Chapter Text
Natsuki Subaru was a strange man. He was amazing yet blind to himself. He exuded miasma yet despised the Cult of the Witch. He loved those who would and had hurt him. He loved those who had and are torturing him. He was labeled the Sin Archbishop of Pride at the end of the battle with the Witch's Cult and was tortured in captivity yet he still loved the people who betrayed them. Not for much longer, though.
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Natsuki Subaru, after buying items from a convenience store, found himself in a... European town?
"What the hell..?" the raven-haired adolescent asked to no one in particular.
He looked around at his surroundings. He saw people haggling for, what seemed to be, vegetables, giant lizards pulling carts, brick roads, humanoid animals, and other things of similar descriptions. After observing his surroundings, he could only come up with one conclusion.
"I've been summoned to a parallel world!" He thought.
The boy started to roam around the small town. He saw even more of those large lizards and, what he assumed to be, demi-humans! It was very exciting for the otaku hikikomori. If he was summoned, then he must be the protagonist who will rise in fame and power! Just as he thought that, he was snapped out of his daydream by seeing a boy trip and fall in front of a fast-moving cart.
"This must be the time where I awaken my magic!" He did strange poses before pointing in the direction of the child and... nothing happened.
"I guess I'm not a magic user." He disappointedly thought.
He then realized that nobody was going to help the child, they were too busy with whatever they were doing. The child was going to be crushed in seconds if no one did anything and... nobody cared. Before he even realized it, Subaru ran as fast as he could to save the child. Faster. Faster. Even faster. He wasn't going to make it while running and so he dove for the child.
CRASH
"Huff Huff. A-are you alright, kid?" the scary-eyed boy asked the kid in his arms.
"...Y-yes. Thank you." the boy said whilst holding on to his savior like a lifeline.
The two landed in a crate full of, what looked like, apples, Subaru being the one who took most of the brunt. The two stayed like that for a while before Subaru carried the boy in his arms and stood up.
"You know where your parents are?" Subaru asked the child.
"I'm n-not sure." The boy replied, his voice still trembling from the near-accident.
"Okay, I'll help you get back to your house. Do you know where it is?" The raven-haired teen asked.
The child didn't reply, he was still spooked by the event. Subaru noticed this and decided to cheer the kid up. He pulled out a coin from his wallet and cleared his throat to get the kid's attention.
"Hey, look! This is a jagged-edge ten coin! It's said to bring good luck." He spoke.
"Now, look closely. Even closer and... Bam! It's gone!." And with a flick of the wrist, the coin disappeared from his hand.
"W-where'd it go?" The child asked. Subaru noticed that the boy's voice sounded less scared and the scary-eyed teen smiled at that.
"Well, check behind your ear!" He said while placing his hand behind the boy's ear. From behind the boy's ear, Subaru pulled out the coin from before.
"Whoa!" The boy said.
"Now, keep this safe for me, okay? Then, let's get you back home." The older boy asked.
"I will! Now, let's go!" The boy cheerfully replied.
The boy grabbed Subaru's hand and ran toward his home, dragging the poor savior all the way there. Subaru took the time to get to know the child. The kid's name was Toska¹. The kid had flaming-red hair and sky-blue eyes. He was 11 years old. He had a friend who was named Remina² and an older brother named Reid. The boy seemed to idolize his older brother, speaking about his great swordsmanship and hellish training. Just as the sun went down, they soon arrived at a farmhouse at the edge of town with two people waiting worriedly in front of it.
The place was... quaint. It was quiet in a good way. Like sitting next to a fire while drinking hot cocoa during a stormy night. One of the two was, presumably, Toska's mother. She had yellow hair, light-blue eyes, and was slightly shorter than Subaru. The other of the two was, presumably, Toska's father. He was a few inches taller than Subaru, had flaming-red hair, and had gray eyes.
"Toska! Where were you? Your father and I were worried sick!" The mother of the red-haired child asked.
"S-sorry, Ma. I-I got lost while playing with Remi. I-I think she left with her parents while I wasn't looking..." The boy shamefully replied.
"Why're you looking all down, son? We ain't mad, just worried." His father said, "And who is this man?"
"Ah, mister saved me from being crushed by a cart!" Toska said to his parents.
"You were almost what?! Sigh Well, we thank you, mister..?" His mother said.
"My name is Natsuki Subaru! First name's Subaru, Last name's Natsuki! Nice to meet'cha, Mister and Missus Astrea!" The scary-eyed boy joyfully responded.
"Well, thanks Mister Natsuki. You seem new in town, you got any place to stay?" Missus Astrea asked the teen.
"A-ah, I... don't. If I may make a request for saving your son, could I stay the night? I promise to leave after that!" The raven-haired boy awkwardly replied.
"No worries, kid! We have an extra mattress 'cause our eldest moved out recently." Mister Astrea told Subaru, "Now, we should all get inside before bandits try to rob us."
The family started walking toward the entrance, bantering about something. The scene made Subaru's heart feel warm. This kid was really loved by his parents. Parents. It had only been hours but Subaru missed his parents. Before he knew it, he started crying.
"Mister Natsuki? Are you alright?" Toska asked before he entered.
"Ah. Yeah, just give me a moment." Subaru replied.
Natsuki Subaru wept. He wept for a while before entering the house to eat. By the time he walked in, the Astrea's were asleep but they left him some porridge on the table. He walked to the wooden table and ate the porridge. It was cold by now but it made him feel warm. After eating, he walked into the living room and saw a mattress with a pillow and blanket. He slowly bent over and laid on the makeshift bed. He had good dreams that night.
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[1] Toska is from the side story Loving the Days Gone By. He was a swordsman and had features of an Astrea. He *technically* wasn't confirmed to be an Astrea but it is implied that his older brother is Reid Astrea.
[2] Remina is also from Loving the Days Gone By and is Toska's childhood friend and wife.