[Discontinued] Yet Another World (Re:ZeroxRWBY)

28. Out of Time

A cough was sounded out amidst the chaos of destruction and ruin, an aftermath of Calamity. Natsuki Subaru had woken up from the moment he met that sudden burst of light. His mind is hazy, his head experiencing a severe ache, a concussion. He would also find himself staring at the night sky, filled with grimm and sounds of chaos.

"Wha…"

'What just happened?' was the sentence he tried to mutter out, but his mouth could not speak the words out. It's as if he's still dazed and confused about the situation, his brain overwhelmed. He could feel an ache all throughout his body, and especially at his chest he could feel something stabbing. His ribs were broken, he's finding it hard to breathe properly.

"Ahrk-!"

Then, it registered to him, another sharp pain, in his stomach. He had noticed that his aura had shattered, the feeling of the pain is prevalent. A piece of rebar had stabbed itself onto Subaru's body, he's pinned here. Yet-

"Must…take it out…!"

He persevered. Despite the pain that it caused him, Subaru grabbed a hold of the piece of metal and mustered all of his remaining strength to dull the pain. Taking several deep breaths, and in an instant, he pulled it out.

"GAAARHK-!"

Both the feeling of relief of a weight taken off of him, and the feeling of losing blood could be felt by him. He could not process the events that had transpired, and he must focus on making sure he doesn't die first. Pushing through with adrenaline he sat up and took off his tracksuit, quickly improving and using it as an improvised bandage to stop the bleeding upon his stomach. Quickly wrapping the jacket around his lower body as he gritted his teeth, Natsuki Subaru would ensure that his survival was certain.

"Hah….ha…"

He breathed out a sigh as he threw the piece of metal far from him, at least his efforts would hold it in for now, with him finishing the process by tying the arms of the tracksuit upon the wound to seal it shut. Now, he needs to focus on registering what just happened. No need to worry about his wound now, he could even feel his body already healing itself through the Dragon's Blood inside him, albeit slowly.

During the moment of their final attack towards Proxima, he could muster a sort of flash of light suddenly appearing in an instant, almost a fraction of a second after he roared out the signal to send that attack. Then, he could feel being blown back by the sheer shockwave of the attack, with the light blinding him and the wave of destruction finally putting him out.

He…he should be dead by now. That's the main thing that came to his mind. It certainly wasn't the work of his aura did he manage to survive, as there must be another force at play.

"Where's…"

And the answer quickly came to him. The spirit partner of his, Beatrice, was the most likely saviour of them all. And looking at his surroundings, he would find her lying beside him, knocked out, but unharmed. Although…he could feel that her entire being had been drained. It's not as severe as it was during Pristella, but it's certainly something of concern.

Pushing through the pain that is present throughout his body, Subaru would come over to her and check for her warmth and signs of life. She's still breathing, yet her condition is something akin to a comatose state. Worry filled his mind for her, yet he felt relieved that at least she's uninjured. However…

"Does that mean…?"

She must've erected a spell to deflect most of the damage taken from that attack. Yet even so, the impact was still felt by them, resulting in their condition. It's something past him would've blamed himself for, but he truly knows that it was not his fault she had to resort to such measures. For now, he wished for her safety and recovery, she had done enough.