Please Play Fatego With Me

"Ah, Senpai, you look so beautiful, it suits you perfectly," Mash exclaimed in admiration.

"R-really? Thank you," Yukino replied, her face flushing slightly as she lowered her head.

"Hello, could you please help me pack this?" Asuna, who had changed back into her clothes, called over a sales assistant.

"Please wait a moment, I'll be right there too," Yukino said.

"Ah, me too," Mash chimed in, mimicking Yukino.

"Shirou!" Yuihama, who had been standing nearby, couldn't hold back any longer. She walked up to the young man, stood on her tiptoes, stared intently at his face, and pressed him, "Explain yourself properly! Why do I feel like your evaluation of me was so casual?"

"Alright, alright, I was just kidding. Yuihama, you're naturally very cute, with a playful, youthful charm, so I thought this outfit would suit you well," Shirou said, holding up his hand to shield his eyes as he soothed the girl.

"Is that so..." Yuihama, who had moved even closer, her nose almost touching his face, finally calmed down after hearing his words. She lowered her tiptoes, turned her head, fiddled with the bun on her head, and quietly agreed.

"Um, excuse me, customer, are you also buying these clothes?" the sales assistant asked, turning to Yuihama with a professional smile.

"Yes, I am!!!" Yuihama turned back and answered decisively.

Image: "Mashu, who loves to dress up", Location: "Images/1523895589-100062415-101832896.jpg"

Chapter 75: From Shinjuku to Shinjuku

The white of Mount Fuji was dyed a fiery orange. As the sun gradually set, the surroundings plunged into darkness at an astonishing speed. The streetlights lining Shinjuku's roads and the shops all around had already lit up, their neon lights flashing in pink, purple, and red. It was as if they were telling tourists that the real excitement of this place was just beginning.

Having finally had their fill of shopping, the girls decided to head towards the subway station.

Shirou, with over a dozen shopping bags in his hands and four or five shoeboxes tucked under his arms, struggled to keep up with the girls behind him, his legs working hard from his training. He had initially only offered to help carry things if they felt heavy, but in the end, they had handed everything over to him.

"Shirou-senpai, let me help you," Mash said, turning back.

"Let Shirou carry them, Mash. Shirou himself said all the clothes looked good, so he bought them all," Yuihama said.

Who was it just now that wouldn't let go after I was a little casual with my answer...

"Shirou, being able to carry luggage for girls is a privilege of popular guys," Asuna said with a smile.

This is a privilege I really don't want.

"I personally think women should be more independent. Hmm, but Shirou is an exception, so it's fine," Yukino said.

No, Yukino-san, as soon as you start making exceptions to things like equality and fairness, they've already gone bad.

After walking for quite a while, they finally entered the subway, and Shirou put down the bags and boxes.

"Heehee, good work," Yuihama said, patting his shoulders and back.

"You really are... Well, everyone put in so much effort to help me pick out clothes, so thank you, everyone," Shirou said, looking at his companions.

"Don't mention it. Except for that first place at the beginning, the rest of the day was quite enjoyable," Asuna said with a smile.

"I agree," Yukino nodded. She was starting to wonder if her father had chosen that particular store for other reasons.

"Let's go shopping together again next time! Mash, you too," Yuihama asked, hugging the pink-haired girl beside her.

"Yes, I think I understand the fun of buying clothes and dressing up a bit now, Yuihama-senpai," Mash replied with a smile. Today, as the one who had changed outfits the most at Chaldea, she felt like she had reached her peak, both as a Servant and as a human!

"Mash, I think it's important to know when to stop," Shirou advised.

After returning to Chiba, Shirou said goodbye to the girls and they each took the subway to their respective homes.

As Mash arrived back at her small villa, her phone suddenly vibrated violently. She took out her phone to check it.

"Mash, we have an emergency. We're sending you back to Chaldea immediately," Da Vinci said sternly.

Back at Chaldea, alarms were blaring, and the corridors were flashing red. The control room at Chaldea had detected an anomaly.

"We can't pinpoint the anomaly's location! It seems to be confined to a very small area!"

"Perform comparative analysis to see if there are any similar wavelengths to previous anomalies."

"The observation results from Sheba are in! The location is Tokyo, Shinjuku, and the year is 1999!"

"We must find the Master and have them resolve it!" Da Vinci said urgently.

The person Da Vinci was communicating with this time was a red-haired girl with a ponytail, who was lounging on a sofa playing with her phone, dressed in a red, high-necked long-sleeved shirt with a cross pattern.

Seeing Da Vinci's holographic projection, she waved hello.

"Yo, Da Vinci-chan."

"Gudako, why do you look so relaxed? Is everything resolved on your end?" Da Vinci asked.

"Eh... it's resolved, but it seems like there are still some things to take care of. And I'm trying to persuade a powerful ally to help our Chaldea," Gudako reported.

"What exactly is going on? And by ally, do you mean the girl you're currently assisting?" Da Vinci asked.

"That's right. Ishtar-senpai, Mom, is lunch ready?" Gudako turned and called out to the other side of the hall.

A girl's voice came from inside. If Shirou were here, he would have found it familiar.

"Gudako! Don't call me Ishtar! Remember my name, and the name of the goddess, properly! We're having Chinese seafood fried rice tonight, so be quiet and sit down."

"Yes~" Gudako obediently replied. She was just playing FGO, cursing the greedy developers, and waiting for dinner.

"Then come back here! We have important work to do!" Da Vinci shouted.

"Eh, eh, wait! Da Vinci-chan, I have important things to do here! Don't push those menial tasks onto me, and I haven't even had dinner yet," Gudako said, waving her hands.

"It's no time for jokes, a singularity has appeared!" Da Vinci said seriously.

"Huh? Didn't we defeat Goetia?" Gudako exclaimed in surprise.

"Goetia was indeed defeated, and the Human Order has been restored. However, the appearance of the seven singularities in the past caused large-scale spacetime distortions. This small singularity may have been affected by that, leading to changes in history," Da Vinci explained.

"I understand! I can come back anytime!" Gudako, changing her frivolous attitude, nodded seriously.

"Alright! Then let's immediately prepare for the Spiritron Transfer," Da Vinci instructed the staff.

"Rin-senpai, Mom, I'm going back to Chaldea, bye!" Gudako shouted to the people in the kitchen.

The Spiritron Transfer device activated, and the girl turned into fluorescent light, being teleported back inside Chaldea.

Suddenly, the living room disappeared, and a black-haired girl with twin tails, who had just served a large plate of fried rice, pouted and said, "Why did she leave so suddenly? Now I can't finish all this! She's so much like someone else in this regard."

"Well, if you want to meet, you can meet anytime. I can guarantee that," a figure emerged from the kitchen and said.

"Forget it, maybe she'll come crawling back with her tail between her legs someday. After all, she's very much like someone else," the twin-tailed girl said with a smile.

At this moment, Shirou, who had just returned home, also received the news from Little Da.

Little Da relayed Da Vinci's request: 'A singularity has been discovered, and under these circumstances, Shirou is hoped to help resolve it.'

"Da Vinci-chan, I request to be deployed together! With the power of the FGO system, I can also fight!" Mash said earnestly.

"Mash, I regret to inform you that this is not a protected alternate world, but a singularity. Even if it's small-scale, you'll be facing ferocious Heroic Spirits. Until your physical condition stabilizes, I won't let you participate in such a dangerous battle," Da Vinci sternly refused Mash's request.

"Yes..." Mash clenched the hem of her clothes unwillingly.

"Besides, as a replacement, Shirou has also agreed to help, so our combat power is compensated. You can rest assured, Mash," Da Vinci said.

Chapter 76: Gudako and Shirou

In the deep, dark blue-black space, a rapidly spinning vortex appeared. Under the illumination of white light, a girl materialized inside Chaldea's transfer device.

Immediately after, Shirou was also transported to Chaldea, accompanied by Little Da.

Gudako, who had returned to Chaldea before Shirou, exclaimed in surprise upon seeing the boy suddenly appear in the transfer device.

"Ah! Shirou Mom! Did you come here too?"

Wait! I don't remember having a daughter like you. Shirou looked at the orange-haired girl with a somewhat familiar face and a very familiar red outfit, and asked in confusion, "Have we met somewhere before?"

"Hmm? I see, so for the current Shirou-senpai, this is actually our first meeting?" Gudako said, resting her chin on her hand.

"What's going on?" Shirou asked, confused.

"Well, senpai, you'll know sooner or later. Please take care of me, I'm Ritsuka Fujimaru, Shirou-senpai! You can just call me Gudako. I'll respect you like a parent!" Gudako said intimately, hugging Shirou's arm.

Parent? Shirou, being hugged, was stunned. So he gained a daughter before 8 o'clock?

At this moment, a pink-haired girl walked over.

"Gudako-senpai! Gudako-senpai is back?" Mash asked excitedly.

"Ah! Mash, I'm back too!" Gudako happily ran over and hugged the pink-haired girl.

"Gudako-senpai! I missed you so much!"

"I missed you too, Mash!"

The two girls embraced tightly.

"Let me see if you've grown any stronger," Gudako said, skillfully reaching out her hand.

"Senpai..." Mash blushed.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Shirou was inquiring with Da Vinci about the specifics of the incident.

"Mash can't participate in this battle?" Shirou asked, as Mash, with her powerful defensive capabilities, would be a great asset.

Da Vinci shook her head. "Mash's current condition is not suitable for going to that world. In fact, even though her body could fight using the FGO system created by the Holy Grail in the world you were in, Shirou, she has actually lost contact with the Heroic Spirit within her. She temporarily cannot transform into a Sub-Servant, and her Magic Circuits are like they've rusted, unable to open for some unknown reason. She is not suitable for participating in singularity battles right now."

"The Heroic Spirit Possession Summoning via the FGO system on a mobile phone is, after all, a weakened version of Divine Possession. It comes at the cost of weakening the Heroic Spirit's power to achieve the conditions for descent into the world, subject to limitations like magical output and time. Moreover, many of a Heroic Spirit's abilities and combat styles often come with various side effects that one must be prepared to endure, such as mental pollution, negative emotions, and physical pain, which are not bearable by ordinary humans. To make it easier for the possession target to understand and use the Heroic Spirit's power, I've simplified their abilities into three skills, just like in a game. Even to unleash the power of such a restricted Heroic Spirit, one must have 100% compatibility and be able to communicate with the Heroic Spirit heart-to-heart. If it were the previous world, the invading monsters were also restricted, so the battles were relatively even. But going to a highly unstable singularity now is simply too dangerous," Da Vinci explained.

"Mash never told me about this," Shirou frowned, then asked, "Is there no cure? Her body doesn't seem to be in any pain. I'll prepare a nourishing soup for her every day to help her recover, like pork rib and papaya soup to promote body growth and absorption..."

Da Vinci retorted, "No, that soup of yours is for breast enhancement and beauty! Don't worry, Mash's problem will likely resolve itself with time as her body slowly recovers. I was planning to have her interact more with others after things settled down, perhaps by sending her to school."

"That has already been realized. Mash enjoys her school life very much, actively participating in both academic and physical education classes," Shirou said.

"Yes, even a genius like me didn't expect it to be realized in this way. Troubles never seem to end," Da Vinci sighed.

"But Mash has been in my world for over a year, why hasn't her body recovered yet?" Shirou asked, confused.

"Shirou, time in parallel worlds is different from here in Chaldea. Even if one drifts in the sea of an alternate world for hundreds of years, it might only be less than a day when they return to their original world. How long do you think has passed here in Chaldea since Mash left?"

Without waiting for the boy's answer, Da Vinci directly stated the answer: "Less than 2 months. In fact, since the anomaly occurred, time and space here in Chaldea have become very strange, and we've completely lost contact with the outside world. Sheba can't detect anything either. If it weren't for the clock still ticking, I would honestly suspect that the flow of time has been stopped."

"I see," Shirou nodded. Come to think of it, he hadn't really felt much time pass since he returned home after his last visit to Chaldea.

"This sudden singularity… I believe it holds clues related to the world's mutation. Therefore, I'd like to ask for your assistance in resolving this incident with Gudako. If all goes well, by the time you return home, only a few hours will have passed, so it won't affect your life in the other world," Da Vinci said.

Shirou nodded. "That would be for the best. I agreed to help from the start, and it's for the sake of saving the world, so there's no reason to refuse."

Beside him, Gudako looked up at Shirou with admiration. "As expected of Shirou-senpai, I'm so moved! Once we get there, let's call Rin-senpai using our phones! She's quite reliable, as long as it's not a critical situation."

"Eh? Rin? You mean Rin Tohsaka?" Shirou's mind conjured the image of that familiar black-haired figure. He remembered choosing to leave her to save the world, and she had kicked him into the Thames River. After that, she continued her studies in Britain. Before he died, he had inquired about her and heard she had returned to Fuyuki.

But hearing Gudako call her "senpai," he figured the Rin Tohsaka she encountered must be very young, likely without those memories.

"I'm sure Rin-senpai will immediately come over and kick you again if she hears Shirou-senpai is here!" Gudako said, pulling out her phone with apparent anticipation.

Chapter 77: Landing in the Demon Realm, Shinjuku

"Wait? The Rin Tohsaka you have there is a high school student, right? Does she have any memories of me?" Shirou asked, startled.

"Mhm, I don't know the details, but Rin-senpai said that the moment she first sees Shirou-senpai, she's supposed to kick him away. She also said she's been practicing Baguazhang since childhood for this very moment!" Gudako said, striking a martial arts pose.

Shirou covered his face. The Rin Tohsaka he knew was capable of such things. After he dumped her in Britain, she had kicked him directly into the Thames. After that, whether at gatherings or by chance, she would chase him down and beat him up whenever they met.

That crazy girl… I don't know why she'd still have memories… It's probably best if I don't meet her for now…

"Hehehe, will things really go that smoothly?" Gudako said with a mysterious smile. In her opinion, Shirou-senpai would be happier with Rin-senpai, who acted like a mother and took charge. After all, only when senpai found happiness and stability could she have the happiest life and receive the most comprehensive care.

Did Rin also get reincarnated like me? What kind of world is it over there? Shirou wondered, full of questions. Just as he was about to ask Gudako, Da Vinci walked over, holding a golden chalice.

"Shirou, equip the Pseudo-Spiritron Dress here first. I've already repaired it for you. Since it's a singularity, the combat environment will be much harsher than before. So! Remember! Don't let your guard down, and don't act recklessly!" Da Vinci warned, then took out a golden chalice containing a shimmering, crystalline blue sphere that looked like a spirit.

This was the miracle that combined the boy's Mystic Eyes, Inherent Domain, Holy Grail, and other powers to achieve the advancement of a human body into a Servant – the 'Pseudo-Spiritron Dress';

It was an illusory spirit born from the boy's ideals, allowing him to transform into the Heroic Spirit of his inner ideals. Each summoning would differ based on Shirou's state of mind.