Arc 1: A Parallel Paradise!
Chapter 3: For Thee, A Warm Welcome.
There's a phrase that was popular among the hopeless romantic youngster: "It as if Timed itself stopped", this phrase truly was reserved for this moment. At the entrance of the alley stood a single girl.
She's beautiful, was the thought that went through Natsuki Subaru's head.
She has long silver hair that reaches her hips, the same length as Subaru white hair. Her piercing amethyst gaze was brimming with youth and intelligence, unlike Subaru's own dark eyes that were filled with pain and desperation. Her features were both soft and youthful. The aura around her exudes an air of nobility that can only be found in fantasy.
She stood tall, her royal white garment wasn't particularly flashy compared to the armor and dress that Subaru saw during her travel around the city, yet that simplicity made her even more beautiful. The one noticeable feature was the bird that resembled hawk emblems on her sleeves. And even the majestic emblems could only compliment her beauty even more.
"Who the hell are you?!"
A voice belonging to the sickly purple haired man named Chin calls out to her.
"Stop at once, and I'll let this slide. So just graciously give back what you stole."
She spoke once again, her voice was like a silver bell chime, it was pleasant to the ear, and it shook Subaru's own heart.
Subaru was overwhelmed, to the point she forgets about the world and could only think of her.
The bandits were no different, face with her imposing presence their earlier vigor vanished. Even Chin turned pale.
The bigger thug questioned her. His voice was filled with confusion.
"What we stole?"
"Now, please. It's important to me. I'd let go of anything else, but I can't let you have that. Be good and hand it over, please."
Though her words sound uncaring and harsh, the last few sentences were clearly filled with anger.
The bigger thug pointed down at the fallen form of Subaru beneath their boots.
"You didn't come to save this girl?"
"… what strange clothes she has… If you asked if I had any connection to her, I'd have to say no."
Seemingly flustered by her response that was filled with irritation, the man started to talk in a hurry.
"Then you've got no business with us!"
He pointed to the direction of the alley that the blonde little girl from earlier running off to.
"If someone stole from you, it was that brat who just ran by!"
"Yeah! That way! She ran that way!"
The short man came to the aid of his friend by pointing in the same direction of where the little girl escaped, desperately trying to make the silver haired girl leave.
Her eyes filled with questions meet Subaru who instinctively nodded, unable to lie in that moment.
Having seen this, the girl put her thumb under her chin as if contemplating the decision.
"Hmm… they don't seem to be lying… I need to go after her!"
With that, she ran past them.
The men were blatantly let out a sigh of relief, and Subaru cursed her own foolishness for squashing her only chance of escape.
However, the girl started to slow down by the time she reached the stairs and stopped completely.
"But regardless of that… I can't overlook what's going on here."
She turned around with her palm facing them ― and aimed the "Ice rock" that was secretly in her palm at the shocked men as she fired.
Its speed wasn't the speed of a bullet, but it would out speed any ball that was thrown by a major league baseball player.
The sound of a stone striking the flesh of men rang out thrice, and the men were blown away as they screamed in pain.
Having scored direct hits on the men, the sound of a high-pitched ding resounded through the alleyway as lumps of ice fell by Subaru. Lumps of ice the size of a fist, their existence defies any sense of logic and law from her modern world, and they disperse once they'd served their purpose.
"Magic?"
The word slipped out of her mouth, she didn't hear the chant or anything, but the ice just now definitely formed in and fired from the girl's palm.
It seems the bandits had sustained serious damage from that attack. Two of them could barely keep their footing steady, and the dwarf man was already out cold. All of them spotting bruises on their skin.
The two men having regained their sense of bearing, shakily rise up to their feet. The knife- wielding man gritted his teeth as he clutched his head in pain. He prepared himself for battle.
"Mess with us, will you? I don't care if you can use magic! I'll kill you!"
He pointed his knife at her, his face red and his voice raised in anger.
"You think you can win when it's two against one?! Huh?!"
"You're right. Two against one may be unfair."
"Two against two should make it fair, then."
Another voice filled the alley, androgynous and high pitch as thought speaking for the girl.
As if to show off, the girl held out her hand. Her palm facing upward, and a small catlike creature materialized and floated above her fingertips. The cat let out a wink at three of them who stare at it in bewilderment as it stands upright.
The cat coat is gray, and its ears were floppy, an earring adorned its right ear, to Subaru it looks very much like an American shorthair. Well setting aside its pink nose, earring, and the length of its tail. The bizarre creatures also carry a bag, like a school student returning from home after hours of diligently studying in a high school.
"You're a spirit user?"
The giant man asks her, his voice laced with fright.
"Correct. Back off now and I won't come after you. Decide quickly, I'm in a hurry."
The knife wielding Chin gritted his teeth as he pointed at her and threatened her.
"You bitch! Next time I see you, I won't go easy on you!"
"Do anything to her, and I'll haunt you and your kin forever. Not that you'll have any kin if I do that."
He desperately tried to make a threat, but the reply from the bizarre cat was dismissive in tone although the content itself promised severe punishment.
Their faces turn paler than before as they run out of the alley while the knife wielding man carries his unconscious shorter friend.
Subaru gazes toward the fleeing men in astonishment. Now that they were gone, only Subaru remained before her.
"You saved me. Thanks."
"-Don't move."
She stopped Subaru in her tracks, her voice devoid of any sentiment.
Her eyes were filled with suspicion. Even having understood Subaru wasn't with them, she clearly thought of her as a bad person.
Despite this, Subaru was clearly enthralled by the amethyst eyes. She wasn't used to dealing with beautiful women, especially now since she turned into a white hair beauty herself. She curses her circumstances, if she still has her old body, she might have a chance with the girl before her, she might even impress the girl by beating the thug. Better yet, if she was turned into a handsome protagonist instead of a girl. Subaru averted her eyes that were no doubt filled with sadness, longing, and admiration. Her cheek flush red in embarrassment.
"See? You averted your eyes because you have a guilty conscience! Looks like my judgement was spot on."
The girl accused Subaru as she slowly made herself toward the confused white-haired girl.
"Are you sure? I didn't sense any malice in her at all, except some confusing feelings."
"You be quiet, Puck."
The girl silenced the cat as she stood in front of Subaru, she leaned forward to Subaru eyes level.
"You know who stole my insignia from me, don't you?"
"Uh, sorry, but I don't have the slightest idea what you're talking about."
The girl stares at her, as if staring at her soul searching for any hint of lie. Her expression suddenly crumbles as well as the imposing attitude vanishes when she can't find any lies within Subaru.
"What? Wait, it can't be."
The girl quickly turns around, her face and voice stricken with panic.
"Did I really just come around the long way?"
Subaru could only chuckle bitterly. In a twist of events, this girl saved her. Subaru put on a brave face for her and stood up.
"You should probably hurry after her, miss. I could…help…"
Subaru desperately tried to get up only to fall on her back. The little strength she had left finally left her.
"Aw, you shouldn't have tried to get up. What should we do?"
"It's none of our business. She won't die, we'll just leave.
As her consciousness slowly faded away, she could make out bits and pieces of their conversation.
It seems she was going to be abandoned in some alley, well she was about to die anyway, her life being extended a little bit was considered to be a blessing itself, this body that she currently inhabits, is weak.
"Really?"
"Really!"
On the verge of losing consciousness, she caught the sight of the girl turning around, her face red in embarrassment.
"Fine! I'll save her because you keep pestering me!"
―She's even super cute when she's mad… That's a parallel world fantasy for you. A shame that I'm stuck in this body.
Those were her last thoughts before she slipped into the darkness.
"Just…bit…. more…"
An unknown voice calls out to him on the door between life and death. A voice oddly familiar yet unknown at the same time, a voice that he swears he heard before.
"Disappointment…"
Natsuki Subaru is familiar with the feeling of waking up, the feeling akin to taking a bath with warm water relieving her of her fatigue. The feeling was produced by sunlight invading her eyelids and her fatigue from the previous ordeal leaving her body.
The only oddity in her situation right now is her head was resting on something, soft and warm.
Overall, Subaru could tell that she woke up in a very pleasant way, and once her eyes open, she usually fully wakes up.
"Is my head on someone's lap?"
"Oh, you're awake." A soft voice calls out to her, directly above her head.
"You shouldn't move yet. Your head was in bad shape. I can't say it safe just yet."
The concerned voice sounds very worried, as memory from before rushing to her head. Given the situation previously, perhaps this is the blessed situation where she is lying on the heroine's lap that she hoped for when she was still a young boy.
She let out a content smile play on her lip as she snuggled on the person's lap. The heroine won't throw her away since she's a girl now. Subaru definitely remembers how girls around her used to do skinship with each other, back when she was still diligently going to high school.
"I didn't know cute girl were this hairy―Hey, wait a minute! This can't be right!"
Subaru mutters as she now faces the voice directly above her and takes in what was happening.
Right in front of Subaru, in her upside-down vision, was the face of a giant cat that could be a mascot in a certain carnival. Grinning at her with an open mouth.
Subaru quickly jumped out of the giant creature's hairy lap, her back to the wall as she took in a rapid breath trying to process what was happening.
"It's just a thoughtful arrangement we made, so you could feel at least happy until you woke up." The creature spoke to her in a high-pitched voice.
"First of all, don't talk in that high pitched voice, no sane guy confuses a cat with the main heroine."
Subaru shakes her head in denial, the giant cat could only let out a chuckle as it rubs its head as if it were feeling embarrassed.
"But aren't you a girl? Aw, making myself bigger was worth it to see you happy."
Subaru breaths stop for a moment as her unique situation sets in again. The aura surrounding her turns gloomy once again.
―Ah right, I'm a girl now.
Subaru shakes her head. She couldn't be depressed right now. Not when this unknown giant cat seizes her up and down.
"I am a girl! I'm definitely not happy!"
The skinship shared between girls are sacred after all. The only benefit to her current body was that Subaru could finally have an excuse for those skinships.
At the corner of her eyes, Subaru saw a silver-haired girl sitting beside the cat looking unfazed. It was the same girl that saved her, there's no way Subaru could forget her face right before she lost consciousness.
"I'm sorry about this. You stayed with me the whole time I was unconscious-"
"Don't get the wrong idea. I had to stay because there are things I want to ask you."
The girl's emphasis on her was as if to prove her point. Subaru was again, enraptured with admiration by her strong attitude, she could only nod, ignoring most of the content the girl was saying to her.
"The reason I heal your wounds and make Puck your pillow until you wake up was for my own benefit. So, I need you to repay me in kind."
"For such a small favor, you're making it sound like I owe you big."
The girl looks sternly at Subaru and slowly makes her way toward her.
"No such thing. You have some idea who stole my insignia right?"
"Insignia? You mean one of those Badges things that show your affiliation?"
Subaru wondered what was so important about that insignia that got this girl so worked up. But she concludes that if this girl wants it really bad, then it means that insignia is important. After all, Subaru is a foreigner, and the girl before her is one of the native, thus she is bound to be more knowledgeable than Subaru.
"It has a jewel in the center, and it was about this big." The girl proceeds to make an O shape with her thumb and finger, showing Subaru the size of the jewel.
"Sorry, but no matter how many times you ask me, I really have no idea."
"I see. No helping that, then. But you gave me the information that you know nothing about, and you gave me my answer in exchange for healing you."
The girl crossed her arms around her chest looking away from Subaru. Subaru could only stare at her in confusion.
It seems the girl took the words of "Helping others isn't just for their sake" to heart.
"Huh?"
"Well, I'm in a hurry, so I'm going now. Your wound should be better now, but next time, don't do dangerous things like wandering into deserted alleys alone."
The girl then shakes her head as if to cut off Subaru questioning.
"I'm not concerned about a young lady like you. I'm just warning you. If that happens to you again, saving you won't be of any benefit to me, so don't expect me to help."
With those rapid words the girl took Subaru silence as confirmation, she nodded to herself, then turned around to leave.
The girl's long silver hair swayed as she moved and seemed to be sparkled in the dim light of the alley.
"I don't want to question this in her present, but do I know you?"
The sudden cold voice to her right sends shivers down her spine. Subaru turns to look at the giant cat, who now abandons all forms of goofy and cheery grin.
"This is the first time I meet you, right?"
The question the cat asked was laced with suspicion. Making her gulp down her saliva as the air around them suddenly becomes chilly.
"Y-yes. In fact, I just arrived here today."
"Are you sure?"
The cat glared at her with such ferociousness that the goofy and harmless cat seemed to be the most hideous and dangerous beast for a split second.
"Y-yes! I swear!"
The cat stares at her for a few moments before it smiles again as if what just occurred a few seconds ago was forgotten.
"It didn't seem like you were lying. Oh, and sorry about her. She's so insincere. Don't think badly of her."
Subaru stares at the cat out of the corner of her eyes warily. She then turns to stare at the smaller figure of the silver-haired girl slowly leaving them behind.
"I-insincere? I think this goes beyond that. She was in such a hurry to find what was stolen from her, yet she stopped to help me, wasting her time for me."
Subaru watches the girl's silver hair sway back and forth from the wind blowing against her.
"She even came up with that lame excuse for a favor so I wouldn't feel I owe her, even though I'm a total stranger."
Subaru quickly grabbed her plastic bag and her now dried track suit to chase after the girl. Her long white hair swayed against the wind as she chased after the girl.
"Anyone who lives like that… is gonna end up wasting their whole life!"
The girl was abnormal in Subaru's mind, having done so much for her and demanding nothing in return. She couldn't leave such a kind girl to lose everything.
AN: Im gonna take a break next week.
