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.

8. From Zero With Alter I

AN: I swear I don't mean to keep doing this, and I'm hoping that this is the last time that it happens. But if you haven't noticed that the word count for each update just keeps getting longer and longer with this one, not including this note, is roughly just under 80,000 words.(Over 200 pages) That is quite the hefty chunk for fanfiction if you don't mind me saying. I spent perhaps a month on editing alone and to be frank I'm still not fully comfortable with it. But if I didn't get it out now, then it would've been delayed another month given the fact that I'm returning to college to finish my degree this week. As in like in less than 24 hours. I'll occasionally post updates about my works on twitter AGeekyWriter and I'm on a weekly podcast called CheapSeatCritics where we review movies and other content. Feel free to stop by on either and say hello or leave a comment. Or just stick around for story updates that I put out occasionally.

This particular chapter was hard for me to balance what I envisioned to be more character-related drama with things that I personally wanted to write into the story. I'm hoping I struck the right balance given all the previous chapters for this story to build up to. Suffice it to say, I'm not sure if I could call this particular chapter a success. I'm more worried an OC has started rearing it's head in Alter's character than anything else. But I'm hoping that it's more of a product of what has come before and this feels like a step in the right direction for this particular version of Jeanne Alter I'm trying to formulate. The goal of the course is the same as when I started: Trying to give Jeanne and Male master, a meaningful relationship with all the emotional turmoil that one would get given their history and trying to constantly save the world. I did play around with some magic mechanics in this chapter and Type-Moon magic system experts are welcome to take me to task for how much I fucked it up. However, I do think that I achieved my purpose without necessarily adhering to said rules.

As something more additional is to come, and perhaps a reason this took a bit longer is I've started a far more X-rated spin-off fanfiction as a companion piece to this story. While none of that's edited it is already nearing a hundred pages. This is probably not going to be published until this fanfiction is completed. But at least by then, hopefully, that one will be far more a long, and updates far more regular than whatever this story is going through.

Speaking of growing pains I'm curious if people prefer long and big updates such as this? Or smaller bite-sized content that could be released more regularly? Obviously, I probably won't do much in the way of changing this story's unpredictable and girthy release schedule. But for the future when I finally pick up any of my other fate, star wars, rwby, or crossover projects, I think I should probably get some feedback for it.

TRIGGER WARNINGS APPLY: This is an emotionally heavy chapter with more mentions of applied trauma than directly showcasing it. This hopefully shouldn't technically be spoilers as I've made several heavily implied references in earlier chapters. But the warning is here for those who are more read and forget. There is also a bit of blood and gore in this one.

Without further ado, your next monstrosity of an update my dear readers:

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Alter had closed her eyes, holding her master close still, resting against his shoulder as she listened to his steady heartbeat. She had no idea how long she'd blushed while doing it, but the heat she could feel in her cheeks had finally started to dissipate as time went by. One arm still clung to his suit, and with the other she'd wrapped it snugly around him, to tug him close.

Her heart bounced again in her chest as she thought to focus on the sensation of his arms around her, pressing her against his chest, firmly keeping her in the place she wanted to be.

Want to be.

She turned a little pressing her nose against him, hiding the dumb smile she knew was creeping into her expression. Alter squeezed her eyes shut, worrying that if she opened them she would find it was all a dream too good to be true.

Damn.

The only word to touch her mind even as she felt the blush rising to her cheeks again as she thought of how wonderful it was to be in this exact spot. Alter forced herself to take a deep breath before, at last, allowing her eyes to open once again. Filled with the clear clarity one might have from closing their eyes for a long time in low light. She tilted her head back a little, wanting to look up.

Her master had been resting his chin on her head, took the cue, and eased back a little himself, blue eyes looking back down at her. The corners of his lips upturned in an ever-present small smile that had scarcely left.

Stupid, dumb, idiotic smile.

Her lips twitched upwards again and bumped her head against his chest to hide her expression again. She rested her cheek on him, waiting for his chin to fall onto her hair again. Once it did, she firmed her grip on his back to hold him closer again.

A content sigh escaped his lips.

They'd started to sway again in the same spot, in the small circle that she'd grown accustomed to this night. Privately she also hoped he would hum the music again, to feel the vibrations against her head.

But that little hope was for not it seemed, as someone cleared their throat.

Reluctantly, they both untangled themselves only a little to look at who was trying to get their attention.

Medusa was standing there, in front of all the empty seats and tables, as Emiya was finishing stacking up the chairs in the corner. While he did that, Cuchulainn had gotten to scrubbing the bar's countertop down, and cleaning the stools that remained at the bar.

The rider's deep voice spoke in that monotone that had grown ever so comfortingly familiar. "We are closing down for the night. I'm afraid it's time to ask the both of you to leave."

Alter's grip on her master's suit jacket tightened as she looked around.

What the hell? When did they all leave?!

Her eyes narrowed, and she looked quickly toward the clock on the wall. "We can't be that late surely?"

Ritsuka loosened his hold on her back and tried his best not to look at the scowl that was growing on Alter's expression. "Shit, it's almost one in the morning."

Amber eyes narrowed a little up at him, puffing out her cheeks like she was about to protest further. Only she didn't, realizing that the clock on the wall had given virtually the same timing her master had suggested. So with a sigh, she finally deflated a little and looked off to the side. She stepped away, loosening her grip on him.

Then she felt her fingers wrapped in his right hand.

Ritsuka had already turned his eyes to Medusa. "I'm sorry we stayed out so late, and probably forced you to work even later." He offered her a sheepish grin, scratching the back of his head for a second. Only then he reached into his pocket, fishing for his wallet.

"Spare the tip," Medusa said. Then, the Greek heroine smiled a little at the two of them. "Your sister paid it all up front for you when you didn't hear her say goodbye, or spot her waving at you."

Alter could almost feel his face warm at that comment. "Ha!" She shouted. "Were you so lost in my arms you forgot to say goodbye to your sister?"

Ritsuka's blush deepened. "Well…uh? In answer to your question, yes. I was." He then turned to give her a small smile too. "Just like you in that regard."

Idiot.

She feigned a smirk as she blushed, turning away from him, and sticking her nose up a little. "Well at least have the decency to walk me to my room at night."

"Of course." Ritsuka bowed his head at her. Then he turned to Medusa and bowed his head again. "Thank you, was it you who turned on the radio once Jeanne had finished her performance as the evening's songstress?

Medusa nodded. "I was, now get going." Her eyes flicked to Alter, then back to master. "Before you lose any chance to sleep at all."

Alter intertwined the arms of their linked hands as they made their way up the stairs. Likewise, the upstairs had also been deserted with only Emiya Alter cleaning the kitchen and with all the chairs stacked onto their tables. Tamamoe was sweeping and cleaning the floor, and she offered them a small smile as they pushed their way out into the cool night air.

Even the nearby road was silent from the lack of cars that tended to occupy the street. The city lights were on to mark the night, hiding a vast majority of the stars from sight. Even still it was beautiful with not a single cloud in sight.

It wasn't until the restaurant was almost a block behind them, that Alter finally broke the quiet. "Thanks for dancing with me."

He smiled at that, turning to look at her.

Even in the dark, he could see the color that touched her cheeks as she looked away from him, avoiding his eyes.

"Of course," He answered. Ritsuka firmed his grip a little on her fingers.

Damn.

In turn, after a few seconds, Alter responded by doing the same, holding his fingers as tightly as he was holding hers. Though at the sound of his light chuckle, her expression became that of partial annoyance. She thought she would complain about something again to him. Her eyes narrowed a little towards him in the dark, his features lighting up only as they passed under a lamp that guided them down the sidewalk.

Only she strangely found the urge to do so was gone.

It was her turn to frown a little.

Did something change?

Her lips curled a little as the voice of that stupid French queen came into her mind.

"Redirect your impulsiveness Alter."

She flexed the fingers of her free hand and touched her lips. Still remembering faintly the way his cheek had felt against them. Alter's expression became more contemplative.

Had that been because I sang?

Her lips twisted.

No.

It couldn't have been that simple right? Her eyes narrowed a little further trying to think back over the last couple of days, from the fight with Edmond to the karaoke night with Marie and Jeanne, and lastly tonight when Jeanne had asked her to open for her. Normally she should've been pent up by now ready to snap at anything.

Alter glanced down at her open hand.

No fighting the past day and a half.

To her chagrin, she'd missed all the fighting that took place on the beach earlier today. As a result, Marie had forced her to play a few video games with Lily on their little console that they'd brought from Chaldea.

The way Jeanne and Marie had both wanted to talk about next year's Servfest submission already and had included her in the discussion.

Then beside him, she heard his low gravelly, slightly off-tune humming as they passed under the next lamp light beside the road. Slowly, he guided them towards the off-beat path away from the sidewalk. The one that was flanked by tall bushes on either side.

She tensed a little at the sound of his humming. Her amber once again flicked to him as she stared at him.

That was my first song.

Her face started to warm.

Idiot.

Then he let go of her hand, and instead wrapped it around her shoulder, to squeeze her next to him. Still humming away.

She leaned her head against his shoulder fighting the urge to close her eyes and drift away into whatever stupid dreams that her imaginations might whip up. Her fingers wrapped around him in turn, to hold him against her side, and with the other, she placed it against his chest much like she'd done when they danced.

Alter smiled a little when she could feel the vibrations of his humming.

It carried on like that, as they winded their way back passed the same bench where they'd tried to script outlines for their doujin before Shakespeare butted in.

Quiet seemed to fall over them again, with only distant waves crashing against the shore, and the sea breeze against the bushes and palms to fill. The cool air is almost cold enough to make a girl shiver.

Though without needing prompt, or display, Ritsuka separated them to remove his suit's jacket and wrapped it over her.

Alter smiled, "You know I prefer the cold right?"

He huffed a single laugh and smiled as he wrapped his arm around her again. "No I didn't," he tilted his head. "But given your…" Ritsuka's lips pressed together for a moment, "disposition towards things that are warm, I'm not surprised."

She looked away as the arm wrapped around her. Her grip on his waist tightened a little at the comment. Her amber eyes found the hotel looming beyond the exit from their paved path.

Seeming to sense her discomfort, he tightened his hold on her too. "It's okay," He said. "I understand. At least a little I hope?" He huffed a single laugh again, brightening the mood that had soured only a little.

And damn it, it worked.

Her lips twitched upwards a little.

That stupid idiotic smile.

"Jeanne and Marie are probably fast asleep." She frowned a little at that thought. Though it was undoubtedly Lily who was the lightest sleeper of the group now. "We'll have to be quiet when you drop me off when we say goodnight."

He nodded. "I'll probably have to sneak into my room as well." His lips twisted a little for a second. "Especially since Robin probably brought Ibaraki back to the room…" Ritsuka looked down at his watch. "Actually my only available bed will be the one in our usual room with Ushi and Mash since they're typically sharing."

Alter snorted, "probably." She felt a bounce in her step as he made sure to snug him back to her side again, in the hopes he would take the cue on what she was after. She adjusted to make sure the coat was hanging snuggly off her shoulders and wouldn't easily be carried away by the wind.

She resisted the urge to smile as he wrapped his arm over her again.

Tonight was…nice.

The word came like a private admission. Like a secret, she might've shared if she'd had a childhood under the blanket with a friend late at night. Or something she would tell a bartender when complaining about life. Her lips twitched upwards despite her best efforts even as they walked up the steps through the front door.

Mordred was at the front desk, hunched over, fast asleep. Hyde was there this time with a pleasant working smile on his face, having thrown a blanket over the resting rebellious knight. He nodded to them as they crossed through the lobby over the elevators.

Alter and Ritsuka nodded back.

And soon the pair of them found themselves waiting in the elevator as Alter navigated them to the room with her sisters.

Once again her lips twisted at the thought as the elevator shifted beneath their feet carrying them up. She blinked and looked up to see Ritsuka's eyes on her.

She fought the urge to look away, and instead, she tried to smirk. Only it ended up coming as an awkward laugh as she blushed.

Such an idiot.

Though this time she was chastising herself with the comment.

"Alter?" Ritsuka spoke questioningly into the quiet of the elevator.

It was enough to pull her attention from whatever spiral that she'd been leaning into. She blinked and suddenly found his expression had grown serious again. She curled her fingers in her free hand and looked away. After a second to gather herself she turned to look back up at him, nails of her free hand digging into her palm.

There was another pause before Ritsuka turned to look at her. There was a sharp look of determination on his face. Despite the sour mood she could detect, the look he gave straightened out his jawline, as he pressed his lips into a line. It made him look ravishingly handsome-

Stop it.

She bit her lip, "Yes?"

Ritsuka blew out a breath. "What should we do to avoid…" He closed his lips tightly again and searched in silence for the right words. "What should we do to avoid the aftermath of the Medb fight when something like it happens again?"

The elevator paused and the door opened.

Neither of them made a move to step outside.

Even as the lump caught in her throat she could already feel her fingers twitch. She quickly looked down at her hand and then back to Ritsuka. Her mouth opened…and then closed.

His blue eyes flicked to her hand, then back to her.

The elevator door closed and awaited instructions.

"I…don't know." She asked, suddenly feeling lost. It was something she'd mulled over privately, but that didn't mean she's figured out the answer. Alter looked away again, fingers loosening on her hand and grabbing the metal bar handle of the elevator behind them as they stood side by side still.

Ritsuka took a breath and held up his command seals. "My sister and I talked about using these for personal incidents." He flexed his hand and lowered it again. "It seemed…like a waste to use it for something trivial. Even if they will only come back at the end of a week…" He pressed his lips together again.

Alter after a breath up at him again. "You didn't order me back with it when I ran."

"No," He said, "I didn't." He leaned back against the cool metal wall of the elevator propping himself up with the handle. "I didn't think it would-." Ritsuka huffed a single chuckle. "Well, I thought it might've made things worse. We weren't in the best of states at the start of the loop." He shrugged a little and despite facing forward, his eye was still on her. "But I won't deny that the temptation for me was there."

She looked down. "Maybe it would've been better if you did…"

I wouldn't have gone to Gilles.

His eyes narrowed towards her.

Would I have learned anything at all if he did?

"You've done it with me in the past." She said quietly and as she breathed out, she felt her fingers curl. Alter bit down on her lip hard. "I'm a Servant, Master. Still just that at the end of the day." She took a deep breath and looked at him. "You will need to order me because…at the end of it." Her voice cracked. "You are the only one I have any confidence in."

She paused for a moment still staring at him, and her hand twitched. "Whatever happens between us, that…" Alter looked away and shook her head. "That can't change. It can't…" She trailed off and looked at him.

I have no choice but to trust him.

His eyes went wide at that and for a moment she could see Ritsuka was struck by something in her voice, and she could see the muscles in his throat tighten for a moment. Then, at last, he stood up a little taller. "I trust you Alter." His voice was quiet and his eyes stayed rigidly on her. "You have my word, that I will use whatever means necessary to stop you from crossing a line again." Ritsuka nodded once and held up his command seals, letting them glow as if he were about to issue a command to her. "I promise."

When Alter breathed out next, the tension had left her all at once. She wanted to slump back against the cool metal walls of the elevator and drift away into a long, much-needed sleep.

Relief.

Alter thought about it with a smile.

He'll stop me from going back.

The thought alone too was enough to warm her cheeks. Someone cared enough about her to stop her from going back to him.

"And…" Ritsuka continued.

Her eyes flicked back to him.

"And you have my word, and promise that I will unleash you, with all of your fury too, when the time is right. And that I won't abuse the trust you've put in me. Not ever." Ritsuka managed a small smile towards her. "Though I think next time if you are going to sucker punch Medb, we need to find a better opportunity."

Alter chuckled, "Whatever Master," She raised her arm towards him.

He took a hold of it and guided them once more to the doors. He pressed the button that opened the elevator door, and the pair of them stepped out into the hall.

She took the lead knowing where the room was located, turning them down one of the hall's corners. While the lights were on throughout the whole hotel, there was an eerie quiet say for their footsteps. Everyone who was staying in the hotel was no doubt fast asleep and there were no workers roaming the halls.

I suspect Hyde is probably the only one still working at this late hour.

At last, they reached the door, and Alter paused. She was slow to untangle their arms only for a moment, but she did in order to fetch out her keycard from her dress. When she'd found it she looked up at Ritsuka again.

She could see the dark circles starting to form beneath his eyes, but still a content smile on his lips despite it.

Her lip twitched. "Thank you for tonight," She said, tension forming again in her throat.

Ritsuka hummed. "I think I should be thanking you for such a lovely selection of songs." His smile widened a little.

Idiot.

Alter was already turning red, and she brushed her white hair behind her ear.

Another beat of silence passed.

Then she stood up on the tips of her toes, pressing her lips to the jawline of his cheek. Then she pulled away. With a blush, she managed a smile too. "It was nice." She slid her card into the keypad, and turned the handle when it flicked green. Then with the door clicked open, she slid off the coat he'd wrapped around her shoulders, holding it out to him. "I'll see you tomorrow morning?"

"With breakfast as fresh as we had when Robin kicked me out of my room the last loop." He half smiled and took the jacket from her, throwing it over his shoulder. He nodded, "Goodnight Alter."

Alter opened and closed the door as quickly and as quietly as she could manage. She could feel the flutterings of her heart stretch with the barrier now between them. Her fingers lingered against the door for a second longer, before she became vaguely aware of a noise behind her. She turned around to see in the dark, a tv screen was on, playing a movie.

She frowned the flutterings of her heart vanishing as looked down to see all her duffle bags laid out by the door, her swords leaning against the corner. Alter blinked and peeked around the corner of the hall to look at the beds.

Only to see that they were all occupied. Even in the low light, she could spy the mess they'd left everywhere from a story workshop. There were drawing tools, note cards plastered all across a wall, and a pile of what looked like a mostly finished rough draft (she was assuming) on the nightstand. Her mouth dropped open.

Gudako and Jeanne were the first to notice her. The former blinked and reached for the remote, the latter stiffening upright in place.

Her older sister also spoke. "Oh! Alter, your back!"

It was enough to draw the rest of the room's attention to her and she suddenly felt like a deer in headlights. "I'm back?" She said, her brows furrowing. "What's everyone else doing here?"

The movie paused, and even in the dark, she could make out the familiar silhouette shapes of Ushiwakamaru, Mash, and Edmond seating themselves accordingly across the three beds.

Lily, even with the chit-chat, was still fast asleep against Marie Antionette's side. The queen of France was silent, but her smile widened at the sight of the summer berserker.

Alter's eyes narrowed a little at her.

I don't know how or why, but I'm definitely annoyed now.

The Alter servant paused to look back at Gudako who finally answered.

She shrugged. "We decided to have an impromptu movie night, and invited Mash and Ushi along so that they could take a break from their work." She flicked the rough draft on the nightstand and tilted her head with a sly smile.

Sly enough for Alter to grow even more suspicious.

"Decided to help them a bit too so that way you all had a jump start on it tomorrow when the whole writing routine begins again." Gudako leaned back into Edmond's arm, allowing a small smirk to widen on her lips.

"Is…is that so?" She asked through her forced smile with her eyes closed.

Then Maire bounced a little, careful to not wake Lily. "We're gonna have a slumber party tonight!" Her grin widened. "Jeanne always promised to get me one so I talked her into it."

Her older sister only smiled at her. "We are… a bit short on room if you'd like to join us?" She asked. Then she tilted her head, from side to side. "I'm not sure where we might squeeze you into for a place to sleep though…"

Marie tapped her shoulder to get Jeanne's attention.

Ushi shrugged, "Alternatively," She wiggled her eyebrows for emphasis. "Our room is going to be empty tonight. Since the master is going to need a different room from Robin and Ibaraki…" She wrapped her arm around Mash, eliciting a yelp from the girl.

Mash, even in the dark of the room, grew really really red. "Ye-yes. Our room is open for you to sleep in?"

Alter's head started to spin as she looked again at all of them, resisting the urge to ground her teeth together. Her eyes went to Marie, then to Gudako, then finally to Ushi. Any single one of them could've been planning this stupid thing ever since she sang yesterday. But the fact of the matter was that she had no idea whose fault it really was.

They're all guilty.

"So you…all…to the liberty of packing for me?" Her lips twisted a little, as she fought a rising blush, trying not to look back at the door she's just walked in through.

It would give too much away.

Ushi shrugged. "Wanted to save you the time. Heard you were going to be out late." She leaned back to rest her head in her hands and simply stared.

Alter was at a loss for words as her eyes went from one person to the next.

They're all insane!

Gudako huffed a chuckle. "Alter."

Amber eyes flicked to her, angry words threatening to spill over from her lips. But they died in the lump in her throat as she met the familiar eyes of her master's sister. In their gold orbs, she could see the air of calm, the simple edict of it. And that ultimately there was no demand anywhere to be seen in them.

"It's up to you." She spoke with a small forming smile. "We'd love to have you if you wanted to hang out with us." She nodded her head to Ushi and Mash. "They'll head back to their room at the end of the night-"

Like hell, I would let Ushi sleep in the same room unsupervised.

"No." Alter said, and she shook her head. "I…" Her eyes flicked to Marie who was watching her closely. Then she looked back at them. "Thank you for the invitation, but Ritsuka and I have a long day tomorrow…" Her lip twitched. "I would probably be up all night if I stayed here." Her fingers wrapped around the corner she was still next to.

Redirect your impulsiveness.

Alter cleared her throat speaking awkwardly. "You all, have a good night." Her eyes flicked to Marie.

The queen of France's smile seemed to widen. Not for just amusement though. There seemed to be pride in it.

The berserker looked away again. "I'll see you all in the morning."

Gudako smiled and nodded. "See you in the morning Alter. Sleep well."

Alter took a deep breath as she walked back towards the door and looked back down at the duffles, slinging them over her shoulder. Next came the swords, holding the belt loosely in their right hand. Then with one last wave from the person who could still see her, Jeanne, who had taken a seat closer to the window. Alter at last finally moved past the initial shock.

They want me to spend some time with him.

She didn't wave back, but she bowed her head at Jeanne before stepping out into the hall, closing the door behind her to hide her smile.

And really? What was the harm in that?

Alter huffed a single chuckle.

Perhaps that idiot might even have a shocked expression on his face at my unexpected presence.

###

Robin had left a note on the door to their room for him, saying he'd moved an overnight bag into the girls' room for him. Ritsuka smiled at the sight of it. He was quietly thankful that he didn't have to disturb the two love birds as he plucked the note from the door. Then he turned to head back towards the girl's room having long since memorized the path.

Ritsuka, at last, stepped into the room with a sigh, closing the door and being as quiet as he could manage. That was until he rounded the corner and saw the room was empty. His lips twisted a little before his eyes found the luggage.

Alright, so they're just out for a bit.

His eyes found the night bag that Robin had indicated for him and unzipped it. Inside he found his mystic code for the day tomorrow, and something comfortable to slip in for the night. He took his jacket and laid it over a nearby chair, and started to unfasten his tie and unbutton his cuffs.

It was only then a real sense of the long hours both fun and working finally started to hit him. He sat down on the bed with a huff and untucked his shirt leaving his belt in the pile he formed on the chair. Next came the fancy shoes that he'd brought, untying them, and throwing them towards the pile they left at the door.

Damn.

He grinned a little, closing his eyes to put pressure on them.

Might miss breakfast for sleep.

Then a knock came from the door.

He released the pressure on his eyes and opened them looking at the corner that he needed to move to get to the door. With a groan he stood back up and went to the door, grabbing one of the water bottles as he went, wanting to set it on his nightstand later.

Guess they're back.

He clicked the door, "Don't you guys still have your key ca-" He stopped, as he was met with the familiar figure of Jeanne D'Arc Alter, standing just outside his door, sword belt in one hand, a duffle in her other, and the last duffle slung over her shoulder.

She was still in her purple dress, he noted, with that corsage still in her hair. Her lip twitched as she returned the stare he was giving her. "I…" She cleared her throat. "The others are all in Jeanne and Marie's room. They were…" Alter glanced away another blush started to creep onto her cheeks.

Ritsuka also felt his cheeks warm with the seconds ticking by.

"They were short on room so…and I wasn't there…so…" Alter pressed her lips together and shifted the weight onto her back foot. "So they…and I…volunteered me to…come back to our room?" She almost winced at the sound of her voice.

He could see the telltale signs of her trying to suppress the twitch that came with her manner of speaking.

Somehow,

His thoughts were as dry as his outward humor might've been.

This is my sister's fault or Ushi's fault.

"I also…can't get my key card because…" She gestured with her full hands that crimson beneath her amber eyes growing ever brighter. "Hands are full."

Yep, I was horribly massacred and my heart stood no chance.

Ritsuka tried to shake the tiredness away and then made room for her to get passed. "Welcome back to our home away from home then." He managed a smile and tried to work the hoarseness from his voice. "I was just about to get settled in for the night."

Alter's blush seemed to reach its peak at his words before finally marching into the room, strutting passed him. "Actually, they all forced me out and so you're stuck with me." She grinned at him, eyes closed, brow twitching.

He huffed a single chuckle. "Ushi or my sister?"

"Try all of them." She said through gritted teeth as she rounded the corner and froze.

Ritsuka tried not to wince as he closed the door.

Yeah, all my stuff is still there on her bed.

Alter seemed to recover quickly and while Ritsuka couldn't see her face, it was easy enough to imagine the quick emotional processing. She dropped her duffles against the wall, near the closet adjacent to her bed, and disappeared behind the corner.

He rubbed at his forehead, some of it worry, some of it nervousness. Sweat came away with his hand. Ritsuka pressed his lips into a line as he soon followed. He rounded the corner and saw Alter laying her swords upright against the wall.

Quietly, he moved all his stuff to one side of the bed to start organizing it.

He could hear the tail tale markings of a zipper, quickly starting and stopping. And smiled as he sat himself back down, back to whatever she was doing behind him. Picking up where he'd left off, and ripped his socks off to follow his shoes.

"Oh fucking come on." Alter cut out between her lips.

Ritsuka frowned and looked over.

That zipper had gotten stuck.

He closed his eyes and almost huffed a laugh. "That's a familiar tune,"

"I can just use my servant strength to rip it open." She huffed out a breath.

He hummed and tilted his head. "Seems like a gross misuse of your superpowers doesn't it though?"

She paused to look at him, eyes narrowing and she had that deadpan frown that normally brought fear to their enemies. To him, it brought just the barest hints of amusement. Her words came out through gritted teeth. "If I don't get it open, I can't change out of my dress."

Ritsuka still smiled at her tiredly. "Is that so horrible?"

Alter looked up again pouting. "Easy for you to say! You can go and change into something more comfortable right now." She turned back to the task at hand fiddling with the zipper as best as she could, not wanting to break it.

Personal items don't reset at the end of the loop.

His eyes went to his back, his journal still full of notes lying in wait to be used the following day. His lips started to twist at his next really dumb thought.

Damn.

"Fine, I'll sleep in my slacks and button up then," Ritsuka said, instead standing up and packing the last of his things into the overnight bag and standing up to go place by the chair. He dropped it in the chair and looked back at her, to see her staring at him oddly, and saw that he'd earned another blush. "Would that make it even?"

Her lips twisted and she blew air out of her mouth. "F-fine." She stood up with a huff and pushed the bag aside, reaching for her other back instead. Ritsuka noted that this one opened with ease, pulling out her own private journal and notes, and setting them on the corner desk tucked between the bed and the wall. "I guess it can't be so bad." Her amber eyes flicked to him again, over her shoulder.

At that, he grinned and shrugged a little. He moved over to the second bed, closer to the window this time, and leaned over to start pulling up some covers so he could get in.

"W-what are you doing?" Alter asked suddenly.

He frowned and turned back to look at her, raising an eyebrow. Only to see that blush returning to her cheeks again.

She cleared her throat after a second. "Ushi and Mash might come back at any time tonight…" Alter trailed off and pushed her lips together for a second. He watched her amber eyes drift away from him.

In the throes of exhaustion, it took him full seconds which felt like minutes for his sleep-deprived brain to finally catch up with him. His eyes widened, and a blush to mirror hers suddenly spread from ear to ear.

Alter straightened up her eyes suddenly narrowing. "And I can't have you sneaking off in the middle of the night to change into your comfortable clothes." Her lips twisted as she folded her arms from the other side of her bed. "If I'm going to be stuck in my dress, you are going to be stuck in your slacks and button-up."

Words crashed into the lump stuck in his throat, and instead, a beat of silence passed through the room.

###

You idiot. What were you thinking you stupid dragon witch?!

She curled her fingers into a fist on her lap, as she finished sitting on her knees in the bed staring up at him. The nervousness evaporated in an instant as she saw the blush form on his lips. Alter smiled almost sadistically at the sight. The words were just at the tip of her tongue to tease him to make up for her own impulsiveness.

Only Ritsuka took a deep breath and parted the covers, choosing instead not to sit on his knees to mirror her, but rather he climbed into the bed and tucked his limbs underneath the sheets, and gently laid his head down against the pillow. His blue eyes went up to meet her once he'd finished settling himself. He smiled again.

Her lip twitched and in response, she bit it, her nails digging into her palms further.

Stupid dumb idiotic smile.

Alter blew out a slow breath still staring at her hands for a moment longer resting on her knees for what should have surely been a full minute. Finally, almost suddenly in a still room, she started moving again, sliding her legs underneath the sheets to mirror him.

She laid her head down on the pillow, her amber eyes falling to his less than a foot of space between them. From here she could see all those articulate facial features that tended to occupy her mind. The angle of his perfectly shaped nose. The way his eyes were the perfect balance between being too wide apart and two narrowed in.

Alter still felt her cheeks warm. "Turn around,'' she whispered quietly.

The sudden order made his eyes narrow towards her.

For a moment she thought he would ask her why she'd said that all of a sudden. Which would've been the absolute worst thing that could've possibly happened to her. Once again she realized that stupid impulsiveness had made her mouth run faster than her brain before she could even try to catch it.

She bit her lip again.

Damn it. I need to think of an answer.

Even as she wracked her brain for ideas on what she could possibly do, it all fell to the wayside in the end. As suddenly tension she could feel in the small space between them, he did as she'd asked.

And turned his back to her.

She blew out a quiet breath of relief and looked at the dark frizzes of his hair in the low light. The back of his neck. Alter's lip twitched as once again she felt that impulsiveness arose within her along with her every instinct to suppress it.

You stupid failure of a servant, don't do this. Don't make it worse.

She bit her lip harder.

"You simply need to redirect your impulsiveness, Alter."

The French queen's voice echoed in her head like she'd shouted it off of vast empty enclosed walls as the only singular thought that hung in the air, like it was shouting over her instincts to suppress that surely stupid decision she was about to make for the second time tonight.

Thirty seconds of silence had passed before she reached for the lamp on the desk next to the bed, flicking it off, shrouding the room in near complete darkness. Laying down once again with her head against the pillow staring once again at her master's silhouette while her eyes adjusted to the new lack of lighting.

It was another, possibly full minute this time before she finally scooted closer. The foot became inches, the inches became centimeters, until at last, she'd pressed herself slowly up against his back. Almost instantly she could feel the tension swell up from her master's body. And as instantly as it had she could feel it loosen as she wrapped her arms around him.

The ends of his black hair tickled her forehead and cheeks as she pressed herself even closer to him, clearing away some of his hair with her still gloved fingers.

Just a little more…

###

He tried desperately not to think about the soft lumps that he could feel squishing against his back even through their clothes. His face was alight with a blush as he let his mind wander. Ritsuka could feel one of her legs intertwine with the one he'd placed over the other, pulling it away, tucking it between her calf and knee.

With the fingers he'd felt on his chest, he could, at last, feel the nerves shaking her hands from her wrists to the tips of her fingers as she wrapped her arm over him.

He could feel her warm breath on the nape of his neck against this hairline, and her lips at last brushing against his ear.

"Thank you."

Her voice barely above a whisper, trembling as she clung to him with all the might she dared to muster.

Fighting his own nerves, his own addled brain, as those urges that had blanketed him like an onrushing storm that threatened to overtake him. It seemed he'd just been about to lose that fight, whip around, and kiss her right on the lips to invade her mouth with his tongue.

The long urge to explore her with fervor faded, with her two words, acting like a splash of much desperately needed cold water.

Her words were spoken with such absolute and utter sincerity that it shocked him. Of course, she'd thanked him in the path for one minor thing or another. But this one, he could tell from the trembling of her hands, and the way she nuzzled her nose against him as she tried to hold herself as closely as she could, was one that carried weight.

As she kissed him on the back of his neck, between the shoulder blades like she did the previous loop.

Ritsuka's lip twitched, wrapping the fingers of only free hand around the trembling ones he could feel against his chest. And he dared a small smile into the dark even as his nerves and urges gave way to exhaustion. Consciousness slowly slipped from his mind, like a blanket that he fought just long enough to give his reply.

Not yet.

"You're welcome." He said, speaking quietly. The warmth they shared beneath the covers already lulled him to sleep. Ritsuka was just barely conscious now but he was still aware enough to realize that the shaking of her frayed nerves had finally stopped. Still holding her hand against this chest, and with one last calming breath from his lips, he finally managed his last words for the night. "Goodnight Alter."

Her nose and cheek rested for the moment still on the back of his neck, just behind his ear. He could feel the muscle of her cheek turn into a small smile. "Goodnight Master…"

It was then that he finally stopped fighting and let sleep claim him for as long as he would be willing to let it.

###

Alter leaned away, still wrapping her limbs around him as she heard his heartbeat slow as the sleep took him. Using that in part to lull herself of some semblance into her own exhaustion. She let out a calming breath of her own and settled her head down on the pillow rather than on the back of his neck.

She still watched him only inches away from her eyes. Her lips pressed tightly into a line as she tried to ignore the now finally slowing heartbeat in her own chest. The last bits of tension she'd felt were drifting away too.

Her face was still bright red, she realized, risking her only free hand touching it to her lips and cheek, feeling the heat even through her gloves. She breathed out another warm breath almost as if it were steam in a sauna.

Too warm.

She bit her lip.

But it…was still nice?

Alter squeezed her eyes shut again, already with thought, her heart beat faster. Anxiety from that stupid aversion to the temperature.

Still too warm.

Her amber eyes flicked open again, and she stared once again at the back of his neck, and the black hair was almost close enough to tickle her face.

Just go to sleep.

She squeezed her eyes shut.

Just go to sleep.

Her lips pressed tightly together.

Sleep.

She imagined the rhythmic heartbeat she'd grown accustomed to that night. Once again lulling herself back to a place where Alter could at last sleep.

It could've been a minute, or it could've been twenty. Alter wasn't sure but at last, she could sense her consciousness slipping. It was enough to bring her a small smile almost. Only at the edge of her periphery, she could hear it. Like a whisper in her ear to remind her as she fell away from the waking world, speaking with a smile.

Just go to sleep.

#

The following day came quickly. After working on the doujin for hours, in preparation for the Servfest tomorrow. Alter had desperately needed to stretch her legs. Practically arguing down Ushi as well as she could possibly manage.

Her Master, of course, had volunteered to come along with her. "You know it's bad manners to speak ill to someone and then leave expectant that I would come along?"

Alter huffed. "She was getting on my nerves again." She pointed a finger up at him, "And I know you think I was right." The berserker with a grin suddenly smirked a little at that very thought. "Anyway, I needed to get some air out here anyway." She reached and stretched as she could feel the warm summer air of the ocean breeze roll over them as they stepped out onto the stairs of the hotel's entrance.

He thinks I'm right.

Suddenly a content smile replaced her smirk as she hopped down the stairs waiting at the bottom for Ritsuka. "Anywhere you want to go in particular?"

"Well," He blew out a breath and glanced at his watch. "Given we shouldn't waste too much time, how about we head straight to grab everyone a brunch?"

She frowned a little at that, realizing he was being practical.

And it is the best choice to make.

That didn't stop the pout from forming on her expression as she wanted to curse her luck. But with a final huff, she wiped the pout away as she pushed her hair behind her ears standing still for a moment to relish in the ocean breeze. "Fine, we do have a lot of work to do before Servfest…"

Ritsuka smiled at her.

Stupid idiotic smile.

"We'll have plenty of time to hang out when we get back." He offered her his arm. "Even it may not be as…" Ritsuka tilted his head a little. "Private as I think you're looking for at the moment."

Instantly a blush filled her from ear to ear and she looked away, "Shut up." She said, taking his offered arm and intertwining them to give a clear message that she really wasn't all that angry. "I guess I'll just have to enjoy a simple walk with you as much as I can." With arms entwined she stomped ahead a few paces dragging him just beside her.

Relishing the first few seconds as he struggled to keep up until he adjusted.

The walk unfortunately was too short for her taste, as the smell of cooking food filled the air. Her lips pressed tightly at that disappointment, but she managed to hide it better this time from Ritsuka as they moved down the last block towards all the food stops.

"What should we get today?" He asked, "Feeling anything in particular?"

Her lips twitched. "Still don't need to eat master…" She trailed off, in truth still wondering what exactly she really did want to try. Blue eyes flicked to her, slightly annoyed. Alter touched her chin to answer more seriously. Widening her steps comically as if to delay their arrival. "I think some burgers should go for everyone." She touched her chin in thought. "Though maybe they're still all feeling breakfast. A couple stacks of pancakes, eggs, and bacon might do just as well."

Ritsuka raised an eyebrow. "Well, we could've asked…but someone." He leaned towards her so that their noses were almost touching. "Wanted to storm out and get some fresh air as quickly as possible."

She stiffened at the proximity looking up at him. "I…alright, fair point. You got me there." She huffed a few nervous chuckles as she stepped away from him, giving a little more space between them, even if they were still linked by the arm.

Her master straightened up, "Well, as you say it doesn't really matter either way." Ritsuka walked along ahead this time, not quite dragging Alter, but enough that she had to take a few more quick steps to stand beside him.

Alter frowned, "How about…we split it then? Only a stack of pancakes, eggs, and bacon, with a few burgers to round out for the other cravings? Instead of hashbrowns or fries, how about we split the difference with tater tots?" She stopped in front of him once again, pausing their walk. "How does that sound?"

He shrugged again. "It doesn't matter all that much now does it,"

She frowned a little at that.

Ritsuka suddenly smiled at her again. "Come on, so much work to do, so little time." He tightened his grip on her arm and pulled her along again.

Her lips twitched, but ultimately she smiled still.

He can't be that stupid.

At last, the two of them rounded the corner, Ritsuka whispering some sort of joke to brighten Alter's dampening mood. And damn him did it work as she giggled at the stupid thing. Her eyes tracked to the center of the market, pulled by something unspeakably ugly in her eye. Something that was a wretched sore spot among all the food.

Alter froze.

There is a stone square with almost a foot of dry firewood stacked neatly in place, and a large stake the size of a tree trunk carved and waiting with ropes in the center.

"Alter?" Ritsuka asked. "What's wrong?"

Her throat tightened as if a vice grip had tightened fingers against it. Her eyes flicked instantly to Ritsuka.

Only to see those sharp carnivorous teeth and chameleon-like eyes. "What's the matter my unholy virgin?" His mouth widened into a sadistic grin naturally from ear to ear as Blue Beard's eyes finally landed on her after marveling at the display in the center of the market. "Am I…not the person you want to buy meals with."

Alter yanked her arm free and backed away, fingers reaching for her sword. Eyes wide with contempt, "Gilles!", her mouth filling with froth enough to match her pitch in tone. "What have you-"

Something pushed past behind her and the running continued. She looked up thinking it was about to attack her

Only to see Ritsuka looking back at her equally wide-eyed. He was panting, out of breath, and looking at her with adrenaline having filled his expression. "Alter?!" He said, his voice filled with shock. "I…I thought that-"

"I'm alright." She huffed, her eyes widening as she looked at that white Chaldean suit and black pants. Covered with stains and dirt. "Are…you-?"

He smiled at her.

That stupid dumb idiotic smile.

"Yeah," He nodded, finally catching his breath. "Yeah, I'm alright." He said, looking towards the stake at the center of the market. Then his eyes went wide as they rushed back to her. His mouth opened to speak.

Only a muscled mass of damp, hard-rocked coral and tentacles slammed into the side of his head, like a concrete brick.

Blood splattered across the asphalt.

Ritsuka's body slammed and rolled across the black surface, bloodied head facing away from her.

Her breath caught in her throat as she felt her heart stop. Her mouth hung open from earlier. With her hand still gloved, her eyes followed her fingers to her cheek as she touched the damp blood there, now trickling down to her jaw. Even as she tried to see it her vision blurred.

And then it turned red.

Her lips ran dry at the sight, and with narrowed eyes, she whirled around to Gilles. Swords were drawn in an instant, and a thousand different curses passed through her mind. None of them were suitable enough. None of them were impactful enough. None of them were venomous enough. So it was only her cry of anger and anguish that filled the streets as she closed the distance to him.

Die.

She leapt into the air.

DIE.

Gilles simply stared at her with a widening grin, and closed eyes, his head still following her movements as she'd leaped towards him.

The mana burst formed a white circle in the air as she cracked the ground to ground gaining speed to close that short distance.

DIE!

She tucked her sword intending on swiping Gilles in half, with the building behind him, she tasted iron in her mouth. The blood stained her white hair almost as she brought her sword closer to his neck.

Only she felt something slam into her. Hands had grabbed her waist and threw her to the ground and an inch shy of her sword striking true.

They were faster at getting up, but Alter reversed the grip of her sword, stabbing behind her.

It whiffed into the air, and Alter felt a tight hand grab her wrist, tight enough to crush it, even with mana pulsing through it.

As amber eyes looked to see, she felt another hand grab the back of her neck, and slam her face first into the asphalt, this time staining her cheek with blackened steel, and blood from her temple. Even with the pressure, scraping her cheek and temple against the ground she turned to see.

No-

Medb smiled down at her and shook her head. "Shhh, you are going to miss the best part."

"You bitch." She spat between her teeth.

Medb responded by lifting her up and slamming her face up and slamming it back into the ground. Then she did it again. Then a third.

I'm not going back.

Alter twisted her other arm landing an elbow on Medb's chest earning her a slight reprieve. Enough to twist herself around to swing her sword, still in hand, towards Medb.

I'm not going back.

She summoned hers and deflected the blow away.

But Alter still landed a satisfying kick to Medb's hip, sending her sprawling twenty feet back.

Medb twisted herself with grace, to land upright, dragging her sword through the ground to halt her momentum from going back even further. She grinned at the expression Alter was giving her amusement on full display.

Alter intent on not allowing her any reprieve had already closed the distance with Medb, her second sword brought to bear along with her first.

The two clashed in a resounding shockwave, and Alter landed another hit. A grin came to her lips as she moved in closer, intent on driving once again a killing blow.

Only a musclely, cold-skinned, salt-smelling urchin slammed into her knee, pulling her leg out from under her, knocking her down onto one knee. Amber eyes went wide, as she saw it holding her down.

She whipped back around only for Medb's knee to slam into her jaw, drawing saliva and blood.

Alter felt the pain course through her as she fell onto her back, her leg bent sharply by still being held in place as bone contorted and cracked. She winced and looked up to see the red sword angling down at her throat through that haze of anger. Through that haze, she saw him still where the hit had left him splayed out on his side.

?

She huffed.

You lost.

Her breath hitched as she stared up at that red blade angled towards her.

I'm not going back.

With gritted teeth, she made an effort to move, only for Medb to kick her again sending her rolling a few feet. She coughed out blood. Fingers twitching and burning as something stepped on them hard enough for cracks to ring out.

Her amber eyes whirled back at Medb, even as she grabbed her by the dirted white of her hair, and pulled her close.

"Stop struggling," Medb said.

"I'm not going back…" She said between breaths. Alter grabbed Medb's wrist to hold her as tightly as she could. Her amber eyes glowing with anger ready to reaffirm it through bloodied teeth.

Only Medb smiled at her. But it wasn't a sadistic smile as she'd expected from her. It was one with pity. And it only angered her further, wanting to crack the wrist of the enemy that she clung to desperately. She could dream of how easy it would be to apply pressure to that slender neck. Her spare hand was knocked away.

"Oh dear," Medb said, shaking her head. "The pyre isn't for you, Alter."

Alter's struggles stopped. Her amber eyes widened as she felt the cold shiver of realization slowly worm its way down her spine.

Her eyes darted around to see Gilles wasn't standing where she'd left him.

He was standing over Ritsuka.

Bluebeard reached down and grabbed him by the hair, nails digging into his skin as he pulled him up effortlessly to look at the unconscious master at his eye level.

"Don't you touch him!" She clawed at the grip on the back of her neck, even as Medb increased the pressure. Another blow sent her forward into the asphalt. She swung her arm out back, only for Medb to catch it, and start twisting it.

Still holding the boy he looked back at Alter and smiled a little. Then he lowered him with a sudden drop back to the ground and turned towards the pyre dragging him unceremoniously by the head behind him.

"NO! Leave him out of it." Alter grit her teeth and despite her broken leg, managed to get her other arm free.

Medb had no issue punting her face first into the ground again, drawing blood from Alter's brow.

"Don't you fucking dare!"

Her heart beat rapidly in her chest, the adrenaline and pain causing too much for her. She whirled her amber eyes, testing her neck around in Medb's grip to look at her. In the arm being twisted, lightning seemed to cut through it, as her sword came roaring back into the grips of her fingers. She curled it back.

An Urchin grabbed her by the sword arm, suctioning itself to the ground, to hold her in place.

She yelled and kicked and screamed. Spit came from her mouth as she struggled, her muscles turning sore, drawing blood from her skin as it was pulled apart from her in all her attempts to escape from what bound her. Fire like her noble phantasm seemed to come alight around her.

The fire unaffecting to those holding her.

"I'll kill you! I'll fucking kill you!" Her lips twisting even as one last crack of her bones prevented her from getting free. But the warm red ooze leaked from her wrists as a sign of her efforts.

Gilles only seemed to smile at her as he settled Master upright onto the pyre and climbed back down to greet her. "Thank you, my dear!" He almost seemed to squirm with delight as his grin only widened, spreading his hands apart. He seemed only to move out of the way of some of the more thick flames.

As the fire, her fire, seemed to swallow the whole market, licking the edges of the pyre.

Until it came alight in one of the corners.

Alter suddenly shivered with fear. "No. No! NO!" The horror gripped her heart like a vice and she shook her head bitterly. "I'll kill you!" Her voice cracked, but it fell on deaf ears it seemed, the vice-like hold on her keeping her in place.

The way Gilles paced about the edge of the pyre humming with delight.

Even as she could see him slowly come too, bright blue eyes caked in a bloodied stream from his brow. Ritsuka started to sluggishly look around.

No. It's not supposed to be like this.

Her lips twisted.

I'm supposed to be the one-

But you aren't.

She squeezed her eyes shut, not able to bear the sight of it. Her heart pounded like a storm in her chest as the soreness of her muscles grew and that warm blood trickled down her skin. She huffed out shaky breaths.

It didn't stop her from hearing his screams.

###

Ritsuka groaned as his eyes opened up to the dark of their hotel room. Even then it took a fair few seconds more for his consciousness to finally catch up with him. He took a long slow breath in the still air of the room as the air conditioner once again flicked to life.

All was as it seemed.

Then a noise came, almost shattering the illusion of the room's usual late-night ambiance. It was so quiet but so different from what he was used to hearing. He blinked and looked to his right, and suddenly all the memories of what had happened earlier that night came crashing back through his head like a train.

He took a deep breath as he saw Alter, face twisted only a few inches away from him.

She was breathing heavily, but erratically. Her purple dress had gotten wrinkled, and the straps weren't straight anymore. The right side of her bra was hanging out since the strap had fallen lower in the night. Her ashen white hair was messy and disheveled indicating that she'd been tossing and turning.

He felt his cheeks warm a little at the sight of her so close. He could feel the haze want to settle over him and kiss her. Instead, he managed a private smile.

And it took far more effort in those few seconds to bite it back as he continued to observe. Instead focusing his mind on the sharp details from the grimace of her lips, to the way her fingers were balled into fists.

Somewhere in the middle of the night, she'd kicked off the blankets that had been covering them, as he noticed they were back down by the ends of his legs.

There was a wince on her expression as he watched her.

The smile faded. His eyes widened a little, even as her lips twisted even further, and she turned again, this time turning her back to him.

And that noise escaped her lips again. This time he was more awake, the sleepiness having faded enough for him to fully comprehend the audible noise.

A whimper?!

Ritsuka's breath caught in his throat and he froze as he finally understood what was happening. He bit his lip to stifle himself from making any further noise. The first thought that came to him was that he should wake her. The second was that both of them still desperately needed sleep.

He watched her curl into a ball, pulling her knees up to her chest, even as she turned her back to him.

A second passed, and Rituska firmed his lips, having come to a decision.

He took a deep breath as he scooted himself closer, the inches having seemingly stretched into hundreds of meters as he did. Ritsuka managed another full breath again and he couldn't help the tension that shot through him.

Until finally his chest rested against her back and his cheek in her hair. He curled around pressing his lips to the nape of her neck, and then again to the right underside of her jaw. Her hair prickled as he did so.

A little smile came to him, and he wrapped his arm around her midriff and slowly pulled her closer. With the other, he wanted to try and slip underneath her shoulder, but that proved too difficult. The faint smell of berries from the previous night was still about her, as her aroma filled his senses.

Alter seemed to stiffen at the touch, but as soon as the tension had shot through her, it faded away as she seemingly pushed herself back into him. Bumping her head against his nose. Her voice was quiet and almost incoherent. "S-stop…"

He froze a little at the tiny sound of her voice wondering briefly if it was directed to him. His eyes narrowed as he waited for a follow-up that could break the silence. Still tucked mostly into the ball, pressing against his chest, the only thing that he heard was a small whimper.

Ritsuka pressed his forehead down against the back of her head, not really caring as her white hair closed around his face like a curtain. He squeezed his eyes closed too, wanting and hoping she could hear him or feel him wherever she was in her nightmare.

"I got you," He whispered above his breath.

Then he remembered something. Something his mom had taught him and Gudako. Only it slipped away. Like a paper in a strong wind that blew from his hand. He frowned at it.

Or at least, he thought he did.

Soon he could feel that consciousness slip away from him again as he started to drift away. The tight hold on squeezing his eyes shut seemed to loosen. The hold on Alter's midriff was firm still but now comfortably loose.

What was it again?

#

It was bright he thought when his eyes opened up again, and he realized instantly why. The sky above him was white. Not like it was blanketed with clouds, but pure white as if the world had lost its color.

He stiffened and sat upright with shock gasping for breath. "Ack!"

His stomach twisted and churned as if he'd walked through a barrier of some kind that made people feel sick.

Ritsuka's blue eyes were wide as he looked around him. Buildings run down half destroyed, the smell of Ash in the air. Then he blinked and looked down at himself. For some reason, even as he lifted his hands to test them, it felt as if it was heavier. He rolled his toes in his shoes and noted they too moved only with an extra effort.

His lips twisted at that, the concept of even having to think about moving seemed otherworldly for something that had come as second nature. It was then he realized his eyes started to hurt, and his lungs started to burn.

Blink.

He did.

Breathe in one, two, three. Now out one, two, three.

He tried to flex his fingers again.

Blink.

Breathe in one, two, three. Out one, two, three.

It was enough to keep him rooted sitting where he was, unable to focus on detail around him. The strange colorless sky was all he could see.

It all had to be second nature again before he moved.

Before I even try…

An involuntary shiver ran up his back.

What the hell happened?

Blink.

Breathe.

Flex fingers.

His lips started to twist in concentration.

Come on.

I was in bed with Alter, right? When dreams start we have no memory of them. So how am I remembering this so clearly?

He ran through the motions again as the thought finished. Almost daring a smile that was easier this time.

Am I even sure this is a dream?

Suddenly, his heart bounced in his chest and he felt pulled to his feet.

He blinked and he was standing upright. And once again he looked down at himself in shock, almost jumping.

Am I under a spell?

He flexed his fingers and breathed more absentmindedly this time. "Good." He whispered. "Wait, no I've experienced something like this before…" Ritsuka paused, stretching his memory now that he didn't have to devote his effort to simply the thought of existing again.

Then his heart was pulled again, and it spun him around in place and he nearly stumbled forward catching himself in a destroyed car. His eyes narrowed as he held himself firmly upright.

This way?

He glanced at the car noting that it looked melted. Then something black and gray fell across his vision caught noticing that from the white sky it seemed to rain ash. And with close inspection, everything looked burnt to a black crisp. His heart pulled him again, more gently this time, he noted.

Ritsuka followed it down the street all the while the destruction around him seemed to grow with detail. Even as he rounded the corner, smoke began to cloud the sky of a gray afternoon. The colorless white gone.

"I'm sorry."

He stiffened at the sound of her voice even as he stepped through the cloud of ash. All around him shops and buildings were destroyed by a fire that had swept through like a whirlwind. The smell was horrible. And his lips pressed together as he pushed through.

"I'm so sorry-" She choked out between gasps of breath. "It wasn't-"

The smoke around him seemed to clear a little, allowing him to at last put his eyes on her. The only person making a sound. She was on the ground hunched over something, whispering words of comfort in between the sobs that escaped her.

Her shoulders were shaking.

Ritsuka felt his heart drop even as he neared.

It was as if she paid nothing of the world any mind as she curled herself around what was in her lap. Blood and dirt seemed to coat her. A black unrecognizable husk that looked more like a solidified ash than whatever it might've once been. He could see the glint of something drop from her eyes landing in the stains that marked the husk.

His lip started to twist, "Alter?" He tried.

For a second he waited to see if she'd heard him.

Nothing changed.

She clung to the burnt husk even tighter, pulling it closer into her chest. The arm of the husk fell away cracking at the shoulder and rolling over her knee onto the ground. From there it seemed to fall even further into pieces as the wind blew it even further apart.

Ritsuka stepped closer, "Alter?" He tried again this time growing more certain in the sound of his voice.

Once again she didn't seem to hear him, her face merely contorting further in absolute anguish.

His lips twisted further and he fell to his knees to hug her, this time when he tried it. He yelled at the top of his lungs. "Alter!"

Even as Ritsuka wrapped his arms around her, he felt something ice cold run up through his back and even as he looked up something like a sharp pain went through his mind. A headache so intense that it felt like something pierced right through his skull.

And the world faded away.

###

He was gone.

Your fault.

She couldn't see through that blur of her vision anymore. She'd already tried to stop, and as soon as she'd succeeded, he was still in her arms. Then it would begin all over again to where she wouldn't be able to see through her tears. Alter simply tried to clutch to the husk tighter, as if that would somehow do anything.

My fault.

It was no use as she tried to bite down on her lip to hold back another onrush. But the sob came through unbidden.

Your fault.

For just the briefest of seconds, she felt that burning anger course through her. It was crushing and swallowing all of it at once.

And all so utterly pointless, what had once been driven to cut it loose merely passed through her like it was nothing as she tucked her head against his chest. No anger was left for her to be found as it all faded as quickly as it had come.

That's when she felt something strange like a blanket had been wrapped around her snuggly. Despite it all, the loss and painful rawness in her throat as she'd screamed until she couldn't any longer. She suddenly felt comforted, like suddenly she could breathe between sobs again. The pain in her chest remained ever-present.

Her breath hitched and she looked up, biting down on her lip again. This time trying to bury her cry of anguish.

Only as her red cracked amber eyes looked up. She found the world was gone. The destruction, the husk, and the smell of fire were gone in their entirety. Her heart jumped into her throat as she stood up whirling around.

And suddenly she found herself in a hallway and only there seemed an ever-present warmth. She touched her arms still feeling as though she'd been wrapped in something. Only her fingers had met nothing.

A dream?

She collapsed to her knees swelling with relief, huffing out a breath. Then she keeled over, laying her forehead against the cool wooden floor. Alter hugged herself. Her eyes watered again and suddenly that dull ache that had been in her chest, started to ease, like a weight being lifted away, and suddenly even through tears, she could breathe again.

A dream.

"Just a dream…" She didn't know how long she was hunched over. But slowly she blinked away the tears in her eyes at last overwhelmed with the very sudden and distinct change. "Just a dream." Alter repeated. Slowly her erratic breathing came more under control. With a few seconds left to gather herself in silence the dull ache slowly seemed to vanish. It was only as her thoughts quieted and her breaths smoothed, did she become vaguely aware of other voices in the house.

Suddenly she stiffened again and started to sit upright on her knees.

Then her eyes narrowed.

I don't know my dreams when I'm in them.

Alter's lip started to twist a little as she pushed herself up onto her feet slowly. Something had changed, she could tell. It was too different and too clearly distinct from her dreams. Alter paused to look out the window that encompassed the hall on one side into the yard, eyes furrowing into a frown.

"The throne of heroes?" She shook her head all at once. "No, Chaldea gives us the knowledge when we summon without the grail." Her eyes flicked to the noise in the room. Something more distracting than the thoughts.

Someone was running down the hall, the quiet thumps against the cool wood under her skin.

She stiffened and looked for a place to hide.

Too late.

They rounded the corner and continued bounding towards them.

Her breath caught in her throat.

The boy must've been only five or six years old. Black hair, and blue eyes with a grin on his face. Behind him, he was dragging a blanket like a cape. And he either didn't notice her at all or chose not to pay her any mind, as he ran right past her legs.

Then another skidded around the corner, sliding with her socks, with a grin to match. Orange hair with golden eyes narrowing with delight on her brother. "I'm coming for you!"

Ritsuka giggled as he rounded the other corner, "Can't catch me!"

Alter was silent as she saw Gudako sprinting after her brother at full speed, another blanket she noted was tied around her shoulders as well. Once more she slid around the corner using her socks, this time correcting her course more quickly.

Her fingers twitched.

No.

She forced herself to breathe again.

I can't be?

Alter turned down the hall and followed at a brisk pace reaching the corner in time to see that Gudako had rounded a corner at the end of the hall. But dead ahead, in the opposite room to where she turned, she could see a bright light sticking out into the slightly darker hallway that the children were running down.

With a glance back to the corner where the children had first appeared, she slowly walked toward the light of the well-lit room. Even as she stepped inside the open door, Ritsuka appeared in the hallway again behind her giggling and laughing.

This time she was more ready for it, and her lips twitched into a small smile.

Ritsuka paused to lean through the door looking. "Is dinner ready yet!?"

Alter followed his eyes to the two women standing in the kitchen.

A girl with purple hair made a face at him. "Kids, you're driving your mom up the wall." Then she grinned almost as suddenly. "Do I need to find something else for you to do again?"

"No!" Both Gudako and Ritsuka cried in unison. And they both resumed their chase around the hall.

The other woman gave a tired sigh and wiped her brow as she stepped away from the stove. But she offered the purple-haired woman a smile. "Thanks. You know it's always wonderful to have a helping hand."

This woman was tall and had long black hair and blue eyes to match that of Ritsuka.

His mom.

Alter stared at the woman for a long moment, wanting to soak in every detail as to the person who both gave birth, and helped to raise the two people she'd slowly grown to care about. Her lips compressed into a line, wanting to move closer to the woman in question and see what other features Ritsuka took from her.

Definitely has his looks.

They had the same nose she noticed, as she got closer. Alter was almost close enough to touch her when the world began to blur around her. She froze in place, wondering if she did something wrong.

Alter braced herself with gritted teeth, expecting some violent or abhorrent change like what had happened to her earlier. Only she found herself in a dark room lit only by a few candles.

The purple-haired woman was lying on a futon, with Ritsuka's mom sitting cross-legged beside her.

"Still hasn't come back yet has he?"

The purple-haired woman shifted a little and shook her head. "Sorry for bothering you with this again."

Ritsuka's mom chuckled. "It's alright, you know the kids love it when their aunt comes for a visit." The dark-haired woman reached into a small box.

"Think they've gone to sleep?"

The dark-haired woman snorted. "No, of course, they didn't." She leaned close to whisper. "They're watching from the door."

Alter's eyes flicked around to see, two pairs of eyes peeking through the crack.

That's when it hit her, completely like a truck.

Memories. I'm seeing his memories.

Her breath shook at the realization that warm comforting feeling wrapped around her, seeming only to grow stronger as the seconds ticked by. Alter whispered to herself. "I can't be here. I shouldn't be here…"

Her eyes flicked to the two sisters again.

"Will that be a problem?" The purple-haired girl asked, her expression suddenly growing worried that the kids might see.

"No." The mother said. "Besides, it's something that they teach at the clocktower as a part of the astral projection course." Her eyes flicked over her shoulder towards the door. Watching as the pairs of eyes ducked back out of sight. "It's meant to be used in manners such as this anyway." She shifted, lifting up her sister's head, and next a pillow, laying both in her lap comfortably.

The purple-haired girl smiled, as the fingers started massaging her head. "Now try to relax…where do you want to go?"

"Right here," she said. "With all of us celebrating a holiday like we did when we were younger."

"Year after the grail war?"

Alter's lip twitched.

Grail war?

She turned back around looking once again at the pairs of young, but familiar eyes, looking on at the two adults, curious to watch whatever was about to happen.

Alter's breath caught in her throat.

Their mom was involved in a grail war?

"Did you decide yet if you were going to give them our family name?" Purple eyes looked up at the person cradling her and spoke softly at her.

She watched Ritsuka's mom pause in her movements before continuing and pressing her fingers against the temples of the woman laying her head in her lap. "No, I…haven't. I've got years yet to think about it. It might be best if they do so without the prestige…"

The purple-haired girl hummed and offered a red ruby up.

It seemed to bring a smile to his mom's lips. "Now come, let's get this underway so I can put those kids right back to sleep."

Alter wasn't really given time to even consider all that was happening, even as she felt the world crumble away again. The world seemed to spin wildly as it all so quickly shifted to someplace entirely different. Her eyes suddenly focused on cars moving quickly along the road, and a tall building with a clock. The sudden onset of smells, sounds, and vibrant sunlight almost floored her.

Out of instinct, she jumped out of the road as the car honked.

She touched her heart feeling as though adrenaline started to pump through her.

"Oi! Watch where you are going!" Her eyes fixed on the driver as they drove past. If she wasn't so focused on trying to take it all in as quickly as the scene had changed she would've undoubtedly shouted a curse right back at them.

Only a familiar voice came from beside her.

"Sorry! I'm trying not to be late!"

Alter spun around to see Ritsuka with a book tucked under an arm, a backpack strapped to his back.

Her master leaned over and brushed off his pants.

She heard a sigh escape his lips and a short curse.

At last, Ritsuka stood up. He was still young she could see, but much closer to the familiar image she'd had of him in her head. He was at least four of five years off the mark judging by the look alone. He was well dressed in a simple suit and tie with a robe going over to mark the students of the school.

Her amber eyes caught others walking ahead on the sidewalk wearing what looked to be the same robes.

Ritsuka took off in a jog heading down the sidewalk.

Alter wondered if she should even bother trying to follow. Even as she looked around it finally all came to a head in understanding.

I'm at the doorstep of the Clocktower.

Both siblings had mentioned it before at various different points, each having told stories of their experiences at one of the most prestigious mage academies.

Curiosity though is what got her moving, evidently the distinctness of the memory having not come to full fruition yet. Or at least that was her guess, as she jogged to keep up behind him. She barely had the time to take in all the intricate details of what was going on around her.

London after all was a place she'd never seen. The information of the old city was simply backfilled by the grail upon her summoning. But to see it in person, even for just as briefly as it is was a lot for her to take in. As the seconds ticked by she realized this memory wasn't changing quickly as the others did.

There was still that ever-present question though in the back of her mind. Her lips pressed together as her eyes narrowed in thought.

What the hell is going on?

Ahead of her Ritsuka came to a gap in the wall on the sidewalk and made a left, into a quad with a few trees and benches. Around on either side were all the other students arriving and going as the clock ticked on.

Gudako was waiting near the fountain at the edge. Her eyes lit up on seeing him. "There you are!"

Ritsuka smiled, "Sorry, you know how bad it can get."

She nodded a couple times. "Come on, we've got a busy day."

#

The day seemed to progress quickly until they reached their first destination which was self-defense. There were paired teams of two for the day and everyone looked eager to pick on the siblings.

It was enough to make Alter's stomach twist.

But despite being novices, as they often claimed at Chaldea, they held up really well. Winning a few of their matches not due purely to their magical skill, but to their teamwork and cunning.

Ritsuka tried to shield himself as the blast sent him spiraling back.

Their opponents tried to press the advantage on the weakend sibling duo, only to find that as the smoke cleared, Gudako was behind them, and slammed her foot into the back of one of their knees even as their limbs grew with checkerboard magical circuits over their skin.

As the other turned to help.

Ritsuka sent a pair of well-aimed and well-timed Gundo shots.

The first sizzled away the spell gathering at their finger, the second had slammed into their shoulder throwing them off balance.

Gudako slammed the head of the first one into the ground and ran for the second.

The second had received with a hiss and a curse on their lips, taking a wide stance and catching Gudako by the stomach with a kick that made her cough out spittle and saliva. Sending her hurtling back across the arena.

The second one was given no reprieve as Ritsuka was already on him. He tried to repeat his success, reaching to grab and kick him.

Only Ritsuka, at full speed, leaned back into a slide underneath the enhanced limbs. As he slid past, he grabbed a hold of their leg and threw them up with all his strength, so that they face-planted on the ground.

Still holding his leg Ritsuka dragged them over the first who was just starting to recover.

It was a combination of tactics to use their opponents' overconfidence in magic to defend themselves, as well as constantly have someone in and around them to never let up.

As the first tried to stand a Gundo shot from Gudako slammed into their shoulder, sending them toppling back down onto their back.

The second woke up, and spun himself, limbs alight with the glow of magic circuits.

Ritsuka let go almost instantly to avoid the foot connecting with his head, his blue eyes widening with the recognition that if it didn't snap his neck, it would've put him out of the fight. He slammed his elbow back down on the glowing knee.

There he felt a crack, and almost grinned only a glowing hand still connected with him sending him over the first mage.

Ritsuka managed to land upright.

The first one that Gudako had knocked over in the air overhead above him about red runes alight at the touch of his fingertips.

Another trick that they'd used was to use their limited power sparingly. The first concentrated hit that he took was on purpose.

He had no reason to take on the magic hurtling towards him. Ritsuka crouched, and the magic circuits in his legs came alight, and the ground cracked beneath him as he leapt out of the way, an explosion against the ground he'd just been standing on.

Alter's eyes narrowed, biting her lip. She could see that the magic circuits on Ritsuka's legs weren't as vibrant as the colors on that of his opponent. A sign of their weaker magic origins that hampered them.

She bit her lip.

But they still give it their all.

She noticed during the other matches that they tended to last around three to five minutes. The siblings match almost lasted ten as their use of attrition and well-placed counterattacks took their toll.

Alter gathered it didn't work all the time. But evidently, she was privy to one where they did.

The instructor was a woman with blonde hair and a blue fitted dress. "Well done, match to the Fujimaru twins." She paused to take a few notes on her clipboard and at last looked at the losing team. "Do I have to point out why the two novices bested you?"

Novices?

She saw Gudako flinch, and Ritsuka's lip twist. The two of them sank into quiet as they both moved to stand by each other and wait.

Alter's fingers only curled further at the remark.

"They were better coordinated than us."

The instructor hummed, "Yes. But you both would have bested them easily if you were smart enough to notice what they were trying to do." She tapped her pencil against the clipboard and straightened up to them. "You both have long-standing bloodlines within the mage's association. To lose to novices is slight on that record."

The instructor's lip twisted further. "Let this be a lesson that magic is no replacement for thinking and planning either in a fight or for a fight. Hone your instincts better."

The defeated pair bowed their heads and headed off to the lockers.

The instructor then turned toward the twins. She offered them a small smile. "Though novices you may be, I must say I'm quite impressed at your ability to say…hit above your weight." she tucked the clipboard back behind her. "Go shower up, and prepare for your next class. I expect you to be back here in two days. For your next defense class."

The twins stiffly bowed their heads in acknowledgment and walked out.

Alter flicked the woman's ear, and sighed with discontent as she realized it didn't affect her at all.

I should've expected that.

The day seemed to move fast, which didn't surprise Alter considering the use of a memory as a dream.

She found herself soon standing in the back of the room noticing that the twins had taken seats away from one another. Alter folded her arms and hugged herself, still noting that she felt as if a blanket had been wrapped around her.

The thought made her blush.

He must have noticed my distress…

"As you know," the instructor's voice filled the hall. "Astral projection is among the most important magics to know if you ever intend to multitask." His lips formed together as he walked to his chalkboard and began drawing runes. "But they are also useful in helping to create shared dream states."

Alter stiffened and now focused her full attention on the professor.

Is that what he did?

She flexed her finger a little. Then she let out a slow breath.

I really am a pathetic servant then aren't I?

"Moreover, it can often be induced by accident. Especially if there is a strong previously established magical link between you, and the subject of the accidental spell. Shared dreams can often go both ways." The professor turned to face the crowd. "Has anyone experienced a shared dream before?"

Gudako and Ritsuka raised their hands to join the small selection of others that answered the question.

"Then all of you know full well, that the trick is finding a way to anchor yourself in the real world." He set his chalk down. "If one is to return to the waking world with ease, they will need an anchor. Otherwise, there is a risk that they could be trapped in a dream until their body forcibly wakes them from their slumber in a few days."

Alter frowned a little at that.

"Don't worry." His voice came in strained from somewhere around her. "I think I've managed it…"

She stiffened and abruptly spun around looking for the voice. The classroom was empty now as she looked back down the row of seats. There was only Ritsuka now, standing at the chalkboard looking at all the notes.

"Master?" Her voice filled with hesitant caution as she started down the stairs as if expectant that it would somehow all be ripped away in an instant.

"Sorry…" He muttered as he half turned to her. "I…didn't mean to do this…exactly." There was a hint of nervousness in his blue eyes. "Actually, I'm quite surprised I've managed it thus far…"

Her eyes narrowed a little as she stopped at the base of the lecture hall's stairs, short of the wooden stage that elevated the teacher just a little above the ground. "You pulled me out of my dream?"

Ritsuka nodded. "Well, I'm not apologizing for that given the state I found you in…but as I said, this is not what I expected. Mostly."

She huffed, eyes narrowing. "Mostly?"

His lips twisted a little at that remark, "Well, I was thinking about how I could help you?" The admission came out with an awkward smile. "I resisted the urge of doing so though because I knew the risks…"

Risks?!

Her lips compressed and she glared at him.

"I'm not apologizing that I did help though…" He trailed off again.

She stayed silent.

Not much I can say.

Her amber eyes followed him as he seemed to pace back and forth from the chalkboard. Her lips quivered for a moment, her fingers curling and uncurling with her heartbeat. She recalled the awful dream she'd had before being pulled into this one. The very thought of it made her want to shudder. "Thank you," she managed slowly. "I…didn't hurt you did I?"

He turned to her and shook his head. "You didn't. But I think you did knock your head into my nose in the waking world."

Alter nodded slowly at that, at last feeling a bigger wave of relief washing over her. "So I'm not having a shared dream that would naturally come from a master and servant bond…but rather you pulled me into one of yours?"

There was another nod, "As I said, this part was unintentional. Mostly. I…was just trying to comfort you in your sleep." He paused from looking at the chalkboard turning to face her. His face filled with concern.

Her lip twitched, face flushed with embarrassment, "How…bad was it?"

"You were whimpering…"

Alter's lip twisted, "Stupid…I don't think it's ever gotten that bad before…" She looked down, almost hoping this would all fade into obscurity like what had happened in her nightmare. It would've made everything so much simpler.

Only it didn't, and it most likely never would. The nightmare was going to haunt her now, she was almost certain of it. That just the thought of it was enough to make her lip twist even further.

No, of course, we are stuck in a dream together now. Of course, I needed help to get out of my own stupid head.

She wanted to grind her teeth.

What a pathetic servant.

He cleared his throat, "Alter?"

She blinked away her darkening thoughts. Almost mentally reprimanding herself for forgetting about the current situation that she was now responsible for getting them both into. Amber eyes looked up at him.

He'd closed the distance to her and was now standing only a foot away at the edge of the lecture stage. His blue eyes were as gentle as they were often un judging of her. Ever supportive of her, and somehow just as always welcoming to her.

Her breath caught in her throat.

Ritsuka reached out a hand for her. "I can really use your help."

Alter's lip twitched upward at the comment of him asking for her help. She wanted to ignore the irony of how they got there.

Only he would realize I want to be made useful.

She took a slow breath and tried to suppress the growing grin on her expression. But it was such a poor attempt that no doubt her master saw right through it for what it was. Alter looked back at his hand, then up at those blue eyes.

And that stupid idiotic smile.

"Okay," she nodded, taking his hand, and she let him pull her up to the lecture stage. "What do you need me to do?"

That smile of his widened a little, "Well, it's quite simple really." he scratched the back of his head a little and glanced away. And Alter could see the makings of a blush touching his cheek from embarrassment. "You're my anchor." He tilted his head from side to side, "Most likely anyway."

It took more effort than she would ever admit out loud to keep herself from fumbling with her following sentence. Though her cheeks were as red as his. "Okay, but…how? Wouldn't it need to have been pre-planned with another mage?"

He nodded. "Normally yes. Something similar to a contract…" Ritsuka trailed off.

Her amber eyes widened. "Is it because of our Master and Servant bond?"

Ritsuka smiled a little. "Yes, that, and one other glaringly obvious answer to the question as to why I know you are my anchor."

Alter frowned at him again, eyes narrowing in thought. Then as she watched his blush deepen, the awkward silence once more stretched between them for a long five seconds, which stretched to eternity. Then, the other answer finally came to her. And she could feel her own cheeks warming.

No, it can't be that could it?

Then his blue eyes went back to hers, and suddenly she found herself unable to doubt that simple notion.

The summer berserker straightened up where she was standing, closed her eyes, and coughed into her balled hand as if to try and clear her throat. In reality, she just hoped that it covered some of the blush on her expression.

She opened an eye as she stared at him. "Well, I'm glad I can help."

Then without warning, she reached out and flicked him softly on the shoulder.

He huffed a chuckle and held up his hands.

Her amber eye burned with intensity as she looked him over. "Alright, so I'm your anchor. The lecture didn't finish for me, so I didn't understand what I was supposed to do."

Ritsuka scratched the back of his neck, "Yes, sorry about that. I was searching through my memories for an answer which is why…you were hopping around."

She smiled a little. "Your mother seems nice!" Alter turned both eyes on him. "I…hope I get to meet her someday." It was like a fire was burning her cheeks all over again only this time it was the realization that she'd blurted out something so stupid.

I'm probably the last person in Chaldea that he'd want to introduce to his parents.

She huffed out a few awkward chuckles and looked away, head still spinning.

Then again Gilles exists.

He cleared his throat, "I'm not opposed to discussing the topic, but as I said, I need you to do something for me."

She nodded once, "Anything."

What surprised her more, was the genuine sincerity that was only until recently finally starting to come to the surface. The idea that she'd meant it exactly as she'd said it. That she would do anything she could to help him.

"You are…going to wake up first," Ritsuka said matter of factly. "With strong memories of this night's dreams." He grabbed her hand and turned them around to the chalkboard and walked them over to all the stuff the teacher had drawn. "Thankfully, our Master and Servant contract has strengthened that immensely so I'm…not worried."

He grinned, despite the nerves.

Something Alter damned that she admired about him. She nodded slowly, letting him lead her behind the teacher's desk back to stand near the chalkboard. Her eyes flicked at all the notes that were still on there from the lecture which hadn't disappeared with the rest of the class.

"Since I'm a novice mage like my sister, as my memories fondly remind me of," His lip twitched at the memory.

And she saw him, clearly forcing himself past whatever had bothered him there. She bit her lip a little, resisting that stupid urge to reach out to him and comfort him. But even that feeling was fleeting because even as the urge had come, her master had moved on to the next part of the subject.

"-I won't be able to pull myself out. Typically if we are stuck in our own dream, or someone else's, we can astral project ourselves out, and" He huffed a single chuckle. "Apparently it's something akin to cold water being slapped on us when we return to our body.

Alter frowned a little. "So leaving and coming back is all you'd need to do?"

He frowned, a little picking up the chock, and tapped his finger for a moment. "Think of it…like we slam the door closed on our way back in to wake ourselves back up."

Her brows knitted together. "Okay?"

"Anyways, since I can't do that, and I lack the skills and means too…option B." His lips curled a little. "There are five senses. Smell, taste, touch, see, and sound." Ritsuka paused for a moment. "I obviously can't see, since I'm asleep, so we can cross that one off the list, and replace it with the mind."

Alter folded her arms and leaned back against the desk frowning a little.

He started drawing with chalk and a profile of a simple oval shape started to take form. It wasn't until he added basic facial features that she understood he was drawing a head.

Her brow twitched a little as the seconds ticked by, still unsure of how she was going to help. Her servant origin limited her to very specific kinds of magic.

The other problem Alter was wondering about was how much time had passed for them in the real world now. Would they, after this meeting, go back to wonder dreams aimlessly? Would they be free to interact until she woke up?

More problems.

Ritsuka's voice was quieter now, less like the lecture mode he'd been in only a moment ago. "Do you remember how my mom helped Sakura go to sleep?"

"The purple-haired girl?" Alter nodded slowly. "She sort of cradled her in lap?" Then her eyes narrowed a little, replaying the memory back in her head. Alter gently brushed her thumb against her lip. She also remembered that his mom was strategically placing her fingers around the girl's head.

He nodded and sighed. "You'll have to do something similar with me…" Ritsuka's lip twisted a little. "You don't have to cradle me or anything but…your finger placement is a bit important.

Alter started to blush and bit her lip to prevent her habit of saying something really stupid at times.

My master needs me.

She nodded once.

Ritsuka looked a little relieved, but continued on. "There is a point though. You'll have to place your fingers in specific spots around my head. One at the base of both my ears or behind them whichever is easiest. The next two in my temple, and the rest supporting my neck and head…" He stopped drawing to show her his loosely drawn diagram.

A beat of silence passed between them.

Despite her blush, Alter managed to ask. "Anything else?"

He nodded, scratching the back of his head, again his expression was controlled, tense, but there was still just the barest of red tint touching his cheeks. "You'll have to think of me…the point of it is to…cover the five senses so to speak. A way to lull me out of my own spell of dreamy sleep that I'd passed on us both in order to come get you."

Another beat of silence passed. "Smell and taste, how will those be covered?"

"Smell is covered." Ritsuka corrected, he was blushing madly now, but he managed to firm his lips. "You..smell wonderful. And it's been on my head all night since we started dancing and-"

"SHUT UP IDIOT!" Her cheeks were bright red to match his. She pressed her palm to her forehead and started applying pressure. "What the hell am I even supposed to say to that?" Alter pushed herself up onto the desk resisting the urge to bury her face into her knees. Instead, she rubbed both hands against her cheeks. Her amber eyes darted away from him. "...I can't…focus…when you say things like that." She trailed off.

He straightened up a little. "Sorry…I…I'm trying to be as…" He trailed off for a second. "I mean to say that, that I'm being as honest and forthright with practicality…as much as possible" Ritsuka scratched the back of his neck again. "I…you asked. So I thought you'd want…the truth."

"Mmmmm." Alter shook her head, still hiding her face between her fingers.

At least he thinks I smell nice?

She pouted underneath her fingers and smacked herself a couple of times.

Focus you stupid dragon witch. It's not about how you feel. All that matters is that I help him get back out.

Her thoughts suddenly went to the prospect of his sister having to help. How angry she might get with the two of them.

Useless servant.

Alter clenched her teeth, and with an effort, still flushed from the remark, finally managed to will herself enough to look up at him.

Ritsuka's calming blue eyes were on her. His lips twisted a little in that same look he always had when he was considering something. But then thought had vanished, she could tell, and he cleared his throat. After taking a deep breath, he continued, "In which case…the only real problem we have left…" He frowned a little and shook his head forcing a thought aside. "I…Mash should have candy in her bag. It'd have to be something melted in order for it to work…"

Alter's eyes narrowed a little. "I don't remember her ever bringing candy?"

He shook his head, "We bought it today…no, I mean yesterday, while we were out and about in the town. Melt a chocolate square and…" Ritsuka tried to look serious, but the blush was still there. "Brush a drop of it between my lips"

Her brow twitched, but she nodded slowly.

Ritsuka huffed out a slow breath and nodded to himself. "Okay…okay. Yes, I think that's everything." He turned to look up at her.

Her lips pressed together into a line as she leaned back on her hands over the teacher's desk, staring at both him and the chalkboard behind him. The complicated runes that she could understand and couldn't cast.

The same ones he could also understand, but was equally unable to cast.

Her amber eyes flicked to his blue ones and focused in on him. "So…what happens now? I just…wake up and get to work?" Alter's brows knitted together. "I…don't…" Her lips twisted a little.

Ritsuka shook his head, "You'll wake up naturally as you might've after a normal night of sleep." He huffed. "Well, normal for us at any rate."

She nodded, "But…what now?"

He frowned a little…and then smiled. "Want a tour of my old house?"

Alter blinked amber eyes widening with the offer. "Can…you do that?"

Ritsuka hummed. "I…can control my dreams more freely, when I'm fully aware when I'm on my own." His brow twisted. He grimaced suddenly as if he was experiencing a terrible migraine. He touched some fingers to his brow. "But, I don't think I can do anything more than memories while I'm hosting you…" His lip twitched, "It's like my brain has to make the details real enough for the both of us... and for places that don't exist, it's difficult to recreate. Too much stress on the mind."

She tried to hide her concern. Her lip twisted a little, even as she saw the twist of pain in his expression fade as the seconds went by. Then she managed a small smile. "So no Sherlock mind palace then?"

He huffed, "You've been hanging around him and Mash too much." Ritsuka offered an arm out towards her. "Come on, I know you're dying to make fun of my bedroom."

Alter couldn't hide the sadistic grin coming to her lips at the remark. "Only a little."

#

She thought it was incredibly sweet while it lasted. Wanting to savor every second she possibly could in a place that literally swept her away from her nightmare. Returning to consciousness without being rudely awoken was always an interesting experience. One where it hurt at first to even open one's eyes. Alter turned a little bumping her head into something warm, pulling it closer, as if her instinct was to try and retreat back into slumber.

But reality had called. Alter could feel perspiration having gathered where she tried to stick her nose. And slowly, her amber eyes started to open and take in the vaguely blurred details. Her master had smelled of the usual hygiene products of the hotel. Things that lingered from his shower the night before, but now were much more faded into his natural scent that she'd grown used to since their stay in Hawaii. The smell of sweat, salt, and deodorant.

Was that all a dream?

She looked up a little to see his expression better, to see his lips pressed into a line. Something she quickly interpreted as a strained expression. Even as the details became clearer she stretched her legs out a little.

Only to feel the hug he'd had on her tighten, pressing her against him.

It was only with that, with blood rushing to her head and with sharp understanding clarity, did she fully realize where she was.

Alter was carefully tucked in her master's arms. Firm enough to hold her against him as if he were clinging to her. Worse yet, she could feel something of that heat starting to travel down to her thighs. Even as she looked down and realized that the back of her dress strap had slid down due to her movement in the night.

Don't panic.

As she tried to move one of her hands she found it met resistance in the form of a button, and found to her absolute panic that her hand had snaked itself underneath his shirt and her nails flicked a button.

DON'T PANIC.

It wasn't that she didn't know her master liked to keep in shape. But now she had to feel his chest as she slid her arm back out from beneath the shirt. Alter tucked in air, and breathed out slowly against her chest. Then she, at last, managed the courage to move her arm. With a huff of concentration, she slowly retracted the offending arm, freeing it from its voluntary imprisonment. "Okay," She whispered to herself.

First things first. The dream was…real right?

She reached up and brushed her fingers through his hair, blushing the entire time as she did.

Idiot.

Alter berated herself wondering how she was even supposed to test that theory. Her lips compressed a little with thought.

Thoughts drained entirely away, as she felt his hand move from her bare back to the back of her neck. Once again nothing aggressive, but the simple comfort of wanting to press her closer to him as if she were a pillow.

She froze going along with the movement, as she was pressed once more into the crook of his neck, amber eyes only now able to look up at his chin. She could hear the beating of his heart and realized that it was not the normal resting heartbeat that she was used to.

It also wasn't the nervous one from the night before. Rather it was almost like he was coming down from a workout. Above average due to work.

His heartbeat and the strained expression were just about the only things that kept her from giving into the sensation of wanting to enjoy it. To soak in all the sensations and aromas that were so comforting to her. She closed her eyes, her lips twisting noting that her other arm was still wrapped around his back.

Too warm.

Alter squeezed her eyes shut, and took one final deep breath, enjoying the warmth of him against her. The way his breath dissipated softly into her hair. The wish that this could last longer somehow fading away with the certainty that it was finally morning, and that she'd made a promise that she desperately wanted and needed to keep.

"Don't worry master," she spoke softly, "I'll get you out."

Then she pressed her fingers against his chest and tried to pry herself away, gently trying to maneuver herself out from the arm holding her from the back. It took about thirty seconds for her to wrap her fingers around his elbow, and gently move the limb up to give her the room she needed to push away.

Next, she untangled her legs and with all her limbs free she propped herself up and pressed a palm into her forehead with a hiss. Her fingers twitched and her eyes widened suddenly as they narrowed onto her palm.

This again?!

Alter pressed her lips into a line and squeezed her eyes shut again shaking her head, pressing her palm even harder against her forehead.

Stay focused.

She grit her teeth and finally, that feeling faded and she took another deep breath. Her eyes flicked over to Ritsuka's sleeping form. His button-up was disheveled, his tie had practically fallen off and wrinkles covered what was once an elegant part of the suit's attire.

Alter, even as shifted to sit up, felt her dress slide down to her hips. She turned beet red as if expecting her luck to worsen and it would turn out such that her master didn't need her help and would wake up suddenly to see her. A thought she rightfully buried as quickly as it had come. With lips pressed into a line and blush-ridden cheeks, she reached down and pulled her dress back into place, retightening it over her chest.

I can change after.

Her lips twisted and she finally scooted towards the edge of the bed, reaching to grab Ritsuka by the shoulders, and turning him. She grunted as she turned him so his feet were dangling a bit off the bed, and making room for herself that hadn't existed before between him and the headboard. She was about to settle herself again when the bags in the room caught her eye.

Mash has chocolate.

Alter scooted herself off the bed and walked the long way around the room over to it, jogging the last two steps.

The young shielder had only a few bags like everyone else, so it didn't take that long to find the stash she was looking for. She pulled out a chocolate bar wrapper, that was more wrapper than candy now. Alter peeked inside to see what little of it was left that had already melted due to the usual summer heat from the day before. She couldn't resist testing a small taste of it, but she wrapped it up again and turned back to the bed.

Then all her only excuse was gone, and she was there beside him on the bed, sitting up on her knees, adjacent to him. Now that she was more awake, she could more keenly sense the mana flowing off her master. It was like a wave of heat that sent goosebumps up to her elbow as she reached out to touch his hair.

A sign that the magic circuits were at work. And that the magic is draining him of his usual daily amount to something less.

With a deep breath, she settled his head into her lap, holding him in place, touching her fingers to all the places around his skull that he'd said were important. His temples, behind his ears, and two gently touching his nose, that latter placement was not meant really to apply pressure. A thumb, near his lip with little bits of chocolate that she deemed necessary for the job. With one last slow breath.

Think of you?

Her lips twisted. "I wish you gave me a little more than that…" She looked off to the side, blushing again. She pressed her lips into a line and looked down at the strain on his sleeping form. "Okay…" Alter nodded again, "Okay."

She closed her eyes and started to think.

Both siblings often referred to thinking as a dangerous pastime, which even now the thought was almost enough for Alter's lips to twist into a nervous smile. The irony of how often the two of them had to think in order to help solve and plan their way out of catastrophic circumstances that seemed to haunt the two of them like a plague.

Alter had settled on her strongest memory of him. Or at least one of the few that she'd thought would be very important for the sake of simply trying to think of him. A shielder, a ruler, a young woman with orange hair, and a young man with black hair in contrast to her white, and sharp blue eyes, all walked into a broken throne room.

The warm breath of a large wyvern with heat waves coming from its mouth radiating as it was ready to fill the entire hall with a blaze of fire.

While the ruler and the shielder showed signs of fear, it wasn't fear that came from either of the siblings' eyes.

Certainly, the fear was present, for how could it not have been?

She was the dragon witch that nearly brought the end to France. Demon gods had backed her ascension and left her to rule the fief in their stead as they moved onto others.

Another form of abandonment.

Her lip twisted slightly at that, and her amber eyes opened, still looking down at him on the bed beside her. For the first time since she'd woken, she'd, at last, started to see a small sense of peace in his expression.

Gilles was already either dead or had likewise abandoned her.

But it wasn't fear.

There was only an expression of grim determination to greet her from his blue eyes and the way his jawline was tense. His blue eyes had only left her to inspect the wyvern at her side. It wasn't fear, at the size. There was only a calculation before his blue eyes came to rest on her. He seemed self-assured about something.

Even back then, her heart seemed to give out on something. A nerve in her had been struck as she realized these were no ordinary civilians or shadow servants, they were near ordinary people that were going to be coming for her.

And she'd realized who her true enemy was going to be.

It wasn't going to be that pathetic ruler, whose god had already abandoned the both of them. With only herself to be the one to take action about it. It couldn't be her. There was nothing to gain from her being her enemy. She would be defeated, destroyed, and obliterated to be lost from all corners of the throne. Forgotten as she should be with all the rest.

It wasn't going to be the Shielder, a girl who barely could stand upright at the sight of her. A girl who hadn't the experience to do anything to her.

No, it had to be him.

A nudge pulled him out of his equally measuring stare towards her, and he glanced at his sister.

She raised a brow at him, "The dragon or the witch?"

Alter's fingers had curled around the flagpole in one hand, the sword around the other. She would burn them both. But even she couldn't contain her anticipation as an evil smile came to her lips with bright and glowing amber eyes, already knowing exactly what his answer would be. It wouldn't disappoint her.

The young man huffed and stood up a little taller, and once again his blue eyes fell right back to her. But he was sure to let her know that he knew he was giving her exactly what she'd wanted. "The witch."

When the unthinkable had happened, and she'd lost, even in victory he was graceful. She lied still, beaten, armor cracked, flag blunted. Her breaths coming harder with each passing second. Much to the chagrin of the others, he'd held her hand even as she'd felt her legs and feet starting to disappear into golden shimmers of light. It was her death. That one permanent thing that greedily haunted all living things.

She wasn't like that ruler, where she had some important facets to history. She was a fictional counterfeit created for the sole purpose of destroying the world.

And loss meant only one certainty.

The others had chastised him for even near death, she had the strength to throw him hard enough to break his neck. Even still he'd gotten to his knees to hold her hand firmly. For just the barest of fractions of seconds. She'd considered doing just that, throwing him with all the remaining mana she'd had, and being around just long enough to watch his neck break against the stone all around them.

Only she didn't.

She could taste the blood in her mouth and on her lips, as she looked at him.

He smiled down at her.

A smile that was so stupid, so idiotic, that she felt an unknown pull at her heart. In it was an expression so utterly convincing, so utterly stupid, that it boggled her mind. She remembered her jaw must've dropped with surprise even as he intertwined their fingers.

All of what had put her there had left her.

"I'll stay with you." He promised.

She didn't cry, she was too absorbed in the shock of it. She'd heard other footsteps approaching, and even as they'd spoken, her eyes were still on those sharp blue ones.

"Well, she hasn't killed you yet little brother…" She trailed off, and suddenly her expression grew more somber as she seemed to take her in. As well as all the destruction that was around them. Her golden eyes came to rest on her, with a sharp clarity of understanding.

Amber eyes didn't leave his face though, now smudged with a few battle scars of his own. A burn underneath his chin, from one of her near misses when the shielder hadn't been close enough to stop her or save him.

For the novice mages she was promised they'd be, the easy kill stroke it could've been. He was more than willing to jump into action and move so she couldn't easily focus on him. It had been one of her fatal errors.

It was then, that Jeanne D'Arc had appeared gently resting a hand on Gudako's shoulder and settled herself opposite the young man holding her hand, resting on her knees. She removed the armor and glove covering her hand, before grabbing onto her other hand. She smiled at her. "You were right about a lot of it. But can't you see why you were wrong?"

Alter couldn't breathe or speak.

Any second now she thought.

It was a pathetic way to die, she thought. Lost to all, and cherished in her final moments by an enemy she'd only just moments ago tried to kill with all her might. Only it was in that, she found something completely unexpected. In that stupid idiotic smile of his, she wanted to ask him a question. A question only he would have been able to answer to her, to clarify for her, to enlighten her.

She needed to understand.

And she would do anything to understand.

Even if I have to help him save the world.

And in the eyes of a throne where heroes gathered, she was fiction no longer.

Her amber eyes opened to look down at him still cradled in her fingers on the bed of some damned replication of Hawaii. The sun was rising, and the light was poking through the edges of the curtains as she leaned over him. "Idiot," Alter muttered in a low growl noting that in vivid memory he'd been just as stubborn and stupid as he was now. He'd leapt to save himself as quickly and unthinkingly as he'd lept to save her.

The folds of her white hair fell around her as she leaned over him.

"Think of me."

"Idiot," she sniffed.

She grit her teeth as she sat waiting a few minutes longer, still holding him as close as she could manage, cradling him. Her hair and face were close enough to insulate the warm breaths that escaped their lips. Her fingers twitched nervously, but she kept them rooted firmly in place despite them.

Only you would've accidentally trapped yourself in a dream trying to help someone.

She would've ripped the sheets off in frustration if she didn't have to keep her fingers in place. Alter wanted to kick and scream it all out again. The stupidity of it all. The utter pointlessness was for someone to see a servant beyond a tool. The guilt she had in admitting to herself that she enjoyed the fact that he saw her as something else entirely. As someone, he could trust to keep him safe even after everything that had happened.

It would've been time to pause wondering if she'd had her answer. But she needed to focus on him still. So instead of thinking on the subject, she focused once more on a far more recent memory in the hopes that it would away the slow blur starting to overtake her vision. Unfortunately, it didn't.

"Can you believe this is reality?

Just you and me in light…"

Unlike the night before, her voice was broken and filled with all the cracks of stress. The words and melody were barely above that of a whisper. And it was all she could muster. As a pair of droplets hit the sheet, less than a centimeter away from his head. Her mind settled onto the more pleasant memory of holding onto him for a dance.

Come back to me.

Alter huffed out one last breath through gritted teeth, "Idiot." It was with that, that she decided not to leave anything to chance. Her nose brushed his cheek, as her hair fell like a curtain around them. She smeared chocolate in between his lips as she'd planned to do from the start and closed the gap, making sure it settled on his tongue even as she pressed hers in between his teeth. The taste of the melting chocolate sweet to her senses faded into something of an aftertaste of sugar and water. Like sweet nothing as it pulled she pulled at it hungrily from between his lips, a fervent addiction growing in an instant. The simple indisputable fact that she craved for more and pushed in further.

It was a one-sided kiss, as Alter held her lips firmly against his, her forehead and cheeks burning as she'd held him to her. Their foreheads brushing, the messy black hair ticking her just as her hair would probably have tickled him. She dared not come up for air as if afraid that it would ruin it. Her amber eyes stayed squeezed shut trying to prevent them from watering even more than they already have.

Her fingers were still pressed only in the spots that he'd directed her to, and she could feel them shaking.

Am I his anchor?

Her lungs felt as if they were starting to burn.

And doubt crept into the back of her mind.

Somewhere, the taste of chocolate had disappeared entirely. But Alter didn't care much for that anymore, her lips still clamping themselves against his, as her tongue brushed against his teeth. It was only then she started to belatedly realize with shock what she'd done. What she was in the process of doing. The shock of it sent chills through to her nerves. Even as her tongue rubbed against his, she almost jumped back with the same ferocity that had pulled her to him.

Her amber eyes bulged wide with surprise as she pulled away only slightly, knowing her cheeks were beet red, and that she wanted air inside enough to cool them. Her chest heaved as the air rushed in at the high demand she needed. The heat of her red blush stopped skyrocketing in an instant. She would've kept pulling away wanting to fall back. It was only through sheer will, that she managed to keep her trembling fingers in place on him.

Only she froze in place, words and thoughts failing her.

What was I thinking?!

The cascade failure was only worsened when she found equally wide blue eyes to be looking back up at her. A far deeper range of emotions in them than she'd expected from someone to just have been waking up.

Worse still his eyes held a hungry understanding.

Her fingers tensed at the implication. Alter let him go in an instant and intended to get away. Deciding the bathroom was probably the safest destination until she could collect herself. She managed to get her knees out from around him, her hands away from his face. Falling away like she'd wanted to earlier.

No…I…

Ritsuka's fingers grabbed her wrist which she was pulling away.

Her amber eyes widened. "Wait it's not what you thi-" Only she felt herself pulled right back towards him, and their lips crashed together again. "Mmmf!" Her eyes were still wide with shock only this time, she felt his other hand snake up behind her back, pressing her to him. Giving her no easy chance to run to the bathroom as she'd intended.

Seconds passed, and her brain at its crawling pace only then started to realize, as it was her turn. Her lips were parted for his tongue. But she didn't fight it, even as her cheeks began to burn even more, with heat slowly starting to trickle down to her core. The realization that her master had wanted to so fervently return what she'd accidentally done to him in spades sunk in with a haze-like fever. Her stiffness in his arms at the surprise faded away as quickly as her half-spoken excuse to try and get away.

And even with fried nerves, her fingers curled into his button-up shirt holding to him. She swung a leg over his chest, to straddle him beneath her. Her fingers pulled tightly enough now to pull him up towards her. Only for just a second giving in to her newfound hunger.

The alarm bells went off in the back of her head, as that ever-present fear started to trickle in as it always did. The damned thing worked like a fucking clock barreling into her very being.

Too warm.

She barely came up for breath, his lips fell to her neck.

Too warm!

Alter bit her lip, and suppressed the noise that threatened to come from her, slipping out only as a muffled moan as she felt him sit up beneath her. His other hand caressed her chin and pulled her lips back. Then his lips were on hers again. She was pushed up as he moved underneath her, until she was straight-backed, with an arm still pressing her to him. Lips never left for a moment, even as they were both sitting upright, and she'd slid onto his lap.

She watched him through that blurred haze she was still in, breaths coming in even heavier than before.

He paused, close enough that their noses were still touching and his blue eyes searched hers. One of the hands he'd used to push himself up was free again, and he wrapped it around her shaking fingers that were still holding onto his shirt. And with the other that had been wrapped around her back brushed her cheek.

The thumb brushed away the salty trail beneath her eye.

She could feel his warm breath on her, the sputtering of anxiety that scorched through her heart blazing its trail so loudly that if her master couldn't hear it thudding in his ears like she did, he could certainly feel it in her pulse from the fingers that his hand had wrapped carefully around.

Stupid.

The thought came beratingly directed at her, knowing exactly why he'd stopped and was content to just hold her.

Your fault.

Her face twisted as she tried to contain the rising emotional swell within her. It had all been too fast, the way she'd kissed him, and the way she'd been pulled right back in as he kissed her back. The anxiety that was now rippling through her as quickly as the hunger that had built up in her at wanting more.

She'd gone rigid again.

The hand on her cheek brushed away another stain.

Ritsuka tilted his head with a small smile. "I see you found a way to get me out?" He chuckled a little warm, inviting, and comforting all at once. He swallowed a little, either from nerves or the chocolate that was still in there.

Alter nodded numbly trying to ignore the fact her damned fingers were still shaking in his hand. She looked off to the side, realizing the blush on her face was only intensifying as she was getting lost in those deep ocean blue eyes that had captivated her many times before. Though back in those times, it had gone unnoticed.

His nose brushed hers again, moving to press his lips gently to hers, but this time, there was no prolongedness in it. It was something different, less hungry than before.

No.

The correction came almost instantly. She could feel the tenseness in him, the muscles underneath her grip on the shirt had tightened. The hand near his heart could feel it dancing faster like her own. From their proximity, as her eyes drifted away just to buy her seconds, she could see the tension lines traveling up his neck.

Restraint.

She bit her lip as Ritsuka pulled away, as she felt greed settle in next to the anxiety in her heart. It was so damned confusing as her needs fought each other for dominance. The need to push him back down to the bed or let him push her back down onto the bed. And that stupid primal fear that seemed to follow her even now.

Too warm.

The alarm bell went again.

He could see it too, as he patiently waited patiently, and brushed her cheek again.

She inhaled sharply with a sniff. "Sorry," Alter mumbled.

But it seemed that whether he was patient enough or if the fight in her would've settled, life had other plans.

A knock came from the door, one that shocked them both cold, but neither of them moved from their position.

Alter saw his face twist in what she could only describe as disappointment. At first, her stupid brain hounded her, saying that the feeling was obviously directed at her. But he put those fears to rest almost instantly with the low grin he managed to send her way.

"Saved by the bell." He said, his voice strained, deep, and filled with every ounce of want and hunger that had been there only seconds earlier. Nearly enough to send shivers up her back all over again. And with a visible effort that still made her heart flutter, both his hands and arms fell away as he leaned back against the bed. His smile was only matched by the own red flush that stained his cheeks.

And she was still in his lap.

It had come as her brain worked overdrive just to get the mental slap through to her to understand that fact. It must've been another full five seconds before she finally managed to slide away from him, to unfasten her legs from around his waist. Alter felt that warmth at least start to leave with his immediate proximity now pushed to a foot between them.

Ritsuka wiped his chin, and then cleared his throat of the sleep hoarseness that had followed him into the waking world. "I…really didn't expect that…" He mumbled more to himself than conversationally. His blue eyes flicked to her.

She was still in the bed with him and she almost flinched at the sudden attention again. "I…uh…" Alter brushed her fingers through her hair, tucking it behind her ear as she looked away. That red tint is still touching her from ear to ear. "I…was…trying to get it to work." She firmed. "I was…getting worried, because…I didn't know how long it was supposed to take…"

Her master straightened up a little.

Alter could only feel herself stiffen at that, wondering if this was where the verbal berating might come in. Some messages said that she didn't follow the instructions.

"It's okay…" He said.

Her amber eyes flicked to him again.

And once more a knock came from the door.

Alter glowered and huffed out a breath, straightening her purple dress again, as her eyes went to her clothes that had now been returned to the room. And then she looked back at him one last time, resenting the fact that the moment had well and truly passed. "I…I am going to go get ready…." Her voice came out more strained than she would've liked.

The bathroom is just down the hall.

Her fingers curled.

Go before you ruin anything else.

Shut up!

She pushed up and quickly gathered up the bag in her hand and jogged to the bathroom, scarcely sparring her master another glance as all those realizations slowly continued to sink in, now cemented in her memory. Alter almost slammed the door behind her with a lock clicking into place.

She barely managed to flick on one of the lights as the relief and exhaustion suddenly slammed into her. The bag dropped to the floor and she fell back against the closed door, sliding down to the cold tile floor only hoping it would help to dissipate the overheated feeling she was having. Alter squeezed her legs together in front of her and let out another breath.

With shaking hands, she brought one to cover her mouth, and with the other, she dug into the skin on the side of her face.

Stupid.

She almost huffed out a single laugh muffled between her fingers.

You idiot.

The pressure stopped, and her hand fell limp at her side, and with the distance now between them, the heat finally started to die away. The blush however remained, but she still managed a small smile into the light of the bathroom touching her lips.

He kissed me back.

###

Ritsuka fell into a brief puddle back into the bed as he heard the door close, and blew out a breath. The high of the moment fading as she retreated into the bathroom. He rested the back of his hand against his forehead and almost chuckled at the reaction.

Small fever. Sure.

He wanted to smile at that small thought. Thinking it encapsulated all of what he'd felt in those precious few seconds. The way he was trying to cope with it was by cracking a joke even in the confines of his head. The feeling slowly faded as the seconds ticked by and he sat up looking at his clothes still on the chair.

Then he belatedly remembered that someone was at their door. His eyes shifted to the clock.

Early morning.

He leaned back with a long stretch exercising the last sleep and soreness that plagued his muscles, and with it, that unresolved tension that still flowed through him, flattening out against the blankets with a heavy breath once more returning to that previous puddle, as the fluster in his cheeks were at last beginning to leave.

The door knocked again.

"Hold on a second I'm coming!" He raised his voice and hoped that they could hear him out there. With a huff, he propped himself back up, and with one last effort to push the lack of sleep away, he pressed his hands into his closed eyes and applied some pressure. "Guh, damn." Ritsuka, with finality, pushed himself off the bed and walked toward the front door. He dismissed the idea of getting dressed.

They've waited long enough.

His blue eyes flicked to the bathroom door, and then returned themselves to the front door and swung it open.

In the doorway stood his equally tired sister, Mash, Ushiwakamaru, and Edmond.

Mash slumped against Ushi, tiredly for support.

He smiled a little. "Good morning."

Gudako nodded, "Morning." She touched his shoulder. "Robin and Ibaraki will be down in ten to join us."

He nodded.

"S-Senpai…" Mash mumbled, still barely conscious.

And calling that conscious is probably not the best description.

Ushi smiled a little. "Ignore her, poor girl couldn't sleep with Marie crushing her in a hug half the night." She stepped in following the other's eyes darting around the room for the obvious person that was missing. "And, where is your sleeping partner for the night?"

Ritsuka's lip twitched and turned to hide his blush. "Getting ready for the day." He retreated back into the room trusting that one of them would close the door. "I'm waiting for my turn." It was an afterthought really, as he noted that the second bed was in perfect condition unused, saddled only with his overnight bag that had been settled on top of its comforter.

Alter's bed in contrast was a disheveled mess from the sheets to the comforter to the pillows.

His eyes narrowed a little.

Well, I've invited teasing and innuendos for the rest of the day with that oversight.

"Make yourselves at home…" He muttered a bit under his breath and moved to his night bag, and got to work getting his own change of clothes ready. Different from the ones that he'd left on the chair from the previous night.

Gudako smiled but said nothing at the sight of the different states of the two beds.

Unfortunately, that smile is more than enough.

His sister hummed. "Edmond and I are going to go investigate the cold sickness people have been getting. But before that, we should have a meeting and share some breakfast." She tilted her head a little, making way for Ushi to lay Mash down on the bed. "Do we still have free room service today thanks to Blackbeard? Or was that yesterday?"

Ritsuka stood up, throwing his Hawaiian shirt mystic code over his shoulder. "Yesterday I believe" With hands pressed on his hips.

Gudako hummed a little at that. "Damn,"

Ushi of course smirked at the sight of the two beds.

Teasing all day.

His lip twitched, but he firmed a nod. He walked over to the curtains and opened them for the sunlight to get into the room. Rituska glanced at Edmond.

He too smirked like Ushi, but more like his sister, he was quiet about it.

"Sleep well, master?" Ushi asked, the obvious bait still laying in wait.

Ritsuka fought to wince at the bright light of the sun that poured through the building in the morning. He even lifted a hand to shield his eyes so they could adjust faster. The added sunlight earned him a few groans from everyone else. If he hadn't done it to himself, he probably would've smiled at the quick change in subject the action brought. "What movies did you guys watch last night?"

Ushi adjusted Mash on the bed so that her face was still in the shadow of the partially opened curtains, "A few classics." She looked at Gudako and then shrugged. "So I'm told anyway."

Gudako nodded, "Classics. Wizard of Oz and slapstick Charlie Chaplin film…" Her lips curled briefly. "I don't know why we picked those though." She cleared her throat a little, moving away from the subject. "Alright, give us a few minutes to get settled."

The silence passed with all the grace of a car crashing through a department store, with Ushi planting herself firmly at the edge of the disheveled bed while a few of the room's chairs were organized into a semicircle at the side of the room. Leaving a wall open for sticky notes and other assorted things.

Ushi's smirk was wide for the first minute but faded as her mind went to the more important tasks of getting ready to talk both about the doujin and the other problems that had propped up. Edmond joined her, taking a seat beside her.

Ritsuka for his part waited with folded arms pacing back and forth along the carpet. His eyes flicked to Gudako as his sister hung up the phone.

"Robin will be down soon."

He nodded. "Then it's time we put our notes together.

"I couldn't agree more…" Alter said. She walked around the corner stretching her arms high above her head, even standing on her tippy toes, in the few rays of sunlight that managed to catch at the edge of the hall. The purple dress was gone, and in its place was her usual attire. The black and red swimwear spirit origin she'd arrived with. The black and red jacket hiding just enough skin to prevent Ritsuka from feeling desperate.

She smiled a little when she saw her master, smiled a little less when she saw where Ushi and Edmond were sitting.

Damn, that mix of sunlight and shadows-

He slammed himself on his forehead, knocking the beginnings of the daydream away. "Alright, my turn." Rituska plucked up this change of clothes and threw them over his shoulder. "Won't be long." He nodded to his sister, grinned at Alter as he passed, and slipped into the bathroom.

#

Ritsuka tugged at the hem of his blue flowered aloha mystic code. Straightening it around his neck. He noted that Robin and Ibaraki had yet to arrive, and for at least their conversation starter, it would probably be for the best that Ibaraki wasn't here.

Robin can be filled in later.

Then he cleared his throat. "First and foremost, let's discuss what will help us move forward. I've asked Ushi to teach Ibarkai how to help us with the doujins, and that won't come into play much until the next loop." He paced back and forth in front of the group with Gudako seated near him.

Edmond was sitting on the floor with one knee propped up for an arm to rest on, next to his sister in the chair.

Ushi was next to Alter on the disheveled bed.

And Mash was leaning up against the headboard, dark circles in her eyes.

Most of the gangs here.

Ushi smiled at him. "Indeed, we hope that it will remove her as a playing piece for whoever or whatever kept sending her after you Edmond."

The avenger servant nodded, tilting his head. "Which in turn permanently frees me up to continue my investigation." His lip twisted a little, "seeing as this is likely one of the only times I'll be with the group for the majority of the loop."

Gudako pressed her lips into a line. "To maintain appearances."

Alter sat up a little straighter, "Not necessarily. Since I found him in this loop, it stands to reason that I can bring you into the fold again. After all, Robin and everyone else here besides Edmond was purposefully left with the ability to remember each loop in sequence." Her amber eyes flicked to Gudako. "If I can do that hopefully semi-regularly. When we have free time away from the doujin."

His sister's lip twitched, a sign that she was hiding some of her emotions. Instead, he watched her turn to her boyfriend. "Edmond?" she asked.

Edmond's brows knitted together in thought, clearly weighing his options.

Gudako could have ordered him one way or the other of course, but they were unorthodox masters from the beginning. It was clear that she wanted it to be a joint decision.

The avenger looked up at her, and then back to Alter. "Okay," He agreed. "But you found me on day four." He leaned forward a bit scooched himself back up against the bed straightening his back out. "You knew where I was going to be, so it stands to reason if you grab me in the morning, which is about the time I arrive at the market. So we can meet up there rather than late afternoon."

Gudako firmed her lips and nodded. "That also still gives us the first two days to work together, as you…typically left late on the second, or at the start of the third." Her eyes flicked to Ritsuka and she nodded to him firmly.

Mine and Alter's responsibility to get him.

He folded his arms. "Then the lack of Ibaraki stuff has been well and truly settled for the foreseeable future." Ritsuka paced towards the door, checking his watch. "Let's save the rest for our two love birds so that way we can avoid repeating ourselves for the rest of it."

Alter nodded, standing up, "Master and I will place an order downstairs in the kitchen for breakfast?"

He glanced at Gudako.

She waved him off with a small smirk. "Go,"

Ushi stretched her arms, her smile turning into a smirk. "Are you sure you don't want me to tag along Alter?

Oh boy. This is going to get out of hand quickly.

Alter had turned beat red belatedly realizing that she'd preemptively excluded everyone from her invitation. Before Ritsuka could even answer, her voice and reply came out both flustered and frustrated. "I guess, you could come if you want." She looked away, not willing to meet anyone's eyes.

It was all that rider turned summer assassin needed. Ushi grinned and jumped from the bed, wrapping an arm around Alter. "You know I think it's wonderful you want to spend so much time with your master."

The summer berserker looked away from her even as their shoulders were crushed together. "Ugh." Her sigh came out both disgusted at their proximity and the frustration that was only growing.

Ritsuka pressed his lips together. "Ushi?" Trying one of his more patient tones rather than his own frustrated one.

She laid off and backed away. "What? If she wants you all to herself she can have you." Her lips twisted into a grin. "I'm just trying to get her to admit it."

"Guh, Fuck off harlot," Alter muttered out between breaths. But it lacked the usual venom and spite that she often poured into her insults. So much so that even Mash in her tired state noticed, turning from her spot on the headboard to watch the scene unfolding even more clearly. Her amber eyes flicked to her sword belt and strapped it around her waist.

Even as Alter's face started to redden she turned towards the door.

Ritsuka sighed and glanced at Ushi. "Alright, we are on a breakfast run. Does anyone want any special orders? Or shall I be getting the same we got last time?" He pointed at Gudako and Edmond. "And you weren't here."

Gudako nodded, "You know exactly what I want, but I think I want an extra side of fruit."

He nodded. "Edmond?"

The avenger's lip curled. "Well, I may as well try the breakfast burrito I'm constantly being harassed about at Chaldea."

Ritsuka grinned. "Anything else?"

Mash's voice came hoarse and exhausted from the back. "Coffee, large, strong, one creamer."

His eyes widened a bit at that knowing Mash's history with coffee being she hated the bitter taste and needed it with too much creamer and too much sugar to even taste the coffee. "That's a bad sign if I've ever heard one." Ritsuka glanced at the door knowing Alter was still waiting for him now.

She was, with folded arms, and a pout to match the red blush on her cheeks. Though it seemed to lessen a little when she saw him looking up at her.

Ritsuka sighed, "Alight, be back. Don't burn the building down."

"Yet," Ushi said with a smile.

With the keycard in hand, he tucked it away into his pocket and followed Alter who was waiting just outside the door in the hall, and soon enough it was just them as the door closed.

There was, Ritsuka noted, that present burning intensity still lingering on her cheeks as she refused to meet his eyes even as they started walking towards the elevator together. It was enough that despite his amused smile, he reached over and grabbed her hand. "Well, you got me to yourself."

She swiveled around to look at him mouth agape, blushing only growing more intense.

She's gotta have the most beautiful blush in the world.

Her lips twisted into a sadistic grin, one that he'd grown intently familiar with as it often preceded revenge tactics and or goal-oriented gestures. Somehow with that sinking feeling, he suspected it was going to be both.

In an instant, he felt tugged by their linked fingers down, right into her lips where their noses and faces otherwise bumped awkwardly together. Then even before he'd finished registering the fact of her kiss, she pushed him away.

Alter's intense blush was still present, but her grin only grew wider as she saw him.

Ritsuka could feel the heat swell from ear to ear on him too.

"A-all to myself." She repeated, with a widening almost triumphant smile. Her voice with only just the barest hints of nervousness with it. She went ahead a few steps pulling him behind her and pressed the elevator button.

For him, it was enough to kick his stupid brain into overdrive. The urge to push her up against the wall came barreling through the forefront of his mind. His eyes flicked over to her and he could see that sadistic smile fade into something more genuine.

Just a simple smile, one that stuck around to mark her contentment.

The same smile that had made him lose track and thought of all time and sense the night before when they were dancing. His heart thudded in his chest as he imagined once more pushing her up against the wall. The taste of her lips against his was now only reinforced by the quick surprise she'd pulled on him.

And like a splash of cold water, the elevator door opened. With someone waiting inside, not another servant. Just some random person who was replicated into the loop of Hawaii.

He felt pulled in to stand beside her, opposite the person that was already in the elevator. Switching gears, mental gears as the awkwardly quiet elevator ride stretched out until they reached the bottom floor.

The only thing that would make this more comical is elevator music.

His thoughts were dry in the tone he would've used if he'd said it out loud.

Alter tugged at his arm again. "S-sorry." She whispered back up to him.

His brows knitted together with confusion and that confusion only cleared when he saw the eyes that looked up at him.

That same ever-present fear that he'd seen in them earlier, that had convinced him, just enough to pull him away from the edge and that they needed to slow it down before things got too intense for her to deal with.

The elevator door slipped open, and the person walked out.

There were still three more floors to go.

Ritsuka shook his head, "Alter, there is no need to apologize." He firmed his grip on her hand and brought it to his lips. He kissed all five of her knuckles before speaking again. "We will go at the pace you are comfortable with." He leaned back a little, his other hand wrapping around her forearm as he pressed his lips to her wrist beneath the palm.

Her lip trembled, a little. "Thanks," she muttered.

A beat of silence passed, and then with a gentle tug, he lifted it pulling her into his arms and against his chest.

Alter's amber eyes went wide as she stumbled into him with a very red expression.

Red enough that it was almost enough to twitch his smile into a smirk, but he knew that if the smirk got loose, things would be very awkward for the next person to come into the elevator. Instead forcing the smirk away, made his lip twitch. And he pulled her hand over his shoulder, and through gritted teeth spoke with his voice growing a few shades deeper with hoarseness to mark the strain.

"Just know that while I wait for you, don't drive me up the wall…" He tried to smile. "It's hard enough as it is."

She sputtered over her words as her fingers curled into his shirt. Though suddenly, her expression filled with shame. "S-sorry…" Alter then unfurled her fingers palm against him and pushed away gently.

He let her arm and fingers slip through his hand.

Then she backed away.

There was a tonal shift between them now, and Rituska resisted the urge to frown at it. He didn't know what happened. His eyes narrowed a bit towards her, and he still reached to grab her hand, this time in less of the overt manner he did before. It was an offer.

Did I do something wrong?

His blue eyes flicked over to her, and she did accept the offer once again, intertwining their fingers. Since the offer was accepted, he found the voice to ask, "What is it Alter?"

"It's…" she frowned a little and shifted uncomfortably. "I…" Her voice trailed off again, this time for a much longer space. Her amber eyes flicked to the elevator number indicating that they would be arriving in only a few seconds. "Not right now."

He sighed a little, "We promised to be honest with each other."

"I know…" She said, "It's not a denial of your request…" Alter's lips quivered a little. Her eyes flicked up to him. "I promise we can talk about it when we are alone." She pulled his hand up to her cheek to rest his knuckles there. "Please…I…it's…harder for me to be open than you…and I'm already worried about…this! And other things and I just-"

He turned his hand so his cheek rested in her palm. "Okay," Ritsuka said with a nod. Then he straightened himself up again and nodded again. "Okay," The first had been one of tacit agreement, trusting her at her word. The second had been the one he managed to pour in every ounce of understanding that he could into a single word. "Later than," he agreed, offering her another small smile.

And the second one hadn't been a lie. He suspected what the problem was, and perhaps all the little things that fed into it. After all, he was her master. It was his responsibility to know his servants and what problems they had. And if no certain information was available, his job was to deduce or induce said information to the best of his ability.

He brushed his thumb into her hair and pulled her head a bit closer this time with all the gentle urgings he could muster. This time the kiss was gentle and nothing like the hot-blooded steamy ones that he'd experienced earlier.

A kiss to her forehead, just beneath the base of her hairline.

This close, he could see the unshed tears that had formed in her eyes. He pulled away as soon as he was done and her fingers followed his hand to the space between them.

"Thanks." Her voice filled the elevator again, with all the tired hoarseness that one would've expected to hear after shouting and screaming for long hours. Or tired from battle. Her fingers intertwined firmly.

He squeezed back, "Always." Ritsuka said.

#

Alter pressed her free hand to her forehead a little, as the elevator came to its final stop on the lobby floor. It was a meaningless attempt she knew at staving off the onslaught pouring through her mind.

Stupid dragon witch.

On the other side of it, was the positive way he'd responded, every single time she'd needed him to stop or understand. Her eyes flicked to him out of the corner of her eye, studying the way those blue eyes now left her and instead focused on the door that would soon be opening in front of them.

Does he know?

Her lips twisted a little at the thought.

I'm such a useless servant still.

I know.

Shut up.

She managed to smooth her expression a little, deciding to enjoy the light warmth between his hand, and her gloved one. Alter regretted that those kisses weren't directly on her knuckles, the barrier of her black glove having prevented that. It was a fact she decided she would die before ever saying it out loud.

Finally, the confines of the elevator door slid open, and she shifted to move.

Only Mordred was there, in her tux and a coffee cup in hand. She grinned at them warmly. "Morning boss." She chugged back a swig as she moved into the elevator as they passed out beside her.

Her master nodded, "Morning Mordred. Saw you fell asleep at the front desk last night."

She grinned, "Oh yeah I was wondering where you were off too since I didn't see you check back in with the others." The rebellious saber went to the back of the elevator and leaned against the rails. "Must've had a lot of fun!"

Ritsuka nodded, "Yep, lost track of time and everything." His blue eyes flicked to Alter, which unfortunately for her, was the last thing she'd wanted to happen.

Damn it!

Alter could feel the heat rising to her cheeks and huffed out a breath. She would've folded her arms but her hand was still in his. "Well, at least I'm not the one who got thrown off a stage yesterday when trying to subdue Medb."

He blinked, "I jumped actually."

"All the more stupid." She said, between the smile that she couldn't stop from forming.

He grinned back at her.

Mordred broke out with laughter, moving to press a button now that they were out of the elevator. "Ah, so you did go watch her sing last night." Her widening smile at Alter was only punctuated by the genuine excitement in her voice. "I'm sorry I missed it, I hear your voice knocked men off her feet."

Alter's grip firmed on Ritsuka's hand and she mumbled something.

Only her master's eyes narrowed a little towards her. "What was that?"

"Nothing," She turned to eye him. "Shut up."

Only the one that mattered.

Ritsuka chuckled a little.

Mordred paused, finger hovering above the elevator button. "Hey, uh? If you don't mind me asking, when are you performing again?" Suddenly all the boisterousness and bluster had vanished into something a bit more sheepish. "I was…thinking about taking Frankenstein to the Speakeasy….and I would feel more comfortable if I knew it was you there…" She scratched the back of her head.

Alter stared.

Did I hear that right?

She glanced at Ritsuka.

He, unlike her, didn't seem surprised at all. He turned to her and raised a brow.

Damn it. DAMN IT.

Rirtsuka raised a brow at her. "Well, I have to admit, I'm still curious about your next night as a songstress as well?"

Alter looked away from him, trying to stave off the onrush of emotions once again. She took a breath and shook her head. "Well, I can't until next week…" Her lip twisted a little as she looked back at Ritsuka. Wanting him to handle the rest of the conversation between handling her own emotions and coming up with an excuse…

The loop ends.

His blue eyes flashed with understanding and he gave a nod. "Well, in that case, next week." He turned to Mordred, ever her tactful master, and smiled. "When she's got it scheduled I can come find you and give you the time and date?"

Mordred smiled, "Great, thanks!" Her toothy grin turned to Atler. "I can't wait, you were all the talk from your sister and Marie today at the cafeteria." She pressed her button. "Have a great day you two! Maybe I'll see ya at Servfest this weekend." At last, the rebellious knight backed away from the door and allowed it to close.

Ritsuka huffed as the door closed. "Well, we both know we'll run into you long before that while we stay here."

"I suppose." She agreed. "Have a good-"

And the door closed at last, and Ritsuka firmed her grip on Alter.

The motion pulled her from her nerve-wracked thoughts to her master. Alter cleared her throat, "Yes?"

"Is it okay if I invite them during the next loop?"

She stared at him.

He can't be serious? He-. He actually wants me to sing again?

Her mouth dropped open, "I…will we even have the time?" Her eyes narrowed and she scratched the back of her head. "I mean…we've got so much on our plate as it is-" She stopped as once again a few warm chuckles escaped from his lips, and he moved his arm to intertwine it with hers more firmly.

"Alter, of course, we can make the time." He tilted his head a little. "I mean, we are going to have far more time next loop than this one where we'll have to crash course everything to even put in an attempted finish product. One that I hope will convince whoever's watching that it's still our group's sole focus."

Alter's blush was still there, and she pressed her lips into a line to avoid any more nervous sputtering.

How does he always manage to do that?

"How about this…" Ritsuka scratched the back of his head, as they finally turned towards the Cafeteria to place their breakfast orders. "What if I also sing a song or two?"

Her eyes widened and she turned to him, "You can sing?!" Alter's mouth had fallen open again, this time with shock. How could she have missed that about him?

He was quick to shake his head. "No, no not like that. I mean I'll sing during the Karaoke time before the actual performances start." Ritsuka pocketed his free hand as they climbed up the steps. "I'm certainly not good enough to be an evening lounge singer. Let alone open for a songstress such as yourself."

Her lip twitched, as even while the blush of her cheeks finally started to fade away again. She eyed him and then looked away. She wanted to say no as clearly it was probably uncomfortable for him.

But damn I want to hear him sing.

She bit her lip.

This whole thing was so stupid.

Ritsuka waited patiently for her to answer, deciding to leave the ultimate choice up to her. And as if sensing her thoughts, his voice broke her from her concentration again. "Remember, I volunteered to return the favor. If I can make just the one right girl either laugh or swoon from my song…" He winked at her. "I'll say I did a good job."

Her brow twitched this time as she felt the red right up through her nose to the base of her amber eyes.

He heard that?!

Alter slammed her free palm into her forehead again hoping to both hide her face, and knock some of that rushing hot air away from her head. The only comfort was that his fingers wrapped tightly around her hand still. She shook her head with a hum and finally pulled herself up and out of it. "L-let's just get everyone breakfast."

She took the lead with that, and jogged them both up and into the cafeteria section. Her amber eyes lingered on the table where they shared their first shake together. The thought of him leaning in close so their noses were touching-

Stop it.

The summer berserker shook her head as she felt Ritsuka take the partial lead towards the counter. She paused to look up at the menu. "What should we get for breakfast?"

"I'm thinking waffles and pancake stacks…" His brow furrowed a little. "A little bit of everything really. Outside of the particular orders like breakfast burritos and my picky sister's eating habits."

She scoffed, "Those two should really have widened their pallet a bit so we could've just made general orders…"

He hummed and gestured to the counter "After you Alter."

That was enough to bring a small smile to her lips. "Okay, I won't be long…I think I know what Ushi and Mash want." Her lip twisted a little as her mind went to those that were absent when they were deciding on breakfast. "I'm not sure about Ibaraki and Robin though…"

Ritsuka nodded. "Ibaraki likes sweets, I'll get her some banana chocolate pancakes. Robin will probably just want a coffee to go along with a general order."

Alter glanced at him for a second, and a small smile touched her lip.

He tries to do his best to keep track of everyone's habits…

Her fingers tightened over his knuckles. "I'm not sure I want a whole drink to myself…" She trailed off a bit looking at him.

His blue eyes bored into her for a moment, and finally, a smile appeared with his understanding. "Want to split something then?"

Alter nodded a small smile to match his coming to her lips. "I think I'd like that."

###

The hotel room was now messy, spread out with the plastic boxes that restaurants often give to people in order to take leftovers home. Empty cups of coffee, orange and apple juice, used napkins, and plastic wrappings for the throwaway silverware also littered the room. Passed out equally between the two beds and on the floor where all the familiar faces that Ritsuka had gotten used to seeing on a near daily basis. His blue eyes flicked to the newest more permanent additions, Edmond and Ibaraki.

Thankfully the tension that had been between them last night, had subsided either due to the direct actions of his sister and Robin, or perhaps the amount of time they'd subsequently been forced to share in the same room together. From movie night in Jeanne and Marie's room, or the speakeasy before that.

The two of them chatted with one another having elected to share the floor between the beds, with Robin taking a seat at Ibraki's side, still trying to help smooth things over, and perhaps give Ibaraki some much-needed affection that the oni was clearly craving.

To the bed on the right, near the window, with parted curtains still sat a sleeping Mash, who'd eaten her food, and immediately once again conked out against the pillow, the even pattern of her breathing speaking to him that she was at least having a pleasant dream. Her coffee stuffed into a thermos to keep it warm for when she was finally roused from whatever sleep she was desperately trying to catch up on.

Jeanne Alter and Ushiwakamaru mostly sat at the end of the other bed, which Alter had, in their time since bringing food back, tried to fix and make. It was, rather noticeably, not up to the standards of the hotel. It was clear though after a few attempts at making conversation and Alter's blushing expression, that she was not going to stay in her spot at the end of the bed.

In the corner of the room, at a small round table with three chairs, one pulled out, not sitting to face the other on the table but rather empty and situated beside him.

Gudako frowned a little at him, "I think you were right."

Ritsuka blinked, and looked up, "About what?"

She nodded in the direction of the others, "What we talked about yesterday after our early morning run. At Emiya's."

"Ah…" He nodded once. "She is…doing better." Ritsuka's lip twitched a little, into a small smile. "But as I said, it's going to take time."

"Like it did for us?" Gudako suggested.

He almost snorted, "What? You and me? We're the picture of good health." Ritsuka smirked a little behind his drink.

She snorted at that too but in very much the same way he did. There was a little hint of pain in her expression that followed the humor. Gudako still managed to smile at him when the emotion passed and gave him a nod. "Good job, I hope you both manage to work it out."

Hope…

"We will." Ritsuka tilted his head and dared a small smile. It was an intoxicating thing to hope he knew. But just this once he wanted to. It was one of the few positive things they both had going for them in their lives. "I hope…" He admitted more quietly. Then his voice came out more firmly. "And I actually think we can."

Gudako stared at him for a moment longer, and her smile widened. "So is it official then?" She raised a brow.

He tilted his head with a huff. "I think at this point it is…considering what happened this morning." Ritsuka almost froze like a deer in headlights realizing almost belatedly as he tensed up that that last part had been said out loud. His blue eyes flicked from the drink on his lips, to his sister sitting across from her.

Her eyes went equally wide as he filled with surprise, then after a flick of her eyes to the others that occupied the room. She dared a smirk as she leaned over the table a little. Ritsuka also got the impression she was crossing her legs underneath the table too. "Oh? What happened this morning?"

Damn it. I need to watch my stupid mouth.

Ritsuka's lip twitched.

And his sister, now watching him like a hawk, noticed, eyes practically darting to the small movement before going back to intake the rest of his features.

He took a slow breath. "Well, you know how I mentioned I got trapped in a dream incantation spell?"

Gudako's brows furrowed a little, and he could still further detect the worry beneath her expression at the fact he'd done it by accident. "You said that you shared dreams with Alter too…" Her lips compressed. "Help her?"

"Well that is true…but…do you remember the basic sensory stuff we need to pull ourselves out of it?" He raised a brow, trying and hoping that the blush hadn't spread across his face ear to ear. But judging by the amusement that was starting to slip into his sister's expression, he was clearly failing.

She stared at him.

"Well, she decided that she…wanted to kiss me after pushing the chocolate into my mouth…" He trailed off and kicked back his caffeinated chai latte hoping that it would be enough to save him from any further embarrassment.

Gudako stared at him, a small blush forming on her own at the imagination she had. "That's uh…" She folded her arms. "That's romantic…" She trailed off again as if trying to find the right words and then her eyes narrowed. "Like a peck… on the lips?"

He huffed out a smile that faded quickly. And then again with a small chuckle. "No. Not a quick peck."

"Oh…" Gudako said wide-eyed. "But that's…" Her golden eyes flicked over to the summer berserker in question, and then back to him. "Is she happy with the result?"

Ritsuka set the drink down, "As far as I can tell?" He tilted his lips from side to side. "Yes…but remember how I said, she's got a lot of problems that she's trying to deal with yesterday?"

She nodded.

"I think it's…giving her more anxiety than it is…making her feel good." He wrinkled his nose. "Perhaps it's doing a lot of both." He leaned back into his chair as the awkward part for him was done and breathed a small sigh of relief.

Gudako tilted her head, "Well, being woken up by a chocolate and a long french kiss…" Her lip twitched. "I can't say I've ever experienced that one…" She glanced over at Edmond with a look that Ritsuka could only call curiosity mixed with hunger. "Guess, I'll have to add that one to the bucket list."

He groaned at that. "Please don't…"

She giggled a little at him for it and took a sip of her own drink. "What about…exotic locales for your imagination?"

"Stop it." He resisted the urge to cover his face. "You're my sister, why the hell are you so curious about it?"

"I'm your sister, it's pretty much in the job description for light tormenting." This time her grin was smaller and more genuine as she settled her drink back down onto the table. She tried to keep a straight face at him.

He tried to keep his too.

And they both broke down into some low chuckles between them and at some point, one of them slapped the table lightly between them.

Ritsuka could feel the water in his eyes, "Yeah, you had me there."

There was a more content silence that followed, like the whole disaster at Chaldea, the singularities had all fallen away as distant memories. Like they were truly just on some little vacation with friends, romantic interests, and partners. For just a brief second there was no threat to the world, and no work to be done.

Just two of them, as it had been in childhood, novice mages against the world.

Ironic that it doesn't feel much different.

His eyes flicked to Alter, the summer berserker groaning at something Ushiwakamru had said, something that had been enough to stand her up and turn around to face the summer assassin still seated on the bed.

Only now, we have others to help us.

Gudako seemed to snap out of the content first. It was to be expected, she was the older sister if only by a few seconds. Her lips compressed as she grew serious. "We should talk about our tasks soon." She looked over her shoulder at Mash. "But let's wait another few minutes, that poor girl realistically needs a few more hours."

At that, he could only nod his agreement. "She can stay with us, while we work on our doujin. It will probably make things more comfortable for Ushi and Alter anyway. So Ushi isn't a blatant third wheel, and so she won't focus on trying to make a berserker blush angrily every five minutes with constant teasing."

His sister tapped a few fingers against the table, and her lips curled in thought, and then nodded. "Want me to take Robin and Ibaraki then?"

Ritsuka nodded. "It would be easier that way. Ibaraki won't have the time to learn how to help us, and retain it for long enough for it to be impactful…" He tilted his head. "Unlike, however, when we start the next loop, she can be with us from the very beginning." He tapped his fingers. "Plus it would be best to get Edmond used to working with her."

Gudako nodded slowly, her lip curling with thought. Then she sat up a bit straighter and whispered. "Incoming."

He frowned a little, only out of his vision he saw Alter plop into the empty chair beside him. Immediately his eyes flicked to her.

She had a deep red blush coating her from ear to ear. Alter reached over to snag the latte cupped in his hand on the table, that they were still both theoretically supposed to be sharing, and chugged a few gulps down for herself. It was only after she finished, and set the cup back down, did she spare him a look.

He could hear and see Ushi snickering from her side of the room as the summer assassin got to her feet and made her way to the bathroom.

Ritsuka's lip twitched, "How much does she know?"

Alter folded her arms with a huff. "Enough," She glared at Gudako still sitting across the table from him.

His sister only raised a brow at her glare and quietly took a sip of her drink.

It was clear she got the hint, but it was clear she wanted to bask in Alter's discomfort for a little bit longer.

"Good morning Alter, it's good to see you." She raised her brow more than at him as if daring him to say or do anything that would stop her.

For his part, Ritsuka only carefully considered, his lip twitched. "Remember what I said?"

Gudako paused, and then whatever mischievous idea she had planned seemed to dissipate into understanding. Her golden eyes fell back to the summer berserker. Her voice came out genuine. "I'm happy for you two…" She stood up and took her cue to leave. "Just don't break my stupid brother's heart."

Alter's jaw dropped as she gapped at her. "I…it wasn't. I didn't mean-"

Ritsuka grabbed her hand, he gave it a firm squeeze. "Alter, it's okay. We're okay."

Her eyes swiveled to him wide and filled with all the jumbled emotions that threatened to spill out sputtering.

Gudako walked passed and placed a hand on Alter's shoulder.

Her amber eyes swiveled up to her.

His sister gave her a small smile, one that conveyed all the hopes and true feelings despite all the teasing that they'd both grown very accustomed to. Gudako's lips opened, and then promptly closed once again before she settled on what she wanted to say to her. "Just take care of each other." She gave her a single nod and then glanced back at her brother over her shoulder. "Five minutes."

Ritsuka nodded his agreement, "Five minutes." He watched his sister a second longer watching her join the group that had formed in the small walk space between the two beds all gathered on the floor. Leaving Alter at his side at the corner table.

He turned his full attention to her, he offered her the caffeinated drink again.

She eyed it for a couple of seconds and this time gently plucked it from his fingers. "Sorry, I…Ushi was saying stupid things and she was getting on my nerves." Alter looked at him, and then took a sip from the drink.

Rituska nodded in understanding.

Does she just want to be comforted?

He firmed his grip on the hands they shared between the chairs. "Well, she does like to get her kicks at our expense I suppose." Ritsuka chuckled into the warm atmosphere between them. "Did you enjoy your breakfast?"

She pushed her lips together in thought. "I thought it tasted…good." Alter smiled at him. It was all he needed to know that, like him, she was remembering their long conversation over eating food simply for the fun of it. And now it was another small thing she could add to the list of things she liked to do.

#

"Redirect your impulsiveness."

Once again Marie's words reverberated through her mind as she looked up at him again from behind the drink she'd pressed to her lips. She squeezed his hand firmly back, wanting to bask in the calm feeling that was starting to settle over her. Alter leaned a little back into her chair and finally managed to tear her eyes away from him.

But the food really did taste pleasant.

A part of her wondered if he thought about their discussion outside Servfest near the food trucks in the last loop had come to his mind as well.

It probably did.

Her lips twisted a little. "Don't think it changes anything though…" She brushed her hair behind her ear. "I still don't need to eat." It was almost instinct she realized with widening amber eyes to almost mirror the surprise in his blue ones. She looked away again, "A-and don't tell me that because almost every servant does it that I have to either."

What am I doing?

It was, like his surprise, a realization for her of what she was doing.

Why am I being difficult?!

He deserves better.

Shut up!

Her lip twitched as she looked away, noticing that he was still looking at her, and hadn't responded yet.

Why am I giving him a hard time?

Ritsuka huffed a quiet and single laugh. "I do admire your stubbornness, Alter." He brought her fingers to his lips and kissed the back of her knuckles again. In a way that was too perfectly reminiscent of what he'd done in the elevator. "Unfortunately for the both of us, I can be quite insistent and stubborn myself."

Alter could feel her cheeks warming again at the double-edged comments. Then she felt herself suddenly smirking at one of the meanings that had been baked into his comments. "I suppose that means we'll be eating together again?"

His smile twitched at the sudden change of demeanor, but it widened all the same. "Yes, I suppose it does."

Good.

Her blush faded into a smirk as she crossed her legs stretching over the back of her chair. Alter's fingers firmed their grip on his, and she brought the chai latte back to her lips. It was a small thing, but she saw him look at the small gap between their chairs, and then back up at the rest of the room.

"What did you think of our shared dream last night?"

Her lips pressed together, "I didn't think Mount Fuji was so cold…" Her lips twisted a little. "But admittedly, I was more interested in your academic career at the clock tower. Your social life and your relationship with your sister." Alter tilted her head not noticing she'd started listing things off. "Oh, your mom. Your mom was cool. Then there was the fighting class…" She trailed off when she heard the chuckles.

"Yes, that's why I took you to mount Fuji instead." He smirked a little at her.

Her amber eyes narrowed towards him.

Does he not want to share all that with me?

Ritsuka seemed to sense her sudden discomfort and added on. "You can just ask me about all of that, you know?" He tilted his head from side to side. "Besides, I think we needed a brief glimpse of something other than a sandy beach given how the last few months of our lives have gone…"

"Would you tell me if I asked?" Her voice was quiet. It was suddenly like her nerves were all going off at once wanting to hit her over the stupid question that had once again slipped out.

He paused and stared at her.

Stupid dragon witch.

"Of course, you need only ask. Me…or my sister." He nodded after the young woman who was sitting on Alter's empty bed, enjoying a conversation with the other servants. "And she will tell my embarrassing stories when I don't have the courage to." Ritsuka offered her a lopsided grin as he leaned away and held his hand back out towards her.

Alter stared at it quietly, and then pushed the latte back between his fingers. The urge to lean into his touch was there, one that she suppressed a little. "I've made a few notes for myself regarding a…future doujin." The words came from her mouth almost unbidden. But she steeled herself with a deep breath. Her amber eyes flicked up to him, "I…don't want to do it yet…I…think I want to be better at doujin work first."

Ritsuka raised a brow at her, "So not even a full loop like the next one?" His brows furrowed a little. "Well, what if we solve this thing and beat it in the next loop?"

She shrugged, "Then, I'll make it properly…like whenever we have this contest again."

He hummed, "Do I at least get to hear the premise?"

Alter hesitated, biting her lip. "Well…it's going to be about a monster…" She could feel her lips twitch at that small answer. The other words however got stuck in her throat. "I…figured out how to make the monster…" She shook her head. "No, I mean I figured out the monster's origins for the story…" Alter trailed off a little, looking away, realizing that she really didn't have much more than that. "That's… all I've got for now."

Ritsuka watched her and nodded once. "I made some progress on the manuscript I took from your scrapped ideas."

Her eyes narrowed and her nose wrinkled. "You're still working on that?!" Alter turned to look back at him. "I told you that those ideas were stupid and a waste of time."

He shrugged. "I don't think so. You seemed pretty passionate about them…"

"That was before-..." she gritted her teeth and with her free hand, tucked her hair back behind her ear. "Ugh…" An exasperated sigh escaped her lips.

His small chuckles filled that quiet between them. "Have a little more faith in your ideas Alter." Ritsuka grinned a little at the comment. "I didn't think they were all that bad."

"Servfest proved that they were horrible ideas." She ground out looking away from him.

She felt him shrug his shoulders again, "We were just starting out back than Alter. Of course, it failed because we didn't have the skill set we needed to revise the story and make it work better. And our editing was subpar at best…"

Alter huffed, "I suppose."

Ritsuka took a swig from their latte and settled a little more into the chair. "Get any wind of what the doujin Ushi and Mash have been working on for this particular loop?"

"N-not really…" She felt the sudden urge to shrink into herself, nearly wincing at the sound of her own voice. "I…haven't exactly been around to pick up the details." With her other hand, she flicked her own thigh wondering if it would help.

Your fault.

It didn't.

Amber eyes flicked back up to him, suddenly interest filling her expression. "Why don't you want to tell me about your life at the clock tower?"

He blinked in surprise, and then his lips widened into a small smile. "I wish I could do that…"

She blushed, "I mean…you brought it up…"

"No, I mean your ability to switch from topics quickly." He smiled a little. "I mean, I wish I could keep up with you on it sometimes."

Alter felt herself go rigid at the comment. Her lips compressed and she resisted the urge to press a palm into her forehead was also the problem as she slowly realized that this was probably the only time her master had bothered to comment on the fact. It was obvious that her stupid berserker enhancement was the probable cause of it.

Ritsuka nudged her. "Don't overthink it…" He eyed her pointedly.

Her lips twisted a little with embarrassment.

Such a mess of a servant.

Alter shook her head, "You are right to bring it up though…between that, and everything else that's happening… I should try to keep track of it more." Her lips compressed lightly and once again she could feel the nerves of her fingers tucked warmly in his hand betray that feeling away even more.

His laughter brought her attention back to him. "I think we have a lot more pressing matters to worry about before we even start worrying about your berserker enhancement." He held his grin a minute longer and was about to continue when he caught his sister's eyes looking pointedly at him from across the room. Ritsuka hummed, "I'll talk about my time at the clock tower when we have our private chat later. And if not then, sometime soon after."

It wasn't the reminder of the conversation itself that bothered her, but the subject matter. Her lips twisted with thought. Her eyes darted away as once again she could feel her frayed nerves running in a chill up her spine. "I…yes…that will work for me…" Alter shifted a little in her chair and moved to stand.

She moved to try and free her hand, only it didn't.

Amber eyes flicked to him, and found that her master had gotten up from his chair as well. He brought his other hand around and tucked her fingers snuggly between both of his hands. She felt her breath get caught in her throat.

Too warm.

Her lips quivered a little.

Ritsuka loosened only one shaking finger from his grasp, and kissed it gently. "You are worrying too much about it…remember, we are going at your pace." It was only then he let her hand fall away, to her side, and he let her go.

She breathed in and out slowly.

Stupid dragon witch.

GODS GIVE UP.

Alter bowed her head a quiet nod, her words of thanks dying in the lump that formed in her throat. "S-sorry," was all that she managed to say even as she backed away from him. But she did manage a small smile. One that she'd hoped would put his mind at ease for now so that he could focus on his job of being a Master of Chaldea.

He returned her smile with a nod and turned back to grab his coffee.

Alter spotted his sister moving across the room to where they'd started the first section of it earlier without Ibaraki. She moved to take her place at the foot of one of the beds.

###

"Senpai?" Mash's eyes narrowed a little with blurred vision; she was probably still trying to shake it off. Then with a light groan, she moved to sit up.

Ritsuka smiled a little, "Sorry to wake you, we are gonna start our little planning session." He proffered her the thermos holding the warm coffee she'd ordered in order to wake herself up more. "Your breakfast is also on the nightstand should you at any point feel hungry enough to eat a little."

The shielder hummed, rubbing sleep from her eyes with one hand, and with the other, on a second attempt, managed to snag the thermos from his grasp. She clicked it open and took a small sip of coffee to test it, then a gulp. "Thanks, master."

He nodded and stood back up to give the young woman her space to make herself comfortable.

Gudako raised her voice as he returned to the front of the room to join. "Alright, so the with Ushi and Mash having started this week's doujin for the contest, and it still being necessary to finish that in order to avoid rousing suspicion. We are going to split into two distinct teams." She raised a brow towards him.

Ritsuka fought the urge to smile a little. "Doujin team is going to be shrunk a little, down to me, Alter, Ushi and Mash. Since the four of us have the most experience, it stands to reason we can make a decently finished product by the time the date of Servfest comes around." His eyes flicked to Alter sitting on the bed.

She firmed a nod to him in understanding.

"Edmond and I, will take a look into the illnesses that people are coming to. It's too frequent to be random, and not frequent enough to be an actual pandemic." Gudako's lips curled a little, and her eyes went from Edmond to Robin and Ibaraki. "I think it would be best if the two of you joined us or found a way to track BB or Medb?"

Robin nodded. "We can do that…" He raised a brow to Ibaraki.

The oni was slower to answer, but compared to the nerves she must've had last night, Ritsuka could see something had settled in over her heart. "Yes, we can." She agreed. "I…may have an idea of where to start looking for BB…"

"Medb will be a fair bit harder," Ritsuka said. "She is the one that's going to possibly give us trouble in this loop considering what we did to her on the beach…She'll try to avoid us until she is ready to make a move against us. If she decides on a whim to do so at all." His lips curled with a sudden horrible thought and idea. It was almost enough to make him visibly wince. Her eyes flicked to Gudako as he'd finished wondering if she'd incidentally had the same thought.

It was clear after a second passed though, that she didn't and she met his eyes with a bit of confusion in her stare, seeing the expression form on his lips. "What is it?"

"A horrible idea of how we can keep an eye on Medb." He straightened up a little, bracing herself for the other reactions he knew were going to come. Alter's mostly. "We can use me as bait I think to draw her out. If not bait…I think she'd come to a meeting if I asked."

Something about Medb had changed, and she seemed to have fixated a little on me.

"Absolutely not!" Alter stood up. "Unless we can guarantee that she isn't under the influence of whatever runs the place, handing you over might be exactly what this thing wants!" Her fingers curled a little at her side. Even as all the eyes fell on her, she tried to ignore her warming cheeks keeping her eyes on him.

His lips pressed together.

Bad idea.

His sister was noticeably quiet for a moment, "On the last occasion she did make a play for you. And not a particularly subtle one…" She trailed off for a moment in thought.

"She did what?! I-"Alter glared at her, "Y-you can't possibly be considering this?!" She crossed the room and got right up into Gudako's personal space. "The risk is too much."

Whatever thoughts his sister was having left as she stiffened upright. "I am considering it," She said firmly. "I don't particularly like the idea of dangling my brother out for her as bait, but I cannot deny the feasible possibility that it might work!"

It is a really dumb idea that will work.

His lip twitched, "As I said, Alter, the point of this meeting is considerations and planning." Ritsuka tried to brace himself again. "If it helps I would probably ask you and Ushi to track me down and follow us."

Her amber eyes fell to him, red-faced from embarrassment, but her determination was set into a firm expression despite it. She walked over to him now and gave him a light shove. "That stupid bitch queen is going to find a way to use it against us. She's good at her mind games and we would be offering her the biggest one of all." Alter poked his chest then. "You-" She cut herself off and looked at Gudako. "O-one of either of you."

Ushi spoke up. "I…have to agree with her Master. Medb is too unpredictable…"

Alter paused to look back at the assassin, her anger dissipating a little with the comment, and then she looked back at him and touched his sleeve. "Your safety has to be our number one concern…"

Ritsuka's fingers wrapped around the hand that touched him briefly and he nodded slowly. "I know, consider it a last resort option." Then he let go giving her what he hoped was all the assurance he could muster into his stare. Then his blue eyes flicked away and touched his chin for a moment. "I think it would work in any loop if we get that desperate. It's not something I would be all that eager to test either…" His blue eyes landed on Alter still hoping that she could feel all the understanding and sentiment coming from him.

She seemed to stiffen and looked away. A second later, Alter folded her arms and walked quietly back to the foot of her bed, and sat back down.

Gudako let out a tense breath but firmed a nod. "Labeled under possibility then. As a last resort." She paced a few steps from where she'd been standing, and then paced back. "We still don't have contact with Chaldea in order to get information regarding the rising illnesses around the city…which means we'll have to do it the old-fashioned way." Her eyes flicked to Edmond. "That will be our first priority."

"Stealing personal files from a hospital?" He asked and then he shrugged. "Can't be that hard. A few shadows in their security detail…otherwise we'll have to sneak in…"

Mash cleared her throat. "Why not go undercover with disguises?" She moved to sit up a little in the bed. "It's something Sherlock always does, and you won't have to be as careful with sneaking around if you are dressed like you are supposed to be there…"

She really is picking up on some of Sherlock's famous habits.

Edmond hummed. "I think we can do that…there's got to be some clothes and uniforms that are lying around somewhere we can sneak in to get."

Gudako smirked, "You dressed as a doctor…" She hummed. "I think I'm going to enjoy this."

Rituska cleared his throat, "Please talk about this after you are both alone." He shrugged a little and came forward. "Alright that divvy's up most of our work I think…for now, I believe it's best if we continue with comparing notes." His lips twisted a little. "Alter? You mentioned last night that you found Edmond because he was trying to track down BB?"

Once again the summer berserker stiffened upright. "Yes, uh?" Alter cleared her throat and her mind in an instant like she always did. "Marie put me on his trail as he'd been asking around for BB's whereabouts. It's what led me to the market and then the mountains where I brought Medea and Medusa with me."

Gudako nodded once, "And that's where you found all the Vorporeal chickens that have been terrorizing us?"

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ibaraki try to hide her immediate reaction to that realization of how the monsters in league with her had been found out and discovered. Robin however was quick to notice and pulled a little at her attention, whispering something quietly to her, to comfort her. In place of her expression came a small smile, and she smacked Robin on the shoulder.

Ritsuka's lip twitched and his eyes flicked to the one person who he wanted to comfort. His eyes flicked to Alter briefly as she was busy looking at Edmond. That same part of him that wanted to jump onto the stage as Alter was singing and swoop her off her feet was back. Just be close to her and hold her.

It was sadly the only thing he could think to do that might assure her that he really didn't want to be anywhere near Medb and that she was all that was on his mind now. Like a virus that spread through his entire system, his heart bouncing in his chest only growing in fervent tandem with the urge to cross the room and hold her.

Damn.

His lips twisted into a rye smile as he returned his attention back to the conversation.

I really am a goner.

With a slow, deep breath he managed to expunge most of those thoughts from his mind, his eyes bouncing away from Alter to Gudako.

His sister standing firmly still beside him with arms folded over her orange flowered aloha mystic code. Her ever observant golden eyes flicked to him only for a moment. Then back to Edmond still speaking and recounting his side of the events.

Ritsuka was just thankful he could put together the muddled details even though he didn't actually hear most of it.

"-and the nest in the underground is still untouched for the most part." Edmond hummed, "But yes at least the main nest of the Vorporeals was taken care of in the attack. The king was there and he acted almost like a suto servant with debuffing spells." His lips twisted a little in thought. "After asking Marie about BB's whereabouts…I only managed to find out that she's no longer a moon cancer like she was previously." He trailed off a little, turning the conversation back over to Alter.

Which brought his eyes back to the same Servant that was now always in his ever-present thoughts. He did a much better job of both keeping the cascading thoughts suppressed, however, and he managed that same curious and interested neutral it always was for conversations such as these. He smiled a little.

It's even more difficult to not focus on her now…

The summer berserker almost jumped suddenly, eyes darting to Ritsuka with shock. As a result, she sputtered at the start. "We-we don't…" Her amber eyes darted away to focus on Gudako who'd asked the question and tried again, clearing her throat. "We don't have anything tangible on her. If she's responsible for all of this she's done a good job of covering her tracks." Her eyes flicked back to him.

Ritsuka mentally winced wondering if she'd heard that so out of the corner of his eyes as he turned to his sister, he kept an eye on her.

She's fidgeting now.

With another deep breath, he focused on their bond with master and servant, imagining that thin blurred line that his mom had taught him to keep with familiars. Like a tether between them. Once he could make it out clearly in his mind. He closed his eyes for a long blink of concentration. Whereas to everyone else they would only assume he was in deep thought.

For Alter, she stiffened upright again.

"Sorry." He sent a quiet whisper. "My fault. I didn't mean to use the pact like that unintentionally."

Alter seemed to relax a little. "I didn't realize that was you. I jumped because I thought something had gotten near you…"

He let the image fade and with it the direct connection, he smiled a little with relief.

So she hadn't heard it.

Her eyes flicked to him, and she returned a small smile as well.

Ritsuka gave her a single nod and glanced at Gudako, "Suggestions?"

Gudako nodded slowly. "We…are going to have to figure out a way to learn more about her." Her eyes flicked to Ritsuka for a second pressing her lips into a line considering. "Like Medb, since our tethers to a lot of our servants are either weaker or broken, BB is going to be harder to track down."

Ritsuka's brow furrowed a little now wanting to get his mind focused back on task. There was no better way to do that for him than to ask questions and find answers to them. "What class is BB? I got the distinct impression she wasn't one of the normal seven?"

He watched his sister consider. "If not Moon Cancer…" Gudako brushed her thumb against her lip. "Avenger maybe?" She looked over at Edmond.

The black avenger shrugged. "Couldn't tell as she's avoided me since I got here."

Alter's brow furrowed. "Maybe, but something's off about that."

It was then he remembered a chance meeting at the beach yesterday after a rocket screamed its brakes to avoid an impact. And rockets once again blasting off into the air. He stiffened, "What about a Foreigner?" His eyes flicked to Mash.

Despite the tiredness of their kohai's features, he saw a look of understanding dawn on her. "Heroine X," she said into the silence that followed.

The others all looked at her.

Mash cleared her throat after taking another sip from her coffee. "Senpai and I were at the beach yesterday when we encountered a familiar face. I trust you are all familiar with Heroine X? A servant that was hellbent on tracking down sabers to kill them in our brief encounter with her in a mini singularity?"

She continued after a round of nods. "She's here, I mean a part of this singularity who is going through loops much like we are…Only Heroine X isn't here for sabers, she's here for foreigners." Mash sat up again to sip her coffee, this time, her back flat against the headboard so she was up straight. "But after our brief talk with her, she went back on duty."

Robin leaned out from behind Ibaraki. "Does she…uh…" His question fumbled to a halt as everyone and he realized the specifics of the question that was about to slip out from between his lips. With a glance at Ibaraki, he continued perhaps just a bit more carefully. He coughed and shook his head. "I mean to ask how well she remembers us?"

Ritsuka looked at Mash as they exchanged glances. Then he turned back to Robin, "I believe she remembers us quite well from our previous encounters at Chaldea. But I think she might've had a bit too much alcohol to drink to remember us this time." His eyes then flicked pointedly at everyone across the room.

Gudako gave a slow nod. "A shame," she said. "Alright, we have our order of plans and investigations." She straightened up once again, arms folded. "Do we have anything else that we should discuss before we all go our separate ways?"

He thought for a moment, his lip twisting. "Perhaps timing…if we make any plans we discuss them in advance tonight and share further findings tonight." He straightened up, arms behind his back. "We'll need to act in coordination since there are so many moving pieces to this whole thing."

Ibaraki raised a hand. "I…have to admit, aren't we all going to return to Chaldea in a few days? Why are we putting so much effort into this…"

Robin frowned at her. "You don't know?"

She frowned. "Know what?"

The famous green archer looked up suddenly to Ritsuka.

His lip twisted as he looked down at her. Suddenly the air caught in his throat at the comment. The reason for the confusion is self-evident. His blue eyes flicked to Alter, then to Gudako. Slowly his eyes came back to the oni, a strained tension now touching his voice. "Ibaraki, this is a singularity that we are in. How come you didn't know that?"

She was at the briefing wasn't she with the rest of us at Chaldea?

Ibaraki's eyes widened. "What? A singularity?" She stiffened upright looking at Robin. "How-How is?" She blinked and then shook her head. "No, no it's not. All the servants are here on vacation and we're only here for a couple of weeks?"

All the eyes were on here now.

Gudako spoke next, "Yes, that's correct. But…remember we were sent here to deal with the easy singularity, collect the grail, and have a vacation while we are at it?" Her eyes flicked to her brother, lips compressed with worry before she turned back to Ibaraki. "You were there with us, Doctor Roman, and Davin-chi before we flew out over here.

Edmond smiled. "And we had to blindfold our masters too, lest we forget."

Ibaraki just stared at her. "I…remember getting my ticket, and then flying here…I met all of you at the airport didn't I?" The oni trailed off, falling into silence.

He clenched his teeth and looked away. It was about all Ritsuka could do to stave off the sudden dread. He cursed under his breath. The implications cascading through his life are a flood. "If," he breathed out slowly, "If you don't remember what do you remember before coming here for vacation?"

Ibaraki half smiled. "Well, I…" She blinked. "I…" Then that half smile faded as quickly as it had appeared on her lips. "I…don't…remember." She seemed to squint as if straining to remember something that must've only happened five days ago for her. "I think I remember using the Chaldea simulator before I got my ticket…" Even with that, she could feel the tension envelope her. Her eyes darted with worry to Robin. "Is that…different from what happened?"

The green archer wrapped an arm around her, hand pulling her closer at the waist. "Different enough I'm afraid." His lips twitched a little as he held her close.

And gone was the tool that had been used to kill Edmond, and gone was the brash oni that got into quick trouble. She allowed herself to be pressed into his shoulders and her eyes darted to the others in the room. "What's going on?!" She asked. "What does it mean? I…" She trailed off…again and her eyes fell back to Robin.

Ritsuka bit down on his lip to stop himself from saying anything. That didn't stop him from closing his eyes, wincing with a long deep breath. His eyes went to Gudako when he was done trying to soak the reaction in.

Her lips were compressed into a small frown, and her eyes were soft with sympathy. She returned the glance to him and stepped forward.

Robin's voice filled the room's quiet. "You're going to be okay." His grip tightened on her and he looked up at the others.

Ibaraki always had some self-confidence issues, in that regard she sometimes reminded him a little bit of how Jeanne Alter was. The difference between the two of them though was Alter was able to project confidence whether she was feeling it or not. It was only quiet moments where Alter often let her guard down.

The oni, however, was never that good at even projecting false confidence.

Mash hung her head from her spot on the mattress.

In a blink without realizing it, Ritsuka realized the dynamics of the room had shifted, Edmond and Gudako were sharing arms. Ushi had crossed the room to the other side of Ibaraki to grab her free hand.

That's when he felt a small tug on his sleeve.

Blue eyes flicked over to his left to find Alter standing there beside him, her fingers digging into his sleeve. She wanted to hold him in place with the way her amber eyes looked up at him. It was a question of asking something without the words leaving her mouth.

His lips twitched into a small, but sad smile, and he wrapped the arm around her, and he felt her wrap an arm around his waist in kind.

White hair rested on his shoulders, and he caught only a glimpse of her solemn expression. Her voice was low and he had to strain to hear it. "If she can't remember the briefing…" Her fingers almost pinched him at the waist as she pressed the two of them closer together. He could feel the tension in her muscles.

He nodded quietly, "I know."

Robin cleared his throat, speaking something else from the whispered comforts. "Gudako? I think you and Edmond should probably take the lead. I think Ibaraki and I will have to catch up with you later."

Ushi's fingers firmed on Ibaraki's hand. "Will you be okay?"

"I just…I don't know what's happening. You guys are scaring me and-" Ibaraki was interrupted by her sputtering. Then Robin kissed her forehead.

"I know, it's okay. I'll answer all the questions you have, okay?"

She nodded numbly into his shoulder.

Robin glanced at Ushi.

The summer assassin nodded and tightened her grip on Ibaraki's fingers for a second more before scooting away to give them space. "It's okay banana oni, we'll all still be here when you come back okay?"

Ritsuka cleared his throat. "Seriously, take the time you need to process." He nodded once. And he looked at Edmond and Gudako.

His sister nodded and tugged Edmond by the arms. "We'll get started, let us know when you're on the way. And if not, we should have a double date for lunch." She smacked Edmond backhanded in the shoulder. "If that's alright with you darling."

Edmond smirked at that. "Of course, I'd be delighted."

###

Robin and Ibaraki had left almost immediately after, he pulled her master aside to exchange a few small and quiet words with him as they walked to the front door. Ritsuka was pried carefully from her hold and she swallowed down all those stupid and dumb bitter feelings that rose up in her because of it.

Alter's lips twisted as she was left standing alone in the center of the room where both masters had stood only minutes earlier. Her amber eyes were on them as they talked even with the door open. From the expressions on the faces that she could see it was enough for her to know that it wasn't a pleasant discussion whatever it was. She silently cursed the fact that she was too damn far away to hear any of it.

Then an elbow nudged her ribs.

Amber eyes widened and darted to Ushiwakamaru.

The summer assassin smirked. "Don't stare too much, you'll start burning a hole into the back of your master's head.

Heat flushed her cheeks at the comment. Words and retorts piled into her throat only for Ushi to smack her in the shoulder as she turned away.

"Come on Alter, Mash and I should catch you up on our doujin work. In your absence." With hands on her hips, Ushi made her way across the room heading towards the stacks of paper on the desk.

She's right.

Alter took a deep breath.

Can't let all of them get to me.

The summer berserker stood in place a moment longer watching the assassin move the first stack of papers onto Mash's bed. With one last glance towards the door, she finally forced herself to take a step toward the other servants in the room. She shook her head and with the movement, the thoughts that preoccupied her mind drifted away.

She grabbed the other pile as Ushi started to spread some of their work out for her to see. Her lips twisted a little looking at the panels in question with furrowing brows.

It was Mash who spoke. "Obviously we typically leave the writing to you and our master, but we had to at least get the skeleton of the story down." The pink-haired shielder shifted forward and crossed her legs still nursing the coffee thermos.

Alters's eyes fixated on two characters that seemed to be recurring for most of the panel. She noted that they had the looks that took more after Achillies and Atalante than it did any other servants that came to mind. "A love story?" She raised a brow questioningly as her voice was tentative.

Mash hummed. "Not…entirely…more like racing rivals." She pushed forward one of their other panels. "We need some help with dialogue on this scene in particular."

The characters who were not Atalante and Achillies looked to be in a heated discussion with someone else growing more and more impatient with them in the background. The pair of them were in body-tight racing outfits that extenuated both Atalante's curves and Achillies's more broad shoulders.

Alter glanced at Ushi out of the corner of her eyes as she noticed that body suit detail.

Ushi just smiled at her.

She could still feel her lip twist a little at that. "Why the skin-tight bodysuits?"

The assassin shrugged, "because good looks can sell." She sat at the foot of the bed finishing spreading out a few more panels. "And I needed the practice for capturing 3D body dimensions in a 2D format." She sighed and waved the comment away. "Besides now I haven't had much time to work on it yet."

Alter's eyes narrowed towards her suspiciously.

She's plotting something, isn't she?

Her lips started to twist a little at the thought.

Mash moved along in the conversation unbeknownst to the glares, either too tired to notice or too focused on trying to share their vision. "In this scene, their mentor will break up the argument and force them to be partners in a race together."

The summer berserker frowned a little, "Partners how?"

Ushi grinned again, "Well mash had the brilliant idea of making it a space race between small craft. And for the race, they will be flying the same ship. Together." She glanced at Mash for a second and then her grin widened as she stared at Alter. "The idea was, they get into a lot of fights but if we stuck them into one place, both we as creators, and the mentor, they would eventually sort out their differences and learn to reconcile."

Alter stared at her, amber eyes narrowing in suspicion.

There is always a fucking catch with you isn't there?

The summer berserker stayed silent, almost daring Ushiwakamaru to draw any more real-world parallels that were liable to get her thrown off the balcony. Jeanne Alter's fingers twitched almost with anticipation as the summer assassin spoke again, wanting to feel the rush and relief of getting her out of her hair for even a few minutes.

Only Ushi barreled right through and past it. But that small smirk was still on her lips, a private message meant just for the two of them. "We hadn't decided yet on what the outcome of the race was going to be. We thought they would lose and come in second place. But the real victory would be for the two of them admitting they have feelings for one another." She scrolled through a few more panels.

Alter pressed her lips together, and had to force herself to take her eyes away from Ushi. She noted that some of the panels like the one she'd been shown, were highly detailed drafts, and others were still in the early stages with only sketches to mark the layout of what the panel's look would be.

Finally, she stopped on one panel of several ships stopped in an asteroid field.

It took a few seconds longer to take it all in. Alter stared at the detail of the starry night sky beyond the glass viewport of the cockpit of their small spacecraft. She could see also that "not" Achilles and Atalante were facing away from each other in close-up panels looking at different display boards. One was of a speaker with little noise markers to point out that it was going off and saying something.

The dialogue hasn't been written yet.

Alter could tell though, from the expressions on the faces of the two Greek heroes, that they were solemn about something.

It's a scene ripe for inner monologue.

Ushi smiled, "This was a moment of pause during the race, as there was an accident with the ship in 2nd place in front of them…the ship was lost with all hands. It's…supposed to be a rather grim reality check as the radio is cracking with the news and is calling a temporary halt to the race."

Mash frowned a little. "I'm not particularly happy about it…but…I agreed to it because as Ushi said the point of it was to force the two characters together at the end so they can, if not reconcile, at least leave with an understanding of one another." The pink-haired shielder clicked her thermos closed and leaned forward. "This is going to be a spark to their last argument of the story."

Reconcile. Understanding.

Alter's lips quivered, and she could only hope that it didn't show.

Judging by Ushi's reaction neither is likely to be a coincidence.

She felt her stomach tighten at the thought of having to work out their relationship. Alter's frown only deepened as the long contemplative seconds ticked by. Staring hard at the expressions of both the drawn characters on the panel and her two other workers for the moment. She grit her teeth and curled her fingers into a fist to repress the first words out of her mouth.

The summer berserker paced away from the bed and touched a finger to her chin, trying to ignore that stupid feeling in both her heart flutters and the butterflies in her gut. Instead, she immersed herself into the work. It was about the only thing that kept her from wanting to throw Ushi out like she wanted to only seconds earlier. Alter spoke slowly, "What if the person who died is a friend?"

Mash and Ushi looked at each other.

Alter paused for a moment and then cleared her throat. "I mean, if the racers who died passed away were their friends, it would help cement the fact a little more of this conversation," She waved it off like it was unimportant to the details she was helping them work out. "And it would make it feel more natural…" Her lips compressed for a moment. "No, not natural. More…inevitable."

"Why stop there?"

Alter stiffened and looked at the end of the hall where Ritsuka had paused at the end of Alter's bed. Sun poked through the window landing on him, where he stood with a hand in his pocket and the other left loosely at his side. In the sunlight he beamed at them, a smile touching his lips as he now joined their blueprinting conversation.

His blue eyes left her and went to the others and he shrugged, "Make it the mentor. The one who forced them to be together for the race."

Alter shot upright with interest. Suddenly with only seconds between their suggestions, she smiled, filling with sudden excitement. "If we do that, they'll even feel guilty that they don't get along?" She turned to the others hoping to see that her excitement at the idea was shared. She felt nothing but relief at the fact it was.

Ushi almost bounced in place. "Oooh, that's great. We can tug at both our characters' heartstrings and our readers that way." She glanced at Mash.

The pink-haired shielder was a little more contemplative and reached for her coffee taking another sip. "We'll have to re-work a few of our earlier panels in order to make it more obvious…" She nodded slowly. "But I think that should work, great idea senpai."

Ritsuka shrugged, "Alright, since this one has been more you two than the rest of us. Where should Alter and I start?"

Mash answered either knowingly or unknowingly before Ushi could get a word in.

Sometimes I could hug you, Mash.

Alter hid her relief when Ushi had to close her mouth as Mash went through the plan of how they were going to go about their work today.

"Senpai, I need you to do some touch up on our script bubbles for dialogue." She reached over and pulled out one of their journals and slid it across the bed towards him. "There are obviously a few touch-ups that can be made." She pushed in her glasses. "As for you Alter, I think I want your drawing skills for some of the other more detailed panels." She tapped the bed beside her invitingly, as she started pulling a few of the panels closer.

She smiled and with a drawing pad under her arm, she sat at the edge of the bed. She flipped through a few pages onto her tablet and clicked her stylus on. Her amber eyes flicked over to track her master sitting down on her bed.

He caught her eyes and smiled.

Alter's lip twitched, but she smiled back.

###

Gudako waited patiently with her arms crossed, resisting the urge to tap her shoe against the asphalt with impatience as the seconds ticked by. Her golden eyes flicked up to the rooftop seemingly twenty stories above, and across from her. The hospital windows at the angle not helping her gauge what was inside.

Hurry up, Edmond.

The thought came with the general impatience of having been left standing there waiting for five minutes in total now. She checked her watch gauging the time she had left once more. Then with a flicker of resolve, her lips pressed into a line and she pushed off the wall. "Alright, time's up." She squared her shoulders and walked back around to the building's entrance to look inside.

What she saw was exactly what she expected to see given a hospital, about twenty to thirty people waiting around on couches and chairs in the waiting room. There she stood watching all the other doors that would lead them deeper into the hospital.

"I'm thirty seconds late, and you assume I'm dead or gone?"

Gudako spun around, eyes wide. "Edmond?"

He grinned at her dressed in, not a hospital uniform, but that of an EMT. He had a duffle for her and gestured back towards the alleyway. "It was hard to find something that would get us easy access without question in the back, but these seemed to work fine."

She nodded once, smiling a little. "EMTs are not hospital staff, but are welcomed with open arms to any hospital they show up to." Gudako snagged the duffle from his fingers and flicked him on the shoulder. "That's for being late." She then stood up on her toes and pecked him on the lips, the stumbled excuse now silent from his lips. "That's for another brilliant off-the-book idea."

Edmond grinned, "Dressing will be a bit of a problem…I suggest one of the currently abandoned ambulance trucks back there. I can distract the drivers long enough for you to find your way inside of one."

She nodded, and then, she watched him vanish from sight into the spirit form. Gudako smiled, staring at where he'd been standing as she jogged off through the alley and began to circle around to the back entrance of the building. The area has both a loading dock and a ramp for equipment and for patience in the back.

Sure enough, there were two ambulances, and three people waiting near the open back of one.

The other was closed and therefore the easier target for her to get changed with privacy. Her lips curled briefly as she was planning her route and wondering just exactly what Edmond might do for a distraction.

And then she saw him materialize again at the forefront of the open-backed ambulance with the three EMTs chatting nearby.

She saw the avenger smirk evilly as that idea formed in his head.

Her lips twisted a little.

Probably not a good sign.

She shook her head once.

He knows my rules.

She leaned casually against the wall and waited to see the commotion escalate.

Two things had happened, the first was Edmond gestured for her to peek around the corner a little further to look inside. Several straps held up a pile of pallets in one corner, and she noted that they'd been cut, meaning that they were free to topple over onto the concrete creating a very loud noise.

Still doesn't explain how it is going to fall.

Her golden eyes flicked back to Edmond as saw that he'd moved from the front of the ambulance into the driver's seat.

Oh no.

The car didn't turn on, but the downward slope of the ramp was enough to pull the ambulance in its neutral setting forward, sliding back towards the pallets.

Sure enough, it moved a few feet and started picking up speed, and the EMTs all crowded together and gave shouts of warning and exclamations as they moved out of the way.

Edmond dematerialized before they had a chance to see him.

Gudako smiled just a little and wasted no time in taking a hold of the opening that had been provided to her. Her mind raced through the litany of spells and illusions she could cast if she were caught. But trusted Edmond to be enough for her if any real problems arose for everyone present.

At the end of it, her mystic code was tucked away into a duffle that she slung over her shoulder and she was in the same overalls that Edmond was. When she stepped out she saw Edmond dutifully keeping watch. She frowned just a little as she hopped out the side door. "It's a shame that I don't get to see you in a doctor's uniform." Gudako's grin turned a little lopsided as she held out her arm.

He huffed, grabbing a hold of it, "The day is young. I'm sure you'll find a creative excuse to get me into said uniform."

The pair circumvented the chaos carefully, marking themselves somewhere between other bystanders, people trying to do their own job, and lastly offering to help as anyone in this professional field might.

They of course were turned down as they arrived considerably later than most of the others who'd already jumped in to help.

Then they were indoors.

Edmond spoke a bit more quietly. "While I was tracking through her in spirit form, I spotted a route up to the offices that we can take. Elevators have more people watching so we should take the stairs. That was about as far as I got before I doubled back."

Gudako tugged at the hem of a blue glove. "Right, we just need to find a logged-in computer that we can access, and then hopefully find a pattern with the cases we're looking for-" She froze, goosebumps trailing up her skin and hair standing upright. She whipped around to look back outside.

Edmond grabbed her forearm. "What is it?"

She tensed. "I think…we need to move fast." Her eyes flicked up to his. "Something else is here and it's not one of ours."

He nodded once, and then the two turned down a hall jogging towards the stairs.

###

Alter had that look on her face, admittedly one of many, that he found he rather enjoyed watching. Her lips were curled a little at the ends, she tapped her stylus against the corner of her mouth. Her brows were furrowed neatly with concentration of pure thought that seemed to flow through her.

It's the face she made when she was working around being stuck. There was a point where Ritsuka was sure she didn't realize that the expression was one she even had. His blue eyes flicked away only for a moment to glance back at his forming speech bubble notes that continued to grow in length.

He added a few more words, removed a few others, finally satisfied with a sentence. He smiled a little and then looked back over at Alter.

He didn't want to miss it.

The moment when she figured her way around whatever had stumped her.

It came, almost like clockwork, as she shifted on the bed. Her amber eyes lit up and she stopped tapping the stylus against the corner of her mouth. She leaned forward and finally touched the pen to her panel on the tablet and continued to draw on the scene in front of her. The expression on her face still holding the concentration had smoothed a little. The curl of her lips had also turned upwards as the small content smile finally returned.

A sign that she's worked her way around the problem.

His smile twitched, but that was enough. Ritsuka at this point knew better than to simply gaze at her for long extended periods of time. It would take too much away from his work and it would waste far too much time that they both knew that they didn't have. With careful and causal idleness in his thoughts he, at last, returned his full focus to the scripting sheets.

In the corner of the room, a printer whirred to life. Small and useful for printing panels and other parts of the story structures out. Only it wasn't large enough to do mass printing like Goldie's was when it came time for Servfest. The hum was just enough to pull his blue eyes towards that side of the room.

Ushi was standing there with a hand on her hip, and a mug in hand, waiting patiently for the printer to finish. Her eyes, however, were firmly rooted in his direction. There was, he noticed, the barest hints of a smirk. To hide it better she kicked her drink back and chugged a few gulps of it back down.

Ritsuka's lip twitched.

Caught red-handed.

Though he found that somehow it wasn't as bothersome as it typically might've been. A part of him also started to wonder if he was simply getting numb to the idea that he was getting caught staring at Alter.

The printer finished and Ushi walked back towards the room with the rough draft of the panel in hand. Her eyes turned away from him as she looked down at the paper in hand. Her lips compressed a little with thought, and then she tilted her head. She came to a stop between the two beds. "Should we try to color in our work? I know it's not typically the style…"

Mash sat upright having since moved to the desk in the room, having hunched over other panels making notations and trying some more physical attempts at drawing. "I think the color might be a good idea…"

"The expense would be the problem." Jeanne Alter sat up straight and stretched her arms out one at a time as high up as she could reach with a small noise of satisfied relief. Her amber eyes went to Ritsuka, and then they went directly to Ushi. "We'll have to use a hefty share of Gilbuck funds for something like that…" She turned away. "I'd rather it be one that I think we know with certainty will be the one we win with…"

Ushi smiled, raising an eyebrow. "Saying Mash and I aren't good enough to think of a winning doujin?"

Alter huffed, "Don't twist my words harlot."

The summer assassin giggled, "Teasing Alter. I'm lightly teasing." She sighed a little. "Alright, then that's something we can consider later." Her eyes turned to Ritsuka, "Master? How is the scripting coming along?" She smirked a little again, "Assuming you are even managing to get some work done?"

At that Ritsuka smiled back, "I've gotten I think a relative outline for the first half done…it's ready for other input before I move along into the second half if you all want to take a small ten-minute break to skim through it and give me feedback?"

"Sure." Alter said, she closed her work down on the tablet and reached over to grab at his notes.

He scooted himself off the bed to give herself some more space to work. Trying to ignore that same feeling he always got when everyone reviewed his work. With hands stuffed into his shorts pockets, he considered his next move carefully as those minutes ticked by. He watched the others in the room start picking through his notes as Alter handed pages she'd finished over to them.

It left him to pace the room a bit from the printer to the glass door leading onto the balcony. He paused there for a moment and looked out towards the beach. There were a dozen figures he could make out at the shoreline, none of which looked like their servants. He turned away, and then something caught his attention. A feeling on the back of his neck as he felt his hair stand up on his arms.

Ritsuka straightened up at the feeling of the cold rush.

What the hell is that?

He looked up at the ceiling above him. It looked plain and ordinary as it had all of the past few months, or a week if he wanted to be more accurate. His eyes continued to track up.

Upper floors?

His brow furrowed.

And then it was gone.

A hum pulled at his attention, "It's good so far." Alter handed the last paper over to Ushi to read, who in turn handed hers to Mash.

Ritsuka blinked and turned to look back at Alter.

The summer berserker leaned back adjusting one of the bathing suit straps underneath her jacket. She smiled at him as she pulled her knees back into her chest. "I think you got their rivalry pretty much nailed. I also noticed you started using Chiron as inspiration to be their mentor judging by the way he talks…"

At that he almost laughed, nearly forgetting the small problem. "You know it's bad that we are so familiar with one another at Chaldea that we are used to someone's speech patterns and ticks and could tell instantly who they're inspired from." He shrugged, "Yeah, Chiron seemed appropriate for Achilles in particular."

Alter nodded once.

Ushi frowned a little, "I think the scene where they're being forced to work together on the same team could use some more work." Her voice was more matter-of-fact as she handed the last of the first half over to Mash. "I don't think the tension is coming through well enough for the both of them." She blinked and her frown furrowed a little more. "I also feel the opening scene is off somehow…"

At that Ritsuka could only nod. "I felt that as well, I think I'd want to see what you and Mash were planning again to see if I can figure it out."

A chill ran up his spine and the hairs stood up along his arms and he tensed looking up again.

Once is happenstance.

His lips twisted a little.

Twice could be a coincidence…

"Master?" Alter asked.

He blinked and shook the thought away. "Might be nothing…" Ritsuka started slowly. "But something is triggering my mana sense." He turned to face the others again. "Ushi, head to the roof as a start, see if it's on the upper levels." His lips twisted a little. "Mash, go to Mordred- or whoever is on duty at the desk downstairs. Tell them to keep their eyes open for anyone that we might flush out. Whatever it is."

The others stared at him for a moment, and then set to work putting down the doujin notes and supplies and got ready.

Ushi cracked her knuckles and stretched down to her toes.

Alter rolled her shoulders and tilted her head from side to side. "What about us?"

Ritsuka smiled a bit at that. "I thought we would try a floor-to-floor search together and see if we can't find them directly. Assuming of course that it is something tangible we can find and see. They've put themselves in either by forcing them to run into Ushi or forcing them into the Hotel's staff." He frowned for a moment and considered. "Mash, if Mordred is down there send her up to accompany us."

The young shielder nodded. "Understood master."

With the plan set they locked the room behind them, and he for a moment considered standing guard over their things. But there was a chance that whatever was triggering the mana flows was tracking him as a Master.

His lip twisted at the thought, and he turned walking down the corridor heading to the staircase. Ushi and Mash parted ways at the elevator, one meaning to go up and the other meaning to go down.

"Be careful Senpai." Mash's voice came after him.

Ritsuka smiled a little at that. "I've got Alter with me, I'll be fine."

Alter on the other hand noticed it was rather quiet even as they approached the staircase for them to head up. She didn't say a word until they were alone together in the staircase hallway. "Master?" she asked quietly.

He blinked and looked at her. "What is it?"

There was a beat of quiet again before she spoke, "This…isn't for my benefit is it?"

Ritsuka shook his head. "No, this one is strictly for duty Alter." He offered her an arm as they reached the top of the first flight.

She hesitated about something and then whatever her thought faded as the seconds ticked by. "Okay." Alter seemed to settle a little more after that. "I just…worry sometimes that I'm making things worse."

He snorted a little at that. "Everyone's got their own problems they deal with Alter. Some people are open about them, others aren't." Ritsuka shrugged a little. "It's just how it is…" He opened the door to the next floor and looked around. It seemed like a mirror to the floor beneath them, and that was okay. He stepped out into the hall.

It was with that Alter chose to intertwine their fingers. "Okay," She said, settling a little more. Then he watched her switch gears from someone worrying over the semantics of their relationship into the summer berserker servant he'd grown familiar with almost in an instant. "What did you sense specifically?"

Ritsuka pressed his lips together with thought pausing only to peek into an open door into a room where some of the staff were cleaning away. "It was…like a presence. It came in and out of existence." He touched his fingers to his chin for a moment as they went along. "I…thought it could be a shadow servant but typically shadows have more prolonged feelings of existing."

Alter's brow furrowed. "It came in and left?"

"More like it poofed into existence before vanishing…" His lip twisted. "It happened twice so it might stand to reason that it could happen a third time." The pair went along the hallway pausing at rooms closer to where Ritsuka felt or thought he'd heard it from.

Ritsuka stopped at a door, his frown deepening.

623

They were on floor six, and the room number filled out the rest of the room's given identity. It also happened to be the door directly above their room. And for a moment he remained standing there rigidly wondering if this was the room. He blinked and tilted his head further to the right to look at the door that was above Robin's and his own room.

624

Alter frowned. "Here?" she asked.

"It felt like it anyhow…" Ritsuka walked forward and pressed his ear to the door.

Even as he did so another sharp cold spike went up his spine and prompted him to look up, and this time away from the doors.

He pointed in the direction. "There."

Alter followed it looking at the indicating direction. He got the sense that she was wracking her brain for all the details she could think of regarding their resort hotel. Her lips clicked together and then he saw her tense.

Amber eyes went wide to him, "That's where Jeanne and Marie are staying." She grabbed her sword and ran back towards the staircase. Looking back only to make sure he was following close behind.

Ritsuka huffed.

Humans are too slow.

Her lips were twisted into a grimace as she spared a glance at him. He could see the frustration in her expression at that simple fact too.

Damn it.

He cursed under his breath and steeled himself for the only obvious solution that presented itself to him at that moment. Ritsuka nodded at her. "GO! I'll catch up with you." He saw the mana course through her and the windbreak around her as she reached the door and jumped up the flight.

Even as he slammed his shoulder into the wall, to turn hard onto the stairs, she was gone from his sight heading to where he hoped was exactly where she needed to be.

Now it's just a matter of me making it on time.

The answer he found out was going to be far more complicated than he bargained for as he heard a shadow moving behind him.

A familiar squelching sound as it moved across the steps behind as he sprinted up the stairs.

His eyes narrowed towards it.

An urchin familiar, covered with barnacles and seaweed, filling the air with a smell of putrid salt. Its teeth grinding as it seemed to prop itself up as if looking at him, a few of its eyes spinning themselves onto him.

Shit.

#

Alter had burst through the door at the top of the stairs springing across the hotel lobby floor winding down the long corridor to the room where she knew Jeanne and Marie were staying, leaving the staircase behind her as she jumped almost thirty feet into the hall, feet running along the wall as she averted some of the confused hotel staff.

She twisted and skidded across the floor as she reached the last corner in a combat stance standing there with her sword drawn.

Her amber eyes narrowed onto the figure walking through the hall, a familiar man with ashen hair, but with blue eyes and a black and red coat. Other than that, there was nothing that pointed to a disturbance in the hallway.

Nothing?

Sampson was there standing calmly and walking with a hand in his pocket. And he spun around at the sudden commotion reaching for his sword out of instinct more than anything as it spiraled into existence with golden into his fingers. His eyes fixed themselves on the summer berserker. His brow furrowed. "Jeanne Alter?"

She scowled a little still at the ready.

He couldn't be the threat, right? He comes to work on the doujin with them.

Alter shook her head slowly.

He's the only one here.

She relaxed the tension in her sword hand only a little to show that she meant no direct threat to him. "Sampson?" Her voice filled with caution and wracked her brain quickly for an explanation. "I…thought I sensed something so I…my master and I came to-" Even as Alter spoke of him, she trailed off as she looked back down the hall she'd come from. Expectant to see him running down the hall towards her.

Only the hall was devoid of him, and there was only the cart of the cleaning maids.

Where is he? It shouldn't have taken that long for him to climb the flights of stairs up one floor.

She knew she should've been able to at least see him sprinting towards her by now. Her master wasn't lethargic or slow. He was known for early morning workouts with his sister and by himself helping to keep him in shape enough to contribute to the affairs of his normal day-to-day life of living with tons of servants.

A cold pain shot up her back, her eyes widening with a horrible realization. She half turned back to head down the hall where she'd come from. Letting the prana fill her legs. Only another thing caught her attention, like a repulse coursing through her as the cold sharp pain intensified again. Something seemed to move out of the corner of her eye, and that was enough to pull her attention right back to Sampson.

Amber eyes flicked to the wall, next to Sampson it seemed to wriggle alive like an illusion dropping away.

It was half the distance closer to Sampson in an instant, the gap between it and his head closing rapidly, even as she spun back towards him, meaning to shoot herself across the hall. Her hand reached out, the warning on her lips.

But Sampson was still a servant, looking at Alter was enough to raise the alarm as his senses went into overdrive. Raising an arm in time to take the brunt of the first strike.

He was slammed into the wall as a mass of pure muscle bit down into his arm. "Agh!" A curse escaped him, even as he oriented himself up, and wound his arm back with all the force could muster, cracking the wall.

And splattering the urchin familiar in a stain of blood.

He looked down wide-eyed at his sword arm and switched hands.

Just in time as three more jumped at him, one latching onto his leg.

The other for his head, and the other for his shoulder.

He prioritized them like clockwork.

The sword caught the one going for his head in the air, spinning it around and right back into the ground opposite the direction it came from.

He sliced at the one at his leg just before it got to him.

The last one though nabbed his shoulder, and even as Alter closed the distance, she could hear the crunch of bone and blood.

Five more appeared, and she sliced through two of them as she spun herself around in the hall with a distinct twirl that left blood marks on either side of the hall.

Master is in trouble.

She blinked the thought away.

Trust him.

She grit her teeth ignoring that pang in her heart as she spun herself around to catch two others by the blade. A third had gotten through and it nearly grabbed her arm. She reached out to catch it by the largest tentacle it sported.

It quickly latched itself around her wrist and elbow, while her fingers held it at bay. She swung it around in a haymaker, and her sword around catching two more as she slammed it fist first into the wall, feeling the muscle mass break crack and splatter away into another red stain.

She huffed out a breath and spun back towards Sampson.

Her jaw dropped.

There were seven of him now and he collapsed against the wall with a grunt again as he moved, crushed a few more, and sliced even more of them away.

Two more jumped in Alter's way.

Shit.

She glanced back towards the corner that she rounded away from the staircase, and saw five more in her path.

SHIT.

Alter glanced back at Sampson and ripped another sword out from her belt, one of the others that weren't as strong a noble phantasm as her first, and dove through the two more standing resolutely in her way.

With a curse she shouted, "Sampson!" she arched the arm of her spare sword back aiming it in his general direction, eyes narrowing at one of the one urchins meaning to go for his head.

With the sword sent she backed away to the corner, meaning to get back to Ritsuka. Her amber eyes narrowed in concentration. Focusing on that invisible line that connected them through their contract, latching onto it as soon as she'd gotten a hold of it. "MASTER!"

The reply wasn't instant.

But she could feel the swell of adrenaline through their bond palpating almost like a pulse for her to gauge the effort and the stress that his body was undergoing.

Enough for her to know of the trouble he was in. And it was all she could to quell the sinking feeling in her heart to know he was still there. She could sense the bond between them as Master and Servant was weaker than it normally might've been.

Alter's breath hitched.

Not enough mana.

Her amber eyes went wide at the realization.

How can he not have the usual mana-

Her lips twisted.

He had to help you in your dream.

No.

It was like an evil grin in the back of her mind that haunted her. She could sense the strain on his mana store as clearly as she'd had when cradling him that morning. The energy he'd willingly given up to help her.

Your fault.

Shut up.

Alter grit her teeth, eyes whipping back around to another Urchin that got close enough to take a swing at her. With vibrating anger, she rammed it hard enough with the dull end of her sword to turn it into mush against the wall. Then her amber eyes flicked back to Sampson who after receiving her sword managed to clear himself of most of them.

Call me.

Her lips pressed into a line, her fingers twitching on the handle of her sword.

Summon me, please.

An urchin grabbed onto Sampson's leg, biting a large chunk enough out of it for him to fall to a knee, and another slammed him, hard enough by the head into the wall as he toppled over.

"Please Master!"

Then a thought broke through the chaos, like sweeping across the fog as all the goosebumps on Alter's skin seemed to light with fire. Magic and mana seemed to gather like a swirling wind around her. It was strained, hoarse, and tense as if out of breath and it was enough to almost make her sigh with relief.

"By my command spell I order you, come to me! Jeanne D'Arc Alter!"

The world around her vanished in an instant and in that instant there was a perfect clarity in her mind of where all the pieces around him were as he could see them. Their master-servant bond opened fully to one another for that brief instant. She could see the five in the doorway preventing him from going out into the hall that had appeared in the seconds after she'd rounded the corner.

There were three dead on the stairs, and another wounded on the railing still coming up towards him.

She appeared in golden shimmers and blinding blue light as her blackened mana poured forth into the world as she felt him against her back, his breath tense on her neck as he started to move, crouching to duck down.

Alter gripped her sword spinning around to slam the first two coming from the doorway with utmost brutality and efficiency. She leaped over him and slammed her sword blade first down into the floor skewering a third.

Mana flared behind her and she turned to see one reach the top of the stairs, only for a gundo shot to slam through its skull sending it reeling back from getting to her.

The one on the railing jumped toward him and he responded by pushing himself off the ground.

Ritsuka slammed into the wall, sliding to the ground, getting away from it as it slammed its tentacles and needle-like teeth into the tile floor.

He'd spun around to deal with it.

But Alter was already on it, grabbing with all her might and leaping towards him, the wind cracking around her, the wall breaking under the force she'd slammed it with. The urchin turned into mush against the wall above him splattering them both with blood.

Ritsuka huffed blue eyes wide as he looked up at her his hand still on his arm, another quick attack spell loaded and ready to make use.

Her amber eyes looked down at him just beneath her and she dared to allow a small relieved smile to touch her lips at the sight of standing there. A cut on his shoulder, but still in one piece.

Alive.

The stare between them was too short to be an eternity, and at the sound of more pouring into the walkway behind her Alter's relief turned into rage.

With the blood on the wall covering them both, she whipped around holding out her hand. The sword that was left a few feet away answered the call, shooting into the grip between her fingers.

Still too close to risk.

Even as two more rounded the corner, she felt the sizzling heat of an attack spell blaze past her knee, slamming into an Urchin on her left coming from the doorway.

Alter drew her last spare sword and rammed through four of them that filled the walkway with a spin that left them all dead, and her untouched by the carnage that was all around her. She heard a groan and her amber eyes spun back to him with intent and on guard for any other immediate threat.

Only she saw him grip his shoulder as pain coursed through it.

Still a novice mage.

Her lips twisted at that cruel irony.

Eventually, she found her voice and walked over to him. "I was worried-" Her words felt stricken in her throat. Her amber eyes narrowed a little at the small truth of it. "I…was worried that you wouldn't use the command spells."

He smiled a little at that, blue eyes perhaps holding too much understanding for her comfort. "I didn't want to…but as soon as I saw that my exit was blocked…desperate times call for desperate measures."

She nodded once at him, half wanting to smile. Her lips opened to speak again wanting to perhaps try and correct her statement seconds ago.

Only she was interrupted by the sound of someone cracking through the air and there was another sound of a small urchin getting squelched into the wall.

Mordred was there, bloodied boot and clean sword resting over her shoulder. She hummed as she rounded the corner and saw them. Then she grinned. "Sorry master, came as fast as I could, as soon as Mash told us what was going on." Her eyes flicked to Alter for a moment and tilted her head to look at her.

Alter seemed to stiffen. "What is it?"

Then Mordred's usual tomboyish grin was back in an instant. "Nah, it's something that can wait till after."

Ritsuka huffed and held an arm up. "I take it Jekyll is overseeing the lockdown in the lobby?"

Alter grabbed onto his arm, and pulled him back to his feet. Then she froze as he reached out and blushed the blood away from her neck. She instantly beat red and her amber eyes went wide at the contact.

Not now. Not now! NOT NOW!

He blinked and realized almost belatedly what he'd done. Ritsuka politely took a step back. "Sorry," His voice was quiet just enough for her to hear. Then he raised his voice again to its normal volume, blue eyes flicked away from her to Mordred. His expression hardened too. "Clear the hallway in front of us."

It was only with belated horror her voice leapt into her throat. "Sampson!" Alter said, she grabbed him by the hand and made for the door. Remembering the state he'd been left in seemingly only seconds ago.

Mordred still reached the door first and with a few wide sweeps of Clarent the hall was mostly clear until the corner.

The cart for the hotel staff had only one Urchin by it.

Alter dealt with it quickly as Mordred focused on clearing the rest of the way that she could in the lead. She glanced back at Ritsuka behind her. She could feel his fingers tighten their grip on her. She returned the gesture for a second only letting go once she'd reached the corner sensing more than seeing.

The hall had a dozen more of them, she adjusted herself into a ready position planting her hand into Ritsuka's chest to push him away from the corner.

She felt teeth sink into her shoulder and a curse escaped her lips.

Damn.

She managed to catch the other two that were intent on springing toward them with a slice through the air. And then she jumped shoulder checking the one on her arm feeling it crunch against her skin.

A hiss escaped her lips as she shrugged the blow off.

A gundo shot caught another near her leg.

He is a good shot with that.

Her lips twisted as she and Mordred worked their way back to the limp servant in the hallway. But it was well and truly over the second the door he'd gotten close to swung open. Jeanne and Marie stepped out ready for battle having heard the commotion.

Lily was there too with her spear covered in Christmas bells and ribbons.

It was all over in nearly ten seconds after that as the five servants cleared the hallway entirely of hostiles.

Marie's eyes had widened. "Sampson?!" She slid onto her knees.

Jeanne D'Arc with that hoop in hand stared down at him. Her eyes narrowed in study for a moment and her feet kicked the two swords near him. His noble phantasm not disappearing was a good sign she knew.

Alter froze still when she picked up the sword she'd lent him. Jeanne then looked directly at her, raising an eyebrow in silent question, knowing it wasn't Sampson's usual weapons that he could summon.

There was little else she could do other than hold her hand out to take it back. The words lumped into her throat how complicated the situation had become. Because she really hadn't meant to leave him.

Options were limited.

Jeanne placed the sword back into Alter's hands and looked past her to Ritsuka. Her lips compressed. "Master, you're hurt?!"

"Looks worse than it is." He frowned a little and stretched his arm back and forth. "More sore with bruises than actual wound." His blue eyes flicked to Alter.

She fought the urge to sigh with relief.

"Reindeer!" Lily pushed the crowd aside. "Come here at once so I can treat you!"

Ritsuka could only give a lopsided grin at that. "Sure you don't want to save it for others today?"

Lily seemed to stick her nose up at the very suggestion. "Not a chance," She looked back at Sampson. The fading lights filled the hall as he slowly started to leave Marie's arms. "I…wish it could be used for something else…"

Alter's expression hardened at that, and she had an unexplainable urge to pat the young version of herself on the head both to comfort her and be proud and realize the fact that the spell would've gone to waste on the disappearing servant. Though that feeling faded quickly when she saw Ritsuka smile at her.

A nudge touched her arm, and she turned to glare at the offender.

Mordred simply smirked. "Jealous huh?"

Alter's lip twisted and she sheathed her last sword. "Not a chance," she grumbled.

The rebellious knight barked out a few short laughs. Then after a moment she huffed and spoke loudly to include everyone else, "Well that was something right?" She walked back over to the group that was forming around Sampson. She paused, glancing down at her boot only to look at Ritsuka, and the back to both herself and the summer saint. "I hate to ask the obvious question ladies and Master but are these Urchin familiars from Bluebeard?"

Alter tensed at the suggestion and quickly looked back at her shoulder.

Her servant mana had repaired her spirit origin, meaning that the holes in her red and black jacket despite the unusually real living rules that applied to them, had repaired itself. However, she could still feel the sting of the real wound she'd sustained. Her amber eyes widened suddenly at the range of things Gilles typically liked to include as "surprises"' in his urchins whenever they went on the prowl or the attack.

Her fingers twitched.

Enough to draw her quick attention. It was that same feeling that often plagued her before now. Her eyes widened a little as that same fuzzy feeling started to creep up into her head. She wasn't dizzy yet, but it was apparent that could change quickly.

Not now.

Her breath hitched and she curled her fingers into a tight ball.

I can still feel the wound.

Alter tried to stop it, the more outlandish ones coming to mind. Knowing Gilles liked to make them so they included things from poisons to acids, from truth serums to aphrodisiacs. Her lips twisted.

How could you have been so stupid and careless?!

Shut up.

Her amber eyes darted up.

Jeanne grabbed Marie's shoulder, "Marie…there's nothing we can do. We'll have to try and get him back when we return to Chaldea."

"He won't be the same…" Marie said quietly. Her voice cracked. "He was…he'd come so far?" Her eyes looked up to Jeanne. Then to Alter that sadness leaving her voice her eyes turning to an icy glare, "Is it him?"

"I…I don't know. Not yet anyway."

"How can you not?!"

Alter flinched at the sound of Marie's raised voice. Her lips opened and closed and she grabbed her shoulder digging her fingers into the skin around the wound. She huffed out a breath and took a step back. "It's not like they are a difficult familiar to make…" She shrugged a little. Her amber eyes flicked away. "Any number of motivated casters could do it…"

Marie seemed only angrier at that answer.

However, before she said anything more Jeanne stepped in front of her and wrapped her arms around her.

Ritsuka stared down at Sampson's limp disappearing form.

Alter glanced away from it trying to ignore the main reason she was being so callous about the whole affair.

He would be back next week, and there would be no one the wiser.

She took a breath and forced herself to look at Marie again. The same queen that had helped her not two days ago to get over herself and give her some useful advice that even now she was desperately trying to adhere to. She was so distraught Alter could almost feel as if her heart had been physically struck.

That, coupled with the near accusation earlier.

She looked away.

Don't be angry at her. Don't be angry at her.

She squeezed her wounded shoulder harder, her lips twisting her expression dark. Alter would find out in due time if it was Gilles who dispatched them to attack with the wound. She need only sit around and wait to see how it affected her. Her amber eyes flicked towards movement nearby wanting to lash out at it if only on instinct.

Alter didn't want to, but her head had grown even more distraught with that headache and if she wasn't applying pressure to her shoulder, she would've slammed her palm against her forehead.

Her words died in her throat as she found Ritsuka had moved to stand beside her. His blue eyes were gentle in their silent questioning. They were filled with that same care and tenderness that always seemed to make her heart flutter.

She pressed her lips together and huffed. "Tch," She looked away with a small pout and slightly red tinted cheeks.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him smile, just a little, something private just for her. Her little display had apparently been enough for him. Slowly, Ritsuka raised a few fingers up between them, silently offering her his hand. But even as he waited for her to take it, he had already started to turn and speak to the others. "Is there anyone that we know of who might want to target Sampson?"

Alter looked down at his fingers and released the hold she'd had around the wound of her shoulder. Amber eyes flicked back up to him as he addressed the rest of the group shifting the conversation back to something more pragmatic. Her breath hitched and she looked down at his fingers.

He is too good for you.

She took a breath and reached out grabbing his fingers, intertwining their hands as if it had been done a thousand times. His grip tightened on her hand, affirming. Once again she felt the flutters in her heart. And despite the last minute, she found herself once again having to fight the urge to smile.

Jeanne D'Arc shook her head pushing in her glasses. "I don't really know…Sampson is usually here just as our editor and chief when we need him." Her blue eyes flicked to Marie in her arms. "I…never thought to ask him…" Her expression seemed to darken as the last bit of golden light seemed to disappear.

Lily rubbed her cheek against the shorts of Ritsuka's mystic code and sniffed. She stood back and reached up with both arms opening and closing her hands.

Ritsuka sighed a little, and without letting go of Alter's hand, got down on one knee and scooped up Lily with his other arm, and held her with a grimace to his shoulder, at the same time she was getting around him to climb on.

Alter frowned, only once again felt her fingers squeezed by Ritsuka. She instead let out another calming breath.

Lily herself eventually managed to climb onto Ritsuka's shoulders and sat there with a hand resting in his hair, and another against his aloha shirt.

He grimaced, "You're a bit too much of a big girl to do this for very long…"

She huffed at him, "I'm sad. This will help." Her voice nearly as stubborn as Alter remembers her own to be most times.

It was almost enough to make the summer berserker smile at the sight. She turned away, to look back at the group.

Mordred simply shrugged, "Sorry master, ain't much information I know about things outside of the hotel. I keep only tabs on the round table and my dads coming and going from Emiya's Iron Bar." She shook her head.

Marie's voice was still cold and it was easy to tell she was having great difficulty in forming the words she needed in order to talk. "I…Sampson and I...we did meet for lunch earlier this week…" She shook her head a little. "He was talking about how backed up he was, helping a few of the other doujin groups work on their projects…" She sniffed and wiped at her eyes.

Jeanne sighed a little and wrapped her arms around her in a hug.

The queen of France, Marie Antinquenet, seemed to crack a little more.

Alter's lip twisted.

"S'okay. Marie." Lily said. "He'll be back…" She paused to look over at Alter for a second. Then looked back at the queen. "And older me is going to go with Reindeer to find out who did this."

Ritsuka huffed a small laugh at the young girl on his shoulders. "Oh, yes we will." Alter felt his grip firm once again on her fingers. "I don't like the idea that someone's going around killing my servants, and my friends in a place I come to sleep." His blue eyes turned to land on her amber ones.

Alter met his eyes and smiled, just a little. She looked up at Lily who was sending her a meaningful glare as if was going to help convince her. She looked down, "Yes…we will." Her lips pressed into a line as she straightened up as the Queen of France caught her eyes. "And whoever it is Marie, I promise we'll deal with them…"

#

The hospital was quieter in the wing that they were in. A row of empty computers in a room with most of the lights that were turned off. One computer was one, to light the face of the one and only Dr. Guadko Fujimaru.

And likely a one-time doctor at that.

Beside her was a Dr. Dantes with his arms folded.

And to her other side, stood another real doctor who cleared his throat. "I know you are new here, but don't you think we would have noticed a rising trend in certain illness cases?"

Gudako's lips compressed a little tugging at the hem of her lab coat. "As I said again, it would be small. Very few in number…" She pressed her lips considering what had been taught to her at the clocktower. The more general excuses a certain church organization would use when trying to cover something up.

This place might not be real, but hopefully, the same rules will apply.

She tapped her fingers leaning back in her chair. "They tend to have a similar correlation to families affected by gas leaks." Gudako then turned to look at the doctor who wouldn't allow them to come in here unsupervised.

Edmond continued on her behalf, the other apparent new doctor. "You know? Headaches, dizziness, nausea, eye and throat irritation." His brow furrowed a little focusing on the rest of the typical symptoms that were attributed to both gas leaks, and mana theft. "Fatigue, breathing problems, pale skin or blisters…" He trailed off and looked down at Gudako.

A small smile touched her lips, "Sometimes though, it manifests as nothing more than a really bad cold."

The doctor paced a few steps away from them, stroking his chin, then paced back. "There was something in the paper…goldie globes was it?"

Did Gilgamesh here have his own newspaper? Or was that a coincidence?

Gudkao still nodded in affirmation, thinking back to the candy store they'd stopped at with the old woman talking about a cold that was going around. "Yes, and we were sent as…shall we say from a concerned oversight."

The doctor seemed to stiffen upwards a little.

Edmond smiled. "Nothing to worry about, doctor. I assure you. Your job and the jobs of your co-workers are not at stake." He reached into his coat and Gudako could sense a small flare of mana coming from him as he made something in his coat. He seemed to be taking their disguises to the level they were already leaning.

He produced a CDC badge.

The doctor looked at them wide-eyed, "But if you're here-"

"As I said, there is no reason for a panic doctor. Hopefully not yet anyway." Edmond smiled, tucking the badge away, and hiding the fading particles as the mana timed out. "But the news found us, and needless to say we are simply here out of concern."

Damn, he's hot when he's being smart and clever.

Gudako bit her lip.

Down girl.

She cleared her throat a little. "Moreover Doctor, as we look through this information, as a matter of precaution, Dr. Dantes and I recommend you schedule a few quarantine drills and disease break-out protocols."

He stared quietly at them, "You're not usually involved until after a breakout happens."

"Prevention is also in our motto I believe." Gudako ran some fingers through her hair and leaned forward to continue her search through the computer.

Then there was that cold shiver that ran up through her spine. Her eyes widened a little, but she kept her breath steady. She paused in her typing. "Actually, doctor, I've printed a few things for you to take to your fellow co-workers and head nurses." She pointed over to the printer. "For the next two days, I'd like you to keep track of all the people with such symptoms that come in or are reported by ambulance drivers."

Edmond paced away from them facing a different door. His face turned into a frown as he left the corner of Gudako's eye.

Good, he sensed it too.

The good doctor seemed to get over his confusion, coughing. "I certainly can, uh I mean I'll do it at once." He looked between the two of them. "I'm sorry for my earlier remarks, young miss.."

She smiled just a little to show that she hadn't been offended. "Everyone sees the same thing you do, doctor, it's quite alright. I know I look young." Gudako nodded at him. "Now go on, the sooner you pass those out, the quicker we can start accumulating data, and the faster we'll be out of your hair doctor."

He managed a small smile and turned, half jogging towards the printer.

Edmond had paced casually back towards Gudako leaning over her shoulder to continue even as they heard the door open and close with the doctor leaving. "An excuse that will both help us collect data, and get him to leave nice."

She nodded and looked back in the direction of the blackened empty hall. "How much time can you buy me?"

Edmond shrugged, "It's a shadow. It's a fight I can win." He rolled his shoulders a couple of times, and he almost smirked down at her. "I'll be back in five minutes to help continue." He glanced down. "Though I suppose it will be a shame about the uniform Dr. Fujimaru."

Gudako blushed, only a little. "A shame indeed," She reached up and tugged him down by his tie earning herself a small growl of surprise. And she planted a kiss on those lips of his. "Go," She said. "I'll keep working away to see if I can find what we are looking for. And if you need help…" She trailed off.

"It's a shadow," He said again. "I can deal with it." Then his expression softened as he straightened back up. "But, I will of course ask permission for things if it escalates, and I will call my master's help if I need it." With that, he turned away shedding in an instant the doctor's uniform was replaced with his summer spirit origin, his black hat taking its rightful place on top of his head.

His doctor's clothes meanwhile, were shed on the floor around him in tatters.

Shame indeed.

She gave him one last nod and turned to focus on the computer knowing that they needed to find the pattern without the help of the hospital.

Their order to collect data would be lost at the end of the week.

Her golden eyes scanned the screen even as she'd heard the scuffle start behind her. A wind blast seemed to shake the room, and she turned around only to spare a glance at the hallway Edmond had gone to.

It was labeled off-limits for repairs already.

She took a breath. "At least something is working in our favor." Gudako could feel those old clock tower habits coming back to her. The need and want to hide what they were and what they were doing.

It doesn't matter.

"You're getting numb to the reset." Gudako had to verbally remind herself just before she turned back and started typing away again. "Come on. Come on." Her lips twisted a little as there was a crash from down the hall.

Then something else entered their proximity, something closer. She paused in her typing…eyes darting to corners around her. Her blood froze, looking back at her computer screen as a way to hide the subtle glow of her golden eyes. "Edmond."

The connection was strong as always, but she could feel the strain in mana in their connection. It took an extra half second for him to reply.

"I know," She could hear his determined grimace coming from his voice. "I'm coming back."

Her fingers froze for a second and she slowly moved away from the computer screen. Her hope was that it would still be there afterward. Even as she made the move, her hair stood up on the back of her neck.

And instead of the slow deliberate movement away, she jumped from the chair to the side, in time enough for a polearm to skewer right through where she'd been sitting. Her eyes went wide as she stumbled away on the tile floor, falling onto her hip.

There it was, a second shadow who tossed the chair across the room and turned to her.

Shit. SHIT.

She grabbed her forearm and loosed a gundo shot, the red and black dart shooting across the room glowing as it zoomed towards the servant.

The shadow carved right through the spell blast, its legs cracking into the tile with a jump attack into the air.

Gudako rolled under the desk, eyes wide where her head had been, the tile broke away with the polearm in it. Golden eyes darted up and she approximated where they would be and fired another gundo shot.

She rattled her brain for anything else that might've been useful knowing her mom loved to use gems in her spells. There was only one that she kept on her at all times.

Then the desk was ripped away, tossed as if it were weightless across the room.

But not from where the polearm had been, the opposite side she'd rolled towards. She looked up to see the shadow servant there, and the polearm by itself.

Bastard threw it.

She grit her teeth, skidding and pushing herself underneath another desk with all her might, thanking all the luck she ever had that the tile floor was slippery and clean.

The polearm flew back into the shadow's hands and smashed into the desk that she'd gotten herself in. Wood, plastic, and metal lodging free of their nails and structural supports.

A yelp escaped her lips as the material crushed down onto her leg, and something grazed her cheek and she could feel the warmth trickling down. And just as she was about to reach for a third desk, she was grabbed by a hand and pulled free to face it, a hand squeezing her throat.

Golden eyes went wide.

And then with a blast of wind Edmond had severed the limb holding her, and with the connection severed Edmond pushed the shadow away, planting his boot square into their chest fingers becoming engulfed with their cursed blue fire. His eyes briefly went to her.

She caught herself before she collapsed quickly taking back in the air that had been denied her. "Fuck, thanks." Gudako rubbed her neck wide-eyed at the shadow that he'd sent away. "So much for being discreet…"

Edmond faced away from her looking at the other two. "There are three…"

The odds are getting unfavorable very quickly.

Gudako looked around wildly for the third until her golden eyes spotted the shadow moving close to the ground almost like a ghost crawling across the floor.

"I got a Lancer and Assasin, anything on the one you tried to intercept?" She asked looking over her shoulder.

The avenger slammed his fists together and spoke through gritted teeth. "A very wounded saber, that will be along shortly to join this fight." His fingers curled a little as he pressed his back to hers.

She nodded once understanding, leaning her weight against his. "Two you can hold off, three might be a problem." Gudako grabbed her arm and readied another attack spell, this time switching up from a gundo shot. Even as she did, she could feel the pain of unfamiliarity go up her arm like a muscle doing a new workout suddenly.

"You have your command spells. Those will reset with the week anyways." He turned his amber eyes back around to her. "Anyone you're thinking of?"

Gudako opened her mouth to answer, only the assassin shot up from where it had been crawling across the floor.

Once again she dove to the side.

Edmond had let her use him as something to push off of. He ducked forward underneath the knife that was clearly in the assassin shadow's hands, and grabbed them by the arm, ripping them down to the ground, the floor clattering apart beneath him with the impact.

The lancer instead of going for the master had jumped toward Edmond.

It was his turn to dodge too, the blade end of the polearm grazing his upper arm before he deflected the follow-up strike with his flaming blue fist.

One of the servants is already on their way to me.

She grit her teeth, golden eyes alight with a small glow as she narrowed at the fight in front of her. "By command spell I order you-"

The assassin looked at her and she could scarcely see the small object flying for her in the darkened room.

Her eyes went wide.

Damn it-

She jumped to the side to avoid the first and dropped to the floor to avoid the second

Edmond managed to snag them, now forcing both of them to be in front of him for the fight, slamming the assassin into the side of the lancer.

She prepared the spell again.

Only the saber was there flying toward her.

It was then another familiar presence touched the back of her mind. It was just enough for her to smile even as the saber had closed the distance.

Ibaraki's polearm caught the sword mid-flight and twisted around, as she skidded to a stop in front of Gudako, still ready for the fight. She glanced back at her master to look at her, her expression dark but determined. Then she smiled back up at her. Then surged forward to counterattack.

She focused on the bond with the other servant in question and pointed towards Edmond. "Robin, fire support."

As if on cue one of the windows shattered on the adjacent wall, and six blue darts cracked through the air toward the other lancer servant.

They responded quickly and spun their spear catching the darts with ease. They peered in the Archer's direction. It was long enough for Edmond to get his advantage back, grabbing the assassin, and slamming them down onto the floor.

The lancer shadow hissed and vaulted over Edmond towards Gudako.

Edmond was ready and grabbed him by the leg, slamming them back into the ground far too short to reach his master. Then, with the distinct hand-to-hand brutality he was known for, with flame-engulfed hands he dragged them right back across their face, pushing them into the floor and tossing them through the air away from him and the assassin.

A dozen more blue darts flew through the open window and slammed into them as they tried to adjust themselves mid-air to defend themselves from the attack.

Robin, however, was among the more accurate archers, and so the odds shifted right back in their favor.

The lancer landed dead with arrows and darts protruding from its body. And where it was already starting to disappear.

Edmond had gotten ahold of the assassin, and the blue magic-fueled fire of his punch attacks had started to spread as he held the shadow assassin down beneath him. His amber eyes glowing with rage.

The assassin shoved a knife through Edmond's shoulder, but it was as if the avenger didn't feel it, and a smile came to his lips, as he then broke their arms and that blue magic fire spread to engulf the entirety of the assassin's shadow.

Of the shadows, the saber had fared the best, countering Ibaraki with enough skill to put her on the back foot.

"Robin." Her voice came tensely. "Hold your fire! Wait until the right moment."

Then Gudako raised her voice. "Edmond!" She aimed her gundo shot towards the saber. Sensing more than seeing Edmond had heard her call. "Flank the saber from the left."

"Understood." She saw his black swirling coat flash past her as she jogged also to join the attack on the Saber's left. Gudako jumped off a chair onto the next line of computer desks whirling around just as Edmond reached the saber.

She fired a single shot that singed through the air, the saber caught it at the edge of their sword and moved to get back only Edmond was there on their back left.

Weapons clashed with his blue fists, forcing him to stagger.

But Ibaraki had recovered and came in, switching out her attacks with Edmond.

And at last there, back to the open window.

Her lips twisted into a smile as she already saw the blue darts coming through at high speed, glad in knowing that Robin was intelligent enough to recognize the opening that had been created. The arrows slammed into the back of the saber, and even as they tried to recover, Ibaraki was on them, slamming the point of her polearm down into their chest with a huff.

And then the skirmish was over.

Gudako fought the urge to sigh in relief, almost running towards the desk that she'd been working on. The one computer that both she and Edmond had convinced the doctor to log them in on.

Edmond dematerialized where he was standing and rematerialized beside her just as she arrived. His lips twisted. "Damn." The computer screen was cracked but still legible. The mouse and keyboard however were dust.

Then at last she let out a sigh of relief.

A mouse and keyboard are replaceable.

"Not all is lost, just a minor setback." Gudako tugged at Edmonds' arm and pointed to the next store desk. "Follow the wires for the keyboard and mouse and unplug them without damaging them."

Ibaraki came over polearm disappearing from her hands into small particles of light. "Someone care to explain what you are all still doing here?" Her lips twisted as she came to a stop. "I mean we should really get out of here before the staff comes up to check what all that noise was about. Right?"

Gudako sighed. "We should, but we need to be certain." Her lips twisted, "Robin?"

"Yeah?" He called, standing in the open window now, with his green cloak flowing out behind him over his shirtless swim trunks look.

"Can you check the printer for me?" Her lips twisted, "If there is enough in there, I think I might print all the files and we'll go through it manually."

Edmond frowned as he got down on his knee and started following the wires into the computer tower. "We ugh, are going to have to buy some time and run interference for anyone that tries to come in here during that…"

Gudako hummed. "One problem at a time." She swung herself underneath the desk unplugging both her broken mouse and keyboard so that they could be replaced. "But at least we should get what we came here for." Her lips twisted. "Only without quick ability to sift through all of them, it means we are going to have our work cut out for us."

Ibaraki came over to the two of them. "Are you hoping to find a pattern before you leave at the end of the week?"

She felt her lip twitch at that, "Yes." Gudako tossed the useless keyboard and mouse to the side at this point not really caring she was adding to the mess the fight had made. Her lips twisted a little at that.

Not really much we could do to hide it anyways.

Gudako held out her palm, and into them fell the mouse and keyboard Edmond retrieved. "Let's make this fast, and start throwing out ideas of how to cover this up." Her nose wrinkled, "I don't want to call whatever branch of the association and the church that is here in order to help cover this up. That's too many questions and too much of our valuable time wasted."

Acknowledgments went around, and Gudako pulled up a new chair that hadn't been destroyed and sat herself down. With a small huff, she returned to work.

Edmond's hand fell to her shoulder.

It was near enough to startle her, and she jumped in her chair to look at him.

His eyes were gentle, "You okay? It got rough there for a minute."

Her hardened expression softened a little. "Good enough to keep working." She turned back to the computer, lip-twitching. "I…thanks. It really did get rough there." Gudako clicked through a few different files.

Edmond's fingers firmed a little on her shoulder.

She smiled a little at that. "Don't worry, my brother and I are used to this sort of thing by now." Gudako looked away. "We've even got the scars to prove it…"

#

"It wasn't an Urchin that bit me." Ritsuka forced back a sigh not wanting to come off like he didn't appreciate the rare, over-caring attention he was being given. He ran some fingers through his hair as the elevator dinged their stop.

Her fingers on his arm only tightened, and it pulled his attention right back to her.

She's rarely ever open with her feelings like this.

"How can you be so sure?" Alter asked. Her cheeks were red despite her forwardness in the matter. "Lily can heal wounds but she can't remove poisons and other afflictions that would've been given to you."

Ritsuka pressed his lips into a line and started to walk out only for his path to be blocked. His blue eyes went wide.

Alter had stepped in front of him, her arms slamming into either side of the wall around him to stop him from going anywhere. "I know exactly the kinds of things Gilles would put into those familiars of his. We need to go see Medea right not to be sure that-"

"Alter, I didn't get bit-"

"You were bleeding!"

Once again he hid his slight frustration. "It's bleeding because I slammed myself really hard into the metal corner of the emergency fire extinguisher container in the hallway!" Ritsuka's lip twitched and he lowered his voice back to normal. "Look, that happened explicitly so I could avoid getting bit by one of Gilles's familiars."

"Mmm!" Alter stepped in closer so their faces were only inches apart. She puffed out her cheeks to mark her own frustration as her amber eyes bore into his. Searching for perhaps anything that would concede something to her.

He straightened up as she drew closer, as she nearly pressed her chest against his staring into his eyes.

A frustrated growl escaped her lips. "You can't treat this so nonchalantly." Her lips twisted, her hands spread on the wall on either side of him, still holding him in place between her arms. "You were hurt, and you had to use a command spell to save yourself." She looked away from him. "You could've been bit somewhere and didn't know, or you could've been hit with one of their needle darts and didn't know. Or their toxic liquid blast could've grazed you-"

Ritsuka reached up and grabbed both of her arms. "Alter."

Her blush deepened at the touch and her amber eyes swiveled right back to his as if she was suddenly realizing their proximity. She managed to hold his gaze however as she went rigid from head to toe.

I could kiss you for your worry.

His lip twitched, a small smile forming. "I'm okay. I promise." He slid his fingers along her arms and then went to the sides of her shoulders. He assured her again as he did, his voice leaving the minor frustrations behind. Only when he touched her right shoulder, he felt her almost jump at his touch.

She winced and to her credit, Alter recovered fast. But the damage had been done as she took a step back from him.

His blue eyes narrowed, "Alter?" Ritsuka grabbed her hand before she could back away too much. "Did you get hurt?"

Alter looked away silently.

Ritsuka firmed himself, this time it wasn't a question. His memory was alight now when she dragged him down the hall towards the room with her sisters. The way that several of them had sprung around the corner at them. It was a very short, but memorable incident when he saw an urchin latch onto her shoulder. "Alter." He said again, his voice still calm.

Her shoulders seemed to shrink a little, and she shook her head. At what, it wasn't really clear to him. He could feel her fingers tremble a little tucked snugly in his hand. Alter bit her lip and shook her head more firmly again. "It's so stupid…" She said, Then her amber eyes looked up at him.

He once again could feel her tense up. "Not to me."

"I was referring to me," she bit out.

"Not to me." He repeated.

Amber eyes were wide on him for a few seconds longer. Her lip quivered slightly at that and she stared at him and he could see the want to protest slowly fade away. There was no point in protesting when he'd been there to see it happen.

She took a slow breath and once again bit her lip. With her other hand, she reached over to her right shoulder and pulled at the hem of her jacket. She paused to look at him, and then the way he was squeezing her free hand.

Ritsuka relinquished his hold on her fingers, and instead grabbed the sleeve around her wrists, above her gloved hands. His blue eyes fixed themselves on her.

Her eyes were fixed on his for a minute, and then they worked the sleeve off together so he could see.

Her shoulder was bloodied and marked like a bad bruise. He could see where the teeth had punctured her skin and where the barnacles left rough indents. She half turned away from him so her wounded shoulder was closer to him.

Alter's fingers were curled into fists at her side. "It should've healed by now…" Her lips twisted, her voice turning bitter. "Which means it affects my ability to heal as a servant more quickly…" Her amber eyes went away from him. "Whatever else I'm infected with I don't know yet…" Her nose wrinkled scornfully. "If he had more play time with it…"

Ritsuka resisted the urge to reach out and touch the other areas of her skin around the wound. He came to a quick decision. He went around to her other side and wrapped an arm around her waist. With his other, she snatched up her left hand.

With her wounded shoulder the furthest away from him. "Let's get back to the room, and I'll put in a call to the front desk to send Mash to-"

Mash was waiting in front of their hotel room door, still holding her shield in hand. She stiffened up right "Senpai!" She jogged over only her expression went from pleasant to worry very quickly. "Alter are you?"

"I'm fine," She bit out quickly, and her amber eyes turned to Ritsuka.

He nodded. "Mash, she's fine for now we hope, can you go get Medea, Nightingale, or Irysviel please?"

Her expression grew serious and her shield faded away. "Right away master." Her eyes flicked to the back of his hand and her expression only darkened as she noticed the faded red mark amongst the three. Then they went wide, "Was it bad master?"

Ritsuka nodded once, "Bad enough."

Mash looked to Alter and then she leapt forward, closing the small distance between them. The shield disappeared as she did. And without warning the shielder wrapped her arms around the summer berserker. Her grin only widened as she pulled them closer together. "Good work Alter. There was never any doubt that you would do your best."

Alter of course was left stunned. She huffed out a breath and looked away. "Whatever, it's not a…huge deal," she trailed off a little at that.

"I'll be back as quickly as I can," Mash said and she took off towards the staircase instead of the elevator, her shield reappearing as she went.

Ritsuka smiled a little at that and looked at Alter as he stepped forward to open their room. "My hero." He drawled out words with his smile growing.

"Shut up!" A red tint touched her cheeks as she half snapped at him. Then her amber eyes darted away. Almost instantly filled with guilt and regret. Instead of saying anything more though she slammed the palm of her hand against her forehead.

And that won't do.

He grabbed her wrist gently and tugged her along behind him. She didn't fight the movement and followed him slowly back into their room. Her frown was only growing as the seconds ticked by.

Their room was exactly as they had left it. With panels and storyboards scattered across most of the room and the chairs.

Alter caught up to him and paused, also taking a second to overlook the mess that they always made when they were in full work mode. He watched her amber eyes scan the room before landing on her bed.

She in turn grabbed him by the wrist and led her to where she intended to sit down. With a groan, she rolled her shoulder.

"So it still hurts?" He asked, sitting down beside her on the bed. His blue eyes once again roamed her over in case she had missed any more wounds like she'd accused him of doing earlier. Wondering if there was anything else that she was either hiding or choosing to keep from him until she couldn't hide it anymore.

Her fingers twitched in his hand, she nodded once. "Yeah…it stings." Her amber eyes looked at him and she turned away. Ritsuka couldn't say he knew exactly what she was thinking or feeling. But he once again could hedge a guess.

What isn't running through her mind right now?

He mentally had to slap himself at the obvious thought. Any number of things were clearly bothering her. All things he promised he would patiently wait for her to tell him. Ritsuka's blue eyes darted away determined to keep to his word and in place of her silence thought a reasonable enough answer to satisfy himself with her silence.

Even if she did start talking, there was every chance someone would come into the room and interrupt their talk.

Room keys had once again been distributed properly so it wasn't a question of if someone would come back through their door, but when.

Ritsuka squeezed her fingers. "Well, while we wait for an expert…it wouldn't hurt to probably still clean it. Since it's no guarantee that your servant's healing will come back immediately even if they are able to cleanse the poison grafting off of you…"

Alter's breath hitched, but even if he wasn't looking at her, he felt her return the squeeze on her fingers with one of her own. "You think it'll have a lasting effect even if it's removed?" She looked away and grit her teeth. "Tch, yeah, that sounds like something he'd do…"

He hummed only an acknowledgment at that, hoping that it came off on the comforting side. In fact to make sure of it he pulled her gloved hand to his lips and kissed her bare wrist. "I'll be just a moment." Ritsuka offered her a smile, even as he felt her go stiff at the blatant affection he'd given her.

Red-cheeked with parted lips, she stared at him and watched him get up and leave.

He only turned when he could no longer hold her hand. He backed away around the edge of the bed and turned toward his small night bag stuffed underneath the table. His lip twisted a little as he dug through it.

It's not our full medkit, but it will do.

He plucked up the small pack and turned around to see Alter staring at him from the bed still. "You carry a medkit around with you?"

"My sister and I both carry full ones and small ones." Ritsuka grinned a little at her. "Actually, it's come in handy more than you might think." He came back to the edge of the bed and hummed again with the tilt of his head.

Then he got the sense that he'd not gotten the reality of her question as her confusion only grew.

He cleared his throat, "Well, we are the only human masters left in Chaldea, while we can't heal everything ourselves, we thought it was important to at least carry around a lot of basic necessities. Even now we don't exactly have healers nearby, and yes typically our servants can heal themselves." Ritsuka smiled a little again. "But as you can see, life is strange when it comes to life at Chaldea."

Alter closed her eyes and huffed a single chuckle. "I…suppose that's a fair point."

A beat of quiet passed, and Ritsuka was wondering if he would have to ask the obvious question of her. He pressed his lips into a line though, swallowing the words that threatened to spill from his throat.

Rushing her won't help her.

Instead, he waited, until that beat had reached the ten-second mark.

Then the fifteenth.

He cleared away the bed.

Alter, grabbed a pillow and dragged it across the blankets and the mattress so she could lay with her feet toward the bed frame. She winced as she reached for her shoes and turned red at the thought of the obvious solution.

Ritsuka blushed a little but he focused on the task at hand. So without prompting he settled the small med bag onto the folds of the bed, and then moved around to face in front of her and crouched onto the floor.

#

She bit her lip in her best attempt at hiding her state of thoughts. Alter forced herself to look away too embarrassed and ashamed by the gesture.

Her master's hands as she'd grown familiar with, were rough because of how his life had treated him. She assumed it was simply a natural outcome of all that has happened to him. Magic, battles, and cooking scars marred them as the more obvious work he's done. So it was never the roughness of his hands that caught her off guard whenever they intertwined their fingers to hold hands. It was always that fact that they could be tender.

Moreover, the fact that they were being tender to her.

They were warm against the ankle of her foot, and more soles of her feet as they undid the straps of her heeled sandals. He lifted her foot a little to better angle it so he could see what he was doing to make sure he didn't ruin the shoes.

She bit her lip.

Damn it, get a hold of yourself!

Alter was all the more thankful that he never looked up at her while he was taking off her heeled sandals. She, at last, felt one shoe slide free with ease, and despite herself, her toes wriggled with their newfound freedom, and comfort with their surroundings.

She squeezed her eyes shut, wondering if he would remark something.

Only he didn't, and moved right along to the other, her toes brushing along his arms as moved to take off her second-heeled sandal. Her lip twitched, and she pressed them together even more as she forced herself to try and look anywhere but at him.

This time it was something that caught her eye. Unfortunately for her, it was enough to bring her right back to gape down at him. There was just the slightest tint of red that seemed to go all the way to Ritsuka's ears.

No no no. Stop looking.

Alter shook her head quickly.

Thankfully, Ritsuka seemed too absorbed to notice. But this time his fingers wrapped around her foot. The thigh-high red sock's fabric was tugged a little as he slid the heeled sandal away. It fell to the floor with a soft thump behind him.

Alter let out a breath of relief that it was over.

Only to then immediately go rigid as he felt his hands settle beneath both soles of her feet. So it was as if they were resting on a step rather than dangling. Once again she fought the urge to wiggle her toes. Her amber eyes tore themselves up to look at those blue ones, daring to risk looking at him.

Like her, his cheeks were red ear to ear. But his voice remained composed if a little bit strained. He blinked and sucked in some air, "Want me to help?"

At the way her heart was going she figured if she accepted it would be the absolute death of her. Her fingers curled into the folds of the sheets she was resting on. She shook her head firmly despite the blush. It took her a few seconds longer to loosen the tension in her lips, "No no, I can manage."

Alter was further amazed she managed a coherent sentence and she tucked her hair behind her ear as the beat of silence passed between them. Then with an effort and more biting of her lip, she lifted her legs, and the soles of her feet from his hands and scooted further back onto the bed. She half turned, twisting her legs underneath her.

Her master had stood up and pocketed a hand as he walked back around to the foot of the bed. He straightened out her pillow and made himself busy grabbing a few more.

Alter shrugged off the sleeve of her jacket, and then the other. She gripped it by the collar once she was finished and tossed it to a corner at the foot of the bed. Alter took another deep breath and laid her chest down toward the foot of the bed. She settled her head into the pillows and her fingers curled into the blankets.

I never had a problem swimming with him like this! Why is it such a problem now?!

She felt the bed indent just off to her right where he was sitting. Alter tried to sink deeper into the pillow.

His voice was low as he hummed.

Alter knew she was still red ear to ear still, and could only hope the mass of her hair was keeping that small tidbit of information from him.

Mash could be anywhere from fifteen minutes to an hour.

The summer berserker felt the need to remind herself in order to keep herself focused on why this needed to happen. She figured screaming into the pillow would be so obvious that her master would notice even if he was on the other side of the room.

"Alter?" His voice came from above her, gentle with its coaxing.

She hummed an acknowledgment, not wanting to turn and see him.

Too warm.

That stupid alarm bell went off again and all she could do was grimace with distaste into the pillow not wanting Ritsuka to misinterpret her expression to be toward him. They had too many missteps for her to be comfortable with the idea. She shook her head against the pillow again. "I'm fine."

Alter heard him chuckle a little next to her, and then there was a pause. His voice was once again composed, but she could sense a little strain in it. "I know this is probably the last thing you want to hear, but…the wound goes past your shoulder bone, and under your…back strap." Ritsuka took a breath.

His hands gently touched her again, and he could feel a finger dig under said thin red string while trying to avoid touching her skin.

Alter took a long breath and was silent as she listened to him, but even as the fabric touched her skin, she once again felt that sting she was talking about earlier. It wasn't as bad as the major part of the wound that was nearer her shoulder, but enough to know that her master's diagnosis had been right.

Ritsuka hummed again, "It's not as bad, it looks like they were only cuts from the rigid skin rather than the bit on your shoulder." She could sense him tense a little as he found the courage to ask the obvious question. "I can…work around it if you want?"

Stupid useless dragon witch.

Idiot idiot idiot master!

Her fingers trembled, and she curled them into the blankets to hide them. She didn't want to know how long it took her to form a coherent sentence again. "W-would it be easier?" Alter bit down on her lips and buried her face into the pillows. "If you…" Her lips twitched and under a tooth, it drew some pain. She hid her wince from him. "If I unclasped it?"

There was a beat of silence again, but as always she appreciated his directness with her, always treating her as something more than a tool to be cast aside. Something she both liked and despised about him.

"Yes," came the simple answer.

She hummed her acknowledgment and she could only hope he didn't see the way her hands were shaking as she pushed herself up. Unlike most bra straps as she'd come to understand them, most were back ties and clasps. Hers was a double front clasp, tied to a metal ring at the base of her neck, and another connection at the center base of her chest's valley, all connected to the leather collar around her neck.

She figured to keep it simple, the leather collar around her neck.

Amber eyes flicked over her shoulder at him, as her fingers gripped at the leather around her neck, and she could feel the tension that was there.

He had politely turned away and instead worked on digging through the small medical bag he'd brought, pulling out what he deemed he would need. Though she could see a small tint of red at his cheeks and ears all the same.

Alter wanted to grin with sadistic pleasure at his expression and make fun of him. But instead, she turned away, feeling her heart pick up its pace rapidly, and untied her clasp.

This couldn't all be a ploy to see me shirtless right?

Those damned trembling fingers slowed the progress even more as she began rolling the red strap on her back up to her neck now that it was free to move. Her breath hitched as she laid flat against her chest, loose fabric scrunched up against her. The heat of her face and breath warmed the pillow considerably as she forced her eyes closed.

Too warm.

Shut up!

Her amber eyes flicked over her arms and she splayed out on either side. To hide whatever else he might get the chance to see. Several more slow breaths escaped her. She could see that he'd finished working but was still politely turned away. "Done," She managed barely above a whisper and buried her face into the pillow in front of her again.

Alter curled her fingers into the fabric of the bed again.

He's not like him.

Thoughts came unbidden to her mind and she only wished she could sink further into the pillow and disappear entirely. She adjusted herself one last time hoping she covered everything as best as she could. "Done," She managed to repeat a little louder.

This time she felt him stir, the weight of the bed shifting.

He's not like him.

She shuddered at the stupid thought, holding herself against the bed with all the strength she dared to muster without giving it away.

His touch was tender, fingers on her bicep, curling the shoulder a little. Firm enough only to guide her in the subtle movement that he was asking of her. His breath was on her skin as he exhaled deeply leaning in close to better look at where he needed to clean.

The object was soft against the wound, and it was cold thanks to whatever it had been doused in.

That's when it started to sting a little.

She shivered at the feeling, squeezing her eyes shut bracing for it to intensify. Alter had a sharp intake of air at the burning sensation that was slowly encompassing her shoulder where the soft object touched.

He's not like him.

She felt the pillow under her eyes grow wet and stain her cheeks. Alter to stop herself from shaking her head at the thought, dug her teeth into the pillow. Her fingers and nails dug deeper into the fabric of the bed.

Stupid dragon witch.

All the while he tenderly cleaned her.

This time her sharp intake of breath was too shaky for him not to notice, she felt the movement pause on her back, as it was slipping lower. Breaking the concentration he'd had in trying to be gentle and slow. Alter didn't need to look at him to know the way those concerned blue eyes had shifted right to her.

The pillow only grew damp near her eyes, and a third sharp intake of breath escaped her, only this one was marked with a hollowed, and mostly muffled sound that made it impossible for him to avoid it.

Pathetic, useless, servant.

Her fingers were shaking despite herself, waiting for him to continue cleaning, only the pause stretched out a little longer. She dug her teeth in harder as if bracing herself for the moment that it would go on.

He's not like him.

Ritsuka touched the back of her nearest hand, sliding his thumb in between hers, and her index from behind, his index next to her middle, all the way through until his pinky curled around the edge of hers. It was all he could do from where he was to try and wordlessly comfort her. He snuck his fingers through the webbing of her hand and touched them to her palm.

Alter uncurled her fingers from the sheets to hold onto the fingers in her palm. She didn't dare open her eyes. Worried that she would see someone other than her master.

He held her gently for a moment waiting for her to give him permission to continue.

She found it endearing and her heart was leaping into her throat again. It was still a full thirty seconds before she managed to formulate any words for him to understand. "H-hurry up!" Alter winced into the pillow at that.

Damn it!

She heard him give a soft chuckle, "I'm almost done. I promise."

"S-sorry…" She mumbled.

"You have nothing to be sorry for…" He said, his voice tight and seemingly a stern refute. "Don't you ever apologize for that…" She could feel his weight shift on the bed again until she felt his breath shift to the hand he was gently holding. His grip loosening enough to make room.

And she felt his lips on her knuckles. He held it there for a few seconds, as he kissed each one individually as he had only just the other night, and that morning. It was enough to slowly move her the worst of her mind away. Replacing those thoughts with something far giddier to spread a blush through her cheeks.

How did someone like him ever end up summoning someone like me?

Then, in what seemed too short a time, he was finished. His fingers intertwined over her knuckles again for her to hold his fingers. "Just another minute…" Ritsuka said. She felt the soft warm sting travel lower to her shoulder bone dabbing at the scratch marks that had been inflicted.

Alter buried herself further into the pillow again, focusing on the tenderness. Her lip still quivered against the pillow.

But at least the tears stopped.

She forced herself to take a long slow breath in comparison to the sharp intakes she'd been having the last few minutes. It was shaky to mark how unnerved she felt.

Vulnerable.

Alter dug her teeth into the pillow again.

At last, the dab reached the base of her shoulder bone close to where she knew the red strap of her top was usually sitting. She whispered a soft comfort to herself that only she could hear, reminding herself it was nearly over. Still, the seconds seemed to stretch into eternity for her, as cool air seemed to settle around her.

The dab moved away, he tenderly grabbed her bicep, "Done." He also squeezed her hand gently trying to import onto her that he understood. Or at least was trying to. Then his grip loosened, and tried to let go.

Her fingers held onto his squeezing back, before allowing him to leave.

It was only then she lifted her head from the pillow, to see the tear-stained marks left and the imprints of her teeth fading away as the fabric's size reasserted itself back to normal. She sniffed and with her other hand, reached up and wiped away at her cheeks with the back of her glove. Alter only then risked a glance at him.

He'd turned away from her.

Alter looked down at her open chest, and took a deep breath, stretching the string back down her back. With that done she moved onto strapping her clasp back into place. A shiver ran up her back. She blew out a breath she was still holding and glanced at him again. "Done…" She said quietly.

Those blue orbs came to rest on her as he looked back over her shoulder, the blush that had previously been on his face going from ear to ear had faded. In them, she saw that same concern that had searched her patiently that morning.

She forced herself to look away. "Thanks…I…" Alter settled back down on her knees resting. Somehow, she still felt exposed. Her lips curled into a tight line, as she wrapped her arms around her chest. There was still a light blush on her cheeks. "I…that was harder for me than I thought it would be…"

Ritsuka hummed at her, "It's alright." He offered her a light smile. "Want to have…that talk now that we are alone?"

Alter blinked and looked up at him. "I…don't want to be interrupted…" She tilted her head toward the door. "You put Mash on the case Master, and like Sherlock, she'll find her man, or in this case, I guess she'll find that healer you requested." She tried to smile reassuringly at him and it felt as awkward as she imagined it would be. Her amber eyes flicked away from him again. "Besides…we still have to finish our Doujin, and now we have to find who did the attack…"

He huffed a chuckle, "We are always on the move I suppose." Her eyes flicked back to him as he stood up with a medical bag in hand. "Well, all I ask is not to forget that you are important too." Ritsuka smiled warmly at her.

Alter's breath hitched.

"You can't help me help anyone if I can't help you first."

She nodded numbly and looked away again.

Too good for you.

Idiot.

Her lip twitched, "Thank you…master."

#

"You're welcome." Ritsuka watched her for a moment longer before walking to the other side of the room to stuff his medical bag away. It was a small enough activity that kept his mind off the fact of how…intimate the past few minutes had been for them. He mouthed silently to himself as he zipped up the bag. "Don't do anything stupid."

He stood back up and looked back at her.

Alter had sat up, pulling her legs to sit in front of her, pulling one of her knees to her chest, to rest an arm on. Her face was still stained with all that she'd tried to hide, though it was quickly fading into obscurity. She plucked up one of the panels and tilted it so it was upright. Seconds after she did, a smile came to her lips as all her mental gears switched over to fill their free time with the doujin work.

Damn it's still a wonder she can manage that.

There he was, still lingering on her, and there she was plowing ahead right along.

He closed his eyes and took a breath.

At least she's doing a bit better.

Ritsuka's eyes drifted to the other panels around the room scattered left as the workspace it was before they had to go deal with the urchin problem. "Want to get back to drawing?" he asked gently.

Alter blinked and then shook her head, "N-no. Not yet anyway." Her amber eyes flicked to him, and as he drew closer, he could see some of the red cracks in them. The smile though did brighten her eyes a bit. "I think I want to go over some story notes with you for a bit if that's what you're intending to do?"

She glanced away from him again, another light blush tugging at her cheeks.

He chuckled, "Of course."

Alter smiled a bit brighter and scooted back on the bed to make some extra room for him. As she did, she gathered up all the panels that they'd scattered earlier. "Ushi will be back in a bit anyways and we'll have to fill her in on the…" She winced. "The problem." Alter tried to angle a glance over her shoulder at the wound that had been cleaned. Her frown only deepened as she glared at it.

"Just a little more pain?"

She hummed and nodded. "Nothing worse than what I've already felt…I guess that's only a good thing in this case."

Ritsuka let out a small breath of relief as he took his seat adjacent to her. There was a tug from his chest reminding him that he should probably try to do more. His lips twisted though as his mind very sharply reminded him with a rebuke, that he couldn't do anything more. After setting down some other panels, he grabbed a journal with the script notes, and he offered it to her first. "Well, anything of particular interest you want to look at?"

She plucked the journal from his hands and started flipping through some of the pages, and at last, he saw her expression soften as she went full bore into her doujin writing mode. The passion that still flowed from her as intensely as it had their first loop. The dark thoughts that had plagued her seemed to recede as the seconds went by.

It was enough to put another small smile on his lips.

Alter picked the maintenance scene, where not Atalante and Achilles were arguing with one another about how to best go about repairing their racing ship mid-flight. It was a tense scene where they switched out piloting and both of them were working at what they specialize in.

Ushi and Mash originally intended the scene to be lots of arguing with one another while ultimately still barely pulling through to the race's next marker.

Ritsuka found the humor to be good enough, focusing more on showing the facets of their long history together within the dialogue. This banter and their working together needed to feel disjointed but still accomplish what they wanted by the end of the scene.

She tapped her pen to her lip and hummed. "What if it's something more Hazardous? Something sci-fi…ee?" Her amber eyes flicked up at him. "I mean if it's more than just menial repairs, it would add more tension."

He raised a brow. "Radiation leak? Damage to life support systems?"

Alter tilted her head from side to side. "Yeah, something like that. I think it would spice the scene up and add more tension to the fact that they don't fully know how to work together yet." She lowered her pen to add a few more notes, her fingers pausing for a moment, and then she looked back up at him.

Ritsuka glanced down at the other page of the journal, their shoulders brushing as he angled to get a better look. "I think…then we should replace this insult with a variant of 'hurry up!' it would help to better round out the scene's tension than insult." His brows furrowed a little, "Atalante doesn't strike me as someone who would insult someone working to save both her life and their own."

Alter nodded, fingers tugging on his sleeve. "You're right I suppose not." She seemed to nudge him toward a particular sentence. "Is it a little cheesy then to have them apologize to each other at the end when they've saved the ship and their spot in the race?"

He frowned as he considered. "I would have to say…yes." Then he grinned a little. "It would actually do best rolling it into their other apology scene, the one after their mentor's death and they nearly die too as a result of both their mistakes…it would make that one feel more impactful."

The summer berserker shifted away from him, adding a few more notes down, flipping a couple of pages ahead to then add the rest. "I get that Ushi wants them to be sort of lying to each other in the first one, but I'm not sure how we can convey that with our limited panels and in the time we have left…"

The door opened and closed at the front of the hotel room.

Speaking of.

Ritsuka looked up to see Ushi stretching as she walked in.

"Master," She greeted. "No Urchins escaped up, but I was informed by Mordred that she's on the prowl for any others that could still potentially be roaming around." She paused, her eyes falling more towards Alter. Her grin grew widener and all Ritsuka could do was brace himself for whatever teasing was going to come out.

"I see you got Master all to yourself?"

He could feel her stiffen beside him and shift a foot away. "Y-yes, um I…well we…" Alter looked over at him almost pleading for him to bail out this quickly southward tracking conversation. "I…ended up getting wounded and the others are out on other duties."

Ritsuka frowned a little up at Ushi. "I would've thought you could sense the fight from the rooftop. Or were you still waiting for stragglers like I asked in case we flushed them up towards you?"

Ushi shrugged. "Not with Goldie's weird barriers in place." The assassin servant huffed looking a little off to the side. "We can't really sense much going in the hotel no matter where we are in it. I figured that if they should come up to the rooftop, I would intercept them." With hands on her hips, she looked over at Alter. "You're looking much better now. Did master's careful tending hands help to heal your wounds better?"

Alter pressed her lips into a line. "No…"

She raised a confused brow at that.

"Alter's servant healing factor's been interrupted," He waved for her to come over and join them at the bedside. "It could be due to low amounts of mana, but she didn't over-exert herself in any capacity, no spells, no phantasms. Just some familiar fighting."

"Which should be a walk in the park…" Ushi walked around pausing as she saw the wound on Alter's shoulder. "How long does it take for the effects to kick in?" She asked Alter bluntly.

The summer berserker shrugged, "It…varies depending on want."

Depending on want?

Ritsuka's lips twisted and he forced himself to look away, scratching the back of his neck. There was something that recoiled inside of him. A feeling he tried to tamp down so that it didn't leak into the conversation.

Ushi hummed, "Sorry Alter. Has anyone been sent out for a healer?"

"Mash." He said shortly, his voice a few shades colder, only realizing after, how the words slipped out. Ritsuka blinked and reached out to tug at Alter's fingers to hold them. "I sent her out as soon as we returned to the room. She should be back anytime now with the help that we need for Alter."

The assassin straightened out again, walking back around to the foot of the bed to look Alter in the eye.

Her fingers stiffened in his.

"Do we know if it was him Alter?" Ushi asked, her eyes softer than they were a moment ago, that teasing spirit was absent only for a moment.

"N-no." She said and then tilted her head from side to side. "Not yet at least, I'm hoping…we're hoping that the healer will know." Alter looked down a little. "Besides, I don't think I'm…interested in going over there right now even if I did know with absolute certainty that it was Gilles."

Ushi nodded gently, then she looked back at Ritsuka.

His blue eyes only looked at her pointedly before continuing. Ushi's smile was warm, and Ritsuka then firmed his grip on Alter's fingers hoping that it conveyed the silent comfort she needed. "We were…discussing the doujin's script before you returned, and we've made a few notes…"

The summer assassin nodded, "Gladly, I'll start us on some of the complimentary tea."

#

The servants that showed up with Mash were Nightingale, Medea, and by extension, with the princess of Colchis, Medusa.

Ritsuka loved Nightingale as a caretaker, but sometimes he had to admit she was very blunt and could be a strict teacher. (After all, it was her who'd taught him and Gudako how to properly use their first aid kits.) After Alter had splayed herself out on the bed like before.

In his attempt to give her some privacy in case Nightingale was going to conduct any other immediate health checks, (which of course she did), as he slinked away, Nightingale's eyes fixed themselves on him. He froze like a deer in headlights having nearly gotten away to go repack his bags.

Evidently, her sight was based on movement.

It had brought him to the forefront of Chaldea's foremost nurse's mind, and she promptly got up, strode over to him, and dragged him along by the arm right back to Alter's bedside. His eyes went wide as Alter was just letting the fabric slide away from her chest again.

"Eeep!" Even as she threw herself against the sheets to prevent him from seeing anything in great detail, she still went red from ear to ear.

Ushi laughed at them and sided up with Mash for the ongoing affair.

Nightingale's voice was terse and pointed as it always was when she was on task. "Did you properly swab the wound?"

"Yes."

"What about disinfecting with the cotton end?"

"I did-"

"Why didn't you use gauze?"

"She wasn't bleeding-"

"But it could've been attached to the punctures using medical tape and it would've allowed for more antibiotics to be settled in against the wound." Nightingale's eyes burrowed a hole into him as she settled the bed near the shoulder. Like with the others, she silently demanded an explanation.

He cleared his throat. "Antibiotics would have interfered with what you and Medea are doing.."

Nightingale tugged him to sit beside Alter. "We are both more than skilled enough to figure out if anything else was injected into her system with the reduced healing factor-"

"Nightingale, please…" Medea was floating above the bed, her cloak and cowl wavy with the motion. She herself was a little flustered at the commotion. "Can't you see you're embarrassing the young couple?"

Even from where Ritsuka was standing he could see Alter's fingers curling a bit further into the blankets. He must've red ear to ear too, as almost as soon as the heat flushed his cheeks. Nightingale whipped her eyes to him.

"Are you sick Master?"

"No…"

Honesty. Be honest. Lying to the nurse has never gotten you anywhere.

"No I'm not-" He sighed as she ran a palm up his forehead. "I'm flustered," Ritsuka said. "Because of both what your actions are and what Medea said."

The caster paused, floating still above the bed, "Really you aren't together?"

Thankfully, Ritsuka didn't have to fully address that comment, as Medusa walked over to them and tugged the caster by her hand, pulling the floating caster away from the bed and over to the other side of the room where she then gently set the princess down on her heels.

Life saver rider.

"I'm just making sure proper procedures have been followed," Nightingale said.

Alter cleared her throat, "Not to rush you all through this fucking pointless conversation. But am I going to go animalistic? Are my veins going to turn acidic?!" She sat up on her arms. "Am I going to turn frothing at the mouth?! Am I going to die slowly?! Do I have to avoid people because of…" She bit her lip and looked away, a light blush replacing her frustration.

Ritsuka raised a brow at Nightingale.

Priorities.

Thankfully the berserker nurse seemed to take a hint and gently pushed Alter back down and stepped away from him. She gently, with gloved hands started probing around the wounds that had been left.

He ran some fingers through his hair and took two steps back away from the bed. He breathed in and out slowly. The handle on his servants was getting more troublesome the more that they gathered.

Medea floated back over to the other side of the bed and lowered down near enough to Ritsuka. "Sorry for the comment…I was…genuinely surprised." She made a wavy gesture toward Alter and Nightingale. "You two just seem…really close."

"It's alright…" Ritsuka smiled. "For what it's worth…we don't know what we are either." He gave her a nod. He pressed his lips together with a slight frown. "It's…difficult sometimes…because I know something is always bothering her about our relationship. It's never good."

Medea stared at him, and Ritsuka saw a look of sympathy touch her lips. Her voice was quiet. As if anyone listening in on their conversation would hear a secret that she wished to keep. "I was in an abusive relationship, you know?" She glanced at Medusa who'd gone over to Mash and Ushiwakamaru to talk, and then back to her master. "I know it's…probably common knowledge by now that Jason didn't really treat…me well."

Ritsuka fell quiet and fixed his blue eyes on her. The princess of Colchis was rarely ever open about her rather turbulent history. Not the extent that Medusa ever was or the other more proud Grecian heroes from history. "Does it still bother you?"

Her equally sharp blue eyes turned to Alter, on the bed still being examined by Nightingale. "Sometimes…I've tried to take this life at Chaldea…and here with everyone as a chance to restart. It took me some time…but I have better memories to think about now. Better dreams to overwhelm my nightmares." Medea looked back at Medusa.

The rider smiled at something and looked over at her.

It was enough for the caster to smile too. "But I think it's only been recently for me, to get used to the idea of allowing someone to…try and care for me. I mean…really care for me."

Ritsuka nodded quietly a few times. "What you are saying is I need to be patient?" He straightened up right at that thinking immediately of a worst-case scenario.

I couldn't stand to watch her having a nightmare last night.

Medea nodded, "Patience" she agreed. "But don't confuse that with…becoming complacent. Medusa never once got complacent, even when she was quiet." Her expression turned sharp. "It's only going to get worse for a while. For both of you." She smirked a little. "Even after I had to heal your arm earlier this week."

He huffed a single chuckle at that. "I…" His lip twitched, "Thank you. I…will do my very best."

"Oh I know Master," she tilted her head. "And you can be rest assured, from all of us, that your willingness to do your best was never in doubt." She took half a step away, and then turned back to him. "And from all I hear from everyone else, I'd say you are already doing the right things. Just keep them up."

Ritsuka's lip twitched and he bowed his head toward her, another thanks on the cusp of his lips when Nightingale made a grunt.

The head nurse straightened up, "I don't see any signs of physical affiliations outside of the obvious one." She strode away from her to Medea. "Do you have anything to add caster?"

Medea shook her head. "No, I'm afraid I don't. No magical afflictions of any kind, no alchemy. I even checked for runes that could've been placed during the brief contact with the assailant." She paused as she once more to her place at Alter's side. "I'm going to remove the anti-healing effects, and patch you up with your permission?"

Alter huffed and her voice bit out, "As if I would ever turn that down." Then the summer berserker fell quiet again. She pressed her face into the pillow once more.

Nightingale hummed. "And I could not find anything else that would cause harm." She ripped off her gloves and tossed them into the trash. "If you don't need anything else master, or are in need of more treatment let me know." Her expression twisted, "I would also strongly suggest you stop wounding your arm so regularly. This is the second time this week that someone had to take a look at it."

Ritsuka sighed, "I know."

Why do I feel like a third time would get me detention?

His brows furrowed. "And to be clear, I don't exactly have much choice when I am fighting for my life in the stairway. It was either the arm or my head."

Nightingale's eyes narrowed at him with enough animosity for him to realize his mistakes.

Alright, let's review. Wrong comment, wrong tone, poorly timed-

"My point stands master." Her eyes narrowed. "It would do us all a better favor if you just avoided combat altogether. How many times do we have to tell you to leave the trouble for us?"

It wasn't an option.

Ritsuka didn't say anything more though. Knowing that it would ruffle the wrong feathers if he did. Instead, his expression softened hoping that Nightingale, despite her berserker traits, would see the look of understanding.

She seemed to, and with a huff, the head nurse showed herself out.

He paced back to the bed to look over Medea's shoulder. With the green shimmer over Alter's back. Slowly magic threads appeared like little green lines and started tying the wounds closed, as if leading the skin to regrow.

Alter's voice broke through the idle chatter in the room, where the others were talking. All three of them, Mash, Medusa, and Ushi looked over at her.

"It's not him." Her voice was bitter, and filled with all the resentment one could easily imagine being in place for her expression. She didn't lift her head much from the blankets and pillows as she spoke.

Or perhaps relief?

Relief that she didn't have to go see him and question it. Ritsuka raised an eyebrow at the thought of her going back to Gilles as she did earlier in the week. That still didn't sit right with him, the fact that she could've gone back to anyone, but she chose to go back to Gilles over anyone else that would've harbored her.

He shook the thought away.

She went to him because she thought he would help her satisfy her anger-fueled desires.

Medea quietly floated above Alter. "Are you sure?"

"Fucking positive," Alter bit out. Her lips twisted a little as she lifted her head up a little to look around at the others in the room. "The shithead has a very particular pattern and trust me this doesn't fit it."

The caster hummed and her eyes flicked to Ritsuka.

He nodded once.

Ushi rubbed her chin. "So you are really sure then? I mean urchins with salvia that can dampen a servant's self-healing ability seems like it would be something right up his alley given his history of doing just that."

Alter sighed frustration leaking in, "Yes, I am sure."

Medusa hummed, her voice was, as always, deep and melodious. "I mean even with the examiners." She took a few steps closer to Alter. "It would be unlike him to mix and match his poisons and choice of ailments. Even my experience with him has led me to have more than one side effect."

The floating caster hummed, "That's why I'm here love…and I'm saying that there isn't anything else beyond the reduced healing factor." Medea hummed one last time before floating over the summer berserker to land in front of her. Her heels made no noise as she connected with the floor. "I'm all done now, your healing factor should return within the hour, and I've healed the wound in its place."

Ritsuka could sense the bubbling irritation coming from Alter even as he paced away from her, as she started to re-tye her clasp. He went over to the window to look out onto the sunny beach at all the shapes he could see out there. His lip twitched a little.

If it's not him…

"I know what I said!" Alter shouted again, daring to pull his attention back. But a quick glance out of the corner of his eye had shown her still fiddling with her clasp her fingers almost digging into her neck while she tied it in place.

He turned back around and stuffed his hands into his pockets and closed his eyes.

Focus.

But he could sense a pattern developing in the conversation as he counted out a few more seconds in his head. Ritsuka touched his chin in thought following the conversation. Gilles changing patterns is something that they would need to consider.

"But you understand that it's not like him?" Ushi put it in with a raised brow. Her lips were compressed tightly.

He sensed it before he saw it. His blue eyes went wide, and he could feel tension. Already he could sense Ushi's mistake and the need for some careful rephrasing. He imagined that even if it had come from him, the reaction would've been similar, if only less pronounced.

Alter was sitting up on her knees and gestured out with an arm. Her face was reddened with anger and a mix of other emotions that were too quick for him to place. "Of course I know it's unlike him to avoid mixing and matching poisons!" Her other hand curled into a fist in the bed, "WHO DO YOU THINK HE TESTED THEM ON?!"

Ushi's mouth opened and then closed.

Mash had stiffened.

Medusa didn't react much, her eyes had darted over to Medea.

The caster in question had also fallen silent, and currently, she was facing away from Ritsuka so he was unable to see her expression.

Alter huffed, "I'm certain it isn't him…" Her amber eyes darted away from the group and she fidgeted suddenly in the heavy silence. "I-..." Her lips quivered as she bit down on them to prevent anything else from escaping them. Her amber eyes belatedly looked over at him, filling with guilt, shame, and uselessness.

Shame?

He blinked that thought away, and his voice carved through the silence. Ritsuka didn't raise his voice but spoke calmly and matter-of-factly. "Would you mind giving Alter and me the room please?"

His voice seemed to startle a few of the others.

Medea looked at him pointedly, asking an unspoken question.

I hope I know what I'm doing.

He'd paced back over to them and waited quietly for them to shuffle out of the room.

Alter sat up a little straighter and shifted toward the edge of her bed standing up to brush past them and walking towards the balcony. She turned her amber eyes to him once, and then faced away from him.

Ushi looked down as she paused in front of Ritsuka, "Sorry."

He shook his head, "Hardly your fault…" He nodded at her, "Take Mash and scout the property, just to be safe, don't approach within a hundred meters."

The summer assassins nodded once. "Understood Master," She turned away and started to quietly fill Mash in on their way to the door. She looked back once and offered a sympathetic smile as best she could.

Medea and Medusa followed them outside.

And the door closed, leaving them the room.

Ritsuka bit his lip for a moment, wondering how he should even begin this conversation. Dr. Roman had far more extensive experience in therapy than he did. What was he supposed to do? Just wing it and hope for the best?

She deserved better than that.

His fingers curled and slowly he turned around to face her.

Alter was facing away from him as she slid her black jacket over her shoulders again. Her white hair was emblazoned by the daylight coming from the window, the sun arching high above the building to mark the mid-afternoon the time was slipping into. Even from where he was he could see the tension lines in her neck.

Emiya had once told him he had to help a friend deal with such trauma before. Ritsuka desperately racked his brain for that story and the advice that had been layered within it. It had been for someone important to him and beyond that…

Ritsuka paused beside her near the window looking at her.

She stiffened as if she could feel his concerned eyes on her.

He looked away, "I won't press you about it…" Ritsuka walked toward the sliding door and leaned his back against it so he could at least half face her.

Alter pointedly looked away as he did. "But?" She asked.

"No buts, no questions." Ritsuka said, "Not unless you want to talk about it." He folded his arms and looked towards the door that all the others had left though. He swallowed and fell quiet, wanting to think carefully about how to phrase every word or convey any action. "Though…" he smiled a little. "...I should point out that you've already promised to tell me a lot of things today, with timing being the worst factor of it."

A half chuckle and a half hiss escaped her lips, she wiped at her eyes with the back of her black gloves before she turned to look at him. "I…guess you're right about that." She shook her head, her mouth opening and closing. "I just…" Her lips curled into a small upward smile. "I guess it is strange to think that I haven't thrown you across the room yet?"

Ritsuka snorted, "Oh the conversation is not over yet." He smirked, "There is plenty of time for one of us to fuck something up."

The next bark of laughter that came from her lips was full. There was a sparkle in her amber eyes that he saw. "Fufufufu," She still hugged herself as her shoulders shook. "People can return to drop in on us here. I…" Her smile twitched and she covered her mouth a little as she looked at him. Her hand fell away for a moment. "I…have a hard enough time trying to…express myself with you as it is…"

He held out a hand for her.

She blinked away whatever tears were threatening to fall, and she half laughed again. Alter sniffed and smiled at him. Then she reached out to take his hand, and he interwove their fingers despite the awkwardness of their adjacent positions.

"You didn't when we first started to work on the doujin together?" He pointed out softly.

Alter shrugged and touched her other hand to her face as if she was trying to hide. "That was literally months ago now…" She snorted. "Or less than a week I guess…" She looked away from him again and shook her head. "And back then…I guess for me there wasn't much for me to express." She trailed off and then shook her head again. "No wait, that's not right I…"

He could hear her struggling. He watched her fingers open and close from fists. He could see her brows contort with her darkening expression.

"I mean…whatever this is…it wasn't there when all this started…" Alter paused and considered quietly. "I mean…I know it wasn't…and on top of everything else that's…" Her lips compressed and twisted.

Ritsuka waited patiently, tilted his head up a little, and he smiled pleasantly at her.

She couldn't do anything to hide her blush. "I…mean all I have are just negative thoughts…and doubts…even when you are…doing everything you can for me." Alter looked away.

Gently he tugged on her hand, pulling her a bit closer to him.

She followed slowly until she was right in front of him. Alter was biting her lip and looking up at him, cast in shadow from his form against the sliding door. He could see the strands of hair standing up on the shadow plastered against her skin and hair. Another sniff escaped from her. And he could see it in her eyes and expression. Almost everything that she wanted to tell him. But there was something there to hold it in. The indent of her teeth on the lip grew more pronounced as once more he could see those words she wanted to say not coming to her.

He could see her frustration forming.

Ritsuka nodded at her, "I can lock the door?" He offered with a raised brow.

Alter shook her head once, her lips parted and then closed again. She shook her head again, and this time words did seem to come out. "No…we…" She sniffed a half smile coming up and fading quickly. "We don't have the time." Alter reached out to touch his shirt, running her fingers along where his heart stood beating. "We…I…made sure of that when I left this week."

Water touched her eyes again, daring something to break.

She shook her head, "We've got a doujin to finish and a bad guy to start searching for…" Alter trailed off. "If we have the room to ourselves…tonight." Her amber eyes looked away. "I promise I'll…find…someway to tell you…"

Hard enough for her as it is.

Ritsuka nodded once and gently tugged on her arms again.

Alter followed looking up at the movement curious as to where she was going to be led this time. Only she stiffened as he felt his arms wrap around her.

He could feel the tension in her muscles, and only paused to give her the opportunity to push him away. When that didn't happen, he continued and pulled her tightly against his chest. Ritsuka ran a few fingers through her hair to comb it. His blue eyes looked down at that one strand sticking up and poking him in the nose.

It was enough to bring him a smile.

"I'm not going to force you to talk to me if you don't want to…just know that I want to help. So do the others." He fell quiet, his mouth opening and closing wondering if he could add anything more. Wondering if he should.

Alter was silent, but the tension started to fade as the seconds ticked by. He felt her arms around him in turn, feeling fingers curling into the folds of his shirt on his back, and the other curling into the fabric above his chest. She turned inward a little, and he could feel her nose. It also prevented him from seeing her expression.

Her fingers started to shake as finally, he hoped, some of that dreaded fear and anxiety vanished with the time that they'd spent holding one another. Even as he held her, he could feel his mind race. All those possibilities that had been done to her that she'd implied had been done to her. Even if none of them were certain.

His eyes closed as he squeezed those thoughts away, hugging her.

She'll tell me, if not tonight, then when she is ready.

#

Alter lost track of time, something she remembered sharply ridiculing and mocking him for only just last night. She'd squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head to prevent anything more from coming out. It was a near thing.

I already look pathetic.

She took a long breath.

I don't want to make it worse.

Slowly, she unwound her arms from him, even as she felt his warm breath in her hair. Alter took only half a step back, and her eyes narrowed on those damp spots she'd left on his shirt.

Damn it.

Her amber eyes darted away as she took another half step back, and it was only then, she felt his arms start to unravel from around her. One of them paused though, to snag her fingers back into his palm.

She fought another smile.

He chuckled more amusedly, but made no comment. "Shall we get back to work?"

Alter nodded once, "Yes, let's." She allowed him to lead her back across the room to her bed. Once more, as they had before the hotel had been breached, they returned quietly to work, laying out the panels as neatly as they did previously. She watched him as she sat herself up against the headboard and pillows. Against her knees, she laid down her drawing tablet and her stylus, once more getting to work.

Ritsuka's voice broke through the quiet routine of work only for a moment. "How long do you want to work on this?"

Alter glanced up and nodded once, "As much as we can before the others get back."

He hummed in agreement.

As always she threw herself into her work with all the focus she could muster. Alter thought it might've been easier because of all the things she was avoiding. As she traced the characters and drew the scenes she could feel that coil of emotions lurking just underneath the surface threatening to burst out.

It was never in a good way.

Her lip twitched and she peeked over her drawing tablet.

Ritsuka was refining the doujin's script as he always was. Beside him was that other smaller notebook that she'd rarely had the chance to see into. One was for the dialogue bubbles and the other was his.

She looked back at her screen.

Achilles and Atalante were in each other's faces for this scene, anger plastered on their expression. The details were there, with only some finessing. On the cover, their hair colors would be blue, and the skin-tight suits were also brought into more focus just beneath their necks as their faces were close to one another.

She closed her amber eyes for a moment and tried to picture it. How could these two ever become comfortable with one another? She tapped her stylus pen against her leg. As the seconds ticked by with her thoughts, she bit her lip. Alter found herself staring at it longer wondering how best to go about touching up the page's final product.

Comfort.

Her amber eyes once more peered at Ritsuka's profile as he sat adjacent to her, writing something into both journals.

Alter closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

At least he makes me feel safe.

A half hour had passed before Ushi returned with more than just Mash. Gudako, Edmond, Robin, and Ibaraki returned. They'd all come bearing their story and the scouting report. Though perhaps more importantly, they'd come bearing food for all of them to eat and take yet another break from the doujin.

#

Ritsuka's eyes narrowed a little. "Use this wall." He gestured to the empty wall space above the bed's headboards. He restacked all the panels that he'd spread out for use.

Alter left her drawing tablet on the small desk with its stylus right by her bedside. She stood up and stretched, the small smile plastered on her lips. One that Ushi caught and smirked at her for.

Almost immediately that smile faded into a red blush and a huff of frustration. Only she felt a tug at her from Ushi as she tried to step away. It drew the annoyed pair of amber eyes to her, daring her to try anything stupid.

Ushiwakamaru for her part softened her expression. "Sorry about earlier…" The summer assassin placed both hands on her hips. "I mean…to say that uh…I'm sorry I pushed the subject when you were…clearly uncomfortable." Her lips compressed and she looked toward Ritsuka on the opposite side of the room from them, talking with Mash. "Even still, he had me scout the property."

Alter straightened up a little.

Does he not trust me?

Her lip twitched.

Calm down…it was a precaution and I would've done the exact same thing.

She curled her fingers down at her side, hoping that it went unnoticed and she tried to smooth her bitter expression. Amber eyes flicked away from her, and instead focused on Ritsuka, and she found that it calmed her even more. She took a deep breath, "Did you find anything of interest while you were out?"

"Nothing," Ushi promised. "Nothing that would implicate him in any way." She nodded towards Mash. "The Shielder over there has keener eyes than she likes to let on. So if she didn't see anything that would implicate a change, then nothing has." She sighed a little. "I wish we could talk Medea into coming with us though. She would've better be able to detect changes in magic."

Alter nodded a few times and looked back at her. "Thanks…" She trailed off a little. Only to feel Ushi's arm wrap around her shoulders.

"Never problem Alter!"

"Ugh," She pushed the arm off and crossed the room, ignoring the summer assassin's insistent giggles of laughter from behind her.

Gudako was directing Edmond around on the beds after forcing him to take his boots off, as he hung some of the papers and the photos of faces along the back wall. She paused though, to leave him to his task as she spotted Alter.

She huffed as she planted herself next to her master's sister. "What did you find?"

"Three shadow servants and a ton of paperwork." Gudako smiled a little and touched the tender spot on her cheek where she'd been cut. "Close call."

Alter nodded once and folded her arms taking another deep breath. "I take it you know what happened to us."

"Most of it…" Gudako said, her golden eyes now looking directly at her. As she peered at Alter, she reached up and re-tied her frizzed orange-red hair back behind her. Her eyes softened a little. "I take a book out of my brother's pages too, and he occasionally takes them from mine…" Her lips twisted a little. "Have you told him?"

Alter hesitated, her face fell a little. "No…what I mean I guess is…not yet." She hugged her shoulders.

It sounded lame even to her own ears. Like a deflection that lacked the art of distraction. An admission without substance.

The summer berserker's frown deepened.

Gudako stared at her a moment longer and then nodded once. "Then I won't ask." Instead, she closed the small gap between them and wrapped her arms around her. And like with her master, she was slow when she stiffened under her arms.

"I…" Alter trailed off. "Sorry," She said.

She heard Gudako hum. "We'll be here for you, all of us. Whenever you need us…" Gudako didn't hold the hug as long as her brother had and stepped back. "Better get to him before we start up again though…" She huffed a small laugh. "I can tell I'm not the person you want holding your hand."

Alter huffed, eyes narrowing a little if only to hide that spreading blush. "Shut up." She managed to take only half a step away from her only for a mass of pink hair to walk into her. Alter was about to let out another huff.

Only she felt Mash's arms wrap around her too.

Amber eyes stared down at her.

She smiled up at her with those purple pinkish eyes, "You're wonderful Alter." She said firmly. Her brows knitted together as she smiled all the more contently as she rested her cheek on Alter's shoulders for a moment holding her in place.

"Ugh." The summer berserker made an exasperated grunt. "Yeesh, you all worry too much." Slowly though, she found herself already in the motion of hugging back. She tried to blink that feeling in her chest away. Mash held her in place for a moment longer before she bounced back and moved over to Ushiwakamaru.

Ritsuka was looking down at something pausing only to look up at her. "Alter, great I was wondering what you would like-" He frowned suddenly, eyes narrowing, and he got back up to his feet. "Alter?" He asked, confusion and worry coursing through his tone as he stared at her for a moment.

Alter blinked. "What?" She asked, her own confusion coming to the surface.

He pointed quietly, "Your…" He trailed off.

"What?" She reached up and wiped a drop away from her cheek, and she froze. "I…" Alter stopped and stared at him. Slowly she brought her other hand to her face as well wiping her other cheek. "I…" Both black gloves glistened a little in the daylight from the window. It was her nerves that seemed to fail, and when she opened her mouth again, not even the singular word escaped her lips. Her amber eyes fell to him.

Ritsuka smiled a little, "Overwhelmed?" He asked softly.

She nodded numbly and took the last few steps toward him to snag his hand. Alter held it with both of hers trapping it between her palms, feeling his knuckles underneath her gloves. Her fingers still shook.

He formed his grip on one of her hands pulling her amber eyes to his. "Do you want to step outside?"

Alter thought about it for a second, biting her lip. Then with a deliberate effort, she shook her head at the idea. "We can't afford to waste the time before the reset." She mumbled a little as she once more brought herself to look away.

There was a hum, even as she looked away to be carried off for the moment by her own thoughts. She felt her arms tugged by him bringing her closer. Alter looked up again and found that he pulled her to his side.

She glanced away trying to ignore all the remarks she'd just been given from his sister, teasing her about her wants.

Even still, he wrapped an arm around her, resting on her hip, and pulling their sides together. He grinned a little at her and reached with his spare hand for his drink.

Damn it.

All those times she'd thought of Marie as clingy.

And here I am…

She smiled as she rested her head against his shoulder, taking a deep breath. With her other hand, she snaked around his back and grabbed his hip too. Reaching just beneath his mystic code shirt. Alter smirked when she felt him stiffen at the touch.

He glanced down at her red-faced but still composed, and raised a brow.

She only looked away, content to leave him in his stupor. Alter instead with her other hand, ran her fingers through the webs of his against her own hip. She turned a little, so her ear rested on his shoulder rather than her cheek.

In front of her, she could see Mash and Ushi giggling at something. Edmond and Ibaraki fight over the placement of paper on the wall above the beds. Robin whispered something into Gudako's ear, earning him a smirk from the orange-haired mage. She shook her head and whispered something back.

It was fainter than normal, but she could still hear the beating of Ritsuka's heart despite the ruckus of the room.

I could get used to this.

Alter's smirk faded into a smile.

#

Gudako sighed as she scooped her orange hair together into a clump and re-tied it once more to keep it out of her eyes. "I can't believe I'm saying this." She puffed out her cheeks and her eyes narrowed as she stepped away from all the newspapers and pictures hung on the wall. "But we have more problems to deal with now." Her lips twisted into a slight grin at that.

"What else is new?" Ritsuka said. "Alright, you wanna go first? Or should I go first since technically I'm talking about something new?"

His sister shook his head and waved at him, "You're occupied."

Alter opened her mouth at that comment, eyes narrowing toward her even as felt the color rush to her cheeks. Instead of saying anything though, her hand dug into the fabric of his shirt covering his hip.

Ritsuka huffed a chuckle, "Sure. Go ahead sis." He held her snuggly against his side as comfortably as he could manage.

The orange-haired master grinned and nodded once at them. "Alright, then listen up. We've got at least forty cases in the last week and a half alone pointing towards gas leaks and other symptoms of illness." Her lip twisted a little. "Which means to us…lowly members of the mage's association, that a servant or a mage is going around and converting people's living energy into mana. Which means if it's one of ours, they were affected like Gilgamesh and are completely unaware of what they are doing."

Edmond hummed. "Or?"

"They aren't one of ours," Gudako stated plainly. "There are plenty of shadows around, which is typical for a singularity. But shadows, being shadows never really have to go around and take people's life energy for the sake of feeding into their own mana stores as they don't have to sustain much of a corporeal form. Typically anyway…Medb's braves might be the exception." She paced a few times between the beds beneath all the papers that had been hung above the headboards on the wall. "For me, that speaks to the fact that only a servant could cause this."

Robin had hand in the pockets of his swim trunks, and with the other, he'd intertwined his arm with Ibaraki. "You think it's connected to the singularity then?"

Gudako shrugged, "At this point, whether it is or isn't, ultimately it's irrelevant." Her lips pressed together. "They will continue to be a problem whether directly connected to the singularity or not."

It was Mash who spoke next, her purple eyes narrowed with that same deductive look that Alter had grown accustomed to seeing. "Which then begs the obvious question for a suspect." She glanced at the others, "Since most of our findings about the singularity have pointed us toward one BB as our prime suspect."

Master is right, she has been spending a lot of time with Holmes.

Under her arm, she felt Ritsuka stiffen, her amber eyes flicked up to watch his face. The slow twitches and tweaks of his expression as he considered the inclusion of BB as a possibility.

Her eyes flicked toward Edmond, the man who was also on the case of BB probably the longest out of all of them. Alter's lips twisted a little as she considered her findings over the last couple of weeks.

Which isn't much.

Her expression turned a fair shade of bitter at that. "It's possible," She said after a moment. "But wouldn't it draw too much attention from us if it were her?" Her amber eyes narrowed and then she looked up at Ritsuka. "And she still calls both Ritsuka and Gudako Senpai right?"

Edmond hummed and nodded once. "That implies that she's one of ours don't you think?" His brows furrowed a little. "I mean why else would she call them Senpai without having a history with them…" He trailed off a little.

Gudako nodded, "Unless she's being controlled by another master…I'm inclined to think she's not the center of this one issue." She pushed her thumb up against her bottom lip as she thought a bit more about it. "We may have to simply add this to our to-do list and observe once the loop is reset."

Ritsuka smirked as he finally seemed to catch onto something. Alter noticed and glanced up at him just as he started to talk. It was that same expression of determination that she'd grown fond of as time has gone by. "You nabbed victims and cases that were reported just the past five days didn't you?"

His sister smiled, "Of course."

With the discussion of the loop, Robin once again took to explaining it either in full detail to Ibaraki or he was explaining it away.

Gudako eyed the pair, and then looked to Edmond. "We'll get started on this tonight. I've got a few addresses for us to start with and ask questions. Assuming the neighbors heard anything we may as well start there." She glanced down at her flower-covered shirt and frowned. "Though I think I'll have to snag a more authoritative-looking outfit again."

"I don't see how that's a problem. And I love you for your brains anyhow." Edmond smirked.

"Down boy." She said in a little more of an airy voice.

Get a room.

Alter frowned, realizing she'd muttered it out loud when Ritsuka squeezed her hip and loosed his fingers again. She sighed and looked up at him. "I guess that leaves us with more doujin work tonight doesn't it?"

Ushi leaned forward and smiled. "Of course it does, or did you want me and Mash to leave you and our master alone?"

"Why you little-" Her eyes narrowed.

"Alter…" Ritsuka hedged from beside her.

Her lips twisted. "Ugh. Fucking fine…" She waved the summer assassin's comment off. "If I didn't just get into a fight I would rather like to blow off some steam against some stupid oversized crabs right about now." Alter hugged his arm a little harder.

Or that dumbass Shakespeare again.

Mash nodded, "Thankfully since we already have a fair bit of progress, we should make it right on time for Servefest in two days." Her master's pink-haired kohai looked down at her watch and hummed. "More than enough time." She waltzed over to grab herself another part of her lunch.

Ritsuka was quiet and gave Alter's side a squeeze again before he started moving toward the headboard side of the wall. His grip loosened a little leaving the invitation for Alter to join him up to her.

With slightly narrowed amber eyes, she reluctantly let him go, instead turning to grab some food for herself. Wondering what tastes she was going to try today to go with the food. She felt Ritsuka's smirk more than she saw it as she caught him just as he was moving to look away from her.

I did use mana for the fight.

Her eyes narrowed a little.

With sleep and blood practically off the table for replenishing energy, food works just fine. Even if it is not as well.

Unfortunately for her, Ushi also met her at the pile of food that had been brought in. The summer assassin grinned at her but ultimately said nothing. It left Alter to worry about whatever scheme or tease she was working up next. She glanced away and grabbed one of the wrapped tacos for herself, and likewise nabbed her drink looking sideways at the master's conversing at the edge of her bed.

"Must be pretty drained after that fight huh?" Ushi said, and this time her smirk was gone.

Alter frowned at that.

Not the comment I was expecting.

Before she replied she flexed her fingers testing her prana. The od of her spirit origin responded in kind at the subtle shifts of her command. "Drained…" She agreed, "But not worth overlooking in a fight." But she could feel something in it that wasn't supposed to be there. Like before it pulsated suddenly.

Then there was that same familiar pulse, her amber eyes narrowed with a sharp intensity as her fingers twitched like an electric shock had been sent through them. Alter's lip twisted and quickly looked at Ushi.

Confusion settled on her expression for a moment. "Alter?" She asked.

Alter took a step towards the table and leaned over it. "I…need to sit down." Her head started spinning and buzzing with an intensity that only overwhelmed her as it had for only a second after she'd chased Shakespeare. She pulled a chair out and plopped down and pushed the palm of her hand into her forehead.

The summer assassin glanced at their masters in deep discussion, and then back to her. Her brows knitted together. "Jalter, if you aren't out of mana what's wrong?" Ushi's expression had softened into seriousness and concern.

"I'm…fine." Alter said. "It happens whenever I expend too much mana…" She ran her fingers through her white hair. "I'll pass with the rest of it in a moment."

I hope.

Her lips twisted with dark irony at that. She'd hoped for a lot of things recently when everything but the doujin that they worked on seemed beyond their control. Hoping that those familiars weren't his. Hoping that they would win each loop on for that to be crushed. Her fingers curled into her scalp in frustration.

It was all so grating.

Her eyes flicked to Ritsuka across the room.

I still need to figure out how to tell him.

It didn't help that all those bitter memories somehow made her feel dirty. She scratched at her elbows and tried to focus on the food in front of her. Something that her master had pointed out would help her.

It only started happening once I got here.

The only thing that had changed was her spirit origin right? She cursed at herself in the beat of quiet that passed between them. Alter wanted to lean back in her chair and think about all that had gone wrong. "Just my fucking luck."

Ushi sat down beside her. "Eat Jalter, before you burn a hole into the floor with that glare of yours." She sipped her drink and leaned on her arm looking at her. Then she grinned a little. "Let me guess, you are angry at yourself about something right?"

"Ugh." She turned her glare up at Ushi. "Yeah, and what of it?"

The summer assassin shrugged. "I'm just saying, it's pretty obvious you give yourself a lot of grief over the smallest things." She took another sip of her drink. "Whatever it is though, I'm sure that our master doesn't see it the same way you do." Ushi leaned back in her chair a bit and gave her a lopsided grin. "But if you don't want to talk about that, how about we talk about our doujin for this round? You and the master must've certainly come up with a few…alterations?" That shit-eating grin grew wider.

Her amber eyes only narrowed and tilted her head from side to side with each syllable. "Ha. Ha. Ha." Alter straightened up and finally unwrapped her food. She took a single bite and smiled a little. She chewed and swallowed.

It was cheap food, that much was obvious she noted. The taste itself was subtle but manufactured more than it would've been from a restaurant. It was still somehow good enough to eat.

"Fine," Alter said at the end of it. "We've decided to rework some of the more dialogue-heavy scenes. Thankfully, those won't require too much editing on the panel end of things." Her amber eyes glanced sideways. "Though we have only a rough script to go with it right now."

Ushi nodded, "What else?"

So she continued laying out in detail the panels she was working on and the script revisions that they'd done. And as she talked, Alter slowly found her frown starting to fade.

###

Gudako was resting her palm against her hair, looking up at the ceiling as if she were begging for death. It was a look he'd grown familiar with over the years being with her more often than not. Ritsuka sided up to her and raised a brow.

She sighed, "It's nothing. Just…" She half grinned. "I'm once more lamenting the loss of my summer vacation." The orange-haired master paced away from him. "I heard Nightingale had stopped by. How was it?"

He blinked at that, and then chuckled as the statement sunk in. "As usual…rather tense. But she completed her job as always to perfection so I don't really have any reason to dislike the actions as a whole." Ritsuka folded his arms and considered. "It might be worthwhile having her tag along with you on your investigation into these cases." He gestured to the wall of printed papers and photos.

"It would be." She said with a nod. Then she looked at him pointedly, "We'll need to talk more about the memory problem first thing tomorrow morning." Her fingers curled "and we should compare notes to make sure we at least have the same memories."

Ritsuka nodded. "Agreed."

She blew out a breath and glanced toward the dinner table. "Come, we should get something to eat ourselves before it's all gone again." Gudako tapped his shoulder as he passed.

He followed.

It was as they got closer to the group, she spoke loud enough to include the others in her question. "So, what's the news on the attack here at the hotel? I know you've ruled out some of the more obvious suspects that tend to use familiars." She walked around the table and grabbed a drink for herself.

Ritsuka glanced at Alter.

She stiffened upright.

He looked away and grabbed a wrapped taco for himself. "I think the first thing that's on my mind is something obvious…were there any other casualties in the hotel?" His blue eyes flicked to Mash.

The pink-haired shield stiffened upright with a blush. "I…no there weren't any." She looked away and scratched the back of her neck. "I asked around with Mordred after you sent me off with mission details."

Ushi nodded, "You should've seen her questioning people. It was an amusing sight to watch people try to get over the fact a young woman was asking such questions." The summer assassin clicked her lips together. "But yes my conclusion was the same as hers. There was only one casualty in the hotel."

"Sampson…" Edmond's brows knitted together. Then he looked at Ibaraki. "Hey oni, was there anything you worked with outside the vorporeal chickens."

"I-what? I didn't really…"

Robin's arm wrapped around her. "Ibaraki," He spoke calmly and to others, she stiffened a little at the sound of his voice. "It's not a question of judgment, they want to know the truth. To see if you would even know anything else."

The blonde summer oni ran fingers nervously through her hair. "No…I…no, I was only with the chickens at any time. And the person who worked with me…tried to keep themselves equally secretive about whatever they were doing." Her eyes narrowed a little. "Nothing about oceanic-based familiars."

Edmond hummed and bowed his head politely, "Thank you."

"Y-you're welcome." She said, stumbling over the words.

Ritsuka touched his chin.

So it wasn't her, but that still means Sampson is the only one targeted. Why would someone target him? All he's been is an editor for…

His blue eyes flicked to her adjacent to him around the table. "Alter," He asked carefully. "Maire and Jeanne were expecting Sampson's help on their doujin for some editing for Servfest right?"

At the sound of the nickname, she seemed to suddenly focus on the conversation at hand. It wasn't that she hadn't been, but it was clear she was preoccupied a little. At least until this moment. Her amber eyes narrowed. "They were, it was supposed to be their last editorial check-up before Servfest."

Ushi hummed, "They usually turn theirs in tomorrow morning so that Gil's printers have a full day to get copies out before the events start."

But Alter's expressions hardened, "You think someone sabotaged them?"

He shrugged. "It's not an unreasonable assumption. I think it leans even more credence to Gilles not being responsible for the attack. He has no care as to the outcome of Servfest." Ritsuka's blue eyes narrowed a little. "The problem is, that list of potentials is quite large when you consider it."

Alter hissed out a curse. "There is only one though that obviously sticks out like a sore thumb above all the rest." Her fingers curled into a fist on top of the table, grinding her teeth. Rituska could feel the mana in the air almost pulsate around her, even as her name spilled forth from between her lips it remained prevalent, the hairs on his arms standing up. "Medb."

His lips twisted at that, not bothering to hide the distaste in his expression. His fingers curled a little at the thought, and he could feel that emotion boiling over at the thought of her murdering Sampson simply to get an edge out for Servfest. Something new and entirely different had to have happened to her to make her get this way.

Even still, one word escaped his lips. To sum up his thoughts about the situation as a whole. The only word he could muster to give others insight while his mind raced through all the facts, like Alter coming to one inevitable conclusion.

The fact that having me spend direct time with her next loop is a fucking certainty now.

"Shit."

###

She had faded away into the crowd at the sight of them. It wasn't that she didn't expect them to show up in force. But still, the expediency had been unexpected. Her eyes narrowed from her safe spot hidden away in the rafters.

There she listened to her Braves tell them only the truth.

That they had no idea where she had gone.

Medb watched three of them descend the steps into the hotel showroom backstage. That pink-haired shielder was with him, and so was that white-haired albino. Her lips twisted a little, wondering how this night might've gone differently if it had been he who showed up alone. That way he could've been all to herself.

She left a different way than the roof.

That stupid green archer was probably up there blocking the way, or a nearby building to keep watch.

Her eyes flicked from side to side with a deepening frown. There she thought the possibility the ground floor exists would be covered by anyone and everyone else that they managed to get. Which left her, the Queen of Connacht only one real avenue of escape.

They would pay for this.

Her lips twisted.

He will pay for this.

She went into the deep recess of the building where the power generators hummed. And more importantly, where the running water of the sewers that were there rolling over their concrete pipelines with only affectatious vigor. Her mouth twisted a little more at the smell and sight of it.

They will pay.

Medb took a breath and made her exit along the sewers. The one path that would be too late. Or maybe, she considered with rye amusement, they'll get into a fight with her braves and they'll bring her the prize as she would so wish. She paused only to check turns as she sprinted along the dark corridors

She must've traveled several kilometers, before she looked for a manhole to burst through, up into the street. With her searchers now long behind her, she was at last free to travel the rest of the way to her destination. Medb exited the sewers with grace, her beauty drawing eyes as it always did.

A smile formed at that.

They always fall for me.

But then she reminded herself that she was on the clock. That there was a tentative chance that somehow they would find her method of escape and track her. She placed the manhole back over to cover her chosen exit. A risk she was unwilling to afford to anyone who might follow her. Medb, even as she left the manhole behind, blew a kiss at a lone bystander, giving him a wink, before touching a finger to her lips.

Our secret.

They blushed and scratched their head, giving a nod.

She took off at a steady pace one would expect from a powerful servant such as her. Medb leapt from building to building. Her feet fell landing softly in the gardens so the impact on stone couldn't be seen. Her eyes smiled when at last her footfalls found sand, where they would simply be a pair among thousands.

A lone hut with a fence and barrier stood in her path. When compared to the cityscape that started only a mere kilometer away, it looked out of place. The hut marks its departure from the city with just its looks and feels alone.

A shadow crawled away behind a pillar to hide.

Medb ignored them as she strode forward, sword hanging impatiently over her shoulder. Her feet crunched into the broken shells of hollowed crabs and twisted necks of vorperals that littered the edge of the household barrier. She noted even as she passed through the central gate that more of those shadows appeared.

She could hear the urchin squelching into the stone path as she circumvented the moss-covered fountain in the center of the courtyard, heading to the open door. Inside she was met with the smell of alchemical work and the scent of cursed magic. It was all she needed for a smile to finally form on her lips.

Perfect.

There was an open doorway directly in front of her that one would've casually assumed to be a closet. From it came a figure with eyes that seemed to roll onto her with focus. His foot falls noiseless as he reached the top of the stairs. The mark of a well-trained killer to sneak up on anything with ease. Blood stained his right arm all the way up to his bicep, while the rest of him appeared clean and stainless. His blue and purple robes shone in the small light above him.

Bluebeard smiled genuinely after a moment had passed. "To what do I owe the pleasure, your grace, Queen of Connacht?" He bowed formally despite the stain on his arm.

Medb smiled, "I've come to return your Grimoire." She materialized it over her hand and then tossed the book over the five feet of space between them. "It seems however they don't suspect you at all?"

His sharp teeth refined a bit more in a wider grin. "Of course, they don't think it was me. My unholy virgin is smarter than she looks and she would have noticed the distinct lack in the alterations of the versions you sent." Bluebeard paced away from her heading towards the kitchen. With a wave of his hands, the dozen urchins that had followed her quietly suddenly dispersed back to their previous posts in quick and decisive factions. "Forgive them, they are hungry for flesh you see."

She nodded, nose wrinkling a little. "Of course." Medb frowned a little at that. "Would they not crave what's in your basement then?"

"Not really, they prefer girls to boys." He answered as casually as if she'd asked him his favorite color. "I never really could figure out why, even to this day." The facet of the sink turned on and he began to wash his arm from the bicep and worked his way down to his wrist.

"You really are a depraved thing aren't you?" Her nose seemed to wrinkle further.

"Indeed, the deepest kind. Just so." Gilles looked over his shoulder at her, still washing away the blood. For a moment she saw that same look in his expression that she remembered from their previous visit.

"Unlike you, I'm simply not in denial."

Her lip twitched.

"I take it, due to the hour of your visit, that our brave heroes of Chaldea had figured you out?" He smiled again. "Which means in turn your little mission was a success?" He tucked the grimoire into his robe.

"Hardly thanks to you."

Gilles shrugged, nonchalant. "I said I would play no part in it, and I haven't." He clicked the faucet off and his lip curled a little. "I never said anything against you taking my book and having some fun of it of your own accord." His lips twisted a little suddenly as the smile faded and his expression darkened. "Though I must warn you now, I only allowed it once to see what you would do. The next time you will not be stealing it so…effortlessly."

She couldn't resist the urge to smile a little at that. "I heard you refused to help them kill me."

"I refused Jeanne Alter's request, yes." He nodded his head from side to side. "Her flailing about is amusing to me as she figures out how to deal with you." He wiped his wet hand against his robe and folded his arms behind his back. Then he smiled again, "And I never said she couldn't take my grimoire if she wanted."

Medb hummed at that, "Perhaps I should kill you for even entertaining the idea…" Then she shook her head. "But no, I think I have a much better use for you."

"Oh?" His eyes narrowed a little toward her. "And what may I ask, do you wish to use me for?" Bluebeard at least turned to face his sharp carnivorous teeth coming on display despite his best attempt at hiding his curiosity.

She hummed, "I want you to make me a personal Monster." Medb grinned, "With all the little poisons, elixirs, potions, and concoctions you think you can manage." She tilted her head a little. "If you're feeling up to expressing your creativity anyways." She paced away from the kitchen's entrance.

Gilles hummed, "You know, I think I have just the one. For now, it's only on paper and a concept. But perhaps a second pair of eyes will add some inspiration for my work." He walked past her and once more opened the door to the stairs leading below. Then he managed a small smile at her. "Follow me, your grace."

Medb watched him disappear behind the doorway and down the steps. She smiled to herself a little.

They are going to pay.

###

As the afternoon had turned into evening, it was easy to sense a sense of growing dread from the group. Frustration too seemed to boil over in the regular conversations. After going around and asking questions regarding Medb's disappearance, furthermore with the addition of dinner, it was late when they returned back to their main hotel room half turned into a workshop for a doujin, the other half a display for investigations.

All the while, out of the corner of his eye, Ritsuka watched Jeanne Alter.

She pressed a palm into her forehead, hunched over the drawing tablet. Her food and drink were half eaten beside her but had been left there for the better part of an hour.

It was easy to tell something was off about her.

It was with his careful observation skills, that he noticed Ushi likewise looking out for Alter. Every hour or so as they worked away into the night. She showed up to rouse Alter from whatever she was working on, or wherever her thoughts had drifted to take her away from the doujin.

Gudako tisked, talking low. "You're staring again."

He hummed, "Only a little." Ritsuka propped his elbow up the table resting his head against this fist for a moment. "This whole experience today reminded her of things I don't think she likes to think about."

His sister huffed a chuckle. "But people who've had hardships make for much better company, no?" Even as she spoke her golden eyes lifted to Edmond across the room, sitting cross-legged, going over all the printed reports they'd gathered from the hospital.

He was looking to see if they'd missed anything.

"No argument here." Ritsuka said.

Even now though there is a lot on her plate.

He considered that for a moment, wondering if that was what was getting to her. The pressure between the constantly growing obstacles and their little negligent progress on the doujins they produced each week.

Doubt.

Ritsuka squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed the sleepiness from them. "Next week will bring answers to your investigation. Tracking Medb, while repeating events will give us answers for ours." His lips twisted a little at the thought. "I think I may have figured out the catalyst from this loop's events that lead to changes."

Gudako raised a brow in question.

"When we defeated her on the beach," Ritsuka said simply. "It's the only thing where perhaps we could call it…humiliated her in a fight. We also destroyed her beauty pageant as a result of siding with Cleopatra over her." His blue eyes narrowed a little at the thought. "I think she did promise me revenge anyhow."

His sister was quiet as she considered. "Why would she target Sampson then? It doesn't make much sense if the goal was to target any of you." Gudako fell quiet for a moment considering, her brows narrowing with thought. "Unless…" She started slowly looking up at him. "She's testing her control of the urchins?"

"Eliminating the competition while taking her control on the urchins out for a spin…" Ritsuka's brows furrowed a little. "That could fill in the logic gap…" His brows knitted together, "But her cover is blown now so she probably regrets such a close proximity target to us."

Gudako shook her head, "Not necessarily. Sampson doesn't normally stay at the hotel, right? So perhaps it was a change she'd not been expecting." She sighed, "At any rate, what are we going to do when we get to next week and repeat events? Do we repeat it exactly simply so we can confirm it next loop? And then what?"

It was then, in his tired, addled state, he replayed the events of the aftermath of that fight in the corner of his mind on repeat. From that Ritsuka had an idea, a horribly stupid idea. His brows knitted together and he let that idea escape his lips.

Gudako's tired expression vanished as she sat up straighter, her lips pressed into a line to match her tension. She nodded towards her, still sitting at her desk working away. "She's not going to like that."

"No…" He agreed, his eyes narrowed. His fingers curled at his side. "She won't." As if reflexively he glanced at the back of his wrist noting that faded command seal on the back of his hand. The one he'd already used to save himself. His fingers curled a little, as he hoped beyond all else that he would get it back when the loop reset.

Communication with Chaldea has been too sketchy for me to even attempt a recharge.

Ritsuka's blue eyes narrowed softly as he looked up to see Gudako's eyes still on him. He could feel the worry in her expression as much as she could see it.

"If it doesn't work…"

"Then you can bail me out." His mouth twisted a little. "Our contract with Mash provides a general resistance to…" He trailed off searching for the right word. "Her skill set.. It will last long enough I think to smooth things over…" He glanced away. "Otherwise, our best option for the beach party is to let Medb win against Cleopatra and Caesar, and we just deal with the onslaught of crabs and urchins."

Gudako sighed, "All this of course still assuming that her change is a response to our actions, and not the work of whatever else is behind this singularity."

Ritsuka nodded.

The to-do list gets longer and longer as we grasp for any lead outside of the obvious one of winning the doujin contest.

His blue eyes flicked to Alter once again, catching her as she stretched her hands high above her head and shifting from side to side, swaying. He huffed a small smile on his lips and could feel the sleep in his eyes.

"It is getting late…" Gudako closed her eyes and yawned. She tapped her knuckles gently against the surface of the table between them and found her feet stretching. "Ed?"

"Yeah, hon?" Edmond looked up from the papers sitting between him, Robin, and Ibaraki. His amber eyes narrowed on her golden ones and all at once, he understood. He nodded at her, "Yeah, I'll be good to go in a second. Should we leave everything in here with you guys?"

Ushi nodded, "Yeah, our room's kinda turned into a workspace for everything anyways." She started staking the papers with Mash and walked over to join Ritsuka for a moment, grabbing his shoulder.

He raised a brow at her.

She nodded towards Alter pointedly.

If he didn't feel so sleep-deprived he would've laughed at that. Instead, it was a huff and a snort. "I know, you guys get yourselves ready to sleep too." Ritsuka stood up and stretched himself one last time, looking down at his mystic code.

As Ritsuka crossed the room to Alter, just as Gudako and Edmond made to leave.

"Night Alter!"

"Night." She acknowledged, she held up a hand waving over her shoulders behind her. Ritsuka caught her hand before she could pull it all the way back. Alter stiffened, turning suddenly to look up at him with wide eyes. She blinked and her shoulder slumped a little, forcing herself to relax. "Yes? What is it?"

He hummed, "It's getting late so…" Ritsuka suddenly found himself trailing off. He wanted to hit himself for not at least rehearsing this conversation in his head. "Uh, I just wanted to remind you that you need some sleep tonight. Especially after the fighting today." His fingers tightened their grip on her hand. "I still remember what happened the last time you exerted yourself for fun, not even for a fight."

She pouted at him, "Fine…I guess." Alter looked away from him, eyes drifting towards her drawing tablet. "I finished the first ten panels to completion… so I guess that's something done." Her fingers held onto his hand for a moment as she bit her lip.

Ritsuka smiled a little.

"Hey master, you coming with?" Robin had paused in the hallway, his green cloak thrown over Ibaraki's shoulders.

"Yeah, I'll be behind you in a second." He smiled a little at that.

Jeanne's fingers firmed their grip on his hand. The words that escaped her lips were so quiet that he couldn't hear.

Ritsuka blinked. "What?"

She was red from ear to ear now, eyes darting to him, and then away from him to look at other things. With her free hand, she tucked loose white strands of her hair away behind her ear. Alter's fingers gripped his tightened again and she whispered once more, so quietly that if he wasn't listening as closely as he did, it would've been lost like the first time.

"Stay," She whispered, between trembling lips.

Who could refuse that?

Who would want to?

His blue eyes were on her for a moment and they softened. "As you wish," Ritsuka's voice came back to her as a whisper and he could feel her stiffen at the words escaping his lips. Gently with his other hand, he ran his finger through a lock of her white hair. "But I still have to go back to my room to get my things."

Even as he spoke, he found those amber eyes still looking at him, filled with quiet surprise. At what, he wasn't quite sure. It could've been any number of things. Though it was clear what her next emotion was. She nodded once. "Okay…I'll…" She glanced back at the drawing tablet. "I'll just wrap up this last panel."

He smiled and nodded. "Don't overdo it Alter, we still have all day tomorrow…" Then at last he turned to leave with a stretch. His blue eyes found Ushi and Mash in the corner cleaning up the mess they'd left with their dinner. Ritsuka then turned around the corner meaning to head back to the dorm.

"Night senpai!" Mash gave a small wave.

"Night master." Ushi smiled after him.

"Night all." He said, smirking a little himself, waving over at them as he made his way towards the door.

Maybe tonight will be filled with wonderful dreams once more.

###

Her amber eyes followed him until he was around the corner. They stayed there long enough until she realized she was staring at empty space. Alter blinked and forced herself to look away, eyes drawing first to her bed. Then finally back to her drawing tablet, the last half-finished panel that would take her the doujin a third of the way to completion.

He said yes.

She brushed a finger over her lip.

There was a phantom memory that made her blush from ear to ear.

Stop it!

She shook her head, eyes narrowing on the panel she was working on, and could only feel something bubbling in her. Her lips twisted almost with revulsion at the emotion. Her amber eyes were wide, trying to make out her own reflection on the screen.

Why the hell did I think asking was a good idea?

Alter wanted to bury her head away somewhere. She dropped her stylus on the table, and instead ran her hands over her face. It was all she could do to try and force those stupid ludicrous thoughts away. When that was finally over she reached over and chugged back the rest of the water sitting on her desk.

It was only then she realized she wasn't alone in the room.

"Alter, what'd you ask Master before he left?"

She stiffened and slowly turned to see Ushi standing behind her, hands on her hips, a smug grin on her face as if she already knew the answer.

"Ugh." She made a noise and turned back around to finish up the panel as she'd originally planned. She suddenly found it all the more invigorating given the pair of eyes on her was slowly trying to weed the answer out of her. It was made all the more difficult when she heard her footsteps come up closer from behind her.

"Hey, those are looking really great!" Ushi's eyes narrowed a bit towards the drawing tablet. "I think one more morning and you and Master will have sorted out the rest of the dialogue that can use some touching up." She tapped her fingers along the back of Alter's chair for a moment as she eyed the panel.

It took far more effort than Alter was willing to admit to not look back at her, knowing that if she did, Ushi would have been caught in a vice trap. But damn was it difficult to not know what her expression fully was while looking over their work.

Ushi sighed, "So look, Mash and I are thinking about going to stay over with Marie and Jeanne again." She grabbed Alter's shoulder. "They'll want some good company for tonight."

Damn. Damn it. Shit.

Alter caught herself too late to stop her amber eyes from meeting Ushi. She was standing much like she had a few feet away when she tried to probe her for some information. Only now the joking had left her expression.

She half smiled at her, "You still need to tell our master about your mana problem."

Alter bit her lip and looked away.

Among other things.

Her stylus had stopped moving and she let the quiet linger between the two of them. Then instead of drawing on the screen, she tapped the stylus back against her knuckles. "I…still don't know how to feel comfortable with talking to him…"

She glanced up to see Ushi glancing at Mash, before turning back to her. "Haven't you learned what you're afraid of Alter?" She folded her arms and sat down on the bed adjacent to her, close enough that she could see her face.

The summer berserker considered in silence and in her silence was long enough to let Ushi know that she either knew exactly what she was afraid of, or she hadn't given it enough thought to know. Alter pressed her lips into a line and shook her head a few times. "I…don't fear rejection…I think in part I don't anymore." She raised a brow and looked at Ushi to see if she would supply anything.

Ushi seemed to consider her quiet with folded arms, "It's not his rejection you fear it's his judgment." She then smiled, "And trust me, I believe he's the last person in the world who would ever judge you for all that's happened."

She suddenly felt herself grow bitter, at the very thought. It was an easy emotion she realized. And perhaps that was how she knew Ushi was right. "He should…" Her own words were filled with judgment.

That stupid idiot.

The summer assassin looked away. "Maybe," Then she shrugged and shook her head. "But that was never really our choice was it?" Her eyes narrowed a bit towards Alter. "There are a lot of things he thinks and says, Alter. But just remember the fact at the base of it all." She smiled a little at her. "He likes you, and he only wants to help you."

Once again her amber eyes looked away, and her fingers twitched around the stylus that she finally put down. Her breath was shaky and she pressed her palm into her forehead, with once more her black-gloved fingers combing her hairline. "I'm…afraid," She said slowly as if pondering the very notion of it over.

"Of that, and I think it's obvious what other things you are afraid of." Ushi half smiled at her. "But you shouldn't have to worry, you know he isn't anything like that." She beamed down at her. "You two have a goodnight, and…try to get some sleep?"

It was too many emotions for her to properly consider. It all had hit her at once in those few sentences all the things she needed to try to tell him. All the things he might already suspect. Her face only turned red as the rush of thoughts finally caught up to her in full, her amber eyes going wide as she glared at Ushi.

She sputtered. "I don't-" She coughed. "I mean we haven't…"

Ushi laughed, her shoulders hunching with the movement. "You're too easy Alter." She smirked again. "Ready Mash?"

This woman will be the death of me.

The pink-haired girl had two duffles over their shoulder, "Ready!" She smiled in that cute innocent kohai way that she always did whenever she was rarely oblivious to the things that were happening around her. "Goodnight Alter! Sleep well." She bounded on her shoes, handing over Ushi's bag. "I figured out a way we can cheer Marie and Jeanne up!"

"Good, I've got a few ideas myself." Ushi followed just behind her, turning one last time to wink at Alter as they went around the corner towards the door.

Leaving Alter flustered, flabbergasted, and all manner of other emotions coursing through her. She covered her red cheeks. "How the fuck am I supposed to finish this panel now?!"

#

Alter gave up after five minutes wanting to throw her stylus and chair across the room in a frustrated huff. Although she managed to reign that part of herself for only a second, she arched her chair back, meaning to chuck it across the room. Only to see that the curtains for the door had been parted and that crack was still there from earlier that loop.

She blinked. That accursed memory of throwing him across the room soon after coming back. "Damn it." She slowly let the chair slip out from between her fingers, letting it fall and clatter gently in comparison at her side to when she'd all but tossed it across the room. She glared at the crack, and thanks to night having fallen, she was faced with her own reflection in the low light of the room against the sliding glass door to the balcony.

The summer berserker huffed.

You'll hurt him again.

Her lip twisted.

No, I won't.

For her it almost seemed to laugh with mirth even as she pressed a palm against her forehead, closing her drawing tablet down for the day.

But when is it ever on purpose?

Her lips curled a little, and her eyes narrowed as she walked back around the bed towards the sliding door. She grabbed her bicep, and let her nails dig into her skin, trying to draw out some physical pain as if it could distract her.

Alter's footfalls came to a stop only a few inches away from the sliding door. "Tch, not like it matters much anyway. I've got you to always keep me company right?" Her lips pressed into a line as she turned bitter. "Even when I try to push him away again right?" Alter looked down at her feet for a moment, curling her fingers at her side, squeezing her eyes shut. "I won't hurt him again." She repeated quietly into the empty room.

The reflection of her behind that crack in the window seemed to almost sneer at her. Their laughter only seemed to grow.

"Shut up." She unlatched that particular half of the curtain, letting it close back over the cracked half of the sliding door. Alter twitched as the reflection she was glaring at was replaced by that thin line of fabric. Her amber eyes glared at the fabric as if expecting that reflection to still reach out and grab her.

With a huff she moved to close the other half of the curtain, her eyes catching the night sky as she did. For a brief moment, her mind seemed to quiet, and the burrowing headache that was present seemed to fade. From the corner of her eye, she caught those same constellations she'd pointed out to her master in the last loop.

She half smiled.

Monsters don't deserve happiness.

Her smile twitched, and she squeezed her eyes shut. Instead of responding though she found that her amber eyes drifted to her notebook that lay under her lamp light. Then sitting atop the leather cover.

What makes a monster?

Her lips twisted a little further into a deep frown. She almost shivered with sudden realization her breathing grew partially erratic as her amber eyes hardened over. A cold chill seemed to settle into the room. Alter resisted the urge to shiver as she crossed the room over to the notebook flicking off all the lights except for the one at her bedside.

She slid underneath the covers and settled in with her pen and notepad on the sheets on her lap. Her amber eyes stared at it a moment longer, her fingers twitching at her side. Until she finally flipped it open.

Did you finally figure out the most important part?

Alter didn't say anything. Instead, she wrote a single word down onto the pages, that added to her makeshift list from before. The story of how one would make something such as her.

As us.

Her lips pressed into a line as she re-read that one singular word over and over. It was something that should've been so obvious that she felt so stupid for not having realized it sooner. Even with Ushi's talk.

Fear.

#

She didn't know how long she was sitting there staring at it. The only thing Alter knew was that it took the sound of the door to the hotel suite closing again, the metal lock clicking into place, to snap her out of it. Alter stiffened, her journal suddenly feeling heavy in her lap. She pressed her lips together into a line, a hope that it could hide if only for a moment the thoughts on her mind from him.

Fear.

Ritsuka appeared around the corner, his larger duffle bag strapped over his right shoulder, as he leaned his left against the corner of the room. His blue eyes, as always held that sense of calm supportiveness they always did. He smiled and his gentle voice seemed to soothe the room. "I'm back Alter."

It was too much for her to even bother trying to hide it. The way his blue eyes held her amber ones up to him without any effort was enough to lull her comfort back. Her fingers beneath the sheets stopped shaking. Her lips which only a moment ago had been twisted with dark thought turned upwards in a wide smile. A noise escaped her lips, something between a whimper and a huff of laughter, came to match her smile. "Welcome back Master."

Comfort.

He tilted his head a little as he looked at her with a lopsided smile, he let the duffle bag slide off his shoulder with a small shrug. His finger snatched the strap before it went into complete freefall, and he guided it down to the floor gently. There was something in his eyes that reminded her of the dance the night before.

Something of determination.

She looked away from him, all those words wanting to come forth. Alter wanted to explain to him in detail all that had happened. "I…"

"After." He said leaning down to his duffle bag pulling free a cord for one of those iPods that she'd heard about. Even as she thought about it more, she remembered that weird orange-haired doctor was quite fond of them. Then DaVinci became involved in a sort of side project with him because of it.

Still, Alter blinked at him, brows knitting a little in slight confusion. She started to feel self-conscious again despite her efforts of trying to just…wait for him. Once again that four-letter word emotion creeped up back into her gut, threatening her with just, what felt like added weight.

Did I misread the situation?

"W-what?" She wanted to curse at that stupid stutter and she shook her head to clear it. "I mean, after what?"

He fiddled with a cord on the table with the unused tv and a small black box. "Come here." He gestured to her, his hand outstretched for a moment, and then returned to whatever he was doing. Though even as he looked away, she could see the smile on his lips and those lights of her bedside lamp in his eyes.

Stupid idiotic smile.

Anything that makes him smile at her like that she knew had to be worthwhile. Her heart gave the answer long before even her brain had time to process the fact she'd spoken. "Okay," She moved her journal and pen onto the nightstand, and then scooted to the edge of the bed, pulling herself out from just beneath the sheets.

She was halfway to him when the music started.

A slow tune started to play with a muffled voice. The kind of music one would waltz gently back and forth to.

And Alter froze mid-stride to him, her amber eyes going wide in an instant with all the realization of what was about to happen. "Oh…I uh…" She trailed off a little even as her cheeks started to warm.

I can't be the reason for this right?

Ritsuka's warm chuckle filled the room even as he held out his hand toward her. The smile on his lips was enough for her heart to skip a beat. "Come on." He said in the smaller space between them. His fingers stretched, waiting for a full five seconds before she managed to bring herself to grasp at them.

Even as his fingers tugged her towards him she blurted without thinking. "Why?" She asked, her damn curiosity not allowing her to just easily sink into the moment. Her lips trembled with a twitch and she looked away from him. Despite looking away, her limbs were guided into the same places where they'd been the night before. One hand outstretched, finger intertwined with his. The other she was free to place, for now, on his shoulder.

His other hand was on her hip, a place she realized she liked because he could tug her in closer to hug with ease from its placement.

He tilted his head at her, "Do I need a reason?"

She hesitated, biting her lip before answering. "I…suppose not." Alter looked away from him, wondering if he really knew what it was doing to help her.

Ritsuka's blue eyes had never left her; she could tell when she finally managed to bring herself to look at him. In them, was that gentle concern that had been there all day whenever they neared those topics of discussion neither wanting to force her to talk, but wanting to find a way to help her.

He spoke slowly and softly, "There were several reasons." Ritsuka smiled privately just for her. "I thought you looked particularly beautiful next to your bedside lamp. With that journal in your lap."

She turned red again, pressing her lips into a line. "Tch," Was the only noise she allowed to escape from between her lips. But while her facial expression had filled with the barest minimum of temporary faux annoyance, her eyes had softened. Darting away for a moment as she suddenly found looking into those blue eyes all the more difficult.

Ritsuka tilted his head to one side, "But beyond that, I thought you looked distressed about something." His fingers firmed on the webbings of their intertwined hands. "I…just didn't like seeing you like that, so I thought perhaps maybe this would help."

Amber eyes had found him again.

Comforting.

There was that stupid urge that crossed her mind again like it had that morning when she was trying to wake him up. They wanted to leave nothing to chance as she stared at his lips. She missed the taste of them. The phantom feeling of what it had been like with only their absence for a day after discovering something she so desperately wanted a repeat of.

Something she rather aggravatingly had decided wasn't a good idea. Alter wanted it of course, but she would be using it to hide from their talk. A talk she'd already admitted to herself over and over again that they needed to have.

Alter hesitated.

Ritsuka, she belatedly realized must've noticed her fingers shaking in his hand. A place where she could do nothing to hide. Even as he tugged her closer against him, wrapping her around her lower back to hold her against him.

Alter's breath was shaky too, she found. Her fingers curled into his shoulder as she laid her ear over his chest. Listening for that usual thumping sound of his heart. Suddenly she realized that the main emotion she was feeling was exhaustion. As suddenly she started to feel heavy on her feet in his arms.

She squeezed her amber eyes shut, to block it all out. Whispering only just for him to hear between the quiet of their breathing. "It's working wonders." Alter almost bit the words back fearing the reaction they would draw. As if that small admission would be twisted and crushed into a misshapen understanding.

He only hummed, and pressed his lips against her forehead. "Then I'd say it was worth the small unexpected." He moved them in that same slow circle as they'd done the night before in their best dress.

Tonight, it was done in their swimsuits and in their messy hair and wrinkled clothes.

She sniffed even as the water reached her eyes. "You're too good to me," She whispered, her voice cracked and filled with a twinge of desperation. Even still she managed it as a statement of fact in observation rather than an opinion.

The music continued, the song almost reaching its end.

Alter could feel his throat rumble with a chuckle against her head, he brought their other hands in so he could wrap it around her. She felt his thumb brush just behind her ear. "So what?" He asked her, truthfully not expecting her to have a verbal answer. The words were left in the air between them. It made her shudder even as she refused to meet his eyes at such a simple refute. She felt his fingers dig gently into her skin.

So what?

Alter squeezed her eyes shut wanting to clamp down on the water she could feel gathered there. She wanted to articulate why he shouldn't care. Just for the sake of trying to push him away. It wasn't safe for him to like her.

You'll hurt him again.

She dug her teeth into her bottom lip preventing yet another chorus of words that could escape from her. The need to explain to him that anyone else would be less pathetic. Anyone else would be easier. Another human would be a better choice. Not a servant. Not some fictional knock-off of a real person.

Only she was real.

So what?

"I don't-" She whispered, and once more the words died in her throat.

Deserve.

So what?

Her breaths were uneven, elevating in the waves her nerves rose and fell with her thoughts as she finally forced herself to turn a little towards him. As she did, she felt his chin move away from her hair.

Water-filled amber eyes looked up at him, and she only a bit down on her lip with more effort to prevent herself from saying something so stupid to ruin the moment, her long track record of not being able to articulate her feelings. Before he could get too many details of just watching her, she bumped her nose into his shirt rubbing her eyes against the fabric.

Hoping it was enough.

His arms firmed around her tugging her closer, so she didn't have to work as hard as pressing her eyes and cheeks into the fabric of his shirt. "I've got you." He whispered. The song moved right along into the next. Content to hold her as long as he needed from him in order to find some semblance of that comfort she was looking for.

The words echoed in the back of her head, ultimately she found those words to have found something in her, a nerve that had been rubbed raw and done wrong ever since she'd first appeared into existence.

Someone had her.

Someone had her.

Even as she squeezed her eyes closed again against his shirt it didn't stop damn from breaking. She didn't scream or shout. Her shoulders just shook silently and her breaths came in only with the sharp inhales against the fabric of his shirt, coming out in jagged and uneven stages as her jaw trembled and clenched against him.

The damp spot on his shirt only grew as time passed.

You have me.

###

Like the night before, any semblance of time seemed to drift away. Ritsuka couldn't bear to look anywhere else but that strand of hair that brushed his cheeks and his chin. Anywhere but her in the scant few times she managed to pull away from air. Each time her expression was messier and each time she looked a little less like the brave person she was.

No.

The mental correction was near immediate, recognizing that they were the same person. She was just learning to be more open about everything. He reminded himself with almost a reprimand in his own head that she hadn't changed, she was only getting used to herself.

Ritsuka pressed a kiss to her forehead, not daring anything more than that as a placating comfort even as she sorted out herself in his arms. It must've happened more than once he knew but this was the one where he could feel her stiffening in his arms at the contact. He could feel her fingers tugging him as close as they could get without hurting him. But he could still feel that pressuring strength.

At last, when she looked up at him this time, the tears had seemed to dry. She only released him to wipe her face with the back of her hand. Wordless she looked from him to the small speaker still playing slow music for them to waltz to.

He nodded once, and stepped away from her, feeling her fingers firm on his hand as he pulled away as if to remind him he wasn't allowed to go far. Ritsuka quietly turned both the music and speaker off. Returning that firm grip she had on him.

Then as he looked back he watched her turn to lead the way for him back to their bed. She dared not to ask him, and he dared not tease her about her expectation that he would be sharing her bed with him again tonight.

She looks better at least.

Despite the tear stains on her cheeks and the red color in them, whatever was bothering her to such a sharp degree seemed to have lessened.

"You're too good for me."

Words he allowed himself to mull over in their shared silence wondering what the source of such a feeling was. He also feared he could've said the wrong thing back. Should he have explained it more?

So much had happened without either of them saying much of anything to one another since the embrace had started.

Her amber eyes turning to him pulled him from his thoughts. "What…" Alter's eyes narrowed and that same awkwardness that often came to her when they were together in private seemed to come to the surface once more. She winced at the crack in her voice as she finished her sentence. "What side do you want?"

Oh.

Ritsuka blinked and decided to be honest. "I hadn't…thought of that." He didn't think about it as much as the quiet between them would've suggested. He had to tear his mind away from that lingering statement she'd made to him. It was clear that he'd waited for a little too long when her expression started to dare towards timidness.

"I'll take the right like last night," He shrugged, trying to belatedly play off the silence as an accident.

Not your best Ritsuka. Not your best.

Alter nodded quietly at him, and he tried to not be obvious about his quiet relief at her acceptance. Maybe she as well had been thinking of something else during the quiet that passed between them.

Slowly, Ritsuka slid into the covers and slid himself across the bed to the side where he was going to stay. He turned to look up at Alter still standing on the edge of the bed. Quietly he held out the hand she'd let go back towards her.

It was a movement that seemed to snap her out of her own thoughts. She blinked them away and her amber eyes went to him. While a smile didn't touch her lips, the eyes peering at him seemed to soften, and she took his hand into hers smiling as she came forward, placing her knees on the bed first like she had the night before.

It was from that position she slid them under the covers.

Her bedside lamp was still on behind her and she made no move to turn it off even as she settled herself against the pillow. Alter's eyes were careful he noticed in their examination of him. He watched them fixate on some aspect of his face and then unfocus as she moved on to something else.

He turned his whole body to face her instead of up at the ceiling and rested sideways on the pillow. In the space between them, he pushed up their intertwined fingers. Not enough to block their sight from one another, but enough for it to be at the base of their vision. Wanting to quietly remind her that he was here for her.

She bit her lip, hesitating on something.

He only continued to watch her quietly.

"S-so. I guess I should…start with…" Alter blinked and looked away from him and down at their hands. "Uh…" She trailed off even as she started speaking. Not wanting to derail her thoughts, he only intertwined their fingers more carefully so they interlaced with one another. The movement tugged only at her attention for a moment. She pressed her lips into a line to hold in still all the things she'd wanted to share with him. Things that had only piled up since earlier that morning. Things that even her quiet he could tell seemed to bug her, if not to a sharp degree than in the most minor capacity.

Ritsuka's lips twitched, mouth daring to form out into the quiet words to fill that contemplative gap between them as it seemed to stretch into infamy. "Start with the smallest thing?" He suggested.

Her eyes flicked to him almost as if cold water had been splashed onto her. She firmed her lips into a line and nodded once. "I…guess I can start with the dream last night…" Her expression seemed to fill with a sharp pain at the memory. "The reason it woke you is because it was…" Her amber eyes drifted away from him. "Worse-" She seemed to settle, "-then the ones I usually have."

His eyes didn't leave her, but he could feel a spasm through her fingers interlaced with his hand. A quick glance informed him of the placement of her other hand, as she brought it back to her, hiding it under both her head and the pillow.

Alter's fingers were cold.

She let out a tense breath, "I…well, you mentioned that you've seen my dreams before. What details are you used to."

He raised a brow, "Your nightmares?"

Ultimately she did her best not to wince at the word. Alter squeezed her eyes closed and she nodded once as she opened them again.

"I…usually see a pyre of some kind." Ritsuka's brows furrowed as he collected his thoughts. "The other smaller details change…like the location sometimes changes." His blue eyes met hers as firmly as he was honest. "I've…heard your screams sometimes in the fire."

Even thinking of them, he found that grating sound of her screams agonizing even in memory. It was a scream that froze blood filled with all the cracks and disgrace never shown in stories or movies. It was a scream of pain, anguish, acceptance, and hatred all at once capitalized only by the fact it went on seemingly forever until the throat went raw.

Alter winced more visibly at that, nodding once. "Yes, I mean…usually those are the…main aspects of the dreams. That's why I don't like…fire…" Her brows knitted together. "Also why it's forever cursed to be my…main weapon of war. She paused again for a moment as if gathering the courage to look him in the eye again. "What…" Alter bit her lip. "What do you remember from last night?"

Ritsuka blinked, "From the dream?" He was quiet a moment longer. "I mean…when I…appeared I guess. The surroundings looked more modern…I think I vaguely remembered a car that had been molten over. And that the pyre was…wasn't on fire like normal. It was a burnt husk, but more than enough for me to make out the details that it had been used." He considered for a moment, "You looked…bloodied…" He tried to picture her against that odd dreamscape that he'd come into. "But not burnt…"

She nodded once and he watched her take a deep breath. "Do you remember what I was holding?"

His brows knitted together with thought, the memory mostly hazy from the other tours that had been requested. Even more when he'd pulled her away from the dream. "A…" His lips pressed into a line.

Something burnt?

It wasn't the sight of it in her arms that pulled at his mind. It was the smell that had filled the air. Like burned flesh. Ritsuka's eyes narrowed a little, "It was…someone else who died on the pyre." He said slowly. "You were made to watch…"

"And listen." She said, quietly. Her fingers twitched in his again, he could only squeeze them gently to remind her that he had no intention of going anywhere. Her amber eyes were as they had been moments before, they were filled with water again. They fixated on him with a tender intensity he was not used to seeing from her.

It was enough to make him forget to breathe.

Her voice was quiet, barely above a whisper that if he hadn't been paying much attention to her and all the little details about her, he would've missed it like her original request to stay. Alter's voice cracked, "It was you."

Me?

His brow furrowed for a fraction of a second just before his mind came to the expected conclusion that she was leading him towards. The point of asking him if he remembered what her dreams were typically like. It was to establish that the dream he'd had last night wasn't a typical one.

Ritsuka had learned who the victim of the fire was.

Me.

He blinked.

Oh.

Through their interlocked fingers, he could feel her tense as she watched his realization closely. Words bounced quietly around in his head all vindicating different impulses and emotions. An instinct was to reach out and comfort her. Another was still swallowing the surprise that he'd been involved directly in her dreams. Something that hadn't really happened before even after their prolonged time together.

"Master?" She asked gently.

Ritsuka nodded once, "I'm…processing." He said, trying to reassure her. His words tried to wrap around an apology toward her. "I'm sorry for indirectly being some of the cause of your distress…" He trailed off, it had sounded off even as he'd spoken it. "I mean…I'm sorry that I was responsible…" He bit his lip.

Damn.

She was shaking her head, "It's okay…I mean it was…just a dream…" She shrugged a little, pillow covers shifting with the movement. "It was…it made me realize something…" Her amber eyes blinked the water away. "Something I'm afraid of…" Jeanne Alter wasn't known for keeping her emotions buried, but he could see that she was desperately trying not to let them get to her. "I uh…"

She sniffed and shook her head.

He ran his thumb over her knuckles.

"Well I mean you know I…just realized what a good influence you are in my-" Her voice cracked and she inhaled sharply, her nostrils flared. "And it was so real…and I didn't know what I'd do…what to do." She sniffed again and wiped away at her cheeks with the back of her gloves. "I mean…I don't know what I'd do if something were to happen-" Her eyes furrowed, "And I know where we are and what we do…and I know it's selfish to even think about it but it still hurts. The very idea of it…and now you want to go off with Medb next loop. So it feels too raw and-"

She managed to catch herself and stared at him through her watery eyes. The rambling cut off and Alter only looked down in shame. "I'm sorry, I know it's selfish and I know it's wrong-" She trailed off and squeezed her eyes shut.

"Wrong?" He dared to speak, "Alter emotions are always complicated. Selfish feelings are normal when it comes to…" Ritsuka twisted his lip a little searching for the right word. "This…" He settled in place of that other four-letter word. That other four-letter word that he could very well use to describe what he was starting to feel bubbles in his chest every time he stole a glance from her. The way his heart pounded.

A word that right now…he was concerned would add only more complications to what she was trying to say. A word that he was almost certain she fumbled around within her head, trying to avoid saying it out of her own fear of how he'd react.

It's okay to not be ready.

He breathed out slowly, "Alter…emotions are…can be separate from what you know or understand to be a logical choice." Ritsuka huffed out a laugh, "I mean…you scared me when the shadow broke your arm at the end of Servfest…" He scooted closer and tried to smile even as he let the memory of that moment spill over him. "Being afraid to lose what you care for is completely normal."

"I…don't know how to deal with it." She looked at him even as the admission slipped free, "This is all so…" Alter's eyes narrowed. "So new…foreign." Alter seemed to settle, "I didn't know what to expect after getting summoned here or Gilles…Marie's advice helps but I still don't know what I'm doing…or how to do it." Her lips twisted and her words came out almost hoarse. "I didn't expect this."

"I promised we'd go at your pace didn't I?" He raised a brow, feeling like that particular problem had been re-hashed. Ritsuka looked away from her. "I mean at the pace you're comfortable with. Because you're right… all this is…new." He looked away from her for a moment. "I've been afraid to lose things all my life. My sister…the world I knew despite its faults…and now you." He smiled at her, "And that's…well normal to feel."

Alter seemed to stare at him for a moment longer, "How do I…be okay with that?"

Ritsuka raised a brow, "What said that you had to be?" He tilted his head from side to side in the bed and continued. "As I said…emotions are complicated." He glanced away and felt his lips twist. "My…sister and I…it's not like we are okay with it. It's why we feel compelled to change it any way we can."

She was quiet for a moment and once again he saw her at a crossroads debating quietly on what to say. It could've been any number of things that had helped her reach this point in the day. The fight against the urchins had allowed her to blow off some steam. Or perhaps she was simply slow acclimatizing to their feelings for one another.

"I…I have felt fear before, it's not something…" Alter's lips compressed again. "It's not something that I ever wanted to feel again." Her fingers tightened on his hand, her amber eyes passing over them as if to remind herself that he was still there. She paused again, wanting to collect herself from the edge she dangling near. She wiped at her eyes with the back of her spare hand.

Ritsuka nodded once to her, "It doesn't help you either that opening yourself up to someone is…difficult."

He received a numb nod at that.

Alter seemed to shrink into herself a little, a stark contrast to the battle cries and loud yells she had whenever she was fighting beside him. "I…suppose that leads to the other facet of this…Gilles." She pressed her lips together as if to firm both herself and her thoughts before speaking more. "As I'm…sure you realized even before my outburst earlier today…we haven't had a particularly healthy relationship."

He nodded, "It was…noticeable. But we…have tried to keep an eye on him ever since we summoned him to Chaldea."

She nodded once, "And I really owe you all a lot of thanks for that." Alter's eyes narrowed, "To be clear I…ever since he's arrived at Chaldea he hasn't done anything. It's not the same version of him I knew in the France singularity." She looked away from him again, "Or…otherwise." Guilt started to creep into her voice, and perhaps it was shame too. "I hung around him because, I guess I wanted him to be that same person…and he wasn't."

Because she felt she deserved it.

Rtisuka watched her carefully for all the little nuances in her expression. The way her eyes hardened over when speaking about him. The way she relaxed whenever she managed to see through the cloud of whatever memory was at the forefront of her mind to know that he was across from her.

"I suppose…" She looked away, "I guess I should give a specific example." Alter wrapped her other arm around her chest. "Mind you this is before Chaldea for both of us and…well…I'm pretty sure this version of him died." Alter hesitated again and her amber eyes glanced up to his blue ones. "As I…mentioned he tested out his…toxins on me because I was the only other easily available servant."

Her brows twitched and her composure flickered before hardening back into familiarity as her voice turned to ice. Bitterness and anger filled the annunciation of her next words. "And I guess he was curious to see how they affected servants so he could better tailor them for…the others. Normal me." She blinked away any tears that threatened to spill forth as the last batches had. "Mind you I never consented to this…I-I just…" Her fingers tightened on his again. "It's just he was…all I had and I thought that if…"

"You said no, that he would leave." Ritsuka nodded once. Suddenly his mind filled with terrible understanding. Some of those other fears that she'd refused to speak about even now. One of those was abandonment. Something wrapped up and neatly codified in that Gilles and the demon pillars had left her behind.

She half smiled at him and then winced at how stupid that must've looked to him, even if he thought it was her just being overly judgemental of herself. Alter nodded presently, "I…guess the worst of it was when one night he decided to mix a…aphrodisiac and some kind of poison that wouldn't kill me…"

#

Alter's nails dug into her hip at the memory of it. The pain and need that had coursed through her thanks to his little experiment. "I…well…I more or less threw myself at him as a result." Her lips pressed into a line. "He wanted nothing to do with me…at the time more interested in the results then…what was going on." She dug her nails into her hip hard enough to leave marks.

What does he think?

She squeezed her eyes shut not wanting to see him across from her. Alter knew his face was only filled with the concern and dreams she could not hope to express in such a short amount of time. "Left me to one of his…special creatures." She spat. "It wasn't-" Her breath hitched and she switched mental gears to focus on a different aspect. "It was a new fear that he instilled into me without really having to try." Alter's shoulders shook.

Burning.

"Thanks to the poison all I felt was like I was immolating from the inside out. It felt like worms were crawling under my skin…or like…oil was pumping through me and was struck by a match. The only glimpses beyond that were…" She trailed off and opened her eyes. "Whatever he allowed the creature to provide me." Alter looked down at their hands to remind himself that he was still present and listening.

He was quiet, she noted, listening intently and not speaking even while she paused to collect herself again. Perhaps he didn't trust himself to say the right thing? Even though she desperately wanted to hear his voice. She wanted it badly enough to almost beg him to speak about it. Alter wanted it only so she could stop thinking about it so directly. Perhaps find a legitimate excuse to stop talking about it all together.

He reached across with his other hand and brushed his thumb against her cheek.

She stiffened at the gentle touch, her amber eyes flicked up to his. Alter felt her breath catch in her throat at the sight of his calm expression. It was near enough to settle that painful curling of her stomach at the memory. She leaned a little into the thumb brushing her cheek. That stupid part of her wanted to hate him for denying her another way out of speaking about it. The feeling faded with the warmth of his hand against her. Alter would take whatever she could get at that moment.

Alter stopped digging her nails into her hip, and reached up to grab his wrist. Gently and pleadingly holding his hand there. She shook her head once, then twice, her nose brushing his wrist. "I never burned from the inside out before…" She felt his thumb wipe away a tear beneath her eye as her vision continued to blur. "It was…well…" Once again she squeezed her eyes shut as if she could will them to stop.

A facet of the problem.

Her amber eyes felt heavy as she looked across at him, "I guess it's both those things together that formulated into…why." Alter could see the confusion cross his expression, but politely she remained quiet for her to continue at her own pace. With the way those blue eyes looked at her, she wondered how in the hell she'd ever thought Gilles had loved her or respected her.

It was so caring. There was something else in his eyes too, something she couldn't place immediately until she realized it was one of her coping mechanisms. There was barely concealed anger there. Her breath hitched as she realized the intensity of it, only she watched it fade slowly with the seconds ticking by.

His thumb brushed across her cheek again, and that emotion seemingly vanished in its entirety as he focused once more on her. She resisted the urge to smile with how distraught it might've looked considering the situation. Alter likewise still leaned against his hand once more, the fingers of her free hand wrapping tightly around it.

Getting warm.

Alter ignored it.

Ritsuka quirked a brow, a question without ever having to raise his voice to her since her example began. It was all he was going to do, knowing how difficult it was for her.

"I…" She trailed off again and blinked away the myriad of different thoughts trying to settle on how best to explain. Her mind brought herself right back to the thought of what happened that morning. The way he'd responded to benign woken up by her and the following intensity that terrified her right to her core. It was in that example she found her explanation after stumbling at the start a few more times, she finally found it.

"This morning, remember when you…" She looked away. "I…I mean me…" She shook her head, "No I mean us." She wiggled her fingers in his hand a little and he loosened his grip so she could adjust her fingers comfortably. Her cheeks had flushed a deep red to match her feelings on the matter.

Warm.

"Remember when I didn't want to-" Alter bit her lip at that, cutting herself off because even as she found her footing she'd already said the wrong word. A hiss escaped from between her lips.

No, that's wrong.

She had wanted to, Alter had really wanted to. Even as her fingers started to shake again in the grip of his hand. "I mean that…I couldn't continue?" Alter tried not to visibly wince at the sound of her own voice. Not knowing if she'd gotten the point across in her mess of delivery to him. She searched his eyes to see.

He nodded once.

It wasn't relief like she'd hoped at the expression, it was only more tension as he gently filmed his grip on her shaking hand. She could feel her own vibrations through the wrist and its fingers tucked between her cheek and the pillow.

"I'm terrified of it." Alter brows knitted together, "I'm scared of something that's so stupid it still drives me mad." Her fingers dug a little into his wrist, and she barely noticed. She shook her head a few times. "But whatever that bastard did to me, it's hard-wired me to be afraid…and…" Her lips pressed tightly together. The hand underneath her cheek was warm on her skin, gentle with its small caressings.

Warm.

The alarm bell sounded again, enough to send her unwanted panic through her. She tried to ignore it but it was like a loud screaming in her ear despite the quiet and her sniffles between sentences and her breaths.

Her voice cracked as she continued, "Whether it's…immediate-"

Too warm.

Her amber eyes fluttered away from him as she forced herself to try and look away. "Or…it takes its time…it." She winced at the sound of her own voice even as she tried to manage a half-broken smile towards him. "It always rears its ugly head…"

Ritsuka's eyes narrowed a little towards her, and then he looked at the hand holding onto his wrist. Then they smoothed over and he tried to soothe her again, brushing his thumb against her cheek as he had only seconds ago. He suddenly stopped when she returned her amber eyes to him again, filled with all the emotions she was privy to telling him.

I'm so sorry.

"I…know you agreed to go at my own pace…" Alter shook her head again, "But I don't know if I can even find one." She shook her head again once, and then twice. Squeezing her eyes open and closed trying to further blink away the steady flow of tears staining her cheeks. "I don't want to drag you-" Her lips twisted, "I mean you deserve better than that right? I mean isn't that what normal people do?"

I'm anything but.

"Alter, if I wanted normal, I wouldn't be here." He flexed his grip on their sweaty hands still between them. "Here."

Her breath hitched a little at that knowing that it was his choice to make. But damn did she still feel torn up about it. She wanted the best for him and that "best" clearly wasn't herself. Yet he was still going to stick it out with her as he said. Something she definitely didn't deserve given the trouble she knew she caused him.

Still causing him.

Shut up!

Useless. Worthless.

He smiled at her, "It's okay." Ritsuka whispered.

Is this what it's like?

Her amber eyes stuck themselves to him again.

What it was really like?

She sniffed, "It's all still so unreal to me…" Alter further admitted, "Even now with you here." She curled inwards a little, dragging her knees up to her chest. Letting his wrist go so she could hug herself. "And after this morning, all I got was terrified when I realized what the kissing did to me. I'm still so scared…" She shivered as if she were cold but whatever that emotion was faded with another quick shake of her head.

Alter could see the hesitation in his expression, as he pulled their shared hands to his lips, and he kissed her knuckles gently. She went rigid at the gentle touch but her eyes didn't leave him. Both his hands now wrapped around the one she left to linger between them.

"Then what do you need me to do?" His voice was quiet, but firm in its determination. "We shared a bed last night…but if that was too much." Ritsuka tilted his head a little. "I have theirs and I've got a bed roll."

She shook her head, "I…have to face it." Her lips twitched, "I mean eventually…I want to. I think…"

For you.

It was Alter's turn to hesitate for a moment. Recalling what he'd said earlier that day, about how he would wait for her, but pointed out in the same breath how much he'd wanted to kiss her, more often, and perhaps kiss her longer. "I also don't want you waiting for me forever…because…I know how much…" Alter blushed, looking away from the intensity in his blue eyes. "I mean, you told me how much you wanted to kiss me."

Ritsuka shook his head, "As much as I want to, it's irrelevant to what you want and need right now." His lips twisted a little as he nodded a few times towards her. "I'm here for you because I want to be. And as well as everything else that may or may not encompass." He brushed his forehead against her knuckles. "I'm here for you. And I'm sorry if I crossed a boundary with you."

She blinked, "It…wasn't without my consent." Alter's amber eyes were soft now. "I enjoyed it very much for the brief time I was…" She looked down at the knees tucked against her chest, her loved fingers digging into her red stocking. "For the brief time my instincts allowed it to me…" She shook her head, once. "Remember I was the one who initiated both the one in the hallway with the elevator and then in the morning when I was first trying to wake you up." Her fingernails dug in a little deeper, even through the fabric of her gloves. "I…don't hold them against you since I started them and…I…"

Wanted them.

Coward.

Alter grit her teeth, finally settling on the only certainty that she'd had since this whole conversation had started. One that had only just been brought to the forefront with his offer to give her space. The tension lines around her mouth suddenly loosened and her amber eyes fixated themselves to him. "Please don't go," She managed.

He hummed, a small smile coming to his lips. "I won't." Ritsuka was quite a moment longer and he looked to be hesitating from speaking again. His eyes narrowed a little for a moment as he considered.

Alter gingerly unfurled her nails from around her legs and placed a hand on the surface of the bed between them. She dragged herself a few inches closer to him, uncertainty gripping her as it had been the entire day.

"Only if you want." His voice came again.

Staying silent she managed a nod and watched him mirror her movements exactly. Her fingers could touch his chest without having to extend her arms out fully now. Even with her fried nerves somehow a sense of calm seemed to wash over her as his shirt brushed her fingers. Those blue eyes were still filled with all the longing and concern that could warm her heart even with the smaller space left between them. "T-thank you for…" Her brows knitted together for a moment and as she settled on a word. "Listening." She blinked and instantly felt the need to correct herself or add elaboration. "For understanding."

Ritsuka nodded and tilted his head, "At your pace." He reminded her hoping to convey all the understanding with that short sentence. Until she was comfortable with them.

Somehow, without any elaboration Alter seemed to understand, and nodded silent thanks in return for the gesture.

He smiled only a little at her, "You know, no matter what happens, I will always think you are wonderful right?"

She snorted and looked away from him, blush coming to her cheeks despite her huff of protest. "I certainly don't feel wonderful…" Alter managed a smile at him. "But I…think this…is probably the closest I've ever gotten to feeling that." Her breath hitched as her amber eyes bore into him. "That is reason enough to thank you for everything."

He smiled and nodded once, "Of course." His expression was tired now, joyful in its tender softness.

Alter blinked and sat up to reach back behind her, tearing her gaze away from him only to flick off the lamp light behind her, finally coating the room in darkness. Only a low hallway socket light too far for either of them to properly make out one another's features. She took a deep breath and looked at the silhouette only a short distance away from her. Her amber eyes traced its form from pillow to sheets. The lines and curves of the shadows.

Her fingers twitched.

Ritsuka's hands firmed his grip around them.

He's got me.

She smiled hesitantly, unseen at the form across from her. "Night master…I'll see you in the morning."

A hum reached her ears and his voice was low and filled with all the tired hoarseness of another busy day. "Night Alter. Sleepwell."

Then with their hands still intertwined between them, she finally closed her eyes and allowed herself to be drawn into some much-needed sleep. The sound of his even breathing and the loud pounding of her nerves seemed to clash in a way that only exhausted her more. Her amber eyes even shut seemed to feel heavy until at last she was finally drawn into sleep, a peaceful smile on her lips.

And of course, because she talked about them, the memories came back. Something she would say was far more manageable than her nightmares.

###

The night had been a long one and that was more than enough. She was rarely if ever impressed with things. It was how it had always been with how she viewed the world through her queenly lens. But even this she had to admit far surpassed her expectations. Her fingers thumbed along her hip, feigning contemplative thought. Feigning hesitancy.

It never does for one to be so taken by a seller, or the bargain could be drawn up higher.

Medb finally gave a nod, "I'll take it."

Gilles who'd for her had only been the most gracious of hosts despite his appearance bowed his head with polite deference befitting that of her royalty and respect. But not so low as to indignity himself from the mostly gentlemanly way he had comported himself throughout the evening. He straightened up after a moment. "Your words of acceptance alone are high praise indeed coming from you."

She smiled a little at that.

Polite indeed. And smart to notice what praise from royalty looks like.

The Queen of Connacht with a hand still on her hip finally turned to face him. She smiled despite her suspicion of what was to come next. "As to its value…" She layered her words carefully as she spoke.

"Value, you see, is not the concern." Those eyes seemed to roll away from her looking at something else in the room. "The concern will be its ability to fall directly under your command." He folded his hands behind her back and began to walk a half circle away from her. "My grimoire."

She quirked an eyebrow and then she nodded with full understanding, "And you swore you'd never give it up easily again. I do appreciate your directness in the matter, as well as your abundant stores of creativity." Her lips twisted a little, "But I suppose then I'm afraid that I'll have to take it from you once again."

Blue Beard in turn returned a polite smile at her throat. "Once more, your tenacity delights me and makes me proud to even know you." His smile faded, and his brows knitted together. "However, if you think I'm not prepared to defend myself in my own home on this summer island, you have gravely overestimated yourself."

In an instant the room seemed to come alive, urchin seemed to morph through the walls, and those that couldn't phase seemed to descend the stairs to block her way out. Her lips twisted as they seemed to form different attack groups. But her eyes returned to Gilles for the moment before they all made their move to attack her.

He smiled in that same way that would no doubt give people nightmares. "You really didn't think that I would defend my noble phantasm without backup would you?"

Medb blinked and tilted her head, "Wish I thought of that…"

Then there was a thunderous boom as the roof of the basement caved in, crushing perhaps three of the nearest urchins to her. As the dust settled, a figure formed in shadow, black and wielding a giant club that would bring death to all the enemies.

There were more noises from upstairs.

A second dropped down, black with shadow and a bow at the ready.

Medb smiled. "Oh, wait," Her grin widened. "I did." With a brandished sword she charged forth with the allies under her command. The braves that could turn shadow.

Gilles seemed to smile, once again that proud smile he had at the tenacity comment seemed only to grow wider. His enjoyment is obvious. The chaos that she would reign with one of his creations in his absence.

She noted that he, after all, had chosen not to order them to attack alongside the others, left as her prize when this fight had ended.

###