Summary: This is a day that could've been. Two Masters survived together instead of one in a certain universe, and thus Vy finds herself trying to pick up the pieces when Ayako can't come out to do it herself during the Incineration of Humanity.

Note: This was originally written on 3/14/2021, when I had just talked to Tumblr user and FGO enthusiast panyum/Pan, and well, considering my penchant for crossovers, I decided to give them a heads-up/support boost via an informal crossover with their Mastersona, Ayako, who's paired with Dantes.

This was supposed to be a short thing, since Passing Days itself is more focused on the Servants than the Master I write for, but considering how I'm penning this note (on 3/21/2021, to boot), well, writing muse has a mind of its own sometimes. And since my Hematology class is done with my rocking a B (thank god, considering the prof's teaching style did NOT mesh well with full-time work and my old supervisor going MIA), it's about time to post this in the story proper! With Pan's permission, of course. Do note that it's mostly unedited from its original Tumblr release. Also, TW for implied depression on Ayako's part.

Otherwise, the song for this extra is the track titled Spring Will Come When The Snow Melts Away, from the first season of the 2019 reboot of Fruits Basket. It was good to listen to when writing this.

Please enjoy! :D

Extra Day 1: Ayako and Vy

Vy wasn't unfamiliar with overworking and stress. If her fellow Master was any indication, saving Humanity was a hard, arduous process that she wouldn't wish on anyone, even her worst enemies. 7 billion lives weren't supposed to be placed on the shoulders of a select few. It was unfair.

Still, it was amazing the two of them had survived this long considering how they had only met during that orientation before Singularity F. Ayako had bonded with Servants such as Edmond Dantes and Jeanne D'Arc Alter, while Vy found herself with Mash and folk such as Marie Antoinette and Achilles. It worked, the two of them collaborating, but it was at times like this that had Vy wonder what she was doing. Vy couldn't help but agonize about whether she was really helping at all.

Was the world benefitting just as much as Ayako was from Vy's efforts? Were either party getting closer to better days? Vy wasn't sure.

Of course, Ayako didn't exactly give off the most verbal of hints when her depression hit. It was a very Ayako thing to do to not say anything and Vy couldn't change that, even if she worried about it. If anything, the few clues Vy had picked up over the past year helped in finding the right choice of action. Those cues included a shorter, rougher tone to her conversations and Ayako's constant presence in her studio, the door locked with but a select few allowed inside. If not for Robin Hood starting the trend of sneaking snacks away, much to Archer EMIYA's chagrin, Vy occasionally wondered if Ayako ever ate at all.

Today was one of those days.

Vy took a breath, ignoring the urge to pull at her ponytail sitting behind her neck to instead grasp the canister of freshly-blended fruit-protein smoothie in one hand. In time with her exhale, Vy raised her other hand to gently knock on Ayako's studio door. "Aya-san?"

No answer.

Vy waited a few seconds to a minute, glanced around to look for any lingering Servant presences (since Dantes was usually a common figure to find when Ayako was in one of these moments), then called out again to the door.

"Aya-san? It's Vy."

She tried not to jump once the door slid open a small crack, revealing one unamused green eye and a few bandaged fingers in the doorway. The room appeared dark behind the figure, and Vy schooled her worry almost immediately. "What?" Ayako said grumpily.

"Dr. Roman said you didn't have breakfast yet," Vy replied quietly, gently raising the smoothie to the green eye's level. "So I worked with big Robin to make this for you. If you're okay with drinking food instead." There were enough bananas, yogurt, chocolate, and spinach inside to make a full meal in terms of nutritious content. The straw attached to the canister should make it easier.

The green eye flickered between meeting Vy's gaze and offering of food, the bandaged fingers on the doorway slowly clenching against the metal. "…"

"You don't have to take it if you don't want to," Vy continued in the same quiet voice, ignoring the anxious sweat budding on the back of her neck as she raised the smoothie canister up again to Ayako's line of view. "Just, if you're going to keep painting in there, you'll need to eat something."

Ayako's one green eye blinked slowly at her, as if processing the entire visual of the offering before that one bandaged hand let go of the door to take the canister from Vy's fingers. Vy absently noted the flecks of color sticking to Ayako's fingernails before taking a step back to let Ayako express herself. "Thanks…" was the inevitable tinier response, the eye already retreating back in the darkness.

"…Aye. You go rest, Aya-san," Vy said, feeling something bubble up in her chest at the sight of Ayako's retreat. "I'll take it from here for the day."

The Servants did have Ember and QP farming to do, after all, and Vy still had a large stock of Saint Quartz and Apples to eat if it came to it. If it meant Ayako could rest, then…

"Vy," Ayako said suddenly, before Vy could scoot away for Ayako's privacy, the green eye coming more into the light of the hallway to reveal parts of Ayako's face. The gaunt look in her cheeks barely took away from the stern look set in on the rest of her visible features. "Don't die."

With an inaudible sigh, Vy smiled as best as she could, brushing a stray strand of hair out of her face and back behind her ear. "Aye. I'll cook something for you when I get back. Would seafood porridge be okay?"

"Hm," Ayako said neutrally, and just like that, the conversation was over, the door sliding back closed with the lock clicking into place.

Just another day, and even if Vy didn't know everything about Ayako, her response proved it was still Aya-san. That was enough for her.

Vy smiled a bit more at the closed studio door, adjusting her glasses on the bridge of her nose before tiptoeing backwards and out of the studio's vicinity. Under her breath, she whispered, "Love you platonically too, Aya-san."

One day, she'd say it to Ayako's face. One day.