Fate: A Volcanic Summer With Alter

by AGeekyWriter

There was a lot Ritsuka had experienced over the last few years trying to save the world. But times to relax were few and far between. In between writing a manuscript with Jeanne Alter's scrapped Doujin ideas, helping her to win the ServFest contest, and BB certainly being a source for more problems, he was starting to worry once again if there would be any time to relax.

7. Apart From Alter II

"Anderson! It's only been two days but it feels like years!" (It's Hellsing abridged reference ignore me rationalize my pain away)

Hello everyone, once again I'm here with a bit of an update to prove that I'm still working on the story despite the absolute chaos that seems to follow me in my waking life. I moved again, lost my college money to rent, and I'm currently just feeling a little dead on the inside from the fact that I'll either be homeless at the end of next month or moving again at the end of next month. But somewhere in the middle of all that bullshit, I'm slowly finding my way back to work on this as much as I can.

So you know the last chapter was like almost sixty pages? Try over a hundred and fifty for this really big update. Not to mention but holy crap I have my first footnote now.

Alright so, this chapter is going to mostly focus on the two masters being our main character and his twin sister. For those of you familiar with the summer event there will be plenty of cameos to keep an eye out for. There is a lot of focus on trying world-building around them as everyone brings their differing perspective to the forefront of trying to solve the problems at hand, while I'm also still trying to weave in hints about where I intend to take the next leg of the story moving forward.

In theory, we are now, finally at the halfway mark for this behemoth of a work in progress. (IT being me that's subject to change.) As always thank you for all the comments and follows I've gotten over the last...uh? Seven months I think? As always they just bring a smile to my face and very occasionally will get me to drop whatever I'm doing to keep working on this story that's coming along.

One last thing for the record. This story was technically done by my original goal of valentine's day. But the editing is what took the extra time.

The next chapter has also been started. Here's hoping for summer at this rate...

Anyways, with my longest chapter yet, I without further ado, give you Apart From Alter 2:

---

Ritsuka looked down at the back of his hand at the red tattoos. He didn't see them as an offense as he might have the day before. Today, they felt heavier. The ever-present reminder that he was bearing the weight of responsibility.

Always.

Hundreds of servants under the direct command of two people. Humanity's surviving masters. It was bound to feel heavy some days, as it was a permanent reminder that even despite their current troubles on this looped summer vacation, of the large task that still loomed overhead like dark clouds.

Would this be the one that breaks me?

His lips twisted.

Or would it be the next? Possibly the one after that?

His blue eyes flicked to the other servant in his room. Robin was still fast asleep, seemingly on the other bed. No one had plans of churning out much of anything in this loop since their best artist had stepped away from the project. So Robin intended to sleep in.

Ritsuka huffed and ran fingers through his hair as he stood up. He threw a non-mystic code on a plain t-shirt jersey. Then some basketball shorts. He looked himself in the mirror as he wiped his bed head down with sink water. He put on a sweatband to cover his forehead, just beneath his hairline. Then came sweatbands for his arms next. Last was the tennis shoes as he strapped them onto his feet.

He tucked his keycard away and walked down the hall. As he waited for the elevator he started doing some high knee stretches. And when he got into the elevator, he stretched his arms out until he heard some satisfying cracks to bring him to a small smile.

In the lobby, Jekyll was asleep at the middle desk. On one of the couches, Mordred was fast asleep too. At the front, through the glass doors on the outside steps of the hotel. Gudako was waiting, bouncing on her toes having finished her stretches. She had matching sweatbands, and her hair was tightly packed into a bun to keep out of her face. Her sports bra was black and yellow, and her yoga pants the same black and gray as his own basketball shorts.

The morning air was cool thanks to the sea breeze, and the day was so early that the sun hadn't even started to rise.

Gudako paused to stretch her legs as far back as she could manage. "Little brother." She greeted half teasingly.

"Seconds." He said. "Not even a full minute. Seconds." He rolled his shoulders a little with a wince. His blue eyes went to his right shoulder and rolled it again.

How is this thing still sore?

Gudako noticed. "Healers didn't finish the job?"

He shook his head. "No, it's...I'm convinced at this point it's phantom pain. I nearly broke the same shoulder when Mash hauled me out of the hail firestorm in Babylon." He frowned a little as he rolled it again feeling the stretching and tightening over his muscles. "Of course, she had to break the same damn shoulder."

His sister was quiet and shifted her weight from side to side. "Thanks for inviting me along. Don't know what gets reset with each loop and what doesn't." She taped herself with a small laugh. "I don't feel like I've taken more than a month off of working out though…"

Ritsuka smiled a little. "Happy to have you as company." He huffed out a breath and started jogging in place as he reached the end of the steps, finishing some of his stretches. "We'll start at the airport, and work our way along the waterfront."

She nodded and jogged down the last two steps.

Then, the pair of them set off in unison setting the pace at which they would move for the rest of that early morning.

They timed it so that they were running along the trail near the beach, just as the sun started to rise on the other side of the island. The sky started to fill with color, as it would rise above the city in less than an hour or two.

Ritsuka huffed out a breath, and a small smile started to touch his lips as they neared the end.

His sister giggled and took the lead.

Oh hell no.

He picked up the pace too, kicking it up a notch to take the lead back. When she saw him catching up she kicked it up an extra notch as well.

All the way until they were sprinting at full speed for their designated endpoint.

#

"Oh, you brilliant bitch." Ritsuka said. He caught the ice pack in the air and the ice-cold water bottle, resting both against his calves.

She smirked a little as she unscrewed the top of the water bottle, resting an ice pack on the back of her neck. "Quit your whining, you still won the race." Gudako chugged down a few gulps.

"Yeah, but I'm not as flexible. I think I pulled something in my leg, that last one." His lips formed a frown. "Ahhh, but these do feel good though." He leaned back against the bench and looked to the hotel that was only a block away. Ritsuka hummed a bit and then focused on the sweat bead of sweat that dripped from his brow.

Well, at least I'm trying.

Gudako looked at him as she wiped some sweat away with a towel. "So, where should we get our breakfast today?" She glanced down at the beach they ran along. "I know Emiya's got waffles for his morning group? Or we can go with some traditional eggs and rice?"

"Boudica is closer…" Ritsuka pointed out.

"True." She agreed. "But Emiya's got the better morning view." Gudako tilted her head from side to side. "If you're willing to walk back that way?" she suggested.

He huffed a chuckle. "As long as it's walking, I think I'll make it." He groaned as he stood up, taking the cooling pad off his calf. "Better get going though before our muscles start to relax too much."

She left the ice pack over her neck. "Agreed, let's go."

#

The pair of them sat quietly out on the restaurant's patio, still enjoying the cool morning air. The both of them nursing water and orange juices with a large breakfast split into two for the both of them. The heat from their jog and sprint had long since faded. Though there was still a slight tinge of red to their cheeks, and frizzes in their hair.

Gudako was frowning as she nodded to him. "I see you haven't managed to force her to talk to you about anything yet."

He glanced down at those three red command seals on the back of his hand. Then back to her. "Do you really think it would help if I forced things?"

She shook her head. "Probably not." With another swig of water, she leaned back into her chair and eyed the beach. "It certainly didn't help with me and Edmond…" Her lips twisted a little. "However, our duty as masters is to strike a line somewhere between accomplishing our mission while allowing them to retain a degree of freedom that they wish to have in order to express themselves."

I know.

Ritsuka remained quiet pushing his lips together. "It's harder than I thought."

Gudako huffed. "You let her run free too long, she'll get lost again." Her frown started to deepen. "Especially if what you told me about Jeanne's report was true. That she's been staying with Bluebeard." She pushed her lips together for a moment like she was biting back an emotion. "It's time to consider ordering her back despite the repercussions."

"Not yet." He said.

She shook her head. "It needs to be soon."

Ritsuka's lips started to twist.

"You don't feel any worry or jealousy that she's practically running to the arms of her ex just so she could avoid the possibility of running into you?" Gudako shook her head again. "There is already a problem if she's doing that."

Oh for the love of-

He shook his head. "What do you want me to say? Of course, I'm angry!" He huffed and leaned forward. "Of course, I'm worried, jealous of all of it." He shook his head. "Fuck it's like I don't even know where to start on that particular problem." Ritsuka raised a finger. "Firstly, we already touched on the repercussions if I force her to come back to me. There is no master-servant bond anymore in that scenario, as I believe that her reaction will simply be more anger and resentment."

She nodded but raised an eyebrow. "At first, what about after?"

"Secondly, she's told me herself how volatile she is as a berserker. I may not live to see the aftermath of that." He pointed to them. "Remember we are not the anchors to them, Chaldea is. If our servants for any reason decide to kill us, they can accomplish it long before we can dematerialize them."

Gudako's eyes narrowed. "You think she would kill you?"

"Not on purpose, no." He raised his third finger. "Lastly, there is one very important fact you're considering here." His blue eyes started to bore into his sister's golden ones. "She's fucking terrified of it. Not just that she'll hurt me again, but of all the rest of it. Pain and suffering is what she knows, and that's almost grounding for her."

Her brow furrowed in thought but her golden eyes held understanding. "Because it's familiar for her…"

Ritsuka nodded. "It's why she ran to Gilles of all people too."

Working on the doujin last loop didn't help her either. She opened her heart just enough for it to get stomped on in every way possible.

Gudako shook her head a few times and rubbed her forehead. "This girl…" She wiped a few loose strands of red hair from her eyes when she was done letting that disappointment fuel her. "She's not just terrified of what she'll do to you…"

He nodded. "She's also terrified of everything that's so sudden and new for her." There was an irony in his laugh. "Positive affection can be just as terrifying to someone who's never really experienced it before." Then Ritsuaka leaned away, falling back into his chair. "I don't know...she could also feel she might not deserve it either."

"Possibly…" She agreed. "Is there really no way for the pair of you to even get in a room together to hold a conversation?"

A laugh escaped his lips. "I recall our roles being reversed the last time we had this conversation." Ritsuka pressed his jaw into a line, and his blue eyes narrowed towards her golden ones. "I told you that Edmond needed to be reigned in, that you needed to order him back. And as I fondly recall, your reply to me was that I should fuck off, and get back to focusing on the issue at hand."

A beat of silence passed between them.

Ritsuka nodded. "You made the correct judgment call then, as I'm making now." He grew firm. "As you know yours, I know mine."

Gudako folded her arms and stared at her brother. "Jeanne D'Arc Alter huh?" She suddenly spurted out a few laughs. "How did we end up with the most damaged and baggage-ridden servants of the lot?"

He smirked a little, as he reached for his glass. "Want an actual answer to that question or a joke?" Ritsuka leaned back, gulping down the rest of his orange juice. The last bit had been just as refreshing as the first.

"We've alluded jokes to it before." She said with a slight fading smile. Gudako tapped her fingers on the table between them. Her golden eyes filled with both curiosity and suspicion as to what the answer might be. "Indulge me in a real one."

Ritsuka puffed out his cheeks with his next breath as he adjusted himself in his seat. "Damaged and baggage ridden attracts damaged and baggage ridden. And by helping them...learn how to be better, we're hoping to teach ourselves something too." He half smiled and held up his glass to her.

She smiled, and lifted hers, clinking them together. "To masters fighting to save all the world, and their damaged servants to help them through thick and thin." Gudako tilted her head and smirked. "And let's hope that by fixing them, we can prove that we aren't such lost causes ourselves, after all."

He snorted.

Ass.

"Yeah." Ritsuka agreed. "Last we need to do is try and explain all this shit mom and dad." He blinked. "I can't be the only one who imagined that scenario right?"

Gudako winced slightly. "Oh god-" She half-covered her face. "Can you imagine?"

"Hey me and Gudako are fine, just saved the world, watched and witnessed a thousand different deaths. Oh by the way we brought company." He huffed a few chuckles. "Oh, mom would freak then probably ask a few thousand questions."

She shook her head. "I imagine dad would be more okay with it though. I mean he'd be worried, but he'd also be super proud that we, a pair of absolute novice mages, saved the world."

What a day that might be.

"First though…" He looked pointedly around at the beach and the slowly awakening city from their little corner of the patio. "We're gonna have to figure a way out here." Ritsuka pushed his lips together. "One way or another."

Gudako nodded, falling quiet.

"Are the two of you finished with breakfast?" A voice came.

The pair of them looked up to see Emiya standing off to the side, a tray in one hand, a red apron over his usual red attire. His grey eyes bounced between them and he raised an eyebrow. "It has been some time since I last asked if the pair of you needed anything."

She shook her head and gestured to her empty plates. "No, I think we've finished for the morning, Emiya." Gudako reached into her pocket and pulled some Gilbucks to cover her expenses.

Ritsuka did likewise, covering his own. "Thanks for breakfast as always Emiya."

Just a little taste of the average morning at Chaldea.

The Archer servant smiled a little. "If it's any consolation Master," His gray eyes bore into him as he paused by the table, setting his tray down. "Jeanne Alter is no longer with Gilles." He then moved to start stacking plates. "She was here with Jeanne D'Arc and Marie Antoinette last night for dinner and a show."

He must've looked relieved as his sister smiled a little out of the corner of his eye. "Good. That's good. Jeanne must've managed to get her to leave then."

Emiya nodded. "Good day to you both Masters. I'll be serving my lunch out on the beach for the party today. Assuming Medb doesn't crash it…"

Like she does or it every loop.

Gudako nodded. "Edmond and I will be there, Emiya. We can keep her in check for the rest of you to enjoy the day." Then she paused after setting the Gilbucks down onto the table. Her lips pursed as she looked at the Archer. "A question Emiya, a lot of servants and...unorthodox people come through your restaurant's doors...have you...noticed anything strange about your customers?"

Emiya paused, considering. He turned to look down at the empty patio of his morning restaurant with a hand on his hip. His gray eyes narrowed a little, "I suppose, about two days ago, Ibaraki walked through my doors and was acting somewhat strange." He tilted his head with a huff. "Well, stranger than normal."

Ritsuka's eyes narrowed.

Robin's not with her in this loop.

"Strange...how?" He asked.

The Archer servant shrugged a little. "If I'm being honest, I don't have the faintest. I'd…" His eyes narrowed a little in concentration. "Well, I guess it was like she was not quite herself."

Gudako nodded. "Thanks, Emiya, just keep an eye on things for us as usual."

He huffed. "I do my best, but frankly I'm more worried that all the food the Knights of the Round table intend to bring to the beach this afternoon for the fest." His lips started to twist. "I'll probably have to enlist a few other helpers." He picked up the server tray, now stacked with dishes. "One last thing, masters. There was a big ruckus caused on the mountainside yesterday. A lot of those overgrown chickens were slaughtered. I was able to purchase the meat in bulk to cook some fancy dinners...but...by the way that it was described it sounds like a servant might've caused the mess."

The siblings exchanged a quick glance and then looked at Emiya. "Thanks for the heads up," Ritsuka said, a small thoughtful expression coming into place. He glanced at his sister, and they both grabbed their old empty water bottles and the used ice packs.

After a moment they were back on the sidewalk, throwing the trash away at the nearest beach trash can.

Gudako hummed. "So, I suppose you would know more about Ibaraki's current situation than I would. Would she be powerful enough to cause reality-breaking loops like the ones we are experiencing here?"

Ritsuka shook his head. "She would need to be inhabited by something. Something similar to that pseudo singularity where she was a full Oni and was trying to more or less destroy feudal Japan?" His brow furrowed in thought. "And even then…" He shook his head a few times. "Let's get a shower, a change of clothes...Lobby in…" Ritsuka shrugged. " Half an hour?"

She hummed. "An hour more likely." A small smirk touched her lips. "Remember I'm meeting with Edmond for lunch, and I need to do some extra post-shower work for possible swimming and the sun today-"

He huffed and shook his head a bit. "Spare me the routine's details." Ritsuka pocketed his hands and nodded. "Fine, an hour. I'll be at the chairs drinking some tea and keeping an eye out I suppose while we wait. Grab the other girls on your way down. Ushi and Mash will want to tag along if only to make sure we don't get into too much trouble."

#

"A question, Robin?" He asked, still running a towel through his hair after he'd finished changing back into a freshly cleaned mystic code. Ritsuka had exited the restroom, and steam seemed to follow him.

The archer servant glanced up at him away from all the books he'd been keeping at his side since the loops had begun. A lot of them were either getting inspiration or business-related in their titles.

Robin takes his manager job very seriously.

Robin was also fairly observant too, and once he noticed the furrowed brow on his Master indicating deep thought, he promptly closed the book. "Always Master." He pushed the book aside and sat up in his chair adjusting himself.

Ritsuka placed a hand on his hip. "I suppose I should start by asking if Ibaraki remembers each loop as we do?"

The archer shook his head. "No master, I believe if she had, she would've sought us out a long time ago. Either to blame us or to help us." He tilted his head, a small smug smile coming to his lip. "Furthermore, if she did, I'm pretty sure she would've wanted to either talk about last week," or relive it to some extent."

He tried to fight the blush of Robin's implied actions. His mouth was pressed into a sharp line very quickly and blew out a slow breath. "Then my next question is where we might try to find her this loop?"

"I'm...not sure," Robin admitted. "Last loop, I had merely convinced her to stay with us when we arrived at the airport with her." He smirked again. "I did that for two reasons. One I was in obvious need of stress relief considering our predicament of repeating the week." Then his smile faded a little. "Second, I just wanted to test and see how long it would take to coax her to come with us instead of wandering off trying to either find Shouten or mourn her absence."

Rituska nodded. "We got started right away that week so I didn't stick around to see your results." He smiled just a little. "How long did it take you?"

He huffed. "Half an hour with and a few visits to some of the touristy shops so I can throw some gilbucks at snacks for her." Robin shook his head a couple of times. "Honestly I should've just started with the shops."

"Hmm, does she not come here with gilbucks? I know BB fixed our accounts so that when we make money it transfers to the next loop so…arrive with it…" Ritsuka touched his chin for a moment in thought.

The archer shrugged. "Sounded to me like she was broke upon arrival. Though she does manage to find enough to scrape by…" Robin seemed to sit up straighter. "But now I have a question, master?" His eyes seemed to narrow a little with interest. "What makes you suddenly so interested in Ibaraki?"

A good question that we don't understand.

He nodded towards Robin. "We got a lead...from Emiya." Ritsuka shrugged. "As to why we are suddenly so interested. From the way, he described her she'd seemed off compared to the rest of his customers." Then he looked pointedly at his servant. "Mind you, this is Emiya we're talking about who gets Alter servants through his doors and kitchens all the time. So when he says Ibaraki is off…"

Robin's eyes filled with understanding. "Something is wrong…" He leaned back into his chair for a moment. "I can head to the roof and see if my eyesight could do anything to possibly locate her? But if she wants to stay hidden..."

Ritsuka nodded. "Thanks. Gudako and I are going to take Ushi and Mash to town and have a look around. Do you want to join us? Or look for your own way?"

His lips twisted a little. "My own way, at least through lunch. If I haven't made any progress I'll join you later."

#

The lobby was empty while Ritsuka waited, except for the staff of course. He'd taken a seat at one of the couches, his cup of tea on the coffee table. Beside him, he had two journals open and a pen to bounce between them.

I should make the novel's main premise based on our scrapped idea of superheroes.

It was obvious to all of them as the weeks had gone by, the first Doujin hadn't been finished, the last few panels were either missing or drawn very poorly. However, they also all agreed they were still somewhat proud of it.

Moreover, Ritsuka thought he could still make something of it. It had a pretty basic premise he admitted. But he'd also never plotted a novel before…

No formal teaching either.

He smirked slightly at his own predicament. He remembered the very reason he'd wanted to even attempt such a thing. First and foremost it had been out of spite because Alter had thought her scrapped ideas were worthless. The second reason had been a much more surface-level one. Ritsuka had simply wanted to see her blush at the suggestion.

After that though she practically dared me into it.

He sighed laughing at himself rubbing his forehead. As he clicked his pen to scribble a few more notes trying to define the list of powers that the main cast would have.

But I'm the one that brought this on myself in the end.

When one was living out a strangely fantastical life despite all the hardships with heroes of the past formulating friendships, it was easy to find it as a basis of inspiration. What would such a council of heroes look like in this world?

What even was the world going to be like? Modern? Future?

His lips twisted, as he paused working on the characters.

I should probably work on the world first...

There he sat in silence for a few moments longer, leaning away from his journals and back into the comfort of the lobby's couch. The pen tapped against the surface a couple of times before it paused, a quiet swell started to stir within him a little bit. His eyes narrowed with ideas that poured through his head. Most of it was absurd of course, but there were...glints of possibility that he might try to use.

How realistic might this world be?

"Hey, did you hear me at all?" Gudako leaned into his vision a look of confusion on her face. Then her golden eyes went to the journals next to him, and that confusion quickly started to clear. "Ah, I see brainstorming." She raised a brow, "For the next doujin?"

Ritsuka blinked and shook the head of his thoughts away. "N-no. No, not for the doujin." He closed his journals and looked around the lobby. He spotted Ushiwakamaru and Mash a few feet away waiting in the walkway. His lips twitched. "Sorry," he cleared his throat. "Working on a personal project."

To put it mildly.

She nodded, then her nose wrinkled with confusion. Gudako straightened up and did her own scan of the lobby. "Where is Robin?"

Ushiwakamaru smirked a little. "Yeah, I thought he'd want to be first in line to help out for this one considering how much he cares for that adorable brat." She folded her arms loosely and glanced over at Mash. "Or at least would want to get some chocolates for us later."

He smiled a little as he stood up, and collected the journals from the couch pillow, and his tea from the coffee table. "Well, he's gonna look for her the archer way, then he...sort of implied he's going to go off on his own to see if he can find her." Ritsuka raised a brow as he chugged back the rest of his tea. "Then he said he might join us after lunch if he hasn't found anything."

Mash nodded, pressing her mouth into a line with a look of determination. "Okay, then we should start with the hillside market. Ibaraki might have something to do with that." Then she frowned a little. "If I recall, they're supposed to be attacked by Vorporeals on the fifth day right?" She mimicked one of Sherlock's thinking poses.

Both Ritsuka and Gudako stared at her then glanced at each other.

Yeah, she's our cute kohai.

Gudako bounced over to her and wrapped her arm around Mash. "Good thinking Holmes. Let's head to the hillside part of town first and see what we can dig up."

Mash yelped in surprise and blushed at the hug. "O-okay!"

#

The hillside market was a place Ritsuka had never been. The smell of fresh foods being cooked and sold from booths and trucks was almost overwhelming to the senses. Even with a full stomach, the sight of Vorporeal chicken skewers with lemon, lime, and bell peppers was enough to make his mouth water.

As elaborate as all the food stands, the tourist traps were made to match. Where he could see the island flags, and the classic "I heart Hawaii" t-shirts where it broke down even further by islands. All the trinkets that lined up in the window.

Gudako smirked a little. "I bought a bunch when we first arrived, I'm gonna have to buy it again in our last week if we have the time."

Impossible to tell whenever that is supposed to be.

Ritsuka nodded in agreement with her. "It'd be nice to get something super cliche and cheesy." He pocketed his hands as he leaned away from the window. The corner of his lip twisted. "At this point, I'm starting to wonder if I'm getting too used to being here rather than…" He fell quiet for a moment pressing his lips together. It was as if a small haze had fallen over the thought.

His sister paused to look at him, then she started to frown. "Chaldea?"

That's right. The word I'm looking for...and yet?

It was close enough to what his mind was trying to find. "Yes, sorry." He coughed and rubbed his forehead. "I wonder if I should've gotten up that early this morning." He stepped away and looked up at the nearly clear sky, just a few space fluffy clouds spread out.

She chuckled. "Probably not." Gudako glanced around, mouth pressed into a line. "There has to be a place to grab some coffee around here for us?"

Ritsuka waved her concern off. "I had tea, I just need to wait for it to kick in." He glanced around at Ushiwakamaru standing outside a different shop. She was crouched looking at swords on display in the window. His lips twisted a little. "Nice to know that we aren't the only ones who are window shopping."

Mash was behind the Assassin servant. She was smiling but still held that same look of determination both siblings had spotted earlier. While Ushi was eyeing the swords on display, she was talking to some of the people walking between the shops.

Gudako's eyes narrowed. "There aren't many servants around here are there?" She hummed a little tugging on the strap to her purse.

He nodded slowly. "A few shadows…"

"In the corner." She said flatly. "But, I'm surprised. I would've thought a fair few servants would come up this way for one thing or another…" Then her eyes widened a little. "There, I see Anne Bonny and Mary Read." Gudako tapped his shoulder, suggesting that they should go check it out."

Servants mean reliable witnesses.

He nodded and moved to follow. Ritsuka made a point of looking back at the others, waiting until Mash looked him in the eyes. He tilted his head indicating their direction more than their destination.

Mash nodded and turned to Ushi.

He then followed closely behind his sister, who navigated their path through the crowd for them. All the while the pair of them kept an eye out for things that would be unexpected. Other servants or someone who might want to come after them.

Always pays to be cautious.

Anne seemed to notice them first, as they were approaching. The smile on her lips brightened, and she leaned over to whisper something to Marry. Then they simply waited for their masters to approach.

Gudako arrived first with a smile. "How are my two favorite pirates?"

Anne snorted. "Don't let Francis hear you, she's in the back trying to arrange the chests." She leaned away to look back further into the small tent shop they'd set up. "And she's looking for her lucky goblet."

Ritsuka had to smile a bit. "She's planning something then. What does she want it for then?"

Mary nodded. "Aye, Blackbeard and her are going to have a bit of a duel come the afternoon. Francis lost the last one so she's feeling particularly motivated. Black beard is getting closer and closer to stealing the champion title from her."

"I trust there are going to be healers present?" Gudako raised an eyebrow.

Anne nodded. "Irisviel volunteered. After she and that red assassin dropped off Illya and Kuro at the daycare. Her guts spells will help too, so that way when the other loses they'll only faint instead of...actually die."

His sister had been quiet as she inspected the counter. There was a mug and a gold coin that seemed to be the first things she noticed. She flipped the black mug over and noted it was marked with the symbols of the East India Trading Co. She frowned a little. "What's all this?" Her brow furrowed a bit in thought. "Loot and plunder from when you were both alive?" She plucked up a gold coin next.

Anne nodded. "Authentic treasure to sell for some Gilbucks while we are here." She tilted her head and nodded towards the city. "They don't seem to accept anything other than Gilbucks, so we figured that if we can sell our treasure as pretty trinkets, we might make enough money to get into ServFest at the end of the week."

Mary held up a gold coin, now lace into a jeweled necklace. She smiled.

Ritsuka nodded, "So you've been here for a couple of days at least right?" He leaned against the table with his sister, "We uh, we got a question for you?"

Gudako set the mug back down and pushed the gold coin back towards the pile that was for sale.

Anne and Mary sensed the shift in tone and exchanged a glance with each other.

Anne's small smile faded as her brows narrowed a bit. "Is there some more trouble master? Is Medb ruining the beach party with her beauty contest? I thought that was some weird joke that she's been throwing around."

Something she's done every loop.

"We'll see, come lunch won't we?" Gudako said.

Ristuka shook his head a couple of times. "Actually we are wondering if you've seen Ibaraki? She's…" His lips formed a frown. "She's not acting like herself, and considering the last time she wasn't acting like herself and decided to create a half-baked singularity where demons were conquering feudal japan…"

Mary hummed leaning over the table. "Well, we see Boudica on the regular." She leaned forward a little. "She often goes over to the butcher shop over there to pick up some of the meats she wants to prepare for dinner at the hotel. Emiya rarely too, but usually he sends someone else on the errand for him."

Rituska turned around to look at the butcher shop. He could see a line swelling and clambering to get inside. Something about it didn't sit well in his gut. A small frown formed as he looked back at the pirates.

Anne nodded in agreement. "I can't say I've seen Ibaraki either." She leaned forward as if she were to tell a secret. "Though, rumor has it that there was an old candy-making booth here. They moved to an actual store closer to downtown. If I'm going to place bets one where she might be if she's got the gilbucks."

He frowned a little at that.

Which thanks to Robin, we know she doesn't.

Gudako's lips formed a frown. "Thanks for your time you two. Good luck on your sales, and-" she leaned in a bit closer. "Give Francis our best wishes that she might win her duel and keep her title today."

"I don't want to imagine what everyone's expression is going to look like if Black Beard wins right now." Ritsuka rubbed his forehead. "I already owe him one, the last thing I want is to owe him another tribute."

One problem at a time.

The masters said their goodbyes and stepped away from the booth. They spotted Ushi and Mash stopped at a different shop, this one about halfway between where they'd been and the pirates that they'd gone to see.

Ritsuka chuckled as Ushi, plopped a big round hat down on Mash's head.

Gudako smiled a little too. "At least they're having fun right?"

"Yeah." He pocketed his hands. Then he frowned a little as he felt a ripple of mana touch the air. "I think those shadows might be following us. We should pick up the pace." He stiffened his neck to prevent from looking back directly at him.

His sister stiffened a little out of the corner of his eye. "Are you sure?" She turned to look only at him, to see if she could shift them into her peripheral vision. "I'm not seeing them or sensing them coming towards us."

"Call it a hunch." His mouth formed into a frown as he tried to sense a little more of that mana that had touched the air. "I'm just assuming the worst."

Mash seemed to straighten up as they approached. "Any luck Senpai?"

"No." They both answered and then looked at each other.

Gudako coughed. "Though we were told that there might be a specific candy shop worth checking out more towards downtown." She rubbed her chin in thought for a moment. "But I don't hold out much hope for luck there either. Ibrakaki didn't have the gilbucks to afford even going to a candy shop in Robin's story…" she glanced at Ritsuka. "Right?"

"Right." He nodded. "Which means if she did go, someone other than Robin gave her some spare change to do so."

Mash nodded and glanced towards Ushi.

The assassin smiled a little at the two of them. "We didn't find anything about Ibaraki but we learned that Boudica comes here regularly and that Tamamoe or Parvati usually come here on behalf of Emiya to visit the butcher shop." She rubbed her chin a little bit. "And one other thing…" she trailed off looking towards Mash.

The pink-haired pseudo servant seemed to focus on Gudako. "And we found out someone who is tall, pale-skinned, white hair, wearing a sharp black trench coat over his shoulders was here yesterday speaking to the butcher. He was asking after the Vorporeals wondering where they were nesting and coming from."

His sister seemed to stiffen, eyes widening at the information. Then they narrowed a little. "Yesterday, the day where there was a ruckus at the hillside." She glanced at Ritsuka. "It could be Edmond? Sounds a lot like him in any case."

Slowly, Ritsuaka nodded, his mouth twisting with thought. "Do we have any mention of his name to be certain?"

Mash shook her head. "He apparently never gave his name. By the sound of it, he had come directly to the butcher to ask some simple questions."

He nodded for a moment pressing his lips together in silence. Then once he'd settled his mind onto what he agreed. He turned to Gudako. "I agree with you. Not many servants can match that description as it stands."

She waved a hand up to stop the rest of the conclusions and the questions. "I'll speak to him about it today when we meet for lunch." Gudako let her hand fall back down to her hip. "I'll want to stop by Boudica's butcher to see if they have anything more." She raised a brow. "Then we're off to the candy store?"

Ritsuka nodded. "Sounds like a plan." His blue eyes narrowed towards Ushi. "There are shadow servants that might be tailing us. Keep an eye on them. If they tail us when we leave…" He paused looking at Gudako, once again rubbing his chin in thought.

Gudako nodded.

He nodded back and straightened up to his full height. "If they tail us when we leave, we split up. Ushi goes with Gudako, Mash comes with me. We take different routes to the candy store. Backtrack as needed. See if we can goad them to come after us."

Mash nodded. "We should stay close enough to one another to provide support if they only choose to come after one of us."

"Agreed." Gudako nodded. "May as well start now, Ushi, lets go talk to the butcher." Her golden eyes flicked back up to Ritsuaka. "Avoid the main street, and take a leisurely stroll. Make a show of stopping at other shops and businesses as you go." Her eyes then flicked to Ushi. "You and I will take the main road. We might come up right behind the ones tailing them."

Ritsuka smiled a little. "If they split off and follow us...we can catch one group in a pincer." He hummed a little. "We'll mostly stick off the main road, but we'll make a show of stopping there occasionally to present opportunities." He nodded. "At the sound or sign of any trouble, we'll come rushing back."

Ushi smiled. "And we'll do the same." She nodded towards Gudako. "After you, Master." She winked at Ritsuka before turning to follow Gudako. "Good luck."

"You too." He blew out a slow breath and looked at Mash. "You've been meaning to browse for a new more casual swimsuit, yes?"

She blinked and started to grow red. "Wh-where did you hear that?"

He shrugged. "My sister likes to talk. We may as well do some real shopping to look as authentic as possible." Rtisuka smiled down at her and nodded in the direction they should head off in.

Mash puffed out her cheeks in a small pout. "Fine, just so you know many would find that quite rude Senpai."

"Right." He agreed, huffing a chuckle. "I'll bear that in mind."

#

It was, Ritsuka thought dryly, about the worst suggestion he could've come up with in retrospect. Mostly it was done to throw his calm and collect Kohai for a bit of a loop with the suggestion. But as it turns out, she really valued his opinion despite the circumstances. Which meant he was stuck now waiting outside the dressing room for her.

Mash's purple hair poked out from behind the curtain. As if checking to make sure Ritsuka was still there waiting for her before stepping out. The red blush that had been on her cheeks since the process had started became his indicator of how much he should brace himself for the style of clothes.

The redder she was, the more revealing the swimsuits tended to be.

He blew out a breath of relief as this one indicated another one-piece swimsuit. This one was blue, with frills to mark the edges. With two straps to go over her shoulders. It was form-fitting, almost like a wetsuit.

"That's-...uh?" A quick frown formed on Ritsuka's lips.

You'd think I'd have gotten used to this by now with all of my present company at both Chaldea and here.

He offered another smile. "I like the frills on this one." His voice was slow and careful as if he were in dance with a dangerous predator. "It gives it a sort of...floaty feeling."

Mash frowned. "A floaty feeling." She hummed and looked at herself in the full-body mirror. Testing the small frills she gave herself a small spin. A small smile returned. "It's not as shapely as the others?" She said almost hopefully. She lifted the frills covering just beneath her waist a little, and then let it drop. "And what is shapely is...covered."

Ritsuka nodded. "I like it. The blue also contrasts your pink hair a bit." Then frowned. "Though it might be better in a lighter blue so it doesn't look so swallowing of you."

The pink-haired shielder blushed a bit. "Swallowing of me?"

"I mean…" He tilted his head from side to side. "I mean the swimsuit almost hides you. In the water, it will probably do the same thing."

"Oh." She said, a frown seeming to form. Mash backed underneath the curtain again to change. Her voice changed to a whisper. "Any sign of them yet?"

Not yet. Could we have lost them?

A frown touched his lips as he leaned his head back in the chair, getting a better view of the windows and door from the little corner the dressing rooms were in.

"Master?"

He blinked. "Sorry, no. No, I haven't seen them."

Mash poked her head out from behind the curtain. Her purple eyes narrowed towards him a little. Just long enough to make him feel a little bit uncomfortable. "Are you okay master? I know we aren't working on our next doujin…"

Ritsuka sighed. "Mash, please finish getting dressed first." He raised an eyebrow towards her, but a small teasing smile to his lips.

She blushed again and dove back behind the curtain.

A few chuckles escaped his lips as he pushed himself to his feet, moving to lean against the diver between her dressing room and the empty one beside it. He folded his arms. "To answer your question, that's not what's bothering me." When he was met with silence, he took that as a sign to continue. "Honestly, I think I'm just tired, and I know we're only scratching the surface here with Ibaraki. Now we're also having to deal with the possibility of being stalked by Shadows from the market." He rubbed his forehead, eyes going wide, trying to stretch that tired feeling away. "It's like...I feel we have a thousand different things to do, and even now I'm not sure Ibaraki is the best place to start."

So much to do. So much to save.

His blue eyes landed on some random stranger walking through the store browsing the watches and jewels underneath the glass cases.

If there really was anyone left to save.

He pressed his lips into a line. "Stop it." He muttered quietly to himself. Ritsuka brushed his hair back. "Ibaraki is the first lead we might have. Something that could turn out to be very minor, or next to nothing despite all the time we've spent here from loop to loop trying to not only finish a doujin to secure the grail but to try and tackle this problem at its source."

Wasn't the definition of insanity trying to accomplish the same thing by attempting it the same way over and over?

Mash pulled the curtain aside, now back into her white and pink summer spiritron dress. She folded her arms. "It's good that we have something though right Senpai?" Her pink hair bounced as she bobbed her head to look up at him. "I mean we can't really do anything on the doujin end without our lead artist there to help." With the pile of clothes in hand, she walked back towards the swimsuit section and began to place things neatly back in order.

Without our lead artist.

He closed his eyes and sighed.

Come on trust your instincts. You still know her even if some of your previous assumptions are wrong. You've literally been inside her head. Moreover, she has to recognize what's good for her and what's not on her own. She just needs time and support.

His mouth twisted.

Support you can't give her yourself until she comes around.

Ritsuka picked himself off the wall to follow Mash only to almost bounce into her as she spun around to face him suddenly.

She looked almost horrified at her insensitivity. The young demi-servant pressed her lips together. "Sorry." She said, "I didn't mean it to sound so casual."

He huffed a chuckle. "It's alright Mash. I know where we stand." Ritsuka stretched as he walked up to stand beside her. "Besides, we can plan a little more for the next one while we are waiting to get the band back together."

Mash smiled up at him. "That's what I like about you Senpai. You still do not want to take something sitting down. Making the best of the situation even when everything seems so impossible." She walked ahead to start piling the clothes away. "I…" she shrugged. "I still don't know how you manage it?"

A small twitch touched his lips, as he followed around behind her as she walked back to the first few iles trying as best she can to put everything back as neatly as she could manage. "It...can be difficult considering our usual list of jobs that we have to do. Trying to make sure everything is in working order when we first wake up. The engineers have to run their equipment tests...we have to see to all the servants. Seeing inventory about food stores. Check to see if we can reach anyone out there in the world. Making sure the rest of the servants are getting along." A chuckle escaped his lips. "Oh, lest we forget we also have to save the world on occasion."

Mash turned to look at him.

"But you want to know how I try to do it?" He gestured between the two of them. "Things like this." He almost laughed when he saw her confusion. "I mean come on we're shopping for bathing suits for you are at a fake version island of a popular tourist destination, on the lookout for Shadow servants that might be chasing us, a time loop that trapped us. And the theoretical only way we can win is a doujin competition."

The demi servant snorted. "I guess when you put it like that…"

Ritsuka smiled. "And spending time with those you care about should always be a driving force for you. It can be…" He tilted his head for second thinking briefly on all the loops of them working and arguing together. "Be fleeting…." He nodded to himself a little. "But it can also be motivating." He gestured to the space between them. "I mean aren't you having fun?"

She blinked and seemed to ponder it for a moment. "I...suppose I am." Mash nodded.

"Then that's what you need to focus on. Those moments to cherish." He glanced away looking towards the sunlit window. The memory of getting thrown across a pool bringing a small smile to his lips. "So long as you know you had fun along the way. The rest of it should come easier. As we bounce to our next fleeting moment to have fun."

Mash nodded quietly and she turned to put the last of the clothes away. "No one should wonder why you and Gudako are the masters to save the world."

His small smile twitched a little. "Hopefully." Ritsuka nodded towards the window. "Speaking of. My sister is across the street right now."

And considering no trouble came to find us.

The demi-servant's eyes narrowed a little to follow his gaze. "That's a good thing right?"

Gudako and Ushi were walking down the street. To make the situation even more clear Gudako made a point to pause and stop with Ushi looking directly at the shop that both he and Mash were in. Once that was done, they continued on their walk down their side of the street towards the candy store.

"It could be." he agreed, his eyes narrowing a little at the sight. "Though we might not have been the ones they were following." He backed away a little from the window. "For now, let's wait a few minutes before we move to follow after them." Ritsuka frowned a little as he hid away in one of the isles.

Though if they weren't tracking us, and they were tracking my sister…

He pressed his lips together.

I'm the one working on the doujin, our theoretical way of getting out of this mess. So what did my sister do to attract the attention?

Ritsuka blinked and his eyes narrowed.

Or Edmond?

Mash crouched with them, her own thinking face on. "We've deviated from the original plan of them taking the main street if they are here with us. What should we do?"

"Nothing yet." His lips twisted a little. "Though, if the shadows show up we can still nab them in a pincer." It was a simple strategy, at this point, he felt adding on complexities might just have caused their little plan to crumble.

Assuming that there was still a need for the plan at all.

The cars zipped by just as the seconds faded away. Then those fleeing seconds turned into minutes. Then after the fifth minute ticked by, of not detecting anything. Ritsuka let out a small sigh of relief.

No trouble yet.

"Let's go." He offered Mash a hand.

She blinked and then smiled up at him. Taking his hand to follow behind.

Once they ducked back out into the sun, Ritsuka glanced up and down the street for any signs that might indicate that they were being followed. But he couldn't see one, another tick in his shortlist of blessings. A small smile appeared on his face as he turned down the street leading the way.

#

Gudako was waiting for them by the door of the candy shop peering through the corner shop entrance. But judging by the look on her expression, he had a feeling he wasn't going to enjoy the coming conversation.

As he got closer, he felt Ushi land somewhere behind him and it was almost enough to make him smile. The Assassin servant wasn't really trying to hide her presence from him.

He spared a glance back behind her and she gave him a thumbs-up before gesturing to Mash with her grin starting to widen.

Ritsuka blinked and shook his head.

Not while I'm next to her, please. Last time I landed twenty feet away.

His sister glanced at him as he approached the last few steps. "The shadows were tailing me. Ushi and I lost them a few blocks before the shop." Her voice was iced with a layer of emotion that Ritsuka couldn't quite place. Gudako wasn't angry or sad, but there was a tightness in her throat as she spoke.

"Alright," He nodded slowly. "And?"

Gudako's nostrils flared as she pushed open the door. "And Edmond was responsible for all the dead Vorporeals in the hills." She turned her glowing golden eyes on him as she held the door for him. "Some big battle took place. Butcher said it was their king or their alpha."

He smiled a little happy that they found something on him. "Well, at least we know what he was up to. Ditching you for fighting chickens…" In the seconds of silence that came after, Ritsuka's eyes narrowed a little at her expression. The non-existent annoyed reaction he'd been expecting to get. He pressed his mouth into a line to bite back the first few remarks that had come to mind as he realized there was more. "And?"

"Edmond had help." She said, "The butcher said I was the second person asking after Edmond." Her golden eyes bore into his with an unsettling glare. Though whether it was anger at him, or simple frustration he wasn't certain. "The first was an ashen-haired woman with amber eyes, a black jacket. Red and black swimsuit and three swords strapped to her back. Sound at all familiar?"

He bit his lip to bite back his snark at her more hostile change in tone. "If she's been there, it's this loop and this loop alone." Ritsuka pushed past the door to make room for the others behind him. His thoughts now spinning as he tried to think back to previous loops once again to see if any of that sounded familiar. The only times Alter had really left his company was to hike along the beach in the evening. It limited the people she could see or interact with.

Even then it's rare when she leaves the room, she's often too swamped with work.

But there was one more specific detail he tried to focus on. To be certain about. Gudako had at least traced the day of Edmond's disappearance. Which had left him either dying the fourth night of each loop or sometime during the fifth day. Something that Gudako had narrowed down even further by going to meet him for lunch today.

Alter doesn't strike me as someone who'd search for Edmond on her own unless he had valuable information either. Which begs... additional questions.

Gudako followed after him, eyes still narrowed.

Ritsuka's lip twitched. "There is more to it?"

"Alter mentioned she was his partner." Her voice wasn't accusatory, but still, for Gudako it was a very near thing as her golden eyes still roamed his searching answers.

He nodded slowly to himself, realizing finally what his sister was really asking. "I can think of alibies for Alter's whereabouts during the times you suggested Edmond might start going missing. Ritsuka shook his head, growing more firm and confident as the memories came clearly to him. "If they are partners, this is the first time I've been hearing about it." He glanced around the candy store and grabbed his sister's hand. He pulled her towards a corner where they could talk. "Did the butcher have any other details?"

"None," she said. She took a deep breath, the fire present in her harsh glare dwindling as the conversation began to shift away. "If Alter's talked to him, you're going to have to talk to her for me." She pressed her lips into a line. "I don't want to rush you…" Her voice grew softer and for a second Ritsuka thought a plea would escape her lips. Instead, she pressed her lips together to cut herself off.

His mouth twisted a little and he swallowed hard. He nodded slowly in understanding. "But you worry." Rtisuka straightened up with his breath. "Talk to Edmond at the beach party to see if he's willing to give up anything when asking about what happened at the hillside yesterday. We'll see where we are after that." He huffed out a breath and folded his arms as he stepped out of the corner they were both standing in. "Great, we got stuff related to our prospective partners, but we're still no closer to Ibaraki."

If even Ibaraki was a lead at all.

Gudako only nodded in agreement. Even then it was clear she still wasn't happy, moving to follow her brother with folded arms. Some semblance of normalcy replaced her harsh tone. "Sorry," she said quietly.

Ritsuka smiled only a little looking back over his shoulder before turning around taking a few steps backward as he gestured to himself. "Well, I'm your brother, who else would you blame but me?" Then he spun back around to head to the counter.

She snorted, "Ass." Gudako looked back to make sure the other servants were following.

Mash was red-cheeked, glaring at Ushi.

No doubt in her mind that the assassin servant had taken the time to tease Mash about something important to her. The thought as Ushi's laughter only grew more rambunctious whatever had caused Mash to blush had started to fade, and even she started to giggle.

Ritsuka had reached the counter.

The worker wasn't a servant and likely one of the replicated locals. They smiled at them. "Ah, here to taste test before you go shopping young man?" They were an elderly woman, and she seemed to have a dry wit about her. "Or perhaps your friends are the ones that dragged you here?" She tilted her head.

He smiled a little and bowed his head in greeting. "Actually, the four of us are trying to find an old friend of ours. She's blonde, wears horns on her head, and has red tattoos on her cheeks." Ritsuka smiled. "Rumor has it she loves your corner candy shop."

A frown touched the old woman's lips. "Well, it's possible." She said slowly. "But I'm afraid I haven't been in the past few days. I've been bedridden you see. And the strangest thing, my co-worker who'd been working here the past few days also got sick. So if she's supposed to have been here in the last few days. I'm afraid I can't help you."

Another dead end. Damn it.

Ritsuka pressed his lips into a line to hide his frustration in the best way he could. He ran a hand over his face and tried to think.

Mash's eyes narrowed. "Sick? The both of you?"

Both she and her coworker?

His eyes narrowed a little at that.

Sherlock had phrases regarding coincidences. Something he'd clearly passed on to Mash in all of their usual time together. Judging by her expression, she had a look of determination once again like she was on one of her own thrilling adventure cases.

Assuming sickness wasn't a coincidence due to proximity…

"Another question then. Is it just you and your co-workers getting sick?"

"Ritsuka." His sister's voice said from behind him. She tapped the newspaper stand a few feet away in the corner with her finger, "Look at this." She pulled up the main one and brought it over. "Frontpage column four."

The frown on his lips only deepened.

The older woman huffed. "As you can see, I'm afraid not deary." She made a face and wrinkled her nose as she continued to do her crossword puzzle. "I'm telling you its all those new tourists, they brought something with them."

Ritsuka looked pointedly at Mash and Ushi. "Two hundred and sixty cases of sickness reported within the last week of the same symptoms, fatigue, mild fever. No deaths."

Gudako raised an eyebrow. "Yet?"

"Possibly." He agreed.

None of our servants would ever dream of being responsible for this though. They all hate the idea of vampirism.

Ushi shook her head. "It can't be Ibaraki." The assassin shook her head again this time more firmly. "No, it can't. Ibaraki may be on the demonic side of things but even she wouldn't after the contract the both of you signed her to upon summoning."

"Which means if it's a servant, they're not one of ours," Ritsuka said, his face darkening.

"Shit." His sister snatched the paper to put it back onto the shelf.

He looked back to the elderly woman who was now staring at them rather weirdly. "We are cosplayers for the Servfest at the end of the week."

"Ah." She said with understanding. "Well in that case I sure hope you aren't the ones spreading the disease." The old woman feigned a pout towards them before smiling again. "Just kidding dears."

Mash was quiet as she was thinking things through. "Do you know anyone who might've seen the girl we are looking for the past few days? You mentioned your sick co-worker? Is there any chance we might talk to them?"

"I'm afraid not dear." The elderly woman frowned a little. "I...can't say I know where they live. Nor do I have any way to contact them. The boss might? But they aren't here today either. Off on some hiking trip on one of the other islands."

Mash deflated a little.

I wonder if the world deletes them when they leave the area?

"Stop it." He mouthed quietly to himself.

The four of them bought a single piece of chocolate with a few spare gilbucks, and also tipped the elderly woman for her time.

Ritsuka was breaking off squares for everyone as they walked outside. "Well, it's not a total loss even if we couldn't find her." He offered the first batch to Gudako.

She nodded and took the small piece. "No, we didn't." Gudako nibbled at the corners of the chocolate squares.

Mash seemed to smile as she understood as she grabbed the next piece he broke off. "We know that Ibaraki, and whatever's causing people to get sick might've come to the same place."

Ushi grinned too. "Which isn't likely to be a coincidence is it?"

Ritsuka risked only a small smile. "No, it isn't."

#

The masters settled into their swimming mystic codes before attending the beach. It meant a stop at the hotel was needed.

Ritsuka threw a towel over his shoulders and once again took a seat at the couches in the lobby of the hotel before they headed out. It was only a few minutes before his sister and the other pair of servants arrived.

Robin appeared in the doorway waiting for them.

Guessing by the look on his face, and exchanging a glance with Gudako, Ritsuka assumed that whatever he'd had to say wasn't good.

"Did you find her?" Ritsuka asked.

"Yes." As they climbed down the steps, he paused and pointed to the tallest building of all the hotels on the hill. "I spotted her from up there using mana to enhance my site like I normally do for my bow. "It was only briefly…" he pressed his lips together, still uncertain about anything he had to say. "But she went out to the hills. There were a lot of other people out there, it looked like they were collecting things…"

Gudako restrained herself from asking the obvious question of whether he got to talk to her or not. Trusting Robin to be forthcoming with them with any information that he might've gathered.

Robin shook his head. "Sorry masters. By the time I had gotten there, she was gone."

Ritsuka nodded. "Our report isn't much, but what little we have to share isn't great either. At best it implies that she's had contact with BB as a problem. At worst…" His eyes narrowed a little. "I assume she's working with her."

The archer nodded slowly as he took a deep breath.

He frowned a little at the sky and gave a brief glance at the sun indicating near noontime. Ritsuka then stepped to the front of the group. "Come, we should head out to the beach for the party. We should at least get there before Medb."

Gudako checked her watch. "One hour, shaved ice booth?"

Ritsuka checked his too and hummed. "One hour." He glanced at Ushi. "You've been practicing your Assassin class stealth, yes?"

Ushiwakamru nodded at her grin widening.

"Your job is to tail Medb. Keep an eye on her until she crosses a line." Ritsuka's eyes narrowed. "I doubt she'll find time away from her beach day beauty contest with how narcissistic she is... but better to be cautious."

Ushi nodded.

Gudako nodded. "I'll be with Edmond. We'll be circling the perimeter and looking out for trouble." She rubbed her chin in thought. "Robin finds a palm tree and perch up. Any sign of trouble comes to whoever is closest."

"Mash, you and I will mingle with the crowd." His eyes narrowed in thought. "We can do our best to attract just enough attention to appear like we are not there for any other reason than just to have fun and relax." Rituska chuckled a little. "Shouldn't be too hard, we've all needed a break from working on doujins for nearly a month straight."

Mash smiled, tilting her head a little. Then she grew serious. "We should also all keep an eye out for Ibaraki still."

Gudako nodded. "We should. Emiya's cooking is hard to resist."

He smiled at that. "One hour, shaved ice booth." He repeated. And after a chorus of nods and acknowledgments, they all headed off towards the beach, separating off one by one until they were all heading off their assigned tasks. Once again, leaving Mash and Ritsuka alone to do their part of the mission.

#

Emiya was out of place that much was obvious. He was supposed to be cooking, but thankfully for him, Pavetti had stepped in to help. He'd been dragged away by the most rambunctious group of people that Ritsuka had ever seen whenever they were all put together.

The Round Table.

Lancelot and Gawain had taken it upon themselves to get their king's favorite Chef to come and join whatever problems they were about to cause.

Ritsuka winced a little. "Oh boy." He looked down at Mash,

The shielder servant offered him a nervous but awkward smile. "At least it's got nothing to do with Medb right?"

There is that.

"Come on, we better go make sure that no one actually gets hurt." He set off into a steady jog with Mash to catch up with them.

Nightingale was sitting in a lifeguard tower watching intently everyone that played on the beach.

Ritsuka could almost feel her looking at him as his jog came to a stop. She was just doing her job of course, but still, the way she could slide those sunglasses up and down her nose could send shivers up anyone's spine. He did his best not to dwell on it long as he caught up to the knights of Camelot. A sigh of relief escaped his lips when he saw what was happening.

In the sand was placed a large volleyball net. With deep cuts into the sand to mark the edges of the field. He could see a company of knights on one side of the tent. That included King Artoria who was talking with Bedivere. Tristan was standing nearby with folded arms and a small smile on his lips.

Mordred was kicking the sand by herself on the other side of the net before she saw Lancelot and Gawain practically drag Emiya onto the field and plant him stiffly beside her wide-eyed.

With a quick salute, Lancelot ran to the other side to join Artoria. The black knight in Lancelot's berserker half remained rooted stiffly in place. Only grunting and huffing whenever Mordred tried to make small talk towards him.

Mordred was used to it though with all the time she's spent with Fran. She had developed a keen sense of awareness of how the berserkers who couldn't talk very well were feeling. And judging by the small smile on her lips, she was at least pleased with how the black knight was feeling about the whole situation.

However, her smile had turned to shock as Emiya was planted onto his feet stiffly beside her as if he'd weighed nothing to the other two knights. She'd almost jumped at his sudden arrival and appearance before a smile started to form only she'd gotten startled right out of it again when she was wrapped up in a group hug from Gawain.

Mash touched the hand of her heart.

Ritsuka noticed and raised an eyebrow at her. "Something wrong?"

She smiled and shook her head. "I think...the servant who was a part of me wants to join them." She shrugged a little. "It's like…" Then she tilted her head in thought trying to find how best to describe the feeling. "It's like a residual muscle memory...Something that's there...a feeling, but you know it isn't."

Gawain with arms now wrapped around both Mordred and Emiya, almost crushing them under his weight. He gave several waves over to the black knight still standing stiffly near the edge of the field.

The berserker Lancelot looked towards them still in his black armor. "Mmmmm." To Ritsuka's ears, it almost sounded like a reluctant protest from a child. However, the black knight still slowly came over to them, allowing Gawain to crush all three of them into a huddle for a nice big bear hug.

Gawain said a few words of encouragement to them before backing away and yelling for his king. "We found someone to help balance the teams!"

The rider pushed her face away from the metal chest plate of the black knight. "Sorry, they're a rambunctious bunch. You know."

"Ahhhck," The black knight said, and went back to his spot on the volleyball field. He folded his arms and waited for the game to begin.

Emiya cursed little and ran a hand down his face. "Why am I not surprised?"

Mordred smirked a little at Emiya's predicament. Her surfboard was off to the side of the volleyball field, showing that she had no intention of leaving any time soon. She put a hand on her hip and gave Emiya a toothy grin. "They got ya too huh?"

The red archer glanced down at her with a raised eyebrow and huffed. "Don't pretend this isn't exactly where you wanted to be all along Mordred." He placed a hand on his hip as well to mirror her. He closed one of his eyes as he returned a small smile of his own.

She pouted as much as she blushed, nearly puffing out her cheeks. Mordred looked away, avoiding Emiya's grey eyes. "Tugh. Whatever…" The rider folded her arms. "Shouldn't you have been busy cooking everybody's lunch today anyway?"

Emiya conceded with a nod. "I should be." He pressed his mouth into a line as the other team spotted him next to Gawain and Modred. "Which means I can only help you win a couple of games at best." The archer seemed to finally give in, and the red mantle and the armor of his usual attire faded into blue particles of light, being replaced by swim trunks and a simple black button-up T-shirt.

The rebellious knight huffed a laugh from beside him. "Seems like you're not really putting up much of a struggle about that predicament of yours either?"

He sighed and nodded, a small smile coming to his lips as Artoria's eyes seemed to linger on him. "No, I'm not." He admitted. "If I've learned anything about you honorable knights, is that I'll simply have a smoother time going with the flow.

Artoria had a range of emotions that played across her face when she saw Emiya on the other side of the net. She glanced somewhat accusingly at Lancelot as he settled beside her a few feet away. But whether the knight noticed or not she didn't really stay on that gear for long. Eventually, she grinned in a way that sent a shiver up Emiya's spine.

"Uh-oh" Mordred said, tensing. "I think Gawain miscalculated dad's competitive nature."

The red archer sighed. "That wouldn't surprise me." He did his best to stand firm, and remain mostly expressionless. "The last time I saw her like this was…" Emiya frowned and his brow furrowed. Some distant memories of an indoor swimming park. Where people played games went down waterslides, and somewhere in there was a volleyball court. "Huh, I think she and I have played volleyball before."

The rider blinked. "Really?!"

"Yes…" His frown deepened. "The memory is all hazy though."

Gawain rolled his shoulder. "Her majesty's got a hell of a serving arm."

Mordred slammed her fist into her palm. "I can catch anything she can dish out."

Off to the side, Ritsuka folded his arms letting out a final breath of relief. "Alright, Round Table, check. They are finding ways to make Emiya have fun." He turned to face Mash with a hand on his hip. "Alright, what's next?"

The young woman frowned. "Mmm, Pirates?" She looked up the beach with the giant center stage being constructed for the purposes of the Medb's beauty contest. "We should also probably stop by to make sure that Medb and her followers aren't harassing people in order to get mandatory participation."

It would also be an excellent time to check in on Ushi's progress.

He frowned too. "Medb would do that just to fill the contestant pool. Then she would force everyone to admit she won."

"I think you're greatly underestimating her number of fans, Senpai." She folded her arms. "She won't even have to rig the contest because there are so many of them. They would've volunteered to be judges for her."

Ritsuka sighed.

Mash is right once again.

With a huff, he nodded once. "Right, well. The pirates are a little further down the beach. We may as well check in on Medb's contest on the way." He shoved his hands into his pockets, gave a wave towards Nightingale.

The nurse gave a nod back.

Then the pair of them were off.

The whole beach was crowded with every recognizable servant Chaldea had ever summoned. It was a sight Ritsuka was certain he would never get completely used to even after all the experiences he'd had so far.

All the versions of Cú Chulainn were present walking out on the pier to cast long fishing lines to try and make their catches of the day.

Scáthach had taken it upon herself to be de facto security for the party. Evidence was the pile of dead oversized crabs and dead urchins that Gilles used from his grimoire. Only more importantly she was directing prototype Cú into collecting them and ferrying them over to the cooks to be made into lunches.

There was another party a few hundred meters away, one with a few lingering curious servants as to what was going on. A few shadows amongst them too, but from where Ritsuka was standing, he couldn't tell if it was the same ones they saw earlier. But the gathering crowd was there for one reason, and one reason alone.

Medb.

The queen herself hadn't made an appearance yet, but he could only guess it was a matter of time before she did.

Fashionably late.

Mash tugged on his sleeve and pointed towards a towel that had been strewn out along the beach for sunbathing.

Though instead of sunbathing, Ushiwakamaru looked to be in a huff. Her hair was in a tangled mess, the umbrella stand that had been hanging over had been stolen, or it was among the pieces of garbage that littered the sand around her. Her yellow sweater was stained with something red, and Ritsuka desperately hoped it wasn't blood.

The summer assassins shifted to stand upright as they approached. A smile broke through the tension that he'd felt when they were approaching. "There you two are, I was waiting on the both of you."

Mash wasn't the kind of person to let it all go away so easily. "Uh? Are you hurt?"

Ushi looked confused, and then followed the point of Mash's finger, to the yellow sweater. "Oh." She shrugged with a chuckle. "No, it's not mine or anything." Her smile faded a little. "As you can see, I got into a bit of a scrap."

Rtisuka inhaled slowly, wanting to buy himself precious seconds of time before he could voice the question.

"Now, I know what you're thinking master, and you're right, it's most definitely not my fault." Ushi's eyes narrowed with a huff, putting her hands on her hips. "Medb's followers were going to start trying to head over to our little Chaldea party with saboteurs to try and ruin it." She gestured to the god-awful monstrosity of a stage that had been set up on the beach. "Which would thereby make Medb the only choice for entertainment today."

"Devious." He agreed.

I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemies.

Ritsuka's eyes narrowed a little towards the assassin. "I take it you started the fight?"

She nodded and grinned despite the disheveled state she was in. "And more importantly master, I ended it too."

He sighed a little with relief. "Do you need to see a healer?"

Ushi looked down at herself with a frown. Then, after a moment, she smiled and shook her head. "Nah, nothing that won't heal itself as I get my own mana back." She dusted herself off a bit with a huff. "But...outside of that singular problem." She folded her arms as she looked once again at the crowd of Medb fans. "She hasn't been bothering anyone else."

Ritsuka nodded. "Do you think she ordered them to go and ruin the other beach party-" There was a crack that ripped through the air behind them, one that pulled all their attention back towards the other side of the beach party.

The crack whipped through the air again.

Mash smiled. "The round table started their volleyball match."

A shiver went up his spine. "Damn, I think they should put up a sign that says servants only in order to avoid trouble."

"To answer your question master," Ushi started. "I can't be sure." She gestured to the mess around her little beach spot. "If she did order some of her fans to attack, I'm certain that they would attack us. On the other hand…" she glanced away. "They might choose to do it of their own volition."

They did choose to attack us when Alter had already removed Medb.

He pressed his lips in thought.

Once again, no real proof of anything.

Then he sighed. "Well, at least Chaldea's beach party is safe for the time being." he nodded once between them. "For now, continue as we are. Leave Medb to her beauty contest." He nodded to Ushi. "Keep an eye on things, I would stress doing so a bit more discreetly, need to make sure nothing can surprise us-"

Only something did surprise him.

Ushi took a step toward him and gave him a quick shove.

He spun around stumbling to stay upright. "Alright, what was that-" The words died in his throat as he looked on ahead back towards the Chaldea beach party. Among all the people walking from one end to the other. Those that were playing in the water, or surfing the ocean waves. He spotted Jeanne D'Arc, Queen Marie, and Alter Lily who was now separating with them, running off to join Jack and Nursery who were making some ornate sand-related sculpture just where the wet sand started to turn dry.

But behind them was Alter, her black jacket discarded so it was just her swimsuit. She had a bag with her, and a large umbrella she meant to plant somewhere in the sand.

Ritsuka blinked and looked over at Ushi.

The assassin smirked at him, while Mash, bless the young girl's heart, had gone from shock to surprise, and tried to put on her best poker face all within the span of five seconds as she'd slowly caught on to what had happened.

He looked back at Alter, as she fixed her umbrella into the sand. Eventually, she was helped by Jeanne who came running back to give her an assist. Though rather than shout or complain at it, like Ritsuka might've expected of her. Alter simply gave her an annoyed look. If she'd said thanks, it was muttered under her breath. Alter flung out her towel, and with the umbrella to block the direct light from the sun, she sat down, crossing her legs, and digging through her bag, until she pulled free her small journal full of notes.

She's still working on something?

He felt himself start smiling.

Good. She looks more at peace anyhow.

Ritsuka felt his heart leap against the walls of his chest as his nerves started to fray at him. Still, despite it, he managed a small smile. His blue eyes went to Ushi and Mash. He took a deep breath and nodded to them. "Later." He promised. Then he firmed a little, both for them, and himself. "After we finish making our rounds."

Ushi's smile faded away and for a second she looked as if she were about to protest. But ultimately she bit it back down.

The job comes first.

Mash nodded too.

"If it makes you feel any better Ushi, your job just became the most important of all of ours." He nodded back towards the party. "If Medb in any way approaches her, she won't have to send followers, shadows, to try and ruin the party. She'd only have to provoke one." Ritsuka gave her one last nod.

Ushi smiled again. "Understood master. I'll keep an eye on her for you."

"Thanks." He muttered dryly. The breeze blew through his hair and did his best to swallow how mesmerized he was with his next breath.

After.

Rtisuka turned to Mash. "Come on. Let's double back towards Robin first. Then we can meet my sister and Edmond at the shaved ice beach bar." He leads the way, taking care to avoid walking in Alter's direct line of sight.

Just a little longer.

#

A sort of silence had settled between them as they stopped walking beside each other. Gudako bit her lip, and when she stopped walking right beside him it was telling.

So he lied to me.

Edmond had taken a few steps before pausing too. His shoulders slunk down a bit and a quiet sigh escaped his lips. He turned around to face her, his black coat flowing from his shoulders as if it were a cape.

She had to admit that they both did a very good job at keeping the turmoil that she knew that they both felt buried down.

"You know, it was the right call." He said as delicately as he could manage. His voice is not commanding or emotionless. His voice even managed to tend towards something tender, and gentle.

Somehow he manages it better than I.

Gudako's fingers curled into fists, biting back the first twisting snap that came like bile into her throat. With trembling lips pressed together to keep it in. Edmond might've even thought in another circumstance she was timid of saying something or afraid of something. But as her golden eyes narrowed towards him, any thoughts he might've had about her mindset being in that manner had vanished.

He too knew her well enough to know her anger. But this wasn't that. Anger was something he could've probably placated slowly. It was something he'd come to deal with, prepared himself to deal with. But it wasn't anger.

It was fury, cold and silent.

Edmond folded his arms keeping his eyes on hers. They didn't harden, because he knew it was his fault no matter how justified it as he explained it was. But he had nothing more than the guns he'd have to stick to. Somewhere between caring and logical."I didn't want to…" He looked away. "For the record. I didn't like pretending either." He pressed his lips together for a moment. "But if I was found out-"

"What's changed?" Her voice was cold enough to force away from the summer heat. She stared at him, her red hair churned in the sea breeze behind her. "Why bother to tell me now? When you could've just waited until the crisis was resolved?"

He was silent, silent and Gudako was kind enough to allow him because he wanted to pick the right words. "I...well, the mission outlook has changed." He gripped the shoulder of his coat to keep it from flying away and then settled it further over his shoulders. "Also, Jeanne Alter may have had her hand in convincing me to confess."

Gudako raised a brow.

Ironic that she can't help herself, but is more than willing to make others fix their own problems.

"You were dying, tonight, every…" She grit her teeth. "Every 'this' night for almost every loop. Unless you chose to come with me." Her mouth twisted. "If you keep your memories, you know what kills you, and have pretty much done what I've been trying to do from the beginning."

Edmond nodded. "I...suspected that's what you were up to." He rubbed his chin. "The way you fought harder to keep me by your side." He tapped his fingers against his arm. "While I still think I'm being watched constantly. I think...now I'm more certain that they can't listen directly into my conversations." He met her gaze. "And more importantly, this loop is already drastically different from the others. So I can break my patterns more openly. I won't be dying for this loop that's for sure."

She'd fallen silent again, her golden eyes narrowing a little further.

Still doesn't fix the problem.

He took a deep breath. "It was still the right decision-"

Not the problem!

"I know!" Gudako snapped. "I get that okay!" Her lips started to twist and she marched towards him. "I understand with perfect clarity what it was the correct decision to make!" She paused two feet from him looking up into his eyes. "It's logical. It's a sound reaction, and a sound plan that you made." She put her hand on her chest. "But that doesn't matter. I'm still hurt okay! It still hurts!"

Edmond barely managed to hide his wince, and it was a very near thing.

"I had to know that you died and I had to find a way to live with it every single time wondering to myself, worrying to myself that what if this was the loop where we fixed things by the end. What does that mean for you? Would I have to start from the beginning on just trying to summon you?" She paused only for a breath. "What about those loops where I now know you knew I was trying to keep you alive, and you blatantly ignored me anyway!" From her golden irises that had begun to water, slipped one tear through the cracks of her dam. "I'm not asking you to explain why you had to do it okay!"

Just this once…

Gudako squeezed her eyes shut and suddenly she grew cold in the breeze. "I'm asking you to understand that I still feel hurt regardless! I…" She huffed. "I understand why you did it, the logic in it. But I'm..." Her lip trembled, and she tasted salt on her lip and her vision was blurred when she opened her eyes to him again. "It hurts-" She could feel the pain pulsating like the vibrations of her heartbeat. A sniff as she rubbed at her cheeks with a towel. "It hurts…" She whispered.

Edmond pressed his lips together, and nodded slowly, and even despite the good intentions behind it, he still felt the shame that he'd hoped to avoid. He stepped closer to her and wrapped his arms around her.

She buried her face into his and tried to hold back her unwanted tears again.

"I'm sorry." He whispered softly. "I'm…" His shoulders tensed and relaxed. "...I'm so sorry." Edmond pushed his lips together and kissed her hair. "You didn't deserve that…" He closed his eyes and buried his face in her red hair. Holding her tightly against him. "I know…" He muttered.

She could hear it in his warming tone that he did. Then he knew that it wouldn't have been the plan itself that would be the problem. It wouldn't be the lack of communication. It wouldn't be the logic in the plan. That in the end, it would just be the pain of it. The emotions that she often did her best to bury.

He didn't know how long he'd held onto her. She didn't know it either. But it was something the both of them had desperately needed.

Slowly when her tears had mostly dried. Gudako took a step back and nodded with a few shaky breaths. Next, she wiped her eyes again with the towel. "Sorry, I-" She looked down at herself. "I must look like quite the mess?"

At that Edmond smirked. "You think I don't?" He looked down at himself too, holding up some of his messy hair between his index and thumb. "Look at how winded this is? It's like I've just run at fifty miles per hour."

Gudako snorted and nodded a couple of times, sniffing one last time. "You okay?" She asked gently.

He nodded. "Better." Then he tilted his head and slammed his fists together. "Well, I'll certainly feel better once I find Ibaraki to put her in her place." His small smile had only just started to widen when he saw Gudako tense.

"Ibaraki?" She asked in a very carefully edged tone.

Edmond stared at her eyes narrowing. "The person who was responsible for my first few deaths in this singularity." His mouth twisted a little. "She won't be a problem for me anymore…" He trailed off as he met his master's gaze once again realizing there were larger implications at stake than just their previous discussion."

Gudako's brow furrowed a little. "How much do you know?" Then just as suddenly she shook her head. "Wait, never mind. You can explain it to us in…" She checked her watch. "Twenty minutes. We are going to be meeting Ritsuka, Mash, Ushi, and Robin in twenty minutes over some shaved ice." She looked up at him. "We were investigating Ibaraki all day today, we think she's connected to whatever's causing…" She gestured to the world around them. "This." She finally said.

Edmond nodded. "I...wish I could say I've had the chance to talk to her-"

"Save it," Gudako said pointedly. "I'd rather you not have to repeat the whole story twice." She rubbed her chin with a hum. "Ibaraki…"

He gave a single nod and pushed his lips together and looked out over the ocean. Then he moved to stand beside her. "In that case, where should we go to kill off some twenty minutes?" Edmond gave a small smile.

Gudako's lips almost twitched into a smile. "Later." She snagged his hands. "Maybe." Then she looked pointedly at him, "First, you are going to buy me a drink from the bar as an apology. There's got to be a few good vodka and fruit smoothies. Then we are going to talk about everything else that you've been trying to accomplish in our times apart. And I will share the same right back to you."

Edmond hummed. "Fine." He followed along behind her. "How often should I kiss your knuckles to prove my guilt?"

She almost smirked at him. "As often as you'd like." Gudako started into a small jog, letting his fingers go. "But come, we do have to hurry, and we do only have twenty minutes before our next meeting."

At a steady pace, the both of them headed off.

#

Ritsuka glanced down at his watch.

She's running late.

He glanced over at Mash, who was staring at her flavored crushed ice with a mouth in the shape of an "o". For a moment, amusement washed out the minor frustration at his sister's tardiness as he watched Mash try to figure out how best to take her first morsel of the ice.

"First time?" He asked.

She nodded. "I mean I read about it of course…" The young shielder paused to look at him, and he could see the wonder in her eyes. "I still have so much to experience…" Mash smiled at him just before she brought the crushed ice to her lips.

He hummed a small laugh but his smile faded as he slowly went back to focusing on the situation. Though his eyes lingered on Mash a few minutes longer, remembering one of the reasons he committed to himself saving the world in the first place.

So that she could experience all the world and what it had to offer.

Ritsuka glanced down at the water sitting in front of him and brought it to his lips. He cleared his throat and shook the darker thoughts away.

Not enough apparently, as Robin nudged him from the other side. "You've got a long face master," The archer grinned, as he swiveled in his seat so he was facing the beach, and propped his back and elbows on the bar's counter as he turned back around. "Care to share what's on your mind?"

He huffed. "Nothing worth mentioning." After setting his glass down a little. "I know my sister is late because she and Edmond had a lot to talk about." His lip twisted. "I guess from their absence, we can guess it was a great deal more they'd had to share with each other than what I initially thought."

Robin nodded. "Probably. The rest of us aren't going to be making any plans when you Alter finally settled whatever's going on between you two."

There was a huff of a laugh. "Really?" He raised a brow at Robin. "And just how long did you all think it was going to last."

Ushi leaned out from behind Mash. "Long enough Master."

Whether it's good or bad though I guess will be determined on how she is when we sit down to talk finally.

Ritsuka hummed a few chuckles as he decided to take a morsel of his own shaved ice. Enjoying the cool feeling against the summer heat. "I guess I'll let you know?" He held up his drink towards Ushi, and then to Robin. "For the record, I plan on talking to her soon." He sighed a little. "Just want to make sure she's doing better first."

Mash leaned her head forward over the counter, a stain of red juice on her nose from the ice. "And is she?"

He half laughed and a half relief noise as he huffed out his next breath. Ritsuka nodded a few times. "Yes. Yes, she does appear to be." It took more effort than he was willing to admit, to refrain from looking over his shoulder in the direction of where he'd last seen her. He huffed a small chuckle. "Guess that means I'll be out of excuses soon." A small smirk came to his lips as he met Ushi's gaze.

"Master," She huffed a few chuckles. "You're out of excuses, now."

Robin chuckled. "Oi, lay off him." He wrapped his arm around Ritsuka. "He'll be out of excuses in five minutes, just give him time."

Out of the corner of his eye, over a little sand hill, he finally spotted a familiar black coat swaying in the sea breeze, and with it two figures he recognized. He quickly down some more of his shaved ice. His amused smile faded. "Alright, back to business." He stood up and waved the pair of them down.

It was easy enough to spot their little beach group, so within a few moments the pair had joined them at the counter, and then they moved to a table so they could more easily have a group discussion.

Edmond went off to quickly get them shaved ice while Gudako took a seat next to Ritsuka.

Ritsuka stared at her. "You had a drink?"

"Just the one," Gudako stated. "Still perfectly sober enough for this conversation." She forced her eyes to widen as if she was shaking off weariness.

Mash inhaled. "I think that's illegal here."

It was Gudako who chuckled. "Mash, my brother and I are half European and half Japanese." She leaned a little over the table. "I don't think you'll find either of us are willing to care all that much about the rules a fake replication of Hawaii will set down for alcohol restrictions at the age of twenty-one." She raised a brow at him.

"I was planning to bring a flask with Sake," Ritsuka said with a smile.

Mash puffed her cheeks out with a pout, but ultimately she decided to let it go.

He turned to Gudako and raised a brow at her. "Everything okay?"

She chuckled a little. "A complicated answer to that question."

Ritsuka chuckled. "Isn't it always?"

"Usually." Gudako nodded a couple of times. "Give it a minute, and I'm sure you'll understand why we are late." She shifted and grabbed his bicep. "Don't be angry with him. We talked about it okay?"

He met her golden eyes with brief confusion, but slowly an implication sunk in. His confusion had begun to turn to a curiosity edged by hints of anger. The grip she'd had on his arm firmed, and he took a deep breath. "How bad?"

Gudako tilted her head. "Bad enough that I need to give you the warning beforehand." She made him look her in the eye so he understood. "We talked about it. While I'm angry, we are going to work things out. Don't bud in to make a fool of yourself, okay?"

A huff escaped his lips. "It's my job to be a protective brother isn't it?"

"As is mine to be your sister." She nodded to him. "All the same, we are working things out, he already feels bad. Don't make it harder on either of us."

Ritsuka took a deep breath and nodded at her. "You have my word."

A few moments later, Edmond joined them, and firstly caught everyone up on what they had missed while the two of them had finally caught up.

The first real talk that the two of them had shared in almost two months of being trapped here, as he soon discovered. He pressed his lips into a line to keep from speaking, vowing to keep his word, that he wouldn't push Edmond on his decision. He kept his questions academic, but even still, every time he'd spoken, Gudako tensed beside him a little.

All the while, Ritsuka still kept his promise.

Edmond nodded at his next question. "I do remember them. Ibaraki is the one responsible for my death." He smiled, just a little, despite the circumstances. "Imagine my surprise when the rest of you are already on her case." His daring small smile fell away little by little. "But for obvious reasons, I won't be continuing this…" He tilted his head. "Collaboration beyond this loop."

Robin pushed his lips. "Together for a second. Unless Ibaraki is already on to you? Is it possible that she remembers every loop clearly as we do?"

"Unlikely." He said. "I tried to say a few provocative things before our last encounter where she would kill me off before the loop reset again." With some finality, he shook his head. "No, she is reset every week. Or she just hides it very well." Then his face fell just enough as he looked at Robin. "Sorry."

The archer took a breath and shook his head. "It's alright." He chuckled a couple of times. "Relationships are complicated anyways. I can use plenty of present company as proof of that." He glanced at Ritsuka.

His lips pressed together. For him, he was still mulling over the time Edmond had spent with Alter the day before. The talk that he knew the two of them had in order to finally get on the same page. It almost made him smile too, despite the circumstances.

Alter, I could kiss you for your bluntness. You might've just given us all the handle we need to unravel this whole thing unwittingly.

"Robin," Ritsuka said. "You mentioned Ibaraki trying to find Shuten in order to celebrate? The summer?" He turned to look at the archer.

He frowned a little. "Yes?"

At that, Ritsuka did risk a small grin as he leaned forward to Edmond. "Is it possible then, that Shouten is the one that sent her to kill you?"

Edmond frowned as he considered. "Possibly," He agreed, rubbing his chin in thought. "But if Shuten is here, she's done a good job of keeping out of the spotlight."

Mash almost bounced in her seat with excitement. "But we know that Kintoki is here!" She glanced over at the two masters. "And we know that those two often go to a lot of places together with Minamoto-no-Raikou often not far behind!"

Gudako met Ritsuka's glance. He nodded once to her. "I know where Minamoto is right now. She's about to arrive at the center of the barbecue demanding to take her place as one of the main cooks so she can fulfill her…" He tilted his head a little. "Motherly tendencies." He glanced at Edmond. "Might be worth starting there."

Robin sat up. "Won't be necessary I think master. We can just ask Ibaraki…" He then stood up and started walking around the table.

All their eyes turned to follow, Edmond standing up more out of the instinct of nearby danger. Only his fingers were clutched tightly in Gudako's hand.

The archer plucked a candy off the bar top of the shaved ice counter and walked off towards the oni that everyone could see with fresh eyes. Edmond's instinct of trouble when it came to the oni was well deserved. But as the seconds passed, as Robin approached her, it became very apparent that Ibaraki looked nothing like the troublemaker she'd been.

She was so lost in thought, her shoulders sagged, that she hadn't noticed Robin approaching her to talk. So she looked up, almost started by his presence, dark circles under her eyes.

Edmond took a deep breath and slowly sat back down beside Gudako.

Ritsuka tilted his head. "Maybe you and Alter ruined her evening plans more than you thought?"

The avenger sitting across from him shrugged. "I would've thought she'd have more of a drive to kill me after yesterday."

Robin held out the candy to Ibaraki. The girl seemed to perk up a little at that, even managing a smile despite her tired eyes. Then she said something back to him, and the pair seemed to fall into a deep conversation.

"Those two are cute aren't they?" Ushi said, nudging Mash.

The shielder seemed to smile a little. "They are. Robin knows her well enough to reign her in when given the time and chances to do so." She glanced at Ritsuka. "Is that the plan?"

"For now," Gudako answered for him, she turned her golden eyes to her boyfriend. "You, alright with that, Edmond?"

The avenger shrugged. "At this point progress is progress. I'll take my resentful anger out on whoever is responsible for this whole thing at the end. Then maybe I'll see if I can get an apology out of them." He chuckled a little. "At this point, I may as well add that even if I wasn't, it would be wrong of me to say no considering what I've been doing to you this whole time?"

Gudako took a breath. "We are okay Edmond." She tilted her head. "We will be."

Edmond gave a slow nod, and glanced at Ritsuka.

His glare wasn't harsh, but it was still in place enough to let Edmond know that he didn't approve. Then his glare softened as he turned to eye the table with the rest of them. "We should make room for them. Edmond, I may have an additional suggestion?" Ritsuka waited for him to focus on him again. "Pretend as if you have no idea that she wanted to kill you."

Edmond blinked.

Ritsuka held up a hand. "I mean it, that I want you to be friendly to her." He tilted her head a little. "A little guilt trip might work in our favor. Just don't overplay it."

The avenger firmed his lips and gave a last nod.

#

It took fifteen minutes at least for Robin to coax Ibaraki into joining them at the table. The pair of them had walked around them as they talked off in different directions. They must've circled the barbecue celebration twice before Robin "happened" upon them still seated at their table. He grabbed Ibaraki and tugged her along.

"Hey guys, fancy seeing you here?"

Everyone was smart enough to take the cue and play along.

Ibaraki snorted. "Taking a break from your Doujin work today?" She managed a small smile too. Robin apparently having worked wonders in bettering her mood. Her shoulders didn't seem to sag anymore, and she was offering them a more genuine smile.

"We are. A much-needed one." Ritsuka said. "Good to see you, Ibaraki."

She rubbed her shoulder, and nodded. "Thanks. Robin mentioned you guys started only a few days ago on your first Doujin. That's an impressive amount of work that you guys are trying to do before Servfest."

Gudako grinned. "Alter is ambitious, and my brother doesn't have the heart to refuse her all the time." She interlaced her fingers with Edmond's. "How have you been, Ibaraki, haven't seen much of you since we landed?"

The banana oni as robin liked to affectionately call her sometimes, seemed to blush at that. "Oh, well I've been just...keeping myself busy I guess." She scratched the back of her neck and offered another nervous smile. "Really though, I haven't been doing much. Bouncing between rooms and sneaking into the janitor's closet to sleep in the hotel."

Ushi's eyes narrowed. "You don't have a room?"

She shook her head. "Not really. I flew in with you guys, remember? Late to the summer vacation and all that." Ibaraki placed a hand on her hip. "I apparently missed the part where Teach was offering up his room to you guys."

Edmond, "I've got a solution for you." The avenger offered a small smile. But that didn't stop Gudako from at least tensing a little. "Why not ask any of the pirates for a place to stay? A lot of the crew from their ships have moved inland for their stay in Hawaii. You might be able to find a spot on their ships if you want?"

Ibaraki seemed to avoid Edmond's eyes.

So she's feeling guilty, that's a good sign that we haven't lost her.

"I'll…" She offered a small smile. "I'll bear it in mind."

Robin raised an eyebrow at her. "You can stay with us if you want?" He glanced at Ritsuka. "We've got a sofa bed in our small living room you can make use of?"

Well, it's either I risk losing out on sleep or Edmond gets hunted to the ends of the Earth.

Edmond's eyes narrowed towards him. "Why are you staring at me like that?"

Ritsuka shook his head. "No reason."

He sighed. "I already apologized. Deeply."

"I know," Ritsuka said. He leaned over to look at Ushi, as a sudden thought occurred to him. He nodded for her to get up. "Excuse us for a moment. I forgot to talk to Ushi about our latest Doujin panel."

The assassin followed his lead, around the corner and out of sight at the table they were sitting at. "What is it, master?"

Ritsuka hummed a little, he paced back and forth a few steps in silence. Finally, he sighed as the idea finally fully formed in his head. "I'm going to regret asking this, but would you mind teaching Ibaraki how to draw panels?"

Ushi wrinkled her nose a little. "You want her to join our group?"

"Regularly, if we can manage." He said firmly. "It's the only way we can be more certain of her getting out of trouble."

"There is…" She frowned and folded her arms. Ushi shifted the weight from one heel to the other, with hands-on her hips. "A problem with that…" She met his eyes. "Remember what Edmond says? Someone is watching for any overt changes with us beyond our goal of trying to bring people into help?"

Ritsuka nodded. "We brought in artist servants to help with our first run to help us learn. If they are watching, maybe we can provoke them by taking Ibaraki away as a permanent tool for them." He bit his lip. "Edmond was right about one thing, it's that we've been so focused on trying to win the grail this way, that we haven't considered that there might be something else at play." He glanced back towards the table around the corner.

He watched them all share a small laugh.

Then his eyes returned to Ushiwakamaru. "If this provokes them...we'll get a clear answer either way before the loop resets." Ritsuka nodded to himself just once. "We are outmaneuvered and lack information. If this doesn't provoke them, then we at least deny them an asset, and keep Ibaraki from going after Edmond."

Ushi sighed. "Alright, I'll help her."

Due to their rather tumultuous history in regard to Japan, the Onis and Ushi didn't have the best relationship in Chaldea. But with Robin mediating between them, it would help to greatly smooth things over.

"But you owe me, one Master." She offered him a slight smirk. "And, if I may say just one more thing? If this plan of yours works, you will most definitely have to bring Alter back into our group before the loop's end."

"Your concern is noted," Ritsuka said dryly. "But consider this offer a temporary punishment for that." He raised a brow at her. "After all, Ibaraki is unlikely to remember everything you teach her from one loop to the next."

Ushi stared at him, and let out a whispered curse. "Damn." She bounced on her heels putting her hands on her hips with a huff. "Alright, I'm going to ask you seriously then. How long do I have to keep up this charade?"

He pressed his lips together and shook his head. "Hopefully…" His blue eyes met hers. "No more than two loops." Ritsuka closed his eyes.

And if I'm wrong?

He suppressed a wince as he met Ushiwakamaru's eyes again. "If it goes beyond that, we'll have to try something else."

She nodded quietly, her huffy posture leaving her. Ushi looked away in thought. "Back to square one if this doesn't work huh?" Her lips pressed together. "This all used to be so easy. Get to a singularity, defeat the bad guys, and go back to Chaldea."

Ritsuka could only nod his agreement. "But after…" He trailed off a little, his mind starting to focus on something. He trailed off too as he blinked and found himself looking at Ushi. He touched his chest, there was a pang there like he was sad about something. "We can't forget that our enemies can learn too…"

The Assassin servant noticed and raised a brow at him. "Master?"

He shook his head. "I'm fine I…" He blinked his thoughts away and nodded once to her. "Come on, we should get back to the others."

#

"Really?" Ibaraki said. She glanced at Edmond and then back to Ritsuka.

"We'd really love the extra help." He said with a small shrug. "The extra pair of hands to help us out will be nice."

Ushi smiled. "I'll help show you the ropes too, even though we are getting far behind. Once you're up to speed on a few things, you'll be able to slot right in alongside to help us with the panels."

The oni seemed to shrink a little. "I'm not very good at it, I don't have as much experience as Shouten at…doing a manga."

Mash smiled. "Well, no one starts out an expert."

Ritsuka chuckled. "Yeah, you really think we started out knowing everything."

Ibaraki was quiet in thought, her brow furrowed in deep concentration, only she felt a soft nudge at her side. She blinked and found herself staring into Robin's eyes.

The archer gave a quiet shrug. "Has to be better than wandering around on vacation by yourself doesn't it?"

She looked for a moment like she wanted to pout at him. "But instead she softened. Fine. But only if you guys have snacks in the room." Ibaraki sat up a bit straighter as if to take a more commanding tone.

Gudako smiled. "I think that can probably be arranged."

Ritsuka let out a breath of relief. His sister of course would see the advantages of the offer. He was only half certain that Mash or Robin would understand. But both of them would've been kind enough to allow it for other reasons anyway. Edmond, whether he understood or not, would be told later by his sister.

The Ibaraki problem is over now, at least temporarily.

His watch beeped, and he glanced down. A quick glance to his right as he heard another beep from his sister's watch. "Shit." He mouthed under his breath. "Medb's show started ten minutes ago."

Whatever joy or sentiment had been at the table came crashing to a halt.

And Alter is at the beach.

Edmond stood up. "I'll sweep from the seaside."

Gudako followed. "Me too."

Ushi and Robin glanced at each other, and a look of understanding passed between them.

The assassin was the one that spoke. "I'll sweep from the street side."

Mash looked at Ritsuka, and he gave her a nod.

We'll take the center.

"Ibaraki and I will stay here if you don't mind," Robin said. "She didn't volunteer to join us, and I can get her started on some of the basics on what we need help with."

Ritsuka nodded "Okay."

#

Alter was gone by the time he'd arrived.

His lip twisted a little, knowing that she'd probably disappeared after she'd gotten bored. Though, after a quick glance around, and not seeing any of her sisters, he suspected she might've just been operating on their schedule with no sign of any of them along the beach anywhere. His blue eyes lingered on the spot where she last saw her.

Ritsuka breathed out a small sigh of relief despite the small pang that had formed in his heart. The immediate excuse to talk to her vanished along with her.

One less thing to worry about.

It was the small bright side he could see of her not being present. Medb couldn't provoke someone who wasn't around. He took a long slow breath and looked out around the servant party across the beach. He could see all the Irish servants having taken out small dinghies to fish and Emiya having finished his volleyball game with knights of the round table was now playing host to them all just ten feet away from where he was trying to cook everyone's food with Boudica.

Mordred seemed more talkative now than she had been earlier that day, spending time looking over Emiya's shoulder.

If the archer was annoyed, he hid it well and took her presence in stride.

Though the side effect was that Arturia seemed to be avoiding them now, as she busied herself socializing with her knights and playing a much more laid-back game than the sonic boom generating volleyball match they'd all been playing earlier.

Maybe the two of them will get to work on their relationship soon.

He huffed a small laugh at himself. "Optimism."

Mash blinked and looked up at him. "What?"

"Nothing." He gestured to the servant party. "Seems peaceful so far. Thankfully." His eyes narrowed a little and looked down at the stage on the beach.

Most importantly, not too late.

Over the crashing waves of the sea, and the amble chatter of the servant party around them, one could hear the music blaring from Medb's monstrosity of the stage. Even from here, he could see the flashes from photographs as people took the stage. Of course, the gullible servants and gullible people were led to believe it was an actual beauty contest, despite Medb having clearly hand-picked the judges from her followers to rig it in a way that she could easily win.

Most of the servants thankfully avoided it like the plague. But the few he could see were the ones also obsessed with their own image even partially. Cleopatra was participating, and that servant was prideful much like the woman she was in history.

Could it be her pride clashing with Medb that starts the fighting?

Being busy through every loop had only afforded him stories of things that had happened today so far. Really all he knew was a huge fight would break out but the reasons for it were still beyond him. What started it? What finished it?

Alter would know too.

His mouth twisted.

She might have asked to leave knowing what might happen, still trying to stay on the down-low and avoid attracting attention.

"Stop it." He ordered himself. Ritsuka took a breath and glanced at the Shielder beside him. "Mash, we're going to go get a closer look at the crowd." He nodded once as he felt more certain about his decision. "We should see if we can get an accurate headcount of shadow servants within her core group of followers."

Mash's brows knitted together. "Well...we know there was at least one of hers at Servfest. One that was very strong. They will sense us too."

Ritsuka nodded his agreement. "But they won't act unless given instructions by their Queen to do so." He took a few strides forward and checked to make sure Mash was following in step beside him. "I want a headcount because even if we prevent the fighting today, there is no telling what will happen with Medb in the future."

She jogged a couple of steps to stay beside him. Mash stared at him intensely. "We should consider that we can't detect them for whatever reason. Not like we normally might. The one we fought at Servfest couldn't be detected until we backed it into a corner. Before that...it seemed like just another one of her followers who happened to be an abnormally strong human. Or perhaps even a homunculus."

Damn, that's true.

Ritsuka pressed his mouth into a line for a moment. "Let's look for possibilities then. Fit builds...possibly already work security for Medb." He raised a brow at her. "Any other suggestions?"

Mash frowned a little trying to think of another one. She hummed. "Maybe a tech? It takes a lot to move big speakers around and help to set everything up for a stage."

He took a deep breath. "We won't have long either. Medb will want to get our attention. Let's limit ourselves to five minutes and then we can-"

There was a sonic boom that pierced the air

Ritsuka glanced up.

This time it wasn't from any volleyball from the beach, it came from above them in the sky. He could see the fire trail it left behind.

Not a fire trail.

His eyes widened.

Engine trail.

"Master!" Mash grabbed his hand and yanked him out of his stupor.

His eyes were glued to the suit as it came crashing to the ground. He stumbled but picked himself up quickly as Mash led the way, magic circuits lighting up in her legs as she jumped them into the air, her shield forming behind them.

She twisted them in the air so she could more easily control where they were going to land, and raised her shield up protectively from the attack.

Ritsuka huddled down, running through some quick spells he could use to help, like a Rolodex in his head.

Only it fell silent, as quickly as it had started.

He blinked and looked up at Mash standing over him.

She stared down at him with confusion settling into her features. Mash peeked her head out from around the edge of her shield. "It's…" Her eyes came back to him. "It's gone?" Her fingers open and close around her shield's handle. And slowly she pushed it aside to see where it should've impacted the ground.

Ritsuka let out a breath. "What the…" He stood up, a gundo shot still loaded into his arms, fingers gripping his bicep as if to steady his aim. "We both saw that right?"

Mash nodded.

It was heading right for us, right?

The waves crashed against the sandy beach, and while the party had paused, he hadn't noticed until the music from Medb's stage had started up again, pulling his attention away from the shoreline in front of him. "It was loud enough to cover a splash. Go check the water, don't linger in case crabs or Vorporeal chickens were attracted to the noise."

She nodded again, "Understood." Mash jogged off towards the shore like a surfer meaning to rush out and catch the next swell. Her shield vanished and she dove out into the water.

Leaving Ritsuka alone.

He smacked his forehead and sighed.

One thing after another.

While he waited, Ritsuka circled back towards the party with all the servants and found a line had formed for lunch. The smell of Emiya and Boudica's cooking filled the air, the aroma mixed with the salty smell of the air. The ripe fruits that had been cut, the seasonings, onions, garlic, bell peppers.

He felt his stomach growl, and he raised a hand to clutch his stomach. "Later," He muttered quietly to himself. Emiya and Boudica's cooking was one of the sure-fire ways to get an accurate headcount of everyone as they lined up.

Unsurprisingly the Knights of the Round table were first in line, having parked themselves near the cooking on purpose. The one unusual thing was that Artoria wasn't the first in line, she was the second.

Right behind Mordred.

Artoria looked just a little bit disappointed, but it wouldn't really matter that much in the grand scheme of it all.

All the Irish servants led by Cu went next, dropping their fresh fish into ice buckets as they lined themselves up too.

Boudica and Tamamo got to serving everyone portions, while Emiya started preparing the freshly gotten fish.

Aside from that, it was mostly, as Gudako put it, "saber faces" that made up most of the front of the line, with a lot of more leisurely servants and servants of servants to make up the rest. He could see behind Francis Drake, her crew had started lining up as well.

His eyes went to the front of the line again, this time falling to a familiar saber face he hadn't recognized fully in his first pass through. The woman looked more like Heroine X than she did Nero or Artoria.

But she still had a look of unfamiliarity about her.

He blinked thinking of how Katsushika Hokusai was killed as a pattern early in the week of each loop by a giant crash as she was walking down the street.

It couldn't be…

Ritsuka vividly recalled the engine trail he'd seen only moments ago coming crashing towards the Earth. He checked his watch and looked back to see Mash coming out of the ocean shaking off the water. She manifested her shield again and gave a quick look around before spotting him closer to the servant party.

No way was I going to wait near Medb's crowd.

She jogged over dispersing the shield as she realized there was no need for immediate action. "Master?"

He held up a hand and a small smile. "Is it just me Mash, or does-" Ritsuka pointed. "That saber looks like a certain someone we know that could be responsible for falling objects in the sky with engine trails?"

Mash squinted, and then she stiffened. "Heroine X?" She blinked. "But? She's in a galaxy far far away?"

"Not so far it seems. Only this time she isn't hunting sabers." Ritsuka said, brow furrowing in thought.

"She's hunting foreigners." Mash stiffened. "We forgot to save Hokusai this week…" She trailed off and pressed her lips together.

The loops are getting to everyone.

He winced at his own deflection, knowing it was his fault this week as to why they forgot to save her. Ritsuka ran fingers through his hair. "Okay, well now we know who it is. When the loop resets we can try talking to her."

Mash wrinkled her nose, she was in the giant metal suit. "How are you going to reach her?"

Ritsuka shrugged. "I...thought I'd try shouting her name?"

The look his kohai was giving him, reminded him of a disappointed teacher. It was only for a few seconds but long enough to get her point across. "We need to have a better plan than that. She didn't really stop fighting us last time she saw us."

"Fair point." He agreed. "Let's go talk to her now, without her suit she can't really get around the fact that she knows us." Once again he led the way looking back at Medb's stage. His frown deepened.

One thing at a time.

The walk was longer than he'd imagined, and it was truly at this moment he started to feel it. It started to sink in how tiring all of it was. It would be two months of being stuck in what amounted to a pseudo singularity. Two months at the end of this loop. Going from doujin to doujin, one problem to the next forever in constant motion.

He closed his eyes and sighed, squeezing them shut.

Overwhelming.

How many times had he had that same conversation with Hokusai when remembering to save her from Heroine X. How many times had he greeted the same servant at their Servfest booth in the hopes that this loop might be the one they win the holy grail.

Mash leaned over to glance at him. "Master?"

Ritsuka pressed the palm of his hand up against his head, running fingers through his hair. "I'm fine." He offered her a half-smile. "I promise. I think the day is just starting to get to me. I started pretty early to spend some time with Gudako."

She didn't fully believe him, he could tell, but she let it drop to the wayside anyway.

Heroine X turned around, tray now full of food, eyes wide and bright as she looked down at her portions. She turned around meaning to head over to a table to eat, only she froze like a deer in headlights at Mash and Ritsuka standing a few feet away.

He still smiled. "Heroine X! Fancy seeing you here?" Ritsuka walked a few steps closer. "Here just for lunch and passing through?"

Heroine X seemed to get over her nerves quickly at the reaction of an old friend. "Yeah," She laughed a few times. "I'm on my lunch break." She paused, glancing around, and nodded over to a table. After setting the tray down, she moved to hug him. "It's good to see you guys." She gestured around them. "Busy Chaldeans are still busy I see."

Ritsuka took a step back, as Mash took her turn.

"It's good to see you X." She said with a grin. "How long is your lunch break?"

She seemed to deflate a little at that. "Only twenty minutes." Her lips twisted. "So much for vacation time am I right?" There was a slight pain in her smile this time when she looked at them. "Come on, come on. I don't have long." Heroine X moved swiftly to sit down and scarf down her lunch.

Ritsuka huffed a chuckle and tried not to think of how a couple of their fights had come to an end because she remarked that her business hours had come to an end. "Appetite hasn't changed much I see."

"How have you guys been?" She asked.

He shrugged. "Oh you know, stopping bad guys, trying to make it to Servfest at the end of the week alive with a good doujin project to sell." Ritsuka managed a genuine sound chuckle. "The usual lifestyle."

At that, Heroine X frowned. "Wait, I thought you guys were on vacation?"

Mash chuckled. "Vacations for us...tend to go sideways somehow, and we always end up being really busy. It's usually only the last day that we can get to sleep in."

"Really?" Heroine X trailed off a little. "I'm sorry to hear that."

Ritsuka offered her a small smile. "You should stop by to hang out for a bit if you have the time. We'd love to have dinner with you."

"I…" Heroine X seemed to deflate a little. "I can't. Work hours are long and unforgiving right now. The space force believes there is something dangerous. And..." She looked up to meet them, once more there was a bit of pain in her smile. "With knowing you guys are here, how can I stop doing my job?"

He felt a lump in his throat at that.

In the brief silence that followed, Heroine X managed to scarf down the rest of her food in a quick fashion. Then she chugged her drink barely managing to finish it in time before an alarm on her watch went off. "Welp, that's for me!" she said with a smile. She stood up and looked down at them. "It was great to see you guys. Really. Hopefully, I can see you guys on another break sometime soon!"

Work hours must be brutal.

As Ritsuka watched Heroine X retreat into the distance, he was tempted to ask Mash to follow her. For now, however, that didn't sit right with him. Ultimately he decided, that if by chance they sat down to have a chat again in another loop, he would have to ask either Robin or Ushiwakamaru to tail her.

Mash looked to him, "We don't have long before the Medb strikes out to ruin the beach party." There was a beat of silence. "We should try to get that accurate headcount before we lose our chance and they all disperse."

He took a deep breath and nodded. "Right," Ritsuka stood up and shook the mental fatigue away. "Let's go."

#

It was just as they reached Medb's crowd of followers, that another loud thunderous crack had ripped through the air, and Ritsuka's eyes followed it for a moment. As the armored suit disappeared into the clouds.

No foreigners to hunt around here it seems.

Mash tugged at his arm. "There is a shadow over there, watching people coming and going." She pointed at them, as their attention had already passed over him."

It was an amazonian woman disguised in a security suite. They were one of the obvious ones at least because they appeared to be dressed for their job. Her expression was a sour one, and the muscles in her cheeks twitched as she moved on to the next group of people. Ones this time who were leaving the crowd to go up the beach.

Ritsuka nodded slowly. "We'll just have to count the possibles." The two of them started pushing through the crowd. People were talking in their small groups about doujins, or about Medb. Some were talking about merchandise from Medb, others were talking about how she was a shoo-in to win the beauty contest.

The shielder beside him tugged at his sleeve again. "I sense another. Towards the back."

As a pseudo servant, her senses were obviously far more refined. He noted that it took another ten meters before he had any indication that she had.

He could sense them growing closer, now, as it ran like a cold shock as he extended his senses outward. His blue eyes glowed just a little with the application of mana. But it was like among a crowd of shrouded figures, the person that they were sensing seemed to have a glow about them. An aura that made them stick out among the crowd.

"I've got them," He said.

He and Mash were slow, methodical; they not only made their way through the crowd but managed to get behind the stage as well. But as they passed through to the other end to look at the back of the stage, they could only confirm that they senses four shadows hiding among the crowd.

The number of possible shadow servants, however, was a far more staggering number to consider.

"Twenty-three?" Mash said, her voice holding surprise. She turned to Ritsuka. "Surely not all of them could be shadows right?"

"Surely." He agreed, "Not all." He took a slow breath just as the beauty contest part of the show began to start, the horns to get everyone's attention started to blare. But he still couldn't stop the sinking feeling in his stomach. His eyes scanned around the stage for who would be the main stars.

Servants, amazons, a few pretty members of the crowd, had lined up ready to go. Among them was Cleopatra. Going through that line staring down her competition with an air of proper pomposity was Medb.

The anger that had burned for what happened in the last loop was like phantom pain. He could feel it in his gut, but it wasn't the raging fire like it had been then, for either him or Alter. Now it was dulled into a small flame, sitting like an ever-present reminder that refused to leave him alone.

His lip twisted. "We should regroup with the others. Any minute now might spark that interruption to the peace at the Chaldea beach party."

Mash's frown remained. "Isn't it strange?" Her eyes followed Medb watching her staring down Cleopatra. "How different servants are sometimes."

Credit where credit is due, the last pharaoh isn't even phased.

He watched Cleopatra simply put a hand on her hip, and offer a small smile in return to Medb's. "Yeah," He agreed. "Medb is still pompous and arrogant a lot of the time, even at Chaldea." His lips twisted a little. "But this is taken to the tenth degree." His eyes went up to the tech working near the top of backstage.

One of the possible shadows.

"And then, remember during that race we had for the summer?" Mash frowned again. "Medb was our prison warden?"

"I do." He agreed.

Mash seemed to fall quiet again, and she clutched her bi-cep. "Do you…" She hesitated for a moment, and the waves crashed against the shore, and the music from the stage seemed to fill the silence between them.

The silence was just long enough for Ritsuka to turn toward her.

"Do you think we are actually helping them?" Mash's voice filled with uncertainty, and nervousness. She turned her purple eyes away from the stage and the forming future mess that they would have to clean, right back to Ritsuka. "Helping them to be better people?"

His lip twisted, the lie came first before he could stop it. "We've never really been about prioritizing the business of helping them. Our job-" He huffed. "Our mission is to save the world no matter the cost."

"But we try to help them anyway?" Mash said, cutting through the lie as reflexively as it had come out. She tilted her head to look at him as if she was wanting him to say the right answer before she would let this conversation go.

"We do." He agreed quietly.

Was it really worth letting go?

Ritsuka sighed a little. "I do think we can help them. If not a lot, at least a little." He huffed a chuckle, "I mean Gilles isn't going around actively trying to kill people anymore right?" A smile managed to come to his lips. The same smile that was often there even during the hardest of times during the singularities. "Even Medb cooperates at Chaldea."

Mash frowned a little, still in deep thought. "So what do you think changes them?" Her purple eyes flicked away from him, and back towards the crowds. "I mean how do they change from one singularity to the next."

"Some don't." He said, and then his eyes narrowed. "Remember, Artoria Alter was one of the first servants we fought all the way back in Fuyuki." Ritsuka pocketed his hands and pressed his lips together for a moment as his mind drifted to the woman he saw earlier on the beach. He spoke more softly. "And Jeanne Alter was someone we had to beat in a hundred years of war-torn France." He smiled at Mash. "I'd say they've come along away from being our enemies don't you?"

His mind drifted to the night city of Shinjuku. The burgers and shakes he'd shared with Mash and Artoria Alter. Find Jeanne dying on the street about to disappear. It was one of the few moments that he could count where he'd felt in retrospect was a little heroic. At that moment, it was just panic trying to form a servant pact with her.

Mash stepped around to look at him. "I suppose they have." She agreed with a smile. "Maybe, down the road, there might even be hope for Medb."

Wouldn't that be a sight?

While he kept the sardonic thought to himself, he nodded a little. "One day," He agreed.

Nothing was impossible anymore he had to remind himself. He never doubted he'd fall in love with someone who was responsible for so much misery during their first encounter. But a lot of it had other contributing factors. Gilles, demon gods, and a misunderstood hatred for Jeanne D'Arc.

Alter…

He smiled a little in thought, reflecting on their journey together so far. The steps that were still being taken. "One day," Ritsuka said more firmly. He nodded to Medb. "It would be nice to see her fighting for us more strongly one day."

Mash hummed and closed her eyes with a nod, a small smile ever-present on her lips. "Should we give one last walk-through to try and count the remaining shadows?"

Back to business.

Ritsuka nodded. "Only a quick one." He smiled. "I still don't want to be here when the beauty contest part of the show starts." With a gesture, he signaled for Mash to lead the way again. With the straightening of his collar, he followed closely behind.

#

All Ritsuka could do was wince, after Cleopatra took out her anger on Medb in a manner that only a powerful servant could manage. Ritsuka would admit watching Medb get sucker-punched twice within a week from Alter at the end of the last loop, and on this, the fifth day of the current one was quite an exhilarating experience.

But the wince came with what had happened after. The cause of the fight was to break out that would render the party on the beach to near ruin. Negative feelings it had been told to him by Jeanne in an earlier loop were what attracted the crabs.

Cleopatra's very wounded pride and anger at Medb's cheating was the source of such conviction.

The pieces had all fallen into place.

He'd only wished he figured it out ten seconds earlier, as he saw a crab leap from the ocean water towards him.

Mash was quick to respond, slamming her shield across the crab with a hard slap.

And as more came from the water's edge, he spotted a few of Gilles' tentacle familiars running towards the waterline, ready to engage their foe.

I should've had Medea make some of her bone familiars.

Ritsuka broke out into a full sprint back towards the party's center, grabbing Mash by the hand to tug her along. "We were too focused on Medb!" He shouted, over the arrows that cracked through the air.

Over his time at Chaldea, he'd found that when each Archer's arrow sailed through the air, a different sound accompanied it. Long enough for him to realize the subtle differences in the sound based on the archer's arrows.

Among the ones he could hear were Robin's, Emiya's, and Atalante's.

Is the nursery here?

Mash nodded frantically behind him at his observation of their mistake. Her eyes focused suddenly on something in front of him, and she bent a leg letting out a prana burst kicking up sand behind her flipping over to land in front of him to catch another crab in the center of her shield.

With the crab caught in the center of her shield, she spun her shield to slam it back against the ground. The shell cracked with the force of the blow.

Ritsuka skidded to a halt, fingers gripping the center of his arm. His blue eyes came alight with a small glow, as he aimed a gundo shot towards the next crab in front. He huffed, and then spun to shoot at one behind.

Mash grabbed him by the arm again and dragged him along to jump-start them ahead again. "We need to get back to the others!"

He could only hum in agreement and fell in step beside her. "Two more coming up on the right." Only this time he could see that they weren't crabs, but they were a shelled creature of some kind and they were a little bigger than the last few they'd dispatched together.

One of them was struck by an archer's arrow.

The other leaped into the air towards them.

Mash shifted and bashed them up.

Ritsuka sent a gundo shot upwards where they weren't as strongly protected.

As they arched back down, Mash punted them with her shield back into the ocean. Her lips pressed together in concentration as she looked around them. "I think we are clear for the next hundred feet."

"Then not a moment to lose." He said taking off again. "Find my sister, coordinate our defense, and wait for Medb to come and blame the fuss of all this on us somehow." He would've grinned if he couldn't picture it so clearly in his mind. It would be more surprising if Medb didn't come over to blame them.

At least we know what servants are typically like.

They found their companions, in the thick of it as one might've expected.

The roundtable gallantly took up a defense around the food stations for more than just the surface reasons of it being what sated their hunger. Artoria was protecting Emiya and the other Archers that had taken up residence in the center allowing for them to more quickly and easily pick out targets without having to avoid other incoming attacks.

Gudako on the other hand was right behind Edmond who was laughing while he smashed more of the shelled creatures beneath the blue fire of his fists. She spotted her brother running towards them. She uttered an order to the assassin servant beside her.

Ushi whirled around at the command and started sprinting for them. She was quick with both her sword and her fans to deal out consecutive killing blows to flatten them. She offered a small smile at them. "Welcome back Master? Was your recon successful?"

"Somewhat." He nodded his sprint coming to a jog as he neared her, and he nodded to the others. "Who else is here?" He asked tightly.

The assassin pointed. "Drake, Anne, and Marry are heading to their ship with Thatch." She spun around to slice another crab, eyes narrowing a little. "They are going to try and pull their ships closer to shore to see if they can help. A lot of their crew is still stuck on the shore, however…

Ritsuka nodded. "The knights are already doing good." He joined his sister. "Where is the nursery?"

Gudako huffed. "Out that way!" She grabbed her arm and fired a gundo shot over Edmond's head as he slammed another one into the ground. "I've already sent Nightingale to support them." She turned to eye him.

He nodded and looked around. "Mordred!" Then he wracked his brain for others.

Both Artorias can glide across the water thanks to their blessing from the lady of the lake.

Ritsuka's frown deepened with thought, wondering if it would even be worth putting them all together on the same team.

Would they even be willing to work together?

Gudako hissed out a breath and swore when she saw a dozen shelled creatures turning towards them. "Edmond! Mash!" She shouted, the unfinished command bringing them both swiveling around to face the newcomers.

Ultimately Ritsuka found he no longer cared and shouted for them as well. Which would leave someone he could trust that ran across the water thanks to their new spirit origins. "Ushi!"

He could see Mordred coming down towards them leaving the protective company of Emiya and the other knights of the round. The two kings opposite to one another followed just behind.

Emiya hadn't needed prompting, clearing the way for them with a dozen red arrows.

Gudako backed up a step almost into her brother. "Where is Robin? Get him here now."

Robin technically fell under his purview so he mustered up some precious mana that he needed to conserve to call out to him. His eyes met Ushi as the assassin turned to face him. Awaiting his orders. He held out a finger to her and touched his right temple.

"Robin! My sister requests your presence."

He didn't wait for the reply, but he knew that he'd gotten it. "Ushi, you can run along the water so I'm putting you in charge of Artoria, and Artoria Alter. Mordred too."

The assassin frowned. "Not exactly a functional group master."

"That's going to be why you're in charge." He pointed out to the sea. "Until Drake, and the other pirates can get their ships out of the anchor, you're going to be out there trying to kill them before they reach the shore. More importantly, you'll get better attack opportunities being in a position behind them.

She frowned a little and looked out at the next wave coming from the ocean. "Alright, master. I'll explain to the others." Ushi whipped around to meet the others coming down the sandy hill towards them.

Both Artorias came to a stop behind Mordred.

They all looked past Ushi as she explained.

Rituska firmed his lips and gave them a nod and he for only a second watched them all head out to sea, all running across the water, except for Mordred, who rode her phantasm out as if it were skateboard on a sidewalk.

Next came Robin.

Gudako smiled. "You were keeping track of everyone in the party." Her eyes flicked past him to Ibaraki who was trailing close behind at the hill. Fire came from her spear as she nailed a shelled creature coming for them. Her eyes flicked back to the Archer. "Any signs of Medusa and Medea?"

The archer firmed his lips. "Yes, but it was almost half an hour ago."

Gudako hummed. "Get them here, or better yet, tell Medea to start making those bone familiars, and send them here." She looked at Ritsuka. "If we get the extra help, perhaps the party won't be ruined."

He took a breath and nodded. "Her bone familiars will make life a lot easier for us." He let out a breath, and the realization sunk in. "Long enough for us to deal with the source of the problem." He put a hand on his hip and stared back at Medb's ugly stage. And he had to ignore the sinking feeling in his stomach. "We need to break up Medb's fight with Cleopatra."

Mash planted her shield into the sand, her brow furrowing. "Master?"

Gudako nodded in agreement from behind them. "If their fight gets over here, her followers will follow. Shadows will pick fights with our Chaldean servants." She turned to Edmond. "If we can get you to them, can you and Mash break up their fight?"

Edmond looked at Mash. "Cleopatra will be easier to talk down." She nodded to her. "She'll listen to you."

The shielder nodded her pink purple eyes fixing themselves to Ritsuka. "I can do it." She said firmly.

Ritsuka almost smiled at the sight of her growing confidence over the past year. To see her now unafraid of a difficult task. He nodded, "Medb has a passive noble phantasm that charms the men who try to fight her." He turned to Edmond. "Can you resist it long enough to buy us the time to help you?"

Edmond looked to Gudako and then back to him. "It won't be a problem." His eyes flicked towards the stage. "The only thing it might do is soften my hits. But the goal is to last until she gives up?"

It's worked the last few times.

If he was honest with himself, he really didn't have a better plan than that. Eliminating her was likely to cause problems for him until the loop resets. His brow furrowed in concentrated thought at the prospect.

Presumably, if Edmond died only to come back at the start of each loop, Medb would be in very much the same predicament and it would be back to a pointless square one of where she is standoffish with them.

She can't be reasoned with.

Ritsuka nodded. "We fight her until she gives up or we get her to retreat." His mouth twisted. "There are shadows present, and if they haven't already jumped in to help their Queen, they will."

Gudako took Edmond's hand. "We'll hold them off. You should try to recruit Cleopatra and Caesar if you can." She nodded. "After you get them to calm down."

"Let's go."

Once again Ritsuka found himself running along the beach. He figured he was going to lose track by the end of the day of how many times he'd done so, starting with his morning jog. He huffed skidding underneath a shelled creature trying to jump for him. Ritsuka aimed his next gundo shot for the one behind it.

Mash bashed the first back and away with her shield.

He sniped the second, the blast had more feeling the sense, as his shot blazed clean through the creature. His arm filled with an icy spike of pain as it overflowed with mana for that brief second. Ritsuka let out a curse between his lips.

Stupid.

He chastised himself under his breath. With a huff he pushed himself back up, shaking the soreness from his arm. He looked ahead, as his sister and Edmond took the lead taking on the next batch moving to attack them.

The pair ripped the next waves into shreds. Gudako had perfected how best to support Edmond in a fight between small gem shields that could only take a single blow.

A crab bounced off the shield as it faded quickly, and a fire smashing punch crunched into the shell and slammed them into the ground, immolating the creature, and turning it into a paste. The avenger's grin only grew wider as the battle haze started to settle in.

A quick tug from Gudako was enough to keep the avenger's rage buried. The haze faded, and the focus returned as he took the lead for all of them.

Mash smashed another one away from behind him.

The stage was closer now, and his eyes immediately scanned for evidence of the fight that had started. Expectedly the majority of the crowd had dispersed except for Medb's "braves" who ranged from fighters to shadow servants. They remained in a large enough quantity, and Ritsuka realized that they'd gotten lucky during the Servefest fight. There must've been at least a hundred of those who stayed. Including several of the shadow's blank weapons to mark their class of choice.

Caesar was the first one they could see, he was underneath what was the remains of one of the side booths his sword was drawn. He knocked an arrow from the sky, and blocked a lancer's thrust, backing away further

Then both he, and the shadows he was fighting took a second to kill the crabs that had come towards them from the sea.

Gudako's eyes met Ritsuka. She nodded. "Edmond the archer."

"Mash, the lancer." Ritsuka's lip twisted. "Remember, only kill the shadows, let the Braves run." He took off into a jog knowing Mash would overtake him quickly. For now, he needed to get Ceaser.

The third was a saber, as they got in close to Caesar.

Caesar's eyes flicked to the new arrivals only briefly before focusing back on his duel. He blocked two swings and stepped out of a third.

At Chaldea, Caesar had a reputation for eating all the food within sight, enjoying the spoils as an emperor of Rome. But Caesar, despite his more gluttonous look, still had the harsh cool logic under pressure approach that the man himself in history was known for. He showed no signs of fatigue as he engaged the shadow saber.

In fact, he looked right at home, in no rush to end the fight, waiting for his arriving allies to make their moves against their respective opponents.

His lip twisted in a small grin as he parried the next strike, and with a servant punch, smashed the shadow back a few steps. The roman emperor had the barest hints of a smirk touching his lips as he took another step back to flourish his sword and kill the next shelled creature. Then with a gesture, he baited the recovering nearest recovering shadow into attacking him.

Just before Mash swung the edge of her shield at the back of one of the shadow servants, Caesar made a very simple move.

The shadow jumped up with its polearm, intent on slamming it down with such a force that Caesar would be forced to block. The blow sent shockwaves rippling through the air.

The roman emperor stepped to the side, offering a blow of equal force of his own, splitting the shadow servant in two.

The others that were in place to attack him instantly renewed their focus on him.

He was a renowned tactician too wasn't he?

It was a simple move done at the best possible time to keep all the attention on him.

The shadow Mash had been sent towards had only heard her footsteps in the sand a second too late.

Its black and smokey head swung around just in time for the edge of her shield to catch them in the jaw. Even as they staggered back, they brought their sword to bear, and it was caught on the edge of her shield.

With gritted teeth, Mash stepped right into their guard and punched with all the energy the pseudo servant could muster. She likened her hand-to-hand combat once to Sherlock's preferred style. But she was far more aggressive and far more mobile.

Ritsuka aimed over her shoulder and fired a gundo shot, squarely into their sword arm, so the weapon was out of play just a second longer.

This time, he really felt it, the way he was eating through his own mana. Mages could fire gundo shots into excess.

Being the useless master as he was so often referred to by the other teams in the brief time he'd met them at Chaldea, he could barely manage two before feeling fatigued. The mystic codes of course helped greatly.

Allowing him an additional number of shots that helped him with combat usefulness. But as the burning sensation traveled up his arm. He was certain that he'd worn the mystic code out.

Reduced to my fists, and fighting any of the normal people in Medb's braves.

He hissed between his teeth and caught his arm trying to soothe the burning sensation away with gentle rubs. He watched as Mash finished off the shadow servant, by slamming her shield right in the chest hard enough to draw the black ichor that so often made up a shadow's blood.

In the last shadow's moment of hesitation, Caesar had seized the initiative and moved to finish them. The last attacker had been another saber. And it showed in their skill as they managed to survive the first few strikes by the Roman emperor, ducking and weaving and parrying.

Mash, slammed the end of her shield into their heel to knock them off their feet.

Caesar brought his sword down through them, impaling them into the sand.

The shadow had already started to disappear into the void by the time it hit the ground.

The Roman emperor twirled his sword. "My thanks master." He stiffened and suddenly turned around as another shock rippled through the air. Half expecting the archer to take another shot, only to find Edmond was throwing the disappearing shadow off the top of the stage. Caesar grimaced a little. And nodded his tanks towards the Avenger servant above.

Ritsuka nodded to him. "Caesar, we need your help."

"I'll be limited as to what I can do with Medb, though the sight of Cleopatra should buy me some time." The roman emperor's sword disappeared for the moment and he put his hands on his hips in a huff. "It's a shame really 'Patra and I were planning on having some fancy lunch after the show." He seemed to grow into the usual attitude that he had at Chaldea. His lips formed a comical frown. "But Patra doesn't like eating when she's in a foul mood."

Mash came to Ritsuka's side and nodded to him.

He returned the nod and looked at Caesar. "A few moments is all we might need. We just need to drive Medb away. And surely a victory against Medb would be certain to shorten her brooding time before dinner?"

Caesar pushed his lips together, "I hope so…" Then he nodded a couple of times. "Alright, let's go help her."

Gudako wrapped an arm over Edmond's shoulders as he jumped them down to the floor to join them. "We should come up with a more meticulous plan just in case. Because it's still Medb, and we might come out on the losing end if we aren't careful."

Caesar seemed to fall once more into the more mythical strategic genius he was known as. His eyes immediately fell to Mash. "I think you, shielder, and Master Gudako should be the ones to head into the fray first. If you can buy me a few moments, I think I can convince 'Patra to join our hard-hitting battle of attrition."

Mash frowned a little, looking at Ritsuka.

He pursed his lips thinking. "If you two can force her into a spot…Edmond and Caeser can hit her with everything they got before retreating, and her passive charm starts to take effect on them."

Gudako touched her chin. "Where?" She looked around them for a moment.

Edmond grabbed her hand. "Center stage?"

Her lips twisted. "It…could work." She looked to Mash. "We'll need Cleopatra's help to force her into place." She looked at Caesar. "But we can buy you enough time to pull her aside and bring her in on the plan as we try to force her into position."

The Roman emperor almost smiled. "You might save our dinner after all masters." He flung out his cloak with a bit of flair. "At your convenience Master and shielder."

Mash seemed to straighten and pushed her lips together and then turned to Gudako. "I'm ready master."

Gudako looked to the last two boys who would be waiting for them all to return. "Figure the rest of it out by the time we get her here."

Edmond gave a mock salute.

Ritsuka nodded, still clutching his forearm.

Mash touched his arm and it felt a little better for the moment, due to one of her passive healing skills. The one that stayed off poisonous effects. A small glance of concern peered up at him.

"I'll be fine." He nodded towards Gudako and Caesar. "Go."

Mash bit her lip, a little but she nodded and jogged off after them, leaving him alone with Edmond.

In the quiet that followed in their absence, the avenger looked at him, all along the beach the fighting from other servants stretched, and even closer the rattling booms from Medb's fight with Cleopatra.

Edmond frowned. "Are you okay?"

Ritsuka frowned just a little and rolled up his sleeve to show his skin.

The avenger's brow furrowed a little as he walked closer to look.

Some red markings trailed up his arms. "Scars from overworking the magical circuits. Certainly, you've seen the ones my sister has to get tended to from healers?"

His mouth twisted. "I thought they were battle scars."

"Some of them are." The master nodded, and he rolled his sleeves down. Rubbing away the pain that touched his arm. He flexed his fingers out as a way of stretching the whole muscle. "Others are from overworking out poor magic circuits." Ritsuka took a deep breath and settled back into his fight mode. "I am fine." He reiterated. "It's not the first time I've had to push myself beyond my limits."

And certainly won't ever be my last.

Edmond straightened up and nodded. "I am at your service, master."

#

The point of attack would be obvious and he closed his eyes trying to focus. The battle had raged across the beach now for a few minutes, and it was now, finally starting to slow down. Either the sea had run out of its monsters, or perhaps Cleopatra's negative feelings had been subdued a little with the presence of Caesar.

Just beside him, was Edmond, quietly waiting for the opportune moment. The avenger's lip twitched as he looked back at his master. "I am sorry for deceiving both of you." He pressed his lips together.

"It was the logical choice," Ritsuka said.

"I am still sorry." His mouth twisted a little more. "I know I'm not exactly the pinnacle of a good person. But I still love her."

He straightened up a little at that and turned around to face him grabbing his shoulder. "You don't have to make any of it up to me. Save it for her." He firmed his grip and made sure to look Edmond in the eye. "And I trust your judgment too. So while I might be angry, it is only temporary. We both know, that you will continue to make us proud to be your masters."

Edmond swallowed and nodded. "Understood."

The seconds ticked by and the fighting seemed to draw closer. The booming and the shouts as the servants broke the sound barrier with their strikes, grew louder.

For a moment Ritsuka was tempted to call out Caesar in the hopes of getting him in place. But he took a deep breath and forced the thought away.

Caesar would know.

There was little doubt in his mind that the Roman emperor had already taken careful consideration of the entire area to find the best ambush spot. He would rightly conclude in the end that this was the best spot.

Sure enough, a moment later, Caesar leaped up into the rafters to join them, flourishing his cloak around him as he squatted. He gave them all a firm nod.

Cleopatra is in on the plan.

Ritsuka took a deep breath.

We only need to damage her enough to force a retreat.

Edmond leaned over the railing and after a second gave Ritsuka's shoulder a light tap.

He followed suit and peered over the edge to look at the beach.

Medb had forced Mash back out onto the beach. His kohai looked strained as she rolled out of the way just narrowly avoiding a downward strike that kicked up a mountain of sand into the air

But now that she'd found her feet, she channeled her prana into a jump that helped her to avoid the next strike.

Cleopatra moved to intercept Medb next.

The two queens were covered in sand and whatever stunt Medb had pulled at her beauty pageant had been very short-lived. Though it was clear the charm spell was still very much in effect like her beauty was shining through all violent strikes.

He could almost hear the monkey brain responding to her presence with that familiar dazed phrase.

She is very pretty.

Ritsuka leaned back once more behind the stage, placing the fight out of sight for a moment.

The last time was easier.

He bit his lip.

Alter was there.

Slowly, Ritsuka took a breath and leaned his head back against the rails of the stage, closing his eyes to focus even as the fight drew closer and closer to the appointed spot. The next breath he took was deeper and longer.

He thought of the way her hair flowed in the wind. The way that single strand stood straight up in defiance of gravity bouncing with each exaggerated movement she made. Her smile whenever she stuck her tongue out, simply lost in the joy of whatever was happening at that moment. Or the way her brows furrowed while thinking. The way she often tilted her head at him when trying to guess what he'd been thinking. He thought of her gesture to help out with his mystic code, the way she probably tried to keep a straight face while Da Vinci worked away giggling and teasing her. The last time they'd held hands. The way her face would turn red when she was embarrassed.

Lastly, he thought of her amber eyes just above those flushed cheeks.

He opened his blue eyes to meet Edmond's.

He peered over, as the stage shook, as Medb was knocked right through the speakers, her sword dragging through the wooden deck to slow herself from crashing.

She smiled blood through her teeth. "I'll show you what it means to deny the Queen of Connacht her rightfully won crown you sore losers!"

Air-filled Ritsuka's lungs he sprung up and ran towards the edge. "Now!"

Edmond leaped over the railing, his rage-filled laughter almost filling the air immediately and uncontrollably as his fists began to glow with power.

Caesar was quieter and more methodical, more befitting of the planned ambush jumping down in near silence and narrowed eyes.

Ritsuka sprinted as fast as his legs could carry him, even as the stage's building held up by a few nuts and bolts started to collapse behind him. He didn't look back, he knew a single misstep would've cost him.

With a heave, he leaped off the end of the stage as the heat of the explosion tore the rest of the stage asunder behind him. He gasped for breath and grunted as he twisted himself in the air so he was falling flatly, slowing his descent to the rapidly approaching sandy floor just slightly.

He reached into the master-servant bond, not shouting, not screaming, and just gave his order calmly, expectantly.

"Now."

He suspected she was already on her way. Mash almost slammed into him, cradling him as she tucked herself underneath him, her legs slamming feet first into the sand, shield brought up to cover them from the flying debris.

Ritsuka rolled from her grip catching himself on the ground, and with gritted teeth and an effort, he dragged himself back under the shield.

Then he breathed out a sigh of relief and coughed some of the sand out of his mouth. "Nice job." He croaked with a half-smile.

The pink-haired shielder smiled at him. "It was a good plan."

In an instant the explosions and the fighting had come to an abrupt halt, the stage now finally the wreck he'd wanted to see it as. The opinion he still buried. Even as Ritsuka peered out from behind the shield he saw Gudako jogging over to them, skidding to join them, her face flush and out-breath. Even despite that, she too managed a smile just for the two of them.

"They got her." She said,

Steeling himself with another breath, he stood up and Mash lowered the shield. Gudako had joined them, following just behind.

The wreckage was in large chunks that still obscured where the climax of the fight had taken place, and they had to take care to step over flying speakers. Mash rolled her shoulder and still led the way, ready to jump in front of any last-minute attack that might still rear its head at the masters behind her.

As they came around the corner they could see what had happened. Most of everyone was still standing. Medb was surrounded by the other three combatants. Her eyes widened as the shielder stepped into view with the two masters. Blood dripping from just above the eye that she probably would've tried to heal if her spirit origin hadn't changed.

She huffed her eyes narrowing on the two masters. "You!" She stood up adjusting the grip on her sword.

As she did all the others moved with her which made her still again.

She pressed her lips together into a tight line. "I should've known that the two of you were behind all this as soon as I saw Mash." Her eyes darted to those around her, and slowly she eased herself out of her combat stance, and with a stab of her sword into the ground it vanished into particles of golden light, where the noble phantasm would once again await the beck and call. "Well if you think that by eliminating me that you'll somehow by magic win the doujin contest, you're sorely mistaken."

Gudako snorted. "She doesn't get it."

Ritsuka smirked a little. "You really expected her too?" He squeezed Mash's shoulder and walked out from behind her. He gestured for the others to lower their weapons too. "Oh, we'll beat you fair square." He half-smiled, "Next time." he added. Somehow he had the feeling she would throw such a comment back in his face when she showed up to gloat at Servfest without the addition at the end.

In fact, she still might.

His mouth twitched a little.

There is no way in hell we can win the contest this time with what little work we've done and what little time we've got left.

Despite the train of thought Medb still frowned a little at them, brows furrowed in confusion. She hadn't let her guard down though yet. But it was clear that she wasn't expecting the answer he'd given.

He gave a casual shrug and continued, forcing himself to focus on the moment he was in. "We honestly just can't have your fight disturb our barbeque over yonder." He tilted his head indicating the direction. "Negative emotions attract the monsters. And what've you got to be negative about?"

Medb huffed eyes narrowing towards Cleopatra. "This-This hussy accused me of cheating and she needs to take it back."

Gudako folded her arms and joined her brother's side once again.

But it was Cleopatra who responded. "But you were cheating. You paid off your judges just so you could give a show to all your little braves."

"Which," Ritsuka added carefully. "You clearly didn't need it."

Medb snorted. "No I don't" She folded her arms and shifted her weight onto her back foot raising an eyebrow at the others that still surrounded her. "What are you saying you wouldn't cheat Cleo?"

The last pharaoh smirked. "I don't have to either."

Gudako dared a smile too, glancing first at Edmond then back to Medb. "Seriously Medb, you would win a beauty contest without having to put much effort in." She took a step forward. "But your actions were bothering everyone else."

From the corner of his eye, Ritsuka caught movement.

With the fighting now finished near the servant barbecue, he could see Ushiwakamaru coming towards them with Robin in tow.

"Bah!" she waved it off. "Fine," She kicked the rubble to the stage. "Though I want compensation for the destruction of my property that my boys worked so hard to build," Medb smirked. Her eyes fell to Ritsuka.

He pressed his lip into a line as he tensed under her stare. It became very apparent he wasn't going to enjoy any of her conditions.

Gudako smirked a little. "Not really in a position to negotiate from strength." Then she raised an eyebrow at the queen. "However, you can be compensated fairly for your loss of the stage. I'm sure building another would be small trouble for the likes of you." She tilted her head a little. "Or would you prefer to have outside help?"

Medb's frown deepened and she lifted a finger, but ultimately she said nothing. She took one last look at Ritsuka. "Let me know when you dump all your friends and other useless servants. I'll keep you company afterward." She gave them all one last smile and turned to leave adding some sway to her hips.

Ritsuka closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I read too much Manga."

Gudako snorted. "We both did. After all, even sisters are victims of the harem trope."

"Sorry." He muttered. "But we both know you like the attention sometimes too."

"Not when Edmond's around." She snorted. "And certainly nothing like that attention. Does she really think that her charms alone are enough to get you to come to her?"

Ritsuka shrugged. "I don't really know, and I don't really plan on finding out." He hadn't really run any experiments to see if her passive charm spell worked on him like it did other male servants. Or maybe to see if it was his proximity to Mash, much like it increased his poison resistance, it increased his personal resistance to the charm spell that she so often swung around like a bat.

Gudako looked to the avenger who was still eyeing Medb's retreating form as she walked back towards the city. "Well, that's another crisis averted." She breathed out a small sigh of relief and reached out to take his hand.

Whatever stupor Edmond had been in snapped away as he squeezed his fingers around hers.

Best kind of ending we could expect to get without dealing out killing blows.

Caesar made a noise. "I don't know about anyone else but I'm starving."

Cleopatra snorted leaning on his shoulder. "Thank you for the help, Caesar." She grabbed his hand to hold him close.

"Of course," He grinned. "Now come, we all know how coveted Emiya and Boudica's food is. I want to get there in time to get us some seconds." He wrapped his arm around the Egyptian pharaoh and turned to walk back down the beach. "And all this fresh seafood means we are about to get a good feast."

Ritsuka felt his stomach growl and conceded that after that last stressful hour, it was time to get some real food in his stomach. His eyes met Gudako's.

She made a face and clutched her stomach as well.

Edmond chuckled and nudged her. "Hungry dear?"

Gudako flushed a little, wanting to at first say some snide and witty remark. Ultimately, however, she realized such a conversation would only delay the fact that she was hungry. And the last thing she wanted was her stomach to growl repeatedly in front of her boyfriend. "Yes, let's go get something to eat."

It was just as they reached the line for food, that the sun had started to leave its zenith.

#

It reminded Rituska of the old days at school where there were long tables sometimes in the cafeteria, where he and all his friends would sit. Everyone had sat with them, Edmond, Caesar, Cleopatra, Ushiwakamaru, Robin, Ibaraki, Arturia when she'd finally dragged Emiya away for a break, and Mash who chose to sit between both himself and Gudako.

Emiya had made a fresh sushi batch and spring rolls. While Boudica was trying something a little more Italian in nature with all the fresh seafood boiling a large cauldron of spaghetti. And while the pair of them were dragged away for their respective breaks, Emiya Alter and Tamamo no Mae took over for them to add their own spin on the seafood abundance.

Emiya Alter looked for something more British in nature working on things like fish and chips and lobster dishes. Something Arturia Alter seemed to really gorge herself on. Lastly Tamamo no Mae in turn focused on grilled dishes for the fish.

Ritsuka and Gudako served themselves a bit of everything to satisfy their hunger.

Whatever the servants spit out tends to be delicious anyway.

Mash nudged him to pull his attention. He blinked away his quiet thoughts and turned to eye her. "Yes?"

She tilted her head. "Gudako says that you don't like fish normally."

He leaned to look past her at his sister. "You'd be wrong." He smirked just a little. "We love fish, we are just picky when it comes to seafood. Exceptions though are always made to a few master cooks. Our parents were really good cooks too. Finding restaurant fish that we liked though was quite…difficult growing up."

Gudako shared a grin with him and dug once more into the meal.

Emiya paused as he was carrying Arturia's empty plates back towards the line. He nodded at the masters. "Thanks, Medb would've likely torn through the entire beach to get her revenge."

Ushi bounced in her seat, smiling up at him. "Oh, the sea monsters were easy enough."

"Still it would have ruined the day for a lot of us." The red archer grinned only a little and bowed his head once last time. "Open seating for you tonight at the speakeasy if that might interest any of you?"

Edmond sat forward. "Really? I would've thought the place would be booming."

"It's a password only usually." Emiya shrugged. "But most of our private events are now over and done with. Some Karaoke tonight with a free dinner that won't cost any of you any Gilbucks." He smiled again. "Least all of us could for the saviors of humanity at any rate." With that, he walked on.

Edmond's fingers tapped the table for a moment before he stood up to follow Emiya, his jacket resting over his shoulders as they billowed in the sea breeze.

Gudako frowned for a moment as she watched him leave. "Oh no, what's he up to now."

Ushi nudged her rib. "Something tells me he's thinking of something sweet to do for you?"

It was rare enough to see his sister blush at anything. Ritsuka hid his grin behind a drink of his water as his sister turned beat red.

"No-no, I don't think we have the time to do that tonight." She looked to her brother. "We still have to finish your doujin entry for this week, right?" Probably unbeknownst to her, she started playing with her hair, but after a few seconds, the blush had begun to fade. "We have to finish that before we even think about having fun."

Ritsuka exchanged a glance with Mash, and then Ushi just to make sure that they were all on the same page. "Oh, we'll be fine."

Her eyes held his gaze steady at the idea of a romantic night singing, dancing, and eating a fancy dinner now no longer taking her by surprise. "Are you sure?"

He nodded. "We're sure. And we'll be fine."

Edmond sat back down beside Gudako and looked at her. "Uh, so I talked it over. I know it's…definitely very last minute, but would you want to go?" He held his gaze to her eyes for a moment.

She nodded. "I think I would love to." She tilted her head looking a little bashful and a little playful.

He grinned. "Thanks, see? I can start making things up to you even sooner than we all planned." Edmond ran some fingers through his hair. "I've heard about the Speakeasy, I heard Carmila and Jeanne D'Arc have been doing a lot of the singing for them. Heard last night knocked down the house with a few guests too." His eyes flicked to Ritsuka.

For a brief moment, Ritsuka had to correct his brain.

Alter is singing?

He shook his head at the thought.

Of course not, they mean Jeanne D'Arc, the heroine herself. Alter wouldn't be caught dead singing.

Ibaraki chimed in. "Can Robbi and I come?" She offered a bit of a nervous grin.

Robin almost spat out his drink. "Wait, you want to go dancing and have a fancy dinner with me." He tapped his chest to help with his coughing. "I thought that you-"

The banana oni puffed out her cheeks with a red blush and suddenly yanked him closer to whisper into his ear.

The famous thief of Nottingham suddenly had a look of understanding. "Ah, okay." He nodded a few times and wrapped an arm around her, to hold her close. Then squeezed his eyes giving a wide grin. "You're great, you know that?"

"Shut up," she said, still blushing, and noticeably not pulling away. Her smile was small.

Edmond nodded at them. "Of course, you can come." His eyes returned to Ritsuka. "So long as you come as well."

Rituska blinked. "What?"

Ushiwakamaru filled the void before he even managed to think of a response. A wide grin came to her lips and she folded her arms turning to Ritsuka. "I think it's a wonderful idea. You need a night off too master."

"I've…had nights off." His eyes narrowed suddenly. "That's specifically why we need to get back to work tonight so that we actually have something to submit to the Servfest contest at the end of the loop." Ritsuka twitched. "It's day five already, if we don't start it tonight we may have nothing to submit come the seventh day."

Even as he turned his full attention to Ushiwakamaru.

Gudako's brows knitted together in confusion for a moment as she turned to face Edmond. She opened her mouth to speak.

Edmond slowly shook his head at her, and then smiled leaning in for a hug and whispering quietly in her ear. "I'll tell you later. We need to stop somewhere before I drop you back off at the hotel."

She definitely didn't understand, but she grinned and giggled like he'd just whispered something sweet to her. Gudako pulled away and pecked him on the lips. "Well, I've got to say I'm not gonna feel very romantic if my younger brother is there."

"Seconds." He bit out towards her and then turned back to Ushiwakamaru. "See, even my sister agrees with me. We should get started on the doujin. It won't be top quality but it might still be in black and white with at least decent sketches to match what we are going for."

Gudako glanced at Edmond, and then back to her brother. "But Ushi is right, Ritsuka. You did need the time off and you can still use more"

His brow furrowed showing just the littlest hints of annoyance. "I've had the time off, now is crunch time to work because of it." Ritsuka stared at his sister. "You can't seriously want me to come along with you?"

Gudako stared at him deadpan. "Jokes aside idiot, you're still my brother and I'd welcome you to anything. Besides you've worked the hardest out of all us trying to help win that Doujin contest at Servfest. I mean it. All the rest of them are servants and you, a human, are working just as hard as they all are." She leaned forward. "We actually need our rest, so yes you should come along. It's supposed to be a vacation after all." She tilted her head with a huff. "Even if there are things trying to kill us."

Ritsuka's lip twisted a little.

Robin grinned at him. "Seriously master, we've gotten good enough to crank out some decent sketches in one day. We'd love for you to come."

His blue eyes scanned the servants around him, and his mouth dropped open. His eyes flicked to Mash only to find her smiling at him. Apparently agreeing with the whole thing. Finally, he blew out a breath and shook his head a few times. "Ritsuka Fujimaru." He huffed a small laugh and smiled just a little, "Fifth wheel."

#

Ritsuka took a long shower this time getting the sand, dirt, and soot out of his hair. He buried his head into his arms against the wall, letting the water trickle and fall over him, down the tip of his nose. He stood there for a full few minutes after he'd finished just enjoying the warmth of the bath and trying to think of an excuse that might get him out of tagging along with this little venture to Emiya's speakeasy.

Ultimately he decided not to put up any more fuss; the servants that were present would allow him to at least nurse a drink until the end of the night. More than enough he thought that if he would truly end up being miserable to distract him.

Though the thought of being miserable didn't strike him as the most likely possibility.

Just feeling a little out of place.

He took a deep breath and turned the water off.

He'd packed away his tuxedo mystic code too when he realized that he might go out for a fancy night of fun at least once during the vacation. He stretched on a watch with a leather wristband after adjusting himself in the suit. The soreness of the day was starting to catch up with him he realized as he stretched his arm.

Functionally, he knew his arm was fine. But he'd cast one too many spells with it today, pushing himself to his limit, and past it.

If I weren't a novice this wouldn't be a problem.

He grimaced a little as he looked at himself in the mirror and afterward smoothed his expression. With an adjustment to his suit's collar, he moved out of the way, to make room for his servant.

Robin had taken his shower first and had gotten mostly dressed outside during Ritsuka's long tenure in the bathroom. Now he needed to brush up his apprentice a little too. He hummed. "Hey master, mind helping me with this tie?"

He paused and walked over. "Sure." He grinned a little at Robin's black suit with green embroidery to highlight it with a little color. "Nice." He complimented.

The archer huffed. "Thanks, I thought so too."

He adjusted his servant's tie, finishing the last loop. "Hm, looks better."

Robin nodded again. "Thanks." Then he grinned. "Who taught you how to tie your tie? I still can't figure it out for the life of me."

"Actually it was my sister who used to tie it for me. Emiya finally taught me how to do it myself at Chaldea before I went to Shinjuku." He smiled a little as he sat back on the bed supporting himself up with arms out behind him. "I'll admit though, having someone else tie it for you always makes it easier."

Robin huffed. "Did he know about your little crush on Jeanne Alter?"

Ritsuka's lip twitched. "Seems like everybody did."

The archer winced a little to himself. "Sorry, that was uncalled for." He turned around a little, pocketing his hand in the jacket. "I'll make it up to you."

"It's alright Robin." He smiled just a little, "If every mention of her got under my skin I don't think I'd be a suitable master for Chaldea." He looked down at his watch to see how much they'd had left. "Actually want to go wait downstairs in the lobby?"

Robin shook his head. "Your sister and Edmond said they would be half an hour late." He smiled just a little. "They stopped by while you were in the shower. With Ibaraki also in the girl's room taking up another shower slot, I'm not that surprised." He looked away still smiling about something as he moved to their closet.

Blue eyes followed him even as he adjusted his cuffs. Ritsuka watched the archer for a moment longer, before he focused on tucking in his shirt at the waist. "You're not nervous about dancing with Ibaraki are you?"

Robin huffed a single laugh as he pulled out a small deck of cards from their suitcases. "Master, I've already slept with her before."

He nodded. "True, but not that she can remember."

The archer paused for a moment and looked back at him and then back down at the deck of cards. "Yeah…I suppose I'm a little nervous. Who wouldn't be taking a pretty girl dancing?" He chuckled a couple of times. "Next loop though, I'll convince her to stay before she even separates from us at the airport."

Ritsuka smiled, "You wear your heart on your sleeve Robin."

At that, Robin only hummed in agreement as he pulled the cards out, and started shuffling. Then he shrugged a bit grin widening. The archer loved taking chances and gambles like in some of his legends. Against really great odds. It made him a lover of games whenever chance was involved. "How obvious am I being?"

He tapped the nightstand between the two beds in the room as a place to set the cards. "Obvious enough that I know you haven't told me all of it." Ritsuka returned the smile and waited for the cards to be laid out.

It wasn't the standard fifty-two card deck he'd assumed.

Robin began to lay out the Uno cards. The archer tilted his head from side to side swaying a little with the motion. "Every loop is a gamble." He tapped a card out infront of Ritsuka. "Every loop could be the last one." His lip twitched. "The one where we might break it if you know what I'm saying."

Ritsuka raised a brow but nodded.

"And what will our relationship be at the end of that loop." He frowned a little. "I got her to admit she loved me in one of the previous ones." He huffed a few chuckles and started to distribute the cards between them. "And then, for me…" Robin paused and shook his head. "Then for us, the whole world changed for about thirty-two hours."

And then the loop reset.

Robin smiled a little at the memory. "And then we started again, and she looked at me like I was nothing more than a supplier of chocolate sweets and someone who was kind to her." His lip twitched. "It's beyond stupid I know, but I keep thinking…what if this is the last one? What if I made her hate me for the mission and the loops finally end?"

He swallowed as the Uno cards finished being laid out, and the deck set between them for the small game. "We won't be winning this loop. Unless we pull our collective asses together to create a miracle." Ritsuka nodded to his servant. "But I doubt you could screw up so badly."

The archer grinned, throwing his hands up with a shrug. "There is a first time for everything. And even my luck runs out." He blew out a breath. "Ah well. At least she won't remember my horrible singing voice."

Ritsuka grinned. "You're going to sing?"

Robin nodded. "Oh yeah, you bet I am. It's Karaoke night before their songstress of the night comes." He tapped the table between them. "Now come Master, I reckon we can get a few games in before we have to go downstairs."

#

The two of them found themselves waiting in the lobby for an additional fifteen minutes. Ibaraki had met up with them before and had gotten into a deep blue dress. It complemented the black suit and black button-up shirt that Robin had gone with. The green tie is the same color as the embroidery that ran through his jacket like leafy vines and branches.

Edmond and his sister walked arm in arm, but not from the upstairs, they walked through the front door of the hotel.

Mordred leaned over the front desk talking to Jekyll. She was recounting the events of the huge lunch party she'd attended during her time off. The pair of them only turned to shout their greetings at the pair.

"Finally," he muttered, standing up from the couches. Ritsuka straightened his jacket and walked to meet them. "I thought you were both getting ready upstairs?"

Gudako's dress was a dark red crimson that complimented Edmond's black suit. The only other color to mark him was his tie, matching red to Gudako's dress.

His sister stepped closer, folding her arms over her chest, her small smile widening. "We finished up quickly. Took a shower together because…" She nudged Edmond. "We had an errand to run."

Ritsuka raised a brow.

Edmond pulled out a gift, wrapped and bowed. He held it out for him. "Don't open it until later though."

Now he was thoroughly confused. "I'm not gonna open this up and find out I'm an uncle right?" He hadn't reached out for it yet, sparing a glance back to Ibaraki and Robin who'd moved to join them from the couches.

Gudako snorted. "As if," She smiled this time a bit more genuine. "We know you're not feeling all that comfortable about coming out tonight. Leaving only Mash and Ushi to get started on your doujin submission for this week." She nudged her boyfriend again, this time more indicating for her brother to take the box. "But we hoped that this will make up for it a little. Because we do want you there with us."

Ritsuka's mouth twitched into a small smile and took the gift. Since he wasn't allowed to open it, he did still check the details on the little cube-shaped gift. It was light as a feather, he noted. Not at all surprising given that the box was small. He nodded once, then twice as his smile widened. "Thanks."

Gudako grabbed his wrist. "Remember, not until later."

He huffed. "When then?"

She tilted her head from side to side. "You'll know."

"That is maddeningly unhelpful." Ritsuka looked at Edmond.

He only smirked, giving away nothing, and demonstrating that he would have no such luck if he shifted the question to him. "Look, you're a dumbass if you don't pick up on the correct time to open it."

"I'll have you know, I excel at being a useless idiot sometimes." He tucked the gift box carefully between his hand and his chest. Ritsuka grinned a little at the two of them. "What duet are you planning on singing?"

"Who says we are doing a duet?" Edmond countered.

Gudako huffed. "Who said we weren't dear?" She leaned forward looking pointedly at him. "I think it's obvious we are doing a duet."

He huffed. "I suppose," Then he grinned a little as Ibaraki and Robin had joined them. "Now, should we get going?"

There was only one last exchange they made with Mordred at the front desk, the master thanking her for the help during attacks on the beach. The servant in response simply smiled wide and gave a mock salute to them before going off to start her evening duties for the guests.

Then, they were off to Emiya's for dinner.

#

The walk was short and brisk, Ritsuka spent it mostly in silence, his thumb tracing the edge of the small present. He listened to the conversation taking place between the pair of couples just in front of him. Even as the restaurant came into sight for dinner there was hardly a breath in the conversation taking place.

"I already apologized," Ibaraki said with a huff. Then she stuck up her nose in a fashion that reminded him of Medb's attitude on better days. "Doing so again would only make me repeat myself."

Edmond was teasing her. The malice he'd held earlier was gone, or if not gone at the very least subdued. His grin only widened. "If only I had a nickel every time my master liked to threaten me. I think I would be rich."

"Die," Gudako said with a grin.

"Already dead." Edmond snarked back.

"And I'm already hungry," Robin said. "Come on, let's get going, I get the feeling Emiya's is going to be packed tonight." He jogged to the front of the group, taking Ibaraki by the hand as he went up the steps to open the door for all of them.

And packed it was with servants and all the populace it looked like from the city. All Chaldea's usual kitchen staff and servants were here, minus the ones that worked the hotel. Minamoto no Raikō was here and she was handing out trays full of food. Parvati and Martha were also making the rounds.

Tamamo-no-Mae was there at the front hostess stand. She grinned at seeing them. "Ah, masters! Welcome." She grinned, "We were wondering if you were going to come by before Servfest." She paused looking around for a moment. "I take it Emiya invited you for the hard work you put in for saving the beach barbecue?"

"Something like that," Gudako said, hands on her hips. "Here for the speakeasy."

She bowed her head. "Of course, if you'll all follow me." With menus in hand for all of them, she tucked them carefully under her arm to lead the way.

Once again Ritsuka picked up the rear as he looked around the restaurant. He could see Moriarty sitting with Frankenstein and Babbage in the corner. From where he was standing at the entrance he could see that it looked like the entire corner had been cleared out for them.

More likely, they were simply a terrifying bunch to sit beside.

Ramses and Nicrotis were almost alone as well, in a candle-lit window seat. Whatever they were talking about it looked to be something sweet.

Gudako intertwined her arm with Edmond again and allowed Robin and Ibaraki to take the lead following their hostess.

Ritsuka followed just behind them, his eyes scanning the kitchen and the counter.

Arturia Alter was there, with a black jacket draped over her bathing suit. She had a burger and fries situated on the plate in front of her. It was mostly untouched as she was deep in conversation with the man who'd taken a moment away from his cooking.

Emiya Alter bowed his head in greeting towards them.

Saber turned around for a moment wondering and then her eyes relaxed upon seeing them. She gave a cool aloof nod over her shoulder before pulling on Emiya Alter's apron to tug him close to her lips. She seemed to grin at his startled expression, and then she leaned to whisper in his ear.

The startled expression seemed to smooth into a small grin.

Then Ritsuka rounded the corner into the hall, to the door that was across from the kitchen. The wooden stairs beneath his boots were quiet as he followed the group down into the Speakeasy. From the top of the stairs, the only person he could see at the bottom was the famous lancer of Ireland and hero of The Toin.

Cuchulain was standing there in a white button-up long sleeve shirt, with a black buttoned vest to go over it. His red eyes seemed to glint in the light as he looked up towards the new arrivals. He shifted a little to face them, stuffing his hands into pockets. "Well if it isn't my masters." His grin widened as they reached him.

Robin bowed his head.

Cuchulain held out a hand to stop them from going forward, looking pointedly at Ibaraki. "I've heard you caused quite a fair bit of trouble. I feel it is my duty to inform you that if you cause any trouble while you're here you'll have to deal with me."

Ibaraki nodded. "I'll be on my best behavior." She shrugged a little, looking to the side. "I can use some fun."

"Yeah yeah." The blue lancer went brushing her comment off. "Just be sure not to have it at anyone else's expense." Then he closed an eye and looked at Robin. "Unless it's at the expense of your date." He rubbed his chin still grinning. "That might be entertaining."

Robin grinned back. "Keep talking Lancer, I actually did something to fight Medb's insanity today. What have you done?"

"Oh yeah, I heard about that." The blue lancer folded his arms. "Enjoy your stay. It's open sitting, rules down here are with the menu. A server will be with you shortly."

Gudako and Edmond came through next.

"I was wondering when you two love birds would make your way here." Cuchulain put a hand on his hip and looked around the rest of the room. "Frankly I'm surprised it took you this long. Seems like your kinda hang out for a romantic evening."

Gudako smirked as she held out her hand palm down. "We've all been a fair bit busy."

Instead of taking her hand Cuchulain smacked their palms together, and in several swift motions that included fingertip brushing and knuckle cracking as they finished with a fist bump. "So I've heard. Put Medb in her place finally did you?"

"Put an end to the Chicken threat from the hills too," Edmond said.

"Ah." He bowed his head. "Rules are at the tables, open seating, and a server will be with you shortly."

Gudako bowed her head politely and lead the way.

Last was Ritsuka who reached the bottom of the stairs, and Cuchulain held an arm out for him to stop, He placed a hand on his hip.

Cuchulain tilted his head as he looked at him, and then back at the other two pairs that had come before him. "Fifth wheel tonight master?"

Ritsuka grinned. "Fifth wheel."

They stared at one another for a moment longer before their respective grins turned into a unison "aaaaahhhh" sound before slamming the back of their hands together, their palms, their forearms, pulling away to have the same ending in a fist bump.

"Enjoy your stay, master. We've got about an hour of Karaoke tonight before our songstress comes in for her late evening show." The blue lancer took a step back to his original position. "Jeanne." He grinned. "But I think you'll enjoy the guest she's asked to open for her tonight with a couple of songs."

Ritsuka raised a brow at that but he nodded once. "I'll take a seat at the bar, I should think. Don't want to 'fifth wheel' too hard." He gave a grin.

Cuchulain shrugged. "Whatever works, master. Keep an eye on Ibaraki for me, it'll make my night a fair bit easier."

He made a face. "And what is Emiya paying you for?"

"To keep me from harassing him." He shrugged. "Actually, I think it keeps me away from Fergus. The two of us do seem to get into a lot of trouble together."

Understatement of the year.

With that Ritsuka stepped away and followed his company towards one of the larger tables. Already, even as he approached the table he took stock of everyone who was present in the Speakeasy. The room could easily fit a hundred, but right now it looked like there were no more than twenty.

He spotted Emiya bartending at the counter now that he'd been relieved of his kitchen duties. The archer was cleaning away at a glass behind the counter. Beside him was Medusa, who seemed to have a small smile on her face as the two of them chatted.

Ritsuka's eyes went to the only two occupied seats at the bar's counter. Medea and Arturia also sat close to one another. They had food half-eaten in front of them, and a plethora of empty drinks to mark how long they'd been staying.

It's always strange to see those two out of their usual outfits.

The pair of them were in dresses. Certainly a rare sight for Camelot's saber king to be spotted out of her usual armor and in something more fit for a night out on the town.

Medea as well he could recall was fond of wearing dresses in private affairs. She'd worn them only once with a night out with the rest of the greek heroes back in Chaldea. Rarely ever out in public like this. He suspected that the dress had something to do with Medusa's presence behind the bar.

Not that it's terribly public.

His lip twitched as he looked around a little more at the small crowd, mostly servants when it came down to things. Anne Bonny and Mary Reed were up on the stand near the mike looking like they were about to have their turn at doing some Karaoke.

In the furthest corner, he could see Blackbeard and Francis Drake sharing a drink together. Around them were a few of their sailors joining in with them.

Shakespeare and Hans Christain Anderson seemed to be tucked away as well. They had their notebooks and quills with them to work away as they pleased.

Or perhaps they were getting criticism from one another?

To round out all the heroes present, Nero and Vlad were seated in the center of the room chit-chatting about something. But whatever Nero had said, made Vlad blush.

Probably a rarer sight than the dresses.

Ritsuka smiled as he passed through some of the sailors who were heading straight for the bar counter.

It was a Chaldea-only Speakeasy.

He spotted a few of Penthesilea's amazons as well, opposite where all the pirates had gathered. They all leaned in as if to whisper their conversations.

At last, Ritsuka came to stand by the end of the table for a moment, setting his gift down. "I like the look of it here. Feels nice…calming almost." He pulled a chair out for himself. "Not many strangers."

Robin smiled and nodded to the gentlemen that he was despite the scoundrel reputation, he pulled a chair out for Ibaraki.

A few chords to a song started, and Ritsuka glanced up to see Mary Reed at the microphone. He glanced back to the table picking out both the menu and the rules for himself. Even as he listened, he could hear the smile on their lips.

"I thought I heard the Old Man say

'Leave her, Johnny, leave her'

Tomorrow ye will get your pay

And it's time for us to leave her!"

Ritsuka almost snorted as he looked up to see Mary Reed make space for Anne Bonny to have her turn at the microphone. The music was very simple, he noted, as one of the few members of the crew might have been out at sea. "Of course, it's a shanty," he mumbled.

"Leave her, Johnny, leave her

Oh, leave her, Johnny, leave her

For the voyage is long and the winds don't blow

And it's time for us to leave her!"

Gudako grinned her golden eyes alight with memory. "It makes me miss that Okeanos singularity."

All eyes at the table swept to her.

She shrugged. "Just a bit."

"Oh, the wind was foul and the sea ran high

Leave her, Johnny, leave her

She shipped it green and none went by

And it's time for us to leave her!"

By now the song had its intended effect. All the other sailors and pirates from their corner of the room had joined in. Black Beard had a smile on his face as he leaned back a little in his chair singing along with everyone else.

"Leave her, Johnny, leave her

Oh, leave her, Johnny, leave her

For the voyage is long and the winds don't blow

And it's time for us to leave her!"

"I suppose." Ritsuka agreed. He leaned back into his chair with a grin. "I remember when you, Mash, and I woke up to find the crew changing shifts, and breakfast being steamed in the iron pots in the hold below. "It was…kind of freeing to see nothing but the ocean that morning."

"I hate to sail on this rotten tub

Leave her, Johnny, leave her

No grog allowed and rotten grub

And it's time for us to leave her!"

"I don't think I ever danced so much in my whole life." Gudako's smile widened. "They certainly knew how to celebrate living every day." She straightened her dress again now that she was seated, and leaned back into her chair taking a glance back at the two lady pirates. "It is something I do miss about the singularity."

"Leave her, Johnny, leave her

Oh, leave her, Johnny, leave her

For the voyage is long and the winds don't blow

And it's time for us to leave her!"

Francis Drake seemed to be directing the pirates around her a little so they only sang the chorus along with their companions on the stage. She wanted to make sure they didn't steal the spotlight. Though she still had a grin on her face.

"We swear by rote for want of more

Leave her, Johnny, leave her

But now we're through so we'll go onshore

And it's time for us to leave her!"

As the song neared its end, the two pirates on stage took to a small waltz together, dancing in a small circle just close enough to the microphone for it to still pick up both of their voices. Clearly, the song was very dear to them.

Or perhaps it was to all sailors?

Ritsuka smiled again, just a little, and returned back to the menu in front of him, setting it down to give applause after the last verse was sung.

"Leave her, Johnny, leave her

Oh, leave her, Johnny, leave her

For the voyage is long and the winds don't blow

And it's time for us to leave her."

The sailors and pirates whistled their approval as the masters clapped.

"Sing now?" Edmond asked, "Or would you like to wait until after we eat?"

"Sing now. I don't much like the idea of singing on a full stomach." Gudako said, standing up. She offered her arm. "Let's put our names on the list at the very least. In case there are others who might be intending to sing."

Edmond frowned a little at her. "You seem extremely confident in the idea of singing."

"I've had some practice." She admitted.

Ritsuka snorted. "Some," He mocked.

Edmond raised a brow, "I can sing too."

Ibaraki fidgeted a little with the food menu. "Should we sign up for some singing too?"

Robin shook his head. "Only if you want."

For a moment the table was left in silence as they poured over the menu in full detail. Even as Edmond and Gudako came back to join them, they too searched the menu. And almost as soon as everyone had settled.

Like clockwork, Medusa came over with her little notepad to take down their orders. "The specials for this evening are clam soup, and anything with chicken and seafood." She looked at them pointedly. "Eat them while we have them fresh from all the fighting at lunch today." Her eyes flicked back to the bar to Emiya, then back to them. "Emiya says you are going to want a house special?"

Ritsuka shrugged. "He told us to come in tonight, so if that's what he recommends, I'd say we are taking him up on the offer."

Medusa hummed as she flicked a few notes onto her pad. "Alright, drinks are served and drunk at the bar in order to avoid…" She pointed with the back of her pen towards the crowd of sailors slamming tankards. "That. Water is fine, but alcohol can prove troublesome to clean up."

Gudako nodded. "Understood."

Some appetizers were settled on picking something that all of them could share with one another. Then drinks were settled on after an equally brief discussion about what Medusa and Emiya recommended.

Medusa returned behind the bar and stuck a hair tie between her teeth and gathered all her long purple hair up behind her and tied it back into a large ponytail. Then she got to work on making their drinks.

Gudako looked at her brother pointedly. "Did you really think that was going to work? Emiya is from Japan too."

"I'm on a fictionally replicated island that's a mirror for Hawaii." Ritsuka huffed. "Forgive me, but I don't see what the point of applying our homeland's drinking laws here accomplishes." Ritsuka flicked the drinking menu. "Our mom is European."

She snorted. "America's drinking age is twenty-one so even if he wasn't enforcing our homeland's laws on us, we'd still be screwed."

He sighed and leaned back a little in his chair. "I know," He smiled a little. "But I do think that the heroes who are doing their best to save the world, deserve a celebratory drink every once and a while." Ritsuka grinned. "I feel like some weird druggy in high school who's trying to sneak something into his dorm."

Gudako smirked at that. "Well, maybe we'll be finished with it all soon, and get back to our old lives." Her lips twisted a little at the thought.

"Your old lives you say?" Edmond leaned in a little. "Were they really so appealing?"

"They were…" Ritsuka paused for a moment, his brow furrowing. "Quiet. I wasn't risking my life constantly either, which was a plus."

His sister turned her golden eyes to her boyfriend. "If you think we regret the choices that brought us here, you are sorely mistaken. I just…haven't figured out how to bring you back with us when we are finished."

Edmond met her eyes. "You'll find a way I'm sure."

"We will," Ritsuka said. "This of course all predicated on the chance that we even can go back." His expression hardened. "I'm not so sure we will be able to in the end."

Gudako started, and then she nodded slowly. "Too attached to our work now little brother?"

He grinned and nodded. "What's left for us at home after this?"

She brushed a loose strand of her orange hair behind her ear and nodded again. "Not enough that would make me want to leave." Her fingers wrapped around Edmond's arm. "Though the idea of living a quiet life with you somewhere is appealing."

The avenger chuckled. "A storybook ending." He tilted his head from side to side. "I wish we could make it so easily."

Medusa returned with their drinks in hand. "Two lemonades for the Robin and Edmond, one mango for Ibaraki, and two…" Her brow furrowed to indicate that she was still displeased with their attempt at getting alcoholic drinks. "Two virgin bloody marys for the masters." She set them all down in order.

Then she looked pointedly at his sister. "You can take your turn once the Amazon finishes."

Ritsuka spared a glance towards the stage and saw an Amazon lining up with the microphone. She was looking off to the side at her friends.

Gudako nodded.

Medusa flipped out her notepad again, "Did we decide on main courses?"

Ritsuka shrugged, "I got mine."

A round of nods went around the table, and then Medusa took their orders in stride once again, before returning to the bar. Though this time she was distracted by Medea who'd slid her way towards her.

Gudako smiled even as the next song started to play in the background. "Think they're together?"

Ritsuka huffed. "If they aren't, they are very good friends." He tilted her head a little as he watched them. "I wonder if they ever met in their past lives?"

"Or," Robin raised a brow. "If they ever met before as servants before Chaldea. Like the way Emiya and Arturia might've."

Ibaraki hummed a little. "Weren't they both villainized in their Grecian myths?"

He hummed a bit. "Oh, yes very much so." Ritsuka nodded a bit as he watched them. "I think even now the kindness that they've shown still surprises me. I would've expected monsters thanks to their myths. Instead, we got good friends."

The Amazon had a lovely voice, but it was mostly in passing.

The conversation at his table instead steered towards the myths and legends of servants they knew growing up. The ones they were familiar with, and the ones that they weren't.

Robin frowned. "You really never heard of Francis Drake?"

Gudako grinned. "Afraid so, once I met her of course, I did all the research I could regarding her historical counterpart. A pirate put in charge of the English navy." She took a long sip from her drink. "I was actually also unfamiliar with the Count of Monte Cristo." Her golden eyes flicked to Edmond. "Wait and hope."

Edmond shrugged. "I suppose I understand that even if it was based on a true story." He rubbed his chin a little at the thought. "Though, I'm more pleased that you've read it now I suppose. So what was your opinion of me back then? Dark and brooding?"

"Something like that." His sister nodded once. "Yes, as soon as I summoned you I did all my research for you. As best as I could anyway." Gudako poked his cheek. "Though, while I expected the grumpiness, the gentlemen bit caught me off guard a fair few times."

The avenger shrugged, snagging her hand before she could pull away. "And here I thought you didn't like me being gentlemanly?"

Before any more lovey-dovey flirts were shared, Ibaraki interrupted with a frown. "I still don't know a lot about other myths and legends outside of the oni's of Japan." She looked at Robin. "You never told me what really happened to you either. I've only ever heard bits and pieces of your story."

Ritsuka drank quietly and listened.

Fifth wheel.

Robin shrugged. "Honestly, there isn't much to share. Tyrannical sheriff, a golden-hearted thief, it's not really all that unique." He took a small sip of his drink. "I helped people who were in need, and I hid away in the forest with my friends."

Ibaraki's frown seemed to deepen a little.

But before she could say anything Medusa arrived, looking at Gudako and Edmond. "Your turn if you would still like to take it? You will be the last ones tonight because we have to let our songstress and her opening guest go."

The pair stood up to follow, Edmond offering an arm to his sister.

Ritsuka smiled again and hid it behind his drink. Once again, he flicked a blue eye to the present box on the table.

I'll know with certainty.

Their absence didn't strike him with certainty, so once again his eyes flicked away. And he'd realized in his second distraction something had happened.

Robin's face had darkened a little.

Ibaraki was staring at him. "You're really not going to tell me?"

The archer bit his lip in thought, avoiding her eyes. He'd fallen silent as he thought quietly about whether or not he should.

Whether or not he wants to.

Ritsuka realized with an understanding. The story was no doubt much darker than the rumors and fairy tales around him depicted him as. The real story he realized was probably a lot more brutal too. Against his better judgment, Ritsuka found his voice before Robin did, and spoke. "The story isn't a pleasant one."

Ibaraki didn't like that very much. Her eyes narrowed just a little towards him. "And mine was just fancy folk tales?"

Robin grabbed her hand. "You know master didn't mean it that way."

She tensed at his touch and then relaxed. "I know." Her expression softened a little. "I'm sorry…"

He shook his head. "It's alright." He huffed a single chuckle. "Don't worry, I have a habit of not saying the exact right thing when the moment calls for it." Ritsuka lifted his drink to the pair of them. "I wouldn't be in this position otherwise."

Robin sighed. "You really want to know don't you?"

"I really do." She wrapped both hands around the one holding onto her. She tilted her head a little. "I'm sorry if it feels pushy…"

The green Sherwood archer shook his head a few times. "It's not that…its…" His lip twisted a little.

And then Ritsuka understood.

He doesn't want to have to tell it again.

He glanced down and looked at his half drink, and thought he could probably persuade Emiya to at least put a shot of vodka in it. Ritsuka's lip twitched. "I already know the real story." He said coming to his feet. "I'll…leave you to it." He turned his eyes to Ibaraki, imploring her as best he could to convince her of the weight in the story.

She took a deep breath and nodded. "Thank you."

Robin gave him a silent nod but before Ritsuka could get all the way away. Robin pressed the present box against his a moment Ritsujka thought he could see a slight twinkle in the archer's eyes.

He grinned as he took the box off his servant. Then he gave a mock salute.

"Well…this is going off of my memory. But…I suppose I'll start with my time in the crusades. They were…defining for me and my role in it. Our King, Richard The Lion Heart...was gathering soldiers and any able-bodied men in an attempt to retake Jerusalem. I would follow him for many years, until his death when he was attacking a fort in France…"

Ritsuka walked out of earshot as the groundwork had been started. He'd heard his stories of the second crusades and the following war with France. If Robin hadn't told him, he would've dreamt it not long after his summoning as part of the result in their Master-Servant contract. He suspected that Robin did it to avoid the worst parts of the dreams that he would get.

Same reason I get Alter's worst nightmares.

His lips twisted a little at the thought. The reminder that she didn't easily share things with him was another wedge that had been driven between them. Ritsuka shook his head quickly, landing himself at the bar, the furthest corner of the counter. The spot furthest away from the singing stage. "I have European servants, there has to be a way to get something to drink…"

Ritsuka waved for Emiya to come to him, now that he was the closest.

Emiya gave him a nod and excused himself from the conversation he was having. He raised a brow as he approached. His voice stern as always. "Master," He greeted. "I'm happy all of you could make it."

He smiled a little at that. "Well stressful day, stressful life." Ritsuka nodded towards his sister and Edmond bickering at the side of the stage. "Figured you'd have a good spot for us to catch our breath for the night." Slowly, he flicked his glass. "I'm an adult Emiya, and I'd like a real drink."

The servant frowned in silence at him. "Barely," He commented, raising an eyebrow.

Although, Ritsuka thought he could detect amusement in those gray eyes of his. "I only want one." He said firmly. "I think I've lived through more than enough in just my lifetime to have at least earned one before something in this crazy life of mine gets lucky enough to kill me."

Emiya's brow arched a little higher. "You're in a colorful mood tonight, master."

A chuckle escaped Ritsuka's lips. "Honestly, I'm fine." He lowered his head and sighed, setting the box gift onto the counter. "I'm not desperate to drink because I want to get drunk, I just need something to help me whine down, my head is still buried in all the problems we were dealing with this afternoon." He rubbed the bridge of his nose.

It's a wonder that we still keep Medb around.

The red archer folded his arms, still looking down at him. "I can't give you alcohol because you're underage, and my establishment can be closed because of it."

Ritsuka stared at him. "Seeing as we are going back to Chaldea at the end of the week, I don't think that really matters all that much."

Well, at least to them it will all have happened in a week.

Emiya's frown deepened. "Are you implying that we shall never return here once we return to Chaldea master?"

He just sighed again and laid his forehead down against the counter. Ritsuka's mouth twisted and he shook his head. "That's not what I mean…" After running his fingers through his hair. "Damn, I must really sound desperate to you don't I?" Even as he lifted his head up and chuckled a little at the thought of it.

Once again, Emiya quirked a brow.

Ritsuka just looked amused and laughed quietly into the air between them.

The red archer sighed, the tension lines of his frown smoothing. "Master, it's okay to be hurt and still avoid alcohol. It won't help." His gray eyes glanced away towards movement on the other end of his bar.

The smile and laughter were gone and Ritsuka stared at the counter between them.

"How about a hot chocolate?" Emiya suggested. "That can be an equally comforting drink."

Ritsuka shook his head. "No, I think I'll stick with my virgin cocktails." After another beat, a small smile twitched and faded. "It's more tropical tasting to me."

The archer bowed his head. "I'll be only a few moments then." He raised his brow again. "Will you be taking your appetizers here?"

The table that had once sat all of them, was still empty except for Robin and Ibaraki. The two of them were still deeply engrossed in their discussion. It was like the whole room didn't exist for the two of them.

He nodded slowly. "Yeah, I'll take it here."

Emiya nodded again. "If you need anything else, master…" He trailed off and stepped back taking the empty cocktail Ritsuka had been nursing. Then he walked back down to the other end of the bar. Grabbing a few things as he went, brushing past Medusa who was now engaged fully in a discussion with Medea and Arturia.

Gudako, hummed into the microphone testing it. She almost jumped in surprise as the sound came out amplified, but not to an extreme degree. Then, his sister grinned, as her golden eyes found him now at the bar.

He smirked back.

Love birds need alone time.

Without another word, she dropped her questioning glance as her eyes went back to their table with the other two. As if she was seeking to answer that question herself. Whatever answer she concluded, she was satisfied.

And hopefully similar to the real reason.

Edmond had grabbed the second microphone and shared a grin with his sister.

With a few small adjustments and hitting play on something that only filled the air with silence.

Ritsuka's eyes narrowed a bit on the pair wondering if the music was delayed, or if it was a facet of their duet.

His sister cleared her throat and spoke more than singing. "Anything you can do I can do better."

Edmond could only smile wider. "HA!"

"I can do anything better than you!"

"No, you can't."

"Yes, I can."

"No, you can't." Edmond shook his head for effect.

"Yes, I can."

"No, you can't!"

"Yes I can, Yes I can!"

Ritsuka cackled to himself knowing where this was going. Even as the beat of the music kicked in behind them.

But of course, they would pick this song!

Emiya for one looked surprised as he brought Ritsuka's next drink over to him. His lips twisted into a small smile of his own amusement.

So far, for the song, Edmond was the only one who hadn't sung any lines but now that the music had started, picking up its tempo a little, he smirked as he sang into the microphone. "Anything you can be, I can be greater. Sooner or later I'm greater than you."

Gudako looked at him deadpanned. "No, you're not."

Edmond winked a bit at her. "Yes, I am."

"No, you're not."

"Yes, I am."

"No, you're not!"

"Yes I am, yes I am!". Edmond squared his shoulders and tugged at the hem of his jacket. Then he made a finger gun with freehand. "I can shoot partridge with a single cartridge."

Gudako grinned, lining up beside him making a motion with her arms. "I can get a sparrow with a bow and arrow."

Ritsuka blinked and wondered briefly if they had choreographed this a bit together. Or if they had taken the time to sing it together before.

Edmond stepped around her as if moving to stand in front of her and sang proudly. "I can live on bread and cheese."

Though as if it were a real rivalry, Gudako stepped out in front of him looking back at him with a disappointed expression. "And only on that?"

"Yup."

She grinned looking back towards the audience brushing her dress as if she were trying to dust herself off. "So can a rat."

A pause came into the song, long enough for Edmond to feign a sour face at Gudako. They stared at each other for a moment, the music filling the quiet behind them as he looked down at her his face taking on a more thoughtful expression.

Practice.

Ritsuka took a sip from his drink. There wasn't much downtime at Chaldea, but whenever there was, such events tended to be memorable. For the life of him, he couldn't remember the last time he'd heard his sister sing.

Edmond leaned towards the microphone. "Any note you can sing I can sing higher."

"I can sing any note higher than you!"

"No, you can't."

"Yes, I can!"

"No, you can't." Edmond raised his voice.

Gudako matched him. "Yes, I can!"

With each passing syllable, their notes rose higher and higher.

Ritsuka blinked as he felt a brush at his side. He blinked and looked over to see Jeanne D'Arc, Alter's self-declared older sister smiling up at him.

Her dolphin thankfully wasn't present, but since making Reese her familiar, Ritsuka was sure that if the need arose she would call the dolphin to her if only to put on a display for the children or beat Gilles with the backside of Reese's tail.

"Master? Didn't think I'd find you here tonight. But I suppose it only makes sense." She tilted her head a bit with hands now behind her back.

He blinked away his surprise. "Yeah," He nodded towards his sister and Edmond on the stage. "Got dragged out." A smile came to his lips and scooted his stool another few inches allowing the former ruler to more comfortably sit beside him. "Otherwise I think I would've just gotten bogged down in work again." He huffed a small smile. "I hear you are singing tonight?"

She smiled and nodded, taking the offered seat. "Dragged? You sound like Alter. She wasn't keen on going out all that much either. Marie seems to have straightened her out a bit." Jeanne smiled again at him. "At least a little."

For Ritsuka, the rest of the song had fallen on deaf ears. As much as he was amused by Edmond and Gudako's duet, his focus had now shifted entirely to the person seated beside him. Jeanne was someone who could always command his attention, insightful words or otherwise. He recalled seeing her earlier at the beach that day.

The summer archer waited patiently for her turn from the servers to order something for herself.

Medusa gave her a nod, indicating that she would be with her shortly.

Jeanne turned to face Ritsuka again. "How is your doujin coming along?" Her voice dropped an octave. "Well enough I hope that you can still find some free time?"

Not bogged down by work, yet.

A couple of chuckles escaped from his lips, "Well enough." He assured her. Then he tilted his head from side to side, smiling a bit. "Slow to be expected as our lead writer and artist isn't staying with us for the moment." He lifted his drink towards her.

Jeanne hummed, a smile coming to her lips as she watched him down a few gulps. Then a frown started to form and her eyes narrowed. "Emiya had better not have given you any alcohol master."

He snorted.

Now it was probably the better choice for his health that he didn't.

"Oh, I tried," Ritsuka smirked a little at her, despite the disappointing look in her eyes. "I got shut down pretty hard so…" He flicked the glass of his drink again. "So now I am wallowing in my misery and wonderful worldly thoughts."

Before Jeanne could say anything in retort, Medusa arrived to take her orders.

The purple-haired rider seemed to have a small smile on her lips now. Even a light blush seemed to tug at her cheeks as she came to a stop in front of them.

As Jeanne ordered, Ritsuka spared a glance back towards Medea, who was a fair shade redder than the Greek heroine standing in front of him.

"Nothing to eat?" Medusa raised a brow.

"Something small perhaps," Jeanne confirmed. "I'm going to wait on Marie and it will be too close to performance time to scarf down a full meal."

With a few more marks on her notes, Medusa bowed her head. "If you need anything else…" Then she stepped away.

Then Jeanne turned her attention back to him. She seemed to straighten in her seat, almost feigning pomposity, her voice slightly smug. "I'll have to thank Emiya for keeping you out of trouble."

He sighed, "I still don't intend to get drunk."

Her lips twisted into a small frown.

Ritsuka met her glare for a moment with a stern look of his own. Then he grinned at her and chuckled. "For the record both my sister and I have been drunk before. Stole into our parents' liquor cabinet when we were sixteen."

Jeanne smiled too and laughed. Then her expression cleared as she leaned over the counter to stare at him. Her braid bouncing swaying with the movement behind her. "Can I tell you a secret master?"

"Or course?" Ritsuka raised a brow at her.

"I haven't had alcohol before." Jeanne sat up straight again. "If I had it in my life, I certainly don't remember it." Her lips twisted a little at the memory. "Though, I remember Gilles and the army drowning themselves in wine after we'd won a battle." She turned to eye him. "So really, I suppose you are a more experienced drinker than I am."

Ritsuka chuckled. "Thanks…" His brows compressed briefly. "I think?" In the brief quiet his eyes glanced back at the stage.

"I can drink my liquor faster than a flicker." Edmond got face to face with Gudako.

Gudako had a hand on her hip and was practically nose to nose with him. "I can do it quicker and get even sicker."

"I can open any safe."

"Without being caught?"

"Sure."

"That's what I thought you crook." Gudako swayed her hips as she stepped away from him.

Ritsuka looked back to Jeanne pressing his lips together into a line, his heart bidding him to speak. "Thanks for getting Alter away from Gilles." His lip twisted a little. "I…don't know what would've happened if I went…"

For a moment she grinned at him. "Perhaps less than you think Master." Jeanne turned on her stool to face him, I know I kept my report very brief earlier…" Her eyes flicked passed him to the stage, then back to him. "Alter struck me as…she wanted to keep her life as private as possible too."

He nodded. "You wanted to respect her wishes." Then he smiled, "I think anyone would be lucky to have an older sister like you."

Jeanne's smile widened. "Actually, I bring up my brief report because there is something that I omitted that you would now want to know."

That gave him pause, even as he brought his drink to his lips. He raised an eyebrow at her expectantly. "Is that so?"

She hummed and nodded. "Yes. It's true that I went to collect Alter from Gilles." Jeanne joined him in facing the counter. "I was prepared to do anything, keep my promising threats to Gilles if I had to, and tear through all of his familiars."

Ritsuka tensed. "Did you?"

"No." Jeanne smiled. "As it turns out I didn't need to. When I arrived, Alter was already in the process of leaving." She sat up a little straighter as if she were proud.

Confusion crossed over his features. Then they smoothed as Ritsuka huffed out a smile. "She left? All on her own?"

"Well," Jeanne shrugged. "When I arrived, she was at the edge of his barrier walking out with her duffles over her shoulder. I did drag her the rest of the way for about a block." She nodded. "But yes," her smile widening. "She left him all on her own."

He huffed and touched his forehead. "She did it…" Ritsuka smiled.

It was then Medusa returned with Jeanne's drink in hand. The Greek rider offered only a small smile before returning to her duties, stepping out from behind the bar, heading over to the amazon's table.

Jeanne must've noticed the relief in his expression and the way the subtle tension in him had finally at long last dissipated.

He slumped in his chair and let out a heavy breath as if he'd been holding it.

Her smile only widened. "She did," She agreed. "Finally."

Ritsuka chuckled. "Now that is something worth sharing cheers for." He grabbed his drink and held it towards her.

She plucked up hers and touched the glasses together. "To my little sister, knowing that even servants can grow out of their bad habits."

For only a few seconds, the voices of his sister and Edmond were left to fill the gap of silence between them. The room seemed so captivated by them as Ritsuka and Jeanne were captivated by their conversation. It finally felt as if a small peace had fallen over them again, the servants around him had all shared their feeling of jubilation. The amazons, the pirates, even those who could cause a fair bit of trouble of their own were sharing in the joy that spread through the room like an errant breeze.

Perhaps, Ritsuka thought, that the very thought alone was a risk he knew. That's how his life's pattern typically went, and even then he was willing to risk. Daring all the demon pillars and gods he'd encountered to try to ruin it.

Perhaps just for tonight.

He smiled as he finally found his words. "To Alter, one of the most stubborn servants at Chaldea who can change." Ritsuka looked down for a moment. "And if she can change, there may yet be hope for all of us in the end."

Jeanne's brow furrowed slightly, but then it smoothed. "Yes," She agreed simply.

Then they both took a long swig of their drink.

Ritsuka set his glass down as his self squaring misery was finally chased away in full. Even if he was here as a fifth wheel, that by no means meant he couldn't enjoy himself.

Everyone needs rest, especially me and Gudako.

His eyes flicked to his sister swaying her hips a little to the beat of her duet. A chuckle escaped his lips. "I hate admitting when I'm wrong."

Jeanne hummed. "You and Alter both as I recall." She smiled, "but you've gotten better at it."

A snort escaped his lips again. "Thanks."

"Every servant needs a different approach as I'm sure you've noticed master." Jeanne swung herself around so that instead of facing him, she was once more facing the bar. "Alter is clearly no different."

"So I've noticed." Ritsuka tilted his head. "So I've learned."

It just takes a while.

Jeanne giggled. "Even Lily."

He paused and grew serious again. "I can never thank you enough for your help with that." His blue eyes alight with the memory of the young girl crying at the sight of the ocean's waves crashing against the sandy beach. The group hug everyone had given her after, as Lily Alter finally realized what she'd always wanted to see.

"It was easy." Her smile faded, but only a little. Jeanne shrugged. "It's a dream all of us shared, even if it was lost by the years."

Ritsuka nodded. "But you're all making up for some lost time I hope?" He gave a sheepish grin. "Despite all the problems of crabs and urchin familiars that are constantly roaming the waters."

Jeanne's smile went wide as a single laugh escaped her lips. "Yes, despite all of that. Spending so much time near the ocean is a dream come true."

Applause pulled Ritsuka's attention back to the stage as he watched Gudako and Edmond return their microphones to the stands. He smiled and joined in the applause, even if the performance had been watered down to some background noise. He suspected that he would hear that particular duet again.

A few workers came to clear the stage of the Karaoke set up, working efficiently, removing the small monitor, the extra microphone, and going about resetting a few of the lights.

One of the workers paused at the microphone. "Thank you all for participating in our Karaoke. As we transition the stage a bit, if you'd like to make any last-minute orders before your songstress starts for the evening we suggest you do so now. Otherwise, there will be a pause between the shows and every few songs for everyone to make an additional order."

Emiya dragged his attention right back putting a portion of the appetizers that he ordered with his group all together on a smaller plate. He nodded after setting the plate down and then moved to drop off the other two platters at their group table.

He sighed, a little. "So you're singing tonight, I got that, what else?" Ritsuka raised a brow. "I noted you mentioned you were waiting to meet Marie."

Jeanne smiled and nodded, "She's dropping Lily off to hang out with Jack and Nursery. Atalante was working late tonight because of what happened on the beach. We wanted to come here together tonight for my performance, but also we wanted to celebrate fully!" She chuckled a little. "Something of which we find little occasion for most of the time at Chaldea."

A smile came across his lips, "Celebrate what?" Ritsuka chuckled light a couple of times.

Jeanne seemed to trail off slowly as her blue eyes bore into him, staring intensely as her own smile faded. There was a palpable silence that started to stretch between them.

Ritsuka blinked and his eyes started to widen. He stiffened at the intensity of her eyes, straightening up. A part of him started to wonder if he'd said something wrong, or if Jeanne was offended by him missing something like a holiday, birthday, or anniversary. "Uh?" He glanced away as if expecting help.

Only he saw his sister and Edmonds heading back towards their main table.

His eyes flicked back to Jeanne.

She leaned toward him as if she were still trying to search his expression. Then as she understood she stiffened up straight too, her eyes seemed to widen. "You…" Her lips curled a little. "...don't know?"

"Know what?" He asked, brows knitting together in confusion.

But before either of them could continue the conversation, Queen Marie of France hopped between them. She looked playfully poutful at Jeanne. "Jeanne! I thought you said you would get us the best seats in the house?"

Whatever Jeanne D'Arc had been about to say was lost, smiling at Marie's arrival. "There isn't a need." She smiled at her from the chair. "You know as well as I do that there are plenty of open seats for us still."

Marie feigned a deepening frown, but then she smiled. "Okay!" She said in agreement. "Lily was dropped off without a fuss. Jack and Nursery were waiting eagerly for her." She turned to face Ritsuka. Then she smiled again. "Fancy seeing you here master." She folded her arms. "I thought you were too busy for such affairs. Especially after all the fuss that I'd heard about at the beach today."

Ritsuka could only grin at that. "I'm certainly wiped out." He gestured to the establishment around him. He pulled his mind away from the curiosity to exchange a grin with her. "Yo," He greeted.

For a moment the queen of France froze before a smirk came to her lips and made the horn signs with both her hands as she did when they'd all first met back in the France singularity. "What up my homies?!" She squeezed her eyes shut and smiled wide.

Jeanne grinned. "Don't encourage her."

Marie smacked her shoulder. "Don't be rude Jeanne. We are just having a bit of fun." She put her hands on her hips. "The grail fast-tracking modern slang into our speech is still not something I'll ever get fully used to."

Ritsuka bowed his head a little. "And you'd deprive us of such wonderful memories?"

The queen of France smiled, "Never." She tilted her head towards Jeanne. "Mind if I can have my date back master? The show's going to start soon and I want to spend some time with her before she takes the stage herself."

"Of course." He said, he bowed his head to Jeanne. "Thank you for your time as always oni-chan." A small smirk came to his lips as he recalled one of their previous conversations about how they should treat one another.

I was used to having an older sister anyways.

That brought a smile back to Jeanne's lips. This time though, instead of playing along and taking up again the mantle of his oldest sister, a relationship dynamic that she'd agreed on with her masters, her voice slipped into something genuine. Jeanne's blue eyes stared at him intently. "Not yet, but certainly soon, no?"

He frowned at that.

What could she possibly mean by-?

Jeanne intertwined her arm with Marie's, and her smile widened as she saw his face fill with color.

Oh.

For a moment longer the summer archer smirked just a little at him before plucking up her drink into her free hand. Her long blonde hair braid swayed as she turned her head away, at last, her piercing blue eyes leaving him behind, heading to one of the other tables nearer the front of the stage.

Leaving Ritsuka still red from ear to ear. "Probably not that soon," he muttered under his breath. He turned to face his drink on the bar counter, and that little box was still sitting beside it. Ritsuka puffed out his cheeks and closed his eyes leaning back into his chair. "I have to find a way to do my part in making it work."

If misery was the sign Sis, I gotta say I would have opened this a while ago.

He ran his fingers through his hair again and stared blankly straight ahead. Allowing his thoughts to swirl and run uncontested through his mind like uncatchable leaves carried in the wind. Even as the lights dimmed around them a little darkening the back far corner of the room he was in, his mind still wandered.

What am I to do?

His lips twisted a little at that.

"You know the point of us taking you out is so that you can avoid brooding in the back?" Gudako's voice came from beside him. He could hear her walk around intent on taking the seat at the adjacent side of the corner.

Ritsuka chuckled a little. "Not much else for me to think about right now you know?" His eyes fell to her. "You guys were great."

Gudako smirked. "We know. We've done that one before." She tilted her head a little. "And for us, I suppose it was a little therapeutic given all the heavy conversations that I had with Edmond earlier." She ran a hand along the back of her chair.

He pressed his lips together and leaned forward raising a brow towards her. Ritsuka huffed another chuckle. "I'm back here because Robin and Ibaraki wanted to have a bit of time alone together." He picked at an ice cube in his drink. His smile twitched as he wrapped his fingers around it. "Apparently she's unfamiliar with all the real stories of what made him who he was."

Her expression softened as she nodded. "Edmond and I are going to sit back down with them." After a beat of silence, she reached over and squeezed his hand.

Ritsuka froze blue eyes flicking back to her.

"Take all the time you need. Alright?" She half-smiled. "Just be sure you don't brood back here all night."

There was another stretch of silence between them until Ritsuka finally nodded. "Okay. Just give me a few more minutes."

Gudako snorted. "Just don't walk up to our table while she's singing. I heard she's good, and I don't want your appearance to make it any harder for her."

Ritsuka frowned. "What-"

She smirked at him and walked back around him and paused. Waiting to see his expression even as he fell silent.

He frowned as he turned his head to follow her moving around behind his chair. His brows knitted together in confusion. Even as she came to a stop with a hand on her hip, now on the opposite and adjacent side to him.

A new figure was on the stage and he looked past his sister.

His breath caught in his throat.

Even as his sister smiled at having seen his jaw drop, she and all the room faded into a haze as his eyes found sharp focus. With all the glittering golden lights that were directed onto her.

There she was, Jeanne D'Arc Alter, standing with her white hair brushed to perfection. Her form-fitting purple dress extenuated her beauty as it always had. For only a few fractions of seconds before his brain went completely blank, he tried rapidly to guess when he'd last seen her in that dress.

But even that search for the memory had faded to the present. Her amber eyes were alight with a glow as she looked out into the crowd with eyes unfocused. Either from all the lights on her, or it helped her to better cope with the small crowd. Her fingers holding the microphone stood as she tugged herself closer, standing a little straighter. Her eyes flicked off to the side, the small group of musicians not sharing the stage light all waiting for her queue to start.

Alter lowered a hand indicating with two fingers at her side for them.

Ritsuka was probably the only one who noticed in the entire room, the small gesture.

She's the one opening for Jeanne.

The music that started was a slow jazzy tune more reminiscent of the era when speakeasies were more widely used. With the piano and a slow drum on the brass cymbals playing the opening notes of the song.

A small smile touched Alter's lips after a few seconds had passed. She tucked a loose strand of her white hair behind her ear. Then she swayed her hip, moving from side to side very slowly in keeping with the rhythm of the song.

He was only just then vaguely aware of how parched his throat felt. Ritsuka's blue eyes fixed themselves to his sister.

Gudako's smirk had faded into a pleasant grin. She bowed her head politely towards him, her expression filled with sympathy. Then she backed away another step and turned around heading back to their table near the center.

Ritsuka wondered if Alter would spot them and jump to conclusions. A thought that didn't have long to fester in his mind. His attention fell sharply back to Alter on the small stage, just as her mouth opened.

And so she sang.

1"You got that look in your eye,

I don't know why, but I need to know you

Even from across the room,

I feel that soothing touch means so much."

If his mouth hadn't already dried, he would have found that the sound of her voice, sweet against the slow comforting music, would have deprived him of all feeling. It felt as if his heart would pull him up, and give him a feeling of weightlessness.

"Baby we don't have to be, eternity

I just need to feel this moment with you. What will you do?

Don't leave me waiting, it's getting late and…

You should take me home, where we can be alone."

Ritsuka reached for his drink, thinking it was the only sane thing he could do to keep himself rooted to his chair. Now that she'd started her song, he just wanted to avoid the spotlight.

Even as the lyrics paused, she made notes with her voice to fill the space, he was breathless and his mind raced to catch up with itself.

"Doesn't it seem like we're meant to be,

even if only for the night?

Can you believe this is reality,

just you and me in light?"

It was then she chose to smile. It was small in its grandeur and like everything else that Ritsuka had heard about her tonight, it was enough to move his heart. The way she'd made her own choice to get away from Gilles and the way she'd stubbornly pursued her Doujin passion. But the most important thing that he could see, was the rare sincerity in her smile.

She's having fun.

Ritsuka's smile widened as he once again tried to hide away in his dark corner trying to shrink away.

"Let's play the game like it's meant to be played,

so I can stay the night.

Who cares if it's wrong or right,

just hold me tight."

The other instruments fell silent for only just the strings of a guitar and the piano to fill the space. Alter still swayed slightly, keeping the rhythm of the song.

He blushed at the thought, his first thought, and had to quell the urge that came with it of wanting to rush up there and do as the song had asked. To hug and hold her as tightly as his human muscles could allow.

Stop it!

His voice was almost a fever-pitched cry in his head. Ritsuka looked down at the empty glass and signaled for Emiya to come over again.

"Doesn't it seem like we're meant to be,

even if only for the night?

Can you believe this is reality,

just you and me in light?"

As she started back up he tried to focus on Emiya making his next virgin cocktail. But found once again that she was just too eye-droppingly stunning, sung too beautiful for him to ignore.

Who knew she could sing?

His eyes flicked back to her and tried to mask his expression as Emiya approached. But judging by the raised eyebrow, he definitely hadn't succeeded in that regard.

"I just want to know how beautiful love can be, temporarily,

cause when it moves this fast you know it never lasts.

But maybe just maybe we have a chance.

So take my hand, and take this dance."

It was then Ritsuka had his memory hit him like a spike in the back of his head. The last time he'd seen her in that purple dress. The way she offered the small crowd her outstretched hand as if someone might take it for a dance. The same way she had when she'd waited for him to expectantly take it and lead her in a dance at Shinjuku.

"Doesn't it seem like we're meant to be,

even if only for the night?"

And the music stopped allowing Alter's voice to be the solo finish for her song.

"Can you believe this is reality,

just you and me in the light?"

The crowd was small, but there was still applause. Something Ritsuka had done instinctually as to not be set too far apart from the crowd.

A blush touched Alter's cheeks, and her smile widened. She bowed her head as if to thank the crowd. Then she flicked her two fingers back to the small band, gesturing to them with those same two fingers that she was ready for the next.

Ritsuka's fingers reached for the glass, only for his knuckles to bump the small square gift box that was still sitting in front of him. His eyes narrowed towards it, and then he smirked with a huff of a laugh. "Guess Edmond was right," He smirked at his own stupidity. "Only an idiot could miss the sign to open the gift."

His mind further caught up with him just in time before Alter's next song began to start, Ritsuka had one last realization, that the gift wasn't really meant for him.

Blue eyes flicked to his sister taking her seat beside Edmond.

Best family I could ever ask for.

#

In total, Alter had only sung three songs. Once people had gotten the hang of her voice and the rhythmic slow sounds of her songs, people in the crowd had gotten up to dance. A fact pleasant enough to make her smile as she made way for Jeanne to take her place. Alter headed out behind the curtain going back the way she'd come.

He swallowed hard and still found himself rooted to his seat.

It's only a matter of time before she comes out now.

Emiya stood near him looking down at him with faint amusement. "I trust you aren't looking for a way to excuse yourself."

Ritsuka blinked, tilting his head up at him. "And if I am?"

The red archer huffed a chuckle. "Might've been best for you to have made the attempt five minutes ago. I spotted your sister and Edmond talking to my dog at the door."

He suppressed a sigh as he turned to spy Cuchulainn at the door, his red eyes narrowing with a smirk towards them. "Well, I suppose that counts for something." Ritsuka took a long deep breath and turned to face Emiya. "No, I wasn't considering it." He pressed his lips into a line and squared his jaw, sitting up straighter. "I let her go last time, I don't expect I'll be doing that again."

Emiya managed a small smile and gave him a nod.

Ritsuka stood up, present box and drink in hand. "I'll be back in a moment, gonna go make sure my sister and Edmond didn't bully Ireland's greatest hero."

"Tugh," The red archer folded his arms and closed an eye as he spoke. "Just be sure that he isn't slacking off while he's there. I know Fergus will be coming by to gawk at Carmilla later as he does to every female servant."

Sounds like Fergus.

"Well, as long as he looks and doesn't touch, you probably won't have to clean up the mess of a giant fight afterward." He reached over and knocked on wood a couple of times.

Emiya smirked. "Like you with Medb and Alter."

He groaned, "No." Ritsuka walked away running fingers through his hair. "Nothing like the former at all." His blue eyes flicked up to meet the red ones near the staircase. The lancer lying in wait.

Cuchulainn held out a hand to block the staircase for him. "And where do you think you're going, Master?" He grinned lopsidedly.

He grinned. "To you," Ritsuka moved to stand at the lancer servant's side, the one that was opposite the staircase. "I have no plans on leaving. But I am curious to know what my sister promised if you hold to your duties?"

The blue lancer raised a brow at that, "Oh, just her usual promises to keep Medb and Scáthach off my back." He grinned at his master just a little as he lowered his arm. "Good, I'm happy you aren't leaving. Nothing sickens me more than a coward's guts."

Ritsuka raised a brow. "Sorry my constant life or death standard of living in the singularities isn't enough for you."

Cuchulainn stared at him. "A man who holds bravery in the face of his own survival is one thing. A man who is holding his bravery fighting for the heart of another is something else." He folded his arms. "I'm just happy to see that you're sticking to your principles master. Love tends to test all of them."

At that, Ritsuka fell quiet and turned his eyes to Cuchulainn beside him. There were a lot of things he'd expected from the lancer over their long tenure since Singularity-F. But the blue lancer spouting philosophy so easily and off the cuff wasn't one of them. His eyes flicked back to the room at large, once again taking in the others that were present. "Have you ever been in love Cuchulainn?"

The blue lancer raised a brow and smirked a little at his Master. "Many times." He put a hand on his hip. "Some of them were good and some of them were not." His eyes narrowed a little. "Have you ever read The Táin?"

Ritsuka shook his head. "Unfortunately no," His lip twitched into a small smile as he brought his drink to his lips. "There are so many of you now and so many original works I want to read…" He pressed his lips into a line. "Even then, I think I'd want to ask you what really happened? Old stories can be lost in translation."

Cuchulainn regarded him for a moment. "Then I will simply give you a short version. I had many wives…but the one I had a child with was Emer. She was…" His eyes seemed to narrow, focusing on the memory. "She was my greatest love. And despite my marriage commitments to others, she was remarkably patient. Not just with me, but with all the others." He huffed and chuckled and winked. "Well, most of the time."

He frowned as he watched him for a moment.

The lancer sighed. "The one thing I always tried to do, was to be myself and always do what I could to help others. Oaths or otherwise." His red eyes flicked to Ritsuka. "The only thing you always have to do is be yourself. And understand that love isn't always so romantic. Love has every facet from being dark and cruel to being the most pleasurable experience in the world. There are reasons why people claim it to be everything."

Because it is everything.

Ritsuka thought of the argument that ended with his shoulder getting dislocated. Then he thought of this disappointment he felt after the fight Alter had started with Medb. Would it have been better, he thought, if he had really lashed out at her?

We promised honesty, but I ended up being quiet.

His blue eyes met the dark red ones looking down at him.

Cuchulainn continued with a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Just don't ever expect it to be easy. And don't expect it to be so difficult that it will be insurmountable. You will, after all, be doing things together."

He thought of her smile when she stuck her tongue out with her eyes closed. Then the way he'd woken her up the morning after their late-night swim. And the way they were trying to write an unspoken confession scene together.

Everything from dark thoughts to the best feeling in the world.

Ritsuka huffed a chuckle. "Man I'm such a goner and it's obvious isn't it?"

The lancer laughed, hands on his hips. "You have no idea buddy. Not one bit."

Then at last he saw her emerge from one of the side doors, a hand on her hip as she looked down at something. Then he realized she was looking over her dress still checking to make sure it was still on perfectly. Her amber eyes went up right to Jeanne and Marie and she waltzed over to the table with Jeanne and Marie.

He watched her lean over to exchange a smile with them, and then a frown as Marie undoubtedly poked fun at her. She stuck her nose up and pouted as she left the table heading towards the bar, intent on getting a drink.

Then she froze in mid-step as she spotted the table with Robin and Ibaraki sitting back in their seats and offering small nods to her. Gudako and Edmond had also turned to face her. Edmond and Alter exchanged a long look between one another.

Her amber eyes narrowed a little towards them, suddenly feeling uncomfortable as she started to skirt around them further away.

Though she didn't miss the way, Gudako smiled at her and held up a glass towards her in a small private toast.

It was enough to make Alter turn red from ear to ear as she walked faster towards the bar her fists clenched.

Ritsuka felt a shove in his back, and his eyes turned wide towards Cuchulainn who simply smirked at him now with folded arms.

Right. I only have to talk to her now.

He took a deep breath.

Wonderful.

His free fingers tapped the glass of his drink and he stood up straight. With a glance back to Cuchulainn, and one last glance towards his sister.

Gudako paused the conversation to give her brother a single nod.

Ritsuka let out the same deep breath he'd been holding onto. He remained rigid only for a moment longer. Eyes narrowed with thought about how best he should approach her.

What would Alter do?

He almost smiled at the simple thought as his eyes once again found the back of her head. Really, it had been so obvious from the start.

Just go straight in.

And he walked towards the bar to join Alter.

Alter clutched her purple dress so it didn't snag on the stool as she sat at the bar. She crossed her legs and dragged a menu over to see the available drinks. He watched her brow curl in thought as he came alongside her, pressing her lips into a line like she always did when thinking about tough decisions.

He smiled a little, setting his drink down at the counter, and the seat beside her, "Hey."

It was now twice this night, he watched her freeze a little. For that, he did his best to hide his amusement fearing that for the moment that would make the situation even worse. She would be in denial that he was here at all first. Ritsuka felt his own cheeks turn red when she spun her head to stare at him.

Keep it together Ritsuka.

Her amber eyes went wide, and she opened her mouth and then abruptly slammed it shut. Like before when she'd seen his sister, she'd gone red from ear to ear. Then the true horror she'd no doubt foreseen seemed to cross her at that moment as she looked back at Gudako and Edmond. Alter sat up straighter. "M-master." She greeted. "I…" Her lips pressed together again and then her brows knitted together. "Did you just arrive?"

#

Alter could almost hear her heart thudding in her ears. Even as she reflexively reached to touch a hand over her heart, she caught the arm by the wrist in her other hand and forced it away. Amber eyes darted away from him.

Please say that you just arrived.

Her lips twisted a little as she thought back to Jeanne and Marie urging her to get a drink at the bar before joining them.

Somehow this is their fault!

Her master chuckled a little. "Sorry, I've been here for a while now." He looked away blushing and scratched the back of his head.

It was at that moment she felt the true horror of embarrassment, she reached up and grabbed her hair tugging it to cover her face. She didn't want to think of how she looked right now, but whatever it was she knew it wasn't dignified. "You saw, didn't you?" Her voice barely above a whisper.

Oh god oh god oh god!

Alter knew this was such a horrible idea from the start. Why didn't she just listen to her instincts? He knows all the servants and not all of them could keep secrets! Of course, he would find out. It was stupid to think otherwise. She clenched her teeth, if only she waited until the last day of the loop. Then no one would've remembered. "I just wanted…" Her lips pressed together again as she looked down at her knees.

"Ah," He chuckled again a couple times. "Once again you got me. I definitely saw you…" He tilted his head. "And heard you."

She wondered if steam was coming off her red face. Alter shook her head in her hand as she pressed her fingers into the sides of her head and whispered harshly."Damn it. Damn it. Damn it." Finally, she straightened up to look at him. "I'm sorry master, I thought…" her eyes narrowed a little. "Well, I thought I could finish out the loop and hope you never had to see it."

His brows furrowed towards her. "And miss out on your beautiful singing?" Ritsuka smiled at her. "I'm glad everyone forced me here. Because you're right, I had no clue at all."

Her lips twisted and her mouth opened again, then she bit her lip to prevent herself from saying anything. She brought her hair up to her shoulders and still pressed it against her cheeks. "You…" Alter's breath hitched. "Liked my singing?"

He straightened up to meet her eyes. "I thought it was wonderful."

Idiot.

She pouted at him pressing her lips together only for her to deflate a little. With him here now beside her, she didn't know what to think. After spending so much time together to suddenly have spent time apart.

I missed him.

Her private realization at that only made her blush deepen, another addition to the pile-up that was taking place with the fact he'd not only heard her sing, but that he also enjoyed it.

Too warm.

"T-thanks." Alter managed at last, looking desperately for anything cold that might help with the sensation. Her lips twisted as she realized that neither Emiya nor Medusa had come to see her yet. She frowned suddenly. "Hey!" She waved at the pair of them, still talking to Medea and Artoria.

Emiya turned and nodded to her, holding up a finger gesturing for a moment. He showed a shaker in his hands, now above his head as he mixed the drinks.

Her lips twisted.

A half-filled icy chilled glass was set on the counter in front of her. She blinked and followed the movement to Ritsuka.

Her master moved to take the seat beside her so that they were near shoulder to shoulder.

Idiot.

Her lips twitched though, resisting the urge to smile. She reached for the glass and brought it to her lap, cradling the cool chill between her fingers. Alter breathed out slowly again. "Thank you." She managed again.

Of course, he understands.

She brought the drink to her lips and drank a sip, and the blush of her cheeks seemed to lessen once again. Alter wanted to close her eyes to savor the taste, only her chest seemed to turn sick. Her amber eyes flicked to him, to his shoulder, and then flicked away.

And she winced to herself privately.

I can still hear that loud crack…

She took a deep breath.

My fault.

Alter eyed him again, to see that his blue eyes were looking her over.

Her heart thudded in her ears as she looked away from him again. She set the drink back down at the counter and slid it back towards him. This time, she finally managed a small smile. As the news seemed to settle in.

Did I want to sing for him?

Ritsuka returned her smile with a small grin.

It was then, Emiya arrived pausing in front of the pair of them throwing a towel over his shoulder. His gray eyes bounced between them, then finally settled on the summer berserker. "Have you decided on your drink Alter?"

Her lip twitched and realized that she'd neglected to do just that. Alter's amber eyes flicked to the drink.

Serviceable enough in the meantime.

Alter cleared her throat. "I'll take one of whatever Master is having."

Emiya nodded, and jotted it down, walking off to get the drink started.

She bit her lip eyes looking anywhere but towards him for a moment as she gathered herself. Then she turned to face him quickly.

"I'm sorry." They both said at the exact same time to one another.

Alter could feel another rising blush as they both stared at one another.

Ritsuka broke first and smiled wide with a few chuckles.

Was he waiting to do the same all this time?

Her smile went wide too and shared in a few of his laughs. Alter's shoulder's vibrated with the movements of the laughter coursing through her. At last, all the other emotions in her expression left, leaving only a pleasant softness as she joined him. "Idiot, what do you have to apologize for?"

He pursed his lips, still a small smile touching his expression. He inclined his head a little, "A lot." Ritsuka started to nod a little. "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you how I truly felt after the fight you started with Medb." Blue eyes flicked away and then they came right back to her. "Not a good start to us promising to be more…honest with one another from before was it?"

Alter looked away, silent.

The fight was still my fault.

"I started it, master. I…understood you were disappointed with me. I only…" Alter clamped her mouth shut and forced herself to think out slowly what she wanted to say. Her eyes narrowed in concentration, and she bit her lip. Amber eyes flicked to him. "I…was the one who let her get to me. I am the one who pushed you across the room…"

She could feel her fingers twitch. Amber eyes flicked down at the movement then back to Ritsuka. She could feel it in the way her heart started to pound in her chest again. Alter forced her expression back into a thin line, and yet she still felt the unwanted movement surface.

Am I trembling?

She shook her head a little, trying to stay focused. She dug her nails into her wrist as she gripped her hand in her lap. Alter was thankful then for the long gloves she'd brought to go with her purple dress. It would hide the marks she might've been making. A sigh escaped her lips trying to lose the tension she could feel in her muscles. "I…know a part of me was angry with you." Her lips twisted a little at the bitter memories, not of him, but that smile she'd seen in the mirror.

"Is angry with me." Ritsuka gently corrected. A finger tapped his drink. "I don't blame you if that's what you mean…" His brows furrowed. "I still don't fully understand you."

She tried to not meet him in the eye. Alter tilted her head, a single small barely discernible nod. "I'm sorry," She repeated.

That too is my fault.

Alter tapped the counter, another movement she tried to stifle by pulling her arm away. Even as the last two days went by, she was still unsure how to articulate her anger towards him. Her lips twitched as she pressed them together.

I need to avoid saying something stupid.

She shook her head sharply. "I…don't know how to say it. I…" Her lip twisted. "I guess as you say, you don't fully understand me?" The berserker winced at the sound of her voice as if it were grating. Alter applied pressure to her forehead as if trying to alleviate the pressure that was there. "It could all boil down to that."

In the quiet that followed, she could watch the gears turning behind his blue marble eyes. She grabbed her forearm to give her hand something to do other than fidget.

He hummed a little. "It's…" He closed his eyes and took a long breath himself. "I'm not going to judge you Alter, but please, I want you to be honest with me…" His mouth twisted a little and then it was pressed into a line, as he tried to hold his promise. "Is that why you went back to Gilles?"

Alter squeezed her eyes shut.

Shame on me. I know better.

"Yes," She answered honestly. Then she winced again and looked away. "Part of it anyway…" Alter pressed her lips together in anger at the other memories that had come out of that stay.

Ritsuka leaned over the counter a little eye her.

She blinked and once again shook the anger expression away. "What is it?"

Her master continued to look at her. "Alter, how can I understand if you don't tell me the full reasons as to why?" Ritsuka focused a lot on how best to phrase the question gently. "Unless you don't want to right now."

"No!"

Emiya paused to look at her.

And she dared not look around anywhere else. A part of her knew that he wouldn't be the only one looking. Ritsuka winced just a little as the shout startled him.

Alter cleared her throat, and tried again. "No. I mean…you're right. I…guess there isn't any harm in it." Her fingers tapped the side of her drink. "I…" She looked away again. "I wanted someone to share my anger with…I…" she trailed off as she felt the lump in her throat.

Would he see me differently?

She could picture his reaction of disappointment to it. Perhaps he would simply acknowledge it and move on. Perhaps he would just walk away. Her fingers turned white-knuckled, still holding her shoulder.

Just for once in your life you stupid fake! Honest. BE HONEST!

Alter smacked her forehead and forced her amber eyes to remain rooted to Ritsuka. She grit her teeth like she was about to unleash a determined snarl or remark. She could feel her lips tremble as the first words slipped out. "I…wanted revenge."

Even as the words came out, she could feel something crack somewhere in her head. Like a wall had been slammed, but not broken.

You'll simply lose him.

SHUT UP!

"I wanted someone who'd…" Her lip twisted further. "I wanted someone who understood my blood lust. I wanted to go out there," She lowered her voice to a harsh whisper and spoke through gritted teeth. "And kill that stupid bitch queen just once so I could be rid of her this loop!"

Ritsuka's blue eyes remained steady on her.

Alter took that as a sign that she could continue. Another brief lump jumped into her throat.

Already he thinks lowly of you.

TO HELL WITH YOU! I want to be honest with him even if you won't ever let me be that with myself.

She swallowed. "I just needed to let it out. I wanted to hit something, break something. And killing Medb would've removed an obstacle for us to finally take a shot at actually winning this stupid Doujin contest." Alter grabbed her head pressing her fingers hard against her skin. "And then I hurt you which only made it so much fucking worse. And stupid me thought that if I just went to Gilles he and I could do something to fix it."

Her amber eyes turned to Ritsuka again.

He seemed to stiffen a little, but he remained rooted in place.

"I also…" Alter forced herself to pause. "I just…" Her lips twisted in frustration. "Agh," She finally let go of her shoulder and slammed her fist against the table. Luckily her prana was still buried, but she still seethed through gritted teeth for a moment longer.

I just want to talk…

Another lump came into her throat.

Please…

His fingers wrapped around hers.

Alter's breath hitched as she turned to look at him again.

Ritsuka was still quiet but his eyes were firm. He held onto her shaking fist, against the counter slowly digging his fingers into hers.

Alter looked away, her face red from the anger. She forced her next few breaths and loosened the clenched fist. Slowly she intertwined their fingers. Alter huffed a single laugh even if her amber eyes watered a little. "I wanted someone to tell me I had a point. That I mattered…" She turned to him and grinned with a weight that seemed like a blanket over her heart. "I figured if anyone could…Gilles was responsible for my existence. I thought he would be able to tell me…"

Then there was that cold drink sitting in front of her. She reached out and grabbed it with her other hand. She took a quick sip and looked back at him.

She set the drink down after chugging a few gulps. The tension seemed to slowly leave her shoulders as she tilted her head a little at him. "The creepy fucking bastard was simply amused at my situation."

"And you left." Ritsuka raised a brow.

"I did." She said.

To her surprise, he smiled at her. "Is that not a small sign in itself Alter?" His fingers firmed their grip on the webbings of her hand. "And welcome to the human race."

She blushed again, and her brows still knitted together with confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you want to find your purpose?" Ritsuka tested, hoping that if he'd misunderstood, Alter would then correct him. "That…well at least I certainly think that is part of what being alive is Alter." He looked away, for a moment, reaching for his drink and sliding it closer. Just before his blue eyes came back to her. "Humans aren't born with a purpose. We have to find it for ourselves."

Her lip twitched. "But I'm a servant." Then her amber eyes narrowed. "More than that, I'm a magic creation who is forced to serve the purpose of others."

"Yes." He admitted. "And no." Ritsuka paused to take a small swig from his drink and all the while he kept his eye on her. "Gilles made you, but you are the one who gave yourself purpose for everything else. You didn't have to answer my summoning, but you did." He leaned closer. "So whether you admit it or not, some part of you wanted to be here."

Her lips twitched as she tried to remain firmly in place.

"A part of you chose to try to help us save humanity." He gave her a lopsided grin, and brought his hand to her lips, kissing her knuckles. "That's why I won't give up on you."

Her mouth dropped open and she promptly closed it before she could say something stupid as she leaned away. "I…" Alter shook her head a few times.

Why am I here?

"You can't know that." Her voice strained out, almost a croak. "You're an idiot if that's how you think the summoning works…"

He shrugged. "I only know it's a small facet of it. But I never claimed that it was your sole reason for being here. Only…" Ritsuka tilted his head a little with a smile. "Only a small part of whatever you're looking for." He took a deep breath and straightened upright. "And an important thing about searching for something is to know when you are looking in the wrong places."

Gilles.

Her blush faded a little, returning the grip on the hand still intertwined with hers. She looked away, not wanting to look him in the eye for a moment.

Ritsuka was patient with her like always.

Even the thought of that was enough to make her heart sputter more. The way he always was to her. She forced herself to breathe out calmly as she filtered out those memories with Gilles. Then it was gone and she saw his blue eyes.

Alter smiled, "Good riddance."

Somehow saying it managed to help. It felt like a weight had finally been lifted. She inhaled and exhaled as she looked at him.

Now I simply have to find my purpose in existing.

It wasn't in the dry voice as she thought it would come out as. It suddenly didn't feel like an overbearing burden anymore. It felt like something she could do. Something that she could accomplish given enough time. Her fingers shook only just a little in the grip of his hand. The last realization for her in this fleeting moment.

Her only certainty.

Who I want to be there.

She cleared her throat and straightened up in her seat turning to down the rest of her drink even as her older sister's angelic voice now began to seep through the hall. Alter set her drink down and leaned over to Ritsuka, a hand brushing his thigh as she propped herself up with his seat. She grinned almost evilly as she saw him blush.

"I'd like to dance Master."

#

He saw that sadistic grin forming and realized he was in for something. Ritsuka's cheeks had turned almost as red as hers as she leaned close to him. From where he was, he could almost smell the plumb on her purple lipstick, and the scent of the hotel's hygiene products. The way that small sadistic grin faded as the seconds ticked by holding herself up near him.

She bit her lip as she looked down at him awaiting his answer.

Damn that berserker insanity really can turn tables fast.

Even as a sheen of perspiration began to gather on his brow, Ritsuka managed to keep a straight face outside of the blush. His blue eyes almost drifted below her chin to her chest. Instead with a few mental smacks, he managed to keep his eyes rooted looking into her jeweled amber ones. His lip twitched as he finally managed to find his voice. "Really?" His voice came out strained and thus he tried again, this time managing to more easily filter out the strain. "Is that so?"

Her amused grin returned. "Really, master, don't you know it's bad luck to make a girl say things twice?"

Ritsuka huffed. "You made that up."

Alter now had a small frown forming now. "Are you sure?"

He blinked.

Don't say the wrong thing. Don't say the wrong thing! Don't say the wrong thing!

A grunt escaped him as he slowly tried to adjust himself under her. "I'm sure that I would be happy to share a dance with you." He smiled at her, and then that smile grew wider. "If you would honor me mon chéri?"

The French took her aback and a look of surprise replaced her small, teasing grin. Her back straightened and her arms grew rigid as she grew red again from ear to ear as if belatedly realizing that she was still leaning over him, hands on his chair. Alter remained there a few seconds longer, averting her gaze.

That single strand of hair that stuck up on her head, brushed his face as she looked down.

"You know French?" She asked.

"A little." He answered honestly. Ritsuka huffed a single chuckle. "I haven't had much time to study different languages the past few months." He tilted his head a little. "Even before we arrived here on the island."

A beat of silence passed as the red from her ears faded and she finally pushed away from his chair sitting up. Her cheeks were still flushed, but her amber eyes had filled with that familiar determination. The same determination that was there when she asked him to dance the first time in Shinjuku to get back at Artoria Alter.

Her hand gripped him by the wrist as she stood up, intent now on dragging him to the dance floor where others had already gathered as Jeanne's current song continued. Alter then spotted her drink still cold, only half-finished on the counter. Then she plucked it up with her free hand and chugged down the rest.

Ritsuka took that second to look back at his drink to finish it.

Only to find that little box gift sitting beside his glass. He grabbed it instead.

Alter set the empty glass back down on the counter and turned again to lead him by the hand.

"Wait." He said, almost wincing at the sound of his voice.

Alter turned around a small pout coming to her lips as she puffed out her cheeks. She hated being derailed whenever she'd set her mind to something.

He managed a smile and offered the box to her. "For you."

With the hands that they shared between them, he could already feel her fingers stiffen around his wrist. He moved to instead hold onto them firmly as if she would disappear in an instant.

Amber eyes knitted together in confusion.

He cleared his throat and tilted his head. "A gift from me, and the others who surprised me with your being here to sing." Ritsuka grinned a little at her. He pushed the box closer to her hoping that she would take it.

Alter, after a moment relented, another blush started to form.

She's perfect.

His smile widened as he glanced away wanting to give himself a break, only to quickly force himself to look at her.

I don't want to miss it.

Alter's confusion had faded into curiosity as she turned the box in her hand, finding a fold before sticking her finger and ripping away the wrapping paper, leaving a white box topped with a sky blue, gold-laced bow.

Her amber eyes flicked to him.

Ritsuka smiled at her.

Then they looked back to the box, she tucked the end of the bow between two of her fingers and started to pull on the end, loosening the ribbon. She crushed and curled the ribbon between her fingers, freeing up the others to pull off the lid.

She froze upon seeing it, her amber eyes went wide almost as quickly, and instantly she started to blush again. "Where did they get this?"

Ritsuka shrugged. "Someone had noticed you were missing it or forgot it at Chaldea." His smile widened as he stepped closer to her. "Since it's a part of your spiritron dress typically, the original is still at Chaldea. In the meantime, however…"

Alter pulled out the purple-flowered corsage from the box, the black lace and blue knotted ribbons with hanging white material braids made to look almost like pearls dangling from behind the purple flower. She turned it over in her fingers so she could see it better. Then she fixed her eyes to her master, her lips opened, only nothing had come out.

A near-perfect replica.

He raised a brow at her expression still holding his grin.

A frown touched her lips, and they twitched. Her eyes seemed to grow firm in their determination like they had only a minute ago when she decided to ask him to dance with her. She closed the last foot and a half between them suddenly and pressed her lips to his cheek, at the edge of his jawline.

Ritsuka blinked, not having time to register the fact that Alter was already pulling away. His senses finally kicked in like a car screaming down the road. As he tried to commit the feeling of her soft lips on his cheeks to memory. There was still the phantom presence that seemed to be there in the small peck's aftermath.

His blue eyes widened on her, his heartbeat kicking into high gear.

Alter had once again turned a brighter red than before. She tried to shrink into her shoulders, a little for a moment, then finally held the corsage towards him. "Can…" Her lip twitched and she tried again. "Can you…?"

"Of course." Ritsuka cleared his throat and took the corsage from her hand.

#

WHAT DID I JUST DO?!

She looked away from him, her lips trembling.

Oh god, I kissed him!

She felt him take the corsage from her hands and tried to avoid looking directly into those stupid blue eyes of his. Her lips twisted as she tried to fight down all those little dumb thoughts that were cascading through her mind.

When her hand was free, she slammed it against her forehead.

Way to go you stupid dragon witch!

Alter tensed when she heard him chuckle and looked up to meet him.

He was smiling at her. "Don't think I deserved that, but thanks. I'll be certain to be a good dance partner for you."

"Tch." She managed. "Did you learn how to dance since Shinjuku?"

Rituska fixed his gaze on her. "I did a little actually." He stepped closer, testing the ribbons of the corsage in his hands, already eyeing the normal spot the flower bud would sit in her white hair. He half lifted his hands, and paused only to look at her.

She seemed to stare at him for a second before blinking out of her stupor. Then she turned that side of her head towards him pressing her lips together to keep from talking, still red. With her fingers, she tucked her white hair behind her ears for him to make it easier and with her other hand she started to play with a few loose strands waiting for him.

Her amber eyes were fixed on him now, intently watching his own small struggle with emotions.

At last, Ritsuka seemed to step forward and started to tie the corsage into her hair, brushing his fingers through her hair to pull some of it back out from behind her hair. A brief furrow of concentration came as he wanted to avoid messing up her hair.

Alter forced herself to take a slow breath.

He stepped away and grabbed her hand. A smile on his lips. "Done."

She smiled and tilted her head from side to side, feeling the weight of the flower in her hair. "Well?" She asked, amber eyes narrowing. "How do I look?"

A chuckle escaped his lips. "Perfect Alter." He tilted his head and stumbled a little. "Well, I mean to say…more perfect."

Alter snorted fingers returning their grip on his hand. "How does one do "more perfect" than before Master?"

He shrugged at that. "Whatever you do, I suppose then."

She grinned and looked away, still feeling a slight blush on her cheeks. Then she led him by the arm towards the dance floor. Noticeably this time, he was following far more closely behind her.

Gudako and Edmond, along with a few other pairings were already waltzing on the empty space in front of the stage when they arrived. Alter found herself spying on her master's sister for a moment until she caught the sight of her golden eyes.

She seemed to smirk at her over Edmond's shoulder.

Alter's lip twitched.

"Just ignore her Alter," Ritsuka said knowingly from behind her. "While you are very easy to tease, she and Edmond are a part of the main reason we get to share a dance at all tonight." He placed a hand on her hip and intertwined the fingers of their other hand. "We are going to have to find a way to thank her eventually."

She bit her lip.

Damn.

And just like that, all her attention was now on him. She reciprocated and resisted the urge to wrap an arm around his shoulder. Seconds passed, and placed her gloved fingers against his chest, wanting to feel his heartbeat for a moment. She closed her eyes to focus on those little reverberations.

Ritsuka raised an eyebrow at her.

"It's nothing," she said with a smile. "Just trying to assure myself of something…" After a few seconds more, committing the feeling to memory as freshly as she could. Then perhaps more reluctantly than she would ever admit, she slid her fingers back up to his shoulder and dug them into his suit.

He nodded a little with understanding and started them slowly, side to side with the beat of the song. "Want to make sure I'm nervous too?"

Idiot.

She flicked her eyes away as she allowed him to lead her. "I'm not nervous." Her voice was firm as she could feel heat rise once again into her cheeks.

Could I not be a blushing mess for just five seconds around him?!

Alter grit her teeth a little at the thought as if focusing on something else to avoid the red flushing of her cheeks.

Ritsuka's fingers firmed their grip, "Well, I am." He admitted.

She met his blue eyes again with a slight pout but she remained silent. Alter privately decided that the real reason was one she could keep to herself. After a few seconds of putting up the front, Alter smiled at him again. "Don't worry about paying your sister back. Edmond, I think, wanted you to come in order to repay me."

His brows furrowed a little at that. "Really?"

Alter smirked. "I talked a lot of sense into him." She tilted her head. "Well, I almost beat it into him. Thankfully there were dozens of oversized Vorproeal chickens to take the hits for him."

"I knew you were trying to find him." He frowned a little with thought. Then, at the look she was giving him, he elaborated a little more. "I found that butcher in the upper market. While I was looking for Ibaraki. Actually, to be more precise Ushi and Mash found it."

"Oh." Alter said. "I guess it would be a very obvious description to remember." Her brows knitted together for a moment in thought.

Ritsuka chuckled. "We are going to have to compare notes tomorrow aren't we?"

She smiled, "Yes, I think I would like that." Alter looked off to the side at Edmond and Gudako again. "I told him that the longer that he waited, the harder it would be to fix things with her." Suddenly she tensed and turned to eye him. "Uh…"

He raised an eyebrow looking down at her. "What?"

It's his sister, he deserves to know.

Alter pushed her lips together. "I…guess there is no easy way to say it. Edmond remembers each loop as we do." She squeezed his fingers gently as if they might disappear with the news. In fact, he's been keeping tabs on our number of repeats more than we have…" She looked down. "Sorry…I…he's gone through a lot and-"

"I know," Ritsuka said with a nod.

She blinked and looked up at him. Alter could feel him reciprocate, gently squeezing her fingertips right back. "You know?" She huffed. "I…how?"

"Whatever you said to him worked." His eyes flicked passed her as they spun each other around in the small circle. "He told us about it. My sister first, and they both told me together. After they'd had a long talk about it."

Alter looked up at him. "You're not angry at him?"

"I was…" He shrugged. "I'm protective of people I love." Then Ritsuka slowly started to nod a few times. "I know he had his reasons. It was only a coincidence I think then that I was already searching for Ibaraki when he told me the full truth about that angle of the story."

"That she's been the one killing him." Alter said with a darkening expression. Her amber eyes looked past his shoulder for only a moment, as she stared across the room, her eyes finding that same person in question chatting amicably with Robin.

"Yes." Ritsuka agreed, following her eyes. "How did you learn that?"

"He gave as good as he got." She looked away a little with a slight blush. The way Edmond had pushed back on how she'd hurt her master, countering with why he was out there in the first place. To deny Ibaraki an asset that was often used to help hunt him down. "He confessed that to me along with everything else he knew."

The berserker huffed. "Why is she even with you knowing that?"

"I…" He pushed his lips together for a moment. "I gave her a second chance. She…was guilty about it, even if she hasn't outright confessed anything about the whole problem." Ritsuka hummed a little as he spun Alter gently around.

She flushed red when she felt his arms wrap around her stomach. Their fingers were still intertwined. Her amber eyes flicked right, her nose nearly bumping into his jaw.

Idiot.

The two of them swayed slowly, still in this position for a moment. Long enough for Alter to quietly clear her throat and whisper up at him. "You are too forgiving for a lot of things, master…" She trailed off and her eyes flicked away.

"Possibly." He whispered, and this time turned to whisper directly into her ear, voice low. "But look how happy they are?"

Taking his word, her eyes darted over to the pair again. Anything to fight that haze she could feel coming over her, fighting that urge to simply shiver. Amber eyes fixed themselves on their current subject.

Ibaraki had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing so hard,

Robin's grin widened with hers and leaned back in his chair laughing a little more.

All the while Jeanne's nearby singing seemed to drown out the rest of the noise.

Ritsuka gently adjusted his grip on her more, and untangled their embrace, back to their previous position facing one another. "I think it was worth it, if only for a loop. Now we just have to figure out a way to keep her here with us."

Alter forced herself to breathe and freed one of her hands, touching his heart again. She looked up at him. "You want to recruit her to help us don't you?"

He hummed in agreement. "We have to keep her out of…" His brows furrowed a little. "I think BB's reach."

The summer berserker forced herself to pause. "Tomorrow, we agreed." Suddenly her amber eyes filled with an intensity. Her fingers are tightening in the grip of his hands. "We can compare notes tomorrow." Her lips twisted a little as she looked him in the eyes.

Please.

He nodded his agreement. "Tomorrow."

I need to share this moment with you.

Her nails dug into the fabric of his suit, clinging to the spot just above his heart. She took a slow breath, even as another blush came to her cheeks. Then she let go of his other hand, wrapped her arm around him underneath his, and pressed herself up against him. Alter bit her lip once again those stupid words getting stuck somewhere in the back of her throat. But this time she didn't fight it as strongly. Even as she pulled him closer. "It's…" She whispered looking up at him. She smiled a little. "It's good to see you, Master…"

He blinked and he smiled.

That stupid idiotic smile.

Ritsuka wrapped his arms around her and still, the two of them swayed to the slow beat of the music.

And for a moment, all those little arguments with herself. The berserker insanity, the pervasive problems, and grief this island caused them. The drama that she's experienced over the past few days.

Redirect my impulsiveness…

Her fingers seemed to tighten around him.

"It's wonderful to see you too Alter." He chuckled. "I'm glad you're okay."

###

---

1. I had to search for a long time to find this song. It's by Bossa Nova and called. "We're meant to be." specifically it's the version sung by Addie Nicole. It's a song that used to play on my Jalter background Wallpaper engine with her in the purple dress clutching the microphone with golden dazzling lights encompassing all around her while she sings. Now the reason I had to search for the song is because the wallpaper isn't on the wallpaper engine anymore. So I've been deprived of it lol. I'm hoping it'll be back one day. Even the song I've found has a different musical orchestration behind it than the one from the wallpaper, even if the singer is the same. You can find the original wallpaper still by simply google searching for "Jeanne Alter singing wallpaper", and it's gonna be one of the first ones you see lol. Bluntly have no idea who the original artist is. Needless to say, I'd be following them if I did.