The Time Key

A Planned Chaos

Shiro woke up at the monastery.

The night before, he had run out of leads trying to locate Rin, Yukio or Mephisto and decided a good night's sleep was the best plan.

He found himself at the front door of his former home, but unfortunately, a chain locked the double doors. Shiro knew there was a secret way into the building. It was through the old crypt in the adjoining cemetery, sealed with a magic aria he, himself, had cast.

Making his way through the ancient monuments, Shiro saw something strange. The cemetery permitted no new burials for over 50 years, but a new tombstone stood in his path. As he read the inscription, he fell to his knees in shock. It read: Here lies Father Fujimoto, Hero.

"No! I wasn't a hero!" Shiro fought back a wave of emotion. "I was a fucking moron!"

In the darkness, the sound of approaching footsteps drew his attention. Shiro reached into his robes for his gun and quietly clicked off the safety.

"Stand down, soldier." An older man chuckled, his form barely visible behind a row of tombstones. "I not going to hurt you. But you do seem down on your luck. Can I help you with anything?"

"I dunno." Shiro crossed his arms. "Are you the ghost of Christmas Future? I could use a reset, complete with hot babes and a big juicy turkey."

The man laughed at his dank joke.

"No, no, I'm not." He said good-naturedly. "But I do make a mean cup of tea."

The man pulled back his cowl, and Shiro jumped to his feet with relief.

"Tatsuma! " Shiro hugged him tightly. "I've never been more fucking glad to see you, old friend!"

"I'm glad to be here, lots of bad things have happened in the future." He sighed as they regarded the tombstone. "I'm sorry you saw this."

"Yeah, apparently, I'm a stiff." Shiro kicked a clump of dirt next to his grave. "It had to be Satan; nobody else could get the drop on me."

"He came after Rin through you." The monk retold the story. "You saved him but lost your life."

"I must have lost my temper," Shiro growled. "That was his only way in. Mephisto was right."

"He was?"

"Yeah, but we can never tell him that," Shiro replied. "He's already a raving narcissist."

"I see."

"But let's leave that for a later conversation. I've got more important things on my mind."

"Such as?"

"When did you get so fucking ancient?" Shiro clapped him on the shoulder jokingly. "Now we're both a couple of old farts!"

"Having sons makes you age fast," Tatsuma admitted.

"Did our kids turn out that bad?"

"No, Shiro," Tatsuma confirmed. "Our boys are good, strong and brave. I've learned to have faith in them. My entire life now is devoted to protecting their future. And that's why you're here, too."

"Yukio inherited a terrible burden, and Satan is trying to possess him somehow. I think he's using my one son to kill the other." Shiro's voice broke with concern. "Mephisto is trying to turn Yukio to the dark side, and Rin is the collateral damage. I don't know why he's doing this. He's our son, and I thought...."

"You thought that Mephisto would care for them?" The monk answered sadly. "He's a demon; you know they can't be trusted."

"Yeah, but he hated Satan." Shiro shook his head. "I didn't figure him for aiding and abetting. There's no reason for Mephisto to want Satan to return; Lucifer has been a huge pain in his ass."