Chapter 12: Get Ready for the New Era of Cinema

Chapter 12: Get Ready for the New Era of Cinema

The winter sunlight streamed down onto the athletic field of Homurahara Academy. The pristine, well-kept campus basked in silence, save for the rowdy shouts of students having P.E. class on the track.

Inside one of the classrooms, seated by the window, Sakura Matou absently twirled a pen between her fingers. Her chin rested in her other hand as she gazed out the window, eyes unfocused.

Compared to Fujimura-sensei droning on in her usual textbook-perfect English, the students jogging around the track seemed a lot more interesting.

“So boring…” she murmured to herself. “I wonder how Onii-sama’s doing right now…”

It was Monday.

By Shinji’s orders, all student cast members had to attend school today. They were only allowed to head to the set once club time rolled around in the afternoon.

After spending such a fun weekend with the film crew, Sakura felt like a bird stuffed back into its cage.

School life was dull. Deadening, even.

She would much rather be helping her big brother at the film set—rushing around, organizing things, watching the magic unfold from behind the scenes.

But alas, with filming entering its final stages, Shinji had made the call to send all the students back to class. That included Sakura.

To be fair, she didn’t have many scenes left anyway.

Shinji was directing the Stay Night route, not Heaven’s Feel. Compared to the female lead, Saber, or even Rin Tohsaka, Sakura’s role was barely a blip on the radar.

Most of her time on set was spent assisting her brother—helping with paperwork, organizing props, or managing the cast’s needs. Just little things.

It was thankless, it was tedious, it was exhausting…

But Sakura loved it.

Because in that world, she could be around the strange and funny man in the ridiculous blue bodysuit, the ever-kind Rider onee-san, the stoic yet sweet Saber who loved her cooking…

And most importantly—her older brother, Matou Shinji, whom she admired more than anyone else.

Just thinking about it made her want to throw her textbooks out the window and bolt straight to the set.

But she could only dream.

Shinji was never going to allow her to skip school.

He might spoil her in most things, but when it comes to studying? He was like a steel wall.

‘I wonder what scene Onii-sama’s filming right now…’

‘Is he with Arturia-san?’

The thought sent her imagination spiraling.

Suddenly, the white lines on the track blurred and morphed.

They formed the shape of a person: mid-length tousled hair, a refined and gentle face, sharp, confident eyes…

Her brother—standing tall with a director’s megaphone in hand, commanding the set like a general on the battlefield.

“...Onii-sama,” she whispered, biting down on her pen, cheeks flushing just a little.

‘He came back from abroad not that long ago, and already he’s diving into this huge project headfirst…’

‘Why can’t he just stay by my side a little longer?’

“Matou-san…”

Fujimura-sensei’s voice finally caught up to her.

“...Sakura!”

The girl didn’t respond.

Still deep in her fantasy, she hadn’t heard a thing.

Smack

After calling her name a few more times to no effect, Fujimura walked over and lightly bopped Sakura on the head with a book.

“Ah—Fujimura-sensei…”

Sakura blinked, snapping out of her daydream. She looked up, clearly flustered.

“Really now, Sakura…”

Fujimura sighed, torn between exasperation and sympathy.

Sakura’s wide, innocent eyes were like those of a scolded puppy—helpless and too pitiful to stay mad at for long.

“I know you’re worried about Shinji and his movie. But he sent you to school for a reason, didn’t he? Don’t make it meaningless by zoning out all day, okay?”

Sakura’s lips moved soundlessly for a second before she lowered her head, whispering:

“I’m sorry…”

Taiga didn’t press Sakura any further. Instead, she just raised her hands and nodded enthusiastically, speaking more to herself than anyone else.

“Of course, of course! I totally get it! Your beloved big brother is making a movie— Who wouldn’t be excited?! I’m totally pumped too! I can’t wait for the premiere!”

She puffed up with pride, placing her hands on her hips.

“After all, this is my first time acting in a movie, you know~!”

With that, she struck a cutesy pose, lifting one foot behind her and giving the class an exaggerated wink.

The classroom fell into an awkward, suffocating silence.

“……”

“……”

You’re already 25, please stop pretending to be a bubbly high school girl…

It’s embarrassing just to look at.

“...Wait. Don’t tell me she’s just wearing a tiger mascot suit for a cameo or something?”

No one knew which brave soul let that slip aloud in the dead silence, but the result was immediate.

“Who just said tiger?! Come out this instant!! I’ve got a special combo exam packet with your name on it!!”

Taiga roared like the very beast she was nicknamed after, flailing her textbook above her head.

“Sorry, sorry—Tiger-sensei~!”

“Stop calling me Tiger!!”

Marching back to the podium, she slammed her hand down on the desk.

“Fine! When Sakura’s brother’s movie finally hits theaters, we’ll go watch it together as a class!”

“—But! You all have to pay for your own tickets, okay~?”

She threw in another exaggerated wink, clearly pleased with her brilliant idea.

“Are you kidding me?!”

“Sensei, you should treat us!”

“Yeah! It’s your debut as an actress! You gotta celebrate and treat the whole class!”

The students burst into loud protests.

“Don’t even think about it! A humble teacher like me doesn’t get paid enough for that!”

Taiga waved her arms defensively, but she was grinning the whole time.

Laughter echoed through the classroom, the mood instantly light and cheerful.

“Geez… Onii-sama…”

Sakura gave a long sigh.

She ignored the noise around her and turned her gaze back toward the window, watching the sky as if waiting for the bell to ring.

She didn’t have much longer to wait.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

While poor Sakura endured the torment known as “school life,” things on the Fate/Stay Night film set were a little more exciting.

At that very moment, inside the soundstage, the cast and crew of Fate/stay night were working hard on the final scenes of the film.

After months of shooting, the movie was nearing completion. Just in the past few days, Shinji had wrapped nearly every major sequence—including the intense showdown at Ryuudou Temple.

All that remained was the very last scene: Arturia’s peaceful farewell.

And speaking of Arturia…

While the Knight King’s acting still had a long way to go, Rin had suggested she read a mountain of romance novels and shoujo manga to help with the emotional depth.

To everyone's surprise, it had worked—at least a little.

Her acting still wasn’t what anyone would call “award-winning,” but for a commercial film like this? She passed. Barely.

Still, if nothing else, Arturia had heart. She was one of the most consistent performers in the entire shoot.

The only one more reliable than her was, ironically… Gilgamesh.

But then again, Gilgamesh’s role was simple.

He didn’t even need to act—just stand in front of the camera, look smug, and rant like he ruled the world. Instant footage.

Of course, that only worked if he wasn’t using golden treasure piles to block the camera lens.

With Fate/stay night approaching its final wrap, Shinji began focusing on evaluating his crew more carefully.

He didn’t know yet if the film would be a hit or a flop. But he had already formed partnerships with multiple magus families—there was no turning back.

No matter how this movie turned out, Shinji was going to make another one. That much was certain.

The only question left was which story to film next.

This shoot had made one thing very clear—using Heroic Spirits as actors was a massive advantage.

So the next movie would almost certainly follow the same model.

Of course, that meant filming would be stuck in Fuyuki City again.

Thanks to the Holy Grail and its leylines, it was one of the few places where Heroic Spirits could remain materialized without burning through absurd amounts of mana.

With things moving in this direction, forming a stable and reliable film production team within Fuyuki City was no longer just an option—it was a necessity.

That said, not everyone would be staying with Shinji’s team.

Those who were mediocre, unmotivated, or simply dead weight—he wasn’t even going to bother considering them.

Shinji already had a draft list of who he wanted to keep.

All that remained was to wait until filming wrapped up and have a few one-on-one talks.

At the moment, the crew was shooting the final scene of the entire production: Bedivere’s farewell to Arturia.

This was it—the last shot of the movie.

Everyone was in high spirits, buzzing with energy as they made preparations.

As for Bedivere’s actor… well, it obviously wasn’t the real Bedivere.

Shinji had already maxed out his contract’s capacity with seven Heroic Spirits—there was no summoning any more.

Besides, Bedivere only had a handful of lines in the whole film. Summoning a new Servant just for that? Way too extravagant.

Instead, Shinji had gone with a simpler—and much more economical—solution.

He had Yan Qing transform into Bedivere using Arturia’s descriptions as reference.

Despite being practically invisible in the crew most of the time, Yan Qing had worked harder than almost anyone.

Besides playing as Caster, Sasaki Kojirou, and now Bedivere, he would also regularly appear in background crowd shots whenever the set needed an extra or two—always in full disguise, of course.

He didn’t have a single proper close-up in the entire movie, but his presence was everywhere.

And looking at him now, Shinji couldn’t help but think—

‘Calling Yan Qing was probably the smartest decision I made during this entire production.’

Inside the studio, Yan Qing stood dressed as Bedivere, completely unaware of his Master’s thoughts.

Right now, his face was filled with solemn sorrow as he looked down at the sleeping figure of Arturia beneath the prop tree.

A soft glow, representing the last of her power, slowly faded from around her body. Her protection was nearly gone.

“...I’m sorry, Bedivere. This time… I might sleep for a little longer…”

With a peaceful smile, Arturia gently closed her eyes.

Overhead, the studio lights—carefully calibrated to mimic the soft glow of morning sunlight—tilted and shifted until they fell perfectly over her still figure.

A machine sent a gentle breeze through the set’s prop forest, brushing softly over the grass and leaves.

Yan Qing stood motionless. Watching his king. Embracing the role of a loyal knight to the very end.

‘This,’ he thought, ‘must have been what that knight had always wished for.’

A peaceful sleep.

The King he had served through countless battles…

Was finally at peace.

And that—made him happy.

A breeze swept across the knight’s face.

With quiet pride in his heart, he smiled—genuinely, from the bottom of his soul.

The war… is over.

“…Are you watching, King Arthur?”

He looked down at the sleeping King and whispered softly.

“May your dreams… never end.”

“Cut!”

Shinji stood up from behind the camera and raised his voice.

“That’s a wrap! Fate/Stay Night filming is officially complete!!”

“YES!!”

“We did it! We’re DONE!!”

“Haha! Hell yeah!!”

The studio instantly erupted into cheers and applause. Joy overflowed as the crew celebrated the end of a long, exhausting, but unforgettable journey.

Arturia rose from her spot beneath the tree and brushed the hair out of her face. She was the first to run up to Shinji, smiling proudly.

“Master, I did it.”

“Yeah~ Thank you, Arturia. You really are the greatest Servant of all!”

Shinji opened his arms and gave her a warm, heartfelt hug.

He even rubbed his cheek against hers a little.

“…Master?”

Arturia raised a brow, slightly baffled.

Shinji quickly let go of Arturia and moved on to hug the rest of the crew one by one.

Everyone was smiling, congratulating him with open arms.

It was a shared, indescribable joy—being able to complete a full-length film from beginning to end brought a sense of accomplishment that words simply couldn’t capture.

After the excitement died down a little, the crew began to clean up the set.

Props were packed away, people said their goodbyes, and slowly, one by one, the staff trickled out.

The once-bustling studio was growing quieter with every passing minute.

There should’ve been a simple wrap-up ceremony after filming ended, but with most of the main student actors absent from the set, Shinji decided to hold off on any parties.

Still, he promised the crew that there would be a grand celebration once the movie premiered.

After seeing off the last few production staff, Shinji made his way to the temporary storage area.

He carefully inspected the filming equipment to make sure none of it had been damaged, but what really held his attention were the raw video materials.

And when he started going through the footage—

He nearly fell over in shock.

Across several months of filming… he had recorded nearly 50 hours of material.

Yes, a huge portion of it was filled with NGs and failed takes, but that didn’t mean it was useless.

Deleted scenes, blooper reels, behind-the-scenes clips—those bonus features for the DVD release would definitely come in handy someday.

“Onii-sama, what are you doing?”

After a long, tiring day at school, Sakura had rushed over the moment the bell rang.

Following the directions of a few remaining staff, she found Shinji in the warehouse.

“Oh, Sakura. You came at just the right time—I’m stressing out over here.”

Shinji sighed as his little sister looked at him with curious eyes.

“I’ve got to cut fifty hours of footage down to around two, maybe two and a half. Just thinking about it gives me a headache.”

“I see…”

Sakura looked up at him, her voice soft and a bit disheartened.

“So that means… you’re still going to be really busy, huh?”

“Yeah. And it’s not just the editing. There’s sound mixing, background music, visual effects in post…”

Shinji shook his head and waved off the thought, as if physically swatting away the looming pressure.

“But forget that for now. You came to see me—was there something you wanted?”

“…Um…”

Sakura opened her mouth, then hesitated.

The words clung to her lips, refusing to come out.

In the end, she just gave him a radiant smile, the kind that only a little sister in love could offer.

“No, nothing. Just wanted to say… good luck, Onii-sama.”

She had wanted to ask him to spend some time with her.

To stay.

To take a break, even just for a day.

But she swallowed it all down and gave him her blessing instead.

“Of course. This is your brother’s very first movie, after all.”

Still oblivious to the internal conflict behind Sakura’s smile, Shinji grinned and gently poked her forehead with his finger.

“Ready to welcome the new era of cinema, Sakura Matou-san?”