"What the hell do you mean, we're not allowed in?"
"Sorry pal, boss ain't lettin' no lowlife losers into the party. Either get ya'self some new threads or kiss ya chances of getting through sayonara." A rough man replied, his tone brokering no argument or debate as he folded two large arms together.
Under the dim lighting and dark sky, the man looked quite menacing, his muscular body tensing underneath his uniform. The loud music emanating from the building only made the atmosphere all the more intense as Subaru stared back directly at him.
Otto despaired as Subaru and Garfiel looked just about ready to get physical with the bouncer, dreading the aftermath and potential ramifications of such an encounter.
"I beg your pardon, but surely our friends aren't so unappealing to the eye to warrant barring them from this fine establishment."
Thankfully the voice of reason broke through the tense atmosphere, as three of the most well known knights in the entire kingdom approached. The one to speak up being none other than the knight of knights, Julius Juukulius.
"A sight for sore eyes is an understatement, knighty. An establishment like the one we got 'ere has a reputation to uphold and the boss lady has a strict dress code. Either ya stick to it or keep walkin'."
Julius didn't budget, responding in kind as Reinhard silently waved to the fuming pair of Subaru and Garfiel with a tired sigh. Felix instead gave a peace sign to Otto and nodded in understanding.
"Then perhaps we could go through? Your boss lady seems to be a reasonable woman, so it should be within the realms of possibility that we could reach an agreement with her."
The bouncer stared at the knight in shock, allowing a few seconds of silence to reign over the group of individuals.
Subaru, naively, or rather hurriedly thinking that had worked, begun to stride towards the door. After his third step however, the bouncer slapped his stomach and let out a hearty laugh, tears forming in his eyes as if what Julius suggested was the height of comedy.
"Hahahaha, ya actually think that would work?! I can tell you're serious which makes it even funnier!"
A vein on Subaru's forehead threatened to pop as the dark-haired youngman had to watch the bastard laugh his guts up.
"Hey! What's the problem exactly?!"
Wiping his eyes, the large man turned from Julius back to Subaru.
"Ya don't seem ta' understand boy, what the boss lady says, goes."
Subaru continued towards the door;
"Yeah, yeah. We'll see what she says once Julius talks to her alright." He replied nonchalantly, only being stopped mere inches away from the entrance by a large hand marred with scars.
"It don't work that way, boy." The bouncer spoke, his shoulders tensed and his voice unshaking.
The two were broken out of their stare down by Reinhard, who felt the situation had escalated far beyond reasonable measure, placing a gloved hand on his friend's shoulder.
"Another time, isn't that right. Subaru?"
Subaru looked back to see pleading blue eyes, which begged he stop before something stupid happened. Not that it hadn't already anyway.
The youngman remained in silence for a few moments, before exhaling loudly and dropping his guard, as did the bouncer.
"Fine. Another time it is, then."
Julius and Otto sighed in relief whereas Garfiel was simply disappointed with missing out on a good brawl.
Reinhard smiled, letting his arm fall as Subaru jammed both his hands into his pockets.
"Nyaha, guess we're going elsewhere Subaru-kyun?" Felix giggled, wrapping one of Subaru's arms into his own, much to the dismay of half-elf's knight.
"Ya'll bailing?" The bouncer asked, not having left his post like a dutiful guard dog.
"Of course, should even one of us be denied entry then we treat that as all of us." Julius replied, Reinhard nodding in agreement.
"Well, I don't mind the three of ya stayin'. 'Specially that cutie in blue." He responded in admiration, hungrily staring at the cat-boy up and down.
Felix looked at him in disgust, nuzzling into Subaru as a means of pissing off the creep standing in front of the door.
Said creep continued to glare in jealousy.
"Alright, let's scatter then Cap'n." The Shield of Sanctuary announced, prompting his Captain to walk in the opposite direction.
"Yeah, let's do that then." Subaru spoke, clearly not happy with how things had turned out.
With those words, the group of six departed from the area, poorly attempting to cheer up a brooding Subaru.
As they strode along the cobblestone road, Julius was the first to speak up.
"So, before I lecture you on appropriate knightly behaviour, perhaps you could enlighten me on why you were about to come to blows with the bouncer of that club?"
"Don't bother with the lecture, it'd just make him pout more nyahaha." Felix nudged Subaru, a reddish blush forming on his cheeks as he quickly changed his facial expression.
"Seriously, the guy was such an asshole. Said we couldn't come in because of what we were wearing. This is the last time we take club recommendations from Al. Chill place my ass." Subaru grumbled, Felix patting his head as if he were comforting a hurt child.
"Subaru, how had you not considered there would be dress codes in such establishments? Not to mention bringing a fourteen year old to boot?" Julius pressed, Garfiel just cocking his head sideways in confusion at Julius' rather stern scolding.
"How the hell was I meant to know!? This place was recommended to us by Al. You know, that masochistic guy who looks basically homeless! Excuse me for not realising they would have some sort of standards when they let him of all people walk in and out like it's nothing."
Julius deadpanned at Subaru, mentally stumped as to how the conversation could continue after his friends...explanation. Rubbing his temples, the purple-haired knight sighed. Arguing would get him nowhere, and he'd rather not waste his non-existent energy reserves on such a fruitless endeavour.
"Subaru-kyun~ You knyow it's not very nice to speak like that to your friends." Felix gently whispered into Subaru's ear. While his tone wasn't aggressive, there was an underlying annoyance which was barely noticeable although very much present.
In contrast to his stand-offish response to Julius, the dark-haired youngman seemed to take the cat-boys advice on board with far less push back. Subaru losing the tension in his shoulders ever so slightly, he allowed Julius to continue.
Julius looked at Felix gratefully, eliciting a teasing wink from the healer.
"I suppose we will need to seek out alternative arrangements, although surely you two could organise some new clothing that would be more...appropriate? I can't be the only one that doesn't wish for such a scenario to occur twice."
Subaru grimaced as Julius brought up a change in wardrobe, he didn't exactly bring a lot, much less clothing that looked better than his tracksuit outside of his knight uniform. Something which wasn't looked at all too kindly around here apparently.
"Uh, not exactly…" He trailed off, Otto facepalming at his friend's poor explanation.
Julius once again deadpanned at Subaru as Reinhard and Felix giggled to themselves at the interaction.
"Okay, ignoring the fact that you are so ill prepared for such a simple occasion, is there any way we could perhaps acquire some new apparel to wear? Preferably so we can avoid a similar situation occurring again."
"Would there be any clothing stalls or shops open at this time? It's not very late at night so surely there would have to be somewhere we could go to." Otto pondered with a hand on his chin. Those around however, did not share a similar optimistic outlook on the situation.
"Unfortunately, I doubt it. Outside of the late night stores, most of the clothing places have shut for the day not too long ago." Reinhard replied, surveying the winding cobblestone roads that lay before them.
"Come to think of it, Emilia-tan did say something about making sure to bring extra clothes… Wait! Did she know that this was going to happen?!"
"Subaru-kyun, you should really pay more attention to these things, nya. You're a knight nyow, so how you appear reflects on how your lady appears."
"I know, I know. Jeez I gotta apologise to her for that."
"Anastasia-sama thought along the same lines before coming here, although she always has clothes and appearances in mind. I believe she brought a small wardrobe along with her, even joking that I would be allowed to borrow any such items if needed. Anastasia-sama is quite the considerate and thoughtful woman."
"Haaah, Crusch-sama seems to be more mindful of these things as well after recent events, nyah. It's a nyice surprise to be honest. How about Felt-sama, Reinhard-kyun?"
"Well...Felt-sama is still, erm, adjusting. Although, she has gotten much better. I can say with confidence that I no longer need to chase her down when I need her to appear before a crowd in a formal dress." Reinhard puffed out his chest proudly, recalling how the small girl used to wave her sword at him. Mainly as a means to avoid the tragic fate of putting on yet another uncomfortable and rather boring dress.
Both his friends in contrast gave tired, but supportive smiles. Content that he was happy, although feeling slightly sorry for him.
As the knights conversed about their respective candidates, the gears in Subaru's and Garfiels minds began to turn. A fact which frightened Otto as he could smell dumb shit from a mile away.
Noticing this, Felix looked between the three Emilia camp members who had gone oddly silent.
"Subaru-kyun?"
Subaru slowly turned his face towards the knights with a mischievous smile etching itself on his face.
"You know, we only have to get new outfits don't we?"
"Uh, that's right. Although I'm su-" Reinhard attempted to reply, however was cut off by Subaru.
"And it sounds like all our ladies have brought plenty to share." the black-haired teen continued, his smile widening in contrast to Otto's fearful visage. Garfiel caught on and was surprisingly supportive of the notion, mostly just because he could see the funny reaction Otto was giving.
"I already don't like the sound of this." Julius grumbled in exasperation, Reinhard nodding although with a faint smile that indicated he wasn't too against some dumb fun with his friends.
Felix was also following the whimsical idea, both curious and amused at the suggestion.
"Oh dear. Natsuki-san, please don't tell me you're considering what I think you are." Otto whined, dreading what was to come next when someone as crazy as Subaru came up with an idea.
Subaru adopted his most courage inspiring pose, looking at all his companions with determined eyes.
"Gentlemen! Let's play dress up!"
"Remind me again how this situation occurred." Julius commented, watching on with a neutral gaze as Subaru and Garfiel were flexing in the mirror. The two of them cycling through various poses and admiring themselves in the large pane of reflective glass in front of them.
The group seemed to have made their way off the streets and back to the nearby lodging they were staying at. The room consisted of two regular sized beds, the first having Julius sitting on top whereas the second was covered in varying clothing of all different types. Reinhard stood off to the side, quietly keeping to his thoughts as most of the noise emanated from the trio of idiots trying on different outfits/
This wasn't to mention the timber flooring which was also draped in a similar mishmash of differing apparel. A kaleidoscope of outfits that were ultimately unsatisfying for the trio.
"I don't know about you guys, but I can definitely see why Emilia-tan likes wearing this stuff. I didn't realise something could be so open and yet so comfortable." Subaru hugged the white clothes closer to himself, the fabric creasing heavily due to how much strength he used.
Julius deadpanned at his friend, who wore the strangely snug clothing that was originally meant for his half-elf mistress. While the length left a little too much open space around the leg and chest area, the width seemed to fit very well around his body. Although Julius wasn't sure why Subaru went so far as to put on the boots as well…
"Oi, Brotto, ya pretty thin around here aren't ya. Ain't got no meat on these bones." Came the voice of a rambunctious teenager, repeatedly prodding his grey-haired companions waist in curiosity.
"H-hey, cut it out! I-I'm perfectly normal." Otto replied as he desperately attempted to hold off the blonde to little success.
Julius watched the two in disappointment, before averting his gaze to the leader of the two crossdresser's;
"Ah, that brings me to my next question. Perhaps you could enlighten me on why you're currently wearing Emilia-sama's clothing?"
Subaru ignored the remark and continued to look at himself in the mirror, daydreaming of the young woman he was so infatuated with.
"Well, I don't own anything good enough to go out in so I figured we could outsource a little. Besides, this is really damn comfy! You gotta try the same with what Anastasia-sama wears!" The dark-haired teen turned back to Julius with a thumbs up, clearly missing the point of Julius' questioning.
"And pray tell, why would I do such a thing?"
"Because she said you could? C'mon, aren't you just a little bit curious?" Subaru teased, pointing at Julius with a smile.
Julius made no indication of moving from his current spot on the bed, prompting Subaru to press further;
"Please, at least do it so we aren't the only ones in candidate cosplay. You don't even have to go out like this, just have a little bit of fun. Think of it as an activity we can all get along together over."
The knight of knights sighed in exasperation.
"Not a word about this to anyone, is that understood?"
The dark-haired young man smirked happily as Julius moved towards his own candidate's room.
"Crystal."
Reinhard chose that moment to speak up, sauntering over to Subaru with a questioning gaze.
"Are you sure this is a wise idea?" The Sword Saint asked.
"Since it's an idea I came up with, probably not. But, what can you do I guess." Subaru shrugged.
Turning towards his other companions, he observed how both Otto and Garfiel as well as himself were all now wearing Emilia's clothing. While really weird, now that he thought about it, they only had one choice if they wanted to get into that damned club.
Admittedly though, they didn't look that bad, surprisingly. While garfiel definitely looked out of place with his wild visage, Otto's more shy and soft demeanour fit quite well.
"Alright, now that we've got another one added to the cause, we just need to get the other two on board… who are also currently missing."
Snapping out of their weird wrestling match, Otto and Garfiel wondered the same thing. Where the hell did Felix go?
"Ah, Subaru-kyun, there you guys are." Giggled a voice from the doorway, it's tone playful and mischievous.
"Oh, Felix there you are-wait what the hell!?"
"Hmm? Is there something wrong, nyah?"
Indeed, to Subaru, Otto and Garfiel there was definitely something wrong. What appeared before them was not the cutesy and playful healer knight of the Karsten Matriarch, but a figure completely devoid of such features.
Eschewing his typical blue skirt along with matching stockings and accessories, Felix's appearance did a complete turn in the opposite direction. Draped in a deep purplish-blue coat, the healer knight appeared very much like the candidate he represented. Even the small blue ribbons in his hair were gone, the cat-boy's brown hair now tied back as best it could.
Felix drank in the reactions of the three in the room, adopting the militaristic and confident posture typically seen being used by Crusch herself.
Reinhard on the other hand seemed a little more accustomed to Felix being out of his usual clothes.
"Crusch Karsten, pleasure to make your acquaintance, nyah~" Felix spoke, taking Subaru's hand in his own and observing the dark-haired young man's appearance as well.
"Nyot bad, Subaru-kyun."
"Forget that, what happened to you!? Is it really Felix under that coat? I could have sworn I saw Crusch-san walk into the room." Subaru peppered Crusch's knight with various questions, eliciting a giggle out of him.
"Natsuki-san has a point, you indeed appeared very much like Crusch-sama."
"Ya do a good impression of ya lady, like Brotto said."
"Nyahahaha, well it's not hard~ Subaru-kyun, why not do your best Emilia-sama impression?"
"Eh, maybe not…"
"Oi, go for it Cap'n!"
"Mmm, Felix-sama did it. So it would be fitting if you did as well, Natsuki-san."
Subaru looked at everyone flustered, not all that confident with his acting skills, especially when essentially cosplaying as the girl he fell in love with. Wearing the clothes was one thing, but impressions were another.
"Uh, um. M-my name is the half-elf Emilia, p-pleased to meet you." Subaru stuttered, the stares he got just making him even more embarrassed.
Silence reigned over the room for a few moments, no one making a single sound as Subaru shifted back and forth in place.
"Oi! Say something at least!" He yelled, the others unfazed at the outburst.
That was until Garfiel began to cackle, every consecutive second making him laugh harder. The others responded in kind, Felix giggling along and Otto even giving a hearty laugh. Soon the entire room devolved into hysterics, as everyone attempted to steel themselves from chuckling any further.
Garfiel fell to the floor, slamming a clenched fist on the wooden floor in order to cope with the hilarity. Whereas Otto had to hold his stomach, laughing so much making it very difficult to breath properly. Even Felix joined in, having to grip his cheeks as his face began to hurt. Reinhard was not immune either, poorly trying to hide his amusement by not smiling. Although the corners of his lips being turned upwards was very much noticeable.
Subaru wanted to make a good comeback, but instead chose to wallow in defeat. The sounds from everyone making him more and more frustrated with current events.
"Okay! Okay! Why the hell is Julius taking so damn long!" He cried, the white outfit making his outburst look all the more adorable.
"There, there, Subaru-kyun. We were just joking around~" Felix said comfortingly, calming the pouting young man down.
"Ugh, right, right. Just, don't ask me to do that again...please." Subaru whimpered.
"Speaking of Julius, how come he is taking so long? It's been well over twenty minutes now." Reinhard pondered aloud, drawing all the attention to him.
As if by a twist of fate, a purple-haired figure appeared in the doorway, it's body covered in exotic furs and emanating a warm glow. Yellow eyes surveyed the room, noting how most of the other occupants were in a similar state of dress, each representing their respective candidate.
All eyes darted towards the individual, both in shock and surprise at the newcomers' arrival. Each of them trying to process who it really was wearing the outfit that belong to Anastasia Hoshin
"Erm, h-hi, y'all…?" Julius spoke in confusion, even attempting to replicate his ladies characteristic accent.
The room once again...burst out into laughter.
"Hey, any of y'all seen where one of my dresses went?"
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My gift to the lovely Syra97 for the Re:Zero Fanfiction Exchange even currently going on.
Props to them for giving me the prompt and to pidgie and her team for organising and putting this thing together, much love to all of y'all
P.S. Yes I know this isn't another 7 tales chapter