Interlude: Fate of the Matou

(A/N: Chronologically, this took place back when Roman had that 'moment' with Kagetora.)

Undisclosed Location,

"Ugh... What do I do now?"

Clutching his aching head, Byakuya Matou spoke with a downcast gaze, surrounded by empty bottles upon bottles of alcohol.... The room he was in was fairly luxurious, understandable considering the wealth of the rather prestigious family he originated from, but still felt dim, gloomy and strange, carrying an air filled with depression and distress.

The 'head' of the Matou family, or so he was called... A small chuckle escaped his lips at the audacity of that, Byakuya was nothing but a failure, Zouken had always favoured his younger brother over him and for good reason too seeing as he himself was a talentless wreck...

The only reason he was the 'head' of the family, was because Kariya had run away from the family. Something Byakuya himself neither had the power nor courage to even consider doing, even if his 'father' was a vile and disgusting creature.... Always controlling everything from the background but that too was understandable, Byakuya's position as a failure was cemented when his son, Shinji Matou, was born without Magic Circuits, bringing an end to the purity of the Matou line.

.....The blue haired man cast a gaze outside, finding some semblance of solace surrounded by knee-high snow that even now continued to pile on with no signs of stopping soon.... A storm... It fit his feelings at the moment..

Gulping down another bottle, the Matou let out a small groan, having drowned himself in alcohol to even slightly alleviate the stress and disappointment he faced from day to day... The next Matou head was to be Sakura Tohsaka...nay, Sakura Matou and disgusting as it was, he was the one responsible for 'training' her...

Forcing the young child to acclimate to the Matou Crest Worms was a difficult task but a task he carried out all the same... Her constant crying and screaming in the earlier days had even given him nightmares but really, what choice did he have? Was he to say no to Zouken? Offer up his own life for hers?

....Perhaps he SHOULD have done that, old as he was, maybe saving the child was the better decision.. Not like anyone would miss him, not the useless failure and shame, not Byakuya Matou.

So in the end, Byakuya... had just run away, as had his brother, as soon as he had an opportunity, not a few days before the Grail War started something had happened... Something that diverted his father's attention and in those moments he'd slipped away, here to this backwater Russian town in the middle of pretty much nowhere.

Surrounded by nothing but wilderness and snow covered fields.... his family wealth allowed him comfortable accommodation and he'd jumped at the opportunity, who wouldn't? Still.... It somewhat haunted Byakuya how he'd readily first hand tortured a girl younger than even his own son to save his own hide.... and the thing was, he'd carry on doing the same the moment the Grail War ended... What choice did he have?

...Or so Byakuya would like to say except, Zouken hadn't contacted him even once yet but that too made sense, he probably just wasn't interested in him, not even fazed by his 'escape'.

Well... It wasn't all that bad, here Byakuya could just be himself, drink and eat all day, in this dark room, safe from most dangers. Who would think to look for him back here?

Just as another sigh left his lips, the Matou was startled by a loud thud coming from right below him and jumped to his feet, looking around for any signs of danger... It was only worse when these thuds increased in number, a number matching the few security guards he'd hired but that wasn't something Byakuya noticed.

Then, it just stopped abruptly and while still alarmed, Byakuya, already more than half drunk, slowly began settling down once more... only to be once again startled by heavy knocking on his door, "W-Who?" He didn't remember asking for room service, or anything really.

"Cleaning..."

A polite voice, somewhat playful, but clearly not of local origins, more British sounding than anything but clearly not a voice he was familiar with judging by how Byakuya stumbled backwards, up until he was right up against the wall, frightful of what this implied.

"You want me to call your mu-...ugh." The sentence seemed to be cut off by heavy coughing, followed by the sound of something splattering over both the door and the floor, "Women?" The stranger continued, uncaring of Byakuya's constant rebuttals of his attempts to enter.

"Ah well, just break it."

Byakuya slightly shrieked when the door was practically ripped off it's hinges and thrown to the side.. Soon after, a young pale skinned man with white hair, similar eyes and a somewhat unhealthily thin stature walked in, "It is nice to meet another failure. Byakuya Matou I presume.." He wore expensive clothing, mostly hidden by a dark blue fur coat.

"Melvin Weins." Melvin did a small bow, smiling with closed eyes and once again stood straight, staring at the Matou with a thoughtful gaze.

Melvin... Melvin Weins? A name most would recognise, the heir to the Weins family! "W-What might you want with... me?" Byakuya gulped, visibly afraid of the man... Which, of course he was... Sick in the mind and the body, Melvin was an individual that had little he wouldn't do so long as it was entertaining.. His daily 'spendings' were enough for the common man to live out his life!

"Yaa..." Melvin scratched the side of his head as two men, dressed in black from head to toe, entered the room, standing behind Melvin.. Their expressions were hidden by masks, and their eyes hidden by glasses... Strange, considering the weather would considerably impede vision already.

"You see, a friend of mine, a really needy one, needs you...." He pointed at Byakuya, his lips cracking into a thin smile, "Gone." Melvin didn't know why but he didn't need to, the entertainment Roman provided him regularly was more than enough reason and payment.

"....." Byakuya opened and closed his mouth several times but was left dumbfounded, not understanding how he'd managed to make enemies despite the fact that he'd never even involved himself in the magus world.. "How..."

"How what?"

"How'd you find me?"

"Simple really." Melvin took a chair for himself, settling down and crossing one leg over the other, "You...." He pointed at Byakuya again, "Were dumb enough to use your family accounts." It wasn't hard to pull a few strings and locate Byakuya once he had access to those, "That aside, Russia, really?"

Did he not know who was acting as the 'mediator' and channel between the Bratva and Mexican Cartel?

"Wait, I can't blame you." There was no way he could have realistically known that, even Melvin didn't until some time ago... Which reinforced the idea that Roman was far too amusing to be enemies with, "I don't have anything against you either though, just my own amusement."

"....." Byakuya clicked his tongue, magus were twisted fucks.... He made no attempt to run though, understanding that it would just hasten his impending demise.

"Ah, do understand that it has nothing to do with my 'magus' upbringing..." Melvin coughed blood again, wiping it away with a tissue as if it was normal, "I was just born this way." The Weins heir didn't see anything more to gain and so, he gestured with a small wave of his hand... Not a moment later, numerous gunshots echoed throughout the floor followed by the thud of the current Matiou Head's cold corpse...

"This isn't pleasing to look at... Clean up will you?" Melvin stood up to leave, his face devoid of emotion and opened his phone to attend a call, "What is it?"

"Sir... we found the other family member, but... Well.. it's a child."

"Hmmm.." Melvin put a hand on his chin, shooting one last glance Byakuya's way, "Get rid of him too.."

"But Lord Ro-"

"Roman, doesn't need to know." Really, his friend's emotions hindered him.. That kid would have a valid claim to the Matou family and could possibly incriminate Roman later on...., "You understand why we can't let him live right?" It was a risk Melvin wasn't willing to take.

"...Understood."

Smiling, as if greatly pleased, the Weins heir left humming a tune to himself.. The building would probably be burnt down to get rid of evidence.

"Bleurgh..."

Melvin vomited blood all over the floor.... again... Quickly covering his mouth right after, slightly embarrassed.

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Check out Fate/Abomination.

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Any thoughts on Melvin?

He wouldn't backstab Roman btw, he knows it'll end with him six feet under better than most and even if he didn't, they're childhood friends and had relatively similar upbringings. Only Melvin's mother always loved and never abandoned him, in contrast, Roman's tried to have him murdered. That and Melvin revealed his talents and powers while Roman stayed off radar to build and consolidate both power and influence.

Thought to do a few interludes before I begin the next arc....

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You can find up to 7 chapters ahead at patre0n.com/stoned_face