A/N: *EDIT* Fixed a story mistake regarding Shirou. Yeah, he's dead. Also, cease with the flames.
*DOUBLE EDIT*I GOOOOOOOOT HER!
Yup, Ereshkigal has been acquired on my old Ipad account. Lucky me! Wasn't expecting to get her; in reality I just wanted some craft essences for the event.
On another note, I'm sorry that some of these updates are so short. I've got other authors collaborating with me and my team on some projects to help pump out longer chapters, but on others we can only work one at a time.
And since I'm still recovering from surgery, and about to have another, well...I'm sure you can see where I'm going with this.
Two or three chapters left now, counting the epilogue. Thanks for joining me on this journey.
Get ready for the feels.
"WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?!
"Because you weren't just a pupil to me, kid. You were the son I never had. You were the only one capable of stopping me. Why do all this, you ask? Why push you this far? Why back you into a corner? C'mon, now. You already know the answer. Do I really have to spell it out for you? There's only one way out for you now; one way to fix this and get your happy ending. You know what it is. Come. Kill me. Lets end this. If you don't, I'll kill you. Then I'll kill your master. Then I'll kill the woman you love...ah. There it is. That's the look."
~Naruto and Jiraiya.
We All Fall Down (Prelude)
Jiraiya sat on the hill and waited for his death to come.
A bitter breeze swept through the night, chilling Assassin to the bone. It felt like the beginning of something glorious. His end, hopefully. He gave a rueful chuckle into the twilight as he folded both arms before his broad chest, and continued to maintain his lonely vigil, awaiting the promised time. Not long now. He felt it in his gut; just as he felt the energy mounting in the air; just as he saw a pillar of golden light burning in the distance like a hideous beacon. As he looked on its color began to change, twined with violet, then red, then blue. His mouth twisted into a rueful grin at the sight.
My, my, my. Someone was angry. Good. That was what he wanted. What he'd been working toward all this time.
"That's right, kid." he spread his hands wide, watching the sky turn black. "Come on." His arms spread wider still, as though to embrace the bloody moon itself. "Come and kill me."
Zouken had already kicked a hornet's nest by taking Shirou and Rin hostage; in doing so he'd thought to turn the war in his favor. Instead, he had unknowingly sealed his fate. There could only be one response to such an action; a single course to take.
Violence.
Of course that would be their response. He was banking on it, after all.
Naruto would surely try to rescue his adorable little Master if nothing else. He was predictable like that. He'd expect nothing less of his prize pupil. And when he came, he would bring every single one of his allies with him. A single sharp hammer stroke would come crashing down on Zouken's head, unraveling the worm's plans and granting him freedom. Just thinking about it put another smile on his face.
Sure, there was still the monstrous Matou girl to deal with, but that wasn't his concern anymore. They'd find a way to deal with her.
Besides, he had waited so very long for this moment. He would be denied no longer.
Beneath him his captive began to stir, but Jiraiya paid her no mind. She was bound and gagged, magic circuits silenced by clever seal-work. He'd be releasing her soon enough. She'd never been his true target to begin with. Really, if it weren't for that blasted Command Spell, he would've let her go ages ago. Right now? She was about as dangerous as a newborn kitten.
He wasn't above getting a rise out of her in the meantime, though.
"Just stay put for a little while longer." Assassin nudged Rin's ribs with one heel. "You'll be out of this mess soon enough."
Tohsaka turned her head aside and spat out her gag. As he looked on she gathered her knees up and despite her hands and legs being bound, somehow forced herself up into an awkward sitting position. All the while, those angry aqua orbs regarded him. Even here, in her weakest moment she showed none of the fear she must have felt. Such spirit. Such fire. No wonder the kid was sweet on her. No doubt she was plotting ways to make him pay even now. Given enough time to plot, she might have found a way, too.
"You're angry." Jiraiya regarded her with a wary eye. "I get that. But I'm gonna have to ask you to hold off for now. Swearing and spitting at me isn't going to help anyone."
For a moment he thought the Tohsaka heir might do so anyway, if only to spite him. Rather than retort, Rin reared back, curled her lip and sneered at him. No doubt she thought it made her look quite impressive, haughty even. Instead, it had the opposite effect. Like a girl playing dress up with their parent's clothes, so too did she fail to intimidate him. Ah, the arrogance of a mage. So smug. So superior. He'd been like that once back in his youth; before reality kicked the snot out of him. Rin would learn that terrible truth someday. But not this day.
"He'll kill you, you know." she glowered at him, her glare promising pain.
Miles away, a primal roar split the air.
"JIRAIYA!"
Assassin's grin grew as the world shook. "My dear, I'm counting on it."
...what?"
Her at last, Rin's fury faltered. She didn't believe him. Of course not. No believed him when he told the truth. They never did.
From the moment he'd been summoned into this war, Jiraiya had loathed Matou Zouken. One look was all it took to know him for what he was. That wretched old worm was vile; no, beyond vile. From forcing him into the Assassin class, binding him to a contract against his will, making him do all manner of unsightly deeds, there was no end to the depravity. For a time it had seemed that there was no end in sight. He despaired at the idea of giving the Grail to this monster of a man, but was resigned to his fate all the same, watching as Sakura's humanity slowly slipped away piece by painful piece.
Until he'd found him.
By some manner of miracle his favorite student had been summoned into this war as a Caster. It wasn't the same one he'd known in his lifetime, but it was him all the same. He had the same face. The same smile. Same laugh, even. Surely he would release him. Surely he would be the one to set him free. Surely.
He just needed a little...push.
In his heart of hearts, Naruto was a good kid; no matter what class he found himself summoned into, his mortal compass rarely faltered. He was a gentle sort. He didn't like to hurt. He didn't take pleasure in pain; didn't revel in chaos or destruction as many Servants did. Caster wouldn't make any overt moves unless forced to; even if he was, he would work to limit the damage he caused.
It was all part of the plan.
He'd pushed Berserker to join Naruto first. That had been a simple manner of making the two clash. From there, he'd goaded Saber into challenging him, knowing what would transpire. Lo and behold, Naruto fund a way to circumvent the system and summon himself a Lancer, despite that class already existing. From there Ride had defected when it became apparent her Master was becoming a monster. And to whom had she gone? To whom had she opened her heart and begged for aid? Naruto! That too, was part of the plan.
Caster. Berserker. A False Lancer. Saber. Rider.
Five servants, all arrayed against him and the abomination he'd been sworn to protect. All fully empowered by one of the greatest creations the Einzbern family had ever made. If they couldn't kill him, he didn't know what could. The true Lancer was already dead, slain at his hands and fed to the shadow. Poor bastard never saw him coming. Archer had suffered a worse fate, corrupted and twisted into something unholy. The wandering king had yet to be seen, and Jiraiya couldn't help but wonder if he'd been consumed as well. Didn't matter, he supposed. His fate would be revealed sooner or later.
A distant explosion caused Jiraiya's ears to twitch. Just a hair. Ah. There he was. Took him long enough.
"I warned you." Rin heard it and preened proudly. "Say your prayers."
"Already said them." he sighed. "They've been answered."
She scowled at him. "Do you really want to die?"
Assassin didn't deign to answer her. Instead counted the seconds. A bright flare of energy burned in the distance. He blew out a breath then inhaled in the next instant. Had to be careful, here. If he let on that he intended to die here, Zouken would yank him back. The old worm still might, if he caught wind of the his plan.
One.
Two.
Three-
WHUMP.
Rin sucked in a sharp, shocked breath. That was Assassin's one and only warning. There was no transition between one moment and the next; a silver of a second earlier he'd been staring into Tohsaka's baffled aqua orbs. The next, she was gone. A golden flash shot past him -shadow clone!- ferrying the two to safety and denying him the chance to capture her again. Clever kid. With her out of harms way, he'd not be able to do anything about it-
A hand locked around his shoulder. He clenched his teeth. Wise choice.
Clenched knuckles howled into the right side of his face, denting his cheek and sending a bloody tooth whistling into the air. Jiraiya staggered half a step, spun, and lashed out with a knife. Someone batted it aside and two fingers flew from that hand. Assassin swore softly -in triumph!- as pain seared down the length of his arm. Good, good! The kid was utterly furious with him. That meant he was less likely to hold back. And if he didn't hold back...
He whirled to find a Rasengan bearing down on his face.
"Oh." Assassin managed.
At the last instant, he managed to throw himself backward. It wasn't enough. His apprentice adjusted accordingly. Rather than strike him dead in the nose, that spiraling sphere slammed into his chest with a keening yowl instead. Jiraya's world went red as the earth ruptured. Chunks of ruined earth flew in every direction and for a moment, just a moment, he dared to hope he'd met his end.
It wasn't enough.
A touch of his hand caused the sphere to unravel, leaving him to pushed himself upright out of the crater with only superficial wounds. Another attack blurred in his peripherals as he crested the lip of the crater; this time when the staff came for him Jiraiya palmed a knife to his hand and caught it. He braved it with both hands, forcing his student to lock weapons with him. Once more, master and student came face to face. Not for the first time, Jiraiya cursed the Holy Grail. He wanted nothing more than to share a drink with his old student, chat with him about the past, maybe even embarrass him a little in front of his friends.
Instead, they were forced to kill one another. Damn this war.
Sheathed in golden light, Naruto glowered at him, uncaring of his wounds. "Why are you doing this?"
Really, he might have overdone it a bit there, injuring him like that earlier. If he was here, then that meant the others had gone to deal with Zouken. A bit disappointing, but beggars couldn't be choosers he supposed. That blasted Command Spell was going to be a pain. Even now he could feel it influencing his actions, forcing his hand. Like it or not his body would probably pull out all the stops here, maybe even call on Ma and Pa if he was pressed hard enough. Naruto hadn't seen him use that trick before. He might not be ready for it. Too bad. He didn't have a choice.
No one did.
"Because you weren't just a pupil to me, kid." there it was, the unvarnished truth laid out at his feet as they struggled against one another. "You were the son I never had. You were the only one capable of stopping me."
"That still doesn't tell me why!"
Naruto grit his teeth and pushed harder, forcing him down. A bead of sweat ran down Assassin's brow.
"Why do all this, you ask? Why push you this far? Why back you into a corner? C'mon, now." he shook his head and rolled his shoulders, settling into a loose stance. "I'm sure you already know the answer by now. Do I really have to spell it out for you? There's only one way out for you; one way to fix this and get your happy ending. You know what it is. Come. Kill me. Lets end this."
Still, his pupil hesitated.
"If you don't, I'll kill you." Jiraiya twisted the proverbial knife yet further. "Then I'll kill your friends. Then I'll kill the woman you love...how does that sound?"
A kick cannoned into his chest, fracturing a rib and sending him skidding back. Jiraiya bent double and clutched at them. A thin line of red ran down the corner of his mouth and dripped to the floor. He hadn't hit this hard the last time they'd met. Blast it all. He was so damn proud. Baleful red eyes met his as the younger man raised his gaze to meet him.
"It sounds like you're not the man I remember."
Jiraiya granted him a fatherly smile. "And you're just as you should be."
Naruto flinched as if he'd been struck. That was a low blow. Quite possibly the lowest.
"You...!"
Sure enough, the words broke him. Caster surged forward with a roar. Asassin met him halfway.
Master and student collided in a whirl of light, bodies twisting, weapons flashing viciously. Their world ruptured.
A/N: Aaaaand there we go. To quote a familiar movie: "We're in the Endgame now."
Deaths are coming and yeah, some of them are gonna surprise you.
As a few guessed way back when, Jiraiya wants to die. He doesn't want to fight Naruto; he wants to be wiped off the map. His solution? Array every Servant against him until no Command Spell can save him. Lets see if his plan works.
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