Thank you for reading the second chapter of What We Can Only See! Please enjoy, and check the end notes!

"You want her to do what?!" Subaru growled at the head of the Mather's estate, Roswaal L. Mathers, as he angrily rose from his chair in their meeting room.

The room was tense from his sudden outburst and the previous discussion, as those partaking in the conversation sat on comfortable, plush settees.

Roswaal sat at the head chair, in front of the table laid out with maps before them, adorned in his clown-like makeup and extravagant dress as always. His face was stoic with a calm smile, clearly not perturbed by the raven-haired boy's flare-up. Standing to his left, as attentive as ever, was Ram, watching the situation with a dedicated look as she waited to see when she needed to be involved. The manor's other maids weren't in attendance, apparently having some "extensive cleaning" to attend to.

Sitting to the left of the table was Otto Suwen, the internal affairs officer of the Emilia camp. His hands were clasped tightly and his cheeks were slightly pink with a small panic, seeing such an argument begin, and silently agreeing with Subaru's concerns. Though he, like Ram, was being patient, waiting for his moment to intervene.

To the right of the table was the one for who the camp was for. Emilia sat quietly, still trying to process the plan Roswaal had just proposed, or perhaps demanded, she partake in. She glanced up at her knight as he harshly accused the backer of her candidacy, but was not upset with him. In fact, she had to resist the urge to blush at the immediacy at which he came to her defense. The feeling of somewhat guilty joy she felt was only slightly diminished by the loss of his hand from hers. The two had gotten in the habit of interlocking their fingers often, after that night, bringing comfort to both of them as they shared the secret that so haunted her best friend.

Along with her on that couch was the contracted spirit of Emilia's knight. Beatrice's own expression mimicked Subaru's in its harshness towards the Margrave, though with more poise and less pure anger, looking much more proper but just as miffed.

And of course, now standing from the couch was the heated youth, Subaru Natsuki. He glared down Roswaal without any fear, and his reason for his absence of apprehension was two-fold. First, he was already incredibly protective of the half-elf, so he considered harsh behavior towards her towards him as well. Second, he knew the details of the oath Roswaal had made with him after Subaru had won their bet in the Sanctuary. "I shall bring no harm or ill-intentions towards any of you," he had promised, likely believing he was just agreeing not to actively diminish the attempts of the Emilia camp. But his promise was not easy to skirt around, so the knight knew Roswaal couldn't hurt or even threaten him, so he was free to implicate the Margrave without any harm to himself.

Roswaal hadn't intended to do that anyway. He expected this kind of reaction to his proposal. He simply let his smile grow to take up his whole face, his eyes closed as he shook his head. "It's unbecoming of a knight such as you Suba~aru to so quickly resort to anger. I promise you, I make my motion to Miss Emilia with full inte~entions to aid our camp."

Subaru didn't buy it for one second. Roswaal had lost and made his oath, but he made it very clear to the young man at his knighting ceremony that he intended to watch him like a hawk, and likely pounce on him the second he thought the knight could lead him back to his teacher. And considering how dangerous this plan was to Emilia, it seemed likely he was trying to get Subaru to break, like he had attempted to in the Sanctuary.

The Margrave seemed to notice his former butler's brain at work and made a move to push this plan forward. "You do~on't seem to get it, so I'll explain. E~Each member of the Royal Selection is making a public campaign to boost their image forward. Lady Priscilla is using her i~influence as a princess to bring people under her lo~oyalty. Miss Anastasia continues to grow her co~onnections, business, and wealth. Miss Felt is gaining the support of the commoners. They are all using their advantages and image as the~eir angle of attack. So-"

Otto jumped into the conversation, seeing where the clown-like head of the manor was going with this. "You want Miss Emilia to use hers. Coming into the race, she was seen as the least desirable because of her heritage and didn't have a great place to start. But now our camp is credited with the defeat of the White Whale, a large faction of the Witch's Cult, and a Sin Archbishop. So now her angle is…"

Subaru sighed, and grit his teeth a bit, not liking that this was adding up. "A candidate who acts and comes to the aid of vulnerable people."

Roswaal smirked at the boys getting it. "E~Exactly. So if Miss Emilia heads out from the mansion to surrounding vi~illages and towns around Lugunica to help fix their issues and fight back monsters, she'll continue to bo~oost her image."

Regardless of understanding his angle, the young knight didn't like the idea. "But you put her at risk! Throwing her at swarms of mabeasts and whatever other issues these towns might have just endangers her!"

Ram took her chance now to speak. "Barasu, you may be Miss Emilia's knight, but that does not mean she is not perfectly capable of fighting battles. You must know as well as the rest of us do now that she is plenty capable in a fight, after her help in defeating the Great Rabbit."

"And su~urely as her knight, you would be at her beck and call to defend her and keep her safe, Suba~aru," Roswaal added with a knowing smirk, his silent message clear. If Subaru was around, he could protect Emilia from any harm, with his ability to loop time.

His undertones clearly were getting to Subaru, and before he could do something reckless, Otto stood up to draw attention to himself. With his signature smile, one that made it seem like he was naive and nervous, but was secretly a powerful tool to make himself seem more agreeable, the former merchant gave the knight some backup, "And of course, Miss Emilia will be able to bring Garfiel along as well. And of course, I'll be joining as well to handle the carriage. And with Natsuki with us, we'll also have the aid of Lady Beatrice. Surely it is alright for them to join in any fighting that may come Miss Emilia's way, Margrave? After all, Emilia didn't participate in the fight with the White Whale or Sloth, but the credit still went to her camp."

Subaru looked at Otto with surprise and faint appreciation. Although he teased the internal affairs officer frequently, he appreciated his ability to calmly talk through a situation when he couldn't.

Roswaal retained his smile. If anything it seemed to grow, along with the glint in his eye. "But of course! Results from our camp are results for Miss Emilia. Just as long as she sho~ows face, she will get the appreciation of each town you all visit."

Subaru relented, though still stayed standing with a rebellious look, his arms crossed. "I take it you have plans for our first stop on this PR tour?"

The Margrave gave a smirk and the young knight sighed internally. This was gonna be a pain in the ass…

Emilia sat on one of the cold, concrete benches outside in the garden, staring up at the night sky. At the stars. She mentally pointed a few out to herself, ones Subaru had taught her about. Their names, groupings, and stories, which he always talked about with such passion that it made her smile.

But her thoughts about the young man couldn't distract her from her feelings of frustration right now. The meeting involving the future of her campaign had ended reasonably well after the argument in the middle, but she couldn't help but feel a bit dejected at her performance in the meeting; or lack thereof. She was silent, not saying a single thing in a topic that revolved around her. She appreciated Subaru, as well as Otto, standing up for her and making the situation better for her. But she couldn't help but feel like she had failed to show herself as a good future ruler by not bringing up their points herself.

It was just hard when whenever she looked at Roswaal, or even Ram for that matter, all she felt was anger and betrayal…

"You look lost in thought," the only person she felt like she could trust estimated. Subaru walked over to her, hands in his jacket pockets, and took a seat next to her on the bench. It was small, barely fitting them both, so they sat with their legs touching. Something that normally would've flustered them both in the past, but now just brought them comfort.

"I am," She admitted, while her eyes were still focused high in the sky.

"Still crazy cute though," He teased with a smirk, trying to lift her mood a bit.

She looked at him like she was annoyed, but it was combined with a small, pleased smirk, revealing her true feelings. "Idiot."

He chuckled softly, then gave her a patient look. "Thinking about the meeting?" She nodded, so he added, "You know, you don't have to feel bad about not saying much. Roswaal ambushed you with that, it was unfair."

Now she chuckled softly and dryly. How was he so good at reading her? "I know… but that wasn't the reason I was struggling to talk."

Subaru gave her a concerned look. "What's up then? Anything I can help with?"

She sighed. "Maybe… I just… how do you do it, Subaru?"

"What?"

She clutched the hem of her dress a bit. "Trust them. Accept them into your life at all. After… after what they've done…"

He knew what she meant. What they did to him in his failed loops. Things they didn't know about, that they hadn't done in the final timeline, but Subaru still had to go through. He bit his inner cheek a bit and shook his head. It always hurt his head to think about this.

"I… just try and act like it didn't happen."

"But that isn't right!" She disputed a bit loudly, then blushed and covered her mouth, before looking down somberly. "It… it isn't right. What everyone you care about had the capability of doing to you… what we have done to you, and you had to fix."

"We" she had said… Subaru immediately felt his heart drop a bit, as he gently touched the back of her hand as it squeezed her dress tightly. "Emilia…"

She was beginning to tear up now, unable to look up at him as her glistening, moonlit sobs dropped onto her dress softly. "How can you stand being around all these people who have hurt you? How… how can you…" She looked up at him weakly, her expression clearly one of fear. "How can you be around me when you've died because of me?"

He could see the hurt in her expression, the anguish of someone who had had this on her mind for a while now. It was something he was terrified of when she learned about Return By Death. He had learned a while ago to not hold past loops against anyone, since their circumstances and outcomes could be so out of wack, usually because of his own stupid mistakes or idiotic behavior.

He was horrified that he wouldn't be able to fix this. She had asked him a question that was practically impossible to answer.

But all he could do was try. "Because I care about you."

"Subaru…"

He took her hand fully in his now and spoke with a serious conviction. "At first, I convinced myself it was all for you. That everything I did was to pay you back, for saving me when I arrived here. That I'd never be able to make up for you having to come to my rescue and I had to keep doing things to make up for it… but I was lying to myself. It was selfish for me to act like I could devote myself fully to you because of one event, one time. Like you deserved to be on a pedestal for that."

"I had to grow up. And realize I was helping you because it made me feel better about myself, like you couldn't do it without me. It made me feel like some kind of hero, like the main character of a grand story where I fix everything, look awesome, and get the girl. And that was so, so wrong. I had to find a real reason to want to help you, to be by your side. To be your knight."

"And that reason is because I fully and truly care about you and believe in you, Emilia. You are such a wonderful, kind person. You're amazing! And I want to be there during all your hard times. During your fights, lowest points, and triumphs. For the day you are coronated King of Lugunica. I want to be there every step of the way because I care about you like no one else. Because you are amazing. And not because you saved me once, but because you'd do it again. You'd save me every time. And you'd do it for anyone because that's the kind of person you are."

"Like how you didn't ask Reinhard to arrest Felt after you found her at the loot house. Or how you never lash out at those discriminating against you, always just turning your cheek. You're so tenderhearted, sometimes almost too much. But it's what I love most about you. And it's what makes me want to be by your side always. You're the kind of person I want to follow to the end of time, to believe in fully, to trust with the future of a country with so many issues. Someone I… can love."

"Maybe that's a little selfish still. It definitely is… but I want to be selfish now. Selfish for you. I may get hurt sometimes. I… I may die sometimes. And although I wish it would never happen again… I don't hold it against you when it does. Because I know, if you could do something to prevent it, to always save me… you would. You'd make up for any pain I've ever felt… so I won't ever hold it against you. I'll trust you and believe in you completely, forever and always."

He breathed hard as he finished, the words having flowed out of his mouth practically without thinking, just letting his feelings pour onto her. He prayed it would get his message across as he stared at her hopefully, her eyes staring back at his, full of emotion.

"S-Subaru… I…" She grit her teeth and more tears began to flow as she shut her eyes. "I truly don't deserve you…"

He shook his head. "You're wrong! You deserve me and I deserve you. Because you've done everything possible to get me to love you and I will always have a spot by your side. I swore to you that night, Emilia. I am your knight, forever and always. We deserve each other, to talk to, to cry to, and to have someone who understands. So… be selfish with me, Emilia. Greedily take me, rely on me, and let me help you. And in return, I'll do the same with you."

She continued to cry at his words. A mix of sadness for what she had done to him in the past, both in failed loops and their real timelines. But also with some happy tears, at how lucky she was to have Lugunica's most amazing knight.

After a couple of minutes, she took deep breaths to slow her tears a bit, she gripped his hand tightly with both of hers. "Subaru… promise me something, ok?"

He nodded confidently. "Anything."

She took a deep breath and looked at him with her tear-stained, beautiful face, full of conviction. "I… I know you will get hurt because of me. And I can accept that. As my knight, I can accept you protecting me, fighting for me, taking on battles and challenges for me… but please… please don't ever die for me. Promise me you won't ever sacrifice yourself for me… I don't care that it won't be permanent… please value your life, for me. Please just… just don't die again."

He was a bit stunned at her request, not expecting her to ask something so heavy of him. Still, he nodded. "I promise. I'll find a different solution for you if something like that happens. I don't intend to ever go throwing my life away."

She sighed in relief, took a deep breath, and then scooted closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder and wrapping her arms around his stomach. "Good… then I'll listen to you… I'll be greedy with you. I'll trust you as you and rely on you as you do with me. And if you can trust Garfiel, Ram, Otto, and the others, even after things they did to you in failed worlds… I'll try and trust them too."

He smiled softly and blushed at her embrace of him, especially since she was trapping his arms against his sides. But he responded earnestly. "Thank you, Emilia."

She shook her head. "Thank you, Subaru… I can't bring myself to trust Roswaal though…"

The young man frowned. "Trust me, neither can I. That man is a snake with a capital S…"

She chuckled a bit, which made him look down at her curiously. "What's funny?"

Emilia was smiling now. A nice, warm, trusting smile. "I'm just… thinking about what he said to you in the Sanctuary… what I saw from your memories. And I can't help but find it crazy that he thought you'd ever be anything like him."

He gave her a questioning look. "You don't think we have some similarities?"

She laughed softly again. "Oh, you do. But you'd never be truly like him. You're much too emotional."

Subaru gasped in playful shock. "Hey! I can be… cold and calculating." She smirked at him a bit, showing her disbelief at that, and he crossed his arms indignantly, though the smile on his lips showed his playful nature. "You're really gonna regret it when I invest in clown make-up to prove you wrong."

At that thought of that, Emilia began full-on laughing, holding her stomach tightly, making her knight smile brightly. "You won't belie~eve how well I'd pull off his outfit," He claimed, doing his best to mimic Roswaal's signature accent, which brought on even more mirth from half-elf, who had dropped to the grass on her back, struggling to breath from all her giggles.

Subaru kept up the impression for a bit longer, unable to resist the urge to see more laughter from her, every howl of amusement making his heart feel warm. Their fun was interrupted by Beatrice, who strolled over to see the scene and frowned.

"What's all this fuss about? Torturing her, I suppose?"

Subaru smiled up at his spirit, still using his Roswaal accent. "Oh, just some fun Be~eako."

Without hesitation, the adorable spirit girl stuck her hand up and blasted the knight into the nearest fountain with wind magic, and added with a deadpan expression, "Absolutely never again will that be tolerated, in fact."

"What is Betty's contractor up to, I suppose?" Beatrice asked, as said contractor paced around their room, clearly deep in thought. Both had returned to their living quarters after the incident in the garden, Emilia wishing them a good night's rest for their travel tomorrow, before heading to her own room. They had made their way to their own shortly after having a conversation with Frederica and Petra, who were still in the middle of the extra cleaning tasks Roswaal had given them that caused them to miss the meeting.

"Just… thinking about something," Subaru answered, his hand on his chin as he walked in a circle around the spirit, a habit he had picked up from his time bothering her in the Forbidden Library.

She gave a somewhat amused smile. "Very informative."

He chuckled at her sarcasm. "Sorry, sorry. Just… why's he doing this?"

"Doing what, I suppose?"

"Sending Emilia and us on this mission. Roswaal is always planning something behind the scenes…"

Beatrice gave him a curious look. "You think there is more to his proposal than just boosting the half-elf's image? That's probably good thinking from Betty's Subaru, in fact."

Betty's Subaru nodded, confirming he thought something fishy was going on. He tried to think back on the meeting, to try and find any hints he might've missed. Any indications of Roswaal's further plans.

"Beako… do you think it's a bit odd we are leaving tomorrow? After all, we just met to talk about it today… doesn't it feel a bit sudden to have us head out so soon?"

Beatrice considered this and agreed. "Normally with a decision like this, you would expect some time for preparations to be made for the group leaving, I suppose. Securing housing in whatever villages they visit, gathering travel rations, and some time to make a schedule."

Subaru seemed even more puzzled now. "And Roswaal isn't short-sighted or dumb. There's no way this was just him planning this poorly. Combine that with how pleased he looked when Otto recommended himself and Garfiel come with us… he's rushing us out."

"It would seem that way, in fact… but for what purpose?"

Subaru chuckled. "I was kind of hoping you'd know…"

His blatant reliance on the spirit caused her to gasp. "Lazy contractor!"

He smiled. "Doesn't it make you happy how much I have to rely on you?"

Beatrice shook her head. "Not at all, in fact. Betty knows that her contractor is much smarter than he likes to pretend to be… although being his source of information does bring Betty a bit of glee, I suppose."

The knight of Emilia grinned and ruffled his spirit's blonde hair, earning a squeal of surprise and then one of satisfaction from her. He continued to think as she nuzzled into his hand, trying to piece together any reason why Roswaal would want them out of manor as soon as tomorrow.

He couldn't leave it alone, even as he racked his brain dry. But since he had no answers of his own, he did what everyone in the Emilia camp did when they had an issue with no clear answer.

He went to bother Otto.

"Now that you mention it, it is a bit suspicious…" The former merchant mused while sorting through some paperwork. It was a late night of documentation again for the internal affairs officer, a position he was confident he only got from Roswaal so the lord of the manor could dump all the busy work on him. So he was content to have a distraction from his work via his friend and brother.

"Right? He's planning something while we're away. I thought maybe he was trying to hire more assassins or maybe free Meili but I don't know if him hiring someone to hurt us would count as breaking his oath."

"Likely it would, I suppose," Beatrice offered from her spot on her contractor's lap. "An oath's conditions can be vague but most often stems from the intent of those who made it. And while Roswaal may have wanted that workaround, your intentions with the deal were for him to aid and work with the half-elf. Hiring an assassin would conflict then, in fact."

"Miss Beatrice, if I may ask, what if he was meeting with someone who meant no physical harm to our camp, but could mean political harm?" Otto asked, the phrasing of his question making both Subaru and his spirit incredibly curious.

Subaru grinned and walked over to the merchant, then wrapped his arm around him. "Otto, buddy, you've been holding out on me, haven't you?"

The internal affairs office blushed and looked agitated, though with how soft his face was, he actually just looked dorky and cute. "I-It's not like that! I just didn't realize it was relevant until now," He explained while rifling through some of the papers he was working through until he found what he was looking for. He held out the paper for Subaru who examined it.

"A calendar for our camp… but it doesn't have anything scheduled for tomorrow?"

Otto pointed at a different date. "But look! A week from tomorrow… a meeting with Lady Crusch's camp. Something that wouldn't be odd at all if Miss Emilia was here…"

"But would be very strange if she wasn't. And with it just being a week off, it'd be really easy for Roswaal to say he just accidentally put it a week off, if he got caught…" The onyx-haired boy finished, getting a nod from Otto. "What makes you think this is it? Just a hunch?"

The merchant shook his head. "Not entirely that… have you noticed how much extra cleaning the maid staff has been up to the last couple of days?"

Subaru thought about it… Frederica and Petra had missed the meeting today because of some extra cleaning tasks, and he'd seen them both still at it, dusting off the window sills, after he and Emilia split ways for the night. It was odd to see them cleaning this late unless important guests were showing up. Such as…

"The Karsten camp will be here tomorrow for an important meeting that Roswaal doesn't want Emilia or us here for…" Subaru put together.

Otto grimaced. The head of the manor was already incredibly shady, even with the oath, and now he was scheduling political meetings behind their back. It wasn't a good look for their backer.

The young knight, however, was smiling big. "What has you so joyous, Natsuki? We'll surely have to confront Roswaal about this and cancel the excursion, which won't be a good look for Miss Emilia considering we've already informed Mosous Village that we'd be arriving tomorrow…"

With his typical cocky delivery, he boasted, "We'll be doing no such thing, good buddy!"

At this, Otto gave his brother a confused look. Subaru took that opportunity to explain his idea. "Roswaal is hosting this meeting without us for a reason, so it must be important, secret info. We learn nothing if we force him to cancel it. And if Lugunican royals are anything like the royals I'm familiar with, there's no way they get this all resolved in one meeting. So, there's no harm in letting the meeting go on while having a bit of… eavesdropping going on."

The internal affairs officer considered this but shook his head. "But the Margrave is careful… it's clearly important to him that we aren't here for this, so he'll want to see us all off and make sure none of us return to interrupt the meeting."

But the knight was already gleefully walking out of the merchant's office, spirit in hand. He stopped near the door to give Otto a smirk. "Silly Otto. We won't be returning to interrupt the meeting. We're all gonna go as planned to Mosous and accomplish that goal as well."

The platinum-haired brother of Subaru gave him a quizzical look. "Then how will we learn anything from the meeting?"

At that, the nasty-eyed boy gave a signature big smile and thumbs up. "By showing Roswaal that his maid staff isn't quite as loyal as he thinks…"

"So what's the issue with Mosous again?" Subaru asked those riding in the dragon-drawn carriage with him. They had left early this morning, with Otto taking the reigns but listening from the open partition window, Garfiel running alongside the cart to watch for any danger, and the knight riding inside with Beatrice and Emilia.

Despite there being plenty of room inside the carriage, all the residents inside were sitting on the same perch, with the spirit sitting on her contractor's left knee, and the half-elf sitting to the right of her knight, gently holding his hand. Subaru hadn't gotten much time to talk to her before they left this morning, but he could tell she was feeling a bit off by the way she held their contact so close to her. The sleepiness in her eyes that he was privy to notice compared to everyone else, considering how frequently he found himself staring at her amethyst gems, seemed to confirm his suspicions.

"There's reportedly been an odd amount of dead livestock and even wild animals around the village, far more than normal. The villagers think there could be a mabeast breakout that's attacking their animals at night, so they're worried about leaving out scouts since they don't have anyone combat trained that could hold their own against a pack," The tired royal selection candidate answered, getting a nod from her best friend.

"Simple mabeasts are below Betty's contractor's skill set, in fact!" Beatrice shot out, but Subaru just pinched her cheek playfully.

"Hey, it's good to help people in need. Plus, it gives me a chance to look cool in front of Mili!" He gushed, earning him an ear pull from Mili, and a laugh from Otto and Garfiel as she scolded him.

"That's quite enough, Subaru," She pretended to be annoyed, but her tone was filled with a certain fondness. Especially when she said more quietly, "You're already plenty impressive anyway…"

"Oww! Such a harsh reaction but with such a sweet remark! How cruel yet lovely…" Subaru cried out dramatically, earning him another laugh from each camp member, including a cute giggle from Emilia, which made him swoon and his heart fill with pride. He had no issue being the butt of the joke if it helped cheer up his favorite girl a bit.

The knight stuck his head out the side window with an eyes-closed grin. "Aren't you gonna compliment your captain for his smooth lady's skill, Garfiel?" He quipped, and then he opened his eyes confused when the demi-human didn't respond. Odd, Garfield wasn't one to miss a chance to praise him…

As his gaze took in the outside of the carriage and the path they were on, it suspiciously missed an important detail that should've been there: the shield of the Emilia camp was nowhere to be found. Subaru looked back behind him, to see if he had been distracted or maybe got tired and fell behind.

He saw his body lying on the path about three hundred feet back… but the young blonde was not sleeping, if the open gash in his back and pool of blood surrounding him was any indication.

Subaru's eyes widened in complete horror. He didn't have control of himself when he vomited out the window, catching the attention of both Emilia and Beatrice, the former of who yanked Subaru back into the cart with concern, and the latter of which yelled for Otto to stop the carriage.

The merchant yanked the carriage to a stop and looked through his front window. "What's going on? Why does Natsuki have vo-" His words were cut short by a yelp of pain and then… silence, as he disappeared from their vision.

All three inside the carriage were on its floor. The knight in the middle, shaking, his tracksuit covered in his own throw-up. The half-elf sat him up, sitting next to him, and clutching him protectively. And the spirit, standing next to them, had her hands up in a defensive stance with magic pulsing around them, directed at the front view they had just seen the merchant's face disappear from.

Subaru's brain screamed at him internally to get it together. To stand up. He had to do something, had to warn them about Garfiel… either injured or dead on the path. But the young knight had always been worse seeing other's deaths than his own, so seeing something he cared about likely dead for the first time in four months had his knees like jelly, his stomach twisting with more vomit, his hands shaking uncontrollably.

Subaru's brain screamed at him to protect Emilia. To be her knight. There was something outside this carriage and, if patterns were to be believed, it was probably here for her. Most things that threatened them were. He didn't have any information on this foe besides that, so he had to work with it. After all, he was powerless without knowledge. Every fight he had ever won was thanks to using his brain to out-think it, with as many hints he had gathered from various lives, so he had to use what he had.

Subaru's brain screamed to run. To get out of there now. Death horrified it. It petrified him to no end. His arms, scarred with self-given marks of fear, all originating from the horror he experienced at the end of all his loops. His nightmares, eternally tormenting, plagued by his and other's various ends. His most important person, Emilia, now just as hellishly heckled as he was by the horrible, heinous halts to his existence. That scared him worse than anything… how would she react if he died here? When he came back and she remembered it. After all, he had several breakdowns after resetting even now, and he was at least somewhat used to him. His heart slammed in his chest at the idea of her having to go through it as well. He had to run…

Subaru couldn't get it together. He couldn't protect Emilia. He couldn't run. He couldn't do anything now. It was over with the snap of a bowstring and the twang of an arrow.

Subaru's brain was pierced through. With eyes focused on the front window, neither his spirit nor his love could react in time as an arrow flew through the side window, piercing his temple and going out the other side, sending blood and a small amount of his brain matter flying into the side of the carriage.

Screams were what he heard first. His eyes had stopped working the second the arrow hit, so he couldn't see their faces, an oddly kind mercy considering the bloody murder of the girls' shrieks.

Next were the sobs. He heard them as well, and maybe what he was feeling on his face was their tears. His sense of touch felt somewhat numb though, so it also could've been blood streaming down his face. He was unsure.

The last thing he heard was Emilia's voice. He was surprised he could make it out since his hearing was getting foggier with every second, but he heard her distinct last words to him in this loop. "You said you wouldn't die… you promised…"

Like a final death knell to his being, after her words, the boy's breathing stopped. His hand ran cold in the one who was soon to share in his grief's grasp. His eyes lost their living luster.

Subaru Natsuki died.

Thank you all for reading! This chapter was interesting to write, as I wanted to start planting the seeds of some future plot points and foreshadowing, which is obviously really important to the story of Re:Zero since it's about time travel. This is where the story takes a big deviation from the original! I want to have explanations for why things in this story work out differently than the original, to make it feel more organic. I hope it makes sense why in a world where Emilia and Subaru are clearly closer than ever and more protective of each other, Roswaal has some kind of scheme going, but I won't say more besides that!

I do a lot of research and work to try and make these characters feel as accurate personality and lore-wise to the source characters, but I do worry often that I may let some of my own headcanons in or make some mistakes, so if anything feels off, please feel free to comment and let me know!

Please feel free to comment in general, I read all of them and always want to improve. I also appreciate the kind and positive comments on the first chapter! It means a lot that people think this concept is interesting and that my writing is somewhat enjoyable.

This chapter was interesting to write since I got to write a Subaru death scene. I'm curious what people thought about this one, if it was took long or too short, or if the inner thoughts and monologues are more or less preferred than detailing the death from the world around Subaru, rather than his own thoughts.

My goal with this series is to have a new chapter released around every two weeks. Most chapters will be closer to the length of this one than the first chapter since that first chapter ballooned far past what I originally planned. I hope everyone looks forward to new chapters!

Thanks again for reading, and again, please leave a comment with your thoughts! I'm always looking to try and make my writing better, and I'm always happy to receive advice. It also just motivates me a lot to put my all into this series when I see people interested, whether through critiques or just kind notes.

Please look forward to the next chapter, where we get to see just how Emilia reacts to experiencing a reset. If you're an angst fan, you're in for a doozy.