Next Steps
—
So, I discovered the Fanfiction app, which makes things so much easier since I'm doing this all on my phone.
Something that I found though is the scene separators don't show up, don't know if that's just me or not, but I'm going to use this thing instead:
—
Damn, you've really backed yourself into a corner haven't you, Subaru?
Subaru sat alone with his thoughts. Quite a dangerous place to be.
This latest set of loops had impossible problems that could only be half-solved. He was stuck any route he chose. If he dared to Return by Death, he risked permanently undoing his battle with the Cult. They needed him to defeat Petelgeuse, he was the crucial piece of the chess game. They would certainly fail if he left with Rem, Emilia would most likely die, leaving Puck to kill countless others. Not to mention that he couldn't take on two Archbishops. No, this may have been the best outcome for everyone with the information he had at the time.
He simply couldn't risk it. What if the respawn point had been updated in the two days he had stayed in the Karsten estate?
Subaru opened his eyes to darkness. The room he was currently sitting in was not lit. It was the room he stayed in during his stay here at the Karsten estate.
Suddenly, light poured in from the door. Subaru flinched, his eyes protesting at the sudden brightening of his surroundings. In the open door was a shadow. Two people standing side to side. Subaru's eyes adjusted, making out the features of Meiss and Crusch. Meiss was dressed in loaner clothes supplied by Ferris' business attire. Crusch wore a simple navy dress.
"See, I knew he would be in here! It's like I had this feeling..."
Meiss nodded to Crusch, he seemed occupied with scrutinizing the room. Finally he shuddered, rubbing his neck and turning to be perpendicular to the doorframe. Crusch did the same, and the two were standing face to face for a second before Meiss sighed and backed away, holding the door open.
"Subaru, we're having a talk in the lounge about recent events. Everyone wants you there."
Subaru got up from the bed, and moved to walk out the door. When he passed between them, he realized how much shorter the blonde Archbishop was compared to Crusch. At least five inches. Subaru started down the hallway, looking behind him once to see Meiss and Crusch following. Crusch was looking down at Meiss, talking, while Meiss looked ahead at the floor. He replied every now and then, but guilt from not being able to prevent Crusch's memories from being stolen must be eating him up inside.
They passed another hallway that connected to theirs. Suddenly, Crusch burst out laughing. Subaru turned to see her holding Meiss' shoulder as she tried to restrain her laughter. Subaru narrowed his eyes, it was weird to see Crusch act so differently. Meiss must have made a joke, he had a small smile on his face.
Ferris appeared from the hall they had just passed. Relieved of his knight attire, he immediately attached himself to Crusch and pulled her away from Meiss. Crusch looked troubled for a second, before conceding to the Cat-boy. He joyfully swung his and Crusch's arms between them, seemingly not bothered by her lack of memories.
"You know, it's kind of weird to see you as cheerful as ever, Monster."
Ferris stuck out his tongue at Meiss. Crusch looked at Meiss, widening the space between her and Ferris.
"Monster? Why would you call Felix-chan a monster?"
Meiss waved his hand dismissively. Crusch still had her eyes on him, receiving a pout from Ferris in her blind spot.
"It's a joke, he ruined a very nice moment for two people."
Crusch moved in slightly closer to Ferris with an "Oh."
"You know, we've known each other for quite some time, so to refer to me as Felix-chyan is a little dystancing."
"I'm sorry Felix-ch... Felix. It will be hard, but I'll try to get things back to the way they were before."
—
The four entered the lounge, and were greeted by Emilia and Wilhelm. None of the Anastasia faction were present. This discussion did not concern them at all.
"So, I take it that we're going to discuss the effects of Gluttony's Authority?"
Surprisingly, Meiss was the one to initiate conversation. Ferris closed his mouth, as he was about to speak first, then opened it to respond.
"Yes, as you may have nyoticed, none of the Anastasia faction will be participating."
Ferris glanced at Crusch, grimacing as she was too close to Meiss in his opinion.
"That's a given, exposing weakness so soon after being announced would be horrible for your cause."
Once more surprising everybody, this was Meiss who delivered the uncut truth.
"Yes, and although that is a prevalent statement, we have the matter of what occurred on the Laifus highway to discuss. So do not mind me if I steer us back into that topic, Meiss-dono."
"I don't want to go through the honorific talk again, so I'll leave it. Regardless, what is there to talk about? The Archbishops of Greed and Gluttony attacked the trail of carriages, and we suffered heavy casualties including Rem's name and Crusch's memories."
Meiss thoughtfully twirled the single lock of hair that refused to be slicked back. Speaking of Rem, how did Subaru remember her? Meiss remembering could be chalked up to his passive sub-Authority, but Subaru had no explanation.
"Maybe we remember her because we're both from a diff-"
"Meiss!"
This was Subaru, who hastily stopped Meiss before he could reveal something so crucial. He didn't want the knowledge of their alien status to flow farther than the Mathers Domain.
"Ah, sorry Subaru. Since the events of the Laifus ambush I've realized that I've had less reservations about myself. I'll try not to slip anything pertaining to the both of us."
While this exchange resulted in confused looks and wordless glances, it seems that the fleeting topic was shut down.
"We still haven't gotten a detyailed report from you yet of what exactly happened, Meiss-san."
Meiss sighed, though it sounded suspiciously unlike a sigh and more like "ree." Wilhelm looked expectantly at the boy, being curious as to how he managed to fight two Archbishops of Sin simultaneously.
"Regulus was standing in the road, using his ability called Stop an Objects Time to destroy any carriages that dared harm him. I was able to push Crusch through the carriages siding to save her and jumped away with Rem. Ley revealed himself moments after, prompting Regulus to attack with his Authority. It was this attack that severed Crusch's arm."
Crusch shivered, clutching her arms. Meiss glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, suddenly feeling sorry.
"Rem went to heal Crusch, resulting in me acting as a barrier between them and the Archbishops. They both attacked, which led to me catching this rock."
Meiss pulled the lump of red-black volcanic rock from his pocket. He hadn't let the substance out of his sight since the events of the Laifus ambush.
"A few more blows were exchanged, resulting in me discovering that this rock nullifies Authorities. I used it to chase away Regulus, but let my guard down, allowing Ley to claim Rem's name with his Authority. More blows were exchanged, resulting in Ley being forcefully launched towards Crusch's unconscious body, allowing him to steal her memories. As he was relishing in his small victory, I took the opportunity to remotely sever his arm. After that the rest is easy to piece together. You all saw Gluttony's body."
Everyone looked down when Meiss finished with his summary. Their faces were grave when the outcome seemed to be the best possible one that could have been achieved. Wilhelm was the first to break the silence.
"While the losses are numerous, and I mean no ill-will, I will rest a little better knowing that out of the six Archbishops, only three remain now."
"While it is nice to think like that, the number of Archbishops is wrong. Out of the seven sins, Sloth, Greed, Gluttony, Pride, Envy, Wrath, and Lust. There is also Melancholy and Vanity, or Vainglory if you prefer. While I don't know which Sin is missing from the Archbishop count, or who the third missing Archbishop is, I would like for everyone to know about the other two."
Ferris narrowed his eyes, Melancholy and Vainglory? These sins are mere children's tales, subsets of Sloth and Pride used in stories to give the heroes more villains to defeat.
"Why do you sound so sure that children's tales are real, do you actually have a problem with your head?"
Meiss shot an icy glare at Ferris, who didn't shrink back. While the two had momentarily strengthened their bonds, it seemed that they were quickly being torn apart. Meiss had no explanation, perhaps Ferris was frustrated with Crusch and taking it out on him? Meiss noticed Crusch furrow her brows at Ferris.
"I have no desire to hear your angry voice, cat, but I can assure you that Melancholy and Vanity are very real; and if anyone was wondering about the authenticity of the rock's anti-Authority behavior I can relieve your doubts."
Meiss once again drew the rheniite from his pocket. He dropped the rock on a table in the center of the room and held his hand out to it. Ferris, Crusch, Wilhelm, and Emilia all widened their eyes as a stream of orange-cyan light burst from his palm and shot towards the rock. Just as it was about to hit it, the beam stopped short, evaporating into black and purple mist that drifted to the ground.
"N-nyo way..."
"Meiss-dono..."
Emilia looked around at everyone's shocked expressions, wondering why they were so disbelieving.
"T-that must be some form of fire magic right? To smoke like that... I've also seen those colors in flame before! Why does everyone look so~ suprised? Meiss must be super skilled, I think."
To her surprise, she was ignored by everyone. Except for Subaru, who said "Just wait, he's about to drop a bombshell."
Meiss stopped the use of Acedia, and picked the rheniite up. He calmly held it to his side as he turned back to the group.
"By those expressions, I'm sure you understood what I was demonstrating. I am an Archbishop of Sin, though to believe I associate with the Witch Cult is a grave mistake. As to how I know that Melancholy and Vanity exist? Simple."
He twirled his overhanging lock of hair.
"I am Melancholy."
Meiss watched as Ferris pulled Crusch away from him, earning a startled cry. Wilhelm stood up from the couch he was sitting on, turning to face him. Crusch turned to Ferris.
"What's wrong? Why are you acting as if Meiss is dangerous?"
"I am dangerous."
Crusch turned to face him, shock in her eyes.
"If it's any consolation, you would already be dead if I attacked. You remember what I did to the clone of the Hakugei, right Felix? I also have a personal vendetta against the Witch Cult. Although with the death of Gluttony I guess that's less."
Seeing as nobody was backing down, Meiss felt a pang of grief shoot through him. He really did like everyone here.
"Guys, relax, it's as he said, if he wanted or needed us dead we already would be. Are you seriously saying the guy that risked his life against two Archbishops of Sin and a giant whale is untrustworthy?"
Subaru spoke up, getting everyone to turn to him. While he had the experience of past loops to say for certain that Meiss was trustworthy, he could only hope that everyone else saw him as such.
Subaru breathed a sigh of relief as Wilhelm backed down. Ferris showed no signs of following though, continuing to glare and growl at the boy. Crusch looked worried, looking between Meiss and Ferris. Eventually, she wrestled herself out of Ferris' grasp and took a step away.
"Ferris!"
"Y-yes Crusch-sama?"
"I do not know what these 'Authorities' or 'Archbishops' are, but you would do well to respect someone who has bled for you or your peers."
Subaru widened his eyes, it seems that Crusch still subconsciously had this authoritative side to her. Meiss widened his eyes ever so slightly as he stared as Crusch's back. She turned to face him, a light blush dusting her cheeks. When he saw this, Meiss quickly looked away.
Ferris ground his teeth and flattened his ears as he watched this exchange. He had known Crusch for years, so why was he losing to someone she had just met?
"Ahem, I would like to return the conversation to what we were previously discussing."
Ferris unflattened one of his ears and brought the conversation back to what to do about the Gluttony victims, as per Wilhelm's request.
"Syo, about Crusch-sama and 'Rem', we can all agree to keep this a secret, nya?"
After the small chorus of yeah, sure, and ok, Ferris appeared satisfied. However, there was still an elephant in the room...
"What about undoing the effects? Any way to do that?"
Subaru gladly charged in upon it.
Ferris dropped his bubbly demeanor for a second as he replied no, he had not figured out how to undo the effects of Gluttony's Authority.
"There probably is no way to undo the effects of Gluttony's Authority without the Sage..."
"Sage?"
"The Sage, she rests atop the Pleidias Watchtower, safeguarding it from anyone who would dare enter. Especially the Witch Cult, for the Witch of Envy herself is imprisoned there."
Wilhelm replied, and took a deep breath to begin talking agin.
"Unfortunately, even though my research on the Witch Cult is extensive, I have only scratched the surface on information I believe."
Every head turned to face Meiss.
Meiss looked up when he felt every gaze hot upon him. He furrowed his brows and wryy'd softly as he began to speak.
"Every member has a vial of suicide poison on their person to escape captivity. The Archbishops themselves deliver Gospels. Each Authority is passed on when an Archbishop dies. I don't know which one, but one of the remaining ones has extreme healing capabilities. They are always moving; and the Hakugei was the pet of Gluttony."
Ferris, Wilhelm, and Subaru darkened their gaze. Emilia and Crusch only frowned, not understanding much of what was spoken.
"Puck."
Subaru turned to Emilia.
"What about him? I could call him for you if you want to talk."
"No, er, maybe, but I was wondering about Puck. If we ever get a pinpoint on the Cult again, we could probably just sick Puck on them. I remember when he had to let off his mana, and we all nearly froze to death. No doubt he could probably do that again, but much colder."
Emilia seemed to consider it, and tilted her head to the side. She frowned, closing her eyes.
"He-he's not responding to my calls?"
"E-Emilia-tan, isn't that a bad thing?
"Maybe he's just tired. I don't want to bother him, he might get grumpy if I wake him up."
Ferris, who had closed his eyes and was deep in thought, slowly opened them. He brought his hands together in front of him and proclaimed loudly:
"Well~ seeing as it accomplished what it set out to do, we can disband the alliance nyow, right?"
Subaru looked up, dumbfounded.
"Felix."
"You see, the original purpose has been fulfilled, as well as a bit extra. So..."
"Felix."
"Not to mention that with Emilia-san's place as a candidate going public, she will nyo doubt become an even bigger target."
"FERRIS!"
The cat-boy went rigid as Wilhelm shouted his name.
"Will-jii? W-we're done with the Hakugei, and Crusch has suffered irreparable harm..."
"Ferris, we will not disband this alliance. They are suffering just the same as us, not to mention that threatening them here may give them incentive to use this information against us."
Ferris fell silent. It wasn't every day that Wilhelm raised his voice. Subaru looked at his palms, remembering the light-as-feather feeling of Rem's body as he froze to death.
"It could have been worse."
Ferris looked up at Subaru. He had tears welling up, but they dried instantly as he yelled.
"WHAT?!"
"I'm saying it could have been worse, imagine if Crusch or Rem had died or lost the other half of themselves. They would be completely empty! No idea who they are, and nobody an idea of who they used to be!"
"They would be comatose."
"COMATOSE?!"
Meiss pushed off the wall, and took a wide stance.
"If both the name and memories are eaten, the victim would be put into a state of suspended animation. No need to eat, drink, exercise, or excrete waste. They are merely empty, a shell that is unmoving and... defenseless."
Meiss turned towards the hallway he had entered from. Just talking about it was pushing the limits of his composure. It was a superhuman feat that he had lasted this long.
He looked down at his hands. They were shaking. Meiss clenched them into fists, almost hard enough to draw blood from his palm.
"I need a breather..."
He abruptly stopped, and turned to face the room.
"I would greatly appreciate it if you could keep the whole 'I am Melancholy' thing a secret. After I get done analyzing the lump of rheniite, I'll tell you exactly what substance it is that nullifies Authorities so you can update your armory. Just keep hush hush please."
With that, Meiss left the room.
—
A few hours passed, as everyone resumed duties or healed gates. The members of the Roswaal Mansion had been granted one more nights stay.
Subaru was laying in the grass with Emilia. The two hadn't really had a chance to talk since they had found the ruined carriages on the Laifus highway. Now though, they had been talking for quite a bit. Mostly about the events of the past few days, although...
"Hey, I know that Rem is pretty, but pay some attention to me too."
Subaru opened his eyes wide as he looked at Emilia with surprise.
"You visit her all the time, could you spare some of that for me and Puck? Not to mention that you haven't seen Ram or Beatrice in a week. Geez, you really need to make up for lost time, Subaru."
Subaru continued to look at Emilia, who fiddled with her fingers as she watched the clouds. The half-elf turned to look at Subaru with a pout. All he could do, the only thing that our maybe-protagonist could possibly do in this situation was jump up and loudly proclaim the truth.
"Ram and Beako would rather kill me than spend time with me! And you! You've got your nose in a book 24/7!"
"I need to learn if I'm going to be the next ruler! Subaru you dunderhead!"
"Who says dunderhead anymore?"
Subaru hopped, straightening his body before he hit the ground. Wilhelm had just walked into the clearing. Subaru hadn't yet thanked him for keeping the alliance going. He turned to Emilia as he began walking towards him.
"I'm sorry Emilia-tan, I'll spend more time with you whenever you want. I genuinely worry for Rem, and keep checking up on her to make sure she isn't lonely. I could never imagine having everyone you've ever loved or cared about look at you and say 'Who are you?'"
Subaru had carefully omitted the word "promise" from that. The word was beginning to gain some sort of negative connotation with him.
He jokingly blew a kiss to Emilia, who waved it off. Spinning around, Subaru started off towards Wilhelm, who had just entered a doorway.
The double doors had no lock or doorknob, so Subaru assumed it wasn't private quarters. He loudly barged in, flinching when he realized it was a library. He put up his hands defensively, waiting for some sort of blast.
Oh man, this is stupid.
Subaru lowered his hands. The shock of suddenly entering a library must have triggered his Beako reaction. She never took kindly to him suddenly barging in.
Walking up to Wilhelm, who was massaging his shoulder as he browsed the selection, Subaru announced his presence.
"Hey there Wilhelm!"
Wilhelm turned to face Subaru as he plucked a book from the shelves.
"Hello there Subaru-dono, what can I do for you?"
"I've got nothing, I just wanted to thank you for keeping the alliance going. You don't know how much it means."
"No."
Subaru was about to start talking more, but suddenly stopped when Wilhelm's response sunk in.
"No?"
"I did not do it for your sake, Subaru-dono. I decided to keep the alliance alive for my own selfish needs."
"Tha-that's ok Wilhelm, I'm doing the exact same thing."
With a sigh, Wilhelm replaced the book to its rightful place on the shelf. He turned back to face Subaru once more. Undoing the buttons on his shirt, he removed it to reveal a bandage over his shoulder. There was a spot of blood near where the shoulder met the chest.
A loud thump echoed from the corner of the library, followed by a stool hitting the ground. Wilhelm and Subaru turned to look at Meiss on his hands and knees, reaching for a book on the ground. He looked up, and a shudder went through his whole body, causing him to drop the book. His hand shot to the back of his neck and stayed for a moment. He finally stood up, trying to flatten a page in the book that had been creased.
Wilhelm sighed, and began to put his shirt on. Meiss walked over, placing the book on a table nearby. Subaru noticed the title on the binding.
Yang: Spells and Use
"If you got a wound in the fighting, why haven't you gotten Felix to take a look at it?"
"Because this is no simple injury, Subaru-dono. It is in fact a result of the Blessing of the Reaper; an incurable wound. While that may sound bad, the implications are even worse."
Meiss walked up to Wilhelm, who towered over him with his height, and peered at the bloodstain.
"If it's unable to be healed, then let's try to cauterize it. No sense in you bleeding out, at least."
Meiss' hand twitched, then started to shake. He grit his teeth and clenched his hand into a fist. A river of colored energy sprung from his back and flowed in front of him. Bright orange and cyan light alternated the surface of the thick wire, and it glowed with the candescence of an old lightbulb. Every few seconds, a spark would pop somewhere along the length of the tendril.
Wilhelm took in a breath at the sight of Meiss' Authority. It had a sort of deathly allure to it. He stepped away from the Acedia wire, putting his shirt the rest of the way on.
"There is no need, Mei- ... Meiss-dono. The wound will close up by itself over time. What bothers me isn't the wound though, it is as I said before, the implications behind the wound are dire. It only opens up when I am close to the one who wounded me."
Subaru scowled, "Does this mean a new enemy to fight? GOD DAMN IT!" He threw his hands up into the air, and brought thi self down into the fetal position. "NOOOOOOOOOOOO°oOO!"
Wilhelm chuckled, before extending his hand to help Subaru up.
"I hope not, for the only one who could inflict a wound with the Blessing of the Reaper was my late wife, Theresia van Astrea."
Meiss scrunched his eyes, and recalled the Acedia wire.
"So someone else has this Divine Blessing? I know of Blessings reserved for a certain species, but duplicates of someone's unique Blessing?"
"Exactly, no one could have done it but her, which begs the question: Why did it reopen then? The only answer that I can think of, no matter how absurd, is that my wife has somehow returned from the dead."
—
Subaru let out a long sigh as he and Meiss rounded a corner.
"Man, undead wives is too stressful to think about."
Meiss just nodded and kept walking.
Subaru turned to him, and lightly bopped him on the shoulder.
"We still haven't really gotten to know each other yet, despite being through so much. Eh?"
"If I recall, all we did together was fight the whale, then we split up."
"Oh, yeah."
The two continued to walk. Meiss had undergone some serious character development, Subaru wondered what exactly happened in his fight with Greed and Gluttony. Crusch rounded a corner, seeming lost and not lost at the same time. She turned, saw the two, and made her way over.
"Crusch? That's perfect Subaru."
Meiss walked ahead of Subaru and turned to face him head-on.
"Something interesting has happened, Subaru. My neck tingles around you now. You may not be aware of what that means, so I'll elucidate this situation."
Meiss took a deep breath, and crossed his arms. Crusch had made it to them, but had slowed down when she felt the tense atmosphere.
"Each Archbishop of Sin has a reaction when another Archbishop of Sin is near. It's a tingling in the back of the neck. This tingle wasn't there a few days ago, but when we reunited on the Laifus highway it suddenly was. At the time I assumed it was left over from the fight, but it still persists."
Subaru shifted his weight as Meiss suddenly appeared hostile. It was weird having both a hostile and friendly aura coming from the same person.
"Me and Rem, and I guess Crusch now, know you have foresight, future vision, prophetic sight, what have you, but the tingles weren't there before. Is this power a Divine Blessing? Or is it an Authority that somehow doesn't elicit a response in my neck?"
Subaru stammered, he didn't know. To him, every death was like the end of some lucid dream. Beyond that, he was clueless. Meiss leaned foreword, and Subaru leaned back.
"I- I don't know! Ok! I don't know, I just have it! I know nothing about it besides the obvious!"
Meiss flicked his gaze over to Crusch, who shook her head.
"Sigh, I guess you're off the hook then."
Meiss drew back.
"W- What about you, Meiss! I know next to nothing about you! What did you do for the two weeks before now? What business did you have with Petelgeuse and Ley? Hell, I'm not even sure where you're from! Also instead of sighing, you said the actual word 'sigh'!"
Meiss rubbed his eyes, such a torrent of questions... not like he was any better.
"I'm definitely English with a hint of German and some other stuff; and I lived in the U.S. As for my business with the Archbishops... To put it simply I was on a personal quest against Gluttony, Sloth was just information."
Meiss exhaled, and closed his eyes.
"Not to mention that Crusch and Rem aren't the only victims of Gluttony... God I feel like I'm spouting exposition."
Subaru widened his eyes, more victims of Gluttony? Meiss was talking about himself... He clearly had memories, so that means...
"Your name was eaten?"
"The reason I'm immune to reality altering effects in fact. When an Authority manifests, it takes your situation, mind, body, and desires into account to form a power. That's why my Authority is more combat-oriented."
"..."
"I checked up on Rem like you keep asking me to, there was some sorta floating cat with her. He didn't like me all that much."
Meiss remembered that Crusch was standing next to him, he no longer had anything to talk about so he left. Subaru watched him walk down the hall with the head of the Karsten estate.
He snorted as the serious and icy Meiss went stiff as a board when Crusch grabbed his arm and pressed herself against him. His crimson head whipped around to glare at Subaru.
"SHUT UP!"
Crusch and Subaru burst out laughing. The former proceeded to use her height advantage to pick Meiss up and bridal-carry him.
"NO! NO NO NO! NONONONONONO! REFUSE! DAGA KO-MMMNNPPHH!
Crusch covered Meiss' mouth.
"Ah, you're so short it's cute!"
Subaru rolled around on the ground, dying of laughter. Crusch smiled.
Under her breath, she whispered to herself. "I can't remember how they acted towards each other before, but I'm happy to have calmed that horrible mood back there."
The two rounded the corner, with Meiss seeming to have given up on escape.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAhahaha ha ha ... haaa."
Subaru jumped when the door next to him opened and nearly conked him on the head.
"Oh! Subaru-kun, Rem is sorry!"
Rem kneeled down to inspect his head.
"I'm fine Rem, you missed me."
"Rem did indeed miss you."
"... With the door"
"... Oh"
Subaru stood up, and Rem, who was in casual attire for the first time he had seen her, dragged him into her temporary quarters. Not much was in the room, just a simple bed, dresser, desk, and mirror. The only uncanny thing was the floating kitten who was inspecting himself in the mirror. Subaru noticed that he had a different bag than what he usually wore with Emilia. It was black with a purple symbol embroidered on it. Subaru realized it was the flag of Lugnica.
"Oh, hey Subaru. How was Lia? It really pains me to ignore her calls, but I really wanted to get to know this person I should know."
Subaru scowled at the cat, who covered his mouth. Puck had struck a nerve.
"She was startled, you should go back and reassure her."
He must have come off colder than he intended, because Rem tugged at his shirt.
"While it is disconcerting that Rem will have to reintroduce herself, please do not make things harder, Subaru-kun."
With a sigh, Subaru scrunched up his face for a split second, then sat in the desk chair. Rem gracefully sat on the bed, and Puck completed the triangle by floating next to the mirror.
...
...
...
Subaru cleared his throat, he didn't have anything to talk about that would involve Puck, so it was super awkw-
Conversation Idea.
"So Puck, Meiss told me that you two don't seem to be getting along. Why is that?"
"Surely Subaru-kun is able to at least get a rough estimate of Meiss' pathetic spirit affinity?"
"Pathetic? As the only spirit in the room, I must say that his spirit affinity is nonexistent. While I try to be better, it's in my nature to immediately dislike someone who seems so foul, and smells so foul too."
"Hmm, maybe I shouldn't introduce him to Beako then... Anyways Rem, I haven't the faintest idea of how to gauge spirit affinity. You do remember I'm from another world, right?"
Rem's breath hitched in her throat as she glanced at Puck. The spirit himself was looking at Subaru funny and twitching his ears, as if he had heard wrong.
"S-Subaru-kun?"
"Oh it's fine Rem, I can trust Puck with this secret. He seems to be able to safeguard all the important information really well!"
The spirit narrowed his eyes, and glared at Subaru.
"I can't help but feel like that was a jab at me, apologize or I'll tell Lia."
With no instants to spare Subaru was bowing in front of the grey spirit, mumbling nigh-incoherent apologies at light speed.
Rem giggled.
After a solid thirty seconds of continuous apology, Puck released Subaru.
"Ok, I'm satisfied. I'll tell Lia that you were a good boy."
"That's a SUPER depressing thing to hear!"
The spirit proofed into light, leaving Rem and Subaru alone.
Rem watched the air where Puck was just seconds ago with a smile. That smile slowly faded into Rem hugging her legs. Subaru climbed onto the bed next to her and pulled her into a side hug.
"I know it'll be hard Rem, but... I'm sure we can do it."
"B-But nobody knows Rem anymore, not even Nee-sama will remember... It just hurts Rem so much."
Subaru pulled her even closer, and could feel tears soak his shoulder.
"Rem is so lonely. It's funny, isn't it? To be surrounded by people yet feel so alone. It's horrible Subaru."
Subaru took each word like a blow heavier than a lions paw, each word sliced deeper than Elsa's wicked blades.
"You aren't completely alone Rem. While it may not be as many people as before, you have me and Meiss. We still remember you Rem."
Subaru kept inserting her name into his sentences, as if to reassure Rem that he remembered.
Rem tightened her grip on her legs.
"It hurts Rem to see the look on Meiss' face. He comes by all the time because he worries so much. He may not show it, but he values friends higher than most people. Meiss hurts himself all the time by thinking he could have done better. He comes to Rem with a worried smile, converses with Rem wearing a gentle smile, and leaves Rem with a pained smile. Rem tells him every time that it is not his fault, but he doesn't believe that."
Subaru had no words for this. When compared to this, his breakdown a week ago seemed like a child's tantrum. Maybe that's all it was.
Subaru didn't notice Rem looking up at his face, not until she pushed him onto his back on the bed. It was rather forceful and unexpected, so he had no time to brace himself. Rem leaned over him, eyes still watering.
"Please Subaru-kun, don't wear that face around Rem. Rem curses that face, the face of someone who is attacking themselves."
Rem sniffled, and swung a leg over Subaru to straddle him. He held his breath, motionless, as Rem crumpled against his shoulder and started letting her tears flow freely. Subaru hugged her back, and the two stayed like this for a while. When Rem calmed down, she slightly detached herself from Subaru, but still held him in a tight embrace.
Subaru had continued to breathe a while ago, and felt Rem shift on top of him. He shifted too, thinking she was getting up, only to be surprised by a kiss on the cheek.
"A-"
All Subaru could say was this half-word as Rem kissed his cheek again. This time in a different spot.
"Uh-"
Rem kissed him again. This time wasn't on the cheek though.
Neural overload. Reboot imminent. Please wait.
—
Meiss tiredly shambled down that hall. It had taken almost half an hour to escape from Crusch, and even then he was sure that she had let him go. Damn that woman was deceptively strong.
Meiss froze.
What was that sound?
It was coming from a few doors down, Rem's room.
Meiss soundlessly walked over, curious.
"Stay with me for tonight, Subaru-kun."
"R-Rem, w-won't people be curious as to what we were doing all night? Uhm. B-besides, that was my first time, I still need to emotionally prepare. Rem? REM? Mmphh!"
Meiss spun around, Crusch was the better option.
—
Heh
While I wish I could just leave my A/N at that, I must also inform you of another two-week break before I start to release Arc 4. Ultra writing time, it is.