Chapter Text
To say that for Subaru Natsuki the day was going in the most insane manner would be an understatement. After all, one doesn’t usually wake up expecting to spend the afternoon fearing for their life, let alone seriously questioning whether they’d even live long enough to see the end of it.
The kind of day where the concept of “tomorrow” starts to feel weirdly optional.
Like most seventeen-year-olds his age, Subaru was a boy with sky-high dreams and an imagination vivid enough to play them out like a movie in his head. Even if lately that same imagination had been used more to justify staying in bed than getting out of it.
School felt exhausting, mornings felt pointless, and it was much easier to stay home, rot comfortably, and lose himself in random video games and visual novels instead.
After all, he was still a young boy, and like any teenager his age, he wanted to one day marry a silver-haired elf…
Okay, maybe his dreams weren’t exactly realistic, or even remotely standard, but who cared? Subaru Natsuki was still a talented teenager, and troubled or not, there was always that stubborn little spark telling him the world was still his oyster, waiting for him to crack it open.
So why…
WHY, was he currently screaming at the top of his lungs in pure terror, unsure if he’d ever see another sunrise as his body was violently dragged through all three axes of three-dimensional space at a speed his brain absolutely refused to process.
Something meant only for trained pilots and lunatics, neither of which was what he was.
R-0B WSO | Wrinkles
<<BARUSU, WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING WHILE WE'RE IN THE AIR? DO YOU WANT OUR JET TO CRASH?>>
That damn nickname again. Subaru really, really hated how his supposed WSO butchered his name like it was some kind of binding curse while they were trying to stop their jet from getting shot.
Oh yeah, did he forget to mention he was flying a freaking F-14D?
Because he was flying an F-14D for the first time in his life, and he was absolutely not having a good time, especially with Miss “I’m-so-much-more-mature-than-you” yelling directly into his ears while the entire aircraft screamed in protest around him.
R-0B | Barusu
<<SHUT IT, I'M NOT FAMILIAR WITH THESE NEW SYSTEMS. IS IT SO HARD NOT TO STRESS ME? I'M STILL TRYING TO LEARN HOW TO FLY THIS THING>>
Why was she riding on his nerves so hard anyway? Couldn’t she see he was barely holding it together as it was?
Trying to pilot a modern fighter jet with zero prior training, zero instruction, and zero business being anywhere near the cockpit was not easy. And yet, yet, here he was, improvising, reacting, and somehow keeping the thing airborne.
That had to count for something, right?
Frankly, Subaru was doing everything in his power not to completely lose it and start screaming, because he knew exactly how that would end, a flaming crater in the ocean below.
Like the first five times.
But that wasn’t important right now.
AWACS | Murphy
<<Will you two please stop using this channel for bickering? Please cut the chatter and get back to flying in formation!!>>
Flying in formation sounded great.
Wonderful, even.
A fantastic idea, if only Subaru had the faintest clue how to properly control this massive, screaming metal coffin he was strapped into. As much as he hated to admit it, Ram was helping a lot, and he still couldn’t fly this thing worth a damn.
R-0B WSO | Wrinkles
<<STUPID BARUSU, THIS ISN'T EVEN A NEW PLANE AT ALL, AND YOU'RE HOLDING THE MANUAL UPSIDE DO->>
At that moment, the shrill, unmistakable scream of the warning system sliced straight through Ram’s rant, silencing both of them instantly. Their eyes widened in the same heartbeat, panic flooding in faster than either of them could react.
(BEEP-BEEP) "MISSILE" (BEEP-BEEP)
Before either of them could speak, or before Subaru could even try to steer the plane away – emphasis heavily on “try” – a missile slammed into the side of their fighter. The impact tore the right wing clean off like it was made out of paper.
As the aircraft began to spin helplessly through the sky toward the ocean below, Ram’s screeching came back with a vengeance, louder and more venomous than ever, hurling every insult she knew directly at him.
When the plane finally struck the blue waters of the Gulf of Anadyr, it came apart violently, metal folding and shattering as Subaru’s body was crushed inside the cockpit.
In those final, fractured moments, the only thing he could think about was just how unbelievably unlucky he was to have gotten dragged into this mess.
HOW DID IT COME TO THIS?
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Turning off his game console in frustration after yet another game over, Subaru exhaled a long, drawn-out sigh, pushing it loudly through his mouth while wearing the most annoyed expression he could possibly muster.
Glaring at the game console like it had personally wronged him, Subaru could only stew in place, replaying the countless hours he’d sunk into this stupid fighter-jet game, just to watch himself explode, crash, or fail over and over again.
This new game had caught his eye while he was browsing for a newly released visual novel. It had been on sale, and Subaru, armed with curiosity and poor impulse control, had decided to buy it, figuring it couldn’t hurt to try something different.
Airial Conflict 7 had looked easy enough at first glance, flashy jets and dramatic missions and all that. But no matter how hard Subaru tried, he just couldn’t get past the massive underground geothermal Earth-core pipe section.
It wasn’t because he was bad at flying or anything. Subaru was actually pretty proud of his skills when it came to piloting planes in games. He genuinely believed that if someone just sat him behind the controls of a real aircraft, he’d figure it out no problem.
How hard could it be, after all?
No, the real issue, the thing that made him want to scream, was the absurdly short time limit slapped onto the final stage of the final mission. No matter how perfectly he flew, no matter how aggressively he pushed the throttle, he always ran out of time just short of the goal.
“This is ridiculous.”
He muttered the words under his breath and, with another exhausted sigh, set the controller aside. His stomach let out a quiet but insistent rumble, reminding him just how long he’d been playing without stopping to eat anything.
His eyes drifted to the astronomical clock hanging on the wall, the one his parents had bought him for his sixteenth birthday. It was a fancy thing, decorated with a detailed planisphere, mounted neatly above his collection of anime figurines.
“9:40 pm, huh?”
Subaru thought aloud. It wasn’t that late, really. He still had time to grab a few snacks and something to drink before calling it a night. With that decision made, he slipped into his black-and-white tracksuit. His most loyal and comfortable companion.
Exiting his room and heading toward the front door, he passed by the kitchen and caught sight of his mom. He tried to slip by unnoticed, but she, unfortunately, noticed him immediately.
“Ah, goodbye Subaru,” his mother called out, “come back soon. It’s getting late.”
“Yes, Mom,” Subaru replied, which was strangely out of character for him. “Goodbye, I’ll be fine.”
Normally, he wouldn’t have answered at all, some messy mix of self-hatred and low self-esteem usually kept his mouth shut. But today, between the game crushing his soul and his hunger gnawing at him, his irritation had overridden that habit.
The walk to the convenience store was about as uneventful as a walk could be. Buying the snacks and drinks went just as quietly. The store clerk barely glanced at him while ringing everything up.
“That’ll be 363 yen.”
Digging through his worn, overstuffed wallet, Subaru spotted a rigged ten-yen coin tucked among the rest of his loose change and bills. Deciding not to risk losing it, he set it aside and paid the total in cash instead.
Exiting the store and standing on the sidewalk, he glanced up toward the sky, his eyes catching on the glowing moon hanging overhead like an oversized flashlight someone forgot to turn off.
Just a little to the left of his vision, a passenger plane quietly cut across the night sky.
“Flying, huh?” Subaru thought, his brain still stubbornly stuck in game mode. “Seriously, that game makes it way too hard to enjoy. If there wasn’t a stupid time limit, I could clear it on the first try. Heck, at this point, I could probably do it in a real plane in real life.”
It was a completely baseless boast, one born from bruised pride and the ego of someone who’d failed the same mission one too many times. Letting out a tired sigh, he lowered his gaze toward the road.
That’s when he felt it. Something strange bloomed behind his eyes, like fine sand scratching under his eyelids. His head felt oddly light and floaty too, as if someone had hit it with a bat and forgotten to tell him why.
“What the heck,” he muttered, lifting his hands to rub at his eyes. “Guess anyone’s eyes would hurt after gaming in a dark room all day.”
When he finished rubbing his eyes and opened them again, the sight in front of him made his breath hitch.
He was still standing on a sidewalk beside a street, and it was still clearly a modern city. But that was where the similarities ended.
Because this place was too modern.
Neon lights flooded everything around him, splashing red, blue, pink, and green across storefronts and towering buildings. Massive skyscrapers surrounded him on all sides, spearing straight up into the sky. Their tops disappeared into the darkness above, so tall they felt endless from where Subaru stood.
Vehicles he’d never seen before glided along the road, which itself glowed with a deep ORANGE neon light. The illumination seemed to ooze out of the tarmac, as if the street itself was alive and producing light from within.
It looked like something ripped straight out of a cyberpunk movie.
The sheer spectacle stole the air from his lungs. As he stared up at the nearest towering skyscraper, his eyes caught a set of words written along its side in clear English.
“Stratfon Communication Tower?”
Subaru read it aloud, but the name meant absolutely nothing to him. What the heck was a Stratfon? Was that the name of this absurd city he was standing in right now?
A sudden rush of excitement surged up from deep inside his chest, pure joy mixed with buzzing anticipation, a feeling he hadn’t experienced in a long, long time.
“I’VE BEEN SUMMONED TO ANOTHER WORLD!?”
He yelled it at the top of his lungs, throwing his voice into the dark, cloud-covered sky with every ounce of eagerness and exhilaration he had. He could not believe the reality that he was experiencing, waiting for someone to come and tell him that he was still dreaming in his sleep.
“Shut yor loud mout’, yoo damn kid.”
Subaru heard a voice with a strange, rough accent curse at him from behind. When he turned his head, he was greeted by the sight of three men dressed in equally strange, punk-looking outfits.
The one standing in the middle had a thin frame and piercings scattered all over his face. His light blue hair faded into red streaks at the tips, and a thick choker wrapped around his neck, chains dangling from it and clinking softly when he moved.
The man to his left was a burly giant with muscles stacked on top of muscles. His hair was braided tightly, a bandana wrapped around his head, and a goatee framed a face locked into an expression that practically screamed trouble.
The third man on the right was… small. Really small. Short enough that Subaru almost mistook him for a kid at first glance. He had brown, mushroom-shaped hair and a pinkish cloak draped over his stubby frame.
Was this normal fashion here?
“Vy are yoo yelling so loudly? Do yoo vant a beating?” said the same accented voice, coming from the thin man in the center. The accent tugged at Subaru’s memory, it was oddly familiar but he couldn’t quite place it.
“Oh?” Subaru said, puffing up with the confidence of someone who had fully bought into his own delusions. “Is this a training event for my summoning?”
“De heck are yoo r-r-rambling about, yoo punk?” snapped the short ki- the short man. His eyes narrowing like Subaru had personally insulted his entire bloodline.
“Tch, I wasn’t expecting to deal with thugs and criminals this soon,” Subaru replied. His voice was so absurdly confident it could probably gaslight water into thinking it was fire. “No matter. Come here, all of you are free EXP.”
“Zis ahsshole doesn’t seem to be from around here, viz zat strange accent of his,” the burly man said as he stepped forward. Before Subaru could react, a massive hand wrapped around his throat, squeezing tight.
“Vat are yoo, from Kanto? I’m gonna teach yoo a lesson yoo vill never forget.”
Before Subaru or any of the men could do anything else, another voice rang out from behind them.
“Stop right there, you miscreants.”
The voice was beautifully feminine, clear and soft, like the chiming of silver bells. There was no trace of that strange accent in it either.
“Wait a second,” Subaru thought. “Who the heck even says ‘miscreant’ in this day and age?”
Subaru and the three men all turned toward the source of the voice in unison.
She was the most beautiful girl Subaru had ever seen in his entire life. Her silver hair was long and silky, flowing effortlessly down her frame and a pair of violet eyes were placed on her pretty face.
She wore an unusual white jacket with a standing purple collar and padded shoulders, secured neatly by a row of purple buttons down the front.
The sleeves were straight and sharply tailored at her wrists, black gloves covering her hands. Matching white trousers sat at her natural waist, so crisp and straight they looked sharp enough to cut diamond like butter.
The fabric of her outfit appeared heavy yet smooth, holding its shape perfectly, the unmistakable look of a proper uniform.
On the left side of her chest, above her heart, was an emblem featuring four letters – [L.R.A.F] – set against the symbol of a black dragon.
A purple cap with a stiff white peak rested on her head, and a dark green utility belt sat at her hips.
…Wait.
Was that a gun on her belt?
.
A high-quality cosplayer.
Subaru mused to himself, cheeks warming as he took in the sheer beauty of the girl standing in front of him. His brain helpfully refused to function beyond that observation.
“Let go of that citizen before I arrest you and hand you over to the Federation authorities,” snapped the girl. Her voice was soft and angelic, completely mismatched with the sharp authority of her words. Her hand moved to the gun at her hip and rested there in a very convincing threat. “Let him go. NOW.”
"Shit, zat's a Lugunican Uniformer. Let's get out of here!" shouted the guy with the thin frame to his friends, already bolting like his life depended on it.
"Yoor lucky, punk," the burly man growled as he released Subaru’s throat. "Next time ve see yoo, I'll show yor Kanton ass vat it really means to mess viz us."
With that, the burly guy and the ki- the small man took off after their friend, disappearing into the neon-lit street and leaving Subaru alone with the cosplayer girl on the sidewalk of the main road.
Slowly turning his head toward her, Subaru swallowed the lump forming in his throat. How was someone supposed to talk to a girl again? Did you say hi? Ask about the weather? Compliment the gun?
She was so beautiful his brain was struggling to form a single coherent thought, let alone process the fact that he’d almost been strangled a moment ago.
His eyes locked onto her vivid purple gaze, and time itself seemed to politely stop and wait for him to catch up.
“You don’t look to be from here,” the girl said, suddenly breaking the silence. “Are you an illegal Cascadian seeking refuge from the war?”
Subaru’s mind snapped violently back into reality. A surge of flustered panic rushed through him as he quickly averted his eyes, embarrassment flooding his face.
“See? You averted your eyes because you have a guilty conscience,” she accused, stepping closer as she narrowed her eyes. Her hand drifted back toward her hip, hovering dangerously close to the gun. “Looks like my judgment was spot on.”
She was way too committed for a cosplayer. The sheer dedication to staying in character sparked a strange sense of admiration in Subaru’s chest.
“Wait, wait, wait. what are you even talking about?” Subaru blurted out, raising his hands in mock surrender as he decided to play along with her acting. “I don’t know what you mean, I’m from Japan!!”
“Japan?” the girl repeated, brows knitting together in confusion. Then, suddenly, realization lit up her face. “Oh! You’re from the Kanto Islands! I’ve heard Kanton people sometimes call themselves that!!! Muuu, if you’re a Federation citizen you should’ve just said that sooner.”
Subaru had absolutely no idea what a Kanton was. But since she recognized “Japan” and no longer looked like she was about to arrest or shoot him, he figured he must’ve passed whatever test she’d imagined.
Deciding to take control of the conversation, Subaru flashed his best teasing grin and launched into an introduction. Jabbing a finger dramatically toward the sky while placing his other hand on his hip, he struck a pose.
“My name is Subaru Natsuki! Not only am I clueless, I’m also broke beyond compare!” Subaru finished his over-the-top introduction and held out a hand for a handshake. “Nice to meet ya.”
Subaru was expecting the girl to shake his hand, or maybe feel disgusted by his actions and turn away, maybe even laugh at his antics.
The last one would’ve been ideal.
Instead of any of those or anything else that could make sense to Subaru, She did something Subaru was absolutely not expecting in the slightest.
She raised her right hand and snapped into a salute so sharp and precise it would’ve put any officer back home to shame. Her commitment to the character she was playing was unreal, and honestly?
Kind of adorable!
“Captain Emilia S. Lugunica, pilot in service of the Lugunican Royal Air Force, reporting for duty,” she declared. Her voice was firm and commanding, though the cuteness of it could probably give someone a cavity. “…Wait, did I say that right?”
.
Ah, so that was the character she was playing, a pilot.
Why, Subaru was something of a pilot himself! Well… sort of. Close enough. He decided to show off a little for the cute girl in front of him. Maybe he could score some brownie points by playing along with her little act.
“Nice to meet you, Captain Emilia,” Subaru said, attempting to mimic her salute and failing miserably at it. “So, uh… what would a high-ranking pilot like you be doing in a city like this?”
Okay. Yeah. That was super cringy coming out of his mouth. That sounded way cooler in his head.
He visibly winced and glanced at her, half-expecting her to recoil in secondhand embarrassment or walk away entirely. But she didn’t. Instead, she looked down at her black military boots, suddenly shy and embarrassed.
“Oh, well… I received a call for duty a few days ago,” she began, her voice softening. “They told me I had to substitute for Captain Mel since he’s gone to see the pope in Ildoa.”
She kept going, tumbling into tangent after tangent, words spilling out faster and faster. Subaru barely followed any of it, but it was undeniably cute how flustered she looked while explaining herself.
“Ah, what am I even saying? You don’t know any of that,” Emilia rushed on. “My point is that my unit is lacking pilots, and I came to the capital to request one, but it seems like there’s no one available!”
So… she was looking for a game partner, huh?
Well, she’d hit the jackpot, because Subaru was the best fighter-game pilot he knew.
Granted, he was also the only fighter-game pilot he knew, but that was a tiny, irrelevant detail. Clearly, this was a perfect moment for some light peacocking.
“Well, well, well… what if I told you I’m a veteran fighter pilot myself?” Subaru said confidently.
Emilia’s face immediately lit up.
“Wait, really?” she nearly bounced in place from excitement. “You’re actually a pilot? I mean a military pilot! Not a passenger one!”
Cute
That was literally the only thought in Subaru’s head before he opened his mouth again and proudly listed every plane he had ever “flown.”
“Of course!” he said. “I’ve got experience with all kinds of fighters, and even bombers.” He tried to sound casual, but the sheer joy of nerding out completely betrayed him.
“I’ve flown F-4s, F-14s, F-15s, all kinds of Sukhois and MiGs and many many different other types of fighters and bombers. My favorite fighter is the MiG-29, and my favorite bomber is the Su-25!” Subaru started bragging in the joy of talking to Emilia.
“Huh? MiG-29? Su-25?” Emilia tilted her head, confusion twisting her expression. “Oh, you must mean the MG-29 and Sk.25U. I didn’t know they were called differently in Kantonese.”
She shook her head and stepped closer, way more closer than before. Her chest nearly brushed his, excitement shining in her eyes.
“This is perfect! I can’t believe my luck!” A pleading look took over her face as she grabbed his hands. “Please, please will you come with me to Magadan? All reserve divisions have been activated, and only my unit is missing a pilot. Please?”
Subaru’s mind exploded into chaos. He couldn’t believe the chain of events unfolding before him, or the ridiculous happiness swelling in his chest from a cute girl asking him out.
She was asking him out, right? “Please come with me and become my copilot” had to be some kind of confession. Subaru chose not to think too hard about it.
Who was he to reject someone as beautiful and cute as Emilia? She was practically his dream girl.
“It would be my pleasure to go out with you, Emilia-tan,” Subaru replied in a teasing tone, doing his best to sound cool and charismatic. “So? Where are we going first?”
“Oh, we’re going to the airport right now,” Emilia said cheerfully as she grabbed his hand and dragged him toward…
…A military armored vehicle?
Wait. Hold on. Was Subaru massively misunderstanding something here?
“We’ll fly to Magadan in no time, Subaru,” Emilia said brightly. “PAX FEDERATION.”
Why did it suddenly feel like his love story had derailed into something that barely resembled reality?
Why did it feel like he had just made a terrible mistake?
WHAT THE HECK?
