Chapter 8 (Rams Birthday)
"There we go Ram, it's finally complete" Subaru said proudly.
Subaru looked over to Ram who had a skeptical look on her face, as she judged Subaru's craftsmanship.
"Barusu, I wouldn't trust putting dishes on that. Let alone our child"
"Don't say that Ram, this crib could sustain the weight of an elephant" Subaru said.
Ram made a confused face. "What's an elephant?"
"Elephants are these giant and ridiculously heavy animals that could be found where I'm from. They have these big ears and long trunks that make a distinct loud noise when they communicate or something" Subaru said.
Ram let out a scoff "They sound very stupid and completely made up, Barusu"
Ram walked up to the crib that took Subaru an entire afternoon to assemble.
She grabbed onto the corners of the crib and shook it slightly to test how durable it was, and after just one slight movement the self made crib came apart completely.
Seeing his hours of hard work crumble in front of him, Subaru couldn't help but let out a giant sigh as he face palmed in disappointment.
"I put so much effort into making that! How did it even fall apart?!" Subaru cried out.
"You clearly didn't assemble it right. Maybe next time get better at assembling things, Barusu"
"I spent all afternoon making that, so you can't say that I didn't try"
"Well I can say that you wasted hours of your time to achieve an obvious and predictable result."
"At least I actually put in some effort into making that and wasn't the one who was sleeping for the majority of the afternoon"
"You were the one that practically forced me to lay down and rest. I wanted to help you but you didn't let me"
"Because you're pregnant and I don't want you performing manual labor"
"I think you just don't want to feel emasculated having a pregnant girl be able to perform a manual labor task better than you can"
"That's not true at all. I am just concerned for you. Anyway I am going to head out now, and find someone that could assemble this for us"
"Oh, while you're out. Make sure you bring back some more deer meat" Ram said.
Subaru let out a giant sigh "Why do you have this huge craving for deer meat!? Out of everything you could crave, you specifically decided on deer meat instead of just meat in general"
"Just make sure to get it," Ram said.
"Fine... I will get your precious deer meat"
Ram was seven months into her pregnancy and Subaru had been having to deal with her constant food cravings.
One time Ram woke him up very early in the morning, just so he could go out and get deer meat for her. It became a regular task in his life. Whenever Subaru would ask why she wanted deer meat specifically, Ram would just shrug her shoulders and tell him to not ask questions.
Sad thing for him was that refrigeration did not exist in Kararagi, so storing meat was impossible and had to be bought fresh.
Going into the city Subaru was able to stumble upon a man willing to assemble the crib for him. After paying him, he was told that the man would come in the next morning to assemble the crib for him.
With the crib situation done with, Subaru's next task was to go to the local butcher and retrieve Ram's precious craving.
Walking up to the butchers table. The butcher gave Subaru a smile to see him back once again, he was a recurring customer who would constantly buy deer meat for his pregnant Oni wife.
Subaru would even tell the butcher stories of what it was like to live with Ram while she's pregnant, and the butcher would listen intently, always finding them quite entertaining to hear about.
"Back again?"
"Yes, you already know what I require," Subaru said.
"Deer meat right?"
"Yes, always is"
"You just keep coming back for more deer meat, how much does your wife eat anyway"
"She just devours deer meat in the matter of seconds, it's actually kind of horrifying."
"So, how many times this week have you been made to sleep on the couch? I heard that in total you were nearing the fifties"
"Ummm, I would say I was only couched one and a half times this week"
"A half? What do you mean by that?"
"Well here's the story. One night before bed, I decided to hide behind the bedroom door and scare Ram once she walked in."
"Why did you decide to scare her?"
"Just felt like doing something funny. She walked in the bedroom, and I gave her the biggest scare of her life. Her scream may have been short, but was still by far one of the funniest things I have ever witnessed"
"I don't like where this is going."
"After she finished screaming like a little girl, Ram turned to me with the meanest look in her eye. What I didn't realize is that Ram was already in a very bad mood, so what I got in return was a loud scolding and aggressively thrown out of the bedroom"
For the longest time throughout Ram's pregnancy, Subaru had been having to deal with Ram's mood swings. One minute she would feel aggressive and angry, then the next moment she felt sad and depressed.
The butcher let out a laugh. "Well, you should have seen that coming," The butcher said.
"Definitely should have, next thing I know. Rams screaming at me that I was banished from the bedroom that night, and slammed the door. I just accepted my punishment and went to sleep on the couch"
"Is that where the story ends?"
"No, I suddenly awake in the middle of the night feeling Ram laying next to me, clinging onto my arm and crying hysterically into my sleeve. Apparently she felt bad for how she tossed me out of the bedroom, this was certainly a first. Never did I think Ram would feel bad for how she treated me. Luckily I was able to calm her down, and we both ended up falling asleep on the couch that night."
"You got quite the pregnancy on your hands, hopefully it will all be worth it in the end," The butcher said.
"Being with Ram while she's pregnant is infinitely more favorable than what I used to be living in. Even getting yelled at and thrown to the couch beats being in there alone and suffering. Sometimes I like making Ram mad intentionally, it's fun to fight with her on occasions," Subaru said.
"Kind of weird, but I digress," The butcher said.
"There's never any hate behind it all. It's just me and Ram's way of communicating and bonding," Subaru said.
After retrieving Rams deer meat, Subaru walked back to his home. When he arrived, he immediately got ready to prepare Ram her craved choice of food. Subaru would often cook Ram her food as a kind gesture, always wanting to give Ram a break when he could.
During his two years of isolation he taught himself how to cook basic meals. He didn't want to eat in restaurants, nor be in public in general.
While cooking Ram her food. The bedroom door opened and Ram walked out the second she smelled her craving being prepared.
She walked up behind Subaru and just stared at how he was preparing his food, making sure to call out any tiny mistake.
It was tolerable at first, but it grew increasingly more annoying to Subaru having Ram in his ear telling him how to cook.
"Ram, can you just sit down and don't stare at me cooking your food? '' Subaru said.
"I have to make sure you are preparing it right, Barusu. Last thing I want is to consume raw deer meat and get very sick" Ram said.
"Relax, It's not going to be raw. Just sit down and leave me be"
"Alright, fine" Ram said
Ram waited at the dining room table for dinner to be served. After a couple minutes of waiting Subaru walked out with two plates in his hand.
Deer meat would also be Subaru's dinner that evening, he had never actually tried it before and wanted to finally try it. Maybe it would give him a better understanding of why Ram craved it so much.
The second the plate was placed in front of her, Ram spared no time and immediately began to consume her food.
Subaru took a small bite out of his dinner and wasnt that fond of the taste. He didn't understand why Ram craved it so much.
He only ate about a half of his dinner, until Ram finished her completely. She noticed how Subaru was hesitating on finishing his dinner.
"Are you going to eat that?" Ram asked.
"Do you want it?"
"Yes"
Subaru slid his plate in Ram's direction and let her consume the rest of his dinner. She spared no time and began to devour Subaru's plate of food. It only took her a couple of bites to finish eating once again.
"Take your time chewing that, Ram, you'll choke '' Subaru said.
"I'm not going to choke, Barusu. This may come as a surprise to you, but I can properly chew my food without choking"
"I was just concerned, you were eating it pretty fast. You know my uncle died from eating a stake"
"Huh?"
"Yeah, he went into a restaurant and ordered steak. He didn't chew it right and began to choke. He went into the bathroom to try and spit it out. Sadly he was unsuccessful and passed away in that bathroom"
After dinner was over, both Subaru and Ram decided to call it a night and head to bed. Luckily for Subaru he was not banished to the couch that night.
Before he got into bed, Subaru looked at the calendar on the wall and noticed that tomorrow would be Ram's birthday.
While drifting off to sleep Subaru tried to think of something he could do with Ram on her birthday. He didn't want to take her out to eat since she was pregnant and could feel light headed or extremely exhausted at any minute. Subaru was a bit overprotective when it came to Rams pregnancy. Last thing he wanted was to lose her as well.
The next morning Subaru opened his eyes to see that Ram's side of the bed was empty. The smell of breakfast being made in the kitchen signaled that Ram was already up and making herself useful.
Subaru then remembered that today was Ram's birthday, but he still didn't have any idea what he wanted to do with Ram.
Getting out of bed he walked to the dresser to get his clothes for the day. When he lifted his set of clothes from the drawer his sight immediately fell upon something special that made an idea spring up in his mind.
Reaching for his tracksuit jacket, Subaru thought that the best gift for Ram's birthday would be one of his last remaining possessions that came from his original world
Sure he cherished this jacket with every fiber of his being, but it would suit Ram perfectly. It would also be big enough to fit her growing stomach since going seven months into her pregnancy their child was starting to show greatly.
After getting dressed, he walked into the kitchen with his jacket in hand. "Ram, I have something to give you"
"What is it?" Ram asked
Ram turned away from the stove to face Subaru and saw him holding his signature track suit jacket he used to always wear.
.
Subaru walked closer to her and held out his track suit jacket for her to take and put on. "This is my birthday gift to you," Subaru said.
"Your jacket? Why do you want to give it to me? I thought you loved that thing"
"I do love it, but it's yours now. Why don't you try it on?'' Subaru said.
Ram took his jacket and put it on like requested. Once it was over both sides of her shoulders, she began trying to zip it up, having quite the difficult time doing so, since she had never used a zipper before.
Subaru eventually ended up zipping it up for her, and could only stare at the adorable sight seeing the pregnant Ram in his beloved tracksuit. He didn't know why, but it gave him joy to see someone else wearing his tracksuit jacket. It made him feel like he was back in Japan.
"Why are you staring at me, Barusu?"
Subaru couldn't hold back and pulled Ram in for a big hug "Because you look so adorable in that jacket, happy birthday, Ram" Subaru said.
The complement clearly got Ram quite flattered since she felt her face heat up and grow red "Well thank you Barusu for the gift"
"Your welcome, anyway I am going to let you finish making breakfast"
Ram eventually finished breakfast, and ate it alongside Subaru in the dining room. Subaru couldn't stop looking at Ram wearing his jacket. She looked so adorable, he found it hard to keep his composure and not throw himself across the table to give her another hug.
He knew Ram also loved her gift because she didn't take it off throughout the entirety of breakfast. In fact she was still wearing it when Subaru said his goodbyes and walked out the door to go to work for the day.
Like always Ram would be staying home and taking care of everything at home while Subaru was at work. She usually got all the house chores done pretty quickly, since she had plenty of prior experience.
Luckily there was no need to have two sources of income since the bank paid well enough to let Ram stay home and literally become a full time housewife, who would also be taking care of their young daughter when she was finally born.
Before Subaru got on the sidewalk and made his way to work, he walked over to the bedroom window and peaked inside the bedroom to see Ram laying in bed cuddling herself in his jacket.
When she rolled over she saw Subaru looking through the window. Her happy smile turned into an agitated frown, and she immediately got up from bed to walk over to the window to shut the blinds.
While walking up she was giving Subaru a death glare that silently demanded that he forget everything that he just saw.
Subaru let out a laugh, finding it amusing to see Ram try and hide her enjoyment of her birthday gift.
When Subaru was at work he sat the majority of time at his desk thinking of his hopefully bright future with Ram and their daughter that he was only months away from being born. After two years of pain, things were finally looking up for once.
One thing Subaru loved to do at work was think of what to name their daughter. Over the course of seven months, Subaru had jotted down a long list of potential names.
Sadly there was a slight problem. None of the names he had jotted down really stuck with him. He was looking for a name that would mean something to him, and unfortunately none of the names he wrote really did that for him.
Two of the names he wrote down were Ram Natuski the second, and Naoko which was his mothers name.
A giant light bulb suddenly went off in Subaru's head as a name finally reached his mind that stuck with him and meant so much to not only him but Ram as well. Reaching over to his name list he picked up his pencil and wrote down the beautiful name that he knew had to be the one.
He wrote down the name "Rem" It was perfect, Ram would surely be happy with it as well.
Suddenly one of his co-workers came walking up to Subarus desk. Subaru began to panic since he hadn't been working and instead had been zoning off into dreamland.
"Hey, your wife's asking for you at the front desk"
"What does she want? I told her not to leave the house, while she's expecting. You never know what may happen"
"I don't know what she wants, but she needs to see you apparently"
"This better be important," Subaru said.
He got up from his desk and walked to the front desk to see Ram getting herself into a heated conversation with the secretary.
"Where is Barusu at? I need to speak with him urgently" Ram said in an annoyed and impatient tone.
"Miss Natsuki, please sit down and be patient, he will be out in a moment" The secretary said.
"Ram, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at home?" Subaru asked.
Ram ran up to Subaru with a crazed look in her eye. "Barusu, my stomach has an emptiness that only deer meat will satisfy"
"I swear you're starting to turn into an addict, Ram. Did you come all this way to tell me that? What do you even want me to do about it?"
"I came here because I don't have any money, '' Ram said.
Subaru reached into his pocket and handed Ram some money to get herself some food. The second the currency was handed to her, Ram gave him a thankful smile and bolted out of the bank and down the street to find the butcher and satisfy her cravings.
"Didn't I tell you not to run around like that while you're pregnant!" Subaru called out.
Despite hearing his call out loud and clear, Ram continued to run down the sidewalk. She only slightly reduced her pace, hoping that would satisfy Subaru's concern.
Subaru just let out a sigh, and returned to his desk to continue his work. During the rest of time at work Subaru had this small feeling of anxiety in stomach, he hoped that Ram didn't tucker herself out and pass out on the streets before she could return home.
When work was finally let out for the day, Subaru stopped by the local bakery and ordered a cake to be made for Ram's birthday. It would take a couple hours to make since there were no premade cakes available, so he was told to return in approximately two hours.
Since he was getting one made from scratch, Subaru asked to have a special birthday message written on her cake.
When Subaru returned home he was met with an uncomfortable and eerie silence. Making him think that Ram wasn't home, and that something happened to her while she was out getting deer meat.
Though when he looked into the bedroom a wave of relief washed over Subaru to see Ram sleeping in bed peacefully.
Subaru also noticed how the crib was now assembled in the corner of their bedroom. Ram and Subaru decided to have their child's crib be in the same room as them, mainly to keep a close eye on her and make it easier to tend to her needs during the night.
Having a couple hours until he had to go out and retrieve Ram's cake, Subaru got into bed next to Ram and slept with her for a bit.
When he finally woke up. He felt a weight pressing on the left side of his body. Slightly opening his eyes he found Ram nuzzling her head in the middle of his chest using it as a pillow.
Subaru didn't know if Ram just so happened to roll over while sleeping, or she awoke and decided to lay her head there. Whatever the case he was enjoying her potentially accidental embrace.
While staring at the adorable sight of Ram sleeping on his chest, her breathing pattern broke and her body moved slightly.
Waking up from her sleep, Ram sat up right, let out a giant yawn and stretched her limbs.
"Hi Ram, how was your little sleep?" Subaru asked.
"I am starting to get fed up from constantly getting exhausted and light headed all the time, Barusu. It's hard to do anything productive"
"It's just symptoms of your pregnancy. You just got to hang in for a couple more months," Subaru said as he petted Ram's head.
"On a different note, did you remember to bring back more deer meat?" Ram asked.
Subaru's' smile dropped and his body began to shake, knowing full well that he forgot to stop to get Ram her fix while walking back from work. This only had one result incoming and Subaru was far from ready to face the punishment.
"N..No… I forgot.. sorry"
Rams' refreshed and calm look turned agitated and a light frown grew on her face. Subaru being scared, grabbed a pillow to use as a shield to protect himself from an incoming punch to the stomach.
"Barusu… since you can't be trusted to remember the simplest of things, I will just have to get it myself. I will be back in a couple minutes"
Before Ram could get out of bed, Subaru grabbed her shoulder. "Ram, just lay back down. I will go out and get it for you alright" Subaru said.
"I am more than capable of getting things on my own, Barusu"
"I know, I just don't want you out so late while your pregnant"
"I'm not a little girl, Barusu. I am able to take care of myself"
"Just lay back down, I have to go out and get something anyway"
Getting out of bed, Subaru exited the bedroom and slipped his shoes on. He knew that Ram's birthday cake was ready to be picked up and he couldn't have been more excited to finally show her.
He was quite curious to how she would react, she seemed to be loving the tracksuit jacket he gave her. Even though she never said it and would probably deny it. Subaru knew Ram loved her gift judging by how she clung onto it while she slept.
Once Subaru retrieved another package of deer meat, he walked over to the bakery to get Rams cake. It was by no means a big cake, but it would definitely be very special to her in some way.
Arriving home he placed Rams cake on the dining room table, and set down the delicious gift he had got for the most special person in his life.
"Hey Ram, I am home! I got you something!" Subaru called out.
"Is that something deer meat?"
"Well yes, but I also got something else for you"
The bedroom door opened and Ram walked out curious as to what Subaru got her. Her sight immediately fell upon a box of somesort, with Subaru standing by and giving her a giant smile
"What's in the box, Barusu?"
"Just open it and find out"
Ram walked over to the box on the dining table. She grabbed both sides of the box and lifted the lid off, to unveil to her a cake sitting inside.
This wasn't just an ordinary cake. The words "Happy Birthday, Ram" were written in pink icing at the top of the cake.
"Once again happy birthday, Ram," Subaru said, as he gave Ram the biggest hug he could muster.
Ram continued to stare at her birthday cake feeling a wave of emotions hit her stomach. Tears fell out of her eye sockets and rolled down her cheeks.
"You actually got this for me?" Ram asked.
"Of course I got this for you, it's your birthday," Subaru said.
Ram turned around and latched onto him to return the hug. She couldn't hold back her emotions any longer and began to cry into his chest, slightly soaking his shirt.
Subaru couldn't believe that a simple birthday cake of all things brought Ram of all people to tears.