Spiritual Bonding Time

Subaru is sitting on his bed with a thread and needle in hand.

While today he expected to train, as usual, surprising Halibel had an important job to take care of and insisted that Subaru took a day or two off to unwind

So, Subaru decided to fix his orange tracksuit

While neither he nor Halibel owned any sewing equipment, there was a shop that did, so Subaru took some of his ma beast reward money and bought himself a needle and some grey cloth.

Subaru was a bit upset to learn just how expensive the colour black was. Subaru was also extremely upset to learn that the colour orange was extremely rare, even more so than black.

Subaru decided to just patch up all the holes in his jacket with grey cloth... that was until he remembered he had a black cloak he stole from a travelling merchant

And a devious idea came to Subaru's head

What if he combined both bits of clothing?

He could tear unwanted bits of his cloak up and patch his jacket with them

And he could sew the cloaks hoodie to his jacket

Sure, his tracksuit would never look the same again, but Subaru would be a fool to throw away or replace his only remaining attachment to his old world

Even after Felix and Julius punched and burnt countless holes in it, Subaru still looked at the tracksuit with a nostalgic smile

This is one of the only things from his old life that he still looked at with a smile

However, nostalgia is just nostalgia

What Subaru wanted to focus on today were the six multi-coloured balls floating around him

"So, girls what do you think?"

Subaru lifted his orange jacket and showed it to the spirits

Each spirit closely observed the jacket admiring Subaru's sewing skills

"That's amazing handiwork."

"Subaru, it's so cute to see such a connection towards that piece of clothing."

"I suppose the hoodie is... acceptable to my taste. Besides only my contractor could wear such a broken piece with style."

"What a lovely jacket, but isn't it a little too black? I would prefer some white mixed in."

"Speak for yourself black is the best colour."

Subaru smiled confidently at his spirits

"Eon... Shami is right, black is without a doubt the best colour at least for my jacket."

"Subaruuuuu you're not supposed to pick aside."

All the spirits and Subaru laughed at Eon for a bit as Subaru imagined Eon pouting aggressively

"But anyways."

Subaru slipped his Jacket onto his naked upper body.

And he carefully slipped the hoodie over his head

"Ahhh much better, this just feels right."

Subaru put his hands in his Jackets pockets

"Oh, how I missed this comfortable feeling," Subaru said to complement his jacket

"All right Girls, since Halibel is out today, we've been giving some free time to just... not train."

"Not train?" Eon spoke

"Hehe, I don't know what I'm supposed to do now."

"Subaru you didn't expect to do nothing but train here in Banan... right?" Eon questioned genuinely concerned at her contractor's lack of foresight

"No, no that's ridiculous... I planned to train for a while... but I kind of forgot to plan for after that. Which is not like me, I'm the kind of guy who likes to plan for anything."

"It doesn't seem that way I suppose," Aeolus spoke mockingly

"Oh hush, it's unfair to judge a book by its cover."

"Well then Subaru, if you have zero plans, I recommend an early morning walk. It's both healthy and a good time passer." Aqua suggested

"A morning walk... sure sounds good. Hay while we're at it I can teach you, girls, something from my homeland"

"Ohhhh what is it?"

"You have my interest I suppose."

"It's called... Radio callisthenics!"

"Radio what?"

"Radio Calisthenics, it's great. It helps one loosen up their body and energise oneself."

"How does it work?" Asked Toph

Subaru put a finger towards Toph as to request she stops talking

"Toph words cannot describe Radio Calisthenics. It is something that can only be described through the power of movement."

"Is it something we can do?" Asked Aqua

"Of course, anyone can... Ummm well you kind of need a body for it to work... so no I guess."

Subaru could tell his spirits were disappointed

"B-but you can watch and learn for when you do eventually get bodies."

"Subaru how quickly do you expect us to evolve into great spirits?"

"I was told that with my current spirit affinity... about two months maybe a little more or less."

"...Yeah that's."

"Impossible."

"In my 17 years of life I have never heard anyone, or anything say something so..."

"Stupidly impossible."

"Believe what you want... but my source of information is never wrong. She's the smartest person I know."

"Who is this source of information I wonder."

"... Umm hay what are we standing around for let's go walk."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"I'm walking out the door... fine look I'll explain it later ok please just believe me when I say she's a very knowledgeable individual."

"Fine."

...

Subaru walked outside

The sky was a slight hue of pink as the sun started to rise

It was a beautiful sight

Subaru took a deep breath allowing the fresh air of early morning to enter his lungs

"All right girls let's go for an early morning walk... but I guess you would call it early morning float heh, heh."

"Very funny," Aeolus said sarcastically.

So, Subaru started his early morning walk

It was a very peaceful walk

Subaru intended for at least a day to forget about his worries

Halibel told him to relax and maybe that was for the best

While he probably won't be 100% relaxed, it's still a good idea to take a break occasionally

Halibel even offered Subaru a smoke to help him relax

Which Subaru did consider for a second, as an easy way out was pretty appealing?

But in the end, Subaru declined, doing things the easy way may lead to bigger problems

And if he were to bump into trouble while being stoned out of his mind was the last thing Subaru wanted

Subaru did chuckle at the thought

He imagined himself casually walking up to a bandit and hugging them, just for the bandit to stab him and runoff

Yeah, let's avoid dying that way

...

Subaru and his spirits had walked for about half an hour

Subaru was in search of a good spot to stop and do his Radio Calisthenics

While his spirits were asking him questions about his birth country

To which Subaru gladly told them everything he could remember

While Subaru could remember a lot, he, unfortunately, couldn't remember small details... thanks to two so-called knights

"Subaru what were your parents like?"

"Easy, they were great. One loved to wrestle me any chance he got, and the other is very caring."

"What are their names?"

"Mum and Dad."

"No silly their names. Like their actual names."

"Umm... I... don't know... I... forgot." Subaru said devastated how could he possibly forget the names of his dear parents

"*sigh* they must be so disappointed that their son forgets their names... I'm pathetic."

Subaru looked down ashamed of himself

"Subaru... it's ok. Lots of people don't remember their parents' names... like us spirits for example."

"Do you even have parents?"

"Kinda... not exactly a mum and dad. But we are made from mana... so that's kind of our parents. I mean if the definition of parent is simply who or what made you that is."

Subaru tried recalling other bits of information from his old world

He has always loved learning about earth's history

But it seems that during his time in prison... that knowledge was lost to time

"Ha-ha, that's just ... pathetic."

"Subaru."

"Even if I was tortured... even if a normal person would have completely lost it by now... I cannot excuse myself for forgetting my parents' names. IT'S SO... so... SLOTHFUL OF ME."

"Hold on Subaru, you cannot blame yourself for forgetting a few things after such a traumatic experience."

Subaru for the first time looked at his Fire spirit with aggression

"You do not have a say in this matter. You haven't forgotten the most important things in your life. It's all my fault, forgetting something small is fine... but it's all my fault for forgetting that! And now I will never get that knowledge back. NEVER!"

Subaru feeling weak collapsed onto the floor in tears

"I'm so sorry... mum... dad"

Subaru's spirits all feeling sorry for the poor boy decided to help him in any way they could

So, they all provided warmth to Subaru

They all listened to the boy cry and sob

And as they listened, they could slightly understand his pain better

The spirits wanted nothing more than for Subaru to feel better and love himself more

It wasn't even his fault, yet he must suffer

So, the spirits decided to give the most human gesture they could manage

They closed the distance between Subaru and hovered right in front of his chest

Almost like they were hugging him

Subaru took notice of his spirits kind gesture

Even in his broken state, they would always stick with him

Subaru not knowing what else to do hugged back

Even if the spirits had no arms, it still felt like a genuine hug

And with this new comfort that Subaru seemed to have been given, Subaru closed his eyes fully accepting his spirits

...

Suddenly four of his spirits glowed a bright glow

Light began to emit off Blaise, Eon, Aeolus and Toph as they all began to change

And when the light dissipated there, they were

All the same size as either Aqua or Shami

"What the?"

Subaru said shocked

"Incredible."

"Wow, wow, WOW"

"I've evolved?"

"Interesting... very interesting."

"How?"

"Dunno, maybe it was just good timing... or maybe it was our close friendship that allowed us to evolve."

"Heh the power of friendship... it sounds like such a cliche... but ill allow it this once."

...

In Subaru's time it would be around 7:37 am

Subaru never did do his Radio Calisthenics

But he did spend some time bonding with his spirits

What had he been doing if not stretches?

To keep his mind off his problems he and his spirits decided to blow stuff up

Subaru didn't even try to disguise it as training

He just wanted to blow stuff up now

And no spirit was more excited to help than Blaise

As it turned out Blaise loved attacking things with a strong Goa

Unfortunately, when Blaise was just an uncontracted Lesser spirit she didn't have enough mana to do that. Nor was she strong enough to pull large amounts of mana out of the atmosphere

Most of the spirits, until contracting Subaru only had just enough mana to survive

But after contracting Subaru they not only had a huge pool of mana to draw from, after only a short amount of time being contracted to Subaru, they could pull mana right out of the atmosphere

Effectively allowing infinite mana if they were reserved and not too wasteful

That was the mindset of most spirits

Blaise just launched as many fireballs as she could before needing to rest

Her only restriction was Subaru begging her to not light the forest on fire

She just likes the others if they didn't want could ignore certain commands Subaru gave

It was the unique way he worded their contract

Making them almost equal to the contractor

But Blaise respected and loved Subaru as a family member

So, she didn't set the forest alight

But whenever a ma beast was unfortunate enough to walk in her sight of view...

KA-BOOM

She would hit it with enough firepower, so it exploded

At first, Subaru was a little unsettled by this violence

But he soon began to care less.

And Subaru's ability to care would soon be tested greatly

...

Subaru was walking through the markets of Banan

He made sure to arrive after the merchants had set up

If something caught his eye, he might buy it with the small amount of silver he had

Maybe something to eat?

Subaru noticed something... familiar about the building of Banan

He couldn't put his finger on it, but it felt almost familiar... but that's ridiculous, right?

Why would this place a place he hasn't yet explored feels so... Familiar?

Had he forgotten something else?

...

Subaru walked past several stalls

Most had food

Bread

Fish

Red meat

Mystery meat????

It was just a medieval-styled marketplace

Subaru then saw an alleyway ahead

"...Girls I'm not sure why... but it feels like every time I go past an alleyway, it triggers an event where something bad happens."

"You can't blame yourself for that."

"Yeah, if you didn't go past then all those nasty events would have just played out regardless"

"... Ok, I'm going to walk past this alleyway and quickly look in. Now it would be very unlikely for me to just happen to stumble into a third robbery."

Subaru slowly walked over to the hallway and peeked inside

...

Once again Subaru stumbled into a robbery taking place

However, this one was a little different

The robber had already beaten the victim and stolen their goods

And they had beat them senseless until they were but a bloody mess on the ground

Nobody came to help that poor boy

The robber, a tall busty female who seemed to have a special power that increased her strength looked toward Subaru

"Ohhhhh and whom would you be? Tell me are you here for this boy?"

Subaru with an unreadable expression looked towards the beaten boy

"Subaru please get closer, I will heal him," Aqua told Subaru

"Nar Subaru let's kill that Bitch now. Ill blast her into the afterlife quickly... then aqua can go heal that boy."

"Do both." Said Subaru thinking of the most obvious solution

"Subaru, I need your mana and mine to stabilise a fatal wound. And if you help Blaise, I cannot properly heal that boy."

Subaru looked from the boy to the woman

"Interesting... I see you are unarmed. Did you by any chance beat that boy unconscious with your bare fists?"

"Yes, yes I did." The Woman raised their fist towards their mouth and licked some of the blood

"I take it you're either some type of demi-human or got a divine protection that increases strength"

The woman smiled nastily revealing some fanged teeth

"Right the first time."

"What even are you? Some Dog hybrids?"

"How rude, I was ok with letting you walk away but I guess you wish to join your friend over here."

"Spirits I have decided to kill that Demi human first then heal that boy."

"W-what if he dies first?"

"That's life... FINE!" Subaru yelled out loud surprising the demi-human since Subaru had been silent most of the time.

"Spirits let's see if we can... passively scare her away. Please manifest... now."

To the demi-human's surprise, six quasi spirits began to manifest around this mysterious boy

The demi-human was ok with fighting a normal magic user... but even she knew spirit arts users were dangerous.

"Y-you're a spirit arts user? Wait a minute are yo-"

"SHUT UP!"

"?!"

Subaru didn't want her to finish

Mostly because he didn't want her to say anything that reminded him of his first encounter with Emilia

"Listen here DOG."

Subaru spoke with annoyed venom. He wasn't exactly directing any anger towards the demi-human more of just a grossed and annoyed tone

"This can go two ways Punk. One you walk away unharmed, you may keep whatever you stole. Or Two I kill you then heal that boy regardless."

The Demi-human thief was shocked to hear this

This boy

His spirits

His covered face

It was undoubtedly him

"Neo..." The demi-human whispered

She had of course heard rumours about some boy scout running around helping people

And after hearing a few stories she even believed she had the strength and skill to kill him if they met

But here she was scared out of her wits

Neo wasn't just some kid running around with a lesser spirit or two doing good deeds

He was a powerful spirit arts user

One whom a normal person would show respect to just because of his spirit arts

The Demi-human raised her arms

"Listen... if you let me go ill change for the better."

"Yeahhh you won't. But as promised, walk away now and I'll leave you alone."

"Heh very well."

Subaru watched as the Demi-human ran out of the alleyway

Subaru sighed

He had avoided a fight with a potentially tough opponent

Subaru turned his attention to the boy on the ground

"Ok Aqua let's heal him and get out of here."

"Right."

Aqua floated over to the boy and started healing him

Subaru watched with a small smile

Then he heard footsteps approaching from behind and they were fast

Subaru turned his head around but wasn't fast enough

As the demi-human shoved her claws into his side and drew a lot of blood

"Ha, what are you stupid?! Never turn you're back on an enemy. Oh man, killing Neo, that might be worth bringing up in a conversation!"

Subaru felt something within him snap

He turned his head towards the demi-human staring her directly in the eyes

His eyes seemed to hold back the gates of hell

"You... you're going to regret that."

Subaru brought his spirits to his side

"Huh, you're quite resilient for a human. Most would be screaming at the damage I just inflicted... Ummm."

The Demi-human took a step back

Neo's eyes once holding a level of care for the boy behind him were replaced with nothing but pure malice. Strangely while his eyes and actions indicated that he was mad with her. His eyes seemed to only hold those emotions for other people.

She was just in his way and anger

The Demi-human wasn't aware of it but she had just signed her death certificate

Then she heard Neo whisper one word

"goa"

A massive fireball erupted from Neo's fire spirit

This caught the demi-human off guard and she was engulfed in the flames

But unlike the ma beasts who died almost instantly, she burnt slowly

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"

Subaru with emotionless eyes cooled himself down

As he began to heal himself, he realised that he forgot someone

Subaru turned around ignoring the flaming corpse he created

And quickly ran over to the boy...

Subaru put his hand to the boy's heart yet there was nothing

It wasn't beating it was just silent and still

"Aqua quickly!"

Aqua tried her best to heal the boy, his wounded closed, and he looked healthier yet

Subaru was too late

If that Demi human didn't come back both might have lived

"I... was... too slow... why?"

Subaru staring at the boy's corpse could only ask himself why he failed

Why couldn't he save his life

Was he still too weak?

Yeah, that had to be it

If he were stronger, he could have quickly taken care of the demi-human then healed the boy

Subaru's mind refused to blame anyone but himself

In his mind, he was the cause of both these deaths, where if he had trained harder, better, and longer he could have saved both.

"Aqua... please heal me... we are leaving."

"Yes, Subaru."

...

Aqua was both happy with Subaru wanting to prioritise the boys healing first

And understanding that Subaru was not at fault

But it still broke Aquas heart when she couldn't properly heal that boy

While most other spirits care very little about life outside Subaru their contractor.

Some spirits like Blaise enjoy ending life.

But for someone to use healing magic they must care deeply about life

And Aqua truly cared about all life

While she prioritised Subaru over all other life forms, they still held enough value to make her want to help.

Even as a Lesser spirit Aqua wanted to rid the world of pain by healing everyone

But for most of her life, she couldn't heal even a small bug

Just to live she had to constantly burn through most of her mana

Not leaving enough space to heal people

But that all changed when she met her contract Subaru

Subaru was her first-ever healing patient

It filled her with such joy to lift some pain that Subaru carried around

And it filled her with despair when she wasn't strong enough to fully fix Subaru

But once she evolved her magic became so much stronger

Subaru's throat still needed constant treatment

But she was like a pocket medic for him

And she was happy to help

But Aqua knew physical inquiries were the least of Subaru's problems

She and the others would have to try to help Subaru with whatever he deals with daily... and his neglectful mindset was not making it easy

Even when they first met it was obvious that Subaru was internally struggling

But for the time Aqua pushed that to the side to help with his physical condition

It was heartbreaking to see a human struggle to do something as basic as walking and talking...

Aqua for the longest time didn't know hate

But whoever did this to her Subaru... she would never heal... Aqua would be more likely to throw an ice crystal through their hearts.

And as his water spirit aqua would make sure that Subaru would heal both physically and mentally

...

Subaru was walking away from the marketplace

After what just transpired, he didn't feel too comfy being there

Subaru decided that the best thing he could do was to ignore Halibel's request and train in an isolated location

At least this way he wouldn't hurt anyone

...

Subaru sat on top of a green hill

He was focusing on controlling the mana within his gate

He didn't feel like doing push-ups or getting sweaty, so he focused on controlling his mana better

Unfortunately to Subaru's dismay, his Yang spirit informed Subaru that the element he controlled wasted the most mana and was extremely difficult to control

But since he was contracted to spirits, he could pull mana from them instead effectively giving him access to every element

So, Subaru decided to do a little Earth magic practice since earth would be one of the easier elements for a beginner to learn

So here we are

Subaru and Toph

Both would start with a small task

All Subaru had to do was form a small rock wall

"Ok Subaru just focus on my mana and the land around you."

"It's a little weird you know. Using someone else's mana... while using my mana feels like being underwater in a pool. Using yours feels like a bucket of water is splashed on my face."

"Makes sense, after all, you are taking in my mana to use. It wasn't already there you pull it out of my gate to add to yours. Ok now then focus on the ground, try to pull some of the earth out of it."

Subaru lifted his hand trying to lift the ground

"No Subaru, you must feel the earth... take off your shoes."

"What no."

"Do it."

"No"

"Dooooo it."

"... No"

"Ugh fine then... touch the ground with your hands, get a feeling for the earth and allow our mana to flow through it."

Subaru put his hand onto the ground

Subaru could feel the soft grass and dirt on his hands.

And as his mana flowed, he could feel the earth being slightly magnate towards his hands

And with a strong pull, Subaru lifted about seven handfuls of dirt out of the ground forming a small wall.

"There ya go. Now isn't that easier than using that ineffective Yang stuff?"

"Toph you better not be insulting me," Shami said annoyed

"Toph... while it is easier to use earth, I know for a fact that Yin and Yang are simply better."

"How?"

"I've seen the full extent of Yin magic from a great spirit... and since Yang is also super rare I'm gonna guess that it is also good."

"He gets it," Eon said

"But Toph the earth magic is still very nice to use. It's peaceful in a way."

Subaru sat down legs crossed

He began to mediate

Toph always seemed so level-headed and calm... well not like Eon who seemed wise, Toph reminded Subaru of a hippie

So, Subaru would try to imitate Tophs emotions, maybe that would help him control earth better.

...

It was a bit past mid-day

Toph had spent a while helping Subaru learn Earth magic

Toph was always the type to take things easy

And Subaru and her meditating was perfect for both

Toph could help Subaru become accustomed to her mana while she took it easy

Occasionally she would tell Subaru to lift a rock or throw a sharp rock

But that was to avoid suspicion from the other spirits that she might have been slacking off a bit

Even as a lesser spirit... Toph was just lazy. She was naturally born slightly stronger than most other spirits, so she never struggled with mana, and she never wanted anything

However, when Subaru called for help, she felt an urge to help the boy

Was it his super high spirit affinity? She doesn't know

But as lazy as she is, putting the effort into contracting Subaru and helping him is something she would never regret. She even got a name from him.

...

Subaru had finally stopped meditating

He never really meditated since his mind was always crowded and heavy

But he was able to focus on Tophs mana for an extended time

Making him slightly better at earth magic

But as all humans do, he was once again hungry

Halibel had insisted that he stayed on a special vegetable and meat-only diet

It wasn't to help him grow muscles but to replace the fat and muscles he lost

Subaru hadn't told Halibel his tragic past, but Halibel could always tell whatever happened was very impactful.

So, Subaru would search a market containing vegetables hoping to find a cart with cheap and healthy veggies.

Yet everything healthy seemed so expensive

Sure, he could probably steal it... but he had already stolen enough

Unless things became desperate again, he would refrain from stealing

Soon enough Subaru came to a cart that contained Potatoes

"Excuse me sir." Subaru asked softly

"Hmmm what can I do for ya son?"

"How much are these Potatoes?"

"...You mean Tatoes?"

Subaru had forgotten that some of the foods had stupid names

"Sure... how much for three Tatoes?"

"That will be 4 silvers."

Subaru handed the man 4 silver

"Thank you come again."

Subaru just walked off

As he was heading home, he saw the Demi-human body he burnt still on the ground

"Guess nobody loved her enough to at least move the body... shame... I know for a fact that if I were better... more like... a real hero I could have saved both."

"Subaru please stop-"

Aqua was suddenly cut off by Eon

"Aqua, what you've said has already been saying before. Allow me to talk."

"Eon? What can you say that hasn't already been said?"

"Subaru, once we arrive home that will be the appropriate place to talk."

"Alright if you say so."

...

Subaru was at home

He had set the Tatoes off to cook in a pot of boiling water while he and Eon had a talk

"..."

"..."

"Subaru, I've noticed a disgusting pattern of yours."

"Oh, what would that be?"

"You seem to be playing both sides. You're a victim yet you lash out whenever provoked. Yet you only blame yourself allowing your emotions to boil up until explodes."

"...That's..."

"I'm not saying you have no reason to act out. But when you just allow it to get worse and worse by blaming yourself and failing to accept that it's not your fault. Well, it shows the worst of humanity."

"Are you really comparing me to the worst?"

"Yes, you individually are not. You are probably one of the best humans this world has to offer. But your actions in themselves are the disgusting thing."

"Ohhh, now what does this accomplish? What's supposed to happen after you've said that?"

"Subaru if you expect me to believe that after a single talk you will just miraculously get better than you are wrong. I'm aware that these issues take time to heal. It's illogical for a single conversation to heal wounds that go so deep."

"So, you basically just told me that my actions are gross and to take my time healing?"

"No... what I'm telling you to do is stop blaming yourself. You got stabbed by a beast's claws, yet you blame yourself."

"..."

"Subaru your dinners ready!"

Blaise entered

"Oh, you didn't burn them, did you?"

"Of Couse not, I made sure to boil them with only the best elegance."

"Alright, let's eat."

...

Subaru was in bed excited for tomorrow

He would finally get to train with Halibel again

He had bonded with most of his spirits today

And he was ready for bed

But one spirit who hadn't had any time wasn't ready to let him rest

Aeolus was staring at Subaru

And Subaru knew it

"What is it Aeolus?"

"I suppose you spent the whole day with the other spirits. But you completely left me out. We are going to spend some time together now."

Subaru rolled over to face Aeolus

"What do you want to do?"

"Tell me a story."

"About?"

"You."

"...I'll try but I may have a few gaps in my information."

"Ok."

"So, you know I was once a butler."

...

"Then I dropped a tree on the white whale."

...

"Oh, but Sloth oh Ho, I got my revenge against him after he once took something from me."

...

"And so, sloth went down to a rental goa."

...

"And then Rem was forgotten."

...

"So, we went to the sanctuary."

...

"I met Garfeil"

...

"That's the place I learnt about the great rabbit."

...

"Anyways I learnt of the might spell Al Shamak."

...

"And after all that... I had my memories eaten. And here we are any questions?"

Aeolus was looking at Subaru in admiration

Subaru was truly a hero, a legendary human.

One worthy of her admiring

"Umm, how did you know about all that I suppose?"

"... That's a secret."

"... Fine."

"Aeolus."

"Yes, I wonder?"

"Tomorrow's going to be a good day."