❛ Sakura… ❜ A box rests in her outstretched hand, eyes sweeping over her head to toe. She’s grown so much… seemingly overnight. Her eyes are gentler, as is the curve of her mouth, and it brings forth a peculiar ache in her chest. It’s like nostalgia, but… not quite. Tohsaka had paced outside for quite some time, gathering up a passable sentence in her head, but it’s lost to the ether now. She’ll have to stumble for something.
Okay, she’ll have to stumble for something a little more than that.
Inside the box was an embarrassingly simple gift, but one she spent countless hours on. A handmade scarf was nestled comfortably among some pastel tissue paper, folded over neatly to fit; she’d made one or two before it that she didn’t find to be up to par, so Rin can honestly say it was her best possible effort. A scarf the exact same shade of the ribbon Sakura never took out of her hair for as long as she knew her, not even once.
❛ Happy birthday, Sakura. ❜ Rin instinctively reaches back to touch at the hair ribbon Sakura had given her, a nervous gesture; she, too, hasn’t taken it off since she got it. No better words come to mind than the question that’s been nagging at her since she noticed her appearance, so she allows her gentle — hopeful — smile to prevail as she finally voices it. ❛ You look as if you’ve grown quite a bit… Are you happy ? ❜ Are you really, truly happy ?
when she opened the door, Sakura had not expected to find her sister pacing and back and forth, only stopping when it became apparent that she wasn’t alone anymore. neither say nothing for a few moments-- it’s expected. their last conversation....it was nothing kind. (that seemed to be a trend with those she knows, funnily enough.) it had ended in a macabre promise, but a promise nonetheless. it was cruel of her to ask, she knows, but there was nobody else. Sakura does not know what to say. things have become....clear now. that hazy mess divulged to her when the mists invaded had now become crystal clear, half-truths becoming whole and misconceptions cleared without so much as a word spoken.
lips part to say something, anything, but she is beaten to the punch and wide eyes blink at the box. what lays inside is obviously something that has been made by hand, countless hours and time poured into it. it’s evident to her immediately-- this was not store bought. this was something that Rin had made specifically for her sister. a scarf as soft as feathers and the exact same shade as her childhood ribbon. “....it matches.” is murmured gently as removes the scarf from the tissue paper.
there is warmth blossoming within her chest and she does not bother to hold back the smile that forms, nostalgia and a quiet happiness paired with it. Spring has begun and the weather had warmed, but the morning air had enough chill to be felt. and so, she wraps the scarf around her neck loosely, tucking it neatly to ensure it would not fall off. it was warm. despite being tucked inside of a box, it was still warm. her hands press against the fabric firmly, head lowering as she swallows back a lump forming within her throat. Sakura thinks back to when Rin had given her a ribbon. the ribbon she always wore, the very first one that her sister ever made, and how happy she had felt from that one, singular gift. not because of what it was or of the color or of how her sister had carefully helped her put it in her hair--
--but because it was Rin who had given to her. and that had been the only thing that mattered.
it is her next question that draws Sakura out of the nostalgia that gently embraced her. her gaze pulls away from the other, idly watching as a blue bird perched itself upon a nearby tree. the sun was warm. the lingering cold of winter was nothing more than a whisper in the air. that which had gone dormant had slowly started to come back to life-- trees and flowers alike blooming anew. her attention turns back towards her sister.
that was the million dollar question: was she? she hadn’t been for most of her life nor the past few months, not truly. and separate from everything, what had transpired here still left an ache within her chest. she needed to talk to Saber. she needed to talk to Shirou. she needed to explain to Rin what she’s learned, but-- another time. even if her birthday didn’t hold any real significance to her for the longest time, it did for some. what she experienced in the Holy Grail War was nothing like what Shirou and Rin had. that still remained true-- it was still something that kept her separate from them. but the knowledge of that didn’t feel as lonely as it did before. was she happy now....?
there’s a soft noise of affirmation as her shoulders bunch up, a quick but form nod following suit. her smile widens a fraction and for the first time in perhaps too long, there is nothing fake about it.
