ATTENTION: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING OF FATE SERIES OR JOJO'S BIZARRE ADVENTURE. ALL CREDIT BELONGS TO THE CREATORS AND THEIR CORRESPONDING PARTNERS!

-{Presage Flower}-

-{VIII}-

"Saber, you're a Joestar…?" Shirou felt his heart nearly jump out of his chest. What did this mean? Was she related to Josuke and the others? Was she perhaps the other half of Jonathan? There was so many questions flooding through the orange hair's mind.

"Yes and no," Saber answered, before redressing herself and buttoning up her shirt. "I bare the Joestar mark. My blood is of Jonathan, but I am not related to any of the Joestars."

Josuke smirked a bit, "So you're technically my great great grandma!"

"T-That's preposterous!" The blonde haired servant felt her cheeks turn red. "When Jonathan made the wish to the Grail, it was too great a wish. His wish for protection of the people, from the Grail, forced it to change its ways against its own will. It abided, but at a heavy cost. By marking me with this blood, The Holy Grail is able to summon me as long as there was a Joestar alive. Yet I was never permitted to be summoned by a Joestar again."

"She means even though she has Jonathan Joestar's blood, because it was given to her and not born into her, she isn't related to us in the slightest. It's a temporary contract held by The Holy Grail. Did I get the jist of it, Saber?" Jotaro stepped in to avoid any more false claims or bogus theories to arise from his uncle, Josuke.

She nodded, "Yes, thank you Jotaro."

"Excuse me Jotaro-san, Saber, there's something I wanted to ask you two about. Something I know you can both give me the truth on. Tohsaka mentioned Kiritsugu being a part of the group that fought DIO. I wanted to ask- about dad…" Shirou trailed off at the end. He attempted a light smile. "I remember Jotaro-san mentioned something about him over the phone last week. So, yeah…"

"Yare yare daze. I guess now is just as good a time as any." Jotaro sighed and took off his hat. He held it to his chest, stepped forward up and stood next to Saber.

Rin herself was in a trance. 'Is this real? Is this happening? Are all the secrets of our past seriously being revealed before my eyes?! What to do with all this information! All the advantage this gives me over everyone. The secret behind weaponizing Joestar blood, Saber's weakness and history, all this is being revealed to me by J-Jotaro-sama!' On the outside, Rin just sighed and crossed her arms. "No one will interrupt you, Jotaro-sama."

Josuke remained silent now. His face was null hearing that word. 'Dad…?' Hearing about Kiritsugu made his body tense up. He was the closest thing to a genuine father figure that Josuke had. Josuke never found it himself to address him as dad, like Shirou did. It was always 'Kiritsugu' in respects.

"Josuke…?" Shirou asked, noticing his best friend turning away from the group. "Don't you want to hear about dad?"

Dad…?

…

…

…

"S-Sure, Shirou. I don't mind…" he sighed.

"Josuke. Are you ok? You don't seem so sure." Saber knew that something was wrong, remembering the episode Tomoko had the previous week. Regarding the topic of dads, Joseph Joestar was definitely a heart string that she wanted to avoid pulling.

Josuke nodded his head, "I'm fine, Saber. Jotaro-san. Please, continue."

With unsure expressions, Saber spoke first. "Your 'father' at the time, was an assassin. If that is a way to put it."

"He was known as the Mage-killer." Jotaro stepped in. He noticed the uneasy tension in Josuke when labelling Kiritsugu. If Josuke were to find anyone to dislike for this, Jotaro rather it be him than Saber. Besides, he expected to take a punch for the dad topic long ago. "According to what the Speedwagon Foundation has on him, he made a living in the assassination of mages. All mages are outlaws in the sense that they strayed from the path of virtue. That can be said about us stand users. But Kiritsugu, he was something else…"

Shirou remained still and silent, but every so often he glanced at Josuke. He noticed the boy not truly making eye contact with the speakers.

The pompadour teen stood tall in his presence. The only thing present was his glance towards the ground.

"As you know, because of my blood contract with The Holy Grail, I was beckoned to the era of the last ordeal." Saber reclaimed her point over Jotaro. If anything she knew more since she used to be his servant. "My master's name was Kiritsugu Emiya. I fought for the Einzbern family at the time. However, he was a merciless killer. He used any means necessary to eliminate his opponents. Kiritsugu even went as far as to kill masters begging for their lives. Among those masters, that priest was his greatest foe. But we took the challenge of The Holy Grail War until the very end. We were victorious. For ourselves and for glory. For Jonathan…" Saber turned to Jotaro as this was a part of the story he was left out. "Jotaro, I believe this is after we had defeated DIO. The grail appeared, but Kirtisugu… betrayed it. I was forced to destroy it."

SILENCE

Deafening silence casted itself over the group as they were all learning about what had brought them there. Jotaro put on his hat to pull it down in front of his face again. Rin maintained her silence. Shirou and Josuke both had grey clouds hovering over their heads. The first one to take the stand was Shirou.

"Well. If it's the Kiritsugu I know, he wouldn't leave behind anyone who had fallen victim to the Holy Grail War. He's the hero of justice Josuke and I look up to. Kiritsugu dedicated his heart to a broken family who came to him with nothing, before making them into something special. To better my friends and family, I will fight. Josuke?"

"Huh- Oh uh… yeah, Shirou?" Josuke snapped out of his little stormcloud. Noticing all eyes on him, he quickly shook his head and eased himself to the group with a fake charismatic smile. "Fighting, huh? Well you know the deal; Any fight you're heading into, I'm right behind you!"

A smile as soft as snow formed on Shirou's face as he cupped Josuke's hand in a handshake. "I could always count on you to never leave me behind. And Saber, Joestar or not, we welcome you to the family. We will fight together and until our last breath. You too Jotaro-san!"

"Hmn?" Jotaro turned his gaze to Shirou, surprised at this invitation.

"No matter what the past was, the current Command Seal binds me to you, Master." Saber declared. "Jotaro, Josuke. As I have once done for Jonathan Joestar, I will dedicate my heart to fight."

Smiles were exchanged amongst the three. Saber tilted her head to reflect the smile that was on Josuke and Shirou's face. It felt as if the bond the two boys had with her was unbreakable as diamond. A true power trio. Josuke placed his arm around Shirou, pulling him to his side with a smile.

"Oi oi! Now that we got this going, don't go running headfirst into everything! We're a team! We need to have each other's backs!" The pompadour teen reminded the orange-haired mage. "Besides, We're fighting for a good cause. Just as Kiritsugu would have wanted…"

"Yeah. I guess you're right. Kiritsugu. Heh. Also, Saber." Shirou reached out his hand. "Please, call me Shirou. I think it's obvious we are all familiar enough to drop our formalities…"

With a single chuckle and a perky smile, Saber shook the hand of Shirou. Their shake was to signify the start of a new age. "Yes, I prefer this way of saying it. I prefer being with the one's I trust."

~GASP~ J-Jotaro-sama!

Rin Tohsaka's gasp turned everyone's attention to the veteran stand user. They finally realized why she had squealed in such a sudden burst of energy. There was something abnormal on Jotaro's face. Something neither the group nor Saber thought they would ever see. It was an anomaly, a phenomenon, a miracle. On Jotaro's face… was a smile.

"It's good to have you back, Saber."

The next morning in Fuyuki City was partly cloudy. While groups of clouds acted as a marching parade in the sky, the sun danced its way between the white balls of fluff. The light traded places with the cloud-covered overcast, revealing small beam of sunlight. It shined down on the Angelo rock to highlight an odd looking figure. The figure itself had shining white eyes to differ from its silver skin. It wore black accessories which revealed most of its lined skin; skin that looked like a prison uniform. Along every other line of its skin read a pattern of four letters.

GΔCT

"...I know that my redeemer lives and that, in the end, he will stand upon the Earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh, I will see God. I, myself, will see him, with my own eyes. I… and not another. How my heart yearns within me for you, Angelo. Amen." The figure's voice was dark and raspy in its aspect. There was a low constant hiss to it and even a growl. It looked upon the morphed rock with pity in its eyes. "Oh Angelo, how they have sealed you in a fate worse than death. It seems I cannot even extract your stand to keep your legacy alive. How unfortunate…"

The rock remained still, its eyes twitched with eternal pain. The creature couldn't kill the man nor could it save him from his rock state. Angelo could only gaze upon his successor and leader. He could only look up at white eyes of the creature, surrounded by a black crown.

"So this is how far he got…?" Another voice appeared behind them. The figure with the black crown turned around to see his follower. A tall built blonde man with flat topped hair. He wore a black students outfit that said TRILLION on one sleeve. Around his closed collar read BAD C.O. In the man's hand was the arrow. "So this is what we are dealing with in terms of stands?"

"And servantssss…" The creature hissed. "Thisss was not done by Josuke Higashikata alone. Thisss was done with the help of Kiritsugu's boy and his ssservant, Saber."

"How do we go about this? They are receiving help from Kotomin-" The blonde man was cut off by the creature slamming its foot into the pavement, resulting in a crack to form.

It hissed foaming out its mouth a bit. "Don't you dare say that name! He is dead to me! That traitor stabbed me in the back! Stabbed DIO in the back! Everything I do around here is to get myself one step closer to having my hands around hissss throat!"

"I understand. I wish for the same thing. He was involved with that man. DIO."

"Correct my ssssubordinate. Now… I believe you know what you must do."

"And my father?" The man was gripping the arrow a bit harder. "Our deal was that you would aid my father. In return, I pledged to do your dirty work..."

"Sacrifice is a noble thing, Keicho Nijimura, perhaps a little more is needed for you to get to your goal. Hmn. That little brother of yours. Is he ready?" The Man in the Black Crown asked. "That stand we observed even gave me the chills, negating and erasing the power of any servant and mage. Terrifying."

Keicho sighed as he eased his tension on the arrow itself. "Yes. I believe this stand of his will give us a leg up on the whole ordeal. But, he didn't pledge himself to you."

"Correct. Correct you are. It isss almost unfortunate." The snake like hiss in his tone sent a small shiver down Keicho's spine every time he spoke. The Man in the Black Crown smirked, knowing this well. "But he pledges himsssself to you. Thus, I only needed the approval of you. Little Okuyasu will ssssoon follow."

"I agree. Okuyasu needs to start learning how to make his own decisions. Hopefully this path will show him what happens when you blindly follow others. Tch. A learning lesson, if that's correct to say, Black Crown." Keicho nodded to his superior.

The Man in the Black Crown returned the gesture. If acquiring the full power of those two stand users can help him utilize a stand fighting force, then so be it. The figure wasn't planning on scamming or tricking Keicho since recruiting more stand users could lead to one that favors Keicho's goal. Staying in the open any longer would compromise their identities, especially in a residential neighborhood. "I will be watching you, Keicho Nijimura. I entrusted you with that gift from the Grail. I won't accept any compromises in my trussst."

"Yes, I understand- Now quick! Someone's coming!"

(JoJo's Bizarre Adventure OST - Peaceful Street Corner)

With the sound of the front gate creaking shut, three teens emerged from the Higashikata-Emiya home. They were made up of a skinny boy with messy orange hair, a pompadour student in style and finally a beautiful teen girl with a ribbon in her violet hair. Once the gate was closed, Josuke led the way being followed by his best friend, Shirou, and their companion, Sakura Matou.

"Glad you can finally meet us again, Sakura-chan. I'm sorry, we were just handling the tail ends of Grandpa's passing." Josuke turned to his side, seeing the smiling violet-haired girl with them.

Sakura nodded her head, but she was a bit solemn at accepting Ryohei's death. If anything, the girl's smiles were the result of her being allowed to return to the Higashikata-Emiya home. "Yes, I am just as happy, Josuke-kun, but of course it's not your fault. You all needed your space to grieve Ryohei-san. I'm happy to be seeing you and Senpai again."

"Of course, Sakura" Shirou brought a warm expression upon his face. "We are more than happy to have you. Tomoko-sensei and Fuji-nee will be glad to see you later as well. I'll even cook to celebrate."

"What's on the menu tonight?" Josuke asked Shirou. Whenever Shirou cooked, it was a little closer to heaven.

With a closed fist of confidence, Shirou channeled a smirk into the eyes of the pompadour teen. Seeing Josuke light up at his answer even made him a bit giddy inside. "Marinated Mapo Tofu…"

SILENCE

Dead silence among the group. Josuke remained still, shaking a bit. Then, a wide grin of joy inflates. "Oi, Shirou."

"Yes, Josuke? I knew you would like the sound of that." All guesses were confirmed with the arms of Josuke embracing him in a hug. Shirou chuckled, patting Josuke's back.

Sakura smiled seeing the embrace, but stiffened at hearing a sniffle come from the stand user. The sounds of Josuke crying were emerging between the two, alarming Sakura to investigate. "Josuke…?" She touched his shoulder gently.

"Shirou... ~Sniffle~" Josuke looked up with tears of joy trickling down his cheeks. "You cheeky runt, it's been so long since you made Marinated Mapo! Finally! How dare you keep that from Sakura-chan!"

"Heh. Come on Josuke… let's head to school." Shirou positioned Josuke to resume walking ahead of him and Sakura. Seeing Josuke laugh a bit and wipe his tears brought joy to the orange-haired mage. "Marinated Mapo is an icon I make once in a blue moon. It takes a long time to cook, but once it's complete… oh boy. You're in for a treat."

Sakura nodded a bit relieved "Oh, I see. I look forward to our evening then."

Eventually the group closed in around a familiar looking rock that had taken formation not long ago. It had the odd formation of what looked like a face. Indented were two small eyeholes. Josuke led the two past the rock waving at it with a brief salute.

"Yo, Angelo."

"Eh?" Sakura stopped behind Josuke and Shirou, looking at the rock. She blinked twice and tilted her head. "Josuke-kun, Shirou? Was this rock always here…?"

"Yeah it was, but it didn't look like that at first" Shirou stopped short to reunite with Sakura. He glanced at the rock and then to the younger girl.

Sakura accepted what her senpai had told her. "Ah, I see. Hmn. Hello there, Angelo." With that, Shirou and Sakura walked ahead again behind Josuke. Within a few minutes of walking the two were interrupted with a-

BOOF!

(End OST)

Both Shirou and Sakura rocked right into the back of Josuke, who was frozen solid. Sakura took a step back from the bump, meanwhile Shirou was sent to the ground. "Senpai!" Sakura yelled out, helping him up. "Josuke-kun. What's wrong?"

Josuke slowly turned around, his eyes scanning the environment. His movements were steady and a bit slow. "I'm sorry, I felt an odd presence like something was watching us…"

Shirou peeled his eyes to see nothing near them that was out of place. Within a moment, a chill ran down his spine. Was this the presence? Was this a sign? Either way, a large eyesore was able to catch his gaze. It wasn't long before Josuke caught on. Sakura too. In front of the teens was a rather ominous looking house. It was painted green and blue, accompanied by brown wooden boards. The windows were covered up leaving creaks in between the planks. The decaying wall paint set the overall stage for its ominous presence. Within a window on the lower floor, Sakura spots something moving briefly. She gasps suddenly.

"Josuke-kun, Senpai. No one has lived in this house, correct? I- I think I saw someone inside…" Sakura cautiously kept herself between the older boys.

"That's impossible." Josuke gently led the group down the sidewalk. Approaching was two metal gate doors possessing the sign 'NO TRESPASSING'. "This house will never sell, such a dump. The city should just tear it down."

Sakura gazed up at Shirou with a worried expression, "Excuse me, Josuke-kun. But I believe I saw someone or something in there. Maybe someone is in there?"

Hearing this put both boys on edge. Perhaps this was the odd energy they felt. Or maybe it was their imagination and just a reaction to the house's condition. Josuke thought about it for a moment, shaking his head. "Nonsense, Sakura-chan. Shirou and I live down the street. If anyone moved in, we'd be the first to know."

"Correct, plus the city sends realtors to make sure no homeless people are camping out inside. The house is scary enough, maybe your eyes are just playing tricks on you? Come on, let's head to school." Shirou gestured. Yet, Josuke and Sakura didn't budge. It was like they were compelled to the house. Shirou fell in a similar position.

MEOW~!

The large meow of a cat caught their attention as a grey cat hopped down from the first floor boarded window. It landed by the wall and hissed upon impact. Yet the hiss wasn't at the three. The grey cat itself struggled to stand a bit. While limping, it was noticed its back leg was cut, dried blood on its fur. All three teens gasped seeing the cat.

"So that was that you saw, Sakura…" Shirou sighed in relief. "I was starting to think you saw a ghost or something."

"Oi Oi, don't say that kind of stuff, Shirou. You know ghosts freak me out. We live right down the street as well. I'm not dealing with a ghost watching me take a dump!" Josuke sighed, contemplating using his stand on the cat. It should be a no brainer, but he still felt that odd presence. Was the cat the odd presence?

The only one to fall for the cat was none other than Sakura Matou. She approached the feline slowly, bending forward. "Poor thing. It's injured. Please, don't be afraid, I wish to help you…" Sakura believed if she could win the trust of the cat, she would be able to make contact with it. With each step forward, Sakura got closer and closer to the metal gates.

"Oi, Sakura-chan. I don't think it's a good Idea. We still need to head to school, besides it could have diseases." Josuke commented.

Sakura closed proximity to the cat, reaching out, to allow it to smell her. "Good kitty. Who's a beautiful kitty-cat. You are. Yes you are." Sakura's hand was a centimeter away from making contact and all was well. The cat gave her permission to pet its head-

SLAM!

"Ack!"

The gate suddenly slammed shut on Sakura's neck, cutting off her air and speech in an instant. The force from the sudden closing forced Sakura's hair forward, covering her face. Her ribbon was also hidden in all the hair brought forward. Josuke and Shirou ran forward to see a teen pressing his foot into the closed gate. "Quit starin' at my place you damn hippie!" He responded in a raspy undertone.

The punk was a tall boy who was built in muscle similar to Josuke. He sported a much shorter pompadour with shaved sides, keeping up with fashion styles. His dark school uniform sported a golden dollar sign on its chest-print and collar. On one of the boy's arms was written 'BILLION' while the Kanji translation matched the opposing arm. Standing out from his darker skin were two semi circle scars running from the top of his head, to the bottom of his chin.

"SAKURA!" Both boys yelled out at the same time.

Watching the girl choke and struggle forced the boys to take action. "What the hell do you think you're doing, asshole!" Josuke spat with fury in his eyes.

"Hmn. I can ask the same thing. You're the assholes stalkin' my yard! Your hippy friend here saw the sign! Now he pays his toll!" Came from the punk.

Shirou felt a wave of pushed anger flood his muscles to act. He rebounded that comment with action. The orange-haired mage pushed back on the gate, clenching his teeth. "What are you, insane?" he barked, "Let her go before things get ugly, creep!"

"Shirou!" Josuke balled his fists as his best friend was losing the resistance battle to free Sakura. "Hey! Let her go! She did nothing! You're hurting her!"

The punk teen just snarked as Shirou tried to push the gate back. "Tch. Trying to act tough now you orange runt! You want a fight? 'Cause I can meet those threats that you're makin' in my- wait a second..." He returned the force on the gate to knock Shirou back, but he only got the moaning cry of a suffocating Sakura. That's when it clicked in the punk's mind. 'Let HER go'.

"Wait… her?!" He took a moment to fully examine Sakura between the gates. Gently brushing her hair back, the violet hair's beautiful face was revealed into the light. Shirou and Josuke blinked a couple times in shock to see the pink's cheeks begin to turn red as he released Sakura in an instant. "Y-You're a girl?!" 'She… She's pretty!'

"Now Shirou!" Josuke kicked the gate open, fully revealing the punk teen helping up Sakura.

He was caught off guard, clearly not expecting any of the boys to suddenly retaliate. Though he should have seen this coming, the instantaneous prospect froze him solid. He couldn't even yell out "W-wait!"

SLAM!

Josuke grabbed the teen's jacket, whipping him around like a feather and pinning his back to the gate. Shirou's priority was the recovery of Sakura Matou. Kneeling before her, Shirou gently placed his arms under Sakura, lifting her until she could stand again.

"S-Sakura…? Are you ok?" Shirou's voice soothed the pained ears of Sakura.

She nodded, rubbing the side of her neck while trying to stand again. Her expression went from surprise to sadness, witnessing the pompadour teen get ready to strike the opposing delinquent who let her go. "S-Stop Josuke-kun!" Sakura shouted. "Please! Both of you, all of you! Don't fight! Please. I'm sorry I poked my head onto your property! Please forgive me and allow me to make it up to you!"

All 3 boys were in shock at Sakura's sudden submissiveness to a situation she wasn't at fault for. Josuke blinked a couple times, Shirou squinted and the punk teen was red in his cheeks, seeming bashful.

Using Shirou as an aid, the violet-haired girl stood up to bow apologetically. "If it would be ok, we need to go to school now. I'm sorry sir…" Sakura's charm seemed to have its effect. She couldn't help but smile, seeing the delinquent rub the back of his head and look away.

"Y-Yeah… don't worry about it. Just be careful next time, ok?" His raspy voice signaled defeat, tough facade now falling. He removed Josuke's arms from his jacket, now embarrassed by his actions against Sakura.

"Thank you very much! I'm happy you found it in yourself to forgive me. And please, your cat looks injured." Sakura pointed to where the cat would have been, but was now gone, nowhere to be seen. She turned her head left and right, looking around.

"Huh..? We don't have no cat runnin' around here. Probably some stray…" The punk corrected her.

In the window of the second floor home, the teens were visible from the wide cracks in the plank boards. They were all gathered together, in a moving cluster. It was hard to get a target on one specific person. Josuke was in perfect sights, then Shirou, then the punk again and finally Sakura. A grunt came from the window as someone's fate was sealed in that very moment. On the ground, Shirou caught something out of the glimpse of his eye. What looked like a sparkle in the second floor window. Shirou narrowed his eyes at the shine, but couldn't react as it shot forward into the crowd of 4. No one could have reacted, no one could have spoken the word, but blood splattered across the pavement as the arrow successfully pierced a target.

"AA- A-ACK!"

DING DONG!

…

…

DING DONG!

"Cut it out!" Yelled from the inside of the Higashikata-Emiya home. By the sound of the voice, it belonged to Taiga Fujimura. "If you're the newspaper people, Imma come out there and bat ya with a stick!"

DING DONG!

"That's it!" Rang out from the house. The sounds of heavy footsteps rapidly approached the door. "I'm getting the stick! You didn't listen when I warned ya! We have people mourning the death of a loved one here! We're still dealing with a lot goin on and here you come along-" Taiga opened the door and fell immediately silent. Before her was a tall man in a trench coat and hat. He had dark skin and white hair that spiked through the hat. It seemed Archer was impersonating a certain stand user. While he attempted to get a good look at the woman, it ended up backfiring as Taiga latched her arms around Archer yelling out-

"KIRITSUGUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

Archer froze as he sighed. He resisted the urge to smirk, but just kept his head cool.

"You finally came back to us, Kiritsugu! I've been waiting for you! Ryohei kicked the bucket and we've been a mess! You came back from the dead in our time of neeeeeeeed!" She inhaled "Baka! Baka! Baka! Baka! Baka! Baka! Baka! Baka! Baka! Baka! Baka! Baka! Baka! Baka!"

"Mataku…" Archer pulled Taiga off of him with a stern expression "Wrong guy. I Hate to be the one to break it to you."

"Eh?" Taiga snapped out of her little fit she was having in regards to seeing Archer. She blushed in embarrassment at how much of a misunderstanding this has turned into. "Wait a second. Now that you mention it. You don't look like shit..."

"Taku. I'm not related to Kiritsugu, as ironic as it is. See, I'm alive. But More specifically, I'm the cousin of Shirou Emiya." The white-haired servant spoke sternly in his voice. He looked down at the brunette teacher who was scratching her chin. She inspected the man, feeling his face for a moment and opening his eyes.

"Huh, really? Wow, you and Shirou have the same facial structure, but your eyes are a little different. I've broken enough faces to know how to map them out, ahaha! Sorry, but that's so cool! Shirou would love to hear that he has a family who cares!" Taiga joked a bit, chuckling with the stranger. "Ah, not like you've been missing all these years and want to play the role of the hero family member- so the answer is no, you can't have him back!"

'Was she really always a nut like this? Jeez. Maybe Josuke was the only normal one around here… and Ryohei.' Archer shook his head sighing to himself. Taiga was always a character and unpredictable at times. This was one of those times. "I'm not here to take back the brat- I mean kid. My time is limited, so I came here to see Shirou, alone. Is he here?"

SILENCE

Taiga just stood statically, staring at Archer with an odd expression. Too many things were going through her mind to fully grasp what exactly was happening. First who she thought was Kiritsugu, was supposedly back from the dead. Then apparently Shirou has a family she was never told about. To top it off, said family came to see her Shirou! Something was all too odd about this Taiga knew something was-

"Oi!" Archer leaned forward, snapping Taiga out of her daze.

"EH!" She quickly retaliated, "Oh, Shirou left for school with Josuke and Sakura a while ago…"

The servant turned around slowly gaining distance from the sliding door and towards the gate. "Ah, I see. That's where I am in this ordeal. I'll be back tonight to see Shirou. I would like to… 'check up' … on him."

"Wait a darn moment! You're leaving already? Don't you want some tea? Oh, Kiritsugu's friend Saber-san is here. I can have you meet her!"

"No thanks. Time isn't my friend. So I'm leaving. Simple. Tch. Oh yeah… sorry about Ryohei. Believe me, If Kiritsugu was around, he would do everything in his power to protect you and Tomoko from the dangers of this world. But the old man kicked it. So instead I suppose I'm here in his place." Archer shrugged, opening the gate.

The silence from Taiga confirmed he chose the right sentence to shut her up. It was a rare thing to do. The white-haired servant departed from the gate, walking back into the street. Within a moment, Archer entered spirit form. 'So… if I'm correct then this is the day that the runt is hiding with Josuke and his purple-haired tag-a-long.'

Josuke hitched himself, feeling a sharp pain in his throat. Was it from a foreign object? Or was it the guilt of seeing his friend become a victim once again? The pompadour teen wasn't prepared for what he saw. No one was. Not even the boy who saw it coming, Shirou. The two remaining teens felt tears swell up in their eyes as their companion bled in front of them.

"SAKURAAAA!"

The arrow pierced through the chest of Sakura Matou. Blood leaked out between her breasts and into her school uniform. More blood spat out once she coughed from the mortal wound. Before she hit the pavement, she was caught in the arms of Shirou Emiya and Josuke Higashikata.

"B-Big bro?!" The punk looked up to the window in confusion and shock as to why he shot the girl with the arrow. Or why he even fired it at all in their direction!

"I know what you're thinking, Okuyasu, why did I shoot the girl with the bow and arrow? Rather simple actually. The ones you nearly let go are Josuke Higashikata and Shirou Emiya. Kiritsugu's boy…" The older man spoke in a deep, stern voice.

The punk, revealed to be Okuyasu Nijumura, began to hiss a bit at his shortcomings. "These runts are the boys? You're kidding me, hiding behind a hot girl, right under our noses!"

"Correct, I suppose…" The older man was unsure about that last comment regarding Sakura. "But these two are the ones who defeated Angelo. Since they are mages, they pose a viable threat to us. The Man in the Black Crown was telling the truth…"

"You- You two are mages?!" Shirou demanded to know

"Hmn, no. Some of us aren't that lucky to be mages. Okuyasu, make them disappear. You erase Kiritsugu's boy and you erase the ties he has to Saber." The man with all this knowledge and insight from the Man in the Black Crown was none other than the previous Keicho Nijumura. He had yet to see what Sakura was capable of, thus he temporarily spared her erasure.

"W-Will the girl live?" Okuyasu called out to his older brother.

Keicho leaned forward from the window sile, inspecting her body in the arms of Shirou. She was twitching and unresponsive. He only tilted his head with a sigh. "By the looks of it, she won't make it. Too weak for her own good. But, if she holds out this long, there's a chance she will make it."

"So there's a chance?" Okuyasu wanted to confirm. The silence from his brother wasn't exactly comforting, yet it was enough to convince the punk that Sakura was going to be fine. "Fine then, I suppose it's just us then…" Within a moment a bright blue aura flared around Okuyasu's body. He approached the boys with a sinister grin on his face.

Josuke gasped for a moment, grabbing his best friend and yanking him backwards. "S-Shirou! They aren't mages, they're stand users! Get back!"

Yanking Shirou away forced the teen to let go of Sakura and watch her body meet the ground. "Sakura! You! Get out of the way!" He yelled, ready to charge Okuyasu with Josuke to save Sakura.

"Good luck with that…"

( JoJo's Bizarre Adventure OST - The Hand)

From the body of Okuyasu, emerged a humanoid figure typically in white and blue armor similar to football pads. From its body it has several spikes jutting from them. A towel-like object drapes over its shoulders, with a Dollar symbol on one end and a Yen symbol on the other. On each side of the Stand's face are blinders that cover its headlight-shaped eyes and limit its vision. Its right hand has spider web-like lines on the inside, along with two bumps on its palm. "Josuke Higashikata! Shirou Emiya! I, Okuyasu Nijumura will erase you two with my stand, The Hand!"

"Josuke…" Shirou stood back up, immediately stepping in front of his best friend.

"Shirou, get back. We don't know what his stand is capable of! We can't play it rash!" The pompadour teen declared. His pink aura flared up in an instant, taking its form. Josuke stepped in front of Shirou, keeping the mage out of harm's way. Both boys watched the enemy stand squeeze its right hand twice, clearly anticipating battle.

"Heh. Here we go…" The Hand launched itself, eyeing Josuke as its first target. It brought its hand back to land a swift and quick-

"DORA!"

(Pause OST)

Crazy Diamond didn't waste a moment to deliver a quick blow into the jaw of the enemy stand. The blow reflected onto Okuyasu as his head recoiled, revealing blood coming from his mouth. "Oi, if you don't beat out of the way, I'm really gonna bash your face in…" Josuke warned

"Fast one you are. Heh. Guess I overlooked it so…" The punk teen growled, wiping the blood from his lip. His attention was distracted once he heard his brother call out to him.

"Okuyasu! Using a stand is basic cognitive motion, like riding a bike or driving a car. But complete idiots who don't know how to drive deserve to crash, even if they are in a tank." Keicho insulted.

Okuyasu fully turned around, presenting his back to the two teens. This was their opportunity before them to rescue Sakura and pull out. There was no reason they needed to be there any longer.

Shirou was the first to devise a plan. Whispering in Josuke's ear, he made slight pointing motions and hand gestures to give a range of ideas. When they finally settled, Shirou put a thumbs up.

"I'll be damned if it will work, but I trust you. You better not get your ass kicked on my watch." Josuke sighed.

Keicho' s voice was loud and violent, scolding his younger brother about the basics of the stand and using it. "Quit fucking around! You're stand, The Hand, gives me the fuckin shits just thinking about it. So be smart for once! Josuke and Shirou defeated Angelo. Treat them seriously and be blessed Saber isn't here to give us more shit! If you don't nip this now, they will be a wrench in our plans for the rest of our days!"

Okuyasu sighed. He nodded to his older brother turning round again. "You don't gotta tell me- wait. Where the hell did they go?! W-Wait! Hey! You went around me while I was talking! That's not fair!"

"You're a complete moron, aren't you? I told you to move dammit…" Josuke scoffed.

Okuyasu was in shambles of confusion. Before he could figure out the exact situation, he met a swift contender. "W-wait! Where is Sh-"

"DORA!"

With Okuyasu sent flying back, Josuke was able to get through the gate to Sakura's side. He knelt beside the girl feeling her pulse and tensed up. She was alive, but that wasn't what caused Josuke to freeze. Her eyes. She was crying from the pain while on the verge of death, yet her eyes seemed they didn't fear death. The face of the adorable Sakura the boys knew for years was struggling on her last breath of life. "She's alive! Sakura! It's going to be ok! I promise! Shirou and I will-"

(Restart OST)

"You bastard! That does it! Now you are going to pay for this!" The Hand launched out of a charging Okuyasu, straight into the direction of Josuke and Sakura.

Crazy Diamond nearly punched into the stand again, but Josuke felt a negating presence. An energy that seemed to force everything around it to vanish. By the bloodlusting look on Okuyasu's face, there was definitely something more sinister to bear. So in an instant, Josuke's stand caught The Hand's right wrist, restraining it from being close. 'He- He has too much confidence in his right hand. And the presence, it seems to be negating my magecraft. This is bad! I have a really bad feeling about that right hand of his!' Josuke backed his stand to where the area behind it was hidden. Suddenly it received a blow to it's abdominal region.

POW!

The Hand knee'd Crazy Diamond in the gut, forcing Josuke forward. But no blood or heavy yell. Such a reaction spited Okuyasu. "Fuckin tough guy are ya?! Let go of my right hand, dumbass!"

POW! POW! POW!

More strikes were delivered into the body of Josuke's stand. From the outside it looked like Crazy Diamond was taking a beating. Josuke's body was recoiling, but he still didn't lose grip of the enemy's right hand. Why was it not feeling pain? Why was Josuke not bleeding or coughing? Okuyasu didn't have time to realize as he was yanked forward.

"DORA!"

After being brought towards the stand, Crazy Diamond rammed it's forehead into The Hand's face, invoking a similar reaction of pain from the punk teen.

Okuyasu stumbled back with a broken nose and uncontrollable bleeding. He cupped his hand seeing the puddle of blood forming down his face. "How…?" He began. "How the hell are you not busted up after taking a beatin'?"

Crazy Diamond's body had a light green glow to it. In the area's where the stand was struck, a green circuit like pattern appeared to be shielding the blows. Shirou Emiya's Reinforcement. Behind the wall, in cover, was Shirou pressing against the lower back of Crazy Diamond. His arm was covered in green circuits that slowly spread the more they were used. Sparks flash from Shirou's hand right before the hr jerked his hand away.

"Agh!" Shirou gripped his right wrist. "That was a first for me! Ah! I didn't think it was possible to reinforce stands…"

"Oi Oi!" Josuke said with a smile, turning around to face Shirou. "We took a risky gamble and it worked! But we are far from over. Rest up, I can handle it from here."

"No, Josuke! I can do more! I can save- JOSUKE!" Shirou immediately landed a swift kick into the side of his best friend, sending him stumbling back. He knew Josuke would be pissed in that very moment, but the following event explained Shirou's heroic actions.

THUUMMMMMM!

A blue aura formed around the right hand of Okuyasu's stand as it scraped at the space in between Shirou and Josuke. The pompadour teen realized he was as good as dead If Shirou didn't kick him. But it still hurt like a bitch. 'Dammit, Shirou. I never knew you could kick so damn hard!' Josuke held his side, rolling across the ground to buy time. 'What the hell? That No Trespassing sign is missing the 'Tres'. Right where I was standing in front of. Something's up. It's as if that whole part of the wall was… erased.'

"You damn coward!"

CRACK!

Okuyasu kicked Shirou in the jaw, sending him rolling across the pavement, before returning his attention back to the main threat at hand: Josuke. "Don't try and run from me! I know you won't leave your buddies behind." He taunted.

"Tch. That right hand of yours is clearly dangerous. If I was going with my gut, I would say that your stand erases things! The gate, take a look! The 'Tres' is missing from 'No Trespassing'." Josuke exposed his hypothesis.

The smirk from Okuyasu confirmed such an accusation. Though, he couldn't have figured it out without Shirou's sacrifice. In result, he backed up across the street to a garden wall with pots on it.

"Heh, that would be correct, Josuke. Anything that The Hand touches, gets erased from existence like bye bye! And everything around it…" Okuyasu mashed his hands together "Joins itself as if nothin' ever happened! Heheh. As for where all the stuff I erase goes…? It goes straight to hell. Kiddin' heh. I don't even got a damn clue! But your luck ends here, Josuke. I got a little trick for dumbasses who want to run away!"

The Hand raised its right hand, forming a fiery orb in its palm for a moment. In a downward scraping motion, the stand followed through erasing all space, objects or even magecraft that would have been in its way. Okuyasu smiled as he scraped away the space.

THUUMMMMMMM!

PUNCH!

He landed a sucker punch into Josuke's jaw. "You see that? I just erased the space between us. Just like teleportation. Big bro is even scared shitless of The Hand. So you're done runnin' away from me, Josuke!"

THUUMMMMMMM!

PUNCH!

Okuyasu used his bare fist to left hook Josuke in an instant, disorienting the pompadour teen.

Meanwhile on the ground Shirou blinked, regaining the small bit of consciousness he lost after getting hammered by Okuyasu. The orange-haired mage groaned for a moment before seeing his best friend pinned by Okuyasu and The Hand. Every time the stand scrapped space away, Josuke paid the price. He wasn't in range to reinforce him with magecraft. Shirou's arm stung like hell and circuits burned pure inferno. Moving was a task and a half, but Josuke was suffering every moment Shirou laid still. 'No, Josuke. You've saved my life too many times. I won't let you fall. I CAN'T let you fall!'

THUUMMMMMMM!

WHACK!

(End OST)

"Heh, what a loser. Did ya really beat Angelo like this? Wait, no. You had your Saber friend there to cover your ass. Now that they ain't here, you get to deal with me!" The teen cackled. He watched Josuke struggle to stand up, leaning against the back garden wall for support. Okuyasu had his stand raise its right hand when he heard-

"Oi- Senpai…"

CRACK!

Shirou drove a reinforced flower pot right into the face of Okuyasu. His Reinforcement magecraft allowed for all the energy to remain in the pot and not disperse if it broke. Shirou clenched his teeth following through with the punch, sending Okuyasu to hit the back of his head on his gate. In a moment, the punk was out cold. "Agh! My arm. Josuke, I really did it this time…" His circuits flickered for a moment. "I used more mana than I thought, reinforcing Crazy Diamond. It was the equivalent of reinforcing a small building. I pushed my limits…"

"Shirou…" Josuke ran over to Shirou, helping the wobbling boy stand. He hugged his best friend for a moment before smiling. "Shirou, you saved my life. Twice now. Thank you!"

"Don't mention it. So, this Okuyasu kid is with the Man in the Black Crown. It's a no brainer, but that asshole who shot Sakura is his brother! Hmn. By the looks of the blood on his forehead, he's not gonna be up for a good while." Shirou nodded, holding his wrist.

Josuke agreed, "Had you not taken that sacrifice, he would have probably scraped you away. I'm proud of you, Shirou. Now, I think we should strangle him to keep him out a little bit longer.

"But- Sakura!" Shirou turned their attention to see Sakura's body being dragged into the darkness of the Nijimura home.

They didn't see any stand or magecraft being used to drag her. It was as if it was doing it all on its own. The boys both clenched their fists, running up the steps of the old home. Clearing the entrance, they hitched their breath and narrowed their expressions to the sight before them. Keicho Nijimura. He stood above Sakura's body, face covered in the shadows. He gripped the arrow, tilting his head.

"Let Sakura go you creep!" Shirou scolded with fury. "She didn't do anything to you! What do you want with her?!"

"Hmn, it seems you are missing it, Emiya…" Keicho lowered himself over Sakura, ready to remove the arrow from her chest. "This girl was struck by my arrow. She is most definitely capable of something, so I'll keep her around longer. Besides she is a mage by blood." The Nijimura brother rested a hand on her shoulder to pull out the arrow.

"S-Shinji… please…" A soft dying whisper came out of Sakura "Not today- I... don't want it." Her voice was strained which each and every breath she took, pleading with the man. "Please- Shinji… Stop. No…"

"What?" Keicho caught himself off guard with that comment.

"Let go of her!" Josuke took a step forward with his stand aura flaring. Both boys didn't hear the soft whispers pleading from their female friend.

Shirou was behind him with his fists closed and circuits glowing. "You'll pay for this!"

"Wait- Big Bro… let the girl go…" A familiar scruffy voice erupted behind Josuke and Shirou, causing the boys to halt. It was Okuyasu. The punk teen approached the two breathing heavily and limping. "The girl- she ain't do nothin' wrong. Let 'er go Big Bro…"

"Okuyasu..." Shirou turned around, ready to catch the punk on the verge of collapsing.

"Let her go, Big Bro. Call off the attack. Let 'er be…" Okuyasu coughed at the end of his sentence.

'Call off the attack? What the hell?' Josuke felt a chill run down his spine at that sentence. What did it mean? What did these brothers have in store for the stand user and mage? That's when he saw small flashes in the darkness behind Keicho. "Shirou! Get outta the way!"

The projectiles fired out from the flashes, striking its target. Josuke looked towards where the shots may have hit to see the damage done. The horrors Josuke saw was the last thing he expected. Shirou pushed Okuyasu to the side, taking the attack instead of the punk.

"S-Shirou…?" Josuke watched his best friend become printed with dots running up his chest and face, blood pouring out on impact. Shirou's head went back from the blows, bringing his body to slowly unite with the ground.

THUD!

"Eh?" The punk teen was confused in a daze as he felt his body hit the wall. Okuyasu noticed Shirou's body on the ground, tainted with the wounds of Keicho's stand. 'S-Shit. Did that runt really just save me? Even after all I did…? That- That coulda been me on the ground there.' He simply remained silent at the realization that Shirou sacrificed himself to save some random punk he didn't know. Not to mention, tried to kill him. "Oi…"

"Your stupidity never ceases to amaze me. But, in this sense, it ended up working in our favor. If you didn't come in here, Bad Company would have eliminated both Josuke AND Shirou in one sitting. With the Emiya boy down, I suppose I can't be too harsh on you." Keicho mumbled. "You almost got caught in the crossfire. That's what disturbs me the most, Okuyasu."

"E-Emiya…?" Okuyasu started to shake a tiny bit. "B-Big Bro, why? Why did he save me…?"

Keicho was willing to use his attack, even if it meant harming his brother. Shirou ended up being the one to pay that price. Shirou, a boy who had marked Okuyasu his enemy, went as far as to save him from a certain edmise.

"Why?" Keicho sneered. "I've always told you since we were little, imbeciles always drag down everyone around them. Your incompetence almost got you killed. It seems a sudden reaction of Emiya pushed you out of the way. Think of it as a reflex. A simple reflex that saved your life."

"He- He saved my life." Okuyasu slowed his speech, absorbing each and every word.

"Yes, little brother. You have his death to blame yourself for. But one death that helps out our objective!" The older Nijimura proclaimed. He slowly calmed hearing the heavy breathing coming from Josuke.

"You- Bastard. Shirou saved him because that was the only thing he ever wanted to do! Save people! Even if it's just one!" His stand aura burst like an open flame, illuminating the inside of the Nijimura home. "By the end of this, I'm going to bust your face in. For Sakura and for Shirou!"

"Oh? I suppose we are retorting to threats, Josuke? You're already surrounded in Bad Company's range." Keicho scoffed to the pompadour teen.

Josuke clenched his fist hard enough to pop a vein. "I don't make empty threats. What I do... is deliver a promise!"

To

Be

Continued...

Hey everyone! I don't have too much to say besides the fact that it's been a while. I apologize, but I am in my peak stress weeks of college. With my semester coming to an end, finals are coming up. Needless to say, Writing hasn't been too much on my mind. But I love this story and the recent release of Heaven's Feel III on Blu-Ray has me hyped!

As for the story goes, I wanted to take a twist on the Nijimura arc. Switch some roles and make the narrative a little more interesting. We have new characters, new conflicts and new allies that join our side in this 2 part arc. I wish you all the best and well and thank you for your patience with me. Also an announcement

HEIRS TO AVALON: A HIGHSCHOOL DXD STORY will be going under a massive rewrite / edit and touch up. I have grown in my writing standards and have taken the time to review my work alone. I wouldn't mind an editor / reviewer for this story and my other. But that's all I truly need to say. I love you all and see you all on the next one!