AN: Fun Fact- Both Michael and Cristian are the names of two of my actual friends. My characters are in no way related to my friends, just their names are similar. Anyway, 4 more chapters until the inevitable break. So far I've only got the ideas for the last 3 chapters done. I'm starting from the end and I can't stop myself.

Thanks to JDUBZ for being the Beta Reader and literally making this chapter's feel aspect so much better!

Chapter 11: Michael

"Can you not just take me back?! I beg of you to accept me!" A man was yelling inside a world full of darkness, kneeling, with his head touching the floor. No one heard his pleas except for a woman who was watching him with bored eyes.

The man's eyes, on the other hand were wet with tears. In front of him, the woman looked on at the humiliated man, humiliated because of her rejection.

"You must understand that I no longer have the power to do so." The woman's sweet voice resonated throughout the entire room which had no ends, her beautiful looks stood out like a lightbulb in this dark world. "You must have faith in the knowledge that I granted you."

The man still had his head down, "Yes, I have not forgotten what you told me to do."

The woman walked up to the man and prompted him to get up on his feet. "Now, I hope you understand what you must do." Her sweet voice brought a smile to his face.

Still sniffling the man said, "Find him and make him finish the gateway."

"Yes, but do not use force. I want him back safe, then and only then will you be able to resurrect me." The woman caressed the man's face with her long fingers, pale and elegant.

"But Sa-." The man was cut off by a furious yell from the woman.

"DO NOT CALL ME BY HER NAME!" By an unknown force, the man was lifted into the air. Suspended there, he could do nothing but look into the woman's furious eyes. "SHE IS A FOOL WHO TOOK HIM AWAY FROM ME!"

"I am s-sorry! Please, I would follow you to the ends of the world! Forgive me!" Fear showed clearly on his eyes, but inside he still held deep love for the supernatural woman in front of him. A second later he was released by being lowered to the floor. The look on the woman's face showed that she was annoyed.

"You are forgiven, but remember, if you fail to retrieve the girl in Lugnica I will have no power to bless you."

The man's eyes widened as if to beg for her to tell him that what she said was untrue. "Where...where do I find HIM?"

"In the place in which you call, Tokyo."

The man bowed to her, "Yes, I understand everything I must do now! Find HIM, finish the gateway, find the girl, and bring him to you when the ritual is complete."

The woman stepped close to the man until she was nose to nose with him. Her eyes were beautiful, shining a wonderful shade of purple.

The woman leaned to the side so she could whisper into his ear, "I knew I could trust my worthy followers." Then she pushed onto his chest, causing him to lose his balance and fall off an unseen cliff. Falling, the man reached out towards the woman, not yet ready to say goodbye.

In an instant, the man woke up with a start in his bed.

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Night had fallen. The moon was high in the sky, shining brightly, illuminating Subaru's path as he ran to his destination.

Subaru had waited until he was sure his parents were asleep to exit the house. Outside the stars were visible brightly, shining across the sky. The city lights of Tokyo blocked out most of the stars in the distance, but Subaru still marveled at the sight of the twinkling lights.

One late night in Kararagi, Rem and Subaru had laid down a blanket outside their newly bought house to watch the stars. Rem had fallen asleep next to him so he took her back inside. Subaru wondered if Rem was looking at the same constellations.

Subaru passed houses, empty lots, shops, and alleyways, everything was unimportant to him for he only had one place in mind, the convenience store. The only thing he had on his mind was getting to the store and finding Rem.

Subaru's plan was to stand in front of the store, where he was transported to Lugnica the first time. He was hoping it would work again, that way he'll be able to make his way back to Rem. This, however, was only a theory. Subaru hoped the witch would take him back. He never understood why she did it in the first place; sending him to Lugnica. But now he was back in Japan with no clue again on why he was transported. Maybe to make me suffer. That would make the most sense, considering he has been through.

Finally reaching the convenience store, Subaru went to the lamppost in front up front and took a deep breath.

Subaru spoke in a whisper, "I'm ready, Witch. You wanted me before, well here I am." Subaru spread his arms and closed his eyes.

Subaru waited with his eyes closed for a few seconds, wondering when he'd be transported. From what he could remember, there was no sensation of being teleported, it was just instant, in the blink of an eye. Subaru was wondering how long he should wait when a voice suddenly called out to him from behind.

"Subaru?" Subaru opened his eyes at these words, hoping to see the world that he most wanted to be in.

Alas, the same road in front of the store laid before his eyes. Crestfallen, Subaru looked behind him to see his friend Michael. He was a bit shorter than Subaru with black hair and blue eyes which had glasses placed on his nose. Michael was wearing a blue t-shirt with the store's logo and a name tag on it. I guess he has a shift at this time.

Michael looked at Subaru's sad eyes, he could tell something was bothering Subaru. "Hey man. I know it's probably not the best question to ask you, but what are you doing out here at this time?"

Avoiding making eye contact, Subaru just brushed his question aside choosing to keep Michael out of his problems for now, "Nothing, I was just….walking around town. Needed some fresh air."

Michael noticed Subaru's unusualness and called him out on it. Looking at his watch Michael asked, "At 12:30 in the morning? Subaru...you weren't...planning on running away again were you?" Michael looked worried. If Subaru ran, he was sure he would have to try and stop him and if that didn't work he would call the cops to return him home.

It wasn't something Michael wanted to do, but he knew it was for his own good.

"No, not really." Subaru didn't want to lie to his best friend. "In a way."

Michael didn't know what to say, he didn't want Subaru to think about running away again when he had just gotten him back. Michael wanted to help him and keep him from unning off again, maybe if he listened to why he wanted to run away he could help relieve the pain Subaru was feeling inside.

Michael put a hand on Subaru's shoulder and made Subaru look into his eyes, "Well that scares me man. I didn't know you were hurting so much….. Come on man, cheer up. Let's go inside and talk I wanna help my best friend get through this." Michael put up a small grin.

Subaru just stared at Michael's eyes. He was sure the witch wasn't going to take him back. Why else would she bring me back here? Probably to give him a glimmer of hope with Rem, but then tear her away from him.

"OK." Subaru agreed to follow Michael into the store. Michael, still with his hand on Subaru's shoulder, lead him into the brightly lit store. Before the doors closed, Subaru looked back at the lamppost. A single tear fell down his face, and on to the tiled flooring of the convenience store.

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Michael sat him down in a chair behind the counter where one would make a purchase, Subaru began to contemplate what he should tell Michael. Michael obviously wouldn't believe him, but he needed someone to understand how he felt right now. There's so much he had to let out and tell someone that wouldn't think he's a crazy lunatic with an overactive imagination. Hopefully, Michael wouldn't treat him like that.

Subaru looked at Michael, who was locking up the front doors so no one bothered them. Michael had never once made fun of anyone, he was a good person who just wanted to see his friends be happy, especially Subaru.

Even before Subaru had run away, Michael had always worried about him, acting like a slight mentor to Subaru, giving advice to him about what he should do and how to do it. Subaru didn't always listen to him though. This was usually because Michael would bring up Kenichi.

Michael never really understood Subaru's hatred towards his father. He tried to help him anyway he could, but Subaru would always refused to listen. Michael decided the case with his father was a lost cause, one that Subaru would have to sort out on his own.

Subaru's time in Lugnica allowed him to sort out this lost cause.

When Michael was finished locking up he sat in front of Subaru. Subaru had decided not to lie to Michael. Michael wasn't one to laugh at him or tell everyone what he said. Subaru needed to tell him everything.

Michael was bent slightly forward, his hands held together on his lap. "What wrong, Subaru?"

Subaru closed his eyes and grinded his teeth. Clenching his fists, Subaru took a deep breath and looked up at Michael's worried face.

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Subaru had told Michael everything, from his first day in Lugnica to his last in Kararagi. Michael said nothing, only looking on at Subaru, with a sad expression on his face. After a long period of silence Michael spoke.

"I want to believe you, Subaru." Subaru looked away, on the verge of shedding more tears. While talking about Rem Subaru had started to cry. "But, you have to understand that what you have told me is completely impossible." That was all Subaru wanted to hear from his friend. Getting up, Subaru headed for the door. Michael chased after him and grabbed his hand, stopping Subaru. "Subaru wait, I may not believe you, but I still can't leave you to suffer like this. I will help you, I want to make you happy again."

Subaru just kept looking at the doors that led outside. Subaru would trust Michael with his life, but still something held him back from reaching out to him.

"I know, Michael. But I really have to go now." Michael let go of Subaru's hand and watched him walk to the doors.

"Subaru? Don't run…...please." Subaru stopped at these words.

They reminded Subaru of the last words Rem ever said to him. Subaru wanted to find her so bad that it hurt him every minute he wasn't with her. He would start by remembering her sweet voice, like a wind chime, pleasing to the ear, her small hands, holding his like they were the only thing she cared about, and her adoring smile, one that showed him she was truly happy. Subaru, again, wasn't sure how, but he had to find his way back to Rem.

Subaru gave one last look at Michael before exiting the store and walking home.

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"Well Mr. Natsuki, it seems everything is in order. Let me be the first to say that I am happy to welcome you back!" The person talking was the Hibiya High School Principal, Naoomi Nagasawa. As Principal it was her duty to make sure Subaru was properly integrated back into high school. Luckily for Subaru, he had gathered enough credits from his previous years in school to be able to skip a grade.

Subaru was somewhat happy, that meant he would get to move onto his senior year with his friends. However, it also meant less time finding a way to Rem. Subaru would have to balance the two out. He wasn't sure how he would do it. Even though Subaru excelled at school work he didn't want to waste anymore time on things that didn't matter to him. Rem was his first priority. No, his only priority.

"We look forward to seeing you in school this April." Nagasawa got up from her seat and put forth her hand for Subaru to shake. Subaru did as was expected of him and gave her a smile.

Subaru didn't want to say it, but the words still left his mouth, "Don't worry I won't let you down." This was something Subaru couldn't guarantee. He decided that Rem was the only person in the world worth ruining his life for.

While these thoughts seemed a little extreme for something that may not happen again, Subaru still had hope that there was a way. The witch's power had reached here once to pull him into Lugnica. That meant there was definitely a way to get back. The witch would need a way to cross worlds, she was a being of the other world, not a god. All Subaru had to do was find that way the witch took. There was one thing he could try to do to get the Witch's attention.

"Remember, Mr, Natsuki, registration for the school year starts in a week. Would you like me to phone your parents about this in case you forget?" Nagasawa had pulled out a slip of paper to write down a memo in case Subaru allowed her to call his parents. Her pen hovered over the paper, waiting for his answer.

Subaru shook his head, "No thank you, ma'am. I'll be sure to tell them once I get home." Subaru senses the talk was coming to a close and started to back up to the door that led out of her office.

Nagasawa put down the pencil and smiled at Subaru, "Ok then, be sure to tell them I said hi." She then waved goodbye at Subaru, signaling he could go.

Finally finished, Subaru walked down the hallway that led to an exit of the school. He couldn't believe that the last time he was here he was only a sophomore. That year was about as close to a lifetime as it could be, what he did about it was up to him.

Clouds had started to come together when Subaru exited the school. The dark grey mass covered Tokyo, bathing it in shadow. Walking home wasn't too much trouble, but rain proved to be a nuisance, getting him and his clothes wet.

"Damn it." Subaru pulled up the hood of his jacket as he started to run home. The rain did not cease, it fell continuously. Coming to a corner, Subaru didn't slow down and lost traction with the ground, causing him to fall onto his side.

The fall made his metia fall out onto the ground. Skidding across the concrete, it finally came to a stop and almost fell into a storm drain. Panicking, Subaru leaped to grab the metia. Losing the metia now might mean he could never see Rem again. This thought was unbearable to him. He grabbed it, and held it close to his chest.

Subaru looked at the metia . Although, he knew it was pointless, he clicked on Rem's contact.

This metia is no longer available or in service.

Just as he thought. Subaru pocketed the metia.

Bzzz….bzzz….bzzz….bzzz

The metia! Subaru pulled out the metia and saw that there was no caller ID again. This could be it! Without wasting another second, Subaru answered.

"Hello!? Who is this?!"

Another voice responded for the other side, from another metia.

"Ah, finally I thought I'd never get this thing to work!"

AN: Spoil Alert for the final chapter- Tony Stark is Iron Man. I'm sorry guys, I couldn't hold it in.

See y'all in the next chapter! :P