Chapter 2: A Day in the Life of Chaldea.

It was the middle of the night in the Minute Singularity. At a glance, one would think that nothing of any interest was happening in this forest under the clouded sky. However, four people moved silently under the cover of darkness through the woodlands with practised efficiency. After hours of walking, Ritsuka, Kiritsugu, Robin Hood and Mephistopheles had come across a relatively open space in the woods. Upon noticing that the dense trees surrounding them could act as cover, Ritsuka held up his hand to get his Servants to halt before he addressed them.

"Alright. Let's settle here for the night." Ritsuka announced before he turned around to face the Assassin, Caster and Archer. "Robin: I want the perimeter secured while I set up a Bounded Field." He ordered, to which Robin Hood nodded and left to deploy his traps amongst the surrounding vegetation. While Ritsuka worked his Magecraft, he reminisced over why he was even here to begin with.

Earlier that day in the Command Room of Novum Chaldea, Ritsuka gave his full attention to his mission briefing. Although Ritsuka was irritated that his family reunion interrupted, he would still carry out his duty as Humanity's Last Master to the best of his ability. Leonardo then brought up a holographic map of a Minute Singularity.

"We've detected a Minute Singularity in rural Japan." Leonardo explained to Ritsuka. "From what we can gather, there is a dam that shouldn't exist near a town that shouldn't be flooded." Two images with matching date stamps then came up side by side on the holographic display to help illustrate her point. One image was of a small town near a river. The other image was of that same river with an imposing dam overlooking a flooded town.

"Normally we wouldn't bother with something like this, but the presence of an entire private army parked right on top of the dam makes this too suspicious to ignore." Leonardo said before she zoomed in on latter image to reveal dozens of armed mercenaries patrolling the dam's grounds. "Whatever this place is hiding, it's worth protecting." Leonardo finished. Gears turned in Ritsuka's head as he processed this information.

"A Holy Grail." Ritsuka concluded, to which Leonardo nodded. The prospect of acquiring another Holy Grail almost made leaving his parents and younger sister behind worth it. Almost.

"It's a good bet that the Grail is in the dam itself. However, as previously mentioned, there is heavy resistance in the area." Leonardo warned as she closed the images and brought the map back up. "You're going to be vastly outnumbered and outgunned on this mission, even more than usual." Ritsuka would obviously need to take a more subtle approach to resolve this Minute Singularity. Luckily, he already knew the perfect Servants for the job.

"Kerry, Robin, and Mephy." Ritsuka decided swiftly. "This mission will require stealth, sabotage and a lot of explosives." He explained.

"What do you need the explosives for?" Leonardo asked. She could understand how Ritsuka could use the Assassin or the Archer on this mission, but why would he take that insane Caster along?

"You said that this area didn't have a dam at this point in history, so that means we're free to blow it up without any lasting effect on the timeline." Ritsuka explained. If the dam was just going to disappear once the Minute Singularity was resolved then Ritsuka might as well make use of it. "It'll provide a distraction to help cover our escape once we've secured the Grail."

"Even for you, that's reckless." Leonardo remarked, although a small part of her was actually looking forward to seeing such an ugly concrete eyesore get blown sky high. Goredolf meanwhile had another issue on his mind.

"And what about the ghosts? There are bound to be dozens of them angry over losing their homes to the dam." Goredolf pointed out, as he knew full well that flooded towns were a magnet for ghosts with grudges. Ghosts were enough a pain to deal with by themselves, and fighting Ghosts in addition to armed mercenaries did not sound fun in the slightest. Ritsuka would have to choose his battles wisely during this mission.

"We'll just have to avoid them. Engaging ghosts would only give away our position." Ritsuka conceded. "You should deploy us some distance away from the objective to minimise the chances of us getting detected." Goredolf nodded at Ritsuka's reasoning.

"Agreed. We'll send you somewhere downstream to avoid the flooded town." Goredolf stated. He then stood up from his chair to address everyone in the room. "I don't believe that there's anything else that needs to be said. Gather any other equipment you need and head down to the Rayshift Chamber. Dismissed." With that, Ritsuka stood up and made his way to the door.

"I'll call the Servants then." Leonardo said. "Emiya Kiritsugu, Mephistopheles, Robin Hood, please report to the Rayshift Chamber for deployment." Leonardo announced over the base-wide intercom as Ritsuka exited the Command Room.

"Perimeter secured, Master." Robin Hood announced upon his return, breaking Ritsuka out of his musings just as he finished setting up the Bounded Field. With a semblance of safety now established, the group had a chance to catch their breath and relax.

"Good job. Now let's get some rest. We'll move out before dawn." Ritsuka ordered. "A fire might give away our position, so we're going to have to rough it out tonight." The Servants nodded at their Master's reasoning: this was an infiltration mission, after all.

"I'll take the first watch." Kiritsugu volunteered as he sat down against a tree. With that, Robin Hood, Mephistopheles and Ritsuka all laid down on the cold ground to try to get what little sleep they could while Kiritsugu kept vigil.

"Nighty-night, Masterrr..." Mephistopheles sang mockingly, much to everyone's annoyance.

In a certain room in Novum Chaldea, Kiyohime awoke. "Good morning, Honoured Husb-" Kiyohime began to say out of habit, however instead of feeling the comforting warmth of Ritsuka's presence lying next to her, she felt nothing. Kiyohime then remembered that her husband had left to resolve a Minute Singularity the previous night, much to her and Jack's dismay. Pushing down her disappointment, Kiyohime got out of bed, made her way to the kitchen and prepared breakfast for herself and Jack.

After she finished putting breakfast on the table, Kiyohime went over to Jack's room to wake her up. Jack was curled up under her black and white skull-patterned blanket. Kiyohime couldn't help but smile at the adorable sight of her sleeping daughter. "If only Ritsuka was here to see this." She thought to herself wistfully.

"Good morning, my child. It's time to wake up." Kiyohime said as she gently shook Jack's shoulder.

"Mmm..." Jack groaned as she awoke. "Good morning, Also Mommy." She greeted sleepily, to which her mother smiled in response. The two then walked over to the dining table to eat. Breakfast was a mundane affair: without her husband around, Kiyohime didn't feel the need to cook anything particularly fancy this morning.

Kiyohime had simply made two servings of sunny side up eggs on leftover rice with soy sauce and crispy chilli paste on the side. The saltiness of the soy sauce complemented the egg, and the crispiness of the chillies made each bite satisfying. It was surprisingly good for something that Kiyohime made out of leftovers she found in the kitchen. After Jack finished breakfast and cleaned up, she made her way to the door.

"Also Mommy! We're going over to play with Alice!" Jack announced from the doorway.

"Okay, have a safe trip!" Kiyohime called back from the kitchen as her daughter left the room. Now that Kiyohime was alone, she began to notice just how empty this room felt without Ritsuka or Jack around. Just as she was about to make herself a cup of tea to help pass the time, a knock came from the door. "Oh my. Who could that be?" The dragon woman asked aloud before walking to the door and opening it. Standing outside was a familiar shut-in.

"Hey there, Kiyohi." Osakabehime greeted her friend. "You got time to work on the Doujin?" She asked while holding up a stack of papers. Drawing was a hobby that Kiyohime had picked up during her marriage to Ritsuka. Princess Princess was the name of Kiyohime's and Osakabehime's Doujinshi group. They specialised in creating slice of life and romance stories, mostly inspired by Kiyohime's own relationship with Ritsuka.

"Certainly. Make yourself at home, Okkie." Kiyohime replied as she stepped aside to let her friend in. If nothing else, drawing would help take Kiyohime's mind off of her husband's absence. The shut-in accepted the invitation and strolled over to the dining table and took a seat.

"So how's life been treating you lately?" Osakabehime asked as she unpacked her art supplies. Kiyohime looked forlorn as she brought out her own drawing implements on the desk.

"Not as well as I'd hoped as of late, I'm afraid." Kiyohime answered sadly. "It hasn't even been three days since Ritsuka's last mission, and he's gone off to resolve another Minute Singularity." Kiyohime confessed as she looked down. "I wish he would spend more time here: a man belongs with his family. I can't help but worry about how this is affecting Jack." Osakabehime stopped and turned to face Kiyohime with an unusually serious expression on her face.

"Kiyohi, listen: if you don't feel like drawing today, then I won't force you. We can always pick this up again later." Osakabehime said out of concern. As much as Osakabehime wanted to get this doujinshi done, her friend's mental state and emotional well-being were far more important to her.

"No, no. It's quite alright Okkie." Kiyohime assured her friend with a wave of her hand.

"Okay, if you say so." Osakabehime responded as she resumed unpacking her art supplies.

"Besides, it's not like yesterday was a complete disappointment: I finally met Ritsuka's parents and sister." Kiyohime revealed as she checked that all of her drawing tools were present and accounted for.

"Ah, I heard that Macchan's family were with the refugees. Small world, huh?" Osakabehime remarked while laying out her pens on the table in her preferred order. Little things like that mattered to her. "So, did you get along with them?" The shut-in asked.

"Yes. Quite splendidly, actually!" Kiyohime answered cheerfully as she thought back to the pleasant conversations that happened the previous night. "His mother even liked my cooking." The dragon woman added.

"Oh wow." Osakabehime remarked in surprise. "I heard that wives and mother-in-laws normally hate each other, but it's nice to hear that you get along with yours." She then handed Kiyohime a stack of papers with pencil outlines on each page. While Osakabehime was indeed happy for her friend, she still came here for a specific purpose. "Anyways, enough chit chat. I want to get these pages inked today." Kiyohime then picked up her inkwell and pen and went to work, tracing over the pencil lines that she and Osakabehime had already drawn at an earlier date.

Princess Princess's latest doujinshi was titled, 'Good Things Come in Threes.' It followed the story of a shy young woman who was enamoured with the husband of her best friend. Slowly, she and her friend work together to get the friend's husband to consent to going on date with her. The allegories could not be more obvious.

Kiyohime was no fool: she was fully aware of just how many women (and men) around Chaldea were attracted to Ritsuka. Their numbers even included Kiyohime's closest friends; Tamamo no Mae, Osakabehime, Hassan of Serenity and Minamoto no Raikou. Not that Kiyohime felt particularly threatened by any of them: as Ritsuka's wife and the mother of his child, Kiyohime felt that had already won the contest for his heart. Back in her time, men of higher status often took multiple lovers in addition to a wife. If her husband decided to take a concubine (or twenty) then Kiyohime would accept his decision, just so long as Ritsuka always put Jack's and Kiyohime's happiness first, of course.

"Hmm. That's actually a not a bad idea for a Doujinshi." Kiyohime thought to herself as she made a mental note to tell Osakabehime about her idea later. The two friends continued to work on their art in relative silence.

After getting some rest, Ritsuka and his Servants continued their journey within the Minute Singularity as the sun rose. After they found the river, the team followed it upstream to their target. Along the way, Ritsuka used his Magecraft to Reinforce his vision to get a better view of what was upstream.

In the distance was a dam that should not have existed. Contrasting with the natural beauty of the surrounding forest or river running through it, the structure was a cold sharp-angled monolith of concrete and steel. It was almost as if the dam were a gravestone for the flooded town that was further upstream. With the rising sun behind it, the dam looked even more foreboding. Just as Leonardo reported, the dam was bustling with activity. Armed guards sporting familiar yellow and black tactical gear patrolled the outer perimeter of the dam.

"I see the target." Ritsuka informed the others, getting them to stop. "We'll hold position for the time being. Kerry, scout it out for us." He ordered.

"Stop calling me Kerry." Kiritsugu chided out of irritation before he disappeared into the shadows. With that, Ritsuka, Mephistopheles and Robin Hood each knelt down behind trees to help conceal their presence while they waited for the Mage Killer to finish his task.

"Hehehe." Mephistopheles chuckled as he took a good look at the dam. "I can already see some key points. I bet I could bring down that entire dam if I plant some bombs at each of them." He mused aloud as he licked his lips in anticipation. Ritsuka did not know if the Faustian Devil was right or merely overconfident. Ritsuka was certain of one thing however: there was a Holy Grail somewhere in that dam. Ritsuka could just feel it in his bones.

In another room in the Living Quarters of Novum Chaldea, Aki, Kentaro and Gudako waited anxiously. They and the other refugees were told that someone would come around to their respective rooms in the morning to show them to their assigned workplaces. The door to their room suddenly opened to reveal a short, brown haired girl wearing a maroon dress and blue gloves.

"Good morning, everyone! It's me: the smartest girl on the planet, Leonardo Da Vinci." Leonardo announced with a confident smirk. Everyone raised an eyebrow in response to her introduction. Leonardo Da Vinci? Surely that must have been some sort of code name to protect her true identity. "I'm the resident inventor of Chaldea. Whenever someone needs something tech-related, they come to me." After Leonardo's introduction, Gudako realised where she had seen this girl before.

"Oh hey!" Gudako exclaimed in recognition. "You're that girl that was in the tank with us." Gudako remarked. Leonardo's eyelid twitched slightly when she heard Gudako's mistaken identification of the Shadow Border.

"Armoured personnel carrier: not a tank." Leonardo said to correct the sister of her Master. "I designed the Shadow Border myself, by the way." Leonardo added as she placed her hands on her hips with pride. "Anyway, I'm here to tell you all about where you'll be working while you're staying in Novum Chaldea." Leonardo informed the Fujimaru family. "Please come with me" She instructed as she turned around and walked away from the room, with the Fujimaru family following suit.

Leonardo lead the three Fujimarus down the hallway for the next few minutes, making several turns along the way. Gudako wondered if she would ever get used to Novum Chaldea's layout. As they walked, the family noticed that the air had begun to smell like sea water and engine grease. Leonardo stopped at an intersection and pointed towards one path.

"Mister Fujimaru, just follow this hallway and you'll reach the Docking Bay. Just ask around for Sion and she'll show you the rest." Leonardo instructed with a friendly smile. "Ciao, Kentaro!"

"Goodbye." Was all that Kentaro said before he complied with Leonardo's orders and briskly walked down the path provided.

"Have a pleasant day." Aki called out to her husband as he left. Gudako simply waved goodbye to her father.

After turning around completely, Leonardo lead the two women back through the Living Quarters, past their room and towards a wide open room with dozens of tables and chairs. Several of the tables were occupied by people who were eating. Aki and Gudako recognised that this room was the same Cafeteria where they ate breakfast this morning. Leonardo pointed to the far end of the room where a white haired woman was tending to the counter.

"Mrs Fujimaru, please go over to the counter and ask for a man named Emiya. He'll be expecting you. Ciao, Aki!" Leonardo said before she waved goodbye to the Cafeteria's unofficial new staff member.

"Thank you again Miss Da Vinci for letting us stay here." Aki bowed appreciatively to Leonardo before turning to her daughter. "I'll see you later, Gudako." Aki said before she left to do as she was instructed.

"Bye, Mom." Gudako replied with a wave.

"One last stop." Leonardo informed Gudako, who began to feel anxiety building up inside her now that she was alone with Leonardo. There were so many questions that Gudako wanted to ask, but she just couldn't find the right opportunity to speak up.

For now, Gudako just followed behind Leonardo, who lead her to another hallway that went in a different direction to the Living Quarters. After a while, Leonardo had brought Gudako to a room with a sign above the door that read 'Da Vinci's Workshop.' Leonardo opened the door to reveal a green-walled room, with several papers depicting diagrams and other such notes stuck onto the walls. At either side of the room were tall wooden shelves that held a wide variety of books, jars, small gadgets and many other objects that Gudako did not understand. At the very back of the room was a cluttered desk with a terminal, some scattered notes and what looked like scientific apparatuses.

"And this is where you'll be working: right here, in my workshop." Leonardo announced to Gudako as she spread her arms wide with a dramatic flare. "You'll be serving customers whenever I'm away doing research or out on a mission. Do you think you can handle that?"

"Okay. I used to work in a convenience store, so this sounds like something I can do." Gudako said affirmatively.

"Good, good." Leonardo said as she nodded. "Just use this register here when someone comes to buy something." She said as she pointed to a cash register that was set up on the desk. Gudako took the initiative to sit on the chair at said desk in preparation for the first customer. "Then again, not that many people actually shop here, apart from Ritsuka." Gudako's ears perked up at the mention of her brother's name.

"Have you known my brother for long?" Gudako asked out of curiosity.

"Oh yes!" Leonardo answered happily with a broad smile. "He and I have been through thick and thin together. We first met way back in the day, before I was a little girl but after I was an old man." Leonardo recounted cheerfully, fondly remembering her previous self's adventures with Humanity's Last Master. Gudako's brain started to hurt as she tried to figure out what Leonardo meant by that last statement, so she decided to change the subject.

"Hey, Da Vinci. Can I ask you a question?" Gudako requested, somewhat nervously.

"Sure, sure." Leonardo responded with a friendly smile. Gudako took a deep breath to steel herself for what was to come next.

"Can you tell me what exactly my brother does around here?" Gudako asked. Just like that, Leonardo's mood completely shifted when she heard Gudako's question.

"Hmm." Leonardo hummed with closed eyes as she carefully chose her next words. "Before I answer that, how much has he told you?" Leonardo asked in turn, staring intently at Gudako. The redhead tilted her head under the genius's gaze.

"Not much, just something about fixing the Bleached World outside. Then he said needed to go." Gudako explained. Leonardo let out a sigh of disappointment.

"Of course he did." Leonardo muttered. "Oh well, it's not like we can blame him for this bad luck." She dismissed with a shrug of her shoulders before straightening her posture. "Well, a lot of what we do is classified information, but I can tell you that we here at Chaldea are working to restore the world to its previous state. However to do that we first need resources. Ritsuka is currently on a mission to secure some specific resources for us to make the real work later much easier. As for what he does specifically, Hmm." Leonardo closed her eyes in thought as she tried to find the right words to tell Ritsuka's civilian sister. "Think of Ritsuka like a battlefield tactician: he leads a team of operatives out into the field to achieve our objectives. Most of the time, we just detect something weird and then send Ritsuka out to find out what's going on." Gudako took a moment to process this new information.

"...I see. Well, Ritsuka did mention that he was some kind of government agent." Gudako recalled. Whatever it was Ritsuka actually did, it must have been important enough for him leave his family for this many years.

"Government. Riiiiight." Leonardo drawled. All things considered, Ritsuka could be considered a government agent under the loosest definition, as Chaldea was under United Nations jurisdiction. Then again, Goredolf did buy out Chaldea just before the Bleaching, so maybe Chaldea could be considered a private organisation instead?

"He's not in any real danger, is he?" Gudako asked as she remebered the scars that covered Ritsuka's back.

"Oh, he is. Very much so!" Leonardo said a bit too cheerfully for Gudako's taste. "It's part of the job, I'm afraid." She added, in a much more grave tone. "Truth be told, I'm actually a little bit worried about him. He's been pushing his nose to the grindstone for weeks now. Not to mention the emotional toll that combat takes on a man's mind." Leonardo mentioned sadly. Gudako frowned at that last part.

"Be honest with me: has Ritsuka killed anyone?" Gudako asked in a serious tone. The more she learned about what her brother was doing in Chaldea, the less she liked what heard.

"More than you'll ever know." Leonardo thought to herself before she closed her eyes and sighed. "Yes. Killing is inevitable in this line of work." Leonardo answered as Gudako's eyes widened in horror. "Please don't think any less of your brother because of this: whenever Ritsuka takes a life, it's only to protect other lives or for self-defence." Saving humanity was Chaldea's purpose after all, which would be impossible without at least some fatalities. "Apart from that, I think it's best that he tells you the rest himself when he gets back." She added.

Gudako didn't know what to say. Her mental image of Ritsuka had always been that of a caring older brother; the kind of brother who always made time for Gudako, who was willing to help her out whenever she had a problem and who was always open enough to share his problems with her. Now she was had learned that Ritsuka had actually killed people during his time in Chaldea, and Gudako never felt more distant from her brother. Worst of all, Gudako didn't know how to fix this, or even if this could be fixed. Leonardo picked up on the emotional whirlwind brewing inside of Gudako.

"Well, this was awkward! If you'll excuse me, I need to get back to the Command Room. Your brother isn't going to guide himself!" Leonardo said in a hurry before skipping out of her own Workshop. "Ciao, Gudako!" She called out as from the hallway.

This conversation did little, no, it did absolutely nothing to ease the queasy feeling in Gudako's stomach.

"Kerry, report." Ritsuka ordered as Kiritsugu stepped back into the light. It did not take long for the Mage Killer to finish his reconnaissance.

"Stop calling me Kerry." Kiritsugu said in irritation before he commenced his report. "The enemy forces are made up of Mechanised Infantry, Automata and Hornets. Lots of Hornets." The Mage Killer explained. "I advise against a direct assault." Ritsuka closed his eyes as he processed this information. It did not take long before Ritsuka opened his eyes and decided on a plan of action.

"Robin, secure our escape route with your traps." Ritsuka ordered, to which Robin Hood readied his equipment. "Mephy, infiltrate the dam and set explosive charges at those key points you mentioned earlier." Mephistopheles licked his lips in anticipation. "Kerry, you and I will be running interference while Mephy does his work. Once the bombs are in place, Kerry and I will create a diversion to draw the mercenaries' attention." Kiritsugu nodded at his Master's plan. "Mephy, when that happens I want you to detonate the bombs and retrieve the Holy Grail during the chaos."

"I can do that." Mephistopheles said with an unsettling grin. Any opportunity to spread some mayhem with his bombs filled the Faustian devil with mirth.

"Once Mephy has the package, we'll all rendezvous at the extraction point. Move out." Ritsuka commanded. As the four went their separate ways, Ritsuka imagined some worst-case scenarios in his head in preparation for if/when things went wrong. Doing so now would help him improvise later should the need arise.

Back in the Cafeteria, Aki made her way to the front counter of the kitchen. Standing there was a white haired woman who gave a friendly smile to Aki. Just behind the woman was a door that lead into the kitchen proper and a small open window that provided a means for meals to be brought to the front counter. Hung up across the breadth of the window was a string with several plastic pegs, some of which held small paper tickets. Aki stepped up to the counter and caught the attendant's attention.

"Good morning." Aki greeted the cashier attendant politely with a bow. "I was told to ask for someone named Emiya." She said to the Cafeteria worker.

"Why good morning yourself!" The white haired attendant replied cordially with a bright smile. "Go right inside. He'll tell you the rest." She informed Aki. The woman then opened a small door off to the side of the counter to let Aki in around the counter, and then she helpfully opened the door to the kitchen itself for Aki.

The very first thing that Aki noticed upon entering the kitchen was the wonderful smells of gourmet dishes being cooked. She then heard the hectic banter of the chefs who relayed orders to each other or requested specific ingredients or cooking implements.

Next Aki got a good look at the chefs themselves; there were four people in total. The first was a fox-eared woman in a maid outfit. The second was a tall purple haired woman wearing purple outfit with puffy sleeves. The third was a red haired woman wearing a white top that exposed her cleavage. Finally, Aki noticed a muscular dark skinned man wearing an apron who stared at her with his arms folded.

"You must be Mrs. Fujimaru." The muscular man remarked with a stern look on his face. "I'm Emiya: the head chef of this kitchen." He told Aki in a serious tone. "If you're going to be working here then I expect my orders to be followed to the letter: you're not getting any special treatment just because you're Ritsuka's mother." Emiya said with an imposing scowl. Aki actually felt a bit insulted at the insinuation, but she was interrupted before she could protest.

"Shirou, don't be rude." The woman from earlier called out from the front counter. "That's no way to talk to your friend's mother." Just like that, any semblance of intimidation from Emiya had vanished into the ether.

"...Yes Mom." Emiya replied in resignation with slumped shoulders. The Archer had long since given up on trying to convince the Einzbern Homunculus that he was not her son. She was also one of the few people who could call the Wrought Iron Hero 'Shirou' and walk away alive, along with Illya and Chloe. Emiya just couldn't bring himself to say 'no' to his 'sisters.'

"Anyway, since it's your first day I'll get you to work the front counter with... Mom." Emiya said to Aki in a tone that gave away how just unused he was to referring to the Homunculus as his mother. "Just write down the customer's orders and stick the note on the string." He explained as he pointed to the window leading into the kitchen. With his peace now said, Emiya resumed his true duty: cooking. Aki meanwhile exited the kitchen to begin working at the counter.

"Hello again. It seems that we'll be working together." Aki told her new Senpai. "I'm Fujimaru Aki, by the way." She introduced herself.

"A pleasure to meet you, Mrs Fujimaru." Emiya's 'mother' said to Aki. "I am Irisviel Von Einzbern." Irisviel said with a refined curtsy. Aki then suddenly realised where she had seen the Grail Vessel before.

"Wait, you're the one that was in front of the Rayshift Chamber yesterday." Aki remarked in recognition.

"Oh yes. " Irisviel said. "My husband is out on a mission along with your son." Similarly to the Archer, Emiya Kiritsugu had also realised the futility of denying that he was Irisviel's husband. Aki looked downcast at the mention of Ritsuka.

"I can't help but worry about him." Aki admitted. "I just found out that my son is alive, and now he's gone off to god knows where to do god knows what." All she ever wanted was to have her family back together safe and sound. Irisviel nodded in sympathy.

"That's completely understandable. But have faith: the Master will get everyone out of this alive. He's never steered us wrong before." Irisviel replied with a comforting smile. It eased Aki's mind to know that her son was well respected around here, even if she didn't know why Irisviel had just called Ritsuka 'Master.' "But enough about that: we have a customer."

At the counter was none other than Aki's own granddaughter, Jack. Behind her were four other girls around the same age as her. "They must be the children of some of the staff here." Aki thought to herself mistakenly.

"Hi Mommy's Mommy." Jack greeted as she stood up on her toes so that her head could reach over the counter. "We didn't expect to see you here."

"Oh, hello Jack." Aki greeted her granddaughter. Her day was already looking to be a bit brighter. "Is your mother okay with you eating here instead of at home?" She asked.

"Yep. Also Mommy is busy drawing with that Origami Lady who never leaves her room, so We're having lunch here so she can draw." Jack said. Let it not be said that Jack did not consider her parents' needs for space.

"My, what a responsible young lady you are!" Aki said with delight. "And are these your friends?" It just warmed Aki's heart to see healthy and happy children despite the sad state of the world outside.

"Yep. Everyone, this is Our Mommy's Mommy." Jack announced to her friends. The child Servants collectively took that as an invitation to introduce themselves.

"Good morning Mrs. Fujimaru. I am Nursery Rhyme, but you may call me Alice." The white haired girl in the expensive looking dark dress said. The most curious thing about her in Aki's opinion was that Nursery Rhyme possessed what looked like doll joints on her arms and legs. Aki assumed that they were some kind of prosthetic limbs.

"Jeanne d'Arc Alter Santa Lily Lancer." The white haired girl wearing a fluffy shawl said. Jeanne d'Arc Alter Santa Lily Lancer always made sure to say her full name whenever she introduced herself. Aki certainly got a Christmas related vibe from Jeanne d'Arc Alter Santa Lily Lancer.

"Enchante, Madam. My name is Paul Bunyan." The the blond girl with a green jacket and beret said with a small curtsy. Perhaps it was a trick of the light, but Aki found herself unable to figure out how tall Paul was relation to the others.

"I'm Abigail. Abigail Williams. You can call me Abby if you'd like." The blond girl wearing ribbons in her hair said. While all five the girls were cute, Abigail seemed to take it to a whole different level with her long sleeves, tiny hat and the teddy bear that she held tightly to her body.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all." Aki said warmly before she brought up her pen. "Now, what would you like?" Jack took a moment to read the menu on the wall.

"Hmm. We want a burger and fries, please." Jack said. "What do you want?" She asked her friends, who had similarly come to their own decisions.

"May I have a garden salad? Thank you." Nursery Rhyme requested politely.

"Ham Toastie." Jeanne d'Arc Alter Santa Lily Lancer said. "Please." Jeanne d'Arc Alter Santa Lily Lancer quickly added, remembering her manners.

"Pancakes please!" Paul cried with enthusiasm.

"Make that two servings, please!" Abigail said, equally enthusiastic. Each of the girls then handed Aki the appropriate amount of QP needed to cover the costs of their snacks.

"Done, and done. It won't be long girls." Aki said warmly after she wrote down all of their orders. She then turned around and clipped the tickets onto the string up across the kitchen window.

"Wow, look at you. You're going to do just fine here, Aki." Irisviel said to her new coworker. "Now, from what I understand you have a daughter, correct?"

"Yes. Why do you ask?" Aki replied. What did Irisviel want to know about Gudako?

"She wouldn't happen to be single, would she?" Irisviel asked with a devious smirk. Before Aki could answer, the clanging of cluttering pots came from deeper in the kitchen.

"Mom! No!" Emiya yelled from the kitchen window, having already figured out what Irisviel had in mind. Indignantly, Irisviel turned back to her 'son' with a pout on her face.

"I want grandkids already!" Irisviel cried back to her 'son.' Seeing Aki interact with her own granddaughter had awakened something within Irisviel. Aki wisely decided not to mention this incident to Gudako.

Ritsuka and Kiritsugu hid in the bushes along their way to the dam. The Hornets had sent squads out into the surrounding woods in an attempt to keep the local Demonic Boar population down. With the Hornet squads separated from each other but expecting to hear gunfire, it was the perfect opportunity for Master and Servant to eliminate some Hornets without raising the alarm. The more Hornets they killed now, the easier it would be to escape later. Currently, Ritsuka and Kiritsugu stalked a squad of five Hornets.

Ritsuka silently signalled to Kiritsugu to flank the Hornet squad before he brought up his Calico. Ritsuka waited for the squad to pass by the bush that he was hiding in before he shot two Hornets in the back of the head in quick succession. The surviving Hornets instantly turned around at the sound of gunfire.

With the Hornet's attention temporarily focused on Humanity's Last Master, Kritsugu lined up the sights of his own Calico and shot the remaining Hornets in the back. Two of them dropped dead and the third turned around to try and and see what happened. As soon as the last Hornet's back was turned, Ritsuka swiftly closed the distance between them and stabbed the Hornet with Remnant. While Hornet's Kevlar vest may have provided a measure of protection against firearms, it did next to nothing against Ritsuka's forked-spear.

The Master and Servant then quietly searched the bodies for any Spinal Fluid or Mystic Gunpowder before moving on. With this squad eliminated, Ritsuka and Kiritsugu silently stalked through the forest in search of the next squad of Hornets.

Down in Chaldea's Docking Bay, Kentaro took in the view of what was to be his new workplace. The smell of seawater and metal were the first things to jump out at Kentaro's senses. He heard the hammering of nails that came from a green haired man working on some sort of historical chariot. On the other side of the Bay, Kentaro saw man in a navy blue suit who argued with a man with a lion's head in front of a whiteboard, much to the exasperation of the purple haired little girl nearby.

Kentaro was about to make his way over to the group to ask about someone named Sion, but then he caught sight of movement in the corner of his eye. A bespectacled purple haired woman wearing a grey and purple uniform with green trim sat on a nearby crate. She hopped off of the crate upon noticing Kentaro's blank stare and made her way over to introduce herself.

"Hi there, Mister Fujimaru. I'm Sion, Chaldea's Technical Adviser." The woman, Sion, informed Kentaro with her hands on her hips. "This is the Docking Bay, where we keep our vehicles and other large pieces of machinery, and also where you'll be working from now on." She explained.

"Thank you for having me." Kentaro said curtly, if monotonously. "Is there any particular reason why I've been assigned here?" He asked out of curiosity.

"Well, Ritsuka insisted that we give your family 'safe' jobs. Isn't nepotism just grand?" Sion said in an unnervingly cheerful tone. When it came to the safety of his loved ones, Ritsuka did not take any chances, which was also the same reason why he rarely (if ever) took Kiyohime or Jack out on missions. "Anyway, today I want you to help out the Nemo Series. Nemo Engineer has been complaining a lot lately, so go find out what she wants." Sion said as she pointed to a child pacing back and forth in front of the submarine that brought the refugees in yesterday. Seeing no point in wasting time, Kentaro made his way over to where Sion pointed. The child stopped pacing and faced Kentaro.

"So you're the new guy, huh?" The child wearing a mechanic's uniform asked Kentaro once the Fujimaru Patriarch was within conversation range.

"Yes." Kentaro answered.

"I'm Nemo Engineer. As the name implies, I am the chief engineer of that fine vessel behind me." Nemo Engineer said as she pointed behind herself with her left thumb.

"I will be in your care." Kentaro replied plainly. He did not expect the chief engineer of a submarine to be such a young child.

"Come with me." Nemo Engineer ordered as she turned around. She then lead Kentaro up the docking ramp and into the Nautilus. After a few minutes of walking through the decks in silence, Kentaro was brought to the engine room of the submarine. "Do you know how to tighten a bolt with this" Nemo Engineer asked Kentaro while as she held out a wrench.

"...Yes." Kentaro answered with some reservation. Where was Nemo Engineer going with this?

"Congratulations! You already know more about nautical engineering than half of the idiots in this base." Nemo Engineer said, her voice dripping with sarcasm and disdain. She then forced the wrench into Kentaro's hands. "Well? What are you waiting for? Those bolts aren't going to tighten themselves." With that, Nemo Engineer turned around and started to conduct maintenance on a large piece of machinery that Kentaro did no know the function of.

"Which bolts should I tighten?" Kentaro asked. He would rather not draw the ire of his new supervisors by touching something dangerous.

"All of them." Nemo Engineer called out before she resumed her work and left Kentaro to carry out his assigned task. Kentaro could already feel his arm begin to ache at the task ahead.

"Since you've been such a good boy this year, the Explosives Fairy will give you one frag mine." Mephistopheles whispered, giggling to himself as he slipped said explosive under the sleeping Hornet Captain's pillow. Mephistopheles had already planted explosive charges at key points throughout the dam as his master had instructed. With some time to spare before the next phase of Ritsuka's plan, Mephistopheles decided to have some fun in the Hornets' barracks with his leftover bombs.

As soon as Ritsuka gave the signal, Mephistopheles would give these Hornets one hell of a wake up call. With his fun now had, the Faustian devil decided to retreat to a safe distance outside of the blast radius. Upon his escape Mephistopheles activated his communicator to inform his Master.

"Mephy," Ritsuka's voice said over the communicator. "Are the bombs in place?" He asked.

"Yessss. Ready when you are." Mephistopheles said gleefully as he pulled out a remote detonator. He was looking forward to this.

"Blow it." Ritsuka commanded, much to the Caster's delight. The gentle pressure of Mephistopheles' thumb on the detonator button was all that was needed for the dam to suddenly erupt into a cacophony of fire and shrapnel. Guy Fawkes would have been proud.

Jack and the rest of the Child Servants had finished their snacks. After they gave their trays and plates back to the kitchens like good little girls, the group of five friends sat back down at a cafeteria table for some small talk.

"So I started watching that Magical Girl anime you recommended last night." Abigail said to Jack. "I like it, but I keep jumping a little bit whenever the main character says 'Okaa-san' because she sounds exactly like you, Jack." It was uncanny, as if Jack herself had provided the voice of a character from a Magical Girl anime that was made over twenty years ago.

"Hehehe." Jack giggled as she remembered her own experience with watching that anime. "Mommy did the same thing when We watched it together." Her amusement quickly turned to sadness at the mention of her father. "And now Mommy's gone. Again." Jack said sadly to her friends.

"My condolences. I'm sure that the Master will come back safe and sound." Nursery Rhyme said with sympathy. As a hero for children, Nursery Rhyme did not appreciate parental neglect, not even from her dear Master.

"It's okay." Jack said in an attempt to reassure her friends, although her morose expression did not change in the slightest. "We're used to it."

"Chacha!" Chacha exclaimed. At some point when the others weren't paying attention, Chacha had slipped in and sat down with the group. "Look on the bright side, Jack: at least now you can hang out with your grandparents and auntie while you wait for your dad to come back." Chacha said, ever the optimist. Her enthusiasm was contagious. "Chacha!"

"Chacha!" The other's cried in agreement.

"Chacha..." Jack muttered.

"Chacha?" Chacha asked.

"Chacha." Jack explained.

"Chacha!" Chacha exclaimed.

"Chacha." Jeanne d'Arc Alter Santa Lily Lancer growled.

"Chacha." Nursery Rhyme whispered.

"Chaaachaaaa." Abigail sang.

"Paul." Paul said. Everyone was silent for a few seconds.

"...You ruined it." Chacha stated bluntly. Then everyone burst into laughter.

"Thanks, everyone. We needed that." Jack said sincerely to her friends. Jack's father may not have been there at the moment, but she could always count her friends to cheer her up.

Robin Hood had just finished laying countless traps along the escape route that Ritsuka had planned out. Any Hornets that tried to chase them would meet a gruesome end should they choose to pursue the Chaldeans once the Master sounded the retreat. With nothing better to do, he casually strolled through the woods, walking parallel to the river that was just a few dozen meters to his right. If Robin Hood looked carefully into the river's clear waters, he would just be able to make out the roofs of the traditional Japanese homes that lay at the riverbed. He made sure to keep his distance from the river, so as not to agitate the ghosts of the flooded town.

Robin Hood could just feel the baleful gaze of the wraiths upon him, watching his every move. Ghosts were notoriously territorial, and the longer that Robin Hood lingered here the more he risked drawing the ire of the undead. He sincerely hoped that Ritsuka's plan went off without a hitch, if only so that he could leave this morbid place.

Robin Hood was broken out of his musings when he noticed a massive pillar of smoke suddenly spring up in the distance, followed by the faint sound of a distant explosions and gunfire. He decided to up the pace and made his way downstream to the dam, just in case his Master needed some extra backup.

All the while, empty eye sockets watched the green-clad Archer with contempt from beneath the water's surface.

Leonardo was not joking when she said that the Da Vinci's Workshop had few customers. Gudako had yet to see another person ever since Leonardo left for the Command Room hours ago. However just as Gudako was about to leave and eat at the cafeteria, the door to the Workshop suddenly opened.

"Miss Da Vinci, are you in there?" A woman's voice called out from the doorway. Looking up from her chair behind the counter, Gudako saw a white haired woman with red eyes wearing traditional Japanese garb.

"Welcome to Da Vinci's Workshop!" Gudako said cheerfully as she straightened her posture, just like she used to do at her old job in the convenience store.

"Oh, I didn't realise that Miss Da Vinci had a new helper." The customer remarked in response.

"Yep. I'm Fujimaru Gudako. I'll be working here from now on." Gudako announced. Her introduction piqued the customer's interest.

"Fujimaru?" The woman asked in surprise. "Are you the Ritsuka's sister?" By this point, word had quickly spread around Novum Chaldea that the Master's very own family had been rescued from the Bleached World. While most were happy that Ritsuka had been reunited with his relatives, some unscrupulous Servants had already made plans to gain the Master's favour through his mother, father and sister. Not that this Archer was had a scheme in mind, of course. Gudako's smile disappeared when she heard the question.

"Yeah, I am." Gudako answered with mild irritation. It seemed that for the near future, Gudako would simply be known as 'Ritsuka's Sister' by the personnel in this base, much to her chagrin. "As if I didn't get enough of that back home." Gudako thought to herself bitterly.

"Oh, where are my manners?" The customer remarked upon realising that she had yet to properly introduce herself to Chaldea's new staff member. "I'm Tomoe Gozen. I work with your brother, but most of the time I just wait in the Rec Room playing video games until the Master needs me for a mission." Gudako was about to ask Tomoe why she had just called Ritsuka ' the Master,' but a far more pressing question came to mind.

"Hang on a sec: this place has video games?!" Gudako exclaimed in surprise. After so many months of being deprived of her Gacha game waifus, she was slavering for some virtual stimulation. Tomoe's face lit up in response.

"Oh yes!" Tomoe stated enthusiastically. "I occupy myself with them while I wait for a mission." She added. While the modern era had its many charm points such as indoor plumbing, washing machines, and air conditioning, by far Tomoe's favourite innovation was video games. Hours upon hours of entertainment with barely any physical exertion on Tomoe's part. It was certainly a better use of her time than sitting around and drinking for sixteen hours each day, like some other Servants who shall not be named. "I take it that you also enjoy them?"

"Like you wouldn't believe." Gudako said, eager to discuss the topic further. Anyone who appreciated an electronic entertainment system was a good person in her books. "Gacha games especially. They took up like seventy to ninety percent of my free time back home." Gudako confessed, to which Tomoe's curiosity was piqued.

"I'm not familiar with that genre. What are they like." Tomoe asked, genuinely interested about what Gudako had to say. Gudako got up out of her chair and practically bounced in place with eagerness.

"Well, the actual game play varies from Gacha game to Gacha game; from RPGs, to Rhythm Games, to Shooters and even Tower Defence games." Gudako explained enthusiastically, excited to have someone to share her hobby with. "However, what they all have in common is the Gacha: the means to pay for a chance to get a character or item that's available. It's a real thrill to roll the dice and see what you can get!" Gudako said with a wide grin as she remembered the associated dopamine hit whenever she got what she wanted from the Gacha.

"So you pay real money for the chance to get a character that you want? That sounds suspiciously like gambling." Tomoe interjected. Gudako's smile became a bit smaller.

"Well, yeah. It kinda is." Gudako conceded. Gudako herself had spent an embarrassing amount of convenience store paychecks in her attempt to acquire her favourite Gacha game waifus. "However, the best Gacha games can be beaten without paying any actual money, or Free to Play as we say." Tomoe then gave a friendly smile.

"Oh well. So long as you are having fun then I have no reason to argue." Tomoe said. Gudako was relieved that Tomoe did not judge her for her hobby.

"Anyway, what can I get you?" Gudako asked when she remembered that she still had a job to do.

"Ah, yes. I was wondering if you had any cleaning solution in stock?" Tomoe asked, a bit embarrassed to have gotten so off topic. "The cartridge for Super Italian Brothers is playing up. I think some dust got onto the connectors." Gudako closed her eyes and nodded in reply.

"Super Italian Brothers? Now that's a classic." Gudako remarked before she looked over to the shelves for anything that resembled cleaning solution. She got up from her chair and made her way to a small spray can that conveniently had the words 'Cleaning Solution' printed on it. "Here you go!" Gudako said as she handed the spray can to Tomoe.

"Thank you, Miss Gudako." Tomoe said politely as she paid the appropriate amount of QP. Now Fratellone could rescue Princess Mushroom from King Turtle.

"Say, you wouldn't happen to also have Super Italian Cart?" Gudako asked. The game was a staple for multiplayer parties.

"Yes I do!" Tomoe informed Gudako. "In fact, I was planning on inviting the Valkyries for a game later." She added. Oddly enough, the Norse automatons found video games absolutely enthralling. Although, their older sister Brynhildr was insistent that the other three Valkyries limit their video game time to a few hours per day.

"Hey Tomoe, would mind if I joined you sometime?" Gudako asked hopefully.

"You are more than welcome to join us!" Tomoe responded with a smile. "Feel free to come down to the Rec Room when you have the chance." She invited. The more the merrier, as they say. "Well, thank you and goodbye, Gudako." Tomoe said before making her way to the door.

"Thank you for shopping with us!" Gudako said with newfound energy. Perhaps with friendly faces like Tomoe, life in Novum Chaldea would not be so bad.

"Well, this plan was a bust." Ritsuka remarked as he reloaded his Calico behind some rubble, trying to ignore the pain from a bullet wound in his left thigh. As impressive as the fireworks display was, the damage to the dam itself was merely superficial. Either the dam was made out of sterner materials than expected or Mephistopheles was losing his edge. More concerning, it seemed that an endless supply of Hornets was now pouring out of the dam's inner architecture, despite the massive losses that the Caster's bombing of the barracks must have inflicted. 'No plan survives contact with the enemy, as they say.' Ritsuka thought to himself.

"Dammit, I'm pinned down!" Kiritsugu yelled as he took cover behind a nearby truck that had been knocked onto its side by the blast wave. "We need something to take the heat off of us!" Kiritsugu shouted as he tried to return fire at the Hornets. At this rate, Ritsuka and Kiritsugu would run out of bullets before they ran out of targets. Caught between a rock and a hard place, it was time to improvise and adapt. Ritsuka made his decision and opened a communications channel with Robin Hood.

"I didn't want to do this Robin, but do you think you can lure the Ghosts from the flooded town over here?" Ritsuka asked in resignation over the communicator. "We can slip out in the confusion."

"Master, that is a terrible plan." Robin responded. As they were now, the Chaldeans had next to no means to fight off that many angry Ghosts.

"I know it is." Ritsuka agreed, already regretting this decision. "Now do it." He commanded with an authoritative tone. With his order given, Ritsuka focused on the task at hand and fired his Calico to provide covering fire for Kiritsugu. They needed to hold out against the Hornets until Robin Hood arrived with the ghosts.

In the best case scenario, the ensuing battle between the Hornets and the Ghosts resulted in stalemate or with both sides significantly weakened. In the worst case scenario, Ritsuka and his Servants ended up getting killed in the crossfire.

"...And done!" Kiyohime announced with satisfaction as she set her pen down on the desk. She leaned back to stretch her arms and back,which had grown a bit sore from hours of inking. She was grateful that Osakabehime had visited when she did: the sense of accomplishment that came from finishing this part of their Doujinshi greatly eased Kiyohime's state of mind. Osakabehime then went through a similar process of stretching her tired limbs.

"Nice. We got a lot done today." Osakabehime said as she finished gathering her art supplies and stood up from the table. "Well, I'll go get these scanned and cleaned up. See you later, Kiyohi." She said before she walked out of the room.

"Always a pleasure to have you over, Okkie." Kiyohime said to her friend with a smile and a wave. After the door closed, Kiyohime's smile disappeared as she suddenly stood up from the desk and faced the bed. "Reveal yourself." Kiyohime ordered with an authoritative tone.

A dark skinned right hand emerged from underneath the bed and set itself on the floor. The owner of the arm then crawled forward into the open and stood up. Standing in front of Kiyohime was a thin dark skinned woman with purple hair. The intruder wore a black outfit that exposed much of her skin, and upon her face was a grim white mask fashioned after a skull.

"Kiyohime. I have come to report on the Master's family." The Assassin informed her Master's wife. In contrast to the frightening skull mask that she wore, the Servant's voice was subdued and gentle. Kiyohime gave her a gentle smile in response.

"Serenity." Kiyohime greeted curtly, warming up at the sight of her friend. "How are my in-laws doing?" She asked Hassan of Serenity.

"Each have found a job. The Master's Father labours in the Docking Bay. The Master's Mother helps in the cafeteria. The Master's Sister minds Da Vinci's Workshop." Serenity informed Kiyohime. She had spent the better part of the day observing her Master's family from the shadows, ready to intervene should any less than obedient Servant get the bright idea of harming them. Thankfully, all three of them had been welcomed by Chaldea. "They are each treated with respect by the Staff and Servants." Kiyohime breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's good to hear." Kiyohime remarked with closed eyes. "You may speak your mind." Kiyohime stated, as she sensed that the Assassin still had more to say. Serenity reached up to her face and removed her mask before she spoke.

"I hope that the Master's family helps improve the Master's well being." Serenity said with a look of concern on her face. As an Assassin by profession, Serenity was all too familiar with the guilt that Ritsuka suffered after taking so many lives, even it was for a just cause.

"I do too, my friend." Kiyohime said sadly. Kiyohime wanted to hug the Assassin for mutual comfort, however even lightly brushing up against Serenity's skin would confer a fatal dose of poison. Ritsuka was one of the few people who could make any sort of physical contact with the Hashashin without dying. It was no wonder then that Serenity was completely smitten with Ritsuka.

Kiyohime's lie detection had long since revealed to her that Serenity was just as devoted to Ritsuka as Kiyohime herself. Truth be told, Kiyohime always felt that Hassan of Serenity would have been a fine concubine for Ritsuka. Perhaps Kiyohime could convince Ritsuka to spend a few Holy Grails to remove Serenity's poison? It would be adorable to see Serenity cuddle with Jack. Heavens knew that the poor woman needed more human contact.

"It's catching up! Go faster Kerry!" Robin Hood shouted from the back of the stolen pickup truck. Currently, the Chaldeans were driving down a dirt road to get away from the explosions, the gunfire, and the angry Giant Ghost that was swiftly closing the distance between them. While the various traps that Robin Hood had placed along their escape route earlier had dealt with the Hornets and smaller ghosts that pursued them, the traps were mere annoyances to the Giant Ghost. The spectre was quite determined to decorate its bony claws with the Chaldeans' corpses.

"I'm going as fast as I can!" Kiritsugu shouted back from the driver's seat. "And don't call me Kerry!" He yelled as he steered sharply to the right. Whether intentional on Kiritsugu's part or not, the sudden turn of the truck nearly forced Robin Hood over the side of the cargo bed.

"Hang on! I got you!" Ritsuka yelled as he grabbed onto Robin Hood's cape and pulled the Archer back into the truck. "Robin, do you have enough Mana for your Noble Phantasm?" Ritsuka asked once Robin Hood was on (figuratively) solid ground.

"I got enough for one shot." Robin Hood replied, to which Ritsuka nodded.

"Got it. I'll try to stun it with a Gandr. Make your shot count." Ritsuka said as he prepared his Magecraft. A small dark orb of Mana then grew in front of Ritsuka's left hand, which he aimed at the approaching undead. "Gandr!" Ritsuka yelled as he cast his spell. The Gandr shot struck true and impacted the Giant Ghost on its ethereal sternum, causing it to fall to the ground face first. Robin Hood wasted no time to capitalise on the opening that Humanity's Last Master provided.

"Tree of Mourning, bare thy fangs." Robin Hood chanted as he aimed his crossbow at the Giant Ghost. "Yew Bow!" He yelled before releasing an arrow at the downed spectre. A phantasmal tree sprouted from the spot where his arrow impacted, quickly growing to dwarf the surrounding trees in the wilderness. Then just as swiftly as it grew, the tree withered and crumbled into dark ashes that were scattered by the wind. For a while, there was nothing except for the sound of the truck's engine.

"You think it worked?" Robin Hood asked as he sat down in the bed of the pickup truck.

"Let's not stick around to find out." Ritsuka said as he too took the opportunity to relax and sit down. Ritsuka then turned back to the driver's seat. "Kerry, you're all clear: get us to the extraction point." He commanded.

"Stop calling me Kerry!" Kiritsugu yelled as he turned sharply once more. The sudden swerve caused both Ritsuka and Robin Hood to tip over in the pickup truck's cargo bed.

Back in Novum Chaldea's Cafeteria, Aki had gotten used to her new duties. While there were some less than pleasant customers (a certain pink haired woman with a dislike of cheese came to mind), Aki found her first day working at Chaldea to be an enjoyable experience overall. Each sight of someone happily enjoying a delicious meal brought warmth to Aki's soul, especially when that person was a fellow refugee. Currently, the rush of customers who had come to order dinner for the night had slowed down to a leisurely pace. Aki's internal reflection was broken when a blond haired customer in a black dress came up to the counter.

"Ah, hello Ereshkigal. What would you like?" Irisviel greeted the newest customer cheerfully.

"Hi Irisviel. Could I please get two-WHOA! You look just like my sister!" The young blond woman, Ereshkigal, exclaimed as soon as she noticed Aki.

"That's a first." Aki remarked, as most people in Chaldea compared Aki's looks to that of her son Ritsuka's instead.

"Ereshkigal! What's taking you so long?" A voice called out. Floating up to the counter was a scantily clad young woman with her hair tied up in twin tails identically to Ereshkigal. This must have been her aforementioned sister. "Remember: it's two orders of Tiramisu and a-WHAT THE KUR?!" The newcomer screamed in shock upon noticing what looked to be her own doppelganger.

"Ah, Ishtar!" Ereshkigal exclaimed in embarrassment. Aki brought up her hand to her mouth as her eyes widened in bewilderment.

"Oh my goodness, she does look just like me..." Aki said aloud in disbelief. Indeed, Ishtar was a dead ringer for Aki in her younger years, apart from her red eyes. Ishtar even wore her hair the same way that Aki did back when she was in high school. Not that Aki would ever be caught dead revealing that much skin in public, of course.

"Okay, this is starting to freak me out. Who are you?" Ishtar demanded. Her first thought was this woman was the original host body for Ishtar (and by extension Ereshkigal). Ishtar's question snapped Aki out of her shock.

"Good evening. I'm Fujimaru Aki." Aki greeted as she regained her composure. "May I take your order?" She asked. Ereshkigal's ears perked up at Aki's introduction.

"Fujimaru?" Ereshkigal said in surprise. "What's your relationship with Ritsuka?" She questioned sternly.

"I'm his mother." Aki answered plainly. In an instant, all colour drained from the Goddess of Underworld's face.

"...I gotta go bye!" Ereshkigal blurted out before she quickly turned around and ran away. Ishtar shook her head and sighed at her sister's actions.

"Make that one order of Tiramisu then." Ishtar said to Irisviel as she gave the Homunculus some QP. The Fertility Goddess then turned to Aki. "By the way, Ereshkigal has it bad for your son, in case it wasn't obvious." Ishtar explained before she left to sit at a table and wait for her dessert.

"That's the seventh one today. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised by this point..." Aki muttered to herself. It seemed that even here in Novum Chaldea, Ritsuka was causing girls left and right to fall for him.

Earlier that day, shortly after Aki's granddaughter had picked up the food that she and her friends ordered, a fox-eared woman in a revealing blue kimono sauntered up to the counter. "Good morning to you, Miss Refugee, and welcome to Novum Chaldea. I am Tamamo no Mae: Fox Miko and the woman who will be Ritsuka's wife." Tamamo announced proudly. That last part caused Aki's to blink in astonishment.

"...Hello. I'm Fujimaru Aki: Ritsuka's mother." Aki said after she recovered from her surprise. Instead of stuttering in embarrassment, Tamamo's face lit up with joy upon hearing who Aki really was. She suddenly reached out to clasp both of Aki's hands.

"My mother-in-law!" Tamamo cried out in delight. "It's such an honour to finally meet the Master's mother. Please rest assured Mother, your son and granddaughter will be in capable hands once Ritsuka and I tie the knot." Tamamo insisted with a confident smile.

"Isn't Ritsuka already married to Kiyohime?" Aki asked. She sincerely hoped that Ritsuka was not doing something stupid like trying to maintain a harem. Such delusions belonged in the minds of horny fourteen year old boys who have never actually spoken to a real woman, not something for responsible adults.

"A minor detail!" Tamamo refuted with a wave of her hand. "Oh goodness, here I am talking your ear off when you must be famished from working so hard!" She exclaimed before walking behind the counter. "Please wait for just a moment: I'll whip you up something good for lunch." Tamamo stated cheerfully she let herself into the kitchen to show Aki how good her cooking was.

Not too long afterwards, Tamamo had returned with a steaming bowl of freshly cooked Gyudon. Tamamo then covered for Aki at the counter while she ate. The beef slices were tender and savoury, which paired well with the onions that were caramelised to perfection. The soy sauce based broth tied the two elements together, and the rice underneath ensured that the meal was filling. Aki had to admit that Tamamo was an excellent cook: easily as good as Kiyohime.

"There's the first one." Aki said to herself as she savoured her lunch. She was certain that more encounters like this were coming up: they always did.

Next, two women came up to the counter at the same time up to order lunch. The taller of the two was a blond woman who wore a revealing red jacket that had a skull and cross bones motif. The shorter one was a white haired woman who wore a black jacket, with a collar propped up to cover most of her face.

"Hi there. We'll have Fish and Chips." The tall blond woman requested.

"You look a lot like the Master." The short white haired woman observed.

"Yes, I do. I'm his mother, Fujimaru Aki." Aki responded before she handed the two women their ticket.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Anne." The taller woman said.

"And I'm Mary." The shorter woman added.

"You must be proud of your son." Anne remarked.

"He's a real treasure." Mary stated before Aki could respond.

"Too bad he's already taken." Anne noted as the two pirates began to walk away from the counter.

"I wouldn't mind taking him for myself." Mary admitted.

"And I wouldn't mind sharing." Anne replied in kind. By this point, Anne and Mary had wandered too far from the counter for Aki to overhear the rest of their conversation.

"Second and third. I didn't expect two at once." Aki stated in surprise.

A few hours later, a blond woman (or perhaps a feminine man) wearing a cyan outfit with a wide blue hat came up to the counter and stood at a crisp parade rest.

"Good afternoon, Madam Fujimaru!" The blond man (or woman) greeted Aki. "I am Chevalier Charles Genevieve Louis Auguste Andre Timothee d'Eon de Beaumont. As my full name is a bit of a mouthful, you may refer to me d'Eon instead." Before Aki could return the greeting, d'Eon spoke up again.

"Rest assured, Madam, that I have no ulterior motives for speaking with you." d'Eon stated with a serious tone. "I do not secretly pine for your son's affections, nor do I intend to usurp Lady Kiyohime's place as Ritsuka's spouse. I have no desire to wear a maid's outfit for him, even though Ritsuka has said that it looks good on me." Aki had no idea why d'Eon felt the need to bring that up.

"It would be most unbecoming for a knight of France to long for Ritsuka's touch and to share his bed." d'Eon continued. "I have no desire to be held in his strong arms, nor do I wish to lovingly caress the battle scars that he has valiantly gained in the line of duty. You have my word that I will not attempt to coax your son into having an extramarital affair with me the next time that I am called out on a mission." The Knight of the White Lily gave a curt bow to Aki. "Good day, Madam." She (or he) then turned around and briskly walked out of the cafeteria before Aki could say anything.

"That makes four. He didn't even order anything..." Aki muttered to herself.

At dinner time, one of the children from earlier came to order food.

"Hello there, Abby, wasn't it?" Aki greeted the Foreigner Servant in front of her. "What can I get you, sweetie?"

"Meatloaf and lots of vegetables, please!" Abigail requested enthusiastically.

"Good on you for choosing that Abby: growing girls need their greens." Aki said sweetly as Abigail paid for her dinner.

"Thank you!" Abigail said appreciatively with a smile. Her smile then became more nervous."E-excuse me, Mrs Fujimaru." Abigail said shyly as her cheeks started to redden. "I was wondering if you could please tell me a bit about what the Master was like when he was growing up?" The Foreigner asked as she held her teddy bear tightly.

"Hmm." Aki hummed in thought before speaking. "Well, Ritsuka always stepped in to help out whenever he could. There was this one time when Gudako, she's his little sister by the way, stole my husband's credit card and ordered a whole bunch of video games online. When we found out about it, Ritsuka said that he stole the card instead and that he ordered the games as a present for Gudako." Aki recounted. "He always did look out for her..." She added wistfully.

"Wow. It's nice to hear that the Master was always so nice." Abigail remarked with admiration.

"Do you look up to Ritsuka?" Aki asked. It made sense to her that her son would become something of a role model for the children of Chaldea.

"Yes." Abigail confirmed. "Whenever I feel alone or scared, the Master always brightens up my day. My face heats up and my heart beats faster whenever I'm around him." Abigail confessed as she began to fidget in place. Abigail then suddenly covered her face with a sleeve covered hand. "Oh, please excuse me, Mrs Fujimaru!" Abigail quickly turned around and ran to a table in embarrassment. Aki could only sigh in exasperation at Abigail's childish crush on Ritsuka.

"There's number five." Aki said in a deadpan manner.

More recently, a brown haired woman wearing a slim Qipao ordered dinner.

"Good evening. Master's Mother." The woman greeted. "I'm Nezha. Would like some. Golden Lava Cakes." Nezha requested with her particular speech pattern.

"Done and done." Aki said as she wrote down Nezha's order and received some QP.

"My Thanks." Nezha said with a slight smile. "One more thing. I love your son. That is all." Nezha stated with reddened cheeks before she left.

"Sixth" Aki stated, oddly relieved at how straightforward Nezha was.

Aki couldn't imagine how Kiyohime must have felt about so many women trying to gain Ritsuka's affections. For that matter, what kind of affect would this have on Jack? Aki was broken out of her musings when she heard something from the kitchen.

"Mister Emiya! I'm going to take my break now." A maternal voice called out before the kitchen door opened to reveal one of the kitchen chefs: a curvaceous woman with dark purple hair who appeared to be around Aki's age.

"Ah, good evening." The chef greeted. "We've been so busy today that I haven't had a chance to introduce myself. I am Minamoto no Raikou, and it's a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance." Raikou informed Aki with a bright and friendly smile. "Ritsuka has told me a lot about you." She added.

"The feeling is mutual, Raikou. Are you friends with Ritsuka, then?" Aki asked.

"I would like to think of Ritsuka as more than a friend: he's like a son to me." Raikou said in a loving tone. Raikou strove to guide and care for her Master as a mother would, and even Kiyohime approved of her affections towards Ritsuka. Just thinking about Humanity's Last Master brought a state of euphoria to the maternal Berserker. Aki then noticed the love struck look on Raikou's face and quickly deduced that this woman had other intentions for her son. "Anyway, I am off to stretch my legs. Have a pleasant evening, Aki. I am looking forward to working with you in the future, and please give Ritsuka my regards when he comes back from this mission." Raikou said with a polite bow before she left the Cafeteria.

"That's the eighth one." Aki muttered in exasperation. By this point, Aki would not be surprised if the other two women in the kitchen happened to also be smitten with Ritsuka. "What were their names again? Boudica and Cat?" Aki thought to herself as she waited for the next customer. Aki couldn't even imagine how Kiyohime must have felt about all of this.

"Oh. It's you." Irisviel said with disdain, uncharacteristically annoyed at who had just approached the counter. While Irisviel always tried to be friendly and polite with her fellow Servants, even she had her limits. The Servant ignored Irisviel and looked towards Aki instead.

"Good evening, sir." Aki greeted the latest customer when she felt the man's gaze on her. Standing before her was a tall purple haired man wearing what looked like a Hawaiian shirt. He gave Aki a grin before speaking.

"Ah, you're one of the refugees that came here yesterday. Lancelot du Lac: at your service, madam." The Knight of the Lake introduced himself with a courteous flair. Aki raised an eyebrow at the theatrics, but quickly resolved to do her job regardless.

"What can I get you, sir?" Aki asked, putting on a professional air.

"Boeuf Bourguignon, please." The Knight of the Lake requested as he handed Aki a handful of QP. The Knight of the Lake's hand lingered in Aki's own for a little bit longer than she was comfortable with.

"And done. Your food will be ready shortly." Aki said as she tried to remain polite, despite a nagging feeling in the back of her mind telling her that this man was bad news. Even though Lancelot had already placed his order, he remained in front of the counter.

"You know, you've clearly been working hard today, madam. You are more than welcome to share the dish with me this evening." Lancelot suggested with a coy smile on his lips. Before Aki could refute his offer, a voice called out.

"Father!" A purple haired young woman with glasses admonished as she briskly walked up to the Knight of the Lake. Aki recognised her as one of the people who accompanied them on the Shadow Border. "Not this again!"

"It's nothing to worry about Mash: just making small talk while waiting for my dinner." Lancelot attempted to explain. Mash simply pointed at a nearby table with a stern look on her face. "Oh alright." Lancelot relented. "Thank you and have a pleasant evening, madam."

"I'm so sorry about that, Mrs. Fujimaru. Father has a disgusting habit of flirting with married women." Mash explained, more ashamed than ever to have a connection to the Knight of the Lake.

"...Oh." Was all that Aki could say to such an awkward revelation. "So this is how it feels to be Ritsuka." She wisely decided not to mention this to Kentaro. Mash meanwhile decided to sit down with Lancelot to try and keep him out of trouble.

"So tell me, what do you make of that fine and mature woman at the counter, my dear daughter?" Lancelot asked his 'daughter' to pass the time while he waited for his dinner. Mash however was not amused by the Knight of the Lake in the slightest.

"I think Senpai is going to shoot you when he finds out about this." Mash answered bluntly.

"What makes you say that?" Lancelot asked, genuinely confused. It's not like he flirted with the Master's wife, so why would Ritsuka care about what he did with this seemingly unrelated refugee?

"She's Senpai's mother." Mash explained. With that, the full implications of Lancelot's actions suddenly dawned upon him, much to his dismay.

"...Oh. How... Wonderful." Lancelot managed to squeak out in fear. He then stood up from his chair with a panicked expression on his face. "Perhaps a trip to the Rayshift Chamber is in order? An indefinite deployment on the moon, away from the Master's wrath, sounds lovely to me." He said in a hurry before bolting out of the Cafeteria. Lancelot would spend the next week or so looking over his shoulder in paranoia.

Ritsuka, Kiritsugu and Robin Hood had finally reached the extraction point. After dealing with the Giant Ghost, they had not encountered any of the smaller Ghosts nor any of the Hornets. It seemed that the Chaldeans were in the clear, for now at least.

"Mephy, do you have the goods?" Ritsuka asked aloud as he faced a tree. The sound of giggling could be heard before Mephistopheles dropped down from a tree branch, amused that his Master was able to detect his presence. He held a briefcase out to Ritsuka.

"Riiiiight here, Master!" The Faustian Devil responded cheerfully as his Master took the briefcase and opened it. Inside was what they were looking for: the Holy Grail responsible for this Minute Singularity. As a bonus, there was also a small fortune's worth of QP in the briefcase alongside the cup.

"You know what? Sometimes this job pays off." Ritsuka remarked as he closed the briefcase. He would not have to worry about covering the cost of enhancing the recently Summoned Valkyries any time soon. "We got what we came for: let's go home." Ritsuka announced, much to the relief of his Servants. "Leonardo, get us out of here." He spoke into his communicator. The Chaldeans disappeared in a flash of light just as the Minute Singularity began to correct itself.

With the Minute Singularity resolved, Leonardo was free to return to her Workshop and relieve Gudako of her duty. "Good work on your first day. Now run along. Your parents should be getting off work right around now. You can spend the rest of the evening with your family or whoever else. Ciao, Gudako!" Leonardo said upon her arrival, dismissing Gudako from her Workshop.

"Alright. See you again tomorrow." Gudako replied to Leonardo as she got up from her chair and left. Gudako made her way down the hallway and eventually she reached the Cafeteria.

Aki had already finished her work for the day and had sat down at one of the tables. In front of Aki was an empty plate with a set of cutlery. Directly across from her and to her right were more empty plates at vacant chairs. In the middle of the plates was a pot covered with a lid. It seemed that Aki had acquired dinner for her family already. Gudako wasted no time and sat down across from her mother.

"Hi Mom. So, what are we having for dinner?" Gudako asked as she eyed the covered pot in front of Aki.

"Boeuf Bourguignon." Aki answered. "A customer at the cafeteria ordered this, but he never picked it up. Head Chef Emiya was nice enough to let me have it." She explained. Emiya hated wasting perfectly good food. "So, how was your day?" Aki asked her daughter.

"I looked after Da Vinci's Workshop while she was away. It was alright." Gudako said. "I made a new friend. We're going to play video games in the Rec Room the next time both of us have some free time." She explained, which caused her mother to smile.

"That's good to hear." Aki remarked before she recounted her own day. "I had a lovely day working in the cafeteria. Everyone there was so friendly, and I met so many new people. Although, you would not believe how many people in this place are romantically interested in Ritsuka." Aki said with exasperation.

"Seriously? Here too?" Gudako exclaimed in disbelief. Back home, every girl in Gudako's school and their mothers had a crush on Ritsuka. Even the teachers and neighbours wanted a piece of him. Unfortunately, it had reached the point where many girls in Gudako's school would pretend to be her friend just for a chance to get close to Ritsuka. When Ritsuka disappeared, nearly all of Gudako's 'friends' left her out to dry. That was part of the reason that Gudako preferred the company of Gacha game waifus to real people these days. Not that she blamed Ritsuka for any of this, of course.

"All the more reason I'm glad he's settled down with Kiyohime." Aki said with relief. She had always been afraid that Ritsuka's habit of unintentionally making girls smitten with him would lead to Ritsuka becoming a sleazy womaniser, or that he would end up completely alone once his good looks faded with age. Hopefully a prim and proper wife like Kiyohime would be able to keep Ritsuka on the straight and narrow path. "Did anything interesting happen in Da Vinci's Workshop?" Aki asked. Gudako hesitated before answering.

"...I asked Da Vinci what Ritsuka's job is." Gudako confessed. Aki's cheerful air changed into a serious demeanour when she heard that.

"And? What did she say?" Aki asked, desperate for any information about her son. Gudako had an almost pained look on her face by this point.

"I don't really get it, since she mostly just said what Ritsuka already told us." Gudako said. "She did say that Ritsuka's job is dangerous, because he's some kind soldier or commander, apparently. I'm worried about him." Gudako explained, which only made Aki more perturbed.

"It's like he's trying to give me grey hairs. I'm definitely going to have a word with him when he gets back." Aki muttered. The last thing she ever wanted for her son was to see him get hurt.

"There's more." Gudako said as she wrapped her arms around herself for support. "Da Vinci said that Ritsuka has... Killed, while working here." Gudako wanted to vomit at the thought of her older brother taking a life. Aki could not believe what she was just heard.

"Oh my poor baby. What have they done to you?" Aki muttered as she covered her mouth with her hands. Both mother and daughter dearly wished that they could return to the days when Ritsuka would excitedly work on a new mecha model kit or play a cooperative video game with Gudako.

The dour atmosphere was broken when Kentaro appeared from nowhere and sat down at the table. The red haired man then took the lid off of the pot, grabbed a serving spoon and gave everyone an equal portion of braised beef and vegetables from the Boeuf Bourguignon. This was all done without any prompting on his family's part.

"I tightened bolts with a wrench for nine hours." Kentaro stated bluntly before he helped himself to dinner. No one knew what to say in response.

Ritsuka had pushed himself and his Servants to the point of exhaustion in his attempt to resolve this Minute Singularity in a little over a day. Robin Hood had collapsed in middle of Novum Chaldea's hallway. Kiritsugu had managed to reach a bench before slumping over. Mephistopheles was actually unconscious in one of the Rayshift coffins, and no one dared to disturb his rest. Currently, an exhausted Ritsuka stood in the Command Room, having just finished his mission debriefing with the Director.

"I expect a report on my desk in the morning. Dismissed." Goredolf said to the barely conscious Ritsuka. Humanity's Last Master managed to stumble out of the Command Room and into the hallway, leaning against the wall for support. After what felt like an eternity of ambling along the wall, Ritsuka had reached his own room and opened the door after fumbling with the controls for a bit.

"Ritsuka?" Kiyohime asked from their bed in surprise. The dragon woman was just about to go to sleep when she heard the door open. Her husband however was in no mood for small talk.

"Shower first. Then sleep." Ritsuka muttered to Kiyohime, forcing himself to stay awake as he dragged himself to the bathroom. In the shower, Ritsuka noticed that the wound from a stray bullet that grazed his thigh earlier had healed by this point. "Another mission, another scar." Ritsuka thought to himself as he washed off the accumulated sweat, blood and grime off of his skin.

After drying off and changing into his pyjamas, Ritsuka was barley able to crawl into bed next to Kiyohime before he lost consciousness. Kiyohime wrapped her arms protectively around Ritsuka and held his head to her chest, ready to drift off to sleep herself. Then the door suddenly opened unannounced for the second time that evening.

"Hey Master! Now that you're back, you wanna crack open a few cold ones?" Cu Chulainn asked loudly with a wide grin as he held up a pack of beer cans. His cheer quickly turned into absolute terror as an enraged Kiyohime glared at him from the bed, her eyes literally glowing with anger in the darkness of the room. The dragon woman was not pleased at the intrusion.

"My husband has had a busy day." Kiyohime growled through clenched teeth. "PLEASE keep your voice down." Motes of blue flame came out from between Kiyohime's teeth with each syllable. Ireland's Child of Light didn't need to be told twice.

"...I'll come back tomorrow." Cu Chulainn said before quickly retreating. As courageous as the Lancer was, not even he wanted to get on Kiyohime's bad side. Kiyohime was not the only one whose rest was disturbed by the Celtic Demigod.

"Did you say something, Also Mommy?" Jack asked sleepily as she walked in from her own room in the back. In the blink of an eye, Kiyohime had changed from a furious dragon into a loving mother.

"It's nothing important, my dear." Kiyohime dismissed with a sweet smile. She lifted up the bed sheet and patted the empty spot next to her invitingly. "Come here, Jack. Your father just came back home from work."

"Yay!" Jack cried happily as she ran to her parents' bed and snuggled up to her mother's left side. Kiyohime wrapped an arm around Jack and gave her daughter a kiss on the head before relaxing herself. Soon enough, the Fujimaru family was soundly asleep.

Hopefully tomorrow they could finally spend some time together.

Even if Humanity's Last Master was currently asleep, Chaldea itself continued to carry out its duty. Novum Chaldea's Command Room bustled with activity at all times as Staff members observed the holographic displays of their terminals, scouring the timeline for any anomalies. One such Staff member noticed an alert on her terminal.

"Director! I've detected another Minute Singularity." Sylvia announced from her console. She pressed in a few buttons on her terminal to bring up a holographic map of the globe for Goredolf and Leonardo to see. A red dot appeared on uncomfortably close to Novum Chaldea's location on the map. Leonardo did not like the look of this.

"I'll go get Ritsuka." Leonardo told the Director. "Prepare the Coffins." Leonardo ordered the staff as she stood up from her chair and began to walk over to the intercom. A new Minute Singularity popping up almost immediately after the last one was resolved? It was just too suspicious. Leonardo knew that Ritsuka would want this situation investigated as soon as possible.

"Belay that order!" Goredolf barked, which caused Leonardo to stop. "We can afford to leave this Minute Singularity alone for at least one day. Let him rest." He commanded. Leonardo reluctantly obeyed and went back to her seat.

"Okay. If you say so..." Leonardo muttered. It would just be terrible if this new Minute Singularity grew into something larger while Ritsuka was resting...

Author's Note:

So this chapter depicts what daily life is like for the Fujimaru family now; Jack hangs out with her friends, Kiyohime occupies herself with her housework/hobbies, Aki chats with people at the cafeteria, Kentaro does...stuff, Gudako is bored and Ritsuka almost gets killed several times while out on a mission. I hope that this chapter didn't end up feeling too long winded..

The next chapter will have plenty of father/daughter interactions between Ritsuka and Jack, so that's something to look forward to. Thank you for reading and please feel free to leave a review.