The trouble with Zouken is that he has long forgotten the path he was set on. Maybe if he still remembered it, he wouldn't have become so evil. Well, that won't matter before long. Disclaimer: I don't own Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, the Fate series, Lupin III, Ni No Kuni, or My Hero Academia.
Chapter 20: End of Darkness
Zenigata watched as Byakuya Matou was dragged out into a squad car. The police had raided the manor, and what they found was disgusting beyond words. Despite Byakuya's belief to the contrary, there was no sign of Sakura in the manor. Clearly, he had not even suspected Lupin would infiltrate his home. Interestingly, neither was Zouken, the family patriarch. "Talk about a crazy week," Akimi noted, "First that string of murders, now this. We have enough to pin Byakuya for child pornography, that's for sure. Now idea what happened to Zouken, though."
"I doubt we'll find him," Zenigata noted, "He'll make a beeline for wherever Lupin took Sakura, but he won't be coming back with her. Speaking of which, Lupin will probably take the girl someplace she can have her body fixed up. Not a doctor, they couldn't help. But maybe a priest with skill in removing invasive parasites of magical quality." "Like Father Risei," Akimi noted, "Of course, as a Servant in the War, Lupin would have amnesty while within the church." Zenigata nodded. "What about the rest of the family?"
"Wife's dead," Akimi reported, "What's left of her was found in the basement. My guess is she was used to farm more of those Crest worms when she couldn't produce a notable heir. Seems Byakuya had very weak magic circuits, while his son, who is studying overseas, has none to speak of. We have an address for Kariya, but he's the representative of the Matou family in the War, so he's not likely to be staying there." Zenigata nodded. To continue staying where anyone could find you was stupid. "My only question is why Lupin would even kidnap a kid. He had to have done so for a reason…"
Risei was growing tired, and he could feel his age weighing on him. Lately with the bizarre way the War was turning, He normally watched the news at this hour to make sure things stayed secret, but this night he was just too tired. However, before he could head for bed, he heard a knock on the back door. He wondered if it might not be Kayneth, since his Servant had just been killed. Then again, Kayneth wouldn't bother using the back door if he could help it. Risei walked to the door and opened it, only to find Lupin and Kirei there, Sakura being cradled in Kirei's arms.
"Sorry to bother you at this time of night," Lupin said, "But we have a serious emergency on our hands. Rather literally." "You came through the back door?," Risei asked. Lupin shrugged. "Well, none of the other Masters would think a magus would demean themselves by taking the back, so there are no familiars there." Risei nodded. "So who is this child?" "It's Sakura Matou," Kirei explained, "Kariya asked us to rescue her, in exchange for an alliance." Risei narrowed his eyes. "I see…" "For what's it worth," Kirei said, "Zouken admitted he never told Tokiomi the whole truth."
"Well, either way I can understand why you brought her here," Risei said, "Come inside, and quick." Sakura looked to be in serious pain. "What's wrong with her?" "We're not sure," Kirei admitted, "She started acting like this on the way here." "Our best guess is that Zouken is trying to track her," Lupin noted, "And that's causing the Crest inside her to act up." Risei sighed and nodded. "I understand. Bring her this way." "One more thing," Kirei said, "I don't want word of this reaching Tokiomi." There was a pleading in Kirei's eyes that Risei had never seen before, and he nodded in agreement.
As Risei got to work, Kirei and Lupin heard someone knock on the backdoor again. They looked at each other, wondering who else would think to take the back. Kirei opened the door and got a surprise. "Kiritsugu. Why are you here?" Sure enough, it was Kiritsugu and Jonathan. "We caught wind of your scheme with Kariya," Kiritsugu explained, "Figured you could use a helping hand when Zouken comes calling." Jonathan demonstrated by letting Hamon fill his fist. Kirei nodded. Hamon was especially useful against that which had no life, yet still lived. The undead, as it were.
Risei entered the room, clearing his throat. "Kirei, I would like to speak with you." He lead Kirei to where Sakura was sleeping, a trail of fluids leading from her body to a mass of rotted worms on the floor. "These were embedded all over her body," Risei explained, "I had to use several Command Seals just to remove them, since they were attached to her magic circuits. To think the Matou magecraft advanced in this manner…" Kirei simply had flashes of his daughter being in the same position. Even with his mindset, he still had a fondness for children, and not like the stereotype of Catholic priests.
"Well, I can understand why you wouldn't want Tokiomi knowing about this," Risei noted, "But why bring her here?" "If she is found by Tokiomi this whole thing starts over," Kirei explained, "And I can't keep her with me and Lupin, it's too risky. This was the safest place I could think of until the War is over." Kiritsugu popped in. "We have a problem. My cameras spotted Zouken arriving outside." Risei looked to Kirei. "Once he enters this church, there's nothing I can do to keep him from reclaiming Sakura." Kirei nodded, knowing his father meant, "So long as he doesn't set foot in this church, Zouken has no claim to Sakura."
Zouken knew he needed a plan once he had what was his once again. He couldn't return home, the place was swarming with police and was likely to be so for the foreseeable future. Of course, he wasn't without his allies. He could simply ask one of them for shelter. The real problem was that he would have to start from scratch. All of his research had likely been confiscated by now, either by the police or the Association. "I'll have to admit, it. I underestimated Assassin. I did not expect him to employ law enforcement. I'll have to make Kariya suffer extra long for this insult."
"No need to be a sore loser," came Lupin's voice. Zouken gasped when he saw him and Jonathan standing in front of the church. "Assassin and Saber," Zouken noted, "Why are you both here?" "My heist isn't over yet," Lupin explained, "I can't call it a victory if the person I just stole from can just reclaim what it is I've stolen on a whim." He turned serious. "Tell me though, why risk this. Sure, by right of law Sakura is still in your custody. But invading the Church just to retrieve her? Not only could is light the fuse on the cold war between the Association and the Church, but it's pointless in the end."
"The police and Stand users employed by them know about you," Jonathan explained, "And they aren't under any obligation to obey the geis you set up with Tokiomi Tohsaka. Not to mention, the adoption is strictly under your name, and no one else's. And even discounting them, Risei won't be covering for you after what he's seen. At best he'll erase the memories of the police of anything magic-related, making you out to be a child molester. Your family's in tatters, and you are soon to fall with them. At the end of the day, you're just torturing and innocent girl and beating on a sick man. What possible reason could you have for all these actions? Do you even remember?"
Zouken scoffed. "I don't need to hear this from a tool of a Servant. There's nothing you can do to stop me." Jonathan smirked. "Let's test that theory, shall we?" He charged his Hamon and struck Zouken. To his shock, instead of sheering off a few more worms, the Hamon seemed to flood his entire being, right down to his anchored soul. As Jonathan went to town on the shriveled old man, Lupin noted Kirei was nearby, uttering a prayer of exorcism to deal with whatever was left. As more and more Hamon flooded into his body, Zouken realized he was starting to die. Truly die.
Not even a flash of memory of what his goal even really was, and only the briefest glimpse into why he was set on his path. And he began to wonder if he strayed too far from it. Finally, Jonathan lit up his arms with flames. "Scarlet Overdrive!" At the same time, Kirei finished his prayer. "Kyrie eleison!" The worms that made up Zouken's body burned away, as his dried up soul screeched one last time, before fading from this plane of existence forever. Kirei opened his eyes. "Amen…" He breathed a sigh of relief. "Well… That was cathartic."
"That was certainly a sight to see," Lupin noted, "And a good end to this heist. Hey, thanks for the backup, Jojo." "My pleasure," Jonathan replied, "As a gentleman, I could stand idle as an innocent child was so tormented." As the three of them reentered the church, Jonathan took out a leaf and charged it with Hamon, before using it to strike an owl with piercing red eyes. "I think you've been spying for long enough," he said aloud, knowing the Court of Owls would hear him and freak out that he had spotted their surveillance.
Later, Kiritsugu and Jonathan were driving back to the manor. "Know Kariya might have a chance to use the Grail for himself," Kiritsugu noted, "Perhaps repairing the damage to his body." "Without the Crest worms, he might be able to check into a hospital," Jonathan noted, "Though likely a private doctor. And two Servants are now removed. How's Iris doing?" Though she didn't hold the Grail itself, Iris was connected to it mentally, so she could get a sense of how close it was to competition." "She's holding up," Kiritsugu said, "But the War has only just begun. Soon enough we'll need to finish it."
I think you can imagine the Count getting annoyed that one of his living spy cameras was taken out. Yeah, Jonathan could easily find them due to the life force within them, twisted as it is. And Zouken's dead, hallelujah! One of my readers suggested that if not for the worms inside Sakura and Kariya, Kiritsugu's Origin Bullets might have been effective. Possibly, not that they were needed. I might not even bring them in. I mean, they are made from Kiritsugu's powdered ribs, after all.
Also, no arguing about how a certain something is and isn't supposed to work. I've had someone arguing about the concept behind the Gate of Babylon. I'm not here to get into specifics of how something works, I'm here to tell a story. And no matter how we perceive the Gate, how do we know Gilgamesh perceives it the same way? Anyway… Read and review.