Chapter 13

(Reply to Guest: Don't worry. I have a plan)

Running through the forest, Itsuki bridal carried Rem while Ram ran behind them alongside Subaru. Subaru's right arm was hanging lifelessly at his side while his left hand gripped his sword.

"Barusu, head to the right of that broken tree ahead, you're too slow!" Ram said as they ran.

"Don't ask any more of me! I'm running as fast as I can here!" Subaru panted.

"W-what's going on? Where are we?"

Looking down, Itsuki saw Rem was now awake, staring up at him with questioning eyes.

"Glad to see you're finally awake." Itsuki told her.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Ram breathed a sigh of relief. "You really are a handful, you know that?"

As the trio ran, a mabeast quickly approached.

"Fura!"

Ram quickly cut it down before they ducked into some bushes to catch their breaths.

Taking deep, heavy breathes, Itsuki still held Rem in a tight grip as though he'd never let her go. Realizing this, Itsuki gently placed Rem on the ground who moved a few inches away from the trio.

"Why?" Rem suddenly asked.

"Why what?"

"Why didn't you just mind your own business and leave me alone?" Rem asked. "You, Subaru and sister showing up...makes it all pointless. I have to do this by myself, understand? Nobody else needs to get hurt besides me..."

"It's too late for that now." Itsuki said.

"Yeah, my right shoulder's been dislocated!"

Hearing this, Itsuki silently moved behind Subaru.

"The three of us are already torn to shreds, maybe even more than you." Itsuki told Rem.

"It's...it's my fault..." Rem said. "So I have to take responsibility. If I don't, I can't do anything for sister... Or you either... I'm terrible, and I haven't changed at all! I committed the same sin today that I did when I was little. Because I hesitated to extend my hand to you...you nearly died."

A sudden loud popping sound echoed as Itsuki relocated Subaru's arm without him knowing it was about to happen. With a loud groan of pain, Subaru held his arm as he glared at Itsuki.

"Did you seriously do this alone to make up for that?" Itsuki asked as he moved back to his original spot between Subaru and Rem, all while Subaru glared at Itsuki. "Rem..." Itsuki called her name, getting her to look up at him.

"Yes? What?"

Bringing his hand back, Itsuki slapped Rem hard enough to leave a slight red mark on her cheek.

Holding her face, Rem stared at Itsuki.

"Are you fuckin' dumb?!" Itsuki growled. "You don't have to do everything on your own! You should trust and rely on the people who care for you and call you friend! Doing everything on your own is stupid! Especially if it's as dangerous as this! If you would have asked Ram, Emilia, Subaru or even myself for help, we all would've joined you! I get that what you did was to save my life, but it would've been done easier and faster if you'dve just asked for help!"

"Itsuki, I..."

Hearing the bushes around them rustle, the four of them scanned their surroundings to see countless mabeasts poke their heads out of the bushes.

"Dammit..." Subaru and Itsuki said in unison.

"Jinx." Itsuki said before Subaru could.

"Ram, which way should we run to get to the barrier?" Subaru asked.

"We have to go left. Do you have a plan to get passed the Wolgarm?" Ram asked.

"Wolgarm? That's what you call 'em?" Itsuki asked.

"You and Rem could make a break for it while Itsuki and myself distract the Wolgarm." Subaru said.

"No. There's no way you two will survive. I'm begging of you. Please don't. You mustn't!" Rem said.

"Don't worry about us." Itsuki said as he turned to face Rem. "I trust Subaru to have my back, like I'll have his. Now," Itsuki picked up Rem and went over placing her on Ram's back. "You two get outta here."

"Itsuki...why would you do all this?" Rem asked.

"You make it sound like I'm the only one going out there." Itsuki said as he gave a soft chuckle. "But to answer your question..."

Itsuki remembered all the great times he spent with Rem. The times they talked. Each time he asked her what her favorites were. The time she showed him her favorite spot in the village. Itsuki remembered every great moment the two shared that he remembered. Even though Rem had no idea about most of those moments, that didn't erase the things he felt in those times. The happiness Itsuki felt each time he got to spend a moment alone with her. The few looks Rem gave him that showed a different emotion other than distrust. Even this feeling, deep in his chest in this moment.

"It's because I care about you a great deal. More than you could imagine." Itsuki told her.

"We better hurry up and get this thing going, Itsuki." Subaru said.

"Right!" Itsuki got to his feet. Looking to Ram, Itsuki smiled. "Take care of Rem."

"I'll be praying for our safe reunion, you two." Ram said as the four split up, Ram carrying Rem on her back and towards the village while Subaru and Itsuki charged the Wolgarm.

"Let's finally finish this shit!" Subaru shouted.

"Couldn't say it any better myself!"

As the duo charged the small mutt, it began to change into a giant Wolgarm, thrice the size of a normal one.

"I've got an ace up my sleeve too!" Subaru said. "It's you and me, pal. Hope you're ready!"

"I'll follow your lead, man!"

Grinning, Subaru held his broken sword at the ready while Itsuki gripped his own with an iron grasp.

"Stand back a bit, would ya?" Subaru asked Itsuki.

Doing as told, Itsuki took a few steps away from Subaru.

With a grin plastered on his face, Subaru cast a spell.

"Shamak!"

A sudden large cloud of black smoke rushed from Subaru's body, engulfing the oversized dog. Dashing towards the beast, Subaru jumped up, stabbed his sword into the creature's neck and released the hilt, falling back to the ground and running out of the smoke.

Stopping once he was out, the giant Wolgarm suddenly lurched forward, pinning Subaru under its giant paw. Rushing to help Subaru, Itsuki slashed the paw, cutting a deep gash into its flesh and forcing it to reel back. Getting back to his feet, Subaru looked to Itsuki.

"Thanks."

As the beast went to strike again, Itsuki held both of his hands out to the beast.

"Goa!"

A ball of inferno rushed towards the beast, causing it to catch fire for a split second before the creature snuffed it out with its paw. Having been weakened a bit from using his mana while still recovering from his own injuries, Itsuki fell to one knee.

"Uuuuuuuul Goa!"

A sudden rain of inferno washed down onto the mabeasts, burning each one that stood before the duo.

Looking to the source of the spell, Roswaal slowly came from the sky, his right hand on the tip of his hat.

"Oh myyyyyy, you two look an abso~lute fright!" Roswaal said.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Subaru let himself sink to the ground.

"Better late than never, eh, Ros?" Taking in breaths, Subaru placed his broken blade onto the ground. "Gotta say though, I'm surprised you knew where to find us."

"Miss Emi~lia drove it into me qui~te thoroughly in the village." Roswaal said. "'Even if it's rash or reckless, he'll use magic if he's cornered, so don't lose sight of him from above' she said." Roswaal told them while impersonating Emilia. "And there you go."

Staring at the man, Itsuki found it a bit odd that Roswaal would impersonate someone so casually. It didn't fit him at all.

"Lord Roswaal!"

Looking back, Ram approached Roswaal while supporting Rem.

"I'm certain we caused a lot of trouble for you. My apologies." Ram said while bowing her head respectfully.

"Quite the contrary." Roswaal said. "Truthfully, you both accomplished fine work in my absence. I'm grateful. And I'll certainly show that gratitude for what you've done for me." His gaze was fixed on Subaru. "You have my word."

"Itsuki!" Rem suddenly tackled the teen to the ground in a hug.

"Augh! Hey!" Itsuki winced. "What's-?"

"You're alive! You're alive!"

Itsuki felt his shoulder suddenly become damp, causing him to realize that Rem was crying.

"Hey, Rem, could you..." Itsuki was having a hard time breathing with Rem's grip on him so tight. "...ease up a bit? I...sort of...hurt all over..."

As Rem continued to hug Itsuki, his vision slowly faded to black as his eyes closed.

The next day

Slowly waking up to a familiar ceiling, Itsuki quickly realized he was back in Roswaal's mansion.

"Hey. Are you awake?"

Looking over, Rem sat on the chair beside his bed.

"Rem?" Itsuki said softly. As he went to sit up, he realized that Rem's hand was intertwined with his own. "Did you...hold my hand?"

Immediately, Rem's face turned a bright red.

"I was watching you and it looked like you were in pain while you slept." Rem replied. "So, I..."

Staring at Rem, Itsuki couldn't help but smile.

"Held my hand?"

"I don't know what to do at times like these." Rem told Itsuki. "It's always so confusing and overwhelming. So I did what would have made me the happiest if I were in your place."

"Well," Itsuki grunted as he sat up. "Just having someone here this time brings me joy."

Rem's face brightened with a shade of red as she glanced downwards, averting Itsuki's gaze.

"Since I'm still breathing, I assume the curses placed upon me have been undone?" Itsuki asked.

"Yes." Rem nodded. "Roswaal made sure to take care of all the mabeasts in the forest. The curses placed upon you will never activate."

"That's a relief." Itsuki said with a sigh.

A few moments of silence slowly passed by.

"Rem-"

"I'm sorry."

The two spoke at the same time, their words overlapping.

"Uh..." Rem looked away.

"What are you sorry for?" Itsuki asked. "You don't have anything to be sorry for."

"But-"

"You saved my life. If anything, I should be thanking you!" Itsuki smiled. "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be breathing right now."

"Itsuki..."

"While everyone else was busy with other things, you decided to use your time to go into the forest to save my life." Itsuki told her. "And for that, I'm forever in your debt. Thanks to you, I get to live to see tomorrow."

"Uh..." Rem fell silent.

"You're amazing, you know that?"

Rem shifted her gaze to the floor.

"I'm not amazing... I'm a poor excuse of a demon clan drop out. Someone who shouldn't have kept her horn... why was sister the one who..." Rem suddenly gasped. "Goodness, I'm sorry. That was a strange thing for me to say. Please forget it."

Itsuki stared at Rem.

"Do you truly think so little of yourself?" Itsuki asked. "To me, you're the best person I've ever met. No matter what you say, I'll never see you as anything less than amazing."

"But I'm not strong. I only bring misery to the people I care about. If it weren't for me, my sister would still have her horn." Rem said. "Why couldn't she have been the only one born? Why did we have to come into this world as twins?" Rem began to cry. "Why-"

"You're stronger than most of the people I've seen." Itsuki told her as he stood up. "On top of that; you're kind, caring, great at your job, gorgeous. Rem, you may see yourself as something differently than I do, but no matter what, you will never convince me that you're life shouldn't exist. I guarantee Ram would tell you the same."

"Huh?"

"You think Ram would be happy if she didn't have you with her?" Itsuki asked. "Ram cares a great deal about you, Rem. You're her twin sister. I don't know what happened when Ram lost her horn, but if it meant protecting you, I'd bet she'd doing everything the same way. Just as I would back in the forest. If given a second chance, I'd shove you out of the way of those Wolgarms in a heartbeat. Because I care about you, Rem. I care about you a great deal."

Hearing this, Rem wiped her eyes.

"I'm very weak, so I'm certain that I'll end up depending and leaning on you." Rem told Itsuki.

"So what?" Itsuki asked. "I'm not strong either." Taking Rem's hand, Itsuki helped her to her feet. "So, let's just lean on each other and use each other as support while we both move forward. Let's look to tomorrow and the challenges it may bring. And let's face those challenges." Itsuki gently squeezed Rem's hand. "Together."

Wiping her tears, Rem smiled. "Together."

Hours later

With the sun having descended from the sky, Itsuki roamed the halls of Roswaal's mansion.

"Glad to see you're up and about."

Looking over his shoulder, Itsuki was approached by Emilia.

"Oh, hey. Yeah, I feel a whole lot better than yesterday." Itsuki told the half-elf. "Gotta say, if you hadn't told Roswaal where we were in the forest, we'd all have been dead for sure. So, thanks!"

Emilia slightly cocked her head.

"What are you talking about?" Emilia asked.

"You told Roswaal where to find us, didn't you?"

"No." Emilia shook her head. "I hadn't seen Roswaal until you all arrived back in the village. I assumed he had been passing by when he saw you all in trouble."

"But...Roswaal told us that he spoke to you before coming to help."

"Mm mm." Emilia shook her head once more. "I have some things I need to do. It's good to see you out of bed and about."

As Emilia walked off, Itsuki rubbed the back of his head, more confused than ever.

"Roswaal doesn't seem like the kinda guy who'd lie, like, ever. So why lie about speaking with Emilia? More so, how would he have known to go over the forest in search of us if he hadn't talked with Emilia first? How would he have even known we were in trouble?"

These questions flowed through Itsuki's mind.

"Maybe I'm putting too much thought into this..." Itsuki thought. "Or maybe I'm not putting enough thought into it."

Now suspicious of Roswaal, Itsuki decided to do a bit of investigating.

Heading up the stairs in the foyer, Itsuki made a beeline right for Roswaal's personal room. Itsuki knew the layout of the mansion rather well by now which allowed him to quickly reach Roswaal's room.

Twisting the doorknob, Itsuki was surprised to feel there was no resistance of a lock. Scanning the room for Roswaal, Itsuki slowly stepped inside. Quickly taking note that it wasn't really anything fancy, the room itself looked to be a bit larger than the others but still held the same amount of furniture inside.

Needing to be quick, Itsuki approached the desk. After having rummaged through it, Itsuki found nothing that seemed important. Searching the dresser, he came up empty as well. Looking under the bed, there wasn't a single thing.

"Hm." Itsuki placed a finger to his chin. "If I wanted to hide something, where would I..." Itsuki snapped his fingers. "Under the mattress."

Lifting the mattress on the left side then the right, Itsuki sighed as he came up empty once more.

As he put the mattress back down, one of the pillows fell off the bed. Picking it up, he went to place it back on the bed when he noticed a black book laying where the pillow was.

"Interesting..."

Picking up the book, Itsuki sat down and opened it to the first page. Staring at the text, Itsuki found himself to be able to instantly read it.

As his eyes slowly read the first line of text, they suddenly began to pick up speed as what he read shook his very existence.

Turning the page, he quickly read it before flipping to the next. Then the next. And the next. And the next. And the next. And the next.

Closing the book, Itsuki's eyes were as wide as the moon itself. Placing the book under the pillow, a sudden sense of urgency flowed through Itsuki.

"That... that's not..." Itsuki felt the need to leave the room, just being in there made him feel the urge to vomit.

"Subaru!" Itsuki quickly rushed down the hall, not bothering to close the door to Roswaal's room. "SUBARU!"

Rushing down the steps of the main staircase two at a time, Itsuki ran to Subaru's room only to find it empty.

"Damnit, man! Now is not the time to be pullin' disappearin' acts!" Itsuki growled to himself.

"SUBARU!" Itsuki cupped his hands around his mouth as he shouted. "SUBA-!" Bumping into Rem as she walked into the hall, Itsuki stumbled back as Rem moved only slightly but kept her balance.

"Oh. Itsuki!" Rem said with a smile. "Looking for Subaru? I saw him talking with Emilia in the courtyard." Rem told Itsuki.

"Thanks!"

Before Itsuki took off, Rem gently grabbed the sleeve of his shirt.

"Is something wrong?" She asked.

"No. No no. It's just...I remembered I needed to ask him something important is all." Itsuki replied.

"Alright." Rem let go of his sleeve. "If something's wrong, let me know, okay?" Rem said with another smile before walking off.

"Alright." Turning to the back door of the mansion, Itsuki quickly burst outside. Seeing Subaru and Emilia talking, Itsuki quickly rushed over to the two.

"Yes!" Subaru shouted.

"Hm?" Emilia looked passed Subaru to see Itsuki approach. "Itsuki!"

"Huh?" Subaru turned around to see Itsuki walk right up to him. "Itsuki, I have the best news!"

"We have a problem." Itsuki told him. Glancing back at the mansion, Itsuki saw Roswaal's watchful gaze from his study. "We need to talk. Now!" Grabbing his arm, Itsuki began to drag Subaru behind him and further out into the courtyard.

"Uuuuh. I'll be right back Mili!"

Pulling him under one of the many structures that was further out in the courtyard, away from the mansion, Itsuki looked around to make sure the two were fully alone. Glancing around every hiding spot he could think of, Ituski looked to Subaru.

"You okay, Itsuki? You look kinda paranoid." Subaru said.

"I have something to tell you. It's important." Itsuki told him.

"What's wrong?"

"Roswaal has a book that tells him exactly what's happened to us!" Itsuki explained. "It states the events in the Lute house as well as the events in the forest! But that's not just it. It told Roswaal to hire Felt to steal Emilia's insignia as well as hire Elsa to kill us and to hire someone who can control mabeasts to attack us!"

Subaru was silent as he took in the information.

"The book instructs Roswaal." Itsuki said. "And on top of that..."

"It tells Roswaal about Return by Death."

End of chapter 13