Note: This is one of the three parts of the prologue. The others have been uploaded at the same time to make it a bit easier to get into the main story. They're also published in the single category of each respective franchises in FFN to act as something of an advertisement for the main crossover story.
Hello everybody and welcome to the second of the three parted prologue of this wonderfully messy little story. Many of you may have come from my other work known as "As Expected He Was More Warped Than Most" the rest are likely those who randomly stumbled upon this story hoping to find a harem story where character A chases his ideals while collecting women like pokemon, as is in most harem based stories... Okay, Okay... The harem part was mostly a joke but on the off chance that's what you're here for then I'll have to disappoint you by letting you know now that there will be little to no romance in this story, let alone a harem. There could be some... a lot of bromance though... :P
In any case, I realize the summary may not have been much in terms of summarizing the plot so I'll give you the proper explanation here and now.
"A three-way crossover between AU Oregairu, ReZero and Fate/Stay Night MCs surviving in a post-apocalyptic world of nuclear war, similar to the world of Metro 2033" (A novel written by Dmitry Glukhovsky which later was made into video games, I highly recommend playing them if you can)
It's short and super simplified but there are no better ways to explain than this.
Those that came from my other story out of curiosity already know this but those that're new here don't know this so I'll be explaining this on the progue chapters:
I used to write more a long time ago but lost the passion for it, leading me to stop writing altogether for a couple of years. So my skills are rusty, if not abhorrently so. Until recently that was the case but now I feel a bit different towards it so I'm back with this. Due to some unfortunate irl circumstances it's difficult for me to keep up with a proper update schedule but I will do what I can to update at least once a month(with the length varying on the plot and time). A couple of months ago a couple of my E-mails almost got hacked, one of said E-mails being the one that's linked to this exact FFN account. I was also nearly blackmailed so there's a small possibility of this account completely disappearing.
That's... That's about it, I won't bore you with any more extra details.
(Disclaimer: I own none of these franchises or anything related to them in the slightest sense. This Disclaimer will also be mentioned only in the prologue chapters and no more afterwards)
(Notice: This is also the last time there will be any ANs. Any and all future chapters will directly lead to and end with the story. Meaning if the story abruptly sees no updates for multiple moths there is a good chance the story is abandoned or I've lost interest once more.)
(IMPORTANT Notice: This Story is rated 'M' for cursing, mature and incredibly offensive themes+words. You have been warned.)
Question: Considering everything going on around the world right now, is it wrong for me to write a story with this premise?
"Talking"
'Thinking'
Emphasis / Flashbacks
"YELLING"
"Radio / Television / Transmission / Text"
*Noises*
"Different Languages"
*Monster Sounds/Noises*
-A Piece of Salvation - Prologue: Subaru Natsuki-
"Her vitals are normal and there aren't any visible injuries on her." A man with graying hair, glasses and a stethoscope around his neck said. His eyes were locked onto the woman laying on the bed next to him as he continued. "The shock has caused her consciousness to recede into her mind. She can still perceive everything around her to a degree but is unable to act to it. There's no real medicine for this form of illness. Mostly because It generally takes a day or two for something like this to go away on its own." He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, tiredness apparent in them. "However..." He put them back on, only for him to take his gaze away from the bedridden woman.
"Her body still needs food to maintain its health..." The young man next to the doctor finished the obvious sentence. He ran a hand through his black hair, combing it back subconsciously. "Thank you doctor." He spoke, his sharp eyes holding a tiredness of its own as he addressed the old man on the chair next to his mother's unresponsive state. "I know it must not have been easy to come here this late at night."
"Think nothing of it Subaru-kun." The doctor stood up before placing a hand on the young man's shoulder. "Your father helped me plenty of times in the past, this is nothing in comparison." He began packing his instruments. "I'll have my assistant come by in the morning with an IV drip and other things so Naoko can at least get the nutrients she needs in her body. Afterwards, I think it'd be best for you to take her out tomorrow. Maybe a change of scenery and fresh air will trigger a reaction from her."
Subaru Natsuki led the good doctor towards the entrance of the Natsuki residence. Upon opening the door the old man exited Subaru's home and gave him an assuring look one final time before leaving. Subaru closed the door and locked it. But he didn't leave just yet. Rather, he pressed his forehead against the door and took in a deep breath. His eyes were closed as he gathered his thoughts and ignored the stabbing in his very soul. Still...
His lips quivered as a droplet descended from his face and hit the floor silently. "If only I was a better man... then this..." He didn't trust himself to not breakdown after he finished that sentence. So he didn't finish it. A growl reached his ears but despite it's insistence he didn't think his stomach could handle food at the moment. Subaru went back upto his parent's room where his mother, Naoko Natsuki lay on her marital bed. In a state that resembled to being in comatose but not quite as simple as that. He sat down on the chair next to the bed. Glancing his eyes over her, he realized that she had fallen asleep. 'At least her mind functions enough to let her sleep.' He thought. Fortunately the light switch was close. He turned it off and began pondering about the doctor's last words. His thoughts were interrupted for a moment as his phone buzzed. When he pulled it out of his pocket It's light illuminated his face within the darkness of the room. Subaru noticed a notification on the top of the screen. It was a message from an old gamer buddy, one he hadn't heard from in a while in fact.
7RcdKpr4: Will you be playing tonight?
He wouldn't lie. A part of Subaru wanted- needed an escape. Something to keep his mind of the self-deprecating thoughts even if for a couple of hours. But he knew he shouldn't. Not when his mother needed him now. Not when there was no one else to help...
...
...
...
But it wasn't like he could leave 4RcdKpr7 on read. Having sent messages to plenty of people in high school without getting any responses back, Subaru Natsuki was aware of how disheartening it was to simply be left on read.
5StrSkr1: Sorry, having a bad day. Next week?
7RcdKpr4: Do you wish to talk about it? It may help, I suppose.
Subaru had met 7RcdKpr4 around last year in an MMORPG game. Their knowledge about the game, its lore and mechanics helped Subaru in more than one occasion. Not to mention they had similar naming sense when it came to their avatars which naturally drew them to each other. Even so, Subaru couldn't help but be surprised. And a bit touched as well. He didn't have any irl friends since he was a high school student, and the few people that did interact with him were friends of his parents. And there was only so much you can say to them before your words travelled to the ears of your parents. Sure he had a lot of online friends. But online friends didn't have the same kind of urgency when it came to the personal matters of their other friends. So hearing someone, who's name he didn't even know, offer an ear for him to vent to was something highly unexpected in his mind. He felt a smile tug onto his lips. Before he knew it, his fingers began typing. And in about ten or so minutes, several paragraphs of text was laid out on the LED screen. His thumb reached for the arrow next to the wall of text and pressed on it-
...
...
...
-only to freeze, paralyzed with uncertainly.
What if 7RcdKpr4 was just being nice? What if they didn't care and only asked because it was the only polite response? Most modern Japanese people were polite and timid by nature. 7RcdKpr4 was surely Japanese. Because not only did they communicate with Subaru in Japanese the person also wrote in formal writing for the most part. Something most foreigners did not understand, let alone know. Not to mention Subaru had known 7RcdKpr4 since before Japan began accepting refugees from across the world...
Subaru's heart had already wavered, this was merely him procrastinating. He tried to muster up the courage to open up to 7RcdJor4. Courage he did not have. His thumb slid off the send button, causing the device to not register his message as sent. A few quick taps erased the entire message, prompting him to typing another one. Far shorter. And far simpler.
5StrSkr1: Nah, it's alright. I'll see you in game as soon as things calm down a bit.
The smile that was once on his face was gone with no traces left. He glanced down, disheartened, as his thumb locked his phone by reflex so that he wouldn't have to answer 7RcdKpr4's follow ups. Turning his head, he stared at the sleeping face of his mother which caused him to frown. His hand reached for her head and slowly ran its digits through her hair. "I know it's impossible but I promise, I will this right somehow." Of course there was no response. Then again, at this point Subaru didn't think he even deserved that much. He took a deep breath before leaning back on the chair with a sigh as the clock hung on the wall continued ticking.
Morning came soon enough. Eventually Subaru who had laid down on the cold hard floor earlier in the night began to awaken. Or rather, he was awakened by the sound of the doorbell ringing. He got up and cracked his neck. 'Maybe laying down on the flood wasn't such a good idea.' His head turned to his mother who's eyes were open. But she did not move. She only stared at the wall with a blank expression, seemingly lifeless. Her body appeared a bit pale as well. A clear indication of dehydration. The doorbell must've awakened her at some point. He felt a growl get stuck in his throat at the thought. The doorbell rang again.
"Excuse me! I'm Tsukada Fujimoto, Doctor Senji's assistant!"
The annoyance vanished just like that and was replaced with urgency. Subaru rushed out as quick as he could, slipping on the staircase at the end. He opened the door without a care of how he looked and allowed the older man in. He had various items with him, the most prominent of them would have been the large IV stand and backpack on his back. "Thank you for coming, sir." He led the older man into his parents' room and let the man get to work. "Wait, what're you doing?" He saw the man grab onto the blanket on his mother's motionless form.
"I need to check if she's clean. Setting up the IV now would be wasteful if her body is filthy." the nurse replied.
Subaru did not understand. But he was not quick enough to ask as the blanket on his mother was pulled away. Staggering back a bit he found himself pinching his nose. "What is that smell?!" He almost puked.
"Looks like she peed and defacated herself sometime ago. The blanket must have hidden the smell since it was tucked in so well and due to her lack of movement." Tsukada explained. Reaching into his backpack, he pulled out a smaller bag. The text and logo on it was all needed to know what the smaller bag contained.
"W-wait, you're not gonna put it on her are you?" Subaru grimaced. He realized how dumb that sounded right after the words left his mouth. Rather, it should've been obvious from the get go that something like this was bound to happen the moment Tsukada mentioned of his mother's cleanliness. He should've stayed up longer and kept an eye on his mother instead of falling sleep. Even so: the idea of a random stranger, even if said stranger was a nurse, stripping his mother naked did not sit well with him. "Wait a bit please!" His legs started moving before the nurse gave him an answer. Within a few minutes Subaru returned with a fresh pair of clothing and underwear of his mom. Finding them was a task he never thought he'd have to undergo his entire life. When he returned to the bedroom he quickly took his mother's spare clothes into the adjoined bathroom in his parents' room then returned back into the bedroom. The nurse was waiting on the chair Subaru himself had been using last night and raised a brow at Subaru which he ignored. Subaru dug one hand under her back and the other under her wet skirt. He held back a grimace as he picked her up and took her into the bathroom. Placing her down onto the toilet seat, Subaru Natsuki waited.
And waited.
And waited.
'What the fuck am I doing?'
It all happened so fast that his body moved before he realized it. But now that he actually thought about it. What did he plan on doing? Stripping his mother naked, washing her... unmentionables... and changing her clothes himself? Hell he didn't even bring even one of the adult diapers Tsukada brought for her. Despite what many people thought of the Japanese due to to pornography and hentai, they weren't into shit like incest or rape or pedophilia. Most of them anyway.
Hey, if there's a product then there's surely a buyer. Even someone that knows next to nothing about business is aware of the bare basics of supply and demand.
But since alternative was letting a complete stranger do it: "Ah, fuck me..." Subaru muttered. It wasn't like he could just blindfold himself and take care of it. Without seeing what he was doing his fingers may accidentally slip inside of her va- *BRGH!* 'Nope. Nope.' He decided he would not finish that sentence. Not even in his head.
*Knock Knock* A knock from the bathroom door. "Is everything okay in there?"
"Yeah." Subaru uttered out. His voice hoarse. "Can you bring me one of the adult diapers? I... I forgot about it." He pinched the bridge of his nose and mentally began preparing himself for what could be the most traumatizing experience of his life. Through his half open eyes he saw his mother's form. Still unresponsive. A frown marred his lips as he took a deep breath. "Right." Lightly slapping his cheeks, Subaru steeled his resolve.
"Here you go." Came the reply from the nurse on the other side the bathroom door.
Several minutes later Subaru existed the bathroom with Naoko in his arms, his expression strained and soul lacking another piece of itself. At least Her body was cleaned proper and clothes changed for the nurse to do his job. However, instead of setting her down on his parents' marital bed, He took her to his own room where the bed was not sullied with bodily discharge. The nurse followed suit, his equipment ready. If Tsukada had anything to say about Subaru's room he didn't say it. In fact Subaru truly hoped he didn't. It would be embarrassing for him to speak about his Otaku hobbies. Especially since Otaku culture and NEETs were looked down upon by society. The 1/14th scale model of Sylvanas Windrunner, the High Elf version of her mind you because Undeads sucked, on his bedside desk shook slightly when he placed Naoko on the bed. Making sure she wasn't laying in an uncomfortable position Subaru stepped back and allowed the nurse to do what he was here for. He waited patiently, observing how Tsukada worked with a keen eye. Partially to make sure the man didn't do anything suspicious while the rest was to learn what he could. 'If she stays in this state for too long I might end up doing this myself in the future.' He stepped forward when the nurse appeared to be done with his work.
"Since her health hasn't deteriorated too much I didn't have to slow the drop rate too much but it will still take about an hour for the process to be complete." Tsukada explained. "This should last her up until tomorrow morning. She will need another bag of fluids by then" He explained. "For now though, I would like to request staying here until the fluids are emptied out."
Of course, it's not like Subaru could extract the needle himself. "Of course. I really appreciate your help Fujimoto-san." He bowed to the man in appreciation. "Would you like anything to eat?"
After accommodating the older man with some snacks and a glass of water, he didn't even know how to make tea let alone cook, Subaru set out to clean the bedding on his parents' room. It took effort and some difficulty but by the time most of what he needed to do was done, Subaru realized he didn't give his mother enough credit for all the housework she does.
"Do you want some help with that, Natsuki-kun?"
A voice interrupted interrupted Subaru as he was about to take the mattress on his parents bed outside. He turned around to see Tsukada Fujimoto, a man Subaru was certain he had never met before. And for that reason his offer confused the young adult, not that Subaru would admit it. "Oh, it's okay Fujimoto-san. You've already done a lot for me by coming here. You should rest for now."
"It's alright." Tsukada dismissed Subaru's concerns. "This is the least I could do for that guy's son." Tsukada missed how Subaru flinched at those words. "He helped me a lot a few years back. I probably wouldn't have ever thought about becoming a nurse if it wasn't for him." He stepped forward and dug his fingers under his side of the mattress. "Besides, I also do this kind of stuff in the hospital all the time." Subaru seemed to have given up on trying to dissuade the man as they both hoisted up the mattress and began taking it downstairs then outside. A blanket was laid out on the backyard, something Subaru had done a couple minutes ago just for this exact moment. The thick layer of cloth and cotton fell on the mattress with a loud thud. "There, that should do it."
"Thank you." Subaru mumbled out to the older man.
"Say, don't you have school or something?"
"I'm 21 already. Finished school a couple of years ago." Subaru replied to the out of the blue question. "And I don't plan to go to college until Kaa-san's condition improves." He thought of himself as a failure as a son. But even he couldn't abandon his parents like this.
"Understandable." Tsukada nodded before looking back at the house next to them, where Naoko lay in her depressive comatose state. "I'm sure Sensei already told you this, but you should consider taking her outside somewhere. A stimuli like that could jumpstart her brain enough to return to normal." He then remembered how and why Naoko was in this state to begin with and grimaced. "Or at least become responsive to the outside world again."
"R-Right." Subaru wanted the man to stop talking at this point. His words, despite seemingly harmless, rubbed the young man the wrong way. But his advice wasn't wrong. Subaru was a college student and effectively had no job so he could focus on his studies more. So it wasn't possible for him to properly finance both him and his comatose mom. Even without her comatose state it would be rather difficult for them to manage without a steady source of income. Savings wouldn't really take them too far. As they entered his home, Subaru came to a realization. 'I need to find a job.' For someone like him that was a massive leap. His social skills, while not atrocious to the point where talking to strangers would turn him into a stuttering mess, lacked the kind of experience one would see in a person's tone and behavior. Even the lowest paying jobs tended to require human interaction to a large degree. In any case, he'd leave that problem for tomorrow. Today's problems came first.
It wasn't until another hour had passed when Tsukada Fujimoto had left, leaving Subaru with his mother. The young adult checked on his mom one last time before going into his parents' room to do a bit of investigation. He looked around for something specific until his eyes landed on the dressing table. Stepping closer he he picked up one of the framed picture and took in the image. A man and a woman, with the woman leaning onto the man. The faces were plenty familiar enough. It was of his parents. They appeared much younger. At least 20 or so odd years younger. Around his own current age to boot. They were standing in front of a massive tower with red lights adorned from top to bottom. That was not the Eiffel Tower, that much Subaru was certain. The lack of foreigners in the picture was plenty proof of that. Which meant this was the Tokyo Tower. "They must've spent their honeymoon there." He muttered. His eyes briefly glanced over to the pictured frame that still remained on the table. The one where he was also present with his parents. To be more specific, it was him from elementary school during a sports festival. Posing with a first place medal around his neck. A frown quickly fell upon his lips as he slowly reached for the frame and gently placed it face down. A sigh escaped his lips as he placed down the picture of his parents in their youth. 'Well, to Tokyo it is I guess.' At least it was still pretty early.
BRWAHGH*
Speaking of early. "I should probably eat something."
Instant ramens were never a good choice for a proper meal. But when you didn't know how to cook it was probably the only thing you had as a halfway decent option. As Subaru waited for the cum ramen to finish cooking he decided to head out to the backyard and flip the drying mattress. The smell had mostly faded but the stain was still visible. Subaru had no idea how to get rid of that, so he could only let it remain for the time being. "Maybe something on the internet?" He muttered before retreating inside. His instant ramen was ready for consumption. "I'll deal with it later." He had more important things to worry about for now. He checked his wallet while slurping up ramen and sucked in his lips. "Son of a bitch." He cursed under his breath. '1100 yen? Do I really have to...?' He would never admit it to anyone, especially to his parents, but when he became a NEET during his early high school year he saved up a good chunk of his pocket money despite spending so much on anime and video games. About half went into savings. Something that he had done if his parents kicked him out. A thought he would chide himself for ever since they spoke some sense into him. Still, he figured it was a good habit and kept it up. Though, not half of his pocket money like before. Subaru glanced over at his mother who seemed to have fallen asleep again and sighed. "No excuses. Man of the house." he spoke to himself before reaching down under his bed and pulled out a box. Inside was his personal favorite doujins. The digital age made hard copy books obsolete but some of these were the best ones he had ever read online, causing the collector within him to want a physical copy for... personal use.
He coughed into his hand for no particular reason, his face turning pink slightly. The books were pulled out one by one till the one second to last came into view. It's cover as assuming of it's contents as its other comrades. But this one was different. As he turned over the cover and a few more pages in one go, a hollow compartment came into view. Inside the compartment was another box. And inside the box was... "4...6...10...14 thousand 500 yen." Combined with the 1100 in his wallet that would be- "15600 yen." For a place like Tokyo that was cutting it rather close in terms of spending money. But his goals weren't to spend them on figurines or anime merch from Akihabara. For some simple sightseeing that should be plenty for a one-two day trip. "Oh wait, Fujimoto-san will be back tomorrow." Unless his mother regained enough consciousness to eat on her own today, she would need another IV transfusion. Which meant they would have to get back here by tonight. He glanced at the clock on the wall, which pointed to 11 AM. "Alright then..." He put the box of anime pornography back under his bed and got on his feet. "Guess we're going to Tokyo." He grinned, excited. Most of his figurines and anime merch were either bought from an online auction or an online store. So everything came in a mail. He himself had never gone to Akihabara or even Tokyo himself. Who knows, if his mom regained enough consciousness to move. Or even just talk, maybe he could go show her the wonders of Otaku culture? After all, what's sightseeing if all you see is the same thing you had seen before?
Yep, this was a good plan. Even though all of his savings were being thrown away. Today was going to be a fun day!
Ah, fuck...
Subaru Natsuki hadn't been the type to go out to far away places in a long time. Even after coming out of his NEET phase thanks to the intervention of his parents, making friends became something of a difficult endeavor for him. Most of his remaining high school days were spent in boring solitude as all the friend circles and clique's had already formed. So any chances of being invited to trips to the beach or even simple Karaoke went to smoke then and there. Somehow or another that solitude followed him into his college. Or rather, his inability to even imagine anyone would want to be friends with a good for nothing like him probably made others steer away from him by reflex. So ultimately his sense of direction in unknown places was kinda shit. Which of course led to-
"Monne. Naw!" A voice behind him hissed in broken Japanese. Subaru grimaced. He wasn't racist by any means but did the Japanese government really have to let so many refugees enter the country? Or maybe this guy was one of those that snuck their way in the country, effectively bypassing all the communication and cultural education that were mandated by the government for any and all immigrants and refugees. In any case-
The knife pressed against his back pushed against him slightly harder, bringing him back from his train of thoughts. "Oke. Oke. Prizz Don hart me." He uttered out in what little English that he picked up from years of gaming with Americans, fearing for himself and his mother who was on the wheelchair in front of him. "Warret in bakk pocketto."
"Sliteyes actually speaks English?" The foreigner spoke to himself. "Pfft, not proper English anyway. Typical Jap." He laughed audibly. "Alley to your left. Go."
Oh that wasn't good. Subaru felt a bead of sweat crawling down his forehead. It was one thing to get mugged on broad daylight, but to follow your mugger into an alley? He might as well just tell the guy to kill him now. Not to mention, the guy had something of a British accent. Again, Subaru was no racist but from what he knew those guys didn't have a good track record for these sort of things. "Noh. Noh. Jas tek warret priz." Seriously, is no one noticing what's going on? Sure this street wasn't busy but by god why isn't anyone calling the cops? If he tried anything then he was sure to get stabbed. And probably have his wallet stolen regardless. Ah shit, were his legs shaking? They were shaking weren't they? Hopefully the mugger couldn't notice.
"Hah! What a bitch."
If he wasn't held at knife point Subaru would've slugged the asshole for that one. But he was. So he couldn't. That was that. The knife pressed harder against his back, if he wasn't wearing clothes Subaru probably would've been bleeding by now. The realization finally dawned upon him. He was fucked. There was absolutely nothing he could do right now. He was completely and utterly powerless. A feeling he knew well. A feeling that kept him from doing a lot of things in his life. Taking risks that may or may not have changed his very fate. A feeling that he had come to hate after all this time. He bit his lip, his mind in a frenzy as he thought of ways to get out of this situation without getting stabbed. But... There were none. Subaru wasn't dumb enough to think he could survive getting stabbed nor was he dumb enough to think he can fend off against an armed enemy. So what now?
"Hey! What's going on over there!"
"Shit!"
The knife pressed against his back pulled back enough for Subaru not feel it anymore. Adrenaline kicked in, causing Subaru to quickly turn around with his arm swinging in a desperate attempt to catch the mugger in a surprise backhanded punch. However, instead of hitting his mugger his arm seamlessly passed through air. His eyes glanced down a bit before landing on a mop of brown hair. Without realizing it, his leg kicked up and hit the guy in his elbow. The blow must've stunned him as the would be mugger dropped his knife. However, instead of reaching for it the guy just ran the other direction. Subaru tried to give chase but after seeing the knife no longer in his mugger's grasp the adrenaline in his veins dropped considerably. Next thing he knew he fell on his ass with his back pressed against his mother's wheelchair. A blue blur went passed him but he paid it no heed. All he could feel was the beating of his heart.
"Hey, are you okay?" a voice came to his ears, calming his rapidly beating heart a little. He glanced up and noticed a police officer. Likely the one who called out seconds prior and caused his mugger to flee. The officer offered him a hand.
By now, several people around them had begun to stare. Subaru paid them no mind. After all, if they didn't do anything when he was getting mugged they were unlikely to do anything now. "Y-Yeah." Subaru responded back as he took the man's hand and was pulled up. "Thank you officer." He thanked the man as he tried to calm his nerves. "If you hadn't come I probably would've been bleeding out by now." Even the thought of it made him wince. Sure he had never been stabbed before. But such a thing wasn't needed to be experienced to imagine just how painful it must be.
"I've lost sight of our suspect. Bastard is fast despite those stubby legs of his." the radio on the officer's hips chimed in. "How's the kid?"
"In one piece. I'll get a description from him now for the report." the man next to Subaru responded before pulling out a notepad.
"S-sorry officer but I couldn't get a look at him. He was behind me the entire time. But I think he had brown-ish hair in a bowl cut." Subaru responded.
"Damn." the officer cursed. "To we honest we didn't even see him either. We just saw you standing still for too long and thought something was wrong." He knelt down and picked up the knife by the blade. "Still, we'll take this to the station and see if there's anything we can do. Was anything stolen?"
'Ah, no wonder.' Subaru realized. 'That's why no one was saying anything. He was so close to me no one saw his knife. Probably had it concealed under his clothes. "No, officer. I still have my belongings." Instinctively his right hand reached for his phone first. A sigh escaped his lips while his eyes closed in relief. Then his went to check up on his-
Subaru Natsuki's eyes napped open, wider than ever. Was it his sharp eyes or the sudden change of demeanor that caught the police officer off guard he didn't know and frankly he was in no position to care. A harsh fell upon his lips as he couldn't feel his wallet in his back pocket. "I-I can't find my wallet." A pit formed in his stomach. Panic set in. There was still around 5 thousand yen in there! 'My savings! Shit! How do I even get home without it?!' "He stole my wallet!"
"Hey! Hey! Breath!" the officer grabbed Subaru by the shoulders. "We will try our best to get your belongings back to you."
"B-but I still need some more money so we can go home." Subaru responded. "My train pass won't be enough cover for-." He swiftly turned around to check on his mother who was still staring blankly into the distance. "Kaa-san! Are you okay?!" Even though the mugger was no where near his mom he couldn't help but worry. A sigh of relief escaped his lips after he failed to notice any injuries on her. Still, a part of him couldn't help but be a bit disappointed that even after he nearly got mugged and even stabbed she hadn't gotten out of her depressed funk.
"Is she okay?" the man asked not of who she was. It didn't take more than one glance to tell that she was his mother. "Why isn't she speaking?" Subaru explained his situation to the officer as best as he could. By the end of it all the older man could only give him a look of sympathy. "Listen kid, I understand why you brought here but the streets aren't really safe in Japan anymore. With all the refugees from around the world it's hard to keep track of everything thing." He scratched his scalp before rubbing his brows. "Ever since we opened our borders and loosened security for foreigners crime spiked by almost 1800%. To be honest kid, you're lucky you didn't get stabbed right there." The officer huffed in annoyance. "Should've just closed the border instead. Who cares if some gaijin from who knows where dies anyway?"
Subaru held back a frown. He couldn't say he particularly agreed. Sure, most of the refugees coming were stirring up problems for everyone around the country. But it's not like they had a better choice. If the other option was being blown to bits by a stray missile or riddled with holes by bullets from an enemy soldier then fleeing to another country and trying your luck there certainly sounds like the better pick. 'If only they tried to properly integrate into Japanese society instead of trying to stick to their old ways.' Sure, changing for someone else was never a pleasing option for anyone. But the least you could do when being a guest in another person's home is to at least abide by their rules right? "Ahh, yeah..."
"Hah, Hah. Hah." A voice panted, becoming louder by the second. Both Subaru and the officer turned to see another police officer approach them, panting. He stopped near them and tried to catch his breath. "Damn midget was faster than he looked..." He said aloud, uncaring that he basically insulted the thief in a way most modern people would condemn. "Sorry I couldn't catch h-." The man suddenly paused before inspecting Subaru closely.
"Y-Yes?" Subaru found himself leaning back slightly due to having his personal space invaded.
"You..." The man trailed, brows furrowed. "Would the name Kenichi Natsuki mean anything to you?"
His heart clenched a bit. "Yes..." Even here, so far away from home? "That's my father. My name is Subaru Natsuki..."
The officer suddenly pats Subaru on the back, catching the young adult off guard. "Well I'll be. Now I really do feel guilty about not catching that guy." To his credit the man actually did sound like he was feeling guilty. Such a thing was rare to show to a stranger, even in Japan. "What brings you this far out in Tokyo? Last I heard from your pops was like, over a decade ago-"
The words coming out of the man's mouth became static to Subaru. It was easy to tell that the stranger held Subaru's father in a high regard. Subaru knew his father was widely respected by everyone in their home town. For to be respected by someone years after having last met? He couldn't even begin to imagine what his father had done to garner this form of respect. He bit the inside of his cheek as thoughts from long ago resurfaced. 'Dad really was... a great guy, wasn't he?' Yes, his father was just that awesome. "Thank you, I really appreciate it." His mouth moved before his mind could properly register what was going on in the outside world. Subaru himself, in contrast, was nothing short of a failure. Heck, he couldn't even take his own mother out for a trip away from home without nearly getting them killed. 'How can I even call myself that guy's son?' His eyes glanced down, away from the retreating police officers, at the several 1000 yen bills the second police officer had insisted on giving Subaru after hearing about his predicament. His jaws clenched tight as he felt what little pride he had in himself as a man shatter to dust. It wasn't like he was in any position to reject the money but even he could acknowledge how scummy this felt. "Damn you..." He could only cursed at himself for being so pathetic while pinching the bridge of his nose to prevent tears from forming in his eyes. Taking a few seconds to gather his thoughts, Subaru took a deep breath and exhaled. His palm balled into a fist, crumpling the notes in his grasp a bit, before he shoved the money into his shirt's inner pocket.
Grabbing the handle of the wheelchair Subaru had borrowed from a neighbor back at his home town, he pushed his mother towards the busier streets where he could take a cab to the nearest Subway Station. The fastest way back would've been a plane ride. But he didn't want to spend nor have that kind of money. Especially now that he has even less to waste. Taking the subway would be cheaper even though he'd have to get off at another station and get in another train, that one being above ground. The process would take a few hours. Meaning by the time he got home the sun would long since have set and the moon may very nearly end up being directly above his head. His eyes glossed over a bit as he entered the more populated streets of Tokyo. Body moving mechanically as he called for a cab. The taxi arrived and the driver spoke. Even in his depression addled mind Subaru couldn't help but note that the driver wasn't even Japanese. But of South Asian descent instead. Indian? Pakistani? Bangladeshi? Subaru didn't like to think bad of someone but after getting nearly mugged by a foreigner less than an hour ago it was a bit difficult to trust someone of a different skin color. Especially since the driver could just as easily kidnap them, with no one else the wiser of it all.
The driver seemed to have gotten annoyed at Subaru at this point as he cursed at the young Japanese man in his language before driving away. Subaru waited for another taxi to arrive. But this time he made sure the driver was Japanese. It didn't take long. Sure there were a lot of foreigners around now. But this was still Japan. The driver helped Subaru by taking his mother's wheelchair and putting it in the trunk of the vehicle after folding it. Subaru was grateful to the man. Uttering a thank you as he sat inside next to his mother. The car shook a bit, causing Naoko's body to jerk along with it. Fearing that she would hurt herself from an abrupt movement, Subaru wrapped an arm around her shoulder. Pulling the woman into a side hug that strengthened her posture somewhat. He leaned his head against hers, feeling exhausted from everything that occurred since the week that had barely just begun. His eyes mirrored the hopelessness that had been prevalent in his mother's eyes throughout the day. "I'm sorry." He whispered, loud enough for the words to reach her ears. "I... couldn't even give you one good day." There was no response, not that he expected one at this point. If the driver heard Subaru he didn't show it. Such was the common decency most Japanese showed to each other. And right now Subaru was thankful for it.
The ride wasn't long. Only taking a few extra minutes when an ambulance got in the way from the other side. Subaru thanked the driver after paying the fare and made sure that Naoko was properly placed in her wheelchair. "Best get going then." He said aloud, turning her towards the subway staircase. When he got to it, the look of confusion spread across his face. Followed by poorly hidden annoyance. Through gritted teeth Subaru Natsuki could only mutter in a cracked voice. "Oh, come on..." The cause of his annoyance wasn't a person but rather an object. But he supposed a person could also be blamed for it. "Um, hey." Subaru called out to who appeared to be a technician. "Excuse me sire, How long is it gonna take for the elevator to be working again?"
The technician turned to Subaru while his co-workers continued to work on the elevator. "Our apologies for the inconvenience sir. We're doing our best but this will take some time. At least around an hour from now." He noticed Naoko on the wheelchair and spared the woman a glance. Suddenly, he was called by one of the other technicians. Before leaving he bowed to Subaru one last time and returnted to work.
Now left alone with his thoughts Subaru could only frown, his grip on the wheelchair's handles tightening visibly.
"Is something wrong?"
A calm male voice called out to him. The kind Subaru would occasionally hear in anime when a femcel MC would come in contact with a suave male character. What? Female MC based anime weren't half bad when they focused on the story instead of cheap romance. Anyway, Subaru was no woman. Let alone a femcel. So he was impervious to such methods of seduction. Still, it would be rude to at least not answer. He turned his head to see an older man with red hair and wearing what looked like a firefighter's uniform. The man also had a relatively decent looking face. And Subaru didn't mean that in a gay way or anything like that. It wasn't gay for a guy to acknowledge another guy was attractive. Sort of like those American actors that some straight western men openly admitted to be open to having the babies of. In any case Subaru responded. "Well... I needed to get down to the platform but the elevator..." His eyes motioned towards the broken elevator still being fixed by the technicians. "It's kinda hard to get down there with a wheelchair."
"I can imagine so." The red haired man smiled at Subaru who suddenly felt conscious of his looks. "Here, let me help."
'Whoa...' Subaru thought, taken aback. Japanese people were certainly polite. It had been engraved into their culture since they got humbled during the second world war by the USA. But few were actually the kind of polite where they would go out of their way to physically help someone. Even if that person was a fire fighter. 'His nice guy levels are off the charts!' Though it may sound a little rude since he was helping Subaru without any strings attached, Subaru could definitely see this guy's willingness to help be taken advantage of. "Oh-um thank you, sir." He uttered out, slightly nervous before picking up his mother in his arms. Sure the fire fighter was more than likely stronger than Subaru but he didn't want a stranger touching his mother. Even if it was to help them. As he descended down the stairs, more than a few people turned their gazes at them. Fortunately it didn't last more than a couple of seconds. 'Should I... talk to him?' A part of him questioned. The guy was helping them after all. It felt like he should. 'But what would I even say to him?' His head turned slightly to the side only to return back to the stairs. Before he knew it, the stairs were over and the fire fighter had placed the wheelchair down for him.
"Thank you so much. When I saw the elevator closed for repairs I thought I was screwed." Subaru thanked the older man before placing Naoko down on the wheelchair. "I should be fine from here." He bowed slightly in appreciation, still a little nervous.
"No problem friend." Once again, the fire fighter smiled warmly at the man before turning around. "I think it's great that you brought your mother out for a stroll. Still, be careful out there." With that he turned around and began ascending the stairs again.
Subaru's eyes stayed on the older man for a bit before turning back to his mother. 'He couldn't have been that much older than me. But he's already got a good job that even helps people.' Subaru thought with a tinge of jealousy. 'Probably saved a lot of people too. Left an imprint in their lives.' The kind of person his parents would've been proud to have as a son. He shook his head in an attempt to get those strange thoughts out of his mind. "Let's go home, Kaa-san." Naoko didn't respond, her eyes still downcast.
The subway was crowded but somehow or another Subaru was able to get into the next train that came into the station without much hassle. He turned on the little bars on the side of the wheelchair, locking the wheels in place and making them incapable of moving. The train had already started, taking them towards it's next destination. Theirs was the last stop though, where they had to take another vehicle today another train station. This one was meant to take them to the outskirts of Tokyo. He sat next to her, his nasty eyes reflecting the lights and silhouettes of other passengers. His feet ached from all the walking he had done today and his back begged him to lay down, even if for a few minutes. All of those had to wait till they got home. Which would take at least another 4 or so hours.
"Ugh." An groan from the side caught his attention. Suddenly there was a pressure on his shoulder. He would've thought it was his mother who made that noise had it not come from the opposite side. His head turns to that side for a moment to see a teenage girl with messy dark hair sleeping. There were bags under her eyes so deep that even Subaru couldn't help but be a bit impressed by-concerned. A discomfort grew within him as the young girl was practically leaning on him. Young or not, she was still a girl. And unfortunately for him this was the closest a girl had ever been to him. Even an average looking one.
"Tch."
Another voice reached his ears as a hand pulled the girl away from him. Subaru glanced at the source and spotted a boy who appeared to be around the girl's age, pulling the girl till she was resting on his shoulder. 'Boyfriend?' He felt an arrow pierce his heart as he realized that even these kids who were several years younger than him were already experiencing romance while he himself was still a virgin.
"Had to waste weekend for you in Akihabara. Stupid Nee-san."
Oh never mind, they were siblings. Now that Subaru checked again. The boy shared a few similarities with her. Such as similar messy hair and bags under their eyes. Subaru leaned back on his seat and sighed. 'Jeez, I don't have the time nor the situation to be worrying about girls right now.' Unless there was a cute elf girl waiting somewhere in the world for him anyway. 'Elves are so cute.' Seriously, whoever came up with the idea of elves needed to get a gold medal. He closed his eyes and imagined a white haired cute elf with a pair of double D tits. The image caused a smile to come onto his lips. First one since yesterday actually.
"WHOA!"
Had Subaru not been holding onto his mother's wheelchair through the seat's railing he probably would've been on the floor right now. His eyes opened to investigate the sudden halt in momentum but was only met with near total darkness. Confusion spread across his face as he looked around. Several people already had their phones out, flashlights turned on to investigate. Many of those who were standing were all piled on the floor of the train cart. Some even fell atop of other passengers. "Oi! Get off of her!" Subaru pushed the man who had fallen atop of Naoko. When the stranger got off of her, Subaru noticed a small bruise forming on top of Naoko's forehead. With gritted teeth he opened his mouth to yell at the fucker that fell on his mother.
"What's going on? Why'd the train stop?" Some questioned, halting Subaru's anger breifly. Others chimed in, outraged by the sudden stop quite literally in the middle of stations. Seriously, they couldn't even see the lights from outside anymore.
"H-Hey, stop! Don't touch me!" a female voice was heard. Clearly someone used the confusion and darkness to cope a feel. The noise made Subaru conscious of his mother's state. Suddenly, all the noise and complaints seemed to cease.
"Oh... Oh my god!" this was from right next to him. Subaru's head turned to see the girl who had fallen asleep on him earlier was wide awake now. But something was wrong, she was staring at her phone with her eyes wide. He leaned a bit closer to see what was on her phone but tried not to get too close to her. No one likes to be labeled a creep.
"Nuclear threat imminent. Estimated time till impact: twenty minutes. Find shelter immediately. This is not a drill."
The screen of her smartphone showed clearly. With warning signs and everything. His eyes mirrored the baggy eyed girl and widened to their utmost maximum. His breath was caught in his throat. His eyes darted around, hoping that this was just on the girl's phone, sent by a friend as a prank or something. But what he saw made his heart drop to his stomach. Everyone else who had their phones out were staring at the screens, faces frozen in shock. For a moment, it appeared as if everyone had fallen into a trance and didn't know what to do.
For a moment at least.
Screams and shouts tore throughout the entire train. Panicked cries and statements of denial alongside rejection. Within a few seconds, utter and absolute chaos descended upon all the passengers of the subway train. People began pushing and shoving others. Some screamed to be let out of the train. Some begged and began praying to god to be forgiven for their sins. Subaru was not much of a godly person himself. Especially since his family had been secular for generations, tending to prefer the living and tangible rather than the dead and fantasy.
"Let me out! Let me out!"
A voice screamed, louder than the rest. Subaru had no time to react as the mass of people began pushing towards the doors of the train. Some attempted to pry the doors open with all their might in an attempt to escape the trains confines. Unfortunately though, the panicked state made it impossible for anyone to think rationally. So when the door closest to Subaru and Naoko had been pried open people had begun to push towards that door only. Subaru struggled to stand. The urge to scream in pain banged at his skull when several people, in their haste to exit, ended up shoving their body parts onto his face and even stepped on his feet. A shove pushed his face to the side, allowing Subaru to just barely see his mother falling off her wheelchair. Adrenaline surged once more at the sight, causing him to move his body and push anyone that got in his way. The very next moment he fell atop of his mother and shielded her body as best as he could. No one cared enough to look down as they stepped and stomped on him in their hasty attempt to exit the train. Or maybe it would be better to say that no one bothered to look, if they even cared in the first place. Subaru attempted to shift his body enough so that all of his could shield his mother. She had already become a bit pale due to the lack of proper food. Subaru doubted her body would take something like being under a stampede of panicked people too kindly. He groaned and grunted in pain each time someone stepped on his head or on his waist. His thoughts raced, wondering how a simple outing. A failed one no less. Somehow ended with the world literally ending. It made no sense. Even if there was no correlation between the two. Why did it even have to be this way. Sure there were a lot of wars going on outside but a full on nuclear war just felt so out of the blue. Especially on Japan.
But he supposed that none of it mattered anymore. Everyone was going to die. And there was nothing a normal guy like him could do to stop it. He clutched his mother tight against him, feeling the warmth of her body heat in a desperate attempt in finding some form of solace and peace. There was none to be found. A dry chuckle escaped from the lips of Subaru Natsuki as through the pain and sorrow of it all. Still, if this was going to be his last moments. He'd rather it be after being forgiven for his sins.
"Forgive me, Kaa-san... For being a failure. For being such a worthless son. For... killing Tou-san."