"So let me get this straight—" Normally, that sentence would spell doom for whoever it's directed towards but Dr Roman was justifiably confused by Ritsuka's whole explanation. "She is your future wife who you have been meeting in secret."

"Don't make it sound like that… but yes," Ritsuka nodded.

"But you keep meeting at different points in time. You met the past and future versions of the Fu Hua we just met and vice versa."

Ritsuka nodded again. "I can't say with one hundred percent certainty, but yes." His thoughts on when each version of her he's met was from was becoming more and more unclear, but he believed the one he first met was…

"And you will one day marry, and this whole time you've been meeting in secret."

"Doctor, you already said that," Mash pointed out with a sigh.

"Because that's the part I'm having the hardest time wrapping my head around! Fujimaru will marry Fu Hua?!" Romani cried. "...Wait, wouldn't her name be Fujimaru Hua then? Hmm… right, her comrades had a point in saying it sounds too long. But besides that point, she can actually interact with the world when she appears?"

"Yes, I can confirm that." Mash nodded, remembering the cracked wall from Rome; she had mostly forgotten about it, mainly because Ritsuka told her not to worry back then. Now, she knew it was actually Fu Hua talking with her Senpai. "But why did she punch the wall?"

"Uh… no reason. Can we move past this now?" Ritsuka tried to end the conversation, shifting uncomfortably on the couch. "You got your answer for Holmes. Just tell him when we next meet and get your autographs." And they could forget all about his marital status.

"Nu-uh, no way. This isn't something we can just move past like it's nothing, Fujimaru!" Romani frowned at his attempt to drop the topic. "This is… it's not something that we can just ignore is what I'm saying."

"...Hey, Fujimaru. Did you find out if you had children with her or not?"

The abrupt question from Da Vinci made Ritsuka's face flush to the point of resembling a tomato. "Wha—Why are you asking that?!"

"Just curious is all," Da Vinci replied with a Cheshire grin that was swiftly replaced with a serious look. "But there is something that bothers me. Why is she here? She just so happened to be at the same time and place for you to meet."

"It's probably just a coincidence," Ritsuka stated. The previous times they met in the Singularities, Fu Hua was not actually there in the same period. This was a more special occasion… which admittedly worried him but he wanted to believe he was just overthinking things.

Mordred, meanwhile, had been uncharastically quiet the whole time. She had been deep in thought about what Ritsuka told them. "...You know, I'm just glad you're not that type of person, Master."

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"The type to go after married women. Since she is your future wife, I guess it's fine for both of you to—"

"Oh enough about that already…" groaned Ritsuka before he flopped back down and immediately went to sleep. He was not dealing with those jokes any longer.

The next morning, the group— including Dr Jekyll —quickly departed for Baker Street to regroup with Holmes and Fu Hua. It was fortunately an uneventful journey and they soon found themselves enjoying another cup of finely brewed tea. "It is a relief to see you well, old friend." The detective smiled as he spoke with Jekyll. "How has your condition been? The fog hasn't been causing even more problems for you, has it?"

"No, I've been staying inside as much as I could," Jekyll returned the smile. "But when Chaldea told me they managed to enlist your help, I had to come here with them."

"So long as you don't push yourself too much," Holmes replied. The two continued talking while the others… Well, to say it was an awkward silence was putting it mildly.

They— namely Mash and Mordred —were staring at Fu Hua as she sipped from her cup. She only briefly returned their gazes before turning her head towards Ritsuka. "They know, don't they?"

"Yes."

His short answer made Fu Hua sigh though Ritsuka didn't miss how her cheeks flushed. "In that case, you can claim your prize from Holmes later. I believe we have bigger problems right now."

"Yes! Like how you and Ritsuka had been meeting through the ages!" Romani shouted as he suddenly appeared. "Come on! It's been killing me since last night to understand how it works!"

"Doctor…" Ritsuka grumbled under his breath before apologizing to Fu Hua for his brazenness.

"It's not an issue," Fu Hua replied before answering the Acting Director's question. "There is not much for me to say. I still don't understand how all this works. It just… started happening one day, and this is the first time Ritsuka and I are meeting like this."

"So the same for Fujimaru then? How long have you known him?" Da Vinci asked.

"...A long time," was all she answered and it was obvious that was all she was going to say on the matter. "Now, I think it's time we move onto business. Holmes?"

"Hmm? Oh yes, of course. Let's put everything on the table, shall we? Here's our findings over the last few days." With that, the two groups shared what they learned over in their separate investigations before planning their next move…

A/N: And one last short chapter before the new year. Ritsuka and Fu Hua now have to deal with Chaldea now knowing they are/will be a couple but we'll see that more next chapter as I try to remember what else happened in London before they defeated Young!Zouken. Him being the big bad was the only thing I remember from this story chapter tbh. Really, London was the worst but only choice for them to actually meet...

Oh well, that's a problem for future me. See you all next time!