Chapter Text
Nothing lasts forever, but most things don’t even come particularly close. In Ram’s six decades of life everything she thought would stay constant when she was young had slowly faded away. Well, except for her sister. And thank goodness, because after 60 years she had no idea how to style her own hair. It should have been easy, she did style Rem’s every day, but it had ended up a disaster each time she tried on her own. So Ram resigned her hair to her sister’s whims.
Although still clearly pink, the colour of Ram’s hair had faded over the years into a softer shade with the slightest hints of grey. It was just as well, Ram’s body wasn’t as vibrant either these days and she doubted she could still pull off the old neon pink look. Honestly, she had grown to appreciate the slight greys peaking through. Her snark was suddenly tolerated much more after she had gained her first few greys, as if they were proof of her wisdom. She just needed Rem to do a few finishing touches, but this meant that for a few minutes, she was at her dear sister’s mercy.
“Do you want your hair up today for your date?” Rem said, casually framing Ram’s meeting as romantic, like she did most days.
“Rem, I am going to chat with our next door neighbour. When you ask Mr Harrison across the street to borrow a cup of sugar, should I call that a date?” Ram said, having had this discussion so many times she could play both parts.
“Is that what you’re doing over at the Natsuki house, dear sister? Asking for some sugar?” Rem said with a playful head tilt.
“As if.” Ram replied with a scoff, and a slight blush only her sister would ever have caught. “Ram has tried romance before. It was sweet, and pleasant enough, and she has had her fill. And if Ram were to ever find herself with the desire to go on a date, well it wouldn’t be with Mister Natsuki.”
“But you two are so good together! I’ve never met someone who could take so much… constructive criticism from you. And how many people out there can actually make you laugh as much as he does?”
“It’s true, there are few fools as laughable as Mister Natsuki.” Ram said, counting the brushes until Rem would let her go. “But we are friends, nothing more.”
It had taken a long time since Ram moved into the neighbourhood for her to even admit that much. Though for a small moment in her adulthood she could say she had friends, her world had been closing in for years. By the time she moved into the village and met Mister Natsuki, her only relationship that mattered at all to her had been Rem. And things had stayed that way for years, as her neighbour seemed to have no interest in making acquaintances (which worked perfectly for Ram).
It started to change one afternoon, when Ram had mistakenly made too many steamed tatoes on a night when her sister was away in the neighbouring village. Not willing to waste a perfectly good batch, she decided to see if Mister Natsuki would take some off her hands. When he saw her at the door he was his usual self, avoiding eye contact and answering in single word sentences. But once he got a whiff of her delicious basket of tatoes, his eyes lit up.
From that moment on, it was like a switch had flipped. They said hello when they saw each other in their yard. They started sharing baked goods when they cooked too many, or if they just wanted to brag. And they complained to each other. They could complain for days, about all the little things that the townsfolk did that grinded them the wrong way. Soon, they would be inviting each other into their sitting room for a night of gossip. And eventually it became a standing biweekly event.
Back then, it wasn’t just Rem who thought that they’d end up courting each other. Ram was waiting for the other shoe to drop, for this raven haired oaf to mess everything up by confessing to her. But he never did, which was fine. Because Ram was done with romance.
“And anyways sister, if I started dating Mister Natsuki and trade my only friend in for a boyfriend, well I know what you’ll start nagging me for next.”
“Well, you do need more friends.” Rem tutted. “But I’d probably start nagging for a niece or nephew.” Ram coughed violently.
“Rem! Your sister is 60 years old!”
“My sister is wonderful and amazing, and if anyone could do it it’d be her!” Rem said with a beaming glow.
“This conversation is over.” Ram said, raising out of her chair; hair be damned. “Honestly sister, you need to stop trying to turn everything into one of your romance novels. You could be spending this time trying to find your own Mister Right.”
“Sadly, my heroes only live on the page.” It was true, Rem had always had an incredibly high bar for her future partner. As much as the idea of romance fascinated her sister, Ram had to admit she had never seen the slightest hint of interest cross her sister’s face in the presence of a suitor. “ Unless maybe you’d lend me your Mister Natsuki. A bit of fixing up and maybe -”
Ram had already left, her sister giggling at how easy it still was to tease her.
***
There was one charming thing about the Natsuki house, and it was Mister Natsuki himself. Otherwise, the walls were showing their age and the house was full of ridiculous knick knacks. It wasn’t dirty, the house was cleaned regularly and surprisingly well. But the house lacked a feminine touch.
That was why when they met in the summer months, they would sit on his porch. Ram would bring her own chair, Mister Natsuki would chide her, telling her to think of her back. And Ram would ignore him, and her own complaining joints, before they sat and discussed their newest grievance. In the winter months they would sit in her cozy main room, and Rem would even occasionally drop by. But for some reason Ram enjoyed their summer nights the most.
“So, are you excited for Hoshin Appreciation day?” Mister Natsuki joked as he poured a fresh tea for his guest.
“Rem will have to buy a new calendar as I’ve worn our old one out from circling the date too vigorously.” Ram sarcastically replied.
“Tell her to pick one more up for me, I’ll cut out the date so I can see it every month.” Encouraged by a chuckle from Ram, he continued. “I’m just glad the queen of Lagunica was selfless enough to make a day celebrating someone else. And the fact that they share a last name, well that must certainly be coincidence.”
“Say what you will about Queen Anastasia, but that lady leaves nothing to chance.” Ram noted.
“Do you remember back during the Royal Selection, how up in the air the whole world seemed? I really thought we were in for a period of upheaval.I mean, imagine if Lady Felt or Emilia had managed to win, how different things would be today. Instead, it’s business as usual AND I’m still paying more taxes.”
“Who could have imagined the greediest woman alive would ask for more money?” Ram said with a resigned sigh. “And it’s Lady Emilia to you, you crotchety bumpkin. Don’t think that just because her old attendant says it that you can.” she said playfully.
“Right, right. Lady Emilia.”
They really did fit like a glove, Ram mused. On the odd night Ram felt like complaining about her old peers, it turned out that Mister Natsuki had been a bit of a news junkie and seemed to know every player from the royal selection days. Sometimes it felt like he knew them better than Ram did herself. Sort of like they were his old friends, but probably closer to pains in his neck.
The night continued to pass by, and their conversation drifted closer to home. Ram ranted on about their new town hall and its horrendous blue coat of paint. Mister Natsuki complained about all the eyesores that Mrs. Brennan had begun displaying in her yard as if it were a gallery.
“If anyone has no right to complain about dusty old eyesores, it’s you.” Ram said with a general gesture towards the inside of her neighbours house.
“First of all, I have enough wisdom to keep my collection inside. And more importantly, they are not dusty. Every surface of that house is dusted weekly to keep it shining.”
“Weekly dusting?” Ram said with a raised eyebrow. “That’s nothing for a former butler to brag about.”
“What can I say, I had a horrible teacher,” he said with a hearty laugh. Even Ram had to join in a little bit.
It was getting late, almost time to go, so Ram did what had become a little tradition for their meetings. She walked inside and picked up the first knick knack she saw, before presenting it to her host.
“Ram must know. Why in the world do you have this?” she said, gesturing to the old whip she had picked up. “Was this a reminder from your previous employer to stop slacking off?”
“Ha, if only it was something useful.” He said with a faint nostalgia. “Would you believe me if I said I used to use this whip for self defense?”
“Of course.” Ram said, a tad too sweetly.
“And would you also believe me if I said I was quite skilled at it?”
“Not on your life.”
“Ha, it’s been so long I can’t remember who’d be closer to the truth. But there was once a time where I thought I was quite proficient with this thing.”
“I’m sure you were the most skilled butler with a whip in all of Lagunica. By default of course, but nevertheless.” Ram teased gently.
“I wasn’t just a butler my whole life. I’m sure I was the best craftsman with a whip as well.”
“... Ram doubts that sincerely.” As she passed the whip back to him, she couldn’t help but smirk. She was sure it would have looked ridiculous back in the day, but now? The image was absurd.
“Please don’t throw out your back cracking that thing after I leave. Ram has no desire to make a get well soon basket for an ailing old fool.”
“Well now, if I knew I’d get a gift basket out of it I’d be cracking this thing years ago!” He might have continued blundering about but Ram had already left the porch and Mister Natsuki’s tomfoolery behind for the night as she lugged her chair back to her home.
That was when her mind split in two.
Falling to her knees, she could only grasp her head as her mind was rewritten. Memories she couldn’t even remember clearly twisted and shifted, but it didn’t feel like corruption. Cutting through the intense disorientation there was a sense of healing, as her mind returned to its natural state. After a moment, she could grasp the slightest of bearings. Her memories were being restored, just like with Rem so many decades ago.
She could hear a wail coming from her house, Rem must be going through the same thing for the first time. Her brain willed her legs to move but she had no balance and was soon writhing on the ground as old neurons fired for what might have well been the first time. But that could wait because unless she was remembering a missing triplet, what mattered was Rem. It was at that point, as she managed to start dragging herself towards her house that she felt a voice cut through the noise.
“Ram? What happened? Are you ok?” Mister Natsuki panicked as he rushed over to roll Ram onto her side.
“I’m… I’ll be fine. Can you help bring me to Rem, Mister …” as she finally unblurred her vision and looked in his eyes, her brain finally clicked into place. “Barasu?”
He took a second to respond, and in that moment Ram was able to sit herself up. Staring up at her neighbour, and apparently so much more, she could see the wheels turning in his mind. Finally, after a deep frustrated sigh he replied.
“Dammit.”