Arc 1 Adjustment
Chapter 1 A New Beginning...or is it?
Natsuki Subaru looked over anime magazines in the store he'd been frequenting lately. His eyes then caught on something interesting - an adult magazine with a red shrine maiden and a black magician on the cover.
What is that? He has never seen any anime with such characters before. From a game, perhaps.
In curiosity, Subaru raised it to parallel with his eyes. Flipping through page after page, all he could see was vulgar illustrations of characters showing off their body parts. While he'd read this kind of materials numerous times to the point of boredom, this would make do to satiate his inner desire.
Like usual, when he got what he wanted, he'd walk to the cashier and pay them with his scarce wallet. Once done, he automatically paced out of the building like a robot. That's the daily life of Natsuki Subaru - the most pathetic man in the known universe.
As though something or someone incentivized him, Subaru took out his phone and looked at the current time. "9 PM, huh?" he muttered.
He ought to be home by now at this time, or his parents would get worried.
But, as he was walking to the sidewalk, the air and space were simultaneously cracked; and the scenery changed, like browsing through the photos you'd taken in your cameras.
Subaru blinked once, twice, and thrice. The boy just couldn't comprehend the absurd reality presented before him. It's like a fantasy world from children book came to life, if he must describe this ridiculous situation in a simple term.
On the left to the right - all around him from all angels - people were walking as they would in their daily life, except they were anything but humans.
A man with horns sticking to his forehead. A middle age woman with a tail appearing out of her pink dress. A child is running around with her transparent friends. These beings of supernatural were going their way of doing business as usual. The one who might be the strange one here was Subaru himself.
However, instead of panicking due to the sheer madness of the situation he'd found himself in, Subaru threw his hands up, celebrating his predicament like a madman.
"Did I just get transported to another world!?"
And thus, the tale of Natsuki Subaru, a pathetic man who refused to improve himself, began yet again. Though I wonder, how many times has it been?
But regardless, I can assure you that the greedy man in the disguise of a boy will not be given a happy ending, no matter how many tries he's made. His attempts will fail; that, I can be sure of.
Even so, if you genuinely wish to defy your fate, to prove your worthiness, to cement the fact that you are unique, different from the rest of your worthless species, then you mustn't give up hope.
Until then, I'll be waiting, at the end of the abyss, at the vast world where only nothingness exists. Yes…until that time, for sure.
I'll definitely...be waiting...there~
After walking for minutes, Natsuki Subaru was at a loss. He didn't know the direction nor his entire goal. This, in turn, had led him to pop up in certain places and get chased out due to they being restricted for outsiders like him.
And being lost was not even the worst part. Subaru had no money in their currency. While, yes, he did possess some amount of money in yen, this world obviously used a different kind of system from the one he knew.
Subaru had considered selling his groceries stuff for a little income but decided against it. The plastic bag contained a couple of snacks, a coffee for late-night sleepers, and a dirty magazine from earlier. He didn't know how long he would last without food, so these should be categorized as emergency products.
After all, Natsuki Subaru didn't want to die a miserable death by starvation or dehydration. Both of them sounded pretty distasteful to him. He couldn't even imagine what that would feel like.
"Huh? Now where in the world am I?" asked the boy, seeing a wall blocking his way. He's now standing in the alleyway, probably somewhere at the edge of the village.
Sighing, Subaru turned to go back the way he came, lamenting at his own idiocy. But his foot stopped moving when his body crashed into something rough and big.
Confusingly narrowed his eyes, Subaru looked up and faced a muscular man with two horned sticking out of his forehead.
As Subaru began to question the reality itself, the man smirked back and glanced at the bag with interest.
"Hey bro, what's that you're holding?"
"Ha, ha," his sweat dropped, "just my food for the day. A man gonna eat, right?"
"Doesn't matter whether or not these shits were yours, man," he pulled out a rusty old knife that refused to reflect the sunlight; only darkness remained. "You're gonna give me all of them. Now. Or else...Well, I'll leave it to your imagination."
"Oi, oi, oi!" Subaru stepped back in surprise at the man's intense glare penetrating his soul. "Calm down! I'll give you anything!" Subaru put down the groceries, backing up from the man who smirked.
"Nice, kid. Let's see what you have shall w-"
"Surprise, motherfucker!"
When the man crouched to take a peek inside the groceries, Subaru grabbed the wooden stick laying against the wall and smashed the thief's head with most of his strength. It hurt his hand quite a bit, but he's willing to do anything in this situation. But in spite of his expectation, the man seemingly didn't feel anything, as he glared up the boy with dull eyes.
"You really expected that piece of wood would do some damage to me, a youkai? How naive is that?" though he tried his hardest to hide it with a poker face, Subaru saw a tiny glimpse of laughter on the corner of his mouth.
But that wasn't what flabbergasted Subaru. "A-A youkai? Like, the one in mythology?" he was surprised by the fact that he had been transported to a world very much like Japan such as this. What was the chance of that occurring?
"What are you babbling about? Nevertheless, you're gonna get beat up so bad, you wish for only the sweat sensation of death." Standing up, the man cracked his hands, waiting for the boy to make the first move - as though mocking him.
"Don't underestimate me!" shouting, Subaru rushed in with his trusty wooden stick and hit the man head with it in full force. As expected, the man grinned back with almost no damage except a few dirt on his forehead.
"Are you done being the biggest idiot?" the man asked in mockery. And when another hit came, he caught the stick bared hand. "A useless piece of shit like this," he pulled back his hand and punched forward, "is no better than garbage!"
The force of that oncoming attack was enough to break the thick wooden stick in one impact, sending Subaru to the dirty ground. It didn't hurt him that much, but the shockwave stunned the boy for a moment, but that was enough for the muscular youkai to close in and ready a second attack. This time things he might not be so lucky.
Subaru closed his eyes in wait of the inevitable; yet, it didn't come. Interrupting the man was a blue shot of something magical, of which Subaru had no idea. But it seemed dangerous since the thief in question - a man his desperate attack didn't work on so well - quickly jumped back to avoid this simple ball of light. His eyes were widened in absolute surprise - as though he'd seen a ghost. His face was as pale as a sheet, mumbling incoherently under his breath.
After a while, he finally found the will to utter a name, "K-Keine-sensei? W-Why are you here of all places. I th-thought you have a class."
"I have," a mature woman's voice reverberated from the entrance, "but I noticed a scream in this direction, so I'm coming to take a look. But alas, what I found was a youkai attacking a helpless boy in the human village? Seriously, how desperate are you?" she directed the question at the perpetrator.
"Really, I'm desperate now, am I not?" Dusting his dirty shirt, the man stood up proudly and stared into the woman's peerless eyes. "You, on the other hand, are soooo much better than us youkai. You advocate day in day out for the long-lasting peace between human and us. But to what end? Humans are killing youkais; youkais are killing humans. That's the way it is and the way it is going to be. Don't be so naive. Our nature cannot be changed so easily!"
"And that's the whole reason why I swore to side with humanity in a time of need! Most humans are powerless. You know that; everyone knows that! Like this boy you're hurting to steal something from him, humans are not equipped to fight youkai. Hence, I'd advise you to leave now or be ready to face the consequences."
"Tch. You preachy types are all the same...but at least you might be better than that annoying monk," the man grinned and turned back. "Even though I want to beat the shit out of that guy, I'll leave for today. See ya later."
Making certain the man had left, Keine sighed and reached out her hand for Subaru. "Can you stand up? Better be careful around here, since youkais have been getting more aggressive lately."
"Ah, thanks." Subaru grabbed her hand tightly, which he used as a leverage to pulled him up. "By the way, what's with him? I thought that he was trying to rob me, but it seems like he just wanted to beat the crap out of me."
"Like I said, youkais have been getting violent these past few days for seemingly no reasons. So humans would not get out of their houses unless necessary. With that out of the way, why are you out here in the open?"
"A-Ahahaha," laughed Subaru, "I was bored to death sitting like a nerd in my house. Then an idea popped up in my mind, 'Hey! Why don't I just go outside and see the world!' and so did I, which brings me here."
"That's nice and all. But you must think about your safety first and foremost!" her sudden voice stunned Subaru out of his usual antics.
"What would you do if you were to be killed alone in the wild? How would your parents feel if they find out about your death? What would I feel as the protector of humanity if I allow you to face miserable death due to my uselessness? Think about these factors before making this reckless decision!"
"But I didn't," the next words seemed to be stuck in his throat, but he forced them out, gulping down his saliva; "want to die."
Why does it feel so nostalgic talking about dying? thought Subaru. It felt as though he personally experienced that sensation of death, that anguish, and that hopelessness before the eyes of death. He rashly shook his head to clear unpleasant thoughts from his head and focused his attention on Keine who seemed to realize something.
"What's wrong, boy?" Keine looked toward the pathetic boy with concern. Subaru touched his face in response to finding the sweaty sensation on his rough skin. He'd been sweating heavily for a while. His breathing was staggering. His mind was filled with confusion and questions crashing and swirling wildly within his brain.
Subaru sat down to catch breathe, "Sorry, but I was feeling quite tired earlier. Do you perhaps have a place where I can sleep in for tonight? It might be disrespectful of me to suddenly ask you this, but...I kinda don't have a choice left."
"Oh? Are you lost? Just for the record, I can search for your family if you like," sincerely asked Keine.
"No...You see, I don't have a family," he lied. "I was just an orphan who learned to survive by himself early on. This set of clothes and my stuff was given to me by my last family. But they'd been gone for a year now."
"Is that so?" she looked down in solemn. "Sorry for resurfacing your bad memories."
"It's fine, It's fine, really! It's been a long time already, and I need to stay alive right now, in the present!"
"If you're okay, then I'm glad," the mature girl smiled at him. She was akin to a proud mother watching her son grows and becomes a better person. Subaru was starting to feel guilty for deceiving her with pointless lies. But, he could not just tell her he came from another world, or he might look insane in the eyes of others.
"And, regarding your housing request, I think I can arrange something for you. Come to meet me at the village school when you have time. We'll see what we can do then."
After she waved at him along with a natural motherly smile that charmed anyone, Keine disappeared into the corner of the grim alleyway, leaving Subaru alone with his thought. There's no reason for him to refuse at this point. And for now, his primary goal should be finding out more about this world and its habitats - that is, if he wanted to live peacefully.
Cementing his resolve to renew his life in this new world of his, Subaru marched out of the despair-inducing alleyway towards his unbeknownst future. Right now he had no idea what kind of ordeals he might have to face, but he was sure that no matter what it was, his will and resolve were adamant enough to carry him through anything adversary.
With this sentiment in mind, he walked on the rocky path leading to the village center. His destination was clear: the Village School.
Along the way, Subaru had faced many obstacles; losing his way due to the complexities of the place that looked like a maze than a village, and stumbling upon a couple of bullies who threatened him, for example. Luckily, he got away from most of them, but they left a huge trauma on his mental state.
But in spite of his difficulties in getting here, he finally made it. Through his sweaty vision, he saw a massive wooden building on the north side of the square. It was probably the most popular building around here, judging by the fact that at the square stood a sea of people pouring into the building unstoppingly, though most of them wore outfits akin to a school uniform back in his world.
Some of those students were young, while others were old enough to be Subaru's grandfather. From this alone, Subaru inferred that those studying here were from all walks of life. Those that studied here were learning because they wanted to, not because it's their obligations. The idea there were people in this world who genuinely enjoyed learning on their own stuttered Subaru a bit.
Why...Why does it feel so nostalgic and reminiscing? thought Subaru, grabbing his own beating chest.
At last, he steeled his determination and marched on. Blending into a river of studious types, Subaru had success in getting inside the school with ease.
Now, the only thing left is to find Keine. After getting away from the crowd, his glance was met with plate dictating the way to the headmaster office. Subaru didn't know if Keine was the headmaster, but he or she might be his best guess in finding her.
With his goal being fixed, Subaru turned left when he could and entered the last door in the hallway which has a the headmaster room plate hanging above. Though this might seem a bit too bombastic of him, Subaru at the time only wanted to end this as soon as possible.
But the person who sat on the headmaster desk sipping and surfing through documents was not who he was expecting. He remembered it clearly - since it was impossible to forget - that image of a mature woman in blue with a weird hat.
As the boy was stuttering in awe, the woman noticed his presence and gave him a soft smile. She tried to hide it, but her dark eyes suggesting a lack of sleep implied otherwise.
"I didn't take a good look before, but…" Subaru closed in a while maintaining the usual grin, "you don't really like to take care of yourself, huh?"
Keine silently nodded and stacked the unfinished documents. "What can I do? I'm both the protector and the educator. If there's the need, I must be there with haste. The result is as you can see. My body is getting weaker each day, and there's nothing I can do about that."
"Is that so," the boy looked down in understanding. "By the way, I haven't introduced myself yet, have I?" Subaru speedily changed his tone into a playful one and stuck his favorite pose out. "Let it be known that my name is Natsuki Subaru! I'll be in your care from now on!"
"Um, okay, Subaru. But if it's not too much to ask, what are you doing?"
"This is my victory pose, a victory pose, you hear!" Subaru returned to being natural in his mannerism. "You may not understand how deep and meaningful this pose truly is, but that's fine! Every great person only got appreciated long after their time - Da Vinci, Newton, and debatably Einstein, to name a few!"
"I don't know who any of these people are, but...you seem to be all right after that traumatic event." Keine smiled, "I'm glad."
"Y-Yeah, thanks for your consideration," Subaru embarrassingly rubbed his head, not used to receiving praise.
"Ah, I nearly forgot." Pulling out the desk drawer, Keine picked up a plain rusty key. "This might seem bad, but do forgive me for not being able to provide you with a room of higher standard. This is all I have."
"No bad feeling, Keine-sensei," Subaru walked forward in glee, forcefully taking the key away from her. "I, Natsuki Subaru, can sleep anywhere, anytime. So don't you need to be worried about my circumstances. From what I can see, you deserve rest more than anyone else."
"Ah, no need for concerns," Keine lightly brushed off Subaru's remark like nothing. "You can find the wooden dormitory on the left after leaving through the front door. Look for a room numbered 2002 on the second floor. Be sure to rest well and come to see me tomorrow at 6:30."
"Wait, why 6:30?"
"You don't seriously expect me to give you accommodation for free, do you?" Keine put away the documents she had finished a moment ago. "First rule of life: those who don't work don't deserve to eat, or some such. I'd hope you have no complaints."
"Of course not." How else could he answer? Her offer was the last bastion of hope for him to avoid becoming a homeless man. Living like that every day would not only destroy his soul but also his dignity as a proud Japanese man. Almost immediately after, Keine smiled back with a calm angelic expression, calming all those under her.
"Then, you'd better get going before the sunset. And I don't want you staying up late, all right, or you might get eaten by a youkai without me to help you."
"Yeah, yeah. Seriously though, are you my mom or something? No, even my late mom was not as strict as you."
"Really? I think being strict is good though. If I were to be too lenient on my students, many of them could turn out to be the unproductive of society, especially in this day and age, where more and more distractions have emerged. I, as a simple teacher, only want the best for my pupils."
"Yeah, I guess." To be honest, Subaru didn't listen to most of the woman's lecture, but not due to him being a bad listener. He'd been hiding it so well all this time, but the fatigue was starting to chip away his mental health. Perpetuating this condition without rest could become dangerous in the long term.
Thus, Subaru announced his goodbye to his savior, "I'm sorry, Keine-sensei, but I'd better be going now. See you in the morning!"
"Yeah...See you…" Was it just his imagination or Keine-sensei's voice seemed weaker than usual? Obviously, she ought to get exhausted after a long day of teaching and writing on meaningless paperwork. But that voice, that voice was as though she was thoroughly done with life - as though nothing could be done to facilitate her problems. She had given up everything about her life.
I wonder what ticked her off, thought Subaru as he ran down the hallway when the bell rang, and rivers of students were flocking out of their respective classrooms. Well, women have their occasional moments of irrational. If I leave her alone for a while, she might be more receptive.
Disrupting his flowing thought was a 10-year-old girl crashing into him. "Ough!" she fell down to the floor, rubbing her butt in pain.
"Ah, are you alright?" Subaru reached out his hand for the little girl. "It's probably my fault for standing so conspicuously in the middle of the hallway."
"No need for that, big bro," the girl jumped up, ignoring his offer. "I didn't look carefully enough and therefore crashed into you. It's my fault," she bowed. "Please accept my apology!"
"Then, apology accepted!" Subaru grinned. "Speaking of which, this school is surely popular, huh. Are you all from the human village?"
"Not exclusively, but most of us are! Me and a couple others, for example, are youkais from the forest of magic. But don't worry! We don't eat people; we are friendly youkais!"
"Really? What is the point of them then? I thought youkais are supposed to be the enemies of humanity or something."
"Heh, heh. Big bro, that's called discrimination. Unless you want to be reduced to nothing but bones and meat, refrain from speaking such things outside."
Suddenly, the invisible wall of air separating the two - a human and a youkai - seemed to be shattered to pieces. The only thing left...was an indescribable sensation of dread, of unknown terror that's soon to emerge. Feeling deep fear crept up his spine, Subaru gulped.
"That's...well...interesting," he scratched his head; droplets of sweat were pouring out from his forehead, hands, and legs. "But unfortunately, big bro doesn't have time to continue this conversation. You see, he just got accepted by the headmaster to live in the dorm nearby, and he needs a bit of time to rest. As such, it might be preferable if we can meet later tomorrow?"
"That's understandable," the girl rushed past him and turned her head to stare at his eyes. Was it just him or were her eyes just shone brightly in red? "Have a good night of sleep and don't you dare forget me, big bro!"
"Yeah," Subaru raised his ring finger. "Promise."
Given an innocent laugh, the girl rushed away and disappeared into the corner that - if he remembered correctly - led to the courtyard. How energetic. Kids will always be kids, huh?
As he left through the front door, Subaru immediately saw an old two-story building on the left. There's a Dormitory sign hung on top. And at the entrance, playing and chatting together were people of various age; an old man near his death bed, a middle age man at this most stressful moment of his life, a teen who thinks he knew everything, and an innocent kid who knew nothing of the world, of the reality they lived in.
Having no interest in any kind of conversation, Subaru paced around the crowd of people in haste. Once he reached the wooden door, he pushed it in, revealing a place so ancient it could be placed inside a museum for future generations.
It's evident that this place was not kept in shape for many, many years, apparent from the dust collected at the ceiling and the dirty floor comprised of insects. Usually, Subaru was not a picky person, but even he was almost fainted by the disgusting sensation perpetrating his skin. How could anyone live here, he thought.
But enough thinking and disgust. Since earlier he had been feeling pretty light-headed, as though hallucinating. One thing Subaru needed the most right now was a comfortable bath and a bed, even though the sun hadn't even set yet and the voices of children were still resounding from the courtyard.
No, the voices of those people seemed to grow even further. His vision started deteriorating, swirling with no order. There's something seriously wrong!
Subaru forced his body to stand up despite the dizziness and grabbed the stair handrail, pushing his tired muscles up against the gravity. And when he reached the second floor, he observed the left and the right, intending on finding his room. Luckily, he'd found it; the room was the first door on his left, with an intelligible 2002 plate upon it.
Opening the door, Natsuki Subaru didn't take away a single second to indulge in the room - for his attention was withering away - but fell on his long-awaited comfy bed. He was so indescribably tired, so tired that he wanted to sleep and never woke up again. That was how much he wished for the release of this sickening feeling.
At last, Subaru succumbed to his tiredness and closed his eyes. In his heart, he hoped for a better tomorrow where he would begin his first real work. And if possible, he also expected that Keine-sensei would be more approachable when the sun rose.
Subaru flipped open his vision. As he looked out the window, the day was already turned into dark. Shining brightly on the sky was the full moon he's familiar with back home, though he'd never gone outside lately. But that's a story for another day.
For now, because he slept early, the feeling of dizziness and tiredness disappeared, leaving him with the raw energy of a young boy his age. As a result, Subaru had nothing else to do but stay in his room alone, picking his nose or something.
"As if I would do that," Subaru muttered and got out of bed. "Before, I wasn't really paying attention, but that symptom was no joke and nearly killed me. I should probably ask the staff at the hospital what's going on with me."
Fixating on the new objective, Subaru rummaged through the groceries bag to find any item worth carrying. Obviously not the magazine and the snacks. Those could be used later but not now. His telephone, on the other hand, seemed essential to him. Subaru could, for instance, utilize it as a flashlight in dark places, look at the current time, and various other usages that he couldn't think of.
Pushing his flip phone into the leg pocket, Subaru was ready to move out. He carefully got out from the door - as to not create a disruption for others - and walked down the stair.
He understood wholeheartedly that this was night time. Most people would either be asleep or drunken somewhere, but this was too quiet. The lights in the surrounding area were also off. If Subaru didn't sense an unnatural before, this was definitely it. The city roaming with people of many different races and ages changed into a wasteland of lost souls.
Screw it. He's not gonna stay silent anymore. Something had happened, and if he didn't act, he would just get consumed by the unknown force. "Hey! Is there anyone here?!"
Shouted as he might, there's no answer. But Subaru couldn't accept this fundamental truth. Hitting his shaking legs as hard as he could, Subaru rushed out of the dormitory. In his crying heart, he was praying for this to be a joke, a joke that he could laugh it off.
But alas, the reality was far harsher than his expectation. The most disturbing of imagery that would haunt his mind for years to come unfolded.
"Th-This has to be a...joke, right?" Subaru questioned his sanity, covering his almost puking mouth with his stuttering hands.
An all familiar smell of intestines, of the moisty brain, of scattered guts touched his nose. As his sense of reality returned, he recognized a pile of bodies laid in the middle of the street. The blue fountain from before was now changed to a fountain of blood that propelled constant red liquid out of the top.
Under the moonlit night, where individuals from all walks of life could indulge in its beauty, the supposedly beautiful world was now painted red with the death of many. Feeling disgusted and horrified, Subaru released a stream of food from his mouth onto the dirt path.
Not letting him finish, however, a shadow jumped out from the dormitory's corner and bit him in the neck. He didn't even have time to scream his lung out for help or salvation. The presence had yanked out his nerves in a simple movement and effectively rendered him immobilized on the floor.
Unfortunately for him, his vision still worked perfectly. If it didn't, he might not have to face the mysterious perpetrator standing with no remorse in front of him. If it didn't, he might have been able to preserve his perfect memory of her as the ideal teacher everyone ought to follow.
Everything was just like usual; her blue attire and her weird hat came into view. Though, this time, the person in question also had two horns on her head and a pair of dark crimson eyes. Her appearance remained mostly the same, except for the fact that her facial expression reeked of madness and insatiable hunger, and that his own blood was dripping from her pink lips.
Subaru wanted to ask 'Why' most of all, but no word came out. As it was, he couldn't even find adequate air to utter a single coherent letter, let alone a sentence.
"Don't you think the full moon is particularly beautiful today?" began the incomprehensible existence named Keine. "Beautiful enough to compromise this night of terror with a feeling of hope, am I right?"
In spite of his pain, however, Subaru forced his body to move and reached out his left hand to grip her foot with blood shotted glare. He didn't desire death; if this woman was going to kill him, then he had to defy that predestined fate.
"Oh? I commend you for your inability to die quickly, but...that would only make you suffer more, I suppose." Keine raised her arm and swung it down, breaking Subaru's spine with a loud crack. This time his body actually refused to keep working. His eyelids were getting heavier and heavier. And thus, his grip on her leg loosened.
"Sleep well, my soon-to-be student," said Keine in a surprisingly regretful tone. Subaru felt a lip pressed against his forehead before releasing, though he didn't care anymore. Subaru wanted a long rest, and he needed it now as his consciousness was slipping away.
And even her voice seemed to be so far away, "The shrine maiden should soon be here, huh. How late can you be?"
The last thing Subaru registered before everything blanked out entirely was a single drop of tear from a lonely woman amongst the field of dead bodies.
Why are you making such a sad expression when you've killed us yourself?