A/N: HI~~~~~~ I'm back~~~ after several successive updates of my Bleach fic and a freaking long disappearance, it's my re:Zero fic's turn to get some updates~~ here's chapter 18~~ please enjoy!!!
It was the Monday after the Cultural Festival, and the whole school was still under the happiness of the wonderful event, trying to enjoy the most out of it before it died out. However, there were certain people who refused to embrace that happiness, all of whom were now at the roof of the school building. Subaru and Emilia were standing side by side at one side of the roof, while on the other side, a raven-haired guy stood with his hands in his pockets, facing the exercise yard.
"What do you want from me now, Natsuki? This is very uncharacteristic of you, you know?" Hihara Yuuto finally spoke after a long silence, turning around and facing them. "Nothing much, just wanna get things clarified." Subaru replied, his expression stony and his voice cold. Emilia looked over to Subaru with a worried expression and moved back a few steps, her hands clutched together in front of her chest.
"Now let me ask the question, what do you want from her?" Subaru asked as he walked toward Hihara, and at the same time, Hihara started walking toward him as well. "Nothing much, just wanna get her to be mine." He said, smirking. "I want all the truth," Subaru said coldly, glaring at Hihara. His gaze moved over from Subaru to Emilia. "I assume you told him everything?" Hihara asked, and Emilia nodded. "Well then, I have nothing more to add. We made two deals. I'll stop picking on you and your gang of friends, and Emilia will stick around me to monitor me. Nothing more than that." Hihara said, and seeing that there wasn't a single change in Subaru's expression, Hihara pulled his hand out his pocket, holding it flatly. "I never lie, that's against my own pride." He said, and the two finally stopped. They were only a few centimeters apart, both glaring at each other.
They stayed like that for another few seconds, and Hihara broke the silence again. "Like all the guys in the school, I'm one of the people who wants Emilia, and I'm merely trying to make her become mine like everyone else, and now, look at you, trying to interfere with Emilia's business and restricting who she befriends. Who do you think you are? Her parents? Her sibling? Or her boyfriend?" He said, his voice so quiet that it was almost a whisper. "None of those. I'm her best friend!! And I have the right to protect her!!" Subaru said, his voice, different from Hihara's, was raising.
"Protect her from what?? Danger?? Bully?? Me?? Natsuki, I don't know if you realize this, but, aren't you being a bit, well, selfish??" Hihara retorted, smirking again, and Subaru's brow twitched. "I just don't want her to get hurt anymore! You haven't any idea what we've been through before we came back here!!" Subaru shouted, stepping back and punching the air furiously. "Oh, is that so? But what do you know about me, Natsuki?"
"I know enough about you to let me have all the reasons not to let Emilia be with you!!" Subaru shouted again, his teeth gritted.
Hihara sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, smirking once again. "Mattaku, Natsuki, you haven't changed a bit." He said, pulling his jacket off and throwing it back. "You wanna settle it the hard way, huh?" He continued, rolling up his sleeves. "I'm not who you think I am anymore, Hihara!" Subaru shouted, and Emilia came up to him and grabbed his arm. "Remember what I said!!" She shouted at Hihara, her hand holding Subaru's arm trembling slightly. "Don't worry, Emilia, I have no intention to break any of our promises. Natsuki, this is a bet." Hihara said, cracking his finger joints.
"If you can punch me once, just once, in five minutes, I'll never get near you anymore, not Emilia, not any of your friends. I'll even transfer to another school to start my new regime there. How does it sound, Natsuki?" He said, holding out his hands flat. Subaru balled his fists and got free of Emilia's grip. "You'd better not go back on your words!!" He shouted and dashed toward him, his fist raised. Before Subaru's fist swing toward Hihara, he smirked and put his hands back in his pockets. "You can never even touch me, Natsuki Subaru." Hihara said, the smirk on his face wider than ever.
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.
Just then, the bell indicating the start of the afternoon class sounded. "Oh shit, I totally forgot we still got classes!!" Subaru shouted in his mind in panic, but then he looked down at Emilia. She was still fast asleep and looked much more peaceful. "This must've been bothering you for quite a while, right?" Subaru said quietly, caressing her face gently. "Let's just skip the afternoon classes." He muttered, looking up at the sky as the afternoon breeze blew by.
When Emilia woke up in a startle, it was already ten past three. Realizing what time it was and the fact that two classes were missed, Emilia, pulling Subaru of course, rushed downstairs to the teachers' office and apologized to Matsushita sensei, saying that she fell sick during the lunch break and fell asleep, and Subaru was looking after her. Matsushita sensei kindly said that it was nice of Subaru to look after Emilia but he still should've brought her to the nurse's office and gone to class instead. Subaru bowed and apologized as well, and when he was about to leave, she reminded him to go apologize to Kishitsuji sensei as well.
Subaru stiffened and nodded hastily. There were two teachers' offices, and Kishitsuji sensei's desk was in the office next door to the teachers' office where Matsushita sensei's was located, and Subaru was planning to just run for it the moment he left the office. Subaru walked on, keeping his head as low as possible and trying not to attract any attention, and when he walked past the last door to the teachers' office and was about to run off, a hand reached out from the door and took hold of the back of his collar. "Good afternoon, young sir, may we have a talk in here??" A voice said, and Subaru felt a terrible chill down his spine. He turned stiffly around, his heart thumping his chest so loud that it could outcompete a bass drum. Kishitsuji sensei was looking out the office door, half of his body behind the door and half of his face shadowed.
"O-O-Oh... good a-a-afternoon, K-K-Kishitsuji sensei..." Subaru said, forcing a very stiff smile on his face. "S-Sensei, if y-you don't m-mind, the recess i-is almost over s-so I g-gotta go to m-my next c-class..." He said, trying to run away, but all he achieved was running in the same spot as if he was on a treadmill. "Oh, now you remembered that you got classes huh?" Kishitsuji sensei said, starting to pull Subaru into the office slowly. Subaru tried running faster and harder, but all he did was making his shoes start to smoke. "It's okay, Natsuki-kun. We all know that the long recess in the afternoon is twenty minutes long. We have ten minutes left. Don't worry." Kishitsuji sensei said, and Subaru started screaming.
"D-DAREKA!!! T-TASUKETEKURE!!! KOROSARECHAU!!!! AHHHHHHHH!!!!" His final scream echoed in the corridor, and the door closed and Subaru's scream died away. "Well, this is nostalgic. I almost forget he's always this dramatic." Matsushita sensei said with a smile. Emilia gave a few awkward laughs, bowed, and decided that it was better for her to just go back to her classroom as soon as possible.
"That is quite impressive," Aki said, standing at the end of the corridor and looking at the direction where the office was. "I came down here to ask for some partial credits for my quiz but I think that is worth the few points." He said and walked away. "Oi Natsuno, let's get back. I've decided to give up those points." Aki said, tugging on Hinata's shirt. "Leave him here, he won't be able to respond to anything for a while," Haruka said, rolling her eyes. Hinata was currently kneeling on the floor and trembling very hard because of laughter. "Whatevs," Aki said with a shrug and left. "Just come back before the next class starts." Haruka said before she turned away and caught up to Aki.
The rest of the day, at least to Subaru, was very torturous. Nobody knew what happened to Subaru, but when he returned to the classroom, he was in a very shaken state and not responsive to any questions until the classes of the day were over. "Ah cheer up, Subaru! It's not the end of the world! You only just skipped two classes! That's no big deal! Aki and Haruka skipped at least twenty classes so far! And why do you care honestly didn't you ditch the first term completely?" Hinata said with a laugh when they were dismissed, getting his stuff back in his school bag. (Clarifying something here real quick in case you're confused. In Japan school terms go like this: first semester, April to July, second semester, September to December, third semester, January to March. Now you know. Subaru and the girl started going to school in the second semester:D) "They only skipped self-study classes though... those don't matter... and don't count my shut-in period that's different!!" Subaru mumbled, swiping everything on his table into his bag as well.
"You have no idea what horror I've been through with Kishitsuji sensei..." He said and shivered. "Bless you." Aki and Haruka said together. "Just forget about it. You'll be fine." Hinata said, laughing. The four left the classroom and headed toward the school gate. When they got there, they saw that Emilia and the others were already there waiting for them. "See you tomorrow, Subaru!" Hinata said, thumping on Subaru's back and waving at the girls. Subaru gave him a small wave and walked toward the girls lifelessly. Hinata gave a defeated sigh. "Come on Subaru! Just cheer up already! The Sports Day is not long from now! Welcome it with your highest spirit, will you??" Hinata shouted before he turned away and left with Aki and Haruka.
"...Alright, guess you're right." Subaru said and slapped himself on the cheeks twice. "Sorry 'bout that. I had quite a lesson with Kishitsuji sensei today." He said, finally cracking a smile. "I should be sorry... it's my fault..." Emilia said, her face dimming down. "No no no no it's not your fault at all, Emilia-tan!! Don't blame yourself!" Subaru said, waving his hands. "Yeah, this Barusu probably's been an annoyance to the sensei for quite a long time, and he's getting what he deserves. Emilia-sama has no responsibility at all, please do not be sorry." Ram said. Subaru quietly raised his hand and pointed his middle finger, but the finger got pushed down by a beaming Rem.
"Let's go home, alright? Tonight is Rem's turn to cook, and she has something good up her sleeves." Rem said with the same beam. Everyone paused for a while and all burst into laughter. "Okay okay! Let's head home!" Subaru shouted, feeling that his spirits were raised. Soon, the five arrived at their apartment, and when Subaru opened the door, he felt a sudden chill coming out the door. "Jesus Christ what's with that odd icy wind??" He said, shuddering, stepping back. "Oh, there really seems to be a chilly breeze coming out of the apartment." Rem said as she put her hands at the doorway, feeling the wind.
Suddenly, Emilia rushed through the doorway. "What's the matter, Emilia-tan?" Subaru asked when the rest followed in seconds later. "Gomen, Subaru! I accidentally left the air conditioner on!" Emilia said in a rather haste and uncharacteristic voice. "Oh, don't worry, it's fine," Subaru said, waving his hand. "Just that the electricity bill for this month might be a bit scary..." He finished the rest in his mind with a defeated laugh. "Well, Rem will start making dinner now. She'll try to finish it faster so we can all warm up a little bit." Rem said and went to the kitchen. "Okay, I'll help, Rem!" Subaru said and rushed to the kitchen as well. "Just don't smash any more plates, Barusu. That'll really be a big help." Ram said with a smirk. "Says the one who broke my cup three days ago!" Subaru's angry voice shouted.
"Betty will go read her books, Betty supposes." She said, rolling her eyes and heading to their bedroom, muttering something like "so noisy, in fact" and "never able to stay quiet for one single minute, Betty supposes". Emilia chuckled at the scene and sat down on the sofa. And after checking that no one was around, she spoke quietly. "Puck, are you feeling alright?" Emilia asked, and Puck's voice sounded in her mind. "I'm fine, Lia. It's just that... ehehe, it somehow started this afternoon..." Puck said, a note of resignation in his voice. "So it started this early? How long do you think it will last?" She asked, feeling a bit concerned.
"Actually, this time, I haven't any idea. This world is full of mana, and there really aren't any chances for me to release the mana stored up... So, if we're lucky, a few days will do, but if we're really that unlucky, it might take a few weeks..." Puck said, following with several defeated laughs. "Don't worry, Puck. We're lucky that it actually is starting to get quite cold outside. Hopefully, we can just make it through without everyone noticing." Emilia said somewhat encouragingly. "Haha, Lia, you sound more like talking to yourself than to me." Puck laughed. "I'll try to see if there's any room here good for me to stay in." Puck's voice echoed once again and died down.
"We're gonna be fine. This's all gonna be fine. Should I tell Subaru and the others...? Last time, we were in our world at Roswaal's mansion so it was fine... but this time it starts to happen here, in a world where such strong mana shouldn't even exist... ahhh what to do what to do..." Emilia first muttered again more determinedly but then her mind started spinning again, not knowing what was the best choice to make. She got up and decided that she might just go finish her homework to distract herself from all the things on her mind. About half an hour later, dinner was ready, and the five all went to the dining room.
"Wow, it looks amazing, Rem!" Emilia said as they sat down. On the table in front of them were roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, steamed potatoes, and a big bowl of salad. "I made the mashed potatoes with my secret recipe, Emilia-tan! I'm pretty confident about it!" Subaru said confidently. "Ram's steamed potatoes definitely taste better than Barusu's carelessly done mashed potatoes," Ram said. An electricity line formed between Subaru and Ram, sparkling and crackling.
"I'm sure they all taste good, don't fight over them, ne?" Emilia said, smiling and turning to Rem. "And did Rem make the roasted chicken all by herself? I imagine this needs a lot of time to prepare right? It's amazing how you finished it in such a short amount of time!" Emilia said, and Rem nodded, giggling. "Rem is practicing for a bigger event next week." Rem said with a smile. "Rem assumes that everyone knows what it is for but let us just enjoy the dinner now." She said, and everyone nodded, Subaru already drooling at the beautifully roasted chicken. "Wait, what about Nii-cha?" Beatrice asked when they were about to begin eating. "Ah, Puck just told me that he, um, has some personal issues to deal with first so he will come to eat later." Emilia said somewhat hastily again. Beatrice stared at her for about five seconds and nodded. "Alright, minna, dig in!" Subaru said, already unable to restrain his hands from shooting toward the chicken.
"Mou, Subaru-kun," Rem said, laughing. Everyone started savoring Rem's amazing cooking with Subaru and Ram's potato dishes as siding, and about an hour later, dinner was finished. "I'll help wash the dishes." Emilia walked to the kitchen with a pile of plates in her hands. "Ah no, it's alright. I'll wash the dishes, the water is freezing cold today." Subaru said, taking the pile of plates from her. "I should help, really. I didn't help make dinner today so I should at least do the dishes." Emilia insisted. "And look at your hands! They're already so red!" She said, pulling his hands from the sink to her.
"Subaru, you should've turned on the hot water tap." She said concernedly, rubbing his numb and red fingers. "I already did that, but the tap seems to be having something against me today... haha..." He said, pointing at the tap. Indeed, the hot water tap was turned all the way on. Emilia stared at it and back to Subaru. "Emilia-tan...?" Subaru asked confusedly, not knowing why Emilia was looking at him like that. "Is something bothering you?" He asked again. Emilia didn't say anything and pulled him out of the kitchen. "From now on, can I take care of all the dishes?" She asked, frowning slightly.
"Ha? Why?" Subaru asked blankly. "Well, I think that I... suddenly developed a liking in washing dishes..." She said, turning away, scratching her face. "Ha??" Subaru said, feeling more confused at this sudden and weird request from Emilia. "Please just let me do the dishes, ne, Subaru??" Emilia said, clapping her hands together. "O-Okay, if you insist..." Subaru said, chuckling slightly. Emilia smiled and nodded and headed back to the kitchen. "Lia, I am so sorry." Puck's voice sounded in Emilia's head again.
"It's already starting to affect the apartment..." He said, and Emilia shook her head. "Don't worry, Puck. I'll handle this." She said. "And another reason why I'm feeling sorry is that I laughed when you told Subaru you developed a liking in washing dishes... Ptttfffff....!!! Sorry...!!!" Puck said, forcing back laughing with all his might. "Puck!!" Emilia said, laughing in defeat as well. About twenty minutes later, Emilia was finished with the dishes, and when she went back to the living room, she saw that everyone else was there, chatting.
"Shiori-san said that it was a little bit disappointing that they couldn't do the dancing part in the Cultural Festival, and she said that to make up for it, they will make the Sports Day extra good this time." Ram said while the others listened to her. Emilia sat down beside Subaru and joined the conversation. "What're you talking about?" She asked. "Emilia-sama, Nee-sama was just telling us about what Shiori-san says about the upcoming Sports Day." Rem answered with a bow of her head.
"It's all very exciting to hear about the Sports Day, but Nee-sama, is it really good to leak the information before it is even released by the Student Association?" Subaru said with a small frown. "Well, if Barusu doesn't want to hear about it, fine, you can go back to your room. And to make sure you don't hear any of the information, Ram will first jam two boxes worth of tissue papers in your ears to ensure total silence for you." Ram said, reaching her hands toward the tissue papers.
"Okay okay okay! I want to hear about them, alright?? And please don't waste any tissue papers they're hella expensive!!" Subaru shouted as he clapped his hands over his ears, leaning backward on the sofa away from Ram. "Well then, Ram will continue." She went on, pausing here and there to let Subaru explain what each of the events was about. In the end, Subaru was the one that got most excited about the Sports Day. "You are such an immature, helpless guy, Barusu." Ram said, looking at him in disgust. "Nee-sama!! Aren't you being a bit too harsh to me today??" Subaru shouted as tears burst out his eyes.
"I tell you now! The only reason why you're not as excited as I am is that you've never participated in a Sports Day before!! Once you get to take part in all the activities, I bet you'll be even more excited than I am!!" He shouted, spring to his feet. "That makes sense, Subaru-kun! Can you explain everything more clearly to Rem??" Rem asked, looking up at Subaru with twinkling eyes. "I want to hear more too, Subaru." Emilia said, looking interested as well. "Well, Betty will go take a bath first, then, Betty supposes." Beatrice said and left the living room. "C'mon Bea-ko! They really are fun! Don't you wanna hear about them?" Subaru asked. "Betty prefers experiencing those events on her own, in fact. Your explanations just might ruin the fun, Betty supposes." She said over her shoulder and left the living room.
"Grrrr.... Fine!!" Subaru shouted, gritting his teeth. He then started talking about the Sports Day in better details. About ten minutes later, they heard a scream from the bathroom. They all rushed to the bathroom and Subaru banged the door open at once. But before he could utter a word or look into it, all the soap and shampoo containers flew out from the bathroom and smacked into Subaru's face, knocking him off balance. "DON'T JUST BANG OPEN THE DOOR LIKE THAT, IN FACT!!! YOU HENTAI!!! HENTAI!!! BETTY SUPPOSES!!!" Beatrice shouted through the closed door, and seconds later, it opened again, revealing a fully dressed Beatrice.
"What's the matter, Beatrice-sama??" Ram asked, kicking Subaru away from her. "The water is icy cold, in fact! But Betty is certain that she turned on the hot water tap!!" She said, pointing at the bathtub. Rem went to the bathtub and kneeled down beside it, dipping her finger in the water. "Oh god, it really is freezing cold!" She said, retrieving her finger at once. "Barusu, go check the water heater." Ram said. Subaru got up from the floor and wiped the shampoo on his face off. "I know that it was my fault but it really hurts!!!" He shouted before walking off to check the water heater.
Beatrice then looked over to Emilia, and when their eyes met, Emilia nodded. "Then it can't be helped." She said with a sigh. Subaru came back seconds later. "The heater is working fine. The water shouldn't be cold." He said, frowning and tilting his head. "Well, there's another option. Do you wanna try the bathhouse ten minutes from here??" Subaru asked. "Bathhouse? What is it like?" Emilia asked. Subaru closed his eyes and folded his arms. "Hmmm.... it's kinda hard to explain. Let's just go. I promise it'll be really nice! This's one of the core parts of Japanese culture after all!!" He said in a cheerful voice.
"Well, since there really are no other options, we shall take this idiot's advice, Betty supposes. Let's go to this bathhouse, in fact." Beatrice said, folding her arms. "Alright!! Let's go!! You're gonna love it!!" Subaru said, grinning. "Oh, by the way, we gotta bring our own soap and shampoo and towels though. Let's get those ready first!" He said. Moments later, they finished packing their stuff into their backpacks and set off for the bathhouse.
A/N: Alright, it ends here! Let's move on to the next part!! XD