Chapter 1: This is his life from zero
The blanket wrapped around her and the television on the news channel, Natsuki Naoko sank back into the couch. Her eyes had black circles under them and her cheekbones were visible due to her not eating.
"The boy that went missing has been found in the Shibuya prefecture. He is uninjured and has reunited with —" the reporter on the television announced loudly as he pointed his finger at two people, one male and another female, hugging a small boy who seemed no more than seven.
"Suba-aru?" Naoko's voice was quite weak. Her mean, sharp eyes seemed like they didn't have the same energy they had before. What happened to her? Well, her one and only son disappeared into thin air, Subaru Natsuki had left his parents behind and had gone somewhere.
Naoko and her husband, Kenichi, have been looking for him. In fact a police investigation had been launched but it yielded no results, so Kenichi and Naoko now spend their days trying to find their son.
Naoko forced a weak smile before turning to the table beside her and grabbing a picture of Subaru from it, "How long has it been?" She smiled. "Oh, it's almost been a year?" Small drops of water fell on the picture as she bit her lip in an attempt to stop the tears from flowing.
"Where are you Subaru? Why did you leave us behind? Was it because we didn't love you enough?" She asked as her sleep deprived eyes shed tears of absolute pain.
"I don't think he left you because both of you didn't love him enough. In fact, from what I saw in the trial, he wanted both of you to hate him, reprimand him, kick him out of the house." A sweet voice said.
Naoko turned to the side as she came face to face with a white-haired woman who looked at her with black eyes that had an unending curiosity in them. Her black dress clung tightly to her porcelain white skin. She looked no more than 20 but there was something about her that made Naoko wanna vomit. What was it? Was it her eyes? No. Was it her beauty? That wasn't it either. That's when it hit Naoko.
Her very presence wanted to make Naoko vomit. Of course, Naoko didn't wanna vomit out of pure disgust, after all she had just met the woman. But there was something about her that invoked… fear in her. Her extraordinarily beautiful appearance scared her. Her black eyes that seemed like unending pits of curiosity scared her. Her pale, white skin scared her. Everything about her was scary.
"Oho, I forget that you're still human and feel the need to vomit whenever you're near me. Your son truly was different. It must be because —" The woman said in a nonchalant voice.
"My son? You know where my son is!?" Naoko jumped out of the couch and grabbed the white-haired woman by her shoulders and began to shake her… violently whilst forgetting the urge to hurl.
"Calm down, calm down!" The white haired woman whined as she tried to make Naoko stop.
"I'm hom —" the door opened as Natsuki Kenichi walked into the living room only to see his wife violently shaking a woman whilst demanding for an answer.
"Nao-Naoko, what are you doing? Back away from the woman." Kenichi dropped his office bag as he ran towards them and pulled his wife back and held her by her arms.
"Let me go! This woman knows where he is! She knows where my Subaru is! Let me go!" She flailed, swung her arms around and did everything to get away from her husband but it was to no avail.
Natsuki Kenichi was a hunk of a man and nobody could get away from him. But… did she say 'Subaru'? Kenichi's hands went lax as his eyes gained a distant look, "Wh-Who are you?" He asked. This woman… she had a very different 'aura' around her. An almost fear inducing aura.
It felt strange because she looked no more than 19. Was he imagining things? No. He definitely wasn't, this woman… those eyes, those unending abysses of curiosity and her smile, they were all peculiar.
"Ah, how rude of me. I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Echidna, the witch of Greed." She smiled whilst closing her eyes.
"The witch of —" did this girl have eighth grader syndrome or something? She comes into the house telling us that she knows where Subaru is and —
"Ah, you must be thinking that I'm exaggerating but I'm not, in fact —" she raised her hand as the reality around them shattered.
Kenichi looked up at the unending darkness. Who was this girl? How did she know Subaru? His hands started to shiver as his body tensed up, he turned to Echidna as he asked in a low voice, "How do you know my son?-"
"Ah, we're getting straight down to business? That's good. Before I tell anything… I want something in return." Echidna smiled as her eyes glowed with curiosity.
"We'll give anything! Money! Our house! Anything you want! Just tell us where he is!" Naoko begged.
She just wanted to see her son once again. She just wanted to know he was okay. She wanted to hold him, tell him that she was sorry, tell him that they will never be separated again, tell him that she loved him, tell him that he didn't have to go to school, he could stay home and not worry about having to eat peas or anything else.
"Haha," Echidna covered her mouth as she laughed, "I don't want anything of that sort, I just want to stand by and watch both of your reactions."
"I'm okay with that, please… just take me to my son…" she fell to her knees as her eyes began to fill with tears.
"Take us to our son please." Kenichi said as his body relaxed and he turned to look at Echidna with his almost empty eyes.
"Very well then." Echidna nodded as the smile on her face disappeared. She raised her hand and —
SNAP
A loud snap echoed throughout the dark place as the place began to change. Soon the three of them were standing in the middle of a three way road, behind them was a fountain and beside them was--
"Subaru!!!" Naoko ran towards the boy as he wiped his eyes as the light that he had seemingly lost was back in his eyes. His eyes grew wider as the shock in his eyes withdrew, "what's going on?" He asked almost to himself, "This stuff is obviously not fake."
"Subaru, I'm right here," she said as she hugged him but…
"So does this mean… that I've been summoned to another world!?!" Subaru screamed at the sky as his arms widened, phasing through Naoko's head.
Naoko looked at him, her pupils contracted. What's happening here? Why doesn't he look at me?
"Ah, I forgot to mention that this is a virtual representation of what happened as soon as your son came into this world… My world." Echidna crossed her hands as she apologized.
"You said you'd take us to him! Was that a lie!?" Naoko yelled.
All the while Kenichi stared at Subaru who was beaming. 'Why?' was the only question that popped into his mind. What did he mean why, why was Subaru so happy as soon as he came here? Why didn't he ever tell them anything? Of course both of them knew that he was going through something and supported him through it but why didn't he ever tell them anything?
"Ahem, if you meet him right away, you'll have waaay too many questions. So I suggest you watch this before you meet him." Echidna said.
"Naoko… let's watch, we've waited for almost a year now, what's a few hours?" Kenichi turned to his wife and smiled.
It was a sad smile, a depressed one. Natsuki Kenichi was distraught when their son didn't come back that night… or the next or the next. And when the police investigation yielded no result, they began to search for him. They went around asking everyone Subaru knew whether they had seen him but the answer they were given was always negative. Kenichi would spend days at the dining table, his hands on his head as he tried to think of people who may know Subaru. But in the end it was to no avail. They were running out of money and they weren't sleeping, the people in their neighborhood were worried about him and advised him to go back to work. He didn't want to, not until he found his son but it seemed impossible since he didn't have the money to travel in search of him. So Kenichi went back to work and every weekend they would travel. They had no particular destination, they would just travel in search of him.
This was what their life had become, they would sometimes spend the whole night searching the internet in hopes of seeing if anyone knew about him since a lot of people were interested in how he just went 'poof'. But nothing showed up.
And now he was here. Kenichi was happy to see him still smiling, "as long as he is smiling--" the scene in front of them shifted as they saw their son at a doorway of what seemed like an old wooden shack as he turned to the silver haired girl and told her, "Don't worry about a thing. Just leave everything to me. I can handle the negotiations."
The silver haired girl replied, "All right, then. I'll just leave everything in your hands."
"Huh? I thought you were gonna say something like, 'Huh?! You want me to leave this to a useless boy like you!? That's so funny that it makes my sides hurt. Of course that'd stomp all over my feelings but I'd still continue helping you." Subaru looked at her surprised.
"I'd never say something that mean to anyone!" The girl with pointy years exclaimed.
All the while Kenichi and Naoko watched their son and this girl's banter, Kenichi smiled as a 'This idiot son of mine..' slipped his tongue. The despair and the pain that they had harboured during the past year seemed to disappear in an instant when they saw their son happily talking away.
They had prayed for his safety and it seemed like their prayers had been answered.
While in the corner, Echidna sighed as she whispered to herself, "If only they knew what is about to come.."
"Of course, to tell you the truth, I'd be lying if I said you haven't been holding me back a little bit." The silver haired girl continued.
"Oh, great! That's good to know!" Subaru half yelled.
But again...I'm leaving this in your hands. If it actually goes well, I'll consider it a bonus." She smiled whilst tilting her head.
"Ahhh! That smile is good enough for me! I'll be right back!" Subaru opened the door and walked into the shack, "So am I walking into a demon nest or a snake pit? In a fantasy world, either is totally plausible. This is all stolen loot? Impressive. But why isn't anyone here? A shack full of stolen goods and no one around to guard it?"
Squelch
Along with Subaru, Naoko and Kenichi turned their head to see the mangled body of a little girl and an old man who was as huge as a mountain. Naoko fell to her knees as the bile in her stomach escaped through her mouth. Kenichi ran to his wife as he called out to Subaru, "Subaru! Get out of there! Something's not right!" Of course Subaru couldn't hear them. They could do nothing to save him from whatever was in that shack.
Both Naoko and Kenichi watched helplessly as Subaru's eyes widened and in contrast to that his pupils contracted. His mouth fell open but no voice escaped.
"Oh, dear, you found that? Well, I have no choice, then. No choice at all…" a sweet, vampiric voice said in the background as a shadowy figure moved swiftly.
Subaru fell to the ground whilst clutching his guts, "Ugh fuck it burns!!" He screamed in agony.
No, no, no, their son was gonna die they had to do something but they couldn't touch him, their voice couldn't reach him. There was nothing they could do. Nothing, nothing, nothing. Naoko turned to Echidna and looked her in the eye and asked, "Why did you lie to us? Why did you tell us you were going to take us to him when he is clearly dead!?"
"Naoko-San," Echidna was truly impressed by her as she added 'San' to her name, "I suggest you wait patiently." She gave her an assuring smile as she turned back to what was happening.
"Ah, shit it burns…" Subaru felt his entire body erupt in pain as he coughed up blood. "Oh crap, is this all of my blood?"
"Subaru? What's wrong?" The sound of footsteps on wooden boards sounded as Subaru screamed, "Don't come in! Run away! Get out of here!"
Thud
"Aaa.." her voice was quite weak as she fell to the floor in a loud thud.
"Satella…" Subaru's hand slowly inched towards hers, "Stay with me, hang on. No matter what… I swear I'll save you." Subaru Natsuki took in his last breath that night… or that's what they thought.
_
"Gah," Subaru stood in broad daylight once again as his parents looked on in shock.
The green-haired man looked at Subaru and when he didn't get a response he asked, "What's the matter with you kid? It looks like you've seen a ghost or somethin'"
Naoko and Kenichi stared at the green-haired man before turning to Echidna who paid them no heed. She had a curious smile on her face as she eagerly awaited to see what would happen next.
Chapter 2: His requiem of three
Natsuki Subaru stared at the man as he tried to comprehend what had just happened. "Huh?" Subaru asked the man as he tilted his head to the side.
"You were askin' about these and I told you they were called Appas. So do you want any?" The man repeated as he held up a red fruit that looked very much like an apple.
"Huh?"
"'Huh?' Stop screwing around! Do you want one or not!?" The shopkeeper threw the appa down into the basket as he asked in frustration.
He was a very muscular man and had a scarred face, but in his palm was a lovely red fruit. Subaru mentally compared the man's face with the apple-like fruit he was holding out.
"Huh, no, no, I don't want one. As I mentioned earlier, I'm broke beyond compare." Subaru smiled.
"Tch, I figured much; should've known better." The man clicked his tongue as he shooed Subaru away.
"Wasn't it nighttime a while ago?" Kenichi asked his wife who was wiping her mouth with her dress.
"It was." Naoko stood up, the black circles under her eyes seemed to have spread after witnessing the horror.
"Then what's happening here? Didn't we just —" He started when suddenly a 'Stop!' pierced through the air of the abyss. Kenichi stared at his wife, her eyebrows were furrowed and she bared her teeth at him, "don't say anything else! I don't want to hear it!" She screamed.
All the while Echidna just watched them from afar, smiling. 'Ah, so this is what parental love is.'
"As you say darling." Kenichi turned his attention back to Subaru.
"It was night just now wasn't it?" Subaru sat down at the front step of a pale green house as he asked the same question, when suddenly he remembered the half-elf girl he was with, "Wait, Satella!? What happened to her?" He shot up as he began to survey his surroundings in an attempt to find the silver haired girl.
"Where, where, where is she? She was here a minute ago, right? Then where did she disappear?" Subaru felt like what he saw was a dream but it didn't make sense, how could he see someone that was not there. How could he have imagined someone so beautiful as -- 'her.' his thoughts resonated in the dome that Echidna had created. Kenichi and Naoko looked at each other in confusion before realising that it was Subaru's voice.
Naoko turned to Echidna, her eyes wide with surprise, "Was that..?" She asked.
Echidna nodded as her white hair fell over her shoulder, "Yes, that's his thoughts that's resonating in here. If you just watch his actions it won't make sense so I thought it'd be better for you to listen to his thoughts as well. I suggest you listen closely."
"Thank you. Thank you Echidna." Naoko didn't know what it was but every once in a while she had the urge to jump into Subaru's mind and try to understand why he always looked so… melancholic.
He always had an air of melancholy around him back home. Of course, both of them knew that it had to do something with why he was not going to school and of course, Naoko had noticed that he always imitated his father. But she never understood. She never understood why he'd do that. Isn't he his own person? Why would he want to adopt his father's personality?
"Ah, Puck left her in my care. What kind of piece of shit must I be to not take that seriously? Honestly, I'm just another waste that converts Oxygen into Carbon dioxide." The self hate oozing from him was almost suffocating. Subaru himself felt that but he couldn't do anything about it. He couldn't love himself. He was just a piece of shit that sat around all day and did nothing all day, "— honestly, why did mom and dad even keep me around?" He asked himself.
"Huh!? What do you mean by that?! We kept you around?! What kind of question is that!? We love you, you're our son! Of course you're going to stay with us! Where else do you think you'll stay?" Kenichi yelled as he threw up his hand, annoyed.
"That doesn't matter right now. If I'm here then —" Subaru didn't want to accept that the beautiful girl and the aloof yet wacky spirit had died. He knew they couldn't have… a fool's dream, he thought to himself. Sure it was foolish of him to think that if he was alive then they must be alive as well… but then again he was summoned to this world, he's supposed to be the protagonist, doesn't that mean he has some kind of special power… 'Ah! Get yourself together Natsuki Subaru! This is not the time to think, I need to go to the —'
— loot cellar. Or that's what he thought he was going to do but instead he came face to face with the three thugs he had faced before, "Oi, oi, oi, you gotta be kidding me. You came back after seeing I was alone to get revenge?"
"Huh? What's this kid talking about? Maybe he has lost it?" One of the thugs asked.
Naoko stared at her son, her stare growing intense every second. Echidna thought she was trying to bore a hole through him but nonetheless she tried to discern the reasons behind that stare. 'Was it because she's trying to understand his actions? Or is she trying to understand his mindset? Maybe she just wanted to burn his image into her mind. Or she's just interested. Echidna really didn't understand parental love. Afterall her mother had died when she gave birth to her and her father… it doesn't matter right now. She had to learn everything about parental love.
"Forget that. Just give us everything you have." The little one said in a squeaky voice.
"If that's all you want, here you go…" Subaru bent down as he put the bag he had brought from the convenience store, down.
"Good. Now get on all fours and yell for help like a dog." Subaru's patience ran out. Who the fuck did they think they were, talking to him like that?
"Don't…" Subaru's right leg moved forward as he took a battle stance, "... underestimate me, you bastards!" He sprung forward as he landed an uppercut on the guy in the middle and with the same momentum he made a wide arc with his leg as he kicked the dwarf into the wall as he coughed out bile. The big guy, who was in shock, snapped out of it and lumbered towards him, his fist facing Subaru. Subaru jumped to the side as the punch hit the wall, he grabbed the big man's hand and slowly began to twist it, "Don't underestimate a shut-in with a lot of time on his hand! I have swung a sword all day for no reason and my grip strength is over 70 kilograms!"
"Woohoo! That's my son right there!" Kenichi began to jump as he proudly exclaimed. Kenichi knew Subaru always stuck to his exercise routine no matter what but this was his first time seeing him use it. Subaru was quite above average when compared to the people back on earth. Kenichi was so proud that he wanted to hold Subaru in a lock and stretch his arms out.
"I don't have time for your shit!" Subaru yelled at them as the scene changed yet again.
This time they were back in the loot cellar with Subaru sitting on the front porch as if he was waiting for someone. When suddenly a voice calls out to him, "What are you doing here, nii-chan? You're in my way." In front of him stood a golden-haired girl. Atleast over 153 cm, she had red eyes and a black top that was covered with a brown vest and a red cape.
"Felt!" Subaru exclaimed.
"You know me?" She asked.
"Of course I do! I've been waiting for you!"
"What for?"
"Wait, wait, are you telling me that you don't remember me?"
"Have we met before?" Felt leaned in, "I'm a very busy woman so I remember a lot of people."
"Ahh, forget it. I'm here to negotiate about the insignia you have." Subaru stood up as he explained using his hands.
"Ah, that's what this is about, huh?"
"Yes, yes."
"Well then, I'll hear what you have to say then!" Felt and Subaru walked up the stairs of the loot cellar and knocked on the door.
_
"Ah, you bitch!" Subaru screamed as he grabbed Rom's club that had been bloodied as he ran towards the vampiric women, swinging it with all his strength.
Whereas on the other hand Kenichi and Naoko could not take their eyes from him. His entire life depended on it. If he didn't manage to kill her then…
"Ah, I'll have to commend that determination of yours. I'm honestly impressed that you got back up after seeing your friends being massacred." The vampiric women laughed. Honestly, it sounded sweet but that was until you noticed Felt and Rom's body behind her. That's when someone realises what she truly can do. She was strong, almost on par with the final bosses from RPGs.
"Ah, shut up! Shut up and die already," Subaru was angry at himself. He was incapable of saving them! He was incapable of saving anyone! Why was he so weak!? Why didn't he have any power?! He could've defeated this… this monster before him if he had power.
Their fight almost felt like a dance to him. A dance till death. Everything depended on how well he could move and how well he remembered the steps but without any practice.
Subaru blocked the incoming slash with the club in his hand as he turned around in a wide arc thus kicking Elsa in her obliques.
"Ahhh~" she moaned as her hands rose to her lips, touching them slightly she smiled as she sprinted towards Subaru and slashed again. This slash was blocked as well but…
'Huh? What's this burning sensation?' Subaru looked down at his belly and saw a flap of his tracksuit drop as blood poured out from it, "My attacks land a bit later, that's my only speciality you see." Elsa said as she licked her lips.
Subaru fell to the ground with a loud thud as the blood from his wound began to form a sea of red under him as he screamed mentally, 'Ah, fuck, fuck! It burns! It burns! Help me! Mom! Dad! Please, it hurts… so much!'
"Subaru…" Naoko slowly made her way to where Subaru was, "I'm right here! Look at me I'm right here! You're going to be okay! So don't die! You're going to be okay!" Tears that flowed from her eyes told otherwise, she knew Subaru was going to die and she couldn't do anything about it but watch from a distance. Was this the end? Was Subaru going to die? Was this place going to be his final resting place? Couldn't she do anything to help him? She tried to caress his hair, but she couldn't even touch him. She tried to pick him up and hug him but her hands phased through him. She tried to tell him that they were here but her voice didn't reach him. Subaru was drowning… drowning in his own blood, in his own pain and in his own agony. Nothing could reach him except… Death.
Kenichi on the other hand didn't move as he watched Subaru slowly lose consciousness. His son was going to die, die, die. No, no, no, no! He can't let that happen! Wasn't it the father's job to protect their sons!? And yet he was here, looking at Subaru die! Not being able to do anything! Kenichi didn't want this! He didn't want to say goodbye yet! He still wanted to do a lot of things with Subaru! He wanted to wake him up by stretching his entire body out! He still wanted to eat mayonnaise with him! No, no, no, no, no, no, nonononononononononono! Subaru can't die, he shouldn't die! Please, oh cruel god! Please, they didn't want to be his requiem! There would be a lot of people who would be willing to attend! So please don't let him die! Kenichi fell to his knees as the tears overflowed, his mouth opened as he tried to scream– scream at everything. He wanted to scream at that vampiric women for killing Subaru, he wanted to scream at the bandits for trying to kill him, he wanted to scream at the white-haired girl for bringing him here, he wanted to scream at the entire world but most importantly… he wanted to scream at himself for being incompetent.
"Subaru don't die! Please! I still have a lot of things to talk about… I want to talk to you about how you want to live your life, I want to talk to you about how much…
'I'm going to die! I'm going to die! I'm going to die! I'm going to die! I'm going to die! I'm going to die! I'm going to die! I'm going to die! I'm going to die! I'm going to die! I'm going to die!' a cry that was burned into their mind by now, a cry that proclaimed death, it was a cry of despair that ignited the flames of pain and misery in the hearts of whoever heard it. It was terrifying. It was horrifying… until it wasn't.
Subaru stood in front of the appa merchant again as the muscley man asked, "Do you want them?" Subaru felt a sense of dissonance as the voices of death in his mind converged.
"Ah…" he started as his vision became blurry and his mind started to lose consciousness, "... I don't know what's going on anymore." Subaru fell on his side as his parents looked on in shock. Hadn't they just witnessed his death? Didn't Subaru just lose his life? Then how? How was he back here? No matter how they tried, they couldn't figure out what was happening. They tried to get Echidna to talk but she kept saying, 'But you'll never be able to understand if you don't watch.' To them it didn't make sense.
"Nii-chan, nii-chan, are you okay?!" A splash of cold water was poured on Subaru as he regained his consciousness. Subaru's vision was quite blurry when he opened them but he saw a flash of red shoved into his face as a heavy voice said, "nevermind the money, have this."
"Ugh… Subaru looked up to see the green-haired man, looking at him with concerned eyes. Subaru's hands were about to reach for the Appa and the glass of water that was being offered to him, when suddenly he saw her.
"Wait.." Subaru gently pushed aside the Appa and the glass of water that was being offered to him as he got up and ran behind the Silver-haired girl, "Wait… Please wait! Don't leave me behind! Satella!" He screamed as the people present in the crowd began giving him funny looks.
"Ah, I'm so glad I caught up to you, Satella." Subaru sighed, "I --"
"What's the deal with you?" Her voice was low and her eyes were flaming with hatred as she asked, "What's the deal with you calling me by the name of the witch of Envy! What made you call me by that name!?"
"Huh, no, I was told to--" Subaru started when suddenly Satella interrupted him, "Whoever told you that has bad taste! You should never call someone by the name of that witch!"
Subaru didn't know what to say, wasn't she the one who gave him that name? Of course she was. Now she's just telling him that it's disrespectful? What the fuck?
"If that's all you ha– ah!" She turned her head to see the golden-haired loli running away with her insignia as she turned back to Subaru with disgust in her eyes as she asked, "did you plan on stalling me so that she could steal my insignia!?"
"Huh.. no.. I'm not–" Subaru's pupils contract as he looked at her. Was he going to be alone here as well? Was the only question rampaging his mind.
"Since we're done here I will be taking my leave." She turned around and began to chase after Felt.
_
"Ah fuck. How did I get myself here again?" Subaru lays on the ground, his tracksuit stained red as he asks himself.
All Subaru remembers was walking through the back alleys and meeting the thugs again. He tells the thugs to move aside and moves towards and the next thing he knows, he is on the ground, bleeding to death.
Whereas Kenichi and Naoko are unable to accept what they were seeing. It was… impossible to accept, their son could die… over and over again. He could still feel the pain… he could still feel the pain of dying. This meant that his sanity was on line. There was quite a high possibility that Subaru would go insane if he continued like this. After all he was human. They just hoped that he wouldn't give up… that would be the worst case scenario.
Subaru looked up and saw the corn potage chips in his bag, "Huh, didn't old man Rom eat that?"
Chapter 3: Closure
"It's losing altitude!" One of the knights yelled as he saw the huge monster slowly make its way to the ground, but what the man didn't see was the black-haired, sharp-eyed youth who was free falling, inches away from the monster's face.
Only a few could smell the pungent miasma that was radiating off the youth's body but only the monster could see the dark aura that surrounded him and that was the thing attracting it to him.
This was his battle, his revenge for everything the monster had done to him. He wouldn't stop, no matter how tired he got, no matter how wounded he was, no matter how many times he fell and no matter how many times he died. He wouldn't give up.
'Come on, just a little more.' he thought to himself as a smug smirk on his face, his arms outstretched as if to say 'This'll be your end!'
"JUST A LITTLE MORE," He was metres away from the ground, if they didn't get this right he would've to repeat everything but he was sure they could do it, after all — "Rem, now!!" — they were trying their hardest.
A chain, as black as the night, made its way towards the youth, slithering across his body, wrapping itself around him before pulling him towards the left with a force so strong, it made his body bend in V-shape.
The youth held onto his dear life as he swiftly made his way towards the ground, he just hoped that Rem wouldn't miss — he felt something soft when he was inches away from the ground, he had survived! "Thank you, Rem!" He screamed to make sure she heard him over the sounds of battle. The ground seemed to move, they were moving at a rather high speed and it was thanks to the black dragon.
"It's no problem, Subaru-kun!" The blue-haired girl smiled down at him, she was glad to have her hero back, alive and well. He truly had the craziest ideas, but he somehow managed to pull them off. That was Subaru to her. A hero that could do anything, she idolized him, put him on a pedestal, raised her expectations so as to make sure he met them.
Subaru smiled back at her before sitting up straight on the dragons back. He pointed his fingers towards the monster before yelling —
_
"Subaru…" a single tear slid down Naoko's cheek as she watched helplessly. She watched as Rem tortured him, cutting off his limbs and then healing them as he continued to proclaim his love for them.
"I've always loved both of you, dammit!" His leg bone shattered, exposing his flesh as the thick blood from his veins trickled down, mixing with the ground.
She kneeled down and healed it and asked, "What do you have to do with the Witch cult?"
"I've always tried my best!" His arm flew off into the distance as he let out a blood curdling scream.
Heal
"Like the time I cut my finger while peeling!"
"Or like the time I had my hands pricked by the thorns!"
"You both always helped me!"
His yells — or rather his proclamations of innocence didn't seem to reach her ears, or so he thought, "I don't remember anything of that sort!" She snapped back at him, her blood stained cheeks rose as her eyes reflected his image in it.
'Disgusting, revolting, repulsive.' This was what he thought of himself when he saw the reflection, 'At this point,' Subaru tried his best not to lose consciousness, 'I'm nothing but a pathetic excuse of a man, a shadow of my father.' '
"..." Kenichi didn't know what to say. "Subaru… that's not it…" what kind of father... what did he… how could he… he never noticed his self loathing. 'Pathetic, pathetic, pathetic, pathetic!' was the only thing he could tell himself. What kind of father was he? What kind of — he didn't even notice, he knew there was something wrong but never did he try to ask, if he had, maybe he could've helped him get rid of that inferiority complex. But he never did, all he did was support him, never once did he try to understand what he was going through. If he had, he might've been able to help, but he never did—
"_!!!" Naoko's vision went red as she tightened her fist, she took powerful strides towards Rem before raising her fist and punching her in the face, again and again and again.
Of course, the punches passed through her, they never hit her but Naoko continued to punch Rem. "How dare you, how dare you, how dare you?!" Her voice was only heard by the people she was with, but they didn't stop her. She was angry — hell — her blood was boiling with rage so strong, she thought she was going to burst.
"I don't remember anything!!" Rem finally yelled. She didn't understand what Subaru was talking about, she didn't understand anything. But she didn't need to, this… this man, he had the witch's miasma, he had to be part of the witch cult. The same cult that broke her sister's horn, the same cult she abhorred, the same cult she wanted to destroy. She stared down at Subaru as tears rolled down his bloodied face, he tried his best to smile so as to tell her he was not a threat but he failed, his mouth was stuck in a half smile whereas the entirety of his face showed nothing but pain and fear.
As soon as he heard what she said, Subaru felt his blood boil, he had done everything he could, he had died… so many times, why don't they remember? He had tried so hard. Why don't they remember him?! Why? Why? Why? "WHY DON'T YOU REMEMBER?! I GAVE IT MY ALL, I DID EVERYTHING I COULD, I DIDN'T GIVE UP! WHY DON'T YOU REMEMBER —" His blood flew, alongwith the top half of his face as his lifeless body fell onto the grass.
"SUBARU!!" Naoko screamed, no matter how many times he died, no matter how many times she watched him die, it always felt like hell, it always felt like she had lost her son, over and over and over and over again. She couldn't do it, she couldn't — she dug her nails into her forehead, slowly dragging it down her face, leaving behind a continuous streams of blood that flowed down her face before converging on her chin and dripping down onto the floor 'If I don't have eyes then… then I don't have to watch him —'
"Naoko!" Kenichi reached for her hands and pulled them back as blood streamed down her face, "what the hell are you thinking?!"
"If I don't have eyes, I don't have to watch him die! I don't want to see my son die! I can't do it! Let me — please, let me…" she choked as she begged him to let her go. This was too much, watching him die was too much. Her son was suffering, he was trying his hardest, and all that hard work led to him dying.
"Don't you think he'll feel bad if you lose your eyes? Don't you want to see him smile again? He's giving it his all. We should witness it. I can't bear to watch him die either, but I can't look away, if I do, I feel like I'd be disrespecting him, he's giving it his everything after all." Kenichi looked like he was on the verge of tears, trying to be strong was something he was good at, but it was almost impossible when he had to see his son lose his life over and over again. But he didn't want to lose hope, he didn't want to give up, he knew they would meet him once again, so he tried his best to keep himself sane.
"Moreover Naoko-san, even if you injure yourself here, you will be healed immediately." Echidna smiled.
And as if in response to her statement, the wound she had inflicted on herself started to sizzle as the cells and the tissues began to knit themselves together. Her eyes widened in surprise and pain, she had to continue seeing this, she had to watch him die over and over again. Will she be able to handle it? of course she couldn't, she'd go crazy before she met him. she didn't want her son to see that. "Hold on…" she said, not knowing whether she was talking to herself or to Subau. "... for just a little longer."
_
It certainly was hard watching him die but this was his choice, he wanted to save her.
"If that's what you want…" Kenichi smiled, it was a sad smile but a smile nonetheless, dying was something no one could handle, but dying over and over and over and over again was something more than painful… it was hellish. But this was his choice, he would rather die than take the little girl's hand and kill the demon maid.
"Stop, stop, stop! You can't die! That's — It's not right!" Naoko's hand reached out to her son in an attempt to grab him, but she couldn't. She couldn't stop him as his final words echoed in her ears, 'I'll definitely save you!' What did he want to save? That blue-haired girl? Wasn't she the one who killed him? Then… why? Why did he have to die to save her? Hadn't he suffered enough? Shouldn't he have been consumed by Wrath? Then why was he — Naoko couldn't make sense of this anymore, she didn't understand her son's thoughts. Why were they here? Why couldn't they help him when he was dying?
They were merely here as witnesses, witnesses for the youth's patience. Nothing more. Being witnesses to his failures, to his successes, to his every action.
_
"So…" the doves flew behind her as her blue hair swayed in the wind, the sun hit her face just right making her features more vibrant. She stretched her arms as if she was about to say something beautiful, something magnificent, something absolutely elegant, and the words that left her mouth certainly were. "... Let's start here from step one — No, let's start from zero!" Her smile was so peaceful to look at that Subaru lost himself in it. He had to save them, he had to save her.
"Rem."
"Yes?"
"I love Emilia. I want to make her smile, I want to see her succeed but if loving myself more is what it takes for that to happen… so be it."
His hands made their way towards her, wrapping themselves around her before pulling her towards him, "Thank you Rem." He had a lot of things to thank her for, but right now, he knew what he had to do.
Kenichi smirked, "That's my son!" He was… maybe he was not such a bad father after all.
Whereas Naoko didn't like this, she didn't like how Rem was putting her son on a pedestal, making him think as if he was some kind of hero, what if that belief killed him? What would she do then? And there was the part where she tortured him for hours on end… Naoko just didn't like the girl, she didn't like how she put all her expectations on her son, she didn't like how she had Subaru believe in something that could get him killed.
_
"— The White Whale will terrorise this land no more!" His voice was loud enough to be heard by everyone in the plains. Even though he was insecure, he knew they were in the final phase of this battle, "Just a little more — COME ON!" The White Whale hastily descended the heavens and as soon as it was near the single huge tree that adorned the desolate plains, Crusch yelled, putting all her strength into her voice so as to make sure it was heard. "NOW!"
And as soon as the white robed people heard her, the mana in their body began to surge towards their hands, their surroundings grew hotter as the plants in their proximity began to burn and wither, the smell of burning grass was nauseating but they trudged on. They had one chance, if they failed… well, it would not end well. So they wanted to give it their all, like everyone else in this battlefield.
The heat had reached its peak when they yelled "Ul Goa!" The huge ball of fire that had formed in each of their hands moved towards the huge tree at amazing speeds, destroying it's trunk, making it fall on the White Whale, which was inches away from the ground.
The smell of blood and morning dew filled his lungs as he watched the tree crush the White Whale, the sun's rays seeped across the battlefield, washing the beautiful terrain with a white and orange hue. He also noticed the old man they called 'The Sword Demon' stride up to the monster, the crimson flames of revenge raged in his eyes. "This for my wife, Theresia Van Astrea," he said as he ran, cutting open the monsters side, he then leaped, landing on the monster's back, raising his sword he looked down at the creature as if it were a filthy being. "Now…" both his hands gripped the hilt of his blade, "... sleep for all eternity"
A shock wave boomed through the land, creating a huge gale that swept the battlefield, stirring up dust and making the people shield their eyes as the Sword Demon plunged his sword into the monsters hide. The crimson flames that had raged in his eyes a while back slowly grew cold and finally snuffed out, His wife's soul could rest in peace now and so could the souls of everyone this filthy creature had killed. Of course, most of them have been forgotten, being swallowed by the mist, but they did exist and it was their to respect their souls.
Subaru sighed in relief, they had done it. After all that panicking, gut-slashing, beiong stabbed, having his head cracked open, withering away, beaten up, being stabbed, freezing, shattering, being buried, jumping off a cliff, suffering and dying he was here, having defeated the monster that had terrorised him, made him go crazy, made her disappear. Of course, he knew he didn't do much, but seeing the monster now, its eyes closed, a huge gash on its hide, blood dripping from its wounds, he couldn't help but sigh in relief knowing that the monster called the White Whale was no more.
_
"But I didn't do much! Why are you thanking me?!" Subaru shook his hands gesturing a 'stop' at Crusch who had thanked him.
"You're too humble, Subaru. If it wasn't for you, we might not have ever defeated this monster." The sun illuminated her face, a smile etched into her beautiful face, she looked at him with a kind look in her eyes.
"My lady is right, Natsuki Subaru-dono. Without you we would not have been able to destroy the White Whale, nor would I've been able to exact revenge for my wife. I thank you for that," The Sword Demon kneeled on the ground, his hand on his chest. The White Whale's blood smeared on his wrinkled face, h repeated, "I thank you…"
"No, Wilhelm-san, it was because you fought so relentlessly that we were able to take the beast down, you must've loved your wife a lot to fight like that." His face illuminated by the sun, he smiled.
"I thank you…"
_
Subaru watched the sun as it rose. He had told Crusch and Wilhelm that he'd join them as soon as he was done.
"What do i do?!" Naoko yelled in an excited tone. Echidna had promised them to let them talk to him once he had defeated the White Whale andthe time had come, "I'm so nervous!"
Whereas Kenichi was relaxed, he waited patiently for Echidna to give them the signal and they could walk out of this space.
"Alright. I'm all set." Echindna turned to them, "let me make some things clear, one, you can't stay in this world, it'll mess up the Od Laguna. Two, I don't know how long I will be able to keep you here, I might be the Witch of Greed but no one is above the Od Laguna. Other than that, everything else is okay."
As soon as the last words left her words, the dome shattered into a thousand pieces and they found themselves standing in the warmth of the sun, their son inches away from them.
For a second, they didn't know what to say as they turned their head and looked each other in the eye, confused.
"Subaru…" Naoko finally said, a smile on her face she watched as he slowly turned towards them, his mouth agape, shock in his eyes.
"Mo —" Subaru stopped halfway as tears flowed down his cheeks, he closed his eyes and ran towards Naoko, hugging her.
Naoko wrapped her hands around him, her tears glistened like the morning dew that adorned the yellow flowers strewn across the otherwise barren land.
"Mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom." He repeated the word over and over again as if to make sure that he hadn't forgotten it.
"Oi, this is unfair. I'm feeling all sad and lonely now." Kenichi said as he pretended to wipe away fake tears.
"Dad!" Subaru yelled, wiping away his tears, he ran towards him. But instead of hugging him, Kenichi pulled Subaru closer and rubbed his fist on his head. "How are you, idiot son of mine?"
The atmosphere suddenly turned dull. Both of them knew about his fate, both of them knew how much he had suffered, how much he had died.
But to their surprise, Subaru smiled, "I'm absolutely awesome! I met this silver-haired girl who's an absolute angel and the demon maid, Rem, who's nothing but nice to me, I'm living in a mansion with a tsundere loli and a foul-mouthed maid, the master of the house, the Clown is kind of a pervert but he is very helpful and the cat spirit, his fluffy and silky fur is the best!"
Kenichi and Naoko looked at him surprised, they didn't think he was going to be happy, they thought he'd talk about how he died over and over again. But no, Subaru had, "...Changed. You've really changed, Subaru." Naoko said.
"Well… being transported to another world does, uh, things to people."
"Naoko-san, hah hah, Kenichi-san, could you please hurry up… I don't think i can go on much longer…" Echidna looked like she had run a 10-mile marathon, sweat dripped down her face and fell onto the ground, forming a small puddle.
"Oh, looks like we'll have to get going anytime now." Kenichi said.
He didn't want to leave. He didn't want to leave Subaru behind in this cruel, cruel world.
"Do you want to…" Kenichi started, only to be interrupted by Subaru.
"I can't. i can't go back. I can't leave them behind." He smiled not knowing whether this will be his last time talking to them. He couldn't leave the behind, he had so much more to do here. He had to kill Sloth, he needed to go on that date, he had promised Emilia. He just couldn't leave.
"Very well then." Naoko said, she knew they couldn't persuade him. He had friends here, he had found love here, he had both gained and lost things here. He would hate them if they forcibly dragged him out of here. And personally, she didn't want that.
"Will you be okay?"
"Probably."
"Don't worry too much okay? We'll be leaving any second now. You don't have to do everything by yourself, ask for help if you need it. Don't hurt alone. Don't cry alone. Don't push yourself too much." Kenichi said.
"I'll try. I'll give it my everything."
"Don't lose yourself in the process," Naoko's hands were starting to fade.
"I won't." Subaru sobbed as he tried his best not to cry, "I probably won't be back for a while. You see, I've a lot of things to do here."
"We understand, Subaru." Naoko smiled knowing that her son is going to be okay. Even though he had died and will probably continue to die, she knew he was strong and wouldn't give up.
"Give it your all, idiot son of mine!"
"OI! I'm not an idiot!"
They gave him their final words as they faded away with a smile on their face. Subaru stared at the space they had stood at before bursting into tears.
_
His orange scarf swayed in the fresh wind that blew through the forest. He turned his head as if he had heard someone call his name, the rays of sun that filtered through the canopy hit his eyes as he immediately raised his hand to block it. He then called out to someone he knew wouldn't — couldn't be here, "Mom? Dad?"