CHAPTER 20:

SETTLING ACCOUNTS

They found Tokiomi perched on the rooftop of one of the buildings, waiting patiently for them. He had been dropped off there by Gilgamesh, who had then flown off elsewhere. Harry had to admit, Tokiomi was a snazzy dresser, with the red jacket and trousers, white shirt and black string tie, wielding a cane with a gem on it. His handsome features had a neat goatee, and he seemed the epitome of urbane pleasantness.

Harry, however, reminded himself that Sakura was discarded to the Matous by this man. He and Kariya used Apparition to reach the roof, much to Tokiomi's bemusement. "Kariya…you look unwell," Tokiomi said with considerable understatement. His eyes flickered over to Harry. "And you must be Harry Potter, the Magus Killer's…assistant?"

"Ally, of sorts," Harry said. "And you must be Tokiomi Tohsaka. I'd say it's a pleasure…but I'd be lying."

"Likewise." His eyes flickered over to Kariya. "Is it true?"

"Is what true? About your daughter, your flesh and blood, being infested by Crest Worms?" Kariya said, his voice filled with barely-restrained fury. "Why do you think I came back? Why do you think I had this done to me?" He touched the wasted part of his face. "You didn't even try to do the research, Tokiomi. Didn't you ever wonder why I fled the Matous?"

"No. I didn't. I just thought you content to live amongst the rabble," Tokiomi said.

"Rabble? Do you mean non-Magi?" Harry asked, his own anger growing.

Tokiomi then said, "Does that offend you, a fellow Magus?"

"I'm no Magus, I'm a wizard. And you're damn right it offends me. You're just like the Pureblood twats back home, thinking yourself superior because you can do some tricks other people can't. And you gave your daughter to a creepy old fuck who screams 'villain' to get raped by evil magic worms all because you didn't do the research," Harry snapped. "If you had known about the Crest Worms, would you have sent her there anyway?"

"There are lines I wouldn't cross. That is one of them. You must understand, if more than one heir is born, there will be disputes over the inheritance of the Magic Crest of the family. I was honoured enough to have one child with major magecraft potential, but to have another…I did not do this lightly, and had I known about Zouken Matou's proclivities, I would have considered other possibilities. Where is Sakura?"

"You lost the right to know when you tossed her to the Matous like garbage," Kariya snarled. Harry winced. As much as he was angry at Tokiomi for his actions, Tokiomi was being polite at least.

"And you have more of a right than I, Kariya?" Tokiomi asked mildly, but with a subtle undercurrent of annoyance, even anger. "The man who turned his back on magecraft?"

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Harry said. "Normal people seem capable of living life pretty damn well without magic. Or have Magi made it to the Moon? Kariya is dying, he was willing to sacrifice his life to help Sakura. It's more than you ever did."

Tokiomi's eyes hardened. "Perhaps. But I am her father, and I know what's best for her. You will surrender her location at once, or I will force it out of you."

"Ooh, ultimatums, I love those," Harry snarked, his good will for Tokiomi now gone. "Here's mine. Fuck off back to your mansion, or I will take you to the fucking cleaners."

"You have a vulgar, uncouth tongue," Tokiomi sighed, brandishing his cane, the gem beginning to glow. "It's a wonder you have magic."

"You're a snobbish douchebag. You don't deserve magic," Kariya retorted.

Laughter rolled across the roof, and the trio turned to see its source: Gilgamesh, perched on the roof of the stairs, in his golden armour, and with…

Harry blinked. "Is that a bag of popcorn?" he asked, almost stupidly.

"How dare you! I would not deign to consume such a lowly food fit only for peons!" Gilgamesh snapped, even as he fished out a few kernels and tossed them into his mouth. "These are the vittles of a king, fit for consumption while viewing revelries. Continue forthwith. With that ugly creature of Caster's gone, I find myself in sore need of amusement."

Tokiomi gaped up at his Servant. "Archer, my king, you are not going to assist me?"

"You are fighting a pair of humans, not Servants. I should not need to intervene yet. Should I need to do so without adequate entertainment…I will be put out."

"Just one question before we fight," Harry said, holding up a finger. "Are you Gilgamesh of Uruk?"

Gilgamesh raised an eyebrow. "So, the Master of Death has seen fit to recognise my majesty? Amuse me, Harry Potter. And let us see if the Boy Who Lived can be more than a title."

"Bite me," Harry muttered.

"I don't intend to. I may contract a disease," Gilgamesh snarked. He then waved a hand. "Let the battle commence."

"Morturi te salutant," Harry snarked back. He looked at Kariya. "Stand back. If your Crest Worms get overexcited…"

"I want a piece of him too!" Kariya snapped.

"I know, but I want Sakura to spend as much time as you have left with you by her side…" His eyes flickered over to Tokiomi. "And you'll never see her again."

"Bold words, but there is nothing stopping me from forcing her location from you." With an incantation in German, Tokiomi sent a wave of fire at them. Harry sent up a shield spell, and the flames washed over it. He had to admit, he was impressed. It was certainly far stronger than an Incendio spell. But as the blast of flame ended, Harry grinned.

"Okay, well, didn't think we were going to get in a fiery dick-measuring contest, but at the risk of sounding clichéd, crass and boastful…" Harry got out his wand. "Mine's bigger. FIENDFYRE!"

Tokiomi flung up a barrier, but the moment the Fiendfyre began to eat through, he dived to the side, and Harry, after letting the Fiendfyre roar overhead, let it dissipate. Tokiomi gaped in horror. "By the Root, what was that?"

"One of the most powerful, and uncontrollable, spells back where I come from. Now, what was that about forcing me to divulge Sakura's location?"

Tokiomi, as he got to his feet, looked pensive, before he snapped off a blast of fire at Kariya. It was a fast, intense burst of flame, and Harry couldn't raise a shield in time in front of his ally. The best he could do was Apparate, interposing himself between the flame and Kariya. He screamed in pain as the flames consumed him, hearing the screams of Kariya and Diarmuid, one physical, the other mental, before everything went dark…

Tokiomi had to admit, he had been impressed, and even frightened, by Harry Potter's abilities. That Fiendfyre spell had certainly been powerful enough that, had it hit him, Tokiomi was sure even ashes wouldn't remain. But the fool had interposed himself between Tokiomi and Kariya. Tokiomi was intending to drive Kariya away, or kill him, and even up the odds, but this way was actually better. Kariya was still a poor excuse for a Magus, hastily trained, and after Tokiomi wore him out, he could then interrogate the Matou for Sakura's whereabouts.

Tokiomi regretted having to do this. Now that he knew the truth, he couldn't deny the fact that Kariya had shown great fortitude in trying to help Sakura. To endure what he had done for the sake of helping Sakura was quite admirable. But he was also far from oblivious. He knew Kariya had an infatuation with Aoi, and that was part of the reason Kariya had wanted to save Sakura, hoping it might give him an 'in' with Aoi, as the rabble put it. But as Sakura was no longer a Matou, her guardianship fell once more to her father, regardless of anyone else's thoughts on the matter.

"You bastard," Kariya snarled, before summoning up a cluster of worms, which changed into winged insects, grotesque and nasty-looking.

"There is no need for this, Kariya. Just tell me where Sakura is, and I will be on my way."

"Like Harry said, you forfeited that right when you discarded her to those scumbags I have to call a family!" Kariya growled, before sending the insects at him. Tokiomi blocked their attacks with a barrier, sighing inwardly. Though he had to wonder why Harry's Servant wasn't attacking. Had Lancer simply dissipated?

"How much longer can you last, Kariya? You look practically on death's door, thanks to those Crest Worms," Tokiomi said. "You benefit nobody by this defiance, least of all Sakura."

"If I die without telling you, she gets to stay away from your clutches forever. It may be a pyrrhic victory, but I'll take it! Of course, I'd rather kill you first! And look at your Servant, he isn't even doing anything to help you! I wonder, who is the Master in the relationship?"

Gilgamesh then had the temerity to chuckle. Tokiomi decided he would take his annoyance out on Kariya. "I do not need my Servant to dispose of garbage."

Kariya gritted his teeth as he sent more insects. "All my life, you Magi looked down on me for turning my back on that path. Even now, knowing why I did it, you see me as trash. You look down on non-Magi as rabble. But you are a poor excuse for a father and a husband. You're an even worse excuse for a human being. I don't know whether Aoi would be happier with me, but frankly, she doesn't deserve to have her daughter played around with like a goddamned shogi piece! Did you tell her about the Crest Worms?"

"How could I? How could I look my wife in the eye and say such a thing? How could I tell Rin?"

"Coward," Kariya spat. "If you truly loved Aoi, you would have told her when you learned, and begged for her forgiveness!"

A surge of anger welled up within Tokiomi, and he sent a blast of fire at Kariya once more. Kariya dived awkwardly out of the way, but in doing so, he smacked his head on a nearby railing as he underestimated his leap. Tokiomi approached him, cane in hand. "I will ask you one last time, Kariya. It is admirable for you to keep your Servant astralized…but then again, considering your condition, you have little choice. The Crest Worms would eat you alive, from what little I know of them. But you are an enemy Master, and I will kill you. I will ask you, for Aoi and Rin's sake if not my own, where is Sakura?"

"You do not get to use their names, not where Sakura is involved," Kariya said. "She is safe…away from you."

Tokiomi sighed inwardly. Why was he so damned unreasonable? But as he prepared to end Kariya's miserable existence (by now, it was a mercy killing), Tokiomi heard a pained hiss. "Fiendfyre."

Suddenly, pain erupted in his right arm, and he screamed in pain as a jet of diabolical flame consumed it. He dodged to the side, wheeling on his foe…to find Potter, on his feet, but only barely. His clothes were mostly charred rags, his skin and flesh molten and hanging off the bones…but even as he watched, he saw the flesh sliding back together, the milky-white eyes turning back into green emerald orbs, filled with fury. Hair grew back from his cooked scalp. A pained grin came over his features. "Hey, Gilgamesh, you want to give your former Master the bad news?"

Gilgamesh cackled, before he dropped off the stairwell's roof. "No, I just want to see him realise it for himself."

"Former Master?" Tokiomi muttered in horror, before he tried to lift his right arm to look at it. Only to find a blackened and charred stump from the elbow down. His cane, the one with the gem at the top, was also gone, with only a few inches from the bottom of the cane, and small fragments he recognised from the gem. "What have you done?" he whispered in horror.

"Taken you out of the Grail War," Harry snarled. "It's only the fact that you have a wife and child that prevents me from doing more than taking your arm, and the Command Seals with them." He then fished around in his pockets, before finding a coin. He pointed his wand at it, murmured an incantation, before he said, "For you, the Grail War is over. So is any right you have to Sakura. Bye." With that, he threw the coin at Tokiomi's chest. The moment it hit him, he felt a strange tugging sensation, like a hook had dug itself into his navel…

Kariya stared as Tokiomi vanished. "Where the hell did he go?" he demanded.

"I sent him to the church where the Overseer is. I know Kiritsugu's going to chew me out for leaving him alive, but Tokiomi's a dick, not a psychopath like Ryuunosuke. If he wants him dead so badly, he can do it himself, like with Lord El-Melloi," Harry said.

"He's still around," Kariya said, indicating Gilgamesh. "Archers have Independent Action, after all."

"I'll thank you not to speak of me as if I wasn't present, mongrel," Gilgamesh said coldly. "Lest I decide to expedite your impending demise."

This guy wasn't smacked enough as a kid, Harry thought snidely. Out loud, he asked, "Are you?"

Gilgamesh, after a moment, shook his head. "In a way, you have done me a boon. Aside from entertaining me mildly with your banter and fight, you have removed me from Tokiomi's service. Such a boring little man, obsessed with the Grail and Akasha. I already have my eyes set on a new Master who is considerably more interesting. I think I will take my leave now."

Before he could leave, Harry said, "Gilgamesh." As the gold-clad Archer looked at him sharply, Harry said, "I don't know whether you'll believe me, but we believe something is wrong with the Grail. Something potentially very dangerous. After all, you couldn't call Caster as he was summoned a hero by any means. There may be a contamination of the Grail."

"And? You expect me not to fight for it? A treasure you base mongrels squabble over when it rightfully belongs to me? I am not afraid of any taint, even if your counsel rings true." Gilgamesh then gave a vicious smirk. "And in any case, it is not just the Grail I intend to claim in this Grail War. You witnessed the beauty of Excalibur destroying that foul abomination…and that of its wielder."

Diarmuid de-astralized, glaring at Gilgamesh. "You look upon the King of Knights with such lecherous eyes?" he demanded.

"It is my birthright, spearman," Gilgamesh sneered. "I didn't see you defending the Matou from Tokiomi when your Master was roasted."

"My fault," Harry said. "My regeneration drains my magic, so Diarmuid couldn't re-astralize, as I was trying to regenerate as quickly as possible. But I'll put it to you bluntly, Gilgamesh of Uruk. Arturia is nobody's but her own. If she chooses to be with you, then that's fine. But you thinking you could take her like some bloody harem slave girl from your palace is another matter."

"All treasures in the world are mine, Harry Potter, including Arturia," Gilgamesh smirked. "Nobody can keep me from them, not even the Master of Death…" His chuckles wafted around the night sky as he dissolved into a flurry of golden particles.

Harry, Kariya and Diarmuid stood there for a time, before Harry and Diarmuid draped the flagging Matou's arms over their shoulders. They needed to get him some help before he suffered a premature demise. And while they had won the battle, Harry knew they hadn't won the war. And Gilgamesh's proclamations disturbed him. Not just his lecherous intentions towards Arturia…but his comments about already finding a new Master. Harry had an awful feeling that he knew who that Master was…

CHAPTER 20 ANNOTATIONS:

So…there you have it. Harry has managed to kick Tokiomi's arrogant arse…but at what cost? After all, Gilgamesh is now free to make a pact with Kirei.

Characterizing Tokiomi was a little tricky. I wanted to give enough of a blend of his Magus arrogance with his concern for his family. I also wanted to justify the fight between him, Kariya and Harry. I hope this worked out well.

I wrote in that explanation about Harry's regeneration draining his magic enough to prevent Diarmuid from materialising to cover why Diarmuid didn't help Kariya. True, Harry could have delayed his regeneration to allow Diarmuid to help, but Gilgamesh could have stepped in if Diarmuid attacked Tokiomi. Normally, Harry's regeneration doesn't affect Diarmuid, as you saw back during Caster's attack on the Einzbern Castle, but, well, I needed to plug a plot hole.

Anyway, next chapter might not be out for a while. Still, I hope you enjoyed this one.

Review-answering time! Thunder Dragon: I'm still wondering whether the next Servant battle will be Arturia versus Diarmuid, or Arturia versus Lancelot, but I'm leaning more towards the latter. I want Kariya and Diarmuid to live a little longer.

No numbered annotations for this chapter.