Hey guys, admittedly I've been away from any sort of literary writing for a very long time, 2018 just about, so this'll be more or less my re-introduction into it to get back into proper structuring and trying to replicate how characters would act. All criticism is read and acknowledged, please let me know if you have any suggestions or corrections. Thanks for your time, and hope you enjoy the first chapter of Subaru's short stories of bonding.

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Footsteps resounded through the forest, leaves and branches cracking underfoot as Subaru ran. His eyes, sharp and focused, were looking every which way, keeping an eye on his surroundings so he could gauge exactly where he is. The crashing of the forest behind him was a very keen and uncomfortable reminder of just how close his pursuer was, basically nipping at his damn heels. He had to think of something, anything, to get space between him and his attacker. It was at this moment he found his cue. He jumped, firmly planting his foot to a tree trunk on his left, and with a "Hah!" he blasted right, propelling himself out of the path with force. As he rolled to a stop and lifted his head, his pursuer already came skidding across the forest floor, facing him. Not even a second was spared as she changed direction to resume the chase.

His pursuer was dressed as a maid, but seemed, at this time, to carry none of the qualities of being one. Gone was her usually reserved manner and respect, and in its place was that of a hunter. Her uniform was covered in dirt and grime from chasing him down, her blonde hair more frazzled than usual. A wide, excited smile adorned her face that made Subaru slightly uncomfortable, but her eyes were what nearly froze his heart. Her emerald eyes were wide, her pupils dilated almost exactly like those of a cat who just found its prey. And for the head maid of Roswaal Manor, Frederica Baumann, she had found her prey, that being the mean-eyed boy kneeling in front of her. That boy being him, Subaru Natsuki. He found himself frozen for just a moment as she raced towards him with reckless abandon, panic rising in his throat. He reached for the whip on his waist in haste, nearly fumbling with it before winding up, and then lashing out.

CRACK

The air broke apart around the whip as it raced forward, sure to sheer off any skin it made contact with, and Frederica's eyes widened as it raced towards her. She began to skid to a halt, and grabbed the whip out of the air, stopping its trajectory. As soon as it struck her palm, she let out an uncharacteristic yelp, letting the now useless tail drop to the floor as she stared down at her hand, covering it with her other, a deep frown etched on her face and… Tears? Subaru's eyes widened with worry, and he called out as he got up, racing towards her with a, "Are you okay Frederica-san?!"

As he got next to her to take a look at her hand, her frown and teary eyes disappeared in a flash, replaced with a malicious grin. Before his mind could process, he was on the floor, his legs having been swept out from under him by the trickster maid. As his mind swam, Frederica looked down on him, smirking at his dazed expression. She held up a finger and closed her eyes, chidding him, "First rule of survival, if you don't know for sure their intentions and status, don't get within striking distance! Got it, Subaru-san?"

She opened her eyes and glanced down on him, and on his dazed nod from getting his head knocked against the floor, she nodded smugly in satisfaction and offered her hand. Sitting him up, she sat down beside him with a heavy sigh as they both leaned on each other. While Subaru felt he had run a marathon and a half, Frederica was only slightly winded despite a few hours long chase, smiling at finally being able to stretch her legs. Being a maid didn't bring much room for exercise like today, but she managed to find time for their little "sparring matches" that they had every half month. This was the third time they've done this, and she still very much recalled when the mean-eyed boy approached her with the offer.

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At that time, they were still acquaintances. Frederica did her duty as a maid and maintained professionalism, the most she's gone towards that not being the case was fretting over Subaru when he got tossed about like a ragdoll by Clind in their "training" sessions, or what she liked to call them: "educational beatdowns". That changed in a month and a half, when, after two months of constant training, as the boy was lying on the floor and catching his breath, wiping his head with a towel the maid had given him, he looked up at her. "Frederica-san?"

Her ears perked and she looked down on him, tilting her head and replied with a 'Yes Subaru-sama?' to indicate her listening.

"I w-want, to s-spar with you," Subaru stated between breaths and nervousness for making the seemingly sudden offer, "O-of course, if you don't want to, that's perfectly fine too! I wouldn't want to push anything on you of course!" Those next words came out in a mess, quickly spoken and with a tomato red face. Frederica found it endearing in a way, and she put a finger to her chin in thought. At that point she hardly done anything worth effort in her maidly duties since the burning of the previous Manor, and it was getting to her. However, she had a few questions, "Why not Garfiel? And with all due respect, I hardly think it'd be any fair to you, Subaru-sama. I do not mean to sound like I'm bragging, but I am very proficient in combat duties."

Subaru groaned, pulling himself into a sitting position, scratching the back of his head with an embarrassed look on his face, "I can't do that with Garfiel, it'll ruin how he views me! Besides, I don't think he really knows how to hold back…" He muttered, "As for the sparring, well, it won't be a typical sparring session!" His embarrassed look swapped for one that was prideful, his eyes gleaming in anticipation. Frederica smiled, shaking her head slightly but still listening. "You know that training course I've been going through?"

"I believe so. You call it 'parkour', right?"

"Correct, amazing that you remembered Frederica-san! Yes, I've been running the course every day and have been training with Clind, and I want to put those skills to use! So, I was thinking of a sort of a game of tag! Chase each other down through the forest and get the other to yield! How's that sound?" Subaru looked at her expectantly, seemingly recovered completely from any earlier fatigue.

"Ah, tag? So like a sort of… Hunt?" Something seemed to glint in the maid's eyes, almost predatory in nature. It gave pause to Subaru for a moment, but he shook it off and nodded his head in affirmation, a decision he wasn't sure if he regretted or not now that he looked back on it. So it was decided, at around the beginning and middle of each month, Frederica and Subaru would put aside a day for their sparring session. On their very first one, Subaru also learned a valuable trait about the beast maid.

She absolutely loved the hunt. He should've been suspicious when she insisted on being the one chasing, saying it was the most likely scenario, and even giving him thirty minutes to prepare. It hardly mattered, and he was body slammed from behind without even hearing a noise. It was a continuous trial and error at that point, ten times, hours long each time, spent in that forest and figuring out how Frederica operated. She hardly made it easy, changing from the noisiest bull to a silent shadow, and everything between. Half a month later, and he did get better, lithe on his feet, but still prone to be ambushed. But now?

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She smiled, now was the best yet. The boy seemed to pull out all the stops to deceive and mislead her. Covering his trail, masking his scent, even creating false trails to lure her in the wrong direction. The only reason she was still able to track him was the faint Miasma scent he had, and even after discovery he managed to just barely keep ahead in the chase! Ducking and weaving, feinting left and right! She felt her heart beating rapidly at the memory, feeling exhilarated by the feeling she had only felt a handful of times. And he even managed to fight back, and through her own feint did she knock him down. She looked to the left, catching the eyes of the boy in question, and he let out a tired, bright smile, one that she responded with in kind, a smile bright and shining, full of energy.

These sparring sessions did wonders for their closeness. She had gradually switched from calling him "Subaru-sama" to "Subaru-san", cementing their friendship, and their conversations got longer when they ran into each other. The distance had closed both in terms of friendship and physically as well. Back when they were mere acquaintances, they stood a few feet apart, seeming almost standoff-ish despite them both enjoying the conversation. Now, whenever they talked they seemed to drift close together, always comfortably within touching range of either person. She was fortunate to have a friend like him, where everything seemed to line up to make things work. Everyone's schedules seemed to vary extremely, but Frederica's and Subaru's happened to line up in quite a few areas, leading them to hang out more as time wore on, and while she is good friends with Ram and a tutor to Petra, she always felt she needed to be professional around them. Subaru was different, he never had that professional filter on him and it made it so much easier for her to turn off her own and just be herself. The casualness they shared had become a fond part of both their lives.

She glanced up when she heard a noise, and saw Subaru dusting himself off and offering a hand to her. She smiled and took it, and he hoisted her to her feet. "So, what do you think? I'm getting pretty good right, Frederica-san?!" Subaru exclaimed excitedly, puffing his chest out in pride, a notion that Frederica can only chuckle in a mildly impolite manner at.

"I have definitely seen improvements, but you're still nowhere close to me." She slapped his back with her own prideful smirk, sending him stumbling a few steps. She ignored his stream of complaints and mild pain, before glancing up at the sky. "Anyhow Subaru-san," She grabbed his attention, "Unless you want to worry your precious Beako any more than she already is and keep going into the night, I don't think we'll have any time for another hunt. The sun is starting to set awfully low…"

"My Beako is a big, strong, and ridiculously cute girl who will be just fine! And only I can call her that!" Subaru shouted indignantly, before calming down and also glancing at the sky, "But you're right, let's start heading back. I'd rather not get any more of an earful than I already will for being gone so long."

And so they departed from the forest, covered in dirt and forest trash, smiling exuberantly. Naturally, the ones who waited for them at the door were Garfiel and Beatrice, the former having a wide smile and the latter a scowl. "Why is Betty's contractor so mean, I wonder?!" Beatrice shouted indignantly, stomping up to Subaru and poking his chest, "Poor Betty has been having to wait for Subaru to come back and be worried sick of where you went!" She continued to rant as Subaru picked her up and held her, walking off. Meanwhile, Garfiel was grilling his sister for info.

"So, whadda ya think? My cap'n's doin' awesome, right?! He's the coolest afterall!" Garfiel showed off a toothy grin as he walked beside his sister in the other direction. Frederica couldn't help but smile and nod along, putting in her thoughts whenever her brother paused to take a breath from his exhaustless compliments. Meanwhile, a certain half-elf looked from behind a wall, watching the scene unfold. She couldn't help but feel a knot in her chest as she watched how close her knight and the maid had gotten over the months.

"Hmm." Emilia hummed in thought, eyes narrowing slightly, before disappearing from around the wall and going back into her room to study. It was nothing, she trusted her Subaru wholly and completely. He wouldn't leave. Right?

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Aaaaaaand that's all folks! While I could certainly continue it, I figured now was as good a time to stop as any, but there's a good possibility of a part 2! Honestly it's gonna be hard to balance between keepin it friendly and a ship-fic but I'll do my best. Let me know if you have any criticisms, if you think characters are acting OOC, advice, etc. I will read all reviews and DMs and work to improve. As for what the next chapter entails, I believe it's time for a bit crushin with the Crusch! Stay tuned everyone, and take care of yourselves!

Kindest regards,

Alterro