Not scum not happy

[1994]

"You are……!"

Seeing the boy fall down without even finishing a sentence, the young man with a similar face uttered a loud roar and rushed towards the unknown assailant, before being knocked unconscious by the well-prepared assailant.

……

"Huh? I didn't expect that it was the old man who helped me."

"Hehe... Thanks to my old face, I still have some face in the association. Don't you thank me? Young people nowadays are really getting more and more rude."

"Okay! Thank you very much." The boy finished speaking without any sincerity, and then asked hesitantly, "Then... what about him?"

"Is your follower? That guy is much more difficult. Although he is not a creature of the inner world, he still meets the definition of a blood-sucking species of the association. He will be under strict supervision or something."

"It's not a blood-sucking species! That guy doesn't live on blood-sucking! At best, he's just a familiar!"

"It's useless for you to say this to me. It's the Association that decides this... Heh, but if you can prove this, maybe it's not completely hopeless."

……

[1995]

"I'll leave this guy to you, I'm impatient."

The boy pointed to the young man with a face that was [-]% similar to him behind him, said to the white-haired man, and then turned his head to warn:

"...don't follow me until you learn to live as a human being!"

……

"Tell me, こん~に~ち~は (Hello)——"

"Cry-you-its-wow?"

"No, let's do it again, it's こん~に~ち~は."

"Empty-you-its-wow?"

"I've improved a bit... huh? Are you trying to learn this? Then... た~か~の~そう~じゅん (Takano Sosumi)."

"そう...じゅん (Zongchun)!そうじゅん!そうじゅん!"

"...Is this really a good thing to learn?"

……

"I'm curious, you brought him out of the association just to throw him to Kariya?"

"..."

"And by the standards of an ordinary person, you really care about magic and the Holy Grail."

The boy who was buried in a thick book with a very old cover finally raised his head, glanced at the young man not far away who was constantly calling his name and looking at him, then retracted his gaze and pointed to his temple.

"One yard is one yard, saving him out is saving him out... I just want to know what's inside that thing, is it my 'thing', or something else is mixed in."

……

"Sakura! This is new for Dad... What do you think?"

The purple-haired girl didn't answer, but looked at the man in front of her with puzzled and confused eyes, and finally accepted the gift under his expectant gaze, and said in a low voice, "Thank you... Uncle Kariya."

The white-haired man didn't seem to have heard the phrase "Uncle Kariya" at all, and bent down to stroke the girl's hair with a smile.

……

[1996]

The boy and his new acquaintance, the blond boy, were sitting at the table in the fast food restaurant, chatting casually.

"Have I seen you?"

"Hey... this kind of approach is outdated. I'm sure I've never seen such a nasty guy like you... well, but maybe 'the guy' knows you."

"what?"

"This kind of thing is not important, um... Speaking of which, have you noticed it? Someone is following you."

"……I know."

"Acquaintance?"

The boy didn't answer.

……

"Hi, I'm Yu Dong Yi Cheng."

"Takano Munejun."

"Huh? I said, are you the same as me? I am the son of the abbot of Liudong Temple."

"Sorry, my house is not a temple but a shrine."

"Hey? Hey? Hey? But... isn't your name 'Zong Chun'?"*

"Hmph, who stipulated that the son of the shrine cannot be named after a monk?"

"...That's right."

……

[1997]

"You are too indifferent to him, don't you think he has been looking at you with sad eyes recently?" Matou Kariya looked at the boy who had grown up a little bit puzzled.

"I don't think it's better to worry about yourself than to worry about these things."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing, just wondering how long your self-deception can last."

……

[1998]

"Angra-Mainyu (Angra-Mainyu)... all the evil in this world?"

"Ho ho ho ho, I thought you were too careful. I didn't expect that there was such a thing in the holy grail? So, what's in that servant of yours now..."

"No, seeing these things, I am sure that there is no Angora Mainu in that guy."

"... Are you really confident?"

"What you want to say is arrogance, right?... Huh, is it okay not to educate Sakura? The next time the Holy Grail comes will be six years later."

"Ho ho... It's a pity that you don't have the qualifications of a magician with your ingenuity, otherwise, the Holy Grail will undoubtedly come to my hands next time."

"Old man, what you said is really interesting. If I were a magician, why should I give you the Holy Grail?"

"……Right."

……

"come on."

The young man, who seemed to have hardly changed in the past few years, walked over with a look of anxiety, and sat on the chair following the boy's instructions.

The height difference disappeared just like that. The boy stretched out his hand and touched the young man's short light-colored hair, which was very similar to his own. Because he had deliberately alienated him for a long time, the young man was probably confused and uneasy about the current situation.

"I want to give you a name—Takano Fuji, from today, this will be your name."

"Vine?" The young man's expression gradually changed from doubt to elation, and he suddenly stood up and hugged the boy in front of him, happily repeating the name he learned first but never had the chance to call out.

"... Zongchun! Zongchun! Zongchun!"

……

……

……

[2003]

On April 4st, Group 1-C of Hokunhara Academy.

"Hi everyone, I'm Emiya Shiro, I hope to be on the side of justice... I hope I can get along well with everyone in the next year."

Looking at Emiya Shirou who was accepting the good-natured ridicule of others on the podium, "The side of justice or something... Issei, that foolish guy is your friend?"

Yoo Dong Issei replied while drawing the black line, "Yes, ah, Takano, you have never been in the same class as Emiya, have you?"

"No, in this school, I only went to the same school as you in elementary school."

"Well... Anyway, although he is a bit naive, he is a pretty nice person."

"is it?"

……

"...Takano."

"what's up?"

"Please be sure to answer this question... Uh, what kind of girl do you like?"

"...Did those girls ask you to come? Why didn't they come by themselves? You really don't refuse any request."

"...you haven't answered the question yet."

"Well, well..." The young man stroked his chin, and said after contemplation: "I like the kind that is obedient and well-behaved like a domestic dog, the kind that comes and goes when called."

"..." Can I complain?Can I complain?

……

"It's almost time."

"Hey, this time the association has specially sent a magician to participate in this Holy Grail War. Although it was recommended by Kotomine... he should come to visit you soon."

"I see. Now that I have accepted the association's work entrustment this time, I have already made plans."

"Then, I'll just wait and see."

【The Fifth Holy Grail War Chronicle】