Where the fuck is chapter 4 of Stars that From the Future Syra? Where the fuck is it? I was promised a chapter with more Subaru's children fluff 16 years ago Syra, Where is it? I sacrificed my firstborn child to the goat god for chapter 4, Syra. I commited several warcrimes in Afghanistan just to get intel on where the fuck the google doc for chapter 4 is, Syra. Where is it Syra? Dyn died in a car crash and Grimbo was cancelled on twitter all for the continuation of Stars that Form the Future, Syra. Where is it Syra? I am going insane, all I see is among us, Syra. I need chapter 4 Syra please it will save me from Wannabe's cringe. Chapter 4 will solve world hunger please Syra. I need the adorable Natsuki family fic, Syra. Its been 16 years Syra. Please Syra ... Syra ...
Archer has been informed.
Wouldn't it be funny if I delayed updating this just to post on the three month anni of no updates? also sorry for this being so short
Crusch Karsten's letter created tons of work for the mansion's residents. In two days a candidate for the throne would arrive for an important meeting. Anyone with the status to request a meeting with Margrave Mathers deserved nothing but the best of treatments, and this was no exception.
In fact, this meeting was far more important than any other. While for the average citizen this was nothing more than a mere formality due to Emilia and Crusch's camps' alliance, for everyone involved the matter was far more private. Everything needed to be absolutely perfect.
For the past three days, the four maids worked the hardest they ever had. Frederica, Petra, and Otto headed to the capital to restock on necessary ingredients impossible to find in Arlam. Rem did double her usual duties, yet managed to somehow take the same time as before. Ram… tried her hardest. She took care of the little silver tornado of chaos whenever Subaru was busy with his own work, but she could barely keep up.
With only a couple of days remaining before the duchess' arrival, the mansion residents' exhaustion began to catch up to them. One day Petra had fainted on the floor, needing to take a few hours off to rest. Otto was caught sleeping at his desk far more often than usual, even Rem made a few comments about how tired she felt.
Rem, of all people. Subaru was shocked to hear such words coming from her. A loud 'thump' was heard as Ram cut a carrot in two, her knife hitting the table below. Subaru hoped for it to be just a coincidence.
With two days remaining and exhausted servants, measures had to be taken if the preparations were to be completed. After lunch, the mansion residents discussed the subject.
"I know it sounds easy but Roswaal… Can you just call more maids? Like how you did with Frederica?" Asked Subaru, steadying Chocorina on his lap as she ate a small slice of cake.
"Ah, Chocorina, you need to be more careful. You have some cake on your cheek," he muttered, getting a napkin to wipe the girl's face.
"It isn't so easy, I suppose," Beatrice replied, glaring with jealousy at the small half-elf.
"Bea~trice-sama is correct. Rem, Ram, Frederica, and Petra-chan a~re the only maids my household employs currently."
"Aren't you the most important noble of the kingdom? And you only have four maids?" Roswaal nodded before taking a moment to think.
"There is an exce~ption. I'm certain Clind co~uld help us in our predicame~nt."
"Roswaal-sama." Frederica interrupted, struggling to keep her tone neutral. "I implore you to reconsider that option. Clind's tastes are… particular."
Subaru nodded at Frederica's description. "Roswaal, I don't want him anywhere near my children." He pondered for a second before coming up with a solution of his own. "What if we help instead?"
"But I don't wanna work! I wanna play!" Chocorina replied, having finished eating her dessert. She turned to face her father's gaze, pouting at his decision.
"Ah, she's so cute! But I can't say yes to her…" Subaru rolled his eyes to the side, evading his cute daughter's face. By coincidence, his gaze met Rigel's. He silently pleaded for help, and Rigel stood up from his chair.
He left Rem's side, a pink light shined from his forehead and he disappeared from sight. Subaru quickly formulated a plan and hoped Rigel would follow.
"You don't know, Chocorina? Bad kids who don't listen to their fathers and work get kidnapped by evil ghosts."
Truly his father's son, Rigel followed Subaru's plan perfectly. As soon as Subaru finished speaking, the invisible Rigel lunged forward, grabbing Chocorina and putting her on his shoulders. She squealed before trying to squirm her way out, but the half-oni tightly held her in place.
"Ah! Mommy help me!" She shouted, tears beginning to form in her eyes.
"Rigel, don't be so mean." Emilia gently reprimanded him. Once she finished, Rigel removed his invisibility. Rem chuckled while Spica merely sighed at his brother's prank. Seeing Rigel, Chocorina pouted.
"Now, be a good girl." He put her back on the ground. "If you help I'll play with you."
"You promise?"
"I promise."
"Pinky promise?" She extended her hand forward.
"Pinky promise." He grabbed Chocorina's hand, both putting their pinkies together. Rem wiped a few tears off her eyes.
"Rem can't stand it anymore… Rem needs this to be a reality…" Rem's whisper didn't go unnoticed. Subaru laughed it off, choosing not to think about the implications. Ram clacked her tongue and crossed her arms. However, she couldn't stop looking at Subaru.
Emilia tilted her head up, her gaze meeting Rem's. Though both were apparently smiling, Subaru could swear he saw sparks flying. Thankfully, Frederica quickly took notice and defused the situation.
"Now Chocorina, I'll tell you what you and your mother can do together. Rem, take care of Spica." Subaru silently praised the blonde maid. Emilia left her seat and joined her daughter, leaving the room along with Frederica.
"Women 're scary."
"Garfiel, please don't say anything that might put us in their sights… I enjoy my life."
"It's not fair," complained Chocorina as she dragged a wet cloth along a window. "Garf and Rigel can play, but I have to clean the windows."
"Now Chocorina, everyone needs to work. Rigel and Garfiel made a promise that they'd work after this," answered the half-elf at her side. Both mother and daughter were giving the windows a quick clean-up.
"But…"
"No buts, or you won't get any sweets tonight." In response to Emilia's reprimanding, Chocorina pouted but continued cleaning while observing the three demi-humans in the garden.
In front of Rigel stood Garfiel a few meters away. At the side, standing beneath a tree was Ram, observing the pair.
"So, what did you call me for, Garfiel? Is it time for our duel?" said Rigel while performing his father's exercises as a warm-up.
"Captain told me ye' trained with the strongest in Kararagi. As the shield of the sanctuary, I need to see that strength." Garfiel adopted his fighting stance. Light reflected on the two shields at his arms.
"Don't over-exhaust yourself, Garf. I don't want to see your crying face after losing."
"No matter what, I'll never get used to auntie Ram's mannerisms…" He turned to face Garfiel with a smile. "Are you sure you want to do this? I'm pretty strong, you know?" Seeing as Garfiel ignored his bluff and was fully focused on each of his movements, he took it one step further.
He relaxed his stance.
"Alright then. Hit me if you can." Garfiel dashed forward, closing the distance between him and Rigel in a second. He punched forward and Rigel stepped to the right, evading the hit. Garfiel then launched a kick with his left leg to his ribs, but the half-oni easily blocked it with his hand and counterattacked with a kick of his own.
The exchange continued with each side trading blows, not leaving themselves open enough for a proper counterattack. However, Rigel had long moved from his original spot, being forced backwards.
He parried another of Garfiel's strikes but took a step backwards to recover some breathing space instead of attacking himself. Garfiel tapped the ground and the ground cracked open behind the oni. A pink light shined on Rigel's forehead as his horn manifested. He stood in place as invisible blades of wind danced behind him and turned the spikes into dust.
"Seems like I underestimated you. Time to get serious." He dashed forward and the tide of battle changed. This time Garfiel was the one slowly being forced backwards. Rigel's strikes were getting increasingly faster, stronger, and more precise than before. Every time Garfiel tried to use his blessing, wind would shred the earth to pieces.
The exchange continued in Rigel's favor. Suddenly, Garfiel noticed something wrong. The half-oni had left himself wide open after a kick. Was it real? Or bait? He chose not to take the risk and block.
He made the right decision, as Rigel spun around and launched a gut punch with his palm open. Garfiel was forced to transform his hands into his beast self to defend against it. However, it was not enough, and he was forced backwards wide open, a chance Rigel didn't let go to waste.
He followed him and did the same attack for a second time. This time Garfiel was unable to defend himself and he was sent flying towards a bush. Rigel swiped the sweat off his forehead as his horn vanished. He then approached Garfiel and extended his hand towards him.
Garfiel took his hand and Rigel pulled it, helping Garfiel stand up. The half-oni patted his back, a wide smile on his face as he said:
"Man, that was a good fight. I didn't think you would be so strong. If I hadn't used my horn I would have lost."
"So cool!" Garfiel half-screamed with stars in his eyes. "Of course Cap'n would have such a strong kid!"
Garfiel's enthusiasm caught Rigel by surprise and he took a step backwards.
"How did you get so strong!? Whatcha do for training!? Can ya teach me some cool ninja stuff!?"
"Garf, the fight is over. Now go and help as you promised," interrupted Ram, standing next to Rigel.
"But Ram, I-"
"No excuses Garf. Now go and cry somewhere else. My work won't be done if you don't start working on it." Garfiel slumped his shoulders in defeat as Rigel sighed at Ram's attitude.
"Ah, we'll speak later, okay Garfiel?" He turned to face Ram. "Mom wanted me and Spica to make some of Subaru's favorite dishes for everyone to taste, right? I'll be going now." He didn't go very far as Ram quickly dashed in front of him. With a nod of her head, Ram told Garfiel to keep going.
"So… What do you want, auntie Ram?"
"Take it out," she demanded.
"Huh… Did I hear that well? Take out what, auntie?"
"Your horn. Now." Her tone was as serious as it could get. Rigel obeyed and a pink flash of light appeared on his forehead. Ram extended her hand towards it but stopped midway through, leaving Rigel blushing slightly.
"Rigel, do you have a voice in your head?" Ram's question left him stunned. After a short moment, he answered.
"No. Why d-"
"If you ever hear someone in your head telling you to kill everyone, cut your horn off." She turned back and started walking towards the mansion. "Now get to work."
Rigel was puzzled at the interaction and about what Ram was talking about. He sighed and scratched the back of his head. He then followed his aunt back to the mansion.
Anastasia Hoshin lied in her office in one of her various quarters over Lugunica. An endless amount of paperwork fully covered her desk. Despite that, she worked without complaints. Taking one paper, taking a quick look, and then dumping it into either of two piles, one for rejected business offers and another for accepted. The rejected pile towered over the accepted one.
A gentle knock on the door distracted her.
"Anastasia-sama." Julius' voice came from behind the door. "A merchant and his bodyguard desire to speak with you."
"Without soliciting anything beforehand? How rude of them. Leave them out Julius, I'm busy right now. Maybe I can meet with them in a few days."
She readjusted herself before going back to work until Julius' next statement echoed through the room.
"They both claim to be able to read ancient Kararagian."
Anastasia dropped the plume she was using to sign all documents. She dragged her hand along her scarf, which seemed to purr under her touch.
"Let them in, Julius," she said, smiling ear to ear. If that claim was true, then this could be an excellent business opportunity, one never seen before.
A minute later, Julius walked into the room, accompanied by two people of around the same height. The first was a young man with short purple hair and green sharp eyes, wearing a white buttoned shirt with dark trousers. He was wearing a black apron on top of his shirt, full of various flasks.
Behind him was a bulky woman with hazel eyes and short, spiky black hair. Her body was clad in heavy black armor with an orange tone on the joints. The weight of it made the ground slightly tremble with every step. On her back was a blue cape with white fur.
"Come on Julius, ya didn't need to take away my weapons…" The woman complained to the knight.
"Forgive me. But I cannot allow someone to meet my lady while armed."
"Yer stronger than me, ya really don't need to…" she sighed and whispered: "I never won against you."
Having heard her whisper, the man with the apron nudged her while frowning.
Taking their eyes off the knight, both strangers stared at the merchant candidate. With their mouths open neither could take their shocked eyes off her. A moment later, tired of the gazes on her, Anastasia spoke.
"Will ya stare at me all day? My time is limited and we have an offer to discuss."
"Ah. Eh, uh, sorry. My mind went blank for a moment." The man excused himself as the woman at his side turned back and wiped something off her eye.
He coughed to focus himself on the task at hand and introduced himself.
"I'm Nikolai Hoshin, and this is my sister Maia Hoshin. We're merchants and wish to make a deal with you."
Julius walked to Anastasia's side, keeping a hand on the handle of his sword. The purple-haired candidate crossed her arms and slightly bent forward.
"Using the Hoshin surname… Ain't that a little daring from ya?"
Nikolai stepped forward.
"There are only three people who can read jap- I mean, ancient Kararagian. We have all rights to be daring, Miss Anastasia." Anastasia waved her hand with a smile.
"But how can I know ya really can?"
"How can you know we can't?" Nikolai replied with a grin.
Anastasia's smile widened and she lied back on her chair.
"I like ya. What are yar terms?" Nikolai and Maia stared at each other, both unsure of how to proceed. Maia shrugged and Nikolai turned back to face Anastasia.
"First, we'll get lodging nearby. Second, bring Natsuki Subaru here."
Both Anastasia's and Julius' eyes widened. He let go of the grip on his sword.
"Subaru?"
"What does the half-elf's knight have to do with this?" Anastasia asked.
"He, along with us, is one of the three persons who can read ancient Kararagian."
"And you'll need his help for some of the contents," Maia added to Nikolai's explanation.
Anastasia furrowed her brows at the vague explanation.
"I'm interested. How could two merchants I've never heard of before possibly know more than me and my entire merchant information network?" She froze for a second. "Oh, I see. You two are Russel's underlings. Is he too busy counting his dirty money to come and visit cute ol' me?"
Nikolai gulped and took a step backwards with a grimace. Maia approached him and whispered into his ear.
"Niko, you fucked up."
"How many times do I need to tell you not to call me Niko?" He growled. "I can understand Venti, but you?"
"You're no fun, my cute little brother," Maia said as she poked Nikolai's cheek. He brushed her hand aside and pointed at himself.
"I AM THE OLD ONE! I WAS BORN FIRST!"
"But I'm the taller one, oh my cute, innocent little brother, unable to understand a woman's feelings." Maia taunted her twin with a smug smile, playfully wagging her finger in front of his eyes.
"WE'RE TWINS, WE ARE THE SAME HEIGHT! YOU'RE ONLY TALLER WHEN YOU WEAR HEELS!" After shouting at her, Nikolai dragged his palm along his face, sighed, and turned back to face Anastasia.
"Forgive us, Miss Anastasia." He took a deep breath. "Rest assured, we're not here as per Russel's orders."
"But you were taught by him, am I right? Yer not revealing anything about your goals, just like that greedy snake."
"I cannot confirm nor deny that accusation."
"I like tha' answer." Anastasia's gaze hardened, wary of the two in front of her. Nikolai didn't budge, he knew the hardest part was to come. "So? What are ya here then?"
"To make a deal," he answered without wavering from Anastasia's attitude.
"Why should I make it? How do I know that your claim is true?"
"Mister Perfect Knight is at your side," Nikolai said with a slight tone of disdain, eyeing Julius.
"Julius." A single word perfectly conveyed her order. Julius left Anastasia's side, heading for the door. Anastasia continued as he left the room.
"Let's assume ya can read ancient Kararagian. How can I be sure I can get money out of those?"
"The merchant is not me, but you. If Anastasia Hoshin can't make a profit out of something, no one can."
Anastasia nodded in approval. Julius stepped through the door carrying a yellowish sheet of paper and handed it over to Anastasia. Nikolai approached her desk while Maia stretched her arms out of sheer boredom.
However, Anastasia didn't hand the paper to Nikolai as he had thought, instead waving her free finger.
"Before that, answer. What does Natsuki Subaru have to do in all of this? How will his help be mandatory to make a profit? And most importantly, how did you know?"
"While we can read what's written, he is the most suited person to-" Before he could finish, Maia interrupted him.
"He's dad, he knows how to make these things wo- Oh." She covered her mouth with one hand as she instantly realized her mistake. "I wasn't supposed to say that."
"MAIA!" Nikolai screamed, turned to face his sister. "I TOLD YOU TO LEAVE THIS TO ME, THE NEGOTIATIONS WERE ALMOST DONE!"
"I'm sorry!" She apologized. Her previous pride upon teasing her brother was now nowhere to be seen. "This was getting boring, can't we just tell her? We'll have to do it anyways!"
Nikolai groaned as he couldn't rebuke Maia's facts. Anastasia and Julius would learn at some point.
"I must ask you two to leave right now," Julius said, his gaze piercing the duo. He kept his hand on his sword. "Your foolishness is disturbing Anasta-" A laugh broke off, coming from the purple-haired merchant.
"Anastasia-sama?" He turned to meet his lady with his eyes open in shock.
Anastasia Hoshin was currently holding her stomach with one hand, hunched over her desk. She was having trouble controlling herself as the sound of her laughter filled the room. Maia and Nikolai looked confused at each other, unsure of what to do.
After a while, the merchant managed to control herself. She wiped a few tears while sighing.
"That's th' best joke I've hear'. Natsuki Subaru? A father?" Merely talking about it made her go into a small fit of laughter.
"Natsuki Subaru is around your age," Julius said with a stern tone. "Please refrain from such jokes and leave at once. You're bothering Anastasia-sama." The grip on his sword became tighter and he slightly unsheathed it. The rays of the sun reflected on its edge.
The warning was clear: If they did not leave, he would need to drive the twins out by force. However, the warning became void as Anastasia spoke,
"Let them be, Julius."
The knight closed his eyes and put the sword back in its sheath.
"I'll convince Subaru-kun to come here." Nikolai opened his mouth but Anastasia continued before he could say a word. "Ah, don't bother explaining to me why he's useful. He just is."
Anastasia started dragging one hand along her scarf. Nikolai recognized a familiar glint behind her eyes, one of greediness. However, it was soon gone as it was replaced by something else. Her gaze sharpened as she looked at the twins.
"I couldn't help but hear that ya two are hiding something from me. Since ya'll teach me at some point, why not do it now and spare both of our times?" The duo unconsciously gulped. Despite her words being a mere suggestion to save time, the intention behind them was far different.
After all, why would she make a deal with someone who admitted to keeping secrets right in her face? Someone more desperate might, but her? Anastasia Hoshin of the Hoshin Company? She would never take such a risk.
"As expected of mother." Nikolai let out a defeated sigh as he shrugged. "No matter how many lessons Russell gives me, I'll never be able to defeat you."
Both Anastasia and Julius stared at him with creased brows. Mother? What was he talking about? Anastasia's look of confusion soon changed to one of suspicion as her eyes narrowed.
"So ya we-"
"Waking up, we found ourselves on the streets and twenty years in the past," Maia said, cutting off the merchant her brother had called 'mother'. "Our surname Hoshin doesn't come from our boldness, but because you are our mother."
Anastasia's lips quivered. Her narrowed eyes widened until they couldn't expand more, and her mouth went agape. She stopped patting her scarf and her arm fell slump to the side. She couldn't focus as hundreds of questions went through her mind.
The knight at her side, however, didn't fare so well. He didn't buy any of Maia's words and his expression turned into a scowl. He turned to Anastasia with a hand on his sword, ready to unsheathe at a moment's notice should it be necessary.
"Anastasia-sama." His voice had a very small hint of irritation. "Please allow me to escort them outside."
Julius' words snapped Anastasia out of her short trance. She immediately dismissed all the questions in her mind. They held no meaning for Maia's words made no sense. Her? A mother? Russell going bankrupt would be a better joke.
"Yes, Julius. Please esco-"
"Echidna." Both twins replied in unison, cutting Anastasia off. She froze and her body trembled. Her eyes became wide open and she attempted to mutter out something, but couldn't find the words. Her scarf seemed to tremble as well for a split second.
"She is here, is she not?" finished Nikolai with a grin.
"Anastasia-sama?" Julius had not failed to notice Anastasia's sudden change in attitude.
"H-how…?" she recomposed herself enough to mutter that.
"We told you. We come from the future, and you are our mother. How could we not know?" Nikolai answered.
"It's been so long since… since we saw you like this," Maia said, her persona crumbling as she couldn't suppress her sniffles and tears anymore. "You've been too weak for a few years to even stand up from bed… Can I… Can I hug you?" she asked while deviating her gaze away and wiping some tears off.
Anastasia was too shocked to answer, yet Maia advanced up to her. Julius didn't interrupt, observing from the sidelines with furrowed eyebrows.
Now next to the purple-haired merchant, Maia extended her arms and hugged her mother. Ana didn't reject her embrace. With the armored woman sniffling next to her, she recovered some semblance of her usual self.
"B-but… how…?" she muttered, but no one answered. Given the bulk of her armor, Maia should be tightly hugging her. However, her embrace was just right, with the perfect amount of strength, as if she knew about her body's complications and was too scared of snapping her in two.
Not knowing what to do, she obeyed her instincts. They told her to pat the crying girl's head, and so she did. That only made Maia's dams break as she couldn't suppress her cries any further.
Meanwhile, Julius inspected Nikolai with a frown. While his sister moved next to his lady, Nikolai stood in place. He looked at the mother and daughter duo with a vacant stare, and then tightly gripped his knuckles until they became white.
Opening his hands, he looked at them for a while. He slowly moved his right hand to his cheeks, noticing a few tears running down his face. He wiped them off, but they kept coming. His sniffles were drowned by the sound of Maia crying as loud as she could.
After some long minutes, Maia finally separated from her mother and went back to her brother's side, who quickly broke the awkward silence.
"Your armor will rust with how much you cried, Ms. Great Waterfall." Despite the jab at his sister, Nikolai's eyes were red as well.
"Oh, woe is me, my brother has been replaced by an evil doppelganger." Maia effortlessly returned her brother's jab back at him. She then put a finger to her chin, as if deeply contemplating something. "Wait, if Niko can now express feelings, doesn't that make him a better doppelganger…?"
Nikolai struck Maia in the stomach with his elbow. His 'attack' was reflected with a metallic clang. Nikolai caressed his elbow while frowning at his sister, who had a smug smile on her face. Anastasia coughed into her fist to catch their attention.
"Julius", she ordered, "I wish to speak in private." Julius nodded and left the room in silence.
He took a last look at the twins before leaving and shutting the door close.
"Mo-" Maia was cut off by Anastasia extending her palm forwards.
"You might know me, but it's impossible for you to be Anastasia's children like you proclaim." A female voice rang out. Anastasia's scarf twisted on her own, turning back and revealing a fox-like face. "Stopping time is impossible, much less time travel. Not even the Witch can do that."
Maia's eyes turned downcast. "Then, you don't-" Before she could finish, Anastasia raised one finger and interrupted her.
"First, what's my objective, the reason I want to get the throne?"
"Use the dragon blood to fix your broken gate," Nikolai answered. Anastasia nodded and raised a second finger.
"What's my favorite food?"
This time, Maia stepped forward to answer.
"Mimi's special burned crispy hamburger. She asked Julius for help but Ia burned it." Once more, Anastasia nodded and raised a third finger.
"Finally… How do I sleep?"
The twins looked at each other with confusion.
"You mean posture?" asked Maia. "If that's it you always sleep facing the wall. When we were kids we alternated sleeping with you, but nowadays it's just Mimi."
Anastasia's smile faltered and her arm hung downwards. She leaned back on her chair, looking at the ceiling.
"So it's true…" she muttered. "I thought you were here for Echidna, but there's no way you could know about what I asked. Only someone who has known me for years could know all of this."
"So, do you believe us!?" Maia asked, hope entering her voice.
"The facts are there, so I have no choice but to accept them." She slumped forward, meeting the gazes of her children. "Natsuki Subaru is your father, right? We'll have to make a quick visit to the Roswaal domain then." With her hand, she ordered the twins to come closer.
"Now, I wanna know. How did you arrive here, and how has your life been."