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Life was strange.
That was something that Majin Okita Souji had learned to accept during her time in Chaldea, and it was a fact that she reminisced on as she stared outward at the sunset before her, a popsicle in her hand and the wood of the bench underneath her rigid as she watched the orange rays stretch out over the sea.
Now, that life as a Heroic Spirit was strange was very much a given, what with the mixture of colorful stories and characters within Chaldea’s walls, and Majin had long since gotten used to the multitude of people who roamed the headquarters’ sterile-white hallways and various facilities. The various Alters hanging around her Master did somewhat intimidate her in a peculiar sense - they were her seniors in being an Alter, after all - and the group of Servants surrounding her other self were loud and somewhat strange, but Majin didn’t find them intolerable. She only had Rengoku because of the Demon King, and if she had to interact with them in order to stay close to her Master, then interact with them she shall.
Speaking of whom…
“Hey, Rengoku, want some ice cream? C’mon, I got your favorite!”
Majin turned her head to the right, her gaze now filled with the sight of one Ritsuka Fujimaru leaning towards her with a popsicle held in each hand - or rather, he was leaning down towards Rengoku between them on the bench, offering the popsicle in his left hand to them. Rengoku, for their part, broke their gaze from the beautiful view to stare with Majin at her Master, their gaze carefully neutral as they, after seemingly contemplating the treat offered to them, eventually reached a small hand out to receive the ice pop.
“I suppose, my Lord’s Master.” Their reply was as clipped and cool as ever, but Majin thought that she could detect a hint of warmth in their tone, a sign that the child-like being was indeed growing closer to Ritsuka. The thought, if nothing else, brought a small smile to the Alter Ego’s face as she watched them, thoughts still occupying her mind.
Their current situation was one that Majin had never thought would happen, save for some far-reaching hope her mind had supplied to her ever since the summons had reunited her with her Master. She was still amiss as to just how he had managed that. According to the brown-haired Caster who was seemingly in charge of Chaldea as a whole, it had something to do with Ritsuka managing to somehow stabilize her Saint Graph enough to allow him to call for her, something that must have proved an arduous ordeal. Majin was under no delusions about her existence: she was fragile, even hesitant to call herself a functioning Spirit. She was a weapon, a being created by the Counter Force to serve as something of a doomsday device in the Tokyo Singularity. So one-dimensional was her being that the Counter Force didn’t even bother with summoning her in a stabilized form - instead, she was deployed with no memories, no will, and no directive other than to sweep the mission should her forerunner fail. And she was fine with this. It was what she was summoned to do, after all.
And then she met him.
Throughout their journey, he gave her a purpose. He gave her a reason to continue to fight and win every battle they came across, as unstable as she was. He continued to believe in her, even as she could barely protect him from the most basic of enemies. He gave her a reason to attempt to grow past her directive and into a semblance at who she could have possibly been, even regaining her memories by their journey’s end.
He was a Master who had fought through conflict after harrowing conflict despite being much weaker than herself. He had persevered through events that would give most Heroic Spirits pause, and he had many Servants at his beck and call, some obviously more attached to him than others even to her eyes. And yet, he chose to place her faith in her. Even after he had summoned her, despite his having to have known that her Saint Graph was still fragile, he trusted her to protect him, to fight alongside him, to win for him.
She loved him for that. How could she not? This young man, forced into a conflict that was initially beyond anything he was capable of, decided that she was worthy of his trust and companionship. He chose to accompany her to eat oden, to train, to watch the occasional movie she had found while idly browsing Chaldea’s archives. Even when she insisted on being close to him for no particular reason, he would oblige with a smile on his face, sitting with her for close to hours as she clung to him. Even though he doubtlessly had greater responsibilities, he still made sure that he could spend time with her.
And he felt the same way. Even in her social inexperience, she could see it in him whenever they were together. His eyes would light up whenever he saw her, and that light would stretch to encompass his entire face when she made a request of his time. Whatever they ended up doing, he maintained those shining eyes and that warm smile as he went along with whatever struck her fancy, enthusiastically partaking in her whims and likes. Even when she didn’t have any interests at a given moment, he would seek her out, a bowl of oden with him as he asked her for her time, something she was always happy to give him. Their relationship only grew closer as time passed as he gave her the use of his given name (a privilege she happily accepted), and their parting at Chaldea’s shutdown was one of much sorrow. They had spent the night before her unsummoning clinging to each other, with Majin dreading the thought of having to return to the employ of the World, going back to a time of isolation, a time without him by her side to encourage her through her battles.
Thankfully, their separation was a short one: to her, only scant time had passed before they were once again reunited. Although the situation consuming the world did not allow for an extended reunion, she could feel the immense joy radiating from Ritsuka’s face, him visibly holding back tears as he welcomed her back to Chaldea, and it was a joy that she gladly reciprocated in full, spending as much as time as she could by his side, never wanting to leave him and herself by their lonesome again. Soon enough, things fell back into place, and the two were content to bask in the comfort of the other. With everything set back in its proper place, it would be quite some time before anything new would enter their relationship.
The inclusion of Rengoku into their lives was certainly an odd one, and one that came with quite a bit of difficulty. Having received a swimsuit like her other self and a modified Saint Graph to go along with it, both Ritsuka and Majin were surprised when the little child-like being, apparently connected with the (former) Alter Ego’s weapon, tagged along with her Saint Graph modification. Despite the initial bewilderment, they accepted them into their lives, hoping that this would simply be another happy addition into their lives.
Things would not be so easy. Despite being part of Majin’s Saint Graph, and thus, her being, Rengoku was unusually frosty towards Ritsuka, rebuffing his attempts to forge a bond with them, and only going as far as tolerating them when he was required to deploy them in combat. For the most part, they stuck with Majin, acting as a slight wedge in between the two of them. This turn of events led to Majin becoming somewhat disheartened. According to the Chaldean team, Rengoku was indeed a part of her Saint Graph, a result of the tampering that allowed her to obtain a swimsuit in the first place. For there to be a part of Majin that would so coldly rebuff Ritsuka saddened her. Surely this didn’t mean that a part of her herself resented him, could it? And yet, as an extension of her own being, what other conclusion was there to draw?
With these doubts in her head, the newly-minted Saber attempted to close the gap between Rengoku and Ritsuka. She began to draw Ritsuka’s time to them more and more, having them eat meals and play around at the beach that the Servants had congregated around that year with virtually every moment of Ritsuka’s spare time. Although part of her felt somewhat bad at taking his time away from the other Servants, she wanted him and Rengoku to get along. She needed them to.
At first, things progressed slowly. Rengoku remained as cold as ever, even with both Ritsuka and Majin coaxing her into various activities that were available at their destination. For a few days, Majin was disheartened at their reluctance, yet she continued to try. This eventually bore fruit: little by little, Rengoku’s reluctance to spend time with Ritsuka began to fade, and they began to become more receptive to his offers and attempts to interact with and spend time with her. At times, she would even catch glimpses of them talking in secret, with Rengoku seemingly participating as much in the conversation as Ritsuka did. They would never tell her what it was that they were talking about, but that was fine with her. At least they were getting along now.. Even with Rengoku remaining somewhat frosty, they were more receptive to him, and that was all that mattered.
And so now, as they sat, watching the sunset and eating ice cream together with Ritsuka and Rengoku seemingly comfortable around one another, Majin couldn’t help but feel a sense of happiness and warmth spread throughout her body as she watched the two of them banter back and forth. Overtaken by her emotions, she reached out a hand and laid it atop Ritsuka’s own, in the midst of ruffling little Rengoku’s white hair. He turned his gaze to her, a briefly quizzical look on his face being overtaken with that familiar warm smile, one she happily reciprocated.
She didn’t know what would happen, or what the World would ask of her next, but as she sat with the two of them, she found that she didn’t care. The world, the Lostbelts, the Counter Force…none of it was important at all to her. All that she was focused on was that they were here together. And that was all she needed.