Chapter Text
Natsuki Subaru was bleeding.
Blood oozed from his finger in a steady stream of crimson, flowing down his hand and dripping onto the cold wooden floor of a desolate shack in the slums. His breathing became erratic, his heartbeat growing faster as adrenaline rushed into his body, preparing him for the imminent danger his life would surely be facing. His trembling eyes, wide in fear, slowly began to look away from the bleeding finger, to his feet where he saw… the body of Old Man Rom, a man who despite his size, was a loving grandpa and caretaker who cared deeply for a young girl named Felt.
Subaru felt his stomach turn as his eyes laid upon the corpse of the gentle giant, their eyes glossed over with the paint of death, his throat sliced open with shards of glass remaining lodged inside. Somehow managing to tear his eyes off the corpse, mostly because of the rising urge to vomit, he managed to find the figure of a familiar girl with blond hair. The girl was lying on the ground in a pool of someone's blood- No, of her own blood. The girl was lying in a pool of her own blood, still as a statue, eyes not blinking, chest not rising in an attempt to breathe in the air required for life. Why would she need to? A corpse didn’t need to breathe. Her eyes, glossed over with the same paint as Old Man Rom, were lifeless. The eyes of Felt were lifeless, therefore Felt was a corpse. Felt was a corpse, hence Felt herself was dead. Felt and Old Man Rom were… dead.
Natsuki Subaru was bleeding.
His blood, trickling down his hand onto the cold wooden floor of the now lifeless shack, made a drip as it hit the floor of the now abandoned shack. Felt and Rom were dead, so the shack was now dull and abandoned.
Drip…
Felt and Rom were dead. Subaru’s breathing became erratic and ragged, his mind becoming overcome with fear and panic.
Drip… Drip…
Felt and Rom were killed. Subaru’s eyes opened and closed, twitching uncontrollably as his mind began to reject the scene in front of him. But no matter how much he wanted to reject it, only one simple truth remained.
His body began to shake, his stomach had a million knots in it, and he felt like he was going to throw up. His vision became hazy, unable to focus any longer on the gruesome scene in front of him.
Drip… Drip… Drip…
He couldn’t think anymore, his mind shutting down. He couldn’t see what was in front of him, his vision becoming blurry. He couldn’t hear anymore, a constant ringing was the only thing that remained. He felt cold, a looming sense of dread and fear hanging over him like a blanket. He couldn’t breathe, his lungs trying but failing to bring precious air to his now paralyzed body, frozen in fear.
Drip… Drip… Drip… Drip… Drip… Drip… Drip…
Natsuki Subaru was bleeding.
I... I’m bleeding…
—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ram was happily peeling potatoes.
While Ram was easily the best, most qualified, beautiful, responsible, hard-working, and most trustworthy maid under Roswaal L. Mathers' employment ( in her own incredibly biased opinion ), her skills were best demonstrated while preparing her favorite dish, freshly steamed potatoes. With nimble dexterity, she wielded the razor-sharp kitchen knife so that raw potatoes turned to freshly peeled potatoes before you could say, “What's for dinner?” Indeed, if the person who ruled the world were decided by who was the greatest at peeling potatoes, Ram would not be crowned Queen… because, instead, she would be revered as a Goddess among mortals. Ram grinned upon the thought, but sadly, the world is very unfair, and such a thing was not possible… yet.
Drip… Drip… Drip…
Ram was no longer happily peeling potatoes.
Ram’s brow narrowed, and her lips formed a frown, her mood rapidly turning sour. Ram herself was surprised at how quickly her mood changed; it was like a spell of negativity had just been cast upon her beautiful self.
Drip… Drip…
Scratch that. In this particular case, the source of Ram’s growing silent rage was more akin to a curse, a thorn in her side that was currently impossible to get rid of. Natsuki Subaru… her first meeting with the raven-haired boy was far from friendly, with him being revealed to be the type of man who, upon waking up from a long sleep, would start talking nonsense that nobody understood and, worst of all, would not hesitate to have perverted fantasies about her noble self and innocent little sister, Rem.
However, Ram couldn’t bring herself to hate him completely, as he managed to save her lady from being killed in some dirty shack in the slums by a psychotic killer. So, to properly give thanks and reward him for such a grand task, she decided to spare him when he defiled Ram and her lovely sister Rem’s bodies with his lust-filled eyes. Indeed, Ram was the most merciful maiden to grace this world with her presence, was she not?
Ram: “But alas, it appears there are irredeemable men in this world that cannot comprehend the mercy of a goddess like Ram and continue to push their greed to inhuman levels of sin. How dare Barusu exploit Ram’s endless generosity by forcing her to teach him the basics of the job he asked her Master to give him!?”
Drip… Drip… Drip… Drip…
Finally losing her patience, the pink-haired Oni snapped her gaze to the cause of her ire, Natsuki Subaru, who was currently doing his job of peeling potatoes to prepare tonight’s dinner. Her excellent Master had entrusted Ram to show him the ropes and transform him into a fully-fledged, respectable butter of the Roswaal L. Mathers Mansion. While initially apprehensive about the task, Ram prided herself on never turning down an order from her beloved Master, so she naturally wasn’t going to start here. She had given him the simple task of peeling potatoes, which anyone with a drop of housework skills could complete with minimal difficulties… or that’s what she assumed would happen. Imagine her surprise when she turned to find the source of the irksome noise that was rapidly gnawing at her nerves, expecting to see perhaps the raven-haired boy having clumsily spilled the bucket they used to wash potatoes, only to find him with his back turned to her, not moving, not diligently peeling his share of potatoes, seemingly appearing to be just staring out the window… daydreaming?
Ram stood aghast, face filled with apparent shock towards the seemingly endless sloth of the man in front of her who reached an even new low in her mind just now. Not even attempting to do his one assigned task half-heartedly, he had resigned himself to daydreaming and leaving all the work to the diligent yet fragile maid, Ram. Her face turning from shock to barely contained rage, she slowly began marching towards the distracted Subaru, intent on slapping him out of his fit of laziness–
Ram: “Ram didn’t expect much from Barusu, to begin with– However, she feels she must commend Barusu on his ability to exceed expectations and set the bar lower and lower for himself-”
Ram, who began berating Subaru for his apparent slothfulness, slowly trailed off as she approached the still Subaru, who did not attempt to respond to Ram’s ongoing slander against his character. As she slowly approached him, several key points of interest she failed to notice at first began to enter her field of vision.
The slow twitching… no, shaking of his body.
Ram: “-whenever he tries to do any task Ram asks him to do. Truly, such talents are befitting of a man such as yourself who-”
He took short and rapid breaths as if desperately trying to force air into his body—and failing to do so.
Ram: “-perverts everything… around… hk -!?”
Ram’s mind went blank.
The blood that was oozing down the finger of the boy she was berating flowed down his shaking hand until finally falling off– forming a small puddle of blood, filling the room with the familiar sound of water falling– nay, the sound of blood and gore.
Drip… Drip…
His eyes, which she mistakenly thought would be filled with their stupid yet firm look, were replaced by a stranger's eyes. A stranger who, looking with shaking eyes at an image unable to be seen by Ram, was terrified for his life . His face went beyond terror, eyes wide and pupils dilated, mouth agape while both struggling and then failing to bring air to his lungs, body shaking while being on the verge of collapse-
Natsuki Subaru was deathly afraid of something Ram couldn’t see.
Ram: “B-Barusu! Barusu, what’s wrong!? You’re bleeding!? Barusu!?”
Ram, snapping out the shock Subaru put her in while also cursing herself inwardly at her moment of weakness, grabbed Subaru’s shoulders and began shaking him back and forth, trying to break him out of whatever trance he was in. However, even with Ram’s repeated shaking and calling of his name, Subaru still did not respond…
Subaru: “ ...lt…ol…ro… ”
Ram barely picked up the low whisper that left Subaru’s mouth. Leaning in closer, she put her ear next to Subaru’s lips, letting both his breadth tickle her, as well as allowing whatever Subaru was whispering to be heard by Ram.
Subaru: “... felt…old man rom… why are you…”
Tears started to leave the corners of his eyes, the color of terror that had previously stained them beginning to be mixed with a shade of sorrow. Unable to stand the sight any longer, Ram resorted to the most powerful weapon she had in her arsenal, something that could solve any problem one faced in life, provided it was used properly: the power of violence.
*SLAP*
The sound of flesh meeting flesh at high speed echoed within the kitchen, and Ram felt the palm of her hand sting in pain at the sudden contact. However, the pain spreading throughout her hand was nothing compared to the red-hot feeling rapidly spreading across the raven-haired boy’s cheek, which was the target of said slap.
Subaru blinked… touching his cheek with his hand, his finger still slowly oozing blood, though, at a slower pace than at the start, he reached to confirm the new sensation that was finally able to reach his confused mind. His eyes started scanning his environment and, with his gaze resting on the pink-haired woman right in front of him who was responsible for breaking him out of his panic, he was able to force out weakly-
Subaru: “R-...Ram?”
Ram wasn’t able to respond in time before Subaru, cheek stained with blood from his fingers, lunged at her and wrapped his arms around her, desperately holding on to her as if his life depended on it. Ram, caught off guard by the sudden contact, blushed a light pink and was unable to move due to her arms being pinned to the side by Subaru’s hug. She started to squirm with her mouth agape.
Ram: “B-Barusu?! What are you…?! K-Keep your perverted hands to yourself-”
Having no idea what to do in this situation, which was unusual for the maid, Ram was at a loss for what she should do. She considered pushing the distraught Subaru off of her. With her superior strength, she would definitely be able to with little difficulty so-
Subaru: “ *Sob* ... R-Ram… *Sob*... Ram!..”
The combination of Subaru crying into her shoulder while also desperately calling out her name crushed such a thought the instant she heard such a heartbreaking plea. Resigning herself to her fate, she managed to wiggle her hands away from Subaru’s death hug and returned the favor by wrapping the crying boy in her own hug. Subaru stiffened from the unexpected contact but quickly relaxed when Ram rubbed his back, reassuring him that everything was alright and he could continue.
If he was showing any restraint beforehand, it all but disappeared when he let the floodgates open, allowing him to entirely dispel himself of all of the fear and sorrow he had allowed himself to accumulate behind Ram’s back up until now. Subaru allowed himself to cry into Ram’s shoulder, the latter rubbing his back in encouragement, while also probably being the only thing keeping the shaking boy from falling to the ground in exhaustion.
Ram: “It’s okay, Barusu. Barusu is safe and sound with Ram, and no one will be able to harm him while he’s in this mansion. There's no need to be so scared.”
Ram, eyes closed and whispering words of comfort into Subaru’s ear, continued to support the crying boy, not allowing him to fall back into the state of fear he previously fell victim to. In response to Ram’s kind words, Subaru cried, wept, and cried some more. He knew it was pathetic, but he couldn’t stop the tears from flowing, so he continued taking advantage of Ram’s kindness until his tears ran dry.
—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
He hadn’t known just how long he had cried for.
It could have easily been an hour to him, but in reality, it was probably around 10 minutes. 10 minutes of pathetic, eye-straining, gut-wrenching, and ugly-faced crying into the shoulder of a girl he had met less than a week ago. The girl had seen him in his most vulnerable state, clinging to her like a crying child to their mother. That was precisely what Natsuki Subaru had done in his mind.
Subaru: “I want to die. Someone, please kill me now. If the embarrassment I’m feeling right now won’t kill me, I’ll finish it myself.”
Ram: “If you’re well enough to hang your head in shame for having clung to Ram like a newborn to their mother, then Ram can safely assume she did a good job as a substitute mother for Barusu- or should I now call you Baby Barusu, Baby Barusu?”
Subaru: “I want to die. Someone, please kill me now. If the embarrassment I’m feeling right now won’t kill me, I’ll finish it myself.”
Ram: “While Ram would not normally hesitate in jumping on the chance of ridding this world of the scourge that is Barusu, if I lopped Barusu’s head off here, Rem would have to spend a lot of time cleaning up the blood, and Ram would be a bad sister if she let any part of Barusu touch her innocent little sister. So, as much as Ram hates to reject your offer, Ram respectfully declines.”
Subaru: “ So even if you kill me, you’d still have Rem do all the hard work and clean up after your mess? You really never change, do you? Heh…”
Subaru sat in a chair with his head held in his hands, thinking about how pathetic he must have been to end up in this situation. In front of him, with her head held high in pure smugness, was Ram, the pink-haired oni and maid of the Roswaal L. Mathers mansion. She had what appeared to be a bandage, and some type of medicine in each hand, and Subaru was smart enough to know what was coming next.
Ram: “Finger. Out. Now.”
Subaru: “...You don’t have to waste the supplies, you know? The cut isn’t that deep, and the blood just made it seem worse than it really is-”
Ram: “Is Baby Barusu scared of a little sting? Finger. Out. Now.”
Subaru: “Okay, okay. There is no need for that horrible nickname! Isn’t it enough to call me Barusu?!”
Subaru stuck out his left index finger with a cut which, contrary to what he tried to convince Ram, had a pretty deep cut running along the tip of the finger. Ram grabbed his hand to keep it from shaking and, aiming at the finger, which already had all the blood washed off by Ram, poured the medicine straight onto the wound. Subaru gritted his teeth, suppressing the urge to react to the searing pain in his left finger, trying to save whatever dignity he may have left after this ordeal. Finishing up by wrapping the finger in a tight bandage, Ram looked down upon her work with a satisfied smile.
Ram: “Barusu’s finger should be good to go when he wakes up for work tomorrow. Until then, please be sure not to undo Ram’s hard work. Well? Is Barusu also the type of man who is unable to say “thank you” to Ram even after she did something out of the kindness of her heart in Barusu’s time of need?”
Subaru: “...I’m sorry.”
Ram: “Huh?”
Ram blinked in confusion while Subaru continued speaking, his head hung low and eyes looking down at his feet. He didn’t dare to look at Ram.
Subaru: “I’m pathetic, am I not? Even though I’m the one who asked Ros-chi for this job, all I’ve managed to do so far has caused you trouble. The sight of just a little blood was enough to send me into a full-fledged panic attack, and I even stooped low enough to force you to comfort me until I calmed down. Ah, I am the worst, aren't I? I even got blood on your cute outfit, which is irredeemable-”
Ram: “...”
Subaru: “-Ah! Sorry, I’m talking too much, aren't I? Don’t worry, I’ll work twice as hard to make it up to you from now on! We still need to prepare dinner. I’ll finish peeling the rest of the potatoes, including your pile! I might not be that good with a knife, seeing as I cut myself pretty badly, but I’m a quick learner, so I’m sure I can get down the right technique if I try hard enough! Here, take my chair and relax while I get to work-”
Subaru's attempt to stand up was stopped by Ram, who placed her hands atop his shoulders, forcing him back into the chair. With Ram’s face being mere inches away from his face, close enough to feel each other's breath, Subaru’s cheeks flushed slightly pink at the unexpected closeness. With her eyes unable to be seen through her pink bangs, Ram strengthened her hold on Subaru's shoulders as if afraid he would try to escape-
Subaru: “Ram-?”
Ram: “Barusu is the worst, forcing others to worry about him and then being surprised when said people go out of their way to help him. Then, without even saying thank you, he tries to go off and do the same thing again and again whilst not considering how others will react to his self-deprecating behavior. How much farther can Barusu sink before finally reaching rock bottom, Ram wonders?”
Subaru: “...Ram was… worried? About… me? Wait, you were worried about me? Did I hear that Ram was worried about me?”
Subaru was dumbfounded. How could he not be? The same Ram who had always seemingly hated his guts was right before him, telling him she had been worried for him during his panicked state of mind. Sensing her mistake, Ram’s face flushed a color similar to her hair, and she quickly rushed to explain herself-
Ram: “W-What is Barusu insinuating?! Ram? Worried about stupid, arrogant, perverted, clumsy Barusu? Did Barusu lose so much blood that his brain stopped working properly?! Barusu cannot possibly believe anyone could care enough about him to care about his well-being genuinely, can he?!”
Subaru: “...Right, sorry… I must have been hearing things. My bad… There's no way Ram would ever care about someone like me after all…”
Subaru shook his head at such a stupid thought and, with a sad smile, rejected it from his mind. Seeing this and feeling a pang of guilt, much to Ram’s surprise, Ram softened her gaze and let out a huff of air in annoyance.
Ram: “Hmph! Be that as it may, Ram cannot deny there isn’t at least one person who cares about what happens to Barusu, no matter how much such a thought goes against Ram’s beliefs. Much to Ram’s dismay, it appears that Lady Emilia has taken a liking to Barusu and would likely be distraught if anything bad happened to him due to her kind nature. Do you understand, Barusu? Lady Emilia’s worries are also Ram’s, so it is only natural for Ram to ensure that Barusu does not cause Lady Emilia excess stress due to his selfishness. Suppose Ram needs to show Barusu something resembling kindness. In that case, it is absolutely not because she was worried about him but because it is simply her duty as a maid. Please get any perverted thoughts out of your head that Ram would normally be this kind to Barusu out of her own volition. Do you finally understand what I’m saying, Barusu?”
Subaru: “Y-Yes, I think I understand what you’re saying, but did you need to say it in such a mean-spirited way?”
Seeing that she had successfully improved the sulking teen’s mood, Ram breathed a sigh of relief and turned her attention to Subaru’s face. Ram was still holding Subaru down just in case he decided to get up without her permission. His eyes, no longer shaking with fear but still a little red from all of the crying that previously took place, locked onto Ram’s as she scanned for anything wrong with him. Ram kept staring into his eyes, which caused Subaru to turn another shade of red and look away in embarrassment.
Subaru: “R-Ram… I won’t try to get up, so…do you still need to be so close?”
Ram: “Ah… R-Right, Ram shouldn’t spend another second so close to Barusu unless absolutely necessary. Otherwise, she may catch some unknown disease Barusu is probably harboring.”
Finally backing away from the restrained Subaru, she pretended to clear her throat to hide the blush forming on her face.
Ram: “Anyway… this is what’s going to happen. Ram will finish preparing dinner, while Barusu will return to his room and rest until dinner. Ram will stop by Barusu’s room later tonight and check in on him. If she deems he has gotten better, we can continue Barusu’s studies.”
Subaru: “...Okay, if that's what you really want.”
Subaru wanted to argue that he was well enough to continue working, but Ram’s tone did not leave any room for negotiation, so he had no choice but to go along with her demands. Finally being allowed to stand up, Subaru started making his way out of the kitchen- but stopped in front of the door.
Subaru: “...Thank you, Ram… for well… helping me and… well, y’know what I’m trying to say… see you later, Ram.”
Ram: “...”
Leaving her with those words, Subaru left Ram and returned to his room. Ram stood in the kitchen alone, replaying his words in the back of her mind.
Ram: “...Barusu really is an idiot.”
Despite her harsh words, Ram's face was filled with a deep blush, and her smile betrayed her true thoughts.
—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Natsuki Subaru was walking back to his room.
While walking back to his room, as per Ram’s instructions, he intended to take it easy until it was time for dinner. However, his mind began remembering what had just occurred less than half an hour ago.
Subaru: “Idiot idiot idiot idiot idiot idiot idiot idiot idiot idiot idiot idiot idiot-”
Subaru began cursing himself out loud while pounding his forehead with his fist, unable to shake off the feelings of embarrassment and self-loathing that suddenly plagued him. He wanted to curl into a ball on his bed and wake up to find out this had all been a bad dream.
???: “...Subaru-kun? What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be helping Nee-chan with dinner?”
A voice called out to him, and Subaru opened his eyes to find a familiar-looking blue-haired Oni standing in front of him.
Subaru: “Oh, hello, Rem. Nice to see you too.”
Ram: “ Ah yes, forgive me for being so rude. It’s just that Rem was a bit surprised to see Subaru-kun here. It’s good to see you too. So, if you don’t mind me asking, why is Subaru not with Ram?”
With Rem being unusually confrontational, Subaru was a bit taken aback. Thinking that she somehow knew about his shameful secret, his mind immediately jumped back to what happened in the kitchen, a look of guilt spreading across Subaru’s face.
Subaru: “O-Oh yeah, Ram wanted me to take it easy until dinner because I had a bit of an accident with a knife, so she sent me back to my room to rest. I tried to argue that I was okay with continuing to work, but she didn’t listen and kicked me out of the kitchen. Ram said she’d finish dinner alone, but I think she would appreciate it if you went and helped her, Rem.
Noticing Subaru’s bandaged finger, Rem’s gaze softened a little.
Rem: “I see, so Ram sent Subaru back to his room? Is that really all that happened? Ram is such a good person, taking on extra work for the sake of others. Forgive me, Subaru-kun, but Rem must help her sister with dinner. Rem will see you later.”
Subaru: “R-Right, thanks for understanding-... she left.”
With eyes full of admiration for her sister, Rem bowed to the confused Subaru and made her way towards the kitchen without waiting for him to respond.
Subaru: “...You have such a great little sister, Ram... I’ll find out what kills me in my sleep and make sure you, Rem, Emilia, Beatrice, and Roswaal all make it out safe… I promise.”
Strengthening his resolve, Subaru continued towards his room, making a silent vow inside his mind. He only had a day or two until his eventual death, but he would make the most of the time he had left to prepare for the eventual attack.
Subaru: “Ah! I hope Ram doesn’t tell Rem and Emilia how I cried like a baby… If she does, I may just bite the bullet and let whatever kills me finish the job…”
Chuckling at the thought, Subaru opened the door to his room and threw his body onto the bed, letting sleep take his consciousness.
Meanwhile, a certain blue-haired Oni finally reached her destination. She reached for the door handle and opened it to find her sister on the other side-
Ram: “Ah, hello, dear sister. Whilst Ram would normally love being graced by her beloved sister’s presence, it is regrettable Rem had to see Ram in such a state.”
-kneeling next to a puddle of blood, a deep shade of crimson staining her elegant blank and white maid outfit.