#in which ritsuka notices how dr romani has a ring

[keikaru]

sailor of the stars - fate/grand order (romani)

He is Doctor Romani Archaman, leading director of Chaldea.

He conducts research and work in pristine gloves, white with the familiar smell of disinfectant.

Ritsuka notices how he never takes them off. Medical and clean, his hands work methodically in the infirmary wing.

One day, she notices the indention of a ring on his hand.

Without thinking, she reaches out and takes his hand in hers.

“Doctor, do you have someone dear to you?”

It takes a moment for him to register her touch. His reaction startles her—he flails his hands and mentions Magi Mari in passing but retracts his statement when Ritsuka quiets and gives him a stare akin to pity.

Romani’s words dissolve into an incoherent stammer, and he rests a hand on the back of his neck. A meek expression crosses his face.

“O-Oh! The ring holds significance to me. I didn’t think it’s worth mentioning to anyone. Ahh…please let this be a secret between us. There’s no need to tell Da Vinci, although I think that mad scientist has suspicions…”

Ritsuka takes back her hand and clasps them behind her back.

“My apologies, doctor. I didn’t mean to pry.”

“Hahaha. Don’t worry about it!” His smile is kind but steadily grows sheepish. “I didn’t want you to get the wrong idea. But I already see you have the wrong impression of me…so please forget I said anything. It’s embarrassing...”

Ritsuka smiles. It's a genuine and kind smile to the doctor.

[fgodestinyawakenings]

FGO Destiny Awakenings Fuyuki Singularity: Prologue pt.3

Ritsuka: You're sure it's alright to be late, Doctor? Romani: Of course! It's not like things couldn't get any worse! *Explosions in the control room* Romani: ..... The universe loves to prove me wrong, doesn't it? Ritsuka: Don't test the universe to make it worse!

After bidding goodbye to his sister and Mash, Ritsuka entered his room. Taking a brief nap dashed off when he spotted with a deadpan face. The orange pinkish-colored messy ponytail haired man with green orbs stared back at him.

He was sitting on his bed with a laptop sitting on one of his folded legs. One of his white-gloved hands was carrying a half-eaten strawberry cake, the other holding a fork into his mouth. With the tea set, he had made comfortably well on his bed to unwind.

“E-Excuse me…” Ritsuka asked, still struggling to take in the sight he’s looking at. A crew of Chaldea was casually relaxing in his room.

“Yes… Come in…” The orange pinkish-haired man replied.

“Ah… Hah…”

Ritsuka stood there in silence as observing the man turned back to his laptop. The only noise that reverberated in the surrounding was a bright and peppy song with words of ‘Magi*Mari’ recurred.

A minute again, that said man turned back with his orbs widened in panic. He cried while pointed his fork at Ritsuka, “G-G-Guaah! Who are you?!”

The immediate reaction made Ritsuka jumped and landed his rear on the ground with a loud smack. As a groan slipped from his lips, the ponytail haired man proclaimed, “This is my ‘hooky hangout’!”

At much of struggling to sound intimidating, Ritsuka remained impassive and stared at him. As he realized, the ponytail man faced aside with a vexed frown on his lips. “Who gave you the permission to come in?”

“Someone’s that not your supervisor to catch you slacking off the job,” Ritsuka thought as he exhaled a sigh.

He came closer to the bedside and explained in a respectful manner, “I was informed that this was my room…”

“Your room? This place? Oh,” As the ponytail man realized, he lifted his hand that wore a wristwatch in front of Ritsuka. After the holographic identification card showed, he gave himself a face-palm for that outburst. “So, the last kid finally showed up…”

“Well, who are you?” Ritsuka’s eyebrows furrowed as he inquired for the identity of the strange crew.

“Nice to meet you, Fujimaru-kun. Didn’t think I would run into you like this, but,” The ponytail man faced Ritsuka and presented himself. “I’m the head of the medical department, Romani Archaman. For some reason, people just call me Dr. Roman.

“I don’t know why, but it’s easier to pronounce, so go ahead and call me Roman. Fact is, Roman has a nice ring to it, no? It sounds cool and vaguely sweet.”

“Head?!” At the pleasant friendly grin, Ritsuka froze on the spot at how screwed he was. The childish behavior caused him thought otherwise before introducing. But, he bowed. “S-Sorry to bother you when you’re taking a break…!”

“No, not at all. Really, I’m just a run-of-the-mill doctor.” Romani laugh while waving his hands to ensure the young candidate.

At the friendly grin on his face, Ritsuka couldn’t help but noticed the warmth that came out from the doctor. Unconsciously, he uttered in an audible volume, “The fluffy type, huh…”

“Fluffy?” Romani tilted his head.

Realized what he did, a crimson blush of embarrassment colored Ritsuka’s cheek. “S-Sorry, that’s a slip of my tongue there. Just ignore it, Dr. Roman…!”

“It’s fine,” Romani chuckled. He brought a free hand up to stroke his ponytail hair. “If it’s about my hair, I’m normally pretty busy so I just let it grow.”

“I see…” As Ritsuka nodded, he exhaled a relief in his mind. Though that wasn’t what he implied, it’s good the doctor didn’t grab hold of the meaning. Else, he’s digging his own grave in making his first day here worse.

Romani set his plate of cake on the bed and shifted back to Ritsuka. “By the way, isn’t the Rayshift starting soon? I heard all Master candidates were involved with that.”

Ritsuka raised his hand to the back and rubbed his head. “Actually…”

But, a laughter interrupted by the doctor. Romani grabbed a bundle of paper towel headed to the sink to soak it. “A-Anyway, I think get what’s going on. You’re the rookie who just got here then got on the Director’s bad side?”

Recognized that Romani’s green orbs examined at the particular area, Ritsuka realized the stinging pain subsided and put a wry smile, “Yeah…”

Romani approached him and stuck the warm wet towel on his red hand printed cheek. “Here. This should ease the swelling. Apply and leave it for 15 minutes every day, and it should disappear.”

“Thank you, Doctor Roman.” Ritsuka acknowledged and adjusted towel so it covered more of the area.

Romani grinned back and flexed his hand. A chair from opposite the bed pulled over and paused in front of the bed. With the doctor’s gesture, Ritsuka gave another nod and sat.

As the doctor turned to the espresso machine and pick up two cups, he said in a cheery tone, “Then you and I are alike. Just so you know, I got yelled at by her too.”

“Is that so…?”

Romani nodded assuredly and brought a mug to Ritsuka who uttered a ‘thanks’. “Since all the staff has been sent to help out, I had nothing to do. My job is to look after everyone’s health, but the machines are more accurate at reading the vitals of the mages who are in the Coffins.”

“The Director said,” Romani turned to the side and imitated Olga Marie’s posture. “‘When you’re here, Romani, everyone slacks off!’ Then, she threw me out. So I’ve been sulking here.”

The sad pout turned into a lively grin on Romani, spun back to Ritsuka. “But that’s when you showed up. This is what they called a blessing in disguise right. Since we both have nowhere to go. Why don’t we spend some time and deepen our friendship!”

Romani’s eyes closed with a large grin made Ritsuka stared at him for a minute. Seconds later, he laughed and admitted, “Sure, this is my room, so why not?”

“Yeah. So that means I’m visiting a friend’s room! Woo hoo! I’ve made a new friend!” Romani raised his cup and announced, “To a new friendship?”

The infectious smile made Ritsuka beamed and acknowledged, “To our friendship, Dr. Roman.”

Clang

Two cups knocked against each other, Romani pulled his back to down the hot chocolate. As Ritsuka sipped his, a thought came into his mind and asked, “Dr. Roman, may I ask a question?”

“What is it?” Romani returned to Ritsuka’s bed and seated down.

Gripped his mug a little tighter, Ritsuka asked, “They told my sister, and I were qualified to make a contract with a ‘Servant’, so the staff from here invited us. But, what’s Rayshifting?”

Blinked his eyes in shock, Romani queried, “H-Have you come here without knowing what you will do?”

“Well, they were particularly passionate about inviting us here,” Ritsuka chuckled.

“I see,” With a bright, eager grin, Romani began, “I’ll be glad to explain to you! 

“Chaldea is a research facility and observatory that gathers researchers of every stripe, from sorcery to science.

“All for the purpose of continuing the history of mankind long and strong. 

“Our top researchers have developed Chaldea, a global environmental model.”

“Chaldeas?” Ritsuka prodded.

“It was proposed that planet had souls, so this miniature Earth was reproduced to reflect that soul. 

“‘As long as the light of civilization burns in Chaldeas, humanity is guaranteed to last at least for another 100 years.’

“But, the light has begun to die. If the light disappears that means civilization will end. 

“According to our observations, humanity becomes extinct in December 2016,” Romani added.

“What? Humanity will extinct… In 2016?!” Ritsuka repeated with shock laced in his tone.

A grim expression showed on Romani’s face as he went on, “A close investigation of the report has revealed an unusual abnormality. 

“That’s Spatial Singularity F. 

“We determined from 2004 to 2016 CE, there was a rural city in Japan that was an ‘unobservable area’ and did not occur in history.

“Chaldea assumed this causes humanity’s extinction, and propose the Rayshift experiment to the United Nations, which gained approval. 

“Rayshift turns human into Spiritrons and sends them back into the past to intervene certain events.”

“So,” Rubbed his chin thoughtfully, Ritsuka clarified, “It’s like time travel?”

Romani nodded and continued, “By this means, we can transfer to the past and investigate the cause of the future’s disappearance, then destroy it. And that is the idea behind Rayshift, which Chaldea is trying to conduct.”

“So, we were able to join something that incredible?” Ritsuka’s voice astounded by the explanation. But, the mysterious hint from the hooded figure nagged him otherwise.

“Surprised?” Romani smiled.

“Yeah. So, time travel is actually possible now, huh,” Ritsuka nodded to himself.

At another acknowledgment, Romani questioned, “Now you brought up, you mentioned ‘we’… Your sister is here too?”

“Yeah. She’s on the first mission while I’m the one who got the Director’s bad side.” 

Remembered a thought, Ritsuka drew his hand out. “Sorry, I should say previously. I’m Fujimaru Ritsuka, you can call me ‘Ritsuka’ if it’s confusing to you with my sister and me.”

“I look forward to getting to know you then, Ritsuka-kun,” Romani grabbed his hand and shook it. After doing so, he grinned at him. “If you have any more questions of Chaldea, the healthy, diligent and hard-working doctor here will always be happy to answer any of them!”

-0-

30 minutes had occurred since Ritsuka fired endless questions to Romani. It was to kill time while finding out further about their work here. He was glad Romani had been enthusiastic to reveal all he needed to learn.

Romani concluded his explanation, “And so, that’s the structure of Chaldea. 

“An underground workshop built on a snowy top mountain 6,000 meters above sea level–!”

Brrr… Brrr…

Romani’s wristwatch lit up a flickering light. The doctor lifted up to look at the wristwatch flashed a holographic card of the caller ID from Lev and the symbol which read ‘Sound only’.

Lev’s voice said from the holographic, “Romani, we’re going to start the Rayshift soon. Could you come in case there’s an emergency?”

“Did something happen?” 

“A-Team’s in perfect condition, but B-Team on down is less experienced and they are displaying some slight abnormalities.”

With a minor pause, Lev’s voice proceeded, “It probably comes from anxiety. The inside of that Coffin is like a cockpit.”

At Lev’s worried tone, Romani’s eyebrows furrowed. “Hey Lev, I feel bad for them. Why don’t I give them some anesthesia?”

“Yeah, hurry, will you? If you’re in the infirmary, then you can get here in two minutes.”

“Okay!” Romani replied as the holographic vision returned inside his wristwatch.

Ritsuka who had been listening in from the start of the discussion, made a wry smile, “This isn’t the infirmary, is it?”

Romani flinched and raised one of his fingers with a tense smile, “P-Please don’t mention that… It’s gonna take five minutes from here, no matter what. A-And, I won’t get in trouble for being a little late. Besides, it sounds like A-Team isn’t having any issues.”

Determined to turn aside from the awkward topic, Romani mentioned, “Oh, the man I was talking to…”

“Professor Lev, right?” Ritsuka grinned when Romani confirmed his words. “I met him when he was helping my sister to search for me earlier. He said he was an engineer here.”

“An engineer? That was incredibly humble of him,” Romani chuckled. “He’s the mage who created the telescope to observe Chaldeas, the Near-Future Observation Lens, Sheba.

“A telescope used to watch that pseudo-planet, Chaldeas. 

“Sheba not merely observes Chaldeas but also serves as a surveillance system for most of this facility.

“Also, it was the previous director is the one who established the summoning/unsummoning system, which is the foundation of the Rayshift tech.

“To actualize that theory, the Pseudo-Spiritron Calculation—basically a supercomputer—was provided by the Atlas Academy. 

“All these extraordinary talents have been gathered to carry out this mission.”

“A… Amazing…!” Ritsuka uttered in admiration.

Romani grinned at the young candidate reaction and stood. “It’s pointless for an ordinary doctor like me to be there, but if I summoned, I must go, right?”

Shifted his head to Ritsuka, Romani said, “Thanks for chatting with me, Ritsuka-kun!”

“No, thank you too,” Ritsuka said. He stood up on instinct to send Romani off.

As Romani turned his head, he suggested, “When you get settled in, come by the infirmary. Next time, I’ll treat you to some yummy cake–!”

Boom! Click! Clack!

The explosion sound reverberated and lights blacked out.

“What is this?” Romani wary at the abrupt darkness in the room.

Ritsuka examined around and speculated, “A power outage?”

At his words, Romani turned over as he realized, “No, Chaldea shouldn’t have any power outages.”

In the next second, an electronic voice reported, “Emergency. Emergency. A fire has broken out in the Central Power Station and Central Command Room. Central Area’s containment wall will activate in 90 seconds. All staff must evacuate from Gate 2 at once.”

Both Romani and Ritsuka gasped in shock at the notice. 

The latter repeated with astonishment in his tone, “Fires?”

“Command Room…?” Ritsuka muttered and the mug in his hand slipped. The sound of its content spilled out wasn’t his primary attention. He realized as he recalled the two individuals who had gone there for their mission…

“In the turning events, a terrible catastrophe befalls on you and the world,” The hooded figure’s mysterious voice resounded in his thoughts.

“Ritsuko! Mash!” The two names shouted in Ritsuka’s heart. He rushed out without hesitation.

Romani noticed and called out to him, “Hey!”

The doctor too hurried and followed Ritsuka to the same destination they were heading to.

-0-

Footsteps dashed across as quick as their legs could move along the passageway. The evacuating Chaldea staff running out from the two stated location didn’t hinder them. Upon arriving at the gate, they dashed at the point it opened.

When arrived, they were met by the appearance of a war-zone. Rubbles of damaged roofs and walls scattered across the flooded room. As rubbles fallen to the ground, there were still fires blazing in different parts of the room.

“Horrible…” Ritsuka’s voice mustered to mutter at the sight he witnessed.

Swallowed a gulp, Romani tilted his head high and commented, “Only Chaldeas is safe.”

Followed his gaze, Ritsuka tilted his head high to examine the said black-colored globe remained untouched despite the casualties. 

Romani turned his head and surveyed the area, “This was where the explosion originated. 

“This was no accident, it was sabotage.”

“What?” Ritsuka focused his attention to the doctor.

The electronic voice declared, “Generator operation stopped. 

“Power level critical.” 

Both let out a small gasp and gaze at the black globe. Romani turned to the Command Room and exclaimed, “This is bad!”

Turned behind, Ritsuka gazed at the shattered glass broken by the explosion. 

Despite the visible holographic screen running, the announcement continued, “Switch to the backup generator, error. 

“Please make the switch manually.”

Romani turned back to Ritsuka and declared, “I’m heading down to the underground power station.”

As the doctor rushed off, Ritsuka turned and yelled, “Isn’t it dangerous?!”

“We can’t let Chaldea’s light go out,” Romani replied. He shifted to Ritsuka as the gate opened and advised. “Hurry and go back the way we came.”

“Dr. Roman!” Ritsuka yelled in trying to stop him. But, Romani had rushed off to fulfill the task required to do. With the gate sealed, Ritsuka now left alone in the burning room.

“Containment wall will close in 40 seconds. 

“Those remain in Central Area, evacuate immediately–!”

Ignored the announcement, Ritsuka had decided and sprinted forward. Hopped down and climbed up of each large debris, the sound of water splashing from his footsteps echoed the room. Ritsuka scanned from left to right and yelled, “Ritsuko! Mash!”

Rushed past each of the broken glass pods, Ritsuka stopped and spotted a figure inside it. He examined closer and recognized that it was one of the Master candidates like him and his sister. But by the shattered glass and their body position, they were unconscious from the explosion.

Feared for the worst result, Ritsuka dashed again once more but at a swifter pace. His head examined around as he yelled repeatedly, “Ritsuko! Mash! Where are you?!”

Unknown to him, another robotic voice declared, “System switching to the final phase of Rayshift. 

“Coordinates, AD 2004, January, 30th, Fuyuki, Japan.”

Caught his breath, Ritsuka scanned again and cried out, “Ritsuko! Mash!”

“Fou! Fou!” A weak animal squeak echoed the room.

Followed by a recognizable and panicked female voice responding to him, “R… Ritsuka…? R-R-Ritsuka is that you?!”

As Ritsuka turned and rushed to the source of the voice, the electronic voice proceeded, “Laplace’s shifting protection established. 

“Singularity’s additional factor slot secured. 

“Unsummon Program set. 

“Please start final adjustments.”

Stood above the massive debris, Ritsuka catching his breath met the two origins of the voices. Before him, Ritsuko wearing an orange-white fitting outfit trying to remove the large debris. Fou squeaking again and repeatedly to Mash who was trapped underneath a large debris.

“Ritsuko! Mash!” Ritsuka’s voice yelled at them, getting their attention.

“R… Ritsuka-senpai…?” Mash muttered, mustering her energy to move.

Ritsuko stopped her action and caught the sight of her brother moving to them. “R-R-Ritsuka!”

Upon reaching, Ritsuka’s orbs widened at the somewhat swollen eyes from Ritsuko. Her hands and body shivering as though she was to break down soon. He grasped hold of her shoulders lightly and asked, “Are you all right, Ritsuko?! What happened?”

Ritsuko mustered a shaky nod. “I-I’m fine, Ritsuka… We were about to start our mission. A-And, there was an explosion… B-But, Mash. S-She… She took me out of that pod when it happened. A-And, s-she shoved me when that rubble above her…”

Accompanied her gaze, Ritsuka jaw fell and eyes enlarged. The pool of blood beneath her spread, dyeing her clothes in blood red. Also, her torso covered in dust and bruises with her broken glasses.

“Hang in there, I’ll get you out now!” Ritsuka decided with a calm tone, swallowing a gulp.

“No, that’s…” Mash weakly opposed, watching Ritsuka stood up and moved to the debris.

Ritsuko turned back to the debris and settled, “I-I’ll help you too, Ritsuka!”

“Okay, you pick up the other side, Ritsuko!” Ritsuka ordered and knelt down.

As he reached the rubble, a burning pain scorched both his palms. Ritsuka pulled back and grimaced. It earned a worried expression from Ritsuko, “R-Ritsuka!”

“I’m fine,” Ritsuka assured, stretching his sleeves down to protect both his palms.

As Ritsuka grabbed hold of the debris, the siblings made their attempt to remove away from Mash. The attempt in doing so made Mash protested further, “It’s all… right. You can’t… save… me. Don’t mind me, please… Run.”

“And you’re coming with us, Mash!” Ritsuka groaned, focusing all his power on his arms.

Ritsuko nodded and agreed, mustering from her trembling hands to pick up the debris. “That’s right. We will not leave you here like this…! We’ll pull you out of here… And find help….!”

Mash weakly shook her head and insisted once more. “Please… Just run! There’s no–!”

“Forget it! We’re not leaving you here and that’s final!” Ritsuka and Ritsuko objected with a resolved expression. The pair drew a deep breath, and attempt to lift the large rubble again.

While doing so, a robotic voice abruptly announced, “Warning all observation staff. 

“Chaldeas’ state has changed.”

Turned to the globe, Mash gasped as her purple orbs widened. The Chaldea globe changed from earlier charcoal black, to an intense burning red globe. The announcement went on, “Now rewriting Sheba’s near-future prediction data.

“Unable to detect the existence of mankind 100 years in the near-future on Earth. 

“Unable to confirm human survivors. 

“Unable to guarantee mankind’s future.”

“Chaldeas… Has turned bright red,” Mash muttered. She shook her head then said, “No, never mind, that–!”

“Central Area, sealed.”

THUMP! CLICK!

As it announced, the echo of a large shutter landed on the ground accompanied by a click. The announcement followed up thereafter. “180 seconds till internal containment procedure.”

“It closed… The gate, they closed it,” Ritsuko muttered.

“They shut off, the area. Now, we can’t, get out,” Mash bowed her head and murmured, “Senpais… I’m sorry. Because of me…”

“Mash-chan…” Ritsuko turned her head to Mash.

Ritsuka shook his head and came back, “No, it’s…”

“In the subsequent hours, you and your sister will enter into a contract to turn into a Master. After which, you will come back here at the end of the anomality.

“In that adventure, sorrow with grief and tragic ends will inevitably be there. Yet, as long as you don’t lose sight of the path you’ve determined. The path you’ve walked will be the most extraordinary adventure of your life,” The hooded figure’s mysterious voice rang again his mind.

With a wry grin to himself, Ritsuka assured to them both. “We’ll figure it out.”

“Ritsuka…?” Ritsuko stared at her brother.

Sat on the ground before his sister and Mash, Ritsuka asked, “Are you two okay?”

“Yeah…” At her brother’s gentle grin, Ritsuko nodded and returned the same too.

Mash gave a weak nod and smile, “Yes… Thank you…”

The robotic voice announced, “Coffin vitals: Masters. 

“Baseline not reached.”

“Senpais…” Mash muttered with her head bowed down.

“Hm?” Ritsuka moved his orbs to the bespectacled girl.

Ritsuko tilted her head. “What is it, Mash-chan?”

“Mash-chan, huh…? Didn’t expect you move this fast, Ritsuko” Ritsuka turned back to her sister with a now mischievous smirk on his lips.

Rolled her eyes at the hidden meaning, Ritsuko snorted unladylike. “Oh please, we’re simply friends. And besides, she was the one who saved me earlier.”

“I see,” Shifting back to the bespectacled girl, Ritsuka grinned, “Thank you, Mash. I owe you again.”

Mash gave a weak shook of her head and replied, “No. Because Ritsuko-senpai… Is my friend after all… But…”

“We’ll figure this out,” Ritsuka reassured again. Though their present state caused him doubt their chances of getting out alive.

Strangely, the hooded figure showed him the courage to consider otherwise as he thought. “This looks like the perfect time to test the trustworthiness of his words and the fate here.”

Another robotic voice indicated, “Rayshift requirement not met. 

“Searching for qualifying Master…”

“Um… Sen… Pais…?”

At Mash’s call again, the siblings saw both her hands reaching out to them. She showed a shaky beam and requested, “I’m sorry. Would both of you mind…. Holding my hand?”

“Found,” The electronic voice announced.

“Sure,” Ritsuka responded, dusting his hands onto his shirt before grasping lightly of his right hand to her left.

“It’s all right, Mash-chan. We’ll hold them.” Ritsuko grasped both her hands out to hold Mash’s right hand gently.

Unknown to the three, the electronic voice announced, “Candidate No. 48, Fujimaru Ritsuko reset as Master. 

“Candidate No. 48, Fujimaru Ritsuka reset as Master.”

“Kyuu!” Fou squeaked, noticing that the place rumbled.

Rubbles from roof started to fall to the ground. The resounding impact it made didn’t cower them or the electronic voice as it went on, “Unsummon Program, start. Spiritron Conversion, Start. Rayshift starting in 3. 2. 1.

“All procedures clear. 

“First Order, commencing operation.” 

The last words the Fujimaru siblings before their vision went black accompanied by a vortex of blue light.

End of Fuyuki Prologue