The incident happened early on the release day of HF.
The earth gradually awakened, and a sliver of dawn broke the silence of the night.
Unfortunately, Shinji's fiery heart neither pounded with excitement nor prayed for peace.
"That darn Sakura..."
Walking along the deserted streets and admiring the 4 a.m. sunrise over Fuyuki City, Shinji's heart was anything but calm.
Last night, Sakura, who had already calmed down after being angry at Shinji, snapped again because of that final smile in the after-credits scene.
Instead of undoing the petrification spell she had cast on Shinji, she left with everyone else, went home, and went to sleep.
As a result, Shinji had to maintain the same pose he had while petrified until about half an hour ago, when the magic began to weaken, allowing him to move again.
"Damn it, what the hell."
Shinji grumbled incessantly, his face filled with resentment.
Although his dear little sister had thoughtfully covered him with a blanket and ensured the AC in the lounge was running so he wouldn't catch a cold overnight, why didn't she take her big brother home as well?!
"That smile was pretty good… Why did she get so mad?"
Tilting his head, Shinji couldn't make sense of it.
If the reason was solely because of his character's "dark, yandere" persona, Sakura would have brought it up during filming; she wouldn't have waited to explode now.
So, Shinji strongly suspected that the problem was the infamous "crooked smile" scene, which made Sakura feel like she had been made to look bad.
"How childish. Doesn't she realize that might become an internet classic—a meme passed down for generations?"
Thinking about all the iconic meme creators in his previous life, weren't they all immortalized in internet history and made incredibly popular?
"Ugh, if I'd known Sakura would react this badly, I wouldn't have gone out of my way to shoot that kind of scene."
Shinji sighed helplessly.
The crooked smile of a "Dragon King" wasn't something just anyone could pull off. Back in his previous life, when the crooked smile meme became famous, countless people tried to imitate it. However, only a handful could make it look natural and unique—apart from the "Crooked-Mouth God of War," there was also Haruki's portrayal in Z.
Since Sakura, as a normal girl, obviously couldn't naturally pull off such a smile, Shinji resorted to a cosplay trick: adhesive tape.
Cosplayers, to make their eyes look closer to the shapes of animated characters, would use tape to stretch the skin around their eyes, altering their appearance.
This technique isn't usually used in film and TV productions because the actors move around a lot, and the tape can look unnatural.
However, Sakura's crooked Dragon King smile was a fixed pose. Plus, her hairstyle conveniently covered her cheeks, hiding the tape, giving Shinji the chance to use this little trick.
From a technical perspective, Sakura's sinister smile was stiff and unnatural—something any normal crew would NG.
But Shinji needed precisely that kind of eerie, impossible-to-replicate expression to leave a lasting impression on viewers.
And if it became a meme? Even better.
Unfortunately, Sakura didn't understand her brother's intentions and simply thought he made her look hideous.
During filming, Sakura had only seen her expression through a mirror, so she didn't notice how different it looked from the camera's angle. She just thought her smile looked weird.
But after seeing the final cut and realizing her portrayal as that version of Matou Sakura, of course, she couldn't sit still.
"Onii-sama, you can spend the night at the office to reflect on yourself!!"
Recalling Sakura's roaring command, Shinji still felt a chill in his heart.
"Could there be something terrible waiting for me at home?"
Standing at the gates of the Matou household, Shinji's thoughts churned.
"Although being made to spend the night outside was already punishment, there might be more. If this is some kind of trap to lure me in, wouldn't I be walking into the lion's den?"
As Shinji debated whether to go home and catch up on sleep or book a hotel, a piercing scream echoed from inside the Matou residence.
"Ahhhhhhhhhh——!!"
The scream was so sharp that Shinji thought the glass in the house might shatter.
"That voice… it's from Arturia's room!"
Hearing the scream, Shinji didn't hesitate. He bolted into the house, reaching Arturia's room before anyone else even groggily emerged.
"Arturia! What happened?!"
He kicked open the door.
"You're screaming so loud—if the glass breaks, you're paying for it!"
The first thing Shinji saw was Arturia sitting on the bed, her pale skin practically glowing in the dim light. Likely startled awake from sleep, the King of Knight was clad in nothing but a thin nightgown.
Not much of a figure.
That was Shinji's first thought.
But her skin's great.
That was his second.
"Master!! Why are you barging in here?!" Arturia glared at Shinji, both angry and flustered.
No trace of maidenly shyness, only annoyance at Shinji's unannounced entry
"Isn't it because I heard you screaming?"
Sensing Arturia's displeasure, Shinji calmly stroked his chin.
If this were Rin, she would probably be blushing furiously while charging at him with an arsenal of Bajiquan moves.
But Arturia? Even if Shinji metaphorically "helped himself to her ice cream," she would merely be displeased at his lack of manners in barging in without knocking.
Not that Shinji thought there was anything to "gain" from seeing that physique of hers anyway.
"So, Arturia," Shinji leaned against the doorframe with a smirk, "why the screaming first thing in the morning?"
His words seemed to jog Arturia's memory, and she hastily pointed to the other side of her bed.
"This! What is the meaning of this?!"
Arturia demanded angrily, as if certain Shinji must be responsible.
"What's the meaning of what?" Shinji tilted his head in confusion.
"Her!"
Arturia lifted her blanket, revealing another girl lying in her bed.
"Not bad, Arturia." Shinji teased with mock admiration. "You've even learned the fine art of hiding beauties in golden chambers. So your penchant for cross-dressing in Britain was part of your XP, huh?"
"Master, stop talking nonsense and look at her!"
Hearing Arturia's roar, Shinji raised his eyebrows and walked around to the other side of the room, finally getting a clear look at the girl lying in Arturia's bed.
The girl, still fast asleep, had the same face as Arturia and was even wearing identical nightwear.
However, her skin was noticeably paler, and her radiant blonde hair was lighter than Arturia's.
Though the girl hadn't opened her eyes, Shinji felt certain her irises would be gold.
And why was that?
"Arturia… Alter??"
Shinji's gaze darted between the two girls in disbelief.
"Wait… has there already… been a child?"
He blurted out in shock.
"Wha—?!"
Arturia's expression froze instantly.
"Arturia… I know you're a king, a Heroic Spirit, and technically not human, but you could at least adhere to basic social morals! What have you been doing while I wasn't watching?!"
While harshly criticizing Arturia's character, Shinji examined Alter's pale gold hair and matching pajamas again.
Hmm… so close, just a little more and—
Smack
Arturia stepped in front of Shinji, blocking his view.
"Forget everything else! Just from her age, that doesn't even make sense!!"
Arturia's lips twitched; for the first time, she had an overwhelming urge to beat her Master to a pulp.
"Fair enough. But if you ever do have a kid, I'd much rather it be a feisty little tomboy with a blonde ponytail."
"..."
Arturia managed to suppress her rage, reminding herself that the more pressing matter was figuring out why this woman had appeared in her bed this morning.
As for Shinji's nonsense? That could wait until later.
"Oh, and if possible, I'd like the kid to be named Mordred."
"That's not the point!!"
Arturia roared, her face flushed red. "The point is, why is she in my bed, and what is going on?!"
"No idea."
"Don't lie! This has to be your doing!" Arturia grabbed Shinji by the shoulders, pulling him closer.
"Master, you didn't use magecraft to clone me, did you?"
"I already said it wasn't me!"
"Onii-sama, Saber-san, everyone stayed up late last night, so can't you keep it down in the—"
Sakura's grumbling stopped mid-sentence as she stepped into the room and noticed Arturia Alter on the bed. Her face instantly transformed into one of apocalyptic dread.
"Wait… has there already… been a child?!"
Arturia yelled in frustration, "No! Why are you siblings having the same reaction?!"
Unfortunately, this only seemed to fuel Sakura's suspicions as her gaze shifted to Shinji.
"Onii-sama…. when did this happen?"
"This has nothing to do with me! I haven't even made it to second base with this knight!" Shinji denied firmly.
"What do you mean 'this'? Master, am I just some animal to you?"
"Onii-sama… I always knew this day would come, but I didn't think it would happen so soon. Oh well, there's no choice now. Onii-sama , you need to turn yourself in to the police."
"Not only did I not touch that walking iron board, but even if I had, why would I need to turn myself in?!"
"Iron board?! So in your eyes, I'm just a plank?!"
...
"Enough. This is too noisy..."
A cold voice cut through their bickering.
"Seriously, you're so damn noisy."
Filled with irritation, the girl on the bed—Arturia Alter—finally opened her eyes.
Roughly scratching her head in frustration, she sat up with a scowl.
"Early in the morning… Can't you people let someone sleep?"
"With all the noise, the fact that you slept through it this long is impressive," Shinji muttered under his breath.
"Shut up…"
"What was that?"
Shinji hadn't caught Alter's low grumble.
Alter glared at Shinji and pointed directly at his nose.
"I said you're too noisy, you damn wakame!"
<+>
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