A cool summer breeze wafted through the quiet meadow, the blades of grass trembling in anticipation as the sound of a steady river stream filled the air.
The sound of birds chirping on their awakening, the smell of morning dew, the warm ways of sunlight showering over the land, bringing comfort to all that bathe in its rays, no matter the sins they carry.
A true paradise, a safe haven void of society's constant struggles.
At the center of the quiet meadow, a spirit stood, his head tilted towards the sky and is arms slack at his side. Letting the cool breeze travel through his messy black hair, Subaru slowly opened his eyes, calm and steady.
Breathing out a sigh, he raised his hand up to the sky, taking in the warm sunlight.
So warm.
It was so peaceful and calm in this place, one would find comfort here, no matter their troubles.
After a moment, Subaru's hand dropped back down to his side. His gaze flickered around his surroundings. Sometimes to the river, sometimes to countless strands of grass around him. With serene eyes, he took a step forward.
In the center of the endless meadow, a beautiful tree was placed, shadowing over the hill which it stood upon. Pink cherry blossom petals bloomed from the tree, only the sunlight breaking through the cracks in the flower barrier.
Subaru looked up the tree, his expression unchanging.
Subaru brought his gaze back down, walking up the hill towards the tree. As he approached the top, his heart quickened in his chest. Subaru tugged at the orange scarf wrapped around his neck, tucking his other hand into his pocket.
When he finally reached the top of the hill, he stopped, his eyes staring directly forward.
Underneath the blooming sakura tree, a beautiful maiden sat in the damp grass, a cloak of shadows over her shoulders and her amethyst eyes meeting Subaru's.
Subaru smiled, walking over to the maiden. Dropping into the damp grass, Subaru took his place right next to her, his eyes still trained on her figure.
The maiden followed his movements, watching him intently, the same smile on her face that she had worn so many times.
Subaru fiddled with the blades of grass, his gaze trailing down to the ground. They would always do this so often, one would think that Subaru would've gotten past the embarrassment of being alone with her like this, but still, he couldn't help feeling just a little bit nervous.
Subaru's thoughts were interrupted by a light tap on his shoulder, snapping him out of his small stupor. He looked up, seeing the maiden retract her hand from him, her amethyst eyes gazing lovingly into his own, a calm smile gracing her face.
"Subaru," the wind picked up, the breeze shaking the petals of the sakura tree that shadowed over them, "welcome back."
Subaru's eyes widened, his body suddenly clambering to a straighter posture, "Ah! Hello there!" Subaru spoke, his fingers twitching awkwardly. "I mean… Yeah, sorry for that awkward beginning there. There's just been a lot on my mind right now."
"Hm? Is that so?" she said, stretching her legs out in front of her. She closed her eyes, letting the cool breeze wash over her, "Well, even if you say so, I didn't find that introduction awkward. In fact, it's what I like about you, Subaru. It's cute."
"Cute?!" Subaru flushed, his cheeks burning with embarrassment and his heart rapidly beating inside of his chest. "Hey, don't you think it's a bit rude to just say that all of the sudden? You almost gave me a heart attack…"
Underneath the sakura tree, the maiden let out a laugh, covering her mouth with the sleeve of her cloak, "I'm just joking, Subaru. You know that that isn't the only thing that's cute about you."
"Does that even make anything better?!"
Despite Subaru's complaints, the maiden continued laughing, her legs kicking in the air at Subaru's distraught expression. Soon enough, Subaru' couldn't help but laugh as well.
The animals of the meadow watched them with beady eyes, seeing the two laughing without a care in the world. The sound wafted throughout the meadow, but yet, no one came to disturb them. No random passerby to pass out a noise complaint, no merchant stopping to sell their wares, and no knight charging at them with a blade drawn, ready to gut them right then and there.
After a long while of simply laughing, the two settled down, Subaru sighing into a slouched position, "Seriously, where do you get all that energy?" Subaru chuckled. "Aren't you getting pretty old?"
"I'm not that old," the maiden pouted, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm only turning…" she paused, a confused expression on her face as her brain racked to come up with a number.
"See?" Subaru said, a smug expression on his face.
The maiden flushed, the inability to come up with her own age being used against her. "W-Well, how about you?!" She pointed her finger directly at Subaru, pride filling her tone. "You're pretty old as well, aren't you? You can't say anything about me when you're fairly old yourself!"
"Yes, yes, Grandma, you can say what you want," Subaru said, shrugging his shoulders.
"S-Stop that!" The maiden's blush deepened, feeling insulted by the words that had come from the spirit's mouth.
"Am I lying though?"
"Why you-!" the maiden turned away from Subaru with a "hmph," her arms crossed indignantly over her chest.
Subaru laughed, waving his hand apologetically, "Alright, sorry, sorry!" Subaru smiled, his hand dropping down to the damp grass, "Though… that technically was revenge for calling me cute earlier, so I guess you deserved that."
The maiden whipped her head around, her hands reaching out towards Subaru. The spirit attempted to dodge the sudden attack, but unfortunately, he couldn't get out of the way in time.
"When did you get so confident, huh?" the maiden spoke smugly, her hands pinching Subaru's cheeks.
"Hmm! Alwright, I underst-Ow! Plwease, let go of me!"
"No!" the maiden said, squeezing even harder. "Until you can give me a proper apology, you will have to deal with this pain!"
"Alwright, alwright! I'm sowry, I'm sowry, I'm sowry!"
"Good," the maiden nodded, her hands dropping down to her side.
"Ow…" Subaru said, rubbing the side of his cheek. "Why'd you have to go ahead and do that? It was just one comment…"
"Never insult a lady on her age," the maiden smiled, "It's rude."
"Yet you called me cute so confidently earlier…"
Subaru sighed, his hands grasping at the damp grass. His eyes softened, trying to enjoy this single moment to its fullest extent. If he could trap this single moment inside of a bottle, being able to experience it to his heart's content, he would do so without a shadow of a doubt.
Yet, even in this perfect paradise, there are flaws that cannot be ignored.
When he accepts the maiden's embrace, he feels her love, her hate, her happiness, her sadness, her generosity, her envy.
All of hers belonged to him, and all of his belonged to her.
Yet, she remained cold, the warmth that he had so desperately needed missing from the complete vessel, like a hand-crafted doll fit to his every desire. But in the end, that doll can only be a doll and nothing more.
With a sigh, Subaru shoved himself off of the damp grass, standing up, "Sorry, I'll be going now."
"Eh? Leaving already?" the maiden said, staring up at Subaru.
"Yeah. Like I mentioned earlier, there's a lot on my mind right now."
Subaru walked out from the sakura tree, his hands balling at his side as he left the maiden under the shade. Right before he began to descend the hill, he stopped, turning to face the sakura tree once last time.
"Goodbye, Satella."
