Summary: In the middle of the night, Saito Hajime decides to duel one of his allied Servants. It wasn't supposed to be anything serious, just something to pass the time (and just maybe figure out where he stood compared to Okita and even the Grailed of Vy's Chaldea), but he wasn't expecting the little Master herself to walk into the room.

Note: Inspired by (1) how nice Saito was in coming home to my Chaldea twice over in my first multi on the GudaGuda 5 banner and (2) my feelings of shock and awe that came with watching the first six episodes of the original Cowboy Bebop anime.

I missed out on some things as a kid, and now that I'm actually watching more of said things with friends, Cowboy Bebop made me think of Saito, funny enough. More so when witnessing Spike and Jet do their bounty hunter things.

And, well, to get myself out of a personal funk, I had to write something different, right?

The theme for this chapter is a song I was recommended by my real life Achilles — Itou Kanako's Kimi no Namae no Kaze ga Fuku, or The wind of your name blew when directly translated. He said the lyrics concisely summed up Chaldea's journey, especially when it comes to the original Fujimaru Ritsuka, so here I am. I went about using it, thinking it'd be how Saito views this specific Master in Passing Days.

Now then, please enjoy!

Day 42: Reason to Fight

Chaldea was such an odd place to Saito. It wasn't a bad thing, not really. The food was pretty good, especially the homemade soba and croquette — he couldn't remember if he ever had such a dish like that when he was alive with Yaso or even with Tokio — and the air was liberating.

Sure, he never regretted his decision to join the Shinsengumi all those years ago, working with Okita, the Vice-Commander, Yamanami and Kondou. The blue haori given back to him with his Final Ascension merely proved his work in those corps as the Third Unit Captain was enough to allow him to live again as a Heroic Spirit. However, it didn't mean those days weren't hard, because with the rules and the many spies that could infiltrate their ranks, danger was around every corner. Never really found a time to relax unless there was booze and no enemy to investigate for the shogunate.

Novum Chaldea, on the other hand, felt… peaceful. There was no other word for it.

Sure, there were former enemies lingering in the halls as much as there were allies. With Okita and Hijikata around, there were also gods and goddesses alike sharing the same rooms during mealtimes. Heck, there was even a former Beast in the form of Kamadeva floating around and being relatively creepy about love every now and then. But even Kamadeva turned demure in the face of the young woman they all called "Master," appearing loyal because of the Foreign God's ever looming threat.

Overall, Saito had to conclude that Chaldea itself was odd, in spite of all the danger it faced. Especially with its usage of Holy Grails. Before the Bleaching of Humanity, Saito wouldn't have believed in the power of a Holy Grail. After all, it was just a relic of mages who tried to play God, nothing more, nothing less.

It didn't make it any less what the fuck when Achilles beat him in a simple spar during training. He was glad that Vy wasn't around to see it, considering he was just wanting to see how things were in Novum Chaldea after being Fully Ascended. Not to mention the gut feeling he had about her possibly fussing over him after his defeat if she found out. The less attention there was for him, the better. But there must've been something that compelled the little Master to Grail so many Servants, a famous legend like Achilles being one of them. He probably should've known he would've gotten thrashed with those power-ups at Achilles' disposal. A minor swordsman like him stood no match to a powered-up hero from the Trojan War, even if Miyamoto Musashi and Sasaki Kojiro tried to say otherwise. Still hurt like a bitch, though.

So why. Why was he here again? In the middle of the night, in one of the many training simulator rooms, holding up a bokken while facing Achilles who had his own wooden staff? His senses were screaming danger danger DANGER with every passing second and ignoring it simply wasn't his style, but he was still standing anyways.

"You know how this went down earlier," Achilles whistled, twirling the staff absentmindedly. "But you're still going through with this?"

"Call it a bit of my makoto here," Saito filled in vaguely to chase out the fear, chancing a glance at Okita and her Alter and trying not to lurch back at the happy expectant looks in their eyes. Were those two actually looking forward to this? "Used to be called the Invincible Sword back during the Shinsengumi days. Feels like I'm letting the name down if I lose."

"That's fair," Achilles hummed, shouldering his staff against his casual top while tossing his head towards Robin who stood at the sidelines with the two Okitas, arms crossed. "You alright with the conditions, then?"

"As long as the others just referee," Saito added, pretending to roll his eyes. It was a good thing Okita Alter was holding onto his suit jacket, lest he be tempted to toss it into Achilles' face to see how the Rider would react. "A close-to-fatal blow should be enough to finish things for a duel."

"We'll make sure it stays a fair fight!" Okita chimed in loudly, voice surprisingly clear of her summoned tuberculosis as she raised a fist in the air. "Don't worry about it, Saito-san!"

"Thanks, Okita-chan!"

"I'll just tack on the additional rule to keep the noise down," Robin called out from his place lounging against the wall, giving both Achilles and Saito a raised eyebrow when they glanced at him in confusion. "Even if this is a simulator room, it can still be loud from the hallway depending on what's going on. Last thing we want is our little sparrow waking up when she needs her sleep." Whether he intended the rule for the others too, it wasn't clear, but Okita still flinched, both hands going to cover her mouth as Okita Alter gave her a confused glance in response. Robin shrugged through his mantle, making a contemplative rustle rustle sound. "Other than that, go at it. The backup mana generators should be working just fine."

Huh. How hard would it be to wake Vy up? Saito found himself absently wondering, just as Achilles called back to his fellow Grailed Servant in an equally quiet tone, "No worries about that, I'll make it quick!" Whatever Achilles and Robin had going on between them, Saito could figure it out later. It was probably something deeper than two Servants having worked together for years under Vy's contract. Whatever it was, it was definitely something on par with the Shinsengumi considering the silent stare-off they were having.

Saito tightened his grip on his bokken with a steadying breath. Couldn't afford to pretend to be carefree here. "Ready when you are."

Achilles turned back to look at Saito, and a slow, confident smirk formed on his lips as he twirled his staff. "On three?"

From the corner of his eye, Saito could see Okita Alter raise a tiny white triangle-shaped flag in the air. "Three," she said in a deadpan.

"Two." Saito agreed.

"One," Robin finished just as Okita Alter brought the flag down.

Saito only blinked before Achilles was in his face (again?!), a deadly grin having replaced the previous smirk as he lunged with his staff towards Saito's head. Without hesitation, Saito parried with his bokken, internally cursing his right arm for shaking at the force that resulted from the blow as he pushed the Rider back. Switching to his left thankfully lessened the shock as he took the chance to aim at Achilles' neck, swinging with enough force to maybe make Hijikata proud.

Even then, he expected Achilles to readjust the grip to his staff to parry the blow too, pushing him back with more than enough force to make Saito stumble. With a grunt, he raised his bokken in time to meet Achilles' next lunge, forcing a smirk of his own onto his face once Achilles was glowering at him again with that look on his features.

"Where's that 'Invincible Sword' you kept talking about, huh?" Achilles hummed past his staff, slashing with it once their standoff lasted a few seconds too long. "Because I won't even need my chariot to end things."

He's making fun of me. Saito stubbornly kept his mouth closed instead, not raising to the bait while dodging the slash to try making a reverse-handed cut of his own. A bokken didn't exactly have a cutting edge, but Achilles had weaknesses too, even as a demigod. And his heel should've been—

Saito lurched back once Achilles jumped over his bokken, dodging the attempt at his heel while landing nimbly on the sword's tip with one touch of his own boot, a smirk all that Saito could see before the wind was getting blown out of his chest. He kicked me, was all Saito could make out through the momentum forcing him back, his tight grip on his bokken being his saving grace in keeping him from hitting the wall behind him. Why did that kick hurt? Was it the Holy Grail's work? Or Vy's love? Either or could've been reasonable enough. There was a reason the Grailed Servants in Novum Chaldea were considered the best of the best out of Vy's Servant roster, and Saito could see it clearly as day now.

So then why did Vy invest in me too?

"You gotta come at me, Saito, or this won't end well!" Achilles called out to him from a few meters away, smirking with a twirl of his staff as Saito spat out some blood. "Show me why you were the Third Unit Captain of the Shinsengumi!"

That does it. Saito shook his head, tasting iron in the back of his mouth as he pulled out the other bokken at the back of his suit, taking both in his hands while getting to one knee. Here I go. Using the Invincible Style means to be—

He leapt forward with all of his strength, grip tight on both bokkens as Achilles blinked. Saito could guess he was barely at a fraction of Achilles' true speed, but he still took the risk of closing in, both mock-swords ready to swing at Achilles' waist.

Formless fighting. This is the end. Either I hit him or he hits me.

He had to slash, he had to cut, he had to do something to prove he was invincible somehow—

"Saito-san, wait!"

Everything came to a halt when Achilles' eyes widened and he could faintly hear the hiss of an opening door. Was that Okita's voice earlier? And what was that weird tickle in the back of his mind?

Still, Saito instinctively lunged backwards to address the threat, already drawing his blades at the throat of whoever decided to enter and interrupt the battle he started, but found himself stopping too. He could hear voices screaming at him in protest from behind, but all he could make out was just who was at the opened door.

Blurry brown eyes blinked up at him through sleepy tears of some kind. It took all of Saito's self-control to stop his bokkens centimeters away from the inner column of the throat, making — making Vy blink at him more owlishly as the collar of her pink pajama blouse slipped down the line of her shoulders from the shock of his almost-attack. "Saito…san?" was all the little Master murmured through the undercut of a yawn, glasses surprisingly missing from her nose as she met his gaze, a few strands of tangled brown hair falling to frame her flushed cheeks. Her fuzzy cat slippers and matching pink pajama bottoms weren't even fazed at the wind he blew in her face as she went on with a drowsier, "What's going on?"

"M-Master-chan?" left Saito's mouth in shock, and he didn't need the dreaded feeling of a poison arrow aimed at the back of his head to drop his swords to the floor once his adrenaline-filled mind registered the soft warmth of Vy's mana running through his veins as the source of the earlier ticklishness. The generator-cold mana from before was quickly dissipating in favor of Vy's, leaving the shock all the more poignant as he took a step back. "What are you doing—"

"Master!" he could suddenly hear the Okitas, Robin, and Achilles call out at once, and in the space Saito made between them, the other Servants were already there to fill it in, fussing over Vy with outstretched hands as the young woman blinked sleepily at all the attention. Okita Alter and Robin in particular made it obvious they were the most worried with their insistence to start hugs and initiate pats to Vy's tangled head of hair, Okita Alter persistently lingering with arms around Vy's shoulders from behind once the woman came back to Earth with a quiet yet strange Maa noise.

Saito did his best to ignore the disappointed glance the original Okita gave him as he stuffed his hands into his pockets. I messed up, no need to rub it in, Okita-chan.

"What are you doing awake, Princess?" Achilles asked from over Saito's shoulder, taking him out of his intrusive thoughts while sounding more scandalized and vulnerable than Saito had ever heard before from the taller man. Achilles crossed his arms over his chest, staff left forgotten behind him as he tapped an angry boot against the floor. "It's the middle of the night and you need rest, the doc and old man Chiron's orders."

Doc? Saito thought numbly. Who is that?

As Okita Alter chose to press her cheek into the top of Vy's hair protectively, Vy blinked up at her chosen Grailed Rider with a sheepish smile. "I'm sorry for worrying you, Achi… I somehow woke up and needed some water," was the tentative reply, her voice coming out wispy and apologetic as she raised a hand to gently pat what little of Achilles' arm she could reach. "On the way here, I saw the lights were on past the door and got curious."

Achilles proceeded to turn his head to Robin, who let out a resigned groan and then dragged his hand over his face. "Shit," the Archer cursed in exasperation, the Yew Bow disappearing from his right arm as Saito felt his shoulders droop from the loss of apparent tension. "I knew I forgot something."

"I think you're okay, Big Robin, I still love you," Vy said honestly in response, making the May King flush pink past his fingers to Saito's surprise. With a soft turn of her head, Vy looked up at the Alter Ego still hugging her from behind, retracting her hand from Achilles' reach in favor of trying to pat Okita Alter's cheek. With the massive height difference, though, Saito could tell Vy was struggling to do so even when attempting to stand on her tiptoes through her fuzzy cat slippers. "I'm okay, Okii-san, you don't have to keep hugging me."

"Still worried," the Alter mumbled, tightening her grip on the young woman's shoulders as she snuggled her closer, ducking her head to rest her nose into Vy's brown hair. "You were in danger there and I love you too."

A wry smile tugged at Vy's lips as she murmured, "Okii-san…"

"Saito-san still would've stopped himself, right?" The original Okita piped up to hide what looked like apparent discontent with her Alter Ego self, discreetly elbowing Saito in the stomach to respond and making him gulp once everyone turned to him.

"Y-Yeah, I would've, don't worry, Maijin-chan, Master-chan." Saito forced a cheery smile onto his face for extra effect, but no one seemed convinced except for the two Okitas. "It was just a training fight anyways."

"Training…?" Once Vy made a somewhat successful attempt at patting the Alter Ego Okita's cheek, her gaze turned to Saito as she squinted. Must've been from her lack of glasses. "Is everything okay, Saito-san?"

"Everything is going great, Master-chan, don't worry about it!" For some reason, despite the shame starting to flood the back of his mind at making such an obvious white lie, the cheery smile on his face felt less forced when looking into those brown eyes. "I just had a tiny score to settle with your Grailed Rider is all."

Vy glanced at Achilles in an unspoken question, and Saito could see the Rider cross his arms behind his head out of the corner of his eye with a whistle. "Call it 'manly pride' and leave it at that, Princess."

"Manly… pride?"

I would've used makoto myself… Saito thought stubbornly. But why was Vy not surprised by my swords? She should've flinched with a blade at her throat…

"Besides," Robin spoke up, stepping closer to take one of Vy's hands in his to gently kiss her knuckles. Really? Really? "I wouldn't have let Rider take it as far as Saber did with Mordred that one time, so don't worry, little sparrow."

Wait. That one time? Saito could feel the blood in his veins start to run cold. Master-chan's had a blade to her throat before? He suddenly found himself not liking the implications.

It made the sight of Vy blushing at the attention look surprisingly wholesome in comparison, her cheeks flushing pink as she squeezed Robin's hand back. "That's helpful, Big Robin, but I can't help but worry…" she said softly, shaking her head once she glanced between him and the other Servants. "Thankie for caring, though."

"It's the least we could do, Mas— hime," Okita hastily corrected herself while filling in for Robin's answer, making Saito double-take as Okita stepped closer to rest a careful hand on Vy's shoulder past what her Alter Ego self wasn't occupying. When did Okita-chan call anyone "hime"? Saito couldn't remember. "Is there anything else you need aside from water?"

Before Vy could open her mouth, a soft rumble-like noise echoed in the room, making all the Servants, Saito included, blink. Robin said a soft "Little sparrow?" in time with Vy starting to look more like a tomato in the aftermath of the noise, an embarrassed Muu leaving her lips as she ducked her head, wrapping her arms around her middle.

"Um. Maybe fruit tea, Sou-chan?" Vy's voice cracked.

For the first time that entire night, Saito found himself honestly grinning as Okita smiled. "I think I have a better idea, Master-chan."

"Saito-san, I thought eating ramen in the middle of the night wasn't healthy…"

"It's fine, I'm sure the other Servants will scold you in the morning later, and if they do, blame me," Saito said cheerfully, stirring the pot of broth with a ladle while ignoring Okita Alter's curious stare from over his shoulder. Did the Counter Guardian version of his old Shinsengumi comrade only eat things like oden within Alaya's grasp? Saito wasn't sure but let her watch. "And with Humanity in a situation like this, I'd say eat what you want whenever you want." Saito knew he meant the words for the Alter Ego lingering behind him too. "Besides, consider this my apology for nearly slicing your head off."

"O-Okay…"

"Don't let Nightingale or Asclepius hear you say that, Saito-san," the original Okita deadpanned, carefully chopping some carrots and shrimp into a bowl so that they could be added into the soup before it started to boil. "Our Master's health is the most important thing here."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Saito shot back with no heat, adjusting the stove so that the broth could start boiling a bit faster. "But when waking up in the middle of the night, it's good to have something warm to help go back to sleep. And if it all goes well, we can ask the kitchen staff to add ramen to the usual lunch menu."

A small yawn on Vy's part inevitably proved Saito's point, because glancing in her direction revealed Robin taking off his mantle to wrap the young woman up in it, just as Achilles started moving around the Dining Hall in what appeared to be a search for another blanket. Or a pillow, maybe? Saito wasn't sure. Still, the lack of glasses on Vy's face merely made the dark shadows under her eyes more obvious, and even Saito couldn't miss how both Okitas and Robin were exchanging silent glances of concern over Vy's head when the young Master wasn't looking.

What did Vy have to go through to look so haunted like that? Young women like her should've had to worry about marriage prospects back in his day, about how to help their families and keep some form of income, not saving the entire world. Twice over, at that.

Saito honestly found it sad. Even if Proper Human History was in a state of crisis, to rely on a single person…

The sound of bubbles took Saito out of his thoughts, and looking back down at the pot revealed the broth starting to boil. With a glance towards Okita, she got the message and poured the carrots and shrimp in, while Saito turned back to a cutting board of his own to add some ginger and chicken. The soup thankfully was already starting to smell good by the time Okita started stirring it, but Saito knew it probably wouldn't match up to what the kitchen staff could do on a daily basis. There was a reason that red Archer EMIYA, Boudica, and Tamamo Cat manned the pots and pans so often — they knew Vy's tastes far better than a mere swordsman. Why else would they leave a laminated sheet of instructions on the wall, pointing out the best serving size and snacks for a healthy living human? There were only so many living humans in Novum Chaldea, after all.

Still, Saito tried. It was the least he could do in the face of unintentionally putting a blade to the lady's throat, wooden or not. By the time the noodles were boiled and rinsed, green onions were tossed in, the soup was strained, and the hardboiled eggs were peeled and cut as they should've been. Serving it all wasn't entirely hard either, considering Vy's preference for small portions, but the blank look on her face once Okita gently set the finished bowl down in front of her made Saito's heart sink some. It wasn't like he wanted a reaction, but some joy would've been nice. Maybe that itself was too much to ask for, considering how much Vy could've passed off as a corpse in the dim kitchen lighting if not for the visible warmth in her cheeks, the rustling of the No Face May King against her neck, and the gentle heaving of her shoulders with every breath.

What did you go through to get to this point, Master?

Saito still took a seat across from Vy by the time the little lady shakily took a hold of the soup spoon Okita Alter had set into the bowl, scooping some of the broth to carefully blow at it. It was strange bearing witness to Robin, the original Okita, Okita Alter, and Achilles all watching Vy's every move once they settled into their own seats (especially after Achilles snuck in a small cushion between Vy's back and her chair — where did he find that?), but in a strange way, Saito was grateful too. Even if they all came from different countries and time periods, they all agreed on wanting to protect the last Master of Humanity in a young woman named Vy. It was strangely bittersweet, thinking about how the Shinsengumi wanted to do the same for Japan but discord amongst themselves and the government was what led to their ruin.

A tiny "Oh" is what makes Saito blink back to reality, and glancing past the other Servants revealed a light coming back into Vy's tired eyes, the joy he was looking for before finally shining in her tired brown irises. A little giggle leaves Vy's lips next, and both Okitas give him bright smiles by the time Vy takes up a pair of chopsticks with a more steady hand to start slurping at the noodles. Not even Robin and Achilles giving him funny looks could ruin Saito's growing new mood.

"You a fan of ramen, Master-chan?" he tries with an honest smile, resting his chin in the palm of one hand as he absently taps a finger against the table. "Because if you are, I can ask the kitchen staff to make more in the future."

"Ramen is a favorite of mine, aye," Vy answered once she swallowed her mouthful, putting her chopsticks down to reach back and gather her hair to make a casual ponytail. In a more lively voice, she finished with, "But I find myself liking anything with noodles and soup, to be honest. The combination is kinda comforting."

"Is that why you never minded the udon competitions between the two female Musashis and your King Arthur, Master?" Okita interjects with a face caught between a fond smile and a tired frown. "Because you never did answer them about whether soba, udon, or ramen was better."

"And to that, Sou-chan, I'll say 'all are good,' aye," Vy said with an unintentional snap of her hairband for extra emphasis, lowering her hands from her head once the ponytail was set in place to her liking. With a wry smile, she then added in a smaller voice, "They all are great to have whenever it's cold, I just know putting in my personal opinion might've added oil to the fire."

"What is your personal favorite noodle and soup dish then, my shooting star?" Okita Alter puts in for her metaphorical five yen coin, a soft smile on her face.

From what little Saito could see of her expression past her long hair, the other Okita seemed… curious, if anything. Probing innocently (if he could even call such questioning that way) because it was directed towards someone she loved. Heck, she seemed happy to have something to possibly get to know Vy better.

How much did the Counter Force put that Okita through? What made her lose most of her memories of the Shinsengumi, of Hijikata, of Yamanami, of him?

Oblivious to Saito's feelings, Alter addressed their shared Master with a warmer, "The parties you named are not here now and it is the middle of the night. You can say how you feel."

Instead of responding immediately, to Saito's confusion, Vy glanced at Achilles and Robin in quick succession, her ponytail nearly whipping her neck with how much she turned her head to meet their gazes. Her bottom lip trembled, just a little, as if she was unsure of saying something without their permission. "…Should I?" leaves Vy's mouth in a quiet, tentative whisper. It sounded kinda scared too. Huh?

What is there to be scared of, Master?

Before Saito could move, Achilles was already reaching over the table to rest a palm on top of Vy's head, patting it. "You don't have to ask us, Princess," the Rider hummed, taking on that same soft fond undertone of inflection from the simulator room that Saito still found himself reeling from. "It's up to you on how comfy you feel. No need to force yourself." With one more pat, Achilles finishes with a firm, "Archer and I aren't going anywhere at least."

With a glance in Robin's direction, Saito found himself caught between surprise and exasperation once he witnessed the May King reach over to initiate a side-hug with their shared Master, even pressing a tiny kiss to his lady's forehead. Really? Really? This again? Not that Saito was averse to romance, he could still remember his love life from his time alive. Didn't make it any less awkward to watch, especially considering who was involved. Saito couldn't even blame Okita herself for politely turning her head away. Public displays of affection in Japan weren't exactly common. "What Rider said," Archer hummed in spite of the atmosphere the other Servants found themselves in, rubbing a palm against Vy's shoulder through his mantle for extra emphasis. "Go ahead, little sparrow."

A quiet Muu is all that comes out as a response at first, and Vy ducks her head. It takes Okita Alter murmuring a soft call of the woman's name that makes Vy move, and even then, Saito wasn't prepared for what he ended up hearing. If not for who was in front of him, the words could've easily come from a little girl rather than an actual young woman.

"Ramen, udon, and soba are all great, but… I still miss Mommy's pho the most."

Saito felt his jaw slacken before he could stop it, and glancing in Okita's direction only resulted in his former comrade shaking her head at him. Ask later, her gaze spelled out. Master has gone through more than you know, Saito-san.

The question was lingering in the back of his mind, but he couldn't voice it. It didn't feel right.

Is this why you had that light in your eyes when we fought in the Yamataikoku, Okita-chan? You had a cause to fight for?

It explained so much, then. Why the Servants were constantly watching Vy, looking after her and keeping track of her well-being.

If a family-oriented person became the last Master of Humanity, only to be made to kill so many others in worlds that weren't supposed to live again, just to try getting back her own family that was unfairly bleached away, how long could she last? Especially when no one knew if the Bleaching could be reversed at all? When the Servants were the only lifeline Vy had in the face of a danger unmatched by anyone else, even by the Shinsengumi standards of Serizawa and his demons, how long did she have before her luck would run out? Heck, how much luck did Vy have left if she could barely even flinch in the face of a blade to her throat? How much time did she have when she could already resemble a corpse in the middle of the night in a place where she was supposed to be safe?

This Master didn't ask to fight. I did, and I—

Finding the back of his throat dry from all the dark implications, Saito shook his head. Forcing a smile onto his face again, he gently knocked his fist against the table, catching Vy out of her slump against Robin's chest and making those brown irises focus on him. "If you want, Master-chan, think you could tell me what your mom used to use in her pho? I can make it for you next time."

Vy blinked at him, a new hesitant sparkle starting to emerge past the fatigued haze in her eyes. "…It's okay?"

Saito smiled. "Why not?"

If you ever want to run away from it all, I'll get everyone together to get you out, Master. I know a thing or two about surviving.

I can at least make sure you do too.

Sleeping afterwards that night felt hard. For the first time in a long time, actually. Even though Vy had insisted on the other Servants eating some ramen as well ("I can't be the only one eating it — it'd be a waste!" she said with a sleepy pout), Saito couldn't find it in himself to do so. Especially in the face of those darkened eyes, trying to find light when there might not have been any in her already tired heart. The passing looks of sympathy the other Servants gave him after they saw Vy off to bed still haunted him some.

Is Vy why you would dedicate yourself twice over to fighting in two different Spirit Origins, Okita-chan? Is she why you'd risk dying again?

Tellingly, neither his Okita or Okita Alter had answered his thought process. He still wasn't sure about asking them in the end. Robin and Achilles were out of the question too, at least for now. But…

"Saito-saaaaaan! Wait for meeeeeee!"

Saito found himself stopping mid-walk through the hallways of Novum Chaldea the next morning at the sound of her voice, turning to find the young brunette in question running up to him. "Master-chan?" leaves him in a tired tone that takes too long to cover up, and once Vy is standing in front of him with soft pants leaving her mouth from her sudden run, he finds himself exhaling too. She's got more color in her today, his mind notes, relief starting to flood his veins soon after. Combed hair in a ponytail and no yawning. Definitely no eyebags either. Good. Outwardly, he puts on another smile, absently putting a hand on one of his katanas. "What's up with you to warrant calling for me today?"

"Nothing bad, really." In her Winter Chaldean uniform, Vy looked so tiny from his perspective, to the point he could see how her fingers laced together behind her back as she shuffled awkwardly on her boots. With a soft red glow from her lotus-shaped Command Seals, Vy raised her head to give Saito a shy smile. "But could you kneel down for me a bit, Saito-san?"

"Kneel?" Saito pointed at his knees just as a confused frown tugged at his lips, and once Vy nodded, he threw caution to the wind. Bending his knees to meet her standing height, he tilted his head at her. "Like this?"

"Aye!" The last thing Saito saw was Vy's widening smile before arms were eagerly reaching over to wrap around his neck, pulling him in close enough for his nose to gently brush the side of her throat. The resulting hug definitely felt awkward, more so with how Saito could glimpse Vy's shaking legs past her boots and skirt with the new angle, but the tiny Chaldean Master merely tightened her grip on his head once he twisted his head in her direction.

"…Did you just want to hug me, Vy?"

The faint scent of fruity shampoo and conditioner filled his nose as Vy nodded vigorously, her arms shaking against his neck. "Aye — just because I didn't get to tell you 'thank you' for the ramen last night, Saito-san," is the soft whisper that eventually brushes his ear, a hand reaching up to pat his hair. "So thankie."

Thankie for being with me, tickles the back of Saito's mind in that moment, and when catching a glimpse of the pink lotus flower clip in Vy's ponytail, Saito could feel the nugget of doubt that had been lingering with him since his first defeat to Achilles crumble away. Thankie for answering my call for help. Thankie, thankie, thankie, Saito-san.

Shouldn't I be the one to thank you, Master?

Instead of voicing it aloud, Saito shifted himself, raising both arms to wrap them around Vy's waist to lift her up in return, hopefully easing the strain on her limbs. He could clearly hear her surprised yelp in his ear, but he still nuzzled her cheek with his through what grip he had in the hug, smiling back. "You're welcome, Master-chan."

You let Okita smile again. Least I can do is bring a smile back to you. Grail or not.

Edit (Sept 21, 2022): Added an extra scene because after reading it over, I wanted to give Saito a bit of a happier ending. Also to dedicate it to a friend I know as "Kimi-chan" because their birthday is coming up in two days as of this note and I wanted to give them some happy tears.

Hope you enjoy it, Kimi-chan. I love you platonically.

Otherwise? I'll see you at the next update.