Disclaimer: I do not own the Fate franchise it belongs to Kinoko Nasu and Type-Moon.
Everything and Nothing
Chapter 9
"So…this is Venice."
"You sound disappointed."
Two weeks had passed since Rin and Sakura had started planning with Luvia on bringing Icecolle and Forvedge to heel. An uneventful two weeks, which was something to be thankful for, aside from Luvia flying to Romania a week ago. Bucharest to be more specific, and from there to Trifas, with the Forvedges having a residence in the surrounding countryside.
And now the Tohsaka sisters were in Italy, awaiting an update from Luvia but somewhere closer to Romania than Britain was. All the better to finally strike when the time came, of course.
"You've never read JoJo's Bizarre Adventures, have you?" Sakura asked. "Battle Tendency, to be precise."
"No, not really." Rin said with a shake of the head, as they rode a taxi towards their hotel. "Is it any good?"
Sakura gave Rin a look like she'd grown a second head. "Of course it's good!" she said, sounding scandalized. "How can it not be any good, when you've got unreasonably beautiful men with weird and convoluted powers hunting vampires? Vampires who also happen to look just as good, and with powers strange even by vampire standards?"
Rin raised an eyebrow. "Unreasonably…beautiful…men…?" she slowly echoed before shaking her head. "I never took you for a yaoi fangirl, Sakura."
Sakura twitched. "It's not…yaoi…" she stammered out, blood beginning to trickle from her nose at the thought of Joseph and Caesar together that way. "…it's…GAH! Never mind…I'll get you a copy when we have the time, and you can see for yourself. Yaoi…seriously…give me a break…"
Rin rolled her eyes and shook her head again, even as Sakura descended into unintelligible mutterings, periodic giggling, and wiping at blood dribbling from her nose. Rin shut it out, spending the rest of the ride to their hotel in relative silence. "We're here." She said as the taxi came to a halt.
"I can see that." Sakura huffed as she opened the door on her side, getting out of the car with a final wipe at her nose. Then she joined her sister at the back, looking on as a bellhop pulled out their luggage and loaded it onto a cart, and after paying their taxi driver, the sisters entered the hotel.
From there, it was only a short visit to the concierge to claim their reservations, as well as the key to their shared suite. Then a short elevator ride, up to the fourth floor, and down a hallway.
"Here you go." Sakura told the bellhop after he'd finished carrying their luggage into the suite, along with a generous roll of euros as a tip. The man beamed and tipped his hat while saying thanks in Italian, before hurrying away. Sakura showed him out, and then closing the door, locked and bolted it. "Now then…let's make sure. Skript: Wind."
Crushing an iron-filled cylinder in one hand at the same time, this caused a strong breeze to blow through the suite. A moment later, and Rin dashed from the toilet, looking alarmed and holding a roll of toilet paper in one hand.
"What was that?" she demanded.
"Just making sure we won't be unpleasantly surprised." Sakura said. "Care to give it a go?"
Rin briefly thought it over. "…might as well." She said, Sakura beaming as Rin put the tissue paper aside, and pulled out a gem instead. "Let's see…Patrouillendienst: Den Stein zweimal kippen."
The gem flashed and then crumbled in Rin's fingers, and her circuits briefly flickered along with a mandala under her feet. "Looks clear to me." She said at last.
Sakura nodded, and then clapped her hands. "Rin?" she asked.
"My turn!" Little Rin yelled as she appeared, jumping enthusiastically into the air. Rin's lips twitched into a small smile at the sight.
"I remember when I was that age." She thought with a tinge of sadness.
Unaware of her counterpart's thoughts, Little Rin clapped her hands, causing power to ripple across the room and then the rest of the building. "Everything looks fine, big little sister." She said with a glance at Sakura, who immediately picked her up and started tickling her. "AH! STOP THAT! NO, THAT TICKLES!"
Rin shook her head with a small laugh, leaving her sisters to amuse themselves. In the meantime, she had personal things to do in private.
"So," Rin asked as she and Sakura sat in a booth in a restaurant just a short walk from their hotel. "What do you want for lunch?"
"Well, we are in Italy." Sakura said, even as she and Rin took the offered menus from a waiter. "So we might as well get the local specialty: pasta, pizza, and everything else."
Rin laughed. "True, true." She said, looking over the menu. "Hmm…for appetizers the calamari looks good, as does the garden salad."
"Sounds fine to me." Sakura agreed, also looking over the menu. "For soup, how about we try the clam chowder?"
"Works for me…oh, they have carbonara. Let's have that."
"Okay! As for pizza…huh…small, and good for one only? Well, I guess I'll just have the tomato and cheese."
"And I'll have the four-cheese pizza."
"Drinks?" Sakura asked.
"Too early for wine…" Rin began, only for Sakura to raise an eyebrow and give a subtle gesture to their arms, where they had their crests. "Ugh, fine. I guess we'll have white one for appetizer, since that has white meat. Which…come to think of it, should also apply to our main courses."
Sakura nodded, before gesturing for the waiter. A moment later and the waiter arrived, quickly taking their orders. "Will the signorinas be ordering dessert?" he asked.
"We'll hold off on that until later." Rin said, and the man nodded.
"Of course, signorina." The man said. "Let me recap your orders…two orders of calamari, two orders of garden salad, two orders of clam chowder soup, one order of tomato and cheese pizza, and one order of four-cheese pizza. Also, for drinks you'll be having the chef's recommendation of white wine."
"That's right." Rin said, and Sakura nodded as well.
"Very good, signorinas." The man said with a bow. "I will return shortly with your drinks, and the rest of your orders will be ready in the next fifteen minutes."
"Thank you!" the sisters chorused, and with another bow the man turned and left.
"So," Rin began. "How long do you think we'll have to wait before our cousin gets in touch?"
"Who knows?" Sakura asked back. "Still, it's not like we have much choice but to wait. In the meantime, I say we take the chance to go sightseeing and basically just enjoy ourselves. We are in Italy, after all."
"Well, that's true." Rin admitted, even as the waiter arrived with a tray full of glasses. He set them out between them, and filled a pair with water, leaving the jug on the table. The man bowed and left, only to return after a few moments with a wine bottle. It was opened at their table, and then poured out between them, the waiter also leaving the bottle behind.
Rin took her wineglass, and toasted her sister. "Here's to you." She said with a smile.
Sakura smiled back, and also picked up her wineglass to return the toast. "Likewise." She said.
The sisters clinked their glasses against each other, and then took a drink. But as they drank their wine, there came the sound of screeching tires and a roaring engine from around the corner of the street outside. Looking out the window, they spotted a black car driving fast but already slowing down the road, windows rolling down and…
"Son of a…!" Rin and Sakura chorused as they threw themselves against the floor.
Moments later, and the restaurant's windows shattered inwards from a hail of automatic fire. Screams filled the air, barely audible over the sound of gunfire from outside, other diners also dropping to the floor, though some were less fortunate.
Like the nice young man who was their waiter, or those smiling young women behind the counter, and the plump matron behind the cashier. Dead bodies fell, blood pooling amidst food and drink spilling on the floor alongside shattered China and scattered silverware, rage exploding cold and driven in the sisters at the sight.
The gunfire stopped, but it wasn't over yet. Metal tinkled against the floor as grenades were tossed in through the broken windows, and then the car began to drive away.
Not quickly enough, though; Sakura gestured, and in a flicker of shadows, the grenades vanished. Her shadow also lashed out across the floor, and linked with those of everyone else left alive. Their eyes glazed over and they fell unconscious, memories wiped of Sakura and Rin, and then a massive explosion erupted from down the street.
"You teleported the grenades into the car?" Rin asked, cautiously peering out the window, but ready to dash back down on a moment's notice.
"Yup." Sakura replied, also looking out the window while staying ready to get down.
"Good." Rin savagely approved. "It's the least they deserve."
"That's what I was…" Sakura began, only for a flicker of light to catch her attention. "Watch out!"
She shoved her sister away and back down to the floor, while also twisting her body in the opposite direction. It was enough, if barely. A gunshot rang out, and a piercing pain erupted in her shoulder, blood-red blossoming over the white of her blouse.
"Sakura!" Rin shouted, grabbing her sister and pulling her closer. More gunshots rang out, but bullets just sparked harmlessly against the floor. "Are you alright?"
"It's just a flesh wound." Sakura ground out, fingers already digging into her shoulder to pull the bullet out. "I'll teleport you up there, and you give that bastard hell!"
Rin blinked, and then she nodded. "Gladly!" she said.
Sakura nodded back, and then grabbing her sister, teleported her to the same rooftop the sniper was on.
Rin reappeared in the same crouching position she'd left in, and quickly got to her feet. "Time to die, asshole!" she shouted, quickly striding over to the unsuspecting sniper.
The sniper gave an exclamation in what was probably Romanian, throwing away his rifle and getting to his feet while pulling a pistol from a waist holster. Rin didn't give him the chance to use it, kicking it out of his hand. The man then tried to throw a punch, only for Rin to catch him by the wrist, and then delivered a solid punch to the man's collar.
He howled as a collarbone shattered from the impact of Rin's fist, and then again as she shattered his other collarbone.
"HOW." Rin ground out, delivering solid strikes methodically down one side of the man's torso, and then up the other side. "DARE YOU. HURT. MY SISTER. I'LL. KILL. YOU."
Each blow shattered ribs and ruptured internal organs, the man already gurgling and coughing up blood by the time Rin grabbed him by the neck. Then lifting him up, she brought him down, literally breaking his back on her knee.
Tossing him on the ground where he lay limp, Rin spat on him before stamping down on his throat. The man's eyes bulged as he found himself unable to breathe, lips working soundlessly as he stared up into Rin's cold and merciless eyes as he writhed and convulsed in his death throes.
Prana surged nearby, and Rin turned in time to see Sakura appear in a swirl of shadows. "Sakura…are you alright?" she asked, rushing over to meet her sister, who was already striding forward.
"I'm fine." Sakura said, taking Rin's hand and giving it a squeeze. "I've already pulled the bullet out and repaired the shoulder. Now, let's see what this little maggot knows."
The sniper was already dead, but that wasn't going to stop Sakura. She pulled out her Azoth Dagger, along with an iron-filled cylinder. The former stabbed deep into the dead man's brain, through his skull, and then Sakura crushed the cylinder. "Skript," she cast. "Frage!"
Rin raised an eyebrow in curiosity, looking on clinically as the dead man twitched and convulsed as his nervous system spasmed in death. She kept on looking as blood began dribbling out of his ears and nose, as his eyes popped and spurted blood, until Sakura finally pulled her dagger clear and got back to her feet.
"Interesting," Rin remarked. "So you can rip knowledge out of a dead man's brain? Since the process seems to practically melt his brain and then some down, I'm guessing there's a limit to how long you have to get what you need to know, as well as how long it's been since he died. Still, I can see how it can be useful. Do you mind if I borrow that spell?"
"Be my guest." Sakura said with a shrug. "You are family. Just one thing: figure out the details yourself."
Rin laughed. "I appreciate the challenge." She said, before turning serious again. "So, what did you find out?"
"Forvedge assassins," Sakura said while throwing a kick at the dead man. "And there's more of them too. I do know where they're based at, though, and how many of them there are. I also know what we'll be facing if we ever take them on. Which we should; it'll help pass the time, and take out a bunch we wouldn't need to face in Romania if we killed them now."
"Can we take them?" Rin asked.
"We'll need to plan first." Sakura pointed out, and Rin shrugged.
"Not a problem." She said, before their stomachs growled, causing both sisters to sigh and slump. "We might as well buy takeout while we're at it. We can eat while planning back at the hotel."
"Agreed…damn it." Sakura said unhappily. "I wanted my Italian."
"Me too." Rin glumly agreed, the sisters giving another shared sigh of disappointment.
"What the fuck?" Sakura began as she stepped into the suite.
"Language…holy shit!" Rin started to reprimand her sister for bad language, only to give a similar exclamation herself.
There, lying on the floor of their suite, just past the door, were a pair of corpses. They were dressed like the assassins, in simple business ensembles that made them look respectable instead of the hired killers that they were.
They were dead, though. Very dead…no one could survive getting all the moisture sucked out of their body, which was what their bodies looked like, all shriveled up and sunken down to the bone. Even then, the utter terror they felt in their last moments was visible on their faces, mouths open in silent screams.
There was another body lying further down the corridor, having fallen out of the toilet. Then Little Rin curiously poked her head around a corner in the suite's living room, and then she gave a beaming smile. "You're back!" she said. "Did you bring food?"
"Of course." Sakura said, rushing over while Rin began checking their bounded fields. "Are you alright, though?"
"Of course!" Little Rin said with a grin.
"What did you do?" Rin asked her counterpart.
"Well…"
The assassin kicked the toilet door open. "No place to hide, Japanese whore!" he shouted.
Instead, a pair of small hands grabbed him by the collar, and then pulled him inside, the door slamming shut behind him. Then screaming erupted, the man's allies rushing over. "Gabriel!" they shouted, banging against the door, as terrified and anguished screaming came from inside. The screams grew louder and shriller, along with the sounds of something else.
Slurping…sucking…
The men angrily pounded at the door, even as the screams finally grew weaker and then silence. Then the door gave way, and the men rushed inside…
…and then with screams of their own, they rushed back outside, up the corridor towards the suite's door. They tried to open it, but the doorknob wouldn't budge, and then turning, they screamed.
They screamed, and screamed, and screamed, until only silence.
But Little Rin wasn't done. There were more of them. She knew it. A backup team, hiding in another room on the floor below them.
So she phased through the floor, and into the room, smiling and licking her lips as the assassins screamed and tried to run.
"…and that's what happened." Little Rin said matter-of-fact, hands on her waist.
"Well, you are a wraith." Rin admitted. "Draining life force from others is pretty much standard for, well, your kind. Sorry for any offense."
Little Rin shook her head. "It's fine." She said. "It's just the truth, after all. Anyway…can we have food now? I knew you'd be back soon, these guys couldn't have acted alone. Also, what happened out there? I could hear explosions, and guns, and I could feel my big little sister fighting and getting hurt."
"Aren't you full yet?" Sakura asked teasingly.
Little Rin scoffed and crossed her arms. "Eating life force is fine," she said. "But it's not very tasty."
"Well, don't you worry." Sakura said while fondly ruffling her little big sister's hair. "We brought food, alright. Fast food, since the assassins shot up the restaurant, but it'll have to do."
Little Rin nodded, and then tilted her head. "Are you really alright, though?" she asked.
"Yeah, I've already patched myself up." Sakura said while touching her shoulder. "One of Caules' goons shot me in the shoulder, but it wasn't that bad. Honestly, using magic hurts more compared to a flesh wound."
"They what?" Little Rin exploded, irises flashing red. "Did you kill them? Did you hurt them?"
"Oh, I definitely did." Rin said with more than a touch of vindictiveness. "Broke every rib he had, along with his spine, before I crushed his throat."
"Nice." Little Rin said with a savage grin.
"No one hurts my sister, my family, anymore." Rin said. "Not anymore…I won't let them. Never again."
Little Rin nodded, and then Sakura was back, handing out food. "So…Big Mac, large fries, and a twenty-piece chicken nuggets box for my little big sister." She began. "And of course, a large Coke Float!"
"YAY!" Little Rin gushed over the plentiful food she got. "Wait, what about you two?"
"We have food of our own." Rin said, Sakura nodding as she brought Rin her food.
"Quarter-Pounder with Cheese, large fries, and a six-piece chicken nugget box, with a large Coke for Rin." Sakura said. "And the same for me."
"Cheers." Rin dully said with a small smile, raising her Coke in a mocking toast.
Little Rin giggled, before she and Sakura started on their lunch. "While we're eating, though," Sakura said, pulling out a mystic code and putting prana into it. It flashed, and began to show a diagram on the crystalline pane that made up most of it. "We should plan on getting rid of those Forvedge thugs lurking about."
"You have a plan?" Rin asked through a mouthful of fries.
"It needs fleshing out." Sakura admitted.
"That's why I'm here." Rin pointed out. "Give me the gist of it."
"We go in, kill everybody, and then set the place on fire."
"…works for me." Rin admitted after a moment. "I like it too. Simple and efficient…now, how do we do it?"
Sakura began reciting what she'd learned from melting down an assassin's brain, and from there, the Tohsaka siblings put a plan together.
Forvedge wouldn't know what hit them.
A/N
I weep at imagining what could have been, had Rin and Sakura been allowed to stay and work together, instead of being torn apart by Tokiomi's incompetence.
Anyway…we're off to Italy! A bit of humor first, then action, and some after-action. Up next, Tohsaka goes on the offensive.