Re: Life In The Original World From Zero [A Re:Zero Fiction]

Chapter 11 : Modern Day Life Lesson Ten

"Anyways, why've you been acting so weirdly?" Hinata asked. "I was just thinking about something..." He muttered and returned to the weird state. "Thinking about what?" Hinata asked as he put Subaru's pencil case back on his desk. "...I've come back for this long now and nothing happened to me...!" He muttered, shaking slightly. "Ha?" The other three said in unison. "Nothing... no garbages in my desk, no bad words written on my desk, no bumping into me on purpose in the corridors, no kicking my backpack off my chair, no messing around with my lunch, no snarls at me... and I didn't even see that Hihara Yuuto near our classroom... in fact... everyone's freaking friendly to me!!" He finished in one breath, panting slightly when he stopped talking. He turned to his friends who were all staring at a way as thought they were looking at someone who had been diagnosed with cancer.

"What?" Subaru asked. "Poor Subaru, bullying finally drove you mad." Hinata said, shaking his head. "And he's feeling insecure now because he hasn't been bullied." Aki said, also shaking his head. "We got a new masochist in the class now." Haruka said and sighed. "...The fuck are you talking about??" Subaru asked. Hinata leaned forward and grabbed Subaru's shoulders. "You need to tell us about your worries, okay? Don't just let it build up inside you! You'll get all rusted and broken in the end!" He said, shaking Subaru fiercely. "Seriously! What the fuck are you talking about??" Subaru shouted as he pushed Hinata's hands off. "Dude, you've been expecting bullying all this time??" Aki asked incredulously.

"Yeah, why not?? I've been planning about how to escape them ever since I came back. Check this out, I even made an escape map." Subaru pulled out a large piece of paper and flattened it on his desk. "Here's our classroom, and here's my prioritized escape route, and this's the second one, and this's the third..." Subaru continued explaining how he had mapped the school and his escape routes and how might the bullies come to him. Aki and Haruka had given up questioning him and even Hinata was giving a look of utmost disbelief.

"You need to see a therapist." Hinata said at last. "Hm, why?" Subaru asked blankly. Aki sighed and, with Haruka, came up to Subaru and the two hugged him on both sides. The two let go of him without a word and left the classroom. "...What's with them?" Subaru turned to Hinata, who was looking at him with sympathetic eyes. "What's with you, that's what you should ask." Hinata said and got up and followed the two out. "Weirdos..." Subaru muttered and slumped back down, ruminating on those bullies again.

"Am I really being too paranoid...?" He muttered, and he heard someone calling him. "Subaru-kun~~" Rem called as she ran into Subaru's classroom with a wide grin and squeezing herself onto his seat. "Subaru-kun Subaru-kun!! Rem is the fifth in the class!!" She said as she held Subaru's hands with her eyes gleaming. "Wow!! That's awesome!! Great job!!" Subaru said as he patted her head softly, and Rem smiled satisfactorily. "What about Nee-sama and Emilia-tan? And Bea-ko?" Subaru asked eagerly. "Well Emilia-sama is the third, and Nee-sama is the fourth, and Beatrice-sama is the sixth." Rem said, counting down her fingers.

"Oh oh? Bea-ko is the sixth?? I thought she'd get a first place or something." Subaru said and started laughing. "Looks like she ins't as good as she said." He laughed. "Say that again and Betty will peel your skin off, Betty supposes." Beatrice's voice sounded from behind and Subaru's whole body gave a great shudder. "B-B-Bea-ko?? Since when did you get here?" Subaru shouted and fell off the chair. "Since this little girl threw herself onto your seat, in fact." She said as Rem pulled Subaru up.

"Tell you what, you idiot. Betty's been reading the books Natsuno-san has lent her and chosen not to study, in fact. Betty just took the test with her current knowledge about the contents, Betty supposes. Do not think that Betty studied and got a pathetic sixth place, in fact." Beatrice said with a dark aura hovering above her head. "But you still didn't study, did you?" Subaru said, raising his eyebrow. "No, Betty did not, as she just told you, Betty supposes. However, she still scores higher than your even more pathetic ninth place, in fact." Beatrice said as she turned away, her arms folded and her mouth pouted. Subaru shot her a dark look in return.