Chapter 8-One Yam, two Yams
As bright sunlight shined down Into a room, a particular black-haired boy lied In bed, doing the usual, trying to oversleep the day away again. Seemingly as the convert of the sunny morning grazed his face, turning over on his side of the bed Subaru slowly started to open his eyes.
Rubbing his still sleepy eye and leftover drool on the side of his cheek, Subaru then turned his head over the other side and noticed Alec wasn't In the bed beside him. "Must have woken up before me, did I oversleep again?" Subaru thought as he got out of bed and stretched his arms out with a small yawn.
Going over to a nearby window and standing on his toes to look through It, Subaru noticed that the sun was still high meaning It must be midday at the very least.
Sighing In relief that he didn't sleep away the day again, Subaru's attention was then brought to a sweet smell coming from the nearby kitchen.
Yawing again and stretching his arms out Subaru then sluggishly walked to where the smell was. reaching the kitchen he saw Alec cooking something, "whatever he Is cooking, It smells pretty good" Subaru thought as he got closer.
Stepping a bit closer to the kitchen a sharp creaking sound was made on the wooden floorboard, alerting Alec that Subaru was now awake. Turning In his direction, Alec gestured for Subaru to come In.
Alec: "Ah, I see sleeping beauty Is finally awake, Well just don't stand there, take a seat"
Gesturing for Subaru to sit down at the table, Subaru walked Into the kitchen and sat down at the table, resting his head down on the table as he was still pretty tired. As Subaru rested his head down on the table, Alec apaired with two dishes In hand placing one In front of Subaru and one On his side of the table with a cup on the side.
Looking at the food In front of him, It looked like cooked eggs with bread at the side, and for what was In the small cup at the side, It looked and smelled like tea. Taking a drink out of the tea Subaru made an "ahh" sound as he started to wake up a bit from the relaxing feeling of the tea.
Alec: "I see someone's tired today, you must have had fun at Ram-sama's house last night huh"
Subaru: "Yeah, It was pretty fun last night, *yawn*, but I spent a way longer time there than expected and by the time I realized, It was already night time"
Alec: "At least you had fun, and that's what matters right?"
Subaru: "Yeah, While I haven't been here long, I can tell there all nice people, and I hope eventually I'll get to know them all better, especially those two."
The two Oni sisters, Rem and Ram, even though Subaru's only been at the village for a short period of time, something In his mind was telling him that he'd be spending most of his time with them while here.
Picking up his fork and eating his meal, Subaru thought about how he would get close to the two sisters.
Subaru: "While I do want to get to know them better, That might be harder than I thought"
Alec: "And why's that?"
Subaru: "Well…"
"The only person I spend my time with Is my little sister, I don't have time for others"
Thinking back to the words Ram told him back In the forest, and the way the two sisters were always so close, Subaru realized he would have to try a lot harder to be a part of what they had.
Subaru: "they are very close, after all, heh, I feel like I'm some kind of third wheel around them"
Laughing a bit at this Alec reached over the table and ruffed up Subaru's hair
Alec: "Don't worry Subaru, I'm sure you'll get closer with them, just give It some time, maybe It's your scary eyes that's the problem"
Subaru: "It's this early In the morning and I'm already being insulted?"
Alec: "Well I'm only repeating what Ram-sama said"
Subaru: "I swear, she really needs to work on her attitude"
As the two laughed away while continuing to eat their meal, after a few more minutes the two finished up and Alec took both plates from the table and put them to the side to clean.
Subaru: "Ahh, thanks for the meal"
Getting up from his seat, Subaru stretched away the last bit of sluggishness from his body and walked away from the table wondering what he would do for today, "Maybe I can go meet up with Rem and Ram and see what they're doing, maybe they're training just like yesterday" Subaru thought as he got closer to the door. As Subaru got on his toes to push the door open that led outside a voice called him out.
Alec: "Yo Subaru, before you go, do you mind If we speak for a bit?"
Subaru: "Alright"
Walking back to the table and sitting down, Subaru waited for what he had to say. Walking away from the table counter after setting the dish aside In his hand, Alec sat down across from Subaru, but he didn't look Joyce like he did a couple of seconds ago, his eyes looked more serious. Noticing the more stern look In his eyes, Subaru firmed his body and waited for what he had to say.
Alec: "Subaru, What I'm about to tell you Is important, so listen carefully Ok?"
Subaru: "A-alright...I'm listening"
Alec: "I wanted to talk to you about this yesterday but, Remember when you first used your magic, and how you were able to use It without difficulty?"
Subaru: "Ye-yeah, what about It?"
Alec: "Subaru, what you displayed yesterday...was beyond what I expected from you"
Subaru: "I don't know if I should take that as a compliment or an insult"
Alec: "hmm, think of It as a compliment, but Subaru what you did was Impressive, being able to use yang magic at such a high degree at your age is unheard of, only a select few magic-users In the entire country of Lugunica could do the display of talent you showed yesterday such as the margrave Roswaal L. Mathers, the greatest magic user In the country."
Subaru: "R-really?"
Feeling pride swell up In his chest, Subaru wore a smug grin and patted himself on the back, but his celebration was instantly shot down.
Alec: "Even so, doing such a feat at your age is very dangerous, since you're only a novice at using magic, you could have seriously gotten hurt back there, didn't I tell you a day ago that you could damage your gate If you use magic all willy nilly like that?"
Subaru: "Is damaging my "gate" a bad thing…"
Alec: "Very, It's the place where mana passes through, and If it's damaged, It could lead to things such as mana poisoning"
Subaru: "...Sounds bad"
Alec: "Very bad, so all I'm saying Is, be more careful next time, OK?"
As Alec scolded Subaru for the dangerous stunt he pulled yesterday, Subaru rubbed the back of his head with a "my bad".
Alec: "Well, that's all I wanted to talk with you about, why don't you go outside and play or somethin-"
As he said this he was instantly stopped by a "hold it just a second" by Subaru who cut him off.
Subaru: "What about our training, I thought you said you would train me?"
Alec: "Oh yeah I did but you know what, It's a really beautiful day outside so why don't you go take a break and do whatever you kids do, I don't got time right now for you anyways"
he said waving his hand trying to shoo Subaru away, which made him quite upset that he was trying to dismiss him again.
Subaru: "you're really annoying you know that?"
Alec: "Just one of the charms of being me"
Getting annoyed again that he was still treating him like a child (even though he was one….), Subaru decided he wouldn't retaliate this time and got up from the table.
Alec: "You have fun now, alright?"
Subaru: "I will"
Walking up to the door, Subaru got back on his toes and pushed the door open that leads outside. Jumping outside, Subaru raised both his arms In the air and shouted "Victory!" to celebrate his second day In this newfound world.
Looking around, surprisingly, Subaru saw no one Insight, "maybe I did wake up late after all?" Subaru thought as he continued to walk around to see not a single person outside.
As Subaru continued to walk through the silent village, his question was then answered as he saw a large group of people In the center of the village crowded around something or someone.
Getting closer and expecting from a distance, he realized what all those people had crowded around for.
?: "Ram-sama, how's your day been?"
?: "How's your training been going?"
?: "Did you receive my gifts yet Ram-sama?"
As the crowd of people got louder around, Subaru got on his toes to try to take a peek through, and what he saw through the crowd of people was the same pink-haired girl, Ram, being surrounded around them. Getting a closer look, Subaru could see that she looked quite composed and had the same blank expression as usual, but he could tell deep down she was annoyed.
Subaru: "She sure Is the star of the show huh"
Continuing to look through the mob of people surrounding her, Subaru backed up a bit from the crowd as was starting to get squished between some people as he was that small compared to everyone else.
Backing up a bit from the crowd and catching his breath Subaru heard a few light footsteps from behind him. Turning his head slightly around, the person who was behind him was none other than the blue-haired girl herself, Rem.
Looking over to Rem, he noticed she had a somewhat sad expression. Seeing how sad she looked, Subaru wanted to ask, to see If she was alright.
Subaru: "Umm, Rem are you alrigh-"
As Subaru was about to ask his question he was instantly cut off by a voice that could be heard from behind him.
Ram: "Rem you're finally awake"
Pushing through the crowd of people surrounding her without a second thought, Some of the people tried to get Ram's attention but she ignored all of them and went up to Rem and hugged her. Breaking away from the hug after a few seconds, Ram picked up on Rem's sad look and asked "Are you alright, Rem?" When this question was asked, Rem shook her head and looked up at her sister.
Rem: "It's because Nee-sama wasn't there when I woke up"
Looking up at her sister, Rem tells Ram It was because of the fact she left her when she was sleeping which she says it was cruel of her to do so and made her uneasy fro not having her sister around with her In the morning. At this Ram gently hugs Rem again.
Ram: "I'm sorry, It's just that you looked like you were enjoying your sleep so much, so I'd feel bad for waking you up...Rem"
Rem: "...It's my fault for not waking up earlier. But Nee-sama, please don't leave me behind like that"
Ram: "you're right, I won't then. Next time I'll call your name, Rem. But if you slept a little longer, I would've come back, this meetup would have been boring for Rem anyways."
Getting hugged and patted on the head by her sister, Rem relaxes her eyes, closing them while returning her sister's hug.
Looking onwards as the two sisters hugged, Subaru once again had a smile from the display of affection the two sisters held for each other. Noticing the boy standing at the side staring at them with a smile, Ram broke away from the hug, and soon enough her smile turned into one of disgust. Realizing he was staring too long Subaru snapped out of his daze only to be bombarded with insults.
Ram: "Do you know It's rude to stare Barusu?
Subaru: "My bad, It's just that I couldn't help It, you both just look so cute together, also can you stop turning my name into a curse? The way you're saying it is making it sound like something a lot worse!"
Ram: "It's just one of the charms of us sisters, also stop your staring or you might scare Rem"
Ram said as she covered Rem's eye's from Subaru, which Subaru of course didn't like as she was once again berating him for how his eyes looked.
Subaru: "I thought ever since last night you're opinion might have changed on me at least a little"
Ram: "hmph, just because my parents have taken a liking to you doesn't mean I need to as well"
With a slight pout from annoyance again from the girl's stubbornness, Subaru decided he would brush it off for now so he tried changing the subject.
Subaru: "...So anyway, what are you two planning to do for the day? I presume you both will do your training?"
Ram: "No, not today, I already planned out what I'm doing today, for my dear sister, Rem"
she said with a proud look on her face, which made Rem's eyes light up with excitement as she wondered what her sister planned to do for her.
Seeing that she was probably waiting for him to ask what she was planning to do, Subaru sighed to himself and asked.
Subaru: "And what might that be?"
Ram: "Well since you want to know so badly, I plan to make Rem one of my best meals so far, my steamed yam dish!"
Rem: "Nee-sama, truly is the greatest"
As she said this, Rem cheers her sister on with a few claps for what she planned, Subaru, on the other hand, had quite the opposite reaction and looked on with a look of disbelief as she was being praised for steaming a bunch of yams, which of course Ram took in all the praise with no shame.
Subaru: "you really are lucky to have such a kind sister like Rem to praise you for something like this, but I must ask, where do you plan to get the yams?"
Ram: "Since I plan on making a lot of yam dishes for Rem, It will require a lot of them so I plan on taking Rem up the mountain path near the village where all the yams grow, If you must know, It'll probably take up the whole day"
As she said this, Another question was raised In Subaru's mind. Thinking back a day ago when he first entered this village he remembered how the village chief seemed quite stern about training and the rules, and If Ram planned to take up the whole day, skipping training to pick yams, recalling back to how displeased he seemed at all times, he didn't know how angry he would be.
Not wanting another scene to accrue between Ram and the chief, Subaru tried to reason with her, but to no avail.
Subaru: "What about training, what would the chief say about thi-"
Ram: "Do you really think I care about what that old geezer has to say, I'll do as I please"
Subaru: "But…"
Cutting him off, and telling Subaru her logic, Subaru tried to poke holes in her logic but to his dismay, couldn't find a way to retaliate against It, So In the end, Subaru gives In with another small sigh. "Well I guess I know what I'll be doing for today," Subaru thought.
Subaru: Well If you're planning to go pick yams, you might as well need some help with that, so I'll go with you, wouldn't want you spending your whole day picking some yams now, right?"
Giving It a few seconds of thought for his suggestion, Ram turned over to see If Rem was alright with Subaru tagging along which she gave a simple nod to.
Ram: "If you insist, you can come if you want, just don't get In my way, understand?"
Subaru: "Loud and clear Nee-sama!"
Saying this with conviction In his voice with a thumbs up pointed towards her, Ram then turns to Rem with a smile.
Ram: "Well then Rem, let's go get your yams"
Rem: "Alright Nee-sama!" Rem said happily
Ram: "Barusu, just follow behind"
Subaru: "Alright Nee-sama!"
"..."
Rem: "Nee-sama?"
Rem tilts her head In confusion In response to Ram suddenly turning away and glaring at the opposite side of the village. Listening to her, Ram says this while looking over to the village walls.
Ram: "Someone is trying to enter the village." Ram says while continuing the glare at the village walls
Subaru: "How are you able to tell from this distance, were on the opposite side of the village?"
Ram: "Just one of the perks of being me, but I can't tell what their intentions are, I'm going to go check this out"
Rem: "-W-we should get hel..."
Rem says as she walked up behind Ram but was stopped by a hand blocking her from getting closer.
Ram: "I won't be gone for long. Rem you stay behind with Barusu and…"
Subaru: "I agree with Rem, I think we should get help, It could be dangerous"
Ram: "Did you already forget who I am Barusu? If it's an enemy, I'll have no problem wiping them out."
"..."
Realizing he couldn't stop her, Ram walked to where the sound could be heard until she was stopped by a hand holding her hand back.
Rem: "I want to go! If Nee-sama is going, I'm coming too!"
Ram: "..Rem.."
Subaru: "Yeah, I'll come too, besides Nee-sama might be lonely If she goes alone"
Rem: "Nee-sama, please"
Since she was always getting left behind, her loneliness won over the fear of the unknown being. Ram pondered a little about Rem, who clung onto her, seeing Rem's sad puppy dog eyes she let out a sigh and said.
Rem: "Stay by my side. Okay?"
Ram gives that order, which both Subaru and Rem agree on with a nod, and they go to the opposite side of the plaza, the entrance that connects the village and the mountain path, while Rem continues to hold onto her sister's hand while Subaru ponders behind them. After a few minutes of walking they reached their destination as a few loud bangs could be heard from the outside of the village gates.
Getting to the gate Ram let's go of Rem's hand and shoves It open with incredible force which knocks the intruder off his balance for a brief second.
?: "Now what you do that for you, who do you think you ar-"
Ram cuts him off with disdain In her tone
Ram: "stop right there, swine. This is not a village you can simply enter without permission"
Ram blocks the village entrance, chest thrown out with confidence, and she declares that as she faces forward. Catching up to where Ram and Rem where as he was falling behind sees Ram stopping the intruder from getting any closer. "There she goes again with that arrogance of her's" Subaru thought as he watched Ram continue to throw insults one after the other at the figure.
Looking up, Subaru takes a look at the figure. The one who was greeted by the three little Oni's was a bald, old man that had on shabby clothes. However, the old person looked two times, maybe even three times taller than the average person at the village.
When Subaru continued to look up at the figure he got a glance at Subaru, which made Subaru avert his gaze from how intimidating he looked while the old man's face relaxed a bit from seeing him.
?: "Oh, It's the little Oni's of this village. Back then there weren't any children."
At first, the old man was angry from being pushed, but once he found out he was dealing with children, he immediately made a relieved look. However, Ram snorted her nose as she went "huh" In response to that reaction, and said.
Ram: "bringing up outdated information and acting as if you know someone is a trite and poor trick. Rem, get back. I'm going to tear him apart."
?: "You're quite the aggressive kid! Isn't your Oni blood showing a little too much!?"
Ram: "I'm am the reincarnation of an Oni God, and a famous prodigy. Not very memorable for your last words, Giant."
The old man responds to Ram's harsh speaking by stroking his head In a troubled way. Watching their interactions closeby, Subaru thought "Oni god?" brushing It off, for now, thinking It was just her being arrogant again while Rem became flustered by the situation while being left out.
Ram: "So, why is a giant, whose tribe is close to extinction, at an Oni village?"
?: "Hey you, a leader In extinction came to see you guys, Oni's who are on the verge of extinction. Show some respect."
Ram: "Acting all high and mighty just because you're going to die first proves that old people are problematic"
?: You sure are a charmless girl….you should learn from that boy and sister behind you"
Subaru gives the old man a smile while Rem hides behind Ram as the topic of the conversation suddenly switches to her. The old man makes a hurt expression because of that reaction, and Ram clicks her tongue loathingly.
Ram: "You deserve to die 1000 times for frightening my cute little sister"
Subaru: "There you go again saying scary things like that!"
Ram shoots Subaru a glare as well making him shut up, making the old man laugh.
?: "HA, I agree with the boy over there so Spare me from having it happen 1000 times. I came here to see an old friend, Setanta."
Subaru: "The chief?"
?: "Yeah boy, the chief, I presume he hasn't kicked the dust yet and Is still the chief, He called me over here because he said he needed a favor from me"
Subaru has only met the chief two times now at this point but from what he could tell, he didn't seem like the type of person to ask for anything. At his request though, Ram scoffs a bit.
Ram: "What does that old geezer want now?"
?: "I'm not sure, It's been years since we've spoken, so I'm just as confused as you are"
Ram: "...If you get the chief killed now, the role would be handed over to me and that would be troublesome, so I would appreciate it if you didn't try anything"
?: "the jokes you kids have these days are thrilling...but don't worry, I won't try anything like that"
After dropping his shoulders dejectedly, the old man squinted his eyes to take a good look at the three kids before him. Those eyes made Subaru feel a bit uneasy, mostly It disturbed Ram,but he looked at Rem, as if done incidentally, and It made her feel uncomfortable.
*sigh*
Ram: "Fine. I will guide you to the chief's residence. Even If you say you don't need me to, I'll go with you anyway"
?: "You're a cautious little Oni, aren't you. It's not like….I don't understand how you feel, though"
Ram: "Rem, If you ever think this giant is acting weird,let me know. I'll kill him."
?: "you're going to make me angry if you don't cut this out now!"
Rem: "O-okay, let Nee-sama know, right?"
Ram: "And Barusu….you can be the bait if anything happens"
Subaru: "Why am I the bait, I can handle myself well you know!?"
?: "These kids too!? What kind of manners have you been taught to welcome guests like this"
With Rem and Ram, Subaru walks beside them bringing the old man with them back to the village chiefs quarters. As they guided him to the chief's residence, a wooden building in the deepest part of the village. The building wasn't that different compared to the other homes In the village other than It being the largest. When arriving at the door, Ram goes up to it and knocks a few times.
Setanta: "What is it?" a voice could be heard from the other side in a grouchy tone
Ram: "Chief,I brought a large old man who claims he's an acquaintance of yours. Is he really an acquaintance?"
"..."
Setanta: "You may enter"
As Subaru and they Entered the lightly lit room, an old man with grey hair could be seen sitting at his desk, smoking some tobacco from his pipe. Looking up from his seat, Setanta had a stern expression on his face from witnessing the three children appear but as he saw the old man behind them, his expression softened a bit.
Setanta: "That face takes me back, Cromwell please come In, we have much to talk about"
Cromwell: "you haven't changed….Is what I'd like to say but I can see you've gotten quite old"
Setanta: "hmph,you're one to talk"
Cromwell: "Yeah you're right, I guess we've both gotten old, hahahaha!"
As their friendly conversation continued,Subaru was surprised to see the once stern chief he saw a day ago become something more friendly. When finishing up their small talk the chief then looks towards the three children and says.
Setanta: "Thanks for guiding him, you three. He's definitely someone I know. He's called Cromwell of the giants"
Cromwell: "I don't like that way of saying my name. I go by Rom now."
Ram: "What a crude name change."
Rom: "It just had to be done, That name doesn't suit me anymore"
Setanta: "Well Cromwell, now that you're here, let's talk about that favor I wanted to ask of you, and once again, thank you for guiding him here,you three are dismissed, go finish up your training no-."
Before he finished he was cut off by Ram.
Ram: "With all due respect, chief, I think a young person like myself needs breaks every now and then so I won't be doing that today, besides I already promised to pick some yams for my little sister."
"Now you've done It," Subaru thought with a worried expression as he saw the chief look at Ram with annoyance for what she planned, while Ram stared at him with her usual blank expression showing him that she was serious. Feeling the tension In the room again, Subaru backed off a bit as he saw they got back into another heated glaring content, but surprisingly to him,After a few seconds the chief said "very well" and shooed off the three children In the room with Subaru closing the door behind him.
Rom: "Hahaha! I didn't think you would let them off so easily, you've changed Setanta, back then you were much more of a stickler for the rules"
Setanta: "I don't have the energy today to deal with them, especially that girl, so I'll let It slide just this once, besides you and I have some catching up to do,Cromwell."
After closing the door behind him, Subaru with a sigh of relief whipped off the sweat from his forehead as he calmed down from leaving the chief's room which was building with tension. Right beside him was Rem and he could tell she was also a bit shaken from being there.
Subaru: "...That was close, I thought he was for sure going to explode"
Ram: "I had that situation under control, You worry too much Barusu"
Rem: "I wonder why that guest came to this village"
Ram: "Who knows? He at least knows where this village is, so he's definitely a worthless acquaintance of the chief. Which means that he probably has some very worthless things to do."
Rem: "...So now that we're done here...can we go do what Nee-sama planned for Rem?"
Ram: "Sure Rem, I just needed to get those old geezers off my back, so now we can go"
As Ram grabs her sister's hand, she starts leading Rem until she is suddenly stopped again. Turning around she sees Rem holding her hand back, tilting her head In confusion at what Rem was doing, Ram asks "Is everything ok?" Rem lets go of Ram's hand and brings her head down and asks In a passive tone.
Rem: "...And if possible...If Nee-sama needs anything or needs help….then Rem wants to help, I might not be able to do much...but I really want to be useful to you."
At Rem's word's Ram's eyes softened a bit, facing Rem who now had her head down rubbing her fingers together, she went up to her and rubbed her sky blue hair.
Ram: "It's okay. Just having Rem care about me like that makes me 100 times stronger. I'm already this amazing, so whit that, now I'm unstoppable."
Rem: "Nee-sama Is amazing…"
Ram: "Yes, I'm amazing. I mean I'm Rem's older sister after all"
That made Rem feel embarrassed, but It made her so that It seemed like her body was going to melt. At the love between the two sisters Subaru wore a bright smile.
Ram: "Now let's go, Rem. I want to make something special just for you"
Rem: "O-okay Nee-sama!"
she says with a bright smile as Ram took her hand as she led her to the fields.
Subaru: "W-wait for me!" Subaru said as the two were now far ahead of him.
After a minute or so of running, Subaru finally caught up to them, stopping in place to catch his breath Subaru looked up at Ram who was now looking straight out to the field with Rem at her side.
Subaru: "huff* huff*, why'd you two run off like that?
"..."
Subaru: "What are you two looking a-"
Looking In front of him to what the two were staring at was the field...but It looked much damper..going into the large field and stepping on the grass, Subaru noticed It was completely wet.
Ram: "The field Is wet"
Subaru: "I can see that"
Ram: "It must've been from yesterday's storm, meaning the field still hasn't dried off yet.
Subaru: "meaning?"
Ram: "Meaning I can't get Rem's yam's today, It'll have to do another time, when this Is over"
Rem: "...So does this mean I won't get to try what Nee-sama wanted to make for Rem?..."
Ram: "Yes, I'm sorry Rem, but I rather not you get sick over something like this, we can always do this another time?"
Rem: "O-oh...alright Nee-sama"
Ram: "Come, let's go home, I'll make you something even better"
Grabbing Rem's hand, she starts leading Rem away with Subaru still staring towards the field.
As they walked by him, In the corner of his eye Subaru noticed the glint of sadness reflected In Rem's eye's, "There's that look again", Subaru didn't like that look.
It was that same look she always made, the same look he saw when he went over to her home…and for some reason..seeing how sad Rem looked, somewhat reminded him of himself back In his old world...Subaru knew that look all too well.
"Why do you have to look at me with such eyes, Rem?"
not wanting things to end like this, Subaru put his hands up, trying to stop them.
Subaru: "W-wait just a second!" Subaru said with his hands up In the air.
As the two heard Subaru's scream, Ram looked back to tell Subaru off but Rem all of a sudden put's her hand on her shoulder and pointed a finger towards Subaru.
Rem: "Nee-sama, look"
Looking over towards Subaru, she then wore a surprised expression, as…Subaru, now before them, was covered In some sort of breeze...It looked like.
Ram: "Wind magic"
Ram knew of this type of magic, It was her specialty, but something about this boy's magic felt different..It felt powerful, Surprisingly powerful. Not wanting Rem to get In the way, she hid her behind her body.
And In an Instant, The wind that was surrounded around Subaru like a whirlwind, with the sand at his feet also starting to spiral with him In the center, the wind around him gushed out towards the large field In one fell swoop, clearing the water entirely out of sight.
Subaru: "Huff* huff*, so now with that out of the way, why don't we go pick us some yams"
Subaru said with a bright smile and a thumbs up pointed towards them...but his victory was short-lived as Subaru collapsed, backward on the grass.
Rem: "Nee-sama, we need to go help him!"
Rem lets go of Ram's hand and run's towards the collapsed boy now on the ground. As Rem knelt down next to him, Rem had a now worried look, and before she got even more worried she felt a hand on her shoulder.
Rem: "Nee-sama…"
Ram: "Don't worry Rem, he's just unconscious, give him a few minutes and he'll wake up"
Rem: "..."
Ram: "He'll be okay Rem, trust me"
Rem: "A-alright Nee-sama"
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
After a half an hour had passed, Subaru's eye's slowly began to flicker and after a while began to open from a bright light hitting his eye, "What just happened?" Subaru thought as he looked up towards the bright sky. "Did I oversleep again?" Subaru said as he continued to look up, as he turned his head to get his eye out of the light, something felt strange...the ground felt soft.
"What Is this?" Subaru thought to himself
Rem: "Nee-sama, Nee-sama, look he's awake"
Ram: "Took him long enough"
Hearing a soft voice from behind, Subaru turned his head back up and looked behind him still laying on the ground and noticed Rem was looking down at him...but there was something else he noticed...he finally figured out why the ground was so soft, as it wasn't actually the ground his head was resting on but rather his head was resting In Rem's lap.
As a beat Red blush formed on Subaru's face, Subaru got up from the girl's lap In a Instant.
Subaru: "R-rem-rem, what are you doing?" Subaru stuttered still with a beat red blush as Rem was giving him a lap pillow.
Rem: "Well...ummm,"
Ram: "After you fell unconscious from the stunt you pulled earlier, my dear sister rem hear, decided from the kindest of her heart to let you rest on her lap while you awoke….even If I objected to entertaining the idea, she insisted" Ram said as she crossed her arms with a slight annoyance In her voice.
After hearing her explanation, Subaru then looked over to Rem, who wore a beat red blush on her face as well. Seeing this Subaru calmed down and went up to her as she still layed on the ground.
Subaru: "You really did that for me?"
Rem slightly nodded a few times to confirm. At this, Subaru couldn't help but smile, bringing out his hand he offered It to Rem who still layed on the ground which she accepted pulling her back up.
Subaru: "Thank you Rem"
he smiled at her, making her turn away from embarrassment, letting go of his hand to hide behind her sister. "Still shy huh," Subaru thought.
Ram: "well then, now that Barusu Is awake, why don't you tell me about the stunt you pulled earlier"
Subaru: "huh? What stunt?" Subaru asked, tilting his head.
Ram: "You don't remember? that wind magic you used earlier to clear the field of all the water"
Subaru: "wind magic?"
Ram: "Yes Barusu, that wind magic, that magic you just generated was very high and potent, and I'm wondering how a kid like you could have pulled that off, that's why I'm asking"
At Ram's questioning, Subaru just wore a confused expression the whole time, as he didn't know what Ram was talking about, all he knew was that he fell unconscious for god knows how long and woke up, the only thing Subaru remembered before falling unconscious was the sad look In Rem's eye.
Subaru: "I-I don't know what you mean, I'm a yang user...not a wind user"
Seeing Subaru's confusion, Ram then sighs and with a little gesture of her hand brushing Subaru off.
Ram: "Well It's fine, you don't remember anyways so I guess I can't push you on the matter any further, but now that the field Is clear, we can go pick your yams, let's go Rem!"
Rem: "Nee-sama Is the greatest"
Rem says with a happy smile as Ram holds onto Rem's hand bringing her to the field.
Subaru: "W-wait for me, don't leave me again!"
As Subaru ran and caught up with them, they spent the rest of their time picking yams until the clear sky was no longer above them, bringing them straight Into the evening. Walking back to the village with a tone of yams In hand, all three of them completely covered In mud.
As they continued to walk back to the village Subaru was pretty happy with himself as he got to spend more time and got to know the two twins better.
He remembered how Ram was competitive while picking the yams, getting Subaru Into a competition on who can get the most yams, while Rem stood from a distance cheering her sister on. In the end, Ram beat Subaru out, and on the way back to the village she continued to wear her usual smug smile.
"At least she had fun," Subaru thought with a sigh, as Ram continued on with her smug smile while Rem followed behind with a happy smile.
They return to the village from the mountain path like that, heading towards the gate, entering.
Subaru: "Well that was fun"
Ram: "Now that I got all these yams, I can finally make the dish I wanted for Rem"
Rem: "And I can't wait to try It!"
Seeing how happy Rem was, Subaru laughed.
Subaru: "Ha, well enjoy your yams, I guess I'll see you guys later then?"
Saying his goodbyes and going their separate ways back to their respected homes, they suddenly stopped. The reason being because they were two long shadows walking towards them, bathing In the setting sun.
Ram: "The chief and the giant person?"
The two people walking towards them were none other than Rom, who they guided to the residence a few hours ago, and Setanta walking beside him. Once again, the two old men appeared to have noticed the three children's return to the village as one of them said,
Setanta: " I see you've finished picking your yams?"
Ram: "Yes, as It's my only hobby. So are you done with your evil scheme?"
Ram's remark to Setanta, who had a grim look, even had a bite In it. Which only made Satenta glare down at her as she gladly returned one back. However, a big gigantic old person shook his head between the two who were about to cause a sense of insecurity.
Rom: "can you stop being tense with a kid? It's shameful. Besides, your opinion isn't going to get you anywhere…..It looks like she's not convinced.
Setanta: "That's because she's still young. Should she start to have self-awareness and pride, things will take care of themself"
Rom: "you oughtn't treat her like a kid only when It's convenient. Plus, well, In my eyes, It looks like this girls nature has nothing to do with age and readiness"
Ram: "..."
Ram calmly answers Rom's eyes, which seemed like they were seeing through her, with a wise expression of her own eyes. Subaru understood that Setanta and Rom were probably talking about Ram and Rem, but he still couldn't understand the details, but for Rem, she could sense her sister resented whatever It was.
Rom: "Anyways, my answer Is final. I'm pretty worn out"
Setanta: "You've lost your touch, Cromwell. Or maybe I should say you don't take the initiative anymore?"
Rom: "Well I have gotten old. You and I, It's the same deal for both of us."
Rom responds quietly to Setanta hateful sounding remarks, and he turns his back to him, stepping hard on the ground. The old man sought to leave the village as he got closer to the gates. As he passed through the three children he patted Subaru on his head with his large hand saying "take care kid" but as he passed through Rem and Ram, he looked down at them with a smile and said,
Rom: "Always be close sisters. Don't forget that."
Rom leaves these words behind as he opens up the village main gates, passing through as he disappeared In the distance. Watching that large back become distant, Subaru said nothing. In confusion, at this point he just wanted Ram or Setanta to move so the situation could end quickly.
Setanta: "He may be like that, but he was once a warrior, not a single trace of his former self is left"
However, In contrast with Subaru's wish, Setanta started talking about the old man that left. Subaru knore Rem could understand the details, but Ram snorted In response.
Ram: "Time changes people. The change Is unavoidable for better or worse."
Setanta: "He got involved with people too much for such a long time. He pandered that much to people he must've hated, so much that his anger faded over time. A worthless weakling"
The grey elder grinds his teeth, and he spits towards the back that couldn't be seen anymore. Subaru remembers the words Rom said and the eyes he had when he left.
He felt like those eyes didn't have the spineless weakness the chief was calling him out for. there were the emotions of treasuring someone In those eyes. The eyes of his parents. That would definitely be the reason why he'd seem so different from back then.
But Subaru didn't even have the courage needed to say that out loud.
Setanta: "There's not a chance I'll see his face again. I feel relieved."
Ram: "congrats on losing one of the few friends you have. I'd like to celebrate by treating you to some steamed potatoes. How about It?"
Setanta: "unfortunately I'm not In the mood for it. Perhaps another time. "
Saying this the chief walks away from the village gates, back Into the depths of the village back to his quarters.
*sigh*
Ram: "Finally those old geezers are gone, now I can finally make my special dish for Rem. Well, Barusu, this is goodbye, come on Rem!"
Rem: "Alright Nee-sama!"
Waving them goodbye as they also were no longer In sight, Subaru sighed to himself and with a happy smile, walked back to his house,awaiting to see what would be In store for him In the next coming days.
A/N: "Well, It's been a while, huh, The main reason why I've been gone for so long was because I had lots of work, and I mean lots of work to do, but hey I'm back. And also to answer some questions on If Subaru will become strong, all I have to say Is wait and see! And with that, I hope you enjoyed it, thanks for reading!