Chapter 5


The Master sneezed. He was feeling, quite literally, under the weather.

"Eh, senpai? What's wrong?" asked Mash, as she handed him tissues. He blew on the tissues and sniffed.

"Allergies of the season, probably…" Ritsuka says, when it's just him reacting to how cold Chaldea suddenly became. "No, its because its suddenly cold, what's up with that?" he said, and Mash did notice that it was suddenly freezing.

"Ah so its about that huh? My apologies senpai, but Sion and Da Vinci said that the heating system was busted and are fixing them as fast as possible." Mash explained, and the Master sneezed again.

"Let's go to the cafeteria and get something hot to drink before we go to the briefing. Why was it busted anyways?" he asked, and Mash simply shook her head.

"That's the purpose of today's briefing…detective Sherlock Holmes says that he'll help in finding out why it was busted in the first place." She explained, and he sneezed once more. Mash handed him more tissues.

"Even Holmes is affected badly huh? Heh…" he said, as she blew his nose on the tissues again.

"Hmm hmm, this is unsightly. Outrageous. Filthy." Then spoke a voice from behind them. Ritsuka shuddered a bit, as she knows who was talking.

Mash looked around and saw that it was a certain nurse. "Ah, Nightingale! Good morning!" she greeted her with a smile.

Nightingale bowed down a bit. "Greetings, Miss Mash, but you are not my quarry for today."

The Master sneezed again, and composing himself, made a run for it. "Eh, Senpai?! Senpaaaaiiii!" Mash called out, as the nurse instantly dashed towards him.

"Make waaaaaaaaay!" screamed Ritsuka, running as if he were the 100-meter dash champion back in high school, as a dangerously concerned nurse was speeding through, about to reach him.

The two of them almost ran into a delighted Skadi enjoying her ice cream.

Ritsuka did a hard right, avoiding Skadi, but he was ultimately caught, expertly and gently, by Nightingale.

Skadi held the ice cream close and was flustered to see that the Master saw her doing such. She ran away from them, with Ritsuka reaching out. "Save meeeeee!" he spoke, sneezing afterwards.

Nightingale shook her head. "This won't do, Master. You ran quite the distance but you're still sneezing. Its time for your treatment." She spoke, lifting Ritsuka up and carrying him bridal style. She then jogged to the direction of his room.


"Oh, this won't do. This just won't do…" spoke Nightingale, entering the room. She tossed Ritsuka to the bed and took out sanitizers on both her hands. "This room is just getting worse and worse. We need to fix this." She said.

Ritsuka sneezed again and looked around. "But the room is perfectly fi—"

"Yes, just leave it to me. Don't worry, I will take care of it. Yes, yes of course." Continued Nightingale, now in full cleaning gear. Ritsuka covered his nose, bracing for the heavy scents of cleaning chemicals.

"Even if it takes both our lives to do so!" she declared, and she started to move.

And then she stopped.

Ritsuka sighed, and stood up from the bed, taking the cleaning paraphernalia away from Nightingale. "The room can wait, I thought you were here to treat me?" he asked, and somehow, the nurse showed a faint blush.

"R-Right of course, I didn't forget that. Please take a seat on the bed." She spoke, pushing the Master on the bed as she took out a handful of medicine from her pocket. She paced around, looking for the correct medicine she will administer to the Master.

Once she did find it, she immediately grabbed a glass of water and gave both things to the Master.

"Drink up. We will go to the cafeteria later for you to intake something warm." She said, crossing her arms, and deep in thought.

"But the briefing…" spoke Ritsuka, before he took the medicine.

"Health comes first before work." Bluntly reminded Nightingale. Ritsuka smiled.

"You know, those historical records were somehow right: you surely are a white gowned angel." He remarked, and he saw how Nightingale became flustered.

"A white-gowned angel? Whatever do you mean? ...me?" she asked, looking at the Master, who was smiling stupidly at her. She blushed further.

She chuckled, as if hysterically. "I'm an angel? You sure like to joke, Master!" she said, looking at him again, and blushing even more as she noticed that the Master's smile remained.

"Heh…an angel…hah!" she continued, but she remained silent afterwards. Ritsuka then stood up and approached her. "Nightingale…this is the first time I saw you so…embarrassed." He remarked, and the nurse looked away.

"Don't look at me." She said, but the Master didn't follow what she said.

"And also acting erratic…even for a Berserker, its weird." Ritsuka added, and Nightingale sighed. She then slowly approached even closer to the Master, burying her face on his chest.

Ritsuka hugged her. "True, I do seem to be acting weird lately…" she spoke, clearly enjoying the warmth she was feeling. "Master, do you know why I'm like this?" she asked, and she received a kiss on the top of her head.

She looked at Ritsuka, and he gave her another smile. "My apologies, Nightingale, but that's something you should answer yourself." He spoke, breaking away from such a comfortable embrace.

He gave her a headpat before heading out. He did mention a briefing, after all.

Nightingale noticed that he didn't sneeze throughout their interaction, and it satisfied her that he was treated.

However…

"Hmph, such a foolish Master…" spoke Nightingale, as she believed her Master needs to be treated for a different kind of…illness.


Ritsuka ended up helping in the repairs of the heating system. The three of them were able to pull it off, but it took most of his energy and effort just to fix it.

'At least I'm not sneezing anymore! I should thank Nightingale properly for the medicine later…' he spoke as he was on his way to his Room again, longing for a bath and a peaceful, well deserved nap.

Chaldea suddenly became cozy, even if it was just 2 in the afternoon.

And since there was nothing to be done today, other than the repairs on the already fixed heating system, he was given quite the lengthy break.

As he entered his Room, he immediately grabbed his towel and went inside the bathroom to clean himself.

After he was done, he changed into comfortable clothes, turned off the lights and crashed on the bed.

He didn't notice the other person occupying the other side of the bed.

He felt something soft and warm press behind him, and as he opened his eyes again, arms were now wrapped around him.

He didn't recognize the arms first, but then he did. "Nightingale…?" he softly spoke. He broke away from her embrace and opened the lights.

Nightingale was not wearing anything. The Master blushed and looked away. "W-What are you doing here?"

"I see, so my body isn't to your liking…" Nightingale spoke, pondering over it and nodding. Ritsuka dashed back into the bed, but swiftly wrapped the blanket around her.

"I-Its not that! Why are you here in my room, naked?" he asked, and Nightingale inched closer. "Answer that yourself, Master." She spoke.

Their faces were a bit close. Ritsuka held her by the shoulders and pushed her away a bit. "Nightingale…I want to thank you for the medicine. I'm feeling alright now." He says, smiling at her.

Nightingale nodded. "No worries, Master, but you are not fully treated yet." She spoke, and the Master laughed, cupping her cheeks and squeezing them a bit.

"I guess I'm not, then." He replied.

"I have diagnosed you with an illness so intimate that the only treatment needed is…affection…" Nightingale said, and she fully blushed.

Ritsuka then caressed her cheek. "I like it more when you let your hair down, Nightingale…" he remarked, and the nurse held the hand that was caressing her cheek.

"I like…your warmth, Master." She replied, and Ritsuka chuckled. "I'm glad." He spoke, and he saw that Nightingale smiled.

She inched her face closer, clearly wanting a kiss.

The Master complied. It was a short kiss at first, one that prompted him to hold her close.

"Master…" whispered Nightingale, as the next kiss was a deeper, longer one.


The room was rather dark, and there were two figures comfortably resting on the bed during a comfy afternoon.

Nightingale woke up a bit, and she noticed that she was being held dearly by her Master. She managed a small smile, holding the hands that keeps her close.

"Don't push yourself too hard…" she softly spoke, turning around to bury her face at his chest again. "If anything were to happen to you, I would be quite sad." She continued.

Her smile…faded into a somber expression. "The joy of nursing you helps relieve the sorrow that comes from causing you harm…" she softly added, as she, too, held the Master close.


Changed the story's synopsis to better fit its intended audience.

- The Void Sprinter