Fate: Hammer Time

Chapter 6: Surprising Discoveries

When the clock struck six in the morning, Sakura awoke.

It was precisely on the dot, not a second later. Waking up at six was one of the rules of the house. It was always in effect, even during the holidays, and she always made sure to keep herself to it. Grandfather wanted it that way, and she knew better than to protest or disobey.

She played along with his schemes and plots every time, taking his every blow like a good little girl. The pit had broken any overt resistance in her a long time ago, and obeying her grandfather went automatically now. She just didn't dare disobey him. He was always far too willing to dish out punishments for every misstep or slight, real or imagined.

She could still remember uncle Kariya being...

Well, she did her best, but it certainly wasn't easy sometimes. Especially not since her grandfather himself also tended to sabotage her whenever he could.

Take the 'wake up at six'-rule. On first sight, it required some discipline, but shouldn't be too hard, until one realised that there were no clocks in the house. There was no way to tell the time whatsoever, making it very difficult for Sakura to keep herself that rule.

Fortunately, she had a way around that. She was able to tell the time anyway, with the small pocket watch she had gotten from him. He had given it to her, just like that, with one of his bright smiles, when she had told him one day that she didn't have any clocks in her house.

She was one of her most prized possessions, not just because it was a convenient tool, but mainly because it was a gift from him. He had given it to her himself, after he had bought it, for her.

She had almost fainted from delight when he had handed it to her, and she had made a solemn vow to treasure it for the rest of her life. Even if it broke after too much use and couldn't be repaired, she would keep it. It would forever serve as a reminder to his kindness.

Getting up from her bed and quickly dressing herself, Sakura grimaced as her sore muscles loudly protested the action, still feeling the effects of the 'training' she'd been subjected the previous night. At least it had been nothing more than a 'standard' training, the likes of which she could almost sleep through these days.

Don't get her wrong, the time in the pit had been as horrible as always, but she had managed not to show any signs of discomfort easily enough. That was the most important thing, not showing emotion. She'd learned early on that protesting, begging, or otherwise reacting had no use at all at best, and was counterproductive at worst.

So she shut down every emotion she had, be it disgust, pain, hopelessness, or anything else. It was a very effective shield, so effective in fact that it had started to spread to her normal life as well.

Whenever she encountered trouble or problems of any kind, her default reaction was to turn off all higher brain functions and become a zombie. Whether it was other children bullying her, her teachers scolding her for her incomplete homework, or all of her classmates ignoring her, the easiest way to deal with it was by shutting down. That way, she had nothing and no one to care for and no one who cared about her.

Simply said, Sakura was alone, and refused to let herself feel lonely or desiring of companionship. That was how she had survived so far.

There was one single exception however.

Him.

She thought of him, of her heroic, strong, handsome Senpai, and a smile almost came to her face, before she ruthlessly suppressed it when she remembered where she was and who might be looking at her. Still, while the smile was easily reined in, the flutter of her heart could not be suppressed, and her mood lifted in turn. It was funny, how he could raise her spirits even when he wasn't actually present.