Chapter 4
Subaru opened his eyes to meet with the sun once again, its golden glow embraced his now pale face.
"So kid are you gonna buy anything?"
The man leant forward and clicked his fingers, snapping Subaru out of his daze.
Subaru processed where he was once again and he took on an embarrassing pose.
"Well I don't have any money"
The man got up in his face shouting all the while attracting the judgemental gazes of the public.
"Get out of here then, I don't take window shoppers!"
Subaru walked away from the shop for the 3rd time and sat down at a nearby alleyway to think.
'So I got transported to another world and then turned into an oni, on the upside that's given me a big power boost but on the downside there little to no Oni left and then Emilia and I went to the shack and I-'
Subaru froze as fear struck him.
"I died and came back to life… twice"
He paused for a moment as the realization of what power he had sunk in. He gave a hollow laugh at the fact that out of all of the powers he could get, he got the one that makes him die again and again.
"I think I'll have to name it since it is my power"
Subaru thought back to every rpg or mmo that he had ever played to brainstorm for any possible name.
A satisfied smirk smeared across his face at his idea.
"Return by death, yeah that's a cool name even though It's a pain that it resets everyone's memories so I'll have to play dumb when I meet Emilia"
He lifted himself off of the cobble steps he sat upon and walked toward where he met Emilia for the first time.
Subaru smiled as he reminisced about the fun times they had while trying to find Felt.
Subaru's smile transitioned into a frown as he remembered the horrible death Emilia had, he wondered what was going through her mind when Elsa slashed at her stomach, was her final thoughts about how to make the pain stop or did she beg for more time to help people.
Subaru knew it was the second answer because when he spent his time with her he found that she was the most selfless, kindest and empathetic person he had ever met and it was only fair that he had to help her in return.
He spotted the familiar sight of cracked walls of bricks and stone, slight amounts of moss coated the wall giving it an ugly pigment of lime.
Subaru once again walked the slippery bricks that he used as weapons in his enraged state which now showed no marks from the prior battle.
He stood atop the building and watched the sun, waiting for it to hit a peak while he thought.
'It was at noon when Emilia saved me so I should have to just wait until then and re-create the whole event"
He glanced to a building to the left him and began to scale it.
Subaru looked to the sun and jumped down the building he was on while taking his jacket off.
He dragged the familiar crate towards him for hopefully the last time and sat while staring at the end of the alley from the corner of his eye.
Three figures turned the corner of the alley with their footsteps ringing out and Subaru could make out a sly grin on their faces that was obscured by the distance between them.
He sat for a moment longer with his fist curling up behind his back and his fingers digging into his skin.
"Hey brat give us all your stuff and we won't mess you up"
Subaru gave no reaction and he channelled his feeling of annoyance to his fist, enchanting it with soothing warmth.
The criminal leaned towards Subaru and spoke with spittle flying without restraint.
"Are you ignoring me dumbass? I said that you gotta give us your stuff"
The thin criminal neared his hand to the blade that was at his side.
Subaru's patience snapped as he launched his fist towards the lanky figure with flames garnishing his fists. The malnourished bones of the man easily shattered at the impact of the speedy punch that Subaru landed.
The criminal staggered back while screaming out curses while the other 2 muggers looked on in fear. Subaru slowly walked towards them with embers doing circles around him giving him an intimidating aura while he spoke.
"From now on you will no longer commit any more crimes or rob any other people or I will find you"
He flicked his finger and two larger embers flew and landed on the trio and Subaru continued his speech while they tried to flick the many embers away from them but it did little to stop their travel and the inevitable landing of them.
"The magic that I just cast will make it so if you violate the things I just said it will alert of where your location is, so do not do it again or I will find you"
The three men looked on in horror as they ran away terrified by the power that Subaru had.
Subaru puffed out a laugh of amusement while he spoke to himself.
"Wow they are just too easy"
Subaru walked to the corner and nearly bumped into another person with him stopping dead in his tracks just before impact. The person he nearly bumped into spoke to him with a voice that could be compared to that of an angel.
"Hey, have you seen a yellow-haired child around here? She has a sword at her side and she has stolen something from me, would you know anything about her?"
Subaru looked up to see the pure silver hair of Emilia with her outfit a perfect white in contrast to the crimson of it before her death by Elsa's blade.
Subaru gathered a reply and looked to her eyes that were pools of unending bluish purple.
"Oh you're talking about Felt, if she's stolen something from you then I know where she is taking it. Do you want me to help you find her?"
Emilia's level of energy rose tenfold at the revelation of Subaru's information and her eyes lit up in joy while Subaru tried to think of what to say next.
Emilia gained her calm state again and replied to Subaru with a polite tone.
"Yes I would appreciate it if you would help me but if may ask, why? Why do you help me?"
Subaru thought for a couple of seconds while contemplating the answer.
He sprung forward with his finger pointing towards Emilia with a 100-volt smile on his face and hope in his eyes.
"I just want to make friends and help people!"
Emilia nodded her head while barely holding back a smile and started to walk beside Subaru once again.
Subaru glanced around at the fascinating sites of the fantasy city while talking.
"So what's your name?"
Subaru said while feigning unfamiliarity in his voice.
Emilia looked to him with her hair flowing gently within the breeze.
"I'm Emilia"
Subaru gave a smile and a thumbs up.
"That's a nice name"
Subaru spun and started walking away towards the opposite end of the street.
"Come on Emilia we have a thief to find!"
Emilia skipped to catch up with him while filled with excitement.
With the sun barely setting they made it to the slums at a fast pace.
The trip they had was scattered with conversations that were usually led by Subaru with his overly dramatic comedy causing Emilia to laugh several times.
At the slums, Subaru assessed that it looked relatively the same as when he was in it for the previous loops.
The people still stared on in envy at Emilia's fine clothes and her pendant and they gave mixed looks to the foreignly dressed Subaru.
The smell of the place was still pungent for Subaru's enhanced senses
"Subaru"
Subaru snapped his head back at Emilia while she caught his attention.
"I know you want to help me but are you not bothered by what I look like? I'm hideous"
Subaru just shrugged it off saying.
"That's the biggest lie I've ever heard"
Emilia looked on in shock but flashed back her hair and pinched her ears as if on display while trying to look at them with utter disgust.
"But can't you see? I have silver hair and I'm a half-elf. I fit the description of the witch!"
"Well all I see is a really beautiful girl who's beating themselves up about how they look like someone else, besides I'm a bit of an oddball like you so we're in the same boat"
Emilia, still looking sad, asked Subaru who was gazing at the end of the street with his jacket being lightly carried by the wind.
"What are you that could make us both oddballs?"
Subaru posed and twin neon orange spikes shot from his head in a grand show of sparks.
"I'm an Oni and I can return b-"
Subarus smirk instantly got wiped off his face when the world darkened and faded away and what replaced it was a thin mist of purple smog that crept and crawled its way to Subaru's legs.
He tried to swirl around to find Emilia but his vision was affixed to a certain point as if he was paralyzed from the head down. Pain lanced throughout Subaru's nerves which spiked and ebbed with every millisecond, it hurt so much that it was as if every vein in his body were filled with acid.
With Subaru's vision tunnelling and his senses fading he caught a glimpse in front of him of two white eyes surrounded by black looking to him with little to no features on it face except for that of a mouth.
It spoke a hollow and desperate whisper that shook Subaru to his core.
"I love you"
The world exploded back into colour and he doubled over with phantom pains still echoing through him. His eyes darted around him to check if that figure was still near him as his mind tried to process this.
'I guess I can't directly say that I can return by death to anyone or else ill get all that pain again'
"Subaru, are you alright!"
Suabru reached for a nearby wall and stood himself up and turned back to Emilia with a look of contemplation on him.
"Yeah, I'm fine now, it was just a little heart pain"
Emilia's look of doubt was barely swayed by his poor explanation.
" I don't think a little bit of heart pain can cause you to start doubling over in pain, Is it something to do with being an Oni?"
Subaru regained his composure and spoke again with more confidence.
"No it's not something about Oni's, it was just sudden heart pain but I'm alright now thanks"
"If you insist your alright then sure but keep in mind that I can do some healing magic. Anyways you were about to say something after that you're an Oni?"
Subaru spoke with a side look to his sides as if watching for someone.
"Listen Emilia I can't say much than this but I just know and see some things that I shouldn't be able to"
Emilia took a step backwards while wrapping her arms against herself.
"Pervert"
"Not like that!"
Emilia gave a light giggle while holding her hand up to her face.
Subaru gave a sigh of relief that she wasn't being serious about those accusations. They turned the corner of the street and were met with Rom's loot house in all its shoddy glory from roughly 50 meters away from them.
Subaru looked back to Emilia and started to speak once more.
"So one of the valuable things I've gathered from my ability is that there is going to be an assassin named Elsa, when she attacks she usually goes for the bowels and she is one of the fastest people I have ever met, one moment you could staring her down from the other side of a room and then you've got blood pouring out of you"
Emilia had a focused look on her as she pushed further questions.
"Is there anything else I should watch out for?"
Subaru gave a grimace to his previous fight with her that ended in his 2nd death by Elsa's hands.
"She has some sort of invulnerability or immortality, I'm not sure how it works but the wounds close right after when you inflict them but if you can do enough damage then it would start to slow down"
Emilia slightly paled at the chance they couldn't kill her.
Subaru turned back to the loot house and started walking with Emilia deep in thought while trailing behind him.
The brisk floorboards screeched and moaned when Subaru took steps upon them until he stopped at the larger than normal door.
Three knocks echoed across the quiet street and it was followed by hulking footsteps tenfold the noise of the knocking.
A slit in the door opened and stared and at Subaru while its deep voice spoke.
"For a whale?"
Subaru looked around and back to the door with his cluelessness evident with each motion.
"I don't know?"
The slider shut with a clap and the footsteps started to fade causing Subaru to start banging on the door vigorously.
"Wait, I don't know the code but I'm here to do business with felt and you, all we want is the insignia"
The voice from the other side of the door return.
"Are you trying to make this a bid with the other buyer?"
"Precisely, we have a device that's useful and of high quality"
The shifting of locks filled the void after their conversation. The door opened to reveal Rom with his eyebrows as bushy as ever. Subaru strode into the familiar shack with Emilia closely sticking behind him.
Rom walked back to his normal spot behind the counter while Subaru watched his body movement like a hawk and noting how occasionally Rom would dart his eyes to below the counter, most likely a weapon was laying there.
Subaru rested his head on his arm while lazily talking to Rom.
"Rom not to alarm you but I've known that other buyer before and they don't take too kindly to someone beating them in a bid, once that happens she will attack and kill you and Felt"
Rom barely reacted to what Subaru said and only looked disappointed while pouring himself a drink.
"Ok kid nice try with the intimidation tactics but all you're trying to do is to lower the price by getting rid of the other buyer. Even if they try to kill us, me and Felt can handle ourselves, we've been doing this for a long time so people trying to kill us after a deal is expected"
Subaru narrowed his eyes and tried to push his point once again.
"But out of all the times a deal has gone south for guys it hasn't been the bowel hunter that you had to fight if you did then I'm afraid we wouldn't be speaking right now"
Rom froze and stopped pouring the beverage as a silence coated the room only interrupted by the harsh banging on the door.
"Hey old man open up!"
Rom sighed and walked over to the door.
"Felt we have an opposition bidder that wants to compete with the original buyer"
The door opened to reveal the rash golden-haired child with a sly grin and crossed arms.
"So that means more money for us?"
Rom turned his back to felt and returned to the bar.
"Yeah it does but we need to be a bit careful this time, don't get too greedy Felt or we might lose the customer"
Felt waved off Rom's words with a flick of her wrist.
"I trust you gramps but if we get enough money then both of us can get out this dump"
Rom shook his head with disappointment and regret.
"You know that I'm too wrapped up in this place to be able to leave"
Subaru spoke up from his spot at the table.
"I'm sorry if this is interrupting but that murderer is going to be here in a minute or two"
Felt looked to Subaru and glanced back to Rom.
"What's up with him?"
Rom slid a glass to her with a bored look on his face.
"He says he's met the other buyer before and they killed the dealer after the agreement, I think he's lying"
"Well he can spout as many lies as he wants but we won't fall for it"
Subaru stood up from his stool roughly and exclaimed.
"I'm telling you the truth, the bowel hunter is going to kill you both!"
Felt let her arm fall to her waist where the hilt of her cutlass stood out.
A lustful voice called out to the tense room.
"It's rather rude to talk about someone behind their back"
And that's a wrap.
Sorry about the extreme delay, my computer broke so I had to wait until my parents decided to give me another laptop. Regular updates should be back to normal but I hope you liked the chapter, have a good day.