62 You Can't Kill a Plague With Nukes

The food arrives, and he dines with etiquette equal to any high-born individual. One of the doctors still gives him odd looks. Their attempts to exclude him from polite conversation failed to shoo him away. A few of the doctors looked grumpy at the prospects of continuing this meal with him.

"So, you said you were a business owner, what business do you own? How did you meet Dr. Kanou?" One of them finally asked. An older gentleman with thinning hair and dower eyes.

"Well, I own a pizza chain and gaming company. They design gaming apps. I no longer run them hands on anymore. My interests have moved elsewhere. We met after an injury." Bastion said and cut a piece of fish and stuffed it in his mouth. It was too salty.

"I only ask because Dr. Kanou has seen to it to ostracize anyone less than a surgeon. Its like he sees normal people as bugs. Yet, not only did you arrive with the good doctor, you seemed to have a pleasant conversation with him on the way over. Its odd, in my humble opinion." Dr. Kanou's colleague said.

"Well, what can I say. He's using me and I'm using him. While our interests coincide its easier to be pleasant to one another. What would giving each other the cold shoulder gain either of us?" Bastion said.

Bastion left the dinner feeling bored. Dr. Kanou's colleagues were odd. He didn't recall any of their names and can't remember them introducing themselves. Wasn't introduction a big part of Japanese culture or was he wrong. He has lived here for a while, but he hasn't really lived here.

He made his way slowly to Anteiku. The lights were on in the coffee shop. Kaneki was running the counter and Rize sat at a table reading calmly. It was odd seeing them in the same building together after the accident.

The bell rang when he opened the door Rize leapt up and charged him in a tackling hug. It was the oddest thing he had ever witnessed from the predatory woman. Their gazes met, and he could feel a conversation to come weighing over his shoulders. A smile lit his face at the thought. He felt more nervous about such a conversation than fighting his brother.

"What took you so long to get here? Did you get lost?" Touka asked. She had bags under her eyes and he regretted not coming here sooner.

"I had some plots to get moving before I could relax again. That and I needed to determine whether my brother survived or not. As for that, maybe. His final child has survived but I don't think its really him. But it may turn out to be his equal." Bastion said.

"Explain please in words that we normal ghouls can understand please." Yoshimura said.

Bastion sighed and got up picking Rize up with him. He gently placed her in a seat and sat beside her. The others gathered around, and the open sign was flipped over. Yomo, Irimi, Roma, and even Uta was here.

"What do you know of vampires?" Bastion asked.

"I'm guessing not nearly as much as we should. So, your brother was a vampire?" Uta asked.

"Yea, and the progenitor of the only strain of vampirism on the planet. He came to this world to collect RC cells and boost his healing abilities. When we met he was a dried-up husk and I had to give him some of my blood to awaken him. From there he began to regain power until I required sage mode to deal with him. We have the same type energy but his was untrained to a pathetic degree. His power was in his vampiric body, not in energy like me. That weakness was my strength. I cut him off from his own energy using sealing. But he had another ace in the hole. He possessed himself with one of his demons and became a mindless beast to challenge me. After I killed it, some of his blood fell over the side of the building and infected a rat or insect." Bastion said.

"What is sage mode." Kaneki asked. "How does it let you go up against something like him?"

Bastion flooded his body with natural energy and went into the state. "This is sage mode. Its like multiplying my personal power by itself and raises my senses to levels far beyond my base. If a normal human even a user of the same energy as myself tried my brand of sage mode, they would turn to stone and shatter." Bastion said.

Touka started smelling him while he was in the state. "You don't smell human anymore. You smell like calm." Touka said. Uta joined in.

"Yes, a very odd scent. Not really of prey more like Zen." Uta said.

"Well, I would be surprised if I smelled human in this state. Very few pure humans can obtain a perfect sage mode. Even then my own is more alien than any other sage. I gather the purest form of natural energy and bond with it." Bastion said. That was the best way he could put it.

A knock at the store door alerted them. A group of vampires waited patiently for them. Bastion walked up and opened the door. "Do you need permission to enter a place of residence?" Bastion asked.

The leader, a vampire named Markus bowed slowly. "No, but we consider it polite to knock. Our master is dead what is left of him has infected the 22nd ward. It took three of our own before we managed to escape. We don't know what it is, but it is as powerful as our maker. You are the only one capable of putting it down. Please, for the good of the world end the monster before it grows stronger."

"Well Bastion you made the mess, its your job to clean it up." Touka said. Bastion looked back at her then sighed.

"Yea, I should but this is a nuclear action. You do understand if is clean this up there won't be a 22nd ward left?" Bastion said. "What do I get out of this?" Bastion asked.

"We have the notes from our master on his RC cell research. If you don't do this then this country will die." Markus said. Bastion rubbed his face then nodded.

"Fine, I'll get this done tonight. Bring the research notes to Touka's room. I'll offer you sanctuary as well. Rize here." Bastion tossed her a key to his base in the 20th ward. "Just walk in and flip the green switches in the power room and it should all go online. Well time to get to work."

Bastion vanished from the room in a puff of smoke. In his real body he stood atop the tallest tower in the 22nd ward. He let the memories from his shadow clone meld with his conscious mind. If he warned the ward, then his foe would escape. He swore to find an answer to this problem that would allow the civilians to survive next time.

There was an air of disappointment to him. He had thought that Vittorio might have survived, but no this was merely a bio weapon created from Vittorio's blood. Bastion went through hand signs then raise his hands. Around the infected area a massive wall rose hundreds of feet tall. It looked like the heart of the 22nd ward was cut out of it.

He needed to reduce this area to ashes. Bastion raised his hand and created a bijuudama and added mega flare to it. A small star appeared above his hand maintained by its own force. In sage mode he directed the jutsu over the walled section of the ward and dropped it in the center.

All the lives and within the walled section were snuffed out as night became day. The small star expanded and sunk deep within the planet. Bastion raised his hand and clenched his fist. The star exploded launching its force above and below.

This was what he should have used against Vittorio a proper send off to a brother. Thousands of Japanese citizens were dead now because he didn't do his duty. At least they went out with a bang. He would develop a counter to the infection problem before his next world.