A white base with a hint of beige to grant a sense of age, but not so much as to impart a feeling of being archaic. A sparkling golden trim in a rectangle, perfectly symmetrically encapsulating what was within. An intricately painted golden hawk, wings spread and head turned; it almost seemed to be shunning him.

"I guess that's why the other me decided to sleep over on the couch instead." Subaru thought, having opened his eyes only just a moment prior.

He took a rather deep breath and, exhaling, he continued his nearly automatic waking routine by relaxing his body and analyzing the situation he found himself in.

From the soft, welcoming sensation of his whole body somewhat sinking into the surface below him, Subaru instantly knew that he was snuggled up in his bed, his mind and body incredibly well rested.

"And I didn't have another one of those cryptic dreams this time. But I'm sure it'll come back. Shit like that doesn't just go away," he thought to himself, taking his time to bask in the comfort of the luxurious mattress he had been so rudely pulled away from the last time he had woken up.

A moment later, the golden hawk symbol irritating him, he shifted to sit up in bed and rested his back against its headboard. It was then that he noticed he was holding someone's hand.

Turning his sights left, he saw that beside the bed, in the very chair Subaru first found himself in, sat an unconscious Emilia. Her short silver hair was shining with the light of the setting sun and what remained of a satisfied smile lingered on her face as she breathed softly, her hand tightly gripping Subaru's own.

"I know I was supposed to have a change of heart, but I would burn down the whole country for a second time if it meant I could protect that smile," he muttered to himself, completely enraptured by the simply angelic sight beside him.

"You should avoid doing so, I suppose. But if that is the path Betty's Subaru will take then Betty shall join you, in fact," another voice sighed, an unfamiliar combination of concern and apprehension lining their words.

Subaru turned to his right to see the familiar spirit loli sitting next to him on the bed, her hand grasping his. Raising an eyebrow at the girl, Subaru shot her a rather skeptical look.

Frowning, she continued, "Don't you underestimate Betty, I suppose. Betty is a centuries old spirit with much of Mother's lost magical knowledge stored in her mind, in fact."

"You seem rather accepting of the prospect of murder, Beako. You know that such a thing isn't suited for little girls right?" he shot back before adding in his thoughts, "We all know how Meili turned out..."

She gave him a stern pout and flailed her arms about, still holding his hand in hers, and clearly taking care as to not tug too forcefully on her only recently-healed contractor.

"Did Betty not just say she was a centuries old spirit?! Betty could beat anyone in this mansion besides perhaps Roswaal and Bubby in a fight, in fact!" she declared, her face having turned slightly pink with her shouting.

"What about the Sword Saint?" Subaru immediately retorted, noting his nemesis's absence on her list.

"He doesn't count, in fact. No one can best him in a fight, I suppose," she replied, dismissing his comment with ease and looking away from her new contractor.

Subaru frowned and muttered to himself, "Doesn't mean you can't best him in another way though."

"What was that, in fact?" questioned the girl, whose sights immediately returned to Subaru's.

"I was just wondering who Bubby is," Subaru lied, his tone consistent and neutral.

Beatrice frowned and narrowed her eyes at him, saying, "Betty asks that you do not lie to her, I suppose."

Trying and failing to maintain her serious tone, she added, "As p-p-partners, we must be honest with each other."

Subaru smirked, ecstatic at the girl's attempt at maturity and class backfiring, and said, "You're so damn adorable Beako."

She pointedly ignored that comment. Her blush, however, could not be hidden as she replied, "I-if you must know, Bubby is Betty's brother, in fact. You may know him by the name Puck, I suppose. He is the Great Spirit of Fire."

Subaru put on a thinking face. He would have also placed his hand on his chin to complete the look but they were both occupied.

"Now that you mention him, I haven't really seen Puck around in my whole time here. Shouldn't he be by Emilia's side, protecting her?" he asked, trying to hide his disappointment in the spirit's failure at its one and only job.

Beatrice adopted a dejected expression at these words, her proud smile faltering and her previously tall posture quickly crumbling and collapsing in on itself. Had she kept her sights on Subaru, she would have berated him for his thinly veiled disgust, but now… she could barely keep her own breathing steady. She lowered her gaze and closed her eyes, unable to keep looking into the intense, hazel ones of her new contractor, and tightened her hold on the hand she held.

"Mother, brother, Roswaal… Ryuzu…"

She felt a heat grow behind her closed eyelids and, for a moment, desperately wanted to break down and cry; she desperately wanted to grip her head until her knuckles grew white once more.

"Beako? Are you alright?" asked a voice, lined with concern.

She mustered every ounce of willpower she could and composed herself, glancing back up and meeting Subaru's eyes. The look of worry clear on his face brought her a mixture of relief and guilt that she hated.

Just as Subaru opened his mouth to continue speaking, Beatrice cut him off, saying, "Betty is alright. She just… needed… needs a moment, I suppose."

To this, the tracksuit-clad man curtly nodded and patiently waited for her to gather herself, his full attention leveled squarely on her.

Beatrice took a deep breath, exhaled, and spoke, "Bubby hasn't shown himself even once in the past two years, I suppose. It seems to me that that silly girl's contract with him was altered at some point."

"Altered?" Subaru asked, genuinely confused and curious.

"It is not that Bubby is choosing to no longer show himself, I suppose. It is that Bubby is unable to show himself, in fact," she explained, her mood still dampened by the thought of her missing brother.

"I guess that's part of the reason Emilia seems so… dependent on me. Her pet/guardian became a deadbeat." Subaru thought, allowing a mental note of Beatrice's clearly fragile mental state to fall into the back of his mind.

The strategic part of his brain quickly processed this new information and situation before arriving at the seemingly best course of action.

"Well, there's no reason to keep around a spirit that isn't actually around anymore so…"

"How can we talk to Puck?" he asked, thinking, "Maybe we can get him to break their contract..."

The spirit girl regarded her contractor for a moment before answering, "The only way for you to talk to him now is to either kill the girl or to threaten her while she is unconscious, I suppose. The first will fulfill a hidden part of their contract while the second will activate a defensive failsafe, in fact. Betty recommends we use the second option, I suppose. Although he will not manifest, we will still hear Bubby's voice."

Subaru nodded, having quickly processed the new information, and begrudgingly removed his hands from their partners. He felt his mood dampen slightly by doing this but he paid it no real mind. As he moved towards Emilia, he was interrupted by the spirit girl, "Be careful, I suppose. You were already injured plenty before and Betty does not want to see that silly girl attempt to heal you again, in fact."

He turned his head towards Beatrice, asking, "Did she expend her mana to heal me? Is that why she's unconscious?"

Beatrice gave him a smug look and a wry smile, her melancholic expression fading as result, "She did just that, in fact. Although she was incapable of healing you fully, I suppose. Betty had to finish the job herself. Healing broken ribs that had been untreated for hours was no easy task, I suppose. You can feel free to praise Betty, in fact."

Her smug look instantly evaporated as she was grabbed into a tight hug by her contractor and then lifted into the air by her sides. She began to blush furiously and made unintelligible noises that only vaguely resembled words as he relentlessly praised her, "You are the cutest Beako! You are the best Beako! I love you! I couldn't live without you!"


After some time, the pair settled down and Subaru released her from his grasp. She looked away from him with an embarrassed and saddened face, "As much as Betty deserves the praise, you shouldn't lie to her, I suppose."

Subaru's smile faded as he put on a serious look, staring into her averted eyes, "I meant every word, Beatrice. I really do love you and I really can't live without you."

She cautiously met his gaze, her voice subtly shaking as she replied, "Betty heard what you said to that silly girl, in fact. You said you wanted to 'stand by her side' as you find 'your happiness together', I suppose."

Subaru placed his hands on her shoulders and felt her whole body slightly tremble. His eyes remained locked with hers as he said, "I didn't say 'your happiness together', Beako. I said 'our happiness together'. That includes you too."

At his words, Beatrice seemed unconvinced. Her trembling only grew worse and she appeared to be on the verge of tears. Quickly, he pulled her into a hug and continued, "Emilia is my reason to march towards the future. She's the reason I keep on living."

He hugged her tighter and his voice filled with conviction, "But you're the reason I can stand up in the present, Beako. You're the reason I can carry the weight of my past sins and have hope."

He could feel her tears wetten his shirt. He knew they were not ones of grief, and so continued, "I love you, Beatrice. I really love you. You're like a sister to me. Which is weird because, to me, we just met."

"I guess we're just that compatible huh? I wonder what happened to her in my timeline…"

Pushing away the thought, Subaru pressed forward, comforting her in the only way he knew how, "You chose me and I chose you. And we'll kill any bastards who get in the way of our happiness."

At these words, the little girl cried into his chest for some time, her grip on his tracksuit so tight as to make her knuckles white. Subaru did not mind and simply held her close, giving her what little peace of mind he could offer.

Eventually, she lifted her head, meeting his eyes with a determined smile, and spoke with passion in her voice, "Betty will not show mercy to any who harm her Subaru, I suppose. Betty will fight for our future, in fact."

He smiled back at her and met her energy exactly, "Damn straight Beako. I couldn't've said it better myself, I suppose."

Her eyes now reddened from sobbing and her hold on him still tight, Beatrice thought, trying her utmost to keep the passionate look on her face, "It's all Betty can be good for anymore, I suppose. Betty can not fail again, in fact."


A few minutes passed, and Subaru and Beatrice were up and out of bed. He was in the middle of some stretches to get his body ready for the rest of the evening while she began to catch him up with a handful of important matters. She had her eyes closed, one hand on her hip, and one hand held up with a finger extended in the air; truly, she was the model of a diligent tutor.

"...our contract stipulates that you shall be unable to make any contracts with any other spirits, in fact. Furthermore, I can only gather mana from your body and not the surrounding environment, I suppose," Beatrice explained, being as detailed as possible in her wording.

Subaru was in the middle of a dynamic stretch towards his left leg as he replied, "So that's what you can grunt do in a fight, Beako…"

"Even with the restrictions, she's quite powerful. Four hundred years of mana, huh? I underestimated her," he noted, adjusting his mental assessment of the mansion's occupants and their respective threat levels.

He switched to stretch towards his right leg as he asked, "And how does this affect my contract with grunt Echidna?"

Beatrice replied as he continued through his list of standard stretches, questioning what he was doing with her gaze rather than her words, "It changes nothing about your contract with Mother, I suppose. Although you would do well to hide it better, in fact."

Subaru did not notice her judgemental staring and pondered to himself, more focused on her words than her body language, "Well, she is the Witch of Greed after all. Can't have that information be public unless I completely forego being any sort of good guy. Wow… I just considered being a good guy. How the tables have turned…"

After a silent moment, Beatrice continued her pseudo-tutoring, mildly dissatisfied by the fact that it was drawing to a close, "Betty has taken the liberty of holding onto the pendant which serves as Mother's medium, I suppose. And before you ask, no I can not use it as you do, in fact. Only with your express permission can anyone interact with Mother's spirit, I suppose. In Betty's hands, it is simply an inert magic crystal."

"So it activates when I, and only I, touch it, huh?" he mused to himself, a frown coming to his face as his mind began making conclusions.

"So that's how she sees what I do even without my grunt holding of it. She catches up on all she's missed once I regain contact," he said, his stretches being done entirely through muscle memory, "Clever Bitch."

"That is how it might work, I suppose…" Beatrice muttered, her eyes narrowed as she blankly stared at Subaru's latest stretch and her hand placed on her chin - incredibly similarly to how Subaru had done so only a few minutes ago - in thought.

Subaru finished the last of his routine and turned to Beatrice, placing his hand on her head and flashing a smile, "Thank you, Beako. I feel like I could kill even the Great Rabbit with you by my side."

Beatrice feigned irritation at the head pat but made no effort to resist it as she replied, "You already slew the Great Rabbit, in fact."

At this, Subaru's mind wandered while he absentmindedly continued patting her head, "I wonder how the fuck you managed that, Natsuki Subaru. If I had to guess, that clown likely carried. What a good for nothing teammate you are… you magnificent bastard."

He retracted his hand and turned towards the bed, prompting Beatrice to mumble to herself, "You could've kept going, I suppose."

Subaru quickly shot back, a smirk on his face, "What was that, Beako?"

"Nothing, in fact!" she said, suppressing her tendency to stutter but completely failing to stop her blush.

At the sight of his embarrassed contracted spirit, Subaru gave a genuine smile for a moment, "Don't worry, we'll have plenty of time for heat pats and cuddles in a bit. I'll indulge you much more later, Beako."

As he turned once again towards the bed, Beatrice thought, "You better, I suppose."


Subaru stood before Emilia's unconscious form, which he had already tucked into his bed, and took a moment to study her sleeping face.

"You're so beautiful and perfect, Emilia-tan. Having to do this makes me feel so guilty, even if it's necessary."

The peaceful, loving expression he held soured considerably at that last thought but he brushed it off for the time being. Taking a deep breath, he cautiously inched his arms towards her smooth, white neck.

Suddenly, his hands almost froze solid, forcing him to instinctively retract them.

"You don't need to be so rough with Betty's Subaru, in fact," Beatrice said, lightly frowning.

An echoing androgynous voice that sounded both close and distant could be heard from the crystal over the half-elf's chest, "You know I can't do that Betty, it's Subaru after all. Besides, I'm going easy on him. If you weren't here, he'd be dead already."

Puck had said that casual death threat in a cheery, upbeat voice but it was clear to both Subaru and Beatrice that it was, in fact, no joke. Subaru kept his eyes on the green crystal as he held his now blue arms out to Beatrice for healing.

"So, Puck, where have you been all this time?" Subaru asked, trying his best to keep his tone neutral and conversational despite the tension in the air.

"Betty did a pretty good job explaining it so I won't repeat it. What matters now is what's changed from your actions today," Puck said in his usual friendly tone.

"My actions?" Subaru questioned, slightly wincing as the healing magic did its work. Somehow, unfreezing his arms hurt more than freezing them.

"For a little while there I was willing to trust Lia with you. Maybe I would have if you approached me about it back at the Sanctuary. But after that, you were nothing but suspicious," explained Puck, sounding less and less friendly with every word.

"The hell's a Sanctuary? Is that the Lugunican euphemism for the pound?" Subaru wondered, completely unfamiliar with the term.

"Until today at least," Puck continued, his tone having settled on a playful mix of impatient father and scorned lover, "Well, actually, you're still quite suspect but at least this new you I can be sure will protect my daughter. The old you was too all over the place to do a good job of it."

"While I appreciate your newfound confidence in me, I'd like to know why you're telling me this exactly," Subaru said, allowing himself to plainly express his confusion at the spirit's words.

"I will be leaving my daughter soon. When I do, you will need to be there to not only protect her but also help her through it. I'd really prefer to entrust her with someone more… sane, but you're all I have. No offense."

Subaru casually took his newly unfrozen arms and brought them to his sides. A normal person would have been screaming in agony in that moment but Subaru, even earlier today, had experienced far worse.

"None taken," he replied.

Beatrice tugged on his sleeve, drawing his attention away from Puck, "We should leave Bubby and that girl alone for some time, I suppose. Forcibly breaking their contract is only possible through great effort and concentration, in fact. Furthermore, it is rude to interrupt the sacred dialogue between spirit and contractor, I suppose."

Subaru made no objections as she grasped his hand and led him towards the door. Before leaving, she turned to give her brother one last solemn look, "It was nice to see you again, in fact. Take care, Bubby."

That last sentence was said with the intentional exclusion of her speaking quirk. To Subaru, the words powerfully echoed through the room.

"Ah. Thank you, Betty. Be careful as well," Puck replied, a tone of sadness clear in his voice.

The pair of Subaru and Beatrice left, shutting the door behind them. After a silent moment, Puck said aloud to himself, "I'm glad you finally found someone to drag you out of there, Beatrice."