weight of his truth pressed him down, and hot tears spilled freely down his face.
"Miyu…" His voice was little more than a sob now, ragged and broken. "Give my sister back to me…"
...
After that day, Julius stopped coming to school, and Tsutsumi stopped traveling to other worlds altogether. Instead, he remained in this dying, snow-choked land, dedicating himself to a single purpose: finding a way to break through the magical barrier.
But his knowledge of magecraft was shallow, limited only to the basics. Against a barrier crafted and refined over generations of Einzbern magi, his efforts were futile.
Even his Aurora Curtain proved useless; without knowing what lay within the barrier, he couldn't form the technique properly inside it.
Another attempt ended in failure. His breath fogged in the cold as he trudged back toward the empty house, the house where he and Miyu once lived.
"Tsutsumi…"
The voice halted him. Familiar. He turned, eyes widening slightly.
"Tohsaka…" His reply came out barely more than a whisper. "Why are you here?"
"Tch. You haven't been showing up to school lately." Aki clicked her tongue, her usual annoyance masking the faint worry beneath. She lifted the grocery bag in her hand. "So, on my way back from shopping, I figured I'd check in on you."
Before long, the two of them were inside, standing together in the heavy silence of the house as they prepared dinner.
Tsutsumi's tired gaze drifted toward Aki. For a fleeting moment, he froze, her presence in the kitchen, the rhythm of her movements, stirred memories of Miyu, who used to cook beside him in this very place.
"What are you staring at?" Aki asked suddenly, her tomboyish voice cutting through his haze, so much like Jiro's that it startled him further.
He quickly shook his head, forcing a small breath. "…No, it's nothing." He turned back to the cutting board, working quietly beside her.
...
"Thanks for today," Aki said as she stepped out of his house, the cold air catching her breath. Tsutsumi followed close behind.
"Your cooking was really delicious."
"…Sorry. I probably won't be coming to school for a while," Tsutsumi admitted, forcing the words out carefully. "But… if you'd like, you can come visit again."
It was a lie. He knew, deep down, he wouldn't be staying in this world once he brought Miyu back.
"Although I'm happy for the invitation… this is the last time." Her voice was quiet, her eyes hidden beneath the brim of her winter hat.
The words struck him harder than he expected. Did she see through his lie?
"…I see."
"The truth is…" Aki's tone softened, gentler than he had ever heard from her. "I wanted to spend more time with you. Going to school together, attending club, walking home side by side, saying 'see you tomorrow.' I treasured those little things more than I ever let on."
Tsutsumi's eyes widened. He opened his mouth, but no words came.
"…But all that is over." She reached into her coat and drew out a single card, holding it up between them. "Because the Holy Grail War has begun."
The moment the words left her lips, Tsutsumi understood, but confusion gripped him all the same.
"…What are you saying, Aki? How do you even know that term?"
"Of course I know." Her gaze sharpened. "The Tohsakas are one of the families who created the ritual in the first place."
His fists clenched before he forced them to loosen. It wasn't her fault, it was her family's burden, not hers.
"Tch. That's unfortunate. I thought you'd look a little more rattled." She gave a teasing smile, though her eyes shimmered with tears she tried to hide.
"How should I put it?" Tsutsumi lowered his head, his voice flat. "…I think I've gotten used to losing everything."
"A loss… so that's what it is to you, huh?" she murmured softly, as he stepped closer.
"So, Aki… did you come here to finish me off?"
"I knew it. You're such a bully, Ryo." She smirked faintly, calling him by his last name, shortened, just like Jiro once did.
Then she raised the card higher. "The Holy Grail War is a ritual where Masters use Servant Cards to manifest Heroic Spirits and fight to the death. And this card…" Her eyes glimmered with both fear and pride. "…is the Heroic Spirit of the Demon King of the Sixth Heaven, Oda Nobunaga. One of the strongest in Japan's history."