Rider and Shirou
Rider watched Vanguard skulk off down the tunnel he had bashed. For a moment, she considered following him, but it seemed like he wanted to be alone, so she decided against it. Instead, she walked back down to the room where Shirou had been waiting. There, she found him sitting down, somewhat bored, but glad that the other Sakura was now at least somewhat happy.
"Shirou, are you OK?" she asked.
"I'm fine, yes. It's good that this Sakura seems to be happier now. I think I need to leave, though. I've hurt her a lot, and she really doesn't want me around", he replied, sadly.
"Shirou, you can't just leave. It's dangerous out there. How would Sakura feel if you got hurt?" Rider responded.
Shirou shrugged his shoulders and sighed.
"I know.... I just don't know what to do...", he said with uncertainty.
Then, after a few moments of thought, he addressed Rider again.
"Could you take me to find a hotel somewhere? I'm sure this Sakura would be OK with that if it meant I left...", he said.
"I guess...", Rider replied. "But, it's still not safe, even in a hotel. You need someone to look after you".
Rider went to sit down next to him, pondering what to do. This situation was so unbelieveably awkward. Why couldn't Sakura just accept that his actions were an accident? Why was she so hateful towards a version of him who genuinely cared for her, whilst she was ridiculously over-protective of some asshole version of him who seemingly couldn't care less about her, and who had left his own version of Sakura to be slowly tortured to death whilst he ran off around the world trying to save everyone but the poor girl who loved him more than anything?
Meanwhile, Rider could hear that Sakura, Shirou and Rin had begun having dinner. A sad look came across Rider's face as she realised that Sakura had not invited her, or even asked. She didn't need to eat, of course, but her former master had always insisted that she should eat with them, as part of the family. This Sakura, however, seemed not to want her there, at least right now, and that made Rider feel sad. Plus, she liked Sakura's cooking, being denied the chance to enjoy it was never a good thing.
"What's wrong, Rider?" Shirou asked, kindly, seeing the sad look on her face.
"Sakura didn't invite me to dinner. I must have really upset her...", she said, sadly.
Shirou looked at her comfortingly.
"I'm sure she'll forgive you, Rider. Sakura does genuinely love you. You're like a sister to her", he said.
Rider's face brightened slightly.
"I suppose...", she said.
Then, though, she received another message from her master.
Rider, you're not going to gawk at Nee-san anymore, got it? Now Nee san and I are going to go out, I'll take Vanguard and you'll guard the house, okay? she said.
With that, her frown returned. Sakura had chosen to go out with Vanguard, leaving her here to guard the house. Sakura preferred to be in the company of the unknown entity she had known for only a day rather than her.
Why am I worrying? As long as I can serve and protect Sakura, I should be happy, she thought, unconvincingly.
Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a familiar ringtone coming from Shirou's pockets. It was Shirou's personalised ringtone for his wife. Somehow, she had managed to get a signal and was calling him.
Hearing the delightful sound, Rider immediately perked up, overjoyed that her master was able to contact them. Shirou, too, was clearly extremely pleased.
"It's Sakura, Rider! She's calling me!" he announced, excitedly, taking the phone out of his pocket and answering it.
"Hi darling. Are you OK? I really missed you", he said, his voice a combination of extreme happiness and a little concern for her well-being.
