"Alright! I'm done!" Gudako stretched as she sighed in relief. She'd just finished her part of the doujin, and just in time: her fingers were starting to cramp.

"Oh, good job. We've still got a few things left to do, so how about you take a break for now, Master?"

"Robin's got a point," Jalter agreed as she rubbed her eyes, briefly looking up from her work. Much like the others she hadn't been getting much sleep this week, but that wouldn't stop her from continuing her work.

"Mash already conked out on the bed earlier, so you should get some rest, too. Us Servants will pull an all-nighter if we have to…"

"Okay then, don't mind if I do!"


Out on the beach behind the hotel, Gudako took a deep breath of the fresh ocean air. If she had to guess, it was past midnight already, but she didn't feel tired in the slightest. Perhaps all of these time loops and all-nighters to finish before the deadline were affecting her sleep schedule more than she'd initially thought.

She admired the view of the ocean with the stars and the moon reflected in its waves as she walked, feeling the sand spill over the soles of her sandals and touching her feet.
While she was absolutely certain BB was up to something, Gudako had to admit that this was a pleasant vacation all the same. Sure, she was busy. But making doujins was fun, meaningful work, and any breaks she did get she could spend in such a beautiful location.

The young Master looked around the beach, seeing plenty of others enjoying the seaside by night.

Astolfo was preparing a cardboard box, presumably to spend the night in it due to not having a job to pay for a hotel room.

She saw the two Cu (Lancer)s fishing from atop a nearby jetty.

Caster of Sheba and Gil- Gorgeous P were at a beach bar, laughing about something (even from this distance Gudako could practically see the cash signs in the woman's eyes).

Numerous other Servants were still playing on the beach despite the late hour, a lifeguard shouting at some of the child Servants that swimming at night was dangerous.

Finally, she saw a young man with a very familiar yet strange mask also taking a stroll.

"Huh? Hey, Amakusa!" Gudako said as soon as she recognized the Ruler.

Noticing her, Amakusa returned her greeting with a smile and a wave, waiting for her as she jogged towards him.
The young woman didn't even question for a moment why he was wearing Mozart's mask again, having figured out a while back that he – and some other Servants – just really liked it.

"Hello, Master. Are you also here to enjoy the night sea air?"

"Pretty much. Our group's been working for the convention the entire evening, so I'm taking a break here."

"That's right, I did hear that you were participating this year. I'll have to make sure I stop by your table in time, then."

Gudako nodded at him with a smile as she said: "That's right. I'll be sure to save you a copy, as thanks for your support last time!"

"… Hm? 'Last time'? I'm sorry, but it was my understanding this was your first time participating?"

Gudako flinched as she realized she'd gotten confused, what with Amakusa buying her group's book near the end of every time loop so far.

Telling herself she should be more careful, she laughs it off with a smile: "That's right, isn't it? Sorry about that: I must be more tired than I thought." She couldn't tell if Amakusa believed her – knowing him, he probably didn't – but he was kind enough to let it slide anyways, simply nodding and smiling at her.

They got to chatting, but before long…

Gudako wasn't even that surprised when, after hearing some sort of crash behind her, she suddenly found herself pushed behind Amakusa as he stood protectively in front of her.
She wasn't surprised to see the 'mysterious foreigner' again either, though admittedly her having to take a moment to dig herself out of the hole she'd made in the sand was pretty funny.

As the foreigner took a breath to launch into a speech, Gudako flexed the hand with her command seals as she looked at Amakusa.

"Want to help take care of her?"

Meeting her gaze, he replied with a smile: "Of course. Such a commotion late at night would disturb everyone else otherwise."

After exactly five minutes of fighting, the foreigner blasted off into the sky, shouting something about this not being the last time.

As Gudako looked at her disappearing trail of light in the sky after having beaten her with a single Servant who didn't even have class advantage, the young Master wondered if maybe she'd gone a bit overboard in strengthening Amakusa with grails (he'd had great difficulty restraining himself those times from running off with them), skill gems, ascension materials and golden fous until literally anything that could be maxed out, was.
Then again, considering BB was up to something, she'd likely be thankful for it later.

Afterwards Gudako found herself sitting on the beach with the Ruler, just chatting amicably about this and that.

It was a pleasant conversation, and Gudako enjoyed listening to Amakusa's voice as he talked. Hearing him talk was so soothing, she purposefully tried to prompt him to speak more.

It was a peaceful moment – but inside Gudako felt a twinge of regret.

While her group had improved a lot in the art of making doujins, she didn't believe their current book was good enough to win ServantFest yet.
And if they didn't win, BB would reset the time loop and this moment would be like it never happened.

Sure, Gudako would remember it, but… it made her a bit sad that Amakusa wouldn't, even though it was so nice.

On the other hand of course she could go pretty crazy and he wouldn't remember it either. So if she thought about it like that, this would be the perfect time to figure out what he thought about her.

Gudako had already admitted to herself that she liked Amakusa in a special way, different from the other Servants she cared for, but she had no intention of confessing to him anytime soon.
Part of it was the usual fear of being rejected, but even if it did go over well Amakusa would soon become the top target for quite a few Servants.

And even after that… Recently Gudako found she had to remind herself more and more often that humanity's crisis wasn't going to last forever, and sooner or later her battles would come to an end. That moment would be the one where she'd have to say goodbye to every one of her Servants, regardless of the kind of bond she'd grown with them.
She reminded herself of this nearly every time she was alone with the Ruler, because every time she'd wonder about what could be. She just hoped she could hold on like this until the new director finally arrived…

And so, while she'd seriously been considering it, Gudako ultimately decided like doing something crazy like confessing or even kissing Amakusa. It wouldn't be fair to him either if she acted cowardly and only showed her feelings to him when she knew she could run away.
(Not to mention that BB was twisted enough that she'd stop all of these time loops if only to force Gudako to face the consequences.)

"Master?" Amakusa asked, causing Gudako to look at him. Those golden eyes gazing at her with mild concern seemed more enchanting than ever on this beautiful night, the city lights behind him lighting up Amakusa's silhouette and the sound of crashing waves a relaxing sound during those brief moments of silence.

"Are you alright? You've been staring at the sea in silence for a while now."

Recognizing the concern on his face caused Gudako to snap out of her daze, blinking as she realized he hadn't actually said anything for a while.

"O-oh, yes, I'm fine. That I'm getting this lost in thought must mean exhaustion's finally catching up with me, huh?"

"You did mention being busy with your book," Amakusa said with a nod, "Perhaps you should go back to your room to get some sleep?"

"Hmm, I think I want to stay here just a bit longer." Gudako thought she almost sounded like a child, wanting to stay up past her bedtime. But Amakusa humored her with a wordless smile.

After a moment, an idea popped into Gudako's head, causing her to break the silence: "Amakusa, do you have anything planned for right after ServantFest?"

"I was planning on going for another evening beach walk. I've been taking those regularly and haven't grown tired of them yet."

"Alright," Gudako nodded, "then if you don't mind, I might join you then."

"Oh? I'd enjoy your company, of course."

"Alright, it's a date then!" Gudako laughed.

She briefly caught the surprised look on Amakusa's face – perhaps he hadn't expected her choice of words – but he soon recovered and gave her a warm smile in agreement.

Gudako knew he wouldn't remember this after the next loop, but she would.
If he was planning to go on that walk even before their meeting, with some luck he'd still be doing that by the loop they finally win ServantFest. And if so, maybe Gudako could relive this moment for him, at least a little.

Content with her plan, Gudako suddenly realized she was really feeling tired now.

"You know, maybe you were right: I should go back to my room soon," she said, yawning right after.

"I'll escort you there. Where are you staying?"

Gudako told him, but neither of them made a move to stand up.

The young Master intended to enjoy this moment for as long as she still could, and perhaps Amakusa was humoring her by not pressuring her.

They were sitting right next to each other, so surely Amakusa wouldn't mind her leaning on his shoulder while she closed her eyes for a second. Just until she felt ready to leave…


"Senpai, it's morning."

Gudako was roused from her sleep by Mash's voice, but really woke up when Fou hopped onto her pillow and nuzzled her cheek with his cold nose.

She blinked in confusion, briefly unable to recall anything beyond spending time with Amakusa at the beach.

Still, this didn't prevent her from sitting up on the bed with a stretch and a yawn.

"Good morning Mash, Fou – and Alter, of course." The rest must've been out already, the light pouring in from the window making it clearly it wasn't early morning anymore.

"How'd things go with the book while I was out?"

"Progress is going well, and after breakfast we've got some more tasks for you."

"Hey hey," Alter interrupted, "are you really going to pretend there's nothing going on?"

"What do you mean?" Gudako asked.

"Of course I'm referring to what happened last night! Robin and Ushiwakamaru were just about to go looking for you since you'd been gone on your walk for a while when suddenly that uptight yet actually-pretty-suspicious Ruler knocked on the door, carrying you in his arms! He said he happened to be there when you fell asleep, so he brought you back."

Ah, that certainly explained why Gudako couldn't remember how she got back to the room.

"But," Alter continued, "there's no way I'll believe nothing big happened. From where I was standing he seemed to be cradling you in his arms quite carefully, with a stupid smile on his face like something good happened. So come on Master, fess up: something happened with him, didn't it? Don't skip any of the details: I could make this into good inspiration for our next book!"

"Please don't pressure Senpai," Mash came to her friend's defense.

"If she says nothing special happened, it must be true."

But then after a pause she started: "… Though I have to admit, Amakusa did carry her like a princess to the bed, so I can somewhat understand your excitement."

Both now turned inquisitive gazes on Gudako, who scratched her cheek while chuckling.

"Sorry to disappoint, but nothing big happened: Amakusa happened to be there when that mysterious foreigner crashed on the beach, and he helped me in fighting her off. After that we talked for a bit, and I apparently fell asleep from exhaustion. You probably misinterpreted his usual smile for something more meaningful, so I'd appreciate it if you got your head out of the gutter, Alter."

"Wha- my head isn't in the gutter in the first place! I-I-I just thought if something did happen, it'd make for interesting material! That's all I was interested in: material!" With her bright red face and flailing movements, Alter was convincing no one – not even Mash.

After another minute of that she finally recovered, sighing.

"Really, I shouldn't have expected anything. After all you've probably got better taste than falling for the most suspicious guy to have ever become a Ruler – though that Sherlock's a close second – and it's not like you're the sort to take advantage of these time loops to do something you'd otherwise restrain yourself from doing. Now I don't what I was expecting you to say."

Gudako hoped no one saw her flinch when Alter almost hit the nail right on the head.
Boy, was she glad she didn't try anything she was thinking of last night.


While it wasn't exactly what Gudako had in mind when she'd asked him, she did meet Amakusa on the beach after ServantFest had ended.

"Hey Amakusa, here as promised."

"Hello, Master. I'm sorry: while I'm happy to see you, I don't recall we agreed to meet?"

"It's fine, don't worry about it. I'm sorry to interrupt your stroll, but could I get your help with something?"

"Of course, what is it? And does it perhaps have to do with why every member of your circle and Dantes are clearly waiting for us over there?"

With a grin, Gudako replied with only three words: "Moon Cancer crunching."


BB did not appear to appreciate – as Gudako observed from a distance as she got Twin Arm – Big Crunch'd for the third time in a row – when the young Master muttered: "Huh, I'm getting .Ph flashbacks."


I originally only intended to write the first part of this fic, but after how my fight against BB went in the event, I just felt the need to add those last two bits into it.

The chapters after this are completely planned out, so writing them should go more smoothly than these last two. As such, we're expected to be back on schedule!

I hope you enjoyed reading, and until next month!