Re:Turn
Emilia plopped herself down in an alley, her head in her hands. Her directive was simple and clear: don't leave Ram's side. Clearly, Lord Roswaal had too much faith in Emilia. Ram was gone, Emilia was lost, and it hadn't even been an hour since their arrival.
It wasn't her fault! A little girl needed help paying for food, and Emilia's wallet was gone, so she called for Puck. Surely, they could do a little magic in the streets for some spare change. Nothing wrong with that, right? After all, it's not like she looked identical to the Witch of Envy, so people wouldn't flee in terror at the sight of a half-elf performing magic.
Emilia couldn't help but wonder if her curse was looking like the Witch or her own naivety.
"Hey, lady, you all right?" asked a voice Emilia had never heard before. She looked up to find a young blonde girl (at least, she looked young, but you never knew with people in Lugunica) looking down at her. Emilia cleared her throat and tried plastering a smile on her face. If the girl's grimace was any indication, then it wasn't working out.
"I'm fine," Emilia muttered nervously. She still wasn't used to talking to people that weren't named Puck. "Just a bit lost is all."
The blonde sat down beside Emilia. "I don't blame you," she said with a comforting smile. "I have no idea how all these fancy folks can navigate this damn maze every day." She slung an arm around Emilia's shoulder. "Don't worry about it. Just keep your head up and live strong! I'm sure you'll find what you're looking for." Her eyes glinted mischievously. "I know I have."
Emilia's fake smile softened into something a bit more genuine. "Live strong…I believe I'll try that." Standing, she offered a hand to the girl, who pulled herself up with a grunt. "I think I'll search for my attendant now. Thank you, Miss…"
But the girl had already jogged off. Emilia frowned. "Strange. I thought we were getting along quite nicely. Did I do something wrong, Puck?"
She held out her palm as dozens of brilliant blue orbs coalesced into her companion and father figure. "Don't think so," he said with a frown, "but there was definitely something off with that girl. She wasn't lying or anything but…" Puck's eyes widened. "Your insignia! It's gone!"
"What?!" Emilia cried. She patted herself down, narrowing her eyes as she deduced that Puck was right. "That…that thief!"
She dashed through the alley; eyes downcast as she cursed herself for letting her guard down.
"Come back, you thief!" she yelled.
"Lia, it's—"
"It's not okay! Don't you dare say it's okay!" She stole a glance at Puck, her eyes beginning to water. "That was my chance to free them, and now it's gone, so don't even bother consoling me! J-just go away!"
He gazed at her sadly and said, "I was going to say, 'it's important to watch where you're going,' but I'll back off if it will make you feel better. Call if you need me."
"Wha—" she began, but he disappeared. The moment the last ball of energy faded from existence, she promptly crashed into someone, knocking them both down. She scrambled to her feet and offered him an arm. "I'm so sorry, are you okay? Do you need healing?"
The man scoffed, slapping her arm away. "Hear that, boys? The little witch wants to curse us."
To his left, a burly thug cracked his knuckles. "And you know what we do to bitches around here."
To their right, their short companion laughed shrilly. "Don't you mean witches?"
"I know what I said."
Emilia backed up, holding out her hands in a placating gesture. "I'm not trying to curse you! I-I just wanted to heal you, I promise!" She gulped and slowly began to turn around. "S-so, if you're all right, I'll be moving along. I have somewhere to be."
One of them laughed. "Hah! The little bitch thinks we're gonna let her go."
"Now, give us everything you got," another demanded, "or we'll be forced to mess up that pretty little face of yours."
The man in the center pulled out twin knives, giving them a prefatory spin. "Let's skip to the makeover. Bet you'll thank us when we're done; you won't look like a demon no more!"
Emilia hated it when it came to violence, but that didn't mean she would let herself get hurt. She summoned an ice crystal, the mana gathering around her as her eyes shone with power…
But the crystal would not fire.
'Stop hesitating,' she berated herself. 'They're closing in! Do you want to be stabbed?'
Of course, she didn't, but… she didn't want to hurt anyone else, either. Dashing forward, she attempted to run between two of them, her crystal shifting into a shield, but she was knocked down by a swift elbow to the gut.
"I don't want to fight you," she ground out, momentarily struggling to breathe.
"Aw, is the little witch scared?" one of them mocked. "Well, that's just too bad. The fun's just begun."
She was about to call for Puck when a voice rang out.
"Hey, Dumb, Dumber, and Dumberella! Didn't your mother teach you not to hit a girl?" Leaning against the wall was a boy around her age (wearing the strangest clothes she'd ever seen, mind you) looking completely at ease. The thugs seemed to lose interest in Emilia to focus on the newcomer.
"The hell're you?" asked the leader.
The boy with strange clothes clucked his tongue in disappointment. "Now, now, is that any way to greet an old friend?"
One of the thugs scoffed. "Never seen a freak like you before."
Placing a hand over his chest and staggering in mock-surprise, the boy cried out, "I'm wounded! You don't remember me? And after we got to know each other so well, too."
Pointing a knife at the boy, the thug snarled, "Either start making sense or I'll stab you in the fucking lung."
The boy smirked, confidently announcing, "Then allow me to introduce myself. I'm the guy who's gonna kick your ass."
With that, he pulled the arm holding the knife and headbutted the thug, knocking him out. Staring at their incapacitated leader, the other two thugs seemed at a loss. So, they did what any mook would do when they have a clear disadvantage.
"Get him!" shouted the short one.
With a flurry of punches, the burly thug did everything he could to knock out the boy, as the short one tried tackling the legs. Most people would have quickly fallen to the surprisingly effective tactics, but not this boy. He seemed to know exactly where every punch would fall, every angle he'd be attacked from. It was like he'd been practicing this exact fight for months and was now toying with them.
"Who…no, what are you?" the burly one asked a few minutes later, exhausted from his failed onslaught.
"I'm glad you asked," proclaimed the boy, somehow managing to pose dramatically while dodging the attacks to his legs. "I'm a human with no idea what I'm doing! I'm broke, homeless, and a foreigner! Subaru Natsuki's the name, and war of attrition is my game!"
"Whoop-dee-fucking-doo," the thug grumbled. "Are you done talking? I hate your voice."
"Hey, you asked!" Leaping into the air, Subaru narrowly dodged a dive from the shorter thug as he slammed his head into the wall, knocking himself out. Sticking out his thumb, Subaru said, "You, uh, may want to carry your friends out of here. See you later Dumberella!"
With one final glare, the burly thug scooped up his companions and ran off. Watching him go, Subaru let out a sigh and slumped against the wall, finally letting his exhaustion show. "Three on one…not too bad, Subaru. Not too bad."
Emilia walked over and kneeled beside him, her ice crystal having long since dissipated. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, unsure of what to say. This man, this complete and total stranger, appeared out of nowhere and fought three men to save her. Sure, she could have done it herself, but she didn't. Her ice stood frozen in time, held back by her fear. What if she hurt them? She'd act like the Witch, proving them right.
Was her pride more important than her safety?
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
Subaru looked up, a gleam in his eyes. "Someone important to me once told me that it's better to say 'thank you' than to apologize."
Emilia's breath hitched before she let her face relax into a smile. "You're right. Thank you, Subaru Natsuki."
A grimace flashed across his face before vanishing as quickly as it came. "Just Subaru is fine."
Puck appeared from behind Emilia. "It's great to meet you, Just Subaru. I'm Puck."
Subaru raised an eyebrow. "A great spirit that makes dad jokes. And here I thought I'd seen everything."
Puck grinned. "I like this guy. There's no malice coming from him."
"Glad to hear it," Subaru said drily. Turning to Emilia, he asked, "What about you? What's your name?"
Emilia paused. Subaru seemed nice and all, but there was no use getting close to someone who would just leave her the moment he saw her ears. "My name is Satella," she told him. Beside her, Puck gave a light tsk, clearly not approving.
She didn't care. She didn't need friends anyway.
She knew what would happen. Subaru would gasp, call her an evil witch, and flee in terror, just like everyone else.
…Except he didn't do anything like that. He just rolled his eyes.
"You don't have to lie to me, you know," he said with a laugh.
"I-I'm not lying!" Emilia exclaimed. "My name is Satella."
"It's fine, you don't need to hide it," he told her. "First off, it's probably illegal to name your kid that in this day and age. Something about a taboo, I bet."
Emilia said nothing.
"Second, Satella wears black," he said like it was obvious. "She wouldn't be caught dead wearing white."
"I've never heard that before," she admitted, confused.
He waved her off. "It was in a book."
If anything, that made her more confused. "There are only a few books on the Witch of Envy in Lugunica, and I've read all of them."
"It's a one-of-a-kind book," he stressed, clearly wanting her to drop the subject. She frowned, knowing she'd hurt someone yet again. She was about to apologize but he continued speaking. "Point is, you're not Satella."
Puck chuckled. "He's got you there, Lia. Fess up."
She bit her lip. "You're right. I'm sorry." Quietly, as if fearing another rejection, she said, "My name is Emilia. Only Emilia."
"Emilia…" he muttered as if tasting the name. Then, with a bright smile, "That's a really pretty name!"
She looked away. "There's no need to mess with me."
Subaru grinned and said, "Not messing with you; it's a cute name to match a cute face." He stood up, offering his arm as he did so. "Anyway, I have someplace to go, so hopefully, I'll see you around."
"W-wait!" she called, ignoring his comment and forcing down a blush. "You helped me, so it's only fair I repay that debt. If it's within my power, I shall do anything you ask for."
Subaru tilted his head and smirked. "Anything, huh?"
Puck flew up close to Emilia's ear. "I don't like that look in his eye, Lia," he whispered, "I still don't sense anything harmful from him, but the way he said that…"
Emilia gulped. "I-I'm sure it's not like that, Puck."
But Subaru wasn't helping his case. "So," he continued, dragging out his words, "if I needed your 'help' with something, you could 'assist me'?"
Emilia looked nervous but steeled herself. "I…yes. A debt is a debt, and repaying debts is important to a spirit arts user."
Subaru's posture relaxed as he exhaled deeply. "Thank god, I was worried I'd have to do this on my own. You see, I have this friend—you might recognize her, come to think of it. Silver hair, purple eyes, drop-dead gorgeous, has this green necklace…Anyway, some blonde girl stole something from her, so I wanted to get it back. Care to help me out?"
Emilia froze. Subaru wondered if she was still breathing.
He raised an eyebrow. "You can say something, you know. How about, 'Oh, Subaru! You're so selfless, helping me out of the goodness of your heart!'" At her continued silence, a bead of sweat dripped down Subaru's cheek. "Um…are you okay? I didn't break you, did I?" He looked at Puck. "Puck, did I break her?"
Faster than his eyes could track, Puck flew at him, fist outstretched. At that speed, being attacked by a great spirit should have knocked him unconscious. As it stood, he felt like he was being massaged by the softest pillow in existence.
"Apologies, Subaru," said Puck. "I just felt so much emotion and energy and I just had to let it out somehow."
"And punching me was the way to do that?" Subaru asked incredulously.
"To be fair," defended Puck, "your face is quite punchable."
Subaru scowled. "Hey, that's no way to treat your friends!"
Emilia jolted, suddenly flustered. "Subaru, you…you nincompoop!"
Subaru frowned. "Is this because I offered to help? I get it's not a conventional reward, but I genuinely want to get your stuff back. And who even says 'nincompoop' nowadays?"
Emilia began to sputter, ignoring his last comment. "No, that's not—You...you called me a…You don't even know me!"
Subaru cocked his head to the side, confused. "I don't follow."
"You said I was your friend!" she cried like he had committed a heinous sin.
Subaru tilted his head in confusion. "Is that a problem?"
"Of course, it is!" Emilia turned her head to the side, cupping her ears. "Don't you see? I'm a half-elf!" Subaru nodded, unperturbed. Frustrated, Emilia roughly grabbed a lock of her hair and shoved it forward. "Look at me!" she demanded. "Silver hair, purple eyes, and pointy ears!"
Subaru shrugged. "If you wanted me to compliment your appearance, you should have just said so." Clearing his throat, he adopted a ridiculous pose. "Your silver hair shines like the moon, your eyes are as dazzling as amethyst, and your ears," he closed his eyes and paused for dramatic effect, "pierce my heart."
After about half a minute of silence, Subaru cracked his eye open to see Emilia's beaming smile. "I think," she said slowly, "that it would be nice to have a friend. Thanks for everything, Subaru."
Not long after, Subaru and Emilia made their way to the marketplace to gather information.
"We're looking for this girl," said Subaru, handing a merchant a sheet of paper. "Have you seen her?"
"That's supposed to be a girl?" asked the merchant, bemused. "Looks more like a lizard to me."
"What? How does—oh, never mind." Subaru ripped his crude drawing out of the hands of yet another person and stomped off towards Emilia.
"Any luck?" he asked.
She shook her head. "I'm not the best artist, so people think I drew a mabeast."
"I got lizard. Seems we're in the same boat."
Emilia huffed. "Well, how else are we going to find one specific person here in the capital? We have to just keep trying."
"We could do that," agreed Subaru, "or we could check out a shady tavern. They always have insider information."
"Perhaps," Emilia conceded, "but the capital isn't known for its lower-end facilities. Maybe in the southern slums, but…" her eyes widened. "Subaru, that's it! You're a genius!"
"I am? I mean," he cleared his throat, "of course I am. Whatever I suggested, we should definitely be doing."
Emilia giggled. "It seems I won't find any objections on your end. Puck?"
The spirit waved a paw dismissively. "I go where you go, Lia."
"Then it's decided," said Emilia. "We'll go to the slums."
Subaru slapped his forehead. "Of course, the slums! How did I forget that? I mean, think of that," he clarified at Emilia's questioning look. "Anyway, I'm clueless and a foreigner, so I have no idea where to go! Lead the way, so we may find your stolen treasure!" With that, he stomped off, Emilia and Puck following behind him.
"He sure walks with purpose for someone claiming to be a foreigner," muttered Puck.
"Hush, Puck," replied Emilia. "I said southern slums, didn't I?" She smiled. "You're too suspicious, Puck. Didn't you say there's no malice coming from him?" She took Puck's silence as agreement, not noticing the look on his face.
"But that's not how you knew, is it, Subaru Natsuki?" Puck mumbled to himself. "What a strange boy you are."
The walk to the slums took them an hour, and the sun was beginning to fall low into the sky. "It's getting late," Emilia pointed out. "How are you doing on time, Puck?"
"I have maybe half-hour left," he said through a yawn, "give or take a few minutes. If I have a moment of rest, I could probably push for an hour."
"I don't think that's necessary, Puck," she told him. "Save your energy, and I'll call you if I need to." Puck flashed a thumbs up and began to fade.
"So, even great spirits get tired," mused Subaru. "You'd think beings like them would have limitless energy or something like that."
"Puck and I have a contract, which limits his power but allows him to directly help me." She smiled fondly in remembrance. "His proposed wording was actually, 'I'll do whatever I can to help my little Lia.'"
"Heh, it's like you're his daughter or something."
She fingered her necklace, thinking of those simple days in the snow. "He's always been a father to me. I couldn't imagine—Subaru? Subaru!"
With a sudden cry of anguish, Subaru fell to his hands and knees, gasping for breath. Emilia kneeled beside him, putting aside her confusion and panic for the moment. "What's wrong?" she asked desperately. "How can I help you?"
"I-I thought," he gasped out. "that I…but I couldn't, and now, and now you're…"
"It's okay," she soothed. "You're safe now. I'm right here. Let me help you."
Subaru panted, tearing his gaze from the ground to look towards Emilia. He looked like he'd seen a ghost. "You…want to help me?"
She jumped at the opening. "Yes, anything. You saved me, so let me save you."
He looked at her with eyes that had aged years in minutes. "Then run, and don't look back."