Spoilers for Re:Zero Pride if story.

Pride Chapter 1: Into the fire

Natsuki Subaru was trying to stay focused on the new task he found himself, worried that he would deal with people he never made amends to in the loops he failed badly but first he was dealing with the headache he was having. Leaving the odd place he was in, it left his mind slightly disoriented yet he managed to find a way to get himself back on his feet. He hit his face with both his hands a few times, preparing himself for the worst to come. As his mind was ready, he all of a sudden started to get flashes of memories that are not his own.

("I'm...going to save you...")

("I mean I've done some trial and error on this one... but it's not going to work like with Tom, Dick, and Larry.")

("It's been the longest three days of my life. Though from your perspective we didn't know each other very long at all...")

("Throw him into a weaker part of the fire. We'll watch him burn.")

Subaru fell to the ground with tears in his eyes, having seen such darkness yet he doesn't understand what this all means.

'What...the fuck did I just saw? What was all of that about?!'

Subaru was not only disoriented once again but filled with regret and hatred. The flashes of memories he got were one of a madman, making him believe that the memories he is looking through is the person with Return By Death, considering that he witnessed a few of the gruesome deaths this person had dealt with.

'Whoever this person is...they are a horrible person...worse than a Sin Archbishop...'

Now realizing that he has to deal with a new and deadly opponent that can use Return by Death, he will need to be smart here. If this person dies, he along with the person would rewind back to a checkpoint, meaning that his opponent will know that he will be coming yet he also has the advantage.

'Compared to the others in my world, I won't be at a disadvantage since I can change my strategy...oh great, now I'm basically Roswaal here since he was also facing me, a Return by Death user. Whatever, as long as I'm not paired with him, I'll be fine.'

As Subaru was able to get his mind back in order, he got up and looked around to see that he was in the slums, reminding him of his first day in Lugnica. This caused him to smile since he recalls the first Emilia he met and the exact moment he truly fell in love with her. As he had flashes of this fond memory, the incident with Elsa Grainhart started to appear. This caused him to hit his head, wishing that he didn't recall his first two original deaths to the sadistic woman. Subaru walked around a bit before he turned towards two glowing lights approaching him.

"What in the world is that?"

As Subaru asked the question, the two lights brightened up to reveal two familiar people. One was wearing long black pants and a torn up loincloth that is heliotrope-purple on the outside and red-violet on the inside and a short black vest with red-violet accents. The other one was wearing the iconic knight attire of Lugnica, being the Royal guard coat and long white pants. The only thing that separates this person from the other knights was his purple hair.

"Julius. Garfiel."

"Oi Cap'n, what's goin' on? Why am I here? Where's Otto?"

"I could ask the same thing, what are we doing here? We were supposed to be in the Pleiades Watchtower."

"Yes, I know Julius but it seems the gods of this universe...or some prick wanting to be god but this person had sent us to fix something in this world."

"Oi, n'what might th't be?"

As Garfiel says this, the three notice the kingdom all of a sudden get set into flames. Julius and Subaru were completely shocked by this while Garfiel was only surprised. The three only stood watching for a good three seconds before Julius led the trio towards the path to the kingdom. As they were running, Subaru started to say,

"What the hell is even going on here? Who would do such a thing?"

"I'm unsure Subaru but we will get to the bottom of this. First, we need to get the citizens to safety. If Reinhard is there, he will handle the threat."

"Right, assuming he is in this version of our world."

"What are you-?"

"Oi! What's my amazin' self gonna do?"

"You'll basically beat up any bad person we come across."

"Aight! It'll be easy with my amazin' self here with ya, Cap'n."

"Right."

Subaru gave a thumbs up to Garfiel before the two alongside Julius entered the kingdom, all three of them preparing themselves for whatever threat comes their way. As they enter, they look around to see the city in panic with many of the knights attempting to help escort the citizens to safety from the fire. Before they could do anything, a horde of Mabeast entered the kingdom and started attacking everyone, causing a large amount of chaos to be formed. Julius took out his sword and summoned his six spirits before turning to both Garfiel and Subaru.

"We need to help the knights. Garfiel-san, assist me in taking on the Mabeast. Subaru, assist the people."

"I ain't listenin' t'ya! Cap'n, what shall I do?"

"Listen to Julius, this is his territory of expertise."

"Understood Cap'n."

Garfiel nodded at this and quickly followed Julius towards the Mabeast entering the kingdom, both of them ready for their fight ahead. Garfiel jumped towards the closest Mabeast and with one attack he took out three Wolgarms. As Garfiel and Julius take on the Wolgarms and other Mabeasts, Subaru goes and tries to get the people out of there only for them to start running away from him.

'What is going on? Why are people afraid of me?'

As Subaru was trying to think this, he looked around to see a young familiar girl in danger of being killed by the fire.

"Help!"

'Wait a minute, I recognize that voice.'

"Someone please help!"

'That voice is...'

"...Felt!"

Subaru having recognized Felt's voice, he quickly ran towards her direction. Once he was at her location, he noticed that she was trapped underneath some rubber. Subaru quickly looked around before starting to move the broken rubble from Felt's legs.

"Th-Thank you, mister."

"No problem Felt."

Once Subaru was able to get the broken rubble off of Felt, he picked her up and got out of there just in the nick of time, having noticed the fire not only increased but pretty much burned the entire area they were just at. As they got away, Felt looked at Subaru as she started to recognize the boy yet she wasn't sure due to only being able to see his backside.

"Wh-Who are you?"

"Oh, right...you don't know me. My name is-"

"Subaru!"

"Huh?"

Both Subaru and Felt both heard Julius yell at Subaru. The two looked at the knight to see him struggling against the Guiltylowe while Garfiel was taking on two Banassi. Subaru set Felt down before telling her,

"Get out of the kingdom, Felt. Head back to the slums, it should be safer there."

"No! Old Man Rom is somewhere in the kingdom!"

"...then stay here and wait for us before looking for Old Man Rom."

"...okay..."

Felt wasn't sure who this boy was but had a feeling that he could be trusted. She sat there and watched as Subaru went to assist Julius in facing the Guiltylowe. As Subaru was approaching the Mabeast, Subaru observed the way things were going and quickly knew that he needs Garfiel's assistance in order to help Julius. He ran towards Garfiel once he managed to kill one of the two Banassi. Just as he approached the demi human boy, he quickly got out his whip and with one lucky attack, he landed a hit on the Banassi's eye. This caused the Mabeast to scream in anger and in pain before turning his attention to Subaru, ready to kill the boy. Once it looked at Subaru, all it did was stand there, completely confused before just leaving the area for some odd reason.

"What...?"

Subaru was unsure of this yet he couldn't think on it for now, knowing that his attention should be on helping Garfiel and Julius. He quickly approached Garfiel to help distract the large Mabeast, allowing the demi human boy to land the finishing blow. Once the two managed to succeed in taking down the Banassi, Subaru quickly pulled Garfiel towards the direction where Julius is at, making the demi human see that the knights need their assistance.

"We better hurry, Julius and the others need out-"

Before Subaru could finish his sentence, he was suddenly punched in the face by some unknown person. Garfiel noticed this and quickly pinned the man down.

"Who da fuck r'ya? Why did ya attack cap'n?!"

"Y-You are stupid to call him captain!"

"Wait, ya smell familiar."

"Wait what?"

The man was confused by this comment before noticing the demi human boy was sniffing him, making him uncomfortable. Garfiel sniffed and sniffed until finally he recognized the smell, causing him to jump back while saying,

"Otto! Brother!"

"What?! I don't have a demi human brother!"

"Wait...Otto?"

"Damn it, the last thing I needed was you finding out my name."

"Wait why? What's going on, Otto?"

"Oh you should know, Natsuki Subaru."

"What do you-?"

"Subaru!"

Garfiel, Otto, and Subaru all turned towards Julius as they heard him shouting for some assistance. Garfiel and Subaru nod at each other before going off to help Julius against a few tough Mabeasts while Otto looks with complete shock.

"What...but Julius-san is...dead...none of this is making any sense!"

Otto closes his eyes and takes a deep breath before looking again, unsure on whether or not he was imagining things until he sees Julius alive and well. This confused Otto since he knows for a fact that the finest knight was dead.

'He died...he has been dead for a while...I saw it with my eyes! How is this even possible?!'

Otto had so many questions but the one that made him question everything was looking at this Natsuki Subaru. The one he met a while back had the eyes of a witch cultist but this one had a different set of eyes. The Natsuki Subaru he just met up had the eyes of someone who wants to save everyone rather than harm everyone in his path. He got up and decided to watch as things unfolded with Subaru getting the people from Lugnica to safety while the one called Garfiel helped Julius and the knights fend off the Mabeast entering the kingdom while the kingdom itself was in flames.

'This can't be right, the Natsuki Subaru I am aware of wouldn't do this...he is a selfish bastard! So who is he? Another person bearing the name Subaru?'

While Otto tried to figure this out, he noticed a Mabeast making their way towards Felt's direction. As he gets to her, he gets himself ready to die in order to protect a little girl only for Garfiel to jump in front of him and with one attack the demi human killed the Mabeast. As he succeeded in this aspect, Subaru joined the three with his weapon in hand before saying,

"Otto! Can you take Felt out of the kingdom? I need her to be safe!"

"W-Why should I-?"

"Otto! She is a little girl and needs to get out of here!"

"I-I ain't leaving! I need to get to Old Man Rom!"

"Shit! That's right...Felt, where was the last place you saw Old Man Rom?"

"H-He was in prison, I can't leave him there!"

Subaru took a moment to think, wanting to help Felt since he doesn't want Felt to be sad or Old Man Rom to die. The only problem he knows is that he probably has only one chance to get this right since he doesn't have Return By Death and may permanently die if he gets things wrong. As he thought carefully, he turned towards both Otto and Garfiel to say,

"Think you two can help her find Old Man Rom?"

"I-I..."

"Don't ya worry Cap'n, my amazin' self'll help th's girl. Come on, Otto, we gotta job t'do."

"W-Wait, I never agreed to this!"

"Too bad, orders from cap'n r'orders!"

"Wait!"

Otto tried to run yet he was dragged by Garfiel to accompany Felt and himself to find Old Man Rom. While they left towards the burning kingdom, Julius looked with concern facial expression before telling Subaru about his concerns with this.

"Are you sure about this? The Kingdom is in flames and we can use Garfiel-san's assistance."

"I know but...I can't let Old Man Rom die, Julius. He is important just like you are, Garfiel, Otto, Felt, everyone."

"...I understand, Subaru. You truly have a good heart."

"Yeah...though Otto seemed to look at me with hatred as if someone with my name made worse choices."

Julius looked at Subaru and could see that he was unsure of things. Having had time to establish a strong friendship with the boy in the tower, he patted him in the shoulder before he said to him,

"Don't worry, Subaru. No matter what happens, I'll have your back."

"...thanks, let's just get back to focus on the problem at hand."

"Right."

Julius nodded and quickly the two went over to the nearest group of knights to understand what was going on. As the two approached a group of knights, Julius looked at his fellow allies and quickly he asked,

"How did this fire start? Who is responsible for this?"

"Well you see...wait a minute, Julius Juukulius? I thought you were dead!"

"What are you talking about?"

"You were reported dead a while back."

"What...?"

Julius stepped back for a moment to process everything he was hearing. Subaru stood there also trying to process everything he was hearing, seeing that something must've gone wrong in order for his name to be associated with hate and for Julius to be dead in this loop.

'What the fuck did you do, Natsuki Subaru?'

While Subaru wanted to blame the version of this loop for the hell that was going on, he wasn't sure where the change in this version of the world. He looked at Julius to see that he began to question everything that had happened in this world.

"Who reported my death?"

"One of the citizens who witnessed you be killed but we are not sure who killed you."

"Hm. That is very disturbing but I'm here now and ready to help. Where is Reinhard-san?"

"The Sword Saint is dealing with the situation but we know that it is some witch cultist that caused this disturbing and destructive act."

"Witch cultist...? Are the witch cult a problem?"

"No citizen, the witch cult and their Sin Archbishops had been taken care of by the Emilia camp."

"The Emilia Camp..." Subaru was stunned by this, starting to think that maybe if he wasn't involved with Emilia, she could've done a lot more considering how much it took to beat Petelguese, Sirius, Regulus, Lye Batenkaitos, Roy Alphard, and Louis Arneb. As he was thinking about this, he noticed the knights looking at him as if they recognized him.

"What is your name, kid?"

"My name is-"

"This is not important, we need to return to helping the people."

"Y-Yes Julius-san!"

The knights returned their focus to Julius and listened to their orders from the finest knight, seeing that they would need to keep the Mabeast back by working together. Once they understood their roles in helping the kingdom, the knights didn't hesitate to start running around in pairs. As this happened, Julius turned towards Subaru to check on him.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, why you ask?"

"Those knights looked at you with the same look they had when...you did your thing at the beginning of the royal selection..."

"...hm. Okay...we should probably find Reinhard."

"Agreed but what about Garfiel-san?"

"If he needs help, I will know."

"Okay."

Julius nods at Subaru before turning towards the fire, ready to deal with the person that caused the fire. Subaru closed his eyes and smiled since he is able to detect where Garfiel is with the Greed witch factor, also known as Cor Leonis. He could see Garfiel's white light moving around with his condition being good. This gave Subaru some confidence that things will be alright. The two eventually start running in the center of the kingdom where the fire is more active, seeing that many civilians are dying by the fire. The two quickly did their best to help out until more Mabeasts appeared.

"Great, we have more problems."

"Allow me to handle this, Subaru. Get the people out of here."

"Are you sure? I can try to get Garfiel to-"

"Subaru, we don't have time!"

"Alright but you better not die."

"I won't. I'm fighting for Anastasia-sama's sake and for the kingdom I've sworn to protect."

Subaru nodded and quickly started getting as many people away from the fire. During this, he noticed a familiar little girl screaming for help. The boy quickly ran towards the child with everything he had, managing to pick her up and get her out of danger just before the fire had consumed her. As he manages to do this, something causes him to have a nose bleed and to start having horrible headaches.

"Wh-what is going on?!"

"M-Mister! Are you okay?"

"I-I'll be fine...let's get you to safet-"

Subaru was interrupted when a swarm of memories started to fill his mind once again, causing him to fall to his knees as he held his head in pain.

("Cut it out with the false accusations, Bete-san. I'm just obeying the gospel's instructions. Gospel's telling me to spend my time here.")

("This time, I'll definitely figure out how to keep you from killing yourself.")

("But, if you were thinking more about your position, you would've best paid to be a little more mindful of others. You're the Knight of a Royal Selection candidate who's sitting at peak popularity. You gotta factor in that it's not just your master, you're gonna be targeted too. Though...")

'This son of a bitch...!'

Subaru was still hurting from his headache and the rush of memories entering his mind yet he was able to get a hold of himself fast enough to get the little girl out of danger once again. The fire spread quickly and was about to reach them had he not snapped out of the state he was in. As he was able to get the little girl and himself out of harm's way, he took a close look at the girl and recognized her as the appa dude's daughter. Just as he noticed this, he could hear a familiar voice of a man yell out,

"Plum! Plum! Where are you?"

Subaru turned towards the voice to see that the man was appa dude, making him slightly happy to see him once again. He quickly ran towards the man and quickly set his daughter down. The man and his daughter hugged before the appa dude looked at Subaru and quickly started to say,

"Thank you for keeping my daughter safe!"

"No problem, now get out of here before the fire gets to us."

The appa dude nodded at what Subaru said and quickly went to carry his daughter to get her out of the kingdom. As Appa dude left with his daughter, Subaru quickly used Cor Leonis to check on both Julius and Garfiel. He first took a look at Julius to see that although he was a bit injured, he was still in good condition to fight. He then turned to check on Garfiel to see that he was closing in on his position.

'Huh? Why is Garfiel approaching me?'

Subaru was confused by this yet he couldn't dwell on it as he saw a few more people in danger of the fire. He ran towards the people to help them only to all of a sudden be tackled to the ground by some unknown person.

"D-Darn it...get off!"

"Hmph. I will not. You ruined everything and now, you will die with the fire you created."

"Wait, that voice...are you..."

"Ram?"

Subaru felt the grip on him loosen as he also heard Garfiel's voice. He turned his head towards his right side to see Garfiel with Felt, Otto, and an injured Old Man Rom.

"G-Garf?"

Subaru felt the grip being loosen once again, allowing him to push off Ram from his back, allowing him to get up and gain some distance from her. As he gained his distance, he looked at Ram only to find out how broken she looked.

"Ram, what happened t'ya?"

"Wh-What are you doing here, Garf? Why are you here? Shouldn't you be in the Sanctuary?"

"My amazin' self got over my issues. You should know th's. Ya helped me with that."

"How? We haven't seen each other since...since Rem..."

'What happened to Rem in this world?! Is she dead?!'

Subaru's face turned pale as he was more worried for Rem's sake. Garfiel looked at Ram and was unsure what she was trying to say yet he can tell that she was suffering. He went to approach her yet she pointed her wand directly towards him.

"I...need you to move aside. He needs to die."

"Wait, who? Cap'n?"

"Captain?"

"Yea, Cap'n. He helped my amazin' self get over the trial."

"You took the trial?"

"Come on Ram, ya know th's already."

"What are you talking about, Garf?"

Ram stepped a few feet back, looking at Garfiel with uncertainty on whether her childhood friend is being delusional with memories she is unaware of. As she was confused by the way Garfiel was talking, she was preparing to attack until Subaru shouted,

"Ram! We have no time to fight, we need to get all these people out of here!"

"Shut it, you fool."

"Hey! Don't call Cap'n a fool!"

"Shut it Garf! He isn't a good person."

"What are you-?"

"I said shut it!"

Ram quickly used her wand to attack Subaru by sending a powerful wind attack only for Felt to quickly save the boy by shoving him out of the way. As both Subaru and Felt were on the ground, he looked at the little girl and was about to thank her until she said,

"This should make us even, now."

"...still, thanks."

"Don't mention it."

Felt and Subaru got up while Garfiel prepared himself to fight Ram, not sure what is wrong with her yet knowing that he needs to protect his captain.

"Ram, I like ya but I won't let ya hurt Cap'n."

"Then we are on opposing sides, Garf. I hope you understand the mistake you are making by siding with that monster."

"Cap'n, get the girl, Otto, and the girl's grandpa out t'here."

Subaru nodded and quickly with Otto's assistance, the four started to make their way towards the nearest exit of the kingdom while Garfiel began his fight with Ram. Ram threw everything she had yet she did not expect Garfiel to be fighting strategically. The demi human boy was using his brain in the fight, seeing what attack Ram was going to use and taking the opportunity to find a counter to it while he was closing in on her. While the two were fighting, Subaru and his group was getting close to the exit. As this was happening, Otto looked at Subaru with a curious look since something was different with him. He knows that he had met Subaru back when Julius was killed by another knight yet this Natsuki Subaru was different. One is a killer while the other is working hard to be a hero despite being weak.

"Who are you really? You can't be Natsuki Subaru."

"...what do you mean by that?"

"Let's just say that the Natsuki Subaru I know is not worth the company."

'What could this mean...? Did the me of this world went...evil...?'

Subaru was worried to know this answer yet he pushed this idea and thought away to focus on the task at hand. He continued to run alongside Otto, Felt, and Old Man Rom until they finally got to the exit. Once there he turned to both Felt and Old Man Rom to say,

"Stay in the slums, it is a safe place there and away from the chaos here."

"Thank you, I owe you a big debt for this."

"No problem, just keep Felt safe."

"I will, don't you worry."

"I'm not a little kid! I can take care of myself!"

"Just stay out of trouble, Felt."

"...Okay, I will just don't get yourself killed, mister."

Subaru smiled at Felt before going into the kingdom, leaving Otto on his own while he notices Felt and Old Man Rom run away from the kingdom. The grey haired boy looked at the exit and was tempted to leave yet something compelled him to stay and help out, seeing someone who looks like the monster he knows fighting to save everyone.

'Otto, come on, you have a chance of freedom...but then you would be a selfish bastard...'

Otto stomped the ground before he ran to catch up with Subaru, wanting to help the boy. As he catches up, Subaru looked to see Otto.

"You know you can escape as well, right?"

"Y-Yes, I know but I won't be a selfish person and let others die!"

Subaru heard this and smiled at Otto, always happy to see his friend's good-hearted nature coming into play. As the two ran deep into the fire, they were able to assist some people around until a familiar female voice spoke to them,

"Stop there, villain."

"Huh?"

Subaru and Otto were both confused by this statement and turned to see someone Subaru was happy to see, Emilia. Before any sudden movements could be made, the two noticed that Emilia was looking at Subaru with a serious facial expression.

"Emilia-tan, what is-?"

"You seem a little too familiar with my daughter, witch cultist."

"Wait what are you-?"

"This isn't a witch cultist."

"Huh?"

Both Puck and Emilia turned towards Otto, having taken note what he said to them. Emilia was a bit confused while Puck looked at both Subaru and Otto with a serious facial expression, trying to read their emotions.

"If what you say is true, then who is-?"

Puck was interrupted when a loud explosion happened suddenly, causing the four of them to turn towards the center of the kingdom, realizing that something is wrong.

"That must be Reinhard."

"Then I better get to him."

"Wait you, we are still not done."

"I'm sorry Puck but I need to make sure of one important thing. Otto, make sure nothing bad happens to Emilia-tan."

"Alright but try not getting yourself killed..."

Subaru waved as he heard this while going deep into the fire of the kingdom where they heard the loud explosion, reminding him of his last loop in the Sanctuary incident. Although this situation is much tougher than the mansion due to the higher stakes of dying, he is still confident that he can survive this all-in-one loop. Subaru ran and ran until finally he saw the man himself, Reinhard Van Astrea. This allowed Subaru to feel joy since now he has a powerful ally by his side but before doing anything, he checked on Garfiel and Julius once again. He checked on Garfiel and was surprised by how he was doing relatively well with only minor injuries. Before he checked on Julius, someone grabbed his shoulder which startled him.

"What?!"

"Sorry Subaru, I did not mean to scare you."

"I-I wasn't scared! I was just surprised."

"Sure you were."

"A-Anyway, are you alright? You look like you had some fun."

"Those Mabeast sure did a number on me but as the finest knight of Lugnica, I bested them."

"Right...let's just go talk to Reinhard."

"Right."

Both Julius and Subaru went to approach Reinhard but as they were doing this, they noticed that he was looking at someone and speaking to them.

"Go no further."

"Reinhard Van Aaaaastrea."

"W-Wait, that voice...that's..."

"Natsuki Subaru."

Julius said this with a sad tone in his voice while Subaru looked with despair, having figured that he really is a villain in this version of the world considering how others have been treating him.

"It seems that I don't need to introduce myself. I don't have much to say to you, either."

"So you were capable of hating people after all, Sword Saint!"

"It surprises me as well. I didn't think these feelings were in me."

"You fucking prick!"

"Huh?"

Both the Natsuki Subaru from this world and Reinhard from this world both turned to see a new Natsuki Subaru standing alongside Julius.

"Wait...Julius-san?"

"Reinhard-san, it is good to see you once again."

"B-But you are dead...this makes no sense."

"Who the hell are you?"

"I'm you! I'm Natsuki Subaru! Emilia-tan's one and only knight!"

"What?!"

The Subaru of this world looked at his counter part with a shocked expression at first when he heard those words.

'Emilia-tan's knight? The hell he think he is!'

The Natsuki Subaru of this world started to charge towards his counter part only for Reinhard to destroy him in one hit, shocking both Subaru and Julius.

"He died...wait does that mean-"

Subaru eventually had the entire world pause, his spirit managing to look around before he ended up back to the moment Julius, Garfiel, and him all three had witness the fire from Lugnica start. This made Subaru realize two things, the first being that he does Return By Death though the dying part is no longer needed and the second being the person who can return by death, his evil counterpart.

'This...is literally hell...'

Author's note:

1. For those of you curious, I will be posting this story one or two times a week, depending on how much I get done with this story and with my other one.

2. For those curious, the if stories will be either Subaru setting the world right or helping the world's Subaru get over an obstacle.

3. I won't make main canon Subaru have it easy, he will suffer though dying won't be the way he will suffer, even if he has powerful allies.

I'm surprised by how much attention this got, so I will do my best to make this the best story!