"Senpai! Take my hand!" The hand seemed too far. She'd have to get closer to reach him but that'd mean she and everyone else could get pulled in with him. It was safer for them if he lets go here and now— to fall into the void.

'But... I want to live with them.' That was the only thought making him hesitate. The thought of finally getting to live after everything...

And so, he held as long as he could— until they could reach him. He grabbed her hand and they as one pulled him out of the grasp of the hole in reality...

Prologue - A New Life

Months later...

Ritsuka let out a short sigh as he put down the box in his new living room. He wiped the sweat off his brow and glanced around at the several boxes he just brought in.

'I'll unpack them later…' he decided to take a small break first.

With a loud tired sigh, Ritsuka crashed onto his new couch and laid there for a few minutes.

'This was what I wanted… right?' He couldn't help but ask himself. The truth was it was to a certain extent; while he wished to stay with Chaldea for a bit longer, it was agreed by everyone that he should try acclimating to a normal life while certain… "issues" are being dealt with.

"Don't worry about a thing," Ritsuka recalled Director Goredolf's words, "It is my turn to use everything in my power to get Chaldea through this. Now, it's time for you to lie down and take things easy."

He appreciated it, he really does. However, one of the terms of agreement was that he has no connection with anything related to magecraft. i.e. none of the Servants— Mash included —could accompany him in his new life, not even temporary or in rotation.

Needless to say, many of his Servants took issue with it but he managed to calm them down. Besides, he was allowed to at least video call them whenever he could so it wasn't like he couldn't see them anymore. Unfortunately, they nearly threw another fit when Da Vinci jokingly said that Ritsuka might end up falling in love while he was living alone back in Japan.

That nearly ended terribly.

Long story short, Ritsuka was now living alone in a decently-sized house in a small town at the foot of a mountain range.

'Maybe I should explore the town…' It wasn't quite sunset yet and he could unpack the things for his living room later. He visited some nearby places as he was moving his belongings here over the last few days. However, he was still ignorant of most of the popular sights around town and hadn't even introduced himself to his neighbours yet.

'Hmm… Still tired though…' However, Ritsuka realised he was still exhausted and should probably not go out when he could easily get lost at night. While the town was pretty safe, better to be safe than sorry.

In that case, Ritsuka thought, he better get back to unpacking his belongings. Forcing himself off his couch, he began opening the boxes and taking out the contents…

Elsewhere, in the mountains…

Within the valleys of the mountain range, the stone archway was carved into the foot of one of the hills. Outside the entrance were several temporary open-air tents with tables covered with rock and broken stone artifacts under the roofs. On-site analysts were… Well, analysing them while inside, archeologists were excavating the ruins.

"Professor, come in!" One of the archeologists spoke into their walkie-talkie, contacting the man in charge of the site. "We think we found something!"

"What is it, Sakakura?" An older man's voice spoke through

"It looks like a tomb!"

The short response was enough to get the professor, who was outside, to walk into the ruins and make his way inside to see what his excavation team had discovered.

Later, early evening…

Ritsuka sighed in exhaustion once again. This time, however, he had finished taking out everything from his moving boxes and set them around the room. He wasn't quite satisfied with how he decorated the living room but he could fix that some other time.

"Finally… now should I take a nap first or get some dinner?" He loudly asked himself. After some time deliberating it, he decided to go with the latter. Of course, since he has not bought any groceries yet, that'd mean eating out.

Luckily, Da Vinci and Goredolf had managed to negotiate a deal so that he'd be able to live comfortably financially-wise for quite some time. And he already knew a nearby cafe from his previous walks around the area while the movers were moving the heavier furniture in.

After going up to his bedroom and changing into a fresher set of clothes, Ritsuka went out and locked the front door. He then recalled the path to the cafe and began making his way there.

Ritsuka fortunately remembered right and it wasn't long before he reached the small cafe he visited a few days back. Bells jingled on the door as he entered the cafe, prompting the few workers to greet him— "Welcome! Please take a seat."

There were only two or three other customers around so it was easy for him to find a table. A few seconds after sitting down, Ritsuka was politely handed a menu by one of the waiters who then said they'll return once he's ready to order.

Ritsuka gave the menu a quick look through— there weren't that many options but they all looked good. In the end, Ritsuka decided to eat something simple: chicken curry and a can of cola. He raised his hand to get one of the workers' attention and gave his order to them.

After the waiter left, Ritsuka was left alone with his thoughts. Once again, his mind returned to thinking about his new situation. Specifically, if he could truly return to a life of normalcy. After everything that's happened… could he really just live a normal life?

"Of course you do," this time it was Da Vinci's words that came to his mind. "After everything, you're owed this much. So don't go worrying your pretty little head about it! So go out there and enjoy the life you deserve!"

'Right, this is the life I deserve…' A tiny part of him still refused to believe this was real— that they had won and he could now enjoy a peaceful life. And another tiny part of him refused something else about his current situation…

He was so lost in thought that Ritsuka didn't realise how much time passed by until the waiter returned with his platter of food and drink.

"Here you go, sir. Enjoy your meal."

"Thank you," Ritsuka replied as the waiter put his food on the table. The waiter then walked away again and Ritsuka put his thoughts before he started digging in.

Later that night…

After returning home, Ritsuka went about cleaning up the living room again before shutting off the lights and going upstairs. He entered his new bedroom that was lightly furnished— with a single bed, a table and chair, his closet, and a bookshelf filled with some parting gifts from Chaldea's Library that he was gifted. Other than that, there was not much else in his room as of yet.

In any case, Ritsuka went to sit at his table where his new laptop was. He turned it on and started making preparations for his upcoming video call.

He patiently waited for 8pm— the scheduled time —and once the minute hand hit twelve, he initiated the call. It was only a single ring before his screen lit up and two figures he missed appeared.

"Ah! Senpai!" Mash's happy tone was infectious to hear and Ritsuka couldn't help but smile as she waved on screen. "How have you been? What is your place like?" She excitedly continued speaking, making Da Vinci who was sitting next to her giggle.

"Calm down, Mash. He's not going anywhere," Da Vinci playfully scolded her, making her blush slightly, before the Rider Servant faced the screen. "Good evening, Fujimaru! I hope you're doing well and getting used to your new place."

"Thanks, Da Vinci," Ritsuka smiled before he answered Mash's second question. "My new place is… cozy, I guess is the word I'm looking for. I still need to move some things around before I'm satisfied."

"Understandable, you just moved in."

"So how are things going over there?" Ritsuka turned the topic towards Chaldea, not really thinking that there's much to talk about himself. "Is everything okay?"

"Things could be better but I wouldn't say anything is wrong," answered Da Vinci.

Mash then chimed in, "Everyone here misses you but we're going about fine for now. Although we did have to break up several fights between some Servants."

"Is that so?" Ritsuka assumed that heightened tensions would inevitably lead to punches being thrown between the more easily agitated Servants. Speaking of which— "I thought that some would be waiting with you to see me."

"Oh, you're right," said Da Vinci, "There's a line outside of those wanting to see you… which is everyone."

"Are you ready to see them, Senpai?"

Well, it's not like he could say no even if he wanted to. He said yes and Da Vinci called the first Servant in.

Ritsuka spent the next two and a half hours saying hello and chatting with his Servants, some by themselves and some in groups. They all were happy to see him and hoped to one day visit him at his new place. Some, of course, had to be forcibly kicked off the screen for the next person in line… usually by the mentioned person themselves. In any case, Ritsuka was incredibly tired by the end of it.

"And that should be everyone," Mash said, also sounding tired from dealing with the many many Servants that came and went. "I wish we could talk some more, Senpai, but I think you're also exhausted by now."

"I do, but I don't mind talking a bit more," Ritsuka tried to say but neither of them were having any of it.

"Oh no you don't, mister. It should be half past 10 for you so go get some sleep; you have a long day ahead of you tomorrow too," Da Vinci told him before saying with a smile, "Besides, we're talking tomorrow too."

Right, they had another call planned the next day as well.

"Alright," Ritsuka gave in without a fight. "I'll see you all tomorrow then."

"See ya, Fujimaru."

"Good night, Senpai. Have a good sleep."

"Bye!" He waved them goodbye before leaving the video call. "...huh."

It felt… quiet… Something Ritsuka was still getting used to.

"Well—" He sat up and went over to his closet. "—time for bed."

Ritsuka changed into his sleepwear: his favourite Arts shorts and black pants. He then turned off the lights and went to bed. While it took a few minutes despite his exhaustion— listening to the storm that was now raging outside —he eventually closed his eyes and fell asleep…

?‽?‽?‽

"Why…?"

"Ahhhhh—!"

"Why…?"

"Run! Run awa—!"

"Why was I awakened?" The sombering and conflicted voice questioned itself as it ripped through the archeologists on its way out of the ruins. Nothing stood in its way and lived, despite them clearly running away.

Eventually, it escaped outside into the heavy rain.

"Why? Why?!" It screamed into the night. As if responding to the being's emotions, the weather got even worse— lightning crashing down on the area and heavier winds picking up the tents and sending them flying.

"Why?! Answer me!"

With that final cry, a single large lightning bolt struck the area— scorching the ground as the being disappeared into the night…

A/N: I am truly becoming a real fanfic writer; I have too many projects and not enough time…

In any case, a new fic with the premise of Ritsuka trying to live a normal life after Part 2. Sounds premature to do now but I don't really care about that. As you can see though, his new life in his as-of-now still nameless town in the mountains will not be as peaceful as he hopes.

I have some arcs planned out but that's for the future. For now, I need to figure out this first arc before I think about those. One thing for sure though is that I'm gonna put a lot of work into this too.

Now then, I can't recall what else I wanted to say so, as always, I ask that you leave a review and do all that stuff. See you all next time!