It was a sad day for the Itadori family as one of its a pair of adults, a man with glasses and striking pink hair visits his father alongside his wife, a dark-purple-haired woman with fierce hazel eyes, and their son a boy with hair as pink as his father's with bright shining hazel eyes which, at this moment was filled with tears. In front of the three was a doctor who was explaining to them the old man's condition.

"His prostate cancer has passed stage 4 nearly overnight. As he is now, he only has 2 weeks left to live so long as he does not exert himself or inhale smoke any further. There is a treatment option but realistically it has a low success rate... if you wish to continue with that option, I will meet you later. Please have your answer by then."

"We will doc... thank you..." says the man before bowing to the doctor.

After the doctor left, the couple look down to see their son outright bawl.

"Are you sure this was the right call to bring Yuji into this..." The father asks with a concerned look as he caresses his son's head to soothe the boy's pain.

With a rare, tender expression, the mother nods before kneeling down to meet her son at eye level. "Yuji, Look at me."

Looking up, Yuji is met not with the fiery eyes he knew his mother had, but a tender gaze that radiated compassion which she only rarely shows.

"Listen Yuji, people die. It is just the way it is... But... instead of letting it kick you down, you should instead let it push you into living your best life. You're a fighter like your momma, Yuji."

Placing a hand on her shoulder, Yuji's father chimes in. "The same can be said for your grandfather. Instead of crying about his death, we should cherish the time we do still have, and hey, if the treatment pulls through, we'll see him live for much longer. Now let's go in there and put on our brave face ok?"

The boy sniffles but wipes his tears away before nodding to his parents with a fire in his eyes.

As they enter the hospital room, they are met with the smell of alcohol and a mint green walled area with a medical bed in the middle top of the room. The room was the size of two-thirds a regular apartment room and on the cot was a frail old man in a surgical gown with spiky white hair and a nonplussed look while he lays down in a casual position.

"I'm surprised you both actually found the time to visit little ol' me before I kick the bucket." The old man grunts out before huffing in mild annoyance.

"Of course we would..." Yuji's mother mutters out, unable to voice her opinion out loud.

"Dad... I-" Yuji's father tries to say only to be cut off immediately by his own father.

"Zip it, the doctor's already told me about that risky chemotherapy crap. To hell with it. I'd rather know when I'd die than hold up hope for a largely untested miracle cure that has the possibility to render me the living dead..." The man grunts out from on his bed.

"But father," Yuji's father pleads out only to have a hand raised at his face.

"Jin Itadori, I am old enough to handle my own life responsibly and I say no."

Jin, Yuji's father, could only keep silent about this. He knows that his father's mind is something about.

Young Yuji then runs to his grandfather's side and tries to plead himself. "But gramps! What if it would work! Then you would live for much longer!"

The old man's expression softens somewhat in the presence of his grandson's tears but quickly harden one more.

"You two are truly despicable, using my grandson to push your ideas on me. But as much as it pains me, I will stay by my decision. No."

"But why?" The boy asks confused at his grandfather's acceptance of death.

"Yuji... I'm sure your mother Kaori has already explained it earlier, hell I could hear you two from behind the wall. You should always cherish your life." He explains only to notice the growing confusion on his grandson's face. Realizing his words contradict his ultimatum earlier, he decides to nip the perplexity in the bud.

"However, just because I'd live, doesn't mean I'd be alive. People who usually go through chemotherapy are subjected to radiation in order to kill the cancerous cells. That is something that takes years, long, painful years to recover from... say it does work... what then? I'm old... Either way, I wouldn't have the time to recover and enjoy life..."

All three fall quiet with Jin looking down with a defeated look, Kaori vacant face not changing and Yuji with an absolutely despairing look.

"If you three really want to splurge that money to help me, then do this for me instead... use a portion of it to throw a party. I'd rather die surrounded by my loved ones. That shouldn't be too hard since the remaining members of the Itadori family live in this city anyways."

Jin looks at his father in the eyes before clenching his fist and nodding firmly.

The man then turns to Jin's wife and calls out to her next. "Kaori... use that party to reconcile with your brothers..."

"But!" The fiery woman tries to reply only for her protest to fall short.

"Please at least try? I'd want to see Yuji be allowed to play with his cousins before I go..."

The woman was flustered but relented to such a genuine and kind request.

"I'll... try..."

The man then finally looks at his grandson. "Finally, Yuji... I want most of that money you all prepared to go into a donation for people who actually might still have a long time to live as well as my body be donated for research..."

"But... why would you want to get experimented on gramps?" The boy cries out not wanting to give his grandfather's body up.

"I'd want to die with my head held high, believing I contributed to saving people..."

He then gestures for Yuji to come closer to him before grasping the boy's arms as if to emphasize his last point.

"Yuji this is my last mission for you as your cool Officer grandpa... do you accept it?"

Hearing this, the boy nods profusely.

"Thank you... unlike me, you still have a long life ahead of you. Yuji, you've always been a strong kid... so help people. You should use your strength to help others."

Sniffing up snot and tears dribbling down his face, the seven-year-old nods with a fire in his eyes.

"Good... then..."

However before he could speak any further, the sound of screaming suddenly begins to echo through their hospital halls.

This suddenly replaces the somber, bittersweet mood earlier with one more ominous and tenuous...

Looking outside, Jin's eyes widen in horror as he returns inside and tells them, "Everyone we have to go... now. Fire."

With that everyone in the room begins to quickly pack their stuff before helping Yuji's grandfather up.

The four of them then make their way along with everyone else in the hospital through the fire exit, using its ramp to carry the old man down with a wheelchair.

However, once they arrive outside, they are hindered as a crowd of people block their way out of the hospital with those in front, looking off in horror while those at back shouted their complaints.

Kaori and Jin try to look over the crowd only to be unable to see above the heads.

"Could you see anything Jin?"

The man could only shake his head. Yuji looks at his grandpa before pointing at his parents signaling he wants to help. After his grandfather nodded, Yuji wasted no time and lifts his own father up with very little difficulty, a testament to the strength his grandfather spoke off earlier.

With that, Jin's eyes shifted into absolute fear.

"Jin, snap out of it! What is it?!" His wife shouts while snapping him back to reality.

"Mud... a black flaming mud... no... rather... it was more like a tsunami of black lava covering the outside. It's only because of the reinforced steel and glass that we're still alright... but I dunno for how much longer."

While everyone else began to panic, grandpa Itadori decided to take action. He then rolls over to the reception area and uses the intercoms.

"THIS IS RETIRED OFFICER WASUKE ITADORI. PLEASE VACATE THE GROUND LEVEL AND BELOW AS THESE ARE AREAS OF DANGER. I REPEAT, PLEASE VACATE THE GROUND FLOOR AND BELOW. THOSE WITH FIREFIGHTING TRAINING, PLEASE LOOK FOR THE FIRE EXTINGUISHERS FOUND AT THE FIRE EXITS. HOSPITAL STAFF, MOVE THE CIVILIANS IN A SINGLE FILE LINE. WE MUST GET OFF THE FIRST FLOOR ASAP."

After putting it down, he chuckles to himself before looking at his grandson and telling him, "looks like Officer grandpa still has one last mission it would seem. Care to help me... deputy?"

Hearing his grandfather's words, Yuji enthusiastically nods before pushing the wheelchair around.

Together with the help of his parents, grandfather, and the hospital staff, Yuji begins to guide the people to the high ground to avoid the deadly black mud, all while putting out fires around them.

After a bit, they all manage to reach the top floors, Wasuke tells the staff to draw an SOS banner using a white sheet and spread it in the middle in hopes of a rescue chopper being able to find them.

When everything settled down somewhat, the people were given a bit of time to reflect on everything watch in horror as the lower floors were either set ablaze by the horrific flames or completely engulfed in the mud which could only be described as 'evil.'

As they look down, Kaori's eyes snap open in terror as she begins to hurriedly call for her brother on the phone. "Kariya, Kariya are you there?!" However, no one answered, no signal whatsoever...

Fearing for the worst, the fiery purple-haired woman then changes the number to call someone else. Luckily, it picks up.

"Byakuya? Byakuya are you there?"

"Eh? Oba-san? Er... Oto-san said we shouldn't talk to you anymore... I'll hang off now kay?" says the voice of a little boy on the other side.

Before the boy could stop the call, Kaori shouts,"WAIT!" which luckily the boy complies with.

"I just need to ask you where your dad went, Shinji-kun."

"Uh... he went to buy groceries. Why?"

Instead of answering him properly, she instead tells him, "Watch the television with Sakura-chan and tune into the news. And whatever you do, do not go another near Shinto district. Tell your dad that as well."

The boy makes an exasperated sigh before muttering something about Sakura before nodding. "Fine... anyways, where's Yuji?"

"He's here. Don't worry. We're fine..."

Shinji then hears the sound of concrete crackling.

"For now." She adds.

"Well... if you say so..." The boy didn't seem convinced especially considering he could hear all the crackling of flames and sound of debris falling all around them but he wasn't going to question an adult. His father smacked him with a bottle a last time...

"Still... stay safe oba-san... all of you. I still wanna get to play with my cousin."

Eventually, they manage to wait until a rescue helicopter made its way to them. The people all cheered seeing it thinking everything will be alright. However, by the time it got to them, the blazing mud surrounding the building has begun to finally soften the metal up to the point where the side the people were flocking to begin to cave somewhat.

Despite the pain Wasuke is feeling, he takes to commanding the current medical and security personnel to relay the message to spread the weight distribution. The Itadori family also stays to help with this endeavor as well.

Slowly the family and the personnel get everyone else transported away. Due to their efforts, the possible casualty rate brought about by this mysterious calamity be reduced by 1/5th  at least as nearly 100 people were on that rooftop. After loading the last of the other civilians and most of the personnel into the aircraft, it was finally their turn.

By this point, the building had begun to rock and croak as the metal below was barely holding on at this point. Realizing the possible lack of time, the adults all opted to let Yuji in first. While, the boy walks forward the remaining personnel and Wasuke chose to stay for a bit to spread the weight a bit while the two parents guided their child forward slowly.

*Crack*

Everyone's eyes widen was the concrete gave out before Yuji.

"You ain't gonna die on me yet, champ! We still have pictures to gawk at and crushes to talk about!" Jin shouts as he grabs Yuji by the hands and pulling. Yet his extra weight only furthers this and the floor below him gives out as well. Luckily, his wife Kaori manages to grab hold of him as well.

"Oh no you don't! The only one killing my husband for being a bad influence to our son... is me!" She shouts before trying to grab a piece of metal which startled her, making her let go of it, making all three of them fall into the whole. But that's when grandpa Itadori shows up. Fueled by adrenaline, he manages to jump out of his wheelchair and grab hold of Kaori's free hand.

"You... will... live a good life, and... die a good... death!"

He then looks to the personnel around him who were shocked stiff and barked out, "quit standing around!"

Yet the floor below them crumbles, plunging the four into the hell below and everything goes dark.

-----indistinguishable amount of time later-----

Amidst the blazing haze, a tuft of pink hair pokes out through a pile of debris. A pink-haired boy gasps awake looking around in panic and confusion. In the split second he awoken, he swore to have seen a black tribal marking vanish from his wrist. But that wasn't important right now. From the embers surrounding him, he realized he should've burned alongside this building... but strangely... he didn't... but still... he was stuck... even if he miraculously woke up unharmed, it would still mean he'd suffocate from the smoke if he couldn't get out. With that thought in mind, then tries to move the pile above him only for the debris to nearly collapse on him, a particularly sharp piece of metal nearly stabbing him in the face. So that was it for him huh? He miraculously survives a great fire only to be killed anyway.

He couldn't help but wail at everything. First, his parents were killed... and now, their sacrifice won't even matter... Yet hours pass and yet the hell continues to keep him alive. Eventually, he just stopped crying.

As he looks around for help, he then spots a small old man with a pale complexion with eyes as sunken as a zombie in those films he used to watch. His gaze was uncaring of the destruction all around him and was grumbling about something.

The man's eyes soon land on the pink-haired boy and a massive insectoid appendage like a mantis' arm sprouts from where his arms once were... and death by burning debris or asphyxiation suddenly didn't sound so bad.

"So that's where the last shard ran off to... nothing personal boy... but..."

He then raises his bladed appendage but before he could bring it down, a gunshot resounded through the acrid night, and the bug man had to stop in his tracks as he sees a hole through his shoulder. He then looks behind himself and sees a group of what seems to be Yakuza members behind him.

"Sir, stay back from the child." Another old man says to the insectoid elderly. Unlike the drab black Yukata the bald bug man wore, this other old man had a full head of hair and a tiger stripe haori on him, as well as a pistol and a kendo sword. Around him were delinquent-looking members of the Yakuza of varying sizes and clothing. However, one look at the embossed tiger headpins on their suits shows whose allegiance they show.

"Oi, jii-jii... we don't wanna hurt ya more than needed so stand down."

Instead of worry, the bug man merely smirks at the other old man before affectionately saying, "Little Fujimura Raiga, look how far you've come in life... I remember when you were just a squirt... now look at you controlling the organization your father left for you as if you're bigger than you are."

"Matou Zouken..." the tiger-striped man growled as he raises both his wooden sword and pistol. "To think you'd be somethin' so hideous lookin'. I always knew something was up with ya!"

Despite the bravado Raiga was showing, it was clear who really was the one fearing in this situation.

[♩ Play Remember by Coldrain from 1:00 onwards for the best experience ♩]

Meanwhile, in the back, the pink-haired kid could only scream for help. Not for himself but rather for his would-be saviors. The last thing he sees of the old man in tiger stripes was him clashing his wooden sword against the abomination's bladed arm before the swarm hid the two from view. As he screamed in horror, a voice in the back of his head echoed. With a dark smirk, Matou Zouken lets loose a swarm of white insects which have monstrous sizes and appearances. Desperately, the bodyguards of the Yakuza boss begin to fire at the insects killing one or two each but that didn't matter, they soon got swarmed.

"Yuji, you're a strong kid... so help people."

"You should use your strength to help others."

As that last memory echoed in his head, the boy now known as Yuji widens his eyes as he mutters something in realization...

"Even as the neighborhood collapsed into flames... even my grandfather chose to help evacuate the people off of the hospital with his dying breath... he held his head high..."

He then begins to push out of the debris even as his skin was scraped and seared by the white-hot sheet metal and nails of the pile of debris atop him. Even with the body of a seven-year-old, he pushes through the pain in a desperate attempt to fulfill the last wishes of his parents.

"No more... dying!"

He then begins running towards the horde of certain death, with tears streaming down his face from the overflowing emotions blazing in his heart. He grabs his torn shirt which was set on fire by a sticky substance and wraps it around his fist. He then jumps and swings his fist into the horde of insects, landing it on one which lights one on fire and sends it into the other bugs, then another, and soon the tornado of bugs was set on fire much to Zouken's shock. With that as a signal, Raiga Fujimura begins to rapidly shoot his pistol while pushing at the shocked Zouken, the wooden blade catching on fire from touching so many flaming bugs.

Zouken was forced to dodge and block from both sides as the 7-year-old with more courage than should be normal began throwing that same burning fist forward repeatedly scorching more and more bugs with the cloth-covered in burning black mud until the entire shirt was eaten up by the flames.

An uppercut punch followed by an upward sword swing then a downward gunshot followed by a downward sword swing, followed by a swing left and right simultaneously from both his opponents to clear a path toward him.

The old bug man is stunned by the ferocity of the two making him helplessly look back and forth between the two. Who should he dodge, the boy whose fist was now singed by the black mud that was rushing at him like a raging dragon, or the old man in front of him with a flaming wooden sword glaring him down with the eyes of a tiger?

Old man?

Young boy?

Old man?

Young boy?

Pink?

Orange?

Pink?

Orange?

Tiger?

Dragon?

Tiger?

Dragon?

FIRE!FIRE!FIRE!FIRE!

'Too late!' he thinks as the fist collides with his back while the sword slams into his face sending Zouken spinning backward which makes him slam into a pile of that cursed burning mud and corpses.

Both warriors who delivered their attack on the man looked at each other in shock. They couldn't believe they had just done that.

[♩ music end ♩]

Yuji then screams in agony as the adrenaline wears off and his wounds begin to sting with the most horrific pain a child his age should never have had to endure. Yuji collapses to his knees but Old man Raiga luckily catches him mid-fall and supports the small boy up while putting his tiger-style haori to cover the boy's wounds.

"That was quite reckless and brave of you boy... You got guts..."

Yuji, now in so much pain, mumbles while crying. "Grandpa... ... died... with his head... held... high... this... was... unnaccep... accep... ac..."

"Don't... think we're done... here..." A voice says from the nearby rubble. The two look on in horror as Zouken stands up, not having gone down from their last combo attack. Though there were singes on his face, these damages on his flesh soon vanished.

"It seems this body will not hold on for much longer it seems..." Matou says as he stands up and begins limping to the two. A wicked smirk then appears on his face as he looks Yuji straight in the eyes.

"While you are already on your last leg Raiga... the boy still has so much vitality on him!" His eyes dart especially on the part where the burns made by the black mud were on Yuji and how they've all but vanished at this point. His eerie expression grew after seeing the famed tiger king of Fuyuki wince as some of the cursed mud got on. It seems this old brat doesn't have much longer then...

Zouken brushes himself off before chuckling darkly and propping himself up on a platform made of clumps of ruined metal. "For a couple of children blind to the moonlit world, you did a surprising number against me... but..."

With a snap of his fingers, more and more of the same insect arrive from somewhere off in the distance, creating a swarm big enough to block the moon in the night sky.

"Your fun ends here."

Yuji, feeling such absolute despair for the first time falls to his knees and looks at everything with empty eyes filled with tears. However, his despair-filled gaze is cut off after a certain tiger-striped haori blocked his vision.

"Hey kid... you've got guts for someone so young...   Here..."

A metal pin embossed with the shape of a golden tiger falls in front of the unnaturally strong Yuji.

"W-what?" This is all Yuji could mutter out amidst all the confusion and chaos.

"Tell 'em... Raiga sent'cha and show this to the men with the tiger pins. They'll take care of ya."

Yuji's eyes widen in horror as he watches the man coat his wooden sword in more of that cursed black mud, setting it ablaze once more.

"Monster, demon, whatever you are... you won't be touching another hair on this boy's head. I, Fujimura Raiga, shall be your opponent."

"You Japanese elderly are so full of hot air. I, Zolgen Makiri, shall make short work of you." The insects begin to converge behind Zouken or Zolgen as he laughs with his dry-as-sand voice.

"N-no... don't... don't leave me..." Yuji begs the tiger of Fuyuki as more tears stream down his face.

"You said your grandfather died with head held high right?" The man with a flaming sword inquires. With a cheeky smirk, the old man then raises his sword and says, "If that's the case, lemme fight with all I got as well!"

He takes a stance and mutters, "Tiger-style..."

Zolgen raises a hand and speaks in German. "Verschling, o Schwarm.(Devour, o swarm.)"

However, just as the first step was taken, another gunshot rang through the air.

Yuji and Raiga watch in fascination as Zouken looks at the bullet hole in his chest with a horror-stricken look. On the floor behind him, a man in all black is panting while raising a large pistol with one hand and a red-haired boy covered in horrific burns on the other.

"Y-you..." was all Zouken could manage to gasp out before falling to his knees and seizing up as glowing green circuits begin to glow on his skin before said circuits vanished. As he writhes in pain, his insects all begin shaking in agony as well.

Everyone is forced to watch in morbid fascination as Zouken loses control over his swarm and the insects begin eating each other or running into the fire all around. Zouken wrathfully glares at the man-in-black before crumpling to his knees. 

"Damn... you... Kiritsugu... damn... you... all! I... will get... my revenge... I SWEAR I'LL-!"

Before he could continue, Kiritsugu had already placed the child he was holding beside Raiga and is already aiming his gun at the decrepit old man. He then tells Raiga, "Cover both their eyes," in his ever monotonous voice. The old man then does so only for the sound of a gunshot to ring once more leaving Itadori to wonder what happens next.

-----Post credit words-----

So...just to let the readers know. This was a for funzies story so I'm gonna just continue this whenever I feel like it.