Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

PROLOGUE 

Fujimaru Ritsuka was nobody special, that was how it was supposed to be. She wasn’t born special, and definitely not the chosen one either. 

She lost her parents when she was too young to remember them, but she was a happy child taken in by aunt who loved her. A happy and bright little girl, a tomboy who was squirming in her white summer dress. Always excited to play with her cousin Tsunayoshi and knocked the poor boy off of his feet in an enthusiastic tackle. 

But then… 

She began dreaming of a world of flowers and a white tower in the sky. The ageless creature within never had visitors and she was welcomed, and in turn a bond was created with untouched mist beyond dream. 

A woman dressed in an elaborate kimono carrying a katana  appeared out of thin air one day and greeted the young girl, and she too vanished once more, as free as a cloud.  

The Tri-ni-sette or 7³ are three sets of seven artifacts which exist to keep the world in balance. They are made up of the Mare Rings, the Vongola Rings, and the Arcobaleno Pacifiers.  It was a tool that ensured the growth and development of life on Earth while maintaining a balance of its life force. As long as they existed, at least one set did- this planet would continue to thrive with life. The Trinisette was the the foundation of the world and her family was apparently part of this 'greater good' to maintain it. The Arcobaleno were administered by the last divine spirit in mortal realm, who will go to any means to protect them, and the Rings are passed down by humans like them who inherited the divine blood of the sky. The God didn't concern himself with the rings Ritsuka family inherited, he found their contribution to the Tri-ni-sette almost negligible. 

A mere child like Ritsuka knew none of this so she didn't know what length Nonno had gone to find Kawahira, the God who administer the Trinisette. 

“Atavism.” Said the divine spirit. “Once upon a time your ancestor mixed their blood with my kin… this unfortunate child returned to the root. What a disaster… to be the way she is in Age of Man. A sky who was bonded with Mist and Cloud first no less…” 

Ritsuka didn’t understand what they were talking about. Her uncle had at last came home from his overseas work after Aunt Nana called him but he didn’t talk to his wife and son. He just took Ritsuka away to meet the nice grandpa from Italia, and had this strange Uncle Kawahira to look at her. 

She should be scared of him but… this strange man remind Ritsuka a lot of her ‘dream’ friend, the lonely one in the tower. 

“And of all people the mist is that failure son of mine.” That was not very nice of the man to speak of Merlin like that. 

“I know of the half-blood son of yours in Avalon, but what of the girl with sword?” 

“Who knows? Her bonded cloud is the least of your worries… with that unstable constitution where she can just slip through dream and reality, she won’t last… she is compatible with the ring like your son but it won’t save her…” 

“...If we sealed her flame…” 

“Like you did with your son? Hmph… it’s too late to do that.” 

Just like that, at the age of ten, Ritsuka was separated from Aunt Nana and Tsunayoshi. She was whisked away to Palermo and was raised by her grandpa under strict supervision. She missed Japan but she couldn’t visit often, Nonno said they had to be careful. 

It wasn’t like Ritsuka didn’t understand, she tripped on her feet and fell asleep on the floor sometimes. Without fail someone from Nonno's employ would be by her side, their hands glowing indigo- color that reminded Ritsuka of her Mist who resided in the reverse side of the world. 

She was not fine, but she wouldn’t change anything about that.

The ‘princess’ from Primo’s lineage was a warped sky, there would be no harmony found within her. 

Ritsuka was ‘out of question’ from the very beginning, even though by formality she was sixth in line after Tsunayoshi for Decimo. She had been written off without being disinherited. She never wanted the work and wished the same for Tsunayoshi. Such glory was not for them. 

But then… Xanxus rebelled for who knows why, his wrath exploded and grandfather had to hand down a harsh punishment. 

Ritsuka didn’t approve, they were family after all. Xanxus didn’t like Ritsuka, always glaring at her as if she had wronged him. Her hyperintuition wasn’t good enough to unveil what Xanxus felt about her under all that anger. Still, Xanxus loves grandfather so much- Ritsuka could tell. 

He lashed out and now he had to be frozen over under the ‘secret’ technique of their family. Forever unchanging, locked in that rage that burned him and everyone around him. 

“Don’t you dare pity him.” Squalo snarled at her when she followed Xanxus’ rain down to where the man was kept. 

Apparently she had stared at Xanxus’ enraged face under the iridescent ice too long. “I would never pity Xanxus.” 

“Because my Sky didn’t deserve your pity?” 

“I simply respect Xanxus too much for that.” Squalo looked surprised, and Ritsuka was honestly offended the rain was under impression she had negative opinion of Xanxus. The angry guy glared at her whenever they met… sure, but Xanxus never went beyond glaring and clicking his tongue in her vicinity. “But I’m upset he let his anger get the better of him and Grandfather now put him through this so he didn’t have to kill his own son.” 

Squalo looked flagbergasted. 

“What? Do you think Nonno did this because he hates Xanxus now? You know better than anyone there’s no good future even for a son after that blatant rebellion.” The only one who could forgive Xanxus and keep him in the family was the next boss. There was no place for Xanxus during Nonno’s reign after what he did. 

Ritsuka understood that much at least. 

“It doesn’t matter in the end… Boss is stuck there now.” He looked up at her. “Oi… will you become the next Boss to forgive him?” 

“...I’m not qualified.” 

There were three older cousins, Nonno’s sons. She had no part to play in succession battle. 

 Ritsuka was not close to her older cousins at all, in fact- for all his rage Xanxus at least acknowledged she existed enough to look in her direction. Federico, Massimo and Enrico pretended she didn’t even exist because she was a freeloader daughter nobody knew where she would be in the future of Vongola famiglia. Ritsuka could see the future where the Decimo would just tell her to go back to Japan and fend for herself. 

Then… everyone died. Someone was shot- another was sunk to the ocean via concrete shoes and… she slept through all that mess so she didn’t even know where to begin processing it. 

“How could you sleep through that?!” Nonno’s Storm Guardian asked. “What is it this time? That blasted cloud of yours who provoked our Rain the last time she bothered to drop by? Or worse… that jester who flooded the room with flowers?”

“...I think it’s someone new… there’s fire and armageddon,  I walk into this person’s dream and it’s just exhausting…” 

He snarled. “Three months! You slept for three months Princess!” 

“...So, we’re going to defrost Xanxus?” 

“...Don’t even try to change the topic.” 

 Ritsuka seriously wondered what Coyote expected her to do even if she was awake. It wasn’t like she could do anything about the mess of succession battle. She just wanted to grief together with grandfather, and prayed nobody was looking at her for Decimo. The only plus about her was looking like a red haired version of female Primo. Looks great as far as propaganda goes, but everything else about her was trash as Xanxus would say. Her hyperintuition was so so, her self-defense skill was basic, and she scored average in everything taught to her aside from world history. 

Good news, she was not even considered for the position.

Bad news, Tsuna was the only viable candidate left and Grandpa sent Reborn to whip her poor Tsuna to shape. 

Her mist visited her dream the same night the news was delivered to her. “That’s his destiny… he will weave a wonderful future for himself, it would hurt you if you interfere.” 

Unlike her, Tsunayoshi had a high purity sky flame and strong intuition like their founder. He had the most potential out of everyone, and that was why he was sealed before. So now with everyone else gone, he was the perfect choice. There would be no conflict as long as he ‘shaped’ up to fit the role. 

“That’s not fair… Tsuna got sealed so he can stay safe.” Undoing that seal would destroy any choice for his future that was not Vongola. 

Merlin just smiled at her, empty but soft. “This world is full of unfairness… love, parting, hope, hatred… but I promise you don’t have to be anxious,  your cousin will thrive, my sky.” 

She should know better when Merlin promised her that he would be a good Decimo. 

Strong bond with his guardians who would always by his side, unlike her lonely sky. 

He even won the ring battle against Xanxus, the angry fellow was awakened just to be Tsuna’s rival to legitimize his position. 

Tsunayoshi was the chosen sky of Vongola. 

Even if becoming the next boss was not the future Tsuna ever wanted to choose for himself, Ritsuka prayed he would be happy.

10 years later

Aria, a dear friend and boss of Giglio Nero had passed away. Ritsuka was sad of course, but she was also prepared for this day because Aria was the sky of Arcobaleno. Her existence in this world was fleeting, they would always die young. The same goes for her grandfather, he was getting on age and had passed all duties to Tsunayoshi. 

Ritsuka could only watch helplessly, promising their alliance would always be as eternal as the sky as representative of Vongola in Italy. Yuni, Aria’s daughter stepped forward to take the mantle with pride like Tsuna at the tender age of nine. 

The change of era had come, the last sign was the rise of Geso famiglia who inherited the Mare Ring. He looked so familiar too, Ritsuka could tell right away that Byakuran was… related to her mist. 

Yet, for some reason Ritsuka and Tsunayoshi felt something was off with the new Great sky. The way he looked at Tsuna and Yuni was… disturbing. 

Something had gone wrong. Their intuition said so, but they couldn’t even comprehend where to fix or if there was anything they could do.  

Their intuition was always right when they wanted it to be wrong, and Ritsuka was told by Tsuna to be prepared. They tried to be ready for the upcoming catastrophe but Byakuran was faster. They had just celebrated Yuni's thirteen birthday, when her family had fallen to a hard time under Geso family's pressure. VOngola tried to help but Byakuran got to Yuni first and forced her family to merge with Geso Famiglia to form Millefiore Famiglia. They wouldn’t care one bit if Vongola was off of the strongest throne, if not for Byakuran’s insane ambition to collect Trinisette under his control. They knew a disaster was coming, but both Ritsuka and Tsuna were still caught off guard by his declaration. 

Byakuran had gone mad. 

That was the only conclusion they could arrive at, as there was no diplomacy to be had. Byakuran had trapped Yuni with a fake promise of peace meeting, only to put her under his control.  

“...We have to destroy our ring.” 

“But- but…”

 “There’s no time to explain but this is the price we have to pay to slow Byakuran down, he would stop at nothing if we still hold what he wants.” 

He would not hesitate to go after weaker members of their family. 

But there was hope… Tsuna said the Sun General of Byakuran was actually on their side and disagreed with his mad plan. Irie Shouichi for all his genius was a pacifist, who put himself by Byakuran’s side to destroy the mad man’s ambition. The man looked like he was on the verge of collapse when explaining his grand plan to her and Tsunayoshi. 

It was a gamble. 

But there was hope for the future. 

Because the Vongola had destroyed their own ring, the fabric of vertical time space axis had become more malleable. With Shouichi’s machine they could bring hope to the future, their past self to be the hero that would stop Byakuran’s mad plan. 

“There’s a price to pay for this mad plan to work.” 

To get something, a price had to be paid. That was how Trinisette miracles work. THe residents of moonlight world envied them for their ‘true’ magic, but they couldn’t comprehend the great sky’s burden when wielding it. Byakuran was the prime example, the miracle of Mare Ring had driven him mad. For all the power he had, the Mare Sky couldn’t smile truly from his heart. 

And Yuni… 

“I couldn’t see the future anymore.” That was the common restriction for anyone with future sight like Yuni. Seers like them always knew their death. 

Was it a miracle anymore if they gave up everything to achieve it? 

Yuni revived the dead. 

Tsuna and Byakuran mend the damaged timeline, for a new future. 

Two of Three Great Skies perished that day. 

There was no body to be buried or mourn for. 

What a steep price they had paid.

Ritsuka knew what would happen, Yuni had told her, Merlin prepared her for the tragedy that awaits them but she could feel her heart break all the same. 

And yet… the inhuman who lost them all didn’t even miss a beat to place the arcobaleno sky stone in her hand. It was her turn next. 

“...You’re the next human compatible to be Sky Arcobaleno… flawed one but compatible nonetheless. You have to hold onto this until Mare and Vongola reformed. As miniscule as their contribution can be than the ‘present’ arcobaleno supported, they’re still needed. ” 

Indeed, Ritsuka was flawed as the arcobaleno stone didn’t reverse her to babyhood. She just became her fifteen years old self once more, a teenager. Tsunayoshi reverted to his crybaby self when he saw her, memories of his past self slaying Byakuran and watching Yuni died still fresh in mind. 

“Why does it have to be you?! Ritsuka-neesan!” 

She yelled back, “What choice do we have left, Tsuna? Give the entire world up so I can live?” 

She wanted to live so she would struggle with all her might like Yuni. . 

“We can’t give up the world. So Tsuna, let’s find out… why Byakuran  went down the path of destruction.” So it wouldn’t be repeated ever again.  

Merlin agreed with them, Byakuran’s madness was abnormal. Considering their lineage, Merlin was not surprised Byakuran was twisted. Merlin himself had let his power get to his head in his youth, but what happened to Byakuran was different. That was a blatant destructive ambition that brought the world down with them out of sheer boredom.   

Byakuran was a sky, one with a full set of his elements no less. He shouldn’t be so unstable, that was just not in their nature. 

“Someone had tampered with my half-brother.” Merlin concluded. “...Not that our father would care, as long as the planet live…”

Merlin didn’t care about Byakuran either, and he couldn’t even pretend to grieve. 

“Your mist must be sad about Byakuran, Ritsuka-neesan.” 

Ritsuka just smiled, she couldn’t lie to Tsuna that her Mist cared not for his brother.  

So began Ritsuka’s next journey, living with all her might and chose a satisfying death she wouldn’t regret. 

But then… she got kidnapped after blood donation for some reason. 

The sleeping gas didn’t work, but Ritsuka’s intuition told her to go along with this. The path towards her goal had opened up in such an unexpected way. 

Although… Ritsuka was curious too. Who was the idiot from Moonlight world who decided to kidnap a Vongola? 

Whoever it was, Ritsuka prayed for their soul as she fidgeted with her tongue to push the implant in her molar that would alert her family to track her down. Knowing the moonlight world of Magus and Tsuna’s love for high tech transportation, they would be able to catch her kidnapper's attempt to dissect her. 

Surprisingly nobody tried to cut Ritsuka up. 

Unsurprisingly, Vongola’s luck hold true once again because her intuition said she was in the arctic instead of London or some unknown archipelago. 

At least that was new.

Chapter Text

Ritsuka’s POV

She was not treated roughly by the kidnappers but it was clear they expected her to cooperate or else. They were armed and used a mild hypnotic spell on her. Fortunately they didn’t make her do anything outragerous, and they were second rate at best so they needed to give verbal orders to follow instead of weaving the instruction through eye contact.

Their command was basically… follow the basic procedure of medical examination, put on their uniform and knock herself out as they shipped her to Antarctica.

By the standards of the moonlit world, this treatment of the random civilian girl they kidnapped was pretty generous. 

Ritsuka almost praised them. 

She was not so sure about the random 180 seconds game simulation of battle against monster though. The technology was eerily similar to what Vongola had, and sh e wouldn’t bat an eye if this facility didn’t belong to Magus. Which was a dead giveaway to a the one and only Magus family known for opening their arms to technology of the twenty first century, and not just the convenience of air conditioning and airplane but incorporating it to their project. 

The Animusphere family. 

Wonderful, she now had a name to give for the Varia to blackmail the Clock Tower with. ‘What was the last report again? The UN and Clock Tower gave them more funding on their project to preserve humanity’s future…’  One of Vongola’s shell companies controlled by the Foundation had thrown in funds too just in case, but they didn’t manage to follow through before war swept everything up. They had ignored it in favor of dealing with Byakuran for the last few years, and crossed their fingers it was nothing bad. 

Why Magus… Couldn’t we believe you at least once that you work for the greater good of the world?   

Looking at her smartphone that had become a useless brick, the Animusphere had made use of electromagnetic field barriers to intercept communication signals. Her family knew where she was of course, the trajectory of her whereabouts through the chip Irie put on her and every member of Vongola inner circle was a top notch technology original to their genius team of mechanics. The problem however, she couldn’t send any message out unless they hijack this facility’s network to send encrypted messages to Vongola. 

She wanted to inform them she was fine with all her limbs intact, and to send discreet force to find out what the Animuspheres were up to before they extracted her from this place. Tsuna was not one for drastic measures usually, but he was busy with preparations and might decide to prioritise her safety first and foremost.

Which meant… either the Foundation (Hibari Kyouya) or the Varia (Xanxus and co) 

Not that Ritsuka had ever cared about ruining Magus' lifetime work - to reach freaking root- but in case she was not alone and there were other civilians in this place, she wouldn’t want collateral victims of her family’s brand of violence. 

Besides… Ritsuka had seen plenty in that simulation. 

Heaven's feel- third magic, a form of true magic that falls under the miracle of Sky Arcobaleno’s miracle that dealt with souls and their ‘phase’ like existence. She gripped the pacifier under her clothes. ‘The miracle Uni traded her life for…’  

She could feel the trace of similar magic permeating this building. Whatever this facility’s function could be, the Animusphere wouldn’t get away with a slap on the wrist. Especially with the current state on their side of things, Tsuna had just regained his title as boss of all bosses and there was so much cleanup to do especially with the remains of the Millefiore family.  

The alliance of many mafia families the Vongola lead couldn’t afford dealing with Magus clan overstepping their boundaries with full attention. If only it wasn’t one of Twelve Lords, they could have taken care of it quietly… swiftly with minimal blood.  

One wrong move and the delicate balance was tipped, they could have an open war with the aristocratic faction of Clock Tower. 

Ritsuka could almost hear the wail of anguish from Lord El Melloi II, as the poor man was about the only Magus with high enough rank and influence they could trust to mediate conflicts with the moonlit world. 

Well- his retirement was still a faraway story, that was the price an overly capable person had to pay. It didn’t seem his ‘sister’ was in any hurry to take over the position. Ritsuka was sorry but that sod would work until he died for sure. 

She wished the world had more reasonable Magus with common sense like Lord El Melloi II but alas… 

“Well then, what should I do next?” She fingered her weapons dangling around her belt, unseen as it was hidden by illusion. Her cover would have been blown if she Mafia made mystic code in the open, Flame ring and Box Weapon were unique to mafia families after all. 

Bzzt- 

“We got through!” Ritsuka winced at the sound that echoed through her skull. “Ritsuka-san, can you hear me?” 

“Yes… tone it down, also your voice echoed through my head in a creepy way. Whose great idea it is to make our wireless and GPS as a pair of earring and dental implant?” That was very uncomfortable. 

“I am sorry! That’s my idea… I was thinking about it when I was still the Sun General of Millefiore and I can’t help but think… what I wouldn’t give if I can just talk to Tsunayoshi-san to vent all my stress… I mean I start to hear voices in my own head and-”

“Stop… just stop there.” Recalling their darker days during emergency was not appropriate, “So…” 

As expected Irie had very little on the ‘surface’ about Animusphere family’s project because it was kept secret. However even Magus couldn’t hide trails of recruits they had over the years, many talented engineers, construction workers, and scientists had been hired by the late Marisbury Animusphere to come to Antarctica. The salary was triple the standard rate, even for a classified project in Antarctica. The clan had sink in unbelievable amount of fund and human resource to this project. 

“And you can sense trace of our inherited miracles in that facility?” 

No wonder they had been hiding it especially against the Three Great Mafia families. Vongola and Giglio Nero aside, Byakuran wouldn’t be so lenient. Had they found out sooner before the war was over, there would be a ceasefire just to purge the entire project together. 

That said, the Vongola was still licking their wounds. So they had to confirm what this facility was truly for first, and whether it was worth it to muster effort to purge it from existence. Or they could just have the Clock Tower do it on their behalf. 

“I see, we've sent our men to pick you up. They should arrive in a few hours… if needed Chrome or Mukuro could go ahead. Tsunayoshi-kun has approve it.” 

As expected, Tsuna and Irie sent the big guns that would make the least commotion. Ritsuka had to make her move too, it had been a while she had to do field investigation herself!

“The first thing I wished for was… the sky.”
~Mash Kyrelight, Initium Iter

It was a day before Rayshift to the very first Singularity detected by Chaldea, and Mash could feel the tension in her surroundings had risen skyhigh. Mash’s colleague in team A were relatively calm in comparison, as they were talented mages chosen by the previous director himself. Although Doctor Romani seemed to believe her teammates needed a session or two for some reason, especially Akuta who had vehemently refused medical examination for as long as she had been here. 

Mash could never imagine hating being examined by the doctor, but that was just how a designer baby like her differs from ‘real’ humans. She certainly couldn’t survive without heeding the doctor’s advice.   

Speaking of advice, the doctor also warned her to keep her distance from Director Olga Marie, because the young woman’s temper was worsening the closer they were to D-day. 

Mash didn’t really need the warning even if she was not very adequate in socializing due to the nature of her birth. She was a reminder of a failed project after all, it was no wonder Director Olga Marie wouldn’t want Mash around. If not for Professor Lev, Mash wouldn’t even be part of Team A and be somewhat useful for Chaldea at all. 

“Fou~” 

The familiar cute noise her little friend made reminded Mash why she cut her reading time in the library short. Fou ran off on his own and Mash had to retrieve the mysterious creature before it caused trouble. Fou never caused any issues since he appeared out of nowhere in Chaldea, but it was better safe than sorry. 

“Fo-fo-fou---” There was a happy skip in Fou’s steps, and he was rushing forward as if there was a pile of bacon waiting for him. Mash had never seen her mysterious fluffy friend this happy before. 

When Mash turned around the corner she found a person dressed in standard Chaldea uniform for masters, a young girl staring off towards the cloudy and snowy landscape through the window. She had the most vivid sunset colored hair Mash had ever seen, and eyes that seemed to glow like burning ember. 

‘A master candidate… She arrived within three days before first mission to Singularity F,  which means she is recruited ’ A normal person who came from the world unknown to Mash. 

Mash was about to call out to Fou when the creature jumped to the stranger’s skirt and climbed their uniform like an enthusiastic squirrel. 

“FOU! FOU!!!”  

“Fou!” Much to Mash’s horror, Fou started licking the girl’s cheek persistently.  

“Huh- wha?” The girl blinked owlishly, yawning wide behind her hand. “Ugh…” She rubbed her eyes sleepily. 

Mash belatedly realized the girl was ‘sleeping’ upright, and with eyes open nonetheless! She was a human not a dolphin, right?! No, even a dolphin sleep with one eye close! 

“Hello?” Mash greeted her, “I am sorry for Fou…” Mash was about to offer to take Fou away but stopped. 

She turned to the side where Fou was perching on her shoulder, an apology was already on the tip of Mash’s tongue but the unknown master had lifted Fou up over her head and began spinning happily as she babytalk Fou. “Aww, did you miss me? Batuffolo! As fluffy as ever! Where have you been, Bambino? You weren’t around when I visited!” 

“Fou! Fou!” Fou whined and whined sadly, before making a jabbing move with his front paw, “FOU! FOOU!” 

Was it just her or Fou was talking about murdering someone? No- more importantly, she knew Fou before he came to Chaldea! 

“Oh dear, I didn’t hear from-” The girl trailed off. 

“Uhm… excuse me, do you know Fou?” 

The master turned to Mash, “Hello there, uh- do I know who?” She tilted her head in confusion. 

Mash almost stammered, “The… mysterious creature in your arms, we- we have been calling him Fou-san since he appeared around here.” 

She burst out laughing, “Ha ha ha- Fou? You named Cath Palug… Fou? Like Pokemon? He is called by the sound he squeaks? That’s so adorable!” 

“FOOOOOOOOOOUuuuu!!!” 

“Sorry- sorry” She wiped a tear as Fou huffingly jumped to her head and sprawled there as if he had been doing that since forever. “That’s a cute nickname.” 

Mash became flustered, “Uh… does Fou-san have a name already? Batuffolo? Bambino?” She knew pokemon in passing as a popular series from the Far East but she never made a connection; she had named her little friend like one would a pokemon before. 

“He was never named really.” Her amber colored eyes shone with amusement. “So Fou it is…” 

She didn’t seem concerned Mash had named Fou without permission from the owner. “F-Fou’s owner won’t mind?” 

“That guy? He won’t mind, he hasn’t been getting around naming Fou-kun anything for centuries! It’s fine!” She giggled, and Mash found herself staring at how richly expressive this person was. Doctor Roman was pretty animated himself, but this unknown person was just so lively. Like the sky that constantly changes color throughout the day beyond this land of snow and ice. 

Hm? Did she just say… 

“And you approve of the name she gave you, right? Fou˜” 

“F…fou…” Fou sounded resigned before nodding. 

“So Fou’s owner is…”

“You don’t have to worry about that guy.” She waved her hand dismissively. “And Fou likes you, that’s rare for him to like humans.” She picked up Fou from her head and had Fou sprawl around her neck like a shawl instead. 

This person was obviously familiar with Fou, very much so. “Ah… Fou- Fou-san didn’t seem to like people much.” 

“He hasn’t been mean to people I hope?” She was frowning now, “His caretaker is a dear but he is not exactly a shining example of good behavior for our cotton ball.” She said fondly. 

“Fou is fine, Senpai!” Mash decided, this person was a respectable example of humanity Doctor spoke of. “He has been a good boy! He avoid people but he is not mean at all!” 

“That’s good to know.” She beamed. “Hm- senpai? Oh- are you…” The girl switched language from English. “Do you speak Japanese? I’m surprised since everyone here so far I have seen speak English.” Her Japanese was fluent and accentless like Doctor Romani. 

That was a surprise to Mash too, “Uhm I can… I’m not Japanese.” Mash was still learning though. 

“Ah- I haven’t introduced myself, have I?” She rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, and reached out with her right hand to Mash. “I’m Fujimaru Ritsuka, nice to meet you!” 

“Ah- I’m Mash Kyrelight! Nice to meet you too, senpai!” 

“You’re still calling me Senpai, why is that?” 

Because Mash believed she would be the person who could lead her by example on how to become a human. “Because Senpai is Senpai.” 

Obviously this person, Fujimaru Ritsuka didn’t understand why Mash felt that way about her. She grinned nevertheless, “Alright, I am your senpai then…” She reached out and Mash froze when her fingertips gently stroked her forehead.  Something warm entered her from the crown of her head and spread to her entire body, even the tip of her fingers and toes felt hot but also very comfortable. 

What had she gotten herself into? 

“Oops, are you alright? You’re so receptive, I’m surprised! You’re like Gokudera.” Mash found herself leaning onto Senpai, she felt too comfortable to move. It felt a little like the kotatsu table Doctor had in his room, all warm and cozy times a hundred.  “Where’s the infirmary, do you know Mash?”  

Mash nodded, “Yes… I think I should go there, will you come with me?” Doctor Roman would know what to do. “Please?” 

“Absolutely!” 

Mash was surprised when Senpai without hesitation lifted her up, and in spite of their similar build she had no problem carrying Mash. “Eh?” 

“Let’s go!” 

It was quite a walk to the infirmary, since it was located near the center of the facility. In any normal circumstances Mash would refuse being carried like this, but she was just too comfortable in Senpai’s arms. She was quite a talkative person, and Mash enjoyed their conversation even if it was mostly one sided. Also, the biggest mystery about Fou-san was resolved. 

“Fou is a cat of course.” 

“He is?!” Mash couldn’t believe it! She had no idea Fou was a cat! 

“Isn’t this a security organization? Why did you let Fou in if you don’t know he is a cat?” 

MAsh had no idea, but she remembered Fou was just there and nobody cared! 

She was talking about all sorts of people. 

“So what kind of person the doctor we’re going to meet? My family’s doctor is an extremely energetic person who does boxing.” 

“The very opposite.” Doctor Roman was a laidback person.

Doctor Roman was unfortunately not in the infirmary, but Mash still felt weird unlike usual. So she decided to use her communicator bracelet to inform the Doctor he was needed in infirmary. He should come in five minutes or so. Mash told Senpai so too, but she insisted on tucking Mash to bed. 

‘This feels nice too…’   

Senpai was singing a song softly as she caressed Mash’s forehead,  but Mash could hear her clearly. It was a solemn but lovely song about seashells, the sea and rainbows. The unchanging shape of seashells that protect everything, the sea that stretched to the horizon and transient rainbow. 

Countdown to Incineration of Humanity, ETA 26 hours- 17 minutes-09 seconds-