They left the house when the Sun finally dipped beyond the horizon, transforming the evening sky into a bright orange. Long, twisting shadows reached across the earth, and most people decided to turn in for the day. From the mountains, dark clouds had begun to roll in during the day.
Fuyuki City prepared itself for slumber.
And as the night slowly but surely rolled in, Satan freely walked upon the earth once again. His presence was restrained, to the slightest he could bring it, but he was still a Dark God with the highest possible rank of Divinity that the Archer class could handle.
Every single person who laid eyes upon the dark robed priest walking with the help of a cane had dread take root in the very core of their being. Some looked away, others changed paths entirely. Then, there were the freaky few who grew all hot and bothered at the sight of the Prince of Hell.
Past his gloom, He was one to lead people astray by tempting them to sin, and so he was immensely beautiful to those who could push down the blaring alarms in their conscience.
"What are we actually doing?" Rin asked with a sigh, unhappy with leaving Sakura alone.
Beelzebub did not slow down.
"We're taking a walk."
"I get that. What's the point?"
He hummed faintly, "Do not blame yourself for your sister's tragedy."
Rin's lips thinned as a sudden frustration took over her features. Her eyes trembled.
"Whose fault is it then?" She asked grimly.
"Your father."
"How do you know-"
Beelzebub gave a slight smile at that.
"Was he not the one who told you she would lead a good life? Is that not deception, my master?"
It made no sense that their father was unaware of what awaited her when he handed the child over to a monster like Zouken. The two families had co-existed in this city for centuries now, and the Tohsaka were the owners of the land. Magi were a prickish sort, entirely too paranoid to have fun.
Rin, at least, had the excuse that she wouldn't be in charge of the city till she was an adult.
Their father... did not.
Rin could put that much together.
Her face paled at the realisation, and her hands clenched shut so tight her knuckles became white.
"But he wouldn't..."
"Surely, you are above deluding yourself when the truth is so plain."
"Why would he do that to his own daughter?"
"Yes, why?" Beelzebub led her along, "It makes you want to hate him, does it not? It is only your right. A resentment more than deserved."
He hated him too.
"Wait a second."
She noticed?
A second bout of realisation flashed across her features. She let go of all the frustration and the questions welling up within her to glare at him. Her little frown was cute.
"Didn't you promise you wouldn't lead me astray?"
"Haha," A low, raspy chuckle left Beelzebub's lips. He leaned on his staff, "Guilty as charged, master. Ah, but you were wallowing so pitifully that I simply could not help myself."
He could even guess what would trouble her heart next. The truth that the Father of Lies had spoken none at all to her.
"Rejoice anew, master. I shall put on the greatest of shows to bring joy to your saddened heart."
"I didn't take Satan to be the sort to reassure people."
"Even I take an interest, and possess a heart to be moved by beauty."
And an ass to die for.
He left that unsaid. Beelzebub could not be caught being so crass.
Instead of getting flustered, Rin gave a faint giggle at the sheer absurdity in his words.
"I thought it'd be a cold, dead lump of blackness surrounded by sadness."
"Perhaps you should not conflate my existence with your father's. I would like to have you, but not for your... Ah, I believe they call them daddy issues?"
Her brows knit together.
"Are you sure you're not Asmodeus?"
Rin Tohsaka made one critical mistake in that assumption.
"You hold myself to the standards of man."
His larp had long reached heights unprecedented and inconceivable...
-
Rin admitted... that she was extremely curious about what Beelzebub had in store. There was a lot she needed to consider, and many more questions she was yet to process... and Rin felt she would drown in her own thoughts if left alone.
Her expectations for the Holy Grail War had already been tossed out of the window and stabbed in the corpse.
It was only the second day.
And so, she was grateful to Beelzebub, though she'd never tell him that.
Unlike last night, she was the one who followed him in silence. The Sun was setting by the time they reached the recently opened Hyatt Hotel because, true to his words, her servant actually walked the entire way.
They had walked through half the city.
Rin expected the staff to come to them the moment they crossed the sliding glass doors, but Beelzebub stopped a moment short. He rubbed his chin in some unknown consideration, before walking to the side of the hotel.
Then, as she watched, he stepped on the wall... the very vertical wall made of thick glass.
Clack
"How are you-" She pushed the words down, "Of course, you are."
"I find your lack of faith disturbing."
Rin's shoulders drooped, "Me too. I'm not really a devout believer, but I really didn't know I'd be this open to working with Satan. I'll take the elevator."
"No need."
He held out his left hand. An invisible platform took shape underneath her feet. A moment later, she was rising with him. It really felt like something was pushing up underneath her feet.
"Wo-ah."
She didn't even question what sort of ability allowed him to achieve the miracle of flight, no, she was grateful he didn't simply sprout great wings with no concern for who was looking.
The city sprawled beneath them, blinking and alive with a million lights. She saw the mountains rising in the distance, past the other skyscrapers dotting the Shinto District. It was nothing short of a miracle of modern construction. A mere decade ago, this entire district burnt to the ground in a great fire, but the government re-built it even faster.
There were a few things to be said of how utterly lacking in taste the place was, though.
"I still don't get how this walk helps you get me incomparable wealth."
Satan pressed a finger against his lips.
"It would not do to reveal my machinations this close. But, I will humor your discontent. What do you find lacking about our approach?"
"Oh... I don't know. Maybe the fact that you revealed your True Name to everyone that bothered to listen. I'm not even going to talk about the mess you destroying the Matou is going to cause. The stupidest thing is that I can't even be mad at you for it."
"Unexpected wisdom."
Rin shivered, rubbing her arms together, "What?"
"I expected you to grow furious and bluster." He said idly.
"Come on, I wouldn't do that."
He gave her an inexpressive look.
Rin felt heat rush to her cheeks.
"Okay. Okay, maybe I would! But I get to be mad, okay?"
"Certainly. At your father."
A slight smile crossed her lips, a tad helpless, "Leave my father alone."
"I shall feast upon his wretched soul. It is a matter of principle. Surely, someone out there would attribute his deeds to my name."
Rin held her face in her hands. "You're serious, aren't you?"
"After this, I will hear your plan for the war."
Quietly, Rin mulled over what exactly his intentions for the roof of the hotel were. She came up empty. There was no possible wealth to be found up there, no person who could provide it, literally no one to even meet. True to that, the only thing that awaited on the empty rooftop was the light thrum of outdoor air conditioning units and vent exits.
There weren't even any crickets.
Knowing him, she'd really expected something flashy.
Wait.
Rin facepalmed as Beelzebub stepped past. He walked to the edge of the rooftop, and began looking down at the world with eyes that held no remorse and no consideration for anyone at all.
An entire city, filled with hundreds of thousands of people.
He was Satan.
Clack.
An intense red spilled from the skull atop his staff.
His hands came to rest atop the skull.
An inky darkness surged forth like water from a broken dam, writhing with long tendrils that reached out for the heavens above and the city below. The presence he had restrained for her until now. She knew that he wasn't targeting her... but even then, her knees almost gave.
It rose and swelled, swelled and rose, and rose and rose.
"What are you doing?!"
Rin's words came out sharper than she intended.
The Devil smiled.
"Taking an enthusiastic walk."
It was nothing like what he had shown against the Matou.
No, this was... a declaration of war.
It hit her.
Satan's pride would never brook a war in the shadows, for he had waged the greatest of wars himself.
-
Hope you enjoyed.
Goddamn it really does feel like I'm writing Fate/Disturbance all over again.