Re Zero The Sage and The Crow
All rights to the characters and locations belong to Tappei Nagatsuki, the original series creator.
Underlined Language-Represents English
Normal Text- Represents Japanese
Chapter 7 Return to Roswaal Manor
The moonlight washed over the quiet streets, bathing everything from the slums to the magnificent palace in a soft glow. Empty stalls and silent homes waited patiently for the light of dawn to creep over the horizon, signaling the start of a new day, and the continuation of the machine that was the Capital City. The moonlight was beautiful. Anyone who witnessed it would have been captivated with the sight of the faintly lit city, as there were not many torches or mana powered lamps to hinder the picturesque scene. For Subaru however, this natural light was perhaps the worst thing that could have happened.
Subaru had taken into account all of the factors and variables that could potentially throw a wrench in his planned prison break, from the number of guards, to their shift changes and working hours; everything had been accounted for. But a full moon? That was an unexpected development that could ruin everything. A full moon meant more light, more light meant more visibility, and more visibility meant that there was a greater chance that Garfiel could be seen on his mission.
Subaru wasn't necessarily worried about Garfiel's safety, it would take a whole legion of guards to even slow him down in a fight. But the fact remained that if Garfiel was spotted, then people would have an idea of who broke Damian out of jail. It didn't take a genius to realize that that outcome could be even more detrimental to not just the overall objective, but also to the Emilia Camp itself. People would begin to ask questions about why one of Emilia's guards had broken a known criminal out of prison, then the accusations would start flying. Subaru had experienced a lot of things in his time in this world, and being connected to and accused of aiding a dangerous criminal organization was not one he wanted to feel anytime soon.
Subaru scanned the city from his meager vantage point on the roof of the dragon carriage, nothing. Where was Garfiel? He was supposed to be here 10 minutes ago. The streets were silent and devoid of activity for now, but the early morning hours were fast approaching and he didn't want to remain here any longer than he needed to.
[Subaru: Damn it. Where the hell is Garfiel at? He was supposed to be here by now.]
[Otto: I wouldn't worry so much about him Natsuki-san. He'll get the job done, maybe he just ran into some complications on the way.]
Otto called down from the driver's seat of the carriage where he was posted, ready to drive as soon as Subaru gave the go ahead. He had his head rested in his hands in a very lazy position, if Subaru didn't know any better, he would say that he was about to doze off. Poor Otto, he had been working nonstop for the past several weeks, making sure that the Emilia Camp was functioning properly and managing more and more of the Mather's Domain. But they had a job to do, so Subaru couldn't let him sleep just yet.
[Beatrice: What he says, have a little more faith in him in fact. He'll bring our prey to us unspoiled I suppose.]
Beatrice responded from next to Otto, standing up with her eyes peeled out to the main road, searching for signs of trouble. Although Subaru was currently more concerned about her extremely poor choice of words.
[Subaru: Please don't say it like that Beako. You make us sound like we're hunting animals.]
[Beatrice: Well based on the description you've given us of the people we're looking for, Betty can only use words to describe them as animals I suppose.]
Beatrice crossed her arms and let out a hmmph! She too was tired and was in no mood to be chastised about her word choice on other people.
[Otto: Honestly Natsuki-san, do we really have to be doing this right now? This is the guy who stole from you after all. Couldn't we… have… Zzzzzzzzzzzzz]
Otto collapsed in the driver's seat, his head hanging down as his arms threatened to spill him on the ground below. His snoring was atrocious, as if an entire army was marching through the streets. Everytime a rumble came from deep within his throat, Subaru winced. Yeah, they were gonna wake the whole city at this rate.
[Subaru: Beatrice.]
[Beatrice: Already on it in fact.]
Without even needing to be told what to do, Beatrice stood up and moved closer to the sleeping Otto. She delicately took off one of her heeled shoes and lined it up with Otto's face. She then moved the shoe closer and further from his face, like a golfer doing test shots without actually hitting the ball.
WHACK!
[Otto: Hk! Wha-!]
Beatrice smacked Otto across the face with her shoe, turning his head sharply to the side and waking him with a start. He was wide awake now, and he stared at Beatrice in shock before opening his mouth to no doubt complain about his treatment in a very Ottoesque fashion. Before he could however, Beatrice held her finger to his lips, indicating the need for him to remain silent. He looked at Subaru indignantly, spreading his arms as if to ask him why, but Subaru looked at Otto without pity. He even looked at Patrasche, but even she failed to give any consolation, and only snorted at him before turning back to look ahead. Otto crossed his arms and slouched in his seat.
[Otto: You know, you could wake me up like normal people do. Because every time I can remember, you guys have either hit me with something, or dropped a heavy object on my head.]
Otto quietly grumbled his complaint, a small shoe print could faintly made out on his cheek in the moonlight.
[Subaru: You know? Maybe you should stop sleeping on the job, then it wouldn't happen so much.]
[Otto: Do you know how many times this has happened? What if I get brain damage! Who's going to keep your camp afloat then huh? Why are you guys so abusive? You can't do this to me forever!]
Otto sounded generally hurt, and Subaru honestly had no idea how to answer that. Otto was indeed indispensable to the well-being of the camp, to lose him would be an almost unrecoverable blow. However, Subaru wasn't the kind of guy to let him know that, at least not to his face anyway.
[Subaru: Actually, the lack of proper unions and employer-employee contracts makes the work environment pretty harsh in this world. So unfortunately you have no power when it comes to negotiating a proper ethical environment.]
[Otto: What the hell are you even talking about? You know, even if I can't do anything, I can always tell Emilia-sama that you're being abusive. Imagine what she'll say to you. She may tell you no more, what was that thing you did, lap pillows?]
[Subaru: Why you!]
Otto grinned at Subaru's look of shock, Otto defending himself like this was an uncommon sight. As savvy as he was, he tended to let these things just happen to him, but it went to show just why he was considered their Internal Affairs Minister. Blackmail, political maneuvering, knowledge of finances; anyone who met Otto might consider him another run of the mill merchant, but he was so much more than that.
[Subaru: If you do anything that jeopardizes my quality time with Emilia-tan. You will have declared war. And I will take no prisoners.]
Subaru's voice deepened as he tried to make himself sound sinister, a fool's errand, as Otto knew him too well to be tricked by such a flimsy defense.
[Otto: Ho? Maybe I should tell her that you're threatening me too.]
[Subaru: No! Please don't! I'm sorry! I really am sorry! Don't tell her anything!]
Subaru raised his voice and whimpered as he realized that Otto did indeed have the power over him that he said he did. Damnit! Otto knew all of his weaknesses and how to exploit them! He would have to take careful steps next time he wanted to play a practical joke on him.
[Beatrice: Will you two pipe down I suppose! You're going to wake every person in a 5 block radius if you don't shut up in fact!]
They had been unknowingly raising their voices to an alarming level as the conversation went on, and Beatrice had to whisper aggressively to keep them quiet.
[Subaru: Ahh but Beako, Otto's bullying me. Tell him to stop.]
[Beatrice: If you don't cease your pointless whining then I'll tell Emilia how you were misbehaving myself I suppose.]
[Subaru: Wow. I guess everyone is ganging up on me today. What about you Patrasche? Are you gonna back me up here?]
Subaru called out to the jet black earth dragon that was hitched up to the carriage. A loyal and caring companion, Subaru had no doubt that Patrasche would offer some consolation or assistance in repelling this unwanted attention. But to Subaru's horror, Patrasche gave him an unamused side glance that seemed to say "don't bring me in this".
Subaru hung his head sadly. This was just, wow, Subaru couldn't even describe it. This kind of thing happened rarely, though Subaru guessed that he deserved a little of the abuse coming his way.
[Subaru: Man. If this keeps up I might just get depressed.]
[Beatrice: Hold that thought, someone is coming I suppose.]
[Subaru: Ehh? Where?]
[Beatrice: Straight ahead in fact.]
Subaru looked to where Beatrice was pointing, he couldn't see anything, only the dark rooftops of the cityscape. He continued to look, squinting his eyes to get a better view, he still couldn't see anything. He was beginning to suspect that Beatrice was pulling some prank.
[Subaru: Oh you're trying to fool me? Ahh well done Beako. You got me, you got me good. I concede that much.]
[Beatrice: If you insist that you don't see anything then you need to get your eyes checked I suppose.]
[Subaru: What? What are you talking about?]
Beatrice pointed out again, and Subaru really, really looked at where she was pointing. Trying to focus his vision as far as it would go, he still saw only… wait a minute, he saw it. On the roof of a far off building, a flash of yellow hair could be made out in the light of the moon. The owner of that hair was slowly coming into a clearer view, deftly leaping from roof to roof without so much as a sound being made as their feet hit the wood and stone surfaces. Garfiel was finally here, and not a moment too soon.
As he came closer, however, Subaru could make out a large object slung limply over his shoulder. It almost looked like… A person?
[Subaru: What the hell did Garfiel do?]
Garfiel leapt over the last roof, Damian's head was swinging back and forth so aggressively that Subaru feared it might fly off of his shoulders. Garfiel landed in front of the dragon carriage silently before unceremoniously dumping the unconscious body that had been burdening him to the ground below. Subaru hopped off the roof of the dragon carriage and ran over to Garfiel, Beatrice and Otto not far behind.
[Subaru: Hey Garfiel, I said to bring him here in one piece.]
[Garfiel: 'D I not?]
Garfiel made a big show of checking Damian's body to make sure he still had his limbs attached, picking up his arms and legs and letting them fall back down. Satisfied that Damian was indeed "in one piece", he turned to Subaru and gave him the middle finger. A gesture that Subaru taught him, although he kept confusing that with the thumbs up that he no doubt meant to do. The whole sight was making Subaru more exasperated than he wanted to be.
[Subaru: Uhhh. What did you do to him?]
[Garfiel: My amazin' self intend'd t' take him while he was sleepin', but he woke up before I even enter'd th' cell. Really combative that one is, so I gave him a little tap to put him t' sleep.]
[Subaru: This is a little tap?]
Subaru made a sweeping gesture to Damian's body, who hadn't even stirred in all the commotion that was currently taking place around him.
[Garfiel: Ok, more like a medium siz'd tap.]
Subaru just stared incomprehensibly at the grinning Garfiel. Seriously, he hoped that no permanent damage was done.
[Subaru: Is he gonna be alright?]
[Otto: No. I'm pretty sure he's dead.]
Subaru glanced at Otto, who had chimed in to the conversation. Otto was wincing empathetically at the state that Damian was in, as someone who got hit alot, he felt his pain.
Subaru sighed and ran his hands over his face, already this was off to a great start.
[Subaru: Ok then, tie him up because we don't know how he's gonna react when he wakes up. He's a violent one, so I'd like to make sure no accidents happen on the ride back.]
[Garfiel: Aigh't Cap'n.]
There was something else Subaru felt like he was missing. Something important. Ahh that's right. That gaze of his. If looks could kill, then Damian would be the most dangerous person in the whole world, the sheer unease Subaru felt when looking at his eyes was unnatural for someone from his own world. Now Subaru's eyes were scary, but they were nowhere near as scary as his.
[Subaru: Also please heal his head wound when you're tying him up, and make sure you blindfold him too.]
Garfiel nodded, silently saying that it would get done, and Subaru turned to the two remaining.
[Subaru: Alright. You all know your roles, Otto you're our driver, Garfiel and Beatrice have security on the inside, let's make this a clean escape today, alright?]
[Otto-et-all: Alright!]
And with that, the trip back to the mansion began.
Confusion, fear, shock, awe. These were the emotions felt by a boy who was suddenly thrust into an unknown location. His heart beat quickly as he found himself separated from those he cared about, with only questions left in their place. As his mind asked questions and looked for solutions to his current predicament, the boy settled on the question where was he?
The boy wandered the forest, frightened about his current circumstances. He had no idea of his situation, and wanted to get a bearing on his location. As he walked through the forest, the boy couldn't help but admire the trees and grass, which were a healthy green that only grew in the summer months. The sky was a cloudless deep blue that seemed ethereal to him, animals brayed and birds chirped, nature was strong here.
The boy saw many things in the woods, things that surprised him. What was that animal? What was that plant? They were species he had never seen before. The boy was overcome by an innocent curiosity as he found himself surrounded by beauty that he never once dreamed he'd get to see. Wow. Wow. So much to see and admire, it was like another world.
The boy took a deep breath, even the air smelled better. Free from the smell of gasoline, free from the smell of cigarettes and other unwanted things. The boy felt light on his feet, as if he had more energy than usual, he wanted to run, but feared what he might run into.
The boy felt his anxiety turn to happiness, truly, he had been blessed to see such a sight as this. Maybe he could go home and bring his friends and family to see this wonderful place.
Speaking of which, where were his friends? He had been with them not even a few minutes ago, he needed to get back. Hmmm, maybe they found this place too. He hoped so, then they could share in this moment together. The boy was optimistic about the future, he was hopeful. He had gotten to see something amazing, and he wanted to share it with those he loved.
Hopeful indeed. As his mother told him, hope was a beautiful thing, hope kept people going, hope acted as a light in our darkest moments, hope was-.
Damian opened his eyes. He felt drowsy, slow; His mind was having trouble catching up. Ugh, where was he? What happened? And why did his head feel like someone had hit it with a baseball bat?
Damian opened his eyes wider, trying to get the sleep out of them. Wait a minute, why couldn't he see? He blinked several times, trying to clear the blackness ahead of him, but it wouldn't go away. What was this strange feeling on his face? A feeling of, cloth?
Damian tried to raise his arms to move it from his face, but they wouldn't budge. What? Why won't they move? There was something rough keeping him from moving them. Rope. He had been bound and blindfolded.
Ahh yes, now he remembered. Some intruder had come in to his cell and knocked him out, now he was… somewhere.
Damian strained his senses to their fullest trying to pick up any sounds or smells that might clue him in as to where he was. He was propped up for one, sitting on something that resembled a bench in the way it felt, his arms were tied behind his back so he couldn't exactly feel what was going on. But the human body had five senses for a reason. He heard: A slight rumbling, faint and steady, like wheels rolling along a road, and his body felt the pull and sway of inertia, Damian concluded that he was being transported in something. He wasn't sure of all the modes of transportation in this world, but if he had to guess, he would say he was on one of those carriage things that he saw so much of in the city. There were other noises too, voices, and they were close, really close, in fact they were only a few feet away from him. Two of them sounded familiar, one of them was unfamiliar, the unfamiliar one was feminine, and it sounded snobbish and irritating. Actually, all three of them sounded irritating.
The owners of the voices didn't change in pitch or tone, so they hadn't noticed he was awake? When he had tried to move his arms the first time he hadn't struggled much, Damian decided that he wanted to stay off the radar as much as possible. He kept his breathing shallow and quiet and his movements as natural with the sway of the carriage as he could manage.
What did these bastards want? To kill him? To torture him? All seemed like likely candidates and he didn't have anything to break free with. Not to mention that depending on the strength of the monsters in the carriage with him, he might not survive even if he could break free. That was fine, Damian could wait and see where they took him. The patience he had garnered while stealing was enough to rival even a Buddhist monk. Observation was a key part of being a successful thief anyway, and you can never rush the information gathering phase, because if even one detail is off, one tiny scenario unaccounted for, then you can already consider yourself caught.
The number one rule that Damian followed, and he had thrown that rule out of the window when he saw that boy. He cursed his eagerness once he found what he considered an easy mark. He had spent all the time he could studying their movements, their patterns, even what Goddamn species they were. It was precisely because he had studied them that he was able to concoct those special pellets he used to disable the demi-human boy, whom he had determined to be the greatest threat. Increased sensitivity to smells and hearing weren't always all pros; they had weaknesses that could be exploited. If only he had spent more time...
Now he needed a new plan and that required new information to work with. Hmm what to do. What to do.
Now that he thought about it, he decided that he would alert them to his presence after all. If one of the voices was who he thought it was, then they would no doubt be interested in conversation before the pain and torture began. The more information that Damian had, the more damage he could do. After all, a wise man once said that a sharp mind is best, and they were about to find out the hard way that Damian's mind was more potent a weapon than any treasured sword they had laying around.
The dragon carriage ride was silent for the first several hours or so. The only noise was the clacking of the wheels and thudds of Patrasches feet running along the road. Garfiel sat closest to the unconscious Damian, the better to react if he suddenly woke up and chose to act violently. Subaru sat across from him with Beatrice sitting right next to Subaru, her head leaning against his shoulder as she slept quietly. Her chest rose and fell steadily as she slept, with her cream colored drills falling cutely to frame her childish face. Even Garfiel looked a little tired, with faint bags that could made out under his sharp eyes. But even so, his attention remained undisturbed by this slight inconvenience. Everyone was tired, they had been working hard for the past 24 hours, so they deserved a little rest.
[Subaru: I hope I'm making the right decision.]
Subaru could only think about this idea, this feeling that maybe he had made a wrong choice. And why wouldn't he? His bad decisions in the past have resulted in some terrible outcomes, mostly causing everyone close to him to die He didn't want to see that sight again, the blood and the bodies, his heart could barely remain intact while even entertaining the notion.
The sight around him right now, the quiet peace that surrounded him at this moment, this is what he wanted his friends to feel. Sleeping like Beatrice with a blissful expression on their face; without having to worry about sin archbishops, Great Mabeasts, or assassins looking to cut them open. He knew it was just wishful thinking though, they consistently involved themselves in situations that were unfavorable. Maybe it was just the nature of things considering their involvement in an election that would determine the future of the kingdom, maybe they couldn't help but run into trouble, but Subaru could only do the best he could. His mindset, and the choices he made, quite literally had a profound effect on those around him, and he wasn't talking about just the way they looked at the world. Their very lives were a product of the choices that he made, he was finally beginning to realize that.
He glanced at Beatrice, the way she was leaning against him was incredibly cute. He started absentmindedly playing with her hair, lightly pulling on her drills and watching them spring back into place. It was a comforting action that he did and he was kind of surprised that she didn't wake up from it.
[Garfiel: Ya know she'll really hate ya if she wakes up and sees ya touchin' her hair like that?]
[Subaru: Hah. Annoyed maybe, but she'll never hate me for it.]
[Garfiel: I mean, whatever ya say boss. Don't say I didn't warn ya if she smacks ya. Anyway, the big question I had was 'bout this one right here.]
Garfiel inclined his head to the bound figure he was sitting next to. It was a fair question. Although Subaru had told them the gist of breaking Damian out of prison, he hadn't really explained why when they were debating about it. He only really said that he was important to their search to capture the Blood Dragons and dragged them all into his plot. When Subaru said that he wanted to break the thief out of jail, Garfiel and Otto protested, claiming that this was going too far and that the risk wasn't worth the reward. Subaru didn't have time to elaborate, however, as Julius had given him a specific time frame to act upon. Garfiel deserved answers at the very least.
[Garfiel: My amazin' self knows that he's connected to yer hometown somewhat or somethin' like that. Ya both have a similar smell. But I don't know why we actually need'd him in th' first place. We're doin' fine as is, there ain't no way that some bottom feeder like him will be helpful.]
[Subaru: Wait. What did you mean by we have a similar smell?]
Subaru's ears perked up at what he thought was an important detail. Everyone that could smell Subaru always said that he stank of the witch's miasma, and it was a fact that had haunted him in some of his less successful loops. If this guy smelled similar, then it was possible that he had received a "gift" from the witch also. Subaru wanted to confirm and make sure, that might possibly explain why he was summoned, or at least add a piece to the puzzle.
[Garfiel: Somethin' artificial almost. 'S faint but 's there. N' ya know I can't really smell any miasma right?]
[Subaru: Are you sure? Maybe you should give him another sniff.]
Garfiel scrunched up his nose in faint disgust at that statement.
[Garfiel: Hey don't act like my amazin' self goes around smellin' people for the sake of it. Yer makin' it sound like it's somethin' indecent.]
[Subaru: Ahh man, I was really hoping I would have another kindred spirit. I mean Al is fine and all, but he's kinda ehh… You know?]
Subaru felt disheartened at Garfiel's response. He knew better than to doubt Garfiel's senses. It was still a disappointing revelation, Subaru was hoping that maybe they might have more than just not being from this world in common. If Rem was still around, she could've definitely smelt if there was any miasma on him.
[Subaru: If he doesn't smell like the witch, then what does he smell like?]
Garfiel put a finger on his chin as he tried to describe it.
[Garfiel: Well, it's kind of hard t' describe. Not like anythin' my amazin' self has smell'd before. Kind of a strong smell, but subtle, kind of like yers, but more… unnatural.]
[Subaru: How the hell can something be strong but subtle?]
[Garfiel: I don't fuckin' know. Ya gotta smell it t' understand it.]
Garfiel just nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders as Subaru raised his eyebrow at his cryptic description.
[Subaru: Well all smells aside, yes he is from my hometown. And that's hometown in a very broad sense, and I mean VERY broad.]
[Garfiel: Hmm, does that really help us though? I mean what could he possibly bring t' th' table in our search? And speaking of that, when will we find these guys anyway?]
[Subaru: You've asked that several times now. This guy knows about the Blood Dragons, or at least he's connected to them in some way, I could tell that much from the way he was acting.]
Garfiel bared his teeth in annoyance, his sharp fangs gleaming in the early morning light.
[Garfiel: 'F we need it that bad then we can always wring th' answers out of him. Why not give him t' Ram, she'll have him singin' like a bird in a few hours.]
Subaru just shook his head at Garfiel's militant suggestion.
[Subaru: That's a little violent man, even for you. I won't condone such methods. We have around two months tops before this deputy commander gets wind that the escapee didn't exactly escape in the way he thinks. I intend to use that time to thoroughly question him and win over his trust. And even if I did say that that method was ok, he's been through a lot. I doubt that he would speak, no matter what you did to him.]
[Garfiel: Hah! If ya want t' win over his trust, then should y've tied him up?]
Subaru winced at Garfiel's reasonable response. Yes, if you wanna befriend someone, then knocking them out and tying them up was far from the best idea that he could've come up with. In fact, it was probably the worst idea that Subaru could've thought of. But there was a reason for this treatment, and it simply was that Damian was too much of a wild card to let loose in the mansion. Subaru could tell just from the things he said and the way he was acting that he was as likely to cut his throat in his sleep as he was to help them. There was just too little that they knew about him at the moment to risk this blowing up in their face.
They needed to be steady, but strong. Like a newborn, they would coax him out of his shell little by little, until he was willing to tell them the things he knew. They would not stoop to the level of the people they were hunting, that much, Subaru was certain of.
[Subaru: Yeah I get that, but we need to be careful still. It'll take time, but I have faith in Beako's and Emilia-tan's cuteness to win this guy over!]
Subaru was getting excited just at the thought of it. He quickly stood up and began fist pumping the air, enthusiastically jumping up and down in the carriage.
[Subaru: Yes! No one can stop us when we're on a roll! I can see it now, we'll put a stop to those thieves! Let's go! One! Two! Three! Victory!]
He raised his arms up and smiled up at the ceiling of the dragon carriage, shouting the words that he usually did when doing radio calisthenics with the Arlam villagers. It was a sign of his enthusiasm and optimism at what the future held. It may have been a bit premature, but Subaru wasn't about to let any obstacles stand in his way of the bright future that he constantly pushed for.
[Beatrice: Mmmmm. Why'd you move I suppose?]
Beatrice had woken up. Her head had dropped to the bench when Subaru had sprang up, and she now eyed Subaru with a grumpy expression. Her face was contorted in a pout, and her eyes drooped as she wasn't fully awake yet. She frowned at the fact that her pillow had moved and left her with the uncomfortable feeling of bench under her skin.
[Subaru: Oh I'm so sorry Beako! I forgot that you were using my shoulder as a pillow.]
[Beatrice: Look what you've done I suppose. Now Betty's hair is all messed up, and my head hurts where I fell. You're going to have to take responsibility for this in fact.]
[Subaru: You cheeky girl, where do you get off making something sound so naughty? Saying things like that isn't very becoming of a lady you know?]
[Beatrice: There was no naughtiness implied by what I just said. If you think that, then it is just your perverse nature shining through your exterior in fact.]
[Subaru: Oh Beako, always in the bad mood when you wake up. Tell you what, I'll sit down and you can go back to dream land again.]
Beatrice huffed through her nose in annoyance. There wasn't any point to going back to sleep anymore, she was already awake and the sun was shining brightly.
[Beatrice: Betty doesn't see any point to sleeping right now anymore, but since you're offering…]
Beatrice got up and approached where Subaru was currently sitting and stared at him with an intense look. It was such an intense look that Subaru was beginning to get sweaty and nervous. He was beginning to wonder if he did something unforgivably wrong and if she was going to blast him with some magic or something.
[Subaru: U-Uhhhh. B-Beatrice?]
Subaru stuttered these words out to Beatrice, who was now right in front of him. He looked right into her butterfly patterned eyes and audibly gulped.
[Beatrice: Don't you move a muscle.]
She smiled evilly at Subaru, and he braced for the worst. Subaru was thinking that if he ever got another chance he would never wake her up in such a manner again.
Beatrice turned around so that her back was facing Subaru, she then used her hands to prop herself up and sit on Subaru's lap. She settled herself on his lap, snuggling as close to him as possible, a happy look having replaced her previously sinister one. Once she was content with her position on his lap, she turned around so her eyes were side glancing at him, surprised at his uneasy expression.
[Beatrice: What I suppose?]
[Subaru: Ahhhhaha. Nothing, just thought you might blast me right there.]
Subaru laughed nervously and smiled to cover up his discomfort. A gesture that caused Beatrice to pout again, her adorable cheeks puffed up.
[Beatrice: Betty is too cute and elegant to call it blasting away, hmmph! And I would never do that in fact.]
In that moment, Subaru had flashbacks to all of the times Beatrice had used some spell to knock him away or to the ground. There had been so many times between the time he first met her till now that what she said was something that Subaru chose to take with a grain of salt. It was a statement that harbored no ill feelings, but still reminded him of all the knots he had gotten on his head. He sucked in his breath and smiled at Beatrice, choosing to take her word for it.
[Subaru: S-Sure, I knew that! My trusty partner Beako is as adorable as ever! Why would I ever think that you would hit me with a magical beam or something? Hahahahaha!]
[Beatrice: You don't look very convinced in fact.]
[Subaru: Nonsense! This is my very convinced face, see? Look Garfiel, don't I look convinced to you?]
Garfiel was eying Beatrice intently, he honestly felt like she was about to obliterate Subaru the way she was looking at him. But knowing her meant that he knew when to call her bluffs. So he replied sarcastically to Subaru's question.
[Garfiel: Yeah real convincin' there Cap'n. So convincin' in fact, that I'm sure that that's not nervous sweat that I'm seein' right now.]
[Subaru: Hey Garfiel! You're supposed to back me up here!]
[Garfiel: Hahaha! Sorry, sorry. My amazon' self just couldn't help teasin' ya a bit.]
[Beatrice: How dare you! Hmmph I suppose!]
[Subaru: Ahhh no! I'm sorry I'm sorry Beako!]
Subaru ruffled her hair and protested, but Beatrice was having none of it. She turned away from Subaru and refused to look at him like a pouty child, but she settled into his arms and allowed him to stroke her hair. Ahh Beatrice, she was such a tsundere.
[Damian: Ughhhhh. My head…]
[Subaru-et-al:...!]
Damian had woken up, his pained groan echoed through the dragon carriage along with the rustling of his mudstained cloak. He tried moving his arms, but they wouldn't move. He tried standing up, but his feet were bound as well, so he could only awkwardly sit back down on the bench. Subaru couldn't see his eyes underneath the blindfold, but he imagined that he looked uneasy about his new unexpected situation. He looked around, although he couldn't see, no doubt trying to visualize where exactly he was.
[Garfiel: Ahh yer awake. Good timin' too, looks like everyone's wakin' up right now.]
Damian looked in the direction of Garfiel, his mouth was twisted into a deep frown. It was as if he couldn't believe what was going on, and he was no doubt unhappy with his current situation. He remained silent at Garfiel's statement, only turning his head in his direction before turning it back to look straight ahead. Well Subaru supposed look wasn't the proper term for it.
[Garfiel: Not so talkative eh? That's fine, we got all month accordion' t' th' boss.]
[Subaru: Garfiel don't antagonize him. He can't understand you anyway.]
[Garfiel: What really? Hahahaha oops my bad. Sorry dude.]
Garfiel put his hand on Damian's head and roughly ruffled his greasy hair, his head swaying back and forth with the motion. He bared his teeth in response, a low growl emanating from deep in his throat. Subaru thought that if he could, Damian would totally bite his fingers off. And Garfiel, to his credit, was completely oblivious to the destressed Damian, grinning and continuing to pet him like a dog before removing his hand and setting it back in his own lap.
Over time though, Garfiel's smile faded and his nose twitched. Garfiel wrinkled his nose a little before sniffing the air.
[Garfiel: What's that smell?]
He cautiously sniffed the hand that had been ruffling Damian's hair and made a disgusted face.
[Garfiel: Ack! That's disgustin'! Ack! This guy smell's like death itself.]
Garfiel moved to put some distance between himself and Damian, choosing to sit a little further away but still close enough to react to any problems he might pose. Damian himself turned his head to where Subaru was sitting, his teeth were no longer bared and his eyes were covered, but Subaru could still feel his eerie gaze.
[Damian: Does this amuse you?]
[Subaru: Huh?]
[Damian: Does this amuse you? Tying up somebody and watching them flail around with no certainty of their own life or death, watching people suffer. How much pain can you inflict upon someone before your sadistic tendencies are satisfied? Have you so thoroughly enjoyed your time among the beasts that you've become one yourself?]
Damian pushed forth this question that called into question Subaru's motives and purposes. No, it actually went deeper than that, it called into question Subaru's humanity itself. To set aside all that wasn't necessary and separate him and Subaru from the supposed monsters. Subaru was just now beginning to realize what he meant by monsters whenever he said that.
[Subaru: Hey. By monsters, you don't mean the people do you?]
[Damian: What else could I possibly mean by that?]
Subaru gritted his teeth. This guy's whole worldview was skewed terribly. Subaru realized that this man had a severe us vs. them mentality, that kind of thinking was dangerous, especially here in this world.
[Subaru: You shouldn't say mean things about people you haven't met before. You'll never make friends that way.]
[Damian: And why on Earth would I want to be friends with monsters. I'd have a much easier time living with and befriending those weird horned creatures I see from time to time in the woods.]
[Subaru: That kind of thinking is dangerous. Those witch beasts are dangerous, and they would rip your throat out before you even said hello.]
[Damian: That's fine. At least with them, I know what they're gonna do beforehand. In fact, I've probably been bothered less by them than I have by the cretins that infest this place. Like your yellow haired freak here, I know he's close by. Couldn't get the job done yourself so ya had to rely on others eh? Sounds typical for someone of your caliber and personality type. I've seen plenty of bitches in my life and you are a class A bitch.]
Subaru was beginning to get angry. This guy! He was so infuriating! The only things that seemed to come out of his mouth were insults and degradations. He was like a broken record going on about monsters and beasts and the like, just once Subaru would like something other than insults to come out of his mouth.
[Subaru: Careful now. That freak's name is Garfiel, and he's much stronger than any monster you've seen.]
[Damian: Oh please, he can't be that strong. I've dealt with way worse than that midget.]
[Garfiel: Eh, ya say somethin' boss?]
Garfiel, having heard his name, perked his head up with a curious expression on his face. He raised an eyebrow at Damian, who had initiated the conversation.
[Garfiel: 'S he talkin' shit?]
[Subaru: No Garfiel, we're just having a friendly conversation about sports is all.]
[Garfiel: Ahh ok. I don't know what these "sports" are though.]
Subaru smiled at the confused looking Garfiel. The last thing he needed was for the inside of the carriage to get messy because of a fight or something like that. Beatrice shifted her weight in Subaru's lap so she could look at him, she knew he was lying, she just decided to not call him out on it or make a fuss. Subaru returned to arguing with Damian.
[Subaru: As for you, Garfiel's the strongest there is. He could rip a tree out of the ground with his bare hands, he could probably throw you 100 feet into the sky without even trying, the very ground will do his bidding wherever he goes and you think you've beaten stronger?]
Damian blew his beard hair out of his mouth before offering Subaru a mischievous smile. Although, mischievous probably wasn't the right word, it was a smile that evoked a sense of unease and dread. A smile that said "try me" to the increasingly curious Subaru.
[Damian: I knew a guy. Strongest there was, he was the best at everything he did, a true prodigy. I saw him clear the streets of hoodlums in a brawl like it was nothing… And I have no doubt that he would've left your buddy a weeping mess on the ground.]
Subaru scoffed, this guy was probably lying. Unless he was talking about Reinhardt or Julius or one of the other Imperial knights, but the likelihood he knew who those guys were was slim to none. What were the chances of that? Hmm, honestly, Subaru kind of hoped that he had some kind of rapport with them, it would make this whole situation so much easier. He decided he would test that theory.
[Subaru: Oh are you talking about Reinhardt?]
[Damian: Reinhardt?]
[Subaru: Yeah Reinhardt. You know, red hair, handsome face, blue eyes, sword that looks like it would end the world. That Reinhardt.]
Damian looked about as confused as someone could look with a blindfold on. For several seconds he just remained in that pose. But then recognition flitted across his face.
[Damian: Oh shit Reinhardt? That guy?]
[Subaru: Yeah him! You know him?]
[Damian: Yeah I fucking love that guy. With his red hair and blue eyes-]
Yes! They had someone in common, now Subaru could close the gap and at least make some progress in their-.
[Damian: Yeah, who the fuck is Reinhardt?]
[Subaru: Annnnd nevermind!]
Subaru put his hands to the sides of his head and threw it back in exasperation. He should've know better than to get his hopes up, this guy just pulled a classic joke on him. The bait and switch, and Subaru fell for it. Beatrice and Garfiel looked over with concern in their eyes.
[Beatrice: Subaru, if that man says anything untowards to you, then just let me know and I'll blast him in fact.]
[Subaru: I thought you said you didn't blast people.]
[Beatrice: There are always exceptions to the rule I suppose.]
[Subaru: Hehe. I'll keep that in mind.]
[Damian: Where are you cunts taking me? To the woods to kill me?]
Damian spoke directly to Subaru, asking him with no small amount of hostility in his voice.
[Subaru: No, no one's gonna kill you ok.]
[Damian: Torture then? I have to say beforehand that there's nothing you can do that hasn't been done already. So good luck getting anything out of me weakling.]
[Subaru: Why do you always assume that something bad will happen to you?! Why can't you just trust us?!]
Subaru erupted, his patience wearing thin. This guy always assumed that people were out to get him, to harm him. This was the first time Subaru had met someone so unbelievably stubborn and hard to deal with. Actually, Subaru had dealt with a lot of hard to fathom people in his time in this world. He wondered why he couldn't crack the code to this particular brand of madness that seemed to permeate some of the people he'd met.
Damian remained impassive, his mouth forming a crooked smile.
[Damian: My inability to trust anyone is precisely why I've survived this long. The sooner you realize that, the quicker you'll realize that I have no interest in helping you. So you should kill me and be done with it, or release me and be done with it, either way, I'm gonna be done with it.]
Subaru gave a deep sigh, this was indeed a challenge, but there was nobody he hadn't won over to his side given he actually tried.
[Subaru: Enough of that kind of talk. I'm not gonna kill you.]
[Damian: What's the matter? Too spineless that you can't take a life?]
Damian leaned forward so that he was on the edge of his seat, his crooked smile deepened into a full on grin, although there was no happiness behind it. He was purposefully egging Subaru on, trying to see how far he could push him. Subaru wouldn't fall for it.
[Subaru: I'm not spineless, you would take care to remember that.]
[Damian: Source: Trust me bro. Seeing is believing and I haven't seen anything that proves otherwise. And that brings us back to my question: Where are you taking me?]
[Subaru: You are going to enjoy the hospitality of Roswaal mansion. There will be no killing, no torture, just an all expenses paid trip to one of the best, if not empty, vacation spots in the kingdom.]
[Damian: Yeah sure you are.]
Damian's sarcastic tone told Subaru that he didn't believe him one bit. He leaned back into his seat and lowered his head, signalling that he was done with this conversation. Subaru wanted to say something to him but didn't. He knew that Damian wouldn't respond anyway, he was the kind of guy to only answer or say something when there was meaning in a response or conversation. Which begged the question: Why had he started a pointless conversation about something amusing Subaru in the first place? As he thought about these things, he began stroking Beatrice's hair again, as if to affirm his own comfort.
The rest of the journey was ridden in silence.
A few hours later they reached the mansion, the rumbling of the carriage quieting to a dull clatter, the motion slowing down until it ground to a halt. Damian perked his head up upon realizing that they stopped, he then began looking around the carriage. Probably imagining the activity around him as everyone was roused from their inaction. Subaru got up and stretched after dislodging Beatrice form his lap, yawning deeply. The carriage door was thrown open as a very tired looking Otto looked in.
[Otto: We're here. Finally. Here. Can I go to sleep now?]
Subaru scanned the carriage, his eyes passing over everyone that had accompanied him to the Capital. He was thankful for all of the hard work that they had done, and he knew that they deserved a nice rest. He thought about the opportunity that had been given to him and promised to himself that he wouldn't waste it. He would respond to Julius' expectations as best as he could, such was the nature of his own being. But something was eating at him, a feeling that something was going to go terribly wrong.
[Subaru: No that's just pessimistic thinking, I've been talking with Damian too much.]
[Beatrice: Subaru?]
Beatrice looked at him with worry in her eyes, clasping her hand with his own. She could tell that something was bothering him, and she silently asked him what was wrong with her gaze alone. Such was the relationship that they had cultivated over their short time as spirit and contractor. Subaru offered her a reassuring smile meant to dispel her worries.
[Subaru: It's nothing Beako. Just glad to be home in fact. Ahh, it's only been less than a week and I miss the sweet face of Emilia-tan! I'll have to ask her to come support me alot tomorrow.]
[Beatrice: Well if you say so in fact.]
Subaru pushed down his anguish and fears, refusing to listen to the feeling in his gut. He thought that perhaps he was making the wrong decision, but he decided to trust in the abilities of his friends to keep the peace for now. They had at month a month and a half to rehabilitate Damian and get the information they needed before the deputy commander came knocking at their door.
For good or for worse, they have returned home, and they brought what could only be described as trouble with them.
Author's Note: Once again, I feel like I'm taking a long time with these chapters. School really is killing me right now and I might not make it through this semester with many passing grades, but I'll still try to pump out as much as possible when I'm free. And now we see the dynamic between Damian and Subaru, or at least a part of it. I intend to flesh out every character's motivations and goals come the next couple of chapters, or at least shed a little light on them. Thank you all for taking the time to read this, it means alot! If you have any questions, comments, or concerns please don't hesitate to leave a review or a dm. I hoped you guys enjoyed!