Summary:
Meetings are something that most people experience often.
They can be either frivolous or life-changing. Or anything in between.
But there is a type of meeting that is rarer than any other. The type that has occurred scarcely more than a few times throughout Human History.
A meeting between two people that could decide the future of Humanity itself.
Yet despite its rarity, one day in a research facility built high on a mountain, a meeting like this came to pass.
When a young girl came across a red haired girl sleeping in a corridor.
[Note: At least knowing the basic story of FGO is recommended for reading this fic.]
[Honestly, if you don't know the story, why are you reading a fic about it anyway?]
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Chapter 1: The Onset of a Maiden and her Guardian Knight
On a field of flowers, seemingly endless like an ocean, there stood a single white tower, floating above it like something out of a fairytale. And considering its sole resident, one could be forgiven for believing it to be so. Inside the tower, sat a lone man. Well, "man" isn't exactly the correct way to describe him, but for the lack of a simpler term, he just went with it.
He had lived in that tower for well over a millennia, simply watching as his main source of entertainment. And while the surroundings could hardly be called entertaining, for him, watching was an entirely different concept when compared to most beings.
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He would have been perfectly satisfied with watching till the end of time itself, but now, as rare as it was for him, it was time to act. After all, an unprecedented crisis was about to unfold. His one source of entertainment was in danger! And if he lost that, he would just be an old man looking at his garden for eternity. That was not a fate he'd wish upon himself.
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And so, the Great Wizard focused his sight on his target. Towards a lone research facility tucked away on a snowy mountain. And there, slowly walking through an empty hallway, was the key to his predicament. A young woman with hair as red as a coat of a fox and eyes as yellow as a lovely flower. Already drowsy thanks to the trip to the Simulator she had taken earlier, making her fall asleep was as easy as summoning his King to a meal. And he was thankful for it too. After all, had she continued on her way, she would have missed quite a life changing encounter. And most likely certified the end of humanity, but that was just a small extra.
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And with a few words and a wave of his staff, Merlin watched as the woman began to doze off, slowly collapsing on the floor. Following that, he shifted his eyes a few hallways away, gazing upon the Beast he had taken care of for a time and the girl it was accompanying. Knowing the critter would notice his touch immediately, he relaxed, enjoying the fact that his active role was over for now.
"Now then," the Wizard spoke as he fixed his eyes upon the now running Animal and the girl chasing after it. "Let's see what kind of story you will give life to~"
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While this day was supposed to be important, so far, it had the same as any other to her. Waking up, performing her daily check-up, completing any task given to her and finally, what she spent most of her free time doing, gazing at the endless snowfall outside the window.
Like many other days, Fou, the mysterious animal that just appeared one day at Chaldea, was perched on her shoulder, gazing at the falling snow with her. She would have most likely continued observing the scenery, if it wasn't for an expected interruption.
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"Chaldea to Mash. We have an urgent report for you."
Noticing the approaching human, Fou quickly hopped off her shoulder, strutting somewhere to her right. Turning around to face the speaker, Mash focused her attention towards the woman standing behind her. Most familiar sight these days, the chestnut haired Doctor in Chaldea's standard Medical Department Uniform stood there with a tablet on her hand. "Yes? How may I help, Doctor Manesse?"
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"Geez, you're one attentive kid," she sighed, shaking her head in a somewhat disapproving manner. Of course, this was nothing new either. "I've been working here for…" taking the slightest pause to count, the Doctor sighed once again. "3 and a half years. Ugh. Where does all the time go? Well, back on track. In all the time I've worked here, not once have I caught you by surprise despite the fact that you look like you're daydreaming by that window every single day. You just turn around without any delay, perceptive as ever."
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"Is that… bad?" Mash inquired. She'd grown familiar with the Doctor ever since she had been hired as Roman's assistant a few years ago. More often than not, it was thanks to her delivering the results of her daily examinations when the Doctor was busy, or more commonly; slacking from work. Yet she never really understood the need for her attempted surprises.
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With a rather tired look on her face, Manesse shook her head. "No, no. There's nothing really wrong with it, it's just… You know what? Let's just put this topic aside. I've got today's examination results right here," the Doctor said, pointing at the tablet on her right hand. "Like you could probably guess, there were no issues. However," shifting her tone to a more serious one, Manesse looked Mash straight in her eyes. "The Mission today will more than likely be harsh. Should you feel any abnormalities with your body, be sure to inform me immediately."
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"Of course," Mash nodded. Informing the medical staff when one's body was impaired was standard procedure, so she wasn't really sure why she had to specify it. Though one part did catch her attention. "I'm to inform you… Will Doctor Roman not be present?"
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Manesse's expression changed to a somewhat more amused one. "You know how the Director is. She has banned Roman from setting foot at the Command Room during the mission. Apparently his mere presence makes everyone far too lax. Although..." she added, sounding rather annoyed. "I can't really blame her. He's off somewhere slacking off again. If you happen to see him, make sure to give him an earful."
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"I will," Mash nodded. It seemed that the Doctor attempted to skip out on more work every single day. While it was mostly just paperwork, it was still improper for someone of his status.
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"Good, that'll be all then," the more diligent Doctor said as she turned to leave. Though as Mash was about to turn her attention to Fou, she quickly added: "Oh yeah, Professor Lev is looking for you, so try to meet up with him before the meeting."
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"Yes ma'am," Mash responded, watching as Manesse disappeared around a corner. Finally getting back to Fou, who had been observing them around a corner. "I suppose I must head to the Command Room soon," she said as she crouched down next to the small animal. "Is there something you would like to do?"
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"Fou," he barked like usual. The creature seemed to look around for a moment, his ears twitching, but suddenly it's expression changed. While Mash was far from the most adept person at reading emotions, much less those of animals, but even she could see that her furry friend suddenly appeared extremely annoyed.
"Foulin…" the fluffball growled in a bizarre manner, looking at the opposite direction of where Manesse had left, until suddenly dashing right past Mash, sprinting at full speed through the hallway.
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"Fou? Where are you going?" Mash wondered, jogging after it.
Keeping the white critter in her sight while following close behind him, she soon found the destination he had in mind.
A red haired girl she didn't recognize, sleeping in the middle of the corridor.
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"...llo…ke up…pai…"
These scraps of words were the first thing Ritsuka managed to perceive as she felt her consciousness returning, followed closely by something warm on her cheek.
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"...mitäh…? uhh… this is…" she mumbled as she managed to open her eyes despite the overwhelming drowsiness she still felt. Pushing herself off the floor, she could tell she was laying on a hallway or something. But why? Trying to piece together the last few moments, the girl began rerun the last few moments. She had been walking down a corridor, just after she had exited the simulator, until a staggering feeling of fatigue had suddenly overtaking her, causing her to collapse on the floor. Then, just fogginess and… flowers? She'd seen them for just a moment, so maybe she had dreamed them. Through her droopy eyes, she could see she was still in the corridor, but what about…
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"Fou!"
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Flinching slightly, Ritsuka looked down and noticed a tiny, fluffy creature next to her hand. "Who…?" she mumbled, but soon noticed the strangeness of the creature through her consciousness fully rousing. "(This is not just some normal animal. Is it someone's familiar?)" she reasoned, trying to analyze the situation, until she remembered the warm feeling on her cheek. Bring her hand to it, she noticed it being just the slightest bit moist. "Did you try to wake me up?" she asked, wishing to see its reaction before making further assumptions.
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"Fou," the creature answered, clearly able to understand her speech.
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"(So it's at least intelligent enough to understand speech… No mage would just let their familiar wonder around like this, so maybe it's some type of young Phantasmal? Besides, if someone did create it, what would be the point of making it this adorable? No mage working at an organization like this would waste time on that.)" Concluding her evaluation of the fluffball, Ritsuka slowly reached out her right hand towards the creature. "May I?"
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"Fou." the creature 'barked?' once again, allowing the redhead to pet it. Immediately, she noticed how remarkably fluffy its coat was.
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"Well aren't you just the fluffiest little thing," Ritsuka basically cooed, gently petting the creature's back with a soft smile on her lips. Since it appeared to enjoy it, she moved her fingers to its head. Considering how stressful the last few days had been, something like this was definitely appreciated. "I'm not really sure what to call you, little guy. You kind of look like a mix of a dog and a squirrel, yet somehow even cuter. Do you have a name?"
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"Fou. His name is Fou," a voice answered.
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"Aww, because of the little sound he mak-!" Ritsuka nearly jumped when she realized someone had just answered behind her. Quickly turning around to face the speaker, she was fully expecting a researcher, yet…
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The most striking features were her hair and the single visible eye, colored faint lilac and bright lavender. She seemed to have an average build, in Ritsuka's quick estimation a bit less than 20 cm shorter than her. Her clothes, while fairly regular, seemed somewhat out of place in a research facility of this importance. A grey hoodie over a black shirt with a white-collar, a red tie, a black skirt and tights, and brown shoes. If it weren't for the Chaldea logo on her tie, Ritsuka would have guessed her to be a visitor of some kind.
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"Ahem," coughing to her fist, Ritsuka raised herself to her full height, brushing her tights and skirt in case some dust got on them, put on the most collected expression she could manage and turned to fully face the girl. "Yes, err, thank you for the name… how long were you watching me exactly?"
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"I arrived somewhat before you started to stir awake," she answered, making Ritsuka want to cringe, but she kept her face passive. She couldn't afford to make herself seem even more inept in front of this girl, since she was most likely a part of the staff here. If she reported her napping on the corridor, her reputation here would sink like a rock despite it being her first day.
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"May I ask why you were sleeping on the floor, Senpai?"
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"I…" this was easily the most awkward conversation she'd had in months, possibly years. There was no proper excuse for this, so telling the truth would be the best option she had. And why was this girl calling her 'Senpai'? She didn't appear Japanese and she had definitely been at Chaldea longer than she had. "I'm unsure... I remember that I was directed to the simulator right after arriving. Once I exited, I felt extremely drowsy, and apparently passed out here," she admitted, noticing the critter named Fou wandering off from the corner of her eye.
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"I see," the girl responded, seemingly thinking something. "Based on your uniform, you seem to be a Master Candidate. The Simulator requires a Spiritron Dive for proper access of its systems. If you're not used to it, the stress to your brain can be quite large. Most likely, your consciousness must have been put into something akin to a sleepwalking state."
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"So that was the reason…" Ritsuka muttered, genuinely glad she had found herself an out. The girl seemed to be fairly certain with her reasoning. With this, she could have a plausible excuse for falling asleep on a hallway. Truthfully, she was quite positive that the main cause was the fact that she had not slept properly during the trip to reach Chaldea itself. She had been far too busy trying to absorb every bit of knowledge she would need to know as a Master Candidate during the 3 days she had. The fact that she had basically no time to prepare was overshadowed by the fact that a nobody like her from a mere 3 generation fledgling family had been summoned to an organization run by one of the Lords of Clock Tower. She specifically had been sought out to assist in the preservation of humanity. She had accepted immediately, honestly worrying if the whole thing was a dream before she boarded the plane. She could not let this chance slip sway from her for such a pathetic reason. "Well, I'm thankful for your explanation, and you're correct, I am one of the Candidates. We haven't introduced ourselves, right? My name is-"
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"Mash!"
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Just as the stranger had started to introduce herself, Mash heard a familiar voice calling her name. Turning around, she saw the familiar man in a green top hat and a matching coat heading her way.
"There you are. I've told you that wandering around without telling anyone is… Oh?"
Stopping right beside her, Professor Lev turned his attention to the Master Candidate. "It seems we have a visitor. Are you the rookie who was assigned here today?"
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Taking notice of how the woman seemed somewhat more dense now that Lev had appeared, Mash kept her introduction back for now.
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"Yes, sir," she answered quickly, in a somewhat more respectful tone compared to earlier. "I am the 48th Master Candidate. I arrived less than an hour ago."
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"I thought so," Lev nodded, pulling out a tablet from his coat pocket. With a few clicks, he pulled out her profile. "Let's see, Number 48… Ritsuka Repo, half Japanese born in Finland January 28th 1997, 3rd Generation Mage from father's side, Magical Circuit Quality and Quantity: Average. This is all correct, I assume?"
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"Yes, sir," the girl, who she now knew was named Ritsuka, answered. But Mash was somewhat surprised to learn that she was a mage. She was under the impression she was a normal civilian. Certainly, now that she was discussing with Lev her expression was as serious as any mage's would. She was also quite tall. While northern Europeans were generally on the taller side of the spectrum, Ritsuka was without question the tallest woman she had never met. By her estimation, she was nearly as tall as Roman. Yet, despite these factors, when Mash had first laid eyes on her, when she conversed with Fou, the smile on her face was definitely like that of an honest person. Certainly someone who could qualify to be her Senpai, as how the Doctor had put it.
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"Good. I'm Lev Lainur, one of the technicians working here," Lev said, offering his hand, which Ritsuka shook promptly. "Welcome to Chaldea No. 48, I trust the journey here wasn't too rough? Our facility is located on a rather desolate spot."
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"No trouble at all, mister Lainur," Ritsuka nodded, turning her attention back to Mash. "Though I was just about to introduce myself to her, before you showed up. My name is Ritsuka, like you just heard mister Lainur here say. He called you Mash earlier, right? If it's fine with you, I'd like to know your full name as well," she said, offering her hand towards her.
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"Ah, um, that's a hard question to answer suddenly," Mash said, raising her hands somewhat defensively. "Maybe I'm not important enough for you to know my name?"
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Lowering her hand somewhat dejected, Ritsuka looked at her rather strangely. "If I don't know your name, I'm not really sure how to address you properly. Besides, just knowing someone well enough to speak with them like this, is reason enough for me to know their name."
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Her reasoning left Mash somewhat surprised. She had never really had to introduce herself properly, since anyone who knew her did so due to their work. Whether it be doctors or the other members of Team A, they'd know her name before she'd even met them. "Well, yes, your logic is sound, Senpai. But I've never really had a chance to use it… I'm afraid I don't leave a good first impression…"
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"Alright...?" Ritsuka nodded, seeming a bit more confused. Though given her personal circumstances, Mash couldn't really blame her. To most people, someone of her age having never introduced herself would seem strange. "But if you don't try properly, how would you even know how someone's first impressions would go?"
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Again, solid reasoning. Mash really didn't know how to respond properly, so she decided to give it a try despite her nervousness. "I-It's a pleasure to meet you. Umm… I'm Mash Kyrielight. Did I do that right, Senpai?"
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"A totally fine introduction," Ritsuka approved, her lips curling up to a slight smile.
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"You two seem rather close. Rather rare for Mash," Lev noted, wearing his usual smile while scrolling through his tablet. For just a second, Mash noticed Ritsuka looking at her questioningly, until Lev brought her attention back to himself. "Now then, Ritsuka, it seems there's some material missing from your profile, would you mind if I ask a few questions so that I can fill it in for Chaldea's database?"
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"Certainly, if it's something I can do, mister Lainur."
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"Just Lev is fine. I'm not too into formalities," he noted, preparing to fill in an empty section. "Now then, how long was your training?"
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As soon as the question was asked, Mash could've sworn she saw Ritsuka's pupils slightly dilate, despite the fact that her face remained calm as ever. "Err… training?"
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"Yes, we are missing that from your profile," Lev confirmed, waiting for her answer. "A year? 6 months? 3 months? Ah, or is it left blank on purpose?" he asked, Ritsuka's complexion growing the slightest bit paler. "So, you already know how competitive things can get in here? Hiding info from potential rivals is not a bad strategy."
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"Um, no, sir. It's not that…" Seemingly struggling to come up with words, Ritsuka spoke as truthfully as she could. "Aside from the Simulator visit just after I got here, I've not received any proper training…"
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"Have you really not had any training at all?" Mash was rather surprised. To bring some like her Senpai here with no training… It would likely be tough for her.
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"Oh? Ah, now that I think about it, there was a spot we opened last minute to fill out numbers," Lev noted, rubbing his chin. "So that's you then."
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"Fill numbers…?" Ritsuka mumbled, the slightest hints of discontent on her face.
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"Now there's no need to feel down. We will need all of you on this mission." Lev continued, seemingly trying to lift her spirits. "38 elite mages from notable families, plus 10 talented public applicants. It was only by combining the two that we managed to gather 48 Master Candidates. This is every last person with the aptitude for Rayshifting in the year of 2015. That's something to rejoice over."
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"I suppose you're right," Ritsuka nodded, her mood seemingly improving somewhat. "Considering the rarity for the aptitude, just getting here is almost a miracle."
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"That's the spirit," Lev said while patting her on the shoulder. "Now then, we should be heading for the Command room. Unless you have any other questions?"
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"Well…" Ritsuka moved her gaze to Mash somewhat hesitantly, clearly contemplating whether or not she should ask something. But in the end she asked her question. "Mash… Why exactly are you calling me Senpai?"
Hearing the question, Mash couldn't help but feel some heat rising to her cheeks. It was definitely a perfectly valid question, but to answer it…
"You've definitely spent a longer time in Chaldea than I have, so shouldn't our roles technically be reversed in that regard?" she continued, further increasing the validity of it. But before Mash could answer, Lev had managed to jump in.
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"Ah, that. Don't worry about it. To her, every human around your age is her Senpai," Lev stated, as naturally as anything. He was right of course, but Ritsuka just seemed more confused. "But it is unusual to hear her actually call someone that. I believe this might be the first time. Actually, I'm intrigued as well. Say, Mash, why is she 'Senpai'?"
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"The reason would be-" Truthfully, Mash had just called her that unconsciously when she first laid eyes on her. It wasn't really that complicated. If she had to put it to words:
"Among the people I've met during my life, Ritsuka is most human."
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Letting her reasoning out, Mash couldn't help but smile. Considering their environment, meeting a person that fulfilled the Doctor's qualifications of a 'Senpai' had almost certainly seemed unfeasible, but from their short interaction, especially between Ritsuka and Fou, Mash felt that she was perfectly qualified for the position.
In response to her words, Lev merely raised an eyebrow. But Ritsuka herself…
For the first time since she raised herself from the floor, her expression significantly changed from the neutral look she held on her face. She seemed genuinely bewildered.
"I don't feel a single bit threatened by her. Therefore, I have no reason to be hostile."
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For the next second, the corridor was completely silent. Ritsuka appeared completely frozen, her pupils had dilated considerably and her mouth was slightly open. But before Mash could question if she was alright, Lev was the one to break the silence.
"I see, I see, that is important!" he laughed, snapping Ritsuka out of her daze in the process. "People at Chaldea are all a piece of work! I agree with you, Mash. I think you will get along just fine!"
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While she wasn't entirely sure why, Mash felt a sudden warmth in her body. It felt strange that a simple confirmation from another could feel like this, yet it felt gratifying for Lev to give his approval. Though her Senpai had yet to give a response herself, which somewhat concerned her. "Do you find my answer satisfactory, Ritsuka Senpai?"
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The girl in front of her seemed rather flustered, a slightest hint of red rising to her cheeks. With a somewhat awkward expression, she started rubbing her neck, avoiding eye contact with Mash while seemingly lost for words. "For someone who I just met to judge me like that… I'm really not sure what to say…"
Yes, Mash could see how she could find that strange from such a short interaction, yet those were her honest feelings on the subject. Seemingly finished forming her thoughts, Ritsuka moved her bright, yellow eyes back to Mash, giving her a small, somewhat bashful smile. "But I suppose I'm… flattered?"
Hearing her response, Mash felt her own smile widen the slightest bit. Hearing it from Lev was one thing, but for her Senpai to accept the term felt… delightful. Mash wasn't really sure what she would've done had she refused the title.
"Although…" Ritsuka suddenly continued, looking at Mash somewhat pleadingly. "I would really appreciate it if you could leave out your reasoning if someone asks you again. To be described like that, I would immediately be judged as a complete failure of a mage."
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That was certainly true. Mash herself had not realized Ritsuka was a mage at first, so in a place like Chaldea, having a reputation like that could be especially troublesome. In an organization filled with mages and hardened scientists, being described as a human could even be considered dangerous. Especially when it came to mages. "I understand. I shall keep that part to myself then."
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"Thanks for that," Ritsuka nodded, seemingly about to continue, yet she was interrupted by a cough from Lev.
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"Ahem. As interesting as this exchange is, I believe young Ritsuka here should be heading to the orientation," Lev noted, looking at his watch. The red head visibly jolted at the last word, her complexion paling considerably from the earlier blush. "No need to worry, you should make it in time as long as you walk briskly."
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"Ah, yes, thank you," Ritsuka noted as she began looking around moderately nervously. "So, I came from over there, which is where the Simulator is, so to get to the Command Room I should…"
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Watching Ritsuka muttering to herself, trying to find the correct path to her destination, Mash proposed her solution. "Professor Lev, do you think they'd allow me to attend the orientation as well? I believe it would be the most efficient way to help her reach the Command Room, since I should head to the area eventually myself."
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"Well, if you're just going to escort her there, then stand in the corner, they'll probably let it slide." Lev stated. "I have other work I must attend to, so I'll be taking my leave here. Be sure to stay out of the way once you finish escorting her, or the Director's glares will pierce right through you."
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With those final words, Professor Lev left, leaving Mash alone with Ritsuka. "We should be on our way, Senpai. The Command Room is this way," she noted, starting to walk the opposite direction from the departing professor.
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"Right, thank you," Ritsuka answered, walking close behind her. Until they reached the elevator, she didn't say another word, yet once inside. "Is there some reason you're not supposed to attend the orientation? I understand that you are a member of the staff, but I'm not exactly sure what you do."
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"I'm part of the advance unit, Team A, which is in charge of this mission," Mash answered, noticing some surprise from her Senpai. "We've already received our own instructions, so there is no need for me to attend."
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"I see…" Ritsuka replied, seemingly thinking about something. For a moment, she focused on the view outside the elevator's glass walls, keeping quiet in slight awe. Yes, the descent to the Command Center would be rather impressive on the first time. Though Mash had taken the trip more times she could count, so it was perfectly ordinary to her. After a moment, Ritsuka began to speak again. "I suppose we will then head to the Mission together?"
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"Once the Rayshift procedure begins, yes," Mash confirmed, stepping out of the stopped elevator, heading for the Command Room right in front of them.
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"I suppose I will be counting on your support during the mission then," her Senpai noted, catching Mash by surprise. Turning around to face her, somewhat perplexed, Ritsuka looked at Mash questioningly. "What? While you may call me your Senpai when it comes to being a human, you are definitely the more experienced one when it comes to the matters of Chaldea," she pointed out, before continuing with a smile. "So as I said, I'm counting on you as well."
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"Yes!" Mash nodded, feeling somewhat warm again, returning the smile with her own. The large double doors, more akin to a sealed gate, opened before the two of them. "I, Mash Kyrielight, will do my utmost to support you, Senpai!"
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"Thanks," Ritsuka said as she headed inside. "Well, as long as I don't somehow screw up and get kicked off the mission."
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Smiling at the final note, Mash followed her in. "The Director may be strict, but I doubt someone as civil as you would get your participation cancelled."
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Was this karma? The Universe itself punishing her for a harmless joke?
Ritsuka felt like she was experiencing a nightmare. However, the still throbbing slap mark on her cheek certified the cruel reality. She had gotten herself banned out of the First Mission, completely annihilating any hopes she had of making a good first impression. This was the absolute worst case scenario, barring her causing some kind of major accident.
"I…" she mumbled to no one in particular, just flabbergasted at the current situation. Here she was, standing outside the Command Room together with Mash. "How did this even happen…?"
'
"You fell asleep during the orientation, Senpai." She heard the answer from her right. "It seemed like you were in REM sleep, while standing up no less. A rather amazing feat."
'
Ritsuka felt nauseated. She had never had sleeping problems like this, so why now? She honestly didn't know what to think. In all honesty, she wanted to eat something sweet and then crawl into a hole, but that was hardly an option. "What… what am I supposed to do now?"
'
"I'm not quite sure," Mash admitted, placing a finger on her chin. After a few seconds of silence, she came up with something. "I believe it would be for the best if I showed you to your room."
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"Ah..." Ritsuka had to agree, there was no point in loitering in the halls, feeling sorry for herself. It was far better to use a private room for that. "...If you could. Please lead the way, Mash."
'
With a nod, the girl began to lead her through the halls, quietly walking ahead. Ritsuka's consciousness was barely following her surroundings. She just kept droning ahead, following Mash. Normally, she would take note of the path to learn it herself, but she was honestly way too depressed to even bother. She had earned the Director's ire at the first possible moment. And not just that, she was one of the Lords of the Clock Tower to boot. She had a very real chance to get fired on the first day of her job. How could she even hope to appease the Director? And even if she did somehow manage to keep her spot, what of the other Masters? How would she appear to her peers after such an introduction? Ritsuka couldn't think of any possible way to revive her butchered reputation. She really needed an out right now. Something, literally anything she could vent her frustration on. Yet she couldn't come up with anything, just continued walking after Mash. The situation maintained its suffocating atmosphere for several minutes, until the two were interrupted by a familiar sound.
'
"Fou!"
'
Just as Mash came to a corner, Fou leaped from around it, landing straight on her face. The situation was sudden and bizarre enough to even knock Ritsuka out of her brooding. "Wha!? Are you alright, Mash?"
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"No, no, this is normal. No problem at all!" Mash managed to say as Fou scampered on top of her head, leaving the assaulted girl rubbing her nose. "Fou likes to attack my face, slide around to my back and settle on my shoulder," she explained as the critter in question did just that.
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"I see. Well, if it really is no trouble…" Ritsuka was somewhat skeptical of the whole thing. Those kinds of attacks couldn't be good for Mash's classes. "But he seems rather attached to you. What exactly is he?"
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"What Fou is?" Mash repeated, seemingly unprepared for her question. "Well, he's a Privileged Life-Form allowed to freely walk around Chaldea."
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That really didn't answer Ritsuka's question, so she tried another approach. "No, I mean specifically what he is. He reminds me of something like a squirrel and a dog mixed together. Is he a chimera? Or some type of young Phantasmal?"
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"Oh… I'm really not sure," Mash admitted, catching Ritsuka off guard. "He just kind of showed up one day and has been here ever since."
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"Wait, so you have no idea what he is or where he's from, yet he's so attached to you?" The whole situation seemed rather bizarre to Ritsuka. How could an organization like Chaldea have some unknown creature roaming the halls? An absolutely adorable creature for sure, but still a strange one. "I was sure you would have brought him to Chaldea when you first came here yourself."
'
Mash's expression somewhat fell with the last words, making Ritsuka instantly regretful of them. "No, I…" Mash started, making Ritsuka quickly connect the dots. She'd spoken too hastily. "I've never left Chaldea."
'
"I see, so it was like that after all," Ritsuka said apologetically. Mash's situation wasn't exactly strange in the world of mages, but it didn't help her own feelings on the matter. "So you were born, and spent your entire life to this point, here?" Ritsuka confirmed, earning a nod from Mash. "I had a feeling when you said you had never met anyone human, and you being part of the A-Team made it more evident. You were prepared your whole life for something like this, weren't you?"
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Mash seemed somewhat surprised at her statement, but was quick to confirm it. "While it is not exact, your hypothesis is quite right, Senpai. I've spent my entire life here."
'
"I see… Well, Chaldea is ultimately an organization run by mages, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised." Great. This conversation had started to distract her from the disaster earlier, but now she'd brought up a depressing topic for Mash, making her feel even worse. What could she say at this point to change the subject without it seeming desperate?
The answer, once again, came in the form of a leaping critter.
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"Fou!"
'
Ritsuka barely had time to react as the white fluffball leaped off of Mash's shoulder towards her. On reflex, she raised her arms to protect her face, but Fou just used them as an extra bounce to reach the top of her head. Like with Mash before, he slid around to her back and settled on her shoulder. From there, he started rubbing his fluffy head on her cheek.
"Oh, uh…" Ritsuka wasn't really sure what to do. Even Mash looked surprised at this little stunt, and she'd known him far longer. Fou was adorable and his fluff felt really comfortable against her skin, but she really wasn't used to this kind of direct affection. "Does… he do this often?"
'
"No," Mash answered, but her surprise quickly made way to a smile. "I had a feeling when I first saw you two in the corridor. Normally he doesn't go near anyone aside from me, but he seems to like you, Senpai."
'
"Really?" Ritsuka wasn't quite sure what to make of this. She'd never been this popular with animals before. Sure, she liked them perfectly fine, but she only ever met them by chance. She'd never owned a proper pet. "Well, I'm glad you feel that way, Fou. I think you're great too."
'
"Fou. Kyuu, Fou! Fou!" the critter barked in response, allowing Ritsuka to scratch under his chin. This really wasn't what she'd had in mind when she was thinking for something to get rid of her depression, but nothing she could think of could beat this.
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"Hmm, hmm. Apparently Fou has embraced you as one of his own, Senpai." Mash hummed, seemingly happy that the two of them got along so well. "Congratulations. Now you shall be the second caretaker of Fou in Chaldea."
'
"I see," Ritsuka muttered while scratching Fou from behind the ears. "What exactly does he eat?"
'
Ritsuka had suspected a straightforward answer, yet Mash seemed to grow strangely quiet at her question. After a few seconds of thinking, she finally answered. "He doesn't really have anything that could be called a diet. Though he is definitely omnivorous. He can eat meat, fruits and even different snacks and sweets."
'
"So, basically anything?" Ritsuka wondered, eyeing the critter in question. "Or, more like whatever he wants?"
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"Fou. Kyu," he answered, seemingly confirming her inquiry.
'
"Well, now that that has been established, I believe I should finish the task I offered you," Mash said, turning around to walk again. "The rooms for the Master Candidates are right behind this corner."
And true to Mash's word, as Ritsuka turned the corner she came to view a long corridor filled with several doors. She could see a few intersections split further down, which made sense, given that they had to have private rooms for 48 people.
"This is your room, Senpai," Mash declared, pointing at the door closest to them. "Since you're the 48th Master Candidate, your room is closests to the intersection here."
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"That at least makes finding it easy," Ritsuka nodded. Though as she inspected the door, she didn't see a handle, only a few buttons. Chaldea really liked their sci-fi-esque architecture. "How exactly do the doors work?"
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"Well, one of the buttons functions as a doorbell, while the other just opens it, as long as it isn't locked," Mash explained, pointing at each of them. "To open a locked door... You were given a Multi-Appliance with your Mystic Code, correct?"
'
"Multi-Appliance?" Ritsuka wondered. She hadn't heard about anything like that. Of course, the Mystic Code she was wearing quite an impressive piece of equipment, especially considering they had produced them in such large numbers. But she didn't remember…
Suddenly it dawned on her. Looking at her left wrist, she remembered the watch she had received with the Mystic Code. She didn't receive any specific instructions with it, so she assumed it was just an electronic wristwatch, but… "Do you mean this?" she asked as she showed wrist to Mash.
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"Yes, exactly," Mash confirmed as she watched the tiny apparatus. "Were you not informed how it works? Aside from showing time, it functions as a tracker, a communicator, a map and an identification card for opening doors."
'
"I never received any instructions for it, not even its name," Ritsuka grumbled. You'd think she'd be informed of something this important. Although… "A map, huh…" Ritsuka wondered, looking at Mash. Suddenly a smile rose to her lips. "Well, it's a good thing I didn't receive instructions, or I may have just navigated Chaldea on my own with a map. If that had happened, I wouldn't have been able to spend time with you like this."
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Mash opened her mouth slightly, a faintest blush on her cheeks, before she smiled as well. "In that case, I suppose I'm happy too, Senpai."
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"Thanks for everything, Mash," Ritsuka said, now in a slightly more serious tone. "You've honestly been really helpful for me today, so if you need my help for something in return, don't hesitate to ask."
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"It's fine," Mash replied with a smile that Ritsuka couldn't describe in any way other than sweet. "If it's a favor for you, I wouldn't mind even if it's treating you to lunch."
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"Well, alright…" Ritsuka mumbled somewhat bashfully. She still had a tough time believing how kind Mash was for someone who had lived their whole life in a magecraft organization. She really had been lucky to meet this girl. Just the thought was enough to make her smile. "But don't hesitate to ask for help if you need it. Isn't that basically what a Senpai is for?"
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"Yes, I suppose that is true," Mash admitted before looking at her own wrist. "I should be returning to the control room. I need to start preparing for the first mission."
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"Then don't let me be the reason you're late, alright? I'll see you once the mission is over, I guess."
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"Fou, fouu." Chiming in himself, Fou also said his goodbyes. At least that's what Ritsuka assumed.
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"Yes, hopefully I'll be back as soon as the mission is over," Mash confirmed, then turned her attention to the critter still on Ritsuka's shoulder. "You take care of Senpai while I'm gone, Fou." Responding with a bark, Fou took a somewhat more upright position. The fact that Mash had told him to take care of her made Ritsuka somewhat embarrassed, but the critter did seem to know Chaldea's layout far better than she did, so it wasn't completely baseless. "Now, then, I'm off," Mash said, walking towards the crossroad where they came. But before she vanished around the corner, she gave a small wave, which Ritsuka returned. "I'll see you later, Senpai."
'
Seeing Mash disappear around the corner, Ritsuka turned around to face the door panel, bringing Multi-Appliance next to it, which, with a beep, opened the door to her room. "Huh. Even the doors open sideways. Sci-fi-esque indeed." Though to be fair, in a hallway like this, outward opening doors would be somewhat troublesome. "Guess it's just the two of us, Fou. I wonder what we coul-"
'
As soon as Ritsuka entered the room, her room to be specific, she came upon a most unexpected sight.
There was a man. A man with pinkish hair, wearing what appeared to be a doctor's coat, sitting at the table. He had a laptop in front of him, and even with a glance at the screen, Ritsuka could tell it was no work related page he was on. He was just about to pull out what appeared to be strawberry cake out of a container, when he had frozen upon noticing Ritsuka.
"Who-" the man was about to ask, only to be interrupted by Ritsuka.
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"If you give me half, I won't rat you out."
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For a second, the man seemed to be contemplating for a response, before walking up to her, offering his hand. "Deal."
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"Much appreciated," Ritsuka agreed, shaking his hand. Honestly, she really wouldn't have tattled on the guy for skipping work, but the cake looked really tasty, and after the fiasco from earlier, she really needed this. "I'm Ritsuka Repo, 48th Master Candidate."
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"Ah, so you're the final one," he sighed, looking somewhat saddened. "I was using this vacant room as my slack off space, but it seems that has come to an end." Considering the way he worded that, Ritsuka really had to wonder about this guy's work ethics, but this was a big organization after all. One guy slacking off shouldn't really cause too much trouble. "I'm Romani Archaman, head of the medical department."
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"Huh?" Did, did she hear that correctly? This guy who was skipping work to watch some Internet Idol while eating cake was… And then she noticed the name tag hanging from his neck, confirming the man's claim.
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"Though everyone just calls me Dr. Roman, so you can relax and call me that too," he added with a smile. Ritsuka was trying her best to compose her thoughts on this whole matter. Coming to terms with the fact that this guy was essentially responsible for the health of everyone in the facility was impairing her brain like nothing else. "Fact is, Roman has a nice ring to it, no? It sounds cool and vaguely sweet. Oh, do you want some tea with the cake?"
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"Ah, yeah, sure…" Ritsuka managed to mumble. She really had to talk a bit more to this Roman guy before allowing him to perform any sort of health inspection on her.
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"Is everything ready?" A demanding voice echoed through the command room, one that everyone present was more than familiar with.
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"Yes, Director!" one of the many operators within the control room answered, each of them busy making last second calculations. "The A-Team have prepared to enter their coffins, B and below are just about done with their preparations as well! We should be able to begin within a few minutes!"
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"Good," Olga Marie nodded. Aside from that one insolent rookie from earlier, everything was going smoothly, which was honestly refreshing. As long as the Mission itself followed along the same course, the operation could be considered a resounding success. But it was far too early to celebrate, anything could happen within the Singularity.
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"No need to be so nervous," a familiar, most welcome voice called behind her. Olga Marie turned to see Lev, in his familiar green attire, walking towards her. "No mechanical issues anywhere and the Master Candidates are mostly fine too."
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"Mostly? What do you mean mostly?" she demanded. The mission was far too important to rely on a 'mostly' . Everything needed to be absolutely perfect. "What is wrong with the Candidates?"
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"Nothing major," Lev explained in his usual, calming tone, putting her somewhat at ease. "Some of the newer ones, who are not quite used to this are showing light abnormalities, most likely due to anxiety. Perhaps I should call Romani for some assistance?"
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Hearing the doctor's name soured her mood even further, but if it would lessen any possible risks, she could bear with it. "Fine, relaxing people is what that dolt does best after all."
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His smile somewhat broadening at her confirmation, Lev raised his wrist, readying his Multi-Appliance. Though right before starting communications, he suddenly stopped. "Now that I think about it, there is one more step we could take to ensure nothing goes wrong."
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"Oh, what do you mean?" Olga asked, surprised by the last minute suggestion.
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"Well, just in case something goes wrong with the reactor, we could send him there for some swift adjustments."
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She didn't even need to ask for a name, just the slightest description was enough to make Olga groan. "Honestly, if it manages to keep him away from the Command Room, I'll take just about any excuse," she huffed, honestly glad Lev had brought this up. Romani was far too lax her liking, but that man on the other hand…
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"Hah, I'll go ahead then," Lev laughed as he opened up the communication, just seeing his name on the screen was enough to frustrate Olga. "Arista, are you there?"
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"Yeah. What's up Lev? Is there some major catastrophe you need me to fix?"
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But hearing his voice was so much worse, if she could have spent the rest of her day not hearing him, this was the least she could do. "No, nothing like that. However, just in case something does go wrong, I'd like for you to head to the main reactor. The Rayshift will take a lot of power, so it would be reassuring if you were there to immediately take care of it." Finishing his request, a silence fell over the line as Lev waited for a response. Olga Marie however, had a bad feeling. After roughly ten seconds of silence, the answer finally came.
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"...Are you fucking serious, right now?" And this is what she had been most afraid of.
"I've been waiting for this Mission for months, significantly improving the Rayshift procedure, if I may add, and you want me to skip the whole thing? You're lucky you didn't ask me in person, 'cause I would have slapped your Leprechaun looking ass."
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Covering the mic for a second, Lev sighed. Having obviously expected the response. "You don't have to skip the entire thing. I would just need you there during the Rayshift, after that, you're free to come here."
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"This whole thing is pointless anyways. I've checked every single micrometer, literally, of the reactor three times this week, and it's Thursday. There's no way in hell the Rayshift would cause any problems."
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Olga Marie couldn't bear listening to this nonsense for a second longer. With ire powering her hands, she grabbed Lev's wrist, surprising him somewhat, and yelled straight to the mic. "Listen here you droll! If I could afford to kick you out, I would, but since I can't, you better get to the reactor this instant, or I'll make your stay here hell!"
A silence fell over the Command Room. Even Lev seemed somewhat surprised, but Olga didn't care. They didn't have the time to scream to this idiot, so she would do whatever it took to finish the agitation.
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"...Hostia puta... Are you for real? You got Olga in on this too?" And now the idiot groaned like he was dying or something! Just before she could unleash her full wrath as a Director, he continued. "Fuck it, you win. I can't deal with her when she's like this unless I'm drunk. I'm at the cafeteria, grabbing myself some snacks for the show, so I should get there in roughly a minute."
Ignoring the outrageous reasoning in favor of the result, Olga huffed, releasing Lev's wrist and walking away. At least she wouldn't have to deal with him any longer. Though she had to wonder about that last part. It would normally take almost four minutes, even by running, to get to the reactor from the cafeteria. Well, this idiot could probably do it without an issue. No sense in dwelling in it.
"But," he continued, just as Olga thought they were through. "In the fraction of the second the Rayshift is over, I'm rushing there like a bullet train. No way in hell I'm missing the Servant summoning."
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"Yes, that's fine," Lev assured, though he looked somewhat tired as well. "But please use the elevator this time. When you were last in a hurry, you almost gave some of the technicians a heart attack when you just landed right next to them."
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"No promises, but I'll make sure no one is close when I land."
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"I suppose that is all we can ask of you," he sighed, while Olga was somewhat glad someone else could suffer like her when talking to this man. She just wished it hadn't been Lev. "Olga really appreciates you doing this."
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"Yeah, yeah. I'll see you later. Lame botas…" And with that, he was finally gone. Olga Marie wished she could've been happier, but the headache she had gotten certainly ruined any feeling of accomplishment.
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"Now, then… I'll call Romani in a minute, after I've taken a bit of a breather," Lev noted, walking towards the door. "I hope you don't mind too much?"
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"No, no. After actually getting him to go to the reactor, you've earned a break, Lev." She could really use one too, but this close to the start of the mission, she couldn't afford to. "Let's just hope nothing goes wrong at this point."
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"Trust me, Olga. Once Romani gets here, everything will go absolutely perfectly." And with that he left the room. Though for some reason, one that Olga Marie couldn't quite figure out, Lev's smile had never seemed broader.
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"I see, so you were also a victim of the director's ire and got chased out," Romani concluded after taking a sip of his tea.
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"Yeah…" Ire was an oddly fitting word, given the director's reaction. She certainly seemed like a temperamental woman. Though given that she's the director of such an important organization she must have been under considerable stress. But still. She gave a few pats to Fou laying on her lap, yet did very little to make Ritsuka feel better. "I really have to wonder if she's going to straight up fire me after the mission is over…"
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"Nah, I doubt she'll go that far," Romani surmised shockingly easily, eating another forkful of his cake. Ritsuka had come to understand him a bit better after talking for a while. And while she could see he was ultimately a well-meaning person, she really couldn't concur with his lax nature. "There are only so many people capable of Rayshifting. Director Olga Marie might be harsh, but she's still a mage, she won't throw away valuable assets."
'
That… was a good point actually. Considering that the entire world only had about 48 of them, Rayshift capable individuals were extremely rare. It didn't help to fix her reputation, but it was something. "I suppose that's true enough. Thanks, Dr Roman." Feeling her mood improving somewhat, Ritsuka picked up one of the strawberries on her cake and popped it to her mouth. Though as she did, she noticed the critter on her lap looking at her quite intently. "All right, here you go." Picking up the other one, she brought it to Fou's snout where he quickly devoured it eagerly. "So my guess on your diet was spot on, huh?"
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"Fou!" he answered, settling back on her lap. He really was quite adorable. Ritsuka was glad that the two people she first got to know in Chaldea were both such cuties.
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"You know, Mash has told me a lot about the mysterious creature, but this is the first time I've actually seen him," Roman noted, eyeing the fluffball on her lap. "For a while I really didn't think he existed."
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"He is an elusive little guy." So even Romani had seen Fou before. That made Ritsuka really wonder how he'd even gotten to Chaldea. Perhaps he could turn invisible or something? He certainly seemed to be more than what he looked, given how he clearly understood human speech.
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"You know, why don't I teach him some tricks?" Romani suddenly suggested. Taking out a tiny chunk of cake that looked like it had fallen off from one of their pieces out of the container he brought the cake with, he slowly leaned over the table to reach Fou. Ritsuka could already guess how this would end, but decided to refrain from saying anything. She really wanted to see how exactly her little friend would react. "Shake. If you can do it, I'll give you a treat."
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"...Fou." Ritsuka wouldn't exactly call herself an expert when it came to animals, but even she could see that Fou gave Romani a truly pitying look before ignoring him completely.
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"Huh, what?" The Doctor himself seemed rather surprised at the action, falling back to his seat with a dejected expression. "What's with that look, like you're looking at something really pathetic..."
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"Maybe Fou just doesn't care for men?" Ritsuka surmised, honestly trying to comfort the poor guy rather than being serious. "With someone as cute as Mash as his caretaker, his standards must be pretty high."
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"Fou." sounding like he agreed, Fou proceeded to fully lay down, seemingly starting to nap.
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"Yeah, that must be it," Roman nodded, seemingly trying to make himself feel better by eating more of his cake. After washing it down with some tea, his expression suddenly turned somewhat sincere. "So, you mentioned that Mash was the one to escort you through Chaldea, right?"
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"Yes, that's right," Ritsuka confirmed, not really sure what to think about the doctor's change of tone. "She's been unbelievably helpful towards someone she just met. It's honestly hard to believe someone that sincere lives in an organization run by mages." Romani's expression softened back up upon hearing her words, seemingly happy with what he heard. Just as he was taking another sip of his tea, Ritsuka continued. "Though with her personality, I'm a bit worried someone might try to take advantage of her. She even called me her Senpai after speaking just a few sentences with-"
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"Ufugghh!"
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Before she could even finish her sentence, Ritsuka was interrupted by a coughing fit from the Doctor. It had been so sudden that Fou, who was thoroughly enjoying his nap on her thighs, jolted up and hopped to the floor. Getting over the surprise, Ritsuka got off her seat and gave the doctor a few good smacks on the back. "Are you okay? Did the tea you drank go down the wrong way?"
'
After a few more coughs, Roman seemed to be fine enough to speak. "*cough* Yeah, talk about embarrassing. The head of the medical department almost chokes on his tea while a rookie to the organization helps him get over it on her first day." Laughing a bit over his own flub, Ritsuka couldn't help but let out a tiny snicker herself. He definitely had a point.
'
But while she did find it a bit funny, she couldn't help but notice how much the doctor seemed to react when the subject turned to Mash. Perhaps he and Mash were close? Considering how Mash had mentioned never leaving Chaldea, it made sense that they would at least know each other. And since Mash seemed to have some importance here, they would need someone to monitor her health regularly. And as the head of the medical department, Roman would be in the prime position for that role. Though she still couldn't get used to someone so lax having so much responsibility.
While she was a bit curious over the subject, she decided against asking about it. After all, she still barely knew these people. Who was she to snoop about their relationships like that? "Well, as long as you're no longer dying."
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"Geez, I'm really not giving a good first impression of myself, am I? It's no-"
BEEP! BE BEEP BEE!
Romani was suddenly interrupted by a ringing coming from his Multi-Appliance, cutting his sentence short. "Oh, it's Lev. The Rayshift should be starting soon. Wonder what's going on?"
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"Romani, we're going to start the Rayshift soon. Could you come over to give us a hand?" A voice familiar to Ritsuka spoke through the wrist gadget, though compared to earlier, his tone seemed more serious. "The A Team's in perfect condition, but B Team on down is less experienced and they are displaying some slight abnormalities. It probably comes from anxiety. The inside of that Coffin is like a cockpit."
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"My, that's unfortunate," Romani replied, seemingly resisting the temptation to finish his cake while talking. "Why don't I come to give them some anesthesia?"
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"Yes, be quick. If you're in the infirmary, then you can get here in two minutes." BEEP!
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Ending the communication with a beep, Romani turned towards Ritsuka, his face a textbook example of nervousness. "What should I do… It'll take five minutes from here, no matter what…"
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"Maybe find a slack off space that's closer to your office next time." While Ritsuka did feel the slightest bit bad for him, Romani had dug his way into this, so he'd have to face the consequences. Though he did offer her tea and cake, so she could at least help him out a bit. Standing up, Ritsuka picked up the now empty tea cups as well as the plates and forks they had used to eat the cake. "You can get going Dr. Roman. I can take care of these, and you'll need every last second if you're trying to get to Lev even in double the time he asked."
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The doctor's expression brightened up substantially from her words. "Really? Oh, man did I get lucky to get myself a friend like this!" Listening him cheer like this made Ritsuka think more of a middle schooler than someone… maybe in their late twenties? but it was refreshing in it's own way. "Once you get settled ms. Repo, come to the Doctor's office sometime. I've got all kinds of treats hidden in there."
'
"You'll lose that lean physique of yours in no time if you keep eating like that, while having a desk job," Ritsuka jabbed, earning a slight frown from the doctor. She could really appreciate a source of sweets, but living in a research facility like this didn't leave too many options for exercise. Aside from her ability to Rayshift, her physical prowess was her only redeeming quality as a Master Candidate, so she couldn't afford it to falter even a bit. Though if she remembered right, there was something like a gym here. "Oh, and by the way, as long as it's not in any official business, you might as well call me Ritsuka. I'm already calling you by a nickname technically."
'
"Oh, well I guess that's fair," Romani noted while quickly clicking something on his laptop. With one final click, he shut it off, folded it and picked it off the table.
'
"You really should get going by now. But, it was nice to meet you Dr. Roman."
'
"Yeah, it wa-"
'
CLICK
'
Suddenly, with no forewarning, the lights of the room shut off leaving the two of them in complete darkness. Immediately Ritsuka's body tensed, placing the dishes she had picked up back on the table. How could a research facility of this caliber suddenly get a power outage? Especially at a time like this.
'
"Huh, what's this?" Romani asked, sounding genuinely more surprised than shocked. Ritsuka wasn't entirely sure if that attitude of his was good or bad in a situation like this. "The lights went out all of a sudden. Did something-"
'
RRRRRUMBLLLE
'
A shock wave shook the entire room at once. Ritsuka quickly grabbed on to the table that had been bolted on the wall, trying to keep her balance. While she couldn't see them, she heard Romani's startled cry from her front and a yelp from Fou somewhere behind her.
'
As soon as the shaking ended, red emergency lights lit up the room, followed by a loud alarm blaring at her ears. In the crimson colored room, she saw Roman by the bed, leaning at it for support, his expression having turned genuinely startled. Turning her head, Ritsuka spotted Fou behind her. The poor critter was doing his best covering his large ears. If the alarm was loud to her, she couldn't imagine how torturous it was for Fou.
'
And then, an announcement rang from the intercom: [Emergency. Emergency. A fire has broken out in the Central Power Station and the Central Command Room. Central Area's containment wall will activate in 90 seconds. All staff must evacuate from Gate 2 at once.]
'
"Was that an explosion just now? What on earth is happening?" Romani yelled, hopping over the bed to reach the monitor at the back of the room. Not wanting to fall out of the loop, Ritsuka quickly moved beside him. "Monitor, show us the Command Room! Is everybody all right?" Considering the force of the explosion, Ritsuka already had a bad feeling. However, when the monitor showed footage of the Command Room, her heart sank.
'
The Command Room, or what was left of it, looked like it had been a victim of carpet bombing. Aside from Chaldeas, which continued to float in its place, basically everything had been completely destroyed. Large chunks of the wall had crumbled and fallen on the floor, several coffins could be seen out of place, clearly having been flung about by the explosion. And the fire. The edges of the area looked like a sea of flames. A raging inferno that would burn a person to death near instantly.
'
"Ei vittu…" Ritsuka hadn't meant to swear out loud, but she couldn't help but let the words slip out upon seeing the devastation. She didn't know what to do. What could she do? Should she try to evacuate and let the professionals take care of things? But having witnessed the state of the room, she couldn't just do nothing, damn it! This might've been her first day here, but she had signed a contract for employment. The mere thought of sitting around while something this awful was going on made her sick. Even if it was something as simple as carrying supplies, she had to at least do something. "Doctor! What should we-"
'
Ritsuka cut herself short from sheer shock upon seeing Roman's face. The normally lax doctor had covered his mouth with his hand, shaking somewhat, but his eyes told more than his lips ever could. No hint of the earlier jovial glint in his eye remained, they were focused, yet horrified. But, the fear was quickly brushed away by sheer determination as he closed the monitor. "Ritsuka, evacuate right now. I'm going to the Command Room," the doctor stated in an almost frighteningly composed tone. "The containment wall is about to close. Get yourself out before it's too late!"
'
And with those words, the doctor ran out of the room, sprinting towards the disaster site. "...Evacuate. That's what he told me to do, but…" Ritsuka didn't really know what to think. Judging from Romani's serious expression, she should probably do what he said. Racking her brain for a proper course, Ritsuka thought back through the day's events. There had to be something to help her…
'
("hopefully I'll be back as soon as the mission is over")
'
("I'll see you later, Senpai.")
'
Ritsuka looked down at her feet, right at the fluffy creature sitting there. Fou met her gaze evenly, looking at her as if waiting for a decision.
So she gave him an answer. "Come on, buddy," she confirmed, lowering her arm to let him hop on her. "Let's go make sure Mash gets through this."
'
"Fou!" the critter howled, hopping on her shoulder as Ritsuka sprinted out of the room. She began to immediately open the map on her Multi-Appliance, wanting to make sure she wouldn't waste time on a wrong turn. She really should have left with Romani. He would know the best course without question, but she had wasted about 30 seconds pondering, so she wasn't sure if she could catch him in time.
'
But…
'
About 4 minutes into her run, Ritsuka spotted the hem of a familiar doctor's coat disappearing around a corner as she ran along the hallway. Sprinting around said corner, she saw Roman running about halfway through the corridor. "Doctor!" she called out, causing him to flinch slightly, his running slowing to a crawl as he turned around to face her.
'
"Wait, what are you-"
'
"Don't stop!" Ritsuka intercepted, shocking the Doctor a bit, but he did as she asked and continued running. That slight stop had been enough for Ritsuka to reduce the distance between them to a few meters.
'
"Why are you here?" Romani asked over his shoulder. "I told you to-"
'
"I know!" Ritsuka yelled, interrupting the Doctor once again. Sprinting to his side, she slowed down slightly to keep pace with him. Making sure to keep her face absolutely composed, she turned to face him. "But I can't just stand around fiddling my thumbs while all hell breaks loose! You know that you need all the help you can get down there, so don't try to argue with me!" Romani seemed unsure how to respond, looking at her somewhat hesitantly. Not that she could blame him. She was just some girl who had just arrived, who for some reason was running full sprint towards a disaster zone. And yes, while she definitely wanted to help out regardless, there was a more distinct reason for her to do this. "And… after everything that happened today, I want to make sure that Mash survives this…"
'
At the last part of her explanation, Romani's eyes noticeably widened. Though just as quickly, they refocused, facing back forward. "Alright," he sighed, seemingly accepting her reasoning. "I really can't turn you away after that."
'
"Thank you." Ritsuka really didn't know what to say beside that, so she continued running with him as sirens blared around them.
'
"I don't exactly dislike that sort of motivation," Romani admitted, taking a sharp turn to another corridor. Though when Ritsuka looked at him again, he wore a somewhat disconcerted expression. "Also… you're a really fast runner. It's honestly making me feel really inadequate…"
'
The reluctant concession at such an unfitting time caught her so off guard that she almost let her expression slip. "I… I see," Ritsuka muttered, honestly not sure if a proper response even existed. "Less cake. More actual work." And as soon as the words left her mouth, she started kicking herself in her head.
'
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'
'
The Command Room looked just as bad in person as it had on the monitor. No, it was even worse, since they could see more than what the limited camera showed. Ritsuka could see a few bodies on the edges of the room. Judging from their clothes, operators, blown away by an explosion. Doing her best to keep her nausea in check, she turned to Romani who was looking over the room. "How did something like this happen? There's no way a malfunction could cause something on this level, right?"
'
"That's right…" Roman affirmed her question, turning to look at Chaldeas. "The explosion originated here in the Command Room, but nothing here could generate that kind of force. This was no accident, it was sabotage."
'
That had been a slight possibility in her mind, but Ritsuka really wished that hadn't been the case. Not only did it mean that the culprit was more than likely still around, waiting somewhere, but their motive for doing this was something she couldn't even begin to comprehend. "Why… why would someone do something like this? Chaldea is a nonprofit organization and it's not even an establishment primarily trying to reach the Root. I can't figure out a single motive to try to destroy it like this."
'
"I'm uncertain as well," the doctor admitted, much to Ritsuka's unease. She had hoped that he would know something she did not, an incentive for this devastation, but there was nothing. A reason for doing something… that's what she had always believed was necessary for any action. A drive, a goal, hoping to acquire something. But this… For someone to do this for seemingly no reason… It absolutely terrified her.
'
[Power level critical. Switching to the backup generator. Error. Please make the switch manually.]
'
Clicking through his Multi-Appliance, Romani wore a pained expression on his face. "There's not enough power being generated… Sorry, but I'm heading down to the underground power station. We can't let Chaldeas' light go out..." For a second, he seemed hesitant, looking straight at Ritsuka with a concerned look in his eyes. "What will you do?"
'
To be perfectly honest, Ritsuka had nothing that would qualify as a plan in her mind. She didn't possess any type of magecraft that could be used for either locating or healing people. The little she had was only really useful for keeping herself away from danger. Maybe to fight as a last resort, but that was something she really wanted to avoid. Against any proper and/or competent magus, the best she could hope for was a sneak attack to take them out.
There was no point in lying to the doctor, so she answered as honestly as she could. "I'm going to try to find Mash from this… hellscape. It might seem unlikely, but there's always the tiniest of chances in situations like these. And if possible, I'll try to help anyone else I might find." Romani seemed unsure what to say. Most likely he was thinking of a proper response. But before he could say anything, Ritsuka continued. "Don't worry. I have no intention of dying carelessly doing something stupid. I'm well aware of my own limits."
'
That seemed to make Romani calm down the slightest bit, though his gaze remained slightly sceptical. "All right. I really don't have time to argue or try to stop you. Just… don't get yourself killed. Too many have already." With those final words, the doctor ran off, heading for the backup generator.
'
Ritsuka on the other hand, focused her sights on the ruins. Strengthening her eyes, she could see somewhat better through the smoke and obscuring shadows created by the dancing flames. She could see some coffins in the rubble, their windows cracked from the sudden heat and force. How could she hope to find Mash through all this? Should she try checking any coffin she came across? But considering that plenty of them had been buried, she woul-
'
"Fou!"
'
Hearing the familiar call, Ritsuka turned to see Fou standing on a small hill formed by the debris, seemingly waiting for her. Could he actually find Mash through all this? Then again, he wasn't exactly a normal animal, so who knew what he was really capable of. And considering he seemed at least somewhat intelligent, it wasn't likely a game or anything. So, with no better options in mind, Ritsuka chose to trust the critter. "Alright, Fou. You lead the way then."
'
"Fou!" Crying out once again, the fluffball bolted through the debris, with Ritsuka following close behind.
'
'
/¤\/¤\/¤\/¤\/¤\/¤\/¤\/¤\/¤\/¤\/¤\/¤\/¤\/¤\/¤\/¤\/¤\/¤\/¤\/¤\/¤\/¤\/¤\/¤\/¤\/¤\/¤\/¤\/¤\/¤\/¤\/¤\/¤\/¤\/¤\/¤\/¤\/¤\/¤\/¤\
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'
'
Cold.
'
Despite the brightly burning flames all around her, that was all she could feel. Her body steadily growing colder.
'
Still, given her situation, it was hardly strange. A large chunk of concrete had fallen on top of her, breaking her spine and crushing her organs. She could feel blood pooling around her. Her own blood, even it felt cold now.
'
So, this was it. This was ' death '.
'
She could feel herself falling into nothingness. The darkness blotting away at her consciousness. It told her- there was nothing she could do.
'
And it was right. She had known that someday, this time would come. From the moment she had become self aware, she had known death would claim her one day. It was slightly earlier than it was supposed to, but in the end, it didn't matter that much.
'
In the end, she would still disappear alone in-
'
"Mash!"
'
The sudden call snapped her back to reality. Turning her head to face forward, Mash saw Fou a few meters in front of her. Just sitting there, waiting.
'
Behind him, a mane of reddish orange rose from atop a pile of debris. Within this sea of flames, the familiar hair seemed to glisten incomparably to the earlier corridor. Next were the eyes. They had seemed so calming in their yellow color, yet now, they gleamed like sparks as their owner made her way towards her.
"Mash! Are yo-" She stopped almost instantly. Her eyes that had just been so sharp began to waver as she looked right at her. No words were needed, Mash knew she had immediately grasped her condition. Realized there was no saving her.
'
"...Yes, it's helpful that you're so quick to understand…" Mash uttered. It was getting difficult to talk. But, since Ritsuka clearly understood, she didn't need to say much. "...so, ms. Repo, you need to hurry, and escape…"
'
She could see that the girl in front of her was frustrated. Looking over the immediate area around her. Perhaps she looked for someone else, who might still survive.
She turned back towards her, clearly about to say something. But before she could say anything, a new source of light appeared, along with a voice.
'
'
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'
There was nothing.
'
There was absolutely nothing she could do. The debris that had fallen on Mash was too large for her to move. If it was half the size, she could most likely move it with a full body strengthening, but this much…
Her thoughts turned to her Mystic Code, recalling it having a healing function. But just as quickly, she remembered that the healing spell, while quite potent, was catered for the bodies of Servants, making it effectively worthless on normal people. She had read that Chaldea also had Healing Scrolls for regular people, but she obviously had none.
Looking around the immediate area, she hoped to find something, perhaps a long piece of metal, anything she could use to make a simple lever. But again, nothing…
'
Worthless
'
That was the only word that came to mind. She came all the way here, perhaps giving Mash the slightest bit hope for survival, but she was, once again, completely worthless, incapable of doing anything meaningful. Ritsuka bit her teeth together in frustration. The force was nearly great enough to crack her molars, and then-
'
[Warning all observation staff. Chaldeas' state has changed. Now rewriting Sheba's near-future prediction data.]
'
Hearing the sudden announcement Ritsuka, along with Mash, turned to look at the sphere floating in the middle of the room. No longer the brilliant blue that it had been when Ritsuka saw it first, it was now a ball of flame. It was as if the sphere had taken the condition of the room they were currently in and applied the same to the entire world.
'
[Unable to detect the existence of mankind 100 years in the near-future on Earth. Unable to confirm human survivors. Unable to guarantee mankind's future.]
'
Each word struck Ritsuka with the weight of a truck. This… Was what was currently happening here linked to mankind's destruction? It was too much. Far too much at once. First Mash and now this? It was like her mind was crumbling trying to process everything around her.
'
"Chaldeas...has turned bright red…" Mash uttered, pulling Ritsuka back to reality, She was seemingly in pain with each word said. Considering her condition it was a miracle she could talk at all. Yet she continued. "No, never mind, that—"
'
CLONK
'
Hearing the heavy metallic sounds behind her, Ritsuka turned to look at the direction she came. Just in time to see the large doors slamming shut. A great number of locks sealing them off. She would not be able to get out.
'
[Central Area, sealed. 180 seconds till internal containment procedure.]
'
"...the bulkheads have, already closed…" Mash gasped breathlessly. Ritsuka wanted to beg her to stop talking, but these would more than likely be her last words. As much as she hated it, she couldn't just tell her to be quiet. "...we can't, get out, anymore… I'm sorry… because of me, you..."
'
Even now. Even now while she laid on the floor dying, her own blood pooling around her, Mash still worried about Ritsuka. It was just so sad that it made her want to cry. Ritsuka couldn't even remember the last time she properly cried, yet this was close to taking her over the edge. But thinking of Mash, she did the one thing she could to make her feel just slightest bit better. She turned to face Mash, smiling as best she could. She was sure it looked awkward, seeing how she had practiced for years to keep her face as calm and neutral as possible. Smiling was a whole other category. But now, this was all she was worth. "You don't need to worry. Even if I had made it in time, I wouldn't have left."
'
Mash seemed genuinely surprised by her words. Enough to tell through the tired expression she had on her face. "...but why? ...we only, just met, some hours ago… why would you?"
'
It was a fair question. Even though Mash had seen her unguarded in the corridor, she was still a mage. The reason would be completely nonsensical to any proper mage. But Ritsuka had always been perfectly aware, as had been noted when she first met Mash, that her disposition made her a complete failure of a mage. Yet still, she couldn't give any other answer than what she felt in her heart, so she spoke, more genuinely than she had in a long time.
'
'
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'
"Leaving you to die here all alone would be far too sad for me to bear."
'
...she couldn't say anything.
'
No, it would be more accurate to say that she couldn't think of any way to respond to her words.
Mash could only watch as Ritsuka, wearing a somewhat sad smile on her face, sat right next to her. "So, you don't need to worry. I'll be here with you, no matter what happens."
'
[Coffin Vitals: Masters Baseline not reached.]
'
Mash could barely hear the Announcement, her every fading sense focusing solely on the girl sitting next to her. The orange hair flowing gently from the air shifted by the flames, the yellow eyes shining in the gloomy lighting, the smile that was both warm, yet so so sad. In the face of it all, a single desire found its way to Mash's mind. One that she was embarrassed by, yet she wanted to ask all the same.
'
[Rayshift requirement not met. Searching for qualifying Master... Found. Candidate No. 48, Ritsuka Repo reset as Master.]
'
"...Um...Sen...pai?" she uttered, gasping for breath between each word. Speaking was getting so difficult. The few words seemed to completely drain her, yet she was not finished.
'
"...yes?" Ritsuka asked, her voice so remarkably gentle and kind. More so than any Mash had ever heard.
'
[Unsummon Program, start. Spiritron Conversion, start.]
'
"my… hand…" she gasped, knowing just a few more words were all she could manage. "...could ...you hold ...my hand…?"
'
Ritsuka's expression shifted slightly, her eyebrows rising, and the sad smile on her lips lost a bit of its sadness, being replaced by a sudden warmth. "Of course," she answered, wrapping Mash's hand with both of hers.
'
[Rayshift starting in 3]
'
Despite the cold creeping throughout her body, the hands, her Senpai's hands, slightly larger than her own, felt incomparably warm to Mash. Yet they belied the warm smile on her face, revealing their owner's sadness as they lightly shook.
'
[2]
'
But it was fine. The fact that she had done it at all was enough for Mash.
'
[1]
'
With this, she could finally-
'
[All procedures clear. First Order, commencing operation.]
'
'
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'
For the shortest time imaginable, all she saw was darkness. She could neither feel nor move her body, making it impossible to even ascertain her own existence.
Then, a whirlpool of light, glowing pale blue sucked her in. At the end of it, she saw only darkness, like a black hole, completely devoid of light.
And yet, as she got closer, a light brighter than the whirlpool itself pierced the black sphere, robbing her from seeing anything else.
'
And then, Ritsuka landed on her feet, her thoughts in complete disarray.
'
At first, she wasn't sure what to think. She was still standing on crumbled concrete, flames burning around her like before. But as she looked around, she immediately realized that her whereabouts had completely changed. Instead of the walls of the Command Room, what she saw were the remnants of regular buildings, left in a state of utter destruction. Instead of the roof, she could see the sky above her head. Granted, it was covered in a layer of frighteningly thick clouds, but it was not a roof at the very least.
'
"What just… wait. Mash!" Realizing the girl she was just with was nowhere to be found, Ritsuka began to look around frantically. They were just next to each other. Hell they were holding hands. If she had somehow moved here, Mash should have been close by too. Yet she couldn't find anything to-
'
"Fou!"
'
Nearly jumping from the sudden call, Ritsuka looked at her feet to find a familiar companion there. A slight feeling of optimism rose inside Ritsuka. It seemed that Fou had at least come with her, so perhaps Mash was close as well. "So you got caught up in this too, buddy? Can that nose of yours find Mash?"
'
"Kyuu…" The critter's answer seemed somewhat solemn, its ears drooping, dropping Ritsuka's optimism back to rock bottom. Yet, just as she was about to move to search around the area, Fou's ears perked back up. Turning to look right behind Ritsuka, he let out an alarmed bark. "FOOUU!"
'
"What is it? Did you fiaaaaahh?!" The redhead had precious few milliseconds to react as an assailant rushed towards her. Jumping back as she saw it recklessly swing something towards her, Ritsuka barely avoided a sharp blade from slicing her torso and managed to properly see the attacker. It was a skeleton. An honest to god skeleton wearing ragged robes and swinging a sword around. Ritsuka was so dumbfounded that she nearly stopped moving back, close to getting hit by more of its wild swings.
'
An unknown location she had appeared in all of a sudden. Fire and destruction everywhere. And now, an undead soldier attacking her. As stupid as it seemed, Ritsuka couldn't help but blurt out:
"Is- is this hell?"
'
"Grrraaahh!"
The scream from the skeleton focused her attention back to what was important. She didn't have time to worry about where she was as long as this thing was attacking her. Dodging another swing from it, Ritsuka fired up her magical circuits, strengthened her legs and kicked it right on the chest. In response, the skeleton was flung back about a meter and fell over. The result wasn't optimal, but far from awful.
'
As the skeleton scrambled to get back up, Ritsuka collected her thoughts. It was clearly more durable than a regular human, it wouldn't even be able to move properly otherwise. If it had been as tough as a normal skeleton, taking into consideration the lack of flesh and muscle, her kick should have shattered its ribs. Yet she could just barely see the slightest of cracks on it. But, that was also good. It meant she could actually damage it. And from its rash swings, she could guess that the skeleton didn't really know how to fight. It seemed to just rush at her, slicing around without consideration.
'
This was doable. Had it been something stronger, faster or smarter, she could have been in real trouble. But winning against this skeleton. It was definitely something that wasn't beyond her.
'
Ritsuka began looking around the immediate area, hoping to find something to use as a makeshift weapon while making sure to keep the skeleton within her peripheral. She noticed Fou to her right, having taken a spot on top of some rubble. Since the skeleton didn't really seem to care about him and Fou himself being smart enough to stay out of danger, she focused her attention elsewhere. Then she spotted it, a severed traffic sign on the ground. Good news, aside from the shaft being fractured, the rest of it seemed perfectly intact. With something that heavy, she could definitely do some damage to the skeleton. Bad news, the skeleton was effectively between her and the sign. She would have to pass it.
'
"Grrraaahh!"
'
The skeleton charged again, taking hold of its sword with both hands and raising it above its head. In essence, it was the most obvious overhead swing imaginable. Just as it began its swing, Ritsuka quickly sidestepped to the left, letting the skeleton swing its sword down, nearly falling over in the process. Before it could recover, Ritsuka used the momentum from her dodge to land a wheel kick on its pelvis, knocking the pile of bones over again. Not wasting time, she dashed to the traffic sign, strengthening her arms in addition to her legs as she picked it up. Looking over it quickly, it was in a rather good condition given the circumstances. Just a normal, round Turn left sign, now used to decapitate a walking skeleton soldier. This was definitely… a thing... that was happening.
'
Putting the absurdity of the situation aside as the skeleton stood back up, Ritsuka began to strengthen the sign in addition to her limbs. While the shaft was made of steel, so there was no trouble with durability there, the sign itself was the problem. She remembered hearing that they were mostly made of aluminium to avoid weather damage. She couldn't afford for it to break before she put this bone man down. Feeling the magical energy flowing through her hands into the pole, Ritsuka watched as light blue lines ran across its surface. Just as the skeleton began its charge, Ritsuka finished the strengthening, taking hold of the lowest possible point of the shaft and holding it over her shoulder. The trajectory of her swing was painfully obvious, it felt like she was holding a really long baseball bat. Against anything remotely intelligent, this would be the worst way to utilize a long weapon. Thankfully, this skeleton wasn't.
'
Just as it entered the minimum range required to hit, Ritsuka began the swing, twisting her waist to add every bit of centrifugal force possible to her attack. Her target obvious, the neck. It was already a weak point for normal humans, but with the flesh and muscle gone, snapping it would be far easier. And with a wide, swinging arc, the sign connected with the skeleton's cervix, shattering it like plastic. Almost instantly, it fell over, turning back to simple bones as its dismembered skull rolled away. Ritsuka nearly lost her balance at the end, thankful she had kept her legs strengthened. With the force of the swing combined with the length of the sign, she would have almost certainly tumbled without it.
'
"Whew... Okay, that was… wow," she puffed, really wanting to take a breather to calm herself down. Looking around, she didn't see any other possible aggressors, only Fou now trotting towards her. "Hey, buddy. You mind keeping an ear out for any more of these guys while I take a little break to collect my thoughts?"
'
"Fou, fou fou kyu," Fou answered enthusiastically. That seemed like an agreement, she hoped. Sitting on a large block of concrete, Ritsuka began to rack her brain through everything that had happened.
'
First, she was now somewhere other than Chaldea, that much was obvious. The only possible explanation would be that the Rayshift had activated, and she was now in Singularity F. She had thought the coffins would be mandatory for a successful Rayshift, but apparently that wasn't the case. Clearly her understanding of Chaldea's workings were still lacking. From what little she remembered from the orientation, the singularity was apparently somewhere in Japan during the last decade. Her lack of knowledge on that part only made her more irritated. How the hell did she fall asleep while standing anyways? Whatever, that covered the where. Next, the skeleton thing. Considering this was a singularity, expecting something bizarre might be sensible. If she had to guess, judging from her immediate area, some jackass mage had gone way overboard with their experiment and fucked up a whole city. That would explain the undead, though the fact that it was just bones instead of an actual corpse was strange. And where the hell did it get a sword? That was the strangest part of the whole encounter. For her plan of action, getting an idea of her surroundings and holing up in a safe spot would be the sensible option. Since she had her Multi-Appliance, someone from Chaldea would eventually contact her, helping her to a safer area. Moving around should definitely be avoided. She had no idea how many of these skeleton things were around and if she got attacked by several at once, they could definitely kill her. And the possibility that something more dangerous than the skeletons could be lurking around was rather high. She had no desire fighting anything like that.
'
Alright, she had a plan, of sorts, and she had steadied her breathing. She should probably start looking for a good hideyhole as soon as possible. Though now that the adrenaline had worn off from the fight, Ritsuka noticed a dull pain on her right hand. Did she scrape it on something earlier?
But as she lifted it to look, Ritsuka felt her heart skip a beat.
'
Command Spells!
'
On her right hand, three red symbols had manifested, appearing in a form similar to a shield. Though she had never personally seen a Command Spell, she had read about them during the time it took to travel to Chaldea. There was absolutely nothing else these marks could be. She had somehow qualified as a Master.
'
But, did she have a Servant? She had read that the Spells manifested during summoning, but could also appear beforehand. Trying to feel around for any sort of anomaly in her circuits, some sign that she was transferring her magical energy to someone else, produced no result. She didn't feel any different, but it could also be something she couldn't tell right away. None of the materials she had read in preparation, mentioned anything about knowing if one had formed a contract. Should she use one of the Spells to confirm it by trying to summon them to her? No, that would be stupid. She might just waste one of them for no reason. Waiting was definitely the best option in this situation. Despite the sudden appearance of Command Spells, her earlier plan was still the most viable one.
'
"Fou fou! Kyu!"
'
The sudden call knocked Ritsuka out of her pondering. How long had she actually sat there? Turning to look at the critter at her feet, Fou was clearly anxious about something. As soon as she locked eyes with him, he ran to a collapsed wall with a small hole in it some distance away, clearly wanting her to follow. "What is it, buddy?" Ritsuka asked quietly as she moved as carefully as she could to the wall.
'
As she got the wall, she looked through the hole, too small to even fit her hand through, and surveyed the other side. Scanning the area, her location became slightly more clear. It seemed that she was in some alleyway, which had been separated from the bigger street due to the collapsed wall. Through the hole, she could see an intersection, allowing her better view of the overall area. Most of the buildings she could see were completely destroyed, though there were some in good enough condition to be considered a shelter. Thankfully, there were no more skeletons anywhere in sight. Perhaps she just had bad luck running into one.
'
As she was trying to pick the best location to hole in, Fou patted her leg, letting out a quiet bark. It was clearly trying to tell her something. Had she missed something when she-
'
Ritsuka felt her heart jumping into her throat as she noticed the cause of Fou's anxiety. She had previously not seen it due to it being on top of one of the collapsed buildings, but as it moved slightly out of the shadows, she immediately realized what it was.
'
A Servant!
'
There was no way to mistake it for anything else. Just looking at it, she could tell she would immediately die if she tried to fight it. The skeleton from earlier didn't compare in any manner.
'
The humanoid figure wrapped in dark cloth and wearing something like a skull on its face seemed to be scanning the area. She was actually thankful for the skull thing, since it allowed her to gauge its approximate line of sight out of the dark mass of its body. But what was it looking for? Was it searching for something specific, or?
'
For a second, Ritsuka considered the possibility that the Servant could have been summoned by her, but disregarded it immediately. She may have been a complete novice of a Master, but she was certain she would be able to recognize a Servant she had formed a contract with. She felt absolutely no connection with the Servant as she viewed it.
'
Still, this was bad. For all she knew the Servant was like the skeleton from earlier, dead set on killing any human it came across. With the Servant out there searching the area, what would be the best course of action? Without a doubt, heading inside one of the ruined buildings. Staying on any exposed spot like the alleyway was suicide, but inside a building, there would be far fever spots to be seen from, making it the superior choice. If she was lucky, one of the buildings could have a basement or the like, allowing her hole up perfectly.
'
Careful of her footing, Ritsuka slowly moved away from the collapsed wall, staying as low as possible as she snuck further into the alleyway, Fou right on her heels. She would need the building to be as intact as possible, as well as have an entrance she didn't need to force open. She couldn't afford to make any unnecessarily loud noises, since she didn't know the full capacity of the Servant's senses. They were definitely superior to a human's, but by how much, she did not know. As she passed the spot where she had decapitated the skeleton, Ritsuka noticed something she had forgotten.
'
The remains.
'
While the bones on the ground could be explained by someone having been killed, and considering the state of the city it was a rather convincing one, the sword was a far more glaring problem. If someone saw it, they would immediately realize someone had fought a skeleton, basically giving away her presence in the area. As carefully and quietly as she could, Ritsuka picked up the sword, along with the robes the skeleton had worn, and started wrapping the latter around the former. While the sword was rather crude, she could very much cut herself with it if handled carelessly. The wrapping would also stop the metal from reflecting any light, removing the chances of her being discovered by an unlucky shine it might have produced.
'
Tugging the wrapped up blade under her arm, Ritsuka continued to sneak along the alley, until finally, around the middle of it, she found a house that was in a comparatively good condition. And as a bonus, there was a broken window with effectively no glass in it, allowing her to easily slip inside.
'
Waiting for Fou to hop in, Ritsuka inspected the interior. It seemed to be a shop of some kind, considering the structure, and she was currently in the backroom. As for what kind of shop, she had no idea. The inside was pretty wrecked. Everything that could be qualified as a product was on the ground, in pieces. If she had to make a guess, it was probably one of those little shops that sold just about anything. But, that was enough analyzing. She had to inspect the building itself. If the shop had a cellar or the like, she would have hit an absolute jackpot on the first try.
'
Not seeing anything in the backroom, Ritsuka glimpsed at the shop area itself. While unlikely, there could be something in there, so checking it out wouldn't be useless. Plus, the shop seemingly didn't have windows at the front, just a closed door, so the chances of her getting detected were rather low. Staying low as she moved through the dark shop, Ritsuka noticed something reflecting the slightest amount of light behind the counter. It could be a handle for a hatch. She knew that some old stores had basement entrances built behind the counter, so if she was lucky, it could be just what she needed.
'
Sadly, as she crouched to inspect the object in question, blowing some dust and ash off it in the process, it was only a shard of glass. Well, she lost nothing by checking, so it wasn-
Before she could get back up, Ritsuka was stopped by a strong tug on her sleeve. It was Fou. The critter seemed adamant in keeping her down, motioning to her left with his tail. Looking there, she saw a tiny crack in the counter, allowing one to barely see to the other side of the wooden sideboard. Knowing better than to disagree with him at this point, Ritsuka peeked through the crack.
And felt her blood run cold.
'
Through the crack, she could see the Servant from earlier. Without making the tiniest sound, it had opened the door and entered the building, catching her completely unaware. If it weren't for Fou's sharp senses noticing it and notifying her, the Servant would have most likely seen her rise behind the counter and attacked immediately. For now, it just stood by the doorway, looking around the shop, but for how long?
'
A plan.
'
A plan! A plan! A plan! A plan! A plan! A plan! A plan! A plan! A plan! A plan! A plan! A plan!
She needed something! Anything! But what? What could she even do at this point?! There was nothing she could do against a Servant!
'
Calm. She had to stay calm. If she started breathing too heavily, the Servant might hear her and it would be all over. "(Think, Ritsuka, think!)" Something. There had to be something she could do. And then it came to her. The Status. As a Master, she should be able to see information on any Servant she observed. Focusing her sight through the crack, Ritsuka began to read the status of the Servant.
'
For a second, she was baffled by what she saw. She knew that the way the parameters of a Servant were viewed depended on each mage. Essentially, each saw them in the most comprehensible way possible to them.
So why the hell was she seeing the strength of a Servant like this?! In this absolutely ridiculous way?! Was this some kind of joke?! An error in the system?!
No, in all honesty, the method did somewhat make sense to her, as much as she hated to admit it. Well, the right thing to do was to never, ever mention this to anyone ever, and to take it with her to the grave. She would just refer to the parameters with their common values should anyone ask.
'
But, back to the life threatening danger at hand, the Servant was rather weak all things considered. Easily strong enough to kill her without much trouble, but in Servant terms it was weak. Considering that, the way it entered without a sound and the dark clothes that melted perfectly into the darkness, this was more than likely an Assassin. That was… not ideal. In all honesty, the strength of the Servant didn't matter too much. They could all just as easily kill her. It didn't matter if they needed a weapon to do it or just smashed her with their bare hands, the end result was the same. What did matter was its Presence Concealment. And in this case, it was A+. There was no way she could have detected this Assassin on her own. She had to wonder how Fou did it, but that would have to wait.
'
The Assassin was still standing there, just looking around. It honestly kind of creeped her out. But, at least she had something of a plan now. Should the Assassin notice her, she would sacrifice one of her Command Spells as a last resort. While their main purpose was to be used on Servants, they could technically be used for just about any magical action. If she powered one of the few offensive spells she had with a Command Spell and caught the Servant off-guard, she might be able to daze it for at least a few seconds, allowing her to escape. It might fry some of her circuits, but it was better than dying. Seeing how the Assassin had no Magic Resistance, it could work. But, this was only the worst case plan. She would do everything to avoid it if she could. Everything would depend on how the Servant would act.
'
Standing there a few more seconds, the Assassin began to move. And it walked right out of the door, going out the way it came in. Ritsuka could barely believe what had just happened. Had she seriously gotten that lucky?
'
Waiting for around half a minute, with no warnings from Fou, Ritsuka finally stood up. It would honestly be better to leave this building, since there were ultimately no proper hiding spots. The fact that the Assassin didn't search the store properly was odd, but she was definitely not missing this chance to get away.
'
Taking careful, quiet steps, Ritsuka snuck her way towards the doorway to the back room. Ahead of her, Fou pattered along, heading towards the window. Looking back one final time to check for the Assassin, Ritsuka moved through the doorway to the backroom. With no sign of it, she thanked Lady Luck one last time before stepping to the right towards the window.
'
creeeeaaaaak
'
For a fraction of a second, Ritsuka just stood there, stopping in the middle of her step.
That had to have been just her imagination, right?
The floor did not just make an awful creaking sound, right?
'
"FOU!"
'
And Ritsuka got her answer.
'
In the little time she had to think, Ritsuka strengthened her legs and kicked off as hard as she could. The distance to the window was roughly 5 meters. She could make that distance in three steps and less than two seconds.
'
First step: She watched as Fou jumped out of the window, giving her more room to work.
'
Second step: She swore she could hear a rush of air behind her, but she didn't dare to look, as it would slow her down.
'
Third step: Ritsuka lined herself to pass through the window with this jump, as she cursed Lady Luck with her entire being.
'
Within the tenth of a second after Ritsuka flew out the window, she heard something smashing right into the wall where it was placed. Landing on the concrete with a hard roll, she quickly stood up to face her assaulter. And, as expected, it was the Assassin. In its hand, it held a curved dagger that had been jammed into the window sill, slicing right through it. Had it hit her, it would have most likely cut her in half.
'
Not wasting any time, Ritsuka focused her magical energy on her legs again and began to run, hoping to put a slightest bit of distance between herself and certain death. Considering how large the Assassin was, she might still have the slightest chance. Perhaps, if she found a gap small enough to slip through in one of the collapsed walls, and if the Assassin wouldn't fit through, she might be able to put more distance between them. The idea was absolutely ludicrous, basically impossible in every sort of way, but it was quite literally the only possibility she could think of that would allow her to survive. So, she kept running, taking a turn to the left as the alleyway split. And as she sprinted around the corner, she saw it.
'
The Assassin was standing right there.
'
Time seemed to slow as it loomed there. A dagger in its hand, raised high, ready to slice her up. In a rush of adrenaline, Ritsuka did the only thing she could imagine to extend her life even the slightest bit. She kicked as hard as she could on the ground, using the momentum from her turn to uncontrollably trip herself, sending her to a wild roll for a few meters before crashing into a pile of rubble. It had seemingly worked, considering she saw no blood on the ground and the Assassin just standing there. But how did it get in front of her so quic-
'
Every thought in Ritsuka's head shut down, as she watched another Assassin walk around the corner she had just ran around.
There were two of them…
How were there two of them?
Why were there two of them?
'
As her eyes darted between the two, she realized that their appearance was basically identical. Aside from the obvious cloaks and masks, they were about the same height and had identical daggers in their hands.
'
Before she could think any further, she watched as the Assassins shared a quick nod and then began to walk towards her. They walked towards her. They didn't run, nor did they leap, nor did they rush. They just walked, as if they had no hurry or a care in the world.
'
Ritsuka didn't know what to think. She just began to frantically move backwards, keeping her gaze locked on the two of them. Not even thinking of standing up, she crawled backwards on all fours, unable to think of anything to get her out of the situation aside from scrambling away from them. And all the while, the Assassin's continued their leisurely walk.
'
And then, it happened. Ritsuka felt her back hitting a wall. Her last shred of hope gone. There was nowhere left to crawl and the Assassins still kept walking. They would reach her in a few seconds, and there was nothing she could do.
'
So, nothing she did. Letting her arms fall limply to her sides, Ritsuka just sat there, leaning against the wall as she watched the cloaked duo moving towards her.
'
So this was how it all ended, huh?
'
She had never expected to have some grand, meaningful death, but this was more pathetic than anything she could have imagined.
'
There she sat, in a burning city in an anomaly in history, every trace of her disappearing once it would be corrected.
'
No body.
'
No one to hear her last words.
'
Killed by some faceless Assassins without even knowing why.
'
Honestly, it was so pathetic that she felt herself smile the slightest bit. Gazing at the death coming her way, barely noticing the white critter sitting some distance behind the two.
'
"(Wow… My existence really was completely worthless, wasn't it?)"
'
So, she watched as the Assassins stopped, one of them jumping in the air, while the other was blown away by some black mass moving at a great speed.
'
"...huh?"
'
Ritsuka could only stare as one of the Assassins was blown away, hit by something large and metallic, and then, dissipated into black dust. She watched as the figure wielding the large, cross-shaped shield turned to the other Assassin, rushing it, and drove the lowest section of the shield into its abdomen, turning it as well to black dust. Now, she was alone with the shield bearer.
'
She didn't blink.
'
She didn't say anything.
'
All she could do was stare at the knight that had just saved her.
'
Knight. That was the only word that came to mind as Ritsuka looked at her savior. Dressed in black, holding her astonishingly large shield, the familiar girl turned to face her.
'
The short lilac hair, lavender eyes and fair skin. Compared to the sad state she had just been in a few minutes ago, when they held hands, her image looked nothing less than radiant.
'
"Hostile entities eliminated," she declared, walking towards Ritsuka, who still just kept staring. As she was right in front of her, the knight bent over slightly and reached out her hand. "Are you alright, Master?"
'
"...Yeah," Ritsuka mumbled, feeling heat rising to her cheeks as she was addressed.
'
Reaching out her own hand, and taking the one offered, Ritsuka couldn't help but think back to the Command Room, where they last held hands.
'
And how in contrast to the weak, dying girl back then, the grip on Mash's hand was incomparably warm and strong.
.
.
Notes:
So, here's the beginning of my "little" FGO project.
A fun little fact before I go any further: [This was originally supposed to be published in 2018]
Essentially, due to college hell, I had to postpone writing this to hell and back. But now that my life is getting stabilized, I finally feel comfortable to actually start writing this proper.
Now then, to the proper notes for the story.
Yes, this will be another "retelling of FGO, but with my Original Characters: Donut Steel!" type of story.
However, it won't be one of those that get cancelled after 2-4 chapters. This is a legitimate passion project of mine that I've been planning since 2018. So unless I literally die, it's getting updates until the end of FGO itself.
The main focus of this work would be the relationships between the characters, plus expansion on Chaldea itself, as in: "How the hell does Chaldea even function as an organization with like 2 workers?" type of stuff and the life there between singularities.
As for the main points of the story, the Singularities, their plots will be tweaked slightly, or in some cases: *glances at the script of Septem, oh god, oh fuck* a lot.
Basically, they change with characters making actual, logical decisions, and rewriting stuff like the gang literally travelling across the United States on foot in less than a day. (who wrote this and thought is was good?)
As for the Event Singularities, some will stay, like Onigashima and Angry-Man-in-Prison, but the "literally joke" ones will go, like Literally Alien Servants and most Holiday events. Not Gudaguda tho. I love the characters way too much. Though some of them will get some serious rewrites.
But that's enough for now. I will disclose more rules for this series in future parts, when some of the changes become more relevant. For now, we're quite literally still in the Prologue section of the game. And no worries, the pace will actually pick up from here. I just feel that important moments like the ones in the prologue deserve more attention and detail. If the rest of the series was like this, by the end of Fuyuki I'd have a whole-ass book in my hands. And at that point, my fingers would probably fall off by the end of this.
'
As a final note, any questions or critique are welcome.
And I mean legitimate ones. Not things like: "lmao why is this so ass?" for comments or "it sucks lol" for critique.
For proper critique, stuff like: "(this part) is a bit weird. Wouldn't it make more sense to write it (like this)?" is good. I wish to genuinely improve my writing, so I'd appreciate some actual pointers.
'
And as a Dyslexia Bonus: Top 5 ways to misspell "Senpai" (Actual misspells fixed over the course of writing)
5. Senapi
4. Senpia
3. Esnpai
2. Sneapi
1. Sneiap -(HOW?!)