"YOU MISERABLE DISGUSTING MEAT BAG!!!"
Capella was angrily stomping her foot down on what could only be described as a mangled up pile of body mass. It looked like someone mushed a person like playdough and lived to tell the tale. Well, if one could even consider that kind of state to be 'alive'.
"S-Sorreyyy…" The thing somehow spoke albeit with tremendous difficulty. Each syllable it made sounded unimaginably painful. "P-Plrrrsss f-furgiiive- BHHGGGGEERHHGGH!!!" The mass tried to plead out something but was swiftly stopped once Capella dug her finger into its side. Based on the creature's pained reaction, one could only guess Capella was jabbing at a vital organ or somewhere sensitive.
"Did I give you permission to speak, you ungrateful pest?! I have been so kind to not take away that pathetic excuse you call a life! You should be thankful that I've chosen to give some simple discipline!" Capella took her finger out and began stomping and kicking the thing.
It didn't howl in pain this time but it was barely yelping, trying its best to listen to the sadistic girl's command.
"All you had to do was watch my pet!" Capella screeched. "I would've even let you off easy if you managed to fail your original mission because I'm a very kind and loving mother to you! Instead, you shoved your work onto that WHORE and now there's a chance that skank put unnecessary thoughts in their head!"
The creature was barely holding back from letting out any more howls and yelps as the golden haired devil kicked it repeatedly. The only sounds made were the impact of Capella's barefoot colliding with the mass and sloshing whenever she kicked so hard that her toes pierced into it, essentially shanking the thing repeatedly via her feet.
Capella stopped after a while to look at her blood and puss coated foot in disappointment. "You even have the nerve to stain this lovely lady's beautiful body in your pitiful and grotesque juices!"
Still being unreasonably angered, Capella poked the mass with her index finger and large worms suddenly appeared embedded in it and immediately began to tear through its flesh and re-dug themselves back inside. The creature felt as if its limbs had a mind of their own while they tore and devoured itself from the inside. It wanted to screech but it could no longer feel its lungs or mouth so no sound came out.
Seeing this creature's helplessness brought a cruel sadistic smirk to Capella's lips. This is how it should be after all. Her children should be punishing themselves after all.
So much time had passed and either out of necessity or just finally getting bored, Capella finally put a stop to this terrifying scene. She glided her finger over the suffering mass and in an instant, it shifted and transformed into Sakura.
Sakura, once turned back, was on her knees hyperventilating. The feeling of her organs squirming around inside her stained her memory and she instinctively hugged herself tightly as if she thought doing so would prevent her organs from wiggling around.
Capella somewhat pulled Sakura back to reality as she gently took the girl's chin in her hand and shared a gentle smile. "Aren't you a lucky one? This lovely lady is giving you another chance."
Hearing those words brought a broken smile to Sakura's lips as tears washed down her cheek. "T-Thank you, mother! T-Thank you!" Sakura's voice sounded just as broken but she did sound genuinely thankful.
"I'll be checking to see if that whore of yours broke my toy. I hope you don't do anything to disappoint mama in the future."
Sakura didn't say anything else. She was so overjoyed that her punishment was finally over and it left the girl speechless. Her absent mind was so bad that she didn't even notice that Capella had already left.
--
"Ahhhh~" Capella was at the table in Subaru's quarters. She was sitting across from the boy in question and she was eagerly waiting for him to feed her his curry.
Based on Subaru's expression, it was pretty obvious that he was being very cautious. But Capella couldn't help but find his nervous demeanor to be amusing.
"Here you go…" Subaru muttered while feeding the girl a spoonful of his curry. He wasn't really hiding his discomfort especially since it hadn't even been a day since hearing news that he won't be working with Sakura and Melty anymore.
He may not have thought about it now but he sure was lucky that Capella was in a good mood now. Otherwise, this moment might not have been as peaceful as it was.
"Mmmm~ Delicious~ I've never had a pet that was this skilled in cooking before. Taking you in was definitely a great idea."
"Mhm… It sure was…" Subaru half heartedly agreed.
Capella squinted her eyes. Although she may be in a good mood now, seeing her pet be this low on energy was slowly annoying her. Luckily, she knows just the tactic to turn that around. "Say, you don't look so good. Did those two overwork you? Maybe I should discipline them~" After her words, the devilish girl licked her lips just to add some dramatic tension.
That was more than enough to snap Subaru out of his mood and he frantically shook his head. "N-No! They didn't do anything like that! The job was actually pretty easy and Sakura was very generous in assigning my work load."
"Hmmm…" Capella fiddled her fingers along the table as she locked her crimson red eyes onto Subaru's intensely. It was as if she was looking straight through him. "So if the job was that easy, then my decision to assign you to one of my other children was the right call. It would be a shame if those talents of yours go to waste after all."
Fearing for Sakura and Melty's safety, Subaru agreed in an instant. "Y-You're absolutely right about that! Thanks for being so considerate of me."
Capella absolutely loved the praise and she even giggled to herself in delight. "Of course. This lovely lady knows how to spoil her good children after all. It's only natural for a fine cut of meat such as yourself to get such a generous reward from your beloved mistress after doing a splendid job."
Subaru felt relieved for seemingly steering Capella away from what he was fearing of her doing. To keep the girl's mind occupied, he continued in the conversation. "So, who do you plan to assign me to next?"
"Oh? Eager to get to work to make mama proud, are we? Heehee~ I already have someone in mind. They are some of my best performing children so I expect great things from you lot. You had just come back from your first mission though so I'll give you some time to rest first before introducing you."
That was surprisingly reasonable. He was sure she was going to throw him straight into his next mission like an overworked intern. Sure, he was hoping to go out often so he could search for more opportunities to escape but a breather from time to time wouldn't hurt.
Besides, Capella doesn't seem to expect any treachery from him. So at least he wouldn't be getting tortured like she commonly did with her underlings.
"Thank you. I really appreciate it." Subaru bowed his head to show his appreciation.
…
Capella silently stared at Subaru with an unreadable expression. That kind and caring demeanor had vanished and now sat an intense and serious girl. It was like her mood flipped like a switch.
With how the setting felt earlier, Subaru was getting too relaxed. The sudden eerie atmosphere got him back on edge. Did he say something careless without realizing it?
"Erm… Did you want more curry? I'd be happy to feed you some mo-"
"Say my name." Capella interrupted.
"Huh?"
"You heard me." Capella gave Subaru a dead serious look and continued. "Say. My. Name."
"E-Eheheh, well, I don't know if I have the right to call you by your name directly. After all, I'm just a lowly-"
SLAAAAM!
Capella slammed her fist down on the table, shattering it into pieces and completely ruining what curry was left. Her arm shifted into a large draconic claw and their eyes looked extra scary. Subaru may have naturally scary eyes but right now, Capella's beat him tenfold.
"I don't want your excuses! I gave you an order so I want you to obey. SAY MY NAME!"
Subaru gulped and chills ran down the boy's spine. He started feeling sick whenever he brought up her name lately but right now, he was terrified of how much more sick he'd feel if he didn't.
Subaru closed his eyes tightly and finally obliged. "C-Capella…"
Something tightly coiled around Subaru's neck which made him open his eyes and immediately found Capella to be the one grabbing him there. She yanked the powerless boy forward and her gaze ended up being only inches away from his.
"Again."
Subaru was shaking. Terror coursed through him over the prospect of dying again. Feeling her hand around his throat gave him flashbacks of his first meeting with this devil. Subaru managed to pull through and said her name again in a calmer tone. "Capella."
Much to his dismay, Capella's grip only tightened. He had no idea what had gotten into her to act like this out of the blue. What did he do? He wondered.
"Why is saying my name so difficult for you?!" She yelled. "I have given you a one and a lifetime opportunity to go on a first name basis with me and you waste it, you ungrateful chunk of meat?!"
"I-I am, C-Capella…!" Subaru desperately cried through her grip. Sadly for him, that didn't quell Capella's anger one bit. In fact, that grip of hers only grew tighter.
"I have graced you with my presence time and time again and not once have you addressed me properly!" She hissed. "I was even so kind to give you so much time to adjust here and you still make excuses to not call me mistress or mama! Here I am giving you the honor to call me by my first name without honorifics and you waste such a privilege by barely muttering it?!"
"C-Can't… Breathe…" Subaru wheezed.
That plea only made her grip tighter…
"You meatbags are all the same! I have given you everything you could ever ask for and all you do is take it for granted like the ungrateful maggots you are! You don't think I haven't noticed your feeble attempts to avoid me?! It's painfully obvious what you're trying to do!"
"Gghghhh…" Subaru tried to speak but he couldn't. In fact, he couldn't breathe anymore.
"I had my suspicions you were trying to escape me so I let you out to test if that was true. I bet that ungrateful slut was showering you with ideas to escape, wasn't she?! It was foolish of you to even think that I wouldn't notice! You lowly sacks of meat should just know your place!!!"
…
…
…
"Poochie?"
…
Subaru didn't respond.
…
All her anger vanished as she finally noticed that Subaru had gone limp. "Subaru?" She called out in a more concerned tone. Upon further inspection, she found out that his neck dislocated while she was strangling him. Capella was so caught up in rage that she didn't even notice that his neck snapped.
Subaru was already dead.
--
"AAAHHHHHH!!!" Subaru screeched and fell back. He moved his hands over his neck and breathed heavily.
"Poochie? Are you alright?"
Subaru widened his eyes as his sight locked onto Capella. He was still in the same room and the table was back in one piece. There were no signs of it being broken to begin with. The only difference was the lack of curry.
Subaru couldn't say a word. He was paralyzed by fear to do much of anything at this moment.
Capella hopped out of her chair and calmly walked to the boy and looked down at him inquisitively. "What a strange reaction. All I said was for you to make me some of that delicious curry of yours. Is that too much of an issue?"
"C-Curry…?" Subaru blinked a few times before it hit him. Capella must have killed him again and now he respawned right before he made the curry. Now that he knows what he's working with, he got back up and calmed himself down. "O-Oh right, the curry. I just panicked because… I realized I didn't have enough ingredients to make it!"
Capella cocked her head and giggled at the excuse. "Hahah~ Was that all? You don't have to worry about that, Poochie. You have such a great sense for cooking after all so I'll permit you to surprise me with another of your culinary wonders instead."
Subaru chuckled and scratched the back of his head all too nervously. "T-That's a relief. Thank you for being so understanding."
"Well it's quite obvious that such a kind and caring lady would be so understanding. You're quite lucky to have this lovely lady as your mistress~"
"Y-Yeah, I sure am." Subaru didn't waste anymore time and retreated to the kitchen. Once there, he clenched neck, double checking to make sure it really wasn't broken.
There was no doubt, he just died and it appears that he went back about an hour before Capella snapped. Subaru wanted to scream but he didn't want to risk getting that devil's attention so he vented to himself in his head.
He wondered what the hell her problem was and why she suddenly acted like that. Everything was going so well before that random mood swing of hers took effect. He was being polite and made sure she did whatever she wanted.
She only blew up on him after he hesitated to say her name. Was that really it? He wondered. Why would she kill him over something like that? She never wanted him to call her by her first name before so what changed?
…
Subaru shook his head. Thinking about this was too much of a headache. In fact, dealing with Capella in general always gave him aneurysms. What mattered now was how he was going to deal with this situation and he immediately knew what to do.
Before that, he needs to come up with what to cook. He was by no means a master chef like Capella made him out to be but the girl didn't seem to notice since she always appeared to be excited by the prospect of new foods to try.
Since he wasn't in a hurry, he'd probably just make some ramen or something. There were enough spices to go around to make it look fancy too.
--
To no one's surprise, Capella was completely demolishing her serving of ramen. It was her first time trying it and she found the taste of it to be extremely addicting. In fact, Subaru was worried that they might run out.
"Ahhh~ That's the stuff~ I think this is on par with your curry. You're quite good at this, Poochie."
"Eheheh… Thanks. You really don't have to give me so much credit though. I bet if you let a real chef make it, they'd do a much better job than me."
Capella shook her head. "I find your cooking to be more entertaining. There's a unique charm to seeing my pet grow so much. I remember when I first had you start cooking, you'd chop yourself up quite frequently. Back then, I was under the impression you were trying to serve yourself as the meal. You're quite fortunate to have this lovely lady always patch you back up."
Subaru nodded. He figured now was the chance to go through with his plan. "Hey… Um… Is it alright with you if I request something from you?"
Capella looked at Subaru curiously before grinning wide. "Oh? A request? How bold of you. Normally, I'd punish those who make such laughable demands but I happen to be in a good mood so I'll at least hear you out."
"Thanks. So I was wondering… would it be ok if I can call you by your name."
Capella tilted her head. The question very clearly took her off guard based on her expression but that hardly lasted for even half a second as she quickly swapped back to her cutesy demeanor once again and responded. "You want to call me by my name? You really are a bold chunk of meat. What makes you think you deserve such a privilege?"
Subaru really had to stop himself from facepalming right there. Regardless, he looked past the hypocrisy and continued. "I don't think I deserve it actually. I just really want to be on a first name basis since we see eachother often and… I like being around you."
He really wanted to gag upon saying that but if his last death meant anything, this was a small price to pay from future suffering. Well, for now at the very least.
As expected, Capella had a goofy delighted smile about her and she even swung her feet around as a way to hold back her excitement. It was pretty obvious that she loved hearing that. "Aww~ Are you that obsessed with me? Teehee~ Well, since you've been such a good boy, I'll grant you permission to use my name."
"Thanks, Capella." Subaru was relieved that this was out of the way now. Thinking about it now, just saying her name was better than mistress or mama at the very least.
"However, there are rules to this. You can't address this lovely lady so casually around anyone. I wouldn't want any of my other children to get jealous after all. Do I make myself clear?"
Subaru nodded immediately. "Sure thing. I'll be more formal in public."
"Hehehe~ That's my Subaru~"
This time, Subaru flinched once he heard his name slip out from Capella's lips for the first time. "H-Huh? D-Did you say something?"
"Oh?~ Being shy?~ You're my pet after all so I can address you however I please. Isn't that right?"
"A-Ah… Yeah, that's right… I-I guess I was caught off guard there." Subaru didn't like this. It feels like she was trying to pull something again, but what?
"Anyways!~ I must go now and attend to my other children." Capella Interrupted the boy's thoughts as she hopped to her feet. "I know how much you'll miss your beloved mistress but do not fret. This lovely lady will be giving you a special treat later today~" The girl licked her lips slowly after mentioning that last part which caused a chill shiver to slither down Subaru's spine.
Subaru really wanted to reject whatever Capella was thinking but still fresh on fear from being killed by her not too long ago, he forced himself to smile. "R-Really? I-I'll be looking forward to it."
After waving goodbye, Capella finally took her leave.
Subaru stood there smiling for a few moments longer. Only after he truly believed that Capella was gone did the boy drop to his knees and began hyperventilating. "W-What does that bitch want from me?!" Subaru shouted to himself. He didn't have anyone he could turn to for any kind of consoling so he just vented aloud. "I've been polite to you, I've been doing everything you've said and you kill me anyways?! Are you that insane?! What kind of stupid question is that? Of course you are! Why did my life end up like this?!"
Subaru was crying at this point as he was ranting like a madman. He wanted nothing more but to leave this hellhole.
--
Capella hummed to herself joyfully as she pranced down the halls of her current headquarters. Her evening with her pet had exceeded her expectations. At first, she was aiming to see if there were any hints of misconduct within him. After his mission with Sakura and Melty, she had her suspicions that he was going to try something.
She wanted to make sure her Subaru wouldn't try to run away from her so in order to truly test his loyalty, she sent him on this mission. Before she even introduced Subaru and Sakura, she gave Sakura explicit orders to make sure Subaru didn't run away.
However, that proved to not be enough. The very second Subaru was sent off, paranoia ate away inside Capella and she turned herself into a bird and tailed them.
Nothing seemed amiss from a distance. Whenever she had a chance to get into earshot, they didn't talk about anything important. The only noteworthy observation was how Subaru was constantly surveying his surroundings. It was hard to tell if he was paranoid like he was being watched, if he was just that curious by the new sights, or if he was trying to find a chance to slip away.
Regardless, it still looked suspicious to her but she kept watching just in case. Overtime, they reached their destination in Priestella and that's when Capella blew her fuse.
Sakura left her Subaru alone with Melty.
What the hell was she thinking?! She thought to herself. She was so pissed off that she went straight to Sakura and laid her wrath into her once she was alone in the church.
After punishing her severely, she stalked Subaru and Melty while taking the form of a rat. Finding them didn't take long and the first thing she saw was the two sharing a meal.
Capella waited in silence the entire time. No matter what they did, she'd follow in silence. She was using this opportunity to ensure Melty wasn't going to use her pet to plot anything against her.
Eventually, the two stopped and seemed to be having a heartfelt conversation. Capella couldn't quite pick up what they were talking about from the distance she had at the time but it looked like a heated argument which the girl absolutely loved. That was a good sign that she had nothing to worry about.
But that all changed when things smoothed over fast and Melty started blushing furiously. It took every fiber of her being not to throw a tantrum right then and there. What made her stop was her own curiosity in seeing if Subaru was going to do anything after this.
It was weird but for some strange reason, a part of her wanted to see Subaru prove his loyalty on his own.
However, instead of taking any real action, the two went back to Sakura and immediately took their leave. Sakura was still looking very spooked. Hopefully her punishment didn't make Subaru suspicious of anything. It would be difficult to test him if he had his guard up after all.
Their way back was uneventful too. This time, Subaru looked more relaxed and didn't look as paranoid as before.
That led all the way to Subaru's arrival.
Capella was really going to make sure Subaru didn't stray from her grace during that time and used this opportunity to test his behavior around her.
…
And there was seemingly nothing to worry about!
Sure, he showed several signs of weariness around her which was super easy to pick up on but all of that was because he wanted to call her by her own name, right? Honestly, the girl just found that all too adorable.
It's been so long since she had a pet last this long and she had never experienced a pet give her this level of joy before. It was quite unique to say the least.
But the fun wasn't over yet.
Even though his actions were charming, it would be dumb of her to let this go so easily. There was one more test she wanted to do in order to truly see if Subaru wasn't led astray.
--
The rest of the day went by uneventfully for poor Subaru. After his breakdown earlier, he was left pretty exhausted. He was just gonna go straight to bed and dread what horrors that devil has in store for him the next day.
He left to his bedroom and as he walked in, he immediately saw the devil herself sitting casually on his bed. Upon seeing her, he revised his earlier thought from what she had in store for him tomorrow to now.
"O-Oh, hey, Capella. Erm… Did you need me for something?"
"Teehee~ Why yes~ I felt like sleeping in your room tonight so I'll be doing just that~"
Subaru gulped. He already knew where this was going. "I-I see… I guess I'll go sleep on the couch then!"
Before he could retreat, Capella scooted over and pointed to the bed. "Nope~ This lovely lady will require you to share this bed of yours with my divine self~"
Crap, fuck, dammit, bitch, fuck, shit, burn me in hell.
"R-Really? Are you sure you want my lowly self to sleep in the same bed as you?"
"Yes."
Crap, he thought. That was too straight of an answer. Defeated, Subaru carefully walked towards Capella and sat himself next to the devilish girl. His eyes locked into her for a solid moment until:
"Alright, Poochie. Goodnight!" Capella flopped on her side and instantly fell asleep.
…
…
…
Nope. He's not gonna question it. He's too tired to. Subaru just crawled next to her and instantly fell asleep himself.
…
…
…
Subaru might not know it but he's currently being tested.