Chapter 1: From Zero (Again)
By: ViolentBlue
So far, it had not been a good day in the life of Emilia.
Having not just lost her pink-haired maid Ram, but also having lost the priceless insignia that identified her as a candidate for the Royal Selection, Emilia now found herself wandering the Royal Capital to search in vain for it. Accompanied by her Artificial Spirit Puck, she swiftly moved through the area, beginning to turn into a nearby alleyway.
"Don't worry, Lia. I'm sure we'll be able to find it." Puck said from inside her head, the Great Spirit of Fire trying to lift her spirits up despite the increasingly problematic situation. While Emilia appreciated her dear friend and surrogate father's attempt at encouragement, she knew that with each passing second the thief that stole her insignia was getting farther and farther away.
As she turned into the alleyway however, these thoughts were suspended, as she soon came across a fight beginning to take place in the middle of it. A young fair skinned man, wearing strange clothes, black hair and eyes that could only be described as having an "evil" look to them, was facing down what looked to be three thugs.
"I don't Chin...this guy seems to have somethin' off about him. Sure we wanna do this?" The largest of the three commented, facing down their target.
"It's 3 vs. 1, Ton. If he wants to fight, then it's his loss." The one called Chin, who looked to be the leader, chuckled. He held his two knives overhanded, and grinned.
As for the oddly dressed teenager before them, he held himself in a boxer's guard, eyeing the three thugs calmly. He didn't seem the least bit worried, but almost bored, as if he wanted the potential skirmish to be over and done with. Emilia at that moment stood behind the three thugs trying to decide if or what she would do about it, and he looked up, noticing her.
His facial expression changed, for a quarter of a second it looked like he recognized her, and his mouth moved into the shape of a grin before he forced it back down. Regardless, it was clear that he did at least regard her with some level of familiarity. The three thugs however caught on to his look, and turned behind them, seeing her.
"Back off, lady. You don't wanna get involved in this." The shortest of the three thugs turned at her, before turning back.
"Yeah, what Kan said. This is none of your business. Now just walk off and pretend like nothing happened." Ton spoke in agreement, giving her a glare.
Emilia paused, and her face took on a determined expression. "No. I rather think it is. You three have something that you stole from me. And I want you to hand it over."
"An insignia, right?" The young man who was facing the three thugs spoke up."I happen to know what you're talking about."
Emelia pointed at him. "Wait, did you-"
"No, no I didn't steal it. But, I do know who took it and where they are going." The young man seemed fairly determined, shifting his guard a bit, and smiled. "And I'd be happy to help you find it."
"Really~?" Emilia's face lit up. Even though he was a stranger, there didn't seem to be any deception in him.
"Looks like he's not kidding. He's not lying, Lia." A voice came from within her crystal, as Puck materialized onto her shoulder. "I mean...despite the strange looks, strange expression, and strange reason why he'd want to help you...he's not lying."
"...Well, of course I'm not-"
"Hey." Chin seemed to have been caught off guard by the situation. "Listen. We're in control here. I don't care if you have some dinky spirit with you. But you and your little friend best run off, before you get hurt."
Emilia shook her head. "On the contrary, I have no intention of running off. You three may not have what was stolen from me, but I can't ignore what is happening. I refuse to allow innocent people get harmed by people like you."
"You said earlier it was 3 vs.1 when we walked in here." Puck pointed toward Chin. "In that case, how about 3 vs. 3 then?" The spirit grinned, as he seemed prepared to ready magic at a moment's notice.
"Grr…" Chin paused, and took a step toward Emilia, before he was knocked to the ground, pushed forward by what seemed to be an invisible force, the young man seemed to smirk slightly although he looked to be under some stress regardless. When Chin looked up, he saw the half-elf and her Artificial Spirit over him, crystals of ice having materialized above him and his two friends.
"...I won't ask you again, stand down, and withdraw forthwith." Emilia glared at them, while Puck crossed his arms.
Realizing that they were outmatched even in a so called "even" fight, the thugs immediately ran and fled past their intended target into the streets.
"Are you alright?" Emilia asked the young man who stood there. "They didn't harm you at all, did they?"
"Yeah, I am. Don't worry, they didn't lay a finger, or a hand on me." He walked forward and then struck a pose, lifting his arm in the air dramatically. "My name is Subaru Natsuki . But you can just call me Subaru. And I'm new here in this land, and totally broke to boot!"
Emilia blinked, looking at him. His greeting sounded a bit rehearsed, but it was amusing regardless. Then raised a hand to her mouth and giggled. "Sorry, it's just- I shouldn't laugh…"
"Forgive Lia's impertinence, it's just the way that you introduced yourself is a bit...over-dramatic. Puck stated, now floating in the air and looking over him.
"Oh no, it's no problem. I've been... told that I could be a bit over-dramatic at times." Subaru raised a hand behind his head, before pausing and looking downward a bit.
"Anyway…" Emilia quickly forced herself to focus. Her insignia was still out there, and she needed to find it as soon as she could. "You said you knew where my insignia was taken?"
"Yeah...it's-" The sound of approaching footsteps behind him froze his speech, as he turned to face the person there. "Ah...Reinhard."
"Are you two alright? I heard a commotion from the alleyway, and came to investigate." A red-haired knight walked in, being none other than the Sword Saint himself.
"Oh, Reinhard?" Emilia seemed a bit surprised, turning her head toward him. "Well, this is something, I didn't expect you here."
"Neither did I, Lady Emilia. I was off-duty today, and so I was patrolling- or rather strolling around the Capital when I heard sounds of yelling from the alleyway. After I saw those three men run out of there like they'd seen a ghost...I just wanted to make sure anyone inside was alright." He smiled, looking at the three of them.
"Well that was very kind of you, but they ran off forthwith once we showed them who they were troubling." Emilia paused, her eyes cast downward. "I'm just looking for...well, I lost my insignia. It was stolen from me by a thief."
"Yeah...and we're trying to search for it." Commented Puck, crossing his arms.
"Oh, well that certainly is troubling…is there anyway I can be of assistance? I do have some meetings today with some colleagues, but I would hate for good Lady Emilia to have her chances at the Royal Selection harmed because of such a thing."
"Actually…" Subaru paused. "There is something. I know where her insignia and the person who stole it are going, it's to this loot house in the slums. Could you perhaps meet us there later today? You see, there's a-" He then blinked, his eyes slightly glazed over.
"There's a…" Reinhard repeated, waiting for Subaru to finish his sentence.
"Nevermind." Subaru shook his head, and whatever thought he currently had been struggling with. "Just, if you could meet us there, we'd be grateful. I just have a feeling we might want your help. In order to get the insignia I may have to negotiate with the thief in question, but it would be nice to have some back up."
"Of course. I'll meet you three there, then." Reinhard paused, Emilia could tell he wanted to say something about Subaru's out of place dress and manner, but he clearly decided against it. "In that case, I will move on with my daily patrol- stroll. Puck, Emilia, and...Subaru, correct?"
"Yeah. You overheard our conversation and me introducing myself, then?" The teenager nodded, smiling slightly.
"Well, I didn't mean to eavesdrop, I just so happened to overhear parts of your conversation as I was walking by."
Emilia smiled and put her hands behind her back, "It's fine, Reinhard. Anyway, I'll just be going with Subaru now, there's much I have to ask him about."
"Of course, of course. I'll see you later, then." Reinhard nodded, giving them a wave as he left the area, leaving the three on their own.
Emilia as he left mentally confided in Puck, "How does he know all this information...while I appreciate his help, I'm not so sure about trusting him."
"You're right, Lia. None of what he's said is lies, but...I think there's something Subaru here is not telling us."
"Wait, so wouldn't that mean he is lying then?"
"...Not necessarily. It's difficult to explain, but he isn't telling us some information about what's going on, it's just...it's like he doesn't even know it himself."
"That's...concerning. But regardless, he is our only lead, if he is hiding something or not."
"Exactly. And if he tries anything, don't worry. I'll finish him off so fast he won't have time to blink."
"...I don't think that will be necessary, Puck."
"I'm just saying. All I want to make sure is that my daughter is safe."
With their conversation over, the two turned to Subaru, both of them crossing their arms. "So~...Subaru." Emilia started, "I appreciate your offer of help, but I want to ask. How do you know all this information? You are dressed strangely, and act differently than anyone I've seen before."
Subaru opened his mouth to speak, "I know, I am strange. I'm also confused, flat broke, and out of my depth." He gestured out with his hands.
"No lies there, especially the 'broke' part." Puck commented, a ever so slight smile on the spirit's face.
"...Thanks for rubbing it in, Puck; I'm well aware of it. Long story short, even though it's clear I'm new here, I am familiar with the slums and the location of the loot house where your insignia is being brought. There's a man there who helps trade items inside, his name…" He trails off.
"Well, I'm- not quite sure. Point is is that the thief is heading there to sell your insignia, and we're going to make a trade for the item." Subaru held up an item, what looked to be a small device with some sort of glass screen and a pad on it. "This is a metia, where I come from it's called a cell phone. We're going to use this to trade. Hopefully it should be worth enough."
Emilia cocked her head slightly as she looked at it. "That's...extremely valuable then. And you are comfortable giving it away, for me? I don't have any money to repay you for it."
"It's alright. The important thing is that we get the insignia and get out before…" He blinked, putting a hand to his head.
"Before what? Are you sure you're totally healthy?" Puck seemed slightly confused at Subaru's display.
"I'm...fine. Yeah. Just I got a feeling that it's best to get in and out as quickly as we can."
"Because it's more of a dangerous area, right?" Emilia nodded. "That's good thinking then. I don't want to attract more attention than we have to."
"Yeah! That's it." Subaru flashed a smile, giving a thumbs up. "Come on, let's go then." He began to walk off, as Emilia followed him, and then grabbed his arm gently, pulling him to her. A blush lit up his face, and he remained silent, looking at her.
"Subaru, I thank you a lot for all of this information and all the help you are providing me, but I do have to ask...how do you know all this, and why are you doing so much for me?" Emilia questioned.
Subaru visibly sighed, as he shook his head, chuckling. "The why is easy. Because I want to help you. The how...tell you what. After we get your insignia back, I'll let you ask me questions about it and I'll tell you what I can. Does that sound good?
While I want to hear more...I guess it can wait. She thought.
"Alright...that sounds fine. Oh, wait...I haven't even introduced myself to you." She put her hands to her cheeks, blushing slightly. "You've offered all this assistance and even your name and I haven't even done the latter."
"This here is Puck, he is the Spirit I am contracted with." She gestured to Puck, who moved to rest again on her shoulder.
"Yup. Puck's the name, and helping Lia here's my game." The small cat-looking spirit then proceeded to fly over to Subaru, offering out a paw. Subaru shook it with his finger, and smiled slightly.
"As for me, my name is…" Emilia paused. Do I really want to give him my actual name, given the circumstances? I could always say it was- wait...Reinhard called me by my name already. That wouldn't work. She internally dismissed the idea of referring to herself as Satella anyway. Eventually, he would figure out that it's not her true name besides.
"Emilia. My name is Emilia." She offered her hand to Subaru. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
Subaru quickly took her hand and shook it, smiling. "Alright then, Emilia-tan. Let's get going, shall we?"
Emilia nodded, smiling.
"Well...we have a lead, and a guide now, Puck." Emilia thought to her friend and close companion.
"We do. Just...we should be careful. We're heading into a new area we haven't really been in, and while I think we can trust Subaru for now...he's still got a lot more to him than meets the eye."
"Agreed. It's clear he knows much that we don't. He contacted Reinhard for a reason. But he's kind enough to help us, and even put his own metia up for sale to help get my insignia back. That alone is worth putting our faith in him."
"You got it, Lia. Let's hope this works out smoothly."
"Lead the way, Subaru." Emilia smiled. "I'll be right at your side, so let's head there forthwith."
"You got it, Emilia." He nodded, and took the lead, as they began to walk out to the marketplace and head toward the slums. He then briefly turned to look at her, raising an eyebrow.
"...Forthwith? Who says that, in this day and age?"