AN: And so, we reach the end of this story. Thank you for all the reviews and favorites and follows. Truly appreciated. The reason I mentioned Spanish reviews wasn't because I know Spanish, but more so because I got one for the first chapter and it really hit that people all over the world were reading this. Gives me the feels. And so, one last time I ask for reviews. Any mistakes found or simply to show support for the fic, reviews are appreciated. Enjoy!
Chapter 4
Subaru's dreams were a funny thing. They'd start out innocently enough. A few stabs here and a bit of freezing there, kid stuff. He would then wake up, get some water, remind himself that he was alive, and try to sleep again. Big mistake. And then when he was comfortably asleep, he'd see the bad parts. Some cute snow bunnies, Rem playing twister, playing tag with an angry Ram but most notably, sometimes he'd see his parents. The parents he hadn't seen in Echidna's trial. The parents that rejected him.
These nightmares of his parents rejecting his apologies, rejecting his changed self, and rejecting his newfound happiness were becoming a staple of Subaru's diet lately and he had no way to disregard them. Sure, the other things happened, but now he lives in a reality where they hadn't, and that's his lifeline. But who's to say his parents wouldn't be angry at him for leaving, who's to say his parents wouldn't reject him. Nobody. Echidna herself had said that the parents he saw were simply recreations from his own memories. Which meant that they were very much influenced by how he saw his parents. Reality was often much crueler than Subaru would like. Something the world drove into his head time and time again.
To clear his head Subaru decided to take a walk. The nightmare he saw the night before was still stuck in his head. It was almost sundown and it still replayed in his head. He decided to think of other things. He would normally take someone with him, but Beatrice and Roswaal seemed to be discussing some complicated magic matters, Fredrica and Ram engrossed in their duties, Petra talking with the captured Meili, and Otto and Garfiel were out in Costul, so he really had no choice. He decided to walk around the quiet forest, nobody would disturb him and if he was needed, he was nearby as well. He told Fredrica his plans and made his way there.
Garfiel was having a very good evening. He spoke to (read: got scolded by) Ram, got a little exercise in, and most importantly, was now going to give his Captain the surprise of a lifetime. He himself knew the loneliness of living without parents so he was sure Subaru would be delighted to see his. However, Otto was being a bit pessimistic.
"Garfiel, I know I said they weren't suspicious, but didn't you accept them way too quickly!" scolds a worried Otto.
They were currently on their way back to the mansion to get Naoko and Kenichi reunited with their son. It wouldn't take more than thirty minutes to get there, thirty minutes which Otto spent being suspicious of them.
"C'mon Otto-bro, you said it yourself, they're weak, so even on the off chance they are spies or something it's nothing I can't handle," the shield of the sanctuary confidently retorts.
"That was way too logical! Who are you and what have you done with Garfiel!"
Naoko and Kenichi spent their walk trailing behind the two boys, listening to their banter. It was quite nice to see that Subaru's close friends weren't as violent as they'd initially seemed, despite them getting into quite a lot of fights. This left the couple hoping that Subaru himself was also the same. They were about to ask these two about Subaru, but they were too late, they'd reached the mansion.
"Barasu's parents you say?"
Ram, Fredrica, Petra, and Emilia were the first to greet the new guests. They did so in shock, but they still did all the same. Introductions were done, and they all moved to another room for convenience.
"So, Emilia-sama, you're the person our Subaru serves?" asks Kenichi, wanting to know more about Subaru's work.
Emilia sees the serious look in the father's eye and purses her lips. What if they didn't want their son working for a half-elf? What could she possibly do if Subaru decides his parents have better judgment than he?
"Um, yes Kenichi-san, but please drop the 'sama', Subaru doesn't call me that so it's weird if his parents do so, hehe," Emilia lets out a nervous chuckle, unaware what Kenichi and Naoko were going to say. To everyone's surprise, they laugh.
"Hah! Subaru always did have a thing for that silver hair, didn't he dear?" exclaims Kenichi. Naoko nods.
"With all those figurines of blonde and silver-haired elves, I wondered if Subaru would ever find a girl he liked. Him coming here was truly fate it seems," says Naoko.
This news was appreciated by all of those in the room for multiple reasons. Otto, Garfiel, and Ram had successfully found one of Subaru's darkest secrets. They were going to enjoy teasing him. Fredrica and Emilia were just glad they held no reservations about Subaru working here and Petra just pouted, she was never in Subaru's strike range after all!
With time passing, the head of the household Roswaal. and Beatrice the spirit also joined them. Although it seemed to the couple that Roswaal's entry dulled the joyous atmosphere a bit. Must've been the clown makeup they concluded. Beatrice's arrival, however, was heralded by a chuckle from Emilia.
"Beako, Beako, do you know who these people are?" Asks a smiling Emilia, almost teasingly.
At that, the room is filled with chuckles and smiles. Kenichi, Naoko, and Beatrice simply didn't get the joke.
"Hmph, what's with this atmosphere, in fact!" The loli spirit quickly gets defensive. "Why would Betty care about random strangers I suppose," Beatrice's tsundere nature on full display only led to more laughter, it was Petra who broke the chain.
"Beatrice-chan, these are Subaru-sama's parents. We just thought you'd like to see them, but clearly, we were wrong….." Petra had become an expert at 'Beako-teasing' as Subaru liked to call it, in these last few months, and here her skills were on full display.
"Subaru's parents!" Beatrice was so shocked that she even forgot to add her trademarked 'I suppose' or 'In fact' at the end, once again fueling the laughter of those present… Except for the confused parents in question.
"Um, why would Beatrice-chan want to see us?" asks Naoko. And suddenly the laughter turns into horrified looks. Naoko had unwittingly activated a demon.
"Glad you asked in fact! Here is Betty's 100 point explanation on why Subaru is indeed deserving of Betty's cuteness and power as great spirit and Betty's desire to know where he got that from!" With Beatrice's eyes shining and the rest of the hosts cowering in fear, it would seem there was no escape from this torture.
"Yes, yes Beako, we know you love Subaru soooooooooo much," Emilia says knowingly. This comment seems to make Beatrice realize the words that came from her mouth.
"Ah! Ah! What are you people making Betty say I suppose! Hmph!" The cutesy display of wonderful tsundere-ness once again fills the room with laughter.
Kenichi and Naoko look around the room and realize that Subaru was never alone, he had these wonderful friends looking after him. Were they even needed anymore?
"Um, um, Naoko-san, Kenichi-san," a meek Emilia calls out to them. "Could you tell us what Subaru was like when he was at home? Is he as well-known there too?" A blushing Emilia eagerly asks about her knight. It was her job to know all about him after all.
"Well, Subaru was…." Naoko truly didn't know what to tell them. These people only seem to know an amazing version of Subaru who overcomes all his challenges.
"Subaru was an amazing son," starts Kenichi. "He had been in a bit of a rut for a few months before coming here, but it sounds to us like he's overcome his hardships and produced incredible results!" Kenichi laughs. He was truly proud of his son, and even more thankful that the people around him seem to have helped him grow and come out of his shell.
"As I said, he'd been having some issues with school and he wasn't really fitting in well with people," Kenichi continued. "And so, he spent all his time at home, alone."
Everyone in the room was eagerly listening to Subaru's history. They all wanted to know more about him. Kenichi was about to continue when they heard an unexpected voice.
"Yo! Looks like everyone gathered here without me, and look! Even my cute Beako is into this meeting! How my heart warms at this. I'm back from my walk, ready to socialize and have fun! So um, why did the mood suddenly get tense?"
The voice that felt so far away yet so close to Naoko and Kenichi. A voice they'd recognize with their ears closed! They were unsure of how to react. Should they turn to be in full view of the new presence? Should they wait for him to enter the room and find out for himself? With tear-filled eyes, Naoko and Kenichi stood up and turned to face him, their son, Natsuki Subaru.
Natsuki Subaru had gotten used to surprise visitors these last few weeks. Some came for the sake of the royal selection and some even came to see the hero who defeated the White Whale. Even before all this, he'd gotten surprise visits from witches back at the sanctuary. So when Clind and Anne (AN: Halfway through I realized I hadn't used these two anywhere even though they live here lmao) said they had guests, he didn't really have any expectations, deciding it would be better to just go with the flow. Weird witches, fans, nobles, none of them came close to what he'd see.
When the two guests turned around to face him, with tears in their eyes, Subaru could only stare. Why? How? Who brought them to this hell? Subaru had hot streams of tears going down his face. He left those questions for later, there were more important things to do now.
Subaru pointed to the sky, shifted his butt to the side, and smiled despite the tears. He had only one thing to say now.
"My name is Natsuki Subaru! The knight of the half-elf Emilia and the contractor of Beako the great spirit!," his voice shook as he continued, "The son of Natsuki Kenichi and Natsuki Naoko!"
Seeing this, Naoko and Kenichi quickly realized all their worries about their son not wanting to see them were very, very wrong. But at the same time, they could still tell he'd changed. No longer did he have the slump of a NEET, on the contrary, he was holding his shoulders straight, as if always ready for work. He had a new sparkle in his eyes like he'd found purpose. He still had his orange tracksuit on, but they could see countless new patches, no doubt that he'd been working. He had always been moderately well-built thanks to Kenichi's workouts but he seemed a tad bit beefier now. However, there was one thing that they noticed above all else. Subaru had bags under his eyes, his scary sanpaku eyes now seemed to carry the weight of the world.
Subaru himself made some similar observations. Both his parents were a lot skinnier than he'd remembered, his mother having a ton of new grey hair. His father had lost a bit of the muscle body he'd seen his entire life, leaning towards skinny. And above all else, he noticed the happiness in their eyes. All his worries about them not wanting to see him seemed so stupid now.
Neither parents nor child held out much longer, all of them just glad to have each other.
The other people in the room left the reunited family to catch up and quietly exited the room. The Natsuki family had a lot of things to talk about. And thus started Subaru's recounting of "Natsuki Subaru's life in another world, starting from zero".
And so, the broken hearts of the Natsuki family slowly started to heal.
AN: And that's that. Roll Credits! Lmao. Ya, it was fun writing this. Ever since the episode 'parent and child', which made me bawl, I always wanted to see more of Subaru's parents, and this fic helped me with that and I hope it helped you all as well.
Leave everything in the reviews, your hate, your love, your nitpicks, anything! I'd love to read them. And with that out of the way. I thank you all for reading.