Chapter Text
“W–Whaaat!?” Subaru exclaimed as he slid down the couch in the living room.
“You’ve been sitting there all day watching TV. Going out for a while wouldn’t hurt,” said Naoko, his mother, trying to convince her son to go outside and play.
“Wait, this is totally unfair,” Subaru grumbled as he crossed his arms and shot an annoyed look at his father, who was sharing the same couch with him. “Why do you and Dad get to stay here at home while I have to go outside?”
“Those are the rules. Your mother reigns in this house, and what she says goes,” Kenichi said as he relaxed and made himself comfortable on the couch.
Naoko rolled her eyes and walked over to her son. “Subaru, what I mean is that I only want what’s best for you. And if that means ‘forcing’ you to go outside, I’m more than willing to do it.” She gave Subaru a loving look as she approached the coat rack to grab her own coat. “Actually, you know what? How about we go to the park and build a snowman? I don’t even remember the last time we went out together,” she said happily while wrapping a scarf around her neck.
Subaru turned to look at his mom. “Really?!” You could practically see the child’s eyes sparkle with excitement.
“Hey, that doesn’t sound like a bad idea,” said Kenichi, who jumped up to look for a jacket so he could join his beloved family in the cold.
“Hold it right there, mister.” Naoko placed the palm of her hand against her husband’s chest before he could do anything else.
“W–What is it, dear?” Kenichi asked nervously as she looked at him with a mischievous grin.
“Well, since the queen of the house is leaving, the only thing I expect is for you to have dinner ready for us when we get back.” Naoko softened her gaze, kissed him on the cheek, and said goodbye.
A playful smile formed on Kenichi’s lips. “Well, well. Since unfortunately your strong and handsome father won’t be able to join today’s outing, as a proper Natsuki, I grant you the responsibility and duty of protecting and taking care of your beloved mother.” He practically knelt as he entrusted this mission to his son.
“Yeah, yeah, sure,” Subaru snorted, rolling his eyes as he said goodbye to his father and turned around to leave the house.
The door closed behind them, and a winter breeze greeted them. It had snowed all night the day before, so a thick layer of snow covered the streets. Subaru had thought that would be a good excuse to avoid going out. Lately, he had been attending school less and less and locking himself in his room more and more. He truly felt like he didn’t fit in with his class, and his friend count was practically zero. He wasn’t really an introvert or anything like that—in fact, he was a fairly sociable kid—but making friends just wasn’t his thing. By this point, he was already planning to give up, lock himself in his room, and let loneliness—
“Think fast!”
Before Subaru could completely lose himself in his thoughts, Naoko suddenly threw a snowball that hit him square in the head.
Caught off guard by the attack, Subaru could do nothing but close his eyes and accept his fate.
Uff.
The snowball hit him right on the forehead, making him stagger backward as he tried to regain his balance.
“Come on, get over here and help your mother. This snowman isn’t going to build itself.”
“Ah… yeah, I’m coming.” Still recovering from the daze, Subaru walked over to his mom, ready to gather piles of snow.
Half an hour later, mother and son stared intently at their greatest masterpiece: a snowman no bigger than a medium-sized trash can. They used twigs for its nose and arms, and since they couldn’t find any stones, they simply made two holes for the eyes. As a final touch, Naoko wrapped her red scarf with pink stripes around the snowman.
“Mm-hmm.” Subaru nodded, resting his chin on his right hand as he turned to look at his mother. “Indeed,” he began, “it’s horrible.”
The woman he was addressing looked at him seriously and nodded. “It definitely is.” They looked at each other one last time before bursting into laughter.
“Wow,” Naoko said between laughs, “we’re definitely not cut out for this.”
Still laughing, Subaru leaned on his knees to keep from falling over when he spotted an alley that had less snow than most of the places they’d passed on the way to the park.
“Look,” he said as he started moving, “I’ll go check over there and see if I can find some stones to decorate the snowman.”
“Uh… sure. Just make sure to look both ways before crossing the street,” she said, trying to keep their creation balanced.
Subaru crossed the street without any trouble. As he stepped into the alley and his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he noticed a handful of small stones scattered near the walls.
“Alright, this should be enough,” Subaru said as he scooped up the stones with both hands and turned to leave—until he stopped halfway.
A sharp pain in his head forced him to freeze. “Argh!”Startled by the sudden pain, Subaru dropped the stones and clutched his head with his right hand, steadying himself against the wall with the other.
His blurry vision quickly began to return to normal, and he noticed a light snowfall forming around him.
When he looked down, the stones he had dropped were gone.
“W–What just happened…?” Still confused and dizzy, Subaru slowly made his way toward the exit. “I need to get back to—”
Before he could finish the thought, the world around him began to rebel.
Subaru froze in place. “Where the hell am I—?”
A frozen world stretched out around him. Snow-covered streets extended in every direction. Hooded people hurried past one another, giant lizards pulled cargo carts as if they were horses, and he could’ve sworn he saw people who were half-animal.
The cold would have been unbearable if he hadn’t been wearing his parka and gloves.
Shocked, Subaru took a step back. What the hell? Just a moment ago I was in that alley… and now I’m in some damn fantasy world!?
“This has to be a dream, right?” he muttered to himself. “Any second now I’ll wake up and my mom will be waiting for me with a nice cup of hot chocolate… right? Right…?”
The boy stood there for at least three minutes, waiting for something to happen.
Until reality hit him.
“Shit.”
During the following hours, Subaru wandered aimlessly around the area. A strong feeling of anxiety ran through his body, and the looks of hatred or disgust people gave him didn’t help at all. He figured that maybe foreigners weren’t very well received around here, or something like that, but he decided not to think too much about it. As the black-haired boy continued walking, he tried to reorganize his thoughts about his current situation.
Okay, so I showed up in this frozen city in the middle of nowhere. I don’t have any money. I apparently don’t understand the language spoken here. Oh—and I seem to be hated by everyone.
Great. Perfect. This is the ideal scenario to die in the worst ways possible.
A growl from his stomach stopped him. “Ah, right… I was supposed to have dinner when I got home.”
I’d better find something to eat before it gets dark. But how…?
An idea came to mind. While wandering the city, he’d seen many shops lining the streets. Stealing a supply or two wouldn’t hurt that much.
Mom and Dad always said stealing was wrong, but if I don’t do it, I might die. Well… how hard can it be?
A couple of bruises and cuts later, Subaru walked with his head down, defeated. “I really suck at this.”
Not only had he failed to get anything, but one shopkeeper had nearly beaten him to death while throwing him out.
“Damn it… hunger’s killing me, and the cold just keeps getting worse. I have to find something to eat…” In the distance, he spotted a trash bin at the entrance of an alley.
He tried to resist, but his hunger was stronger. “I guess beggars can’t be choosers.” He sighed and started walking.
His steps were slow, but he didn’t take long to arrive. Outside, the snowstorm that had followed him all day was starting to get stronger, so he went inside to avoid the cold. Once inside, he wasted no time and began digging through the trash.
“Shit… I feel like throwing up, but this is all I’ve got for now.” Maybe tomorrow he’d start looking for a place to work… or maybe he’d wait a bit. He didn’t want to be recognized after his failed debut as a thief.
The sound of footsteps deeper in the alley snapped him out of his thoughts. “Must be some local vagrant.” Without paying much attention, he kept searching—
“Hey, black-haired.”
The voice of what sounded like a young adult startled him.
“Y–Yeah?” When he looked up, he could make out two youths in the darkness—maybe three or four years older than him. They wore ragged clothes and looked poorly kept. Obviously, they were from the slums.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing in our alley, stealing our food!?” one of them said as they moved toward the boy.
“C–Calm down, man. I didn’t mean to steal anything from you. I didn’t even know this was your alley,” Subaru said as he stepped back, holding his arms out in front of him with his palms raised. He didn’t know if he was shaking from fear or from the cold.
“Who the hell are you calling ‘man’? Don’t think acting friendly will get you out of this, you damn brat,” the other replied, getting closer.
Shit, shit. What do I do? They don’t want to talk. I can’t run either—they’d catch me easily. Subaru’s mind raced, searching for a solution. Maybe there’s some kind of police or city guard in this world.
It’s my only option. I have to get someone’s attention before they reach me.
“Help! Guar—”
“What were you planning to do, brat?”
Before he could finish speaking, one of the youths punched Subaru in the stomach.
“Ahh—!” A muffled sound escaped his mouth as he fell to his knees, clutching his stomach with both hands. A bitter taste rose in his throat.
“H–Hel—” He tried to turn and ask for help, but a kick to the head sent him crashing to the ground. The snow beneath him, once white, was now stained with blood.
S–Shit… someone help me, please. I don’t want to die like this. I don’t want to die. I didn’t even get to say goodbye to my parents. I didn’t even get to be the son they deserved.
Tears streamed down his face. He tried to push himself up with his arms, but a kick to the ribs sent him flying.
“Please… someone!” he tried to scream, but a mix of bile and the little food he’d managed to find came out instead.
Please, please, please. On the edge of consciousness, the boy begged for someone—anyone—to save him as tears of desperation and fear filled his eyes.
“Let’s finish him,” one youth said to the other.
They approached the boy, determined to kill him. One of the thugs pulled a rusty knife from behind his back and slowly brought it toward the child’s neck.
Please… please… please…
“Damn it,” whispered the one keeping watch at the alley entrance before grabbing his companion by the hood and dragging him back into the slums.
A guard had heard the commotion and decided to check what was going on. When he entered, he saw Subaru’s body—still alive, breathing heavily, lying in a pool of his own blood and vomit.
“H–Hel…p…” Subaru whispered, hoping someone would finally help him.
“Tch.”
The guard clicked his tongue and grimaced in disgust before turning around and leaving.
“…”
Subaru said nothing.
Minutes later, he lost consciousness.
That night, no one came.
Or so he thought.
A snowstorm battered the city. Amid the chaos and darkness of the night, a small wandering spirit drifted through the area, guided by the wind. It passed through peaceful shopping streets and dangerous slums, until something caught its attention.
At the entrance to the slums, in a small alley, a dark-haired boy with a haunting expression lay unconscious in a corner. He was injured and shivering from the cold.
The spirit took pity on him and decided to rest by his side, sharing its warmth.
That night, Subaru slept peacefully.