Disclaimer: I do not own the Fate franchise it belongs to Kinoko Nasu and Type-Moon.

Resolution

Chapter 10

"You've been gone for quite some time." Sakura remarked with an air of concern, as Rin walked back into their suite atop the Fuyuki Grand Hyatt. "Where did you go?"

"I had to visit Okinawa and Kanto to discreetly get sacrifices for the last category." Rin replied, handing over the mystic code Sakura had given her over a week ago, when her big little sister had sent her to gather the appropriate sacrifices for the planned demon summoning. "Well, actually that goes for all categories of Human sacrifices. Spread them out, to avoid drawing too much attention…although I suspect the sacrifices in the third category won't be noticed for quite a long time yet."

Sakura hummed as she reviewed the gathered sacrifices for the last four categories. "…five drug pushers and dealers for the second category…" she muttered. "…a quintet of hikikomori for the third category…an assortment of playboys and prostitutes for the fourth category…and…wait, what? Five US military veterans for the fifth category? RIN!"

Rin sniffed as she laid herself out on the couch. "Don't waste your sympathies." She sneered. "I took a look through their heads before I tossed them inside your prison. These veterans all fought in the Middle East back during Bush's war, and again during the Pakistan Armed Intervention three years ago. And they really enjoyed killing innocent people, seeing them as worthless simply because they were neither white, American, or Christian."

Rin paused to spit to one side. "Americans…" she said in disgust.

"Not all Americans are like that." Sakura reprovingly said.

"Maybe, maybe," Rin said while holding up her hands. "But these ones are. One of them even thought it was a shame he never got assigned to that prison, Abu Ghraib, or something, during his time in the Middle East. Like I said, your sympathies are wasted on these pieces of trash."

"…fine." Sakura said with a sigh, massaging her forehead at the building migraine within. "Anyway…no sympathies for these drug dealers and drug pushers, but…hikikomori? Playboys and prostitutes?"

"We call them hikikomori, but Americans also call them incels." Rin said with a shrug. "No big loss. As for the playboys…think successful versions of Shinji Matou, while the prostitutes…they're selling their bodies not because they have no other choice, and I made sure none of them had any children dependent on them. No, they're just selling their bodies because they can't be bothered with finding a better way to live their lives."

Rin paused and shrugged again, her eyes hard and cold as the Antarctic ice that anchored her being to the World. "If so," she said. "Then let it all end for a greater purpose than they could possibly imagine."

"…being a supervillain isn't as easy as it sounds." Sakura grumbled.

Rin smiled. "Maybe," she admitted. "But you've come this far already. Don't falter or turn back now, when you're so very close."

"…this is true." Sakura said with a sigh. "Now that the sacrifices are ready…let's proceed as soon as possible with the summoning and binding."

"And then what?" Rin asked.

Sakura's face turned grim as she held up her arm. "Then it will be time to prepare the crest for the future." She said.


"NO!" the serial killed roared as he struggled against Sakura's telekinetic grip, held up along with his fellow blood sacrifices naked in the air. "YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO US! YOU SICK LITTLE BITCH! I…WE HAVE RIGHTS, DAMN IT!"

"Right…sure you do…" Sakura dryly said, her eyes cold and remorseless. "…as did all those people you killed."

"I…!"

Sakura didn't let him finish, to say nothing of the other sacrifices' complaints. Instead, she threw back, impaling them against the iron spikes lining the Black Vault, screams and cries of pain quickly turning into gurgles and death rattles. Blood spilled onto the ground, flowing in streams towards the center, where they evaporated on touching the central dais.

Multicolored light flickered and reality seemed to split, molten lava spilling out of a seam in reality, the stink of sulfur and ozone both filling the air. An oppressive spiritual pressure similarly descended over the surroundings, Sakura feeling her heart beating faster as temperatures rose to boiling.

Then with a roar, the lava rose into a vaguely-anthropomorphic figure form, its eyes burning pits of fire that would make the eyes of whoever looked into them with less than iron will or its equivalent bleed in spiritual agony.

Sakura gestured, and prana flickered.

Above, the apparatus opened, spilling out a stream of liquid sodium onto the demon below. It roared again, muffled from all the liquid metal spilling onto it, the rage mixed with pain as the liquid sodium absorbed its heat.

Other apparatuses affixed to the surrounding walls came to life with another gesture, drawing spent liquid sodium to them across the floor. There, it flowed into receptacles, then pumped through pipes up the walls and across the ceiling back into the central apparatus, forming a closed loop.

Rage is calmed.

Hunger is sated.

Sloth is agitated.

Desire is sated.

Pride is humbled.

By my will all these things are done,

That they might serve my purpose,

And the eyes of the World blinded to my ambition.

So I have declared!

And so it shall be!

Sakura clenched her fist as she finished casting, and made a sharp, jerking, backward movement. Thunder cracked as air was violently displaced, the stink of ozone growing so sharp it made her head swim. But it was worth it.

Already, she could feel the bound demon's power flowing into the Circle of Shadow, the first part of five that would blind the Counter Force long enough for her to open and pass through the gate.

"One down," Sakura said, wiping her nose and turning to leave, workers ready to seal the vault in her wake. "Four more to go."


Rage is calmed.

Hunger is sated.

Sloth is agitated.

Desire is sated.

Pride is humbled.

By my will all these things are done,

That they might serve my purpose,

And the eyes of the World blinded to my ambition.

So I have declared!

And so it shall be!

The summoning of the other demons went the same way, although the way they were bound within their respective Black Vaults went differently.

The second demon – a swirling, vaguely-anthropomorphic mass of shadows under a tattered cloak and hood with a single, balefully-glowing eye under the latter – was telekinetically forced into an iron casket, the door stamped to give the impression of a screaming figure within. Silver locks and bolts were used to seal the casket, before iron chains were wrapped around it as well.

The chained casket was then lowered into the Black Vault's central pit, suspended in midair with more chains attached and pulled taut against the walls. The pit was then filled to volume with mercury, before the vault was similarly sealed.

This was the most complicated of the bindings, with the third and fourth demons being the simplest. The third demon – an (again) vaguely-anthropomorphic mass of twisted flesh under a tattered cloak and hood, although featuring a Roman-like crest on its back, with clawed limbs extending from its sleeves and a trio of eyes glowing from under its hood – was simply forced into an iron cage.

Said cage was then suspended over a pit, its bottom filled with radioactive metal spheres that heated the air within and above the pit to over six hundred degrees Celsius. That done, the vault was sealed, and Sakura moved on to the next Black Vault.

Summoning and binding the fourth demon was the easiest…and the most disturbing.

"It's not too late, Sakura." Caules Forvedge – or what looked like him – began while pushing his glasses up his nose. "You can still stop this. We can still start over."

Pale and shaking, Sakura forcibly restrained the demon with her telekinesis, and began casting her aria. "Rage is calmed. Hunger is sated. Sloth is agitated. Desire is sated. Pride is humbled." She said. "By my will all these things are done…"

"…Sakura, this is wrong!" Shirou – or what looked like him over twenty years ago, during the Fifth Holy Grail War – shouted while struggling against Sakura's telekinetic grip. "You…!"

"…that they might serve my purpose, and the eyes of the World blinded to my ambition." Sakura continued. "So I have declared! And so it shall be!"

Thunder cracked as air was violently displaced, sharp-smelling ozone filling the air as the demon – still in a teenaged Shirou's form – fell on all fours, in a rectangular vault whose walls, floor, and ceiling were all covered with mercury-inlaid inscriptions. Sakura didn't waste time, quickly leaving the vault and sealing it, the demon favoring with a single golden-eyed glare as the doors were sealed.

The fifth and last demon was a colossal brute, easily standing two-stories high, with armor-like skin hard as rock and possessing electrokinetic abilities. It was also powerful enough to break free of Sakura's grasp, and sent her flying with a casual flick of a lightning whip, laughing as she screamed in pain.

But Rin was there, and quickly transformed into her guardian spirit form, an equally-colossal beast that pounced on and pushed the demon down before simply sitting on it. "Sakura," Rin pulsed out the thought. "Finish it."

Cursing angrily and clutching at ugly second and third-degree burns over her torso and left arm, Sakura directed workmen to play iron collars and cuffs on the demon, before securing it with chains. Its mouth was also muzzled, and then the chains were pulled taut, forcing the demon up and spread-eagled on its feet.

Rage is calmed.

Hunger is sated.

Sloth is agitated.

Desire is sated.

Pride is humbled.

By my will all these things are done,

That they might serve my purpose,

And the eyes of the World blinded to my ambition.

So I have declared!

And so it shall be!

Inscriptions on the walls began to glow, chains humming as energy was drawn from the demon and into the vault's walls. Temperatures unnaturally quickly, Sakura's blood quickly freezing as her breaths came out in steamy puffs. Similarly, moisture in the air quickly deposited themselves on the walls, floor, ceiling, the chains, and even the demon itself.

"…let's…let's go…" Sakura weakly said, Rin helping her exhausted and injured big little sister out and away with the vault being sealed behind them.


"Things got more than a little bit hairy at the end, didn't they?" Rin remarked.

"Yes, they did." Sakura said, lying down on the outdoors couch while Rin sat at the pool's edge, splashing her feet and legs in the water. "But, we both knew this wouldn't be easy. Not even close. And compared to how…completing the path will go, well…"

Rin hummed. "I don't like seeing you get hurt." She eventually said.

"I know." Sakura said with a sigh. "And I'm grateful for you caring. But…"

"…comes with being a magus, huh?" Rin said with a sigh of her own, before looking over her shoulder at Sakura. "You will come back, right?"

"I can't promise that." Sakura sadly said, making sure to look at Rin. "I can only promise reaching the Root, but coming back…"

"…touch and go…damn…" Rin darkly said.

Sakura gave a weak smile. "Well," she said. "At the very least, I won't be leaving you all alone."

"That's not…" Rin burst out before trailing off with another sigh. "…I know that much has to be good enough, but…that's not…what I…what I want…"

"…if wanting or wishing were enough, then people wouldn't have to work hard." Sakura said.

"I know…damn it, I know…" Rin snapped, angrily splashing at the water in the pool.

Sakura took a deep breath. "Well," she said. "Look on the bright side. If I manage come back, then maybe, just maybe, just wanting or wishing will be enough. I mean…if we – I – could pull off one miracle then, I could pull off more."

"Then make damn sure you come back." Rin shortly said.

Sakura smiled but said nothing. After several moments, Rin sighed. "At least delay your meeting with the tuner." She said. "After all the stress and injuries you've been through today, you should take at least a couple of days off to rest and recover. Considering how receiving the crest put you in bed for weeks the last time, how much more getting it off, to say nothing of adding a few of your circuits to it?"

"No worries." Sakura said. "I'm not scheduled to meet the tuner until three days from now anyway."

Rin sighed. "Well," she began. "That's…something."

Sakura beamed in silence.


Sakura slept in come the following day, and emerged from her bedroom to find Rin loafing about on the couch with a miffed look on her face. "Good morning…" Sakura hesitantly greeted her little big sister. "…or is it?"

"No, it's good morning to you." Rin said, putting down her PSP. "Sleep well?"

"Yes."

"Feeling better?"

"Yes…something wrong?"

Rin clicked her tongue before sitting up. "Did a check on our siblings," she said. "Like you said yesterday, I've been gone for a while. Found them walking out of a love hotel together…seriously?"

"Well, why not just go confront them if you're so bothered by it?" Sakura asked, strolling over to sit on the couch's spine.

"You're not?" Rin asked.

Sakura shrugged. "It's disturbing," she admitted. "But they're adults already. They can make their own choices, and if those choices screw them over, then the consequences are theirs to face. That, and so long as its consensual, which it looks like to me."

Rin clicked her tongue. "It's unnatural." She finally said.

"So is being a magus." Sakura said with another shrug. "Or being turned into a ghost into a guardian spirit."

Rin opened her mouth to retort…

…and just as quickly closed it. "This is fair." She conceded.

"Besides," Sakura pointed out. "Incest is hardly unknown in magi society. I know of at least one magi family in the Clock Tower which has married only within itself for the past millennium or so. Apparently, they bred out the deformities and hereditary diseases in the first two centuries, although they have to keep everything within the family otherwise all that work will just go poof."

"…magi are weird." Rin grumbled.

"Ironic." Sakura remarked, and Rin rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah," she said. "I'll go confront them…but first! There's breakfast for you in the dining room. Rice, eggs, soup, and corned beef, all covered up."

Sakura smiled. "Thanks." She said, and Rin smiled.

"You're welcome." She said before getting up and adjusting her blouse. "Now then…off to see our siblings."

"Take care," Sakura said, waving at Rin as she walked past. "And do try to be subtle."

"No promises are made." Rin replied, causing Sakura to sigh.

"…oh boy." She just said, as Rin smiled, then turning to astral form, left.


"We need to talk." The voice slipped into their hands, and causing the Matou siblings to all but jump out of their skin.

"Who the…oh, it's you." Rin (Matou) said as he looked down at the black cat sitting on its haunches before them on the street corner. "What does our sister want?"

"Let's talk somewhere more private." Mikasa said, before turning and padding her way up another street.

Rin (Matou) and Sakura (Matou) shared a look between them before following the cat. The trio proceeded in silence, until they arrive at a park, with Mikasa jumping up onto a swing and sitting down.

"Incest is bad." She began without preamble, causing Sakura (Matou) to blush and look down, while Rin (Matou) looked very uncomfortable.

"I…we…have no idea what you're talking about." He fumbled.

"Oh, yes you do." Mikasa immediately responded. "Don't forget, we've been keeping an eye on your family. We've spotted you visiting a love hotel twice now, and being very…lovey-dovey, with each other even before getting to your room."

"W-w-w-wait…" Sakura (Matou) stammered out while poking her fingers togetehr. "…does that mean…you've been watching as big brother and me have been…w-w-w-w-well, you know…"

"No, of course not." Mikasa said. "We're not voyeurs. We cut the feed past a certain point…anyway! Like I was saying. Incest is bad. Sure, having sex with a blood relative might seem like a casual thing at first, no different from having sex with somebody else, but any children you have…"

"WE KNOW!" Rin (Matou) burst out, before visibly reigning himself in and giving a cough. "Yes, we know. We've been using protection…well, Sakura has been."

"That, and…um…" Sakura (Matou) began. "…we're…I'm prepared for the danger, if and when big brother and me decide to have kids."

"Why, though?" Mikasa asked. "Why with him? Your brother of all people?"

"You can't help who you fall in love in with." Sakura (Matou) replied, showing a hint of steel in her eyes and voice. "I don't care what society or our family might say, but…I won't give big brother up for anything or anyone."

Rin (Matou) nodded before crossing his arms. "It just happens." He said. "That's love."

"It certainly helps that there was always love to begin with." Sakura (Matou) said with a sigh, her eyes and voice turning dreamy as she briefly reminisced. "It just…changed…became deeper, more…passionate, than it's always been."

"Do your parents even know?" Mikasa asked.

"No." Rin (Matou) said before meeting her eyes. "Will you tell them?"

"…no." Mikasa admitted after a moment, and the telepathic impression of a sigh. "And I don't think Sakura – Magus Tohsaka – will either. And before you ask, yes, she…actually, I'm not sure if she approves or disapproves, but it sounds like she won't interfere so long as this is consensual."

The Matou siblings looked very offended. "Of course it's consensual!" Rin (Matou) exploded. "Why would I force myself on my sister? Or anyone else, for that matter."

"Or force my brother to sleep with me, for that matter!" Sakura (Matou) snapped in her turn.

"I'm sure Magus Tohsaka meant no offense." Mikasa reassured them. "But I'm sure you know as well as she does that most incestuous relationships do have coercive elements, with the consensual and truly…romantic examples, being the exception rather than the rule."

Rin (Matou) huffed. "…fair, I guess." She said. "But we're the exception, believe it or not."

"Magus Tohsaka is inclined to believe." Mikasa said. "That, and she says you're adults, who can make your own choices and face their consequences…"

Mikasa tailed off with another telepathic impression of a sigh. "This is…not how I expected this to go." She admitted.

"Well, what did you expect?" Sakura (Matou) asked.

"I…I'm not really sure, to be honest." Mikasa admitted. "I…need to go and think…but first, back to your parents…I don't think they'll be as accepting as Magus Tohsaka is."

"…no, I don't think they will." Sakura (Matou) sadly said.

"I hate to admit it, but that's probably true." Rin (Matou) agreed. "Well, dad might be persuaded to accept it, but mother…"

"…oh, mother…" Sakura (Matou) said with a despondent look on her face.

"I see." Mikasa said while getting up. "It seems you have some serious…considerations, to deal with. I'll leave it to you two, then. I too have…places to be, things to think about. Until we meet again, take care."

"You as well, Miss Mikasa." Rin (Matou) said with a nod, his sister bowing beside him. "Pass on our regards to our sister as well."

Mikasa just hummed at that, before walking off.


A/N

A serial killer demanding his rights as he's about get turned into a Human sacrifice…ironic.

Yeah, Sakura still has problems, if a demon takes the form of her ex, or her teenage crush, to tempt her into not binding it. Among other things, of course, although Human sacrifices among other questionable stuff she gets up to isn't really something magi society would have issues with.

They'd be more concerned about how…public, the blowback is, than whatever experiment/s it is that Sakura is actually conducting.