AN : So, the main thing I got from the reviews were that the chapters need to be longer. This one is gonna be at least 3000 words. This is also going to be the chapter where the Natsuki's learn that the third Natsuki is here, and apparently a hero! Here it is!
WARNING - ARC 5 SPOILER HEAVY.
I do not own Re:Zero. It is written, and I guess owned, by Nagatsuki Tappei.
"Continual improvement is an unending journey."
Kenichi had his suspicions, but being transported to another world? That was not one of them. He wanted to deny it, but all the facts were in his face. The next thing that he thought of was to inform Naoko about this, but as Naoko's eyes widened as if she just found an epiphany, he found it unneeded.
He whispered to her, "I think I know what you are thinking."
"Yes, we just got transported to another world like in an isekai anime, was that your guess?!" Naoko whispered back to him agitatedly.
Kenichi took her into a corner of the shelter, and sat on the nearest seat, and said, "Well, this seems too real to be a hallucination or a dream, does it not?"
"What should we do now?" Naoko replied in dismay. Their lives were already too complicated for this to be happening to them. "If this is real, we don't know where we are. I couldn't read the signs on the road, so we do not know the language either, and likely, our money won't work here either." Her pessimistic side was taking control of her actions, something that happened a lot since their son's disappearance.
After all, if things already had gone so wrong, what was stopping them from getting worse?
"Don't worry my dea…!"Kenichi went to comfort his wife, only to be stopped by loud shouting from the opposite side of the shelter.
An old man shouted at the top of his lungs, with an angry expression on his face. He was berating a younger man who was sitting in his seat, around his mid-20s, who looked very annoyed in comparison. They were arguing over the pettiest of matters, space for sitting in a chair. The people around them were looking visibly agitated. Kenichi knew that this quarrel would devolve into a full fledged fight very soon.
"Hey, why don't you take my seat, sir? We should not fight over such trivial matters, should we?" He interrupted in an exaggerated manner. The man grunted, and sat in his space, less irked than before.
Kenichi stood beside Naoko, and she told him her suspicions, "People are looking very easily enraged here. Is that just a difference in the cultural barrier between worlds, or is something else happening here?" Kenichi, after thinking over Naoko's words, agreed with her. Something else was happening here. Over the most unimportant of matters, even family members would start fighting with each other. A bigger mystery was in play.
"You are right, Naoko. The only thing we can do is play peacekeeper and pray to God, if he even exists here, that we can get through this safely." Kenichi told Naoko.
"Dear, did you recognize that black smoke when we got teleported here? It was the exact same as in the CCTV…" Naoko asked the major thing that was on her mind since she got here. "Did Subaru get transported here too?"
"Yes, the black shadows.. They were eerily familiar to me" Kenichi replied, the thought of finding his son brightening up his face like none other .
Natsuki Kenichi and Natsuki Naoko, for the first time, were feeling hope after a long time in the absence of it.
But it was not so for the other members of the refugee shelter. A background quarrel between two strangers quickly resulted in a punching match. The guard quickly intervened, but it increased the Natsuki's suspicions more.
Trapped in this dark shelter, the people knew nothing of what was happening outside. It was only natural that as time passed with no improvement in sight, panic began to take hold.
First, the voices of mutual encouragement weakened, then gradually, anxiety and frustration festered in the silence. By the time anyone noticed it, displeasure had become apparent on the faces of everyone around them, and the atmosphere had been infested with pent-up discontent and hostile gazes.
Staring at each other, shouting at each other. At worst, people began trading punches.
The distressing atmosphere was looming, ready to explode at the slightest touch.
It was only the parents of the Lolimancer that recognised this. Yet the perilous air on the brink of drawing blood was shattered by a girl's crying little brother.
It appeared that, even with the violent urge boiling inside of them, the adults still had enough decency not to attack in front of a little golden-haired child crying for help.
The sound of a child crying was powerful, in a way.
With this alone, violence had been averted inside the shelter.
But everyone knew that it was only a temporary calm resting upon a precarious equilibrium.
Next time, it would certainly not be something a child's cry could stop.
Knowing this, the people in the shelter, who should have been tied together by their shared fates, began to keep their distance from each other, not only verbally, but with their gazes and their breaths.
As if to avoid being influenced by other people's consciousnesses, they shut out everything from the external world. Who knows what might draw someone else's attention, incite their anger, and end up pulling the trigger?
So whether it was for themselves, or for everyone else, they held their breaths with rigid faces as they waited for time to pass. "Something will change if you just wait for it", they left themselves to that fleeting hope.
Kenichi and Naoko watched quietly. They would have loved to do more for the people of the shelter, but they themselves could have become the targets of the ire of people. They recognized a heavy weight settling on their minds, urging them towards their darkest thoughts. However, since they recognized it, they found it easier to resist it too. They wanted to comfort the girl too. However, it felt as if a single movement would ignite the match that they had been trying to prevent for so long.
Suddenly, Naoko felt something.
While silently yearning for a change to come, she caught the subtle shift in the atmosphere.
Spurred to the same reaction, the people around her also turned their heads, perhaps for the first time in hours.
This is because everyone living in this city knew that the faint tremble in the air―― was an indication that a broadcast was coming, unlike Kenichi and Naoko.
In that world of silence, it almost sounded like someone nearby sighing. Kenichi quietly asked the old man in the chair, "What is that sound?"
The old man replied, in the same quiet manner, "It is another broadcast.. Most likely the witch cult..."
But here, everyone's pessimistic predictions were betrayed.
"Uhhh… so um… can everyone hear me properly? Mic-test mic-test, one-two one-two"
Kenichi and Naoko's faces grew confused. The voice was a bit familiar to them. Who could it even be?
"Sounds like you guys can hear me, that's a huge relief. So, first of all, sorry for doing a broadcast all of a sudden. I probably scared you, huh. Considering the circumstances, most of you must be on edge about what I'm going to say. But don't worry. This isn't the Witch Cult broadcasting to you now. Please know that first."
"….It's not, the Witch Cult?"
Looking up overhead to where the voice seemed to be falling from, the darkened expressions on the people's faces began to shift. It was the sensation of having sighted the first glimmer of hope.
Someone quietly muttered, "Then, that means… we're saved?"
Those words encompassed the hopes of everyone inside the shelter.
That was it. Wasn't it? If someone who's not the Witch Cult is speaking through the broadcasting device, that can only mean that they've recaptured the City Hall. If someone managed to drive the Witch Cult out of the City Hall, then maybe the Witch Cultists in the Control Towers and all over the city are also――
"The Witch Cultists… are all driven out…?"
"Next, I have to apologize for getting everyone's hopes up, because the threat of the Witch Cult hasn't gone away yet. We were able to retake the City Hall, but they're still holed up in the Control Towers. Those guys' demands, and the danger of the city sinking beneath the water are still in play. Please understand that as well"
"――――"
Yet, this fleeting hope wasn't crushed by anyone else, but by the youth behind the broadcasting device himself.
It was almost as if the youth had read the minds of everyone inside the shelter.
Kenichi thought it cruel. The main thing they needed right now was hope, otherwise people would be at each other's throats, and the crying little girl would not be able to stop them.
Naoko started thinking about the bigger situation. This so-called witch cult is holed up in the Control Towers? What do the control towers control? The city is in danger of sinking beneath the water? They still knew next to nothing of this world, and the only thing she wanted right now were answers.
I'm sorry"
Regardless of the Natsuki's thoughts, the voice continued speaking. The youth had apparently foreseen that the crowd's anger would fall on him.
"Where are you listening to this broadcast right now? Maybe you're in one of the refuge shelters, and I'm sure there are those who didn't manage to escape into the refuge shelters as well. Everyone must be filled with anxiety, right? I can understand what it's like to be afraid and wanting to curl up into a ball. And I guess you're all thinking 'Who is this random guy toying with everyone's hopes at a time like this?'"
"――――"
"I'm… just a nobody. Like everyone else, I'm just being tossed around by fate, getting crushed under unreasonable circumstances, and so scared that my legs can't stop shaking. That kind of guy. Even the job of doing this broadcast… I only accepted it after making a huge fuss. And I still think that the burden is too heavy for me. Honestly, there are others who are more qualified to talk to everyone like this. I'm sure there are"
The youth's voice was trembling, as if speaking straight from the people's terrified and cowering hearts.
And then, what followed was simply the honest thoughts of a youth doubting his own value.
The attitude of the listeners had gone beyond surprise and disappointment, until all that was left was uncertainty.
Right now, when what everyone yearned for was hope, why did they put this youth in front of the broadcasting device?
Even the youth himself said that there were more qualified people.
But why did they send him?
"But here I am, talking to everyone. So many people greater than I am told me that I should do it. That it won't be totally pointless. But, can you hear me trembling? Speaking in front of people isn't my strong suit. I'm not good with words, and I don't have the charisma to lead anyone. I'm weak, helpless, and even here, in such an important position, I can't help but want to run away…"
The tone of his voice gradually fell, as if dragging the listeners' hearts into the abyss.
That weak, faltering voice sounded like it was creaking through a chest shrunken by anxiety, only to tangle up at his stomach. Kenichi was quickly growing worried. Whatever faith the people had of this situation getting fixed was eroding, and this shelter was in immediate danger of a riot. He took hold of Naoko's hand, as if to keep her from believing the youth's words.
"I don't know what I can do… what I really want is just to plug my ears, hold my head, hide in a corner by myself and wait for someone else to fix everything for me…"
Squeezing her eyes shut, Naoko shook her head as if rejecting that sense of helplessness and despair.
What the youth was saying was nothing less than the inner thoughts of every person cowering under the Witch Cult's threat.
It was the weakness eating away at Naoko's heart.
It was the cowardice rooted in the depths of the adults' minds.
It was the unbearable dread tormenting the little girl's soul.
Surely, it was something nobody could do anything about.
And to have to face that unreasonable reality in spite of this――
"――But, since I can't run away, I'll fight. That's just the kind of guy I am"
Saying this, the youth's voice was clearly shaking.
"Huh?" A little girl's voice spoke out into the silence left by those words.
Not sure if Naoko had misheard it, she looked around her.
The owner of the voice wasn't there. But all around, she could see astounded faces just like her own.
The voice paused for a moment, as if choosing his next words.
And,
"Let me ask you again. Everyone listening to this voice, where are you now? Have you escaped into a refuge shelter? Are you hiding inside your house? Are you trembling alone? Are you with someone? Are you with the person most important to you? Or, even if you're next to an unfamiliar face, is it a face that you have grown to know over the past few hours?"
"――――"
"It's a pretty arbitrary request, and it may be difficult, but please don't be alone. When a person is alone, they'll just start coming up with lame ideas. I know that from experience. Trust me. So please don't be alone. Stay with someone. And――"
Inhaling, with only a slight hesitation,
"And if you can, look at the face of the person who's with you"
Naoko looked at Kenichi, and he looked back at her.
"Whose face do you see now? Is it someone important to you, or a stranger who you've spent these past few hours with? Or maybe it's a friend. …But most likely, it's a wretched face. A face that's about to cry, a face that's in distress, and I imagine it probably isn't smiling. No, perhaps there is someone out there who is putting up a strong face, forcing themselves to smile so as not to worry the people around them. If there is, then that's an amazing person. If someone you care about is smiling this way, you should be proud of them. But now, with that in mind, compare it with the smile you know"
Kenichi's face was tinged with uncertainty and worry. His smile, the smile that Naoko had not seen for at least a year now, was gone.
Naoko's face did not have her usual brightness to it. The light of her eyes had dimmed, and her evil gaze didn't hold the same amount of kindness that was usually in it.
"――Is this acceptable to you?"
Both decided at the same time.
It was not acceptable.
"..no."
A small, thin voice slipped from both their lips.
It was a weak and broken sound that was impossible even for even themselves to hear.
"I can't accept this. I will not accept this."
The youth's voice rang, as though having heard her reply.
"I also have people I cherish. Friends I hold dear. And I cannot forgive whoever put that pained, sorrowful expression on the faces of the people I love. I don't want you to force yourself to smile. Are you kidding me? Quit joking around. I want to raise my voice and shout that the smile of the girl I know should be way cuter than this…"
Kenichi hugged Naoko sideways.
"I don't want to keep losing. It'd be too pathetic to give up here. There's no way I can allow it. They are the ones in the wrong. Even if you are too weak to do the right thing, to strike down those in the wrong, you should at least know what is right. And when you know that you are right, there is no way you can allow yourself to lose to those who are wrong. At least, I don't intend to surrender and bow to those guys!"
Naoko held herself closer to him.
"I want to run away, but I can't run away. I want to cry, but I can't cry. The enemy is strong, but I don't want to lose. And so, I'll fight. I know I am weak, and stupid, but still I will fight. They are wrong. They are wrong to have made the people I care about look like they're about to cry. So, fight. I will fight. ――And I want you all to fight"
"――hk" Kenichi's breath hitched.
His throat suddenly closed, ashamed of his own weakness.
Surely, it was because the voice of the youth had ceased to tremble, but had become powerful, as if pointing to the road ahead.
He could understand the youth's feelings. He received the youth's message, painful and clear.
His heart was the same as the youth's. He wanted to fight, just like him. But he doesn't even know where they are. He doesn't even know what to do. They don't even know what their enemy looks like.
They were helpless, weak, and cowardly, and so――
"Don't get me wrong. I said I want you to fight, but I'm not telling you to pick up a stick and fight them. In fact, please avoid doing anything so reckless. I don't want you to mob up and spill blood fighting against the Witch Cult. What I am asking you to fight for is to not look down"
"To.. not look down.." Naoko whispered.
"Staring at your feet isn't going to change anything. Your gaze isn't going to bore a hole in the floor, and even if it does, that won't fix anything… So please, lift your face and look ahead"
She looked up. Not at her knees, not at her husband's face, but at the shelter.
And there, she saw the faces of those around her also lifting.
Their eyes met, wide open as if in astonishment.
Just like Naoko, everyone had subconsciously raised their faces, obeying the voice of the youth.
"If you look around you, surely, you'll meet someone's eyes. Like you, this is someone who is afraid and wants to run away… but, just like you, this is also someone who doesn't want to lose. There is the person you cherish, there is the person you are looking at now, and, if you add yourself to the list, that's already three people. There should be more depending on where you are."
Just as the youth said, the people's gazes intersected as they lifted their faces.
The gleams within their irises were complicated, and surely, Naoko's own eyes must've been the same. However, there now seemed to be something more than just tremors of terror.
"If you can see that you are not alone, then that's enough. You are not alone. That in itself is powerful, don't you think? I don't want to see saddened expressions on the faces of people I love. And I don't want the people looking at me now to see a miserable expression in my eyes. I'm not the only one who's so vain, weak, and stubborn, am I?"
"――――"
That beseeching, calling voice was trying to muster the people's courage.
And yet, to Naoko's ears, the youth was pleading for help―― for something, anything, to cling to.
And then, she realized it.
The youth's feelings had never changed since the moment this broadcast began.
While lamenting his weak, insufficient self, he did not give up.
He was telling himself that that was his only weapon, and telling everyone else that they were also the same.
"Please, help me believe this. I may be weak and hopeless, but I can't give up just yet. I'm not the only coward who hates to give up… please, help me believe it"
It was a cowardly voice. A cowardly plea.
It was a voice which, when everyone needed help, was shamelessly shouting quicker and louder than anyone: "Please help me"――
"Or… am I the only one?"
The voice lost its confidence. Or rather. The youth's voice had no confidence to begin with.
A sense of agitation surged up. Don't go. Whatever it takes, Kenichi wanted to shout for him to stay.
"...your..not.." the same, crying, little girl audibly whispered.
"Who believes… even now, we can still fight… am I the only one?"
"YOU'RE NOT!" the girl, opening her mouth, screamed at the top of her lungs.
Voices resounded throughout the refuge shelter. Not just the girl's.
Others who had also lifted their faces shouted out as well.
The Natsuki's included.
They were voices resisting sorrow, weakness, and fear.
If that was the youth's plan all along, then they fell for it through and through.
Who cares, even if it was? That wimpy trembling of his voice, that faltering pep-talk, that pitiful encouragement, and that pleading, clinging faith, even if all of it had been an act…
If they fell for such a masterful performance, who could blame them?
But, if this really was the voice of a clumsy wimp, how could anyone just leave him be?
"I'm not, am I?"
"You're not!" Naoko shouted, and Kenichi was surprised. Naoko never shouted, the only exception was when Subaru was kidnapped.
"You guys are still fighting, aren't you? You haven't been swallowed by weakness, have you?"
The depths of Kenichi's chest grew hot. The roots of his teeth were trembling, and a passion different from anger was raging.
That feeling didn't belong to him alone. It was a flaring passion engulfing everyone into a single inferno.
The anxiety they had only recently shared now became a bonfire of a different emotion.
"If you are with someone important to you, hold their hand and believe in them. If you're with someone you don't know, give them a nod and assure them you'll do your best together. Because neither you nor that person have been crushed by defeat or are about to give up fighting. And as long everyone goes on fighting, I will fight to the end as well. I will fight―― I will fight, and win."
"――――"
In the end, this is just a shelter far away from the City Hall.
No matter how loudly they shouted here, no matter how they screamed that they were with him, none of it would reach the youth.
Still, the youth sounded relieved, as though he had heard Naoko's and the others' replies. He received it, he received it and proclaimed in a voice trembling in swelling emotion:
――I will fight, and win
There was no question of whether it was possible.
Only faith that surely, he will.
Just as the youth believed that Naoko and the people of this city would not be beaten by despair――
Naoko and the citizens believed that the youth behind that voice will prevail in the perilous battle ahead.
Why did they believe it? Because surely, this voice――
"――My name is Natsuki Subaru. I am the Spirit-Arts User who defeated Sin Archbishop Sloth of the Witch Cult"
Naoko's and Kenichi's eyes widened to comical proportions, with an expression of shock on their faces, even as the voices of the others grew into an uproar at the revelation.
The parents had their suspicions. They had their hopes. In the end, they were all proven true.
"Our Subaru's here, Kenichi." Naoko finally spoke, in the silence between the husband and wife, even as the speech continued.
"Yes…."
"our son's alive."
Naoko and Kenichi broke down into tears of joy at the revelation.
The light of hope entered their eyes.
"He's ok. He's alright. He's here."
"My colleagues and I will do everything to take care of the Witch Cult in this city! So, please believe in us and fight on. Hold onto the hands of the people precious to you and cast away the cowering part of yourself that wants to surrender. And…"
"――――"
"――Leave the rest to me!"
Cheers erupted in the crowd.
AN : So, IDK how good the writing was at the end, please tell me how I could rewrite this better. Took the speech and the reactions to the speech from Witch Cult Translation. In the end, it ended up being a 4257 word chapter. Hope you enjoyed it.
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