As promised here's chapter two featuring Ritsuka and Kadoc. Something of a fair warning thought, this chapter is a little darker compared to the last one, and no it's not because of Kadoc. Also, sorry if I offend anyone's favorite Servant with this one.


Guys Like Us

"May you live in interesting times."

The first time Ritsuka had heard that saying had been in school, when he was talking and laughing amongst his friends. They'd all gathered round at lunch time to discuss how active and how boring their lives had been. Many of them saw boredom as a curse while others saw it as a blessing. Ritsuka was somewhere in the middle, he didn't mind boredom, but he wanted a little excitement in his life. He'd say he'd have been okay with something crazy like aliens descending from the sky happening. Of course, his friends had laughed it off and debated rather or not he'd be killed, enslaved, probed, become a resistance fighter, or be the guy who romanced an alien princess and brought intergalactic peace. That was a fond memory he always liked to look back on.

He heard that phrase again in junior high when he was assigned to write a paper. That was when he'd learned the origin of that phrase, an English phrase that reportedly evolved from a traditional Chinese curse. Except according to his teacher no such curse existed and the saying was believed to have been a translation error on the part of British statesman Joseph Chamberlain. Whatever the truth was, the saying had gone on to influence people around the world. The topic was each student in the class had to define what "interesting times" meant to them. Ritsuka remembered some of his classes giving fairly standard answers: war, famine, economic depression, civil unrest, outright anarchy, and others had given more fantastical answers such as living a double life or having something incredibly happening to them and changing their lives entirely. He'd be in the latter group, answering "interesting" was something deviating him from the quiet normal life he'd known: going to school, hanging out at school and after school with his friends, coming home to his parents and sister, working part-time jobs, and building models. Something to change that daily cycle he'd grown content with.

Ritsuka didn't define interesting times as something happening to the world, just the world around him.

He'd learned back then the supposed saying was actually meant as a curse because in Chinese culture "interesting" had a different meaning. Interesting meant the opposite of peace and tranquility-it meant disorder and conflict. When he heard that Ritsuka knew why the saying had supposedly been meant to be ironic and even taunting.

Time passed and the paper was turned in, he was given a passing grade, and life carried on.

And then Ritsuka's life became "interesting".

Dragons, magic, gods, monsters, they all existed, just beyond a thin glass wall he'd shattered without meaning to. All those things were now a part of his life, a part of the person known as Ritsuka Fujimura.

He now understood why the saying had been meant as a curse. Interesting times wasn't fun, it wasn't easy, and it most certainly wasn't anything his friends pictured it to be.

But it wasn't boring, no, definitely not boring. And not without its high notes.

Once of those high notes stood beside, a Frenchwoman garbed in jet-black armor carrying a waving flag in one hand and a literal flaming sword in the other. The winter winds whipped her long pale blonde-hair into a mighty frenzy mirroring that of her flag. Another high note stood at his left, her body hunched over and her breath coming out in rigid bursts. She leaned for support on the absurdly large cross-shaped shield planted in the snow in front of her.

Before him lay another possible high note. His face was caked in snow and were it not for the shallow rising and falling of his chest Ritsuka would have believed him dead. From up close he was able to catch the faint moving of the older boy's lips. Though his body was still Ritsuka could still sense the flame of life beating within Kadoc.

As he stared down at his fellow Master Ritsuka felt the strings of sympathy begin to pull at his heart. Reaching for his chest he was amazed at how warm his body felt. He attributed that to Joan, she was always warm like a bonfire, even if she didn't want to admit it. Gazing at the downed Crypter Ritsuka thought back to that fateful day what seemed like another lifetime ago. Considering how things had gone, it might as well have been another lifetime ago.

Kadoc…you…wanted to live in interesting times too, didn't you?

For better or for worse Ritsuka Fujimaru has found himself living in truly interesting times, and he knew as he spoke the words to his Servant-turned-lover and Servant adoptive sister his life was about to get a whole lot more interesting.


"Are you truly sure you wish to do this? Ritsuka, this is…it isn't exactly what one can call safe."

"I do not see the issue here, Da Vinci, as I'm sure you might have noticed, our Master tends to put safety as a second priority to doing what must be done."

Having Dr. Roman as a surrogate father had been…interesting to say the least. Having a somewhat gender-flipped or supposedly gender-flipped Da Vinci as something of a…wise older sister had been…interesting. Having Sherlock Holmes as his support and being the one to vocally back him on his craziest ideas was without a doubt something Ritsuka wasn't going to forget any time soon.

Still, the fact that Holmes of all people was supporting this crazy idea just reaffirmed Ritsuka's confidence. As he'd discovered there was more to the world's greatest detective than meant the eye, he wasn't as distant or removed from normality as he'd expected, quite the opposite. He understood baser human emotions such as the ones Ritsuka felt, such as the ones that drove him to save the life of the man who'd destroyed Chaldea, took away some of the finest people he'd ever known and tried to kill him and his girlfriend. Either that, or Holmes had a very good sense of "go with the flow" like Ritsuka himself.

There had been some back and forth when Ritsuka returned to home base carrying Kadoc's unconscious body on his shoulders. Mash had offered to carry him herself, but Ritsuka politely declined. Joan didn't say anything having already deciphered what was going on in his head. Given how little sass she'd given him, Ritsuka found it evidence she'd already made peace with his decision.

All things considered, both he and his opponent had come out relatively unscathed, at least compared to how things could have gone. Yes, he'd taken more than a handful of scraps and bruises, including several shards of ice impaling him in places he'd rather not mention, but he'd survived. In place of puncture wounds and such Kadoc had burns, third-degree burns courtesy of the Dragon Witch of Orleans trying her absolute best to roast him and his Servant alive. Admittedly, Joan had given it a good try, and several times she'd come close to completely burning Kadoc alive. Anastasia had saved him, just like Mash and his other Servants had saved him. In the end the gray-haired magus' stamina reached its end and collapsed, ready to take the bullet Billy was preparing for him, but then Anastasia had intervened one last time. It was thanks to her he was now lying in a hospital bed in front of Ritsuka, one of his hands handcuffed to the railings in case he woke up and got any funny ideas about trying to escape.

Looking at him up close Ritsuka was able to finally get an idea of how old Kadoc was, not much older than him. Probably only five or six years older at max. It was yet another similarity between them that would probably go unspoken until someone made a comment on it. His skin was almost as pale as snow and the bags under his eyes remained, Ritsuka honestly wondered if they were natural or if the guy simply was under that much stress twenty-four hours a day. Given the scope of what had happened in the buildup to his defeat Ritsuka was inclined to go with the latter. He didn't really blame Kadoc, and wouldn't hold it against him if when he awoken he tried to kill Ritsuka again despite the presence of his dragon-commanding girlfriend.

Said girlfriend walked into the infirmary at that moment, her trademark jacket draped over her and a tight-fitting t-shirt hugging her body. In her hands were two steaming hot cups of coffee. "Figured you needed something to keep you up before you finally collapsed out of worry. Wouldn't be the best look when sleeping beauty wakes up and asks how come you didn't kill him when you had the chance."

"It's not like it'd be the first undignified first meeting I've had." He joked as she took a seat beside. "At this point I've actually got enough of them to form a list. If anything, if he wakes up while I'm asleep I think I'll have to worry more about him trying to strangle me."

"Oh please," The Avenger snorted reaching out and gripping his arms. While he didn't look it, Ritsuka had built up some muscle during his stint as Chaldea's only surviving Master. Joan herself knew better than anyone the Japanese teenager was much stronger and more durable than he looked. "He tries to pull anything and we'll all come running to find him lying in a heap on the floor with his armor twisted, and you apologizing over and over again like a beggar. Heh, ya' know, I don't think I'd mind seeing that."

A few precious minutes of silence passed as the couple drunk their coffee in silence while standing watch over the unconscious Crypter. It was a blissfully serenity they knew wouldn't last, and indeed it ended when Ritsuka inhaled through his noise.

"Any idea on what I can say to him?"

"Sorry for killing your girl, destroying your little winter wonderland and kicking your sorry little ass? Want me to run out and try to find him a gift basket? Or have Mash put one together?"

"Pretty sure the only gift I can give him is turning back time, and Da Vinci hasn't invented a Mystic Code for that yet."

"Key word being 'yet'. You don't need to turn back time, just tell the idiot when he wakes up who's holding all the cards." Joan snorted leering at the former Master. Subconsciously her eyes continued to drift towards his right hand, where his Command Seals used to be. Call it paranoia, but she'd watched with hawk-like eyes as the red emblem faded away. Only when it was completely gone did Joan breath a silent sigh of relief knowing they'd won. With his Servant gone she had a clear shot at the gray-haired asshole who'd destroyed her place of living and robbed her of the only comrades she'd ever known. For better or for worse, Billy beat her to the punch, and then the ice princess showed she still had some fight left in her. "I…would have stopped if you asked me to."

Without a word he wrapped her hand up in his, the human warmth quickly overtaking her and bringing all her defenses crumbling down. Throwing caution to the wind she allowed her head to fall and rest on his shoulder.

"I know this is hard for you." The turquoise-eyed teen mused. "I…really should have talked to you about all this first."

"Quit it, you know I would have told you to do whatever the hell you wanted. Besides…shit happens." She near growled. Try as she might she just couldn't muster up the usual anger that came bringing up old memories. Personally, she blamed Ritsuka for that. She blamed him for filling her with memories of bliss and happiness, things that used to be contradictory to her nature as an Avenger-class Servant. Now she was human, and she felt what humans felt. Placing her coffee on the ground she cupped Ritsuka's face so they could see each other. Shutting her eyes, she pressed her lips against his not caring if anyone saw or if Kadoc woke up in that second. In fact, a part of her would have killed for that just to see the sheer despair on his face. "I may have lost 'brothers and sisters', but I still have my man, that's enough for me to hold my head up, and say full-steam ahead into hell."

There were times Ritsuka wondered what he'd done to be this lucky, he was average, some would even say below average. He'd been blessed with friends and compatriots he wouldn't trade in for a life time. Perhaps most importantly, he had probably the best girlfriend in the world at his side beside him. Looking down he felt his heart twist itself seeing the comatose Kadoc. Had he felt the same way? Was his bond with Anastasia as strong as his and Joan's? Looking back on that fatally moment where the Russian girl threw herself in front of her Master made Ritsuka realize the answer was right in front of him.

An hour later and he was in the storeroom, shifting through boxes and packages. They hadn't exactly had time to organize, and they were still shifting through materials to figure out what they'd managed to salvage from Chaldea. What he was looking for wasn't as hard to find as it could have been. In the aftermath of the battle Mash had stuck to the orders Holmes had given her.

"If you see something that can serve as a summoning catalyst, take it. Do not hesitate. As it stands we are fighting at less than a ten of our original strength, the odds are great and if we are to succeed in restoring the proper human history than we must use ever tool at our disposal."

Delicately he gripped the metallic container used to preserve summoning catalyst. Cracking open the box he stared at the Russian tiara worn by female members of the royal family. Simply looking at the worn slivery crown made Ritsuka feel like he being pelted by a cold northern wind.

"Interesting times indeed." Ritsuka whispered shutting the box then heading for the door. If he was lucky Da Vinci wouldn't be too upset about testing another crackpot theory of his.


Kadoc Zemlupus liked to think his life wasn't as horrible as it could have been. His current situation notwithstanding his life hadn't gone completely to crap, or at least that's what he kept telling himself. He wondered when he was finally going to snap and admit to himself that he'd gone from out of the frying pan and into the fire, as miraculous as that sounded.

Then again, maybe all this was just natural. When the Chaldea survivors had shown up at his Lostbelt he'd called it karma and readily accepted it. He just wished they'd done him the small kindest of killing him and putting him out of his misery. However, given what Anastasia had done to them, something told him they just wanted to prolong his suffering. Kadoc certainly didn't put that past them.

Sitting in a semi-cell, a bedroom that had been converted into a prison, wasn't the worst of things that could have happened to him. The door was of course locked with multiple locks, both mundane and magical in nature, keeping it from being opened from the inside. A busier sounded every time someone prepared to enter the room giving him warning when someone was about to walk in on him. Usually it was maids bringing food and clothing, never anything more except for occasions. Da Vinci and Holmes had wanted to talk to him, interrogate him, yet after a few questions they'd always withdraw leaving him confused, numb, or angry. It felt like everyone was toying with him.

And then came the first major blow of his imprisonment, the one that seriously made him consider just ending closing the book on his life once and for all.

"Um, Kadoc-san, Master…there's…someone he wants you to see."

It wasn't an order, in spite of everything she'd gone through Mash was still too kindhearted to give hard-handed orders to anyone, even prisoners. Kadoc had been quietly reading one of the few books he'd been given when he heard her voice, his mind raced with possibilities that were quickly narrowed down. His heart was telling him who this "someone" was, but his mind was screaming at him it was impossible. He'd watched her fade away into particles of light as was typical of Servants.

The war within him raged on for what felt like centuries when it had only been a few seconds. Clenching his heart Kadoc tried to figure out what he could, what would people like Beryl or Pepe do. They'd get off their asses and go face whatever the hell this is, but…I'm not them. I…Looking down at his right hand he realized just how much he missed having his Command Seals, not because they were proof of his capability as a Master, but because they tied him to arguable the only person in the whole world he carried about.

That person was…

"Dammit all," He growled running his hands through his messy gray hair. How he so wished that outlaw's bullet had found him instead of Anastasia! "I'll…I'll be out in a second, just give me a minute." Biting his lips the entire time he searched his dresser for something to warry, something that wouldn't make him look too much like a lazy bum. In the end he decided on black-t-shirt and pair of jeans, semi-standard casual wear of Chaldea operatives and such. Steeling himself he voiced his readiness to Mash who opened the door to greet him.

Kadoc couldn't understand why she was smiling at him in that soft, shy way. In his opinion she'd always been too soft and kindhearted to be a on the battlefield, much less a Demi-Servant, then again, it wasn't like he had much room to speak about being qualified.

"J-Just follow me,"

He nodded and did so, making sure to keep almost three paces behind her. Both of them were well aware by all rights, they were still enemies. Kadoc had tried to kill her Master and Mash in turn had down her hardest to ensure his Lostbelt faltered and ended; however, his Lostbelt was already doomed so he didn't really have anything to hold against her. Besides, it wasn't like she was the one that pulled the trigger anyways. As they walked the mansion hallways the twenty-three-year-old couldn't help but feel his old sense of paranoia riling itself up. Peering upwards he saw security cameras lining the hallways and corners, if he did anything stupid something told him he wouldn't live to regret it. On the positive side, somewhat, it made his defeat a little easier to swallow, he'd been bested by a group that at least knew enough to keep themselves on guard. Speaking of guard, though his hands were free personally crafted handcuffs on both his wrists kept him from performing any magecraft; the minute he even tried he'd receive an electric shock that Da Vinci had promised him would have him seeing stars. Kadoc had no intention of putting that light-hearted threat to the test.

Or that's what he told himself until he and Mash reached their destination. What he saw there made him seriously consider having a thousand volts of electricity pass through his mind.

The living room was spacious and elongate, almost Victorian in its design with furniture to match. To his far right lay a fireplace with a cackling fire brimming and hanging from the ceiling was a crystal chandelier that he was sure cost more than what either of his parents ever made in their entire lives. Same went for the Persian rug and gold-lined couch, chairs, and coffee table, but none of that was what caught his eye.

Sitting almost directly across from him was Ritsuka Fujimaru, the kid who'd stolen his life purpose, and sitting across from him was a familiar girl garbed in royal white and blue, a spherical doll held at her side.

Kadoc felt all the air in his lungs leak out as if someone had punched a hole in them. His legs wobbled beneath his own weight and his vision became to grow spotty. Words were spoken, but he didn't register any of them, all he could focus on was the blue-eyed woman staring at him as if he were some strange animal that had crossed into her path. The look wasn't one of complete apathy nor was it one of recognition, it was simple…acknowledgement.

Time passed, how much of it he had no idea. No one said a word or moved a muscle, not even Anastasia. Some of the cold indifference her eyes once held were gone, but in their place was something new-confusion.

"So, um, I guess I can leave you two alone together, huh?"

In retrospect, Ritsuka probably should have kept his mouth shut. Kadoc's eyes zeroed in on him like a wolf smelling blood in the air. Immediately the teenager's frail smile fell and his body became rigid in preparation for what was to follow.

"Is…is…is this supposed to be some kind of joke?!" In all his life Kadoc could count the number of times he'd ever been this angry on one hand, the exact number being two not counting this one time. Red hot anger rushed through every square corner of his body filling him with a type of strange energy he never knew existed. Looking ahead became like looking through a red visor; the only shape he could clear make out was that of Ritsuka's. Glaring at his near sadden impression unscrewed something in Kadoc and the bolts were coming loss one after another. "Did you summon her to mock me?! To rub it in my face that I lost?! I get it, I'm pathetic, I'm loser! I don't need the reminder!"

In spite of the growing aura of violence and anger, Ritsuka remained calm, too calm for Kadoc's liking. His eyes were withdrawn and sad, having recognized he'd made a mistake. "No, I summoned her so you could talk to her again."

"It's not her!" The older youth's voice thundered, resounding through the living room and hallways causing Mash to jump. Only faintly was he aware that there was one other person in the room besides her-Jeanne Alter. If he made one move out of line, she'd roast him like a hotdog on a grill, but Kadoc was past the point of caring. To him, there was only one person in the room worth paying attention to, and that person was looking at him with eyes that made him sick to his stomach. "She's not…she's not the Anastasia I knew! Not the one I fought for! Not the one I…I…" Looking at her would have caused him to break down, so he didn't. "So, is this to you, is it enough?"

Hearing those words made Ritsuka wince in emotionally pain. "No, I…I didn't want that. I'm not trying to hurt you, I'm really not. I just wanted you to-"

The former Crypter never let his younger counterpart finish. Roaring like the feral beasts of the Lostbelt he was in charge of he tackled Ritsuka to the floor. Tears freely streamed down his face as he gathered his strength and threw the first of what would be many punches. "Shut up! You think you can summon her, have us talk it out and that'll make things better?! Think that'll make up for everything that's happened?! Everything you've taken from me?! You already stole my job, my mission! Do you want the woman I love too?! Will that be enough for you!? Uh?!" Every sentence was punctuated by a blow from Kadoc's fists, becoming redder and redder. In the back of his mind he waited for the end to come-for Mash to step in, the Avenger to burn him alive, or Anastasia to flash freeze him. If that last one came true then Kadoc wouldn't have minded it, he felt that was the sort of fate he deserved. "Come on! Say something! Fight back!" He continued to vent and Ritsuka continued to take it all without a word. It was driving Kadoc further and further up the wall. "You saved the world! You did what none of us could! You have Servants! You have fame and status! What the hell else do you want!? What more do you want to take from me?!"

By the time Kadoc took a moment to catch himself he'd burned through all the energy he'd gathered, leaving him a tired-out husk of a man. No one around the pair moved, not Mash, not Jeanne Alter, and not even Anastasia. Both men felt the three girls' eyes on them, peering into them, waiting for this drama to play its course. The mere thought of them watching him like some circus animal renewed his fury resulting in yet another assault of punches Ritsuka took in silence.

When Kadoc finally pulled back he was breathing like he'd just ran a marathon. His hands hurt like hell and his body felt like it had had all the strength sucked out of it. Leaning back he felt like some unseen weight had been lifted off his shoulders leaving him feeling almost…liberated in a sense. Looking up at the light-covered ceiling he was reminded of a time Beryl took him to the gym to work out some…excess aggression.

"Hey, come on! You're human! Pounding the tar out of something is what we humans do when we're angry or stressed out about something! Nothing wrong with that, hell, sometimes it's all you need!"

Beryl had been right, he'd left the gym that day feeling better than when he came in. Kadoc felt that same sense of relief as he breathed in and out, coming down from the rage-high Ritsuka had thrown him into. Then he actually looked down to examine his handy work, Kadoc felt like he'd just set fire to his home and all his valuables.

Ritsuka's face closely resembled a piece of mashed up beef: cheeks swollen and red with blood pouring from his noise and lips, and his right eye swollen shut. In spite of horrible damage done to him, the pain he must have been in, Ritsuka's calm expression never wavered. In contrast to Kadoc his eyes remained as tranquil as a tree leaf sailing upon the wind. Despite the damage down to his face his breathing remained steady and calm, his gaze unwavering.

"Kadoc, I'm sorry."

Those two words, those words were like arrows to the young man's heart. Gnashing his teeth, he slowly stood up, his body once more shaking, but not with rage or hatred. "I…I'd like to go back to my room. Now." His gaze remained locked to the floor as he didn't have the strength to face anyone else, much less Anastasia whose gaze he could still feel on him.

As the former Crypter departed Ritsuka sat upwards, taking a moment or two to feel his face. Just about everything hurt, but compared to what he'd been through in the past, it was minor.

"Has anyone ever told you what a grade-A idiot you are?" Joan sneered walking over to him while Anastasia watched on in silent. What was going through her head at the moment was anyone's guess.

Turning to look at her he gave the best grin he could manage. "Yeah, but remember, I'm your idiot."

The pair broke into a strange yet harmonious fit of laughter that puzzled the Russian princess. She looked at the duo then back to the hallway where Mash had escorted the man called Kadoc back to his room. Where this her homeland the man would be on his way to an execution chamber.

These…people are strange. She thought heading out herself coming upon that same hallway. Mash and Kadoc were out of eyesight, but she could still feel them. The aura weighing down on the gray-haired man who'd just assaulted her Master it was…familiar to her. Too familiar.


About two days had passed since the little incident, and since then Kadoc wasn't sure what he was supposed to do. No one had come to see him or discipline him for his actions. Not even the Avenger, as night fell Kadoc was too paranoid to go to sleep, afraid the Alter Servant would end his life in his sleep. For that reason, he kept careful watch on the door whenever he sensed someone come nearby. It wasn't much, but at least he could prepare himself to face death with a little dignity when it finally came for him.

He waited and waited, yet the bell never tolled for him.

Kadoc found that scarier than the thought of someone killing him in his sleep.

It was when he was in the middle of reading another one of his books after finishing up his lunch that he felt a presence at his door. His magecraft abilities may not have been worth crap, but his senses were honed enough he could tell when someone was around, especially when they weren't even trying to hide themselves.

Setting his book down he walked over to the door. He had a nagging suspicion on who it was behind it, but he was scared to confirm his guess. After a moment or two of contemplating he finally grounded out. "I'm…sorry about waling on you."

"You don't need to apologize, now that I've had some time to think it over…I kind of deserved it. Didn't really think that whole thing all the way through." Came Ritsuka's voice on the other end. He sounded like he was in high spirits.

"Heh, you've been through time covering humanity's highest and lowest periods, yet you're still making blunders like that?" It was an attempted jab, but the former Master found he just couldn't put any heat into it. In the end, it came off more like a joke than anything.

"Like I said, I…kind of owe you an apologize. I guess I just…got my hopes up a little too high with you and Anastasia." The Japanese teen mused.

"You sound almost like you've done this sort of thing before."

"I…sort of have. I was on the receiving end."

Kadoc thought of a minute recalling all his previous encounters with Ritsuka. "You…and that Avenger, the…Jeanne Alter, right?"

"Yeah, her. Real funny story of how that happened."

His hand was against the door. Lying on the other end was Ritsuka, probably sitting cross-legged in the middle of the hallway. It was a ridiculous picture, but it was one Kadoc couldn't get out of his head. Breathing a relatively relaxed breath he turned around and laid his back against the door. In a weird way, doing so made him feel a lot better. "If it's…not too trouble…how'd that happen? How'd you and…her get together?"

There was a brief chuckle on the other end before the story began. "Would you believe it if I told you we first met when she was trying to burn France to ashes with an army of dragons?"

"Let me guess, she was the cause of one of the Singularities?"

"Yep, France, I got to fulfill an old friend's dream of going to France, except I couldn't bring him back any souvenirs, was too busy trying to stay alive." Ritsuka explained sounding like he was recalling a far-off memory. According to what they'd learned about Ritsuka Fujimaru…he'd led quite a colorful life since joining Chaldea. "To her, I was just another enemy, another skull to add to the pile. Not exactly the best way to start off a romance, huh?"

"I've…heard worse. You stopped the Singularity and defeated her, I can't imagine she fell head over heels for your 'magnificent dashing heroism'."

It had been a long time, too long, since he'd been able to laugh with someone without worry or interruption. Once again, it felt liberating.

"You're right, I stopped the Singularity, and no, she didn't fall for me while I was trying to keep her from carrying out her life's purpose. I'll be honest…I was terrified of her when I first saw Jeanne Alter." There was a pause Kadoc recognized as memories of darker times being unearthed and looked upon. It wasn't a pleasant feeling. "Here she was, a girl just about three years older than me, and she had more power in her pinky than I did in my entire body, she could have killed me, tried to kill me. How I managed to survive all her attempts literally kept me awake for weeks even after we'd defeated her. Still, the more we encountered her…the more I…kind of got to know her. The more I looked the more I realized she wasn't some inhuman monster hellbent on setting the world on fire because she could. She was hurt, and I could understand that. Not that it justified killing so many innocent people, but I understood why she was setting everything she could on fire. Hatred does that, that was the first time I ever realized how powerful a force it could be."

"Heh, no offense, but I take it you've never seen the really bad side of life, have you?"

"Nope," he answered with an absurdly upbeat and cheery voice. "Joining Chaldea was literally my first step into the outside world."

"So…how's the experience been?"

A pause preceded the answer. "It's been interesting, eye-opening is what I should say. Anyways, can I trust you to keep a secret?"

"You realize I'm still technically your enemy, right?"

"Yeah, but I trust you enough to tell you this."

There was a beat, then finally a response. "Fire away."

"Part of the reason I managed to survive France was because Jeanne Alter really sucked at being an evil overlord." Ritsuka confessed with a snicker.

Taking a moment to himself Kadoc tried to imagine how the France Singularity must have played out. A dark copy of Joan of Arc leading an army of dragons to burn the country to the ground in vengeance for her death, backed by an army of Servants corrupted by her touch. Ordinarily, that situation alone would have been dangerous enough he'd be shaking at the mere thought, yet from what Ritsuka had said a large part of the terror had seemingly come from his own inexperience than Jeanne Alter's actually attempts to do harm. Given the likes of Kirschtaria and Daybit, the Singularity probably would have been taken care of with minimal effort. "Huh, interesting story, kind of wish I was there to see it. So, what happened next between you and the Dragon Witch, how'd you go from fearing her to…ya' know?"

"To be honest, it's hard for me to pin down." He began sounding a little sheepish. "Over time, as I started to see more and more of her I began to fear her less and pity her more. In the end, when we finally defeated her…I sorta wanted to reach out and hold her hand, tell her there was more to the world than hatred or revenge." A stiff laugh interrupted the explanation. "I carried the regret of not being able to do anything for her for a long time until I saw her again, it wasn't until we had to deal with the Sub-Singularities that I got to see her again. That's when I really got to know her, I…" Kadoc could picture the blush painting his face as he uttered the next couple of words. "I guess that's when I…fell for her. First woman I can ever say I flat out loved, and she was a hated-fueled superhuman spirit capable of summoning an army of dragons straight out of Dungeons and Dragons."

"Like a dream come true, right?"

"Yep, you ever fantasized about stuff like that?"

Before he could answer Kadoc stopped himself. Even if he didn't have his Servant Ritsuka was still the enemy, wasn't he? Yet, the more they talked the harder it was for him to see the younger boy as the object of his aggression and rage, he felt…calm. Like he was talking with Beryl or Pepe again, and even… "Once or twice. No offense, but she doesn't seem like the kind of girl who'd regularly throw herself into your arms. What'd you do?"

"We…got close during the Sub-Singularity, close enough that when we resolved it I…I didn't want to see her go, not again. I used a catalyst to summon her, a piece of the firewood used to burn her. It was a longshot as everyone kept telling me. The Jeanne Alter I summoned…probably wasn't going to remember me, but I still tried."

"She did remember you." Kadoc laughed somewhat harshly. "You got to see the woman you loved again, and you…" Eyes narrowing in pain at the revelation Kadoc tried to think of something else to think about. Why had things gone so well for this no-name kid? He was just like him? Wasn't he? Was his bond with Jeanne Alter that strong? Hadn't he built up the same sort of bond with Anastasia?

"I was fully prepared to start from scratch."

"Huh?"

"With Jeanne Alter." Now his voice sounded firmer and more resolute, like when they were battling at the climax of the Lostbelt. "Even if she didn't remember me or the times we spent together, I wanted to build that bond back up, no matter what it took. To me…Jeanne Alter, Joan was that important to me." There was an intake of breath before Ritsuka said words that sent Kadoc into a freefall of emotions. "If I could do it with Jeanne Alter…then you can do it with Anastasia, I'm sure of that."

Kadoc wanted to scream, to shout, to hit something until his hands bleed again. Instead, all he could do was whimper like some frightened child. "Why? Why?! I'm not you! I'm nothing special! I…I couldn't save the world like you! I couldn't even-"

"You think I managed to save the world and stop Goetia because I've got some special secret? I'm didn't! I was scared shitless the entire time!" It was the first time he'd ever heard Ritsuka sound almost…furious. Admittedly Kadoc was taken back hearing the younger male put so much heart into such words. "I never stopped fearing for my life throughout the entire time! I was scared out of my mind hoping to God I didn't fail and let everyone down! The only reason why I kept going was because time after time, bit by bit, I meant people who I didn't want to let down! My family, my friends, everyone I'd met in Chaldea, and Joan! I kept going because above all else, I wanted them to live! The same way Anastasia wanted you to live!"

The last declaration hit the Baltic-descended youth like a sledgehammer. "H-H-H-How do you know?!"

"Because what Anastasia did…I've seen it before, from both sides." He'd taken some time to calm down, but Ritsuka's voice still contained a hardness, an edge that terrified and intrigued Kadoc. "To put yourself in harm's way for someone, to risk your life for someone else…that someone is important to you. To do it without a minute of hesitation…I had to earn that from the Servants I met. I hated myself for being so weak they had to take the fall for me, even when they told me I shouldn't beat myself up…I hated myself. That feeling in your stomach-"

"Like you're the most pathetic thing to walk the earth. That makes you question what the hell you're doing."

"It drives you crazy…makes you want to tear your hair out because in this giant pool of legends and greats…"

"…You're still so average…so painfully average…" Kadoc finished, his nails clawing at the floor to the point he was sure they were starting to bleed.

"Yeah, that feeling, but…I still had to try." Like an arrow cutting a path through a dark abyss Ritsuka's voice pulled the older youth out of the darkness he felt himself slipping into. "I never once stopped doubting myself, as things kept getting worse I always felt this nagging voice in the back of my head telling me to give up, to let it all go and accept the world was going to end. In spite of that voice, I kept going, I don't know if it was bravery, or if it was just because pushing forward had become an automatic response for my body, but that's what I did. Even if there wasn't a light, I stumbled around in the darkness until I got where I needed to go. I couldn't have done that without Mash or my other Servants. I made good friends…and lost a lot of them, but every loss just made me realize I had to keep going, if not for my sake, then for theirs."

Something in his voice resonated with Kadoc, or maybe it was the picture he was painting. He'd thought they were similar and continuously questioned how this kid who'd never heard of magic or Heroic Spirits managed to save the world. Madness had nearly taken him as he laid awake night after night wondering how it had all happened. His speech had given him some form of an idea. "It…wasn't for yourself, you did it…for them."

"Pretty much," Some of the humor in his voice had returned, yet Kadoc still felt like a burden had been placed over the Japanese teenager. "I'm a piss-poor magus, without my Mystic Codes, I'm pretty much useless. I can't even perform healing magecraft, pretty pathetic, huh?"

"So, I one-up you somewhere." He didn't want his response to come out that upbeat, but it did anyway.

"All I could do…was keep going, and by some miracle, that was enough for my Servants. Guys like us…that's all we can do, keep going and hope to hell somehow…things work out in the end."

The blunt thing to say would have been things hadn't worked out for him, but Kadoc felt something stirring in his chest. Bringing his right hand into view he stared at the bandaged hand, remembering where the red print of his Command Seals used to be. Bowing his head, he thought back to the time he first summoned Anastasia, in a flurry of light and snowflakes. While he wasn't immediately blown away he did sense there was more to the woman than met the eye. In the end, he turned out to be right. Beneath the ice-cold exterior was a jovial, kind woman he never would have met if things had his life ever truly hit rock bottom. "After a while…I stopped caring about the Lostbelt." It was an admission of guilt just as much as it was a release of inner feelings. "I knew I didn't have a chance of expanding mine, being the 'winner' of whatever game that thing that brought me back was playing, but I didn't care. I just…for Anastasia's sake…"

"You wanted to see her become Tsar, didn't you?" Ritsuka inquired sounding much softer than before.

"Pretty selfish of me, huh? Sacrificing the entirety of human history just to please one girl. I'm horribly, aren't I?"

Of all the response he could have gotten laughter was not the one he was expecting. "Actually, I can understand that feeling perfectly. Remember, you're talking to a guy who bonded with people who did some pretty crazy things for what some would call the stupidest of reasons. Matter of fact, going that far for a single person…I'm sorta like that with Joan. The more time we spent together…the more I realized I wanted to save the world so I could show it to her. A world where she could laugh and smile, maybe not forget her hatred, but balance her heart out with happier things."

"Heheheh…I can sympathize with that. Even if I made Anastasia Tsar, my Lostbelt would have been consumed by one of the others and then…well, I never wanted to think about what happens when a Lostbelt is consumed. None of us did."

"About that, you all…you're all competing against each other, doesn't that bother you at all?"

"It's just one of the things we all had to make peace with when the Alien God brought us back." Kadoc explained. "None of us were ready to die, and the way we did…guys like Ophelia and Kirsch won't say it, but it left us…angry. To be honest, when I 'woke up' I was pretty pissed my life was cut short as it was. Now, here we are competing against each other to become the foundation of the new human history, the winner probably getting to survive while the losers are…yeah, we never really tried to think about that part."

"Just got done dying and don't want to experience it again?" Ritsuka joked.

"Pretty much, you ever tried dying?"

"Would you believe me if I told you I did die once?"

Kadoc thought for a minute about calling his bluff, but Ritsuka wasn't the type of person to lie. If he said it, he usually meant it. "You got better?"

"Obviously." He answered to which they both laughed. "Anyways, guys like us may not have any special skills on our own, we may lose out to people who are bigger and have three times as much magical capability as us."

"You don't say."

"But, Kadoc, we can do one thing that I think we should be proud of."

"Before you finish, can you…say that to my face, so I know you're not lying to make me feel better."

"Sure."

It was the first time they were face to face without trying to kill each other or having tension hanging in the air between them. Ritsuka's face had almost completely healed up, Kadoc chalked that up to Mash and Ritsuka himself being tougher than he looked. He looked like he'd been involved in a schoolyard brawl with a few bandages and his eye covered over, still he was smiling.

They sat side by side in front of his bed, the room's air condition pelting them with a cool breeze.

"Guys like us…are good at reaching out to our Servants. I managed to do so to mine…and you did so to Anastasia, and that's why I'm sure you can bond with this Anastasia just as well as you did to the last one."

He couldn't admit how touched he was by his words, Kadoc was never the type to let his guard down so easily around people, at least not ones he'd previously pursued like a mad dog. "You're putting a lot of faith in me."

"I've had to put faith in a lot of people." There was something dark and abyssal in the laugh that followed. Turing over to face him, Kadoc saw the invisible weight Ritsuka had been carrying manifested in the unimaginable darkness his turquoise eyes now carried. Kadoc realized Ritsuka wasn't looking at him, but at something far off in the distance. Something dark and terrible. "I've fought beside humanity's best…and worst. Even thought she looks like a little girl…Jack…I saw the things she did when she fell asleep on me. The murders…the butchery. I wanted to vomit when I woke up, and sometimes I did. What she did to those women…speaking of which, there's Carmilla," His hands fell over his face as he recalled the transferred memories of Countess of Blood. "She wishes she'd met someone like me when she was younger, but she doesn't regret any of her crimes. While I'm on this train of thought, how about I talk about Gilles as a Caster, after he went crazy."

"Bluebeard." Kadoc mused. Of all the possible Casters he could have picked, that one was one he wanted specifically to avoid. He may have been a cowardly lazy bum, but child murdering and molestation was where he drew a line. "Technically speaking, since he…created Jeanne Alter and you're with her doesn't that make him your…"

"I try not to think about it." The two inadept magi shared a stiff laugh over the fish-eyed lunatic that was the devoted follower of Jeanne d'Arc. "There's Phantom of the Opera…I saw the things he did when he was stalking Christine, heh, after that I don't think I'll ever be able to look at another stalking movie the same way ever again, and that's not even mentioning having actual stalkers of my own who are totally yanderes."

"Every Japanese guy's worst nightmare. Er, sorry if that sounds a little racist."

"None taken. Thing is…what gets me almost as bad are the conquers and warriors. I never knew what a battlefield looked like until I saw their memories." Leaning his head back Ritsuka Fujimaru looked twenty years older, his eyes and face carrying a type of weariness Kadoc associated with those that have seen many, many terrible things, yet continue to live. "Iskandar, Ozymandias, Vlad, Cu Chulainn, Boudica Spartacus, Nightingale, Mordred, Caligula, and then…I remember Asterios' time in the maze and Medusa's time as Gorgon. What they…"

For so long Kadoc had been envious of this boy who'd managed to gain the trust and respect of several dozen Servants, the likes of which no sane man would have approached, and same would have outright rejected working with. Seeing Ritsuka in that state, Kadoc realized the cost of working with such characters was the young man's sanity. Just as he'd seen pieces of Anastasia's past through her memories, Ritsuka had done the same, only with multiple Servants, some of whom were either rightfully or wrongfully condemned as monsters for their brutality. In a way, Kadoc realized he'd gotten off lucky, he'd only wanted to bond with one Servant and stick with him or her until the end. Ritsuka didn't have that luxury as he needed all the help he could get, and like all things that help came with a price.

Maybe Daybit was onto something about not connecting with your Servant, or at least keeping the relationship professional like Kirsch and Ophelia.

"In spite of all that, what they did…how many people they may have killed or harmed…I reached out to them because…maybe I was just deluded myself, but at this point, I really don't care." Allowing his head to fall Ritsuka gave Kadoc that same smile, the one that spoke of dented but not completely dead optimism. How he managed to onto that smile, in spite of everything he's been through. "I…I wish I could see all of them again, but I can't, I can't change the past, but I can still push on ahead, I will push on ahead because is any of them were here, that's what they'd be telling me to do."

The older of the pair stared slack-jawed at the Japanese teen. Exactly what the hell was this boy? How, how in the great big world did Chaldea manage to end up with a person this…open-hearted as it's last Master? Peering deeper into those turquoise eyes Kadoc began to realize why destiny may have chosen this child over the rest of them, he was average, but in his normality, he could strive to be something more, something…great.

"Do you…do you really think I can…"

"When you saw Anastasia, you were happy, weren't you?"

"…Happier than I've ever felt, at least in the past week."

Ritsuka smiled as he stood up. "Then go for it. If you defrosted her once, you can do it again. Average guys like us can only struggle and push on ahead since we don't have anything else to fall back on."

Holding his hand up to the door the locks recognized him and popped the door open allowing the Japanese youth to step out. That was when Kadoc called to him. "Hey, Ritsuka! You…you're really strange, you know that? Most guys…they'd be over the moon at the chance of having multiple girls swooning over them. Back in Chaldea, before Jeanne Alter…did you…"

Blushing and grinning he turned back to him and leaned against the doorway. "Yeeeah, they were cute, I won't lie, but, well…among my friends, I was the odd one out, not wanting a harem of beautiful girls ogling me, I found it a little…much. All I want is one woman to love me for me. Besides, I've got a great woman I wouldn't trade-in for the world, and if I ever thought of about it, she'd burn me."

Once again, the two boys shared a laugh, their second one. Bidding his former enemy a goodbye Ritsuka closed the door leaving Kadoc alone in his room, his mind a whirlwind of new thoughts and feelings. The anxiety he'd built up for the past couple of days, the doubts and fears, the anger, most if not all of it had seemingly…evaporated.

"Guys like us…pushing forward." Kadoc thought placing his hand over his chest as he always did. The Lostbelt was gone and there was no way he could get it back, besides, it was never really high on his list of priorities to begin with. His goal was…

"Um…hello…are you awake?"

The voice soft as snow, yet in a second capable of becoming ice. "Y-Yes?" He answered automatically.

"May I…come in?"

"Y-Y-Y-Yes." Again, his response was automatic. Damn that voice and his inability to let go.

Just as quickly as they'd clocked shut the locks slid open allowing the door to open if only just a little. It was enough for Kadoc to glimpse the white-haired beauty that stood on the other end.

"Kad…Kadoc? I…would like to…ask you some things, would it be acceptable for me to enter?"

It was amazing how one minute you're swimming through a sea of pitch-black darkness, and the next you're lying back in a field of emerald grass, a bright sun shining down on you. "Ye…Yes, yes it would."


I'd like to think this chapter was a little more emotionally heavy than the last one. All things considered, Grand Order is one hell of a ride, and I wanted to at least touch upon how the crazy adventure would affect a seemingly normal person-they'd be at least a little damaged by all the things they'd seen. Even if Type-Moon tried to lighten the characters to make them more likable or acceptable, some of the things some Servants have done and lived through is still enough to give you nightmares, and all that's taken its toll on Ritsuka. In the face of horror like that, all you can do is harden yourself and keep going, come what may. Everyone falls, stumbles and faces hardship, it's only when deciding rather or not to give up or keep going does one distinguish one's self, that's a trial that "special" people and "average" people alike go through.

Next chapter's the finale, where both couples sit down for one last talk. Hopefully it'll be up in a week or so, until then!