Despite how desperately he needed it, Ritsuka couldn't sleep. They were on their first true Grand Order mission, France in the middle years of the 100 Years War, where they met the Ruler Servant Jeanne d'Arc and others as they worked to resolve this Singularity. The following day was going to be a big one, but Ritsuka was too nervous to close his eyes for long.
And then she reappeared.
He decided to sit out under the stars alone and enjoy the picturesque scene above, the band of light only adding to its beauty. That was until he was joined by someone else. Ritsuka mistook her for one of the other members of their small group before giving her a second glance. Her hair was still mostly white and red, but it had been cut short and tied up, with pinkish-red tips. Her clothing was also less extravagant, with more white than red.
"Good evening," Fu Hua greeted him with a tiny smile. With her gaze raised, she took a seat beside him. "Quite a beautiful sight, isn't it?"
Ritsuka could only stare at her, his mouth dropping to a mumbled agreement, "Ye-yes." His response caused Fu Hua's face to flush slightly; it took another second for him to realize she had the wrong(?) idea. He quickly looked up at the night sky with her, nodding, "Ah—I mean, yeah, the stars are pretty tonight."
"When are we this time?" She then asked, moving closer to him.
She seemed to be accustomed to this from the way she asked, but Ritsuka needed more information before drawing any conclusions. "Orleans, 1431," he told her.
Though it was subtle, Fu Hua's face took on a curious expression. "Orleans… isn't that..." Her eyes widened slightly in realization before looking at him. "This is your first mission, right?" Technically his second, but she was right. When he nodded, a soft "oh" escaped her lips before she scooted further from him. "Sorry, I… Never mind."
Her behavior only added to his confusion. "...Fu Hua, right?" He hesitantly asked.
"Yes," she replied, her tone tinged with dismay. "That is very early for you, given that you are asking."
Early? "What do you mean?"
Fu Hua did not answer, instead giving him a knowing and reassuring smile before changing the subject. "What is bothering you tonight, Ritsuka? Please feel free to confide in me. I won't tell a soul."
Once again, despite being strangers, Ritsuka believed her. Her presence was mysterious yet gave him a sense of ease. "I just feel anxious about everything," he admitted with a long, exhausted sigh. "I want to prove what happened before wasn't just a fluke but... I don't really know how."
She didn't even take a moment to think before answering. "Survive. Getting through this alive is all you need to do to prove you're capable." While she was not wrong, it still didn't feel enough. To simply live was all he wanted, but simply wishing for that might not be enough to get him past the finish line. But— "The mastermind behind the Incineration wishes to erase all of humanity; to simply continue living thwarts their grand plan."
"...Who are you?" Rituska finally asked. She spoke as if she knew everything about him and his current situation. He did have an idea but it seemed too far-fetched to be real… which admittedly sounded stupid considering he was in the 15th century.
His question only made her chuckle under her breath. "Sometimes I ask that myself but right now, I'm just someone who knows and believes in you," she assured him.
"You still haven't told me why." And Ritsuka had the feeling he wouldn't be getting an answer for that—not for a while.
"You'll understand in time," Fu Hua replied with a soft chuckle. "But I'm just one of many who do. Even now, there are already those willing to give it their all to help you in your mission. They... can do more to help you than I possibly could."
The dejection in her voice was impossible to miss, but it was odd to Ritsuka that she felt that way. "You've done plenty for me already, Fu Hua." Now Ritsuka was the one with the reassuring smile. "Having someone to talk to like this is exactly what I need." Just having someone to air his thoughts with was more than what he could do with the others, though he had to admit it was mostly his fault for not wanting to confide in anyone else in Chaldea. Not yet anyway.
"...Don't be afraid to reach out your hand for someone; in turn, don't be afraid to take someone else's," Fu Hua recited, looking down at her own hands. "It's better to be kind an—"
"—and regret it, rather than regret not helping someone," Ritsuka finished. He stared at her curiously, wondering where she heard that before. "You… How do you know me?"
Fu Hua once again avoided giving him a direct answer. "I'm not a Servant if that's what you're wondering."
"Then why and how are you here?"
"If I knew, I'd tell you," another soft chuckle escaped her. "All I can say is that I'll be here for you if you need me."
"Yet we barely know each other."
"No, you barely know me," Fu Hua replied with a small smile. "For that, I have to thank you for humoring me. Taking the advice of a stranger, no matter how friendly they seem, is still a leap of faith."
She had a point, but Ritsuka already had an answer for that. "I just had a good feeling about you is all. I knew from the way you spoke that you meant every word you said."
"Is that so? I'm supposed to be comforting you yet you always manage to turn things around." She let out a relieved sigh, which Ritsuka took as a compliment. "I expect our time to be cut short soon so before that, I want to say again… don't give up. You'll get through this, not just with your own skill but with everyone's help too."
A grateful smile broke out on Ritsuka's face. "Thank you," he muttered. "I guess… till we meet again?"
"Till we meet again," she nodded before looking back up at the sky. "For now though, let's enjoy this moment as long as we can."
And so they did; the two gazed up together until Ritsuka heard someone coming. Just like before, Fu Hua disappeared as someone called out to him. "Oh, Senpai. There you are," Mash sighed in relief as she approached him.
"Sorry, was I worrying you? I just needed sometime to clear my mind." He wasn't too far from camp but seeing him missing from his sleeping bed would still be a cause for concern. Ritsuka stood up and stretched before turning back towards Mash. "Let's head back then."
In the end, they succeeded in fixing the First Singularity and returned to Chaldea. With the Holy Grail safely stored away, Ritsuka and the others were given time to rest and recover from the mission. Well, that was the plan. Ritsuka was on his way back to his room to crash in his soft bed when he turned a corner... and found himself in the middle of a completely unknown place.
Instead of the hallway lit by electric lights, natural sunlight beamed in through the windows. It was a complete whiplash but most strange of all was the person standing just ahead. She was gazing out and below at something, seemingly not noticing him.
'Is that...?' thought Ritsuka. Once again, she looked different but it was definitely Fu Hua. Her hair was now a blueish gray while her eyes were now light blue. She also had glasses and wore what looked like a blue uniform.
Her frozen face was frowning as she stared out the window, making Ritsuka hesitate in disturbing her. However, he did not know what else he could do and so cautiously approached her.
"Fu Hua…?" He hesitately called out, snapping her out of her thoughts.
"Oh, Ritsuka. I should have expected you to show up now," she muttered before shaking her head. "What am I saying? It's great to see you again."
"Uh… same," replied Ritsuka. He tried to hide his confusion but it was written all over his face.
"It's early days for you, isn't it?" Despite the questioning tone, it was a statement of facts. As she said that, she was taking in his appearance too. "That uniform is proof of that."
Ritsuka unconsciously glanced down at his clothes; the white uniform was basically all he wore for the past few days. However, her mention of "early days" begged more attention. "By early days, you mean..."
"Oh, you… This is the first time you're meeting me like this." Now, Ritsuka knew his previous theory was right. "I expect you have lots of questions."
"Just a little," Ritsuka tried to joke. "But first, how long have you known me? How many times have we met so far?"
"I can't answer the latter but… I've known you for a long, long… time…" Fu Hua trailed off, her gaze returning towards the window. "It would not be an exaggeration to say you're my longest and oldest companion."
Well, that was a lot more than Ritsuka assumed. He had already believed their meetings had been out of order but apparently, they had known (or would know) each other for years. "Is that so…? But why is this happening?"
Fu Hua answered that she did not know either. "It's always been like this. Whenever one of us is feeling troubled about something, the other would show up."
That lined up with the last two times he's met her, but that would mean—"So what's troubling you?"
"It's… complicated," she answered after a moment. "My mission now is to keep an eye on someone. Someone who could become a great danger to everyone."
"But…?"
"See for yourself." She gestured to what she was looking at. Ritsuka followed her gaze down at the courtyard to see several students enjoying their time together, but their focus was on a trio in particular. However, none of them gave the impression of being "a great danger" to Ritsuka. Sure, one of them looked rather robotic with how neutral her face was, but Ritsuka had the gut feeling she did enjoy being with the other two. "Them?"
"Yes. Two of them actually, but I'm only supposed to observe the one with white hair." Fu Hua muttered. "She has something inside her that could lead to the death of many." Ritsuka still could not believe such a claim but she sounded so sure of herself. So it wasn't that causing an issue then... "Ritsuka, if you know something terrible will happen and could stop it at a cost, would you?"
Despite how loaded the question was, Ritsuka didn't take a second to contemplate it. "No, I don't think I would," he answered. Perhaps if the cost was himself, but he rightfully assumed it was at the cost of another's life—someone who sounds innocent of what may happen. He could never consider it if that was the case.
"Hmm… so you've always been like that." A small smile cracked on Fu Hua's face. "Always the merciful one, aren't you, Ritsuka?"
Well, it was nice to hear that he has not or would not change over however long they've known each other. "Hang onto hope that things could turn out for the better. From what I see—" Ritsuka glanced back out at the white-haired girl down below; she was giggling and smiling as she spoke with her friends. "—she wants to enjoy her life to the fullest too."
Fu Hua stayed silent for a few moments before responding, "I still have my reservations but… I'll wait. If not for my mission then for you. Now then, I have to get going. I have some other chores to do."
Ritsuka felt his cheeks warm up at that second part, stuttering a small thank you before clearing his throat. "So then… is this goodbye?"
"For now," she replied. "We'll meet again—that much I could promise."
The smile on her face was the last thing Ritsuka saw before, with a single blink, he found himself back in Chaldea's hallway. "…We'll meet again."
Several days later, the same thing happened again. Ritsuka had been on his way to the cafeteria when he found himself somewhere different. However, instead of the warm halls from before, the steely halls felt even colder than Chaldea's. 'Where am I?' Ritsuka asked himself.
There was only one way to find out, and that entailed speaking to the person in front of him again. Again, she hadn't noticed him and was in deep thought as she leaned back against the wall. Her hair was the same silver-blue from last time but her clothes were completely different than before; instead of the more brightly colored apparel from the last three times, she now wore a black and gray outfit.
"Fu Hua?" Ritsuka cautiously called out, getting her attention. However, instead of the warm gaze from before, her eyes were cold as they narrowed slightly.
"Oh, it's you." There was some surprise hidden in her voice, but deeply buried under the mask of neutrality she put up.
Only a single thought was going through his head— 'Ah… Early days.'