Chapter Text
It was an evening like any other, Subaru continued his life as a shut-in, staying at home as he felt ashamed of his grades, burdened by his lack of friends, weighed by not being good enough, pressured by not being worthy of being his son.
One evening, he decided to go out and buy something. He put on his tracksuit and made his way downstairs, trying hard to not be noticed by his mother, as he knew he still had to clean a cup he had used, but as he approached the door a voice called him.
“Are you going out, Subaru?” A warm and cheerful voice was heard from behind, Subaru didn't turn around to answer, simply putting on his shoes, surprisingly he then felt a hand patting his back.
“Let mom come with you, I re~ally want to check out something too.” His mother spoke calmly, she stood next to him putting on her shoes.
“Uh? Mom? Why are you?” Subaru asked in a surprised tone, Naoko watched with warmth as her voice sounded like a lullaby.
“Can't a mother spend time with her son?” Her voice was comforting yet firm, expressing her pure wish to her child, as Subaru opened his mouth other footsteps were heard.
“Oh? Are you two going for a walk? Don't leave me out!” A booming voice was accompanied by loud footsteps, his father came down and quickly dressed up, he still had his work clothes, a shirt and jeans, so he quickly took his wallet, phone and keys and walked next to his family.
“So son, where will you take this couple today?” With a bright smile he turned towards his son, waiting patiently for him to talk, Subaru watched as a mix of embarrassment and confusion plastered his face.
“Uh, I was going to the mini Market.” He whispered in a low voice, Kenichi then opened the door and let the two outside.
The family walked for a little while, with the couple chatting about old times when they were younger, while Subaru kept his head down, not knowing what to say.
“This evening sure is peaceful, right dear?” Naoko spoke with a hand on her cheek, the other was entangled with his husband's, walking only a step behind Subaru.
“Yes, indeed, luckily our son decided to go for such a lovely walk.” Kenichi smiled warmly as he watched his wife, with pure love for her.
As the trio walked around the city they reached the small shop, entering inside the couple immediately began to look around, with Naoko checking some magazines and Kenichi looking for some snacks.
Subaru quickly browsed around too, checking some manga and taking some instant ramen, he went to the clerk and his parents quickly followed, they too had a few things in hand, his mother a clothing magazine and his father a newspaper.
The three paid and walked outside, Subaru then stopped in front of the store, he put his hand on his eyes, almost feeling tired, as this happened he heard his parents call out his name, felling two hands on his shoulder, the next moment he opened his eyes, blinded by light as he adjusted.
He analyzed everything around him, a plaza with a fountain in the center, around it many people, all looking different, some with fur all over their bodies, others looking like lizards with scales.
“I have been summoned to another world!” Subaru shouted as he realised where he was, immediately he began exploring the place, making his way around the unknown town.
At the same time two others were in a similar situation, looking around confused at their surroundings, the Natsuki couple was in another part of town, both looking for one thing.
“Subaru! Are you here?” Naoko shouted as she watched the town, she had absolutely no idea of what was happening, but she knew she wasn't with her son, and with her husband she was walking around the unknown city for him.
“He must be here, right?” She wondered as she noticed all of the different people around, Kenichi stood next to her, he too analysed each part of the city.
“He must be here somewhere, the sooner we find him, the better.” He spoke in a serious tone, the two searched the city, starting with the main streets.
The two searched around the city, calling out their son's name as their worry grew, wondering where their son was, if he even was with them.
After some searching they stopped in a crowded street, as they remained still, walking back and forth in worry, a voice called out to them.
“Excuse me, are you searching for your son by any chance?” A man standing next to a mountain of apples asked, he had a scar on his eye and was staring at the two.
“Yes! Have you seen someone who resembled us?” Naoko shouted in joy, her eyes filling with hope as she now knew her son was close by.
“A while ago there was a boy with eyes similar to yours ma'am, and he also resembled you, sir.” He spoke with a small smile, Kenichi bowed down in thanks.
“Thank you very much! We owe you one!” The two thanked the merchant as they walked away, with him clicking his tongue.
“They could have bought something.”
“Come on! We must find our son!” Naoko rushed even more than Kenichi, her eyes filled with determination as they looked around the city, soon enough they decided to go somewhere higher, hoping to see him.
As they walked up the stairs they could make out a voice from the top, one of a girl sounding like silver bells.
“Your fingers are really pretty.” Soon enough the couple reached the top, there they saw the back of their beloved son.
“Subaru! There you are!” Naoko shouted as she immediately wrapped her arms around the boy, Kenichi too stood next to them, and immediately took notice of the girl who held Subaru’s hand.
“Mom, dad!? You're here!” Subaru shouted as the girl immediately put her hands behind her back, slightly flustered as she immediately realised the two were Subaru’s parents.
“Well well well, son, we go away and you immediately make a new friend, why don't you introduce your friend to us?” Kenichi immediately asked as he put his arm around Subaru’s shoulders.
“Yes, she is re~ally cute, thank you for looking after our son.” Naoko bowed her head at the girl, still flustered at the two new people looking at her.
“I was about to ask her, until you two jumped on top of me.” Subaru shouted as his mother was still hugging him, the three looked at her, her eyes wavered slightly as the energy of the three surprised her.
“Oh, I see you were with your parents, Subaru.” Suddenly a voice came from behind the girl, a high pitched voice surprising the couple.
A small gray cat appeared from behind the girl's hair, the Natsuki flinched slightly as they saw the talking cat, the two drew closer to inspect him.
“Oh my, what a cute little kitty you have.” Naoko spoke as she moved her hand to pet him, the cat quickly flew closer to her hand, accepting the petting.
“I am Puck! Pleased to meet you! Nyan.” He began to purr as the scratches were clearly comfortable.
“I am Natsuki Kenichi, this is my wife Naoko, pleased to meet you Puck.” He presented himself, then everyone's gazes went towards the girl, realising she was the only one without a name.
“My name is Emilia, just Emilia, pleased to meet you.” She bowed down slightly as she presented herself, still slightly flustered by meeting the family all at once.
“I see, anyway, now that we know where our troublemaker is, I guess we can take a walk, isn't that right, dear?” Kenichi spoke with a smile, Naoko nodded at his words.
“Indeed. Subaru, once you finish with the little date of yours, meet us at the fruit salesman in the market, alright? We'll be waiting there!” Naoko spoke with a smile as Subaru immediately turned red, Emilia tilted her head slightly at her words, but then she giggled lightly.
“Your parents seem re~ally nice Subaru, your mother is incredible too!” Emilia smiled warmly as she looked at the couple walk away, giggling among themselves, once they were no longer close by, the two continued their search.
“My mom? Yes, she is incredible, well, having you meet my parents was incredibly embarrassing, so let's get going!” Subaru shouted as he realised they're all here, while he was glad he wasn't separated from his parents, he couldn't help but feel that even in another world, he'd still be Kenichi's son.
The two went downstairs, continuing their search around the city, they stumbled upon a crying child, Emilia immediately went to help her out, with Subaru following soon after and calming the child, the two quickly managed to find the child's mother.
Soon enough they found themselves back to where they started, after a lot of banter and Emilia's cute reaction, they stood in front of the fruit merchant.
“Hold on, why are there so many people!?” Subaru asked as he noticed an unusual amount of people buying apples, there two familiar voices were shouting at the crowd.
“Don't you wish for a healthier life? Then come buy these incredible apples! After all, one apple a day keeps the doctor away!” There Kenichi kept attracting customers with his great voice, attracting the attention of many, followed by Naoko welcoming everyone with a smile.
“Hey kid! I see you met with your parents, they are helping out at the shop, as you can see.” The fruit seller was currently counting coins as the apples went out in a flash.
“I see, anyway, we are searching for a thief, could you help us out?” Subaru asked as his parents noticed him, but they continued to sell countless apples to the crowd.
“I mean, sure. Describe this thief and I'll see what I can do.” He answered with a small smile.
“A small girl with golden hair and red eyes, I don't know if you are aware of anyone like that.” Subaru asked as he recalled the girl, quickly they managed to get a description of the girl named Felt.
“Daddy!” Suddenly the voice of a familiar girl echoed in their ears, she sprinted towards the fruit salesman with her arms open.
As the girl thanked Emilia, Kenichi patted the salesman’s back, holding the biggest smirk Subaru had ever seen.
“Hey son, I hope you're doing alright, do you need any help?” Kenichi then came closer and asked with a worried expression, Naoko too had her eyes on Subaru.
“Yes, everything's fine, I'll just help Emilia and join you two.” Subaru answered for the first time with a truly genuine smile, which prompted the parents into letting him go more easily, but before the two departed, Naoko took Emilia aside and whispered in her ear.
“Thank you for making our son smile like that, it has been a while since we've seen him so happy.” She spoke with a calm tone, surprising Emilia as she could only nod with a smile.
“I should be the one to thank him, he's been helping all day.” Emilia replied as she bowed down, the two departed once more, Subaru looked back at his parents, this day was already incredibly confusing, but he continued to walk forward with Emilia.
As they almost reached the slums, Subaru managed to know where Felt was, as they reached for the loot house Emilia remained silent in thought.
“Emilia, is everything alright?” Subaru looked at her with a worried expression, she snapped back from her thoughts and looked at Subaru.
“No, no, I was just thinking about something.” Emilia replied with a slightly flustered expression, Subaru tilted his head and waited for her to speak.
“It's just that, hum, your mother seems re~ally, familiar? I don't know how to explain.” Emilia continued to think as she put a hand over her head.
“Oh, well, she is great, no wonder you like her. It's refreshing you're not talking about my father.” Subaru murmured the last words, Emilia still remained deep in thought.
The two found themselves in front of the loothouse, after some playful banter Subaru decided to go in first, Emilia staying behind.
“Don't get yourself in danger, I wouldn't want you to get hurt.” Emilia spoke with concern, Subaru smiled weakly.
“My mother already worries enough for me, don't start you too.” Subaru complained as he entered inside, using a crystal for light he checked the place, noticing a liquid under his feet.
He slipped down, the liquid now in sight, a deep red and incredibly viscous, he traced the liquid until he saw a man, the massive figure on the ground, almost asleep, with the liquid pouring down from his throat.
“Aahhh!” He shouted as he realised what he was sitting on a lake of blood, another small figure appeared, he noticed the familiar hair, she was Felt.
As he turned away to run, a flash of iron made its way to the abdomen, a fountain of blood followed suit.
“Emilia.” He murmured as he realised she was entering, another flash made its way to the girl, falling on the ground, Subaru reached for her hand.
“No matter what, I will save you.” With this vow, his life ended, the thought of his parents made its way to his head.
Death embraced him, and the next moment he found himself in front of a familiar merchant.
“What's the matter, boy, you look like you saw a ghost.” He asked as he kept an apple in front of Subaru.
Subaru remained confused as he quickly moved away, he checked his missing wound and made his way to the loothouse, fearing what might have happened to Emilia.
Once reaching the place he found the giant was still fine, he remained inside and chatted with the old man, after a few hours they were reached by Felt.
Subaru then managed to start to bargain for the insignia, waiting for the other buyer and the three continued to chat. In the evening the other person arrived, Elsa and Subaru began to bid for the insignia.
Subaru won thanks to the price of his phone, Elsa asked for what he'd do with it, and at the answer Elsa attacked, Felt and Rom attempted to defend themselves to no avail, Subaru left the only one standing, his mind racing with fear, he attempted to defend himself, but soon enough he found himself with a wound on his abdomen, blood flowing.
He gasped as his life was forfeit once more, death came closer, consuming each part of his soul, cutting his couscousness, Natsuki Subaru lost his life.
A third time he found himself in front of the fruit merchant, the memories of his last death fresh on his mind.
Consciousness slipped away, his body growing limp as he fell on the ground, the face of the fruit merchant filled with worry.
“Subaru! Subaru!” A voice called out to him, feeling warmth from two sources his eyes fluttered open.
“Subaru! Oh my sweet baby!” The voice of his mother called out, standing over him she hugged his body, next to her stood his father.
“Mom, dad?” He spoke weakly as the two familiar figures surrounded him, it took a few moments before he understood what was going on.
“Yes, oh, I'm glad you're all right.” Naoko spoke as she hugged him tightly, then she raised her head, looking at someone else.
“Thank you for your help, Emilia, I'm glad we found our son.” Kenichi replied with a smile, Subaru raised his head and looked at the girl, she smiled towards the family. As Subaru almost spoke out, he noticed a familiar girl coming closer.
“Emilia! Look out!” He shouted a moment too late, the girl turned around, and as she noticed Felt, she already took what she wanted.
“Stop right there!” Emilia shouted as she began to summon icicles, launching a few, she missed entirely as Felt soon managed to get on some roofs.
“Ah, quick, call the police!” Naoko shouted as they witnessed the theft.
“The guards I guess, since this place doesn't seem that advanced.” He replied as Emilia immediately stopped in her tracks.
“No wait, please don't call the guards, that would be a problem.” She spoke to the three in a low voice, making sure no one would overhear.
“How come? Are they corrupt or something?” Kenichi asked while tilting his head, Emilia waved her head, the two remained silent.
“No, it's just something I shouldn't have lost. I'll be going! I need to catch up!” She spoke as she turned around, Subaru then shot up as the image of Emilia with her stomach cut open came to his mind.
“Wait! I'll be coming with you.” Subaru shouted as he slightly panicked, his mind still in a hurry.
“Oh no, I couldn't ask you for help! You already alerted me.” Emilia put her hands forward, Naoko and Kenichi stood up too.
“Nonsense, you helped us find our son, the least we could do is help you too.” Kenichi spoke firmly as the two took steps forward, he then looked at Subaru with a somewhat smug expression.
“That's right, by now that girl might have gone far, if we stick together we'll find her in no time!” Naoko too spoke as she still held Subaru’s arm, Emilia sighed at the intensity of the family.
“Fine, but let's be quick!” Emilia turned towards Felt, with Subaru still trying to understand what was going on.
‘Wait, she doesn't seem to know me, so what was that? Was it a dream? But they are already together…’ Subaru then turned towards the rest of the group.
“Hey mom, can I ask you how you met with her?”
“Oh, we were searching for you around the city, and she approached us while offering help, we accepted, she used some strange lights and we found you. She even has a talking cat! It was so surprising.” Naoko looked at Emilia with a warm smile, she was currently walking next to them as Kenichi was at the front.
“I didn't really do much, we found you as we walked.” Emilia replied slightly flustered, but Kenichi laughed at her words.
“When you used that blue hue I was surprised too, by the way, why don't you show Subaru your cat, he loves fur more than anyone.” Kenichi spoke out as he then turned towards a passerby to ask for directions.
The group continued on, searching for where the thief might have gone, until Emilia noticed a lost child, Subaru smiled warmly as he remembered that this happened the first time too, then he realised something.
‘I've been going back each time I die, uh? I'll call it "return by death”.’ As he decided on the name, Emilia was already next to the child, he followed suit with a coin in hand.
He calmed down the child with an easy trick with a coin, as the child was calmed down his parents came close too.
“You guys can go, we'll take care of this little one.” Kenichi approached the kid with a smile, making her calm down even further.
“Subaru, Emilia, whether you find the insignia or not, make sure to come back to the fruit merchant before sunset, it might get dangerous in the night.” Naoko caressed Subaru’s face, a motherly smile on her face, she looked at Emilia too.
“But that insignia is re~ally important, I can't lose it!” She protested with a worried look, Naoko turned towards her with firm eyes, eyes which wouldn't take no for an answer.
“As important as that insignia is, it will never be as important as your life, take care.” Naoko let Subaru go, she took the child's hand and the three walked away.
“Dear, you have noticed it too, haven't you?” Kenichi spoke as he looked around, searching for the child's mother.
“That Subaru is completely infatuated with the girl? How couldn't I.”
“Yes, it has been a while since I saw him so determined, that makes me re~ally happy.”
The two walked around for a while, soon enough they found the child's mother, and they made their way to the fruit salesman.
“Still, he was strange, wasn't he?” Naoko narrowed her eyes, her tone growing firmer as she was lost in thought.
“For now we can't say much, let's just watch over him as always.” Kenichi answered as the two reached the fruit salesman, they offered to help the shop for a while.
The two began to work happily as they sold apples, soon enough they were joined by the child they helped, who was revealed to be the daughter of the salesman.
The two continued on for a few hours, chatting with the other family of their children, and slowly the sun began to set, with each moment rising the anxiety of the couple.
“They aren't back yet.” Naoko worried as she gazed at the sky, the shop already closed but they waited for the two.
“Should we go look for them?” Kenichi was walking back and forth as they waited.
“I don't know, maybe they're just late.”
As the two spoke, the sun was already no longer in sight, just as they had to decide, a young man with red hair approached them.
“I couldn't help but notice how distressed you two seem, may you need assistance?” The young man spoke with a firm voice, Kenichi immediately noticed the blade at his hip.
“Are you a guard? We are waiting for our son and a friend of his, but he hasn't returned yet.” As Kenichi spoke, Naoko hurried next to him, distress filling her expression.
“They went to the slums to take something stolen, something might have happened to them.” Naoko spoke quickly as anxiety filled her voice.
“Yes, let's get going, by the way, I am Reinhard Van Astrea, pleased to meet you.” Turning around towards the slums. Reinhard matched his pace with the couples, they too gave their name as they quickly walked towards the slums.
The sun had set already, and they were now sprinting more than walking. The two were looking everywhere, shouting Subaru and Emilia's names, until they heard a faint voice asking for help.
Reinhard was the first to move, in a few moments he reached the voice crying for help, Naoko and Kenichi followed as best as they could. Upon their arrival they immediately recognised the little girl.
“You are that thief, Felt.” Naoko spoke as the two immediately noticed how distressed she was, Reinhard offered a hand to help her get up.
“What happened?” Reinhard spoke in a soothing tone as Felt stood up, clearing a few tears from her eyes as she took a deep breath.
“There was a crazy lady and she's trying to kill us! Please help them!” Felt shouted as she still was slightly panicked, Naoko already skipped a beat as fear creeped up from her heart.
“Lead me there, I'll deal with it.” Reinhard firmly stated as his eyes narrowed, Felt stood up and began leading them towards the loothouse.
At one point Reinhard rushed off, Felt continued to lead the couple towards the loothouse, and as they ran a bright light could be seen from a building nearby.
“Subaru!” The couple shouted as the building exploded, soon after they arrived, with Reinhard standing at the center of a collapsed building. Subaru and Emilia were next to a wall, with Emilia clearly weakened and leaning on Subaru.
“Don't you know it's not polite to stare at people like that?” Emilia spoke with a small pout, only for her to smile a moment later.
“Oh no, it's just that you still have all of your limbs and head, neither do I have a wound at my abdomen.” Subaru spoke up with a smile, Naoko narrowed her eyes at his words, she knew he wasn't joking.
“You speak like that happened to you, uh.” Emilia chimed in as Subaru began to laugh it off, Emilia then went to finish healing the old giant.
A moment of calm arrived, with Naoko taking deep breaths and Kenichi speaking with Reinhard, thanking him for his help. Just as calm arrived a rustling sound was heard, and Elsa jumped from the rubble towards Emilia.
“Subaru!!” Reinhard shouted as he stood in front of Kenichi, Subaru took hold of a mace and blocked the hit, shielding Emilia from Elsa's attack.
“Elsa, that's enough.” Reinhard rushed next to her, preparing to subdue her, Elsa quickly threw a kukri towards Naoko, who was running towards Subaru, forcing Reinhard to take the knife.
“One day, I will open the bowels of everyone in here, until then, farewell.” As Elsa spoke these words, she ran off, meanwhile Naoko was already helping Subaru get up.
“Son, everything's alright?” Kenichi rushed next to him too, the parents checked everything on Subaru’s body, making sure there were no injuries.
“Yeah, this is nothing, don't worry.” Subaru patted himself as he stood up, his mother looked at him with narrowed eyes, making him flinch slightly.
“We are your parents, when you get hurt, it's obvious we'll worry, so stop getting yourself in trouble, alright?” Naoko spoke with a soft tone, holding Subaru’s face close, Reinhard stepped closer.
“Still, I apologise, hadn't I lowered my guard, you wouldn't have put yourself in trouble.”
“Ah, stop it, don't steal my thunder, I had that club to protect me, so it's not a problem.” Subaru smiled as he stepped towards Emilia, who was currently looking at him with a smile.
“Thank you for saving me, Subaru! I'm glad you're alright.” As she spoke those words, Subaru smiled warmly at her words, which prompted Naoko and Kenichi to step away.
“Yep, finally, it's over, I'm glad! This day lasted far longer than I wished for.” Subaru sighed in relief as Emilia tilted her head slightly.
“How come? I re~ally had fun today, except for this last jiffy.”
“Who says jiff in this day and age, but that's true, I had a lot of fun with you today, I'd do it another thousand times!”
“Jeez, stop teasing me like that.” Emilia puffed up as she raised her fists, making Subaru smile from the sheer cuteness.
As Subaru smiled, blood suddenly gushed forth from his mouth, a wound was where Elsa cut.
“Subaru!!!” Three voices called out to him, as he fell to the ground, Emilia teary eyes were etched in his eyes, followed by the feeling of being embraced by a motherly warmth.