Note: This chapter is meant to feature strikethrough text in places. As FF dot net doesn't like strikethrough being used the intended text will instead be portrayed by the words being surrounded like so: —/I'm scared/— Hopefully this still conveys the intended response. If not, this and all my other fics are hosted on Ao3 under the same pen name, with the strikethrough portrayed as intended.
"You are demonically inspired." Rem said, tears of happiness rolling down her face.
"You know it." He winked back finally, finally, letting his tense shoulders relax and letting his face break out in a carefree grin. He had made it. He had made it!
He had been up against heart pounding terror, unimaginable odds and a constant threat of death but he had made it out the other side and been rewarded with the beautiful smile of a truly beautiful girl.
…huh. Now that he thought about it, that made it the second time his fight against almighty Fate-Sama had ended like this. He was pretty sure there was a joke about nickels in there somewhere, which was bizarre because last he checked Subaru was pretty sure he was Japanese. Weird.
Still, the fact that it had happened twice… He was making a bit of a habit of this.
Though, Subaru thought absentmindedly, Rem's teary smile leaving him momentarily mesmerised, If I do always manage to come out the other side to a sight like this then maybe I can get used to dying.
—/A sudden searing attack on his neck threw his head back, a pain that left the other pains of his body far behind in the dust. Just as his once young friends had when they realised just what he was. Just as his soon to be corpse will be. Dust, mud and his own blood becoming one./—
—/It hurt. It hurt. Ithurtsofuckingmuch./—
—/Oh… It… didn't hurt?/—
—/Vision fading, he looked at the friend the murderer the torturer in front of him, their face still carved in a furious snarl/—
—/But at least he couldn't see those eyes anymore/—
Cutting off a sharp inhale a moment after it began, Subaru bit down on his lip as hard as he could without it being noticeable in an attempt to stifle any other noises he may have been about to make.
The sheer contentment he could see in Rem's gaze helped.
The look in this Rem's eyes couldn't be further away from the look in that Rem's eyes.
But even so, the fact that those eyes were so full of tears?
Unacceptable
What sort of a son of Kenichi Natsuki would he be if he allowed such tears in his presence?
Hand reaching out to meet with that of Rem's, Subaru stepped forwards, his other hand rising up to help Rem fight off the tears that were attempting to lay claim to her maidenly cheeks while his first guided her own battle scarred hand down to safety. Rem must've seen him coming because for a moment she froze, her eyes widening in surprise.
His thumb had just been about to make contact when she started moving once more.
The way Rem's nose twitched was unbearably cute. The way those widened eyes then minutely narrowed at him, and the now small frown on her face that followed however most certainly was not.
—/When did you learn where the vases are kept?/—
Breath hitching in his throat, all thoughts of embracing the person in front of him fled and Subaru tried to follow suit. His legs bent at the knee slightly as he readiedhimselftogetbackgetawaydon'tletherseepleaseletmelive-
A squeeze of his hand brought Subaru crashing back down to Earth- …Lugunica? What was the name of the planet he was on?! No. Pin that. Later.
He was still in the guest bedroom with Rem —/no Ram he hadn't reset it was over/— his hand was still being held in a comforting grip and Rem was suddenly much closer to him than he remembered! How did she do that without him noticing? Had Rem actually been using a stealth build this entire time?!
Rem had indeed stepped forward. She had closed the distance he had made when he had flinched back and was now leaning into his still raised hand herself allowing his thumb to lie against her now flushed cheeks. The rest of her though had slumped, her head now angled towards the floor where her eyes, had they been open, would surely be looking as well.
"Rem…?"
At his soft question Rem's eyes slowly opened, staring deeply into his own. It wasn't uncomfortable, but she was close enough that he almost felt embarrassed, and if the way Rem's face had flushed further was any indication he wasn't the only one feeling it. Despite that though she did not break her gaze, and those eyes in front of him were just so full.
Full of tears still yes, but also so full of… blue. It was an odd thing to focus on, after all it had been one of the very first things he had learned at this mansion. Rem was blue. Just as Ram was pink. Other things had come later, but that had been the first thing he'd noticed. The blue maid and the pink maid, ever so devoted to protecting their home.
(For those wondering, the first thing he'd learned about Beako was adorable. Roswaal was, well, clown.
Mili had been met before his arrival at the mansion and so technically wasn't a part of this list, but in the interest of fairness and definitely nothing else, Mili was beautiful.)
But looking into Rem's eyes now, so full of nervousness and sorrow and determination Subaru knew that thinking of her as blue would never be enough. In fact he knew that he would never be able to look at the same shade of blue the same way ever again.
It wasn't Rem that could be described as blue. It was blue that could only be described as Rem.
And right now he was staring into Rem and there was not the slightest trace of hostility.
And when the next tear fell it was that realisation that allowed him to stop it in its tracks, his thumb ever so gently wiping it off her soft cheek.
His quest complete, he was once more rewarded with a precious smile. It was small and it quivered slightly, but it held as Rem began to speak.
"Rem can only apologise, Subaru. For Rem to cause Subaru to feel such fear after he had just helped Rem to smile… Rem is so terrible-"
"Hey, cut that out!" Subaru interjected, his thumb swiping through the next villain attempting to sneak through, "You aren't any of those things, okay Rem? You don't need to apologise, after all it was my fault for overreacting. You didn't even do anything wrong but I still hesitated like that."
"Nothing wrong…? You… Rem just—" Rem began, before shaking her head softly and taking a breath. "Sister said that she had told you about… her horn?"
"W-well kinda?" Subaru floundered, "She mentioned it but I didn't really ask any follow up questions so…"
"And just now, when I mentioned it before?" Rem continued.
"Well yeah, but it's still not really any of my business-"
"Rem trusts you." Rem cut him off. And well, who was he to argue with that? Even he wasn't that thick headed. "It was the Witches Cult." She spat, her whole body trembling for a moment in rage. "The whole village… Everyone who lived there… And my sister's horn, all of it, just destroyed in one night. Master Roswaal was kind enough to take us in, to give us a new home, but I could never forget what had happened. They had already destroyed the place that Ram and I belonged to once before, but were it ever to happen again…"
Hey hey wasn't this sounding fairly familiar? Subaru gulped as quietly as he could. Still though, the entire village? To be honest he couldn't really picture it. Personal tragedy was something he was (recently) able to relate to, but on a larger scale such as that? He could recall the odd earthquake he had heard about from the safety of his own home, but once again that hardly compared.
But… suppose it was a bunch of Elsa's that had managed to kill Emilia, Old Man Rom, Felt and everyone in the Mansion and Arlam Village leaving only himself alive. Leaving all of them to slowly slowly slowly —/you'reslowlygrowingcold/— bleed out—! To die cold and scared on the floor—
When put like that…
"…I see." Subaru finally said, his hand clenching tight for a moment. "I'm so sorry that happened to you Rem. And to Ram too. That's awful."
Rem gave a weak smile. "Thank you for your kindness Subaru. It means everything to me."
I guess in a fantasy world such as this one it isn't just the monsters you need to worry about. There's always some sort of evil organisation in the shadows and these bastards in the Witches Cult seem to fit the bill. Does that mean it's only a matter of time before I find myself up against them?
…Hopefully I actually get to have a training arc before that. A single debuff spell is hardly going to cut it…
By now Subaru was absentmindedly stroking along Rem's cheek bone with his thumb. Her tears had seemingly dried up for the moment, but Rem was in no rush to point this fact out to him and instead was now preening under his touch doing everything she could to avoid startling him out of this state.
Her hopes were for naught though as Subaru snapped out of his thoughts, finally making the connection to what exactly was feeling so familiar.
—/Your bald-faced lies can only take you so far when the witch's scent lies so thickly upon you!/—
Crap- It was that Rem who said-
"Rem I…" He started, "Just so you know I… I'm not connected to those Witch Cult scumbags in any way-"
Rem shook her head forcefully. "Rem knows. Subaru would never- Subaru is not the type of person to ever be a part of those bastards. After all… Subaru is actually a wonderful person!"
Wonderful…? Does she really… think that of me?
Were he to have an arm free he'd likely have it flailing around in front of himself as though that would help to bat away Rem's sincere compliment. That or use it to hide away his surely bright red cheeks.
Such a large freak out the boy was having to the unexpected praise that he ended up missing the tiny smile Rem made in response to just how flustered her words made him.
Once he'd finally recovered Subaru continued.
"Thanks for the vote of confidence Rem. Your instincts are spot on though! I have absolutely no connection to the Witches Cult whatsoever."
Rem smiled, "Rem already knew."
And if that didn't sound like he was still on track for the golden ending he didn't know what did. Now all he had to do was stay on it. And to do that—
"As I mentioned back in the forest though, now that it's all finally taken care of let's talk," He began.
"Until our voices are hoarse…" Rem softly finished.
"Right." He smiled. "So let's talk, okay?"
"Oo… kay?" Rem hesitantly echoed. "Rem has heard you say that a few times now but…"
Subaru winced. "Really am getting some deja vu signs here… It pretty much just means understood, okay?"
Rem's eyes lit up, "Okay!"
"Perfect!" Subaru exclaimed, raising his thumb on the hand still holding Rem's own.
Rem beamed.
Wait a second.
Subaru looked down at his hand, still joined with that of Rem's.
Waaaaaait a second.
Subaru looked at his other hand, still stroking along Rem's cheek even though by now her face was long dry.
Wait. A. Second.
Because if all that were true—
HE HAD HAD HIS HANDS ON REM THIS WHOLE TIME?! Was he so spellbound by their conversation that he completely forgot what kind of position he was in?!
"Ah…" he managed.
Blue eyes ever so slowly blinked. "Ah?" Rem innocently repeated. She even tilted her head cutely!
Dangerous! This girl was dangerous!
He swiftly removed his hand from its position of definitely not cradling Rem's cheek he swore, instead moving it to the totally natural position behind him so he could rub the back of his head in an attempt to act as casually as possible. Comforting a crying girl was one thing, but to hold on to such a girl that no longer needed his help?
"Sorry about that!" He apologised, letting it a nervous chuckle, completely missing the whispered Rem didn't mind.
Please forgive my unfaithfulness, Mili… he mentally sobbed to himself.
"So!" He crowed desperately, trying to get past the surely awkward moment.
"So!" Rem enthusiastically repeated, pumping her fists encouragingly in front of herself.
"…Soooooooo!" Subaru drawled, not stalling for time whatsoever.
Rem said nothing, merely holding her determined pose.
"…"
"…?"
"Aarghhh! I can't think of anything! My mind went blank at the most crucial moment!" He yelled, his hands now moving to hide his embarrassment.
"Oh no! Is there anything Rem can do to help?"
"Honestly you asking me that just makes my head even emptier…"
"Oh no!" Rem earnestly said again. This girl… Or this this girl anyway. Although, that was a thought-
"Not to interrupt myself but if you don't mind me saying," Subaru began, once more shooting off an apology to disappointed mental Mili and disapproving mental Puck, "your behaviour recently… it seems to have shifted quite a bit from before."
Other than a quiet little "Oh." to that Rem didn't respond. Instead she tilted her head down slightly once more, her hair shadowing her eyes.
"Don't get me wrong! I love the calm and collected maid trope too!" Subaru backpedalled, his arms sent spiraling. "It's just that this Rem…" Was he blushing? It felt like he was blushing, "It's just that… I think I prefer this Rem…?"
For a few moments Rem didn't respond. She just stood there with what would be remarkably still if not for the slightest tremor of her frame. Subaru nearly reached back out to steady her, traitorous feelings in his heart be damned, but just as he made that decision, Rem lifted her head, blue eyes once more piercing into his.
"I suppose that means… Subaru… noticed the way that I acted around you…?"
Subaru couldn't help but wince.
Rem let out a shaky breath. "Rem is sorry again Subaru. If Rem may be so bold can we… talk about your… about what Rem has been smelling on you?"
Subaru grit his teeth, determined not to show the shiver he just felt down his spine. He let out a slow exhale, pushing out all remnants of fear from his body as he did so.
"You already shared some of your past with me. It's only fair that I share some stuff about myself too." He tried to give her a carefree grin but it was probably a little too small and lopsided to have the full effect. "Although I need to say up front that this probably won't be in as much detail as your own, okay?"
Rem nodded.
"So… I'll start this off by saying that I've had some… problems crop up before because of the way I smell." Subaru began, focusing everything on seeing this Rem in front of him and no other. "Apparently… it shares some similarities to a smell shared by a certain group of individuals."
By the hard look in Rem's eyes she fully understood what he was referring to.
"The Witches Scent…" Subaru muttered more to himself than the girl he was supposed to be talking to before speaking up again. "Honestly though, those 'Witches Cult' bastards you just mentioned… I only ever first heard of them recently. In fact, you probably know way more on the subject than I do." A brief pause. "I also don't know as to why it's lingering on me."
That last one was only mostly true. If Subaru really wanted to, he thought that he could maybe put some —/Mabeasts are creatures of the witch's creation/— of the pieces —/This overwhelming smell of beasts too! What did you do?!/— he had collected —/The slender shadowed hand reached into his body. He didn't think it was possible to feel this much fear/— over many other lifetimes together —/A scary witch… a terrifying witch. To even speak her name was terrifying. Everyone called her the Witch of Envy/—. He just didn't think that once he had done such a thing that those pieces could ever be broken up again. Self proclaimed flag crusher he may be, but even he could figure out that any sequence breaking his isekai experience would only lead to bad ends. Permanent bad ends. Besides, he already didn't like the look of the smaller images. He didn't dare find out what the combined ones would make.
Those pieces that may have been edging ever so slightly towards one another were instantly scattered when he looked into Rem and saw nothing but belief shining back at him.
Gol! Den! End! Ing!
—/And if Subaru felt any guilt about hiding his thoughts from Rem, the scummy feeling he could feel in the pit of his stomach made a compelling argument as to why he wouldn't be doing it again./—
"So Subaru has no idea what caused him to bear this awful affiliation…" Rem downheartedly muttered.
Subaru looked off to the side. "Hold your horses there Rem." Missing Rem's confused little "Horses..?", "While I may not know how it got there, I have figured out how some of my actions can cause the intensity of the smell to change somewhat."
Rem's nose twitched. "To make it weaker?"
Subaru sheepishly shook his head.
Rem slumped slightly. "Oh. Does that mean… Subaru is likely always going to smell in a similar manner?"
"I—" Stopping himself by speaking his first thought aloud with a quick pinch to his side Subaru tried again. "Probably. Yeah."
"…I see." Rem said. "In that case… as Rem wants nothing more than to make up for all her actions before, and to maybe stay close to Subaru," She whispered, suddenly too quiet to hear, then quickly rising in volume again, "and as fellow members of staff of the Roswaal Mansion who will be expected to work together without issues Rem'll just need to… get used to it." Rem finished dejectedly.
And wasn't Rem's beaten down expression just a hit to the gut. Just another thing for the pit still formed within there.
Rem managed a small smile. "Rem endeavours to work to the point she can fight through her instincts towards Subaru's smell."
"Hey, you don't need to hold onto that all on your own, okay?" Subaru interjected. "The problem stems from me after all, so I'll be here to help you anyway I can."
"Really?" Rem smiled.
"Yeah." Subaru confirmed. "I guess you'll just have to keep close to me until my scent doesn't bother you anymore-"
"Rem accepts!"
"You- wait, wha—"
But in the moment Subaru had spent processing what he had just heard, Rem had taken a step forward towards him. He saw her nose slightly twitch again as she closed the distance, but she didn't step away again, and other than the smallest of grimaces forming on her face, she didn't react negatively in the slightest to what was surely assaulting her senses.
"R-Rem?!"
"Subaru said Rem could stay close to him until his smell didn't bother her anymore, right?" Rem asked far too innocently to match the following sniff she made afterwards. Another grimace, though this one was paired with the slightest of narrowed eyes.
"I guess that's true…" Subaru hesitantly accepted. "How… is it…?"
With another sniff Rem shook her head in a quick, precise movement. "If it was anyone other than Subaru she was smelling… I don't think I'd be able to stop myself from eliminating such a threat."
Subaru didn't gulp. He didn't. "And since you know it is me?
Rem didn't answer right away. "It's odd." She eventually admitted. "The stench of the Witch… it's really strong. But when Rem focuses…" another sniff, another set of narrowed eyes.
"When you focus…?" He prompted but she didn't respond, oh right, focused. As in right now. When Rem looked back into his eyes he continued. "And you say that this will really help you with the scent, Rem?" Subaru said, stumbling over his words slightly in such an embarrassing situation.
The look in Rem's eyes was resolute. "Absolutely! Rem thinks with just a little change…" She trailed off with a thoughtful little hum.
"Well, if it's helping you that much I suppose I don't mind it if—"
And immediately upon hearing that, Rem launched herself the last few inches separating them and buried her face into his chest.
Subaru spluttered out a sound that might just pass as something that implied a question if the listener were particularly generous.
Luckily it seemed that Rem was in a particularly giving mood. "I thought by closing the distance even more I might be able to focus on the other thing I smell better." Rem 'explained'. "Is this okay, Subaru?" She asked with a smile he could only describe as cheeky.
Subaru's mouth was agape, a hot red flush consuming his face now he could feel Rem pressed against him.
With no sign of a denial, Rem continued on? It took a few minutes, during which time Subaru was genuinely wondering if this would be enough to trigger Return By Death, before finally saying a powerful "There."
"R-Rem-Rin?"
"There's something else." Rem said, finally moving her face away a bit from his body. "It's… different from the rest of it. It's not foul. Or repulsive. It's…" She paused, weighing her words. "Rem's not sure. Not yet."
Subaru gave a nervous laugh, rubbing the back of his head in what actually was a genuine motion this time.
"Not yet, huh?"
"N-No." Rem admitted. "But with more time-"
"Then you can sniff me whenever you want, okay? No matter how many weird noises I might make at the time."
Rem was silent, not even commenting on any of the weak points Subaru had left for her. Instead, she just asked, "Promise?"
Badump
"Promise." Subaru softly smiled.
Curse his traitorous cheating heart to the hell of his endless stomach pit.
Returning his smile with a beautiful one of her own Rem stepped forward again, this time in a much less awkward, but no less flustering hug, one he had no problem returning. And when she looked up at him with those unfairly adorable demon eyes of hers, his hand found its place on top of her head, which from the way she nuzzled into the contact was greatly appreciated.
Nothing could break the tranquillity of this moment.
Nothing currently in the room anyway.
SLAM
Bedroom door now firmly imprinted in the adjoining wall, inside such a being stepped.
"Barasu! It's time for you to tell Ram all about what happened in the fore— HAH?"
Subaru stared ahead at the newly arrived pink oni who had clearly taken offence to a recovering patient's closed door.
Ram stared ahead at the embrace between her dearly loved little Sister and the perverted oaf of a new hire.
Rem meanwhile looked up at Subaru when his hand atop her head stopped moving, and followed his gaze across to her- "Sister?!"
The two of them though stayed in that stare down.
Ram's eyes narrowed.
Subaru's widened in panic.
Ram's face twisted into a disgusted sneer. Her face was turning red. Were her eyes spreading? Was this the true power of an oni girl?
Subaru's melted into a sweaty mess. Pale and as lifeless as the mayonnaise he oh so coveted.
Neither looked away from the other. One refused to relent. The other didn't dare.
The forgotten blue oni slowly looked between the two before, ever so innocently, leaning forward once again into Subaru's chest.
sniff sniff
In the silence of the room that may as well have been an explosion.
Ram's gaze turned arctic cold. Subaru's gulp froze in his throat as his hair and clothes were buffeted by the biting winds. Even so he still couldn't look away from those dangerous red eyes. Eyes that were glaring at him like he was the sniffing degenerate here.
…Clearly Rem's stealth powers were even more OP than first realised! So unfair!
This whole thing sort of just ballooned into this size, and hopefully you found something you enjoyed within.
Yeah, I know Subaru and Rem's behaviour yo-yo's all over the place in this chapter. This was definitely a conscious decision on my part due to their very vulnerable mental states at the moment and not just a sign of my poor writing skills I swear.
If you did enjoy it, please consider leaving some comments. Even if you don't like it! Let me know how I can improve! I love receiving every single one of them, and rereading the old ones recently really gave me the kick to try writing something again, so thank you to every single one of you.
And if you made it this far, thanks so much for reading!