Dinner had been going too well.
Taiga was on her fourth helping, happily stuffing her face like a starved animal, and Shirō was enjoying a rare moment of peace, sipping tea and pretending she wasn't enabling this bottomless pit of an older sister figure.
And then—
Bang.
The front door swung open without so much as a knock.
Rin Tohsaka stood there, arms crossed, eyebrow twitching. She took one look at the table overflowing with food, then at Taiga, who had her cheeks full like a hamster, and finally at Shirō, who was very close to sighing.
"You're throwing a party without me?"
Taiga nearly choked. "Tohsaka-san?! What are you—mmph—what are you doing here?"
Rin stepped inside without waiting for an invitation, looking around with thinly veiled suspicion. "I figured I'd check up on our dear little Saber, but apparently, she's been busy hosting feasts."
Shirō wiped her hands on a cloth. "Uh, Tohsaka-san." She shot Rin a look that said play along. "I told Fuji-nee about the, uh, metamorphosis." A subtle wink followed. Not about the Holy Grail War.
Rin caught on instantly, giving the smallest nod of understanding before her lips curled into an amused smirk.
"Metamorphosis, huh?" She hummed, striding over to the table. "That's a fancy way of putting it."
Taiga suddenly gasped, dramatically clutching her chest. "Wait a minute, Tohsaka-san already knew about this before me?!" She turned to Shirō, looking offended. "You wound me, Shirō-chan!"
And there it was again.
Shirō-chan.
Rin barely contained her laughter. "Oh? Shirō-chan, huh?" She glanced at Shirō with a raised brow.
Shirō groaned, rubbing her temples. "Don't start."
"Shirō-chan~," Rin sing-songed, taking a seat across from Taiga. "I like it."
Taiga grinned, nodding enthusiastically. "Right?! It suits her perfectly!"
Shirō looked between them, unimpressed. "You both are having too much fun with this."
Rin poured herself some tea like she owned the place. "I am having fun. It's not every day I get to see the great Shirō Emiya squirm." She took a sip, lips twitching in amusement. "Honestly, I should've started calling you that ages ago."
Taiga smacked the table. "It's settled, then! From now on, Shirō-chan is official!"
Shirō slumped forward, forehead meeting the table. "I hate this."
"Lies," Rin said smoothly. "If you really hated it, you'd do something about it."
Shirō let out a long, suffering sigh. "I should do something about it."
Taiga poked her arm. "But you won't."
"…No, I won't."
Taiga and Rin exchanged a victorious nod before happily digging into the food.
Shirō sat back, watching them bicker over the last piece of tamagoyaki like children.
It was strange.
Even though everything had changed—even though her entire existence had been rewritten—this moment, right here, still felt real. It felt normal.
And maybe, that was enough.