Can't tell you how close I was to abandoning this. I gotta thank Timothy-nguyen-73 and Victormt2live for motivating me to continue though! A little review goes a long way to boost my mood!

On A semi-relatable note, how many of you actually read this? The syory I mean. Is it enjoyable, or has it gotten to be boring?

As always, If anyone has any questions or wants to point out things or flaws, I generally respond to all comments down below. Thank you!

He ran. He ran until his legs felt weak and limp. He ran until the blood on his shoulder dyed a deep stain into his white clothes. Each step from his fear induced jog sent him into a spiral of agony. Each breath he took caused his already chilled being to shudder in fear and depression. The wound on his shoulder made him hiss in pain, tears trailing down his cheeks as he ran toward the setting Sun, a hazy red blinding him.

It wasn't for the pain that Subaru cried in despair, but for the feeling of betrayal that he felt. The friends, which he thought he had, were no more. All that was left were liars, backstabbers and cheats. He couldn't help but think, why did this always happen? Why did the ones he care for always die, lie and disappear when he needed them most?

He came to a stop, leaning on the bark of a nearby tree. He wiped away the stains the tears left him, taking deep breaths to calm himself. Subaru placed his back against the trunk, slowly sliding until he sat against the rough dirt. Shaking, he raised the knife in his hand, the stainless steel muddled with blood and dirt. No doubt she had to be healed by now. Any second she would appear and kill him. Yet he couldn't bring himself to care about that.

Anguish gripped his heart once more, closing his eyes and biting his lip to steel his heart. With a few choked breaths, the pain receded, leaving him in a calm state of mind. Subaru arms went limp, as he slowly thought of the next course of action. What was there to do now? He had lost everything, again. There was no point in moving forward, for himself or anyone else. His eyes passed over the bloodied steel, the thought of suicide passed through his mind. Yet he couldn't do it.

It was not for the sake of living that Subaru didn't kill himself, but for the sake that he couldn't kill himself. Once he died, time would reset, and the pain of betrayal will start once again. There was no escape, neither in death or life.

Why was he subjected to this hell?

"This is where you hide?" A chill traveled down his spine, the voice of the girl he once trusted making her way out of the forest. The sound of chains rubbing against each other caused him to stiffen; the sound being a reminder of the death he had experienced before. The girls blue hair stuck out against the White and Black scheme of her uniform, more so than her narrowed eyes. "Have you finally given up, or shall I remove any physical way for you to escape."

"You really have some dark humor, huh, Rem?" Subaru jokingly asked, the sneer of disgust making its way to Rem's face sending a bought of sorrow to his heart.

"Do not call me with such a familiar tone, Witch Fiend." Rem spoke calmly, but the rage he felt through her words were still there. "You've encroached upon my home, festering and clouding it with your filth! I can't stand it anymore. I can't stand you invading where I live!"

"I wasn't encroaching anything! I was hired by Roswaal! I was doing my job!" Subaru yelled back, standing up, using the tree as a support. "I thought we were friends Rem… why did you do this?"

Rem didn't respond. The chains of her morning star clanking together one last time before she swung it around with ease. The ball became a blur, a black sphere of chains obscuring anything beyond its wall. Subaru grimaced once again, the phantom pain of the previous loops traveling through him. Grabbing his side, he prepared himself to jump to the side. No matter what, he didn't want to die, even if it seemed hopeless. To Subaru, dying was hell.

"That's enough."

He didn't even need to try however, as torrent of ice descended on the maid. Rem moved fast, dodging and weaving through the rain of ice with some difficulty. One even nicked her shoulder, drawing blood and causing her to let out a help of pain. Even the battle hardened maid was able to express pain, it seemed.

Subaru snapped his head to the direction of the ice pillars, hope gripping his heart once more when the familiar silver hair of the Half-Elf made her way out of the trees. Shards of ice hung over her shoulders, all pointed at Rem. "Emilia!"

Emilia didn't respond verbally, instead glancing at him nervously, as if contemplating her next move. She closed her eyes, letting out a calm breath, before twisting her head to Subaru, raising an open palm towards the frightened Butler. Subaru's eyes widened, the sight of Ice forming toward him to chuckle nervously, sweat falling from his face. "E-Emilia? Wh-what're you doing?"

Again, she didn't respond. His breath became heavy, fear and agony gripping his heart again. A mantra of 'This can't be happening' echoing loudly in his head. The mist from the pillar of ice sizzled into nothingness, whiffs of white floating to the sky above, uncaring of the drama it left behind. Emilia hardened her gaze, but even Subaru could see the unshed tears of the girl he once loved. No words or sounds were exchanged, only the sight of Ice making its way to Subaru.

This, is how Subaru was betrayed once again.

Beacon Academy

Tuesday Morning

This was a complete repeat of Roswaal Manison.

Subaru held his head in his hands, the memory playing so vividly in his mind that he could have mistaken it for the present. A shaky breath escaped his throat, sitting up as he, again, took in the area around him. Grass littered the area, trees burrowed themselves deep into the ground, and a few benches lined the walkway. Few students traveled by, the day having just begun, but those that did pass watched him with suspicion. Was it his cloths, or the dangerous gaze his eyes were permanently set on? Subaru didn't know, nor did he care.

He couldn't bring himself to care. The sun lightly touched his face, giving him an image of peace and tranquility. That, however, couldn't be farther from the truth. Fear gripped his heart, and uncertainty clouded his mind. There were many things that Subaru feared, and reliving the past was one of them. Both figuratively and literally.

Unfortunately, that was the exact situation he found himself in. Just a day prior, Subaru had been sleeping in a comfy bed, his head resting on a feathered pillow, the security of his room bringing peace of mind. Today, he had woken up to a rock solid mattress, stripped of his possessions and sent back four days into the past.

Someone had killed him, and he had no idea who had done so.

Unlike the years prior to joining Emilia's Camp, Subaru had developed an unconscious suspicion of anyone and everyone. Even those that he believed to be friends, or those he held dear, it didn't matter. Everyone was a suspect. Ruby, Yang, Sun, Jaune, Ozpin, Peach; they were all suspects in the grand scheme of things. All liars, cheats and murderers in the eyes of Subaru. In this situation, that may have been seen as a healthy mentality, but that couldn't be further from the truth.

Ignoring that he could practically be surrounded by enemies, his list of potential killers had widened to a gargantuan margin. Where as a few years back with Emilia and Co. Subaru had only a handful of choices. Heck, back then he believed it was an outside source, not a insider. The paranoia Rem had left him with was a gift and a curse. While it had more than once saved his life down the line or got him unstuck from a peculiar loop, the problem with this seemed to arise when he started pointing fingers at every one.

Not only did the list of choices grow with this, he wouldn't be able to prove it was them unless they came to him. Subaru could have abused Return By Death, killing them one by one, but that would have solved nothing. If he were to aggravate those in Beacon, the backlash wouldn't solve his dilemma. That would just increase the amount of potential killers. That was something Subaru needed to avoid.

He needed to make a list. A list that consisted of likely candidates. Subaru leaned forward, rubbing his chin in contemplation. This wasn't as easy as it sounded. Almost all of Beacon was filled with 'good' individuals, none that could possibly kill him, or even think of doing that.

Sun was thrown out the window almost immediately, as he had shown a great distaste for killing and the like, even showing some sympathy for Garfiel when Subaru had cut off his senses. Ruby was also out of the picture, as he knew for a fact someone like her would detest murder. She was too much like Emilia in that aspect.

That just left Ozpin, the rest of Team RWBY, SSSN and JNPR. There were way too many candidates as they were, enough to make Subaru rightfully uncomfortable. This was also excluding the majority of the school, like Team CRDL or CFVY. Subaru was willing to pardon CFVY however, as the bad blood between them may be nonexistent. Fox had stopped by for a small chat following day after his trial, wishing Subaru good luck in becoming a Hunter.

That didn't mean Subaru couldn't narrow down likely suspects though. The first to come to mind was Yang Xiao Long. For the majority of his time here, she had been increasingly hostile towards him, even after the apology. Apparently she still didn't like the fact that Ruby had grown… 'attached' to him. Ruby had wanted to know more and more about The World Above, which Yang venomously claimed was just a fairy tale. Yet no matter how much Subaru thought of it, Yang wasn't one to kill, especially while someone's guard was down like that. If she was angry enough, maybe, but it was still highly unlikely.

Subaru was unsure of Blake Belladonna and Weiss Schnee however. The majority of his time had been in the presence of Team SSSN and in the Library, learning more about Remnant and its inner workings. Heck, he wouldn't even know much of Yang and Ruby if it hadn't been for them tagging along. Ruby for obvious reasons, and Yang because she didn't trust Subaru around her sister. Subaru just had to assume Blake and Weiss were the same as Ruby and Yang. That didn't mean he wouldn't keep an eye on them though.

From what little he knew of Blake Belladonna, she seemed to be the most anti-social out of the group. The few times he had spotted her with RWBY, Blake's face was always glued to whatever material she was reading. He shouldn't really judge her though, as throughout the last loop, he had been in the same position with his Gospel and the Library's source of education.

Weiss Schnee… from what he could tell, she was stuck up. Extremely so. If he were to compare it to somebody of Lugnica's Orgins, he'd have to say she was on par with Regulus. Insulting, careless and arrogant. Well, she wasn't as bad as him, but she was up there. He wasn't able to discern whether she was a murderer or not, but he could tell she could at least hold a conversation in politics. That was hard to come by these days.

Next was the whole of Team JNPR. Starting with their leader, Jaune Arc. Now, if it wasn't for the seriousness of the situation, Subaru would have laughed at the idea of the blonde killing, but he didn't throw the idea away. Jaune had been the last person Subaru had talked to before he died, and that was a good indicator that he was the killer. This was going off of memory of previous loops of course. Yet what he seen of him, Subaru could deduce Jaune couldn't hurt a fly, even if he wanted to.

Next was Nora Valkyrie. Much like Ruby, she was a ball of energy. Always happy and uplifting. She seemed the type to let a friend lean on them if needed. Her stories were as outlandish as her outfits, yet they seemed to fit her perfectly. Subaru could tell that it would have been… different to spend time with her. Could she kill someone though? He couldn't tell.

Pyrrha Nikos was probably the most likely candidate on Team JNPR. Her background as a world renowned gladiator, and the fact that she was overly nice ticked all the boxes in Subaru's 'Beware Of' list. That, and she had the eyes of someone who had experienced death on a number of occasions. Subaru would have to keep an eye on her.

Last, and finally, was Lie Ren. Subaru, on a personal note, probably enjoyed his company the most. During one of the times Ruby had dragged him to her uninterested friends to introduce him, Ren had shown to be more of the 'don't speak unless spoken to' type. Of course, he also spoke when he deemed appropriate, but only doing so when his words held meaning, not mindless chatter. The air sound him was relaxing, yet held an unprecedented edge to it. Subaru was unsure if Ren had the ability to kill, much less have reason to.

So, the only ones even worth keeping an eye on was Weiss, Blake, Ren, and Pyrrha. Of course, that was excluding most of the campus, but it was a start. Now all he had to…

Subaru bit his lip, stopping his train of thought. He had this all wrong. It didn't matter if he kept an eye on anyone or not, if in the end he was still killed. So what if he retraced the steps of the last loop? What would that accomplish besides wasting four days of his life? This was not the proper course of action.

What he should have been focusing on is intentions, not the ability to kill. Why would someone want to kill him? What reason was there to end the life of someone like him? Was it the attitude he had in the previous loop? Was it something he said that sent someone over the edge? Or had someone found out his true identity?

No, that was preposterous. If someone had realized his identity, there would be no way they wouldn't confront him on it. Multiple times he had been caught red handed, and each time the hero had to question him on his deeds and so forth. It was honestly laughable. They had no right to be as righteous as Reinhardt when they themselves had taken bribes from the Cult. Lugnica, part of Kararagi, The whole of Gusteko had been bribed to allow them leisure to do as they pleased. The only respectable country was The Volakia Empire.

Subaru wouldn't say this out Loud, but he hoped the next King of Lugnica dealt with this issue. While it did make life easier on him personally with guards turning a blind eye, it also meant that the other Archbishops were able to prosper. Once that kind of system was torn down, then the guards will start reporting to the Knights. Heck, maybe even Reinhardt would get involved and finish off Capella for him. Subaru would owe him twice if that were the case.

Subaru let out a sigh, dragging his mind back to the previous topic. What exactly was he to do? Retracing his steps was out of the question; Subaru couldn't waste another four days. Attacking everyone was just an idiotic solution. Then the idea of just ignoring his woes was the cowards way out. Truly, Subaru wished he was more of a intellectual type. The only way Subaru could possibly get out of this was to get on everybody's good side. Or flat out ignore everyone.

That meant he was going to have to kiss some major ass, or be a prick to everyone. Subaru sighed, the answer being simple. He had no intention of dying again, so he had no wish to get on everyone's bad side. Subaru sighed, realizing he needed to kiss major ass.

But who should he start with?

"Ah, Mr. Natsuki. So this is where you've been hiding." That voice was familiar. Even before he looked to the side, Subaru guessed who his visitor was. Who wouldn't? He was the only man who walked around with a cane, that even now tapped with an almost uncanny rhythm to it. looking to the side, he spotted the familiar gray hair and black suit that no one other than Ozpin wore. "I must say, you sure gave Professor Peach a run for her money. At least, you frightened her enough for her to loose track of you."

"Heh, yeah. I'll have to apologize to her later, huh?" Subaru responded, more of a statement than a question. Ozpin didn't respond, instead taking this chance to sit next to Subaru, smiling and waving at a group of students.

"Now, don't get me wrong Subaru, I know it must be frightening waking up in a familiar environment, but I'd prefer it if you didn't worry our best Medic on hand." Ozpin said, Subaru looking down in guilt. He didn't really trust Peach all that much, but he could understand she does what she does because she cares. "But, enough with the lecture. I'm sure you will get enough of that later on. For now, let's just relax and take in the scenery."

To that, Subaru gave a appreciative nod. Ozpin must've sensed something was troubling him if he was allowing for Subaru to relax. Last loop Ozpin had been insistent on hurrying to the dormitory, a much different attitude than his current one. Subaru was grateful nonetheless.

Slowly, his mind drifted back to the current situation. In that moment, Subaru decided who he should start with if he needed something done. The one that was the peskiest of them all.

Yang Xiao Long.

"You're just a conman! Trying to trick my sister and get close to her! I bet you don't even have any proof!" Yang yelled, pressing her finger against Subaru's chest.

Subaru held back a curse. He was half tempted to sick a nasty Shamak on her again, but held back. That wouldn't do if he wanted to follow a different path than the last loop. Besides, She was just concerned for her sister, which Subaru could get behind. He'd probably be the same if he had a sibling. Maybe. Familial attachment wasn't really a thing for Subaru, so it was hard to tell. With a sigh, he wore a plastic smile, shrugging.

"You're absolutely right! Caught me red handed!" Subaru conceded, surprising both Ozpin and Ruby, Yang grinning in triumph. Subaru detested lies, but if it was out of necessity, he wouldn't blame whoever did the same in his bout of hypocrisy. Putting one hand in his pocket, he clenched it as tight as he could, his Pride turning to shame as he practically bowed to the blonde Hunter. "At the time, I thought I was using Magic, but I guess I was actually using my Semblance. Fox helped me realize that. My apologize."

The silence that followed was… unnatural. Subaru looked around nervously, unprepared for this kind of reaction. He expected a yell of triumph from Yang, or Nora freaking out about Something or other, not complete and utter silence. Ren had even stopped flipping his pancake, watching him suspiciously. Subaru would have taken note of that, if everyone else weren't doing the same.

"You're joking? Right?" Ruby was the first to break the silence. Her face mimicked the distress in her voice, but it was hard to catch if you weren't paying attention. "Subaru, you're joking! You told me about The World Above! The-the Knights of Lugnica! Magic! You cant be real! It was all a lie!?"

Subaru hadn't anticipated this at all. Ruby seemed genuinely distressed by his words. Sure, he expected the self proclaimed fantasy freak to be a bit upset at this, but not to this extent. Subaru wasn't able to back down now however. Something he learned a long time ago was that you never go take back something you said, as you'd just be labeled a liar. Subaru resisted the urge to grit his teeth, continuing to kiss Yang's ass.

"No, I still remember the world above, but I'm unsure if it's real." Subaru said, the words coming out of his mouth unintentional. Subaru bit his tongue, cursing himself at the improvised lie. No one seemed to catch on, or nobody pointed it out, as no one spoke up.

"So, it isn't real…" Ruby said, her face mirroring defeat. She started to walk to the entrance, silent.

Unknown to Subaru, it wasn't just the fact that The World Above being fake that brought her down, but the doubt she felt towards her own being. The images of Subaru's Claw played over and over in her mind, but she did her best to rid her thoughts of them. If she was delusional enough to believe in The World Above, then she was delusional enough to be seeing things that weren't even there.

"Ruby." Yang called, but the younger sister didn't respond. Looking nervously to her team, Yang gave a worried look. "I'm sorry guys, but I'm gonna go talk with her. I'll catch up later!"

With that, Yang and Ruby disappeared. Subaru cursed under his breath, an odd sense of Déjà vu running through his system. This was just like the previous loop, but much, much worse. Sure, Yang and Ruby weren't mad at him (maybe), but now he was outed as a liar. Subaru silently wished he'd just retrace his steps, risking angering whoever was his killer.

Maybe that was his problem? He didn't even know if it was someone in this group or not. He should have just followed the same route as last loop, but stayed up on the fourth night. This could potentially escalated the situation to tonight, instead of Friday. That was a problem for later though, he needed to deal with the present.

"Is she going to be alright?" Subaru asked. Admittedly, he was slightly worried about the young Rose, as she had proved to be a reliable ally in the battle against Garfiel. While it was true that she wasn't directly involved, she had requested Sun to aid him in battle. If he hadn't showed up, Subaru was unsure if he'd even be free from Garfiel's Wrath.

Weiss sighed, turning to Subaru with a relieved look. "She'll be fine, that idiot always bounces back from things like this. I can't remember the last time that Ruby was down for longer than a week." Weiss said, giving him a grateful look. "But thank you for telling the truth. She's been going on and on about how great and powerful you are, coming from The World Above and all that. I wasn't sure if she would ever get out of that faze."

"I'm not sure that's a good thing though." Pyrrha spoke up, looking worried. "Ruby has always fantasized about Fantasy Life. I think that's what keeps he going. To have it teased like that in front of her just to be out down might be hard on her."

"I agree with Pyrrha." Jaune said, adding in his two cents. "Most of the time when we practice she's just been talking about The World Above and how magical it is. Even if it's just a fairy tale our Moms told us at night, it might have hit her harder than it looked."

"Either way, what's done is done." Ozpin said, his voice sounding… dangerous. Like he was holding a kid hostage, threatening to end their life. That caught Subaru off guard. "Right now, I have a small favor to ask. Would one of you kindly escort Mr. Natsuki to his classes and around school if you so wish?"

"Ah, actually, I'm fine." Subaru said, Ozpin raising an eyebrow at this. From the looks of it, Ozpin did not look happy about that at all. "Okay, never mind."

"Oh! We will! We will!" Nora yelled, jumping up and down, her right arm waving wildly. Subaru would have paled if he wasn't more composed than he normally was. The show and tell with Team SSSN had been, for the lack of better words, hectic. It may have been due to the anti-socialness of The Cult, but Team SSSN was a bucket full of excitement and laughter that was almost too much for Subaru. Nora was that and more. He had seen her devour a gigantic bowl of noodles (weird name for a food) and go on a jog afterwards. This girl had the hyperactivity of a Dragon Carriage on drugs.

'Please don't agree. Please don't agree.'

"If you so insist." Ozpin responded, Subaru almost slamming his head on a table in frustration.

This was going to be a long day.

Beacon Academy

Tuesday

Sometime after school

"This, my grand compatriot, is the one, the only, Dormitory!" Nora yelled, exasperating her movements. Subaru raised an eyebrow at her, as did her teammates sharing looks of confusion.

"I… I was here this morning, you know that, right Nora?" Subaru asked, lazily pointing a finger at the building. Nora waved off his question, letting out a loud 'Pshhh' as she did so.

"Of course I knew that! I was asked specifically to escort you around, and that's exactly what I'm going to do, whether you like it or not! Even if you have already been there, do you understand!"

"Nora, we weren't 'specifically' asked to do anything. You volunteered us." Ren corrected, causing Nora to place a finger on his lips, shaking her head back and forth.

"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. You worry to much about the details, Ren! It's not the destination, but the journey we embark that makes life so meaningful! Don't you agree!?"

"No. I'd rather get to my destination than travel there. I don't want to travel from Mistral to Vale again." Ren said, taking her hand off his lips. Nora adopted a thoughtful expression, cupping her chin and placing her free hand on her hip.

"Yeah, that trip was horrible. But that's not the point! The point is that we have to show…"

"Subaru."

"Subaru around the school! I won't take any chances of him falling behind! Now, follow me my legion, as we travel amongst the stars, to the cafeteria!"

"I already know where that is."

"Doesn't matter!" Nora replied to Subaru cheerily. Ren gave a chuckle of amusement, catching up to Nora, walking next to the excited girl. Subaru resisted the urge to sigh, a trend that he noticed becoming more and more of a luxury than a necessity. Subaru lagged behind, unwilling to partake in any form of madness that Nora may have dragged him in.

Nora Valkyrie was an interesting character. She always seemed upbeat, and taking the littlest of things to a level that would seem out of the ordinary. It was an enjoyable out of the ordinary though, not the sort that the Cult could compare to. Invisible hands, shape shifters, and people who ate others entire being, existence and all, kind of out of ordinary weren't what Subaru would classify as enjoyable.

"Subaru, correct?" Pyrrha spoke up, grabbing the Archbishops attention. Glancing at her, he gave a silent nod, to which she smiled at. "Ah, fantastic, has Beacon been treating you kindly?"

Kind was not the exact way Subaru would have put it. More like stressful or horrifying. It wasn't the way one would think of those terms however. Beacon had been stressful for the simple fact that he understood next to nothing about Remnant. Again, that was the reason Subaru tended to spend his time within the library, reading and learning of this new land The World Above rarely spoke of. Horrifying for the fact that everyone in the school seemed to have this uncanny quirk that made them special. Not in the ability department either.

Nora was as hyperactive as a squirrel. Jaune was by all means a klutz. Ruby had a fascination with weapons and the unknown. Yang was a flat out brute. Weiss was a stuck up princess. Pyrrha was overly nice. Blake was a bookworm on par with Beako. Ren was by all means a monk.

Hell, Fox was blind! Literally Blind!

"…It's been a little more than interesting." Subaru hesitated, choosing his words wisely. He didn't want to say something that wasn't true if he could help it. Pyrrha smiled, her positivity coming off as eerie for Subaru.

"That's wonderful!" Pyrrha cheered, silently clapping her hands together. "I do hope you enjoy your stay at Beacon! It's a wonderful place, and I'm more than happy to share if you want!"

"I'm not sure what you mean, but I'm good." Subaru declined, her attitude creeping him out. Seriously, her positivity was not helping his mood at all. He needed to change the subject… or something. "So, what is there to do around Beacon? Any… uh, things to do?"

"There's a ton to do at Beacon." Jaune pitched in, taking this for Pyrrha. Subaru internally thanked the Hunter Knight. "Like… Combat Club (Fight Club), or, uh… there's not a lot of clubs in Beacon, is there?"

"Of course there are!" Pyrrha said cheerily, Subaru screeching like a banshee in his mind. "While Beacon is a Hunter Academy, which focuses mainly on combat, there are other courses if a student wishes to go into a field that isn't as combat heavy. Like Tech, or Financing. There have been more than a handful of students going into Law, and other such careers."

"Wait, so I could actually become a Lawyer or something if I wanted to!?" Jaune asked, Pyrrha nodding. The words that were shared flew over Subaru's head, giving him a slight headache. He didn't know much about education in The World Above, but he knew it was a luxury for the rich. Work was sort of the same, having a hire on the spot process. From what Subaru could gather, Remnant must've worked a little differently if work and education were hand in hand.

Well, this would have to be something he studied later in the Library.

"Hey Subaru, I know this is more of a Ruby question, but do you have a weapon?" Jaune asked, dragging Subaru back into the conversation. At least this time it was something Subaru could understand, so he would concede.

"I don't technically have a weapon, but I know how to use a straight sword and am proficient with the whip." Subaru said, recounting the miniscule lessons in combat Clind had provided. The World Above was a dangerous place, so it wasn't put of the ordinary for Butlers and Maids to double as a bodyguard if needed. Pyrrha smiled at his answer.

"How great! As it turns out, both Jaune and I are swordsmen too!" Pyrrha exclaimed, clapping her hands as an idea sprung in her head. "Say, Subaru, would you like to have a duel?"

Subaru internally screamed 'NO' to her question, however he reined himself in. He had seen the way Pyrrha moved, and while she fought as she acted, kind, Subaru didn't want to be humiliated in a fight against a overly kind woman. However, he couldn't just decline, as he didn't wish to get on anybody's bad side, no matter how miniscule it may be.

"Sure, how about next week?" Subaru offered, dodging the invitation to fight. Subaru wasn't a pessimist, but he had no doubt something would go down on Friday, if not sooner. If he didn't die, then he'd be hospitalized for awhile during whatever fight there was. Pyrrha ever present smile seemed to twist into something unorthodox for her.

"That is wonderful!" Pyrrha said, her voice betraying the look on her face. She seemed all to happy for this for some reason. It was hard to notice, and Subaru doubted he would have caught on if he wasn't on edge with the whole killer scenario. He'd rather focus on training and on evading that outcome than worry about some girl who didn't know what to do with herself.

Beacon Academy

A Few Hours Later

The rest of the tour had followed the same process as Team SSSN's introduction to Beacon. A tower there. A restroom there. The classrooms there. Only, Subaru had actually gained a little insight on one of the buildings. Actually, it wasn't technically a building, but a tower.

"The CCT, huh?" Subaru repeated the name out loud, hands in his pockets as he looked up at the towering… tower. Lights on the sides of it shined a light green, giving it an ominous, although welcoming, visage to it compared to the night sky. Truly, only one structure in The World Above compared to this; That blasted tower in the middle of the desert. "And apparently, there's four of these, all connected to a… electronic frequency?"

Subaru didn't know much of anything that came out of Ren's mouth when he explained the purpose of the tower, but he understood it was vital to Remnants continued survival. Without it, long range communications through the Metia's called Scrolls would be, for a lacked of better terms, jammed, as in a distortion of communication. At least, that's how Ren explained it.

That wasn't what caught Subaru's interest in the building however. It was more of the story behind how they came to be. Due to a War, simply named 'The Great War', Remnant was put on the brink of annihilation. The only reason it ended was because of a King, specifically Vales, stepping in and putting a stop to it. As a gift, and a token of forgiveness, Atlas shared with it its technology.

This sounded a lot like the Demi-Human War in The World Above. Where giants, Half-Breeds, Lizard Folk, Elf's and the like went against Humans. Subaru couldn't really bring himself to care about the inner workings of something so ordinary like The World Above, but he found a sort of fascination for Remnant for some reason.

Subaru was never one for history or mathematics. He enjoyed the occasional knowledge he gleaned off of second hand conversations and such, but he never really fully devoted himself into just one thing. On a good day, you'd probably catch him reading in the corner, a Sci-fi Novel in hand, or even practicing his concentration with his Claws, but never actually reading History books and the like.

In Remnant though? It was the complete opposite. Throughout most of his days, he'd taken the chance to devour as much knowledge as he could in the Library. The history books didn't read like history books to him, but Fantasy Novels that contained countless stories of Remnant and it's heroes. There was one peculiar chapter that caught his interest. It was set during the Great War, trenches being dug around Vacuo in hopes to stave off the endless onslaught of Atlas. A soldier, who's name escaped Subaru, spent three days and nights tending to his comrades. Sadly, he'd forgotten to tend to himself, dying due to dehydration. A few days later, the War came to an end. The man received a memorial, and a statue to commemorate what he did for his brother-in-arms.

Once upon a time, Subaru dreamt of being that kind of person. Devoted, and caring of those around him. Now however? He knew he would never be someone like that. He wasn't a hero, but a villain. He killed. He stole. He was the opposite of a hero.

A pang of guilt gripped his heart before be swallowed it. There was no reason for him to feel that way. He did what he had to survive. Anyone else in his position would do the same.

Subaru let out a somber tsk, kicking his foot in agitation, taking his eyes off the CCT and making his way to his Dorm. Why was he thinking like this? It didn't bother him when he purged that Lizard Village awhile back, so why was he bothered by it now? He was an Archbishop of Pride. He should have felt Pride at what he accomplished. Pride for who he was.

So why did it feel so wrong?

"Oof!" A sudden force brought him out of his momentary trance. Rubbing his head in pain, Subaru looked down to the individual he had unfortunately knocked over. His eyes widening who it was. Fear, dread, hysteria. Subaru wasn't sure what he felt, but he knew it wasn't pleasant.

"R-R-R-Rem!?" Subaru questioned, the girl looking up in anger. Subaru's breath hitched, tripping over himself as he backed away. Rem got up, walking over to him, her fists clenched in anger. "W-W-What are you doing here!? Y-Y-you're supposed to be with Emilia!"

Rem didn't respond, instead increasing her pace. Subaru crawled backwards, doing his best to get away from the angered Oni, yet no matter how much he pushed, she just drew closer and closer to him. As she came within his range, Rem raised her right arm, the same move a Magic User did when they wished to direct their spells. Subaru raised his arms, blocking his face from her sight.

"Hey, are you okay?" That… that wasn't what Rem sounded like. Shaking, Subaru lowered his arms, the mop of blue hair was replaced by a trimmed light green. Her skin wasn't even light, it was dark. Subaru's eyes darted back and forth between her outstretched hand, which offered to help him up, and her eyes that silently judged him.

'What… what the f % was that!?' Subaru thought to himself, trying his best to calm himself down. None of what just occurred made any sense. Why was Rem there? Why did he freak out at the sight of her? Why did he even see her? Admittedly, the Green haired girl in front of him looked similar to her, but that was no reason to freak out like that. 'I-It has to be a lack of sleep or something… yeah! Yeah!'

"T-Thank you."

"Are you okay? You looked really freaked out there."

"Yeah, I just thought I saw… something." Subaru said, choosing his words carefully. He almost admitted to seeing someone.

Hesitantly, he grabbed girls hand, allowing himself to be pulled along like a puppet. Letting go, Subaru silently nodded his head in thanks, the message successfully getting through to the girl. She smiled, before her eyes widened and narrowed as she got closer to his face. Subaru backed away, successfully hiding his discomfort from his face.

"He~y, I recognize you! You're that new guy, the one who fought Fox!" She leaned back, giving Subaru space to breathe, which he was thankful for. Subaru dusted off his uniform, doing his best to act like nothing had happened.

"Uh, yeah, that's me! Natsuki Subaru, pleasure to make your acquaintance." Subaru said, overdoing his Formal persona. He still wasn't one hundred percent with that whole Rem scenario.

"Emerald Sustrai. I'm in some of your classes. Say, your not from Mistral are you? Your name doesn't sound like anything like Vales locals. Actually, it doesn't sound like your names following the 'Color Naming Rule' at all!"

"Color… Naming Rule?" Subaru repeated, genuinely confused. What the heck was 'The Color Naming Rule'? That sounded obnoxiously stupid to him.

"You don't know? What the hell kind of education did you get when you were a kid? Well, I guess I'll have to teach you then, The Color Naming Rule is a… I wouldn't say a law, but a tradition that all of Remnant follows. Well, except Vacuo and Mistral, sorta, but they have their own fancy way of doing it." Emerald said, leaning On her hip as she went a little off topic.

"So, what does it imply?" Subaru asked, curious about this. Again, Remnants way of life was fascinating for Subaru, even if he wasn't that smart.

"Well, basically it's a tradition where everyone names their children after colors or something similar. For example, my names Emerald, and Emerald is the name of a Jewel that's green. You see?"

"That is… really fitting actually." Subaru said, looking at Emeralds green hair. Thinking back on it, wasn't there another piece of Jewelry called 'Ruby'? That… that would explain Ruby's name. She fit it too, if the descriptions were anything to go by. "I'm not sure where I was born, but I know I wasn't raised in Mistral."

"Aw, was hoping there'd be another one of us. Oh well. Anyways, it was nice chatting, but I really have to go." Emerald said, passing Subaru by before he even got a chance to speak. Turning to her, she gave a wave of her hand. "Catch ya later, Mr. Cultist!"

"Yeah, I'll see you-" Subaru stopped, his breath hitching and eyes widening in surprise. Subaru snapped his neck back to the girl, surprise betraying his face. Yet when he looked, no one was there. The green haired girl was gone, replaced by nothing except for a lone streetlight, shining down on where she was meant to be.

"W-What the hell?" Subaru said, grabbing his face. Was all that just a figment of his imagination? No, it couldn't be. That girl was physical. She had bumped into him, helped him up, and she… felt all to real. Besides, He had gained new information on Remnant, one that explained the naming process. That was something he wouldn't have been able to come up with.

Unless he was truly going insane. That what he felt knocking him down was nothing but in his head. 'No. No it can't be.'

Letting out a shaky breath, he forced himself to calm down again. 'There was no one there. I was just imagining things. Stress at this whole killer thing is getting to me. It has to be. It has to be.' With a nod, Subaru lowered his hands, placing down in his pockets, ignoring the scenario that had just occurred. Subaru never noticed however, that when he left, the girl stood there, her face troubled, but content. Taking out her scroll, she messaged her leader one, simple message. (1)

'The Cultist is broken.'

Beacon Academy

Wednesday Morning

Before First Period

Subaru wasn't able to sleep that night.

With all that had been going on in the past day, it wouldn't have come as a surprise to anyone that this would be the case. A wild killer on the loose, his mistakes with Ruby and Yang the day before and the possibility of him being insane coming into fruition, it was a wonder how Subaru was even to keep a cool head about this.

Clicking his heel on the ground, he took in the sight that surrounded him for what seemed to be the thousandth time. Grass as far as the eye could see, wet and pristine, reflecting the light of the sun in an almost transcendent gleam. A river sat to his left, the school sitting far to his right. Benches lined the area, a fence sitting in a wide oval like shape.

This part of the school was lovingly called 'The Battle Ground'.

Why anyone would name it such was beyond Subaru. If he had to guess though, it would have to be the mock battles that were held monthly around here. From the way Sun had described it, it was to be a grand event; a sort of free for all where almost everything went. Whoever won would gain a grand prize the likes of which Subaru (apparently) had never see.

Once again, that brought up the question as to why a Hunter Academy, which taught students how to slay Grimm, would also teach students how to brutalized others. Well, as Subaru found out due to his time in the last loop, Hunters weren't just slayers of Grimm. They also slated humans when need be.

From what he learned, Hunters operated similarly to the Knights of Lugnica. While the Guards of the Kingdom would police the populence of Lugnica, the Knights would act as a Higher Authority against skilled Humans or, in Subaru's case, the Cult. The Police of Vale worked in a similar fashion to this. Vales officers would police the public, while Hunters would quell stronger foes like The White or Black Fang. Well, if requested or paid to of course.

Hunters worked similarly to Mercenary groups. While the majority went to work for Legions or Outposts that operated outside of the Kingdoms, some went in a completely different direction. Working as hired muscle, on the move or stationary. That didn't mean they didn't kill Grimm however, as there were more than enough Huntsmen stories that would even reach Subaru's ears (through the Library of course).

That was the reason the Battle Grounds and Arena existed.

And Subaru had just torn it asunder.

Small holes littered the ground, hand prints the size of a young teen imprinted in the earth. All around the oval it was like this. Subaru felt slightly guilty for whoever tended to the field, as this would be hell to clean up. Clicking his heel again, he focused on two claws, one for each foot.

"Okay, how about this?" Subaru asked himself, flattening the Claws palms, placing them under his feet. Subaru lowered himself, placing a knee under himself and holding himself up with his arms. Not bothering to count down, he charged, using the force of his Claws to propel him to higher speeds. The wind hit his face, songs of air whistled through his ears as he turned, following the fences outline. Surprisingly, it felt good. Running this fast that is.

As he neared the place from where he started, he used to Claws to puncture the ground, slowing him down. Subaru greedily took in handfuls of air, doing his best to calm his racing heart. Grabbing at his chest, he straightened his back, releasing a deep intake of oxygen.

47 seconds.

It had taken forty seven seconds to run around that track. Without the use of his Claws, his highest sprint had been two minutes and thirteen seconds. That was a major difference versus the use of his claws. If Subaru wasn't so tired, he would have cheered. Instead, he settled with falling on his back, closing his eyes as he felt the softness of the grass caressing his back.

Subaru was happy. Amidst all the stress that accompanied him during his time at Beacon, Subaru couldn't deny that he was happy. He had met some interesting people, and while he wouldn't go so far as to claim to be their friends, Subaru would admit they were enjoyable to be around. Well, maybe not Pyrrha, but that was a different topic. He had also learned more than his whole time in The World Above. History was interesting, and the oh so lovely condiment of Mayonnaise existed. That wasn't even touching the fact that he had just found a way to run faster than most human beings.

Truly, Subaru was happy.

But so freaking tired.

The sound of shuffling clothes caught his attention. Cracking open his eyes, he watched the silhouette of a girl (?) hover over him, the figure hidden by the light of the Sun. Raising his arm over his eyes, shadowing them from the light, Subaru took in what looked to be… well, a girl. The sun still blocked his view of her, but he was at least sable to tell the Black hair that hung loosely over her shoulder.

"Uh, hey?" Subaru said weakly, his lack of sleep affecting his speech. The girl smiled, leaning on her hip.

"Hi." Her voice came out smooth, the sound gently brushing against his ears. If Subaru were to admit anything, he'd say that she sounded almost gorgeous. It was like she had perfected speech itself, beyond anything what humanity would have acquired. That was all just from a single greeting. "Are you enjoying yourself?"

"I'm not sure. I'm immensely tired, but I can't seem to fall asleep. I've been stuck practicing my techniques all night, trying to clear my mind." Subaru admitted. He didn't know why he was bothering talking to this stranger, but he didn't really see a problem in it. He was happy, and that was all that mattered. The girl responded by gently kneeling, sitting next to him.

"I can see that. You've practically destroyed the place." She commented, not sounding perturbed by that fact. She lifted her fingers, brushing stray hairs out of his face. Subaru was too tired to stop her. Besides, her touch felt incredibly soft, helping his drowsiness. "Say, you wouldn't happen to mind sharing how you did this, would you? It very much fascinates me."

"Nah, I don't mind." Subaru whispered out, his eyes fluttering as he slowly closed them. "I… I was using the Unseen Hand… to push… off the ground, hel… helping me go faster."

"Unseen Hand? What's that?"

"It's… it's a power I stole from Bete… another Archbishop."

"Another Archbishop? Does that mean you're one, Subaru?" Subaru didn't answer, his soft breaths signaling her that he had fallen asleep. She smiled, leaning near his forehead, and whispering the tiniest of words.

"Goodbye, my Archbishop of Pride, Natsuki Subaru. I can't wait for you to join us."

Subaru's eyes snapped open, sitting up faster than he thought was humanly possible. His eyes darted around for that girl, yet no matter how much he searched, she was not to be seen. Subaru's mind connected the dots, slowly coming to the conclusion that no, that wasn't real, and yes, he was being driven insane.

First that dream in the police station, then seeing Rem in a girl that looked nothing like her, who ended up not being real herself, now a girl who knew of who he was? Either someone was playing with his mind, or he had finally broke like the other Archbishops.

Subaru wasn't really sure which one was preferable.

Beacon Academy

Library

Thursday, Late After School

Do you know what one of the greatest achievements mankind has ever created to this day? No, it isn't paint or the light bulb, or the existence of cars or guns. It wasn't even the coffee you drink each morning to get yourself through the day. It was the development of Public Libraries.

That's what Subaru believed at least. From what Ruby and JNPR had explained to him last loop, the Library was continuously outdated by the existence of scrolls, which contained a much more vast amount of information, but Subaru didn't really care. He didn't know how to work the Scroll besides opening his door, and Subaru didn't see a reason for himself to learn. Sure, he could have gained more knowledge if he gained access to it, but that wouldn't benefit him until after he finished everything in the Library.

Besides, nothing could beat the feel of book paper.

'Oh god, I'm becoming a Book Worm like Beako!' Subaru morbidly thought, the image of him sitting in the Forbidden Library, reading along with Beako in silence bothering him. Yet he didn't shut the book he was reading. It was too addicting to close now.

Speaking of bothersome scenarios, Subaru had finally gotten some sleep. During each period, due to him having gone through it before, Subaru had taken that time to catch up on some rest. While it did ruin his sleep schedule, Subaru didn't very much care as long as it helped him in the end. Especially during fight class, as everyone tended to ignore him.

Well, maybe not for the whole of the fight class. During Wenday fight class, Subaru had spotted a familiar set of green hair. One that he believed to be messing with his head, and one that Subaru was now keeping an eye on.

Emerald Sustrai.

Subaru didn't bother reintroducing himself, as there was still a probability that it had all been in his head, but it didn't hurt to keep an eye on her. She was extremely suspicious, and Subaru didn't like that. Especially with all that was going on.

"Ah, Subaru, may I join you?"

Subaru wasn't as startled as you'd might think when asked this. For some reason, since he'd arrived in Remnant, he'd been getting jumpy at every sound, a trend that continued to Beacon Academy. One would think that with a Killer on the loose, he would be rightfully jumpy, but he had gotten used to it. Everyday it felt like there was a new event that he needed to address, or a new character to meet. He felt like a puppet on strings, and he wouldn't play the part of a toy.

"Ah, Ren, I don't mind." Subaru said, Ren nodding slightly in thanks as he sat down in front of him. No words were shared between them as Ren opened his book, reading whatever was in it. Again, Subaru probably enjoyed Ren's company the most out of all of Beacon. Ren was silent, didn't talk unless he needed to, and when he did it always held some worth to Subaru. Sure, he enjoyed the bombastic Nora at times, as she was fun to be around, but Ren was peaceful. Subaru could tell, given enough time, they could be good friends.

The silence continued, neither talking, but enjoying each other's company. The sound of paper flipping resounded through the area, the slight tap of a finger accompanying it. None spoke up however, as there was no need. No one was disturbed by this however, as all were too entranced by their reading to be disrupted by something as silent as tapping.

Truly, the sound of peace.

"Oh, where's Nora, Ren?" Subaru asked? Ren looked up from his book, giving a small smile. Seemed he wasn't too perturbed by Subaru's inquiry, even with the interruption to his studying.

"She's with Team RWBY and the rest of Team JNPR. Every Thursday after school, we come to the Library to play board games. It's become a tradition between our groups, but I didn't wish to join in this time. A test is coming up, and I'm behind on my studies." Ren explained, probably the most Subaru had heard him speak in one instance. Impressive, but then again, he never hung around Ren that much.

"Ah? Speaking of Team RWBY, has Ruby herself been doing good herself? I don't see much of her, and when I do, she always seems to avoid my gaze. She doesn't hate me, does she?"

"No, I honestly don't believe she has it in herself to be angry at one for long." Subaru gave a sigh of relief. "However, that doesn't mean she isn't disappointed."

"Disappointed?"

"Indeed." Ren nodded, closing his book. "Around a week ago, Ruby started frantically bringing up topics of The World Above. The fairy tales of Dragons, Knights, Magic, etc. I haven't seen her that excited about anything other than Weapons. Most of everyone RWBY and JNPR believed that she would get over it within a day, but I don't think that'll happen for at least a week or a month. She even denied the cookies I made for her."

"God Damnit." Subaru cursed, leaning back as he ran his hand through his hair. This was not good, not good at all. Maybe he should have stuck with the original Route? Sure, he had learned a few new things this time, but he also gained more questions than answers. Who was the killer? Who was Emerald Sustrai? Who was that girl he gave information about himself to? Was he going insane?

"Speaking if The World Above, I must ask, if that's all right with you." Ren asked, Subaru giving him a blank stare before nodding. Ren looked around, eyes darting left and right, before he leaned in. "Are you truly from The World Above?"

'Well, Crap.' Subaru cursed again. This was not a good situation. Subaru didn't mind anyone knowing who he was, or how the world around him perceived him (in a good or bad sense), but he had already claimed one thing on Monday. To go back on it, it would label him as a liar. It wasn't like he could lie about it either, as Ren had answered his question honestly. Subaru didn't enjoy being in debt like that, even if temporarily. Subaru resisted a sigh, looking Ren in the eyes.

"Yes, I was raised on The World Above, inside the province of Lugnica, and came down for… reasons." Subaru admitted, Ren nodding along with him. Subaru raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Woah, do you actually believe me? I thought you said you believed they were fairy tales?"

"I never said that. All I said was that Ruby started bringing up topics of Fairy Tales, specifically The World Above." Ren said, scooting himself in. "I whole heartedly agree that The World Above exists. If not for that, then I wouldn't even be alive."

"Huh? What do you mean? You're from The World Above too!?" Subaru asked, actually surprised by this. He was let down when Ren gave a shake of his head though.

"No, I'm afraid that's not the case." Ren admitted. "While I wasn't born on The World Above, my mother was birthed on such a place. From the stories she told me, she was raised in Kararagi, and came to Remnant to find a better life."

"I can get that. Kararagi is a beautiful place, and if your lucky, a wealthy Kingdom to live under. However, as with every country, there is always a corrupt portion to it." Subaru said, recounting his memories of the place. In reality, it wasn't as bad as he made it out to be, but there were some really dark alleyways if you were to look close enough. Reminded him of a certain Vampire and her stories of Gusteko.

"Exactly. From there, she traveled to Mistral, found my Dad, and I was born. She used to tell me stories of Magic and Knights, fighting to protect the world from danger. It sounded just like a Fairy Tale, but I never doubted her words, even now when I'm all grown."

"So wait, if your Mom is from Kararagi, and your Dad is from Mistral, doesn't that mean that you can use Magic?"

"No, I didn't inherit such a gift. Yet I wouldn't trade my current powers for the world." Ren said, a far off look settling on his face. Subaru watched, but not speaking. He recognized that look, as he had wore it himself multiple times throughout his life.

Death was not a pretty thing, and no one knew that better than Subaru himself. He still remembered the first time he died, helping out that Silver Haired Elf, someone he was tasked to protect. It was painful, and Subaru never wished to experience it again. Yet time and again he had been disappointed. Over and over and over again, he died, he killed and he suffered. There was truly no escape for Subaru.

Not that he wanted one.

An itch started scratching at the back of his mind, a realization that he hadn't done something in a very long time. Clicking his tongue, he reached into his uniform, pulling out his Gospel once again. Flipping to the back of the book, Subaru wasn't surprised to see that it, once again, held nothing of interest. Just the same obnoxious verse as before.

Truly, when was this supposed to end.

Beacon Academy

Friday

Dormitory, After School Hours

The knocking wouldn't stop.

Snapping open his eyes, Subaru forced himself out of bed, pushing the covers over with an agitated swing. The pounding sound grew louder, Subaru growing more irritated along with it, slowly waking him from his slumber. Rubbing his eyes, he let them adjust to the darkness of the room for a second. He needn't wait long, as he had just had his eyes closed, enveloped in darkness.

'Who the hell is knocking this late at night!?' Subaru thought to himself, glancing outside to the moon lit sky. Thinking about it, whoever was knocking could have potentially saved his life. He hadn't meant to fall asleep, but after eating a very fulfilling dinner, and pretending to be asleep, Subaru couldn't help but knock out. It was probably for the best that whoever was knocking had decided to disturb him.

Subaru stood, groggily making his way towards the dorms door. The knocking just grew, irritating, agitating Subaru beyond belief. Who would need to knock that hard in the first place? There was literally no need to do any of that. Subaru aggressively grabbed at the door knob, pulling the door open with a mighty pull, swinging the door with unnatural strength. "What do you want!"

"Ah!"

"Oh… Ruby?" Subaru stated, pointing out the young girl who stood, fidgeting slightly, her eyes darting back and forth. In her hands she held a tray, on it an assortment of cups, those that you would use for tea. She wore an outfit that Subaru assumed was some form of night wear if the bear on her shirt was anything to go by. "What're you doing here? It's dark out, shouldn't you be asleep?"

"Asleep? It's only eight…" Ruby mentioned, Subaru raising his eyebrows at that. Was it really only eight? Then when did he fall asleep!? "And, well, I came here because I wanted to… talk."

"And because I pushed her too!" Another voice chimed in. Striding in like she owned the place, Yang Xiao Long grinned mischievously at Subaru. That didn't give him any form of comfort. "My sister wouldn't shut up about feeling bad for you or something, so I pushed her to do this."

"Yang!"

"What!? It's true! I'm tired of seeing you mope around all day! If one little chat with the conman will get you to cheer up, we're gonna do it, even if it's the last thing we do!" Yang said, snapping her neck at Subaru. "So, you gonna let us in or not."

"Huh? Uh, sure, yeah. Just come on in." Subaru said, moving himself deeper into the room, sitting on the bed. Ruby and Yang followed suit, Yang closing the door behind her as she entered. Ruby looked around the room, interest lining her eyes, before setting the tray on the drawer under the rooms window. Yang looked around the room, her eyes landing on a Black book that laid a table next to the door, but didn't take any heed.

"I'm sorry if I'm too blunt, but why're you here?" Subaru asked, rubbing the fatigue from his eyes. Again, he didn't mind that both Yang and Ruby had come to visit him, as they both had awakened him, but it was a little suspicious. To be here the same night the murderer had shown up? That screamed at him something was up.

Ruby's eyes darted around, before she brought up her hand, her palm facing herself. Frantically, she reached for what Subaru assumed to be tea, pouring a glass. "D-Do you care for some tea?"

Subaru raised an eyebrow, but didn't think much of it. Ruby had acted weird like this before, so this wasn't something to take note of. "Uh, sure. What kind is it?"

"Uh… it's, um… Green Tea! Yeah, Green Tea!" Ruby said, agreeing with herself. With shaking hands, Ruby held out the Mug, which Subaru carefully took. It wasn't hard to notice the steam that flew off the Tea, Subaru blowing on it to cool it down. Taking a sip, he savored the taste, but noticed it wasn't Green Tea. It had more of a sweet taste to it.

"Thank you." Subaru responded, Ruby nodding rapidly. They sat there in silence, Ruby unsure what to say, and Subaru drinking his tea calmly. It was peaceful, so Subaru didn't really mind it, even if it was a little awkward.

"God Dang it!" Yang yelled, belly flopping on the bed Ruby occupied. Sitting up, she hung an arm over Ruby, whispering something in her ear. A mini argument transpired, Subaru watching with disinterest. True, yesterday he may have cared for the situation between him, Ruby and Yang, but now he couldn't be bothered to care. He was tired, and there were more important to worry about than two sisters drama.

As the argument seemed to dwindle to a crawl, Subaru watched as Yang sat back, crossing her arms over her chest. Ruby sighed, before abruptly standing up, her gaze fierce. This managed to take him by surprise, as her gaze reminded him of someone his mind had been drawing back to a lot recently. A gaze fierce, yet no less beautiful no matter who wore it. Emilia the Half-Elf.

"I'm sorry!" Ruby all but yelled, bowing deeply towards Subaru. Subaru eyes widened, not expecting this. "I was extremely rude to you on Monday, and been avoiding you the whole time! I shouldn't have done that! I'm sorry!"

"What?" Subaru asked, confused. Was this why she had been avoiding him? Because she was nervous that he was mad at her? Ruby looked up, still bowed over.

"You… you aren't mad at me?"

"Why would I be mad at you? There is literally no reason to be mad at you."

"But, But I've been avoiding you! And, and… Why aren't you mad at me?"

"Do you want me to be mad at you?"

"No! No! I just want to know… Ugh! This is so confusing!" Ruby complained, rubbing her hands through her hair. This was not how she expected this to go down at all. Subaru watched, slowly smiling as he caught up with what was going on.

"Look, Ruby, I'm not mad. There was never any reason to be mad in the first place. Sure, I was worried, but I was never mad. What gave you that impression?"

"You were never mad?" Ruby spoke, slowly and quietly. Trembling, she turned to her sister, Yang looking away from the two, face red and cheeks puffed out. Little gasps of breaths escaped her lips as she tried to contain her laughter. Ruby lived up to her name, as her face burned a scarlet red, stomping her foot on the ground. "Yang!"

With a pounce Ruby tackled her sister, wrestling her on the ground. Subaru gave a nervous chuckle, unsure on how to interpret this situation. It was clear that Ruby wasn't intending to hurt her sister, but it was still awkward for him, as the positions they were in were less than child friendly.

With a sigh, Subaru cleared his mind of that. This wasn't a situation where he needed to think so deep about. He should just enjoy his time alive, before he had to deal with the drama of tonight. With a smile that reached his eyes, he watched the two girls wrestle, Yang pulling on Ruby's ears while Ruby pulled open Yang's mouth.

Everything felt at pea-

*Crack*

'Huh? That didn't sound good at all." Subaru said, placing his hand on his stomach. He felt a vibration shudder its way through his body, the same type of vibration you'd feel if you were starving. However, this one was violent, painful, and furious. The same type as... "No!"

Frantically, Subaru stood, running past the girls and into the bathroom. Slamming the door, he didn't hesitate to bring himself to the toilet, sticking his fingers deep into his mouth. A violent lurch caused him to release a torrent of vomit that covered the white of the bowl in red. Wiping away a streak of leftovers off his cheek, Subaru took in the sight of what lay in the toilet.

Blood. Gallons upon gallons of blood.

It was already too late. He had been poisoned.

Subaru cursed, slamming his hand on the edge of the seat. 'I was so damn close! If I had just waited a few hours, then I'd be…'

Wait.

He didn't need to wait to find the killer, for he already did.

Shaking, Subaru turned around, hearing the pounding on the door. Ruby and Yang's voices rang out, calling out to him, but he couldn't understand them. Dizziness clawed at his mind, a sharp pang stabbed his stomach, and the feeling of warm blood pouring from his mouth.

A reverberating bang resounded, the door to the bathroom caved in. A blur of Red and Yellow ran in the room. Their faces were marred with worry, both frantically screaming at the other. A sudden jerk caused more blood to fall from his mouth, the feeling of weightlessness gnawing at him. Lights flashed in and out, wind brushing against his hair as the night sky hung above. The broken moon sat there, mocking him with its peaceful gaze. Red covered his vision, silver eyes filled to the brim with tears.

Why?

Why was his murderer crying? She got what she wanted, so she should have been happy. Not sad. Where were they? Why was it so cold? He'd never experienced a death like this before. He was scared. Why was he scared? Was it the way he was dying, or something else. He didn't know, he just wanted to sleep.

But why were they worried about him…

Unless.

With a deep breath, Subaru spoke the last thing on his mind, smiling softly, even with the Blood pouring out of his mouth.

"You two are good friends."

With that, the Tale of Natsuki Subaru came to an abrupt end, leaving an endless list of unanswered questions for the world.

1)I don't know why, but I feel I should point out Emeralds goal here. Having been tasked by Cinder to assess Subaru, Emerald confronted Subaru. I will leave it to the viewer to decide whether what Subaru saw of Emerald was her doing or not, but the point was that Emerald wanted to see who exactly he was. She deemed him broken, so reported it to Cinder.

Story Rant

O~h boy it's been awhile. Again, sorry, this Arc is really tough on me. I'm good with Fight scenes and building things up, but I'm not good with the most important aspect of writing- Character Development and Interaction.

Ignoring that, I feel like I did horribly as a writing perspective. This chapter did more than the last, introducing Subaru to Emerald and Cinder, but the problem with that is that it'll practically be thrown away two chapters later. I guess that's technically not true, but it sort of sets up something that I don't intend.

Another thing I think is a notable difference in this chapter is that I showed Subaru developing a new technique. This'll be used a lot when Subaru needs to get from point A to B. I think the major thing I need to point out about this though is that he isn't running very fast. I specifically wanted Subaru to be as fast as an Olympic runner, but not faster than that. He won't get strong moves until the Breach/Wrath Arc.

I felt some scenes to be extremely lackluster too. Like Ruby's apology. It was meant to be heartwarming, but came out as goofy and childish. I need to work on this before the Emilia Arc. Luckily the next Arc will

Also, I'm happy at how well hidden I hid the killer. It wasn't too obvious, but if you caught it, congrats, you don't need to read the next chapter.

Now, what I'm about to talk about is on the story as a whole. While I was writing this chapter, I was thinking of the Arcs after the Vytal festival. Now, I want you to know, I planned this story to originally end there, but as I write, I realize I can't end it there. The arcs I'm setting up for can't be explained in the time of this story. But I don't want to drag it on to an ungodly amount of chapters.

That's why after the Vytal Festival, Cupiditatem will end. That should be around chapter 40 or 50. And a new Fic will be created.

This isn't a small thing, mind you. I thought long and hard on this. In actuality, I hate when Authors make a 'Part 2' of anything, but after Vytal the story won't be the same. The main reason that I'm doing this is because of everything that happens in those final chapters. I can't promise anything, except there will be a lot more character deaths than whatever Re:Zero or RWBY had. If this gets to an ungodly level of negativity for this though, I'll change my mind. I'm just letting you know, as the main thing of this story will come to an end by then.

That's about all. Thanks for reading!

Personal Rant

So, I don't enjoy asking those to review or favorite or anything, and I'm probably never gonna ask for that. I want people to Review, Favorite and Follow because they think this story is worthy of that.

But god does it feel good to be complimented.

I keep going back and forth between sadness at the state of the fic and motivation when someone follows. It help a lot, especially with this specific Arc. I hate it. But it needs to be done. After this I hope for smooth sailing, all the way until the Emilia Arc, where emotions will come into play. I don't think that Arc will last 3 or 4 chapters though. After that, it's the Kidnapping Arc and Medusa Arc. Then Dance Arc and Wrath Arc, then we'll be at the Vytal Arc, which I might cut a lot of Canon stuff out to shorten it to four or so chapters. Vytal will be mostly fighting, not a lot of conversations. Which I prefer.

Ugh, sorry for taking so long though.

Reviews

Timothy-nguyen-73- Ah, I don't want to say anything, but I do at the same time! Bugging is a great idea!

Victormt2live-

It's fine! Though I did think you got bored of this fic for a little there, but it's good that you're focusing on College beforehand!

Thanks, I have a whole bunch of moves planned out for him, but it's hard to implement them when I wanna build them up. Sorta why I like Superhero fics, cause I don't have to really build them up, just be creative. I plan to make him strong as time passes though, so it may start getting a little fast pace, especially with the 'Plague Doctor' Arc.

In terms of Aura and Magic, it's a little confusing even for me. If you remember in Re:Zero, there are a ton of none Magic based characters that show exponential strength. Al for instance. In the Light Novel, he mentions fighting against Lust, losing his arm in the process. The thing is, is that he's from the same world Subaru is from, and doesn't use magic, so it's really confusing. I'm just gonna have characters, mainly Subaru, utilize there brains more than their brawn when it comes to out doing Aura Users.

I'm happy you enjoyed Peach! I'm sort of on the coin right now on how much screen time she'll get. Mostly leaning towards minimal though, since she won't really make that much of a difference until Wrath.

You actually helped me out with a part I was stuck on with the sleepless nights. Thanks!

Okay, so here's the deal, Subaru doesn't know much Spells right now, and Shadow Magic doesn't really act like traditional Magic. It mostly slows things down and cuts things off. I have a few examples in the later arc of improved Magic, but for now that's all he knows. Basically he's a one trick pony right now.

As much as I want comedy, I couldn't work that in by him saying that. Everyone would have taken that as a threat, everyone. Everyone saw Subaru as a liar, and that whole Shamak business didn't really end well either.

Thank you! I didn't expect that sort of kindness to come from a reviewer, ever! I don't want to think that any of my readers are lazy though, but I do wish this fic did have more visibility, but i wont complain. Thank you! You helped me push through this chapter, and I can't thank you enough for that! I hope I live up to your expectations!

On a Side note, how much you wanna get that If I make a fic Naruto centered, he's in the Akasuki, and follows a similar path to this that I'd get at least 10 reviews right there?

Anyways, till next time!