Each could see it plainly in the other's eyes: confusion, disbelief, something bordering on panic.
"What's wrong with you two? Jumping like you've seen a ghost."
Felt squinted at Subaru, unimpressed.
Subaru's mouth twitched. A cold, nameless dread crawled up from somewhere deep in his chest.
No hesitation. He threw open the carriage door and bolted toward Gojo like his life depended on it.
Gojo's reaction was immediate. The moment clarity hit, his sunglasses came off and his eyes swept the surroundings.
No flow of Cursed Energy. No trace of Mana either. Everything matched what he'd observed when he first arrived in this world.
But if it wasn't an illusion, then what the hell was this?
His mind raced, cold and methodical.
Before falling asleep, he hadn't sensed a thing. And sleep didn't dull the Six Eyes. Even the faintest ripple of Cursed Energy or Mana within range would have woken him instantly.
A sneak attack was out of the question.
So how had someone done this? How had he and Subaru both been thrown backward through time?
The situation was obvious enough.
They were back in the capital. Still at the point where they'd gone to the Mathers family's city residence, about to depart for Roswaal's domain with Emilia and Rem.
Rem.
The thought struck like a match. The dessert she'd brought him last night.
Was it the dessert?
His gaze flicked to Rem in the driver's seat. She was watching them.
But something was different.
In all his previous interactions with her, the maid had been polite if distant. A sharp tongue now and then, a demeanor that ran cool rather than warm, never once suggesting any particular closeness.
Even so, she'd always been respectful. Proper. Nothing out of line.
Now, buried deep in those blue eyes, Gojo caught something unmistakable.
Loathing. Pure, concentrated hatred.
He had never seen that from her before. Not once. Not under any circumstances.
Subaru reached his side by then, breathing hard, eyes darting across the scene. His voice dropped to a whisper.
"Gojo, you... you came back too, right?"
The question said everything. He'd experienced the same thing.
In a world where no one else had changed, two travelers from another place were the only ones who could trust each other completely.
"Yeah."
Gojo nodded. Said nothing more. Then, without warning, he grabbed Subaru by the collar and hurled him sideways.
The move caught everyone off guard. Subaru yelped as he sailed through the air.
While every pair of eyes tracked the flying boy, Gojo studied their faces.
Inside the carriage, Felt and Emilia both wore identical looks of bewildered surprise. Genuine confusion. Neither had any idea what was happening.
Rem showed surprise too, up on the driver's bench. But beneath it, the hatred in her eyes hadn't shifted an inch. Still locked on Subaru. She was trying to hide it, straining to keep it buried, but under the Six Eyes it burned clear as daylight.
So it does involve Rem.
No, wait. Last time, when she interacted with Subaru, there wasn't a shred of hostility.
And her strength... there's no way she could pull off something like reversing time.
What is going on? Why would Rem despise Subaru after the reversal? Did something happen that we don't know about, some change...
Analysis churned at full speed. His hand flicked out mid-thought, and an invisible pull yanked Subaru back through the air and deposited him at his side.
Still reeling from being launched without explanation, Subaru opened his mouth to protest, but Gojo was already steering him toward the carriage.
"H-hey, wait..."
"Gojo, what are we..."
Subaru knew his own limits well enough. Faced with something this bizarre, the smartest play was to stick close to Gojo, keep quiet, and avoid making things worse.
"Calm down." Gojo's voice was low, pitched for Subaru's ears alone. "We're not in any danger right now. I checked everything. Nothing's out of place. So there's no reason to panic. We take it one step at a time, watch for differences. Whatever has the power to rewind time like this... if it wanted to do something to us, it wouldn't be this simple."
"Don't act strange. Behave the same as before."
The steady words settled Subaru's nerves. He was right. When you understood nothing, the best strategy was to hold your ground and watch for what had changed.
"Got it."
Gojo carried him back into the carriage by the collar and dropped him next to Emilia.
Felt eyed them both like they'd lost their minds. "What was that about?"
"That kind of slapstick won't earn you any tips around here."
"Really? I thought it'd at least get a laugh out of you."
Gojo's tone hadn't changed at all. Light, easy, unbothered. He settled into his seat and leaned back comfortably.
"Are you two idiots?"
Felt rubbed her forehead, looking thoroughly exasperated.
Fair enough. Without context, what they'd done was borderline absurd.
"Passengers, may we depart now?"
Rem's voice came from outside the carriage.
"Of course. We're in your hands, Miss Rem."
Gojo popped his head out the window, waving with a grin.
Rem gave him a composed nod, flicked the reins, and the Dragon Carriage lurched into motion.
As the road's uneven surface jolted through the cabin, Gojo confirmed what he'd suspected.
The hatred in Rem's eyes wasn't aimed at both of them. It was specific. Targeted.
Directed entirely at Subaru.
In that brief moment their gazes had met, all he'd seen toward himself was wariness.
...
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