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

Chapter 20: Modern Day Life Lesson Nineteen

Subaru punched him with all his might, yet, all his punches missed Hihara by merely a few centimeters. Hihara just dodged easily, his feet moving on the floor swiftly. Subaru continued, his punches flying toward Hihara like raindrops, but still, he couldn't hit him, couldn't even touch him. "It's not gonna just end like this!!" Subaru shouted and swing his leg toward him. "Hm, I thought so." Hihara jumped, agile like a cat, landing several feet behind. "C'mon, Natsuki, you still got one minute left," Hihara said, gesturing him to punch again. Subaru roared and charged at him again, but still, his efforts were all in vain.

And at last, five minutes passed, and Subaru was kneeling on the floor, panting. "Damn it!!" He shouted and punched the floor while Hihara walked toward Emilia, not even sweating. "I haven't broken any of my words, Emilia." He said, walking past her. Emilia was staring at the floor, biting her lower lip, trembling slightly. "As I said, lying is against my own pride." He said and turned back, leaning against the door to the stairs. "Nevertheless, Natsuki, you do seem a bit different, so I'll be nice. I will disappear from your sight, will that make you feel better? But bear in mind, other things might also be happening when I'm outta your sight." He finished and pulled the door shut behind them.

Silence fell once again, and both Subaru and Emilia stayed where they were for quite a while until Subaru punched the floor again and rolled over to his back. Emilia snapped back as well and hurried to him, kneeling down beside him, looking worried and lost of words. "Man..." Subaru muttered, sitting up. "I feel so defeated..." He said, heaving a sigh, staring at nothing in particular in front of him. Emilia reached out her hands but stopped in midair, still trembling slightly. Subaru turned and looked at her. She looked hesitant, frustrated, and, Subaru wondered if it was only his imagination, scared. Seeing this, Subaru put on an encouraging smile.

"Don't worry, Emilia-tan! We'll work a way out all this mess!! Trust me!! I'm no longer the me who couldn't do anything!!" He said, clenching his fists. "Gonna be okay!! Don't worry!" He repeated, grinning. Emilia stared at him, and her hands closed around his hands. "I-I'm s-so sorry, Subaru... I didn't mean for any of t-this to happen... I-I'm sorry... so sorry..." She sobbed, her grip tightening around his hands. "I don't know why it turned out like this... I really don't know..." She broke down, pressing her forehead against his hands, shaking. Drops of tear fell on the floor, accompanied by the suppressed sobs.

Subaru felt tears welling up in his eyes as well, but he refused to let them fall. He turned away and wiped them away vigorously and turned back. "Emilia-tan!" He said in his usual cheery voice, and she looked up, beads of tears still on her face, glittering under the sunlight. Subaru reached out his hands and wiped the tears away softly and gave her a thumbs-up. "The moment I decided to bring you here, I've prepared myself for things like this. I may look weak compared to Hihara, but don't forget, I'm strong in here!!" He said and jabbed his thumb at his chest. "He doesn't know what we've been through together, that's his greatest weakness! We'll stand together as we did in the past! So don't worry, alright??" Subaru said, patting Emilia's head gently, looking at her widened eyes.

"Emilia-tan, you have very beautiful eyes, you know? So don't let the tears blur them." He said softly, grinning again. At this, Emilia broke down again, burying her face in his chest, sobbing harder than ever. Subaru just let her cry there, patting her head softly every few seconds. Finally, she fell asleep in his arms. "Gomen ne, Emilia-tan, making you go through such painful stuff..." He said quietly, and Puck's voice sounded in Subaru's head. "You're a great man, Subaru." He said. "I'll give you a lap pillow as a reward when we get back home." He added with a small chuckle. "I appreciate your kindness Puck-sama but no thanks," Subaru replied, chuckling as well.

Puck laughed again and started talking in a rather serious tone. "Well, the reason why I'm talking to you now is that I noticed something pretty odd happening since a while ago and now is probably the time to speak up." He said. "Odd? What is it?" Subaru asked. "Remember when Betty told us about magic also existing in this world?"
"Yeah, what about it?" He asked. Puck remained silence for a while and spoke again. "Hm, actually, I need to investigate a bit more. Just keep a closer eye on Lia lately, will you? I'll let Betty and the others know about it. Maybe get each of them to accompany Lia in turns so we can see who she interacts with and what they do at all times." Puck said, and Subaru nodded. "Will do. Leave it to me!" He said.