AN: So I wanted to respond to llat-2's comment about Ram calling out for Rem. Like it or not, I'm the author so if I want Ram to call out to Rem she's bloody well gonna call out for Rem.
Seriously though, since Ram's character only has two people she actually cares about, Rem and Roswaal, I felt she would call out to Rem (someone she spent literally her whole life standing next to since birth, the only times they weren't together was when either of them had to help Subaru) in a feeble attempt to survive. Hoping Rem would come to her rescue, not knowing that Rem was long gone and wouldn't return for 8 months. Just a little something in there to show the consequences of them running to Kararagi.
Now, gather around so I can tell you a story about a giant and his daughter.
Chapter 14: Sarah
Oki was a proud single parent. At her birth, his pride and joy of a daughter could fit into the palm of his hands.
Her tiny hands would grasp at a finger of Oki's and put it in her mouth. Her big eyes and cute face reminded him of everything in life that was pure, like an angel that was sent to bless him with happiness. But everything came with a price.
After 10 years of marriage Oki and his wife had finally decided to have a kid. Being a half-human and half-cat she was fierce and strong. That was something Oki looked for in his women. After 9 months their beautiful child was born, but his amazing wife had died giving birth.
Oki had wallowed in sadness for months, but stayed strong for his infant daughter. She had no idea what had happened since her underdeveloped brain couldn't comprehend the sadness he was hiding inside.
Oki never really got over the death of his wife. After 10 years he still found himself thinking of his wife, staring off into space wondering if she was judging his parenting skills as a father.
"Daddy, where are you?!" A sweet childish voice called to Oki from the front door.
The little girl, Sarah, removed her shoes at the front door and went to look for her father. Sarah placed her backpack on the kitchen table as she looked for her father there. Twirling a finger in her long black hair, Sarah wondered why her dad wasn't answering. When she found nothing in the kitchen she decided to look on the living room. Rounding a corner, Sarah was suddenly wrapped in two giant arms and lifted into the air.
"Raaaahhhh!" Holding his daughter in the air, Oki let out a playful yell. He held his head back to look into her eyes while spinning her in a circle.
Sarah laughed as she felt her dad lift her up and spin her around. When Sarah was finally let down she felt dizzy, wobbling around, side to side.
Sarah was giggling so much, she nearly bumped into the wall. Oki held her still, "Woah there, Sweetie. Maybe I shouldn't have spun you so fast."
Sarah, however, didn't feel like she had enough. Extending her arms towards her dad, she began to bounce on her feet, "No! More, more, I wanna fly!" Her eyes reflected the sunlight coming from the windows beautifully.
Oki agreed to her request and spin her around a few more times. Sarah, again, was left dizzy after another spin. Smiling like the proud father he was, Oki extended his hand to Sarah who was still giggling, "Come on, Sweetie. Let's talk about your day." Silently agreeing, Sarah grabbed onto one of Oki's fingers and led him to the kitchen.
Upon arriving to the kitchen, Oki pulled out a chair and lifted a smiling Sarah into it. Oki handed Sarah her backpack from the opposite end of the small table and let her empty it out. Notebooks, quills, ink, and papers fell out of the pack in a mess.
Oki pulled up a larger chair for him to sit in and sat next to Sarah, who rearranged everything and opened up her notebook. "So how was school, Sweetie?"
Opening her notebook up to a blank page, Sarah replied happily, "It was great! I got an answer right in class today and the teacher gave me candy!" Sarah looked at her dad with a proud expression like she had solved a world crisis.
Oki smiled brightly and rubbed his daughter's head, "That's my girl." Sarah made a purring sound out of satisfaction. It was one of the things that Sarah had inherited from her mother, the others being her cute looks and cunning smarts.
Oki looked over at what was on Sarah's notebook, but only saw a blank page. Oki gave a confused look, "So what is it we're working on today?"
Sarah pulled aside one of the pieces of paper. On it were numbers and various symbols. Oh no.
Sarah got out a quill and dipped the tip into a small container of ink. Looking up at her dad, Sarah said, "Math."
Oki gave a disgusted look, "Ewwww."
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After an hour of trying to explain variables to Sarah, Oki got out of his chair and stretched. He would stretch his arms up, but the ceiling wasn't that high so he had to settle with extending them to the side. Sarah still stayed sitting, looking at her nearly completed homework.
Oki smiled at her determination to finish the assignment, but he knew her weakness. "Ready to eat, Pumpkin? We'll finish that later."
Sarah looked up at her dad with joy. Whenever her, and her dad cooked together, it was a long, but fun affair. Oki had learned how to cook at a young age, and passed on his knowledge to his daughter. They worked together, and often ended up enjoying delicious food.
"Yes, yes, yes, I'm always ready to cook with, Daddy!" Excited, Sarah got out of her chair and clapped her hands while jumping up and down. Her long hair was bouncing along with her movements.
Smiling, Oki asked, "Well what should we make?" He knew fully well what Sarah wanted. It was something that she felt everyone needed on a Friday.
"Pancakes!"
An average day like this consisted of only happiness for Oki and Sarah. It seemed nothing in the world would bring their spirits down. Not a single thing.
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"Have you thought about the restaurant idea, Dad?" Sarah looked at her dad from across the kitchen table. Compared to 7 years ago, Sarah's hair was now shoulder length. Her eyes had sharpened to look more like her mother's' and her looks had matured more to represent that of an adult.
"I have, I have, I've been looking at that place in the plaza." Oki was no different from what he looked like since 7 years ago. Only his face started to show signs of small wrinkles. "It's really small, but it's in such a popular area that its price is a bit high." Oki gestured to the plate in front of Sarah, "Now eat your pancakes."
Sarah smiled at her father before forking a piece of her pancake into her mouth. She wanted her dad to find a job that would make him happy. Owning his own restaurant was something she knew her dad would love. After years of cooking with her, Sarah saw that he had great cooking skills that could come in handy.
After breakfast Oki gathered the plates, brought them to the sink and started to clean them. Looking out the window above the sink he saw his neighbors walking across with their new born baby. The mother was cradling the small child in her arms, smiling as the baby made cute faces. Oki wished his wife could have done the same.
Sarah used her hips to bump her dad to the side. Pulling a dirty dish from a stack, Sarah began cleaning next to her dad. Oki had looked at her in surprise at first for butting in, but soon a smile replaced it as he looked at her. Oki loved his daughter. He would die for her.
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Oki was looking at his time watch. The crystals embedded in the bronze metal flashed an uneven combination of the colors blue and yellow. 7:30. Where is she?
For 10 minutes, Oki had been waiting for Sarah by the carriage in front of the house. Today was the day that Sarah was to be interviewed for a job at an animal hospital. It was scheduled to be at 8:00 and who knows how long it'll take if they hit traffic.
"I'm ready!" Sarah came running out of the house. Her cheeks were flushed from rushing around trying to look good for the interview. She was already beautiful so Oki didn't understand what took her so long.
Repeating his thought out loud, Oki said, "What took you so long?"
Sarah twirled a finger into her hair, "Oh nothing really, just my hair took a while to get right."
Oki had never saw Sarah in any way try to stylize her hair since she turned 15. It was always straight down and shoulder length, nothing else. So at the mention of her excuse, Oki just sucked his lips in and went, "MmHmmm."
When Sarah came up to the carriage, Oki opened the door for her with a, "Your Highness."
This caused Sarah to giggle and pat the top of Oki's head when she was in the carriage. Oki climbed in after her and took up almost half of the carriage with his huge body.
When they arrived to the animal hospital, Oki was amazed to see how big it was. While only being one story high, the building itself was wide in both dimensions. Why would an animal hospital be so big?
Sarah was nervous about her interview. With hands between her legs, she began to get red in the face. "Oh geez, oh geez, oh geez, oh god, oh god." Taking deep breaths, Sarah began repeating these words to herself.
Oki looked over to her with a smile and put a hand on her shoulder, "Hey, Sweetie. You'll do just fine." Oki took his hand back to rub his belly. "In the unlikely event that you don't get the job, then we'll still get ice cream."
Sarah didn't smile, "Dad, ice cream wouldn't solve all my problems."
"We'll it does for me." Oki kept rubbing his belly.
"You're weird, Dad."
"Yup," Oki pointed at Sarah, "and don't you forget it."
Sarah cracked a small smile, "That's something I don't think anyone could forget."
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Inside the waiting room of the hospital only two people sat in the many available chairs.
Oki and Sarah were waiting patiently. Neither said anything the entire time waiting until a man came up with a clipboard in his hands.
"I can assume you're Sarah?" The man asked, as he walked towards the pair. Sarah introduced herself, and got up to follow him.
Oki gave her a double thumbs up before Sarah left. Oki watched as his beautiful daughter went off to determine her fate. He knew this job was important to her since she absolutely loved cats, which came to no surprise to Oki.
The waiting room remained silent for a long while. No one came into the hospital, leaving Oki quite uncomfortable. Getting up, Oki headed for the doors to head outside where he could listen to the sounds of the city instead of the deafening silence in the hospital.
The carriage and the driver were still on the side of the road, waiting for the return of Oki and Sarah. Oki just lounged next to the carriage, not really paying attention to anything particular. His eyes would wander to the clouds and then to the passing pedestrians, but that was about it.
Rumble rumble
Oki heard it before he felt it. The ground beneath his feet began to shake. The ground was violently thrown to and fro, like it was liquid. Oki didn't stand a chance against this force and was knocked to the ground.
People screamed, some tried to run, some tried to seek cover, but the shaking earth threw them all to the ground. Cracks spread like along the roads like a fire on
dry wood, splitting the rocks and gravel. The cracks connected with buildings and traveled up them, threatening to bring them all down. An earthquake.
It had only lasted a few seconds, but by the time it was over, some buildings had collapsed. In the distance, the city's time tower was no longer visible to anyone far away, it had collapsed. The screams of people could be heard from every direction.
The dragon that had pulled the carriage Oki and Sarah had taken was long gone, having taken the carriage with it. The driver no longer had control of his steed. Everything was in chaos.
Doctors, nurses, and other people ran from the nearly collapsing animal hospital. Oki noticed that Sarah wasn't among them. Without thinking of what he was doing, Oki ran into the hospital's doors, squeezing by the people trying to escape.
The hallway was lined with cracks, the cemented walks were going to give soon. Oki had to hurry. Running to the waiting room, Oki burst through the doors that led to the back. His only problem was not knowing where Sarah was.
Screaming her name while running through the various halls, Oki finally heard a yell from not to far away, "DADDY!?"
Overjoyed, Oki ran in the direction of Sarah's voice. After a few more calls, Oki pinpointed her voice to be behind a door near the back. Oki put his hands on the doorknob, it turned but didn't open the door. Putting his hands on the door, Oki yelled to his daughter.
"Sarah, can you hear me?!"
"Yes, yes I can hear you, Daddy!" Sarah's voice was fast and desperate, she was scared.
"Sarah, I need you to move whatever's blocking the door! Can you do that, Sweetie?!"
"There's nothing blocking the door! It-it's just stuck!"
Alright then. Never thought I'd have to do this, but…
Oki grabbed the doorknob and braced himself for impact. "Move outta the way, Sweetie! I'm busting it down!"
"OK!"
Oki threw his shoulder into the door, it shook but didn't open. Stepping back a bit farther, Oki again threw himself into the door. The door flew open, standing a bit away from the door was Sarah, covered in dust and looking terrified. On the floor was the man who had took Sarah from the waiting room, he must have been knocked out by fallen pieces of the building. The only window was blocked by rubble.
Recovering from the force of hitting the door, Oki looked at Sarah with a smile. Sarah didn't smile though, a scream escaped her lips as Oki felt a force push onto his back. The force knocked him to the ground.
The door was the only thing that held a large chunk of the ceiling. Now that Oki had removed door, it all came crashing down onto him.
"DADDY!" Sarah was unable to move, paralyzed with fear.
Oki knew they were in grave danger now that they were trapped in the room. Bringing his hands to his chest, Oki began to lift his upper body. The weight of the rubble on top of him strained his muscles.
Oki stepped a foot up to support himself more. He had made an opening below him that lead to the hallway outside.
Yelling through his teeth Oki called out to his daughter, "SARAH, I NEED YOU TO RUN! NOW!"
At the yelling of her father, Sarah snapped out of her paralysis and stepped forward.
The ground began to shake again, less violent, but enough to throw Sarah onto her knees. Oki was kept in place by the weight of the ceiling on his shoulders. More cracks formed on the ceiling, sending pieces to fall in front of Sarah, cutting her off from reaching Oki.
The weight on Oki proved to be too much for him, sending him to the ground again. The last thing Oki saw before fainting from a falling rock was the ceiling crumble around him and his daughter.
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"Haahhy, ahh ffuund uuaahn!"
A hazy voice reach Oki's ears. It was indecipherable, but slowly as he regained consciousness the voice became clearer.
"Help me out with this one! He's still alive!"
The weight on Oki's back was slowly lifted off of him. Coughing, Oki got up and examined his surroundings. The building was still somewhat standing. Only a bare skeleton remained of the hospital. Rocks and wood was strewn about everywhere, broken and snapped.
Suddenly remembering why he was there, Oki wobbled over to the other side of the room. The men who had saved him only stared in amazement as Oki tore chunks of rock from a huge pile of stone and wood.
Breathing heavily, Oki didn't stop digging through the rubble. Maybe Sarah got out. Happy thoughts were wasted in his scenario.
Rock after rock after rock, Oki never stopped until he found an arm. It was pretty, it was pale, it was Sarah's.
"No, no, no, no." Tears falling from his eyes, the giant man dug faster until he uncovered the body of his precious daughter.
Her lifeless corpse brought Oki to his knees. Hands over his mouth, Oki held back his sobs. With tears falling, nose running, heart throbbing, Oki could do nothing but reach out and carry Sarah's limp body from the destruction.
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Oki carried Rem in his arms. She was asleep, having exhausted herself from crying all night. Seeing Rem by her sister's resting place broke his heart, something that's only happened three times in his life.
Oki knew Rem enough to know that she would want to kill every last witch cultists out there, but that was something he couldn't allow her to do. It was just too dangerous for her. Oki didn't want to lose Rem just like he lost Sarah.
Looking down at Rem, Oki saw Sarah's lifeless face in his arms. Something he thought he'd never see again.
"It has been said that time heals all wounds. I do not agree. The wounds remain.
In time, the mind protecting it's sanity covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens, but it's never gone."
– Rose Kennedy
AN: I'm thinking of putting a quote at the end of each new chapter that has something to do with what you guys read. What do you guys/gals think?
I feel I have too much fun making my favorite characters suffer. Like I enjoy writing about what horrible thing I'll put them through next. Maybe Nagastuki should hire me as a guy who comes up with terrible things to put Subaru through...Nah, he's got it. I would probably just end up killing everyone but Rem and just piss off the fanbase.
See ya'll in the next chapter! :P