Though he did not see anything, Ritsuka could not look Hua in the eyes even as she sat down next to him. "You always choose the best time to appear, don't you?" The annoyed remark snapped Ritsuka from whatever thoughts he was having.
"Sorry, but it's not like I have any control over… this," Ritsuka apologized but he was miffed Hua was making it sound like he was completely at fault.
"Right, right. Whenever we need to air our thoughts or whatever the condition is," she sighed as she crossed her arms. "...I suppose it's only right I apologize for blaming you like that."
"It's fine," he replied with a wave of his hand; he understood her frustration for his sudden appearance. "So… what do you want to talk about?"
"Noth—" Hua replied immediately before stopping herself. "...The newest Herrscher just has me worried. We have no idea who to trust anymore." The anxiety in her voice was palpable; Ritsuka found himself drawn to the frown on her face.
A part of him hesitated to do so, but he found the courage to rest his hand on hers. He felt her flinch at the unexpected touch, but she quickly relaxed as she turned to face him. Ritsuka tried to give a reassuring smile, but he was not able to hide the confusion. When she glanced down at his clothes, Ritsuka figured what she would say next.
"You have no idea what a Herrscher is, do you?"
…Ritsuka thought she'd remark it was early days for him but that was close enough. "No, not really," he answered honestly. "I think I recognize the term though. It's… German, right?"
"German?"
"What?"
"Huh?"
The two stared at each other in complete confusion before Ritsuka broke out into a small laugh. "Just pretend I know absolutely nothing, okay?" Considering the state of his world, Ritsuka had already bounced around with the idea that Fu Hua hailed from another timeline. Her confusion at "German" sealed the deal.
"Will you always be the strangest person I know?" Hua rolled her eyes.
"Hmm… Probably," Ritsuka hoped his joke would get her to laugh but she only sighed again. There was a hint of bemusement though so that was a positive.
"Just how long will I be stuck with you then?" She muttered. The answer was of course, "a very long time," but something told Ritsuka she already knew that. "And to answer your question, they're part of humanity's greatest enemy— the Honkai."
"..."
"You don't know what that is either, do you?"
"Forget the pretending part, I really do not know anything," Ritsuka answered with a nervous grin. "But I get the gist of it; being worried about who you're facing is completely natural."
"I know that; the problem is not knowing who they might be. The Herrscher is a hive mind who could have taken control of anyone; it's already taken control of some MOTH's personals." The frustration grew in Hua's voice with every word she spat out. He could even see her gripping the blanket tightly from the corner of his eyes. "And worst of all, we were told to sit down and wait for orders."
And not being able to do anything was something Hua hated as Ritsuka learned from his limited but frequent interactions with her. He wanted to say something to calm her down, but he understood too little of the situation. That left him with only one option— "I'm sure it'll work out in the end." he gave her the most stereotypical words of reassurance while putting his hand over hers. It was better than nothing; Ritsuka hoped so anyway.
Fortunately, he could feel her hand relaxing with a long breath escaping her lips. "How can you just… do that?" Hua turned her head at him.
Ritsuka assumed she meant being able to calm her down to which he could give a shrug. "I don't know either but if it works." He watched her roll her eyes again but didn't make any attempt to pull away from him. "I do mean it though. I'm sure everything will work out in the end for you."
Hua had a long future ahead of her— that much was certain. Ritsuka didn't want to say their fates were predetermined, but he believed she'd be able to get through everything that came her way. He had to, because she believed— or would believe —the same for him.
She remained silent for a few moments before finally replying. "Thank you… for being here right now," she muttered the last part but Ritsuka caught it, bringing a smile to his face.
"No problem." Ritsuka gently squeezed her hand. Silence fell on them as neither knew what else to say. "Um… so I don't know yet how to leave…?" The commonality so far was when someone interrupted them, but there was that one time they simply said goodbye to each other.
Might as well try it.
"Good night, Hua," Ritsuka gently said. "And stay safe, okay? I know you can take care of yourself but—"
"I know." Hua retorted but there was some clear affection in her tone. "We both have our obstacles to overcome; stay safe in your own journey too."
Ritsuka's smile grew wider as he nodded in gratitude.
"Then I guess… good night to you too," she finally said. "Take care of yourself. "We'll… we'll meet again."
The small smile on her face was the last thing Ritsuka saw before he found himself back in his room. There was a brief flicker of loneliness inside him but he quickly shook it off. "We'll meet again," he reaffirmed to himself.
Several days later, Ritsuka found himself anxious as he paced around his room. The operation for the next Singularity was set to begin in the morning and he found himself anxious again. The questions raced through his mind— who would they meet? Who would they face? What sort of allies would they make?
As Ritsuka pondered about what might happen, he failed to notice he had company now; the person watched with amusement as he walked back and forth for some time before making her presence known. "Don't you think you should rest now?"
"Huh?" Ritsuka snapped towards his desk where Fu Hua sat with an amused smile. "Oh… Hua. How long were you here?"
"A while," she answered, making Ritsuka's face flush. To not notice his... to not notice Hua being there was embarrassing.
"Sorry, I was preoccupied." Ritsuka mentally slapped himself for stating the obvious. Fortunately, Hua found it amusing and let out a small laugh.
Once his embarrassment cleared up, Ritsuka was able to take a good look at what she wore. Her clothes were completely different from any other time, making it near impossible for him to figure out when she may be from. Instead of the usual low ponytail she had, she tied her hair up higher. Her outfit gave Ritsuka the vibes of an old detective— the pattern on her light brown jacket reminded him of old photos and paintings. The monocle she had was not helping matters either. "You look… nice in that," Ritsuka complimented her before quickly correcting himself. "I don't mean you didn't look nice before! You look nice in anything, but you look really nice in that." 'I hate myself.'
His stumbling over his own words naturally brought an amused smile to Hua's face. "Thank you, Ritsuka. You always know what to say to me, don't you?" She joked… maybe. It was hard to say if she was really joking. "But let's not beat around the bush. What's bothering you?"
Ritsuka appreciated her straightforwardness; at least he couldn't embarrass himself now. "It's just some pre-mission jitters," he confessed as he sat down on his bed. "We're entering the next Singularity tomorrow and I'm... anxious, to say the least."
"Where is it this time?" She naturally asked.
It didn't take a moment for him to answer— "London in 1888."
"...say that again?" Her usual calm demeanour was replaced in the blink of an eye. Her eyes widened in shock as her mouth hung slightly. "London…? When in 1888?"
"Hmm? I don't know. We'll only learn the specifics when we land inside," he told her, confusion written on the young Master's face. He wondered why she reacted the way she did—the interest she took in the year, unless... "Hua? If I may ask... what year are you from?"
"That's… complicated but I understand what you mean," Hua gave a slow nod before confirming his suspicion. "But right before this, I was in London… 1888."
"So…" There was a chance… No, wait. None of that made sense. What was she doing back then? Ritsuka thought she was from modern times; the moments he had visited her gave him that impression. She wasn't a time traveller too, was she?
The reason for his confusion must have been written on his face as well as Hua began talking. "No, I've not time travelled. I'm… older than you think I am. A lot older. But what's important right now is…"
They might meet; none of these timey-whimy shenanigans... mostly. But they could at last meet face-to-face for real.
"But… why couldn't it be with the older…" Ritsuka heard her mutter. The disappointment in her voice and eyes were impossible to miss, even if she quickly recovered. "Sorry. I didn't mean—"
"No, don't worry. I get it." Ritsuka gave her the most sympathetic smile he could muster. It was only natural she would want to see the version of him that returned her feelings. He could only imagine how painful it'd be for her to see him only to realize he was from before he'd… No, it wouldn't only be his imagination. At some point, it would be his turn.
"...To be honest, I'm not sure if it would be possible considering what the Singularities are," Hua began to say after some tense silence. "It's best you forget what I said and focus on your mission. The last thing you need is me distracting—"
"Where are you then? Where could I find you?" Ritsuka cut her off. Her mouth opened to no doubt tell him to forget it again but before she could— "Please. Tell me."
Whatever words she wanted to say died in her throat; Hua looked torn between telling him, shutting her eyes in deep contemplation. At last, she answered him. "221B Baker Street. I've been working there for the last few years."
"I'll keep it in mind then," Ritsuka broke into a grin as he nodded. 'Baker Street? Where have I…?' He shook that stray thought out of his head. He probably just heard something similar before.
"...Damn you. Now you've gotten my hopes up," Hua sighed before she got up from her seat. "Ritsuka, I want to ask again: what exactly do you see me as?"
The question made Ritsuka fall into deep thought. It was still hard to nail down his feelings towards her. He liked her for sure, but to what extent was not completely clear yet. "I care about you… is all I can say for now."
Another amused huff escaped Hua. "You really are the strangest person I know."
"I could say the same to you, you know," he jokingly retorted. "...I'll try my best to find you if you exist in the Singularity." It would be a slightly different version diverging from the point the Singularity was born; that was how it was supposed to go from what he recalled.
Hua, however— "Find me, huh? Even this early, you're promising me that…"
"Huh?"
"Nothing, no need to worry about that," she smiled at him. "I wish you luck then on your mission. Even if we don't meet in London, we'll still meet again like this. This current arrangement isn't terrible."
'But you wish for more, don't you?' He silently asked. It was plain as day she wanted that and he couldn't blame her. He only wished he could understand how much she… "Yes. We'll meet again. Take care, Hua."
The next moment, Ritsuka was alone smiling at nothing. "Hope, huh…? That's not a bad thing."
After waking up from a strange dream straight from a horror movie, Ritsuka and Mash met up with Dr. Roman and Da Vinci. They explained how it seemed unlikely (or so the good doctor believed) for King Solomon to be behind the curtains before explaining more about their current mission.
"Find the Holy Grail, and correct the Fourth Singularity."
"Understood. So we'll be working inside the city this time," Mash nodded resolutely before noticing the look Ritsuka had. "Senpai, is something wrong?"
"Oh, no. Everything's fine. It's just…" He trailed off, trying to figure out how he would broach the topic. "...Since we're going to London, there's a place I wanna see. Just out of curiosity, you know?" Surprisingly, no one seemed to mind his wish despite their mission. Da Vinci only asked if he was sure the place he wanted to visit existed during the time period. "I'm pretty sure. The place is 221B Ba—"
"221B Baker Street?!" He didn't get the chance to finish before Dr Roman excitedly interrupted him. "Ritsuka, I knew we'd get along well but I didn't expect you to be a fan of Sherlock Holmes too!"
Ritsuka could only manage a confused "huh?" before— "HUH?!"
A/N: I may or may not be taking liberties with certain things. For example, I have no idea how long Fu Hua stuck around in London. I'm just assuming she did and continued being the Watson to Holmes. If not... AU and stuff. I'm willing to play around with that more here. Either way, here's the next chapter and see you all next time!