Chapter 47: When the Overprotective Brother Trope Goes Too Far
It had been around a month since Subaru and Satella had begun a secret relationship, and honestly, neither of them had been happier as they were these days.
Subaru was a constant light in Satella's life. He made sure to brighten her day no matter what and gave her all the love he could. Meanwhile, Satella did her best to make Subaru feel at home in Elior, teaching him magic and everything about their world.
"So, what's for today, Satella-tan?" he asked, his face glowing as usual.
Satella blushed a bit, before redirecting the question back to Subaru. "Well, what do you want to do?"
"Magic training, obviously!"
"I see…" she murmured. "Well, I suppose we can start training you to learn Ul Minya."
Subaru's fist pumped into the air. "Sweet!"
"Ul Minya is a bit complicated. It's kind of like a... trapped spell, creating rings around enemies to keep them in place," the silver-haired half-elf explained.
"Different from the standard Minya?" Subaru raised an eyebrow.
"Right. However, it has a secondary purpose," the amethyst-eyed girl answered. "Do you recall the spell you helped me with? Omen of Disaster?"
The nasty-eyed teen nodded. "Yeah, what about it?"
"The Rings can be used for more than just trapping enemies. They can also trap mana you gather into it. Once that happens, you can aim it at an enemy and fire away, like an arrow."
Subaru started to get it. "Oh, like in a tower defense game."
"Kind of... Al Minya holds a similar function, but... it only fires downward."
The Japanese teenager nodded to that. "Aerial bombardment, gotcha."
"Yep." Satella gave her beloved a thumbs-up. "It's basically a bomb."
"Great! So, how do I cast it?"
Satella narrowed her eyes. "I hope you're talking about Ul instead of Al."
Subaru started to sweat slightly. "Uh, yeah, of course! Heh-heh."
Satella sighed a bit. "Anyways, the casting is almost identical to Minya and its El counterpart. Bring forth your mana, visualize it, and ready your gate."
"Okay, easy-peasy."
"Just take it easy. Ul and especially Al spells can be rough on the first few castings."
Subaru nodded, as he closed his eyes. He brought his mana forth, visualized what he wanted to do, raised his hand towards where he wanted to hit, readied his gate, and…
"Ul Minya!"
The purple aura blasted forth from Subaru's body and created several crystals appearing in a ring formation. Yin energy built up in the center from the crystals, and finally fired an arrow of Yin energy which completely crystalized a large boulder.
"Yes! You did it!"
While Satella was hugging Subaru for his accomplishment, they were unaware of another half-elf staring at them nearby.
Later that day, Subaru had finished up his magic training for the day, and after saying good-bye to Satella, walked over to his current quarters, ready to sleep off his tiredness.
"Man... that was more exhausting than the other spells," he groaned.
"Subaru."
"Huh?" Subaru noticed Hanasha standing in front of his doorway with his arms crossed.
"You coming in?" Hanasha asked, pointing to the door.
"Yeah... did you need something?"
The man said nothing, as he opened the door and escorted Subaru inside.
Subaru gulped slightly. I got a feeling that this isn't gonna go well...
"I'm going to make this quick," Hanasha said, as he closed the door behind him.
"Make what qui–"
WHAM!
In an instant, Subaru was slammed to the floor, his head hitting the wood, as he felt Hanasha's hands tightening around his neck. Subaru was choking from Hanasha's grip. He knew that struggling against a Half-Elf would be difficult, but this strength was inhumane.
"You should have stayed away…"
Subaru looked up at Hanasha. "Stayed... away...?"
"Yes. I will not allow anyone to defile my sister."
He's mad... because I'm with Satella?!
"Sleep… and never wake again," Hanasha hissed, as he kept squeezing.
Subaru was desperate to do anything to get out of this. His mana was drained from that Ul Minya spell, so what can he do. Think! What could any of what Satella said work?! Subaru reached back to the recesses of his memory, to his magic lessons…
"There is one thing you can do if you are out of Mana. Burning your Od away. If you absolutely must cast a spell, then you can use some of your Od to cast it. However, your Od is your life-force. If you do this, even once, your life span will be shortened."
Nearing unconscious, Subaru grit his teeth. Dammit, I have no choice!
"Sha... mak…"
Suddenly, the entire room was covered in dark mist that forced Hanasha to let go. Subaru took the opportunity to punch him in the face before running out of the room as fast as possible. Throwing the door open, Subaru ran outside into the woods, like a madman.
"GET BACK HERE!"
Subaru ran as fast as he could, trying to escape the murderous Half-Elf. His mind and body was a mess, but he thinks he got away. Subaru collapsed in exhaustion, as he noticed someone quickly approaching. However, that was all he saw before he lost consciousness.
"Subaru!" Satella yelled, as she approached the downed boy.
"Get —" Hanasha stopped, as he saw who was there. "Oh, Satella."
"Hanasha, what happened?!" she asked, holding the boy.
Hanasha quickly thought up a lie. "I caught Subaru recklessly casting spells. They must have disoriented him."
"But... Subaru's been making good progress with his training…" Satella said, looking down at Subaru.
"Well, what can you expect from an impatient and stupid boy such as him?"
"Hanasha!" the amethyst-eyed girl chided her brother.
"Don't worry, sister, I'll carry him to his bed. Please, give him to me."
"No, I'm taking him back and making sure he gets a proper recovery," she said, as she began to carry her boyfriend to his room. "I'll find out what happened when he wakes up."
"Must you waste your time like that? Fortuna would be disappointed in you."
"I don't see it like that. Now please stand aside." Satella was not going to change her stance on this.
Hanasha was silent for a few seconds. "Hmph. Very well."
As Satella took Subaru back to his room, Hanasha was glaring daggers at the boy's unconscious body, as he was being carried away by his sister.
The darkness seeped away, as Subaru opened his eyes to see he was in his bed. He was alive. And to make the situation a bit better, Satella was next to his bedside.
"Oh, Subaru. You're awake."
Subaru tried to say something, but he couldn't. His throat was on fire.
"Subaru, is something wrong?" the silver-haired girl asked.
Subaru wanted to tell her, he really did, but all that came out of his throat was pain. Satella also noticed that Subaru was trying to say something, but was having trouble doing so.
"Hmph. It seems his reckless magic use was worse than we thought, sister." Subaru's heart nearly stopped when he heard that voice.
Subaru backed to the wall as he saw Hanasha standing in front of the doorway.
"Subaru? Is everything alright?" Satella asked.
"Hm. It seems like he's feverish. Maybe some tea will help him, Satella."
Satella could see that Subaru was... afraid. Why? Sure, Hanasha was never nice to him, but that wasn't enough to provoke such a reaction.
Despite her better judgment, she decided to go to the kitchen and make some tea.
Subaru was terrified. Hanasha could kill him when he wanted. Satella told him how Hanasha was the strongest mage in Elior, and a master of Yang Magic. However, Subaru could tell that he did not want Satella to find out.
Hanasha leaned in and whispered, "Listen here, you little bastard, I'm going to make this quick. I'm not going to try to kill you again. Nod if you understand."
Subaru quickly nodded at that.
"Good. Here's what you're doing to do," the silver-haired half-elf continued to whisper. "When you're all healed up, you'll break it off with Satella, or else. Understood?"
Subaru was shaken. He did not want to give up what he had with Satella. In the short time he's known her, Subaru already fell head over heels for her. But... he knew the alternative was death.
Satella entered the room, completely oblivious. "I'm back with tea!"
Subaru nearly sighed in relief as Satella returned.*
"Lovely!" Hanasha put on a false smile, as he headed out. "Subaru… I'll be seeing you."
Subaru got the underlying message. "End the relationship or die."
A few days later, Subaru's throat had healed up, and he was out of bed, but he always felt like death was coming for him, even when he was doing chores or practicing magic.
It had gotten so bad that even his beloved had noticed.
"Subaru, is everything okay? You've barely spoken at all since you've healed."
Subaru stayed quiet, feeling as if Hanasha was lurking in the corner of his eye.
Subaru knew he had no other choice. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with this amazing woman... but he was starting to feel like it wasn't meant to be. She would live far longer than him, and that was even if he wasn't killed in secret by her brother.
Subaru gulped. "Satella…"
"Yes?" Her eyes widened at hearing Subaru's first words in days now.
Subaru dreaded himself for what he would have to say next. "I... don't think we should... see each other... anymore…"
He could see the light in her eyes fade at hearing that. "Wh-what…?"
"I think we should... break up…"
Tears began to stream from her face, as she hyperventilated, muttering to herself something unintelligible to Subaru. "I... don't understand... was... was it something I did? Was I not good enough!? Did I do something wrong?! Why?!"
Nope. He couldn't do it. He folded immediately. If Subaru was gonna break her heart, he wouldn't do it as a liar. "It's Hanasha!" he blurted out. "He's forcing me to —"
"Forcing you to what?"
Subaru yelped on the inside, as he turned around and came face-to-face with Hanasha. Looks like he was within earshot. "What did you say to make my sister cry?" he asked.
Subaru gritted his teeth. He didn't care if Hanasha would kill him. "Only what you made me do."
Satella looked at the two of them. Wha...? What's going on...?
"Don't know. Satella, why don't you head home?" Hanasha said, as he wrapped his arm around Subaru. "He and I will have a private chat, and clear up this misunderstanding."
"No, I'm not going anywhere until someone tells me what's going on!" Satella yelled.
"Satella, please…" Subaru begged her. "It's fine."
Satella was not going anywhere. "No, it's not fine! What is going on?!"
"Nothing is going on!" Hanasha barked.
"Then why does Subaru look so afraid when you're around!?" Satella retorted.
As Satella and Hanasha kept shouting at each other, Subaru couldn't take it anymore. He screamed as if he was being murdered, "HANASHA TRIED TO KILL ME AND THREATEN TO DO SO IF I DIDN'T BREAK UP WITH YOU!"
Silence. There was silence within the Elior Forest. Not even the birds could be heard chirping, as all three of the participants of this conversation felt like the world itself had paused.
Satella was the first one to break that silence. "You... what...?"
Before Subaru could say anything more, he could feel himself get dragged and launched away. Right, mana enhancements. Hanasha must have just used one to grab him.
"You pathetic little brat!" Hanasha hissed.
The two of them were alone in the forest, their positions the same as a few days ago. Hanasha was on top of Subaru, his hands wrapped around the black-haired boy's throat.
"I was planning on having your death be away from Satella, but you will be an example!"
As Hanasha kept monologuing, Subaru squirmed at the lack of air in his neck.
"An example to make sure no one ever gets to close to my –
WHAM!
However, it did not last as long as Hanasha was thrown off his feet and away from the boy. Subaru noticed Satella standing over him defensively.
"Satella…"
"HOW COULD YOU, HANASHA?!" she roared, her tears straining her beautiful face. "SUBARU'S AN INNOCENT PERSON! HE DOESN'T DESERVE DEATH!"
"Satella, step away from him…" Hanasha growled and summoned multiple Jiwald beams at his fingertips, all aimed at Subaru.
"No!" Satella summoned a dozen Minya crystals. "I'm not gonna let you hurt him!"
"He needs to be gone!"
"Why?! He's the best that's happened to me in years!"
"He's an otherworlder! An outsider! He's nothing more than Human filth! He'll die in just a hundred years, leaving you heartbroken for centuries!"
"Fifth?! We're half-human! Does that mean nothing to you?!"
Hanasha actually stumbled at that. "No… I didn't mean it like that…"
"Do you?! You've acted like Subaru was worthless from the moment he arrived! I thought you were being cautious at first, but you've made it clear that you just hate him!"
"SO WHAT IF I DO HATE HIM?!"
"BECAUSE I LOVE HIM! HE'S BEEN NOTHING BUT SWEET AND THOUGHTFUL TOWARDS ME! HE'S BROUGHT ME THE MOST HAPPINESS I'VE HAD IN DECADES!"
Everyone was quiet, as Satella breathed in and out, her voice still cracking.
"Please, Hanasha... if you love me at all... please let him live."
Hanasha remained quiet as looked at his sister, before lowering his hand and walking away.
Noticing that her brother was walking away, Satella quickly ran over to Subaru and hugged him. "It's okay... you're okay…"
"Did someone get that number…?" Subaru asked, still dazed.
Satella couldn't get herself to laugh at her beloved's anitics. "Please... just rest…"
Subaru, regaining his lucidity, asked, "We… we can't say here… can we?"
Satella shook her head. "No... we can't."
"...What are we going to do?"
"I don't know…" the half-elf admitted.
"Well, whatever happens, I'm going to stay by your side, no matter what."
Satella gave Subaru a soft smile. "Thank you…"
Fortuna didn't know how any of it happened. All of this, from months of forbidden romances to attempted murders, all of that happened under her and Geuse's noses until the boiling point was reached a few days ago, with Satella's meltdown heard throughout the entire forest.
Now everyone knew. Fucking wonderful.
Fortuna sighed as she pinched the bridge on her nose. "On one hand, I'm not happy that you two were in a relationship, but obviously you don't deserve to die for it, Subaru.
"Glad someone's on my side…" Subaru let out a mirthless chuckle.
Satella was silent for a few seconds. "We can't stay. We need to find somewhere else to go."
Geuse nodded. "We understand. Good luck out there."
"Is there anywhere else we can go?" Satella asked.
"Yes." The green-haired man gave the silver-haired half-elf a large piece of parchment. "I've marked down a few locations south of here on your map."
"Then what?" Subaru asked. "We don't have any money."
"You could become adventurers," Fortuna suggested.
Satella lightened up a bit, but not much. "Oh, I've always wanted to go on adventures."
Subaru, while not as outwardly excited as Satella, did like the idea. "Yeah, I've seen a few anime with that sort of premise. Should be easy money."
Guese was debating something, wondering if he should share it with them. "Though... there is somewhere else you can go for help, if you need to."
"Oh?" Satella raised an eyebrow. "And where is that?"
"The Sanctuary of Echidna."
"Sounds lore-heavy," the nasty-eyed teen joked. "What's it about?"
"Echidna is the Witch of Greed. She is one of the Witches of Sin, nine of them in total, supposedly" Fortuna explained. "She has an insatiable hunger for knowledge, and is one of the smartest people in the world and a very powerful magic user of all three types.
"Sounds like a charming person," the Japanese teen sarcastically said.
It was now Guese's turn to speak up. "Normally, I wouldn't approve of sending you both there, but Subaru's wealth of otherworldly knowledge would be invaluable to her. It's something that can be used to gain her favor."
Satella nodded. "We shall consider it. Thank you."
Subaru looked over to his beloved. "So, when are we leaving?"
"Preferably within the hour."
"Then you better get ready," Fortuna said.
"I will lead you there myself. Echidna is familiar with me, so I can introduce you both to her." Geuse said.
Satella and Subaru bowed with gratitude. "Thank you."
Within an hour, the two of them packed up their personal belongings and a few supplies, before heading to the outskirts of the forest, with no fanfare from the others.
Geuse told them that he would be waiting for them a few hills outside of the Elior Forest, to allow the two of them a moment of quiet before he guided them to the Sanctuary.
However, when they reached the edge of the forest, instead of running into Geuse, they ran into Hanasha once again, who seemed to be waiting for them. Subaru and Satella were tense, but he seemed... calmer than before.
Satella glared at her brother. "What do you want?"
Hanasha was silent for a few seconds. "I came to say my goodbyes."
"Hmph. Make them quick."
Hanasha had to take a minute to find the words he wanted to say… "I believe that he would only cause you turmoil. Not for his personality or morals, but his lifespan. You will outlive him for centuries when his time comes. I... did not want you to suffer from that."
Satella's glare didn't relent. "But you made me suffer, regardless."
Hanasha had no retort to give. "... I did... and I was too foolish to see that."
"Mm." Satella's expression softened slightly as she walked away, but she did not give her brother a second glance. "Good-bye, Hanasha."
Hanasha couldn't blame her. "Good-bye, Satella."
Satella walked away and headed towards the clearing, and Subaru planned on following, but not before he was stopped by the brother, who had something to say.
"Subaru Natsuki, since I cannot separate you, you will do everything in your power to make Satella the happiest girl that ever lived. You will love her and only her for the rest of your existence. Do you understand?"
Subaru nodded. "Crystal clearly."
"And if you ever do anything to break her heart, I will rip off all your limbs and toss you off the tallest mountain in the world."
Subaru rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I get it, creep."
"Good." That was all Hanasha said before letting Subaru go, who was quick to catch up to Satella. She could see Geuse in the distance, waving at them.
Satella didn't even turn around as she called out to her beloved. "Subaru. Let's go."
"Yes ma'am." Subaru followed behind her.
The two of them walked out of the forest, hand in hand, as Hanasha watched. This wouldn't be the last time Subaru saw Hanasha, but sometimes… sometimes he wished it was.
Subaru woke up from his slumber, realizing he had fallen asleep in Satella's seal. Satella's shadows were still there, but her shadow figure was gone. Subaru got off the mattress, which dissipated into shadows, disappearing back into Satella's seal.
"Well… I guess this is goodbye for now." Subaru said to his sealed love.
"Until we meet again, my Beloved." Subaru smiled as he heard Satella's voice in his head.
"Oi! Subaru!" Patches shouted from the top of the stairs. "You coming up?"
"Yeah... I'm coming."
Looking back at the seal one last time, he shed a tear, before wiping it away and climbing back up the stairs. This world... really does hate me...
"Ah, there you are, old chap!" Solaire waved at him.
Emilia noticed Subaru's downtrodden expression. "Subaru? Is everything alright?"
"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine," he lied.
"So, are we heading back to Gusteko now?" Erik asked.
"Aww, you're leaving already?!" Shaula pouted.
"Sorry, Shaula," the nasty-eyed Undead apologized to his surrogate daughter. "We have more work to do. Our current order of business is hunting down the Sin Archbishops."
"What?! Those guys again?!" Erik shouted.
"If we're gonna save Satella, we need the Authorities of Sin. I just need one to manifest a power that will allow me to take the Envy Witch Factor from Satella." Subaru said with certainty, though it left a bitter taste in his mouth.
Ironically, he did possess an Authority already, but he couldn't manifest it. The sin wasn't compatible with what he wanted. He needs Greed or Lust, or hell, Gluttony would work.
"But we couldn't even beat one," Aela said.
"No, we almost did. The only problem is that Pandora intervened. Now, we're stronger, and we outnumber them. We can win." Subaru was certain of it now.
"I'm with him! Who else?" Siegmeyer asked.
Sieglinde nodded. "I'm obviously going with Father, so you have my answer."
"I'm going to follow my master," Oscar declared.
"You will have my help as well!" Solaire exclaimed.
Patches thought about it for a moment before saying, "Ehh… pass."
Aela smacked him across the face before answering. "I would be honored to hunt with you."
"As would J'zargo."
Erik gulped, but he stood his ground. "I'll admit, I'm rather scared about encountering them, but I'll do my best!"
Serana nodded. "As will I."
"We're with you Subaru. You know that," Emilia said, with a smile.
Subaru smiled, grateful they were still willing to stand by his side. "Thanks, guys… Let's do this."
Beyond the Planes of Mundus, in one of the thousands of realms of Oblivion, one lone figure stood among his denizens. A robed man with a strange mask and unknown power.
He stood calm and collected, as his return to Nirn was nigh. He had finally gotten permission from his master, and now… he will complete his mission.
"My return... begins now."
So decreed the First Dragonborn.
Author's Note: And with that, the origins of the Great Sage and the Witch of Envy have been revealed. Though, that is not the last time those names shall be mentioned…
(So, now you all have met Hanasha and how… "protective" he is of Satella. He's been sprinkled throughout the story with mentions, but now you got to meet him first hand. Will this be the last we'll see of Hanasha? We'll just have to keep going and find out. Also… the big bad has been teased, and anyone who's played Skyrim will know exactly who this is. That's all I'll say for now.)
(Also, just a little fun fact: Hanasha's name is based off "Hansha" which is Japanese for "Reflection", like how the moon reflects light from the sun, and also references him and Satella being twins.) Now that that's out of the way, it's time for the comments!
5queso: It's kinda rough to think that, if Subaru and Emilia in the canon series becomes a thing, the same problem about half-elf lifespans will pop up. And to make matters worse Subaru is now an Undead (in an effort to save Satella) and even if he does manage to get his happy ending, he'll be alone in a few centuries, again. You might respect Subaru now, but you might question that resolve once you see how the story continues…
Kifhjoofff: Eres psíquico? (Tú lo llamaste. Bueno, menos la parte de dormir).
DelusionaryDon: Much like the worlds of Dark Souls and Skyrim, the world of Re: Zero is one where not everyone gets a happy ending. People die, promises are broken, the villain sometimes wins, and sometimes… love leads to catastrophic events. It hurts to know how something turns out, but this time… maybe this time hope can prevail.
Anyways, back to the regular old shilling…
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Thanks for reading, and once again, see you next time!
- Ernalore & Infinite the Celestian