A/N: Thank you for the support already! The reviews are how I can truly get some feedback on how it's going, so keep it up!~

Chapter Two

Tame the Beast

Nothing made sense to Subaru at that moment. Why did this heavy sense of deja vu linger over him as he slowly reached into the plastic bag he held, slowly pulling out the leather sack within.

Future vision..? He wondered, though in the back of his mind, he somehow knew that wasn't it. Still, Subaru wanted to believe he had some kind of power over this world, and it would help to explain this weird knowledge he seemed to have.

Julius seemed a bit surprised as he watched Subaru produce the bag and hold it up towards him.

"Is uh… This what you were after?"

Feeling tense, Subaru watched as Julius grabbed the item from Subaru, letting go of his sword to open and gaze at its contents. Tying it closed once more, Julius put it away on his person, nodding slowly.

"I am not sure why, but you seem familiar with me," Julius spoke in a neutral tone, though his yellow eyes gazed upon Subaru with an air of suspicion. "Are you admitting your guilt to the crime I am uncovering?"

Subaru shook his head. "N-No, just call it a.. lucky guess!" He grinned nervously. "But look, I gave whatever the heck that is back. That girl—"

Meili Portroute.

That was her name. Subaru knew this to be true, he could remember her saying it, but..

Shaking his head to clear his muddled thoughts, he continued. "She handed it off to me, probably like… A ploy?"

"A… ploy?" Julius seemed to ponder this, looking Subaru up and down. "I had asked before, but would you kindly tell me your name? You do not appear to be local to these lands, am I correct?"

"Yeah, I'm—" Subaru physically put a hand over his mouth. He was about to tell this guy his real name. Wouldn't that be problematic if this went south..? Having his name tarnished sounded like a one-way ticket to having a bad end in this world. Thus, Subaru considered a name from his world that not only was mildly amusing, but probably sounded foreign enough. "People call me E. Honda!"

Thumbing to himself, Subaru put on a confident grin, remembering the large sumo-wrestler-like character from one of his favorite fighting games. Julius seemed even more perplexed.

"May I inquire if the 'E' stands for something?"

Subaru wagged a finger. "It's a tradition where I come from, farrrrr to the East, to not tell your first name except to the one you love! Sorry, you're not my type," he added.

Julius took a moment, before he allowed a small smile to appear. He bowed slightly towards Subaru.

"I see. It is.. Mr. Honda then?—"

"Please drop the Mister crap.."

"Honda," Julius corrected, "I must inform you of a mistake on your part."

"Eh..?"

"There is no further place eastward than Lugunica," the knight spoke.

Subaru mentally kicked himself and silently cursed the stories he'd always read. After all, being from a faraway Eastern Kingdom was an easy way to avoid questions about your appearance and other such things! Here, it had failed instantly— Damned lazy writers!

"Look, I swear I ain't got anything to do with whatever the hecks going onl," Subaru insisted, dropping any humor now.

"The Court will judge you of that fact," Julius stated. "You must accompany us to the Royal Castle, where your innocence or guilt can be truly measured."

"Us?"

Subaru seemed to remember a boy that looked like Julius, except with a thinner frame and a monocle on one eye. How he knew that, he still didn't know, his body nearly rejecting his attempts to re-experience the vision.

Well, if I'm being warned about what's gonna happen… Then I've already done a bad job at fixing it! Subaru thought, wondering if he'd get tossed into a dungeon for the rest of his life if he was taken to the castle like Julius wanted.

That wasn't an option. Subaru decided that quickly— But what could he do to escape the wrath of someone like Julius?

Let's see how useful this future vision or whatever the hell really is!

Subaru jumped backwards suddenly. Julius, surprised by this sudden action, placed a hand on his blades hilt as the boy before him lifted his face to the air and yelled with all his might:

"Meili Portroute! I know you're hiding out there! This knight guy's got your stones!"

His voice echoed around the street, as those walking around the scene trying to avoid getting involved began to look and murmur. Julius' expression hardened at this declaration, and he seemed to become more alert, his eyes scanning around them. Subaru grinned at this.

That's right! Take your eyes off the main protagonist!

Taking that moment, Subaru turned and high-tailed it away. Hearing a loud noise behind him, he figured that Julius was pursuing him instantly.

If that girl's important to my journey, then I'm sure that she'll help me out— Eh?!

Subaru gasped as the ground beneath his feet and a few yards ahead of him began to turn to mud. He sank in a bit, nearly completely stopping his stride.

"Dammit..!" He watched as small glowing orbs, one blue and one yellow, twirled around in front of him. He swatted at them before they fluttered away. Turning, he expected Julius to be standing there looking down at him— But surprisingly, he wasn't.

In fact, there was no sign of him at all. The two glowing spirits that had stopped Subaru fluttered away and down a nearby side-street, where many onlookers also seemed to be gawking. The sound of clashing metal and rapid footsteps could be heard echoing from there.

"What did I miss? Ah, no time for that..!" Subaru managed to wriggle and pull himself from the mud, then stepped around it. "Maybe that girl really pulled through!"

Grinning at his fortune, Subaru ran for a few moments, before slowly beginning to stop. He gripped the plastic bag in his hand, gritting his teeth as troublesome thoughts occurred in his mind.

That girl… He remembered that hazy vision of the standoff between her and Julius. She couldn't have been older than ten or eleven. Despite what Meili might be capable of… Was it right to leave her at the mercy of a knight like that? Crap, am I just some dumb chivalrous guy or what? I don't have to do anything!

Yet Subaru couldn't bring himself to continue on. He glanced backwards, not hearing any telltale signs of an intense battle somewhere in the streets. Was it already over, perhaps? It was impossible to know for sure, unless—

"Gah…!" Subaru yelled in frustration, running back the way he had come.

Soon enough, he reached the alleyway that the spirits had gone into. There, he saw the same boy that looked like Julius, looking around himself as if lost.

As Subaru ran past, he slowed a bit, giving a thumbs up.

"Don't worry, Julius will be back soon," Subaru said before continuing.

"Uh…" The boy watched Subaru go, a bit dumbfounded. "What?!"

Running with all his might, Subaru quickly found signs of a battle. The walls in places were slashed or singed by flames. Eventually as he rounded the corner into another alley, a trickle of blood on the floor turned to a smear of a trail, til finally…

Subaru slid to a stop, almost gasping before he ducked behind a small staircase leading from a building's back door. Ahead of him, he found he had caught up to the two…

But the scene wasn't looking good at all.

Meili was slumped against the wall, blood dripping profusely from her left arm. She was breathing heavily, as Julius stood over her, blade gently dripping with crimson liquid. Though he looked stern, it didn't seem like he was making a move to finish the job.

"It is unfortunate to come to this," Julius spoke solemnly. "I will not harm you further, if you will allow me to apprehend you according to my duty as a Knight of Lugunica."

Meili scoffed, her voice strained from pain. "Shut up.. Just.. Go away.."

It sounded like she was crying. Julius waivered slightly, but didn't seem like he was going to let up. He lifted a hand, summoning forth the blue spirit he had contracted.

"Get away from me!" Meili swatted at the spirit as it got close to her, the small blue spirit retreating back to Julius, who sighed.

"You are making this quite difficult," he commented. "You are still young; we will see to it that—"

Subaru watched a small dark figure leap out of hiding towards Julius. Unsurprisingly, the knight expertly dodged its open fangs and delivered a powerful kick that sent it against the wall opposite of where Meili sat. She watched, wide-eyed, as Julius brought his blade upwards and then pointed it down at the assailant— A small, doglike creature.

"No…!" Meili tried to move, only to grunt in pain.

"While I do not wish to hurt you further, a demon beast is another matter," Julius stated. "Io." The red spirit moved to the tip of his sword, beginning to glow brighter as the beast began to stir again.

"Don't… I…" Meili shifted forward a bit, clutching her injured arm. "I need them—-"

BWOOOSH! Flames erupted from the tip of Julius' blade, engulfing the demon beast in an inferno that illuminated the darkened alleyway. Subaru watched in amazement, seeing the shape of the beast seemingly grow within the flames, its growls and howls of pain growing louder— Til it finally succumbed, burst to ashes before the bright flames abruptly cut out, leaving a blackened mark on the wall and floor where it had once been.

Distraught, the girl wailed loudly, slamming her fist into the ground.

"Damn you… Stupid.. Knight," she growled. "I hate you! Why… Can't you.. Just let me.." Her breathing seemed to be getting sharper as her words trailed off.

Julius flourished his blade, what little blood left on it being tossed off, before sheathing it and turning to Meili again. He brought forth a spirit, one who glowed a blackened hue, looking down at the girl

"You will be safe soon," he assured her. "Please do not resist—"

"Julius! Brother!"

The call made Julius hesitate. Subaru recognized it as the boy he had passed earlier. Brother? Well, that confirms that, he thought as he watched Julius look towards the street. Go on, take the bait!

It wasn't like Subaru had planned this to occur, of course— his weird words earlier to Julius' brother had coincidentally caused the boy to worriedly search for him. But Subaru liked to think that his grand plan was truly coming together.

"Julius! Please, where are you?!" The voice was obviously distraught.

"Hm.. I will return in but a moment–" Julius looked worried, glancing down to Meili before the wind kicked up around himself, his green spirit glowing and encircling him before he left the alleyway in a blur, barely any dust moving in his wake.

Subaru blinked, seeing Julius move so fast making him wonder just how long his totally-on-purpose distraction would even last.

Gotta act! Gotta just.. Go for it! Taking a deep breath, Subaru left his hiding spot and ran towards the fallen girl, kneeling beside her.

"Uh.. Are you..?"

The girl's eyes were closed, but she opened them, glaring up at Subaru weakly. After a moment, she seemed to finally realize who he was, scowling and slinking away, before yelping as pain shot through her.

"Hey, that wounds pretty bad, kid," Subaru said. "That guy will be back soon, so you should—"

"Don't… tell me what to do," Meili muttered. Subaru watched in surprise as the girl produced the small leather sack from her cloak with a shaky hand, gazing down at it longingly.

"Damn, you really pulled a fast one on a strong guy like that?" Subaru was impressed, but it made him slightly more wary of the girl. "Is that stuff that important to you?"

Meili seemed to pay him no mind, her eyes showing that she was lost in thought. Subaru had no idea what to do, his knowledge of treating wounds incredibly limited. Should he just take the girl somewhere safer? Would moving her just end up killing her? Or—

"Sister.." Meili's hoarse voice cut into his thoughts. "I'm… sorry…"

"Hey hey, don't say 'Im sorry' and stuff like you're gonna—"

Meili's grasp loosened, the small pouch falling out of it. Her breathing seemed to be growing more and more faint, causing Subaru to move closer worriedly.

"Hey! Meili!" As she started to fall over, he helped support the girl, whose face seemed more pale than usual.

Her green eyes turned to Subaru, but seemed to be looking through him, as if seeing something completely different than her current surroundings.

"Sis..ter," she spoke in a shaky voice. "S-she's… I..know…"

The young girl's hand pointed weakly at the bag. Subaru looked to it, feeling incredibly useless at that moment, as if all he could do was listen to her whispering words.

"The.. poor…dis…trict…"

"The Poor District? Is that like… The slums or something?" Subaru fought back tears, shaking his head. "Your sister is there? Were those for her?… Hey!"

Gently shaking Meili, it seemed like she hadn't even registered his questions… In fact, it felt like she was a dead weight against Subaru…

Subaru's breath caught, feeling his body trembling at the realization that the girl beside him was now dead.

W-Why? He wiped tears on his sleeve. I did this, this is my fault, isn't it? And for what— Subaru grasped the small bag, peeking inside at the glittering jewels within. Some damned gemstones?

Piecing it together, it seemed to Subaru that, perhaps, this girl was trying to give the gems to her sister in the slums. Did that mean she was in a bad situation? That only made him feel worse.

Is this what I'm supposed to do? Make this right?

Gently laying the girl against the wall, Subaru stood, his legs a bit shaky as he gazed down at her oddly peaceful appearance. Death wasn't something Subaru had ever had to deal with before, and this was supposed to be his happy Isekai adventure, yet…

Subaru smacked his own cheeks and shook his head.

I'll make this right… I'll find your sister!

After a few shaky steps, Subaru managed to break into a run, knowing he had to get away before Julius arrived once more, fighting a sense of dread the entire way.

It took Subaru a while to finally locate the Poor District of the Capital City. By the time he made it to the rickety homes of the slums, the Sun was already descending to the horizon, threatening the darkness of night to fall upon his quest.

Will I get mugged out here or something if I'm here late? He wondered, trying to maintain an air of confidence as he walked. Eventually, he found a man sitting around, and approached him with as best a smile as he could manage.

"Yo, bro," Subaru said casually. "I'm looking for a girls sister. She was this tall, and had blue hair." He made hand movements to show his description.

The man with dark hair and a scruffy beard seemed perplexed, shaking his head

"Sorry, doesn't sound like anyone around here," he said in a raspy voice.

"Damn…"

"But if anyone would know.. It'd prolly be Old Man Rom," the man stated. Subaru's hope reignited at that revelation.

Getting directions from the man, Subaru found his way to what must be Rom's place— Which has the very on-the-nose title of the 'Stolen Goods Warehouse.'

The front door was slightly ajar, which might've been odd, except for the overall rickety aesthetic this zone of the city had. Slowly opening the door, he noted how dark it was inside, no signs of any lit lanterns or candles within.

"I'm coming in," Subaru announced to be polite. It was a very suspicious place, but if a gang of thieves were waiting to rob him, well… He did have that fantasy of becoming a dashing rogue—

Creak… Creak… Creak…

The noise led Subaru to return to reality, gazing across a bar-like area, which was all smashed to bits, glass and wood scattered around— In fact, it seemed like every bit of the interior of the building was destroyed.

"I didn't expect much, but man—"

As he took a step inside, Subaru nearly slipped. He gasped and caught himself, looking down to see a trail of blood beneath his feet. Following it with his eyes, he could now make out a large figure slumped over across the room. Approaching it, Subaru had to put a hand over his mouth and nose as the sight and scent hit him.

What the.. hell..?

The large hulking dark-skinned man before him had his neck gouged open, blood and ichor spilled out of the wound down to his chest and then puddling beneath his corpse.

Creak… Creak… Creak…

Subaru finally averted his eyes, looking towards the source of the noise. It seemed to be a sign that was hanging loosely from a single chain link, the other having been snapped in two.

And beneath the sign, was another horrific sight.

A woman arose from a crouching position, turning towards Subaru. He felt his blood run cold as he gazed at her, the violet eyes that peered at him through the darkness giving him one thought:

Death.

"My my," she spoke in an oddly warm voice as she began to approach him. "You smell quite familiar."

Subaru felt like he couldn't move. The woman with raven-black hair had blood stained around her mouth, as well as on her very elegant and provocative attire. She was probably the most beautiful woman Subaru had ever seen in person, yet the blade she carried in her left hand and the stench of death in the building stopped any possible sense of arousal for even a teenaged boy such as himself.

"Tell me," the woman spoke as she came close, bringing the blade to her face, letting her tongue out to lick blood that was collected on it. "You must know my adorable sister, hm?"

Sister…? Subaru's eyes widened. He pieced it together quickly. If Meili truly was an assassin, then her sister being one as well seemed fitting. Although, their appearance didn't seem to match at all besides their taste in dark attire.

"Well..?"

Those words held a slight hint of impatience, so Subaru suddenly blurted out, "Y-Yes! Meili wanted to give you this!"

He produced the small pouch and held it out to the woman, his heart beating fast. If he wasn't scared for his life, he might've joked about how it looked like he was giving her chocolates for Valentines Day.

The woman took the bag and opened it. She smiled softly.

"I… see."

In a blur of movement, the beauty's blade-wielding arm moved, before she turned away from him. Subaru was confused for a moment, before his eyes trailed downwards.

His midsection had been cut open, right over his stomach. The wound burst open, and he fell to his knees, gasping and putting his hands against it.

"Gaahh—- Nngg—" Struggling with the immense pain, he gazed at the woman as she sat down upon a nearby chair— No, it wasn't a chair, it was another body, this one of seemingly a young girl with blonde hair. "W-w-wha…"

Subaru fell forward, his energy draining quickly as his body began to feel cold and numb. He tried to ask the simple question of 'why?' but couldn't manage that.

As he lay there dying, Subaru heard the slightest noise come from the woman. She held the bag of jewels to her face, seemingly muttering something inaudible.

But, in the last moments of life that Subaru could cling to, as his thoughts raced and the emptiness of death consumed him, despair ensnaring his very soul-

He swore he saw a tear fall along the woman's cheek.

Subaru gasped, his vision blurry for a moment before he focused on the hand that was holding an appa out to him.

"Uh, you alright, boy? You wanted to buy some appas, right?"

Subaru patted his stomach area, taking a step back, gazing down at his perfectly in-tact clothes and stomach. His breathing was coming out as heavy, raspy gasps as the pain lingered in his mind.

What… How am I…?

Dropping the plastic bag in his hand, Subaru ran. The market seller yelled after him, but Subaru tuned out everything around himself.

It can't be true, he thought as he ran til his lungs protested. What kind of joke is this?!

Eventually he came to a stumbling stop, falling to his hands and knees, breathing heavily as sweat dripped from his face to the stone below.

Subaru hadn't had some sort of vision of what was to come. He held onto those memories, engraving into his soul the fact of this new world he found himself in:

He could die and return to life.

On one hand, such a power truly was a blessing. A sort of roundabout away of being immortal… But the pain was still quite fresh in Subaru's mind, lingering like a mental scar.

That was some kind of sister, Meili, Subaru thought as he moved over to a nearby wall to sit, panting and watching the street-goers pass, garnering strange looks as he always seemed to. I guess I should feel lucky, but damn… Was fire magic or something too much to want?!

Return by Death— That sounded like a fitting name as Subaru pondered his apparent ability. He also went over what he knew now, from apparently dying twice in this new world.

Julius is a crazy strong knight who controls spirits, Subaru thought. He came here after Meili, who stole those gems from… Somewhere. Her sisters some crazy hot Assassin whose, well.. I don't know what her deal is.

He had to banish the memories of the dead bodies and their smell, fearing he might throw up just from the thought of it.

This hasn't gotten me anywhere… Maybe I should go somewhere else?

Subaru looked around at the various people passing by. Julius didn't seem to have followed him, and in Subaru's panic, he'd dropped his shopping bag, so there was little chance that Meili had followed him this time either.

"Alright…!" Subaru shot up and stretched his arms, deciding on his course of action. "I gotta get more information! That's the only way I'll be able to do something for—"

He paused, realizing he was going to say the name of that girl, the one he had watched die before his very eyes. The guilt he felt for her death was strong, so Subaru had to do his best to stamp it down.

Pondering his next move, Subaru made a mistake that he should have surely avoided by now—

He walked into an alleyway.

"Looky what we've got here," said a sinister voice.

Subaru, who had been lost in thought, looked up, noticing the three people blocking his path for the first time. The three standing there grinned confidently, all looking very odd and different in their own aways.

"Compared to that elf girl earlier, this should be easy," spoke the larger of the three.

The small one, whose haircut reminded Subaru of a mushroom, snickered. "Oh yeah, for sure!"

Then, in the middle, the slender guy who was quite obviously the leader of this little rabble, laughed wickedly, his pierced tongue hanging out as he said, "Give us everything ya got, and we won't have to hurt ya."

Subaru looked at the three of them, his first impression being the fact that the three punks in front of him were likely nothing compared to the likes of the other characters he'd met thus far.

"Can you.. get out of the way?"

"Ehhh?" The middle guy leaned in as if not hearing him.

"You heard me," Subaru said, pointing a finger at him. "You stooges get out of my way! I've got things to do!"

The three were in disbelief at Subaru's outburst. The large and small one looked at each other, both uttering the same question of: "Stooges…?"

Acting fast, Subaru suddenly attacked the confused trio. In one quick motion, he managed to uppercut the large one, before turning to kick the small one hard, sending him into the nearby wall.

"Take that…! Ow…" As Subaru moved back, he waved his hand and leg a bit, noting how painful hitting someone was. Yet, he had seemingly scored some knockouts— So maybe he really was strong in this world! All of his athletic training and good health was paying off!

…That was, until the middle one that was left pulled out a pair of large knives, taking up a fighting stance.

"W-Well, in the end, maybe we could all get along, huh?" Subaru chuckled nervously, completely changing his tone as he saw the blades emerge, lifting his hands up innocently.

…And thus, all three thugs attacked Subaru, kicking and punching him down til they'd had his fill.

"The hecks this?" The small one pulled out what was Subaru's flip phone. It was destroyed by now from the beating, so the boy tossed it away as if disinterested.

"Damn, this punk really is broke," the big one said.

With that, the three hurled insults at Subaru, before walking off and grumbling about what a waste of time it was.

His body aching, Subaru counted his blessings that they had only left him like that. He sat up and dragged his beaten self to the wall, sitting against it and sighing.

This feels familiar, he thought. The memory of the injured Meili came to kind, sitting against the stone wall with Julius over her. He grinned, but wasn't sure why. Maybe I've got a concussion or something… Man, what a life huh?

In his delirium, he barely noticed the person approaching. Looking over to them, he didn't recognize them at all. It seemed to be a girl wearing a tanned cloak that concealed most of her features, but Subaru could make out a bit of the pink hair beneath the hood that complemented her red gaze upon him.

"I'm already broke and beaten down, if you couldn't tell," Subaru said with the wave of his hand. "Just let me wallow for a bit, would ya?"

The girl said nothing for a moment, seemingly appraising him with her eyes.

"Have you suffered enough?"

That question threw Subaru for a loop. He blinked at her with his one good eye, the other having swollen shut from the beating he'd taken. The girl's monotone voice reminded Subaru of a robot mimicking Human speech, so devoid of feeling.

"Uh… I got my ass kicked, sure, but like.. What do you want me to say?" Subaru had no clue what this person wanted, but he was getting annoyed by these random encounters that kept getting in his way. How could he make any progress or learn anything at this rate?

The pink-haired girl sighed and shook her head, looking like she had resigned to an idea she didn't like. For some reason, Subaru felt a familiar sense of dread as she raised a hand towards him, his body moving before his mind could keep up.

"Fura!"

Subaru was already lunging out of the way as sharp blades of wind fired from the girl's palm, marking the stone where he had just been resting. He groaned and held his bruised side, looking back at the damage, then towards the girl, who seemed surprised that he had dodged.

It all made sense now— Well, to an extent. Subaru figured he had died twice, but the first time was an enigma. All he remembered was running, and then a gust of a wind, and before he knew it… He had died, though the memory of exactly how was a bit fuzzy.

Julius had been his main suspect, because he could use some sort of Wind magic, but now here was this strange girl he'd never seen before, trying to attack him with it.

A coincidence?

Either way, Subaru slowly got up to his feet, feeling how achey his body was, and judged that his chances of getting away were probably less than none.

Still, it ain't like I'll give up easily! He smirked, putting up his fists in a shaky show of his resolve. I've gotta… Gotta…

It flashed into his mind again, and he knew what he wanted to do. Something he felt responsible for… Something that might happen again if he didn't do anything.

…save that girl!

Thinking about Meili's death, Subaru ran straight towards his pink-haired attacker, letting out a battle yell.

If I can't even do that, then how useless am I?

I don't care who she is or what she's done, I'll—

I'll–!

As Subaru was absolutely shredded by wind magic, he experienced the absolute worst pain he'd ever felt in his life, and was filled with intense regret.

"Joshua— I am afraid that this one will not make it."

"It matters not, brother. We still need to find—- for—- stasia—ama"

The familiar voices seemed to trail off. Subaru was in darkness, not able to feel his body at all, nor did he have the energy to think about what was happening… Slowly, the warmth that had enveloped him began to disappear, and he succumbed to the cold grasp of death…

Then Subaru opened his eyes anew, gazing at the red fruit being held out before him, an all-too familiar sight—

And another Return by Death.

To Be Continued

Next Chapter: The Path to Success

A/N: In the next chapter we'll truly make some progress! Probably not without further pain, but— I hope you're all looking forward to the story unraveling more and more! And these chapter titles are half random, half deeper meaning, just so you know lul.