Authors Note: what better way to prepare you guys for the next arc than a small fluffy interlude, enjoy.

"Ah-mmmmm" snoring breached the silence of the cabin ever so gently, the black haired boy slept soundly as drool escaped his mouth.

He tugged at his arms, moving himself into a much more comfortable position, but he found that to be increasingly impossible. As if a weight was on them. "Eh?" Subaru groaned in confusion as he slowly opened his eyes, gaining consciousness and leaving the realm of dreams.

"What...the" Subaru tried rubbing his eyes but he couldn't move his arms, so he just opted on blinking them over and over until they were moistened. He motioned his head around, taking in the view of his room. "I-I'm back?" It was more rhetorical as he already recognized his room, everything seemed to be in place, and his once shredded tracksuit was now laying on a chair, completely restored. Huh, Halibel must have fixed it...wait no. I doubt that guy knows how to sew...

The mean eyed boy shook his head as he regained focus.

Now it was time for Subaru to assess the problem with his arms, he looked towards the right of him, it was Lela, and she was sleeping so soundly as she nuzzled her head into his shoulder. "Lela..." Subaru smiled faintly as he said those words, no louder than a murmur. He didn't want to wake up his precious little sister after all.

We are already back? I must have been sleep for a long time. The raven haired boy was eager to know how long he had slept, assuming Halibel carried him all the way back, since their carriage was completely decimated during the evil Zarestia ambush on their way home. Honestly, the thoughts of that fight sent shivers down his spine, it also reminded him of his new ability he discovered.

It seems like every time I die I return back to a specific point in time...Subaru did a reassessment on the ability, he would have to experiment with it later. For now, I'll just call it Return by Death. He tried to pump his fist but his left arm wasn't moving, he realized another person was holding his arm. Someone he didn't recognize.

It seemed to be a girl, around the same age as Lela. Her teal blue hair was long to the point it reached her toes, her slightly tanned skin glowed against the sun peeking through the curtains, and her airy sleeveless sky blue dress reached just past her knees, it was adorned in gold linings, which were kind of hard to see since it blended in so well with the light.

"Aqua..." Subaru whispered to himself. Of course, it seemed to be the only logical conclusion, water was always connected to blue so it was an educated guess. Lela was right, you guys sure did get physical forms. "Ahhh, my family grew up so fast" He yelled as quietly as his whisper would allow him too, the two spirits only stirred in the bed further in response. Oops, let's be quiet.

So it seems they have physical forms, I wonder what the others look like. His face showed that of curiosity. He felt well rested, now it was time to start another day. But he almost shrieked when his door was brought open. A wolf man sticked his grin filled snout through the door as he stared straight into Subaru's eyes. "Ah, it's nice to see yer finally awake Su-Sa- oh sorry, I'll come back later" Halibel seemed enthusiastic but quickly tried to close the door.

"Come back here you perverted bastard!" Subaru yelled as the shinobi shamefully peaked back in, chuckling with a mirthful look. "I'm just playin' with ya Su-San, ya know I'd never think of ya that way, well...at least at this point" He huffed out purple smoke as he twisted the pipe in his finger tips.

"That doesn't make it any better you dog!" The boy's face was red with anger as he threatened to throw his pillow at him, but his arms were currently occupied. "Can you wake up any quieter Contractor?" Aqua had a tired expression as she slowly rose from her position on the bed, blinking innocently as she gazed at the mean eyed boy with a disappointed look.

"O-oh! Aqua! Sorry I didn't mean to" Subaru quickly apologized, opting to pat her head. He realized he had a better view of her eyes, they were gold, and the orbs of yellow entranced him, he could get lost in them. "Well...if your gonna apologize to her you might as well apologize to me too hmph!" Another voice cut through him, he turned to face Lela who had a pouting expression. Subaru sighed as he patted her head as well, now at the moment, The spirit arts user was petting two lolis. I think I may be in a dream.

Subaru would pinch himself to try to wake up but his hands were way into the gesture of patting the spirit's heads. Halibel found this as an opening to initiate conversation. "It's nice to see ya awake, you've been sleep for the past 2 days now" Halibel said. "T-two days!!" Subaru seemed flabbergasted as his face turned red. I really was that exhausted Huh?

"Ahem, Yer spirit there spent all day and night healing you" the wolf man said. The mean eyed boy directed his gaze towards Aqua again. "Thanks for healing me, it really means a lot" His voice held a tinge of guilt, but it was thankful nonetheless. "No need to thank me, that's just my job as your contracted spirit" Aqua puffed out her chest as she said those words, still reveling in her head pats. Subaru could only smile faintly, before he felt a tug on his other arm.

"As much as I want more head pats, it's time you meet the others hmph" Lela pulled on Subaru's arm to try to pull him off the bed. "Alright alright I'm coming" Subaru said, his voice perplexed at Lela's possessive gesture. "Yeah that sounds good, I'm cookin' breakfast at the moment after all" Halibel at those words noticed a buildup of smoke leaking into the room, which made Subaru breath deeper to take in more oxygen.

"Whoops! Gotta go get that!" The three watched as Halibel moved at the blink of an eye, disappearing down the corridor. "Alright you two, let's go eat!" Subaru said.

He went up to grab his tracksuit. Seems good as new. "If you were wondering, Lucius used a restoration spell" Aqua informed. This left Subaru quite surprised. I'll have to thank him later.

And with that, they all headed back to check on the others, who knows how much has changed during his slumber.

Subaru walked down the halls, smoke stinging his lungs. "I wouldn't be surprised if Sensei burned the house down at this rate" he put a palm to his forehead, the sounds of Aqua and Lela walking beside him. "No need to worry Contractor, I'm sure Hestia did a good job cooking the meal, she just got a bit..excited with her flames..." Aqua said as her face contorted into that of a grimace.

"...Hestia?" The raven haired boy widened his eyes as he realized what those words meant, but before he could act on them-

"I SAID YER STIR IT LIKE THAT NOT LIKE THIS!!" A howl of a wolf man shook the cabin.

"I AM STIRRING IT LIKE THIS! WHATS THE MATTER?" The voice of a woman, probably in her late teens replied. This intrigued Subaru but also left him with a sense of urgency as he rushed down the hall, what he was met with left his mouth wide open.

There he saw her. She was a woman, probably around the same age as Subaru going by her appearance. She had scarlet red hair that was tied into a ponytail, it's ends got more yellowish as the strands of hair shot into the air in an unorganized manner, giving the impression of a roaring flame. Her eyes were a crimson red that shone brightly.

The fire spirits clothes were also jarring, it gave Subaru the impression of an armored Kimono. Her shirt was blood red and her pants were black, long and baggy, this left the bottom half of her form to a mystery. What topped it off were the black geta she wore on her feet. On her left shoulder was a black shoulder pad with red linings. It was like she was plucked straight out of the age of the samurai. Subaru came to the conclusion that her influence was based on Kararagi.

All the mean eyed boy could do was gaze at the mess the both of them were making as he slowly shifted his eyes towards the table, he audibly gasped at what he saw. It was a woman, judging by her appearance she looked to be in her 30's. She had a smooth sultry look as her olive green kimono with grey linings flowed across her form similiar to Lela's, her skin was fair and glistening from the sun's morning glow as she blew at what seemed to be similar to Halibel's smoke pipe, her eyes were droopy and glazed, but her emerald green orbs still held life as they looked into his. Her saturated yellow hair was wavy and all over the place, flowing down to her waist.

What intrigued Subaru the most was that her kimono was slightly open around her chest area, giving him a good look at her asse-Ahhh!! Stop it stop it! Subaru had to hit himself several times to stop the invasive thoughts. "Ahhh Contractor, it is good to see you are finally awake~" her voice was so charming, like she was a snake trying to lure its prey. "A-Aella, is that you?"

Subaru pointed a finger at her, which only made her giggle in response. "Of course it is me, how do you think of my form?~" She stood up, it was then revealed she was a head taller than Subaru, which made him blush. "Ah-er it's perfect, completely fine!" The boy tried to cover his face, hiding his blush, but Aella quickly noticed it, motioning towards him. She embraced him into a hug, his face completely delving into her chest. "Ahhhh, ok that's enough!" The Japanese teen yelled, but the spirit only squeezed tighter.

"Your compliments make me so happy master!" Aella giggled with a gleeful look as she patted her contractor's head. Jeez, I expected her to take a form similar to this...but not like...this. Subaru had to get away from her as fast as possible less he does something he may regret. "Aella, please stop teasing Subaru, he just woke up, let him get some rest hmph!" Lela pouted as she pulled on the wind spirit's kimono, pulling her away. "Awww, well I certainly didn't mean to tease you that much, I was just so glad you were awake, the last 2 days have been so painful without you~" Aella sadly addressed.

I must've worried them all too much, it's best I make up with them. Subaru resolved himself to reconcile with his spirits as fast as possible. But he didn't get to finish his thoughts as he was thrusted into the ground. "Master Master! It's so good to see you back!" Hestia, who was too deep into her cooking finally noticed Subaru's presence and leaped unto him, nuzzling her face into his chest. "Wow! You sure are fast aren't you?" Subaru said with a smile as he hugged her back.

"Sure am!" She cheekily replied. He could hear the pouts of 3 other great spirits, so he knew he had done something wrong. "Alright Hestia, off ya go, I need some air" Subaru replied. "Alright!" Hestia said enthusiastically as she got up, Subaru got on his feet as well as he gazed at all 4 of them. So that's four down, two to go.

After a brief talk with the four of them, he asked Hestia if she knew where Flint and Lucius were, to which she pointed out that they were outside in the clearing.

Subaru walked outside, his other spirits stayed inside so they could set the table, so that left the spirit arts user alone. He was hit with fresh air, the encompassing forest as vibrant and green as ever. That wasn't the only thing that was green as he was greeted by the scalp of a man. He was burly, and seemed to be a few years older than Subaru. His body screamed 'I spend 10 hours a day in the gym' and his Kimono was badly worn, it was sleeveless as it let his arms show, they were absolutely filled with muscles, to which Subaru could point out all of them with his finger. Truly, the man looked like if the word rock was a person.

His hair was grass green and seemed to be cut, not long enough to flow down his head. He wore no shoes, but his feet were just as clean as his outfit. His eyes were hardened but had a softness to them.

"Aye, Master is back!" Flint was training, multiple spikes of earth coming from the ground, despite what was assumed to be hard work at play. The earth spirit had not a speck of dirt or sweat on him. "Oh! Flint it's you, you look amazing!" Subaru walked up to him, they both shook hands as they both admired each other's grip. "That's a lot comin' from you, it's good to see yer awake!" Flint replied. "Yeah it is, I was up to see how my spirits were doing, by the way.." Subaru looked ahead, trying to track down Lucius.

Flint noticed The boy's worried but interested gesture, and quickly informed him. "If yer we're wondering where Lucius is...then well...look behind you" Flint said with a smirk. Subaru turned around, wondering what was to be seen when he looked up, his mouth agape as he fell on his butt.

"LUCIUS!?"

On top of the cabin, the thing that shocked Subaru. Was a white scaled dragon, it was towering over him. It was a lot like the Japanese dragons in his homeland, called the "tatsu". His body was completely white, his light yellow mane emitting a glow so bright it gave the sun a run for its money. Subaru brought his eyes face to face with the dragon. It stared back down at him with an expectant look. It's pupils couldn't be seen as his eyes twinkled like stars.

Lucius's body was relatively long, coiled like a snake. He could easily wrap himself around the cabin 6 times before running out of body and tail.

His teeth were peeking ever so slightly from his white scaled maw, a turrent of air escaped his nose as he gazed down at his contractor. "Master Subaru, it is splendid to see you are finally-"

"What the actual hell!" Subaru screamed as he held his head in his arms, his mouth wide open into a crazed smile. "A dragon? A dragon! Aella surprised me, but you absolutely take the cake!!" Subaru jumped up and down in excitement, it seemed to confuse the yang spirit as he cocked his head. "It is nice to see you like my appearance, it's a bit too much compared to the others, but I felt like it fit me quite well" Lucius replied.

"Nah, you look stunning, wait, can I ride you? Can you fly?" Despite the lack of wings on him, Lucius nodded as he floated down the cabin, it shook from his weight alone. "Trust me, I was shocked when I saw him too" flint butted in with a smirk, his arms crossed as he observed the ordeal.

"Wow, this is insane! My life just keeps getting better and better!" The two spirits seemed to be happy that Subaru was doing well, despite the almost traumatic experience he dealt with a while ago. Subaru calmed himself, smacking his hands on his cheeks.

"As much as I want to admire you all day, it's best we head inside, I'm starving" Subaru grumbled as he touched his stomach, empty from not eating in two days. "That seems to be best for you, young master" Lucius replied. "Also, Lucius, thank you for restoring my tracksuit, I don't know what I would've done without it" Subaru had a smile as he addressed the yang spirit. "Thank you, that is my job as your spirit after all"

Subaru was about to question how Lucius could join them since he was too big, not even his snout would fit through the door, but he was shocked when the yang spirit shrunk, perching himself on Subaru's shoulders. Wow, that's a spirit for you...

"Alright! Let's head back inside!"

The meal was very pleasant, a lot more lively then when it was just Halibel and Subaru alone, but now that the spirits had physical forms, they could enjoy the luxury of food. They seemed eager about it as well.

He had to teach Lela how to chew food correctly cause she looked weird doing it. Aella and Halibel were having a competition on who's lungs would give out first from the smoking they were doing, which greatly annoyed Subaru. He told them how bad it was for them to do so, just for them to laugh him off and smoke further.

Hestia and Flint were flicking food at one another, being the annoying goofball duo. Lucius just stayed perched on his shoulder, not wanting to eat. Aqua seemed to be the only one who was eating like a normal person, which Subaru personally rewarded her...with head pats of course.

After all was said and done, Subaru met Halibel outside for a private convo.

"Yer sure grew a lot this past month Su-San, at first yer we're just a weakling, but now yer just a...weakling with 6 great spirits" Subaru was happy to hear those words, but quickly frowned when he heard the rest of Halibel's statement. "You really can't give me a full compliment can you? Always having to sneak something in there" Subaru angrily replied as he shoved a fist into Halibel's shoulder, which got him chuckling.

"Well I have to admit, yer sword skills are at least decent, but there's no further hope for them" Halibel bluntly said, Subaru was about to remark but instead had a contemplative expression, looking into the horizon instead. "So what do you plan to do next Su-San?" Those words caught the Japanese teen off guard, he honestly didn't know, but for some reason his heart yearned for adventure. He wanted to face the world and see what he could find.

"Hmmm, we'll I guess you could say I want to visit the world, get out of Kararagi and go some place new" Subaru replied, he looked at the spirits in the clearing, playing around on Lucius's back. "That sounds quite simple, but I can't blame ya, this place gets mighty boring after a while" The wolf man let out a puff of smoke as he stared down the spirits as well. It's time I stretch my wings and leave the birds nest, or else I'll get way to comfortable.

"Say, Su-San?" Subaru perked his head at the question, awaiting its entirety. "Yer spirits, rely on them, they should keep ya save, this world is harsh, but yer should already know that" his tone was a lot more serious. Subaru remembered those kids he saved in the alleyway, those slaves he had freed. "Last thing I want to hear is the story of a spirit arts user who died in a ditch in some town-oof!" Halibel rubbed his shoulder as he yelped in mock-pain, The raven haired boy didn't seem all to content on his teacher's assessment.

"I won't be reckless, try putting a bit more trust in me will ya?" Subaru replied, his brow raised in an inquisitive look. "Eh...well we shall see.." Halibel stared into the horizon once more, letting out purple smoke from his maw. "Where do you plan to go anyways?" The shinobi inquired before his student.

"Hmmm well, Gusteko seems too cold, and it's religious zealotry is not something I want to get involved in. Vollachia's 'only the strong shall survive' mindset seems a bit hardcore as well, so I guess Lugnica it is" Subaru smiled as he had already made up his mind.

"Ah, that seems nice" Halibel replied, Subaru nodded in response as no more words were exchanged.

So the two sat in silence as they watched the spirits play down below, Subaru had a lot on his mind as another chapter of his life ended, and another one began.

Authors Note: I have to deal with real life stuff, so next chapter would probably take a while to come out. Who knows, I write fast but it could be pretty taxing sometimes. I'll let my brain rest for a bit before returning, see ya.

Also, I want to work on another Re:Zero fanfic. So chapters will take a bit longer to update.