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Being the last master of humanity ain’t exactly easy, but oddly enough, Ritsuka had always been able to take it and make it work (at least according to himself), much to the amazement and somewhat concernof Mash, Da Vinci (hypocritically so, according to Ritsuka himself) and three of his closest servants: Achilles, Cú Chulainn and Saito Hajime.
It is not that he doesn't appreciate his concern, far from it, but they can be a bit.... constricting, and they had been asking him help to fight their own persona demons. So far Achilles had been a bit too high-strunk about his past mistakes, even making up mistakes based on the not so reliable sources that are Apollo, Hector and Paris, which Ritsuka wishes he could shut down the kidnapper-rapey trio and assure Achilles he did nothing wrong. Hajime-chan had been trying to learn how to cook and bake and while he finds it very endearing, he has been haunting him with lots of recipes he has made and asking him to taste them. At least the recipes were delicious, but he is concerned as to why his usually laid-back saber is having second thoughts about himself. As for Cú, is not as egregious as the other two, but he had been training like a madman to “be equal” to his fellow Cús, even if they had assured him, he is just as good as them, he is them and vice versa after all (and alter told him to get a grip with the most aggressive backslap he had ever seen). Doesnt help that there is a constant threat of attack from Antartica and whatever the hell is inside that stupid world-globe with a messiah complex, or that they need to Analize the exact nature of the recent thrid distortion on what use to be Italy. For all they know Leviathan herself will come out of the woodworks and eat them, or Dante Alihieri will write another fanfic about why gay people and greeks should all go to hell because “muh Troy good, everything else bad” and will try to bend reality to his will. Maybe God himself will judge him for his sins or make him a tea party and assure him he has done no wrong. WHO THE FUCK KNOWS!!!! He is just tired of everything. Something HAS to go wrong. He needs a vacation, perhaps a nice trip in the simulator with his three lovable numbskulls will....
“Master, I wanted to talk about something” “Master, I brought you cookies” “Master I wanted to show you this new move I made” Just as he was finishing his throughts, the three numbskulls in question burst down the door, and something in Ritsuka just...snapped
“WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT!?” Ritsuka finally screamed....and later came to regret, as the three servants, his three friends, maybe something else, looked at him with a mix of surprise, regret and even puppy eyes in Achilles’ case. “Well, I blew it. I am an asshole now” he thought to himself
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“I think we need to cheer him up. He has been so stressed out” Achilles voiced with concern, and not without reason. Currently their master has been rather exhausted, and refuses to talk a lot, so he called upon Hajime and Cu, since he knew that alongside himself, master would at least listen to them. And honestly, this situation can't continue further, and in a way, they know they are somewhat responsible for their master’s burnout.
“Perhaps we could cook him something. He always cheers up with something to eat” added Cu Chulainn. “You could be right. I had been practicing how to make rice crackers, so I could make some to cheer him up” Hajime wás more than glad to help, and Ritsuka has shown some peace after eating them, so maybe it could work, and he was getting tired of his master’s increasingly reclusive nature. “Yeah, and lancer, you could show him that move you had been practicing. Maybe it will impress him” Achilles commented cheerfully. Master at some point made the habit of semi-regularly visiting Cu in his training, so maybe seeing him progress will raise his mood. “And while you do that, I will try to discern the core issue here. Hopefully everything will go well”
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Well, I blew it. I am an asshole now” Ritsuka thought to himself after realizing what he just done. And a crippling feeling came rushing as his 3 servants were preparing to leave “No no, dont go, look I am sorry, I had just been stressed” Ritsuka almost felt like he wanted to cry. Torturing himself was one thing, but harming those he loves....it will haunt him for some time
“And precisely thats why we wanted to talk with you Master......we want to resign” Achilles commented with some nervousness on his face, much to Guda’s horror. What happened? What could make them hate him enough to resign” “Wait, why? Why would you do that, is it because I am not enough? Is it because of that conversation with Hector? Achilles, I told you it wasnt a big deal” Before Ritsuka could continue, Hajime interrupted him with a kind hand on his shoulder “Is because we feel we may be burdening you too much with our troubles. If it makes you feel better and diminishes your workload, we will be happy to be away” “Yeah....we just want to see you happy, even if it's not with us. If you are happy, we...” Before Cu Chulainn could finish, he was interrupted by sobbing. Sobbing from their master, to which all acted fast and group-hugged him. Between sobs, Ritsuka said “I-I dont want you to leave, I dont want you to feel horrible because of me, or put on a fake happy mask. I just......want things to be the way they were before. Before all the troubles...I am sorry. I am sorry I am not a good enough master, a good enough friend......I am not good enough. I let my s-stress and anxiety consume and I dont want to drag you...” Achilles interrupted “You are not dragging us anywere. We will gladly die for you. Whatever error you made is in the past, and most likely not as bad as you believe. And whatever you are feeling.... we will confront it together” Hajime and Cu nodded in agremment, and with that their master continued crying, but at least this time, out of happiness. Even if he can't shake up all his burdens in an instant like he wishes to...at least he doesnt has to feel alone.