Swole City

[Aiden]

Mira

"Well, yeah. That's what I said." Mira pulled the paper back for a moment, and then waved it at Roman a couple of times. "I won't waste my time if you're not serious! But if you are, I'll put you through hell and you'll come out the other side."

[yinsukin]

Roman

Roman stared at her, eyes blinking in before he said, "And then what are you going to do now then?" he asked.

[Aiden]

Mira

Mira blinked at that question, clearly not having thought that far. "Uh... probably go home and update my instagram. Or check to see if that check I was waiting for came in." She frowned and tapped her chin in consideration. "I didn't bring my phone to that fight earlier."

[yinsukin]

Roman

"What?"

That was so mandane.  Roman had always assumed people with powers went home to extravagant homes, or at least some mountain or cult lair or something.  Aren't powers supposed to drastically change your life?  Well, maybe if you do it naturally, it is more subtle.

"Oh sure... Actually no... why do you have an Instagram?"

[Aiden]

Mira

Seemingly ignorant of Roman's bafflement, Mira just shrugged to herself and put her arms back behind her head. "Gotta post my pics somewhere, ya know? Not like I don't have friends."

The purple-head grinned. "Make sure you don't forget to have those along the way to power, or your life is gonna suck."

[yinsukin]

Roman

"Your instagram followers?" he said, raising an eyebrow.  "Whatever.  Lucky you.  I imagine you can just make freinds when you get the power.  Its not like anyone is really there for you when your weak.  When your weak, your nobody."

Roman sighed.  "Sorry.  Thats not true.  Your helping me and i'm weak.  Truthfully, I do not understand that.  Is it pity?  Or something else?"

[Aiden]

Mira

"I don't do pity."

For the first time since he'd met her, Roman could feel the disdain in Mira's voice. It passed with nary a further comment, and she started waving him off as soon as it did.

"Maybe I'll tell you, if you keep at this for a while."

[yinsukin]

Roman

Roman's eyes widened as he heard Mira's voice.  She was dead serious. He could hear the sheer disgust at the thought.  At the very least, it appeared like the very suggestion that she was pitying him was insulting.  I guess that made sense considering she said she used to be even weaker than him.  Mira probably thought the same things in her darkest hours.

Goddamn it!

For a moment, Roman stared deep into Mira's cyan eyes, searching for an answer.  However, he found nothing, not a single thing.  Whatever she saw in him was beyond his experience.  "Well damn.  I guess I have to find out now.  What happens if I gain power some other way?"

[Aiden]

Mira

"I mean, you could try if you want." Mira turned and made to walk away now. "I don't really do cheating, either."

She waved back over her shoulder, a two-fingered salute with her right hand.

"Be seeing you around, Roman. Hit me up if you run into a snag."

[yinsukin]

Roman

"Cheating huh?" he said, wondering just what her life was like back in the day to say something like that.

[Cherry Lover]

Sakura and Shirou

12 PM, Nexus Time (following day)

Having returned home from an enjoyable but mostly uneventful dinner, Sakura and Shirou spent the evening together, before finally going to bed. The morning after, Shirou suggested that it might be a good idea to check out the gyms in the nearby Swole City district, which they had heard were exceptional quality, quite possibly even supernaturally-so. Aware of their need to maintain fitness, Sakura agreed with his suggestion and, so, the two of them took a gentle stroll out there, eventually arriving a little before midday.

When they arrived, they wandered around for a while, looking for some advice or a gym that looked interesting. They were in no real hurry, after all, they had plenty of money and no emergency which they needed to help deal with had arisen.

[SINIB]

Rin Tohsaka

As they wandered down the street, a familar raven haired woman walked out of an extremely high class, massively expensive gym. However, something was off about her.

Sakura could feel the familar taint of shadows on her sister, as if she were made of them. Bound together into a humanoid form. She began walking at a brisk pace to another place, somewhere else.

But most strangely, she looked entirely too happy in the maid outfit she was wearing.

[Cherry Lover]

Sakura and Shirou

Sakura did a double-take as she saw the familiar twin-tailed girl walk out of a nearby gym.

N..nee-san? she thought, confused, looking the girl over.

However, looking at what appeared to be her sister in greater detail only confused matters further. The girl was dressed in a maid outfit, something she'd never expect to see her sister wearing, and she wasn't acting like she was unhappy about it, either, despite there being no sign of her presumed employer, Luvia. And, even more oddly, Sakura could feel a shadowy taint on her, something akin to what she felt coming from her own shadow familiars. Thoroughly confused and maybe a little hopeful, Sakura decided to approach the girl, Shirou following behind her.

"N..nee-san?" she said, uncertainly. "What are you doing here?"

[SINIB]

Rin Tohsaka

Rin turned around and stared at Sakura with a stupid, clueless expression. After a few seconds, a flash of recognition crossed her face and she smiled.

"Oh, Sakura, I'm so happy to see you!" It was as if gears were whirring in her head, but her voice sounded exactly like Sakura's sister. "I'm sorry about that." She did a curtsy, bowing well below her sister in a sign of contrition and weakness. "I'm simply too much of an idiot to have greeted you properly. Please forgive your moronic sister."

Then, her expression turned flat and robotic. "What can I help you with, Master?"

[Cherry Lover]

Sakura and Shirou

Sakura was confused and a little bit irritated by the clueless expression on her sister's face. Had Rin really forgotten who she was? Her own little sister?

Before she could say anything, however, the girl suddenly had a flash of recognition, and began to greet her happily, albeit a little robotically. But, then, things began to get weird, as the girl bowed, apologising profusely and insulting herself in the process. Sakura was surprised, amused and a little embarrassed by the display, wondering what exactly was happening. Shirou, meanwhile, could barely suppress a giggle at the sight, something that he felt might have come straight out of one of Sakura's darker fantasies.

But, before Sakura or Shirou could say anything, the girl's expression and tone changed once more, this time to something far more robotic. Addressing Sakura as "master", she asked what the girl wanted. For a few moments, Sakura looked at her, dumbstruck, before she came to a realisation. The girl's bizarre behaviour, the robotic manner in which she was acting and the weird, shadowy taint all pointed to one thing. This girl was some kind of very advanced shadow familiar. And, given the manner in which she was reacting to Sakura, Sakura's own history with her sister and her knowledge of what she might potentially be capable of, she had no doubt that this girl was the creation of an alternate Sakura. One who, seemingly, had even more issues with her sister than she did.

For a moment, Sakura hesitated. The last version of her that she had met had been completely insane, attempting to kidnap Shirou. And making a shadow maid that looked like Rin and humiliating her hardly pointed to sanity, either. At the same time, though, it wasn't really harmful, and it was something she could maybe have seen herself doing, once, if she had the capability. And finding a potential ally would be useful. So, she addressed the familiar with a smile.

"Excuse me, but can you tell me where the person who created you is?" Sakura asked. "I would like to talk to her."