It has been a week since Subaru saved that couple.
The concept of being a hero appealed greatly to him.
The ability to help those who couldn't help themselves while he knew it was a cliché thing, but he still loved it.
To not draw too much attention Subaru did his best to quickly help those in need then leave quickly.
It also made Subaru really happy that he could fight alongside his spirits.
He loved them and didn't want them to leave him like Beatrice.
So he always did his best to make them happy.
And even if it was unnecessary the spirits were happy
And Halibel
Well when news began to spread of a new hero with spirits named Neo
Halibel obviously knew Subaru was Neo
And when he confronted Subaru on the persona, Subaru simply told him that he wanted his real name to remain secret for as long as possible, Halibel agreed to keep it a secret.
But Halibel told Subaru that if he wanted to be a Hero, he would have to up his training
Subaru agreed with a smile
...
It was a peaceful day outside, some say that if you stopped talking you could hear bird's singing while the rivers flowed... and the explosions coming from Halibel's training ground
"Subaru, at least try to hit me." Mocked Halibel who was having no problems dodging Subarus attacks
"Toph try to restrain his movement, Shami, use Shamak."Subaru communicated telepathically through his contract.
Halibel found himself in the middle of the Shamak but it was nothing to him as he jumped high in the air to avoid any possible attacks Subaru had planned than with single mana infused kuni blew away all the Shamak.
"Subaru I said hit me not waste mana."
Subaru took a deep breath to calm his nerves, one important lesson Halibel taught him was to never lose focus in a fight.
Subaru locked eyes with Halibel not breaking his connection
And...
Shami began to glow
"Wait what?"
Subaru said out loud looking away from Halibel
And this resulted in a blunted Kuni being thrown into his stomach
"GAH! OH REALLY? NOT FAIR!" Subaru yelled angry
"Remember what I said?" Halibel replied Calmly
"Whatever." Subaru rolled his eyes as he turned back to Shami
"Subaru it appears I've evolved into a spirit." Said Shami through their contact
"So what does that mean?" Asked Subaru
"Well, I should be able to produce a new spell called Minya."
"Minya? Wait a second that's a really strong spell." Subaru got excited as he recalled the times Beatrice used it
"Indeed but I can currently only summon a few of those crystals at once."
"Good enough."
Subaru was suddenly hit with another Kuni, while this one hurt a lot less it still stung
"HAY!" Subaru yelled
"What? Isn't your break over?" Halibel smirked
"You bet, prepare to taste the power of Minya!" Subaru struck a pose as his Yin spirit Shami crated a few Minya crystals."
"Wait Shami."
Shami halted from throwing the crystals
"Hay Blaise lend some support with ice crystals, please. And Aeolus try using your wind to increase the speed of the crystals." Subaru said through his mind
"I would prefer to use fireballs, but sure thing Subaru." Blaine powered up
"Hmph fine I'll help you I suppose, but only if you offer praise after." Said Aeolus
"Fine, fine just work your magic."
Subaru keeping his eyes on Halibel the whole time lifted his hand
Halibel watched with curiosity
Then Subaru snapped
The three spirits launched their attacks
Even Halibel was a little surprised to see the teamwork being pulled off by such an amateur
Halibel still dodged the crystals
And when they passed Halibel they tore through a few trees before coming to a haunt and deserialising
"Ok girls let's do some hand to hand combat."
The spirits agreed and powered Subaru up with their Mana reserves
With so many physical and mental enchantments applied at once and the spirits still using ranged attacks, Subaru knew he would hit Halibel
Subaru charged at Halibel moving around the same speed as Felt using her divine protection
Subaru sent a punch at Halibel's gut
Halibel proceeded to grab his arm and throw him over his shoulder
Subaru landed on his back losing the focus to maintain his mana boosters
"Dam it, how on earth did you get so strong?" Subaru asked
"I trained," Halibel said
"And you're not even using mana boosters. *sigh*" Subaru felt crushed as his master plan of running in and punching the skilled ninja wolf failed
"Subaru, you know what your missing?"
"What, more power?" Subaru retorted
"Nope, a basic hands-on weapon."
Subaru thought about it but declined
"Maybe it would help but I wanna get strong with magic and magic alone."
"Oh interesting, well if you think I'm talking about swords I'm not, a simple long dagger or two would help heaps when it comes to blocking magic attacks and other sword-like weapons. Plus I heard you can infuse bladed and are owed weapons with magic."
This actually sounded appealing to Subaru as he recollects his fights with Elsa.
Elsa was able to block ice crystals and Minya crystals effortlessly
Subaru made his mind up
"Alright Mr Wolf, you've convinced me, I'll get two daggers for close-range combat."
Halibel smiled
"You may do that when training finishes for the day Subaru."
...
Subaru left training worn out
Needing to have Aqua healing him while using several mana boosters just to walk normally
"Ok, girls it's time to buy a pair of daggers then bounty time."
Subaru walked into the weapons shop.
In there he could see a variety of weapons most were daggers or knives with a few expensive swords.
Subaru had an idea to grow closer to his spirits
"Ok girls"
He thought to them
"I want you six to vote on my first dagger. Whatever you choose I'll buy it and cherish it."
The spirits were taken aback by this
"Are you sure? This is a big quite the responsibility your trusting us with." Said Shami
"Don't worry, whatever you choose I know it's going to be perfect," Subaru said with complete sincerity in his mind voice.
So his six spirits set off, like a kid in a candy store they all examined different daggers.
Blaise focused mainly on red daggers or ones with flame patterns engraved
Aqua found a par of daggers with engravings of the sea
Toph and Shami seemed to be captivated by a dagger with dragons on it
Aeolus picked daggers that were silver except for the outside edge which was black
And Eon was interested in simple daggers, to her, the simple things were the best things.
After about 10 minutes of the spirits discussing which one they should pick, Toph and Shami won by a majority vote of two while everyone else voted on their own choice.
Subaru smiled as he picked up the dragon daggers
The beautiful craftsmanship of the dragons engraved into them was truly a sight to behold
Subaru walked to the front counter and paid the pair.
Subaru left the shop feeling a lot more confident
"Welp it's time to pick a new quest girls."
The spirits were all excited to help even if one was a little difficult
"If you want my help, then you better tell me more story's then we get home I suppose." Said Aeolus
Subaru had been telling his spirits story's of his homeland to form a stronger relationship
And besides that one spirit who probably left him for a larger mana pool, these were the only individuals who Subaru told this stuff.
"Yeah, I want another story too!" Said Blaise
Quickly all the reaming spirits began to ask Subaru for more story's
"Ok, ok girls I'll tell you a new story tonight sound good?"
"It's acceptable I suppose"
Subaru putting his cloak over his head walked into the Guild and walked over to the bounty hunters and quest board
And on his way over he noticed something odd
At the bounty and quest board was what seemed to be two short orange cat Demi-humans and a few large wolf Demi-humans putting up a poster...
"No Fucking way," Subaru thought to himself
While his spirits would usually scold him for such language they could feel that Subaru was extremely distressed right now.
Subaru quickly sat down at a table facing away from the group hoping it wasn't them
And he overheard them speak
"It's a shame that Julius-sama insisted that he searches the main city. We're stuck with these smaller ones. He's probably not even here." Said, Mimi
Subaru could recognise their voice immediately and it brought so much hatred up
But nothing could make him madder than hearing the name, Julius... we'll maybe the name Felix. But that wasn't the point
Subaru sat in his seat fuming as his spirits talked to him to calm him down
Subaru closed his eyes remembering the lessons Halibel gave him and took a deep breath
Subaru calmed down and decided to wait for those Demi-humans to leave
...
Subaru sat patiently concealing any hostile intentions he had
Listening closely but never acting
And when they moved away to talk to the front receptionist to probably get information Subaru made his move. He slowly walked toward the Bounty and quest board to see what they put up.
Was it a bounty for him?
How much were they willing to pay just to kill one man?
Subaru saw the poster and read it slowly
Missing person Subaru Natsuki
Have you seen this man?
Knight of the Emilia camp for the Lugunica royal election
If seen alert knights
Compensation will be given to those who can provide the location of Natsuki Subaru
Subaru's eyes were wide in fear
His heartbeat erratically
A drop of sweat rolled down his head
"Why would the Anastasia camp even help? And who else is in on this?" Subaru thought to himself
"No, no... ok this is fine, it's only a few Demi-humans, it's my fortune that Someone who can recognise my smell or I dunno fricken Reinhard isn't here."
"What's the wrong Subaru?" Asked Aqua who was worried because of Subarus sudden clogged mind
Subaru grabbed a random poster
"We are leaving now."
Subaru began to leave when he heard the person at the fount desk mention something scary
"Oh, new people? Well, I, unfortunately, haven't seen a Natsuki Subaru as you call him, but a new hero has rocked up into town by the name of Neo. He's a cloaked fighter who never shows his face and is standing right over there."
Subaru choked on his saliva
"Mask your emotions, mask your emotions," Subaru thought to himself
"Aqua, I need your mental boosters now"
"Yes Subaru" Aqua hastily replied
"Heya Neo was it?" Ricardo yelled
Neo turned around face still covered
Neo spoke in a calm voice with a slight English accent to it
"Hello, my good sir how may I assist you?"
"Hay Umm new hero guy? Please remove your cloak."
Subaru/Neo had prepared a false back story in case this ever happened
"I cannot and will not, I have sworn to my master that I shall not remove this mask in public for it represents both the countless hours I've spent with my master and my past." Subaru/Neo said Softly
"Ohh well then, see that scary eyed looking fellow on that missing poster over there? Well if you see the guy on it please report it, there's a cash payout."
"Ahh such a generous offer. Well if I see this Subaru Natsuki I shall report him for the lovely compensation."
Subaru turned around and walked outside
Once he made it out and wasn't near the Guilds windows he ran
Ram towards the rental Halibel allowed him to stay in
Subaru got inside shut the door and cried
He cried and cried out of fear
Even if he was stronger he could basically recall the events in that cell as if they happened mere minutes ago
" Subaru are you ok?"
"What's the wrong Subaru?"
"Hay... what's wrong?"
"Pathetic a man shouldn't cry... but please tell Aeolus what's wrong."
"Subaru you can trust us with your feelings"
"Subaru we care about you"
Subaru heading these words calmed down a little
He certainly had a story to tell tonight
A story of betrayal and heartbreak
A story of useless half-elves. Hardship. And a great spirit who was a complete disgrace.
Subaru fell asleep to nightmares
Sure he had them ever since he escaped
But this one was different
He saw Halibel his beloved teacher standing next to Julius
Subaru then saw himself being dragged away as Halibel received money
Subaru then saw a dark outline of Beatrice and Emilia standing next to each other no he saw everyone he knew in a crowd, a stadium cheering
Everyone yelling
Shouting
Clapping
Taunting
Cheering for his execution
And when the sword swung down...
"WHYYYYYYYYY!"
Subaru awoke covered in sweat
"no"
His breathing was erratic
"no"
And he began to sob again
"no"
He didn't want to believe that the only person who helped him out would sell him off for money.
Subaru curled up in a fettle position as he tried to ignore the growing pain in his stomach and head
"No,no,no,no,no,no."
His thoughts were completely clouded and he couldn't think straight
He could hardly breath
...
Then he felt some comfort
Aqua?
But bigger?
Then all his spirits manifested
All of them were bigger than Quasi spirits
And Subaru could feel that they were stronger
"Aqua no everyone you've evolved into spirits?"
"Shhhhh," Aqua said
Subaru closed his eyes allowing his contracted spirits... no true friends to bring him such necessary comfort.
Subaru cried knowing that he truly had someone who he could trust 101%
Subaru fell asleep but for the first time in months
He was able to sleep without nightmares
It was truly a peaceful feeling
Subaru woke up early
Early enough to where the sun hadn't risen yet
Even with mana boosters, he felt stiff while his face still felt a little hot
Subaru had a feeling that if he looked in a mirror, he would have a tinge of red on his cheeks
Subaru then began to think
Subaru still thought about yesterday
He thought about his nightmare
But Subaru decided to at least give Halibel a chance
After all, he wanted to consider Halibel as his best friend
Is it not right to give him a chance?
Subaru put on his cloak and stepped outside with an appa in hand
He wouldn't stop getting stronger and he would follow Echidna's plan
But only when the time was right
For now, Subaru had to go to training
Subaru arrived at Halibels training ground
He swallowed his saliva hard
He wanted to run away that's what he did in the capital
But he wanted Halibel more than anyone else to be someone he could trust
Subaru entered the grounds
He saw the usual Halibel was smoking a mysterious plant-based roll.
Subaru walked over to Halibel
"What's wrong Subaru?" Halibel could clearly see something major was bothering Subaru
"Halibel... have you seen it?"
"The naughty stash under your bed or the missing poster?"
Subaru's expression turned serious
"Firstly there's no secret stash under my bed... I'm not dumb enough to buy that stuff in a medieval-styled world... but more importantly, since you've seen the poster what now?"
Halibel looked at Subaru a little betrayed
"Subaru, I may be an assassin, but I don't assassinate friendships I've made."
"Huh" Subaru was shocked
"Subaru, I don't really understand why you're so scared of being found but you can trust this old dog."
Tears began to build in Subaru's eyes
"Now them"
Subaru caught a Kuni heading towards his stomach
"How about we begin training?"
Subaru smiled with a beaming smile
"Let's give it our all."
Emilia, Beatrice, Rem and Ram were searching the capital
They wanted to find Subaru more than anything
Emilia checked in daily with the other camps in hope of any information, and it hurt her every time she got nothing in response. Her sins were starting to become almost unbearable as she could hardly sleep without her mind wandering to the hero she abandoned. Emilia tried to blame anyone or anything just to feel better resulting in her becoming more aggressive and unpredictable. The only thing holding her together was the hope that Subaru was alive and would return
Rem was only fairing a little better, while see had absolutely nothing to do with Subaru's imprisonment and torture, it absolutely broke her heart. Subaru was her hero, no everyone's hero. He was a man who did anything to help others and always tried his best even if he was at core a normal kid. Rem could only imagine how Subaru felt, being betrayed and so hurt. Rem swore through and through that, she would help Subaru at any cost.
Ram wanted her sister to stop crying and also get Subaru back...
And Beatrice, Beatrice was doing the worst by far. She had fallen into a Great Depression after realising that all of this was her fault. She couldn't even blame the Archbishop since Subaru tried everything he could to reason with her. But she only pushed him away and got him hurt, no she didn't hurt him she might as well put 10 Minya crystals in his back and laugh at him. Her contractor betrayed by his own great spirit?! Beatrice's honour as a great spirit was basically gone and she accepted it. Beatrice wished for nothing more than to pull Subaru towards herself and hug him. She wanted him to say he forgave her. Beatrice would recall memory's of Subaru in her dreams when they first met, then she sapped him of his mana when she acted like he didn't matter for a majority of their interactions. And yet he saved her, promised her a bright happy future, and yet... she failed to do anything remotely similar for him.
After another day it was another fail
They had searched everywhere
Rem even searched a slum section of the capital where homeless individuals reside, Rem searched everywhere. She never took breaks and hardly slept as she would spend most nights searching for her hero.
But nothing
Rem and Beatrice missed even the smell of Subaru
To them, the witch smell on Subaru wasn't that of the witch that consumed half the world, but his own unique smell
They could recognise it from miles yet.
He wasn't close enough to find
Emilia called the group in for today to discuss their options
"Hello everyone," Emilia said with a depressed tone
"Hello, Emilia-sama what should we do to find Subaru now." Rem said Eagerly
"Well since we haven't found anything ourselves I say we ask Anastasia if we may use her massive line of information. Maybe they have found something new in the last 10 hours."
"It's worth a shot I suppose," Beatrice Said in ruins
...
SLAM
Rem furiously slammed her hand into the table
"What do you mean there's a new hero, that just suddenly popped up in Bannan right after Subaru escaped prison ?!" Rem yelled furiously
"W-Well you see this new hero named Neo obviously isn't Subaru, he was even negotiated by some of Anastasia's best soldiers." Said the worker
Emilia had a cold icy glare
"Describe his appearance now," Emilia demanded
"W-well he's male that's for certain and he's covered in a black cloak so nobody's actually seen his face or his identity. But it's not Subaru, you see when interviewed he said he had been training for years with his master and swore not to remove it ever..."
The girls starred at the man blankly
"Now, now it's not Subaru, Neo even said he would help find Subaru for the reward."
"... ARE YOU STUPID I SUPPOSE?!" Beatrice became enraged
"THAT IS OBVIOUSLY SUBARU HIDING UNDER A STUPID ALLIES AND A SINGLE LAYER OF CLOTH PRETENDING TO HELP FIND HIMSELF TO THROW YOU OFF I SUPPOSE!"
"Ok, ok jeez, tell you what since Julius is in the area, I'll request through Métia that he checks out Bannan new hero called Neo. He will certainly give accurate data."
The Emilia group walked out not believing the events that just unfolded in front of them
They swore to find Subaru and this Neo was probably their best bet so far
"Poor Subaru... he must be so scarred in and pain over at Bannan." Emilia tried to imagine how Subaru even got over there.
"Betty's Subaru needs help now I suppose! We cannot just wait around for Julius to find him!" Beatrice had tears in her eyes
Ram sighed "Beatrice-sama, it would take too long for us to get there, not on,y would Julius have arrived and secured Subaru by the time we get there, we mustn't forget the possibility that Neo isn't Subaru
Rem just wanted to see her hero again.
"Sister... do you think Subaru hates us?"
Ram didn't want to hurt her sister's feelings
"Of course Subaru doesn't hate us, and if he does I will beg for him to forgive us no matter what ok."
Ram hugged her sister in an attempt to ease her in any way possible.
...
Emilia brought this information back to the Roswaal manor
"Howww interesting, a newww hero by the name of Neo has shown up in Bannan only days after Subaru escaped prison. This truly is interesting." Roswaal spoke the last part with a smile, not the usual smile but one of relief, there was no way Neo wasn't Subaru. Roswaal just hopped he could persuade Subaru to rejoin them.
"Yes, that's correct Roswaal. And with all that evidence together I think it's safe to assume that we should move out now to find Subaru just in case Julius failed to find him or even Neo."
Otto raised a hand
"Yes, Otto?" Emilia said
"Ummm look as much as I want to go find Subaru the man who literally saved my life, I think we should trust that our allies from the Anastasia camp, I mean they're sending their best knight to go look for Subaru. It would be an insult to go now."
Beatrice slouched in her chair
"He's right..."
"Beatrice-sama?" Emilia spoke shocked
"If our allies are willing to go through so much trouble to find Subaru then we should at least give them a chance. And if Julius finds Subaru and brings him back before we even arrive at Bannan, we wouldn't be here to greet Subaru."
Garfeil spoke up
"Oh yeah? And wat, if it turns out Neo, is Ma Awesome captin, but Julius fails to bring him back."
Federica turned a little disappointed to her young brother
"Garfeil, while Subaru is a capable fighter, if Julius tries to capture or detain him, there's really no way for him to even outrun Julius... I know it's hard to hear but it's the truth." Federica spoke a little nervously seeing Garfeil's rage rise
"Shut ye trap, Ma Captain can beat the crap out of any knight any day of the bloody week. Don't ya dare speak negatively about him ever again" Garfeil spoke in an agitated tone
Emilia was in thought about what Garfeil said
"What Garfeil said has merit. We need a plan if Neo is Subaru but Neo can't bring him back..." Emilia said
"Welllll I say if that event occurs we send in all our available allies to revive Subaru. After all, there's no price too high for one of the greatest HEROS of ourrr time." Roswaal spoke normally
Beatrice huffed
"I suppose it's a good plan... after all Betty Subaru obviously would be hard to find and bring back."