As far as the eye could witness, no other words can dare describe this landscape as nothing more than a utopia - a paradise. A wafting summer breeze gently coax flowers of all colours basking in spring's sunshine to sway as it were dancing to its light hum. Among the fields of flowers surrounded by an enchanting forest laid a small child sleeping peacefully, though a tender whisper of the wind and the flora kindly cajoling them to awaken.
The child stirred and begrudgingly awoke from their peaceful slumber, yawning very tiredly and rubbing their drooping eyelids. The child had shoulder length red hair with a side ponytail hanging in a bright yellow scrunchie that had a bunny laying on top and a prominent ahoge bouncing on her head. She had big golden amber eyes that almost appeared blue in a different light, wearing a white dress that had two black straps across the chest, long sleeves with a single grey band accenting them, black tights knee high white boots and a choker with a silver piece of two intersecting diamonds over the collar part of the dress. She sat up from her spot, somewhat sluggish and slow to react until she immediately realized where she was and stood up to have a slightly better view of the world around her.
While the scenery was most beautiful, the young child couldn't appreciate it due to becoming acutely aware (or unaware) of her mysterious location. Beyond the horizon of the blooming flowers and forest upon the sloping planes and slicing through the evenly divided view of the sky and the earth stood a faint but mysterious tower of gold and silver in the middle with floating ornaments spiraling around it.
"Mama?" she started nervously. "Papa? Auntie?"
Unlike most children who would either burst into tears at the revelation of being lost or their overflowing and uncontained curiosity causing them to wonder upon this gorgeous land, the girl merely sat back down. After the small and brief window of worry, she began recounting her day which would have led her to this current predicament she was in when she came to realize that there was nobody else here with her.
"What did I do today?" the small girl asked herself. Her head was starting to clear up from her nap, so recounting the events that had happened to her today would make it easier. She listed the most mundane and daily activities she usually did everyday until she remembered what had happened.
She woke up, ate breakfast, got ready for school and was about to leave until he showed up.
"Little Ritsuka, may I speak with you?"
The small nine year old, who was just came out of the house, paused when she saw a rather familiar gentleman she had seen before standing outside of the Emiya residence exterior.
(She wasn't really going by herself since she was waiting for her Auntie Taiga outside of the estate, seeing that she was old enough to handle that much. Meanwhile, Leysritt and Sella would be shadowing her from a safe distance because they wanted to make sure Ritsuka was safe...and because Sella doesn't trust Taiga. At all. That was probably half the reason why the two maids followed her every time she left the house. Not that Ritsuka minded. She felt safe around them.)
He was Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg, her mother's Master and a really important man in the Clock Tower. Whenever she saw him, she was always polite and showed respect, but she personally liked to call him 'Grandpa Zelretch' because he was weird and funny and only met on certain occasions like a grandpa. Though her mother dreaded the fact her daughter called the Wizard Marshall 'Grandpa', he didn't seem to mind too much.
This man, utilizing the power of Second Magic, knew things that other people wouldn't know, including the fact that everyone (at the ones who were close to her) refer to her as Gudako, a lovable nickname she gained when she was a baby. Apparently, her mother said that Zelretch actually got involved in naming her, giving her a middle name. She didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing considering who Zelretch was. It was a little weird, but then again it was the Wizard Marshall. Who knows with him. It could be anything.
Despite being nine years old, Ritsuka knew that if Zelretch was around, then something super big, something far beyond her comprehension, was going to happen. That usually resulted with her parents (and occasionally her aunts) vanishing for a while and then coming back, exhausted and drained, though satisfied that they averted the crisis. She didn't mind too much since her family always came back and her aunties, Leysritt and Sella would take care of her until they did. She understood that it was something important.
However, what was concerning Ritsuka at the moment was that Zelretch was speaking to her, not her parents. Her parents were currently off on their mission as far as she knew, so he couldn't possibly be here for them. Maybe her aunts?
"...Okay." the young girl replied cautiously.
The Magician of Second Magic instantaneously teleported them both inside her father's shed. She briefly wondered why were they in the shed when Zelretch could have teleported them anywhere in the world. But then again...he probably did it so nobody would suspect them talking in here. Besides, nobody really came in here except their father.
"Little Ritsuka," Zelretch started. "There's a great danger upon us. If left alone, it could result in the world - nay, the very multiverse to be in jeopardy."
The words merely flew pass the girl's head. She was only nine after all. She didn't completely understood the weight the words carried, however she did understood one thing.
"Then why are you telling me? Shouldn't Mama and Papa know?" Gudako responded firmly. If what was going to happen catastrophic, why was he telling her about this? Why her? Why must she be involved?
The Kaleidoscope gave a small gratifying smile. "Clever girl. You are bright and possess such latent yet absolutely boundless potential and talent. Indeed, while your family will eventually come and help aid in the crisis, you however are the only one who can fix this."
The nine year old could only blink in response.
She was the only one who could fix this? What? Why? How? Couldn't her parents fix it? Out of everybody who existed in this world and beyond, why her? Why would the fate of the very multiverse rest on the shoulders of a nine year old girl who so far had led a good, though unusual childhood where her family was anything but normal?
The idea of saving the world was a very familiar yet distant concept for her. Many times, her parents had to do very important things and was very busy, but always made time for their precious child. Ritsuka was aware that her family circumstances were more...unusual when comparing to most people, whether they be magi or regular humans. Growing up, she learned that while her family came from a long and prestigious magus background and have decided to teach Ritsuka magecraft they didn't want her to live a life of a magus.
To be a magus would mean to sacrifice the human side of them for the sake of power and success. To have a magus life would be mean devoting all their lives to research and upkeeping the family name and care for nothing else.
What her family wanted for her was entirely different.
They wanted her to be someone who was loving and compassionate, never sacrificing their heart for a greater gain. To be someone who took care of those who loved them and never abandoned them. To be someone who followed their dreams for their sake and not for the sake of others without a single shred of doubt.
They wanted her to become the person she truly ought to become.
Ritsuka gripped her mother's pendant, a family heirloom both she and her father kept with them at all times, nodding her head in acceptance what Zelretch said to her. "Okay. What do I have to do?" she asked, her unique eyes shimmering with determination. If she could help others like her amazing and incredible family, then she won't reject the offer; even if the idea of saving the world was a bit too much for her to fully grasp.
Zelretch grinned. You're just like your father, the Wizard Marshall thought to himself. "I already have everything prepared so I will be sending you off where you need to be. You will know what you will need to do when you get there." he said, activating Second Magic. "Don't worry. You'll be in good hands."
Before the girl could react or prepare herself, she was surrounded by beautiful colours before blacking out.
Ritsuka frowned to herself. After a moment, she looked around again. Was this the impending situation Zelretch talked about? This place was beautiful and didn't look like there was an ounce of danger here. Oh, Mama was going to be furious when she found out.
"My, my, I didn't expect us to meet like this. At least, not for some time," a charming voice hummed. The nine year old turned to find a mysterious figure standing in the direction of the gold and silver tower. "What an interesting outcome this is."
A hooded being who wore a pure white robe that looked like it was made with the finest of fabric, but somehow still retained a modest look to them. Their long white hair shimmered the colours of the rainbow under the beautiful spring's sunlight.
Ritsuka couldn't see their face and she definitely couldn't tell if this person was a man or a woman just by appearance alone. However, the child felt as though she had known this person for a very long time. The scent this person carried smelled so gentle and sweet, like a freshly bloomed flower. In fact, their scent was hard to distinguish from themselves and the seemingly perfect untouched paradise they were in.
"Who...are you?" Ritsuka asked. It wasn't defensive or with caution, but with genuine curiosity and wonder.
The figure smiled. "Someone you will know eventually." they replied cryptically.
"Where am I?" the young girl asked.
"Somewhere you tread between reality and a dream. Right now, you're only half-asleep, so you will remember this encounter." the person said. "Ah. Looks like Cath Palug is here to assist you."
Ritsuka's eyes suddenly felt heavy with tiredness and was having trouble keeping her eyes open. As she succumbed to the overpowering wave of fatigue and before allowing the darkness to wash over her, she heard the person's final words to her before she fell unconscious once again.
"Till we meet again, the Hope of Human History...Ritsuka Fujimaru Emiya."
"Fou..." a small voice cooed, and something warm licked the child's cheek.
Ritsuka stirred, forcing her tired eyes to open. Within in her field of vision, she was in a high-tech modern hallway and in front of her was a small white fluffy dog-rabbit-squirrel creature that greeted her. It tilted its head in curiosity. It had pristine snow-white fur, long ears and a bushy tail wearing a cute little cape.
"Ah...excuse me, are you okay?" a soft and timid voice asked. The child sat up to see a very pretty teenage girl with light pink hair and violet eyes and black rimmed glasses looking down at her with a concerned expression. "Why were you sleeping on the floor? Is it comfortable?"
"Mhm...not really..." Ritsuka replied, still a little groggy and deciding to stand up. She watched the small creature hopped onto the older girl's shoulder, and yipping. "Who's that?" The young child wanted to know what that tiny animal was. It held a powerful scent that she didn't recognize, but there was a faint and familiar floral tinge it had.
"Oh, this is Fou. He's a Privileged Life Form, free to wander the halls of Chaldea." she replied. "He seems to like you. That's quite rare."
The two girls watched Fou jump off and quickly scamper off.
"Who are you?" Ritsuka asked turning to the older girl in front of her.
The teenager blinked clearly caught off-guard by the question. But, before she could answer, someone beat her to the punch.
"Ah, there you are, Mash," a new voice interrupted. An older German man who appeared of Aryan descent approached the two girls. Ritsuka immediately felt a chill riding down her spine and she almost wanted to cover her nose as this man came closer. There was a horrible scent of death and suffering clinging onto this man. Just his outfit alone was blatantly screaming he was a bad guy. "My, walking off on your own like that...at least inform the staff. It cause some problems."
"Sorry, Dr. Leff." Mash apologized.
"And who might this be?" the man asked politely about the young girl.
Ritsuka didn't want to say her name, at least not in front of him; but nonetheless complied. "I'm Ritsuka." she said, keeping a steady poker face.
"Ritsuka?" Leff repeated, until realization dawned on his face. "Ah, the forty-eighth Master Candidate that both the Mage's Association and the Church personally chosen and recommended to come here."
"Really?" Mash responded in surprise. "Senpai seems so young..." she murmured.
"I know," Leff replied, completely sympathizing with Mash's reaction. "But, nonetheless, welcome to Chaldea. We should probably take her to the Command Room to avoid her missing the Director's Orientation."
"Okay." Mash replied.
Not wanting to be around Leff for too long, Ritsuka quickly ran to Mash's side and grabbed her hand. Mash blinked down at the little girl.
Ritsuka smiled. "Lead the way, kouhai." she replied. She heard Mash call her Senpai, so she in return wanted to call her kouhai. There was something about Mash that she really liked right away so she was okay being around her.
"O-oh...Okay." Mash's cheeks were slightly tinged with pink as she, Leff and Ritsuka made their way to the Command Room.
Being the last person to come into the room, the young nine year old had to sit in the last available seat which was the front row middle seat. It wasn't very inconspicuous of everyone already present in the room to be whispering about the obvious elephant in the room and giving strange looks, but the little girl didn't really care since she had to be there. When the Director came on stage, Ritsuka tried listening to everything what the Director told to everyone in the room, but she only managed to understand at best a third of what was said. All she understood was that Chaldea was a super important place, something called rayshifting and the Director was super bossy. Ritsuka began tuning out the long-winded speech of how important Chaldea was, they had to do and why they had to obey the Director's every command until the Director noticed the nine year old and the two made eye contact.
"Who let a child in here?"
Director Olga Marie Animusphere was openly leering down the child, but Ritsuka was not deterred by her pointed glare and levelly stood her ground.
"I was sent here by the Mage's Association." Ritsuka replied matter-of-factually. It was the truth since apparently that shady Leff guy did mention that the Clock Tower and the Church specifically wanted her here. The Clock Tower she could understand, but the Church was sorta pushing it. She guessed that Zelretch really wanted to make sure she stayed in Chaldea. It wasn't a total lie: her parents did knew super important people all over the world and beyond and did kept in touch more or less, including people in the Clock Tower and the Church.
The Director merely sighed in irritation. "I see. Despite the Mage's Association recommending you to be here, I will not condone someone like you to participate into something as important as this. You're off the first mission - at least until I have semblance of what your capabilities are. Until then, go to your assigned room and wait there."
Ritsuka paused for a moment to process the information and then shrugged. She knew that the Director lady was telling her to get out. The nine year old hopped from her seat and walked up to Mash.
"Let's go."
They held hands again and walked out of the room.
"I'm really sorry, Senpai, if the Director seemed rather...harsh." Mash apologized to the nine year old. "I promise that the rest of the staff here isn't as difficult."
Ritsuka shrugged. "It's okay." There was probably other people far worse than the bossy Director lady she had met (like that Leff guy), so she was okay.
"Fou!" a sudden blur of white tackled Mash in the face.
"The fluffy white squirrel is back." Ritsuka replied.
"Hi Fou." Mash greeted the small creature who settled onto her shoulder. "How have you been?"
"Does he normally do that?" Ritsuka asked. She was referring to the sudden tackles to the face.
"Yes, but it's no problem." Mash explained. "He does it quite often."
Fou tilted his head and hopped into Ritsuka's arms. The young child marveled at how soft his coat was.
"Looks like Fou has embraced you as one of his own. I wonder though..." Mash began trailing off. "Oh, we're here." they stopped in front of a room that was right across the infirmary.
Mash unlocked the room door only to find that the supposedly vacant bedroom was occupied. A man with fluffy peach coloured hair tied in a ponytail sat on the bed with a laptop in front of him and some cake in hand. He turned and paused to see a familiar face and a small child holding a fluffy white creature standing in the doorway of the room.
"Doctor..." Mash started.
"I wasn't slacking!" the man proclaimed, slamming his laptop closed. Ritsuka giggled. "Huh? Who is this?" he looked down at the small girl.
"This is Ritsuka. She's the forty-eighth Master Candidate. This is her room." Mash explained.
"R-really?" the Doctor started. "I didn't think they could recruit anybody this young."
"Neither did the Director." Mash replied. "Could you watch over her? Senpai was told to stay here until the First Mission ended and the Orientation is about to end."
"Sure. Hi, Ritsuka. I'm Doctor Romani. Nice to meet you." he greeted the small girl.
Ritsuka didn't know why, but there was something slightly off about this man though not in a bad way (like that Leff guy) so she ignored the feeling. "Hi." she replied back. Her eyes were caught on his fluffy ponytail. She wondered if it was as soft as Fou's.
"I'll be leaving now." Mash announced. "Fou said he'll stay with you."
"Bye-bye, kouhai." Ritsuka cheerfully replied. Mash blushed a bit before stepping out of the room.
For a brief moment, there was an awkward silence. Ritsuka tilted her head noticing the piece of cake on her bed.
"Can I have some?"
Ritsuka happily sat in Doctor Roman's lap after finishing some cake. He decided to tell the little girl about Chaldea in an easier explanation due to her being a child and not understanding everything the Director rambled on in the Orientation. Fou laid on the other side of the bed.
"So, Chaldea is built on a snowy mountain super high above sea level..." he said until his small wrist-mounted communicator started to ring. He answered it. "Yes?"
Ritsuka tuned out the conversation due to her boredom and because of the small sugar rush she was getting from the cake. Her family didn't often get sweets since her father's insistence that a growing girl like her should have real food. She crawled off of the Doctor's lap and sat on the edge of the bed, swinging her legs.
"I see...anyway, okay, I'll be there." Doctor Roman finished. "Well, Ritsuka, Leff wants me down to the Central Command Room and do some doctor stuff."
"Mhm." Ritsuka quietly grunted, pulling her knees to her chest. Ever since she met him, that Leff guy, he was seriously giving her bad feelings.
"Hm? What's wrong?" the Doctor asked, getting up and stretching a bit.
"...Nothing." Ritsuka replied. She really like his company and she didn't want him to leave, especially to that Leff guy. She already considered them friends. But she knew and understood that he had important things to do.
Doctor Roman bent down to Ritsuka's eye level and smiled. "Thanks for chatting with me, Ritsuka. I had a great time. After you settled in and the mission is over, drop by the Infirmary across the hall. I'll give you some more yummy cake."
Ritsuka gave a small smile back.
Suddenly the lights went out and loud sirens were blazing.
"What the-?!"
Emergency. Emergency.
A fire has broken out in the Central Power Station and the Central Command Room.
Central Area's containment wall will activate in 90 seconds. All staff must evacuate from Gate Two at once.
Repeat. The Central Power Station and the Central-
"The Command Room? Mash?" Ritsuka nervously asked who grabbed the Doctor's jacket in fear when the lights and alarms went off. Fou hopped onto his feet and stayed close to the small child.
"Fou..."
"Ritsuka, you need to run." Doctor Roman replied, forcing a smile. "I need to go and check something. I'll be back soon." he said before opening the room and left running.
The Doctor ran through the smoke-filled corridors to open the Central Command Room. He saw fires blazing in the room and debris scattered across the ruined area. He immediately turned and ran to the underground power station. He was so focused on his mission that he didn't notice the small girl accompanied by the small white creature running into the Command Room through the smoke.
"Mash!" Ritsuka cried out in the blazing and wrecked Command Room. Only the large central globe, CHALDEAS, remained unharmed. She jumped over large chunks of debris and burnt body parts that littered the floor to try and find Mash.
"Sen...pai..." a weak voice called out. Ritsuka found Mash's lower half of her body crushed by a large chunk of concrete. "Please...you need...to leave..." she pleaded. "Run..."
Ritsuka stubbornly refused to leave, trying with all of her nine year old might to push the large block of debris off of Mash. "Come...on!" the child grunted.
"It's...no use..." Mash quietly murmured. "Just go..."
Unable to detect the existence of mankind 100 years in the near future on Earth.
Update: Human Extinction Confirmed.
"No...Chaldeas is..." the globe in the very center of the room turned into an ominous red.
Central Area, sealed.
The metal doors slammed against the ground, sealing off any possible entry or exit out of the area.
"Oh no...you're trapped..." Mash said weakly. "You can't...get out..."
Ritsuka sat down next to the trapped girl and gave a reassuring, hopeful smile.
"It'll be okay, Mash." the small girl said. "We'll find a way out."
Rayshift requirement not met.
"Senpai..." Mash smiled weakly.
Searching for qualifying Master...Found.
Candidate No. 48, Ritsuka Fujimaru Emiya reset as Master.
"Could you...hold my hand?" Mash whispered as she felt her consciousness slipping away.
Ritsuka smiled and firmly grasped Mash's hand tightly as the building collapsed around them among the burning flames that grew hotter.
Unsummon Program, commence.
Starting Spiriton Conversion.
Rayshift starting in 3...2...1...
Okay, first fanfic I ever made about the Fate series. Please don't flame me or send me horrible comments! Preferably, send me nice constructive criticism? Super sorry if I don't properly nail the characters. I have never been good at writing other characters since it takes a lot of time to understand them and get their character just right. (I seriously need a beta-reader.)
I love the fanart of the FGO protagonist being a little kid, having super doting and overprotective Servants and with Rin and Shirou being their parents. I read fanfics of similar nature to this one (Insane Little Gudako and Little Ritsuka and her Loving Family to name a few) and wanted to make one. I also play FGO ~3.
I will make this loud and clear: I stand by the fact that male and female protagonists of the game are one and the same, partially because of the game and plot line, but I just didn't want to write two main characters since that would be so much work (I'm lazy and very unmotivated). Besides, I want to write another fanfic about the cute tidbits of Ritsuka and her Chaldean family and she gender-switching into the male protagonist will be part of it.
This fic will be a HUGE cross-over story since I figured Rin (being Zelretch's apprentice) would get dragged into a large number of interdimensional crisises with Shirou and occasionally the others getting involved...somehow; so they know a lot of people. I thought 'might as well since the game is already a HUGE cross-over in Type-Moon and just exploit the situation further'.
Also, should I continue or not? If nobody likes this or wants to read (or other reasons), I won't update no more.
However in the event that miraculously I update this, I have a super serious question: should Ritsuka summon either Shirou (Pseudo-Servant with Muramasa) or EMIYA OR both of them? I want to have Rin being summoned in the beginning too, but I seriously need to ask when should the rest of the family be summoned? Should they be scattered throughout time like in the game or I have them summoned earlier?
