CHAPTER 22:

VALUES

Later that morning, Harry, Jeanne, and Sakura had taken a Portkey to a park near the Zenjous, with Harry having contacted Risei to get the address (Sirius knew the place, so he could make the Portkey himself). When Harry knocked on the door, they were soon greeted by Aoi. "…Mr Potter? And…Sakura?" Her hand flew to her mouth, and she was instantly on her knees, hugging her daughter. "…I'm so sorry, Sakura. I'm so…so sorry…"

Sakura had a startled look to her eyes, not expecting this reaction. But then, she returned the hug, and began weeping. Hearing the noise, Rin appeared, only to dash forward and begin hugging Sakura as well. Harry and Jeanne just stood there and let them do so…

They were soon invited inside, with Aoi's parents currently out, with Aoi quickly making some tea. "Harry…words cannot describe the gratitude I feel towards you getting Sakura out of there. If I had known about the Crest Worms, I would have fought Tokiomi on this. But…I merely thought that Zouken, while he looked sinister, would merely train her hard," she said, as she brought a tray over. "I misjudged Kariya, badly. I was told by Risei that he had a thing for me, something that I've suspected in the back of my mind…but to think he had a good reason for running out on his family. And to think, Tokiomi would go so far as to meddle with our memories."

"You married a Magus," Harry pointed out.

Aoi nodded miserably, before looking at Sakura and Rin, sitting together. "Our family were Magi long ago, but we gave up the practise. Tokiomi courted me, however, for a trait our family had. But he was also such a gentle and courteous and gentlemanly man…I thought that I had known the man behind the Magus. I was wrong. To give up Sakura, while heartbreaking, was…I did not agree with it, but I agreed with the reasoning, the fight over the Tohsaka Magic Crest. But then, Zouken came with his offer, and…" Her voice caught in her throat. "Tokiomi had been considering the Edelfelts at one stage, to heal the rift between our families, and I know she would have been loved there. The Edelfelts, for all their ruthlessness and pragmatism, care for their family, from what I have heard. Sakura Edelfelt would have been loved, not…not given over to worms…"

As she began to sob, Rin, who was gently cuddling Sakura, looked sharply at Harry. "Hebi…no, Harry…will you keep Sakura safe? Will you promise to do so?"

"I really want to say that I can guarantee that," Harry said. "But…I know you're a smart girl for your age, Rin. Both you and your sister are. Your father is a brilliant Magus, and he has one of the strongest Servants in this Grail War. And Zouken…I'm not sure what will put him down for good. But I can promise you that I will do my best to keep her away from those who'd do her harm, and if I fail in that, then I will do my utmost to get her back."

"And so will I," Jeanne declared.

Aoi looked at Jeanne. "And yet, I am told you are an Avenger Servant. I admittedly only know the basics of the Holy Grail War, of the seven standard classes, but the name Avenger implies, well…not a protective nature."

Jeanne glared at the demure young woman for a moment, before sighing, and putting her teacup down. "You have a point. Avengers…we avenge the grievances and insults and injustices done to us in life. Sakura knows who I am…and Tokiomi would know by now, so there's no point in concealing it. I am a fictionalised version of Jeanne d'Arc."

"Who is that?" Rin asked.

"Joan of Arc was a famous girl who claimed to hear the voice of God and his angels, telling her to defend France from the English forces during the Hundred Years War," Aoi explained. "The English and their Burgundian allies captured her eventually, and framed her for being a witch, more or less, before burning her at the stake. I'm simplifying things, Rin, but she died at the age of nineteen."

"Exactly. But…I'm not Jeanne's dark side. She was too pure and kind and loving to think of revenge. No…Caster, Gilles de Rais, my former comrade…he wanted a Jeanne who was filled with wrath and hatred and a thirst for vengeance. I think the Grail answered him. And here I am. The thing is…I know I'm not a good person. But I despise those who deliberately harm innocents. I was innocent of the crimes I was put on trial for. Sakura is an innocent, more innocent than even my saint self was when they burned her. What Zouken put her through…I won't lie and say I wouldn't wish that on anyone. But few would, certainly not an innocent child." Jeanne met Aoi's eyes. "I will protect her to the bitter end, Aoi. I could be cruel and say better than you…but your main fault was ignorance."

Aoi nodded, accepting both the rebuke and the qualification. "…But can you protect her? Tokiomi has summoned a powerful Archer, from what I know, and…"

"He didn't seem like the sort to obey orders," Harry pointed out. "Too full of himself. He seemed to find this situation entertaining. Your husband and Zouken are the main problems, at least as far as Sakura is concerned. With Berserker, Caster and Assassin gone, well…while I can't discount any other Servants, it's Saber and Archer, as well as their Masters, that we need to look out for. Saber's Master is Kiritsugu Emiya, after all."

"Yes, I heard Tokiomi bring him up. And if you win, or at least survive, what then?"

"It depends on whether your husband is still alive. If not, and if Sakura wants to come back to you…then I'll give her back without any hesitation. But…even if he doesn't win, he may still survive. And I don't know whether being a Magus would affect child custody and the like if you divorce him."

"I understand. I don't like it, but I do understand. But should you have to keep her…please…show her the love I should have shown her," Aoi pleaded.

Harry and Jeanne nodded. "Aoi…" Harry said. "I was orphaned by a warlock from a young age, something I became famous for. My relatives did not treat me well, considering me a freak for having magical ability. The people of my world treated me as their messiah one moment, and then as a nascent dark lord the next. Even after I killed the warlock who made it his life mission to hound me and kill me…they betrayed me. It's how I ended up in this world. I may not know all of what Sakura went through, but I know what it feels like to be abandoned, alone, harmed by those who should love me. All for my own good, so it was claimed. I want to help Sakura heal from this, because in some ways, she's more like me than I want her to be…"

They spent some time there, more for Sakura and Rin's sake than anything. Harry was glad Rin was so accepting of the fact that he was a shapeshifter, as long as he wasn't a pervert. The aqua-eyed girl reminded him so much of Hermione, it was painful. That same precociousness and bossiness, masking a caring heart.

They left by Portkey, and found that Waver and Iskandar had gone out shopping. Jeanne had sighed a sigh of relief at that. Harry knew that, while she was allied with the Rider Servant for pragmatic reasons, Jeanne detested his character. His skills, she had no fault with, but his attitude…

Harry could understand that. Iskandar was an ebullient and charismatic man, and it was easy to like him, but Jeanne wasn't wrong in her assessment of him, nor was Arturia. Iskandar was a greedy man who despoiled others, and while he certainly made people proud to be under his banner, there was no getting around the fact that he had a blind spot in some regards to the effects his conquests had on others.

He remembered discussing with Hermione the Ptolemaic Dynasty of pharaohs of Egypt, descended from one of Iskandar's generals, Ptolemy. Hermione and he were discussing the effects of inbreeding with Ron with regards to Purebloods in Magical Britain, and Hermione used the Ptolemaic Dynasty as an example, as well as the Hapsburgs. The Ptolemys were not only extremely inbred, more so than most Purebloods in Britain, but vicious in their infighting.

Iskandar didn't care about the fact that his empire didn't last much beyond his death. And while Harry did have a tendency to live for today like the burly conqueror, he also thought that not caring about whether one's legacy would survive for even a short time after one's death was wrong. One shouldn't obsess over it, true, but he did understand Arturia's disquiet. And while Iskandar had a strong point, that she shouldn't have martyred herself, well…Harry felt that her attitude to being a king were better than Iskandar's, or Archer, whom Jeanne said (according to Iskandar's guesswork) was Gilgamesh.

So caught up was he in thought while nursing a cup of tea in the Mackenzies' kitchen, that he nearly spilled the scalding liquid on himself when his mobile trilled. He answered it. "Hello?"

"Mr Potter, it's Kirei Kotomine."

Harry frowned. "Yes, Kirei? What's the matter? Are you ringing up to apologise for setting Assassin on us last night?"

"I was doing so under orders from Tokiomi. Specifically, to try and force Iskandar to reveal his Noble Phantasm. I didn't enjoy doing so. In any case, that is not why I called you. I wanted to ask you a few questions."

"Like what?"

"…Kiritsugu Emiya. You've met him at least once, I know. I'm curious as to what your impressions of the man are."

"Why do you ask?"

"…Avenger saw right through me. While I will not regale you with the reasons she was, I will admit that I am searching for a reason to live, something that cannot be sated by religion. While speaking with Archer and Kariya Matou have been enlightening…I need more. Although I was granted the Command Seals by the Grail three years before, I did not know why it had chosen me, a hollow man, someone Avenger aptly called the walking dead. Learning the answer to that question has been the biggest reason for joining this Grail War. And then, Tokiomi spoke to me of Kiritsugu Emiya, the biggest enigma in this Grail War, and I found myself intrigued and puzzled by him. I am yet to find any insights into why such a ruthless man fights."

"I honestly don't know either. But…I think he's someone who is a man who fights for justice, but makes himself a monster in order to do so. I don't know his wish, but he has a wife and a child. He seemed to indicate that, if it weren't for pragmatism, he'd have helped us find Caster or rescue Sakura."

"I see." The tone those two words were spoken in was a contemplative one. Then, he said, "Thank you."

"…Kirei…why do you want to know?" Harry asked softly.

There was a pause, before Kirei said, "It'll have to wait." And then, Harry heard a familiar rustling and chittering. "Leaving aside the fact that I don't know you well enough to divulge something even my father doesn't know, there's an unwanted guest dropping in. Excuse me…"

Kirei hung up the phone, and then looked to the swarm of bugs that soon coalesced into Zouken Matou. He had left the church and moved far enough away from it before making the call…but this was serendipitous. "Zouken Matou…or should that be Zolgen Makiri?"

The decrepit old man merely smirked. "And Kirei Kotomine…Risei's defective child. I wonder what the Potter boy would think of you if he knew how evil and twisted you truly were. I've lived a long life, after all, and I know what sort of person you are. Or perhaps I should tell your father? Hmm, well, as much as I would like to chat, I believe I have business with you. It seems you know where my wayward granddaughter is, as you are in contact with her kidnapper."

"Rescuer," Kirei corrected. "She was rescued from Caster. And I literally have no idea where she is. A wizard explained to me that it's a specific Bounded Field that hides a piece of information within a certain person's soul, and only they can reveal the secret to others. So even if I did know, and was not the Secret Keeper, I could not divulge it to you, no matter what you tried."

"…Then I think I shall divulge to Tokiomi Tohsaka about your betrayal," Zouken said, before clucking in mock disapproval, "It seems that we cannot trust the Church anymore. Not that we should have in the first place."

Kirei smirked, readying some Black Keys. In truth, Risei had communicated covertly with the Vatican on these matters, asking if authorisation to put paid to Zouken Matou and Tokiomi Tohsaka could be arranged. For now, Tokiomi would be left alone, as he was a combatant in the Holy Grail War, though after the Grail War…they would consider what to do with him then. In truth, he probably wouldn't get punished much by the Church if he survived this Grail War…beyond the Church helping his wife and children stay away from him.

Zouken Matou, however, was not a combatant. While Kirei wasn't to go out of his way to kill him, if Zouken made an attempt on the Kotomines or any attempt to breach the neutrality of the church they used as a haven, well…Kirei could deal with him. True, Zouken was five centuries old, and a Magus didn't get that old without being able to deal with threats. But Kirei relished the challenge. He was going to exorcise this worm-riddled walking cadaver, and banish him completely from this plane of existence.

And perhaps, just this once, he could actually take some pleasure in Zouken's suffering. Surely God would forgive him this one-time indulgence of his sadistic tendencies. The only bad thing was that said suffering would be over too soon…

CHAPTER 22 ANNOTATIONS:

Well, a nice reunion between the shafted Tohsakas, and Zouken…yeah, he's fucked.

No numbered annotations this time.