Hey there!

Happy New Year, everyone! First chapter of 2021. Let's hope this year is better for everyone.

Some of the comments asked why there was so little SMT-verse stuff. We'll get to it! We just need to establish the real-world setting first before we get to the Metaverse. Other people asked if this was based on Persona 5 vanilla or Royal. I left a clue in the chapter before this one that should confirm it, but if you didn't catch it, don't worry! Next chapter will leave no doubt as to which continuity is used.

Now, a couple of general comments. If you see a grammar error or a sentence that flows weirdly, please don't hesitate to point it out. I don't have an editor or a beta-tester, the only helpers I get are me and myself, and somehow they always miss the same errors as I do. I wonder why. Normally I reread the chapter after publishing it when I check the reviews, and then edit any mistakes I spot, so if you see something and leave a footnote in your comments I'd be grateful.

To everyone who recommended items, thanks! Next chapter his mail will arrive, so this is your last chance. There were a couple mentioned Valentine CE's that I'll be using for sure.

And lastly, a big thank you to everyone who left an encouraging review or a comment discussing the chapter! It always encourages me, because they show me that that my readers are liking the story as much as I like writing it.

Disclaimer: I do not own F/GO nor P5 nor any of its characters. Cover image obtained from reddit, will be taken down if original creator asks. It probably won't be very accurate to the story anyway...

Chapter 3 - Schoolcoming

Ritsuka awoke to his second morning in Tokyo at around the same time as his first, quite early. However, there was a key difference between both days. Pun intended.

With the key that Sakura-san had trusted him with he could now take a shower whenever he wanted, allowing him to follow his morning routine without fear of smelling of sweat the rest of the day. With that in mind, he changed into sports clothes, picked up his key, strapped his phone to his arm and took off.

He began by doing a circuit around the neighborhood. He had started to familiarize himself with the place yesterday night thanks to his detour, so this time he decided to push out a bit more and rely on BB to find the way back. Of course, he didn't forget to snap photos of the new streets as well for his future project.

He kept his pace high, but not excessively so, just fast enough to be challenging without being truly exhausting. Normally he would go faster and switch to sprinting from time to time, but today he still had his first day of school ahead of him and he didn't want to ruin the first impression on his classmates by looking too tired. Besides, he wasn't familiar enough with the streets yet to know the best route to take.

When he came back an hour later he headed to Leblanc instead to the bathhouse. His room was thankfully quite big, so he had no problems throwing a towel on the floor and doing a series of sit-ups and push-ups the way Leonidas had taught him. After a couple of other miscellaneous exercises, he finally headed off for the promised bath, which felt as good as he head hoped. One of Ritsuka's favorite pleasures during his time as an active Master had been soaking in the hot springs after coming back from a mission. There was something about throwing his head back and relaxing as the warmth of the water seeped into his tired body that made him feel as if every hardship had been worth it.

Of course, his opinion might be biased, because then one or another of his Servants would sneak in and offer to wash his back or something similar, and inevitably they'd end up devolving into other… pleasurable activities.

Shaking his head Ritsuka got out of the bath. If he started to think about how much he missed them he might be there all day.

When he opened the door to the café, his nose was assaulted by a delicious blend of species assaulted his nose. Sakura-san was behind the counter, busing himself with the coffee machine and a couple of his pots. The owner glanced at him when he entered, then chose two pots and put the rest on the shelf.

"So you're the type to start the day with a bath, huh." He commented, peering at his still drying hair.

"I usually go for a run in the mornings if I can." Answered Ritsuka as he sat down. "What smells so good?"

"Here."

In short order, the young man had a steaming hot plate of curry and rice in front of him. "Yesterday you had to eat it cold for dinner, but that's losing out. Try it now that it's hot and tell me what you think."

Ritsuka freely admitted that, when it came to food, he was spoiled. Not during missions, obviously, when he was in the field he mostly ate rations or whatever his Servants hunted. The times when they had the luxury to eat properly prepared food were the exception, not the norm.

But at Chaldea things were different. Emiya was one of the first Servants he had summoned, and he was a juggernaut in the kitchen, proficient to a high degree with both eastern and western cuisine. When Boudica and Cat had joined them the already insane quality had gone up even more, to the point that the magi side of the staff had put aside all reluctance they might have once had towards "fare made by mere familiars" and partaken heartily.

And then he'd summoned Beni-Enma. Nothing more needed to be said.

But still, it had been months since he ate food of that level of quality, so his first bite of Sakura-san's curry made him feel like Edison was putting on a light show (with DC current!) and small mini-Valkyries were descending from the heavens singing Hallellujah. Without conscious input from his brain, his arm moved to get another spoonful, and then another, and another.

"By your reaction, I'd say you liked it. Here, try this." Sounded the voice of Sakura-san from far away, before a steaming cup of coffee entered his field of vision. Without really stopping to think about it, his hand moved and he took a sip.

The next thing he knew, the cup was empty and his plate clean, and he was staring with confusion at his spoon as if it had betrayed him.

"Now get going." Said Sakura-san, making shooing motions. "Don't worry about the plate, I'll take care of it. Just make sure to be on time and not cause problems. Remember, you're already on thin ice, so keep your head down. Oh, and please flip the sign outside to open."

Absently, Ritsuka nodded and picked up his bag. "Thanks for the meal, it was delicious." He called as he left.

And it had been delicious. The coffee and the curry had been quite good by themselves, but it was when consumed as a set that their true flavor came forth. Even though Boudica had walked him through the basics and he could at least provide for himself in a pinch Ritsuka was no great authority in food, but even he could tell the meal could have been served in one of Chaldea's menus without lowering the rather insane standard the cooks held themselves at.

His musings lasted until he arrived at Shibuya. Perhaps still contrite about the incident with Sakura-san's daughter BB didn't give him any wrong directions on purpose, and he navigated smoothly out of the station, through the square and into the nearby building, where he boarded the Ginza line subway that would carry him until Shujin Academy. It seemed even an AI as mischievous as her understood the importance of making a good impression on his first day of class.

...Oh, who was he kidding. She probably was still scared about his semi-serious joke of calling Martha or Himiko to pay a visit. Whatever, he'd take what victories he could get.

Still, he couldn't help but feel optimistic. He had a nice workout, gotten a nice bath, eaten an excellent breakfast and now BB was being unusually cooperative. The morning was off to a very good start.

But when he came out of the station, he found that in the time it took to arrive it had started raining. He wasn't carrying an umbrella, forcing him to search for cover where he could find it.

Looking up, he sighed. The weather didn't seem to be clearing any time soon, and if this kept up he'd be forced to make a run for it. He was already short on time if he wanted to talk with Kawakami-sensei before classes started, so he decided to wait 5 more minutes just in case before leaving.

"So, what do you have to say for yourself?" He asked as he took out his phone and settled under a balcony to wait. After all, BB would have known about the weather beforehand thanks to the reports online. And he thought she was behaving herself for today. He should've known better.

"That's unfair, Senpai! The reports said it'd rain in the morning, but not this early! We should have had enough time to get to school before it began, and by the time it ended it would have stopped."

Ritsuka conceded the point. Online reports weren't accurate all the time, and they gave estimates rather than concrete times more often than not. Besides, plenty of other students seemed to be having the exact same problem.

Case in point, a girl in a sweater arrived to seek refuge under the same roof. She moved back her hood, that was covering her profile, and Ritsuka had to take a moment to contemplate how exactly such voluminous pigtails had fit so neatly into her hoodie. He had seen some crazy hairstyles while he was in Chaldea, ranging from the normal to the wild to the wtf (looking at you, Mister Lainur and your sideburns), but it still deserved respect.

The girl then noticed him staring and smiled at him. She was… cute, he supposed. Not to the level of Heroic Spirits, of course, but she had a more mundane -mortal- charm to her.

He automatically smiled back, and she looked away from him again. Ritsuka considered striking up a conversation with his fellow student, but she wasn't wearing the same uniform as him, so maybe she went to a different school?

Before he had the chance to act either way a car stopped right in front of them. The window lowered to reveal a man in a blue tracksuit behind the wheel. He black, curly hair and the most ridiculous chin Ritsuka had ever seen. It was somehow flat and protruding at once. He had heard of strong jaws before, but this was ridiculous.

"Good morning." Called the driver. "You want me to give you a ride to school? You're gonna be late."

"Um, sure. Thank you." Answered the girl.

"Do you need a lift too?" Asked the man again, this time looking at him.

"Excuse me," answered Ritsuka politely, "are you a teacher at Shujin?"

The man stiffened for a moment, but didn't lose his smile.

"That's right."

"Oh, in that case I'm grateful for your offer." Said Ritsuka, running to the car. The girl had taken the passenger seat, so he sat in the back row. While he fastened his seat belt, the teacher rolled up the window and the car took off once more.

They drove in silence for a few minutes. The school was not far, but they had to take a slight detour to access the parking.

"So," spoke the teacher, whose name he hadn't learned yet, "you a new student? By your uniform you're a second year, but I don't remember seeing you last year."

The black-haired teen had been looking outside the window, and upon being addressed turned just in time to catch the stare the teacher had been leveling at him through the driving mirror. A second later it was gone and his teacher was looking at the road again.

"Yes, sensei." Answered Ritsuka dutifully. "I transferred recently."

"That makes sense. So that's why you didn't know me." Said the teacher with an odd tone that Ritsuka couldn't quite place. If he had to say something, he'd go with relief, but that wasn't it, not entirely. "Anyway, I'm Kamoshida Suguru, from the P.E. department."

"Nice to meet you, sensei."

"Hmm." Kamoshida-sensei's eyes flickered to the other occupant of the vehicle. "Takamaki-san, why don't you introduce yourself? You're going to be classmates for the next year."

"Oh, right." The blonde girl, who had been watching the byplay in silence, cleared her throat and turned her head. "I'm Takamaki Ann. Nice to meet you."

The greeting was delivered with a smile, but with a largely neutral tone, without enthusiasm, as if she was finishing a chore. Afterwards, she just turned around again and kept her vision to the front.

"Likewise, Takamaki-san. I'm Fujimaru Ritsuka."

"Fujimaru, huh..." Mumbled Kamoshida-sensei in a sotto-voice, before he smiled at him through the mirror once more.

Instantly, alarm bells began to ring in Ritsuka's mind. He knew that kind of expression. The earlier smiles had been polite, if a bit disinterested, but this smirk was different. It was the same kind of grin that he'd seen and then been taught to recognize in the faces of Caesar, Moriarty, Douman and even Mata Hari when they were about to successfully get away with something. It was an expression that meant "ez gg no re" and "Wow I'm good" all at the same time, both mocking and smug in equal parts, while still being subtle enough to not give the game away. It was not necessarily malicious by itself (as a certain card-dealing bunny king had used it whenever she had a winning hand, which tended to be all the damn time), but it usually meant one thing for whoever it was directed at: danger.

"So, Fujimaru-kun." Began Kamoshida-sensei. "Why did you decide to transfer schools?"

And there went all his tension. The young magus wasn't really sure what to expect out of a P.E. teacher, but this questions seemed quite tame in general. He didn't really have anything to hide.

"There was an incident back in my hometown." He replied casually. "I ran into a drunk man molesting a woman while I was running in the evening. I stopped him and handed him over to the police, but it turned out he was a very powerful politician who couldn't afford the scandal." Takamaki-san was looking at him now, so he shrugged. "So he brought it to court and made it so I was the villain. They decided I'd need to be on probation for a year, and here I am."

Ritsuka reclined back in his seat and studied the reactions of the two other passengers. Takamaki-san was looking away from him once more, her gaze resolutely staring in front. By contrast, Kamoshida-sensei was openly frowning.

Takamaki-san was the first to break the silence.

"Wow." She said, still looking forward, the one shoulder he could see from behind tense and her arms crossed. "That must have been difficult. To be at the mercy of someone like that, with nothing you can do about it..." She trailed off, her arms tightening ever so slightly. Ritsuka thought he caught her trowing a lightning-quick glare at their driver.

Who was looking definitely less friendly than before.

"It's not nice to lie to your classmates, Fujimaru-san." He called. His face had lost that smug smile from before, leaving only barely veiled animosity. "Why don't you tell us what really happened?"
"I don't understand what you mean, sensei. That's what happened."

"Don't lie to me." Any traces of friendliness where gone from his voice now. "All teachers were informed of your record. You violently assaulted a respectable gentleman and tried to force yourself on her companion. The woman herself testified against you on court!"

"That's what's written in the record, yes." Acknowledged Ritsuka. Takamaki-san gasped, and the older man's lips started to curve into a familiar smirk at the perceived victory, but the boy wasn't done yet. "But it's not what happened."

They didn't have time to continue, as they had arrived at their destination. Kamoshida-sensei parked with nary a word and they got out of the car in silence. Meanwhile, Takamaki-san looked between and the teacher, the conflict between sympathy and wariness clear on her face. It was clear she didn't know who to believe yet.

"Good morning, Kawakami-sensei."

"Hm?"

That was not the most promising of starts. Ritsuka had followed Kamoshida-sensei until the teachers office after they left, much to the silent ire of his teacher. When questioned, he answered that he had something to discuss with his homeroom teacher and had been asked to go see her before classes started. The P.E. teacher looked like he was going to question him further, but thought better of it and settled for a grunt, giving him tacit consent to follow him.

The faculty office was a rather large room that seemed way smaller than it really was by virtue of being absolutely crammed. Rows of desks took most of the center space, and were in turn inundated with lamps, books, computers and other varied items.

Kawakami-sensei sat in one of the rigthmost desks, immersed in a reference book, with an open notebook on hand where she occasionally would write something. She raised her head tiredly when he arrived, then gave a large sigh.

"Oh… right." She fought back a yawn and swiveled her chair so she was facing him. "I almost forgot. You had something you wanted to tell me?"

Ritsuka made a mental note to bring her some coffee next time he had to come and ask for something. She looked ready to fall over.

"Yes." He cleared his throat. "I wanted to let you know before we began the classes. Actually, I didn't attend high school last year, so my knowledge might be unbalanced compared to my classmates. I had already talked with the teachers at the high school I was supposed to attend, but then, well." He made a sweeping gesture with his hand and gave a helpless smile.

Kawakami-sensei brought a hand to her face and muttered something that sounded suspiciously similar to "why me". Then, she took a deep breath.

"Okay." She said. "Okay. Were you homeschooled?"

"Not exactly. I was abroad, working overseas."

"Working overseas." She repeated, a bit incredulous. A couple desks away, another teacher who was reorganizing a stack of papers paused for a couple of seconds before resuming her task.

"Yes, my blood type is very rare, so I was asked to collaborate on a research project." Nodded Ritsuka. "I had to live in the research facility, so I couldn't attend school. I was still able to study, both on my own and with the help of some of the researchers, but since I wasn't following any formal program I am afraid I might be behind in some areas. On the other hand, I'm probably way past the curriculum in other subjects."

"Really." Said Kawakami-sensei, perhaps a bit flatly. Ritsuka didn't blame her. He was the problem child, on his first day of class, with an… unconventional story. "So, what subjects do you think you'll have trouble with?"

"Mostly science, I think." Said the student as he thought it over. "The biologists and the like were working on stuff that was too advanced for me, and they were generally too busy to help me out."

Also, the ones who worked on natural science were also the ones responsible for the program that created Mash, and he didn't want anything to do with those people.

"I think I'll do okay at math, since I was helped by some of the engineers." Enumerated Ritsuka, counting with his fingers. "I had to stay healthy for the experiments, so P.E. shouldn't be a problem. History… History I studied on my own, so I might have some gaps there."

None of it was a lie. He just didn't mention that he had super first-class reference material, since he could ask the people involved in the history he studied.

"Lastly, my English is really good, since it was the official language we used there. One of the researchers was also a huge Shakespeare fan, so I'm familiar with his plays."

Shakespeare was a huge Shakespeare fan. Also, he quoted himself at least once every three sentences, so he had acquired the knowledge by sheer repetition, whether he had wanted to or not.

"I think that about covers it?" He made it a question and looked at his homeroom teacher. "Am I missing anything?"

"What about Japanese, social studies and home economics?"

"I think I'll be fine with Japanese, the Japanese employees had a small reading club and they were kind enough to assist me when I had questions. We read quite a lot, actually."

"Huh. What books did you read?"

Kawakami-sensei was now leaning forward, looking at him with interest. Was she the Japanese teacher?

"Mostly classics. We spent some time with The Pillow Book and The Tale of Genji, for example."

Having the actual authors giving him pointers while he read had been a really nice experience.

"That… is not what I was expecting. There are no required reading materials to pass, but we do recommend some easier books so students can study on their own. If you read those, even if they were edited to modern Japanese to make it easier to understand, I don't think you will have trouble with this year's curriculum."

"Right. As for home economics, I can cook decently well, but nothing exaggerated. I got tips from the cooks there."

"It sounds like you spent all the time there studying with different groups instead of helping with the research."

Ritsuka had to chuckle at that.

"Honestly, that's kind of how it went. The experiments were to see how my blood and my body reacted to different medicines, so between the appointed control sessions I had a lot of time in my hands. There was only one other girl around my age in the facility, so we both went around bothering and trying to help everyone else."

"Wow, that's a nice smile. They must have been nice people," commented Kawakami-sensei.

"Yeah… Yeah, they were. Ahem." Ritsuka coughed once to clear his throat. "Anyway, social studies might actually be my weakest subject. The research center was isolated to guarantee there were no distractions for the staff, so I'm a bit lost on that front."

"I'll inform mister Ushimaru, then. You might want to watch out for chalk rain."

"What?"

"Don't mind it." She said, rising. "It's already time. Let's get going to class, I'll introduce you to your classmates."

"Right." Said the new high school student, following behind her out of the faculty office and into the hall. They were significantly emptier than before, with most of the student body already in class. Only the occasional straggler or lost student (give them a break, it's the first day) still remained, looking around in search of where they had to go.

"Do I need to speak to the other teachers about this?"

"No need." Answered Kawakami-sensei without pausing. "Did you see the other woman in the faculty?"

Did she mean the one who was arranging the papers? Ritsuka nodded.

"That was Ms. Chouno. She heard us, and so you don't have to worry about informing anyone. She'll do that job for you."

"Ooh…" So, a gossip. If another teacher was selling her out, she had to be the annoying type. "Last question then." He called when he saw they had arrived outside of a classroom and his teacher had a hand on the door already.

"Yes?"

"What did you mean by "chalk rain"?

She chuckled, and for the first time all morning he detected humor in a teacher at his new school.

"Mr. Ushimaru is the coach of the basketball team." Was the mysterious answer. Ritsuka waited, but no further explanation came. He didn't have time to voice his doubts, as Kawakami-sensei opened the door and was already entering. "Welcome to Shujin, Fujimaru-san."

"Hello class! I hope your holiday went well for you. Now, before we begin, I have an announcement to make. A new student will be attending with us this next year."

Immediately, the class broke out in excited whispering. That was normal, a new student was a rarity. What was not so normal were the snippets he was hearing.

"He seems quiet… But I bet when he loses it..."

"He was arrested, right?"

"This sucks..."

"Idiot! Don't make eye contact!"

"Shhh, he'll hear you..."

What did this people think he was? A Berserker?

Kawakami-sensei grimaced and turned to him with a forced smile.

"Why don't you go ahead and introduce yourself to the class?"

"Right." Said Ritsuka, taking a step forward. "Nice to meet you, everyone! I'm Ritsuka Fujimaru. I hope we can get along."

Naturally, this brought another wave of hushed whispering.

"So he's the type that seems normal at first glance..."

"Oh no, I think he was looking at me! What do I do?!"

"Please don't seat next to me, please don't seat next to me, please-"

"Uh… So..." Cut Kawakami-sensei, looking over the class. The rest of the students had already picked their seats, so he waved him in the direction of the only free desk. "There, behind Takamaki-san."

He nodded and moved in the direction she indicated, giving a nod of greeting to the blonde girl. As was starting to become customary and, truthfully, a little irritating, came the third wave of murmurs.

"Did you catch that? Do they know each other?"

"It wouldn't surprise me. He was arrested for that, remember?"

"Yeah, but, Takamaki? You think she's cheating on Kamoshida-sensei?"

"I mean, it is that Takamaki-san, but you know what he did, so he might have something on her..."

Fujimaru sat down and fought back a frown. First impressions were important, and it wouldn't do to seem aggressive or upset. Unluckily, it seemed his classmates already had a different first impression of him, that would likely be difficult to change in the short term. Given their reactions, the conclusion was obvious: his record had been leaked.

But, well. Impossible odds were his speciality. Ritsuka Fujimaru was the man who made an ancient, immortal misanthropic vampire enjoy summer vacation. How difficult would getting along with other teenagers be?

While Kawakami-sensei prepared the material, he turned to the brown-haired girl who sat next to him and introduced himself.

Instead of answering, she averted her eyes and moved her chair as far away from him as her table allowed, before busying herself getting her textbook in an effort to stall any further attempts at conversation.

It seemed his task would be a bit more difficult than expected. Ritsuka leaned back into his seat and raised his hand.

"Kawakami-sensei," He called. Instantly, the whole class fell into expectant silence and nineteen pair of eyes turned to him. He could almost taste the anticipation in the air, to see what the new criminal classmate would do before class had even begun.

He had a feeling they were going to end up disappointed.

"Yes, Fujimaru-san?"

"My books haven't arrived yet."

"Oh, right. You arrived in the city recently, didn't you."

That was… unnecessary information. Why would she bother… Ohh. Subtly looking around, he saw the new discussions that had sprung from that detail and how many chances were there that he'd had time to assault Takamaki-san before coming to class.

She was trying to help him. His opinion of his teacher rose a notch with that one act. She had seemed unmotivated before, but she was probably just worried that he'd turn out to be a problem and she'd get the short end of the stick. Now that she'd seen that he wasn't out for the blood of everyone in the school or something equally ridiculous she was trying to help him in her own way.

Subtly, he nodded at her. If she saw him, she gave no indication of it.

"Alright, settle down." She intoned, clapping her hands once for emphasis. "Fujimaru-san's books aren't here yet, so he'll just have to share with someone until they arrive. Do you know how long it will take?"

"A couple days at most, I think."

"Okay, for the time being, why don't you share with Ikeda-san?"

Ritsuka didn't need to ask who was Ikeda-san. He only had to follow the line of sight of all his classmates, who had turned gazes of pity to the girl who sat next to him. One of the boys in the other side of class went as far as to join his hands in a praying pose.

Ikeda-san herself had gone pale as a sheet, with the expression of someone who had just been condemned to gallows for life. Or like an Artoria who had been told there was no more food to be had, whichever.

Regardless, Kawakami-sensei was waiting, so he made to stand up to bring their desks closer together. But when he took his first step, his classmate moved back so violently she almost fell from her chair.

"Hey, are you al-"

"AH!"

Ritsuka froze, with his hand extended to help her classmate steady herself. She had jumped from the chair like a startled rabbit and was looking at him like he was going to jump at her any moment. The situation was starting to trespass from the unrealistic into the insane, but it was becoming clear that no matter what action he took, it would only make things worse.

With his expression neutral, he sat back down and raised his hand again.

"Sensei, perhaps it would be better if someone lends me their book and then share a friend's for today."

"...Let's do that. Anyone kind enough to help a classmate in need?"

Silence. Kawakami-sensei pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Fine. If nobody is willing, then-"

"I'll do it."

Everyone turned to look at the blonde student who had spoken out of turn, not even bothering to raise her hand. Takamaki-san picked her book and handed it to him without looking at him.

"Here." She offered, stoically ignoring the not so silent whispers that erupted again (that made, what, the fourth time?)

"Thanks."

Ritsuka picked it up without fuss and settled back to wait. Kawakami-sensei instructed the girl who sat next to Takamaki-san to join desks with the girl who sat next to her, who looked less than thrilled with the arrangement, and began class.

So long for a normal high school life.

The rest of classes for the day proceeded with a similar flow. When the bell rang, he would thank Takamaki-san and give back her textbook, and she would hand him the one for the next subject without a word. Interestingly, the teachers didn't make mention of the arrangement, so they probably already knew about his circumstances.

It would seem Chouno-sensei's mouth was really as fast as rumored. Ritsuka was suitably impressed.

In contrast with the awful first impression he left with in his short-lived visit the day before, the young magus found himself liking his new teachers. Kawakami-sensei had conducted class without putting any extra attention on him, allowing him to fade from his classmates thoughts as they concentrated in the lesson. Mr. Hiruta, the biology teacher, was a sharp-dressed gentleman with a somewhat mannered way of speaking. He taught class with flourishes and a bit of theatrics, but he didn't bring attention to him either. Ms Usami, the math teacher, was more direct in her methods.

"This is so I know where you each stand, and if you worked on the material I left for you last year." She had proclaimed before slapping a test in front of them, much to the collective dismay of almost every student. That had killed any interest the transfer student may have held, as their brains were too busy trying to dredge up any buried knowledge they retained from before the holidays.

When classes ended, he had picked up his bag and left amidst stares and mutters, and promply faced his next conundrum.

Now what? He still had a good chunk of afternoon. He could go to back Leblanc and perhaps clean a bit more, of course, but he doubted he'd need that much time, and besides, it felt like a waste to end the first day of high school and immediately leave.

Sometimes, during the Grand Order, high school and the memories of his previous life had been the motivation he had needed to keep going when the odds became increasingly stacked against them. He had joked with Mash about which club they would attend, and made her blush telling her how great she'd look in a school uniform.

So, since his usual plans were not available (those being some variation of "ask Da Vinci" around 70% of the time) he defaulted to one of his other most trusted courses of action: hit the library!

It took a bit of work to arrive, as every student he approached always averted their eyes and walked away, but he eventually found it on the third floor. It was quite big, for a school library, with several work tables where a number of teens worked to finish the summer homework of tomorrow's subjects.

He actually managed to remain unnoticed for a while, given that nobody outside of his class knew how the infamous transfer student actually looked. But rumors had a way of propagating, and less than an hour later the rest of the library was abuzz with the latest news. It turned out he had had recently arrived at the city from some god forsaken place where drugs were frequently consumed and violence was a very usual sight, and immediately managed to hit on several different girls in the short time he'd had since then, including Takamaki-san.

Ritsuka spent a bit more time reading, but he was used to quiet libraries, so he figured it was about time to leave. Obviously, everyone shut up and looked at him when he rose, but he gave no indication of having noticed it. Instead, he headed for the counter with confident steps, where a girl in glasses was looking at him with the valiant expression of a gladiator who was about to be thrown into a pit to compete against a lion. He had summoned Spartacus, he knew what he was talking about.

Ritsuka came to a stop and waited until the guy before him finished talking with the librarian, then deposited the selection of books he'd chosen into the counter.

"Hi," he began, smiling disarmingly, "I'd like to check out this ones, please. Do you need my student ID or something? I'm not sure how the process works."

The librarian looked at him, then at his books, and swallowed. She then mumbled something in a low voice that he couldn't quite make out.

"Sorry, I'm afraid I didn't catch that."

"You can only check out one book at a time." She repeated, louder.

Ritsuka looked to his side, where the teen from before was placing into his bag a rather conspicuous pile of books, all properly labeled with Shujin's logo. He paled under the attention and his hands started to move quicker.

Ritsuka looked back at the girl, who looked down and refused to answer. Instead of calling bullshit, he opted for diplomacy.

"I don't think I read that rule anywhere here, can you tell me where is it?" He asked, picking up the book he'd been perusing during his stay: a copy of the student's handbook.

Handbooks were great! He had nothing but good experiences with them. During his time with Chaldea, Goredolf had decided that explaining all the relationships between the many and ever-growing number of Servants they were host to was both a pain and an exponentially increasingly difficult task, so he had commissioned Andersen to use his Human Observation skill and write a manual that they could hand to the new additions to their ranks.

It had included a lot of useful information: friendly servants who were safe to hang around with, as well as those that were not to be approached unless accompanied by the Master; whom to be wary of and how to avoid plots and schemes before they began (they recycled a lot of material from "Evil Servants and you: a Survivor's guide" for that section); a very comprehensive list of Berserker's triggers that absolutely must never be referenced in front of them; proper responses to typical situations that a new employee or reasonably sane Heroic Spirit might find themselves in during their first weeks; who you needed to ask if you needed help with specific tasks; etc.

It had saved him so much explaining to do. Consequently, Ritsuka had developed the habit of skimming through the rules of new institutions he visited or services he perused. It also helped that those same rules could be used as ammunition for lawyering in the Clocktower, and Lord El-Melloi II had required of him to be able to handle himself politically in case he had to deal with magi.

The librarian kept quiet and didn't meet his eyes. Ritsuka considered his options. He was fairly certain there was no such rule, but he couldn't dismiss it completely. Who knows, maybe he had to register his ID into the library database to be allowed to carry more than one book, or maybe he needed a teacher's permission, or something. And besides, he had never liked to make a ruckus, that was more his sister's thing.

Also, it was the first day, and he felt his principal wouldn't be too happy if they found him in the middle of a dispute after being warned not to stand out.

So, he chose not to push the point for today.

"I'll take this one, then." He said, handing over the handbook. He took a bit of pleasure in the unease that shifted across her features for a second, but when she looked at him he was smiling normally. Hey, he was 16 again, he could afford to be a bit petty.

She completed the procedure in silence and handed the book back to him with nary a word. He nodded, placed the rest of the books on a nearby cart, and left. As soon as his the door closed behind him, he heard a storm of chatter erupt from the room. Shaking his head, he headed home.

He arrived at Leblanc well before the sun was down. The café still had customers, so he just nodded his greetings to Sakura-san and went up the stairs to his room. He couldn't wait too much noise until the shop closed, so instead of cleaning the mess of books he contented himself with dusting off the sofa. When he was done, he made himself comfortable and read the book he'd borrowed until the chatter downstairs died down.

"Hey, kid." Said Sakura-san when he came down. "How was your first day of school?"

"As well as could be expected." He answered, taking a seat at the counter. "My record was leaked, so that's all everyone talked about."

Sakura-san frowned.

"Listen, you are going to be blamed no matter what you do, so don't give them any excuse, alright? Just keep your head down."

"Yeah, I know."

"Fine, then." He huffed. "There's dinner in the fridge. Turn off the lights and don't stay up too late, alright?"

"Got it. Hey, Sakura-san… How's your daughter doing?"

"Still no change." Answered the older man, keeping his voice level. "She'll wake up when she feels better. Don't worry about her, she's a strong girl. She'll be okay."

The speech sounded reassuring, but Ritsuka could see the weariness behind his eyes.

Sakura-san left shortly after. Instead of having dinner, the teen went back upstairs.

"Right." He said aloud. "My things are arriving tomorrow, right?"

"Correctamundo, Senpai! It'll be here when you get back from school."

"Alright. Then I better have my room ready by then."

He changed into more comfortable clothes and jumped into the task. He sorted the books in neat piles and dusted them off, threw off the rubbish and watered the poor plant that had somehow gotten lost in the mess.

While he was working, BB changed into her summer dress and started to cheer him on, waving around a pair of pompoms she conjured from somewhere, and making her other pair of pompoms jump around in the process. That was probably her revenge for his teasing the previous day, but he took it as motivation and worker harder than he thought, enough that he was perspiring a bit when he was done.

BB was happily twirling in his screen when he headed to the bathhouse.

"Pics of Senpai while wiping off his sweat after a day of hard work~ Premium goods acquired~"

"Hey, you took pics of me?"

"It's insurance~ Next time you call that punching saint, I'll have cards in hand to bargain for my safety~ That's the style of a true heroine!"

She was back to her normal outfit, but now she also sported sunglasses and was waving the photos in her hand while leaning back on an armchair.

Rituska shook his head and shoved his phone into the bathouse's locker, much to her indignation.

Afterwards, he had dinner and changed into his pajamas. He made sure to close the door, checked that all the lights were turned off, and went to bed.

Before sleep took him, he saw that the Dreamcatcher was fluttering weirdly above him, as if an insect was trying to escape from a spiderweb. He made a mental note to see if there were any holes in the room that could create air currents, then closed his eyes.

So. Yeah. That happened. Goodbye canon, you will be missed. It was bound to happen eventually.

It turned out that we're doing a chapter per day. That'll probably change in the future, but for now it's a nice way to pace the story.

In other news, everybody who was asking where Mash is can rejoice, because she'll be showing up next chapter! YOROKOBE, for your wish will be granted!

See ya!