AN: My first Re:Zero fic. Hopefully, it's to your liking. Leave a review if you find any mistakes or simply want to show how much you liked. Enjoy!
Chapter 1
It had been a rough few months in the Natsuki household. First, their son had become a shut-in, and then suddenly he disappeared. Natsuki Naoko and Natsuki Kenichi had tried their hardest to find him, police investigations turned up empty and their own personal efforts bore no fruit. They had completely given up. It had been almost four months since then and neither Naoko nor Kenichi were handling it well.
Naoko would stare aimlessly at the door as if waiting for Subaru to magically appear, dressed in his favorite tracksuit. Kenichi was handling it better, he would go to work in the morning, always remembering to make lunch for his wife in case she skipped. But on the inside he was just as broken, no longer could he sleep peacefully without having nightmares of what horrors Subaru might be going through. Despite all their faults, both parents refused to believe that their son had died.
It was on a Sunday that the unthinkable happened. Kenichi was trying to persuade Naoko into having lunch but she was being particularly despondent today.
"Come on dear, it's time for lunch," Kenichi said for the tenth time.
"But Kenichi, what will Subaru think if aren't waiting in front of the door when he arrives?" Naoko gave him her usual response and Kenichi sighed.
"Ok how abou-" Kenichi was about to finish that sentence when he was hit with a blinding light.
.
"Hey mister, you gonna buy some appas?"
"So you're broke too huh?" says the Appa seller. He seriously had bad luck with his customers sometimes. Standing right in front of his shop, broke!
"Sorry mister, but it'd seem we're a bit lost. We'll move to the side now," Kenichi was more than just lost. He and his wife seem to have been transported to one of Subaru's fantasy worlds.
He looked over to his wife. She was still in a state of confusion so he sat her down on the sidewalk and looked around to see if he could find something to help them. But no, they were not that fortunate.
"Here have this, some appas," the Appa seller says as he hands the couple some appas.
"A broke kid once helped my daughter when she got lost, turns out she was a candidate for the throne."
"Ah I can't thank you enough mister," says Kenichi with gratitude. He takes the appas and immediately turns to his wife.
"Here Naoko, take these, we don't have anything else so eat these"
"..." Naoko said nothing, she simply took one and bit into it. Suddenly her eyes widened as if she realized something.
"Kenichi, Kenichi, if we're not home now, who'll greet Subaru when he gets home!" Naoko begins to panic, she starts screaming her son's name.
"Subaru! Subaru! Mommy is so sorry!" It didn't take long for a crowd to form around them. Once again the Appa seller came to their rescue.
"What? All of you want to see a woman in a bad state so badly? Scram!" He loudly and quickly shooed away all the bystanders from the scene and then turns to Kenichi.
"By any chance, you don't mean Natsuki Subaru do you?"
Once again, Natsuki Kenichi was very confused.
Naoko was much more attentive once Subaru's name was said.
"He's here, he's here, he's here" Naoko's mind could not think of anything else. Her son was alive, whereabouts known, and she could ask for nothing else.
"I see so he's serving that Queen candidate you mentioned earlier," Kenichi was quite shocked on hearing that his son was serving as a knight to a potential Queen, but that was the least surprising information he received.
"He defeated a giant whale that was terrorizing the world for 400 years?"
"Rumours say he sliced right through it."
"He killed one of the leaders of a terrorist cult?"
"He was one of the main players at the very least."
"He got rid of an infinite rabbit?"
"Well the jury's out on whether that happened or not, but with this track record, it is very much possible that it's true. You seem to be awfully sceptical of your own son's achievements don't you think? Cut him some slack. He was broke the first time I met him, just like you, but since then he always makes sure to buy appas from me whenever he's in the city. He was even here last night."
Naoko perked up at that.
"Last night? In this city? Where? When? Is he still here?" the Appa salesman was shocked at her sudden ferocity.
Just then an old man in a butler suit came up to them.
"I must apologize, I didn't mean to overhear, but you wanted to meet Subaru-dono, yes?"
The man looked quite fit for his age. He carried a sword at his waist and looked like he was meant to be a servant of a noble.
"Subaru-dono has done me a great deal of help, I can only hope leading you to him will make it up to him," the way the man spoke of Subaru was more akin to how you'd speak about a celebrity you'd never meet rather than a person he knew. A man with no flaws, that wasn't the Subaru they knew.
"Naoko-dono and Kenichi-dono ought to be proud of the son you've raised. Ah, my bad, it seems I haven't introduced myself. I'm Wilhelm Van Astrea, a humble butler at the Crusch household. It was with us that Subaru-dono was staying last night, however, he left earlier today morning," Wilhelm said while leading them towards what looked like a mansion.
Naoko and Kenichi were very surprised at what happened after. When Wilhelm introduced them as Subaru's parents the effect was immediate, all the servants stopped in their tracks suddenly murmuring about how they weren't ready to receive such important guests right after the Emilia camp just left. And a girl with (were those cat ears?) quickly started ordering around some of the servants as if he were a corporate boss trying to get work done in time.
Naoko had improved a lot and overcame her initial shock. She was just now coming to understand the influence the name "Natsuki Subaru" held in this world. The couple was soon escorted to a grand dining room (read: hall) which looked like it could fit half the country and then some. There, at the head of the table sat a pretty lady with emerald hair and amber eyes, and next to her stood the girl with cat ears from earlier.
"Welcome, Subaru's parents. Please, be at ease, we owe Subaru a great debt and we will begin to pay it by helping the both of you with your needs. I am Crusch Karsten, the current head of the Karsten household and contender to the throne of Lugnica, just like Emilia-sama, whom Subaru serves as a knight," the lady, Crusch, introduced herself and then waved her hand in front of the cat girl.
"And this would be Ferris, he's the best healer in the country and serves as my knight."
"Did you say 'he'?" both Naoko and Kenichi couldn't help but think that.
"I'm Ferri-chan nyaice to meet you nya," says the cat boy. "Please sit down and have some food nya."
As the couple sat down, Wilhelm returned to the side of his employer and explained the situation to her and Ferris.
"So they have no idea about how Subaru has been these last few months? That seems impossible considering how much he has achieved," Crusch was quite sceptical and so was Ferris but they didn't doubt it considering who they were, and they had no reason to lie. Crusch turns to them.
"So you have no idea where Subaru is or what he has been doing?" asks Crusch, satisfied when their "No" wasn't followed by the winds of untruth.
"Do not worry, we will definitely get you to your son. It's the least we can do after all he has done for us," Wilehlm reiterates as he sees the uncomfortable expression on their faces.
"Excuse us, but we keep hearing from everyone that our Subaru has done great things but we have no idea of what you mean…. Would you tell us what he did?" Asks an unsure Kenichi. Both he and his wife were glad that Subaru was well-loved by everyone but didn't this seem more like putting him on a pedestal?
Crusch couldn't help but laugh, even Wilhelm and Ferris let out a chuckle.
"Of course, all parents want to know the deeds of their children, after all, I myself have suffered amnesia of these events so I'll leave it up to Wilhelm and Ferris to give their first-hand accounts of that battle." Smiling softly, Crusch recognizes the parental love in their eyes.
"It was a very hard time for your son when he proposed to us the subjugation of the White Whale-" Wilhelm began but Ferris cut him off.
"Nyo Wilhelm if you're going to tell them Subaru's story you must start from his royal blunder nyi he he," an evil cackle comes out of Ferris.
And with both parents paying their full attention they listened on about Natsuki Subaru's exploits since he came to this world.
AN: Review if you enjoyed, and have a good day. Chapter 2 will be out... Eventually.