She heard a constant 'beep' sound, her headache and her mouth was dry. When the girl opened her eyes all she saw was a white ceiling.
Ritsuka looked to her right and saw flowers on top of the nightstand. It looked like they were recently placed there.
"My head" the girl used her left arm to hold her head. It sounded like a grenade exploded right next to her ear.
"Ah Ritsuka, you woke up, we were getting worried" the orange haired girl turned her head and saw Doctor Romani at the door.
"Please don't give us such a scare again" the doctor sighed as he approached the girl's bed and sat in the chair next to it. "How are you ?".
"Awful. I feel like throwing up and my head is killing me" the master laid his head on the pillow "What happened Doctor, I remember everything went dark and then I was here" she put her hand on the head.
"Well it's understandable from the amount of servants you took in. That was dangerous Ritsuka you could have died" The Doctor scolded her.
"Everything worked out in the end, I don't know why you are so worried Doctor" The Doctor Romani gave the girl a serious look.
"Ritsuka, you passed out for three weeks" the girl's eyes widened.
"What?!" She asked, but the doctor continued
"And that's not all, some of your blood vessels burst, bones cracked and you had internal bleeding" the girl was surprised by what Doctor Romani said, she tried to sit down but an excruciating pain attacked her body.
The Doctor put his hand on the girl's shoulder and gently pushed her onto the bed. "Don't get up, your body needs rest."
"I don't understand, everything was fine, how did this happen? I don't remember suffering anything serious" she touched her chest which was hurting.
"As I said to Ritsuka, you did more than you had. When your prana ran out and the servants still needed prana well... they started to take something else. That's why what you did was very dangerous, if the battle had lasted longer you wouldn't be here anymore" The Doctor looked at her with a serious expression for a second.
The man sighed "Ritsuka… you have to be more careful, for a moment we thought we were going to lose you" he gave the girl a half smile.
"Sorry… wait, you said the servants started picking up something else, what was it?" The Doctor blinked.
"Ah, well, since the caster was preventing Chadea's core from feeding the prana servants, you were the one supplying them and since there were many servants, your body couldn't stand it, it emptied. When your body emptied the servants of mana began to take your life energy, that explains the injuries, it was the price he paid to keep feeding the servants" Romani tried to give a simple explanation so that the girl would understand.
She opened her mouth only to close it again. The girl stared at the sheets covering her body.
"It's okay, as you said, everything worked out, I just ask that you be more careful, everyone was worried about you. Even if we get the grail, I don't want the price of it to be your death. There are people who care about you. you" Doctor Romani nodded towards the vase of flowers.
When Ritsuka looked over she noticed a note, stretching out her arm and ignoring the pain she picked it up and started to read.
"Senpai, here's a gift to help you get better, I didn't know what you liked so I brought you one of each. I hope it gets better soon. Mashu." So her Kouhai came to visit her while she was out.
"Davinci and Jeanne come by every now and then to check on you" the comment brought a smile to the girl's face, it looks like if she left people would miss her.
"So it's been almost a month, is everyone getting along?" The doctor made a sour expression.
"I think it's better not to talk about it right now" she shook her head to the side in confusion.
"Doctor?"
He got up from his chair, "I'll let you rest now Ritsuka, better soon" and with that he left. But it looked like he left to avoid answering the question.
She blinked.
"It can't be that bad, can it?"
…
She looked at the vase of flowers and then at the ceiling.
"Seems like life isn't one of those cartoons I watched as a kid… there's always going to be consequences I guess" she said as she looked up at the ceiling.
"I guess I'll have to be a little more careful" she closed her eyes. Ritsuka smiled.
"Neh, I know myself, I know that won't happen. Lucky for me I have people to take care of me" the girl had a smile on her face.
Grand Order
-7-
His hands and feet were bound, his face was pressed against the cold ground and the man had a lifeless look in his eyes.
He heard the sound of footsteps approaching but he ignored it and just stared ahead.
"So that's where they put you" a female voice spoke as she placed her hand on the metal bars of the cell.
"You know, knowing you better I never expected that they would be able to capture you" the woman spoke but was ignored.
…
"Very mature of you to ignore me, what are you a child?" The woman received only silence.
…
"Come on don't be like that, you know… damn EMIYA you didn't give me a choice what I was supposed to do I said if you continued down this path it would only lead to misery" but all she got was silence.
"The clock tower was chasing you, your adventures around the world, killing dead apostles, this caught the tower's attention. A human killing these creatures alone and the rumors that he may have a reality marble, this news is too good to be true" what she got was just silence.
…
"You know what they would do to you if you were captured, it would be worse than death. You have to understand EMIYA, I made a less painful choice for you".
silence
…
…
"FUCK... EMIYA!" she slammed her hand on the metal bars making the sound echo across the room.
…
The sound of a door opening drew the woman's attention.
A man wearing military clothing looked at her.
"Visiting time is over, the prisoner's sentence has been decided." What the man said surprised the woman.
"So soon… I would hope it lasted longer" she whispered.
The guard started to escort her out of the room, but she heard one last thing before leaving.
"Goodbye Tohsaka" the man's voice hit the girl like a knife. She knew it would be the last time they would see each other.
She betrayed him with the idea that she had made the best choice for him, knowing that man would have known that he would choose the hardest and most painful path… she thought it would be less painful. But it was the worst pain Rin Tohsaka felt, a bitter taste was left in her mouth and the voice of the man she considered a friend kept echoing in her head until the end of time.
"Wait… EMIYA"
-7-
"So ?"
"So what ?" The Archer raised his eyebrows.
"Well, are you just going to be there, just existing? Don't you have a hobby or something?" Davinci questioned the Archer.
…
"Davinci, why are you here? I don't think it's because of my personality" he stretched his leg squeezing the artist.
"Hey, hey you're going to crush me, and what's the problem with taking time to talk to somebody ?" Davinci stretched out his leg leaving the two on an equal footing. The Archer decided to sit at a window and watch the snow fall, that's when Davinci sat in front of him and placed his feet 'connected' to his as a child would.
The Archer glared at Davinci which made him uncomfortable "What, I like talking to you besides you're photogenic" the artist said while holding a notebook and pencil in his hand.
"Are you… drawing me?" Davinci gave a nervous laugh.
"Well I had some free time and decided to keep you company. Better than sitting here alone looking at nothing" the Archer stretched out his right leg. "Hey, stop it" Archer smiled.
"I'm flattered, tell me that the grail that was collected was real? I remember that cup being a little more impressive" Davinci stopped doodling and looked at the man.
"I'm afraid so, although what was collected is more of a prototype than a complete grail" the archer raised an eyebrow.
"Prototype?" The archer repeated.
Davinci nodded his head "Yes, in terms of power it seems that it is incomplete. As such having its ability to grant limited wishes. We are looking into it for more information" The comment caused the archer to snort.
"We did all this just to get half paid in" the man muttered aloud.
"It hurts to admit but yes, you're right" said Davinci as he scribbled "Well, yes it was a victory you should celebrate" The artist looked at the archer and turned the notebook towards the nameless man.
He was actually drawing it, indeed the stories that Davinci was one of the greatest artists ever born was not an exaggeration but something was wrong with the drawing.
"Why is my hair like this?" It looked like the archer was looking at himself in the mirror apart from the fact that he had drawn the Archer with disheveled hair, not the slicked back the archer always wore.
Again the artist gave a nervous laugh.
"W-well I wanted to see how you looked with that look since you don't like to change your hairstyle. In my opinion you should wear it that way more often" the artist's cheeks turned red every second he spoke.
Why does everyone say that, "Maybe next time. And the others how's it going" The comment caused Davinci to put his notebook in his lap and his hand on his head.
"Please don't remind me, it looks like they've split into groups and don't interact with each other unless Jeanne, Marie and Martha try. Sounds like a child. You should help them, after all a disunited team can be troublesome." The archer stretched out his right leg. "Hey, hey, I told you to stop! , you're going to end up squeezing me… hey stop"
"Davinci… I'm not anyone's father or mother. All servants here are older than any human on this planet. If that's what they want then who am I to change their Decisions" Davinci stretched out his leg leaving the two in the same situation.
"Why do you always have to give neutral answers? It's annoying sometimes… Seriously!" The man stretched out one of his legs again and flashed a half smile at the artist in front of him.
"And I thought you liked being squeezed, maybe I was wrong" the Archer smile grew.
"Why?!" The man's face turned red, he put his hand on his face.
"You know, you're very easy, have you been told that?" Davinci sighed and moved his finger looking at the archer.
"I… I'm still getting used to this body… it's everything I've dreamed of, even if it's incomplete. I just have to learn what it can do and wants… that might take some time. You're not helping me by teasing me like that either" A melancholy look came over the face of the man who had taken over the Mona Lisa's body. He stared at the falling snow.
"Teasing? Who said I'm teasing", the man's eyes widened and he quickly turned his head to look at the archer and saw him smiling. This made his face turn red, but he kept looking at it.
He saw that one of his feet was 'connected' with his and his other leg was drawn in because the Archer stretched out his leg.
"Archer…" Davinci interrupted what he was going to say and turned his head to the side to find the knight in black armor.
"Hello Artoria, have you tired of Scathach's company?" The archer said sarcastically.
"If I put up with that woman for a few more seconds, I'll kill her" the king replied. Artoria motioned for Davinci to extend his shrunken leg, and that's what he did.
With the two feet extended and 'connected' Artoria sat on top as if it were a chair.
"Hey!" Davinci tried to scold, but the king didn't care.
"You ruled a kingdom, dealing with it doesn't seem so difficult" the moment Davinci finished speaking the king looked at him. The black knight wasn't wearing her armor, just a gothic dress.
"Or maybe not, it seems you two are like water and oil" the man commented as he scratched his head with the tip of his pencil.
"Really? It seems to me that the two are very similar. " The archer gave his opinion, making the king look at him.
"Please Archer, don't encourage this nonsense. She and I just strive to get along on missions nothing more and nothing less" she spoke indignantly at what Archer said.
"That sounds like a child, you know that?" The king's cheeks started to feel hot and his pale skin only emphasized it.
"Sometimes I look at what we have here and think… the earth is doomed" Davinci spoke his mind. Noticing what she said, his cheeks turned red.
"I-I mean… I shouldn't have said that out loud, sorry" the artist looked away from the two servants.
"Don't be embarrassed, besides but it's not like we have a chance to begin with" Artoria snorted at Archer's comment.
"Your optimism is encouraging archers" she crossed her arms and turned her head towards Davinci "changing the subject, what were you two talking about? You seemed excited."
Davinci's eyes widened and he dropped the notebook.
"Hhaaa… nothing definitely nothing" Davinci's voice seemed to get more broken with every word he uttered.
Artoria raised an eyebrow, but it was the Archer who answered.
"We were just discussing how Davinci likes to be squeezed" An otherworldly noise came out of the man's mouth, indignation at the Archer's comment.
"Wh-what… I I don't…" he couldn't finish a single sentence.
Artoria blinked and looked at Davinci for a second and then at the Ranger.
"Is he not a man?" The Ranger smiled at Artoria's question.
"Well, as you can see our Caster is female enough. Which brings up a question in my head, how long can he last" Archer and Saber eyes met and she understood what he was doing.
Artoria looked back at Davinci "I think it would last a considerable time, even though he lacks experience he can make up for it with his voluptuous body. My question is would he hold it or would you break him first Archer?" A smile came over Saber's face as he looked at the artist.
Upon hearing this Davinci tried to say something, but the voice died in his throat, the man dropped the pencil from his trembling hand.
"I don't know, sometimes I tend to break my toys… you know Saber" The man's smile grew even wider.
"Hm, you don't have to say. Always breaking them and getting new ones" the two were referring to something else, however Davinci's mind thought of something else. Poor man.
The sound of someone clearing their throat caught Saber's attention and Archer, Davinci was practically paralyzed.
When they looked, they noticed that Scathach was standing there staring at them.
"Do I have to ask?" The goddess spoke.
"Just debating whether Davinci would break if the Archer got a little too rough with him" Artoria said unashamedly.
The comment made the goddess raise an eyebrow. But that was the limit of man to receive so much provocation.
"I think we overreacted" said Saber, receiving a snort from Archer.
"What impresses me is that he passed out in that position" Davinci passed out with his back against the wall and his two feet connected to the Archer's along with Saber using his legs as a chair.
Scathach stood there staring at them in confusion, the goddess definitely didn't know what was going on here.
-7-
"Hahaha" a low and husky laugh came out of the man's mouth upon hearing the woman's comment.
Her cheeks turned red, "Don't laugh, I'm serious." She said, puffing out her cheeks.
"Sorry, sorry but I don't think that's going to happen" the man arched his spine and placed his elbow on the table and his hand on his cheek.
"Siegfried!" She started hitting the man on the back, but the man didn't care.
"Oh my, you are really determined" Kiyohime said while sipping tea, she was sitting in front of the two while watching the situation develop.
"Why is it different now? You accompanied me with my song exercises. Why did you change your mind now" she continues patting the man on the back.
"Not necessary anymore" he smiled as he drank the tea placed by Kiyohime.
"Wh-What?!" She said indignantly.
Kiyohime just smiled at their interaction.
Not far away were Jeanne and Martha at a nearby table.
"You know, I'm kind of enjoying Chaldea. Well, better than the situation I was in" Martha said as she looked around the mess hall and saw the servants interacting as if they were normal humans.
Siegfried, Elizabeth and Kiyohime were at the next table talking and joking as if they were on vacation.
Maria was smiling at Mozart's attempts at flirtation.
Cuchulainn was having a friendly conversation with Mashu, but in the saint's opinion the man had ulterior motives. The way he spoke sounded very womanizing. But Mashu seemed to be enjoying the conversation. She referred from time to time to her visits to the master.
And Jeanne was with her at the table.
"You must admit it's really quiet here. I might get used to it badly" Jeanne smiled at Martha's comment.
"Normally we should be trying to advance each other's throats, it's even a little weird when you think about it" Jeanne sighed at what Martha said.
"And I should be mediating the war, yes I have to admit it's a little hard to get used to. We better enjoy it, don't you think, we don't know when we'll have to leave for a mission." Jeanne moves her head to the side. As calm as the situation was, she had to admit that the servants were quite disunited.
She tried to interact with Scathach but got curt responses and ignored her as if she wasn't on the same level as her to have a conversation.
Then she tried to interact with Siegfried and the others, but it was in vain. Only receiving vague responses from the dragon slayer and passive and aggressive responses from the two servants. What led to Santa imagines something about the reaction of the two but the thought quickly disappeared.
And had the demigod Cuchulainn she tried to interact with the man only to regret it. The man was a complete womanizer, it seemed that at every moment of the conversation he was trying to get into her causes, as he would people say of this generation.
And she had the Archer...
The man was completely anti-social, when she tried to talk to the man he took advantage of a gap in the conversation or the woman took her eyes off her for a second, he entered spiritual mode and disappeared.
Even with the man's attitude she still insisted on interacting with the man. Ever since her counterpart's death, she'd felt awkward in his presence… maybe a little while before.
The man seemed to have noticed this, and when she managed to make conversation with the man, he spoke to her in a sarcastic and cynical manner, aside from the fact that he occasionally teased her... and the man was relentless, there's no way that Cuchulainn did. It was like he knew which buttons to press. It left her feeling awkward. But her thoughts were interrupted by Martha.
"Don't be like that, we're still new as a team. Over time we'll learn how one and the other works" Jeanne winked.
"I think you're right…" She was interrupted again and saw something she wouldn't see every day.
The Archer entered the mess hall carrying Caster Davinci over his shoulders like a sack of potatoes along with Artoria and Scathach following him.
"Ah…" Jeanne tried to make sense of what was going on.
"Don't ask, I'm as confused as you are" said the goddess crossing the whites.
Martha looked at the corrupted Saber.
"So, do you know what happened?" She tried to find out from the king.
Artoria walked past her following the Archer and said.
"Something about Archer behind Davinci squeezing him" Martha's mouth fell open over Artoria's comment.
A laugh came from behind the group was Cuchulainn and he laughed out loud when he heard what the Darksaber said.
Jeanne leaned her head against the table.
It really would be a long stay.
Wait… did she say something about Archer doing what?!.
Her cheeks grew hot as her forehead was still resting against the table.
Really… a long stay.
-A-
Author
One more chapter is out, I like to think of this chapter more as an introduction to the servants' interpretation. I want to try to represent them as people with interests and desires even with bad qualities like jealousy and questionable desires since they were human and not just weapons to use in the grail war.
I see that in FGO they basically are. 'Yes master, Master I love you very much, Master I will do anything for you' which I find very strange because some servants basically agree with everything the player does and says and falls in love with him. Even if canonically the servants would give them up for another servant. Using an example of Shuten dōji in the story, the Oni changed his gender just to try to screw Kintoki's head and ended up liking the boy and in the game…
I like the fact that not all servants are going to be how shall I put it… 5 star relationship. Some will like the master, some will not so much and some will just tolerate his presence, notwithstanding the fact that a servant's relationships with others can be as friendly as they are violent.
I always thought it made more sense for the servants to be developed by other servants than the MC. I think because the MC is a representation of the Player and people like to imagine these characters with stunning bodies with interest in them, that must be why there are so many Doujinshi out there… and as there is, hearing about authors who draw this in Japan only in the fate saga they make a large amount of money.
I'll focus on the Servants interactions just before the next singularity.
Taking that aside. Sorry for the delay in college exams and math is looking like a seven-headed monster and apart from that there's still a programming test...
I'll let you know as it will take a while, because not only have the tests started but I've decided that I'm going to write a chapter of Honkai Impact 3rd but don't worry I'll still post Fate because it's my favorite franchise I'll just balance on the franchises.
I intend to do some interesting things with the interaction of the servants. I just hope it doesn't end up getting too much out of the servants' personalities. since I don't want it to end up being a headcanon.
Let me know what you think about the way FGO chooses to interact with the servants. Would it be nice to know or do you think I'm just delusional?
Well see you in the next chapter.