ARC Three: The Other Days

Chapter Sixteen: Gifts and Training

A few days passed after Batman and Subaru made some preparations for Rem and Ram's birthday. Subaru convinced everyone else in the mansion to keep it a secret, even threatening Beatrice with tattling on her with Puck. This way, the surprise would be legitimate. Days went by as Ram's suspicion of the others was high, but luckily it went off without a hitch.

The early morning of the day started with everyone giving the two sisters some form of distraction.

Subaru helped Rem make cookies for themselves.

Emilia had a long tea break with Rem, with the assistance of Puck.

Roswaal had a long meeting with Ram.

And Beatrice asked for some drinks to be prepared by her.

When the time for dinner had finally come, almost everyone hid in the dining room.

The two maids were surprised by the absence of the others. Batman had then arrived, saying he was looking for everyone as well. He led them to the dining room even with Ram being suspicious.

"Batman-san, do you know something?"

"Not really, I've been too busy these last couple of days, training with magic."

"True, but you could have still conspired something."

"Do I look like the kind of guy who does that?"

"Hmph!"

The two had made it, Batman opened the doors as they made a creaking sound. When the doors finally opened, loud popping sounds were heard and confetti flew into the air. Rem was about to fling her Morningstar into the room out of fear, only to be stopped by Batman. As she took a second glance, she saw everyone gathered in the dining room with a feast on the table. Over them was a banner saying, "Happy Birthday to Our Two Favorite Sisters, Ram and Rem!"

Rem could only gaze upon this with star filled eyes.

Ram also couldn't help but be utterly shocked by the level of detail.

The patrons gathered together in front of the two..

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY YOU TWO!"

Rem started to have a smile form on her face, tears forming in the corner of her eyes.

Ram simply smiled back.

The two sisters found out it was actually Batman who helped everyone cook the meal in front of them, using a cookbook Roswaal found in his study, as well as remembering lessons Alfred had taught him for fun. One of the dishes was a soup that everyone seem to really enjoy, Subaru especially enjoyed it with a few globs of mayonnaise mixed in. Emilia was all the more curious.

"Wow! This is sooo good! What is this soup called?"

"It's Mulligatawny soup."

"Hmm..what a strange name. Is this from your hometown?"

"In a way, yes. In particular, it's my favorite food."

"I see then, yes, I can see why you love it then."

Emilia gave a bright smile as she sipped on another spoonful. Subaru and Puck plowed through the soup, Beatrice were elegantly enjoying their portions, and as for the sisters…

"Batman-san, Rem wishes to thank you so much for letting Nee-sama enjoy this along with me."

"Rem, you and your sister are more than welcome to enjoy it. Think of it as my birthday gift to you."

"...Rem doesn't know if she deserves this."

"...You do, both you and your sister. After all the nonsense with the Ma-beast and dealing with Subaru everyday, you earned this."

Subaru slightly winced at this, but after seeing Batman tilt his head toward Rem, he knew it was the signal. Subaru nodded and walked over to Rem. He slightly blushed a bit, but then he pulled out something from behind him that startled Rem.

"Ah!"

Subaru pulled out a necklace made of flowers. It was intricately made, looking like something one would have to buy from a high class flower shop. But it was in fact crafted by himself over the past few days, just for Rem.

"Happy Birthday Rem, here's to another month, year, or heck, century together here!"

"...Subaru-kun…"

Subaru placed it gently around her neck, she lightly brushed her hand against it, her face now crimson red. She gazed up at Subaru who smiled back.

"Hope you like it."

"...Yes, Rem adores it. Thank you so much Subaru-kun."

"Yup, and for Ram…"

Subaru rushed back to his seat and pulled out a small box and quickly handed it to Ram. When she opened it she saw a small pink stuffed animal. She didn't recognize it, but it was an elephant.

"And what is this Barusu?"

"Just a little something I whipped up during my breaks, I thought that an elephant was the perfect fit for Ram-chi!"

"Ele-phunt?"

"Elephant. Where I'm from, they're these big animals that are super strong and known for their high intelligence, but also for their almost cute appearance. So, it's a perfect fit for Onee-sama."

"...Tsk. Barusu being somewhat genuine about his gift choices? ...Disgusting."

"Could you be a little more grateful for your gifts?!"

Subaru gave a thumbs up as he turned around to look at Emilia.

"Do not fret Emilia-tan! When your birthday celebration comes around, I'll give ya the best gifts I can muster. That way, maybe your heart will falter towards me!"

"Sure, Sure."

Subaru smiled as always, but then turned back to Rem and scratched the back of his neck, unsure of his next statement.

"Well, I also made a blue scarf for Rem, but I never really finished it-"

"-Rem would like to see it, Subaru-kun!"

Rem gazed at him with a determined expression, leaving him with no choice. He pulled out from under the table a blue and white streaked scarf that looked nearly done. But Rem stood up and softly took it from him.

"Can Rem have this?"

"Well, of course, it's yours and all...but it's not done."

Rem shook her head and looked up at him with a soft smile on her face.

"If it's from Subaru-kun...then this is not unfinished, it's far beyond ready. Thank you so much Subaru-kun."

Subaru patted her on the head and smiled down at her, while whispering soft words.

"Happy Birthday."

The party went on without a hitch, everyone enjoyed the festivities. Especially the blue-haired oni and her sister, who for once, was smiling just a bit more today.

The next day, Rem was surprised to hear that another gift from Subaru was the chance to have a day off. While she was adamant about it, she was egged on by Subaru. She accepted it, though she was happily surprised to hear that everyone else would join in and finish the work she would have had to do. She was joyous beyond a reasonable doubt by her fellow residents in how they handled themselves and their concern for her own health.

She then saw Subaru wandering off outside. She joined him as they walked to check on the barrier stones that kept any Ma-beast from Roswaal's territory. They had some small talk while traversing the trail that extended to the outer forests. Rem was overjoyed to be alone with Subaru, having some time to really get to know him even better than before.

That was when Subaru walked to the side of the grass and started heading uphill. Rem was very confused as to why he would be doing this, but she still followed him. When they reached the top, she winced her eyes at the bright light of the sun. There, she saw Batman perched up on a tree, looking down at them. Much like Subaru, he finished his work quickly to get here on time. He jumped down as he walked over to them.

"Alright you're here. But why is Rem here?"

"Sorry about that, it just sort of happened!"

"Well, I just don't know if she would even enjoy seeing this."

Rem turned her head back and forth to them. Subaru took off his primary butler suit, only to reveal a undershirt he had been wearing.

"Sorry Rem, truth is I'm going to be start training with Batman-san starting today. If you want, I can quickly walk you back if you don't want to stick around."

"No no! I'm actually excited to see Subaru-kun train today. Nothing would excite Rem more!"

She smiled brilliantly as she gently sat next to a tree they were near.

"Well okay. Hope you're ready for a great show Rem!"

"Yes!"

Subaru bowed to Batman, who only bowed his head in response.

Subaru was tossed around by Batman, who was only using his left arm. Rem was sitting near the tree, slightly trembling with a worried expression. Subaru struggled to get back up, the backpack he was wearing weighed him down, making punching much more difficult. He threw several jabs at Batman who simply moved out of the way with no effort. Subaru lost his balance as he threw a strong right hook, Batman ducked down and flipped Subaru over. Subaru landed hard, causing Rem to nearly rush over. Batman stopped her with a shake of his head in her direction. Subaru quickly got back up and into a fighting stance. Batman then raised his hand to him, making Subaru stop. He quickly walked over to him and took the backpack off of him. Subaru breathed heavily in relief of the nearly 96 kilograms that were inside.

"Alright Subaru, now attack me."

"...Here I come then."

Subaru charged forward, that's when he noticed it. His body felt lighter, he felt quicker and less tired. He dashed at him as he released a flurry of punches. Batman once again dodged them, as he then grabbed one of his arms and tossed him back into the ground. Subaru let out a loud grunt as he hit the ground. The combat training was over.

Rem quickly healed him as the next training session was about to begin.

Subaru stared down the cliff in utter panic. It was a rather tall cliff that he could easily die from, should he leap off. In normal circumstances.

Subaru took a look at the gliding wings Batman had made for him from some leftover materials he found in the Batwing. Subaru was shaking a bit, from below he saw Rem waving at him. She promised to catch him should anything go wrong, though this should have comforted him, he still didn't want anything to go wrong.

"You ready Subaru?"

"Sure, but I'm still nervous."

"Don't be...if anything goes wrong you'll probably come out of it with just a few broken bones...well maybe most of them."

"Scary! You're being scary Bruce Wayne!"

Batman and Subaru moved to the edge as they prepared to leap.

"Remember what I told you Subaru."

"Wait until the right wind hits you, open open the wings and glide upward. Then, move your body in the direction you want to go as you descend. Right?"

"Quick learner. This shouldn't be too bad then."

Batman then gave a small nod to him as the two of them lightly let their bodies go.

Subaru and Batman dived down the bottom, the wind picking up as they descended.

"NOW!"

Subaru heard the signal and opened his wings, he glided upward along with Batman. He looked around as he realized he was now soaring upward. He put on a brave smile as he turned in the air, heading for a clear landing spot. Batman was the first to land. He looked back at Subaru as he began to fly back down to Earth. Subaru began to put his first foot down, then lost his balance.

His body rolled onto the ground, as he then crashed away and hit several bushes.

Rem quickly healed him as the last training session was about to begin.

Batman handed him two Batarangs and told him to throw them at tree that was ahead of him. Subaru obliged, aiming carefully aiming before tossing them. Only one was able to hit as the other one bounced off. Subaru was slightly disappointed, that the other one missed, but he was confident he would get it right.

After several attempts, he started to get the hang of it. Batman nodded with an accepting look, as well as Rem. Subaru could only smile at this as he raised his hand into the air...only to forget he had a Batarang held in it. He flew into the air, only for it to fall back down and puncture him in his shoulder. The three of them stared at it with their mouth wide open.

Rem quickly healed him as the training came to end.

Subaru was assessed later that night by Batman.

His combat skills were non-existent and balance was barely there.

But…

His stamina was good, his throwing skills were commendable and his gliding skills were also quite good. Even if his landing needed work.

"Alright Subaru, I feel as though your gliding and throwing skills, will be the two fields we'll be working on the most...I'll be working on you for aerobic training and maybe teach you some defensive martial arts. Does that sound fair?"

"Ye-YES! That sounds awesome! I cannot wait! Thank you so much Batman-san!"

"Not a problem. I'll be seeing myself out, get some sleep you'll need it for tomorrow."

"Yes! 'Night Sensei!"

"...'Night."

Batman only lowered his shoulders as he left. Being called the one thing he didn't want to be called. But he gave a dour smile as he walked away.

"How long has it been since I've trained someone?"

Batman asked himself this, as he disappeared into the darkness of the mansion hallways.

Rem entered Subaru's room next to check up on him. Seeing him tired but physically alright in the scheme of things, she smiled.

"Rem had a wonderful day today Subaru-kun."

"R-really?"

"Yes. To see Nee-sama and everyone else work their hardest for me, to see Subaru train so hard with Batman-san and...to give her a day off. Subaru-kun and everyone else blesses Rem so much!"

She smiled with light pink tinges in her cheeks as she smiled at him. Subaru nodded his head, he felt slightly more energized by seeing her smile.

"Rem?"

"Yes Subaru-kun?"

"You're welcome…"

"Yes...thank you so much."

The night ended as everyone rested for the next day.

Meanwhile, Ram and Roswaal were sitting in his private study. Roswaal was looking at a certain book and smiled as he read through it.

"I seeeee...so both of them will be useful to me after all."

Roswaal gave a sinister smile as he held Ram closer. Ram herself, giving a despondent appearance as she heard his words.

The next days were still ahead, even if conflict could easily arise from them.