By the Bonfire: The Cost of Sin (Part IV)

Having a light shined directly into his eyes would not be what he considered a fun time, but it was all for his own personal health so he could understand that. Well, understand it in principle.

In practice? It was someone shining a torch directly into his eyes which did hurt just a little bit.

"Pupils are still sensitive to light." Romani spoke aloud as he moved the torch along to his other eye, humming to himself before turning it off and giving him an apologetic smile. "But that's to be expected with a couple of days without access to a light source. The fact that they're reacting so strongly is a given, and if you're able to track the light well enough through all that then we can say that your eyes are probably working well."

Clicking off the torch, Romani lowered it back down though the stoic expression remained on his face as he looked over Ritsuka, the boy honestly felt as though he was being put under a microscope. It had been ages since he last went to a doctor for any reason and being put through all this treatment by Romani of all people felt a little bewildering.

It must have showed on his face because Romani's expression twisted into concern, his brows tightened and he pulled his lips down into a mild frown. "Are you experiencing discomfort anywhere, Fujimaru-kun? You've got a troubled expression on your face."

He shook his head from side to side. "No, it's just…you being serious is such a strange thing to wake up to." he muttered quietly, blinking the spots out of his eyes and raising his hands and running them over him. He heard the doctor groan in front of him, then lowered his hands to see the man leaning back into his chair with an almost put off expression.

Gesturing to himself, Romani turned to the others in the room "Is it really that big of a surprise that I am actually good at the job I was hired for? I feel like everyone's expectations of me are really terribly low."

If he was expecting sympathy, then perhaps directing the question to the Director herself wasn't the smartest choice. Shown when she barely spared him a glance before she replied in an unflinching tone of voice. "Given the manner in which you carry yourself on the best of days, I would say that you would be better served in providing others with a greater image of yourself beyond…the mild theft of desserts and sweets." There was a brief silence before she closed her eyes. "That being said, I would have been more surprised if you were not competent in this role, given that you were hired by my father for it."

The Director's eyes lingered on Romani for barely a second more before they returned to him, her brows pinching together and her lips pursuing, now staring at him with complete silence. His intrusive thoughts probably got the better of him, tightening his grip on the blanket of the bed and pulling it closer to him and drawing it up to his shoulders. A move which earned a twitch of the eye from the Director before she closed them and let out a small breath. "What else would you need to conduct?"

Romani hummed for a moment "I'd still need to test his reflexes and his blood pressure, but the latter always looked good on his monitors over the last few days." the reminder once again felt like someone slapping him, he'd never even been asleep for over half a day and suddenly nearly four had passed him by? It was…how much had happened with him away? "That being said, he wasn't awake for those readings so I'll need to take them again…getting his muscles moving again would also be a pretty good start for everything but we'll need to take it slow."

Ritsuka felt his throat dry, his arms and stuff did feel a little slow but he wasn't suffering from atrophy or something, was he? Then again, he hadn't been moving for days so it was possible. He thought at least, but Romani was the medical professional here so he would know more about it and he hadn't said anything yet. So…he was probably fine, physically at least.

The doctor offered him a faint smile "I think one of the biggest worries for the time being will be the overcrowding, especially given most of the servants have been fairly antsy these last few days." bringing his hand up, he rubbed the back of his neck and rolled his jaw. "But yeah, getting some food back into him would probably be a good idea. Nothing serious right now though, you've been taking pure nutrients for the last couple days-"

Yeah, he could still feel the little prick where the needle had gone into his arm. He really hated needles.

"-so I'd say something light? Soup would probably seem a good bet."

The Director nodded her head up and down, then glanced at him "I shall pass a message along to the mess hall regarding some food. For the time being, your focus will be on rest and recovery." she brought up a single finger "And do not allow your…just do not overburden yourself with the concerns of the Servants, they will be allowed to visit you as they please but not in such great a number. Romani will be here for any concerns you might have medical wise."

Ritsuka nodded once, then closed his eyes "I think I've been doing an awful lot of…rest as of late, Director…" he offered her an empty smile as he continued on "I think the problem is I've gotten too much rest-"

"And throwing yourself into work too quickly will only cause you to worsen your condition." He jolted in his bed at the sudden intensity to her voice, shrinking back as she marched around and towards him, folding her arms over her chest and staring down at him. A fierceness in her eyes that rooted him on the spot and all but demanded his attention. "Listen closely and consider this an order from me. Make sure that you return yourself to one-hundred percent within an acceptable span of time but not in such a way that you are overtaxed. If…you are desperate for something to do over that span of recovery time, I shall see to it that…you receive some of the after action reports."

She was silent for a moment then spoke up "Romani can forwards the results of the Scandinavian Singularity to you."

His eyes widened "Scandina-there's another one-!?" He was already halfway up before the expression on the Director's face twisted once more and her arm blurred towards him, the flat of her hand pressing down on his shoulder and pushing him back into the bed.

"Are you stupid or something!?" She snapped at him with a tone of irritation and shock "I just tell you to relax and then you're ready to fling yourself out of the bed without a second thought? Are my orders just suggestions to you or something?" she cut herself off, then snapped her jaw shut and let out a sharp breath through her nose. "...The Singularity has already been resolved and there are…elements that require further study. Especially if the Servants involved within the Singularity arrive, it would be best for you to familiarise yourself with them and…the nature of the ending."

Something passed through her eyes as she spoke, something that Ritsuka couldn't quite pick up on but it looked to him like sadness. She withdrew her hand from his shoulder and took a single step backwards. "Kyrielight will be here soon, she was informed of your recovery and awakening not long ago." she made a show of glancing towards the clock on the wall. "I would estimate her arrival within the next five minutes…perhaps less if she was to-"

The door opened quickly, cutting off the Director mid sentence, accompanied by the cry of "Senpai!"

Ritsuka's eyes fell onto the girl as she practically flew into the room, sliding to a halt - literally sliding as she stopped running faster than her body could handle - and shooting past the Director who sidestepped with an alarmed look on her face, though her expression quickly tightened as she stared at the girl for a moment before exhaling. "...Or less if she is to run through the hallways."

Whether Mash heard her was immaterial, the girl was standing next his bed with a relieved expression on her face, her eyes closed and her head dropped as she leaned forwards, almost like a puppet with their strings cut, only her hands placed on the side of his bed kept her upright as he barely caught her words above the whisper they were spoken at. "Thank goodness…"

Ritsuka stared at her, thinning his lips and opening his mouth to say something, but nothing sprung forth to his mind. Saying something like 'I'm fine' would be difficult considering he didn't believe that himself. At this point, the best he could really do would be to state the obvious.

"Hey, Mash…" She looked towards him as he spoke, actually catching a proper look at her face, she was rather dishevelled looking but he didn't know if that was worrying over him or because she had probably been running through the halls. He'd rather it be the latter than the former. He brought up his right hand in a small wave, he didn't smile but he didn't frown either. "...I'm awake again."

"And we're all glad to see it." He glanced past Mash towards the door, which had remained open courtesy of Da Vinci standing in the doorway, leaning on it and offering a small but welcome smile. Nodding her head to him once before stepping away and moving into the room properly. "I would say you gave us quite a fright, but Romani is good at what he does when he really puts his mind to it." she continued on, gesturing to the Doctor as she did so, though she didn't take her eyes off him. "That and you're a tough cookie."

She stopped at the food of his bed, her hands going to her hips and her expression softening into something more in line with real relief. That probably wasn't the best word, he would probably correct it to pure relief. "I'm glad to see you're also awake, Fujimaru."

He let out a small noise as he adjusted himself onto his bed "I'm feeling pretty crowded now…" he didn't close his eyes though, instead he aimed his vision towards his bed and kept it there. "Glad to…uhm…glad to see that everyone else is doing…good…" it sounded awkward to him as well and given that Mash looked two seconds from bursting into tears, it was probably a bad thing for him to say. In fact, he didn't know what else he was supposed to say.

'Sorry for putting you all through this?'

"There will be enough time to visit him later." The voice of the Director cut through the crowd, Ritsuka blinked once and glanced at her, watching as the woman turned to the assembled duo of Mash and Da Vinci and placed her own hands on her hips, as though to mirror that of the Caster. "And overcrowding him now is not going to do anything more than leave him disorientated."

"I'm with the Director on this one." Romani supported with a nod of the head "Though letting Mash hang around should be fine enough. She's been beset with worry since they got back so…" he trailed off.

…Yeah…

Ritsuka inhaled before he exhaled, slowly locking his hands together and staring blankly at them. He should have figured that was going to happen, it was bound to when it was obvious so many people cared about him. It wasn't just what…Caster had done…it was…

He closed his eyes and shuddered, banishing the thoughts from his mind before bringing his head back up, offering a tired expression and nodding his head to the doctor. "I'd rather Mash stay…figure I could probably do with some conversation to get the…uhm…brain pistons firing again and all that…" he pointed towards his head for a moment, awkwardly stumbling onwards. "Also…figure I could ask what else happened while I was out…probably something interesting, right?"

Anything would be good.

Actually, there was a lot that he really wanted to know and wasn't sure where he was even supposed to start. The idea of going back to rest now, after everything, was just…it felt wrong, it felt as though he was going to be sick if he laid down and did nothing. That being said, there was one thing that he wanted to know. His eyes slowly turned towards Olga and looked at her, feeling the burning question on his lips as he opened his mouth and spoke. "What…what happened to the Caster?"

Judging by the way the temperature of the room all but plummeted, the expressions on everyone's faces fizzling out and creasing, he imagined that it wasn't going to be a good answer. He wasn't expecting a good answer either, but given that they were all still alive then he could at least count his blessings on that front. A silver lining, as it were. Yet even to him, that felt like a pretty thin silver thread to latch onto.

But…being alive after all that was…

…It was probably a win.

Even if it didn't feel like it right now.

An exhale of breath brought his eyes over to Da Vinci, the Caster closed her eyes and brought her hand up to her head, rubbing the bridge of her nose before she lowered it. Her expression was devoid of emotion as she spoke in a somewhat clinical tone of voice. "The readings cleared up after the Reality Marble you were trapped in dissipated, we were able to track the Caster in the Singularity but…"

She closed her eyes. "It would seem as though the Caster's true name was Seath the Scaleless, the dragon progenitor of magic from the other world, and he took hold of the Grail that was responsible for powering the Singularity. He incarnated himself into some manner of temporary body and then used the Grail to evacuate both himself and Gwyn to another Singularity."

Ritsuka sniffed, then slowly nodded his head up and down. "Yeah…what I figured."

Da Vinci's face twisted upwards, a smile forming on herself once more "But that isn't to say that we're out of luck yet. There's no chance they won't appear in the future and we've got plenty of Servants who'll know all the tricks to getting them." she brought a hand up and gestured to herself "Don't worry about it, we'll be sure that we're not taken by surprise a second time."

"You mean me." He corrected with a strained smile and a shrug of his shoulders "I was the one who said to trust him…everyone else said how dangerous it was and I went ahead and said I believe in him…" he wet his lips and closed his eyes, hanging his head low. "...You know he even listened to me? Sure, he was a bit abrasive but…I thought we sort of understood each other and then…"

"Fujimaru-kun." Romani's voice sounded out from somewhere but he wasn't really paying too much attention to that at the moment. "...You should probably-"

"I guess he did listen to me at the end though." The words were flowing from him pretty easily now, perhaps he just needed to say them to make sense of it all. Bringing his hand up and wiping his face. "I mean, he'd already killed Mordred, Percival and…he killed his own daughter as well…just…just killed her like it was nothing but then he just leaves after I beg him not to kill anyone else and…I don't know if it ever-"

"Fuijmaru." He jolted at the stern voice appearing close to him, turning his head and finding the Director stood near him with an indiscernible expression on her face. "Caster lied to you. You are no more at fault for listening to his words than I am for…placing so much trust in Lev Lainur. Being put into a position where this Caster established themselves as someone that could be trusted was either part of their plan or merely something else." bringing her arms up, she folded them over her chest and thinned her lips. "...It has been your agreeable nature to those around you that has aided you thus far in contracting with Servants and Seath prayed upon this trust. The only one who can be blamed for his actions are himself."

She turned around, facing the others in the room "Which means our top priorities now are to look for any further signs of either his or Gwyn's presence throughout the timeline. Though, I doubt they will emerge immediately…It would seem that Gwyn was crippled in the aftermath of the battle." nodding to him once, she continued. "Our victory has bought us precious time to recover and plan ahead. Though, for the time being, your greatest goal should be to recover and ensure you are ready to enter the field once more…at the risk of repeating myself again. That is your order for the time being."

The Director kept his gaze for a moment longer before she glanced to the corner of her eye and waved to the others "Romani, Da Vinci, a word outside." she did not wait for a response from either of them, already stepping out into the corridor with the other two following her out of the room.

Ritsuka watched them depart before he let out a short breath. Yeah, the Director's words made sense to him but even if she still said all of that, it had been his choice to trust Haku or Seath or whatever his name really was. Being tricked didn't really change all that much, neither the results nor the fact that Gwyn had actually escaped.

"Senpai…are you-?"

"So, what else happened?" He felt bad for cutting Mash off but it was a heavy topic and he needed something light, though he had made the effort earlier his mind just wandered right back into it. Difficult as he could still see it whenever he closed his eyes, it was still there. Like a phantom weight in his hands, like they were holding something round and a bit heavier than a watermelon.

He also knew the changing of the topic was clunky as could possibly be, it showed that Mash recognised it and gave him a look that made him worried she was going to ask him about it for a few moments before she thinned her lips. Eventually allowing a small but clear smile to grace her features, though it looked slightly forced to him. "The Director went to see if the Spirit Origin retrieval system worked and it did."

Those were words that some of them he understood, but he understood enough of them to infer what she was talking about. Already, it felt as though he had a vice removed from his heart, though he didn't dare jump to conclusions just yet. Staring at Mash with wide eyes for a few seconds before speaking, his voice barely above a whisper. "Does…does that mean that the others…the ones who…"

Mash's singular nod of the head felt perfect.

He slumped back into the bed and let out an explosive sigh, bringing his hands up to cover his face. "Thank goodness…" he muttered to himself, his voice cracking as he repeated those same words over and over again, he ignored the streaks of cold sliding down his cheeks, focusing solely on the news that had been delivered to him. It meant that those who had died down in the Singularity…he could get them all back. It didn't change that they died, it didn't change he watched them die but…so long as they came back he was fine with that, he was fine with just that small miracle.

"And…uhm…she also summoned another Servant."

That brought his thoughts to a grinding halt, though more of bemusement than anything else as he pulled his hands away from his face, turning his eyes towards Mash and squinting at her through the wet lenses that were his corneas. She was a bit blurry but he could tell even she had no idea what to make of what she said. "...Huh?"

"I want him checked routinely." Olga waited until the door was closed behind them before she started speaking, not even bothering with trivial details and jumping right to the heart of the matter. She turned around, looking into the faces of both Da Vinci and Romani for a few seconds, seeing neither of them offering anything close to disagreement, which was good. She hadn't been expecting them either. "Anything that you think is important, I do not care how trivial, I want it on my desk or in my ear as soon as possible."

Romani thinned his lips "I'm not against pointing out problematic behaviour which…there is bound to be, but it's more a case of being able to do anything about it that concerns me." he pointed to himself. "I have some small understanding of psychology but I'm not a licensed psychiatrist and I'm not aware of anyone else who could take up the role."

He briefly paused to spare Da Vinci a glance before thinning his lips "I'd say Leo could give it a pretty decent shot but even if he talks about it…a lot of it will be dependent on whether he wants help or not."

She frowned at him.

"I'm not saying he won't." Romani hastily added on "But…he's been through a traumatic experience and we won't know how he responds to it until he does. The early Singularities had their tough moments but this is…something else entirely."

"...I shall speak with him as best as I am able." Olga announced, it made perfect sense to her, given that they had some sort of common ground between one another. Though she wasn't sure how much help she would even be on that front. Regardless, there was no one else she knew of that he could empathise with and her…her history with Lev would probably help somewhat in…

…It would at least give her something to go off, even if she didn't know.

She saw the expression on Romani's face briefly twist before it reverted back to a blank one, he nodded his head once in clear approval. It looked as though he had been going to say something for a moment before he thought better of it, though she wasn't sure what exactly he could have even said in this position.

That being said, it now left them with the other glaring problem in the room.

"...We will need to make an announcement regarding the nature of the London Singularity." She spoke in a measured tone of voice, keeping her words vague enough in case there was a Servant hearing them, but with Da Vinci here she doubted it. "Given that Fujimaru is now awake, it means that we will need to address it, more so if it diverts attention away from those who are currently looking for someone to blame and…" she thinned her lips, it had been no secret that Sulyvahn had been spreading around word of Ash's betrayal, it was small grace that he hadn't been present for the tail end of the Singularity it seemed, else they would be in an even worse state.

Da Vinci spoke up for the first time "I can attest to the idea that Havel is probably going to stick with us, considering he was betrayed by a certain someone and despises dragons with a passion." she hummed "I would be surprised if he wasn't suddenly motivated to help us even more than before if it meant he could take a crack at a certain someone."

Olga nodded once, that was some good enough news. It at least meant that they could rely on the mage hating Berserker a bit more than before, not to mention his prowess against both mages and dragons practically made him Seath's natural enemy. Moving forwards, she suspected he would be of greater importance. The real problem was Arkon and Gwyndolin, one was a knight sworn to the service of Gwyn and another was the son of the God in question. Perhaps Sif could be added into that list just to be on the safe side but she didn't know if the wolf was loyal to Gwyn or to the knight that served him.

Romani exhaled "There is no easy way to break this and I don't see it ending all that well on account of the other world. Given how big a role Gwyn apparently played in it…" he brought his hand up and rubbed the side of his neck. "Maybe getting everyone together and making a big announcement or something?"

"Call an assembly?" She summarised, then pinched her brows and looked away, bringing her hand to her chin and humming quietly. The thought had merit and it meant that if any of the Servants reached poorly to the news, then they were in a position to deal with it quickly before something happened. Though the thought of gathering all the Servants up just so they could form the equivalent of a firing squad weighed on her mind like lead. Her displeasure showed, given that Romani himself grimaced not a moment later.

Fact of the matter was…she couldn't think of a better solution to it. Making an announcement over the intercom meant that the Servants who were a risk would be let alone to their own devices for a short time without anyone immediately around them.

The alternative of not telling them just wasn't on the table, there was no telling when they would meet again and while she suspected that they would not encounter the God again for some time on account of his injuries, when they did meet again it would only spell trouble. Especially for someone like Gwyndolin. Not to mention the fact that they couldn't conceal Velka forever and when she stepped out, it was almost certain that she would spill everything regarding Gwyn.

"Giving them the option to be de-summoned if they aren't comfortable with fighting Gwyn seems like the best course of action." Da Vinci spoke up once again, glancing towards her and bringing the attention back to her. "We can't make assumptions now, but it's worth giving out the option for those who aren't comfortable with it or feel as though they would be a detriment. That being said, they were all summoned to Chaldea under the mission of protecting human history…it's probably like asking Gareth if she would fight King Arthur."

It probably was and they'd encountered a version of King Arthur twice now.

"Look…all I'm saying for the moment is to offer them the benefit of the doubt rather than assume they'll betray us. Though I don't doubt they will have some mixed emotions about it." She brought up her hand and shrugged her shoulders "It was always going to be on the table that they would encounter people from their past that they knew and might have even been friends with. Lying to them and saying nothing about Gwyn only to run into him again will just scream that we didn't trust them and ruin relations with them further."

Romani sighed "I doubt it's an easy choice either way. At the end of the day, they're Fujimaru-kun's Servants so it's probably best that we leave the choice up to him. He is their Master so…" he shot her a helpless look.

"He's just woken up and you wish to drop this on his head?" Olga growled, though more annoyed at the fact he wasn't wrong than anything else. "He should be focused on recovery, not the thought that some of his Servants might rebel against him…and that isn't even getting into that mess with that idiot we have dumped in one of the cupboards and Ash…though I'm half suspecting that he will want to speak with the latter quickly."

"It's something that can't be put off for long." Romani remarked with a shake of the head "It's not a favourable situation and there's a lot going on in a short span of time. I'm not sure how Ash has been able to stay around as long as he has but…once his magical energy runs out he's got no Master…he'll burn out and who knows what will happen to him then."

Olga shot him a dark look, he met it head on. "Perhaps if we knew beforehand he was a living being we might have been better prepared."

"I can't make exceptions for doctor and patient confidentiality." Romani defended with a shake of the head, though he looked more discomforted than confident in his position. Bringing his wrists up and pressing them together "My hands were tied, especially after he revealed himself and all but begged me not to tell anyone…what was I supposed to say, no?"

Olga opened her mouth to speak, but Da Vinci cut in before her. "The problem isn't whether Romani was right or wrong. The problem is what we do with this information now. Ash has made it clear that he views himself as a danger to everyone in Chaldea and thinks of his choices as solely his own, waiting to bare some responsibility for his actions."

"Actions which only came about by the result of that mental butcher." Olga hissed out, still embittered at the Goddess. "He was tortured into action, you don't punish someone for breaking under torture-"

"But Ash is demanding it." Da Vinci cooly replied "No, I don't agree with it either but he's always been lacking in something everyone else had but everytime he talked of his own world, he made it sound thoroughly miserable. So it was waved off as just a product of his environment…perhaps if the situation had been less dire we could have looked at it further but the fact is we didn't."

Though the words weren't accusing, there was a weight about them that hung in the air long after they had been spoken. "Ash is still bound on this notion of duty and he has betrayed his oath to Chaldea…it might have been one of the least successful betrayals to date but he views himself in the same lens as Lev Lainur."

Olga winced and glanced away, she didn't even rank those two in the same league in terms of betrayal but even still…Ash had been coming to visit her every day with the belief he would one day have to kill her but never once wishing to do that. Wrapping her mind around his thought process was difficult enough but there was no helping it. "...Are you saying that we need to punish him?"

"I'm saying that it would help him." Da Vinci replied evenly "Regardless of what we feel, Ash believes he has done something wrong and, in a way, he has. Irrespective of his actions later on, it cannot be denied that he tried to kill Ritsuka and believed that it was the best course of action to let humanity die. He has done wrong and therefore he expects punishment from that…I'm not saying what the punishment should be, but so long as Ash feels as though justice is done…then that is the important thing."

Bringing her hands up, Da Vinci offered a helpless shrug. "Ash is stubborn, that much we have always known. The longer we deny him he's done something wrong, the longer he is going to dig in his heels and the lack of punishment is probably going to drive him up the wall…and that's not even accounting for his current state."

Olga frowned "Current state?"

Romani thinned his lips. "I looked over at him earlier today…I don't know what his class is now, but it isn't a Saber. There's skills added to him that I cannot even begin to wrap my head around but the self-sealing skill is back on him." he offered a thin smile "So…he's limited himself down to a rank where he's…probably comparable with that Berserker you recently summoned. In terms of ranking at least…much more powerful than when he was a Saber but not as powerful as those readings in London."

That was news enough, and at least she was getting told about it now rather than later. Though the idea that he was running around in some unknown Class was concerning to her. "Is this the same class he was in during London?"

Romani shook his head "No…this class is different. Though he was another unknown Class in London but that was towards the end and only for a moment before…he started changing between them from whatever happened to him." he brought his hands up and rubbed his arms "Though all of this is probably not something to be discussed right now…I'll need to keep an eye on Fujimaru-kun to make sure that he's recovering well enough."

Olga nodded to him "Explain the situation regarding the Singularity as well in case he accidentally lets slip to a Servant without intending…I'll make my way to the cafeteria and procure some food for him."

"I'd recommend some oatmeal." Da Vinci commented with an idle look on her face "It's a good breakfast cereal and considering Fujimaru has been asleep for a while, he could probably do with some. High in fibre and all of those other healthy goods."

A bowl of oatmeal? Well…a fairly sensible solution.

"I'll do just that." She turned around and started to make her way back through the halls, leaving the pair of them behind. At least Fujimaru was awake once more, though a lot of the problems remained, this was at least one that she could cross off being a pressing concern. It was more relieving that he was up but…the admission that he remembered everything that happened when possessed was only going to lead to trouble in the future and she wasn't sure how to deal with that. They didn't have a licensed psychiatrist in Chaldea.

She doubted any of the Servants qualified as well.

Romani could feel the burning stare in the side of his head as the Director departed from them, making her way back through the hallways towards the cafeteria. He knew what Da Vinci was going to talk about and perhaps it was something to be worried for, but at the same time it was something that he was going to let happen.

"You can say it if you want." He spoke after a moment, turning his head towards the Caster and watching her expression. She regarded him with a blank stare for a few short seconds before raising a single eyebrow at him.

"I'm more surprised you didn't advocate against letting her speak with him about what happened, especially given her own nature…"

"You could have said something as well." He pointed out, earning a small nod of the head from the brunette. "She hasn't had the chance to really speak about it, she won't talk to me about it but…maybe speaking with Fujimaru-kun will help her just as much as it might help him."

Her brow remained raised. "Might?"

He knew she would catch onto that small slip. "Their situations aren't exactly the same and…I'm not going to even think about quantifying the pain each of them has gone through. But she knew Lev for years before that happened and then with Fujimaru-kun and the Caster…" he sighed, shaking his head from side to side. "I just think that maybe it might end up doing more harm than good but that might be me being a little cynical. I don't want to say that the Director was getting past it but she was improving…then that happened in Scandinavia and this new Lord Father figure that's running around…it just feels like she hasn't had a proper break yet."

She gave him one of those looks. "The same could be said about you…but putting them together is a good idea." she frowned "Perhaps this isn't the best catalyst for them but it does help to have someone who understands you, even if just a little bit. They'll both be going through some tough times and…I think Fujimaru can really help her. They can help each other."

That was what Romani was hoping for but he wasn't going to say it aloud, that would probably end up jinxing it or something like that. He offered Da Vinci a faint smile and a nod of the head as he turned his attention back to the door. "Well…we'll just have to see where it all ends up. I won't keep you, as I understand it the Director has you working on some sort of encyclopaedia?"

Da Vinci rolled her eyes playfully "I'd call it more like a travelogue than anything else, given how sparse information is. Though it is better than nothing and it's keeping Elron busy with something…it's also keeping Sulyvahn away from everyone else so it's more of a two pronged victory on that front."

Talk about troublesome individuals, Sulyvahn and Ash were probably the two Servants who hated each other just as badly as the other yet they hadn't once come to blows, though it was impossible to think that even a common goal would erase old grudges. "Tell Elron I said hello if you run into her."

"Will do." Da Vinci waved to him, turning around and walking back through the hallways in the opposite direction to the Director's exit. Waving her hand as she did so.

Romani watched her leave before turning to the door and opening it up. He barely made it a single step into the room before Fujimaru's dumbstruck voice boomed out from across the room, a mixture of excitement and awe in his voice. "When was anyone going to tell me that the Director full on summoned a Servant?"

Blinking, he opened and closed his mouth before his eyes wandered away from Ritsuka and towards the lilac haired girl stood next to him. Mash offered him a vaguely apologetic look as she spoke "Senpai asked if anything happened and…I let him know about the arrival of Berserker…it seemed harmless."

Snorting, he waved his hand "It's fine. Though I take it that if you've learned about that then you also know about the Spirit Origin retrieval." he commented, walking towards his desk and sitting himself down behind it, though he kept his eyes on Fujimaru as he did so, the expression of the teen twisted for a moment before it turned troubled.

"I heard…yeah…" He nodded his head up and down, then shrugged "Don't get me wrong…I'm over the moon about it but it feels like it would have been nice to know." There was a short silence before he spoke again. "Doesn't change what happened but it would have been nice to know that there was a way of bringing them back after…"

Romani hummed "You're probably right on that part, though I think we just…let it slip our minds." That was the only reason he could think of why it hadn't come up as a topic of discussion yet. "Not to mention that it would probably be a rather dour conversation topic to have. Because the moment you get introduced to the retrieval system, there's always that bit where you're going to go 'am I going to need to use this?' at least that's how I felt when I heard about it."

Fujimaru didn't speak immediately, but he did nod his head up and down once more in what was an understanding manner. "I…I guess that makes sense, yeah. I probably would have been thinking about it like that as well. Just…I don't know…it might have felt a bit like a safety net or something that I could rely on to know that if I messed up then it wasn't permanent for them or something."

"Well…what's done is done, I guess." There was nothing else he could say for it "Though I'm surprised that you haven't tried to convince me to immediately take you down there." Romani couldn't help but note as he leaned forwards, resting both his arms on his desk and studying the expression of the teenager. Fujimaru's lip curled upwards in an almost knowing smile.

"I would love nothing more too…" He confessed immediately, though that should have been a given. The sort of thing that didn't need to be spoken but all the same, it was better for clarification. Romani watched Fujimaru send Mash a small look before his eyes fell onto him. "But I doubt I would get that far and would probably exhaust myself trying…I don't want to cause further trouble for people if I don't have to and…when I'm all good and strong I can head down there. First thing I'll do as well."

Romani let out a small huff of air, his lips curling upwards "I expected you would say something like that. Just make sure that you're actually fully rested and healed up before you go charging down the hallways." he paused for a moment before continuing on. "That and once the Director lets people know you're awake, you'll certainly be in for a hectic time with visitors." he could already imagine them running back and forth, namely the more overly concerned Servants.

Ritsuka hummed in response before he paused, then furrowed his brow "So wait…was all that happened the Director summoned a new Servant?" another pause before the teen looked at him with blatant confusion. "A Berserker?"

"I'm not sure what to make of that…" Romani replied after a moment, raising his eyebrows and sending a look towards Mash just in case he was missing something. Though, fortunately, she looked just as curious to what he meant as Romani currently felt so at least he wasn't that behind on the times. "Were you expecting something more exciting?"

"No…it's just that…" Ritsuka exhaled, bringing his hands up and rubbing his head "This sounds weird but…I just thought that maybe Gwyndolin would have had something to say or maybe Arkon or Havel…you know, what with the whole Gwyn thing…just…hearing that four days have passed and we haven't had another problem it's actually…" he lowered his hands, a faint smile played on his features for a brief moment before it vanished. "It just feels relieving actually that things didn't fall apart."

Romani wet his lips, then nodded his head up and down. "Yeap." his voice cracked as he spoke, internally wincing at how shoddy he sounded. "Sorry to say that not a lot of excitement happened. For the most part it's been keeping you all healthy and that. So big time focuses on healing up."

He knew it sounded like a poor enough sort of lie to him, or more along the lines of an omission but it got worse when Ritsuka pinched his brows together and then turned his eyes towards Romani, then towards Mash before they closed. Letting out a single exhale, it became apparent to him that Fujimaru had sussed out what was really happening, but it wasn't that big of a surprise.

"...They don't know, do they?"

"No, Senpai." Mash sounded ashamed as she spoke, something that put a dent in Romani's heart considering that it had been an idea he and the Director had come up with, she was just doing what they asked her to do. "It was…a rush to get you here and then there was-"

"We can talk about it later, Fujimaru-kun." Romani gently cut into the conversation, bringing the attention of the others to him. "Fact of the matter was that we were worried about getting you healthy first before we started throwing in all the problems that came with…what happened down in the Singularity. With you out of commission the Director decided it would be safer to leave the events of the Singularity at the tail end…vague. The Servants who were present agreed."

He brought his hands up "We are going to tell them. You don't need to worry about keeping that sort of secret." mainly because they couldn't. "But…look, just don't worry about it right now. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

Ritsuka regarded him with a silent stare for a moment before nodding his head up and down "So long as we tell them…How did we figure out Haku was Seath, anyway?" he suddenly asked with a curious look on his face. "Because he said he didn't know his true name and I…well, I never heard it so how did we find out?"

"...One of the Servants was familiar with them." Romani answered after a moment, keeping his expression blank as Mash shot him a disapproving look. He knew why she was doing that but telling Fujimaru everything right now would just end up overloading him, especially given that they had derailed so far away from getting him to rest. It felt more like he was going to do more harm than good but keeping his mouth shut would prove next to impossible because he knew that Fujimaru would try and find out from someone else. "She informed us of his true name and everything."

"Ah…alright…" Ritsuka nodded his head up and down, accepting the somewhat vague answer before he continued on. "...And Ash? Beatrice said he was still around but…"

"He is." Mash confirmed this time, giving Romani a look that was almost testing to see if he was going to say anything. He remained silent, letting her continue speaking. "Ash-san is still in Chaldea, Senpai but he is…He doesn't have a contract with you but we believe he has some sort of skill like an Archer that keeps him around even without a Master. But he is…not doing well at the moment."

"...Oh." Was all Ritsuka had to say about that, the dark haired teen frowned and let out a breath. "Can I see him then?"

"Senpai-"

"Just…last time I saw him was when I was blasting holes through his gut-" Romani cringed at the blunt and virtually toneless speech he used, opening his mouth to say something but not before being cut off by Mash.

"That wasn't you, Senpai!"

"My hand…I felt it…" Ritsuka dismissed with a wave "Just…I know it wasn't me but it felt…nevermind, I watched him go down and I thought he was dead…then I hear he's still alive and I just want to speak with him. He's still here and right now…I just don't want to lose anyone else at the moment. So…can I speak with him?" he gestured to himself "I'd get up and go and do it myself but I can't move all that well right now. But I will make the attempt."

Romani closed his eyes and exhaled. "...Ash isn't in the best place for conversations right now."

"Roman-"

"Look, Fujimaru…I need to stress to you that you are in a bad place right now." Romani bluntly stated "Physically, I mean. As your doctor I am telling you that the best thing for you and everyone else right now is to get comfortable and rest up. Because once you're back up and about, then we will work on everything else. Addressing one problem at a time. Taking on too much is just going to end badly."

Ritsuka's expression twisted, though he remained silent, rolling his jaw from side to side.

"Look, I get that you want to help Ash and that's something I support." Romani continued onwards "But doing so at the cost of your own health is going to make him feel worse. His actions in London are already a problem for him and add onto the idea that you could hurt yourself trying to get to him? Just…when you're a bit stronger, probably tomorrow or something, then you can see him. Just…pace yourself first, that's all I'm asking."

"...Tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow. He's lasted this long."

Ritsuka hummed in affirmation then relaxed back into the bed, really the worst that Fujimaru would be physically going through would be muscle soreness from not moving and probably being hungry. There was a good chance he could be out by the end of the day if all went well, but he would prefer to keep him here until he was absolutely certain about it. Getting the blood flow moving through his body again was the most important thing right now.

And he didn't envy the position Fujimaru had been put in here.

Because it wasn't an easy one.

AN: Fujimaru is awake. Yippee.