Summary: In a Digital Sea, a Master reveals a weakness no one was expecting. Afterwards, one Archer intervenes to mitigate the damage.

Note: This is a chapter that both takes from a short story I wrote on Tumblr on July 22, 2022, and continues it with new content due to inspiration from the friendship I have with the tumblr user withanina, whom I know as Aqui, one of three people who got me into Fate/Grand Order in the first place and one of my greatest friends. And since he loves both Kiara and Fujino, I had to write this for him.

Thankie for sticking with me for so long, Aqui. This is for you.

The song for this chapter is the track titled Me So Far from the first season of Komi Can't Communicate. I found it fitting. For an alternative, I'll recommend yozuca's song of White Heat. Even though I found it through a mediocre anime, the translated lyrics spoke to me on some level.

Content warning for implied SERAPH event spoilers. Otherwise? Please enjoy.

Day 38: To Save, To Hope

"You don't have to continue on this path, young Master of Chaldea." The former nun — now a Beast of Humanity — was staring at her like some kind of precious meat on a table. A rare meal that couldn't be found anywhere else, even when behind the familiar green cloak that served as protection throughout this entire Digital Sea. If not for the look in her yellow eyes, that kind of look that pierced the deepest pits of the soul to expose the flaws for what they were inside, she could've taken it as pity in any other circumstance. "You've been fighting for so long, haven't you? Don't you want to stop?"

Don't you want to let it all go?

She kept her lips closed as the May King in front of her tensed.

"You've been tired for so long, exhausted from working for spirits that could never love you back due to their transience. Why bother?" The former nun was smiling through all the poison her tongue was weaving, a mocking halo forming around the horns coming out of her head. "You could come into me. You could end it all here. Get away from that fake hero of yours, and you can rest."

Tempting. It was tempting, but—

This is still the monster that killed Shirou.

"…What do you know about me when the Buddha you pretend to serve isn't the Buddha who helped keep the dark away from me?"

For the first time since the confrontation started, the former therapist of Seraphix paused. Her jaw slackened just as the May King's shoulders dropped some.

Master? His voice called out quietly.

She shook her head. "As much as it hurts, I can't stop. I can't go back. That would be spitting on the graves of those whose blood I've already spilled, intentionally or not."

Beast III/R was frowning now. "You would sacrifice yourself for them?"

For Robin? For my family, who still believes in me?

She already knew her answer.

Yes.

"You see the foes in front of you now as spirits who don't deserve anything. I can see them as people I can help by assisting them in beating you."

The lost therapist blinked. "…Why? You've seen what's happened to humans in SERAPH. Why do you reject me when I want to give you salvation?"

"You're only saving yourself more time. Not me. You're just wasting mine. Besides." She slowly extended the prototype metal bo staff that Da Vinci had given her, twirling it between her fingers for extra emphasis before pointing it at the former human. At the former savior who had lost everything in exchange for power that she didn't need. What a joke. Even the darkened Shirou was more of a hero than her. "I already stopped believing I could be saved a long time ago." Despite the sudden pang of hurt that echoed in the back of her mind, a pang that clearly didn't come from her, she pushed it aside for later. "But I can still save the people I care about. The people that saw worth in a little, lost, Vietnamese girl even when the world didn't bother to teach her right from wrong. And that means helping Big Robin and Melt-san put you out of your misery."

The Beast tipped her head back and laughed heartily. "Me? In misery? You jest."

She rolled her eyes, ignoring the instinctive urge to wipe at her glasses to check for any muck. Typical. "Coming from the old lady who doesn't understand what it's like to have platonic love and asexuality coexist in the same room, that's a fucking joke."

And just like that, the laughter stopped. The Beast flushed a dark red as she growled out, "…Again with the age?"

"Can't call you a 'man-child' when you're not the right gender for that term, bitch."

"…"

She twirled her staff again. "I'm Vy Duong, granddaughter to Phuc Van Duong and Lan Thi Nguyen, daughter of Hiep and Nga Duong. To you, Beast of Pleasure who spits on my family legacy of Buddhism while trying to dethrone my May King's honor, allow me the opportunity to end your pitiful life."

Only one person saved me before, and he's standing with me now. You don't deserve any more.

"This is not good, Master."

Vy slowly opened her eyes to the sensation of a cold hand covering one of hers. Someone called for her. But who?

It took a moment for her vision to adjust through the blurriness that resulted from lacking her glasses. White ceilings. No lights. Blankets. Dark violet hair brushing her shoulder. Chaldea. She was in Chaldea again, far away from that hell of a Digital Sea. And the person calling for her, the person with dark violet hair, was—

"Fuji…no?"

The kimono-donning Archer loomed quietly over her from what little Vy could actually see, red eyes piercing through the darkness with something akin to pity and sorrow. The cold hand on Vy's must've belonged to Fujino, because it squeezed enough for Vy to feel her bones creak some with the grip. "You are slowly losing yourself," Fujino said in her usual serene tone, shaking her head. "That is not good, Master."

"What do you…" Vy coughed. Everything was hot for some reason. What happened? Did she get a fever? When did that happen? "What do you mean…?"

"The first step to becoming a non-human is to lose sight of where you are, Master. To stop believing in your own sense of self because of all the weight on your shoulders. To stop feeling those burdens as well." Despite the tight grip, Fujino continued to talk in the same quiet tone Vy knew her for, her other hand reaching out to brush some hair out of Vy's face. It was strangely comforting to her skin despite retaining its characteristic deathly chill that merely screamed Fujino. "Losing yourself can mean becoming numb to the feelings of those around you. Not moving at the sight of blood, even. Worse comes to worst," Fujino's eyes glowed. "You could become a murderer like me."

A protest started to bubble up Vy's throat out of sheer instinct, but before she could form a word, she coughed again. Her limbs felt weak and the blanket on her bed was weighted enough to make her feel floaty. All she could eventually croak out was, "Fuji…no…" and the Archer merely smiled. "That's not…"

It's not all true. You're not just a murderer, you're—

"…Oh, Vy. To say such things despite your current ailment merely proves you have a kinder heart than others," Fujino whispered, her voice lifting some octaves from what sounded like surprised joy. Did she hear what Vy was trying to say? "And it's why you can't give up on yourself." Two cold hands were cupping Vy's now, lifting her arm out from past the heavy blankets to squeeze tightly. "The world is a cruel place, Master. After you've helped me remember other sensations aside from pain, I don't want it taking your sense of pain away from you too."

"Fuji…no…" Vy's vision was blurring again, more than usual. "It won't… I…"

I don't want it to happen. I won't let it happen. Not with you here.

The last thing Vy remembered before the darkness took her again was Fujino's small smile and the equally gentle, "I know, so please rest, Master. I will kill whomever will try to change that."

The next time Vy awoke, her vision could make out a soft corner of green and the faint scent of something minty.

Green. Mint. Familiar.

Robin.

"You okay, little sparrow?" The back of a large palm was resting against Vy's forehead just as her vision started to clear, delightfully cool to the touch as he checked her temperature. Once Vy got enough strength to nod in response to Robin's question, fingers gently brushed some hair out of her face, making Vy painfully aware of how sweaty she felt with the gesture as Robin sighed. "Your fever's thankfully gone down some, and I do have some porridge from that red Archer you call 'Shirou.' And don't worry, it's not poisoned. He just asked me to bring it to you since that Asagami lady who was on today's schedule had something else to handle." Through semi-closed eyes, Vy could see the May King reach over for a bowl from the tray sitting at the nightstand (when did that get there?), scooping some aforementioned porridge into it with a ladle. "Think you can eat a little?"

So I am sick… Was it the Ember farming? Or the many Rayshifts back to the previous Singularities, cleaning up some leftover messes that the Temple of Time left behind? Vy wasn't sure.

Instead, Vy opened her mouth, found nothing but a rough cough in it, then settled for raising her hand past her blankets to make a weak thumbs-up gesture in Robin's direction. Telepathy wasn't really working either, if the sluggishness still lingering at the corners of her mind was any indication. Even with Big Robin right next to her, his presence only created a dull sense of joy in her thoughts through their bond. Just served as another painful reminder of how bad sickness could go.

"Good." Robin seemed to lose some of the tension in his shoulders at her attempt at a reply, the smile tugging at his lips looking more genuine as he placed the bowl within reaching distance on another smaller tray near her bed. Vy could do nothing but slowly sit up to save Robin the effort of moving her out of bed, giving him a weak smile once he settled for rearranging her pillows to let her rest against those instead. "Take it easy, alright?" His smile dimmed some when handing her the new tray, porridge bowl and spoon and all, but Vy knew it was out of worry more than anything else. "It's still a bit hot."

"Mm," was the best approximation for the noise that left Vy's lips as she willed her shaky hands to move, taking a spoonful of the porridge to carefully sip after a couple careful breaths. White rice. Green onions. Carrots. Fish sauce. Mussels and some pork too. It all tasted good, even to her dulled tongue. Shirou must've remembered the last time she cooked porridge, thinking of home and Mommy and Daddy. "Th… Thankie…"

Looking up past her meal revealed Robin smiling again, his visible eye soft in her direction. "It's no problem, little sparrow." With a quiet exhale, he brushed some dust off his knee, getting up from his now apparent seat at Vy's bed side with a grunt. Did he grab the chair at her desk just to sit with her? "Go ahead and finish what you can. I'll get you some tea for that throat."

Wait. The emotion shining past that green iris in that moment tugged at something in Vy's chest. Wait. Fujino was here earlier, right? And she said something about not giving up. For Robin, who went with me to SERAPH—

For Big Robin, who never gave up on me—

Vy didn't realize she was tugging on the back of Robin's mantle until the moment she could see how white her knuckles were turning against the green fabric of the No Face May King. Robin had stopped in place thanks to her grip, turning his head back to give her a wide-eyed look, and Vy started, looking up at him with heat flooding her cheeks. "R… Ro…" Her tongue twisted against itself in her mouth. "Rob… in…"

Robin smiled again, turning around to catch her reaching hand in one of his, squeezing it softly while kneeling to her sitting height. If something had his attention before, it didn't now because all Vy could see reflected in his green iris was her own image. "Yeah?"

The words made a lump in her throat, but Vy still tried. It was the least she could do for him. Especially since she couldn't voice it all for Fujino. "Even if I…I still can't…" Vy closed her eyes and squeezed Robin's hand back, willing the cough in her lungs to stay down for just a little longer. "…Fully believe in… me, I mean… I still… for you, I still… believe in you…"

Even if I might lose myself, I still love you, Robin Hood.

Opening her eyes revealed Robin's jaw having gone slack, his mouth having formed a quiet "o" in response to her confession, and Vy smiled weakly back. "I… forgot to… say it…" was her last attempt at explaining, just before the eventual cough started bubbling up her throat, "back in… SERAPH…"

I'm sorry if what I said to Kiara hurt you. I know I have trouble asking for help, even now, but for you—

I can try.

The last thing Vy expected was for Robin to raise a hand to cough on his own, ducking his head into the collar of his mantle enough for Vy to not glimpse the look on his face in time to make any sort of conclusion. Belatedly, Vy realized his shoulders were trembling through the No Face May King, and the hand holding hers merely tightened its grip. Unlike Fujino's cold hands, Robin's were warm, but like Fujino, the touch was caring.

"Don't lose your voice over something like that, little sparrow," she eventually heard Robin whisper, and Vy blinked as he raised his head to give her a grin caught between admiration and exasperation. "You have a long enough life ahead of you to tell me that any other day. Just…" Robin chuckled, shaking his head as his thumb stroked the back of her knuckles. "You gotta be good to you too, Vy, understand?"

"Pot… meets kettle," Vy croaked, tempted to giggle in return. "Silly Big Robin."

Robin's grin slowly widened. "I know, little sparrow."

Over his shoulder, Vy could've sworn she saw a hint of violet hair and a red kimono sleeve lingering in the doorway of her room. After a few moments of thought, Vy decided not to let Robin know about it.

It could be an innocent secret left for another day.

Note: The latter half of this chapter is inspired by what I can remember of my maternal grandparents' efforts in taking care of my brother and I after we just got our wisdom teeth removed in high school. And well…

There's a reason my writing died for the last few weeks as of this note's publishing (July 27th, 2022). A lot of it died on June 30th, and coming back is a bit odd.

Still. This chapter is also for you, Ong Ngoai. I hope you rest easier now. Be Vy still loves you and is thinking of you every day, just as you asked the last time we met.

To everyone else? I'll see you all next time.