Disclaimer:
The first 8 chapters are sort of a prologue. They give you a base storyline if you want to understand how Shaula came back. If you don't want to read it, skip ahead to Chapter 9.
If not, let's get this story started!
Chapter 1
Subaru was lying on his bed, staring into the inky blackness of his bedroom.
He let out a depressed sigh.
It had been three months since Subaru had returned from his difficult time in Vollachia. Although he was happy to be back, he felt miserable.
But why was he so miserable?
Was it because he had been dropped into the hostile nation of Vollachia and no one came to help him?
No. The Emilia Camp had come to save him and Rem and they had managed to get out of the nation with minimal consequences. On top of that, he and the other members of the Emilia Camp were rewarded for their efforts in the war.
And Louis-sorry...Spica had joined as a new maid after the events of Vollachia. The people were initially distrustful of her, but after she had helped them to succeed and saved Subaru's life when he got in trouble, everyone slowly warmed up to her and accepted her into the Emilia Camp.
Was he sad because of the things that had happened in Vollachia? About Rem?
Not entirely. From being hunted by that axe-wielding psycho Todd Fang, being turned into a kid by Olbart, everything that had happened on the Gladiator Island, and the huge numbers of zombies that plagued Vollachia, he had ultimately managed to push through all that pain and suffering.
They had gained the dragon blood from Volcanica on their excursion to the Pleiades Watchtower. They successfully delivered it to Felix who was able to synthesise a cure for the victims of Pristella. The cure had managed to undo the effects of Lust's authority, as such all the people who Capella deformed were restored to their human form.
However, not everything was perfect. When it was used on Gluttony's victims, those who were stricken with the sleeping beauty sickness woke up from their comas. But the name and memory loss they had suffered had not changed.
As such, Rem's name and memories still hadn't returned. Meaning it was possible he'd never hear Rem call him 'Subaru-kun' again, which was still a cause of distress for him, but he was slowly learning to accept the new Rem.
But that wasn't why he was so sad.
No.
The reason he was so sad and depressed, was because Emilia still hadn't given him an answer to his confession.
Even after a whole year and everything that had happened in Pristella, the Watchtower and Vollachia, she still couldn't give him a straight answer.
Subaru had tried to distract himself from how he felt by spending time with the other Emilia Camp members to take his mind off how he was feeling.
Unfortunately, the maids had lots of work to do so he never really got a chance to spend time with any of them, and Otto and Garfiel had a love life to deal with.
Yep, that was right.
Otto and Frederica had been together a month before the camp had gone to Pristella.
And Garfiel and Mimi had become a couple too while he stayed in Pristella.
And they had both come out about their relationships once the entire mess in Vollachia was over, which surprised everyone.
Both his bros had girlfriends. So he hadn't seen much of them as they had to make time for Frederica and Mimi.
But Subaru didn't blame either of them.
He thought both of the couples were cute together.
But at the same time, it brought him back to depression about his stagnated relationship with Emilia.
The blood awakened people who'd had their names and memories eaten, but their names and memories never returned. That meant that the same thing applied to Rem who had awoken from her slumber over a year ago. Since she'd had her name and memories taken away, she remembered nothing about anything, not even her love for Subaru.
Emilia even after a year and a half still couldn't give him an answer to his confession, and Rem had lost her memories and may never get them back.
Subaru had tried to take his mind off how he felt by training, and spending time with Beatrice, but none of those things worked.
Subaru then shook his head and slapped both his cheeks.
No, you idiot! What the hell are you thinking? Stop being so selfish! You love Emilia-tan more than anything! So stop being so whiny already!
The door creaked open. He looked up to see his contracted spirit standing in the doorway.
Beatrice: "Are you alright? You seemed very distant during dinner, I suppose."
Subaru: "Hey Beako. No, it's nothing really"
Subaru sat up to greet her
Beatrice: "Don't say that. It's obvious something is bothering you, in fact."
She closed the door behind her, walked up to the bed and sat on Subaru's lap.
Subaru looked away, not wanting to say anything to her. Beatrice closed her eyes and sighed.
Beatrice: "It's Emilia, isn't it?"
Subaru: "U-u-uhh no, it's–"
Beatrice: "Betty isn't stupid I suppose! It's clear that her not giving you an answer is bothering you in fact!"
Subaru sighed. Beatrice got up from his lap and looked at his face. He saw his eyes were slightly red. He had been crying. Beatrice was furious. She cared about Subaru deeply and only wanted him to be happy. And since she knew that Emilia still hadn't been able to come up with an answer after a year and a half, she was not happy with her. So, she had left dinner shortly after Subaru left, to check on him. And as she thought, all the time Emilia had made him wait was starting to get to him.
Subaru: "Beatrice, it's ok. Emilia's just…taking her time. It's not fair to force her to give me an answer and put unnecessary pressure on her. Especially when she's dealing with the Royal Selection."
Beatrice let out an annoyed sigh. She did not like the fact that her contractor had such little self-respect, that he allowed Emilia to treat him the way she had. She swallowed her annoyance and sat back down on his lap.
Beatrice: "You really are an idiot, I suppose"
Subaru: "Yeah, I love you too my sweet Beako!"
Subaru changed his tone and hugged her. Beatrice pouted.
Subaru then stood up and spun her around.
Beatrice: "SUBARUUUUU! PUT ME DOWN I SUPPOSE!"
Meili: "Looks like you've perked up, Onii-san"
Subaru and Beatrice turned around to see Meili standing in the door. She had her hands behind her back. She was hiding something from them.
Beatrice: "Who gave you permission to come in here, I suppose?"
Meili: "Don't be so uppity drill-haired nee-chan. I'm here to cheer up Onii-chan."
Subaru put Beatrice down as Meili walked up to them.
Subaru: "Hey Meili. Sorry for leaving so abruptly. What have you got there?"
Meili: "Well. You were looking pretty down Onii-chan. So I brought you something to cheer you up. Or…"
Meili brought her hands in front of her to reveal…
Meili:"...I should say someone."
A small red scorpion.
Subaru immediately recognized the scorpion as Shaula, the sage's apprentice he had met in the Pleiades Watchtower. Subaru smiled warmly and held his hand out. The scorpion crawled from Meili's hand over to Subaru's hand. Subaru petted the scorpion on the head with his other hand.
Subaru remembered when he first met Shaula. He got annoyed at her clinginess and how she constantly made advances on him. He regretted how he treated her, she may have been clingy and obsessive, but could you blame her? She had been isolated in the Watchtower for over 400 years! Of course, she'd be clingy! And then what happened next was painful to think about. When the rules of the Watchtower were broken, she transformed into her scorpion form and became a ruthless killing machine. He had died quite a few times before she had finally been beaten.
Her last words before she disappeared broke him
"Master, I love you"
"I waited for you, now it's your turn to wait for me"
Subaru: "Sorry Shaula. I should have been better. You'd still be human if I had been stronger"
Beatrice and Meili saw a few tears slip down his cheeks.
Meili: "Hey, come on Onii-chan. What happened to naked Onee-san wasn't your fault. I don't think she'd like it if she saw you like this."
Meili's words caught Subaru off guard.
Beatrice: "That clingy girl became the way she is because the rules forced her to be that way, I suppose."
Subaru sighed. He remembered seeing Shaula in her last moments, turning to dust, and a small scorpion emerging from the dust. He sat down on the bed, still petting Shaula.
At that moment, he had an idea. He thought it sounded a bit strange but…
Subaru: "Hey Meili, Beako. I've made a decision. And I need you to hear me out."