It was way too cold.
The giggling echoing in his room wasn't helping either.
With a groan, Fujimaru Ritsuka opened an eye, taking in the sight of his assailant. The girl flicking ice cubes in his face was beautiful, almost like a fairy among the snow, but Ritsuka didn't let her looks deceive him. Like a fairy, Anastasia was a devious prankster, and if he didn't answer soon, the defenseless boy was sure she was going to start throwing rock-filled snowballs at his head.
"What are you doing?" Ritsuka asked in a joking tone. "Shouldn't you be like… flirting with your Master or something?" Anastasia puffed out her cheeks in annoyance, and to Ritsuka's horror, created a ball of ice the size of a softball. With the grace of a pro, she pitched the ice right into his face.
"That's what I would be doing if someone could be counted on to wake up on time, for once!" Anastasia yelled as Fujimaru rubbed his wounded face.
"... Ow…" He muttered. "Wake up on time for what?" He sat up, grabbing the ball of ice and holding it to his hurting eye. "Ow, ow, ow. Hey, maybe don't go throwing ice into the eyes of people who might be called to do a Singularity."
The mischievous girl only giggled sinisterly in response.
"Please, after what happened in India? You're lucky if the director ever approves of you going on a Rayshift ever again, Mr. 'Worst Master'. And if you're late for your magecraft lesson with my Master, then you definitely won't be able to Rayshift again."
"Ah, crap!" Ritsuka hopped out of bed, dressed only in his underpants. "Alright, fine, fine, I'm gettin' ready!" He rushed over, grabbing his uniform before running to the bathroom. Satisfied with this, Anastasia smiled as she reverted to spirit form and headed back to her Master.
A few minutes later, Ritsuka came bursting out of the bathroom, his hair still wet, but his uniform on. He quickly grabbed a piece of toast laying on his bedside table and stuffed it into his mouth, booking it out the door. This was the last time he trusted his Servant to wake him up on time.
The boy ran down the halls, his legs burning as he pushed himself to run faster and faster. Masters, Servants, staff members, all were a blur as he desperately tried his best to make sure that he made it to class on time. The clock kept ticking, time kept slipping, and he kept on running.
To his surprise, he actually made it in time.
Quickly scanning the cafeteria, Ritsuka looked for a messy mop of white hair. It didn't take him long to see his new teacher hunched over some books, Anatasia sitting across from the tired looking boy. A wide grin spread across Ritsuka's face, his target now in sight. He lowered himself to the floor and almost slithered like a snake towards the unsuspecting male. Everyone else in the cafeteria watched in confusion as Ritsuka slowly and almost creepily slid up Kadoc's back.
"Can you feeeeeeeeeel life—," Ritsuka began to sing, causing Kadoc's head to shoot up from his books.
"No… no…," Kadoc almost pleaded as he turned to face Ritsuka.
"-moving through your mind? Ooooooooh, looks like it came back for more!"
"Stop it! Ritsuka, I swear to god—"
"Can you feeeeeeeeeeel time slipping down your spine? You try and try to ignore, yeeeeeah." Despite Kadoc's unspoken threats, Ritsuka kept singing. Kadoc was ready to stand up and wrap his hands around Ritsuka's mouth in an attempt to get him to stop, but to the surprise of both of them…
"But you can hardly swallow, your fears and pain!" The two looked over to see a majestic looking man with long, flowing blonde hair leaning over Kadoc's shoulder to sing along. Most of the cafeteria suddenly became quiet. No one expected the leader of Team A, Kirschtaria Wodime to join in the tomfoolery.
It wasn't quiet for long however.
"When you can't help but follow—" Ritsuka added.
"It puts you right back where you came!" The two sang in sync before turning to Kadoc, motioning to the poor, embarrassed boy. With a sigh, Kadoc proceeded to belt out with all the power he could muster.
"LIVE AND LEARN!"
"Hanging on the edge of tomorrow!"
"LIVE AND LEARN!"
"From the words of yesterdaaaaaaaaay!"
Anastasia could only let out a giggle as she watched the three goofing off. She remembered a time when everyone was almost as cold as Russia to each other. Now, she could see her beloved having fun with his friends… even if he needed a little push into it from time to time.
"Really, Wodime?" Kadoc muttered after the three finished their impromptu karaoke session. "You just had to join in?"
"It's a good song." Was Wodime's casual reply.
"Yeah, we totally crushed it, to." Ritsuka grinned.
"Almost 40 times." Wodime added. Kadoc could only groan as the leader of the elite team of Masters and the last minute addition shot finger guns at each other with an approving noise.
"If you two are done, I'd like to get this lesson started." Kadoc sat up straight, making himself look as professional as possible. Wodime simply nodded in response.
"Yes, getting Ritsuka's education up to date is certainly important. I will let you two get to it then." Wodime commented. "I'll see you two at lunch!" With a flourish of his cape, the great leader of Team A walked away.
"Alright, alright, let's get this started." Ritsuka muttered as he sat at the table. Kadoc closed his book and cleared his throat. And thus, Ritsuka's torment began.
Kadoc did his best, but there was just so much that had to be covered. Mystery, Foundations, cultures to reference, all kinds of things needed to create a magecraft. Of course, the white haired magus couldn't just give his student an answer. As a first generation mage, Ritsuka would have to find a Foundation for his magecraft to call his own, and build upon it for generations to come. Generations he obviously didn't have.
With the world's current state, it was almost a cruel thing to ask. Ritsuka was basically cramming for a school exam while the exam was going on around him. And he had to pass, or his life would end.
There were shortcuts, of course. Like anything in life, a special set of circumstances could help propel Ritsuka ahead, but as far as all of Chaldea and their tests could tell, there was nothing special about Fujimaru Ritsuka. No special Alignment, no special bloodline, no inherently good magic circuits. Heck, Ritsuka didn't even have a good number of circuits. All he had was a measly one circuit of very poor quality.
No one wanted to mess with his Origin either. The risks of that far outnumbers the minimal benefits that might provide.
It was an impossible challenge to be sure.
However, Kadoc and the rest of Team A found themselves throwing themselves at this problem with gusto. Yes, Ritsuka was just here to fill in the numbers, and in the grand scheme of things could probably be written off as an acceptable loss, but… despite not having anything special to him, he became a special part of everyone's lives.
Kadoc remembered what it was like to grow up in magus society. He had friends, yes, but there was always a sort of distance between him and anyone he could meet. They had to protect the family secrets, to make sure their magecraft wouldn't die out. Even if his magecraft was nearly obsolete, they had to guard its secrets with their lives.
Ritsuka was different. He had no family lineage, no secrets to protect. Most importantly, he didn't care about everyone else's magecraft. He wanted to befriend them just because he liked them. That refreshing sort of honesty became like warm sunlight to everyone's life, and without knowing it, the utterly useless 48th Master of Chaldea wormed his way into most of Team A's heart.
Which is why they were doing this cram session.
Kadoc didn't want to admit it, but after the disaster that happened in the Indian Singularity, the boy found himself terrified. Seeing Ritsuka blasted full force by the magecraft of the Founder of Magecraft, seeing his wholly ordinary and defenseless friend take a blow meant for Kadoc, the white haired magus was now in a fervor to make sure it never happened again.
At the very least, they needed to make sure Fujimaru Ritsuka could summon a Servant.
The hours ticked by, and little progress seemed to be made. Finally, Ritsuka threw his hands in the air in frustration.
"What are we even doing?" Ritsuka muttered. "I'm useless. I'm not gonna find something that clicks with me. I shouldn't go back out on the field again." Even if it was an adventure he thought was amazing, it was obviously where his place was. Behind everyone else, cowering like the normal human he was.
"Don't talk like that." Kadoc commented. "Look, what if something like India comes up again? You need a way to defend yourself."
"I wanna say India was a freak accident, but freak accidents are the norm around here." Ritsuka conceded. "But hey, I just need to summon a Servant, right? All this other stuff is just… extra. Things I don't really need because I don't wanna be a magus."
"Yeah, a Servant is good, but you need something to fall back on. We can't be there for you 24/7, and weird things can happen on the field. Hell, the Indian Singularity was nothing but weird things." Kadoc paused before muttering. "Although to be fair, I don't even know how we got this far without letting you summon a Servant."
"Well… ya know, I was never meant to go on the field, and the director didn't want to waste resources. By the time India happened, we just… forgot." Ritsuka admitted.
"Yeah, and that was a mistake on all of Chaldea's parts."
"If I may interject?" A voice called out to the two. The student and the teacher looked up to see the kitchen cook walk over with a plate of snacks, his red coat flapping in some nonexistent wind. "You two have been studying for so long, I thought you might need these." He said as he placed the snacks on the table.
"Man, thanks EMIYA." Ritsuka grabbed a snack and began to munch away. EMIYA simply shook his head with a small smile before turning to Kadoc.
"I understand you fear for your friend's safety, but perhaps it would be better to figure out what kind of Servant he could summon than try to make him create his own magecraft."
"I know that's the smarter way to do things, but he needs something—." Kadoc started before Ritsuka interrupted.
"I already decided to try to summon an Archer anyways." The other two turned to look at Ritsuka as he swallowed his food. "Like, no matter how much I study, my magical abilities aren't going to jump dramatically. And yeah, Chaldea is supplying everyone with extra magical energy to support their Servants, but I'm not… important enough to waste a lot of resources, ya know? An Archer is the best balance of being strong enough in a direct fight, and not being a strain on me or Chaldea." He looked at Kadoc, who was giving him a blank stare. "What? I study, ya know."
Kadoc shook his head, unsure how to feel about the way Ritsuka viewed himself. "I'm going to take a small break. You should do the same." He muttered as he walked away, Anatasia quickly falling in line behind him.
"What's with him?" Ritsuka muttered.
"Take it from someone with experience." EMIYA commented. "People don't know how to respond to someone who doesn't value their own life."
"Hey, I value my life." Ritsuka argued. "I just… I know I'm not going to be a help…" he sighed as he stood up. "Maybe I just need to clear my head for a bit." The Worst Master of Chaldea sighed to himself as he walked away, stretching a bit. With no real goal on his mind, he wandered around the cafeteria. Surveying the area, he noticed someone who caught his attention.
Long brown hair, an eyepatch over her eye. It could be none other than Phamrsolone Ophelia. With a smile on his face, Ritsuka slid into a chair at the table, greeting her as she ate breakfast.
"Good morning, Senpai!" He said with a smile. She looked up and gave a small nod.
"Good morning, Fujimaru." Ophelia greeted back. "How are you today?"
"I think my head's going to explode from the lessons I'm cramming." The boy admitted.
"Yes, well, don't forget we have to study magus etiquette as well after you finish with Kadoc." she reminded him. Ritsuka groaned as he threw back his head.
"But that's the worst." he moaned.
"You know that we'll likely run into many magi on our journeys, and you can't treat them all like you do us." She paused before looking him in the eye. "It's for your own safety, during this Grand Order… and after." Ritsuka sighed to himself before quickly and expertly changing the subject.
"So, how are things with you and Mash?" He asked. Ophelia let out a cute noise as she suddenly became flustered. Ritsuka didn't know whether to laugh or to groan at that noise. "Still not able to ask about being friends?" He guessed correctly.
Ritsuka kinda understood. He didn't have social anxiety or a traumatic past like Ophelia did, but he could imagine it wasn't easy for her. Heck, it took him almost two months to crack through her shell and befriend the intelligent woman, and he was probably the easiest person in Chaldea to get along with, right? It's why he didn't want to push her too far out of her comfort zone… but Mash was a great girl. He knew the two could be the best of friends. She just needed to take that first step.
Thinking to himself, he scanned the cafeteria, soon spotting the purple hair of his kouhai. The adorable girl was looking for a place to sit, but was having trouble finding a good seat. He stood up, waving his arms like a goofy madman. "Hey Mash! Mash! Over here!" he called out. The girl looked over, and her face brightened up instantly. She walked over to the two, her smile causing Ritsuka and Ophelia's hearts to soften and just bask in the pure innocence of that beautiful smile.
"Good morning Senpai!" Mash greeted Ritsuka enthusiastically. "Good morning Ophelia-san!" She greeted the Team A member just as happily.
"Hey, why don't you eat with us?" Ritsuka offered. Mash tensed up a little at that, a blush coming over her face.
"N-no… that's okay." She muttered as she hugged her tray ever closer to her chest. "I don't… I-I don't want to interrupt yours and Ophelia's time together. Y-you two haven't been able to be together recently…"
Ritsuka's eyebrow raised at that. What did she mean by that? Ophelia seemed just as confused as Ritsuka.
"No, no, it's fine." Ritsuka stated as he stood up, moving behind Mash and placing his hands on her shoulders. "In fact, I insist you eat breakfast with us!" He gently pushed her to a seat and forced her to sit down. "Come on, it'll be fun." He said as he sat down by Mash.
"I just… I don't want to interrupt you two while you're having a breakfast d-d-d-date." Mash muttered as her face turned extra red. Ritsuka and Ophelia blinked in sync.
"Mash, we're not dating." Ritsuka stated bluntly. Mash looked up, confused.
"Y-you aren't?"
"Nah, we're just friends." Ritsuka explained. "She has a crush on someone else, you see. Who, you might ask? Well, that would be none other than ou—" Before he could finish, Ophelia sprung up, quickly wrapping her hands around Ritsuka's mouth.
"Don't mind him. His nerves about his very difficult upcoming lesson on magus society is causing him to say crazy things." Ophelia glared at Ritsuka, who overdramatically slumped in her grip. She released him, and he backed away.
"Anyways, now you know, Mash. So go ahead and eat breakfast with—" his eyes drifted to a clock on the wall. "Oh crap. It's time for his daily cup of coffee. I'll be back in a bit, okay? You two have fun!" With that, Ritsuka ran out on the two women, leaving them confused.
Who had Ritsuka make them a daily cup of coffee?
The Worst Master of Chaldea walked over to the coffee machine, humming to himself as he dug around the supplies. He soon found a blend of beans that he knew the person liked, and he went to work on making the coffee. It was quiet around the coffee machine, and none of the other Masters of Chaldea approached Ritsuka as he waited for the coffee to be made.
It made sense. He wasn't particularly well liked outside of Team A. Most people just saw him as expendable, as a leech clinging to the coattails of people greater than him. And he couldn't even blame them. It wasn't like these magecraft lessons were being given out to just anyone. It was just him. He honestly didn't deserve this attention. But he couldn't stop it either, so he had to do what he did best. Go with the flow.
Hopefully, he'll live to see 2016.
Finally, the coffee was done. With one smooth motion, Ritsuka poured the cup of coffee, not adding any sugar or cream to it. He smiled to himself as the smell of coffee filled his nose, the black liquid shimmering in the light. He didn't consider himself a connoisseur of coffee, but he knew this stuff smelled good. Now to just deliver the coffee— Wait… who was this coffee for? Ritsuka ran through the list of people in his head. Every author that drank coffee only did it black when it was almost deadline time, and there were no deadlines close by.
Confused, Ritsuka walked quietly down the hall. He passed by every Servant, every Master, every member of Chaldea. And yet despite this, he couldn't find who he made this coffee for. It was almost like they didn't exist. But that didn't make sense. If there wasn't a reason for this coffee then why would he be so sure that it had to be made?
A fuzzy image of a cyan coat swaying in the wind appeared in his mind. Who… who was that? He looked down at his coffee. He was sure that was who this coffee was for… but who was that?
He stopped by the window, staring out into the blizzard raging outside. What was going on? Maybe being thrust head first into a world of mages made him finally snap? He took a minute, just staring at the blowing snow, getting lost in his own head.
"Oy, kid, you doing okay there?" Ritsuka was dragged out of his thoughts by a greasy sounding voice. Ritsuka looked over to see another member of the A Team. The slicked back black hair, the wolfish smile, and the black top with red pants made it easy for Ritsuka to identify the man. Beryl Gut was the only person besides Daybit Ritsuka didn't really know that well. They just never really had a reason to interact.
So then why did the worst Master of Chaldea feel so uneasy?
Beryl took a step towards Ritsuka, who took a step back. Both paused, blinking simultaneously. "You okay there, kid?" Beryl asked.
"I… uh… I…" Ritsuka tried to choke out, looking around to see if there was anyone else around. He didn't know why, but something felt… wrong. This man… this man was a killer. One that could stab him in the back the second it struck his fancy. His body was screaming that this was true, but… how could he know that? "G-guess I'm just a little intimidated, you know?"
Beryl looked over the frightened boy before a wide, unsettling grin split across his face. "Ah, I see how it is. Then we should just… get to know each other better, yeah?" Ritsuka felt like an animal caged in with its predator. The man walked over, gently patting Ritsuka's shoulder before bending over to whisper in his ear. "You're a perceptive one, aren't you? Let's meet up in the simulator after lunch and… talk it out."
With that, the man walked away, leaving Ritsuka alone in the hallway once more. The boy took a few deep breaths to calm himself, before looking down at his shaking hand. What was all that? He never froze up like that when he last met Beryl, what was different this time? Maybe the more important question was…
What was wrong with him?
