Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fanfiction. Re:Zero is owned by Tappei Nagatsuki; familiar characters, places, and events are credited to him. Please support the official release.

Disclaimer EX: Innuendos incoming. You know, maybe I should change this story's rating to M...

Re:Zero ~ Uchikatsu IF

Act One: A Wrathful First Day

Scene Five: Awkward Interrogations

"I won't let you run amok like that. Release them at once."

Subaru felt like he was hallucinating. He had lost a moderate amount of blood, after all.

However, seeing a bluish-white crystal hovering inches away from the girl's hand was too much of a stretch, even for a hallucinatory response.

"Magic..."

He weakly said the first thing that came to him. He had already long established in his mind that he got transported into a medieval fantasy world of some sorts. Therfore, the existence of magic should be commonplace as well. He just put it at the back of his head until he encountered Felt.

The first time they met, there seemed to be a breeze of wind that surrounded them. He thought it to be a trick of the eyes at first, but seeing the same gusts of wind around her before she hopped over the wall in the alley confirmed that it was no magic trick.

Actual magic existed. He had direct contact with wind magic, and now he was witnessing what looked to be ice magic in action.

It was being directed at him, though.

"Wait a second, you're misunderstanding something, miss! I'm the victim here!"

The girl wordlessly stared at him and the thugs he knocked unconscious behind him. Ūnus, Duo, and Trēs–if Subaru's memory served, their actual names were Gaston, Rachins, and Camberley–they were all unconscious and tied up with Rachin's clothes.

Her purple-blue eyes emanated stubbornness and general wariness, even if the breeze from outside the alley made the strands of her long silver hair almost get themselves into her eyes.

"Perhaps there has been some sort of internal strife among you? I can't say that I approve of your actions." The crystal she wielded stopped glowing and immediately vanished into thin air. She then reached out her hand, as if she was expecting something to be put on it. "I'll forgive you if you return what you stole from me, however."

The boy could feel his strength dissipating as more time went by, but her bell-like voice and her powerful speech overwhelmed him enough to ignore his present circumstances.

"What I stole?"

"My insignia. If you weren't an accomplice of the person who had stolen it, then you wouldn't be in such a suspicious area doing questionable things, would you?"

"Just hold on a second. You seriously think that I'm one of these guys? I'm not the kind of guy who does things like that! I'm less of a thief and more of a... wanderer who just got here by accident."

"Now that you mention it," she tilted her head to the side. "You do wear some strange clothing. I've never seen anything quite like it in the vicinage."

"Who even says vicinage anymore..."

Fighting his desire to continue a conversation going in every and no direction at the same time, his body gave out and he sluggishly fell face-flat against the cold brick ground.

"Why did I even ask?" Subaru's entire world spun as his eyes slowly closed, pitch black darkness overtaking his senses. "It's a parallel fantasy world set in the medieval times..."

You're a strange person, Natsuki-san.

No, no, no, stop denying it. You are different from any other person I've met, and trust me, I've seen plenty.

I mean, just look at yourself! You don't wear a uniform when you go to school and you don't wear pajamas when you go to sleep. You drink mayonnaise from the jar and you eat everything–even soup–using chopsticks!

Don't even get me started with that sword you always carry around with you. Even your sheath doesn't have a holder, and you find it normal to carry it everywhere you go... heh, are you an exhibitionist or someth–what's with that look? It's like you're looking at a child who's making a fool out of herself!

...Huh?

Wait a second, that's me! Oi, stop grinning! I may be a young woman who knows little of the world around her, but I'm way more mature than you. Here's proof right in front of me, look closely at it!

Natsuki-san, why are you looking away? I've seen yours multiple times already because you fail at trying to hide it! That's not fair, you know?

Hmph! If you insist at playing the fool, then I shall humor you. Let's play a game instead. Two truths and a lie.

Why, you ask? Isn't being adept at lying a sign of maturity? I'm proving a point here. If you choose the false statement from the three sentences that I'll tell you, you win. If not, I get to brag about how mature I am. Deal?

Alea iacta est. No backing out now, you hear me? Here goes...

I took a mayonnaise jar from your special storage last night. Then, I sewed up the tears in your other tracksuit. After that, I trained myself enough to be proficient in CQC.

Can you guess which one is the lie? I bet you can't!

...

Y-YOU'RE AN IDIOT, SUBARU!

You know I can't sew! You big, big, big... idiot! You're more of an idiot that I am, and that makes me worried!

...

Hehehe... I guess that makes me an idiot too, huh. I completely forgot that you're clueless when it comes to understanding the heart of a lady.

What are you doing?

S-stop hugging me! I-I'm not crying!

You...

Hey, everything's all right now. See, it's like nothing ever happened!

Please... didn't you say that only spoiled brats like me can cry for no reason?

You really are weird... Subaru-kun.

A warm and tingly sensation enveloped Natsuki Subaru's left hand as he slowly roused from unconsciousness. Needless to say, he was surprised when he saw that it came from the silver-haired girl he talked to before knocking himself out.

She held his hand with a perfect balance of firmness and gentleness. If looks could kill, his hand would have been disintegrated long ago from the intensity of her gaze.

A blush crept its way toward his cheeks. "Uh, what are you doing?"

"So these are what the hands of a fighter look like. It's nothing like what I've read—" The girl gasped and met his gaze. Her cheeks were flushed, as well. "I apologize. I truly meant to let you be, but you suddenly started crying in your sleep..."

Subaru quickly put his free hand to his cheeks, feeling remnants of moisture that were left on his face. "Another one of those dreams. Sorry about that, miss..."

It was the third time this week. They were becoming less frequent as the months went by, but they never failed at making him cry himself awake. He took care to sleep where nobody could see him, but given his recent circumstances, this situation was an event that would have happened no matter what.

As if he had just remembered something at that moment, he jumped on the spot and stood like a soldier at attention. "Wait, weren't you looking for something? How long have you been here waiting for me to wake up?!"

Matching his pace, she stood up as well and replied, "I didn't wait that long. Your worry is unnecessary."

"Let's just agree to disagree!"

He whirled in all directions to gauge the amount of time that had passed since he blacked out. Daylight still illuminated the surroundings, so not much time should have passed. There was one questionable thing that caught his attention, though.

Subaru pointed at an empty area near the alley's dead end. "Where are those guys I tied up?"

The silver-haired girl tilted her head a bit to the right and put a finger on her lips. "I let them go."

"What were you thinking?!"

Subaru leapt in the girl's direction and grabbed both of her shoulders. He closed in on her to the point where their noses were almost touching. He was too preoccupied with the thought of the people who wounded him freely wandering around, he didn't realize that he wasn't following the universal laws of personal space.

He did see that the wounds he had weren't hurting anymore, though. A glance was enough to see that the crimson scars on his arms had long disappeared.

Shaking his head from side to side and putting the topic of healing magic aside, he looked closely at the girl's face and arms for any unnatural damage. "Are you okay? Did they hurt you?"

The girl stared at him, dumbfounded.

Deafening silence permeated the alley. The girl's jaw went up and down but no words were coming out. On the other hand, the boy was carefully inspecting her for any visible scratches.

A third voice filled the alley, seemingly coming from the girl's chest. "Fufufu, You're a strange guy!"

'It' came out from her hands and flew straight towards Subaru, stopping an inch away from his forehead. 'It' was a cat the size of his palm that had a grey coat, a pink nose, and an unnaturally long tail. Those physical features, added to the fact that it can speak and hover around, was enough to convince even the most air-headed of people that it was anything but an ordinary cat.

Slightly jolted by the shock the creature gave him, Subaru let go of the girl and took a step back. "It's a small kitty familiar!"

It shyly scratched its head and winked as if it was caught doing something naughty. "Looks like you know a thing or two about spirits. I bet you didn't know about this, though!"

With a playful smirk, it snapped its fingers and grew in size. The cat-like being assumed a humanoid shape in less than a second and twirled around like a model at a fashion show.

A gleeful Subaru cheered and clapped loudly. Meanwhile, the girl remained speechless and seemingly taken aback by the situations unfolding before her.

"See? I'm a creature suitable for transport due to my freely changing size, a companion that brightens your dull days with humorous chit-chat, and a fluffy relaxation spot in your outdoor adventure—a perfect cat for everyone, which will surely go great with any lifestyle! For more details, please contact the Spirit Association."

It immediately wore a monocle that came out of nowhere and started a sales pitch. The contents were interesting enough to pique the boy's curiosity, but he also knew that everything it just said was irrelevant to the problems at hand.

"No thank you!" He looked past the furry feline and looked at the girl. "I apologize for what I did earlier. You even wasted your time looking after me..."

Realizing that he was speaking to her, she took a deep breath and cleared her throat. "No apologies necessary. After all, I would have just left you behind if I didn't have questions to ask you. I had no choice but to stay. Just so we're clear on that."

"Yeah. Sure." Her actions contradicted her words, but Subaru decided not to press it any further. "So, what happened with those bastards that you let go, anyway? They weren't really friendly towards me, and I don't think they treat anybody else differently."

"They weren't that much of a problem when they were tied up," the cat replied, which had returned to its teensy size at this point and nestled itself in the girl's shoulders. "Even more so after they saw me. No ordinary thug would dare cross a spirit user, you see?"

Subaru raised an eyebrow. "A spirit user? You mean—"

"We're not here for idle chatter, Puck." The girl cleared her throat before continuing, "I let them go so they would give me answers. Unfortunately, none of them gave me the information I needed."

"So you're asking me now?"

"Naturally."

"Sorry to be that kind of guy, but if it's about the person who stole your... what was it again?"

"Insignia."

"No clue, to be honest."

Natsuki Subaru lied as naturally as he breathed.

He might not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but he was still sharp. Encountering a girl who was seemingly in a rush to finish a job, then meeting another girl who was going through the same route the former did to find something she lost... it was too much to be a coincidence.

In that case, anybody would assume that the former stole from the latter.

He would have said that Felt was the culprit in front of the silver-haired girl in any other circumstance. The latter may have saved him from bleeding out, but Felt technically saved him from getting run over by a carriage and from being stabbed to death.

And seeing the facade of the girl in front of him starting to crumble, yet still unwavering, was also quite entertaining.

The shocked and disappointed expression in her face lasted for less than a second before returning to its stone-cold expression. "I see. So that's how it is, then. I'll be going now.

"Apologies, but I'm really in a hurry. Your injuries are gone now, and those guys probably won't come after you again considering how scared they were. However, wandering into deserted alleys alone at times like this is dangerous. No, anybody going inside a dark alley by his lonesome is asking for a death wish.

"I'm not worried or anything, I'm just warning you. I won't have a reason to save you if this happens again, so you'd better not expect anything from me, or anybody else for that matter."

Her lips moved rapidly as she went into a ranting speech. Perhaps interpreting Subaru's confounded silence as agreement, she turned away from him and started walking away.

Puck remained to hover a stone's throw away from him. The gaze it directed at him was exponentially colder than the girl's expression, to the point that he felt the surroundings around him cool down by a few degrees.

"You know something, don't you?" It whispered.

Subaru felt shivers run down his spine but he shrugged it off. "And if I did?"

"Let's just say that you're lucky that you haven't experienced how getting frozen to death feels like. Yet."

Subaru didn't dare look at his left hand. He'd lost feeling in it already, after all. "Aren't you overreacting a bit too much?"

"No, not really. I'm vexed at people like you."

"That's understandable, what I did wasn't really a good thing. But you want to know what's more vexing than my-bastard-of-a-self?"

He took a deep breath, knelt, and assumed a running position.

The numbness in his left hand started to affect his left arm, but that didn't matter as much as the hot-blooded heart raging inside of his chest. There was something that needed to be done.

Whoever this girl was, she lost an insignia that seemed to be really important to her. Yet she wasted time healing his wounds and staying by his side until he woke up.

He was of no help to her, and he even lied to her. And yet, she was so naive that she believed his words without a hint of hesitation.

She even acted like the typical tsundere ice princess character anybody would see in a manga, and she was failing way too hard acting to be inconsiderate.

This was the second time since he was thrown into this world that a person gave him kindness he couldn't fully reciprocate. Felt's actions emanated unusual companionship for a stranger, but this girl...

She was overflowing with abnormal compassion.

"PEOPLE WHO ARE TOO NICE FOR THEIR OWN GOOD!"

He ran with all his might to the end of the alley. He let out a sigh of relief as the numbness started to fade away in his arm as the rays of the sun made contact with it.

His bare feet started to hurt. His previously wounded body resisted. He panted with every step. His vision blurred. Still, he kept running forward with a hand reached out, ready to grab the white clothing in his peripheral.

"Hey, wait! I can help you!"

A/N:

For such a long absence, this is quite a short update. Sorry about that.

In the past month, I've lost my motivation about writing. Writing's my hobby, not my pastime, so I had to remind myself how I define my hobbies.

I spent weeks working because work is also my hobby. Strange, I know. It reminded me that I didn't work because of the paycheck–I worked because I just genuinely like to.

I also realized that I wrote to give other people a little push, so they could write their own stories themselves.

Never mind the frustration and hardships in the creative process—it's all worth it in the end once everybody who chances upon this would finally understand that (SubaFelt is the greatest ship known to mankind, and as a side note:) writing is something anybody could do once they set their mind to it.

This is probably the last time I'll have a note this long. I'll get back to work now.

See you soon.