Summary: Back during the Incineration of Humanity, a single Doctor finds out a key weakness of the Chaldean Master before everyone else, and decides to do something about it.

Note: Dedicated to tumblr user hizentadahiro, also known as Lucien, one of the curators of the Fate Discord server I've joined recently and a friend I cherish dearly. It's thanks to your love for Dr. Roman that this chapter is here, so thankie for everything, Lu. :) This is for you.

The theme for this chapter is one I asked Lu's feedback on and went with — My Dance Tonight, or "My Mai Tonight" from the Aquors group of the Love Live franchise. It's a song I've always liked and wanted to use for a while in my stories, so getting Lu's approval was great. As an alternative song, I recommend the song Butterfly from the late Koji Wada, specifically the version made for Digimon Adventure tri. Since my real life Robin has been getting me into the Digimon TCG for stress relief, I've been finding this song a comfort in both work and writing purposes.

Otherwise? Please enjoy!

Day 26: Doctor's Note

"No bruises from what I can see, just prana exhaustion as usual, Vy-chan." Dr. Roman flipped through his clipboard while leaning against the back of his desk chair, tapping his pen against his bottom lip as he glanced at his patient in consideration. "Is there anything else you've been feeling? Tired? Sore?"

"Nn-muu," said his patient dismissively from what appeared to be from the back of her closed mouth.

Ooookay. Dr. Roman tried again with a patient smile. "Feeling hungry?"

Instead of a vocal noise, Vy just weakly shrugged her shoulders through her Standard Chaldean Uniform, tilting her head at him enough for her glasses to slide down the bridge of her nose, showcasing the dark bags underneath her brown eyes. Her fingers quietly clenched at the hems of her black skirt, exposing the smallest hint of skin past her stockings as Vy then shook her head, ruffling her already tousled long brown hair sitting bunched up past her shoulders. Even when sitting on an examination bed, she looked so small against the white walls behind her.

No response again. Dr. Roman took a steadying breath through his nose, turning in his chair to face her head-on. This girl is Humanity's last Master, but she didn't ask to be. "Is there something going on, Vy-chan? It's not the first time you've been quiet, but you haven't said anything since coming into my office."

Vy blinked at him through her lopsided glasses. One second passed, then two. Once her eyelashes fluttered open again, a glint of recognition shined in her brown eyes as she then raised a single index finger to gently point at his clipboard. She opened her mouth, let out a small, barely audible "Ah" noise, and pointed again.

"My clipboard?" Dr. Roman glanced at it in honest confusion, noting the medical notes and related jargon scribbled across the top sheet before a lightbulb went off in his head. With a cursory glance, Dr. Roman carefully reached behind his chair for a spare piece of paper. He should've had some sitting around on his desk… "Did you want to write out what you wanted to say?"

To his sheer relief, Vy nodded vigorously, lowering her hand to give him a smile. Please, her eyes seemed to say past the fatigue shining in them, a lengthy exhale leaving her lips. That would help.

Dr. Roman made sure to press his palm against the top of his clipboard, neatly detaching all the papers he was working on before slipping the clean piece he found in their place, letting the clasp close with a solid click. "Here you go, Vy-chan," he said softly in return, sliding over a pen once Vy was staring at it. "Take your time."

Vy nodded at him before closing her eyes once more. One more second passed like before, then two, then three. It took about 5 seconds total for Dr. Roman to see Vy's hand move across the clipboard, and the soft scritch-scratch noises indicative of the pen gliding against the wood of the clipboard echoed in the room as she started writing. The pen's tip wiggled in the air as Vy wrote, and Dr. Roman did his best not to jump when it eventually stopped and Vy was turning the clipboard around to let him read.

I'm sorry for not saying anything, was written on the originally blank paper now, the last few letters a little smudged from Vy's hand bumping the ink before it could dry, no doubt. Whenever I get tired, it's hard to talk. Easier to save energy by staying quiet.

Dr. Roman looked into Vy's eyes once he finished reading, and in response, the Chaldean Master visibly hesitated, her cheeks turning the slightest bit pink as she hid her mouth behind the clipboard's metal clasp. With a quick second, Vy immediately turned the clipboard back to herself, pressing the pen to the paper faster than before. Dr. Roman could hear a soft "Muuu" noise leave Vy's lips past her pen as she wrote whatever she was thinking about, and he waited. After about a minute or so, his patience paid off once Vy turned the board back towards him.

It's hard to sum up how I'm feeling lately, Dr. Roman. Vy shakily pointed at the underlined "I'm" with the pen's cap, regret and discontent lingering past her glasses as she held up the clipboard for Dr. Roman to read further. With everything that's been going on, I don't know what to feel anymore. So much has happened to you, me, Mash, and all of Chaldea, so… I don't know how to feel. If… If that makes sense?

It most certainly does, Roman sadly thought to himself. After all, there was no mistaking the trembling of Vy's fingers past the pen and clipboard she was holding up towards him. When they first met, her hands were steady and careful — never shaking like this. Then again, Vy never showed him this side of herself until these check-ups started, huh? Had Team A and the other Masters not been involved in the Command Room explosion, you wouldn't be the one we'd all be relying on. We've… we've pushed you this much, haven't we, Vy?

It took a moment for Dr. Roman to realize Vy was looking at him in confusion, and heat uncomfortably crawled up the back of his neck. She was waiting on his answer, wasn't she? "It… It does make sense, Vy," he said softly, coughing into one of his gloved fists to cover up for his introspective moment. "And there's nothing wrong with feeling all that."

Vy still tilted her head at him, her eyes conveying the quiet, "Are you sure about that?" without her even voicing or writing the words.

"I mean it, Vy," Dr. Roman added, closing his eyes and crossing his arms. "This situation is very unique for what it is — so there's no shame in expressing how you feel. If anything," he did his best to hide his own regret with a warm smile, "thank you for being honest with me."

Vy blinked at him blearily through her glasses, the smallest bit of exhausted tears leaking out from the corners of her eyes and dotting the lenses as she stared back at him. "What do I do to warrant your thanks?" was clear in the air between them, and Dr. Roman smiled again while getting up from his chair.

I can at least do something for a hard worker like you aside from daily checkups, right?

"Can you come with me, Vy-chan? There's somewhere I want to take you."

"Hm~?" Da Vinci, of course, was staring up at Roman with a glint in her blue eyes as she tilted her head with a thoughtful hum. "This is rare for you, Romani, bringing our only Master here with you. Are you up to something?"

"Nothing big. Even if it's your workshop, it's still a part of Chaldea, Leonardo," Dr. Roman said mildly, ignoring the urge to look away as the Caster kept giving him the stink eye. "And as Acting Director, I think I can come by and make a request of you every now and then."

"As long as it exemplifies beauty and doesn't exhaust any of our already low resources, then I can oblige your requests, 'Director'~!" Da Vinci still leaned over to glance at the small Master lingering behind Roman's figure, and the smile of Mona Lisa easily bloomed on her face as she then added, "Hi, Vy!" in a sugar-sweet voice. "You doing okay, mia bella?"

When did Vy start earning nicknames? Dr. Roman absently wondered to himself. 'My beauty?'

Vy, having taken the pen and clipboard with her from his office, merely returned Da Vinci's stare with a quiet noise, shrugging her shoulders weakly again as she hugged the items to her chest. It was obvious she was tired if she wasn't even responding to Leonardo Da Vinci, and Vy normally loved talking to Da Vinci.

"Ah," Da Vinci nodded, apparently understanding the wordless gesture as she spared another glance in Romani's direction, this time more authoritative and disapproving. "Romani, this girl's clearly exhausted. Why haven't you sent her back to her room for her daily nap?"

"I was about to do that, but I needed to ask you something first, Leonardo." Romani closed his eyes, feeling so tempted to roll them if not for the girl lingering behind him. "Can you make a whiteboard?"

The question was thankfully enough to wipe the disapproval clean off Leonardo's face, leaving the Servant to stare up at Romani in baffled surprise. "A… A whiteboard?" The curious glint from before then surged back into Leonardo's blue eyes, making them shine all the brighter against the many inventions in her workshop. "One of humanity's modern inventions for writing, Director? I wasn't expecting that! Who's it for—"

Dr. Roman merely pointed a steady thumb back at the Master who proceeded to raise a trembling hand to clench a portion of his lab coat between her fingers for balance, and Da Vinci's curiosity melted away for solemn understanding. "Vy-chan is our only Master, Leonardo," Romani said in a more serious voice, unable to hide the slight note of regret in his tone. "The least we can do for someone like her is make it easier for her to talk when she wants to but can't, right?"

Vy was immediately raising her head to look up at Dr. Roman in her own baffled silence, and in time with her reaction, Leonardo's smile came back. Just like the Mona Lisa she painted, Caster beamed enough to shine, approval exuding off her perfect figure as she placed her hands on her hips. "Once again, we are in surprising agreement, Director!" With a waggle of her pointer finger, she leaned into Dr. Roman's personal space again, winking. "Just take mia bella outside to let her close her eyes! I'll get to work right away!" To Vy, Da Vinci hummed a soft song under her breath, reaching over and past Dr. Roman's shoulder with her pointing hand to affectionately pat the top of Vy's hair. "Don't worry your pretty head one bit, cara mia. This is a request from your Acting Director and I'm perfectly capable of doing it! So stop making that face and just smile for me, little flower~!"

Vy still gave Da Vinci the same tired look of disbelief, glancing between her and Dr. Roman all the while, and Romani felt himself smile too. Even if it wasn't as nice-looking as Leonardo's, he could at least try. For her comfort at least, after everything she was made to go through on Chaldea's behalf. "That's what Leonardo says, Vy," Romani said softly, not minding the continued tugging on his lab coat as Vy looked up at him. "Let's just go sit outside, okay?"

Vy hugged the pen and clipboard to herself with her free hand, just a bit tighter, before mouthing to him a tiny, "Okay." Her answering smile to Da Vinci was equally as weak as her "reply," but that would have to do.

Romani did his best to ignore the concerned glance Da Vinci was sending into the back of his head as he smiled down at the Master still clinging to his coat. "Let's go then, Vy-chan."

"Seriously, though, Romani, make sure my favorite flower gets some shut-eye after this, okay? She's only human!" was the parting (and rather scathing) words Leonardo had left him with, and as Dr. Roman waited, he couldn't help but admit that she had the point there. Vy was definitely listing off against his side as they sat at the only waiting bench outside of Da Vinci's workshop, fighting off the urge to close her eyes for longer periods of time. Her hair tickled the side of his neck as her head bobbed awkwardly from the fatigue, and at one point, Dr. Roman could've sworn he heard a tiny high-pitched yawn as Vy clutched his clipboard and pen to her chest.

How much have we been putting her through? Dr. Roman couldn't help but think, even when he knew the answer and the regret that came with it. Vy was the only Master Chaldea had after the explosion Lev — no, Flauros had executed in the Central Command Room. With the state Humanity was in, there was no other choice but her. That didn't make the sight of the normally lively girl any less pitiful to look at, because from the sickly pallor of her skin and her tangled brown hair, it was obvious she was working harder than anyone else. And why wouldn't she? As the last Master, as the only Master of Humanity, she was on the front lines for every mission, every opportunity to gather materials, and she put her all into everything. Her eyebags and her shaking hands were proof of that — hell, even her effort to not nod off and wait for when Da Vinci would call for them both said more about her than any vocalized words would.

"…I wonder if we're doing enough for you, Vy," left Romani in a quiet huff. "After everything you've done, have we really done the same for you?"

Thankfully, it looked like Vy didn't hear what he had said, instead slowly turning her head to stare blearily at him again with a soft questioning noise (was it an "Uuu?" this time) echoing in the back of her throat. Dr. Roman merely shook his head with the same smile and gently raised a gloved hand to pat her hair. Even through his glove, it felt soft. Silky in spite of the tangles.

"Don't worry, Vy-chan," he said outwardly, forcing confidence he didn't have into his voice to reassure her. "It's nothing."

I sometimes wish you weren't left alone with Mash in shouldering the world, he let himself think, slowly smoothing out the closest tangle in his reach as Vy stared up at him in growing confusion. With the way you are, Vy, will I—

"Romani~! Mia bella~! You can come back now~!" interrupted his mind from wandering off, and the call alone was enough to make Vy startle back into wakefulness as she let out a small "Ah!" noise of shock. Da Vinci, true to form, poked her head out past her workshop's originally closed door a second later, giving Romani the closest thing to a mix of an approving eye and a stink eye as she grinned. "Don't start overthinking, just come back!"

"Alright, alright, Leonardo, no need to rush us," Romani let himself roll his eyes this time, turning his head to meet Vy's blurry eyes. In spite of the fatigued tears, Vy still stared up at him with a considerate look, blinking slowly as her brown irises reflected his image. "Let's go, Vy-chan?"

Instead of an answer, Vy took one hand off his clipboard to reach over and take a corner of his lab coat sleeve cuff, tugging at it softly. "Okay," she mouthed again. "Let's go."

"Presenting to you — drumroll, please." Da Vinci waited and with another roll of his eyes, Romani made a rhythm of sorts by drumming his palms against his knees. At the same time, Vy slowly clapped her hands together, creating a mishmash of fanfare-like noise that seemed to be enough for Da Vinci if her wide smile was any indication. She then gestured to the purple cloth-covered thing on the centermost table of the workshop, beaming all the while. "I give you Da Vinci-chan's newest invention!"

All it took was Da Vinci grabbing the purple cloth to throw it out and away into a dark corner of the workshop, and what laid there underneath was something honestly… well, mundane. A set of whiteboard dry erase markers, each cap a different color and tipped with felt erasers, sitting against a tiny rectangle of a whiteboard. The backing of the board was pink, almost plastic in quality if its shine against the workshop lights were any indication, contrasting the white surface of its front and the tiny clip-like hooks sitting on its sides to hold markers. "Custom-made whiteboard and markers, all for my favorite flower!" Da Vinci announced with extra flourish in her voice.

Vy blinked at the items with a small "Nn?" of curiosity, and Dr. Roman couldn't help but absently wonder if the previous drumroll was necessary with how ordinary the invention looked overall. "Leonardo," he started quietly after a moment of consideration, giving the inventor a look, "you didn't do anything to these items, right?"

"How rude, Romani! I can assure you that they are not booby-trapped! If anything, I made them with Vy's mana usage in mind!" Da Vinci's scowl immediately dropped once she turned to look at Vy, though, and once again, the Mona Lisa was present in the room as Da Vinci smiled at the Chaldean Master. "Cara mia, go ahead and pick them up~!"

Vy slowly tilted her head at the Caster, blinking owlishly before nodding, slowly loosening her grip on Romani's pen and clipboard enough for Romani to gently take it out of her hands once she glanced at him. With a little smile, Vy then shakily got to her feet, quite literally waddling her way over to Da Vinci's side, hesitating once Da Vinci was handing her the whiteboard and the one pink marker out of the set sitting on the table. With a little "Muu," Vy then uncapped the marker, barely pressing the tip to the whiteboard's writing surface before pausing. Her eyes then widened enough to let the fatigue briefly clear from her brown irises, and one arm reached over to cradle the whiteboard to her chest as she started writing on it with her other arm.

Dr. Roman didn't even need to see Da Vinci's triumphant look over Vy's head once Vy was turning the whiteboard towards them both, eyes wide past her glasses. It… it feels nice in hand, were the words written across the previously clear white surface, a surprised smile starting to form on Vy's cheeks past the whiteboard. It doesn't hurt when I write with it.

"Ah, you found out the main features already, mia bella," Da Vinci hummed softly, leaning in Vy's direction with a warm grin in return. "It's not supposed to hurt when I made all the markers to work specifically with your mana. So whenever you're tired, cara mia, they'll react to whatever you want. Any thoughts you have, anything you want to express but can't — they'll help you write it all. Any Servant should be able to read what you write to them with this. And the whiteboard—" Da Vinci gently poked the top of it with one extended pointer finger, a soft look shining in her blue eyes that literally went over Vy's head all the while, "I made it so it's easy to clean. It's small enough to tuck into any of the pockets in your Mystic Codes, so you can bring it wherever you want to. The Singularities, farming missions, even the Dining Hall."

That's amazing, Da Vinci-chan, was hastily scribbled onto the surface not even a full two minutes later, Vy staring up at the inventor with awe and happiness in her eyes. The last thing Dr. Roman was expecting at all was for those same warm brown eyes to turn towards him, just in time for Vy to scribble one more message. This is why I can still stay awake with you two like I can with Mash.

"Vy…?" was all Dr. Roman was able to get out of his suddenly frozen lips, and in turn, Da Vinci herself looked baffled as she got to read Vy's written words.

With a tilt of her head, Vy beamed at the two, far more energy exuding off the gesture than anything else she had said that day. Vy then turned the whiteboard back to herself, slowly erasing what was previously written on it with the eraser cap of her current marker before scribbling again. Both Da Vinci and Dr. Roman were left waiting, and their patience was rewarded once Vy was smiling at them again past the board's top as she turned it over.

You two remind me of Mom and Dad, was carefully written on the white surface, the neat lettering matching the warm smile on Vy's face. And with this, it really makes being with you comfy and special. Vy paused once she noticed the looks on their faces, and she glanced down at the whiteboard in her hands before hastily turning it back to add one last thing to them. Socializing is a lot of work for me if my silence says anything. But you two, along with Mash, are way too much like family for me to get too tired around you.

Romani couldn't help but remember the image of a certain green-haired shepherd just as Da Vinci let out a soft cooing noise, and in turn, all he could do was smile back at the Master waiting for his answer.

"Believe me, Vy-chan," Romani said softly, reaching over to gently rest his palm against Vy's left hand, covering her lotus-shaped Command Seals, "I get it. More so when being with you reminds me what it's like to be human again."

And he knew right then and there when seeing Vy's smile that it was Romani Archaman's truth.

Later that evening in his office, Dr. Roman rubbed at the edges of his eyes before leaning back from his tablet and against his desk chair, considering before opening his mouth. "…You could've said something, y'know. Not just wait to speak up when Vy's out of the picture."

The soft tap of a boot was all the response he had before he could smell tobacco smoke. "Maybe," was the eventual answer to his statement, and Dr. Roman didn't turn around to meet Robin Hood's eye. He didn't have to when he knew Robin was lingering in the doorway behind him. "But it looked like the little sparrow was focused on you, Doc, so there was no point in me saying anything when you and Da Vinci handled it all so smoothly."

"That doesn't mean Vy wouldn't have been happy to see you," Romani pointed out with a raised pointer finger, rolling his eyes at the smell starting to waft into his office. "Just watching without saying anything isn't going to change the fact that she cares about you. And from the looks of it," he added with a bit more confidence in his voice, "I can say with my authority as Acting Director that her feelings aren't going unreciprocated, right?"

Instead of a verbal reply, all Dr. Roman heard from the Servant was a single, tired sigh.

Romani considered again. Then he opened his eyes and glanced over his shoulder. Even with his hood drawn up to hide his face, it was easy to make out the dark fringe of hair covering one half of Robin Hood's face. Not to mention the observant green eye pointed in his direction from what little the No Face May King allowed Dr. Roman to see. "But you know, Archer?"

"Hm?" Robin Hood crossed his arms over his chest while lowering the lit cigarette from his lips.

Dr. Roman smiled, ignoring the feeling of the one ring still left on his hands as he met Archer's eye. "Make sure to look out for Vy for me, will you?"

"Uh—" Robin paused, almost as if he was caught off guard at the question, the cigarette tellingly falling out of his hand as Romani continued to meet his eye. "Where did this come from?"

"Call it a gut feeling."

I may not be around forever, but I want to make sure she is at least taken care of and not alone. Do that for me, please, Archer?

The girl known as Vy Duong deserved that much, especially after taking the heavy burden of fighting for her family and so many others in Proper Human History. If she could be a hero for Mash and Romani — didn't she deserve a hero of her own?

Dr. Roman let himself fall asleep in his office chair only when he got to hear Robin's quieter, "That's a given, Doc." It was a good enough confirmation for him as a human being. As Romani Archaman.