An Innocent Wish

While Chaldea had researched and fine tuned the process of Rayshifting to reduce the strain on a human body, it was still very taxing.  However, the true strain is not in the separation of body and spirit, conversion of spirit into spiritrons to then send back to the target time period or existing for a prolonged period of time at the desired destination.  Those are factors that burden the staff who remain behind to monitor the Rayshifting subject and ensure their intervention into the past is not detected by the Counter Force.  Aside from the environmental dangers the Rayshifter may be exposed to, like dangerously high concentrations of Mana that are present during the Age of Gods, being sent to a target time period is relatively safe… so long as the Rayshifter appears on a solid surface.  The heaviest burden, and thus true measure of Rayshift capacity, is the ease at which the Rayshifter is able to return to their physical body in the present.  And even with all the measures taken to make this process as smooth as possible, the effects of frequent Rayshifting over a long period of time was not something the Chaldea Security Organization had been able to observe before.

As such, when the inept Magus, Ritsuka Fujimaru, returned from yet another Rayshift repairing a minute singularity with seemingly little difficulty, the remaining staff that have survived the Crypter’s attack on Chaldea’s main base in Antarctica were once again impressed at what the boy, who initially was only accepted into the Organization to fill out their numbers, had been able to accomplish.  Even though he bore minor wounds and injuries from the final confrontation with the source of the singularities manifestation, scrapes and bruises such as those would be easily tended to by the many Servants that specialize in healing and healthcare.

However, stepping out of her coffin to the applause and praised being heaped on her and her Master, the lilac-haired Demi-Servant in her form-fitting black and purple spiritron dress wasn’t as enthusiastic as the staff welcoming them back or the other Servants was had also returned with them and rushed to Ritsuka’s side.  “Once again, I wasn’t of much help to Senpai this time…”  Despite being by the young Japanese Master’s side throughout the entire event, other than handling mundane tasks in non-combative situations, whenever combat did break out she was rarely asked to stand on the front lines to intercept the enemy.  Those roles were almost always given to temporarily summoned Servants from Chaldea that would vanish at the end of the battle, leaving her on the back line waiting.  While the physical fatigue from their mission was easy to see and expected on his face, despite his best efforts to hide it was a charming smile, she had been with him the longest and knew him the best.  “He looks so tired, so worn down…”

As the merriment and concern for him carried the young Master out of the Command Room and towards the infirmary for a post-op physical exam and to get his minor injuries tended to, Ritsuka looked back over his shoulder to his trusted kouhai.  “Hey, Mash?  Could you make sure the Holy Grail we got gets into storage?”  The fact that he was able to resist the Heroic Spirits pulling him along at all to make this request wasn’t a testament to his physical strength, but their leniency to allow him to.

His voice catching her attention, the lavender-eyed girl looked up and smiled at him as he was dragged out of the room.  “Yes, Senpai!”  Even if they were drained of their magical energy, the residual Mana within the vessels was dangerous to leave alone.  Picking up the large golden chalice and hugging it into her chest, the Shielder Demi-Servant headed for the vault where all the other Grails they collected were in containment.  “Senpai’s eyes… he looked so lifeless behind that weary smile.”

It was true that Ritsuka had grown considerably since coming to Chaldea years ago, but she could still vividly recall the light of optimism and kindness in his eyes, the jovial tone of his voice, the warmth in his heart as he held her hand.  By comparison, his face as he left the Command Room was rigid as he forced a smile that tried to hide the pain in his heart and the light in his eyes had diminished greatly since his inexperienced days.  His optimism was filtered through desperation and his hands, like the rest of his body, now carried the scars and calluses of their long, tiresome journey.

It was hard enough to fight the enemies, monsters and Phantasmal beasts as a Demi-Servant herself, to say nothing of the Heroic Spirits, Elementals, Divine Spirits and even Beasts of Humanity, but because of his poor aptitude as a Mage, Ritsuka himself was forced to be right on the front lines himself to face such terrifying opponents.  It wasn’t fair to ask a normal human, an average teenage boy, to take such a risk simply to supply Mana to the Servants fighting or try to direct them in battle, and nobody would have blamed him if he hadn’t, but that wasn’t something their Master, her Master would do.  In the heat of battle, it was up to him to make life-or-death decisions, and take on the weight of the lives he couldn’t save, be they allies that joined them or friends that assisted them within the singularity.

However, by far what had taken the biggest toll on him was having to face and accept that, in their fight to restore Proper Human History, the denizens of each Lostbelt they denied were wiped out as a result.  This wasn’t like learning that the people in history that died in a singularity would not be restored by correcting it like Dr. Roman told them near the start of the Grand Order.  By his action and will, Ritsuka himself was deciding that their world took more president than another’s and was now responsible for essentially genocides.

“Maybe it would be more concerning if Senpai didn’t change after all that.  If he were to turn a blind eye to what we have to do for our own survival, Senpai wouldn’t be Senpai…”  She had noticed he was sleeping longer when time allowed, but he did seem to be well rested when he woke up, and when he thought nobody else was watching his smile would slip.  “For Da Vinci-chan and Director Goredolf to not notice and instead focus on his accomplishments is expected I suppose, but it’s not like Holmes to miss something like this… or maybe he already knows there isn’t anything that can be done for Senpai yet and is simply waiting for the right time to say something.”  She knew first hand how amazing, cool and heroic her Senpai could be, but everything he does is amazing because a normal human being shouldn’t be able to do what he has done… not forever anyway.

Entering the room where all the other Holy Grails are kept, physical trophies and reminders of all the hardships Ritsuka has endured and battlefields he’s survived, Mash clutched the one she was holding tight into her chest.

“I just wish I could do more and keep Senpai safe…”

Chaldea Security Organization, Headquarters

????, Antarctica

After thwarting the Human Order Incineration Incident and returning humanity back to the face of the Earth, there was a lot the saviors of the Human Order needed to answer to.  While there was no evidence of the impossible mission they had sacrificed so much to resolve, their unauthorized use of the Rayshifting technology, overuse of the Servant Summoning system, changing of personnel and revealing sensitive information to those without clearance to do so remained.  Thus a thorough investigation by the Clock Tower and UN threatened to see to the immediate disbanding and dismantling of the organization.  However, there were two major factors that allowed Chaldea to continue operating and being granted more autonomy than before.

First was the appearance of the Pseudo-Singularities, each caused by a remnant of the force that originally tried to wipe out the Human Order to recreate humanity as they saw fit.  Several of these events had a tangible effect on the modern world, and the perpetrators involved served as a measure of the evidence to prove the validity of their reports of Goetia and the Seven Singularities they overcame to complete the Grand Order.  However, this alone wasn’t enough to keep Chaldea’s continued functionality off the chopping block, as any form of time travel posed a serious threat to the modern era, which is why it was so heavily regulated to begin with.

It wasn’t until the investigation, and interrogation, of Chaldea and it’s staff was interrupted by a surprise attack for a  black clad, masked armed force that Chaldea was given the opportunity to redeem itself, though at a heavy price.  The attack of the Oprichnik, lead by the Crypter Kadoc Zemlupus and his Caster Servant, Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova, was only as successful as it was thanks to Koyanskaya’s subterfuge and sabotage.  However, even though all of the Servants previously contracted with Chaldea’s only remaining Master, there were a couple unexpected complications that lead to the failure of the otherwise perfectly executed attack.

First was the fact that Ruler Class Servant, Sherlock Holmes had manifested in Chaldea and kept a secret by Leonardo Da Vinci as a sort of insurance policy for the unexpected.  However, the other came in the form of the Spirit Origin that had been implanted in the Shielder Demi-Servant, Mash Kyrielight.  While her connection to the Heroic Spirit that had been manifested through her body had been effectively severed in the final battle against Goetia, the was an unexpected mutation in her Saint Graph during one of the later Singularities that stayed with her, her own, personal Noble Phantasm that manifested from her innocent wish to keep her Master safe.  During the Oprichnik attack, when her redheaded Senpai had the barrel of a gun directed at her, Mash was able to regain her powers as a Demi-Servant and thanks to the circumstance of the attack matching her Noble Phantasm perfectly, she was able to drive the invaders out of Chaldea.

While they weren’t able to stop the descent of the seven pillars of light, a measure of humanity was able to be relocated to Chaldea through the use of transportation Magecraft and the re-summoning of the Heroic Spirits that were still on file before the dome of white branches bleached the Earth’s surface and wiped out the human race.  Chaldea was able to resist the bleaching and has been launching assaults into the various Lostbelts that the Crypters maintain.

However, the Chaldea Security Organization wasn’t the only facility that was able to avoid destruction, as thanks to that fact that it exists in a realm between the world of man and the Reverse Side of the World, the Wandering Sea, Balderland, was also able to escape the whitening of the world and established communication with Chaldea.  Being an Independent Singularity itself, travel between the two bases was possible by Rayshift capable personnel and with the collective minds of heads from the Clock Tower and Atlas Institute, they were steadily pushing back against the Crypters attempt to supplant Proper Human History with one from one of their Lostbelts.

Having just returned from their newer facility built within the Wandering Sea for their joint operation, the figurehead of Humanity’s hope, Mash Kyrielight, was making her rounds to ensure all the other Servants, particularly the Evil-aligned ones, were behaving.  Even though she was mostly following her Master’s orders when they repelled the assault on Chaldea, it still stood as fact that she almost single-handedly fought off the merciless invaders by herself and that without her shield, Chaldea wouldn’t have been able to resist the bleaching of Earth.

So, for those residing in both Chaldea proper and even the somewhat jaded Mages that moved into the Chaldea Novum facility in the Wandering Sea, seeing the lilac-haired Demi-Servant was both reassuring and somewhat intimidating.  Adopting a new uniform while performing her non-Servant duties, the form-fitting, short black office dress was reminiscent of the loose dress she wore before, as it still had the white collar for her tie, but her sleek silhouette wasn’t hidden under her white and grey hooded sweater anymore.  With her shoulders exposed and professional, short heels, she carried herself with the air of maturity that she had been lacking before.

The sharp ‘clack’ of her heels on the tiled floors drew the eyes of the staff as she passed, most looking away when she turned her sharp gaze towards them.  The amber of her eyes was reminiscent of the many Alters that took no issue with threatening anyone that annoyed them, which was mostly anyone that wasn’t particular Servants or the Master that summoned them.  While the aversion to maintaining direct eye contact with her concerned the young Demi-Servant at first, now she took a bit of pleasure in it, since it also served as a measure of the progress she had made.  The stronger she became, the more others avoided meeting her gaze, that is with the exception of her Master, the other Servants and the remaining original staff of Chaldea.

“Uh… um, M-Miss Kyrielight?”  Calling out to the Shielder as she passed, a young man in the Mage’s Association Uniform approached her nervously.

Stopping, she looked over her shoulder at him.  “Hm?  Yes?”

Trying to gather himself, it wasn’t clear if his nervousness came from admiration of her reputation or intimidation of her demeanor, but he was blushing quite a bit.  “W-Would you happen to kn-know where Miss Gudako is?”

“Looking for Senpai?  Then that should mean…”  As the self-appointed personal aid and secretary of Chaldea’s most important Master, there were times when Mash was the only one who could get in contact with the spirited redhead, though only the higher-ups seemed to understand why.  “If you have business with Master, I can deliver your message for you.”

“R-Right… um, well…”  Fumbling with the tablet he was holding, the dark haired youth showed her the screen.  “Technical Advisor Da Vinci noticed a minute Singularity is forming, and with the other Teams busy preparing to investigate the other Lostbelts, wanted Miss Gudako to handle this.”

Taking the tablet from the young Mage, Mash reviewed the readings from the Singularity.  “With readings like this, it’s likely just a Holy Grail fragment or something.”  Handing the tablet back, she smiled but crossed her arms under her bosom.  “Master just recently resolved another Singularity and formed four more contracts with Heroic Spirits just the other day.  She’ll need another two days of rest before I’ll allow her to be deployed again, understood?”  When it came to the health and safety of her Master, there was no question.  Mages thought of little other than getting results, preferably the results they calculate they should obtain, but results were paramount.  They were often quick to neglect the well-being of others, though from the energy levels of the reading she saw, Da Vinci likely noticed this even earlier and held off on reporting it to give Gudako more time to rest already.

“W-Well, I was told this n-needed to be resolved as soon as possible…”  Despite being taller and just a bit more muscular than the girl in front of him, he felt like he was being stared down upon by a mighty predator deciding whether he was prey or not.

Or rather, it felt like his life was already within her grasp, standing on her palm with no way to escape.  The gleam in her gaze as she narrowed her uncovered eye and the glistening of her recently wetted, soft lips made his back start to sweat.  He knew of the feats Servants could perform and that Mash was no weaker than most, but for all the files and records he had read and watched, all the enemies he knew she had vanquished, he couldn’t take his eyes off her mouth.  His legs began to shake as they tried to support his body, which now felt like a lead weight atop flimsy beams of straw.  The original staff of Chaldea assured everyone that the Shielder Demi-Servant would never hurt them… but rumors were abound about all the different kinds of Servants that the redheaded Mage had summoned.  Man-eating monsters, world-ending calamities and fickle deities walked the halls of the facility, and Mash kept them all in check.  While he couldn’t confirm it himself, there were also rumors of people disappearing without a trace…

When she opened her mouth to speak though, he panicked for some instinctual reason he didn’t understand.  “B-Bu-But if you say two days is the soonest it can be done, th-then that’s what I’ll report!”  Bowing politely, he quickly turned and hastily retreated down a nearby corridor.

Surprised by his abrupt outburst, Mash giggled to herself and smiled a sweet, but also slightly menacing smile as she likewise turned to continue towards her original destination.  “It’s not like I was going to impose a ‘Punishment’ on him.”  As much as she wished she could use her new Noble Phantasm on some of the more… abrasive Mages from the Clock Tower whenever they’d belittle her Master for her poor aptitude as a Magus, Mash wouldn’t actually do something like that.  “Senpai?  Senpai, can you hear me?  Are you awake?”  Establishing a telepathic connection with her beloved Master, she heard a long, drawn out yawn in her head and sighed.  “Senpai.  What did I tell you about sleeping in the middle of the day?  I can’t have you up all night.”

“Hmm…?  I…  I’m not sleeping… you’re sleeping…”  With another very noticeable, drawn out yawn, the last of the original 48 Master Candidates brought to Chaldea replied groggily.  “Also, morning Mash.”

Smiling to herself a bit, it was understandable that Gudako would be so tired given all the missions and deployments she is constantly asked to complete.  If she had her way, Mash would allow her precious Senpai to relax forever, just resolving the Incineration of Humanity had earned her at least that, yet the Crypter, her former teammates, had robbed the redhead of that.  However, Mash also knew that she couldn’t spoil the young woman either, despite all of her hard work.  “Da Vinci detected a new, minute Singularity and since you have so much time on your hands, I volunteered you to go resolve it, Senpai.  Doesn’t that sound like fun?”

“Ehhhh?  Another deployment?  But I just got back from a mission…   Can’t I just stay in my Mashtopia instead?  I’m tired and just want to relax here forever.”  While she generally composes herself with much more maturity while performing her duties, there are few times outside when it was just the two of them that Gudako allowed herself to behave so childishly.  Sure, she can be goofy sometimes or just go along with the insanity that comes with the people they meet and circumstances they become involved in, but this was a side of her very few got to see.  “Besides, couldn’t you just go resolve it Mash?  There aren’t a lot of enemies that can withstand your Punishments anymore.”

“Senpai, if you’re going to become a layabout, good-for-nothing, I’ll be forced to kick you out until you can earn your keep again.”  Even though she appreciated the full confidence her Master had in her abilities, as Gudako’s secretary Mash couldn’t allow her to become complacent.  Relying on her is fine, she would always be her Master’s shield and sanctuary, but that also meant she could perform her duties without worry.  “And here I was thinking I could reward you if you were a good girl when we got back.  Now I’ll have to think of an appropriate ‘punishment’ for my lazy Master…”

“...Fine!  I’ll go investigate the stupid Singularity… but I want two more days at least…”  Even without seeing the young Japanese girl’s face, Mash could envision the pouty face she was making.

Giggling to herself as she opened the door to her room, Mash loosened her tie and undid the top few buttons of her shirt as she laid down on her bed.  “I had a feeling you’d say that.  What am I going to do with you, Senpai?”

“Keep me in your ‘Camelot’ forever?”

“If I could, I would.”  Keeping that thought to herself, there had been many times the diligent Demi-Servant thought about running off with the overburdened redhead.

With so many other Mages in Chaldea now, she wasn’t the only one able to summon Heroic Spirits anymore… though she was the only one, even with support from the FATE system, who was able to maintain more than just a couple contracts at the same time.  It was still a complete mystery how some of the best and most powerful Mages of the modern era struggled to contract with more than three Servants at a time while Gudako by this point had well over two hundred ongoing contracts.  But it wasn’t like Gudako herself still needed to be at Chaldea, just forming the connection and recording the Saint Graphs in Chaldea’s databases was enough for other Mages to form their own contracts now.  Having Gudako around just meant more Servants could be on hand in the base.  If Mash were able to take her somewhere far away, a place where she’d be safe and could live happily, she would in a heartbeat.

Rubbing her stomach as she stared up at the ceiling, she poked at an area a bit higher than her belly button and smiled.  “My, you’re rather deep today.”

Mash’s Camelot

Undisclosed

Laying on a floor of undulating flesh, even without a light source, Gudako was able to see just fine.  It was warm and comforting, and while others may take issue with calling it a utopia, she had no better word to describe it.  Wrapped in a gentle aura that sustained her body, the redhead had no need to breathe and could even forgo eating and sleeping if she chose to do so.  The warmth of her surroundings was never uncomfortable and the heavy odor hanging in the air was something she had long since grown accustomed to.

Even without anything to do in the paradise her kouhai created, Gudako wasn’t bored.  Just listening to the steady beat of a distant heart was so relaxing, and it wasn’t always just her either.  Through her Noble Phantasm, Mash could invite anyone into her utopia to visit the redhead whenever she’d allow.

“My, you’re rather deep today.”  As the world around her settled from some turbulent motion that changed up the orientation of the gravity, Gudako stretched out and inhaled deeply of the pungent, addictive scent swirling around her.

“Yeah, well somebody decided to order beans and toast from Boudica last night.”  Remembering the powerful winds that rushed through Mash’s Camelot the night previous, she wasn’t exactly complaining, simply stating her reasons.  “I was almost blown out of your body while you were sleeping, so I traveled deeper to avoid being unknowingly evicted.”

Remembering the tasty, traditional Welsh dish the red-haired queen prepared for her the night previous, Mash couldn’t help but giggle that such a small thing caused her Senpai a bit of trouble.  It wasn’t so easy to exit her utopia that a bit of gas could blow someone out, but having Gudako crawl deeper into her intestines to avoid it was a pleasant reminder of how much she enjoyed herself in her.  “Senpai, how could you be worried over a bit of g-huh?”  As she was about to tease the tiny Master residing in her bowels a bit, Mash felt something grab hold of her senses.  While the sensation was different from drowsiness or intoxication, it’s effect of creating a dissonance in how she perceived the world was similar.  It was as if she was sinking further into her bed while simultaneously floating off of it, and the room was fading from her view.  “What’s happening?!”

“I just wish I could do more and keep Senpai safe…”

Recognizing not just the voice, but also the tone in which it was spoken, Mash empathized with the innocent wish.  The wisher was just like how she used to be.  A self with a fragile strength, not yet resolved to do as was needed for her Senpai.  Still too afraid to impose her will on those around her without being pushed to the point that she couldn’t turn away anymore…  A self that just watched helplessly as her Senpai broke down in tears from the weight of responsibility she had taken on herself.  Images flooded her mind of a journey she never embarked on, with a dark-haired man she never met before but loved with all of her heart as she did with her Senpai.

“Ah… so there is another Senpai that needs this strength.  Another Senpai to protect… to guide…”  The force pulling on her too strong to resist even if she wanted to, Mash closed her amber eyes and smiled as everything faded to white.

The Wandering Sea, Novum Chaldea

????, Northern Atlantic Ocean

Clutching the most recent Holy Grail they collected tightly to her chest, just thinking of all the hardships she had witnessed Ritsuka endure made Mash feel so powerless.  He protected the world countless times, got no recognition for it and instead got interrogated for his efforts.  Yet when the ones that denied him needed his help again, he didn’t hesitate to step onto unknown battlefields once again.  But she could see the cracks forming in his heart with each Lostbelt they denied.  “Senpai…  Senpai…”  Falling to her knees, sitting on the floor, with nobody watching Mash couldn’t keep her tears from welling up as she wondered what would be her Master’s breaking point.  “Senpai… please…  You’ve done enough.”

As selfish as it was, a small part of her wanted to care for the teen boy more than protecting humanity.  When weighing the nebulous concept of the ‘world’ with the person she could hold in her arms, she’d toss the world aside for her Senpai, her Master, her friend and most cherished, if she had too.  Especially if it was the cause of the pain and anguish that he desperately hid from her and his other Servants, even if he’d never ask her too.  From this one small, despairing, part of herself, she could vividly see what she feared the most to come, the young Magus doubled over on the floor, a hand clutching his chest as he beat his fist against the ground until it bled.  His charming face scrunched up as tears stained his cheeks, wailing out as the pain was too much, the pressure too heavy and sacrifice too great for him to process.

But from that image, she started to hear it.  A voice unfamiliar and yet all the same unmistakable, screaming until her voice went hoarse only to cry out even.  Her vision of Ritsuka, continuously beating his fist against the ground shifted, his shoulders becoming more slender and soft, his arms thinner and less muscular.  The black pants of his uniform turned into stockings and a skirt and his dark hair grew out, blossoming into a vibrant, brilliant red, tied off to the side of her head with a yellowish-orange scrunchy.

From this vision of a girl she had never met, memories she had never made flooded into Mash’s head, of a meeting and journey similar to hers with her Master, but different altogether.  An alternative route to stopping Goetia, traveling to Singularities that seemed as beautiful, wondrous and dangerous as any of the lands she traveled to with Ritsuka, with fights no less perilous and encounters no less forgettable or enjoyable.  Even with the heat radiating from the object she held to her chest, Mash couldn’t help but be fascinated by the adventure that she hadn’t witnessed play out in her mind, all leading up to the scene before her of a Master finally succumbing to a responsibility too great for any normal human to endure.  It was a failing on her part that she had yet to commit, but inevitable if she did nothing, changed nothing.

“But what can I possibly…?”  While she had been able to regain some of her abilities as a Demi-Servant since the attack on Chaldea, Mash’s new combat capabilities paled in comparison to those she had while Galahad still dwelt inside of her.  She was all too aware of the drop in her strength, and it was only by a miracle of circumstance that she had been able to support Ritsuka well enough to postpone such a breakdown so far, but with the shape her Spirit Origin was in now…

“Be stronger.”  Inside her head, a voice identical to her own whispered to her from within her Spirit Origin, like an echo.  “Protect our Senpai.”

“But how- yeeep!”  As the voice faded, Mash felt something pass into her from the Grail she was holding and bounced from the unexpected sensation.  Looking at the golden chalice, for a moment it looked like her reflection was smiling back at her with a stern but supportive expression in her amber eye which vanished with a blink.  “What was that?  Oh no!  I… there was still some magical energy in this and I used it!  What do I do?”  Panicking at the accidental use of a powerful relic, the lilac-haired Demi-Servant couldn’t even understand why it did what it did.

“Hey?  Mash?  What happened?”  In her head, she heard the voice of the red-haired girl she just had a vision of trying to communicate with her, seemingly just as confused as she was.  “I don’t know what it is, but everything feels… different now.”

“Huh?  Who-!?”  Even though she hadn’t met the girl before, a name as precious to her as ‘Fujimaru Ritsuka’ came to mind as Mash was trying to figure everything out.  “Gudako… san?”  Referring to the girl with ‘-san’ felt weird and wrong.  “But how is a person from fake memories…?”

“Fake memories?  Mash, what are you…?  Wait, that tone.  You’re not my Mash!  Wh-Where am I?  Mash?  Mash, where are you!”  Freaking out, the teen girl called out for her Servant but received no reply.

Or at least, not the one she was expecting.  “Wait, wait.  Please calm down, Gudako… senpai(?).”  There was generally no end to strange visitors showing up in Chaldea, but they were usually Servants wandering in for some reason or another.  Somehow, Mash knew that the girl she was communicating with wasn’t just human, but also bound to her in a Master/Servant contract if she was able to establish a telepathic bond.  “I don’t know what you mean by ‘your’ Mash, but I am the only Mash Kryielight here, Demi-Servant to Fujimaru Ritsuka.”  Trying to quickly grasp the unprecedented situation she found herself in, Mash had already formulated three possibilities for what had actually happened.  “And you’re Fujimaru Gudako… are you not?  Where are you, and how are you talking to me?”

“Y-Yes, I am, but I don’t know what’s happening.  I was just relaxing in my Mash but then there was a sudden jolt and everything felt… off.”  Even without speaking, there was a trepidation to the girl’s words.  “Mash and I were just talking, then I was talking to you.  Do you know where she is?”

Looking around, there was no sign of anyone other than herself in the room.  Having multiple versions of the same Servant wasn’t anything Chaldea, but with the exclusion of Divine Spirits possessing compatible human vessels, the only current case of two Pseudo-Servants sharing an altered Spirit Origin on file were Assassin and Saber Ryogi Shiki.  While the nuance of her own circumstances were a bit different than those of Pseudo-Servants, it was probably possible for another version of herself to one day come to Chaldea.  However, there was nobody else in the room with her.

“I’m sorry, Gudako-senpai, but I am not seeing anyone else here.  I believe I heard someone speak in my head with my voice before you started talking to me, but if you meant to speak with that version of me instead…”  With no real evidence to support the prominent theory she was formulating, if the new memories in her head were indeed the experiences of an alternate version of herself residing within her, then it would stand to reason that rather than cross over into this world as a new existence, the other Mash instead synchronized with her Spirit Origin.  The main difference between a Demi-Servant like her and Pseudo-Servants was that she lacked a Spiritual Form that would make it easier to travel to different dimensions.

“This… this doesn’t make any sense.  I was just relaxing in my Mash, and then in the middle of our conversation I was talking with you.”  Not being able to wrap her head around what was happening, Gudako’s panic was starting to get to her.  “Where is this place?  What’s going to happen to me?”

The question of what was going to happen to the alleged interdimensional traveler raised a more important revelation.  While Chaldea had been infiltrated a number of times in the past, it generally took some sort of Presence Concealment skill or interference by a powerful being to not set off the alarms in place to warn of intruders.  If Gudako really was in the facility somewhere, why were there no alarms going off?

Sure that the resident master detective would have put all the pieces together by now, as an avid Holmesian herself, Mash wanted to get to the bottom of his mystery herself.  However, even as she asked the question, she felt like she knew the answer already and held a hand to her stomach.  “Um, Gudako-senpai?  You keep saying you were ‘in’ your Mash, not ‘with’ her.  What do you mean by that?”

“Huh?  What do you mean ‘what do you mean’?  You obviously have ‘Form Camelot’… don’t you?”  This news was not helping the redhead’s anxiety of being transported to a strange place by herself.

“‘Form Camelot’?  Is that a Noble Phantasm different from ‘Lord Camelot’ and ‘Mold Camelot’?  Please, I’m just as confused as you are, Senpai.”  Nothing was becoming any clearer, nor would it if they panicked.  The first thing Mash needed to focus on was calming Gudako down.  “Could you tell me more about it?”

Unknown Camelot?

Mash(?)

Even though she was different from her Mash, the kindness and concern in her voice was exactly the same, which went a long way in helping Gudako compose herself.  It wasn’t like this was the first time she had found herself in a strange place, completely cut off from her friends and allies, with nothing but the Mystic Code on her back.  If anything, despite being in the bowels of another living creature, this was likely the safest place she’d ever been transported to.

There was something that was different about this ‘Camelot’ as opposed to her own Mash’s utopia, but it was difficult to put into words.  With all the time she spent in her Mash, it was a feeling that likely only she could notice, since even the most affectionate of Servants back in her Chaldea couldn’t stand residing in Mash for extended lengths of time.  Yet at the same time, it was familiar enough that, deep down, reassured her that she was still in good, if a bit inexperienced, hands.

Taking a deep breath and savoring the heavy scent of another Mash’s bowels, Gudako got her emotions and thoughts in order.  “You’re right.  Sorry about that Mash, I lost myself for a second there.”  Sitting down she reclined into the warm, squishy flesh tunnel that surrounded her.  “My Mash lost her Noble Phantasm after we defeated Goetia at the Temple of Time, so I don’t know what your ‘Mold Camelot’ is, but ‘Form Camelot’ was the strength she manifested to defeat the Crypters when they attack our Chaldea.”

“You actually fought them off!?  We were forced to flee and perform a Zero Sail at the last moment when Kadoc, Anastasia, Koyanskaya and Rasputin attacked with the Oprichnik.”  Impressed by the great achievement, given the size of the invasion force and the strength of ones that led them, Mash had to wonder what kind of powerful Noble Phantasm ‘Form Camelot’ had to be.

It was a memory that was burned into the teen girl’s mind, as unforgettable and inspiring as it was terrifying.  “I can still see it, the barrel of a gun pointed at my head and the unfeeling mask of the Oprichnik soldier that was ready to execute me.  There was nothing any of us could do, they were strong enough to fight Servants, and we had been forced to cancel all of the contracts I made with Servants over the course of the Grand Order.  Mash’s body was unable to handle the strain of transforming into her combat form too, though it was a miracle she was even alive at all, but even that was about to be snuffed out.  We were defenseless, which was exactly what they were waiting for.  Sure, they didn’t know about Holmes since he and Da Vinci-chan falsified the report of his departure since he manifested on his own, and had been on his way to save us but before he could act, Mash’s emotions outweighed her rationality.  She knew if she fought that she'd likely die, but chose to use her barely functioning Spirit Origin to protect her friends and punish those that dared bare their fangs at us.”

Within her own memories, Mash could vividly recall the similar events of their own experiences with assault that forced them to abandon their home, and the sacrifices that came with that escape.

“Her new Noble Phantasm, Form Camelot, was the manifestation of that desire.  Da Vinci-chan, after the attack was repelled, formally named it ‘Form Camelot - The Distant Utopia That Resides Within Me’ since it sequestered allies into a sanctuary inside of her body, which is what I mean when I say I’m ‘in’ my Mash.  Since it is supposed to be a place where no fighting is necessary, it cleanses all buffs and debuffs affecting everyone while they’re inside it and applies a number of defensive buffs and continuous healing to someone that leaves it for a short time.  It also can trap and continuously damage enemies, using their own Mana to heal her own wounds and perpetuate the duration of the Noble Phantasm.”  While she was still very fond of her Mold Camelot, Mash couldn’t help but be envious of the powerful offensive capabilities and impressive protective properties of Form Camelot.  “Because there were so many Oprichnik soldiers, Mash was able to constantly redeploy her Noble Phantasm, defeating Kadoc’s Servant as well as Koyanskaya and Father Kotomine and capturing Kadoc.”

“Wow, that’s amazing!  We still haven’t been able to defeat Koyanskaya or Rasputin, so they sometimes come and interfere as we’re clearing the Lostbelts.”  Even though they had been forced to cooperate with the founder and leader of the NFF Services a couple of times already, Mash couldn’t deny that she was still more than a bit upset with the Alter Ego Servant ever since she used such a deadly poison on her Senpai.  Hearing that there was a version of her that beat her before she could do the same in an alternate timeline was both satisfying and reassuring.  “But, wait…  If you were currently in Form Camelot, does that mean you were in combat just now?”

Mash’s Camelot

Large Intestines

“Oh, no, no.  I just like it in Mash.  Technically, after the first time she used it, Form Camelot doesn’t create a new utopia each time she deploys it, but instead transports allies and enemies into the permanent ‘accommodations’ that remain in her permanently.  While I was able to keep myself together during the Restoration of Humanity… clearing Lostbelts has been difficult for me.”  Remembering her more foolish, and in a way self-destructive coping methods in the past, Gudako hugged her knees into her chest and leaned back into the comforting fleshy walls around her.  Even if it wasn’t her Mash, it was still comforting all the same.  “If you’ve been fighting Crypters over here, then I’m sure you’ve experienced it too.  The… responsibility of denying a Lostbelt establishing itself as a foundation of humanity.  It’s heavy.  Too heavy.”  Through the subtleties of how a person’s body physically expresses their emotions, because Mash is Mash no matter which world she is in, Gudako felt the Demi-Servant’s confliction with their mission.  The change in breathing rhythm, the quickening of her heart rate, the tensing of muscles.

“Senpai… he’s doing everything he can, but…”  The depth of her concern for her Master in this world was profoundly conveyed, and the redhead didn’t need elaboration to understand.

“Since we defeated Kadoc first, clearing the Russia Lostbelt wasn’t difficult, especially with how effective Mash’s new Noble Phantasm was against large armies.  But when I learned what denying a Lostbelt meant… I bottled it up.  Even if I didn’t fully know it at the time, after what I did in Russia, I couldn’t let myself stop or else I wiped out all of those people for nothing.  I couldn’t stop, I wouldn’t stop.  And with each Lostbelt after that I worked that much harder to make the sacrifices worth it.  Even as I was questioned and asked if the Proper Human History was worth denying all of those peaceful timelines, I couldn’t just let myself and my friends vanish without a fight.  So I fought, and fought, and fought, and fought.  Through South-East Asia, Mash tried to stop me so many times, telling me to rest, to take care of myself or just to talk to her… but I wouldn’t listen.”  Looking back now, she could see how unhealthy of a mind set that was.  Even in the moment she knew, but the weight of entire worlds pushed her forward.  “My smiles became a mask to hide the pain, and each time someone tried to talk to me, I’d always say the same thing. ‘I’m fine’, ‘Really, it’s no big deal’, and ‘I’m the only one who can do it’.  Nobody could get through to me… until after that mission where I ran into Peperoncino, when we cleared the second Lostbelt.  She saw right through me, and while she was able to escape in the chaos of the final battle, she got to me with her parting farewell.  If it wasn’t for Mash, I don’t think I would have escaped.”

Until then, her Mash had never used Form Camelot on her, or anybody, without their consent, but that didn’t stop the Mages and non-combat staff, all the people that she had rescued that knew from fearing what she could do.  Mash had the ability to keep non-Servants in her Camelot indefinitely if she so wished, it took next to no effort for her, so those that didn’t know the lilac-haired girl as well as the surviving members of Chaldea’s original staff felt they were only free from her bowels of her own benevolence.  While Gudako knew Mash would never leave someone in her for longer than to guarantee their safety, the fearful attitudes of those in charge that knew of her ability spread to those that didn’t.

“And when we got back to base… I broke.  I cried and screamed until I passed out, questioning if what I was doing was right.  Despite me yelling at her to leave me alone, Mash stayed by my side the entire time, holding me down by force to keep me from hurting myself then embracing me gently when I finally calmed down.”  As belligerent as she was at the time, Gudako wasn’t able to see how much it hurt her adorable kouhai to see her like that.  Behind the kind smile in the face of unwarranted insults and self-deprecation, Mash was in as much pain as her.  “After that, Mash stopped being so… lenient with me.  She acted as an intermediary between me and the higher ups, whether they liked it or not, and managed my schedule so that I’d never overwork and stress myself out like that again.  There was resistance from some of the Clock Tower Mages, of course… but Mash wouldn’t back down and kept pushing them as far as necessary to get her way.  I don’t think she ever actually threatened any of them, but she wouldn’t correct any misinterpretations either, which alienated her from everyone who didn’t know her.  And of course, she had me spend more and more time in her body after my breakdown.  While I trusted Mash with my life, at first it felt a bit odd but after I got used to it in here I became more and more reluctant to leave.  Surrounded by Mash, I was so safe and protected, I could rest comfortably without worry and I could talk to her about anything that bothered me.  It was a paradise like no other.”

And even if the new ‘utopia’ she found herself in wasn’t the same as the one she was so familiar with, Gudako could feel the same sort of assurance and potential comfort as she nuzzled into the intestinal walls around her.

Relieved that her other self was about to help and properly support the redhead in their world, there was only one thing of immediate concern to her.  “I’m so happy to hear that, Gudako-senpai.  I’ll have to do my best to help Senpai so he doesn’t have to experience something similar… but what kind of place is this ‘utopia’ that Form Camelot creates?  You keep saying that you’re ‘inside’ of your Mash, but is that because the Reality Marble it creates was contained within her body to make it easier to maintain?”

“No… not quite.”  Thinking about how to best explain how the Noble Phantasm functioned, and why it unnerved so many people, Gudako wasn’t sure she even understood it well enough herself.  “Hmm…  Well, if you have my Mash’s memories, you should already know how to use it and what it does.”

Though she had been receiving snippets of the other Mash’s memories whenever Gudako mentioned an event or person, Mash was avoiding actively searching through the massive amount of information that she had received.  It didn’t feel like another person’s life that she was prying into, but at the same time it was distinct from her own and she didn’t want to get the two confused.  However, through a combination of visions of enemies and monsters flying towards her as well as conversations with a number of allies and enemies pulled into her Noble Phantasm, Mash understood the underlying principles of how Form Camelot functioned and blushed.  “I eat them!?”

There was no better, succinct way of summarizing the activation of the foreign Noble Phantasm.  Both allies and enemies are drawn towards her mouth through a powerful vacuum force and reduced in size to pass through the opening to her personal ‘Camelot’, her mouth!  She can then send her allies to her intestines, keep them in her mouth, send them to her breasts or hide them away in her uterus or womb and can move them between each location at will.  Her enemies, however,  are trapped in her stomach where she’d attempt to digest them and use their magical energies to perpetuate the combat functions of the Noble Phantasm.  In particular, she recalled her conversation with Koyanskaya and how she teased the cold, merciless woman each time she’d manage to escape her stomach only to reactivate the Noble Phantasm from the energy she got from the Oprichnik soldiers that she was able to digest.  It only took a couple of uses, but the pink-haired disguised fox woman perished in the other Mash’s belly, which she was able to tell contributed greatly to the ease they had to clearing their Lostbelts.

Giggling at the innocent reaction to the true function of the powerful technique, Gudako remembered teasing her Mash after she fought off the first assault.  “My Mash was such a glutton too.  Even though the enemy’s Magic Resistance can protect them from it, near the end of our fight in South America she was actually able to use it on the Lostbelt’s King, Tezcatlipoca and defeat him with it.  I told her her waistline was going to hate her for that one.  Luckily for her, Form Camelot transforms enemies into 100% Mana.”

An image of the powerful Aztec deity flashed through Mash’s mind at the mention of the battle, an immense jaguar-like creature that stood at the shoulders taller than any of the Demon God Pillars she had faced before.  In particular, the look of utter shock on his face as he was sucked into a body so much smaller than his own was a bit humorous, if she was being honest.  “But there’s no way I could…  Wait!  Does that mean you’re…”  Poking at her midsection, Mash’s face turned a uniform shade of red as she realized where the girl she had been talking to had been the entire time.

“Your bowels are a lot like my Mash’s.  Very warm and squishy, it’s very relaxing.”  By her tone, it sounded like Gudako had no problem with where she was and no intentions of asking to be released.

Freaking out that she had been holding a person in such a filthy space, let alone someone who felt as precious to her as Ritsuka did, Mash quickly found the method to release occupants from her ‘paradise’.  “Hold on a moment!  I’ll get you out in a moment.”

“Wait, don’t!  If I really am in an alternate timeline now, that means I’d be a foreign existence in your world.  Form Camelot protects those inside it, but there’s no telling how your world might reject me if I come out.”  There was some truth to what the redhead was saying, enough to make Mash reconsider her course of action.  “Right now, we know I’m safe in here, plus I basically lived in Mash back in my world.  Could I stay for now?  Or is it too much trouble?”

“I mean…  It's not a problem for me.  I probably wouldn’t have even noticed you if you didn’t call out to me, but I can’t believe that someone would want to stay in my… my…  in there.”  The embarrassment becoming her main concern since it seemed like those inside her were granted various protections, Mash wasn’t sure if she’d ever get used to the idea.  “Musashi was able to travel between worlds just fine, are you sure you don’t want to come out?”

“But Musashi is… different, a special case among special cases thanks to her Mystic Eye.  It literally makes the wielder’s desired result as ‘inevitable’, so she wouldn’t travel to any world that would fundamentally reject her.  I might not have been so lucky.”  Though it might have been a pessimistic way of looking at it, there was merit in that despite the hardships she encounters on her travels, Musashi does seem to manage to not get the attention of the Counter Force wherever she goes.  And as someone strong enough to fight Servants, that was quite unusual.  “C’mon Mash, please?”

Rubbing her belly, Mash couldn't think of a counter, as much as she wanted to.  Though with her persistence and lack of even a single complaint, Mash sighed and gave in.  “Okay, but if you want to come out, just let me know.”  Standing up, Mash finished what she actually came into the room for, namely safely storing the now truly empty magical wish granting artifact in a containment field.

“Thanks Mash!  You’re the best.”  Taking comfort in how content her little tenant was with her living arrangements, Mash smiled as she exited the room.  Now she could fully understand the final message from her other self.

“Be stronger.  Protect our Senpai.”

“I promise I will.”

The Next Morning

After spending most of the night talking with Gudako about her adventures and missions, Mash was worried that getting up and going about her duties would disturb the sleeping redhead.  While getting up proved to be fine, she was still a bit more conscious of how she was walking to ensure she didn’t wake her up.  Standing more straight, taking more controlled steps, keeping her arms folded in front of her as she walked, it had far fewer unnecessary movements compared to how she normally walked.  As she turned the corner to approach the dark-haired teen Magus’ room, she was surprised to see him coming out, already dressed in the black and grey Arctic region version of the Chaldea uniform.

“Senpai?  Where are you going?  You only just got back yesterday, you need to rest properly!”  Rushing over to him, she grabbed the sleeve of his shirt to keep him from walking off.  Thanks to Servants like Irisveil, Medea Lily and Asclepius, his external injuries were all healed up, but he still looked to be in terrible shape.

However, he still did his best to offer her a weak smile.  “Oh, morning Mash.  You’re looking as cute as ever.”  Resting a hand on her head, he tried to get her to let go of his shirt.  “We need way more Genesis Eggs for all the new Servants I’ve been summoning, so I was about to head out to collect some.  I’m sure Rama will be happy to get to throw around his Noble Phantasm too.”

There was little risk to him going out to gather resources, but it didn’t look like he had gotten much, if any, sleep at all.  Even if it was just a minute Singularity that they cleared the day prior, the strain of such frequent Rayshifts only added to the deterioration of his mental health.  “Can’t you do that tomorrow?  You need to sleep more.  Please, just rest for today.”

Chuckling softly, he pulls her hand away from his sleeve.  “You’re such a worrywart Mash.  It’s no big deal.”  As if to dismiss her concerns entirely, he turned to head towards the Command Room.  “I’m fine.”

The young Magus’ nonchalant dismissal of his own well being, the words that he chose to try to reassure her, instead brought memories from her other self to the surface of her mind.  Seeing the red-haired teen dressed in a similar outfit as she pushed herself further and further, not resting or taking care of herself until she was doubled over on the ground crying her heart out.  Because of the differences in their journeys, it had taken Ritsuka a bit longer than Gudako, but he was nearing his breaking point.

Clenching her hands into fists, Mash reached out and grabbed the young Master before he got too far, dragging him back into his room.  “Please, Senpai… if only just today, rest.”  Blocking the door so he couldn’t get out, it was all she could do to hold back the tears as she stared at the floor.

Ritsuka, while surprised a bit by her forceful methods, could see that she had his best interests in mind.  However, he couldn’t afford to simply do nothing for an entire day.  “Mash, I know you’re worried, but we need more resources to fight the Crypters.  I’m the only one who ca-!”

“I SAID ‘REST’!”  Cutting him off, her voice almost cracking from the frustration at herself for allowing him to push himself for so long, she wasn’t going to let him burn himself out.

To see the timid Demi-Servant assert herself so uncompromisingly was a rare sight, especially out of combat.  Ritsuka couldn’t think of the last time she raised her voice at him, so he was taken aback by it.  “Uh… s-sure.  Yeah, you’re right Mash, sorry.”  Despite still wanting to spend the day gathering more resources, he couldn’t fight those fierce, tearful eyes.

Equally surprised by her own actions and the result of them, Mash quickly composed herself and turned to leave the room.  “G-Good…  I’ll bring you some breakfast in a bit.”  Leaving before he could even reply, the lilac-haired girl leaned against his door as she reflected on what she had done.  “I… I can’t believe I raised my voice towards Senpai!”

“You did good, Mash.  If he’s anything like I was, he wouldn’t have listened to you otherwise.”  While she wasn’t able to hear Ritsuka’s side of the conversation, Mash’s words were much easier to comprehend.

Placing a hand on her belly, Mash calmed down rather quickly and began walking towards the kitchen to fetch her Master something to eat.  “Oh, good morning Gudako-senpai.  I hope I didn’t wake you with that.”  In seeing her Master neglect his health yet again, she had momentarily forgotten about the redhead in her bowels.  Strange as the thought was that there was now a person living in her large intestines, she had to admit it was a oddly pleasing too.

“I’ve gotten pretty used to Mash moving around while I sleep, so no worries there.  I see being a stubborn fool seems to be something he and I share, but you shouldn’t worry about it.  I’m sure he understands you were just thinking about his well being.”  Trying to make sure that Mash understood how important it was to not be lenient with the young man, Gudako was happy that she was at least taking the first few steps in the right direction.  “You just need to keep convincing him to take better care of himself.”

“That’s not quite right, Gudako-senpai.  I didn’t, couldn’t, convince Senpai to listen to me.  In the end, I told him to rest and he didn’t agree with me.  He didn’t want to.”  Remembering the shock on the handsome Magus’ face, she giggled a bit since she didn’t see him like that too often.  The awe mixed with just the tiniest bit of fear as he realized that he no longer had a say in the matter was both adorable and exhilarating.  “Senpai obeyed me.  It… it felt really good.”

Mash’s Camelot

Large Intestines

As she was rocked back and forth by the swaying of Mash’s hips as she walked, Gudako was pleasantly surprised by the Demi-Servant’s development.  Perhaps her Mash’s experiences were the catalyst she needed to commit to ‘saving’ her Ritsuka.  Of course, this was only the beginning.  “It seems like this Chaldea also has no shortage of Servants trying to monopolize their Master’s attention, but it’ll be interesting to see how the relationship between Mash and a male Master will develop.”  Keeping her thoughts to herself, she snickered in anticipation of some good old, possibly awkward, senpai/kouhai romance shenanigans.  “Though, she’s still being far more gentle than when my Mash had to stop me.”

Fondly remembering how she was pinned to her bed with her faithful Servant holding her down, she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t a bit disappointed that something similar didn’t happen this time.  She looked so beautiful, desperately trying to keep her safe and despite some half-hearted protests, agreed to sleep with her that night.  Outside of Mash’s body, it was the most comfortable and sound sleep she had ever gotten, wrapped in those thin, yet powerful arms.

While she was initially worried that her Mash had left her, absorbed by this other Mash in this other timeline, Gudako felt her presence in that little outburst just now, and in the satisfaction this Mash took in forcing her Master’s compliance.  “I should have known she wouldn’t leave me so easily.”

As he put away his Mystic Code so he could go back to bed, while the thought of just slipping out now that Mash was gone had crossed his mind, Ritsuka had decided against it.  She was obviously worried about him and his health.  Looking into the mirror in his closet, it was easy to see too.  Heavy bags under his eyes, lifeless eyes and not even the hint of a smile on his lips, it was no wonder she yelled at him to go back to bed.

“Mash always was able to pick up on things like this before I even realized…”  Laying back down, he realized just how tired he still was, so now he had to agree with her.  “But still… Mash seemed a bit… different this morning.”  Unable to forget the way she stared at him, the furrowed brow and tearful eyes.  Her body language told him that she’d resort to physical confrontation if necessary, though she was trembling slightly as she dug in her heels.  She had acted in his best interests, even if he didn’t want to listen, and left him with no other choice.  “And maybe I am too tired, but for a moment… it looked like her eye flashed Alter amber…”

A Solid Foundation

There is no question that the lifeline of Chaldea’s operations is through the procuring of resources through Rayshifting.  Without the resources Fujimaru Ritsuka gathered to strengthen the Servants he had summoned and the quantum pieces used to operate the machines and magical equipment to do so, the entire organization’s efforts to restore humanity would have failed long ago.  So, even the most mundane of Rayshifts, the ones the young Magus subjects himself to dozens of times per day for his so-called ‘farming runs’, are treated with the utmost care.  It never failed that Ritsuka would spend hours and hours collecting the resources that Chaldea sorely lacked.

“Senpai, I believe that is enough for today.  Let’s go get something to eat.”  Helping her Master as the Coffin opened from his latest trip, the kind and responsible Shielder greeted the diligent youth.  “I’ve already asked the kitchen staff to have something ready for us.”

Taking the gentle girl’s hand as he exited the cylindrical container, looking into her lavender eye Ritsuka smiled back and nodded.  “S-Sure Mash.  Some food sounds good right about now.”

Watching the two young officers as Mash helped Ritsuka out of the Coffin, a sharply dressed man with slicked-back, black hair raised an eyebrow at the exchange.  “That is odd, I expected Mr. Fujimaru to attempt to convince Ms. Kyrielight to allow him a few more hours of Rayshifting at the very least.”

“Well that just shows you need to get out of your workshop more often, Holmes.  Fujimaru-kun has been taking better care of himself lately thanks to Mash.”  Teasing the reclusive consulting detective, the younger back-up version of Leonardo Da Vinci snickered.

“Yes, Mash really has put Fujimaru on a short leash, as it were.  Normally, letting your Servant order you around would be an embarrassment for any Master, but since Mash is a Demi-Servant… and reminds me far too much of Toole III, I suppose she’s more of an aide or assistant when not in the field.”  Chuckling boisterously, the stocky blonde man added in mild amusement.  “I suppose he has his poor pedigree to blame as well.”

“Could you really say that if Mash yelled at you, Gordy?”  Elbowing the portly man’s belly, the child-like Da Vinci giggled.  “Hmm?  Have you been sneaking snacks in the middle of the night again?”

“Wha-!?  N-No, no, perish the thought.”  Sweating a bit, Goredolf tried to back away from his Technical Advisor.

She raised her voice at Mr. Fujimaru?  Glancing back at the young Shielder as she left the room with both their Master and the fluffy, white-furred creature that so often accompanies them, the great detective raised his pipe to his lips.  How curious.

“Alright, Senpai.  Make sure you relax for the rest of the night.  No more Rayshifting until tomorrow, understood?”  Having finished their meals, Mash reminds the workaholic young man that he is to take the rest of the night off as she’s about to part ways with him for the night.  She wasn’t about to micromanage everything he did in the day, there were plenty of other Servants that wanted to interact with him in ways that didn’t involve Rayshifting.

“Right, well I’ll see you tomorrow then, Mash.”  Waving to the lilac-haired girl, Ritsuka was heading in the direction of the training room before a few of the child Servants came around the corner.

Mash giggled as the young girls jumped on the young Magus and dragged him off to play.  They ought to keep him busy for the rest of the night.  Heading back to her room, Mash rubs her lower abdomen and smiles softly.  “Gudako-senpai?  Gudako-senpai, are you awake?”

“Oh, done already, Mash?  Sounds like things are going well between you and my other.”  Replying from her favorite spot deep in Mash’s intestines, though she had been offered other locations in the Shielder’s body to rest, the redhead liked it best in her bowels.  “But you need to stop being so soft with him.  If he’s anything like me, and by the sounds of it he is just with more focus on physical training and a penis, then what you’ve done so far isn’t enough.  Just ‘eat him’ already and leave him in here for a few days.  I can guarantee that if you’re not a Servant, there is no getting out of your body without your say so, Mash, and once he gets used to it he’ll probably never want to leave.”  While her suggestion was more of a brute force solution, she knew that this world’s Mash hadn’t had her breaking point to casually disregard other people’s agency yet, so it would be a hard course of action to sell.

Shaking her head, she knew that Gudako was only concerned for her and her Master, but so directly imposing her will on Ritsuka wasn’t necessary so long as he listened to her.  “You know I can’t do that to Senpai.  Could you imagine how scared he would be if I just swallowed him out of nowhere?  Living inside of another person isn’t something that sounds healthy anyway.  Really, I’d like to let you out of there too.  Are you sure you wouldn’t prefer coming out?”

“This is a literal utopia that takes care of all my needs, why would I want to leave?”  Her reply a version of the same thing she always said, the redheaded Master for another timeline just snickered at the thought.  “If you’re worried about my health, do you know just how long of a run it is from one side of your large intestines to the other?  I’m basically running a marathon a day wading through all of your-”

“Okay, okay, you don’t have to continue!”  Always embarrassed to hear that the residents of her ‘utopia’ still had to deal with her bodily functions, it was just another reason Mash couldn’t believe Gudako enjoyed herself in her colon so much.  I would have thought somewhere like my chest would have been a better spot for her, but she insists there is less… ‘bounce’ where she is now.  Returning to her room, Mash loosens her tie and undoes the top couple buttons of her shirt as she slowly lays down on her bed.  “Okay, Gudako-senpai, can you explain it to me again?”

Mash’s Camelot

Transverse Colon

Of the six sections of Mash’s large intestines, Gudako enjoyed spending her time the most here.  Thanks to the arteries and organs close by, she could hear the gigantic Shielder’s heartbeat the clearest and the proximity to her stomach meant that, if and when this Mash finally decided to use Form Camelot on an opponent, she was most likely to be able to hear them as they digested.  While not completely sadistic, there were a few enemies that she would have liked to hear the desperate, dying pleas of, like Koyanskaya and Rasputin.

“Okay, Gudako-senpai, can you explain it to me again?”

Hearing this far too lenient Mash ask her for more advice though, she looked forward to the day when she was no longer embarrassed to use her most powerful Noble Phantasm.  Until then, she was more than happy to be of whatever assistance she could be.  “I’m not sure what more I can say.  My Mash just said ‘It’s all my body, so I can just manifest from it’.  She’d form from the surrounding flesh, either fully clothed or naked depending on her mood, and we could spend time together.  She was able to change her size as well, or maybe she was just adjusting mine, but I don’t know how she did it.”

“Hmm, I can access her memories of doing it, but it was an instinctual action.  Even though we come from the same concept…”  Concentrating as hard as she could, Mash’s face half-way formed from the intestinal wall above Gudako, though it had no distinctive features.  “I think this is the proof that we thought a bit differently.  I can’t do any better than this right now…”

“Well, it’ll probably haunt my dreams for a bit, but that is a good attempt.”  Teasing the less-confident girl, Gudako stood up and reached up to brush her hand against Mash’s half-formed cheek.  “At least I can touch you a bit like this.”

Giggling a bit, it was difficult from Mash to maintain her internal avatar as it smoothed out into the flesh she was manifesting from.  “You’re always touching me though, Senpai.”

Smirking at the light humor, the redheaded Magus spread her arms wide and embraced as much of the slimy flesh around her that she could.  “I guess you’re right.”

Laying in bed, trying to wrap her head around the concept of creating another body inside of herself, Mash just couldn’t seem to grasp what her other did so easily.  There was some fundamental principle or mindset she just didn’t share with the stricter, and if she had to be honest, more sadistic version of herself.  She didn’t exactly blame her parallel self for what she had to do to protect Gudako, but at the same time she didn’t need to manifest an avatar in her stomach to taunt and tease some of her opponents either.

However, after roughly an hour of practice, something felt… off.  Senpai?  Grabbing her datapad, Mash could see that Ritsuka was currently Rayshifting!  He’s by himself too, temporarily summoning Servants to fight.  Oh, Senpai… What did I tell you!?  Unlike the somewhat frequent times when another Servant would ask Ritsuka to Rayshift somewhere to help them out with some issue or another, this was just him out overworking himself, again.  Getting up, she marched out of her room, making a direct line to the Command Room.

Before, it used to be a bigger hassle to Rayshift to gather resources, requiring repeatedly coming back to Chaldea each time to be deployed again.  Thankfully, the process was streamlined so Ritsuka could just be sent to the same starting point again and again without coming back to Chaldea each time.  This didn’t reduce the stress on him by much, but so long as he didn’t change his destination he was able to get more work into a smaller time frame.  Even if Mash asked him not to, it was still a fact that both now and in the future, the Servants he summoned had steep resource costs to make them as powerful as he could.

If I explain myself, I’m sure Mash will understand.  Even though he listened to her when she first raised her voice to him, he had started sneaking an extra hour or so of resource gathering when she was preoccupied with something else.  Finishing up for the day, he was ready to return to Chaldea and go back to his room before she found out.  However, as his Coffin opened up, the stern face of the Demi-Servant’s one revealed eye stared at him with no intention of humoring excuses.  Well, crap.

“Senpai.”  Grabbing his arm, Mash dragged him out of the Command Room, with the staff averting their eyes and DA Vinci-chan giggling at the young Master.

He didn’t need to hear the young looking Caster’s ‘I told you so’, since she had tried to advise against him going against Mash’s orders.  “L-Look.  Mash, I know you’re upset, but we only found out about Comet Shards recently and we already don’t have enough, not to mention all the Eggs we still need.”  Trying to justify his actions, he wasn’t able to slip from her grip as he was led back to his room, not unlike a child about to be punished by their parent or guardian.  “C’mon Mash, can’t we talk about this?”

“No, Senpai, I do understand.”  Not looking back, Mash replied to the young man’s concerns.  “I know you’re just trying to be the best Master for all the Servants you have summoned that you can be.  You want them to be at their strongest to reduce the chances of them getting hurt in combat so you push yourself to gather the resources they need.  I understand what you’re doing and why you’re doing it.”

“Then why are you stopping me?  Just a couple more hours a day can’t hu-”

“Not today, but it will!”  Despite still being in the halls as they approached his room, Mash didn’t keep her voice low.  She couldn’t.  Not when images of Gudako’s breakdown, crying in anguish on the floor flashed through her mind.  It was an admirable quality to push oneself for the betterment of others, but not to the point of self-destruction.  Slowly but surely, day by day, the stress will continue to increase, and while he might be able to handle the pressure now, he isn't recovering enough to sustain his workload.  “You’re thinking too much of everyone else, but what about you?  You can’t disregard your own health to help others like this.  Eight hours was a normal work day in modern society, so I thought it was a fair compromise to allow that, but apparently I was wrong.”  It wasn’t just today either. Because she trusted her Master, she hadn’t been checking his Rayshifting logs, but it seemed like he had been going behind her back for a while now and lying about it.  On this issue, at the very least, trusting him was a mistake.

“Mash, it’s fine.  I’m fine.  I need to do what I can to make up for my deficiencies as a Master, fighting the Crypters has shown me just how far below the bar I really am.”

Oh, Senpai…  While there was some truth to his self-disparaging comment, it was unlikely that it was a sentiment shared by any of the hundreds of Servants contracted to the young man.  Mash especially didn’t see him as inferior to her old teammates.  However, her Master’s perception of his self-image and overworking his body were two separate issues right now.  “Fine, I’ll let you Rayshift more than eight hours a day, Senpai, but only on one condition.”  Dragging him into his room, Mash decided to re-compromise.

There was something about the confidence that his kouhai was emanating that unnerved Ritsuka, like posing her condition as if he had a choice was merely a courtesy.  “Alright Mash.  What’s your condition?”

“Don’t worry, it’s nothing too difficult to fulfill.  For every hour of Rayshifting you wish to go over, you just have to do 25 push ups with me watching.  But you have to do a full 25, Senpai.  If you quit at 24, that won’t count.”

It seemed like an easy enough condition to meet, and since it was coming from someone as honest and earnest as Mash, there was no need to think about it too deeply.  She wouldn’t back out of her word, even if he did 100 push ups right now.  “Deal.  So, can I try to get some extra time now?”  Unbuttoning his shirt, Ritsuka tossed it onto his bed and stretched his arms a bit.

“Of course.”

Getting down on the floor, hand’s shoulder width apart and legs straight, Ritsuka shifted his weight on his hands to get comfortable, but before he could start, something soft and warm pressed down on his back and he was forced to restabilize himself as some extra weight settled on top of him.  Looking back, he saw the concerned Demi-Servant wiggle her butt into his back to get comfortable as she brushed her hair aside and looked back at him.

“Hmm?  Is something wrong, Senpai?”  She asked with the innocence that only she could.  “I never said that I wouldn’t make it more difficult, and you didn’t say I couldn’t, right?”

“Um, n-no…  No, I guess we didn’t.”  Staring back at the floor, blushing intensely, rather than the bit of deception he would have expected from an Evil-aligned Servant, like one of the oni or pirates, all Ritsuka could think about was the plump backside pressing down on his muscles.

Likewise though, Mash immediately began to regret her decision as soon as she saw the look on his face.  Th-Th-This is really inappropriate, isn’t it.  M-Maybe I should stop before-

“That’s it Mash!  Don’t give up now.”  Encouraging her from her utopia, Gudako’s voice rang in the Shielder’s mind.  “You need to commit, don’t let him see any weakness!”

“Gudako-senpai?”  Her doubt wasn’t entirely cleared, but just thinking of the redhead and the suffering she had to endure was enough for Mash to steel her resolve.  That’s right, in order to keep Senpai from suffering like her, I can’t be like I used to be.  My other self, help me please.  Grinding her rear into the young man’s back a bit more before slipping her feet out of her heels and resting them on his legs, she looked back at her Master and giggled a bit.  “Are you not going to start, Senpai?  Your back is quite comfortable, so I don’t mind sitting here for a while.”

Caught off guard by the borderline domineering comment, Ritsuka snapped his attention back at the usually timid and reserved girl’s forwardness.  However, the look in her eye, which looked to be blooming back into its captivating lavender from a pale amber, gently intimidated him into silence.  He had seen her toss Phantasmal Beasts and even armored vehicles around on the battlefield.  At least she isn’t pushing down on my back.  Bending his arms, he lowered himself until his elbows formed 90 degree angles and as had been drilled into him by some of the best instructors human history had to offer, he held his form for a second before straightening them again.  “One.”  Confident from the ease of the first push up, he grinned back at the Shielder girl.  Mash is lighter than I thought, this shouldn’t be too hard.

While she was expecting him to be able to handle her weight rather easily, Mash was still impressed as Ritsuka continued at a steady pace.  Seeing his biceps and triceps bulge as he lowered his body and feeling the muscles in his back flex under her rear, she could sit and watch him exercise for hours without getting bored.  However, his pace continuing unaffected as he reached the double digits, she began to get a bit nervous.  Did I underestimate Senpai’s fitness?  But, if he gets to 25…

“Thirteen.  Fourteen.”  While he had to admit that having someone sitting on his back was making things a bit more difficult, the young Magus was sure he could clear Mash’s condition easily, though 50 might be pushing it a bit.  But if it gets me another hour, I’ve got to try.  “Fif-teeeeeeen!”  Pushing himself up to complete another rep, suddenly more weight bared down on him, catching him off guard and almost buckling his arms.  Thankfully he had the proper form to distribute the load properly, so as he straightened his arms, wondering what happened, he looked back to see what was increasing his burden.

Half expecting to see one of the more mischievous Servants having seen Mash sitting on his back and decided to join her, he was surprised to see that the earnest Demi-Servant had instead decided to manifest her combat suit and armor!  Unlike the armor she had when Galahad was supporting her, the Ortenaus armor she had been using since they started clearing Lostbelts was bulkier and thicker, making at all the more heavy, especially her grieves and boots.  It was as if another Mash was now sitting on his back!

Oh, that’s gotta be cheatin-

“Hmm?  Is something wrong, Senpai?”  Noticing his pace had stopped, and with the most innocent expression despite knowing what she was doing, Mash acted like nothing was wrong.  “We agreed that you only have to do 25 push ups, didn’t we?  Why have you stopped?  Are you tired already?  I keep telling you you’re pushing yourself too much.”

It was a devious move that he wouldn’t have thought she would pull, though it also wasn’t entirely out of character for her to go above and beyond for his sake.  Well… 50 is out of the question, but I can still get another hour if I push it.

Watching her Master continue undeterred by her… increasing the difficulty of his task, Mash’s admiration for him only deepened.  Wow, I thought Senpai would give up after I manifested my armor.  She should have known this level of adversity wouldn’t be enough to stop him.  Though him getting up to 20 was making her increasingly worried.  I’m sorry, Senpai!

Just 5 more.  Just 5 more and then I’m done.  Sweating and breathing heavily, Ritsuka took a moment to focus.  His arms were burning and trembling, but he knew he still had the energy to finish the set.  Or, at least he believed that to be the case until the burden on his back increased once more as he was eclipsed in a large shadow.  Just barely able to catch himself as his face and chest were almost forced to the floor, he pooled as much strength into his arms as he could to push himself up for his twenty-first push up before turning his head to see what Mash had done.  No way!

He didn’t have to turn his head far in order to see one of the stubbier arms sticking out from the side of her large,cross-shaped, round shield.  Just like the armor developed after Galahad’s departure, Lord Camelot’s degraded form was much bulkier and heavier in an attempt to restore a semblance of its former functions and durability.

Laying down on Ritsuka’s broad back, Mash didn’t address manifesting her class’ namesake at all.  She needed to ensure he rested properly, no matter the method.  “But this feels a bit mean, don’t you think Gudako-senpai?”

“If you’re not going to nom him, you need to make him realize that going against your orders is a bad idea, Mash.  By all means, bring him into your body if you feel like making him sweat under you is too much, but you have to admit you’re enjoying yourself.”  Not allowing the still far too lenient girl to backstep, the redhead playfully teased her bit to get her mind off of it.  “The smell of his sweat, the heat radiating up through your back, his firm muscles supporting your body.  Just think about it, Mash.  As long as he’s under you, he’s safe.  Just keep him there, make him stay by your side and you can protect him.”

Her heart fluttering at the idea, the Demi-Servant turned her head slightly so she could see the determined, strained expression on his handsome face.  His grunts and groans as he lowered himself and pushed with all his strength just to squeeze out another repetition.  And maybe it was a side-effect of gaining the other Mash’s Noble Phantasm… but he did smell delicious.  Licking her lips, she recited the incarnation in her head.  True Name… clarion summon!  May purity cleanse the wicked and this temple shelter the wounded…  Come to me…  Opening her mouth just a crack, if she had the reserves of Mana right now, her Master would be experiencing a force pulling on his body, pulling him towards her lips.  In an instant, he’d be whisked away and compacted down until he fit in her mouth where she could deposit him wherever in her body she wished.  Then he’d never go behind my back again, Senpai would be trapped inside of me, forced to let his body rest for a change.  It was tempting and far too enticing since she could easily go borrow a Kaleidoscope.

“Besides, you got excited when you sat on him.  Don’t try to deny it, I heard your heart rate increase.”  Not privy to the thoughts running through her caretaker’s head, Gudako continued to push for Mash to take more tangible actions.  “Make him submit and you can do more than just plant your cute, plump tush on his back.”

Gudako’s ‘advice’ invoking an image of her sitting on her Master’s lap, pinning him to a chair with nowhere to run, Mash’s train of thought was completely derailed by embarrassment!  “Gudoko-senpai!  This is for Senpai’s benefit, not mine!”  What she was doing was something she’d expect Stheno or Euryale to do, and when she thought about it like that, she couldn’t believe how inappropriate she was allowing herself to behave!

“Twenty…”  His arms visibly shaking as he squeezed out the last bit of his strength and unaware of the dialogue going on atop him, Ritsuka pushed himself up one last time as sweat ran down his brow.  “...five!”  No sooner did he finish, though, did his arms give out from under him.  Pushed beyond their limits, they couldn’t sustain the weight resting on them a second longer.  But, instead of the cold, hard ground rushing to meet him, the Japanese boy felt himself get held aloft as a slender arm wrapped around his chest from behind him and two large, soft masses pressed against his back.

Demanifesting her shield and armor when she felt her Master begin to collapse, Mash was able to catch him by quickly turning over and planting a hand on the floor, using the other to hold him against her.  His shirt quickly soaked through with his sweat and she could feel his heart racing to supply his body with the oxygen it so desperately needed.  Standing up, she smiled at him.  “Good work, Senpai.  That’s 25.”

“Yeah, it was a bit more difficult than I thought, but once I catch my breath I can-”

“So that covers the extra hour you’ve already used today.”  Continuing to smile sweetly, she manifested her armor and shield again.  “Would you like to try for another 25, or would you like to rest now?”

Dumbfounded, Ritsuka could do nothing but stare at the sweet girl in disbelief.  She had no intention of letting him continue to Rayshift for the day and he fell for her trap hook, line and sinker.  Between normal Rayshifting and sleeping, I don’t think I could try for extra time more than once a day either.  I guess I really upset Mash this time.  Realizing his mistake, Ritsuka just fell back onto his bed and chuckled a bit.  “No, you win Mash.  No more farming for me today.”

Looming over him, Mash giggled back.  “That’s good to hear, Senpai.  Starting tomorrow you can start to make up for the other days you snuck out behind my back, ten hours in total by my count.  If I catch you trying to sneak off before you make that up to me, or in the future, I’ll have to take more… drastic measures.  Okay?”

Even though she was smiling, her tone impressed how serious she was on him and Ritsuka got a chill down his spine.  This wasn’t drastic?  Recalling the heft of her weight on his back, especially the feeling of her soft rear when she planted it on his back, Ritsuka couldn’t fathom what she could do that would be more extreme than that.  “Alright, alright…  S-Sorry Mash.”

“As long as you understand and start taking better care of yourself.  I just don’t want to see you hurt yourself, Senpai.”  Standing up and turning to leave, he was too exhausted to do much else and at least for tonight he wouldn’t try to go behind her back to do anything else.  “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Yeah.  Good night.”  Watching as she left the room, Ritsuka’s eyes were drawn to the round curves of her butt and how much the form-fitting bodysuit of her Servant outfit complemented her figure as she shifted her clothes back to her Chaldea uniform.

Bowing as she exited his room, Mash stopped herself from running back to her room in embarrassment from how brazen she realized she had acted.  I sat on Senpai.  I sat on Senpai.  I sat on Senpai…  and I wanted to sit on him before I left!  Seeing him so helpless on his bed, she was tempted.  If she had climbed onto his bed and planted her butt on his chest as she warned him to not repeat his dishonest actions, she was sure the message would have gotten across.  “Gudako-senpai!  What are you making me think!”

“Hmm, if I had to guess, complete and total domination of my other, right?  What do you want to do to him?  My Mash had to hold me down and-”

“I couldn’t do that to Senpai!”  While often convenient, getting flashes of her other self’s memories when the tiny redhead mentioned something wasn’t without its disadvantages.  Because the more confident version of herself didn’t hold back, it didn’t take long after she stopped allowing Gudako to hurt herself that they became intimate with each other.  “I know I did it for his own good… but what I did to Senpai was out of line… and a bit mean…”

“But you got a bit wet seeing him struggle under you, right?”  Unashamed and actively hoping that Mash would stop holding back her feelings, Gudako kept pushing her to come out of her shell.

Blushing all the way to her ears, Mash didn’t want to think about the itch in her sex or the dampness of her underwear.  Even when she first sat on Ritsuka’s back she was trying to deny how much she enjoyed it.  But the more Gudako pressed her on the matter, the more she had to face her repressed feelings.  She always admired watching him workout and exercise, usually from afar or just the sidelines.  She got a massive boost to her physical and magical parameters when she became a Demi-Servant, but her Master continued to try and improve himself how he could and offered to help at every opportunity.  However, it wasn’t watching him push himself that she enjoyed the most, but seeing him spent, on the ground after wringing out every last drop of energy he had.  And now that she got an up close and personal view of him as he worked himself to exhaustion, she knew she wouldn’t be satisfied with just watching from afar anymore.  “Y-yeah…  He looked so handsome, struggling under me like that.”

Mitigating Obstructions

As punishment for going behind her back and Rayshifting without her permission, everyday Mash would drag her Senpai back to his room after he had finished his allotted Rayshifting time.  Nobody in the Command Room would say anything against this either, there were no regulations or quotas to meet regarding Rayshifting, so it was purely by Ritsuka’s will when and how frequently he Rayshifted.  If he was allowing the Demi-Servant to tell him when he can and can’t Rayshift, that was entirely his decision.  Also, given how many personnel needed to be present for Rayshifts, while the staff were more than happy to help humanities final Master, getting a break was appreciated.  For weeks, the sound of ‘Okay, Senpai.  That’s enough for today.’ was the signal there would be no more excursions into the past to gather resources, since once she had taken him back to his room, the Japanese Magus did not sneak back in to overwork himself.

And whether whatever the young Shielder girl was doing with Ritsuka behind the closed door of his room was as ‘passionate’ as they speculated or not, until Mash had left his room, it was an unspoken rule to not interrupt or monitor what was occurring inside.  Both Mash and Ritsuka were old enough to decide what kind of relationship they had, even a more physical one if they chose; it has been almost five years since he came to Chaldea.  Neither were children, or even minors anymore.

But of all the wild speculations and sensual theories of how the two’s relationship had developed, none would have thought that the lilac-haired girl would be sitting on her Master’s back as he did push-ups, dressed in her heavy armor to ensure that he is incapable of fulfilling the agreed upon condition that would allow him to Rayshift for a little longer.

Even after weeks of trying to make up for the extra ten hours Mash had found out about, he hadn’t been able to complete a single set of twenty-five push-ups.  Even if he made it to fifteen she’d manifest her shield to ensure his arms gave out by his twentieth.  He had tried to just skip a day in favor of spending his time training or studying, but Mash insisted that he try at least once a day since he did go behind her back.  The only thing that could get him out of this ‘not a punishment’ now was if there was a more pressing matter to attend to, otherwise Ritsuka was reminded each time that he felt Mash’s soft, plump rear settle on his back to not make her angry.

Kinda concerning how used to this I am now, though.  He thought, straining to get the fifteenth repetition of his set done.  After how exhausting the day had been, he tried to get Mash to make an exception and let him rest today, but that was rejected with the sweetest of dark smiles, and his arms were screaming at him now.  Mash looked to be deep in thought about something, not even noticing that he had reached the point where she’d manifest her shield to make things more difficult.  If this was literally any other day…  but I… I can’t keep… going…  His arms buckling under him, Ritsuka was barely able to lower himself to the floor gently as the sweat dripped down his brow and his lung tried to supply his muscles with the oxygen they so desperately wanted.  However, Mash didn’t immediately get up off of him like she normally would.  It was almost as if she had even noticed that he had stopped, as she wiggled her butt on him to get more comfortable and continued to stare at the wall behind him, lost in thought and blushing beautifully.  Huh?  Mash…

“Oh Senpai!  I told you to stop talking about that.”  Distracted by her conversation with the foreign Master from a separate timeline in her intestines, Mash was trying to get off their current topic of conversations.

The redheaded girl living in Mash’s utopia wouldn’t let up though, teasing her relentlessly.  “Stop talking about what?  How you blew me from one side of your colon to the other with all the gas you had last night?  I told you beans were a bad idea, but you didn’t want to listen.”

“But… Quetzalcoatl-san made such delicious burritos, I couldn’t refuse.”  Licking her lips remembering the taste of the Mexican dish, Mash knew that Gudako was just teasing her.  She just wanted to tease her back.  “If you keep it up, maybe I’ll ask Boudica-san to make me some beans and toast tonight.  She loves making British dishes.”

“Oh?  Would that be okay, Mash?  Are you not satisfied with just sitting on my other anymore?”  Feeling a bit nostalgic at the comment, Gudako laughed a bit at how embarrassed this Mash would be if a bit of gas slipped out now.  “Might as well go all the way and sit on his face while you’re at it.  Trust me, he’d appreciate it.”

Instantly regretting trying to outdo a master at her own game, Mash’s blush deepened as she thought of her Master’s handsome face disappearing under her rear.  “Gu-G-G-Gudako-senpai!  I couldn’t possibly-”

“Is my back really that comfortable, Mash?”  Interrupting her train of thought, Ritsuka spoke up after waiting about a minute for her.

“O-Oh!  S-S-Sorry Senpai!  I got a bit… distracted.”  Instantly shifting her clothes to her casual uniform, Mash quickly stood up and got off the dark-haired man.  “How many did you do?  Did you get to 25?”

In her rush and panic, Mash didn’t cover her skirt properly, so as he was looking back at her, Ritsuka got a clear view of her white cotton panties through the dark stockings she was wearing and looked away quickly in embarrassment.  “I-It’s fine…”  Slowly pushing himself up with a bit of help from his kouhai, he flopped down on his bed to rest a little.  “If I said ‘yes’, would you believe me?”

“Of course, Senpai!”  Standing over his bedside with a sweet smile, Mash leaned down over him, brushing her hair behind her ear.  “After all, you know better than to lie, riiiiiiiiight?”

Keeping the same, sweet and gentle tone in her voice as she drew out her question, Ritsuka stared straight up into her mouth, or rather, he couldn’t look away as it had somehow captivated him.  The soft, slender fullness of her lips, the texture of her tongue and the layer of saliva coating it, her warm breath that flowed over him.  The inside of her squishy cheeks looked so slick and slimy, and he didn’t even want to think of the things she’d be able to crush between her teeth with her strength as a Servant.  Why have I been so focused on Mash’s mouth lately?  For some reason, when Mash warned him to not go behind her back anymore or she’d have to do something more drastic than forcing him to do push-ups, the way she cupped her cheek in her hand and brushed her fingers against her lips lingered in his mind.  “I-I know, I know.  I got to 15 today.”

“Only 15?  Are you feeling alright, Senpai?”

“Y-Yeah…  I think I just need a day to let my arms rest.  I know I haven’t made up any of the time yet, but could we skip doing this tomorrow?”

It has been almost three weeks now, and I’ve been making Senpai do this every day.  His body needs to rest.  Realizing the ironic oversight in her punishing him for not taking better care of himself, Mash stood back up straight.  “Yes, I believe it would be best to only have you try to make up your unauthorized Rayshift time when you wish going forward.”

Couldn’t you just forgive me?  The thought had been on his mind for a while now, that even if he did lie to her before, it wasn’t like her to hold a grudge like this.  But it was a good excuse to spend a bit more time with her alone, even if it was just her sitting on him.  Or is it because she’s sitting on me I don’t mind so much…?  His cheeks burning a bright red as the thought of them just having a normal conversation like they used to, only with him on all fours and Mash seated on his back flashed through his mind.  N-No.  No, she’s only sitting on me to make the push-ups more difficult.  I’m sure she finds it just as embarrassing.

“Of course, if you feel up to it tomorrow, just let me know.  I’ll always be willing to supervise you, Senpai.”  Turning to leave, she smiled back to him over her shoulder as she opened the door.

Oooor, maybe not?  Plopping his head down on his pillow and staring up at the ceiling, he couldn’t help but smile a bit and closed his eyes.  “I’ll see you in the morning, Mash.”

“Yes.  Good night, Senpai.”

Hearing the door close behind her, the clack of her heeled boots echoed softly as the diligent Demi-Servant went to go about her evening.  After a few more minutes, he’d get up to eat and shower before going to bed, but for now Ritsuka needed to rest until his arms weren’t so sore.  However, not even a minute after the sound of Mash’s footsteps faded, he heard the sound of heeled footwear coming back and his door opened and closed again.  He didn’t have the energy to lift his head or open his eyes, and instead just smirked.  “What, did you forget something, Ma-!?”  Stopping mid-sentence as something hefty, and soft settled on his chest, Ritsuka opened his eyes to see a head of long, flowing violet hair covering most of the black jacketed back of the girl who had decided to make his chest her seat.

“Hmm…?  Whaddya know.  You’re more comfortable than you look, Senpai.”  Looking back with a mostly disinterested face attempting to hide the touch of crimson to her cheeks, his self-proclaimed ‘devilish kouhai’ smiled mischievously at him.  “Or should I call you ‘Seat-kun’ from now on?  How do you like the feel of your kouhai’s butt on you?  Since I know Mash’s measurements, I know that mine is a bit bigger than hers.”

“BB!  What are you doing?  Get off me!”  More embarrassed than angry, Ritsuka tried to turn over to get the Moon Cancer to get off him, but she just applied more pressure to hold him in place.

“Why?  You let Mash sit on you.  It’s not nice to play favorites among your kouhai.”  Scooting back a bit closer to his face, BB giggled naughtily as she reached back and lifted the back of her skirt up tauntingly, not showing the panty-clad rear behind it, but enough to show a bit of his chest in the shadow of it.  “Unless it’s me, teehee.  Though, if you want me to move, you could always try lifting me yourself.  Since I was made with the perfect proportions, you should be able to do that at least, right?  Or should I scoot back a bit more?”

Catching the briefest of glimpses of the rogue AI’s butt as she slid back a bit more, Ritsuka looked away as he brought his hands up to stop her, only for them to be restrained by her black and pink shapeshifter ribbons.  “BB, w-what do you want?”  Struggling to free himself, while this was a bit more aggressive than how she normally was, the sadistic Moon Cancer wasn’t exactly hurting him.

“What, Senpai?  I thought you liked this kind of treatment?  If not, why let Mash sit on you everyday?”  Letting a tinge of her jealousy show, BB turned around on Ritsuka’s chest and leaned forward so most of his face was eclipsed by her abundant chest.  Hmph!  When you started Rayshift less I thought I’d get a chance to assist you a bit more, but instead you were doing something like this with Mash!  Well, I may have come to Chaldea after her, but my Kouhai Parameter and Affection stat are maxed out!  I’ll steal Senpai back from that goody two-shoes.  She thought, pushing back her embarrassed hesitation with her competitiveness.  “Or is there a reason you let her treat you like the world's saddest, but most comfortable seat?  If you like being on your hands and knees so much, I have a space back in SE.RA.PH. that you would love.”

Even though they weren’t touching him, the young Magus could feel the heat of BB’s bust radiating into him.  Looking into eyes as pure as they were devious, Ritsuka knew it was nothing to hide, but still felt like he should.  “I-It’s not like that.  I’m just trying to get Mash to let me Rayshift a bit more, I swear.”

Perking up at that tidbit of information, BB sat up straight, shifting herself back without paying attention so she could see most of his torso.  “Okay, explain.”

A bit calmer now that she wasn’t in his face, Ritsuka explained the events that led to him letting Mash ‘sit on him’ as BB was insistent he call it.  She was fixated more on the ‘skinship’ between him and her fellow kouhai, but by the grin on her face by the end of his explanation… he knew she had come up with an brilliant [read: devious] idea.

“Soooo… Senpai?  You want to Rayshift more?”  She asked innocently, scooting a bit forward again with her trademark, PTSD-inducing grin.

“Y-Yeah…”  Trying to ignore the fact that she had her legs on either side of his head, his eyes drifted down to the hem of her skirt keeping her crotch hidden as she wrapped her fingers around it.

“But you don’t want to upset Mash, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Then, would you like some… help?”  Slowly raising her skirt hem, but still revealing nothing to him, she reveled in the struggle on his face to look away.  Of course, if he really wanted, she was pretty sure she’d give her body to him… after he fully submitted to her and became her plaything.  For now though, she needed to get him to want to listen to her more than he did to Mash.  “If you do as I say, I have a plan that will let you Rayshift a bit more.  Of course, it’ll cost you though…”  Leaning in close, she whispered in his ear in a low, sultry tone,  “Maaaster.”

He knew it was a terrible idea.  This was a trap, a part of some grand scheme.  Ritsuka wanted with every fiber of his being to refuse BB’s temptation and reject her offer for help…  I could Rayshift more again?  And Mash won’t get mad at me?

The Next Day

Watching the clock very carefully, Mash had to reluctantly allow Ritsuka to Rayshift one more time, despite the fact that it would go over the eight hour time restriction.

I really should have expected this, but I guess being a bit lenient wouldn’t hurt.  She thought.  It was amusing to see him scramble to slip the startup procedure with just enough time to make the cut off.  But now that he was returning, she’d have to escort him to the kitchen to get something to eat since he wouldn’t be trying to get some more Rayshift time today.

“BB Channel!  BB Channel!  BB Channel!”

Huh?  What was that?  Just as Ritsuka was returning and the Coffin opened, Mash heard a high-pitched phrase echoing through the room as something approached.

“BB Channel!  BB Channel!  BB Channel!  BB Channel!  BB Channel!  BB Channel!”

As the chanting got louder and clearer, there was a general nervousness that fell upon the room.  Everyone knew what was coming, and it was too late to run.

  “BB Channel!  BB Channel!  BB Channel!  BB Channel!  BB Channel!”  Reaching a crescendo as the one cheer took over the computerized equipment, and switched the monitor to show the progress with which they were being hacked, there was a moment of silence as everything went silent.

Then, in a flash of light as a piano-heavy theme song came out of everything with a speaker to play it, the door opened to reveal the public menace who invited herself to Chaldea without permission, the Moon Cancer, BB. “Congratulations, Senpai and everyone else on Chaldea’s staff!  Did you enjoy a fun day of slaving away to give yourselves the best shot at saving your pathetic race?  Well, do I have good news for you.  We at BB Entertainment have run into a bit of a problem and have selected all of you to help fix it!”

“Oh, BB-san.  I guess what you’re saying is you have a problem you want Senpai’s help with, right?”  Approaching the troublesome Servant, Mash smiled as sweetly as she could.  “But Senpai just finished Rayshifting for the day, is it possible to wait until tomorrow to handle it?”

“Nope.  Sorry Mash, but I need Senpai to handle this ASAP.  I can’t go too much into details with it, since it’s related to top secret Moon Cell information, but if left alone for too long it could become a big problem.”  Rejecting her fellow kouhai’s request, BB walked into the room and gently pushed Ritsuka back into his Coffin.  “You don’t mind, do you, Senpai?”

Hesitantly looking past the busty AI, the young man shrugged his shoulders at Mash, like he was leaving the final decision up to her.  This simple action made the Shielder girl quite happy, since it was the same as saying he trusted her to look after his health.  Heehee, oh Senpai.  Well, you have been good lately.  Maybe I can be a bit lenient with you.  Outwardly not displaying her giddiness, Mash sighed and started to head over to one of the consoles.  “Alright, I suppose since it’s an emergency.”

However, getting between her and the Rayshifting equipment, BB smiled at her.  “Hmm?  What’s this?  Mash, are you thinking of observing my time with Senpai when I’ve never done so to you?  This may be a bit of an unforeseen incident, but it’s still my chance for some alone time with Senpai.  I’m fine with the other staff watching, but not my rival.”  Assertively turning Mash around, BB pushed her towards the door.  “And don’t worry, I’ll get Lip to man the cons- er, I mean Prote- um, Melt?  Darn it!  Where are Violet and Kazura… Okay, not Drop, but Violet would be perfect for this.  Senpai!  Why did you have to summon only my daughters with hand problems?!”

“I-I suppose that is fair.”  Reluctant to leave the Command Room, she had to admit that, as someone who also calls herself Ritsuka’s kouhai, there were times when she’d have to comply with something she didn’t want to in the name of fairness.  Besides, the other staff, Da Vinci-chan, the Director and Holmes-san will make sure BB behaves… probably.  “Well then, Senpai, I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

“R-Right.  See you tomorrow, Mash.”  Ritsuka replied, waving as he got into the Coffin again.

Bowing politely as she left, the Demi-Servant headed back to her room, since she now found herself with some free time to practice her new Noble Phantasm with.

“Hey, Mash?  I try to not ask every time I hear you talking to a Servant I don’t recognize, but who is that ‘BB’ girl?  She mentioned the Moon Cell, but we never encountered her when we went to the SE.RA.PH. in my timeline.”  Speaking up from within Mash’s body, Gudako asked about the unfamiliar Servant.

“Hm?  Oh, you mean BB-san?  She’s an AI program created in the Moon Cell to manage its operations, I believe.  According to Senpai, a few years ago, she hacked into our systems and…”  Explaining the events, as explained to her by Ritsuka after BB just appeared one day, that transpired to prevent Sesshouin Kiara’s ascension to the seat of Beast III, Mash tells her that apparently Ritsuka was sent to the Seraphix oil rig that Chaldea used to own and not the Moon Cell proper.  “After that, BB-san just kind of invited herself to stay in Chaldea and has more or less behaved herself ever since…”  Omitting the whole fiasco with the Servant Summer Festival for now, Mash entered her room just as she finished.

“So she was something like a maintenance program then?  I’ve heard about the ‘Far Side of the Moon’ before, but it sounds like she served a similar type of purpose as Archimedes did on the Near Side.”  Gudako said.

“Did you just say ‘Archimedes’!?  As in the Archimedes?  You met him?  And you’ve been to the Moon Cell?”  Excited to hear yet another story from her other senpai’s timeline, knowing that it would feature such a famous Greek philosopher had her extremely excited.

Mash’s Camelot

Sigmoid Colon

Because of a certain dietary choice her utopia had to process, Gudako had yet to return to her favorite resting spot in Mash’s transverse colon.  While that meant she had to deal with the lavender-eyed girl’s waste piling up around her, there was no part of Mash’s insides that she didn’t enjoy.

The same couldn’t be said about her venture into the Moon Cell Automaton.  “Eeeeeeeeh…?  Are you sure?  It’s a pretty boring story, and if you still respect Meddy, I wouldn’t recommend it.”  The redhead warned.  “He tried to trick me into destroying the Moon Cell once… though I suppose I wouldn’t have been able to summon Saber Venus, both Charlemagne and Karl der Große, and Sefar if I hadn’t gone.”

“Yes!  Please, Gudako-senpai?”  Her excitement not faltering, Mash was set on hearing the tale.  Half forming from a nearby wall, still lacking definition and features she was able to produce a torso with her head this time, but no part of her separated from the wall.  “Astolfo and Bradamante talk about King Charlemagne and his adventures so fondly, and I heard Altera once said she had a more dangerous form called ‘Sefar’.  Is that the same one?”

Moving over to sit with the misshapen protrusion of flesh, Gudako just smiled.  “Fine…  So, it all started when…”

Two Weeks Later

“Um, excuse me.  BB-san!”

Hearing someone call out to her as she was on her way to take a bath after a hard day’s work, BB looked over her shoulder to see Mash approaching her with a somewhat worried expression on her face.  Checking her shirt to make sure the sweat she had built up hadn’t turned it see-through, she spun around with a devilishly sweet smile.

“Oh my, if it isn’t Mash.  What can I do for Senpai’s second favorite kouhai?”  Playfully teasing the timid Shielder, she already knew why Mash was looking for her.  She has approached her for the past week after fulfilling her side of her deal with Ritsuka with some variation of the same question.

Though oddly enough, while Mash silently took the jab at her position in the kouhai/senpai hierarchy like she normally does, there was a slight twitch in her eyebrow that caught BB’s attention.  Other than that, she smiled politely like always.  “Well… Again, I don’t mean to pry since this is a sensitive topic for you, so I won’t ask for any details, but how much longer do you think you’ll need before resolving your issue?  If this is going to be like the incidents that happen around New Years, Valentine’s Day, summer, Halloween or Christmas, I should adjust Senpai’s Rayshiftng schedule.”

Just the kind of suggestion I’d expect for a student council president-type…  No, Mash would be more of a vice-president, secretary or team manager-type I suppose.  Either way, it won’t matter soon.  I just need a few more days.  Putting her hands on her hips, BB smiled back to the non-confrontational girl.  “Don’t worry Mash.  We just need a few more days, okay Mash?”  Waving dismissively, BB turned to walk away, leaving her rival like she always did.

“S-Senpai…  H-He’s starting to look drained and lifeless again!  Please, I don’t like seeing him like that.”  Appealing to the concern for his well being, Mash desperately pleaded with her.  “Just… just work with me, please?  He’s our Senpai, isn’t he?”

Stopping mid-step to glare over her shoulder at the Demi-Servant, BB’s eye shone a bright red.  “No.  Master is my Senpai, and there is nothing better than seeing him struggle to succeed like he’s doing now, Mash.  Don’t forget that if he doesn’t come out of his comfort zone and push himself, Proper Human History will be wiped out and so far I wouldn’t call the cattle we’ve seen in the other Lostbelts ‘human’.  The Yaga were the closest if you ask me, and we are well below the 3% threshold for my Hard Core mode to be enabled.  So give me this and when I’m finished, Senpai will be better off for it than your babying of him ever did.”  Huffing, her mood thoroughly spoiled by the uncharacteristic insistence of the lilac-haired girl, BB left.  Well, since it involves Senpai, I suppose it’s not entirely out of character for her…

The Next Day

While he had noticed since she woke him up that Mash seemed to be in a bad mood, Ritsuka didn’t have the courage to ask her about it all day.  It wasn’t entirely noticeable if you weren’t familiar with how she normally acted, but her responses to him were more curt and shorter than usual.  Or at least, he believed they were.

Could it just be my imagination?  Or it could have nothing to do with me entirely.  Looking at the time, it was soon time for BB to show up and he felt the weight of guilt increase as another day of deceiving Mash was about to begin.  M-Maybe I shouldn’t…

While nobody else in the Command Room said anything to Mash, they all knew what he was doing.  Da Vinci-chan told him multiple times that he was going to regret it and he knew she was right, but…

Right on time, the doors of the Command Room slid open and in bounced, making sure her chest did as well, BB with a bright smile.  “Hello~ again, everybody!  It’s time for-”

“Not today, BB-san.  Come on, Senpai.”  Cutting the Moon Cancer off, Mash grabbed the young Master and pulled him out of his Coffin, dragging him to the door.

“Huh?  Eh, w-wait a minute Mash!”  Caught as much off guard as everyone else in the room by Mash’s uncompromising statement, the rogue AI conjured a couple of her shapeshifter ribbons to grab her Master’s other hand.  “You can’t just-”

Manifesting her shield and cutting away the otherwise durable ribbons, Mash narrowed her eye at BB.  “I said ‘not today, BB-san’.”  Leaving before the manipulative girl could try to stop her again, Mash dragged Ritsuka through the halls of the facility back to his room and locked the door behind her.  “Now then, Senpai, I believe you owe me an explanation.”

Too dumbfounded and intimidated by her actions, the young Magus wasn’t able to say anything until she addressed him directly.  “Mash… wh-what are you talking about?  I need to get back to help BB.”  Trying to play dumb, he still didn’t try to physically leave, and not because she was standing between him and the door.

Softening her expression a bit, she stepped away from the door and went to sit on his bed, curling her legs up to hug her knees into her chest while staring at the floor.  “Senpai?  Why are you going behind my back again?  Do you like tricking me that much, or am I being a nuisance?  Why can’t you see I’m just trying to look out for your health?  You can do anything else for the rest of the day.  Train, study, play, or just lay around, I won’t stop you, it’s just Rayshifting.  It doesn’t just take a physical toll on you, but a psychological and spiritual one.”

“Mash, it’s not what you think.  BB and I are just…”  His words dying in his throat, even if he could think of an excuse to tell her, seeing how much his lies had already affected her, he couldn’t bring himself to.

“I’m not a fool, Senpai.  I looked at the logs yesterday, for the first time in two weeks.  You’re just using BB-san to keep farming for more resources.  Even if you choose places that drop the resources to improve BB-san’s skills, it doesn’t matter if all of her skills can only be improved with Crystalized Lores at this point!”  Revealing her hand, Mash wasn’t going to let him lie again, but appreciated him stopping himself before he did at least.  “No, you’d never use a Servant like that.  That’s not the type of Master you are, which can only mean that BB-san is allowing you to use her in exchange for something.”

“No, Mash…  I don’t…  I mean, it’s not…”  Seeing the crestfallen girl sitting on his bed, Ritsuka knew he messed up.  He had hurt Mash in a way that physical abuse couldn’t match and because of it he had once again betrayed her trust.  “I’m sorry, Mash.  You’re right…”  His guilt weighing on him, heavier than when she sat on his back in full armor with her shield, Ritsuka fell to his knees and just stared at the floor.  “BB is helping me farm more in exchange for a Command Seal per day.  I didn’t want to go behind your back to do so, but I just feel so helpless watching all of you fight on the front lines with your skills reduced like they are.  I can’t fight anything stronger than a basic human, and can’t formulate amazing strategies… I can’t even use my own Magecraft to support anyone, just Mystic Codes and Command Seals.  At least like this, when I see someone use one of their skills at full power, it feels like I tangibly helped out in battle.”

While he wasn’t crying, her Master looked so pitiful and weak, trying to justify his self-destructive actions through self-deprecation.  “Gudako-senpai…  Was this the case with you too?”

“Not exactly, but the sense of uselessness is the same for sure.”  She replied somberly.  “This is why I keep telling you to stop being so soft on him.  Unless you bring him under your thumb, subservient to you, others like this BB girl, or Meddy in my case, will take advantage of his kindness until he breaks.”

“It’s true that Senpai is at fault for accepting BB-san’s offer, but I don’t think his willingness to help others and work hard are bad things… in moderation.  I don’t want to take those from him.  Even if his personality is the root cause of these problems, and it would be faster and easier to deal with that than the people around him that take advantage of him, I think Senpai is fine as he is for now.”  At the very least she could see that her previous disciplinary actions had him second-guessing himself the entire time, so that was a sign of progress.  But, he does need to be punished a bit for lying to me for so long, but restricting his Rayshifting privileges anymore would be detrimental.  All he really needs is a bit more… ‘training’.  Considering her options, Mash smiled a bit to herself as she got an idea.  “Well, I appreciate your honesty, Senpai.  I tell you again and again that you are a wonderful Master.  I’d think being able to keep so many Servants from so many different time periods and so many different alignments without them trying to kill each other would be proof enough of that fact.  You are fine just as you are…”

I’m really not that great.  He thought.

“...though I wish you wouldn’t lie to me so much.”

There was a sharpness to her voice that made the young man tense up, and all the guilt he felt was instantly replaced with apprehension as he recalled her first raising her voice to him and when she found out he had been going behind her back the first time to Rayshift more.  Snapping his attention to her face, he half expected to see her eye glow an Alter amber, but instead was enchanted by the pure lavender orb that was narrowed in a bit of dark glee at him.  The smile and expression on the gentle Demi-Servant’s face reminded him of Stheno or Euryale when they thought of a new way to ‘entertain’ themselves.  “U-Um…  Mash?  I know you’re upset but-”

“I’m not upset, Master.”  She quickly said, cutting him off as she motioned to the floor next to her by the bed.  “Now, lay on your back here and put your legs up on the bed.”

There was no room for argument, he could only comply and moved so he was laying with his back on the floor and legs on his bed.  Before he could ask what she wanted him to do next though, Mash stood up and slipped off her shoes, stepping over him and sitting on his shins.  From the angle, he was given a glimpse of the white panties she normally wore until her skirt settled to block them.  And feeling her plump, round butt squish against, and around, something other than his back reminded him again of how well developed she was.  “M-Mash?!”  Trying to sit up, he was stopped as she rested a single foot on his chest and lightly applied pressure, holding him down.

“See, I’m not upset at all.  But…”  Increasing the pressure on his chest a little bit, she smiled down at him sweetly.  “...if I were, not that I’m saying I am, I may be inclined to forgive you if you can do one sit-up.  If you can’t, you’re not allowed to Rayshift without me present until you can.”

Freshly freed from the confines of her short-heeled boots, the residual heat from being trapped in the confined space spread from her sole into his chest and the scent of sweat lingered in the air.  Mash herself was either ignorant of the potent scent wafting up to his nostrils or was using it as a show of dominance over him and at this point it was closer to a 50/50 chance than he would have assumed previously.  She knows I can’t move an inch like this…  It’s not enough to hurt, but Mash isn’t even giving me a chance, not even an illusion of one.  He wanted to tell her to stop, to get off him and just ask for forgiveness.

‘If I catch you trying to sneak off before you make that up to me, or in the future, I’ll have to take more… drastic measures. Okay?’

However, recalling her previous warning weeks ago, he knew he all but asked for this.  Right…  Mash is doing this because I forced her to.  Trying more earnestly to sit up, he grabbed her ankle and attempted to lift her foot off him, but it didn’t budge.  She was stabilizing herself with her hands on his bed, so he couldn’t knock her off balance either.

“Uh ah ah, Senpai.”  Using her other foot to brush his hands aside, she playfully reprimanded him.  “Hands behind your head, no cheating.”  Giggling, her heart was fluttering and seeing him unquestioningly comply made a heat build in her body.  That’s it, Senpai.  You don’t have to… shouldn’t listen to anyone else.  Just me.  I’ll keep you safe.  Her beloved Senpai was completely at her mercy, and as much as she wanted to deny it, she felt herself getting a bit wet from it.  Extending her other foot, unable to curb the intense desire to, she pressed her toes against his forehead, pinning his head and hands to the floor as well.  “I’m not going to be so lenient on you anymore.”

“Good girl Mash!  I didn’t know you had it in you.”  Congratulating the Shielder girl for sticking to her conviction, Gudako celebrated her taking another step towards saving Ritsuka from himself like her Mash did for her.  Well, actually I did, but you’ve been dragging your feet for so long now.  She thought, snickering to herself.

Practically glowing red, Mash wasn’t even sure if the warmth on her face was more from embarrassment or arousal.  She had sat on Ritsuka’s legs for the better part of an hour, and by the end of it she had covered his face with both of her feet.  “Hush, Gudako-senpai!  Oh, I can’t believe I did that to Senpai.  I didn’t even consider how smelly my feet must have been!”

As soon as the thought occurred to her, she moved her feet, setting them on the floor as she just stared down at his equally embarrassed face.  He could have easily done a sit-up too, but he just laid there, staring at her, not sure what he should do.  But before he could say anything, she got up, put on her boots and quickly excused herself for the night.

As the sequences of events replayed in her mind, Mash froze for a second since, in her haste to leave before things got more awkward… she didn’t even stand to the side of him when she put her boots back on!  She stood over him, practically with a foot on either side of his head, and put her boots on!  AHHHH!  I flashed Senpai my panties!  Crouching down in full embarrassment, she held the back of her skirt to her butt.  They’re not even cute ones today…

“Hm?  Is something wrong, Mash?”

Disappointed in herself, Mash pouted for a moment before standing back up.  “N-No.  No, it’s nothing.”  She replied, not wanting to worry the redhead in her bowels.  Starting tomorrow, I will…  Mata Hari-san helped me get lots of different ones when I accompanied Senpai to Hawaii…  Resolving to do better, Mash reached into her pocket and took a deep breath.  There was one other thing she needed to do.

Her mood soured by the aggressive intervention of her fellow kouhai, BB sat in her room, scheming about how to bring her final plan to completion.  Most of her clothes shifted to spirit form, she sat in her panties and stockings as she held up her ‘certified Danger-Cup’ breasts with her white-gloved hands to admire the sakura petal-shaped Command Seals across them.  Seventeen, just a few more and then Senpai will be all mine.  A one day setback was annoying, but not enough to completely throw off her plans.  Mash’ll probably convince him to stop, so I should pay him a visit tonight to make sure he doesn’t listen to her.  Rubbing her breasts, her devilish expression softened to a more pure, innocent maiden’s, flush with embarrassment.  I-I-If I have t-t-to…  I can a-a-always seduce Senpai with my b-b-body.  Maybe smother him with my boobs a bit… and then… Senpai’s lust will take over and he’ll h-h-hold me down and-  As her fantasy began to run away on her, a knocking at her door brought the rogue AI back to reality.  Clearing her throat, she manifested her clothes and went to open the door with a singsong voice.  “Who is it?  Is that you, Senpai~?”  However, as she opened the door, she was disappointed to see Mash standing there.  “Oh.  Well, to what do I owe the pleasure, second place?”  She didn’t even try to hide her disappointment.

“Good evening, BB-san.  May I come in?”  Opposed to the Moon Cancer’s mood, Mash asked with a smile.  “Senpai told me everything, and I don’t think you’d want to discuss this out in the open.”

W-Was that a threat?  Almost impressed, BB sighed and motioned for the Shielder to enter, closing the door behind her.  “So Senpai spilled the beans, you say?  Well, it’s not like I’m not always working on something or another, so you’ll have to do better than that to get me to confess to anything.”

“I’m not here for a confession, BB-san.  I don’t even want to know what you plan to do with the Command Seals Senpai gave you or want you to return them.  I’m only here because your scheme this time seemed to deliberately target Senpai’s health, since using Command Seal is also very taxing on his body.  What I want to know is, why?  Why are you trying to drive Senpai to his breaking point?”

“Geez, cat’s out of the bag already?  Fine, if you want to know so badly, I’ll tell you, since you can’t stop me anymore.”  Shrugging her shoulders and shaking her head, BB smiled confidently at Mash.  “Humans only have value when they are struggling to survive, I’m pretty sure I’ve said that before.  I hate humanity, but I don’t dislike them.  Teasing them, tormenting them, challenging them, I love watching humans suffer because they can grow like that.  And I love seeing Senpai like that.  The weight of preventing the Incineration of Humanity… if only I could have gotten to see that, but it was nice seeing him struggle to clean up the aftermath of it while the Mage’s Association and UN tried to sanction him.  But these Lostbelt?  Genociding entire timelines to restore Proper Human History?  Senpai won’t last through it, I can see that and if you’re half the kouhai you claim to be you should see that too.”

Casting her gaze to the floor Mash could confidently say that she was as comfortable with denying Lostbelts as their Master was.  The necessity of their actions did little to ease their consciences for all the lives lost as a result of their battles.  “Y-Yes…  You’re right.  If Senpai continued as he had been, he would have broken.”  For a moment, she saw the image of Gudako crying and broken on the ground and felt her heart tighten.  “That’s why we need to work towards preventing that, not encouraging it!”

“Boo-boozt, wrong.”  Making an ‘X’ with her arms, BB playfully denied Mash’s opinion.  “It’s up to Senpai to deal with this himself and if he succeeds, that’s fine.  But if he fails, I’ll be sure to bring his soul back with me to the Moon Cell and take good care of him while the Crypters and that Foreign God do whatever they want with Earth.  Neither seem to have their sights set on the Moon Cell, so I can take my time to thoroughly train and torment Senpai when we’re all alone.”  Giggling deviously, there was a touch of crimson to her cheeks as she imagined her plans working out.  “And since I’m not doing anything wrong, there is nothing you can do to stop me.  Everyone else seems to play along with you restricting Senpai’s Rayshifting time, but it's not an actual policy, obviously.”

She was right, and she knew that Mash knew it.  Director Goredolf, Da Vinci-chan, Shion, the rest of the staff and Servants, they were only playing along with her for Ritsuka’s sake.  At the end of the day, it’s up to the young Magus to decide how often he should Rayshift during these dire times, and only if he became physically incapable of performing his duties would they then intervene, but it would be too late by then.  There was no peaceful way to stop BB’s plan.

But still…

“No…  I won’t let you.”  Mash said quietly, reaching into her pocket.  “For Senpai’s sake, I’ll stop you, BB-san.”

“Stop me?  You?”  Looking at the trembling Shielder, BB stood silent for a moment and then burst out into laughter.  “Oh, th-that’s a good one, Mash.  What, are you going to fight me here?”  Her eyes glowing a bright red, the manipulative Moon Cancer knew that her fellow kouhai couldn’t do something like that.  “Gonna pull out that busted Noble Phantasm and defend me to death?”

“True Name… clarion summon.”  Quietly, barely above a whisper, Mash recited her incantation as she pulled a card from her pocket.

Not hearing what she actually said under the sound of her laughter, BB did notice the object that Mash held up.  Most of the Servants would instantly recognize the Craft Essence that depicted an older, bearded gentleman in a robe against a background of black and white.  Kaleidoscope!?  Is she seriously going to fight me?

Before her target could ready herself for combat, escape or activate one of her Command Seals to resist, Mash used her initiative to invoke her new Noble Phantasm for the first time.  “May purity cleanse the wicked and this temple shelter the wounded… Come to me…”

“Huh?  A… A new Noble Phantasm?!”  Not recognizing the chant the Shielder was saying, BB tried to jump back to create a bit more distance between her and Mash, but as she did she felt something like a tether attach itself to her body and pull her forwards.  The air began to rush towards the lilac-haired girl as more invisible tethers continued to attach themselves to BB’s body, but it wasn’t something as flimsy as to wrap around her limbs to hold it.  She could tell each of the countless ties bonded to her cells individually, and penetrated her body to attach to her Spirit Origin as well.  There was no resisting the force pulling her in after that.  Her inability to resist this force latching onto the very core of her being sealed her fate.  “M-Mash… What are you do-?”

There was still time, and seeing the panicked expression on BB’s face, Mash hesitated for only an instance.  If she stopped now, she’d at least have the leverage she needed to keep the girl in check.  And if it was anybody other than her beloved Senpai and Master that the corrupted AI was threatening, that would have been enough.  “Form Camelot!”

Whisked away with the flow of the air and the pull of the invisible force, BB could only watch helplessly as she was quickly drawn towards Mash, or more specifically her open mouth!  In the timespan of an instant stretched out to eternity, she could only watch as Mash’s body and her surroundings grew bigger and bigger.  She flew through the open portal of the Shielder girl’s slender lips and into complete darkness as the gigantic pearly white teeth behind her slammed shut with a  thunderous thud, leaving the last image in her head that of the expansive, slimy, pink oral muscle below her and the pulsating orifice leading deeper into the abyss ahead.

*GULP*

Even though she had seen herself, or rather a version of herself, using the ability to dispatch enemies from the memories of her other self, Mash was surprised at how quickly BB went from standing in front of her to now being inside of her body.  Had she blinked, she might have even missed the terrified confusion on the bratty AI’s face as she was compacted down and brought into her mouth almost effortlessly.  “I…  I actually did it?”

“Did you EVER!  Way to go Mash!  I knew it was only a matter of time before you nommed somebody!”  Cheering from inside the Shielder’s gorgeous body, Gudako couldn’t contain her excitement.  “Keeping her trapped in you for a couple days should teach her not to cross you again.  So, where did you send her?  Should I clean up the place a bit?”

Licking her lips as she fully came to terms with what she had just done, Mash couldn’t help but smile both in relief and satisfaction.  Rubbing her belly, the first thought that came to her mind was, BB-san tasted delicious.  Letting out a soft burp, she put the expended Craft Essence back in her pocket and quickly left BB’s room.  It would be a bit before it could be used again, but really she’d have to return it soon before anyone noticed it was missing.

Camelot’s Detainment

Mash’s Stomach

After an uncomfortably tight ride down a tunnel of undulating muscles, BB was dropped into a sac filled with acidic fumes and slick, rippling flesh.  It was annoying to breathe, but not difficult, though she could tell the environment was hostile to anything unfortunate enough to end up here.

“Of course it would be.  I’m in Mash’s stomach after all.”  Surprisingly calm about what happened to her, she looked around a bit before kicking and thrashing about like a child throwing a tantrum.  “Mash!  MASH!  Only one person’s allowed to eat me and it’s definitely not like this!  Get me out of here this instant or I swear when I get out I’ll-”

“Calm down, BB-san.  There’s no use trying to force your way out.  Since I’m not distracted by anything, not even a Demon God Pillar would be able to get out of my belly.”  Giggling in her captive’s head, Mash teased.  “Now settle down and think about what you’ve done, or I might just have to digest you for trying to hurt Senpai.”

Unable to shift into her Spirit Form, BB had to accept that escape wouldn’t be possible.  Whether the validity that a Demon God Pillar wouldn’t be able to get out of the digestive organ was true or not, BB wasn’t about to let Mash talk down to her like she was the inferior kouhai.  “Hmmm?  ‘Digest me’ you say?  Really, Mash?  You’re going to kill me?  I doubt you have it in you to do that.”  She wasn’t doubting the stomach’s ability to dissolve her, her clothes were already starting to fall apart as the walls began to secrete fluids that made her skin itch.  “I can just use the Command Seals Senpai gave me to heal up and eventually you’ll feel bad for torturing me like this.  And even if you do digest me, I’ll just come back and make you regret this.  So, just let me out now and save yourself the trouble.”

Chaldea Novum Halls

As she headed for the Craft Essence archive, Mash was surprised by how easily she was able to keep BB in her belly.  More than the honestly unimpressive and futile physical resistance that registered as more of a massage, the pressure of her Magic Resistance was far more pronounced.

I can see why, if I were in combat, it might be a bit difficult to focus.  Too bad for BB-san I’m not in combat right now.  But her getting out of my belly one way or the other is a bit concerning…  Trying to think of a way to get BB to take her seriously, Mash was at a loss for what to do.

“Well, I’m not going to question whether she deserves to be in your belly if that’s what you decided, but be careful Mash.  I told you before, that Form Camelot transforms 100% of an ‘enemy’ into pure Mana, right?”  Speaking up, Gudako wasn’t so much worried about the mischievous Servant stewing in Mash’s digestive organ as she was Mash not understanding how powerful her Noble Phantasm truly was.  “That means no coming back, even for Servants contracted by Chaldea’s FATE system since nothing returns from you.  Meddy was a bit more hostile towards me than this ‘BB’ seems to be, so he went too far one day and Mash fully digested him as punishment… and he disappeared entirely after that.  Honestly, there was the possibility that he nullified his contract or something too, but when Da Vinci-chan looked into it she said that Mash fully digesting him was more likely.  That was how Mash kept all the troublemakers in my Chaldea in line.”

“Wait, really!?”  Not aware of the danger Form Camelot posed to Servants before, thinking about it a bit it did make sense.  And yet, rather than panic, she rubbed her belly a bit more and continued about her business.  “Thanks Senpai.  I hadn’t realized that before.”

“No problem!  Go ahead and churn her up if you think it’s for the best, Servants are a potent source of high quality Mana after all.  Mash got pretty… intense after gurgling Meddy.”  Giggling at the pleasant memory, the redhead had no attachment to BB so found the situation hilarious.

Focusing back on the magical signature in her belly, Mash could feel BB’s Saint Graph Core was on the verge of collapsing already.  If she didn’t have Command Seals to spare…  As mad as she was at the manipulative Servant for tempting her Senpai into going behind her back and defying her like that, Mash understood that, from BB’s perspective, she did it out of affection for him.  So she merely wanted to teach her fellow kouhai a lesson.  “BB-san, since you don’t seem to have noticed yet, I thought I’d give you a warning.  My new Noble Phantasm, Form Camelot, doesn’t just damage and kill enemies.  Like I said before, I’m going to digest you, break you down and absorb all of your Mana into me.  You won’t be coming back after that.  You’ll be a part of me.”

“Huh!?  What kind of cheat ability is that!  No fair.  I’m calling foul!”  While there was incentive for Mash to be lying to her, BB was able to tell that her Mana was getting absorbed into the flesh around her.  Even using her Self-Modification Skill wasn’t enough to resist the damage she was constantly taking from the burning acids.  As her body was about to give out, the doubt in her mind became too much and just before she was beyond saving, BB used a Command Seal to fully repair her Spirit Origin.  Geez, okay…  Just a small set back.  It’ll take a lot of Mana to drag Senpai back to the Moon Cell when I return, so I was hoping to save these…  I could probably make do if I could convince one of my daughters to help me if I really need to, so I could use a few more.  Mash is a bleeding heart, so the longer I’m in here and ‘reflecting’ on what I did ‘wrong’ the more likely she is to let me out.

“Oh, that was tasty!  Feel free to do that again, BB-san.”  It wasn’t like Mash to tease someone like this though, so not only was it infuriating to the AI, but it was concerning.  “Should I skip dinner tonight?  To a certain degree I can operate on Mana alone.”

“Alright Mash, you’ve made your point.  I’ll stop trying to break Senpai, so just let me out, okay?”  With her calculation abilities, BB could tell that, because she was unprepared for such an ambush, that she couldn’t get out of her predicament.  Both Domina Coronam and Aurea Pocula were instantly broken down and absorbed in Mash’s stomach and climbing out seemed as likely to work as her turning over a new leaf.  “Come on Mash.  You’re not really going to digest me.”

But as time went on, Mash stopped replying to her entirely, leaving her to use Command Seal after Command Seal to keep her Spirit Origin intact.  Continuous use of her third skill was required just to slow the process, but the churning organ was overwhelmingly powerful.  She could hear muffled conversations between her captor and others, though the sounds of the active stomach around her were drowning them out.

She’s just going on like I’m not in here?  Mash, you cheeky little-  It pissed her off that a powerful AI like her could be treated like this, like some forgettable meal.

None of her attempts to get Mash to release her were responded to at all, and she wasn’t sure if she was being ignored or if Mash needed to actively concentrate on her to hear her.  And just as her rage and frustration was about to boil over, a mass of mush came down and landed directly on her!  Digging herself out of the organic mass that caused the digestive organ to become even more active, before she could completely free herself from it another fell on her.

This is… apples and yogurt?  She’s eating!?  Ewww, it’s in my hair and everything!  Before she could move again, more and more of the chewed up food piled on top of her as Mash ate without reservation.  And with a substantial meal to fill it, Mash’s stomach showed just how easy it had been going on her.

The powerful muscles compacted in around her with greater force and frequency, mixing up the slurry that the meal Mash consumed turned into as the potency of the acids seemed to increase.  While Mash was eating, BB tried to call out to her to stop, but had to focus on staying afloat in the turbulent sea of nutrient soup and using her Command Seals to restore her Spirit Origin.

Even after Mash finished eating and went to take a bath, BB had to do everything she could to stay out of the Shielder’s small intestines, not wanting to risk increasing the speed at which her Mana reserves got absorbed.  Thankfully, by the time Mash was finished soaking in the bath, which only increased the already unbearable heat for the digesting Moon Cancer, Mash’s stomach had emptied and the rate at which she needed to use Command Seals decreased as well.

Laying naked and exhausted, this had already gone on far longer than she thought it would have, as she was down to her last Command.  “Mash?  Mash, please just… just answer me.  I get it, I… I won’t mess with Senpai anymore.  Please.”  Too tired to even properly convey her panic and desperation, even as her body was restored the lingering pain from having been digested to her limit sixteen times now had thoroughly crushed her rebellious spirit.  The only thing making her prolong this torture was her affection for Ritsuka.  Even if another version of her came to Chaldea after she was digested, they wouldn’t be ‘her’, and in that sense the finality promised by this death was terrifying.  “Please, Mash…  I’m sorry.”  Using the last Command Seal she had left, BB was about to give up any hope of getting out of this.  Whatever change happened in Mash to cause the manifestation of this new Noble Phantasm, it was a profound one that altered something fundamental in the kind and warm, all-too sweet and naive girl.

But then, as she got ready to endure a final acid bath, she heard a voice echo in her head.  “Hmm?  BB-san?  Oh, sorry, I almost forgot about you.”

After returning the Kaleidoscope that she borrowed from the archives, Mash had kept an eye on how BB was doing in her stomach, even as she talked to the other Servants and staff, ate a light dinner since she was feeling quite full from the magical energy she was getting form BB, and bathed.  At present, she could easily use Form Camelot three more times from all the Mana she had absorbed from the Moon Cancer, but as she was getting ready for bed, she felt the final large reserve of magical energy inside of her prisoner’s body get used up.

Was that her last Command Seal?  Then that means if I don’t let BB-san out soon…  Thinking back on the day, it had been rather eventful since pulling Ritsuka out of the Command Room, and it felt really good having BB inside of her belly.  The gradual flow of rich concentrations of Mana entering her body felt amazing, but there was still the massive, sudden influx of magical energy that would come from fully digesting an enemy that Mash was now curious about.  Sure, she had the memories of her other self to reference, but actually experiencing the slow digestion of another was already far better then what those memories implied.  “Senpai?  Are you sure BB-san will be gone forever if I digest her?”

“Aww, what’s the matter Mash?  Wanna gurgle up your meal that badly, huh?”  Teasing the kind-hearted girl a bit for the reluctance in her voice when she asked, Gudako’s playful giggling faded as she became deadly serious.  “Yes, she’ll be gone, forever.  You might be able to use the Mana for attacks or possibly get a proficient Caster like Medea or Circe to store it in some sort of vessel for you, but you won’t be able to restore BB with it…  In fact…”  Taking a deep breath, she didn’t want Mash to make a decision without knowing all the facts as she knew them.  “You know how Chaldea tracks all the registered Saint Graphs you’ve encountered and measures when the connection with them between the Throne and us strengthens?”

“Yes.”  It was an odd phenomenon that they quickly noticed once the Grand Order started.  These periods of more synchronized wavelengths with the Throne of Heroes were dubbed ‘Summoning Campaigns’ by the bigger, Caster Da Vinci-chan back then.

“Well, if you digest a Servant, that version of their Saint Graph is removed from the Throne entirely.  You’re not taking them out of history, but they can never be summoned again.”

“Okay.  Thank you, Senpai.”  Despite the shocking news, Mash didn’t panic as she realized what that meant.  Aside from a few noteworthy enemies like Koyanskaya and Rasputin, her other self rarely used Form Camelot on other enemy Servants fully.  “Hmm?  BB-san?  Oh, sorry, I almost forgot about you.”

“M-Mash!?  Mash!  Please, let me out!”  Not even bothering with acting tough, BB desperately asked her to release her.

“So, have you learned your lesson?  I’m about to go to sleep, so if you keep being stubborn I’ll-”

“YES!  Yes, please… I… I can feel it.  My Spirit Origin is being stripped away…  Please, I won’t try to break Senpai anymore, I’ll be a good kouhai.  J-Just don’t digest me…”

She could tell BB was serious, her voice was full of remorse and she was terrified of what would happen if she got fully digested.  There were no lies, it was a genuine apology and a desperate cry for help…

And yet it wasn’t enough.

I don’t want to just hear it from her.  She tried to hurt Senpai.  To break him.  To take him from me!  Sitting on her bed, Mash closed her eyes and began concentrating to form an avatar of herself in her stomach.  I don’t want to hear it…  I need to see it.  The remorse and regret on her face.

As if sliding a missing gear into place, Mash felt something click in her mind and then, as easy as she took a breath, she was standing in a dark, pulsating chamber of flesh, slick with digestive enzymes and at her feet was a heavily wounded, half-digested BB, staring up at her in fear and awe.

And that look said it all, fulfilling Mash in a way that she had never felt before.  It was the tired, apologetic look of someone thoroughly defeated and begging for mercy, despite not even having the energy to vocalize it.  She was sorrier than words could convey and absolutely horrified of the fate that awaited her if Mash chose to just leave her to be the meal she had been treated as.

Kneeling down, Mash grabbed BB by her softening shoulders and lifted her up to stare her straight in the eye.  “I can forgive your usual pranks, but try to hurt Senpai again and I’ll just watch next time.”

Though it sounded like the kind-hearted Demi-Servant was trying to convince herself of the threat more than her, BB knew that there was something in Mash that would carrying it out by the way the lavender orb staring at her shifted to Alter amber for a few seconds, glowing with a cold, unforgiving menace.

Returning her consciousness back to her mind, Mash quickly changed her designation of the almost digested Servant in her belly from enemy to ally and transported her to her mouth so she could spit her out onto her bed.  BB appeared on Mash’s bed, naked and dry as the regenerative buffs applied to allies exiting Form Camelot slowly healed her wounds.  She just laid there, weak and sore, trying to catch her breath as Mash laid down next to her.

“I’m sorry I had to be so rough, BB-chan, but I can’t afford to let Senpai push himself too hard anymore.”  Mash said, hugging the terrified Servant to try and calm her a bit.

Not wanting to do anything that might upset Mash right now, BB allowed herself to be embraced.  Despite how terrified she was, the power and ruthlessness of the Shielder Demi-Servant with his new Noble Phantasm also had her in awe.  “M-Mash…  What happened to you?”

“Hmm…  I don’t think you’re ready for that yet.”  Holding her tightly, Mash could smell BB’s light scent fill her nose.  Mmm…  BB-chan smells so good.  I could just eat her up again.  “If you can prove yourself a trustworthy junior kouhai, I might tell you.  For now, I think I’m going to have you sleep with me.  I don’t want you out of my sight if I’m not watching Senpai.  Understood.”

“Y-Yes.” Replying instantly, despite how out of character it normally would be for her, BB couldn’t find it in her to disobey either.  Being kept under Mash’s thumb was preferred over being a meal.  “But… D-Do you have to use ‘-chan’?”

“Yes.”  Giggling sweetly, Mash tightened her grip on BB playfully.  “I’ve always wanted a junior kouhai.”

Well… if it keeps me out of that beast of a belly, I’ll play along for now.  Staying on Mash’s good side could prove to be entertaining if I can get her to start using that interesting Noble Phantasm in the right ways.  Trusting the promise of not being eaten so long as she behaved, BB picked up that such a punishment was only used in defense of Ritsuka.  Which meant other mischief was fair play.