Re:Zero: Wrath Route Yandere Emilia Watches the Projection Chapter 1 1: The End of the Beginning and the Beginning of t

"So that's how it is — the story wraps up right here, huh."

Natsuki Subaru, dressed in his signature black-and-yellow tracksuit, murmured to himself with practiced indifference as he slid the manga back onto the shelf.

He looked up as he always did, his gaze drifting past his own reflection in the convenience store's glass door — and caught a glimpse of a couple strolling by on the empty street outside.

"Weird… shouldn't I be starting to see hallucinations about now?"

Subaru muttered quietly under his breath.

Then, with practiced ease, he turned and scooped up a few bags of snacks from the food aisle before heading toward the register.

"That'll be 363 yen —"

The cashier bagged the snacks while sneaking sideways glances at the high schooler in front of him.

Those slightly upturned, sharp eyes gave him a vaguely nacing look, made all the more intimidating by the well-trained muscle underneath. Combined with the suspiciously stuffed backpack slung over the guy's shoulders, it was hard not to wonder what exactly was in there.

Not that it was anything sinister, of course.

The cashier had gotten used to this particular weirdo by now. Every night, like a fixed NPC on a respawn tir, the guy would show up at the convenience store with that sa backpack — browse a manga or two, buy a handful of snacks, and leave. It had beco routine.

The cashier finished bagging the snacks and held them out.

"Have a good night."

Subaru gave a casual wave, paid, and walked straight out of the store.

He stood beneath a dim streetlight at the edge of the road, waiting for a gap in the traffic before crossing.

But then — a sudden, inexplicable impulse seized him. His body went rigid. His heart slamd hard in his chest, once.

"Hold on — did sothing just happen?"

"Is this it? Is that isekai trip from my mories finally coming? Right now, right here?"

Subaru blinked on reflex — and in that instant, everything before his eyes was overturned.

The surrounding world shifted from night to day.

He found himself standing in the middle of a bustling, traffic-filled street. Demi-humans of every variety walked openly among the crowd, their hair every color of the rainbow, most dressed in dieval-style clothing.

After his initial jolt of surprise, Subaru steadied himself remarkably fast.

Noticing the curious stares his tracksuit was drawing from the people around him, he instinctively shoved a hand into his pocket.

His fingers found a cold, solid grip — and he finally let out a breath.

"The day has finally co. Emilia, Rem, Ram, Beatrice — wait for !"

Subaru took a deep breath and hitched the heavy backpack higher on his shoulders.

He was just about to take his first step when two warm, gentle silhouettes flashed through his mind — figures that had left a mark on him he couldn't quite shake.

Back during the Sanctuary Arc, his mories of his mom and dad had amounted to little more than a single image: the two of them watching him with tearful smiles beneath a cherry blossom tree.

But this ti, he'd gotten his mories early. Did that an he'd had a real reunion with them after all?

Yeah… it felt kind of like logging out of a ga to rest at ho for a while. It had patched over so of that lingering heartache from the Sanctuary trials, at least.

Because the mom and dad inside the Sanctuary trial had only ever been an illusion. What had beco of the real ones — he didn't dare let himself think about it.

But this ti.

Since he'd known the crossing was coming, he'd sat his parents down and told them everything. And because they weren't anything like ordinary parents — because they were the kind who actually listened to their son — they'd taken it seriously.

He'd said his goodbyes properly, too. Even if the farewell involved the three of them clinging to each other and ugly-crying like it was the end of the world, which, admittedly, was a little embarrassing.

But even that — even that had beco a precious mory to him.

In the end, he'd made them a promise: he would clear this other world like a ga, survive all the way to the final ending, and break free from the fate that was written for him.

And then co ho — to take care of them in their old age, and repay everything they'd given him.

He would. He absolutely would.

This ti, everything was going to be different.

And so, with his parents' blessing at his back —

He — Natsuki Subaru — set out on a journey whose destination was finding the way ho.

Back to the present.

Subaru steadied his thoughts, locked onto his goal, and started walking toward the alley he'd ntally rehearsed a thousand tis — the one from his mories.

As he walked, his mind drifted back to where it had all begun:

One night, about a year ago, he'd been pulling an all-nighter grinding a ga when a splitting headache hit him without warning. An avalanche of foreign mories ca crashing into his head all at once.

It was like a dream — but from a first-person perspective. He'd lived through his own isekai crossing. He'd been transported to another world: a place called the Kingdom of Lugnica.

He'd encountered beautiful girls like Emilia and Rem, wielded his unique ability — Return by Death — to rewrite the story's ending, and carved out a hero's tale with Natsuki Subaru as its protagonist.

Was it precognition? A second life? A New Ga carried over from so cosmic save file?

Subaru couldn't say for certain. But the one thing he was sure of: there was no running from this crossing — and more than that, he didn't want to.

By accepting the future mories, he had already gained growth and strength through every death and loop before they ever happened.

"The First Encounter Arc, the Mansion Arc, the Royal Capital Arc, the Sanctuary Arc, the Water Gate City Arc…"

The future in his mories hadn't reached its ending yet.

But those precious fragnts — they had beco sothing uniquely his own: a walkthrough guide to the ga of his life.

But that alone wasn't enough.

Since fate had handed him this gift, Natsuki Subaru was not about to waste it.

In the year before crossing over, he'd thrown himself into a training regin of an intensity and discipline that left his old habits in the dust. Already no stranger to working out, after a full year of systematic conditioning his body had left behind its forr scrawny fra — he was lean, well-built, and asurably faster and stronger than before.

He still couldn't hold a candle to soone like Reinhard or Elsa with their inhuman physiques.

But for a Subaru with Return by Death, even the smallest physical improvent could be the difference between catching a lifeline and missing it entirely in the split-second chaos of a life-or-death situation.

Beyond that, he hadn't neglected his gear either — insurance was insurance.

Subaru rembered that in his mory-self's version of events, he'd brought a bag of snacks, a phone, and a wallet into the other world. That ant the rules had room to bend — and he'd made the most of it.

Over the past year, he'd gathered all manner of compact, potentially useful items and packed them into his bag. Most crucially, he was wearing a high-end custom-made slash-resistant underlayer pressed directly against his skin — specifically to handle the gut-hunter he knew from mory he'd inevitably run into.

And there was one more item — one he'd stashed in his jacket pocket out of fear that the backpack might not make the crossing with him: a handgun.

Don't ask him how he'd gotten any of this. A "hero" who'd grown through a hundred deaths tends to find a way.

"Alright — should be the alley just up ahead."

Subaru scanned his surroundings as he walked, cross-referencing the landscape against his mories one detail at a ti.

The alley was sandwiched between two residential buildings. Foot traffic near the entrance was sparse.

He vaguely rembered a flat stone slab on the steps — good for resting on.

He also rembered, very clearly, that this was the alley where three thugs had cornered and killed him. Multiple tis.

But things were different now.

With a year of serious training behind him, he had the guts and the ability to take down three knife-wielding punks with his bare hands if it ca to it.

A calm smile tugged at the corner of Subaru's mouth.

This wasn't the sa Subaru as before. Ard with growth he'd earned ahead of schedule, he was going to write a brand-new chapter — one with no regrets.

No, not from zero this ti. From… one.

And yet — the mont Subaru stepped into the alley, all those silent declarations of heroism died in his throat.

His gaze was snatched away, involuntarily and completely, by a figure ahead of him.

The back of a girl. A girl with silver hair like a flower frozen in ice.

"Wait — that person is…"

"Emilia?!"

Subaru's eyes went wide. Her na almost burst out of him before he managed, barely, to clamp down on it.

He tried to force himself to think clearly, but his thoughts were already in a tailspin.

What was Emilia doing here? Wasn't she supposed to be walking the streets right now — and have her badge stolen by Felt not long after?

"Is this the so-called 'butterfly effect'? Because I arrived at this alley early?"

As Subaru was still turning it over in his mind, his gaze drifted downward — and his pupils contracted sharply.

What filled his vision was a blinding, brutal red.

He saw, unmistakably, laid out on the steps:

Three bodies in clothes he recognized all too well, collapsed at the feet of Emilia — who stood there like a snow spirit undisturbed.

Warm blood was gurgling from puncture wounds in each corpse, pooling together into an ever-widening crimson stain.

They hadn't been dead long — perhaps killed only seconds before Subaru had stepped into the alley.

And the identity of those three bodies — they were the exact sa thugs who, in the original tiline, had cornered him in this alley and taken his life again and again.

Subaru's mind went completely blank.

"What… what is going on here?"

"Are those three… asleep? Did they pass out?"

"No, no, no — with that much blood… they have to be… dead. And recently."

Subaru's instinct was to talk himself into so other explanation, but everything in front of him was quietly, stubbornly telling him the truth.

"So don't tell … Emilia did this?"

"That Emilia? Pure, naive, wholeso Emilia-tan? That can't be right…"

From the other side of the alley, as if she'd sensed the newcor's stare, Emilia slowly turned around. She spoke softly, almost to herself:

"Hm? Soone's here?"

"Strange — I was sure Subaru said the only obstacles before he t were those three."

Emilia's voice was still lodic and clear as a bell. But what followed those words was a cold, flat statent that sent a chill down the spine.

"Well then. Might as well deal with this one the sa way as those three thugs."

"After all — any factor that might get in the way of eting Subaru must be eliminated."

Subaru, who had heard every word of that with perfect clarity, felt his head threatening to cave in.

She said Subaru — she ans ?

But we haven't even t yet!

What on earth is —

Subaru forced himself to stand still, bracing for composure he didn't feel, and watched as Emilia slowly turned to face him.

In appearance and build, she was identical to the Emilia-tan from his mories. Every detail matched.

That silky silver hair cascading like a waterfall. A young, heartbreakingly beautiful face. The signature snow-lotus ornant pinned to one side of her hair as always.

Those clear, pale violet eyes that made you want, instinctively, to hold their gaze.

All of it was so familiar.

And yet — why did everything about her right now, every word, every expression, feel so utterly alien to him?

If he had to say why… it was because the smile on Emilia's face as she turned toward him was horribly stiff.

Not a smile born from joy — just the corners of her mouth pulled into a technically perfect arc by sheer will alone.

Her exquisite violet pupils had lost their light. At a glance, they looked like the surface of a bottomless dark pool.

"Oh! It's Subaru — you're here~!"

A single look was all it took. Emilia recognized Natsuki Subaru instantly.

The coldness that had been written across her face dissolved at once, replaced in an instant by a warm, natural smile.

She imdiately ca pattering lightly down the steps, broke into a run toward Subaru, and spread her arms wide with open, unrestrained eagerness.

"Subaru — we're finally… eting again!"

Emilia didn't slow down or hesitate for a second. She flung herself straight into Subaru's arms — he was still standing there in a daze — and nestled her head contentedly against his broad shoulder.

Taking advantage of the position, and of the fact that Subaru couldn't see her face from this angle —

Emilia's cheeks flushed deep red. Like a drowning person who had finally clawed their way back to the surface, she breathed in the scent of him — deep, silent, ravenous breaths, as if she wanted to etch it permanently into herself and quiet the fear buried at the bottom of her heart.

"Mou~ I was so lonely, Subaru!"

At last, Emilia drew back a little. She took one look at the bewildered, completely lost expression on Subaru's face — and imdiately wilted, like a wet puppy left out in the rain.

"Because you left behind and walked away just like that! So decisively. So completely."

But almost at once, her expression shifted again. She laughed — a light, breezy laugh, even as she said things that ought to have been heartbreaking.

"I knew it, didn't I? Subaru has lost interest in . Maybe he's even started to find annoying."

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have blurted that out. Saying I like you — "

"You'd probably rather I keep hating you forever, wouldn't you, Subaru?"

"But I just can't lie about it. These strange feelings inside — it's like they're going to spill over!"

Emilia pressed both hands to her chest as she spoke.

"So I thought — wouldn't it be nice if we could go back to the very beginning~?"

"And then, that wish actually ca true! So in that case —"

This ti, Emilia broke into the gentle, familiar smile that Subaru recognized.

"Hey, Subaru — you won't abandon Lia again this ti, will you?"

"Because look — I've already taken care of anyone who might have hurt you."

With those words hanging in the air, Emilia stared straight at Subaru, and sothing flickered in her violet irises — a dark blue fla dancing in the depths.

"…Doesn't that make Lia pretty useful?"

What existed in Emilia's eyes in that mont was a fragility and a madness seeping up from sowhere deep in her soul.

As though, at any second, she might be swallowed whole by the sheer force of her own emotions and shatter completely.

"Am I… trapped inside a nightmare?"

Subaru stared at Emilia's face in a kind of waking stupor, feeling as though an invisible hand had reached into his chest and was squeezing his heart without rcy.

Fear crept through him in silence. He opened his mouth — and found his throat had no voice to give.

"Why aren't you saying anything?"

Emilia tilted her head, puzzled — then, as though sothing clicked, she let out a soft, startled "oh."

Suddenly she raised her left hand high and brought it down hard — she slapped herself across the face without a mont's hesitation.

The force was enough to leave half her face red and swollen in an instant.

But Emilia didn't seem to notice or care. Only a flash of self-reproach passed through her eyes — the look of soone who'd realized they'd made a mistake.

She dropped her head and muttered rapidly to herself:

"Really now — why did I say that again!"

"No good, no good. I can't keep making trouble for Subaru. Or he'll abandon again."

Sothing seed to resolve itself in her mind. Emilia completely ignored the angry red swelling on her face and clapped her hands together with a bright smile.

"Oh right — I just rembered that Subaru doesn't know yet!"

"Well then, allow to introduce myself."

Emilia gracefully pinched the sides of her skirt and dipped into a slight bow:

"My na is Emilia. Just Emilia."

"As for my situation — I suppose you could say I'm a hostage currently being held captive by Subaru?"

Having said that, she seed a little shy, and stole a peek at the subtle shift in Subaru's expression.

When she didn't get the reaction she'd been hoping for, she smiled and added quickly, waving it off:

"Just kidding! So then, Subaru — what should I call you?"

"…You already know my na perfectly well, don't you?"

Subaru felt thoroughly blindsided. The whole scene felt surreal to the point of absurdity.

But looking at Emilia's clear violet eyes — and at her cheek, swelling visibly and steadily, which she was pretending not to notice at all — he could tell she was being completely, utterly sincere.

Subaru had no idea what was happening. But right now, all he could do was play along and hope it led him toward so explanation for this bizarre situation.

"My na is Natsuki Subaru. And right now… I suppose I'm a traveler, for lack of a better word."

"Is that so, is that so! Then is there sothing you're hoping to do here, Subaru?"

Emilia's eyes lit up as she looked at him — bright with anticipation, as though she was waiting for him to say the exact answer she had in her heart.

Sothing I want to do? Does saving you count?

Subaru's expression turned a little complicated. Sothing about this version of Emilia was honestly kind of terrifying, and he wasn't entirely sure how to feel about it.

For that matter — given the current situation, did she even need saving?

"Why have you gone quiet, Subaru?"

Sensing sothing was off in the atmosphere, the excitent gradually faded from Emilia's face.

She pressed her lips together, her violet eyes trained intently on Subaru's face — unwilling to miss the tiniest flicker of expression.

"Ah — I understand."

And yet just as quickly, Emilia worked it out with a single mont's thought. She'd been too hasty. Of course she had.

"You've just arrived in this country, Subaru, so you must be pretty lost. How about I show you around the city?"

Emilia wore a smile on the surface as she made the suggestion. Internally, she was a ss.

Bad bad bad! Too eager — will Subaru think I'm weird?

But then again, she reconsidered — maybe it wasn't as bad as all that.

As if guided by so thread of fate, the mont she'd encountered Natsuki Subaru, fragnts of mory had begun surfacing in her mind unbidden.

mories utterly unlike anything she'd lived through — two separate flashes of eting him, of coming to know him.

They were not false. She'd known at a glance: Natsuki Subaru carried the power to return to the past upon death.

No wonder… in the second mory of their eting, Subaru had called her by the na "Satella."

Because that was the na she herself had told him.

No wonder — in that mory, Subaru had called out to her from behind on the street, and then stood there talking to himself in words she couldn't follow.

Thinking about it now, that scene was almost exactly like this one.

The current her and the Subaru from back then who'd been talking strangely — weren't they basically the sa?

The thought made Emilia let out a little laugh she couldn't suppress. Without aning to, tears slipped from her eyes — the kind that co from the relief of reunion.

She rembered now.

Back then, she'd been stopped by Subaru calling out to her — and he'd addressed her by that forbidden na, the na of the Envy Witch — and she'd been so angry she'd snapped back with so pretty awful things.

Subaru must have been so hurt. So sad.

But this ti, the roles were reversed — and Subaru hadn't shown a single sign of disgust at her strange behavior.

Otherwise… otherwise she wasn't sure if she could have held herself together, or what she might have done next.

"Thank you, Subaru."

"Thank you… for saving . Back then, and right now."

Emilia lifted her head. Her gaze — clear as ice crystal — t Subaru's, and she took in the sight of his furrowed brow, his tense and bewildered expression.

The two of them blinked at each other, their eyes locked.

Each searching the reflection of their own face in the other's pupils.

Just like the first ti they'd t.

"Subaru… is really just like an angel, isn't he?"

…

…

After searching for a long ti, I finally found a Re:Zero fanfic focused on 'IF' with an interesting the 😁

SYNOPSIS:

Natsuki Subaru, still living in Japan, suddenly finds his mind flooded without warning by strange mories of himself in another world — the Royal Capital First Encounter Arc, the Mansion Arc, the Royal Selection Arc, the Sanctuary Arc, the Watergate City Arc...

At the sa ti, characters from IF tilines he never knew existed have also been reborn:

[IF Wrath] Emilia, who fell in love with the man who imprisoned her — after confessing to the "King of Purge" Subaru and being rejected, she convinced herself she had been abandoned, and shattered completely.

[IF Pride] Reinhard, who had every person he swore to protect destroyed by the "Sin Archbishop" Subaru — and for the first ti in his life, learned what it ans to truly hate.

[IF Lust ❤️] Crusch, Priscilla, and two other Royal Selection candidates are reborn carrying mories of having been "conquered" by Subaru.

Multiple world lines converge into one. Elsa the Bowel Hunter vows to fight for Subaru and no one else. Reinhard, upon recovering mories of the Capital's burning, is consud by rage and sets out to kill Subaru. The Witch Factor within Emilia — born of the Wrath route — runs out of control, and she transforms into the [Witch of Envy], threatening to destroy the world.

Beneath a veil of ornate lies, the tilines of four hundred years past and four hundred years future curve and et, forming an endless loop.

At the story's beginning, Emilia says: "Subaru, I… I wuv you!"

At the story's end, Subaru declares with unshakeable confidence: "You may call — the [Great Sage] Flügel."