Chapter 3

Watching Felt run off, Emilia gave chase and Itsuki quickly followed. He had seen all of this before except last time, it was him who actually gave chase, leaving Emilia behind to try and retrieve her insignia for her. Itsuki had lost Felt and went back empty handed. After meeting back up with Emilia, that's when Subaru joined the picture.

Together, the three looked for her insignia, helping a girl along the way and eventually finding themselves at a Lute house.

Which is where-

Itsuki's legs gave out as he remembered the excruciating pain he felt when his stomach was sliced open. Taking notice of this, Emilia stopped chasing Felt and turned around to make sure Itsuki was alright.

"Itsuki!" she quickly went to his side. Kneeling beside him as he began to hyperventilate, Emilia had no idea how to help. "What happened?! Are you okay?!"

Fighting just to catch his breath, Itsuki felt like his stomach was in his throat. He remembered the slow, painful embrace of death as he bled out.

Sure, it only took around a minute for him to actually die, but it felt like years upon years before that finally happened. And, immediately after his death, the next thing Itsuki felt was nothing as he was moved back to this moment in time.

Emilia didn't seem to remember any of this, so why did Itsuki remember?

"Itsuki! What happened?!"

Raising a hand, Itsuki tried to catch his breath as he moved onto his knees.

"I'm alright..." he replied, taking deep breaths. "I just need a moment."

Looking towards the way Felt ran off for a moment, Emilia turned her gaze back to Itsuki. Pushing himself to his feet, Itsuki took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry." Itsuki apologized. "Because of me, that girl got away with your insignia."

Before Itsuki had the chance to move to look for her, Emilia stopped him.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Emilia asked. "You looked like you were about to throw up just a moment ago."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." Itsuki gave a smile but Emilia saw right through it.

"Liar." Emilia said as she shot him a gentle glare. "Your face is pale and lost all color."

Itsuki's eyes widened ever so slightly before he closed them and shook his head.

"We can worry about me later." Itsuki told Emilia. "Right now, let's find your insignia."

Emilia stared at Itsuki for a few moments, unsure if she should find her insignia or take care of Itsuki.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Emilia asked.

"You bet!" Itsuki closed one eye as he shot Emilia a smile and a thumbs up. "C'mon, I bet I know where that little brat ran off t-" Itsuki stopped mid sentence. Remembering his unknown assailant, Itsuki wondered if he should tell Emilia where they ended up previously. After all, he, Emilia, and most likely Subaru, all met the same fate.

"Mm?" Emilia hummed as she looked at Itsuki. "Do you have a clue as to where she might've gone?!" her voice was hopeful and her eyes held a child-like gleam behind them.

'Fuck.'

Was Itsuki's first thought.

After the short amount of time Itsuki spent with Emilia, he quickly came to realize that she was no moron. If he tried to back out now, she might get upset enough to leave him behind.

Which is something Itsuki couldn't allow to happen.

He may have died once, but this was his best bet at finding a quick job.

Deciding not to risk backtracking his own words, Itsuki took a breath.

"I recognize the girl who swiped your insignia." Itsuki began.

"You recognize her? Who is she?!"

"Local thief." Itsuki shrugged. "She hangs out at a Lute house in the slums. At least, that's what I've heard."

"Do you know her name?" Emilia asked.

Itsuki let out a shallow breath. "It's Felt."

Emilia's eyes lit up. "Alright! Let's get going!"

Taking Itsuki's hand, Emilia began to head for the slums. However, she stopped suddenly as the sounds of a girl crying caught her attention. Looking to the side of the road, the lost little girl with green hair looked around, lost.

"You want to help her, huh?" Itsuki asked.

Emilia fell silent. "Yes. We can head to the slums afterwards."

"Sounds good to me." Itsuki smiled.

However, as Emilia approached the girl, Itsuki remembered the child's initial reaction to her. Not wanting to see the girl cry, Itsuki quickly moved in front of Emilia, clearing his throat.

"What's the matter?" Emilia asked, slightly cocking her head to the side.

"Let me break the ice." Itsuki told her. "Something tells me you might scare her a bit."

Emilia's eyes widened a bit before she looked to the ground, almost as if she were just insulted.

"You're right... You take the lead..." Emilia sounded extremely hurt.

Feeling bad for his choice of words, Itsuki didn't know how to apologize. Instead, he turned around and approached the girl with Emilia following.

Kneeling down to get on her eye level, Itsuki offered a warm, gentle smile to the girl. One a big brother would give to their sibling.

"Heya." he began speaking. "You look a bit lost."

The girl didn't reply, nor did she look like she was gonna cry more. She just looked from Itsuki to Emilia then back to Itsuki.

"Mind telling me what's wrong?" Itsuki asked.

Watching Itsuki talk to the girl, Emilia couldn't help but smile.

"This is a friend of mine." Itsuki told the young girl while gesturing to Emilia. "We're here to help."

"Could you tell us what's wrong?" Emilia asked as she crouched down.

"I... I... I lost my mommy..." the girl whimpered.

"Oh no." Emilia's eyes softened. "You want us to help you find her?"

"Mmhmm..." the girl nodded.

"Alright." Itsuki smiled. "Why don't you sit atop my shoulders so you will have a better time spotting your mom?"

The girl didn't know how to respond.

A few minutes later

Just as before, Itsuki had the girl sit on his shoulders, keeping an eye out for her mom. However, Itsuki realized that this was a bit different from last time. Before, Subaru was with them.

"Don't worry." Emilia told the girl. "We'll find your mommy in no time."

The girl gave a smile to Emilia, who returned it.

Before long, the three were approached by a woman.

Watching the girl and her mom walk away, Emilia waved as Itsuki smiled to himself.

"Alright. Now, time to head to the Lute house!"

Itsuki rubbed the back of his neck. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"What's so special about this insignia?" Itsuki asked.

Emilia turned to face Itsuki. "It's part of the royal selection." she informed Itsuki. "If I lose it, I lose my qualification."

"Oh."

"Let's go. We have no time to waste!" Emilia began to walk off.

Remembering his own death, Itsuki quickly moved in Emilia's way. "W-wait just a sec."

"What is it?"

"I don't think it's a good idea to head to the Lute house." Itsuki told her.

"Why not?" Emilia asked.

"It's just..." Itsuki paused as he tried to think of a good reason not to go. Not being able to come up with one, Itsuki took a deep breath. "If we head to the Lute house, we'll die."

Emilia didn't say anything for a few seconds.

"That's absurd."

"Huh..?" Itsuki looked to see Emilia had brushed off his words with a flick of her wrist.

"I highly doubt that little girl would be strong enough to kill us." Emilia said. "Besides, I have someone who'll protect us."

"You mean-"

Suddenly, the small cat flew out from behind Emilia. "Heya." he greeted Itsuki before looking to Emilia. "Don't you worry. Nothing'll hurt you two as long as I'm around."

"Riiight..." Itsuki said slowly.

"This is Puck." Emilia told Itsuki. "He'll stop anyone who tries to kill us." with that, Emilia continued heading for the slums.

Watching her walk off, Itsuki sighed to himself. "Let's hope you're right..."

A few hours later

Arriving outside of the Lute house, Emilia went to open the door when a loud yell came from inside.

Rushing in, Subaru stood in a fighter's stance, blood running from his nose down to his chin, while a woman who Itsuki hadn't seen before, stood on the opposite side of the room, a large knife in hand and wearing a black dress.

"Oh? What's this?" the woman gave a soft chuckle. "Guess I'll have to kill you two as well."

Itsuki immediately recognized the voice. It was the same voice he heard moments before his own demise previously.

As he stared at the woman, Subaru suddenly dropped to the floor.

Looking back at him, Itsuki saw a large dark patch spread through Subaru's clothes, originating from his gut.

"Didn't feel it? I managed to open up that belly of yours when we passed by one another. The one thing I excell at when using a blade." the woman said as Subaru groaned in pain. "Does it hurt?"

Staring at Subaru, Itsuki knew the pain he was feeling. Itsuki hated seeing Subaru feel what he had. But there was nothing he could do.

Turning to the woman, Itsuki raised his fists in a fighting stance.

"A fighter, hm?" the woman twirled her blade. "So were these two." she gestured to two bodies. One: a large body of a man sitting in the corner, his right arm cut off and lying in the center of the room.

And two: the small, petite figure that was Felt.

As Itsuki and the woman stared each other down, Emilia kept looking from Subaru to the woman, not knowing who she should prioritize. She could either heal Subaru, or help fight this woman.

Slowly stepping towards the woman, Itsuki never lowered his fists.

However, before he could get close, Itsuki was suddenly transported back into the city, standing in front of Emilia with his hands at his side.

Itsuki let out a surprised "huh?" as he came face to face with Emilia once more.

"Hm?" Emilia cocked her head a bit. "Is there something wrong?"

"Uh...y-ye- I mean, n-no... I mean... Do you remember meeting here before?" Itsuki asked.

"Meeting here?" Emilia repeated. "This is the first time we've met."

Itsuki slowly nodded his head before rubbing his neck. "Right right. Sorry."

Emilia wasn't convinced by Itsuki's actions. "Is there something wrong?"

"N-no." Itsuki shook his head. "It's just... Keep a good hold of your insignia."

"My insignia?" Emilia reached into her pocket and pulled out the tiny object. It was the first time Itsuki had laid his eyes upon it, so now he knew exactly what it looked like.

A small, black triangular object with a golden design that held a jewel in the center.

"Fascinating." Itsuki said, entranced by the tiny object. "May I hold it for just a moment?"

He asked this for two reasons. One: he really did want to inspect it further.

And two: to keep it safe from Felt's sticky fingers.

"I don't see why not. Just be careful with it, please." Emilia requested as she handed Itsuki the object.

Holding the object up to the sunlight, Itsuki turned it around to get a good inspection of the insignia. It held a basic design, but held a lot of artistic creativity. At least, to Itsuki.

Handing it back over to Emilia, Itsuki wanted to make sure Felt would have a more difficult time stealing it. Now that Ituski had gave a subtle warning to Emilia and out focus on the item, Emilia might be a bit more protective of it.

At least, that's what Itsuki had hoped to accomplish.

"You coming?" Emilia suddenly asked, snapping Itsuki out of his thoughts.

"Hm? Where're we going?"

"I told you, there are a few things I need to buy." Emilia replied.

"Oh, right!" Itsuki rubbed his neck before following Emilia's lead.

A minute hadn't passed after they started walking when a familiar voice yelled out from the crowd.

"Please! Wait for me!" the voice shouted.

Emilia kept walking but Itsuki stopped to look back at the source of the shout.

"Wait up! SATELLAAAAAA!"

Seeing Subaru run towards him and Emilia, Itsuki looked back to see Emilia had stopped walking. However, Itsuki could immediately tell something was wrong.

"Please don't ignore me!" Subaru said as he caught up to Emilia and Itsuki. "Like disappearing and not doing what you said were my fault! I was desperate! I didn't know what else I could do! So I went back to the Lute house after that. But I still couldn't find you."

Lute house? Subaru remembered that? Subaru REMEMBERED the Lute house?! Not only that, but Subaru also remembered Emilia's alias she had told him. This was their first interaction this time. And yet, Subaru remembered the false name Emilia had told him.

Which meant...

Itsuki wasn't the only one going back in time.

"I'm sorry for only thinking of myself." Subaru continued while Itsuki stood in a stunned silence. "But I'm glad you're alright. Satella."

Hearing that name a second time, Emilia shot Subaru a glare filled with anger.

"What in the world is wrong with you?"

"Huh?!"

"Now listen, I don't know who you think you are, but don't EVER call me by the name of the Witch of Envy! What were you thinking?!"

Falling into a stunned silence, all Subaru did in that moment was stare at Emilia who, in turn, stared back, her eyes glaring daggers into Subaru's.

End of chapter 3