Chat group, become my wings!

"Help me! Please, someone help me!"

Sakura Matou curled up, her small body trembling as she watched the insects crawl closer, their grotesque, writhing forms enough to make anyone's skin crawl.

One of the insects bared its mandibles and lunged at her delicate, pale skin.

Just as despair overtook her, two figures suddenly appeared before her eyes.

Squish!

Kevin Cross crushed one of the vile creatures underfoot. The soft crunch and the burst of fluids made his stomach turn.

Izumi Uchiha reacted faster and more calmly. Though the scene was disturbing, she'd seen worse on the battlefield. Being hunted by rogue ninja and bounty hunters had taught her to stay composed.

Still, the worms were revolting, even more so than those used by the Aburame Clan of Konoha.

Landing lightly, Izumi grabbed Sakura with one arm and, in a blur of motion, used the kunai in her other hand to slash at the worms attempting to burrow into the girl's skin.

"Kevin! Move!" she shouted.

Kevin leaped out of the way instinctively.

"Fire Style! Great Fire Annihilation!"

A torrent of flames engulfed the basement, filling the space with the stench of burning flesh and chitin, as if a grotesque barbecue had just been held.

"You damned intruders! Who are you?"

Zouken Matou, the decrepit sorcerer, snarled from the shadows. He hadn't expected anyone to interfere let alone two strangers powerful enough to destroy his ritual and incinerate his swarm in an instant. This kind of fire magic wasn't something any ordinary mage could conjure.

"Fire Style! Dragon Flame Jutsu!"

Kevin launched a dragon-shaped blaze toward the ghoul-like old man.

With a howl, Zouken was consumed. Insects tumbled from the inferno, shrieking as they burned to ash.

"Is it over?" Izumi appeared beside Kevin, still cradling Sakura in one arm.

"Probably not. That old bastard doesn't die so easily," Kevin replied with a shake of his head.

The whole sequence from their arrival to the twin fire techniques had taken less than a minute. Still, Kevin already had a good idea where they were.

A four- or five-year-old girl, a grotesque old man, and a swarm of hellish worms this could only be the Fate universe.

"You must be the 'Frail Little Girl' from the chat group, right?" Kevin asked, glancing at the girl in Izumi's arms.

Sakura blinked up at him, her fear easing slightly at the sight of his gentle expression. She nodded. She didn't fully understand what had happened, but that was indeed the name the chat group had given her.

"Good. At least we saved the right person," Izumi let out a breath of relief. The mission was to save the girl and the situation had clearly been dire. Any delay might have cost her life.

"You're Sakura Matou, correct?" Kevin asked.

"I... Yes. I am Sakura Matou," she replied, her voice small and hesitant. She had wanted to deny it at first, to insist she was still Sakura Tohsaka but the reality hit her. Her father had abandoned her. She no longer had that name.

"You know her, Kevin? Oh, right, you're the group admin you probably know everything about the members." Izumi grinned, then shook her head dramatically. "Still, I didn't think you'd go after girls this young. I might have to reevaluate you."

She was teasing, of course. Around Kevin, Izumi let down her guard and often joked like this. Even if she didn't fully admit it, his presence meant more to her than she realized.

Kevin rolled his eyes. "I'm not into little girls, okay? And I definitely don't have a 'training' kink. She was chosen by the chat group, not me."

"Yeah, sure. The group was made for you, so clearly it chooses based on your preferences." Izumi smirked. "First Kumoko, now this tiny girl... suspicious."

"Kumoko can turn human! And Sakura's going to grow up, obviously."

"So what you're saying is, you're playing a long-term game with her?" Izumi looked at him with mock horror.

"Can we not talk about this? Focus. The mission. Have we completed it?" Kevin said, quickly changing the subject.

Izumi opened the chat group interface and frowned. "Nope. Mission's still active. Probably because that old creep isn't actually dead like you said."

"That's part of it. But the other issue is what happens to Sakura afterward," Kevin said. "This world's mages are messed up. Sakura has rare potential. Without protection, she'll be in danger again."

Izumi nodded. "Makes sense. So based on your knowledge of this world, what do we do with her now?"

Sakura's expression turned fearful once more.

She had just been rescued from the horrors of the Matou basement, and now they were talking about where to send her again. She didn't want to be cast off a second time.