For the record, it's not that I hate Kiyohime: I'm not a fan, but I don't mind her either. But when you say 'yandere Servant' she's the first one that comes to mind, and I just had to do something like this. Why?
Because I find the idea of Amakusa being chased around Chaldea by Berserkers funny.

Anyways, with that out of the way: enjoy!


"Ah, Mister Amakusa." The youthful-looking Ruler turned around to see Mash coming out of a room.

"Oh, good morning Miss Kyrielight."

"Ah, yes, good morning," Mash said, the corners of her mouth moving up into a light smile. But even so, Amakusa noticed that at the same time, there was a light furrow between her brows. In addition, she seemed like she wanted to say something, but was hesitating.

"Is there something you want to ask me?" The Ruler decided to give the girl a break by being the first to break the silence that was growing more awkward every second.

"U-um, no, it's not that I want something from you…" The girl trailed off, before gathering her courage once more as she took a deep breath, "… but I have to admit I was wondering about something." Amakusa gave a light smile to encourage her to speak further.

"… Mister Amakusa, Senpai's room is nearby."

"Master's room? Ah, now that you mention it, you're right. I must've passed by it without really thinking about it earlier." The frown on Mash's face was even clearer now, as he'd apparently not said what she wanted to hear.

"… Was it really a coincidence?"

"…? Of course, why wouldn't it be?"

"… Um, I'm sorry to say, but I've been seeing you around Senpai's room a lot lately, usually around the times Senpai isn't present." Ah. Amakusa should've known Mash would be the first to figure out about his cleaning duties. Both he and Gudako knew that Mash wouldn't throw a fit over something like that, but both also knew that the moment word got out, every Servant in Chaldea would hear about this before the day was up. Mash was without a doubt one of the nicest people in Chaldea, but also the worst at keeping a lie, however much she disliked being left out of the loop because of it. Not even Mash's anger after the Christmas event could change Gudako's thoughts on that.
But in this particular case Amakusa being near his Master's room really was a coincidence, and it was slightly troubling him that Mash seemed to suspect him of something. He wasn't sure what, exactly, but it clearly wasn't cleaning going by the disapproving frown on her forehead that was getting deeper every second.

"Ah, I see. I suppose that is true. Lately I've been helping Master out with something, but this time really is a coincidence."

"… Really." Where in the world had Mash learned to glare like this? Amakusa would've imagined a priest looking at a lost little lamb if he hadn't been a priest himself, even if that was a cover in another timeline.

"Miss Mash, might I ask what you're suspecting me of? Because it seems like you have something in mind."

Realizing she was probably being extremely rude, Mash briefly glanced away and collected herself before sighing: "… I'm sorry, I know you're a good person, but the way you've been lurking around Senpai's room lately… I can't help but remember that the last time a Servant did that it was Kiyohime, and…" Amakusa let the accusation "you're acting like Kiyohime" crash against his ears, and for a moment his mind went blank as he imagined the stalker dragon girl. Did… did he actually act like her? Like Kiyohime, the Servant who broke into her Master's room to steal her underwear?

"…"

"… Mister Amakusa?" Perhaps Mash had noticed the ever-present smile on Amakusa's face had taken on a stiff quality, or how his stance looked frozen. Maybe she was imagining things, but was he not breathing…?

Amakusa never thought the day would come that he would be compared to one of Chaldea's top ten problematic Servants. While the exact positions tended to shift regularly, with there being a one-time problematic wonder at the top of the list every time an event rolled around, Kiyohime was always between the positions of five and ten, right below Mephistopheles (despite her behavior potentially causing Gudako the most stress, she was fairly low on the list due to – most of the time – not wishing her Master harm).
It was… honestly, Amakusa couldn't recall the last time he'd felt so deeply ashamed of himself. He adored his kind-hearted Master of course – they all did – but he'd never imagined he'd risk turning out like Kiyohime! Even if the situation wasn't quite what Mash feared, it was still the truth that his behavior reminded her of the Berserker, and that was…
Amakusa likened the feeling currently racing through him to a crisis of faith, and he felt the immediate urge to go to Chaldea's small church and pray to the Lord for guidance and forgiveness. Ah, to think he'd sunk so low… He was actually starting to feel a little nauseous at the thought.

"Mister Amakusa? Mister Amakusa!?" The Ruler was literally shaken out of his spiraling thoughts by Mash, who had grabbed his shoulders and started shaking him back and forth with a worried expression on her face. Amakusa blinked.

"Ah, Mash? My apologies, I must have zoned out," the Ruler said, and Mash let out a relieved sigh as she let go of his shoulders and took a step back.

"Are you sure you're alright? You were starting to turn pale and you'd stopped breathing…"

"I did? My apologies, I was just… taken aback, that's all." Amakusa actually wanted to say, "shaken to my core", but he didn't want to give Mash cause to feel guilty.

"I see. Um, I'm sorry for saying you were acting like Kiyohime: it was an exaggeration and I didn't think it'd shock you so much…"

"No, no, if you say my behavior was suspicious it must have been. I'll reflect on it right away." Well, at the very least seeing how shocked he was convinced Mash that the Ruler wasn't actually planning something devious for her Master – in particular not something related to her underwear, because in his stupor he'd muttered: "not like that underwear thief" with the deadest of looks in his eyes. Honestly, for a moment there she'd feared she'd actually given him a heart attack!

"Well then, with that…" Amakusa said goodbye to Mash and immediately took off in the direction of the church… with the most unsteady gait Mash had ever seen on a Servant, bar some who were drunk.

"Mister Amakusa…?" The Ruler didn't seem to hear her, continuing with his wobbling steps, barely avoiding crashing into a wall as he turned a corner.

Mash felt quite bad about doing that to him, and wondered how she'd break to Senpai that she'd accidentally broken one of her Rulers.
And honestly, seeing him so shocked was outright unnerving. The last time she'd seen him get any kind of emotional was way back when he tried to get his hands on a corrupted grail, and in particular when Senpai had answered him that she'd always stop him if he went after one.
But even compared to that time, this level of shock was on an entirely different level, and it worried her deeply. Certainly, Amakusa's ability to remain calm in any situation was somewhat worrisome to her – while in itself a useful trait, the fact that he didn't even blink when trying to betray them all was rather understandably less good – but to see the same person turning pale in shock was even worse.


As Shirou Amakusa Tokisada stumbled into the church, he was greeted by the welcoming faces of Jeanne d'Arc and Saint Martha.
Both saints politely greeted him… and after only a nod with a weak smile, Amakusa wobbled past them.

"… Amakusa?" Jeanne was genuinely confused: not in all her time as a Servant of Chaldea had she ever seen Amakusa like this, all pale and shaking and unsteady. Saint Martha knew him a little bit less because she hadn't taken up preaching at Edmond like them as a regular activity – though she did when she happened to run into him in the halls – nor did she happen to be summoned at the same time as either Ruler, but even to her it was obvious that the not-quite-a-saint's behavior was extremely unusual for him.
Deciding to support him before he collapsed, the women each took one of his arms and gently guided him over to one of the benches, seating him.

To be frank: he looked like a dead man walking. His usually tanned skin had taken on an unhealthy pallor, he was shaking, his body seemed to lack warmth and his eyes… By God, his eyes. They just looked… broken, as if someone had said something to shake him to the very core of his being. And yet, despite his dire state, his ever-present smile was still stuck on his face. Though it definitely looked less welcoming than usual when combined with his otherwise ghastly state.
Jeanne would've said he was having a crisis of faith had he not come to the church despite his condition, undoubtedly to pray. She felt a bit bad for interrupting his attempt, but she wasn't sure he could even say a proper prayer right now.

"Amakusa? What's wrong?" Martha tried to get through to the man, but he just kept staring blankly ahead of him. Since speaking didn't get through to him, she tapped him on the shoulder instead. Amakusa turned his haunted gaze onto the Rider, and she couldn't quite suppress the shiver going through her when she met those eyes.

"Ah, my apologies, but I was lost in thought. Were you saying something?" Neither of the two Saints could decide whether they were weirded out by his ability to talk in his normal tone of voice despite clearly being in inner turmoil, or impressed.

"Amakusa, what in the world did you do before getting here?" Amakusa just stared blankly at Martha for a few moments after her question, and the two women were starting to fear he'd returned to his stupor again until he spoke up.

"Ah, I was… I was holding a conversation with Miss Kyrielight, that's all…"

"Mash? Did Mash say something that distressed you so much?" Jeanne asked in disbelief. While the Shielder could be surprisingly stubborn and strict at times, in general she tended to be among the most gentle people in Chaldea. She couldn't imagine the girl saying anything to affect Amakusa so much.

"Ah, no, Miss Mash didn't say anything wrong. If anything, she pointed out my wrongs…" As he trailed off Amakusa fell into his stupor once more – and for real this time – making it clear to the saints that regardless of how difficult to believe it might be, Mash had indeed said something to reduce Amakusa to this state.
Jeanne looked at Martha, and the Rider nodded. With that she rushed out of the church to track down Mash and ask what exactly she said, while Jeanne went about trying to coax Amakusa out of his shocked state.

Not too much later Martha returned with Saint Georgios in tow, whom she'd apparently run into on the way and had explained the situation to. She explained what Mash had told her, and they tried to ignore the odd sound Amakusa made when the words "reminded her of Kiyohime" passed Martha's lips. It sounded strangely much like his soul escaping his body.
After her explanation Jeanne now fully understood why exactly Amakusa took it so hard.
While it might initially seem silly to be so distressed over a simple comparison, the fact that Mash had likened him to Kiyohime of all people… Jeanne couldn't guess whether her fellow Ruler must have been more distressed over his behavior being viewed as that suspicious, or over the fact that he'd been likened to Chaldea's second Servant to have been given the dubious honor of the title 'Underwear Thief'. (The first holder of that title was Blackbeard, whose subsequent beating by angry female Servants had discouraged anyone else from aiming for the same spot.)
Indeed, by now rumors of Kiyohime snatching the Last Master's underwear and wearing it proudly atop her head as if it was the most splendid of crowns had spread to most of Chaldea (to Gudako's great embarrassment. Seriously, the girl refused to come out of her room for two days straight when she was asked to confirm the rumor).

Everyone present knew that Amakusa wasn't the type to do such things, but the shock of basically being accused must've still been tremendous. Amakusa's gaze had turned even more distant, and Jeanne, Martha and Georgios set about trying to restore the young(?) man to his usual self.
Considering he had three genuine saints (mostly figuratively) praying for his lost soul, it should come as no surprise that Amakusa started recovering from his state of utter shock after only an hour.


Taking a deep breath, Amakusa gave his fellow Christians a grateful smile. He was still rather pale and couldn't quite stop the slight shaking of his hands, but it was far less serious than before, and life had returned to his eyes.
He emptied the last bit of tea from the cup he'd been holding (he'd been so out of it that he couldn't remember who'd even given him tea in the first place) before placing it back on its saucer and then next to him on the bench.

"Still, I'm surprised you kept cleaning Master's room so often. Did you decide to try and emulate the other Shirou here?" Martha asked, still enjoying her own tea.
Sometime during what was essentially a therapy session with three doctors and one patient Amakusa mentioned that what Mash had interpreted as suspicious behavior was actually just him cleaning Gudako's room. He wasn't particularly worried about saying this, as the only ones who regularly visited this church were the four of them (including Ruler Martha) and both versions of Vlad III, along with a few of Chaldea's staff who happened to be religious. And Amakusa knew that none of those people were the type to gossip.

"I simply find it pleasant to be able to focus my attention on such a peaceful chore, especially considering the many battles we've been in lately."

"Indeed, the Singularities have been getting more and more dangerous every time. I pray Master can continue to face these dangers as strongly as she has been." Georgios, who was seated on Amakusa's other side, had also finished his tea, though he held onto the saucer and cup instead of placing them somewhere.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry too much about that. Master's a surprisingly strong girl. As long as we all support her as we do now, I'm certain she'll make it through." Jeanne was the only one standing out of the four, still drinking from her own cup. The other three Servants nodded in agreement.

They continued chatting amiably like that for a while, and had anyone spotted them they would've wondered if there was a club for (almost) saints being created. Well, in actuality someone did spot them as she entered the church, but her mind was far too occupied with homicide to concern herself with this. As far as she was concerned, even if such a club did exist the only reason it'd matter to her would be because she was on her way to deprive them of a member…

Because unbeknownst to the group of saints (with one not-quite-official saint), shortly after Martha had questioned her Mash happened to run into Kojirou. Knowing he was friends with Amakusa, the Demi-Servant had asked him if he knew what the Ruler had been up to. While the Assassin knew nothing about him spending a lot of time near Master's room, he had spotted Amakusa with cleaning utensils a couple of times, the dates matching when Mash had spotted him near Gudako's room. The girl recalled how a while back Gudako had ordered Amakusa to clean her room, a task that he had accepted with gusto.
Both put their clues together and correctly deduced that Amakusa was thus simply continuing with the room-cleaning, undoubtedly with Gudako's own blessing. Mash immediately felt embarrassed for jumping to conclusions like she had, and was worried about how that must have affected Amakusa. Martha had mentioned him being in shock. Kojirou assured her that the Ruler wasn't the type to hold a grudge against her, and that she'd just have to apologize to him next she saw him.

While neither of them saw anything wrong with someone regularly cleaning their Master's room – Gudako was too busy to do it herself, after all – a Servant who did see the potential for chaos in this bit of info happened to overhear it. And as (bad) luck would have it, this particular Servant was the one who consistently beat Kiyohime in the unofficial ranking of Chaldea's top ten problematic Servants: Mephistopheles. Once the two other (Demi-)Servants had left the area he came out of hiding, and immediately set about spreading the news to all of Chaldea.

Jeanne – being the only one facing the entrance of the church – caught sight of the arriving Servant first (although the other three were starting to notice the killing intent intruding inside the holy place). Her expression turning grim, she summoned her flag to her hand.

Almost immediately after, a chilling voice resounded through the church, freezing everyone who heard it on the spot: "Oh my, Amakusa, I hear you've been getting close to Master lately…?"

Amakusa knew that looking behind him would be bad. He'd acknowledge the girl and her outpouring killing intent. He'd be much, much happier if he just pretended he didn't hear her. But at the same time he knew that he couldn't just play ignorant: he would have to face down this threat to his very existence – because there was not a doubt in his mind that this girl's aim was his life – sooner or later.
And so Amakusa turned around and greeted Berserker Kiyohime, but not before wincing when he saw the bloodlust in her eyes.

"Well? Don't you have anything to say in your defense?" The girl asked as she tapped her fan against her chin. But despite her words, the look in her eyes made it clear she had no intention of talking things over.

"…" It took all of Amakusa's determination to not avert his gaze, instead staring back into her eyes with determination. He could feel a trickle of sweat run down his back, his body tense and ready to spring into action. The same could be said of the Saints besides him, though knowing that they were not the actual target of all this bloodlust they could sense might have meant they were just a little bit less intimidated.
When he would later look back on what transpired in that church, Amakusa could only think himself fortunate that Lancer Kiyohime had been in the rayshift team that day and was out clearing a minor singularity.

Kiyohime jumped into action, breathing out a great plume of fire.
At the same time Jeanne activated Luminosite Eternelle, protecting both her fellow Servants and the church itself from the worst of the raging flames.
But she couldn't keep it up forever, and Amakusa knew that the moment her noble phantasm stopped the church – with all of its wooden benches and decorations – would turn into a sea of flames. As such, he decided that as she was after him, it was his duty to lure Kiyohime away from this holy place and those who had worked so hard to cheer him up.

Jumping over the back of the bench, Amakusa ran to the side of the room to just outside the range of the cone of fire before rushing forward, running past Kiyohime and out of the church. The Berserker for her part immediately halted her attack in favor of turning around and chasing after him.
His fellow Christians would've liked to help Amakusa further, but they were busy putting out the fire on the wooden benches Jeanne hadn't been able to protect.


All in all, despite Kiyohime's Berserker class not being affected by Ruler's usual defenses, the chase hadn't been going that bad for Amakusa at first.
Certainly, Kiyohime's attacks hurt, but with his stun and rather large HP pool he was confident he could keep her from killing him long enough for Gudako to return and calm the Berserker. Even when consumed by jealousy, Kiyohime always tried to listen to her 'husband', after all. It was already about time for Gudako to return, and given she'd poured all the embers she had into the first Ruler she'd managed to summon and had even grailed him completely, he was certain he'd be able to hold out against Kiyohime who had 'just' reached max ascension.
… Actually, that he'd received more attention like that was probably part of the reason Kiyohime resented him so much. Well, nothing he could do about that now.

Sadly enough for Amakusa, after first realizing he wasn't just going to let himself get killed Kiyohime got angrier.
In his defense, how was Amakusa supposed to know she could turn into a giant snake? He definitely hadn't seen that coming, and Kiyohime capitalized on his surprise.

Even with his stomach impaled by one of Kiyohime's fangs, the Ruler was still hopeful that he could turn the situation around.

And then Nightingale arrived. Even Kiyohime didn't want to face her (Nightingale was strangely intolerant of some of her fellow Berserkers' madness, and seeing her try to 'cure' a mental condition that wasn't even possible to remove was one of the scariest sights any of the Servants had ever seen), instead opting to spit Amakusa out and slithering away.
Nightingale paid her no mind, her gaze glued to the rather heavily wounded Amakusa. Considering the woman mentioned 'amputation' in regards to the rather serious wound in the middle of his torso, it's no surprise that the Ruler opted to run for the hills as well.

Getting chased around by Kiyohime was nothing in comparison to Nightingale's pursuit, as she was both more persistent and more violent, despite claiming to want to help him heal. Amakusa had to dodge numerous bullets, and could only hope no one would mind the holes in many of the walls too much.
His salvation finally came in running past the simulation room, which Beowulf and Li Shuwen were just walking out of after a heavy sparring session.
Upon seeing the 'healing' Berserker, Li Shuwen decided to opt out, finding no shame in running from the madwoman. She let him go, too, as his wounds were less serious.
But luckily for Amakusa, Beowulf was quite banged up – not surprising considering he was a Berserker and had just tried to tank most of the Lancer's attacks. He was in an even worse state than the Ruler, something which Nightingale didn't fail to notice. Beowulf also happened to be one of the very few Servants who didn't try to run when Nightingale wanted to treat him, instead considering it a great fight while he was on the brink of death every time. His policy was simple: if she could beat him so badly he could no longer move, she had earned the right to treat him.

And so it was that Amakusa could safely make his escape as a battle between the two Berserkers broke out behind him.
Not looking back even once, the Ruler said a quick prayer for whoever had to pay for the repairs to the walls and floor… and the ceiling too, probably.


Finally, finally it seemed Amakusa had shaken off all his pursuers. He placed his hand on a wall for support, trying to catch his breath after what felt like crossing through the entirety of Chaldea in far too little time, even for a Servant.
He was especially glad to know that Nightingale would have her hands full on Beowulf right now, for while the wounds and scorch marks Kiyohime dealt him would heal on their own, he wasn't too confident about being able to recover from what Nightingale would do to him…

"Amakusa? Are you alright?!" The Ruler couldn't help but feel a smile form on his lips as he recognized the female voice calling out for him. Between receiving massive mental damage, being hunted around by two Berserkers in immediate succession and the looming threat of being held responsible for the damage his fleeing had indirectly caused, anyone would be hard-pressed to call this day a good – or even halfway decent – one. But if he could enjoy her company for a while, maybe it wasn't so bad a day after all.

Amakusa turned around, warmly greeting his Master who'd just returned from the singularity.

"Master, I'm glad to see you return safely. How did the singularity go?" Gudako spared his greeting no mind, immediately rushing over to check his wounds.

"Is now really the time for this?! You're bleeding out all over the floor: you need to get medical attention!" As Gudako was wearing the Chaldea uniform she could apply some first aid, but still ended up guiding Amakusa towards the church, where Martha would be able to heal him.
(Nightingale wasn't an option as healer for obvious reasons, and Irisviel was both easy and difficult to track down. If not on-duty in the clinic or helping on rayshift duty, she was almost always busy chasing after a certain Assassin. And while she wasn't too hard to notice, the very man she was chasing after happened to be terribly difficult to track down…)

Amakusa would've been lying if he didn't appreciate his Master fussing over him… though the moment was kind of soured by both versions of Kiyohime tracking them down and not looking too kindly upon how close the two were (even though Gudako was just trying to support him as the blood loss from the wound Berserker Kiyohime dealt him was making his legs shaky).

Well, let's just say it'd be another three hours and a gauntlet of battles with all possessive Servants in Chaldea – with no one but his terrified Master and eventually Mash to support him – before Amakusa could finally get that healing.


Whoo boy, this was a long chapter. But still, I'm glad with how it turned out, and I hope that everyone enjoyed it! I just hope I didn't end up making Amakusa (or anyone else for that matter) a bit OOC. If I did – or if you noticed any other mistakes – please be sure to let me know!