Naoko Natsuki was a laid back person. Because of her gaze, people thought that she was always angry or in a bad mood.
But nothing could be further from the truth, she was a mother who cared for her husband and her son. She prepared meals for her family every day. She spent her days taking care of the home while her husband worked and her son attended school.
She was a person that people considered too relaxed. She made decisions slowly, too slowly and she took a lot of time to grasp many things. There were even people who considered her an airhead.
But that was a long time ago.
The person she was died six months ago, that tragic day, along with her son, her star. One, if not the most important person in her life. The child that she raised with her own hands. She watched him grow and learn, day after day.
Then, one day as if he had been swallowed by the earth itself, he disappeared without a trace. Not even the security cameras near the area where he was last seen could discern something to track him down.
The cameras did not detect anything that could indicate kidnapping. Her son had no resources that she knew to run away from home. None of his acquaintances had him at their home. And the police could find nothing about him or his whereabouts.
So... where was he?
Six long months had passed since that day. That day that she remembered like no other.
Her son had missed another day of school. They were already about three months from the first time she did. At first, she did not give it more importance, everyone could have a day in which they did not want to do anything.
But alas, that was only the beginning. One day a week became two days a week. Two to three and so on. Every day his eyes seemed worse, tired, sad, without any goal for the future. Her son proceeded to lock himself in his room, leaving only to go to the bathroom or to get some food from the fridge.
Both, she and her husband, tried to get him to regain his spirits but nothing they did seemed to help him.
That day, to her surprise, he left his room. Dressed in the tracksuit that he used to wear, he headed towards the door of the house.
"Take care," she said. He didn't even turn his head. He opened the door and left the house without saying a word. How she wished she could travel to the past and stop him, tell him that everything was fine, that whatever his problem was, they could talk about it, that he could trust them. She already knew what was troubling him but she wanted him to open to them.
But she didn't. Her son walked out the door to the convenience store. She started making dinner thinking about what to say to him once he got back.
Hours passed, her husband came home from work and still, her son did not.
That's where it all started. When her husband returned, she explained the situation to him and they went looking for him. It was late at night and few people were left on the streets of the neighbourhood, far from the centre of the city.
They immediately denounced the disappearance but the police could not find anything.
Six months have passed since that and they are in the same situation as the first day. Without finding a single clue.
Like every morning, afternoon and evening she walked to the convenience store. Her husband walked beside her. Every night they went out together after he got back from work.
Kenichi Natsuki is the name of her husband. Like her, the disappearance of her son affected him greatly. Over the months she lost the vitality he was known for and although she was still in good physical shape in the hopes of finding her son and helping him in case he had a problem.
His appearance had also worsened as his once black hair began to turn white due to stress.
"Naoko" Her husband whispered softly "We should go back, it's getting late" The moon had been shining in the sky for a long time and there was no one left in the street. Even stores with night hours were starting to close.
Another day the same pattern. Nothing leading to nothing. "We found nothing, as always"
Naoko's eyes began to fill with tears little by little, but she quickly wiped them away. She couldn't afford for her tears to keep him from losing any detail that led to her child.
"Just a little more please" The woman whispered, they couldn't go home empty-handed. No again.
Kenichi looked at her and didn't say anything else. With his arm, he hugged her shoulder and pulled her closer to him. He had to stay strong for his wife.
His eyes also started to water. "Where are you Subaru?" It was the only thought that could pass through his head without problems for the last few months. He wiped away his tears before his wife could tell. What he didn't know is that she had seen him cry before.
He knew that his son was having problems but he attributed it to a phase, after all, he was a teenager, he was at that age. So even if he decided to skip school he thought it was best to let him figure it out himself. It was all part of learning and growing up.
Kenichi never expected his son would disappear. From morning to night he simply disappeared. Kenichi blamed himself for not helping his child when he needed it and now he was paying the consequences.
"Naoko, now we should go back" It was around three in the morning and he would have to go to work in a few more hours "We'll continue tomorrow"
"Yes... Sure" They were the same words as always. After the same old night.
The couple began their journey home, stopped at a crosswalk. It was late at night and the schedule they had lately was far from the best, their eyes were tired and heavy. They had a hard time keeping them open and the headlights of the car heading towards them dazzled them.
They both closed their eyes in response. And before opening them the sounds around them had changed. Forgotten was the quiet silence of the night and the sound of voices speaking, people walking and much more welcomed them.
Naoko opened her eyes and couldn't believe what she was seeing. Forgotten were the streets of modern Japan. Streets created with stones instead of concrete roads. An obvious European medieval architectural style that was completely different from the current Japanese style of construction.
The stone streets were travelled by people of all kinds. Naoko had to blink several times to make sure what she was seeing is real.
"What ..." Kenichi said incredulously. Fantasy beings passed through the stone streets. Men and women with animal appendices, scales, feathers, and more. He had to pinch himself very hard to believe what he was seeing.
Naoko had a similar reaction to her husband, as the sight before she was so unreal that it seemed incredible.
"Dear... where are we?" She asked, dumbfounded.
"I... I do not know"
It was like one of the books and mangas their son had in the room. The characters in those stories were suddenly transported to another world.
Kenichi looked around looking for something "Honey let's sit on that bench" He said pointing to an empty bench near where they were.
Naoko nodded without saying anything.
Near a fountain, they both sat on the bench and let out a long sigh. This was taking a toll on both of them.
"This seems too real to be a hallucination" Kenichi projected his thoughts out loud so that his wife could hear them.
"It's too much too real" Naoko followed a pair of lizardmen with her eyes. They were pulling a cart that appeared to have construction materials on it. If the wood and rocks indicated anything.
"I can't help but think that this is some kind of hallucination created by exhaustion" Kenichi commented while rubbing his eyes "It's too incredible, if I wasn't living it I wouldn't believe it" As a grown adult, his common sense and what he was seeing right now were two things that just were colliding head-on, they were completely opposite.
"What should we do now?" Naoko asked in dismay, their lives had already been complicated enough that this was happening to them now. "If this is real, we don't know where we are. We don't know the language and, likely, our money won't work here." Her pessimistic side was taking control of his actions, something that had happened a lot since his son's disappearance.
After all, if things went wrong, what was stopping them from getting worse?
Kenichi reacts quickly. He couldn't leave his wife in that state any longer. He may lose her forever if she continued like this.
Getting up from his seat in a quick and showy move "Don't worry my dea...!"
"Outta my way!"
"-ack!"
"Crap!"
A little blonde-haired girl impacted Kenichi who had just got up, knocking him to the ground. The girl fell to her knees beside him.
Without wasting a single moment the girl got up again and ran again.
"Sorry 'bout that but I have to run now. Live strong!"
For a moment, Naoko could notice her bright red eyes that matched her dress, or what she assumed to be a dress as it was completely torn. She moved to help her husband while the girl runs away.
"Dear, are you fine?"
"Yeah yeah I'm fine. Just a little surprised by the sudden blow" Naoko helped Kenichi up "I didn't expect someone to tackle me" They both looked in the direction the little girl had run off.
"Are you two alright?" The voice of a young adult spoke behind them.
The Natsuki couple turned to see a teenager, perhaps a young adult in his early twenties, not much older than their son, with vibrant red hair and clear bright blue eyes.
The young man wore black and white, contrasting with his hair and eyes. A partially open white coat and white pants. A black shirt, black gloves, and black shoes.
The couple had to admit that the young man was quite handsome, but what surprised them was not the appearance of him but the sword he carried at his waist.
Although it seemed that the young man was not going to start a fight, Kenichi put Naoko behind him a bit, covering her with his body. The fact that someone so young wore something so dangerous alerted the japanese.
"Yeah, of course, something like this isn't going to knock me down. Thanks for asking" Kenichi smiled at the young man, as he tried to keep his distance.
"I am sorry for the behaviour of my lady. From time to time she tends to run away from her guards." The young man bowed to them while apologising. "My deepest apologies"
"Your... lady?" Asked the Kenichi doubtfully.
"You... do not know?" Asked the youth surprised "Maybe she caught you both by surprise and you did not recognize her. She was Lady Felt, one of the fives candidates to the throne of Lugunica" The Natsuki couple looked at him while he explained what seemed to be the most obvious thing in the world, but neither of them fully understood him.
"Lugunica? And you mean she is a soon to be queen?" Naoko asked, really surprised. If it was true they might have offended someone of noble birth. She was already thinking about what could be of them if she decided to retaliate for their actions.
It seems that this place not only seemed medieval and fantastic, but it was medieval and fantastic. Knights, kings and queens, races of demi-humans and who knows what else.
If things were as hard as they were in the past where the life of a simple peasant could be lost by the fact of bumping into a nobleman in the street without wanting it, it was clear that their lives were not going to last much longer.
"Yes... Lugunica, the country where you are in right now, and she is a candidate to be queen although I believe that she will be the queen." The redhead said "Also, forgive my rudeness, my name is Reinhard van Astrea, royal knight and knight in the service of Lady Felt" He smiled after his presentation.
People around them began to murmur, recognising the redhead. Kenichi felt Naoko tense behind him. Since Subaru, their son, disappeared, Naoko has spent less and less time interacting with people. The time she wasted talking with other people was time she could use looking for Subaru, she told him once.
This began to cause rumours in the people of the neighbourhood. Rumours about her losing her mind in her despair and agony for her lost son. Over time, Naoko started avoiding people and now she found herself in this situation. Being the centre of attention for dozens of people.
"Well it has been a pleasure Astrea-kun, but right now we have to go"
"Please, Reinhard is just fine" The knight said with a small smile
"Anyway, it has been a pleasure Reinhard-kun" Kenichi patted the young man's shoulder in an act of confidence before turning to his trembling wife to start walking.
"Wait a minute" Reinhard's voice called out. Kenichi turned a bit to see the knight "Could you tell me your names? I have the feeling I have seen you two before"
Both Naoko and Kenichi stopped. This appeared to be some kind of scam. Of the 'Do you remember me?' kind
"Look Reinhard-kun, as you may have realized, not long ago we have arrived in this city and we are somewhat lost" Kenichi tried to make the boy leave them alone. It had been quite a few hours since he slept and although the adrenaline rush of arriving here still had its effect they had to find a place to rest before it was exhausted.
"Still I must insist if you can give me their names, I have a small hypothesis that I would like to confirm"
Naoko nodded to her husband, the sooner they were done with this the better. Kenichi looked at his wife and sighed. After that, she turned her gaze to the young knight "Well, you win. My name is Natsuki Kenichi and this is my wife Natsuki Naoko" Naoko came out of her hiding place behind Kenichi, giving Reinhard a good look at her looks.
"That name... that strange clothes besides those eyes and that glare and the resemblance between them, it's more than obvious" Reinhard muttered. Kenichi could see Reinhard's lips move but he couldn't understand what the knight said.
"Well, if we're done, we'll go" Kenichi smiled at the knight one last time before starting to leave.
"Wait, I have another question" Reinhard called back to the couple. Kenichi turned around with an annoyed face but before he could say anything Reinhard spoke again "Do you have a son named Subaru?"
The couple stayed completely still, dead you might say. They stopped in their tracks at the mention of that name. Naoko turned herself slowly to look at the teenager.
"What... what did you just say?" Naoko's voice came out trembling. It was possible? Was it possible that her son was here too?
Kenichi advanced to Reinhard with a very angry face. Grabbing Reinhard by the collar of his shirt "Repeat what you just said, young man"
"I asked if you have a son named Subaru, Natsuki Subaru" The knight repeated calmly even when Kenichi grabbed him.
"I swear... for everything you consider sacred, that if you have done something to my son you will not see the light of another day. I don't care who you are or what you do" The father threatened the knight.
Kenichi no longer cared that this boy, who carried a sword, decided to attack him because he was the only clue they had found about his missing son. And he would risk his life to see his wife as happy as he was before.
To his surprise, Reinhard did not respond violently, but he laughed. This caught Kenichi off guard. Loosening the grip on his shirt. Reinhard raised his hands in surrender for Kenichi to release him but even if he loosened his grip, he did not completely release him.
"I have the pleasure of meeting Sir Natsuki Subaru as well as, I believe, being his friend." Reinhard smiled at them.
Hello, it's been a while. I had to caught up to some uni things as well as the finals are coming soon and didn't have much time to write. Also Re Zero season 2 ended and this idea came to my mind. So I thought. Why not? And here we are. I do not thing this will take more than 5-6 chapters to finish as this will only be a short story. Any way, see you around
ww)w(.patreo)n.c)om/E(went