“You don’t have to tell me anymore.” Alex placed a hand on her shoulder. “If it’s too hard for you, then we should just leave it at that.”
“Thank you.”
Kazekiri sighed in mixed relief and guilt. While a part of her was glad that she wouldn’t have to reveal more, another part berated herself for it. Alex had bared his feelings to her. Why couldn’t she do the same?
Those thoughts permeated her mind until they arrived at the place that was first on Keiichi’s list.
They stared at the modest two-story structure, which looked completely out of place. Most buildings, regardless of what they sold or their purpose, were always constructed from a combination of durasteel and plasteel. This looked like it was made of wood. Only a secondary glance revealed that it was actually durasteel made to look like wood. The roof was, likewise, durasteel that looked like shingles upon first glance. Three rectangular windows allowed them a glimpse inside. Hanging over a wooden door with a window was a sign that said Café Love Love.
“I… think we may have the wrong place,” Kazekiri said, staring at the sign above the door.
“Can I see that map?” Alex asked.
“Oh, sure.” Kazekiri held out her IDband, which currently had the map still on display, allowing Alex to study it.
“Yep, this is the place.” He brought his left hand to his head and scratched the back of his neck. “I didn’t realize your older brother was into this kind of place.”
Kazekiri closed the map program and crossed her arms. “My brother is a delinquent, even if he is a better person than most. I am not surprised to discover that he has been frequenting places like this.”
“Some brother you’ve got there.”
“Let’s just go inside…”
They entered the cafe. Being the gentleman that he was, Alex held the door open for Kazekiri, and then followed after her. She hurried inside so he wouldn’t see her blush.
“Welcome home, Master! Welcome home, Mistress!”
“Uh…”
Kazekiri looked around in shock. There were over a dozen circular tables arrayed around the room. Booths lined many of the walls, except for the back corner to their left, which featured a nice-looking bar made of what appeared to be varnished wood. What threw her off was not the appearance of the café, but the person who greeted them.
Adorned in a frilly black dress with short, puffy sleeves and a skirt, an equally frilly white apron, black garters, and heels, was a young girl maybe a year younger than them. Her blonde hair was done in two drill-like curls on either side of her head. She wore a pleasant smile as she greeted her and Alex.
“Jasmine?!” Alex shouted in surprise, startling Kazekiri. Did Alex know this girl?
“Alexander?!” The girl called Jasmine seemed just as shocked, though she recovered quickly. Kazekiri laid witness to the blonde placing one hand on her hip and the other near her mouth as she threw her head back. “Oh ho ho ho! Have you come to see me? I should have known. You must have heard from Alice that I, the Queen of Jobs, was working here and rushed over to catch a glimpse of me in my cute clothes! Oh ho ho ho!”
As she stared at the laughing girl, Kazekiri really had to wonder how she and Alex knew each other. Wait. Wasn’t this the girl who was always hanging around Alex’s younger sister at school?
I believe his sister’s name was Alice, wasn’t it?
She had never met Alice in person yet, but she definitely remembered seeing Alex walking a young girl with brown hair and half-lidded brown eyes to school on several occasions.
“Um, no, actually, I haven’t seen Alice since she left this morning,” Alex admitted. “I thought she was with you.”
“Oh ho? She left a little while ago when she learned that I was going to my job.” Jasmine shrugged. Kazekiri felt envious. Somehow, even her shrug seemed elegant.
“Ah, yeah, that sounds like her.” Alex nodded several times. “By the way, why are you working at a place like this?”
“Oh ho ho ho! Didn’t you know? I am the owner of this fine establishment!”
“R-really?”
While Kazekiri was startled, Alex looked downright stunned, like someone had shot him between the eyes with a blaster bolt.
She looked around the cafe again. It certainly did look like a respectable place. Clean floors, polished tables, and the bar had brand new appliances. Oddly enough, the place didn’t have many customers.
“Indeed,” Jasmine started, “this café was first established by my mother... this place was going to be torn down, but I bought it from Father using my allowance and have been running it ever since.”
“I didn’t know that,” Alex mumbled. He spoke with a sympathetic tone of voice. Kazekiri couldn’t help but feel like he knew something about Jasmine that others didn’t.
She felt something constrict her chest, but she did her best to brush it off.
“That does not surprise me.” Jasmine looked at Alex with an adoring smile that took Kazekiri aback. “While I own this cafe, I have only recently started working here. I decided to do some part-time work as a way of killing time, since it’s boring to stay in my house all day and Alice is not one for going outside. It’s also good experience. Madison is here, too.”
Jasmine pointed at a young woman in a maid outfit. She was serving a gentleman in an expensive silk suit, who was wearing the largest, most pleased blush that Kazekiri had ever seen. She wrinkled her nose.
“I’m really impressed that you can do this kind of work,” Alex complimented.
“Thank you.” Jasmine beamed—until her eyes finally landed on Kazekiri. Then she frowned. “And who is this? Alexander, are you taking this young woman out on a date?”
While Alex appeared to have swallowed his tongue, Kazekiri felt like her face had been caught in the fuselage of a frigate. “W-we are not dating! I am only here because my brother sent me here. We ran into Alex on the way, and he offered to help me! I’d never date someone as reckless as him!”
“T-that’s kind of a harsh thing to say...” Alex mumbled, but Kazekiri ignored him.
“Is that so? Hm… my mistake then. Oh ho ho ho ho!” Jasmine recovered from her previously bothered mien and the smile returned. “That does sound a lot like Alexander. He enjoys helping people. Now, then, you mentioned that your brother sent you here?”
“Um, yes,” Kazekiri was startled by the abrupt manner in which this girl changed her disposition. And also…
What is up with that laugh?
Jasmine cupped her chin. “Are you by chance related to a man called Keiichi?”
Kazekiri looked taken aback. “Uh, yes?”
The smile on Jasmine’s face did not seem to bode well for her. “Oh, good. I have been waiting for you.” She eyed Kazekiri and nodded approvingly. “Hmm, you’ll do. Yes, you’ll look quite good in a maid outfit. Oh ho ho ho ho!”
“What?” Kazekiri asked, nonplussed.
“Oh ho ho ho! Didn’t your brother tell you why you’re here?” Jasmine raised an eyebrow. “That Keiichi came in the other day with his girlfriend, and then bailed when the time came to pay the tab. He said that his little sister would work off the debt for him.”
“W-w-what?!” Kazekiri shrieked in shock. “I-I don’t believe he would—no, wait, this sounds exactly like something he would do! How dare he do something like this to me! That… that… that…”
As Kazekiri stood there, her clenched fists shaking in fury as she tried—and failed—to come up with the words to express what she felt, Alex placed a hand on her shoulder. The shaking stopped. The fists unclenched. Kazekiri stared at him in shock. Alex smiled at her, and then looked at Jasmine.
“Excuse me, but you said that Keiichi pulled a dine and dash? In which case, it would be fine if I reimbursed you for whatever he owed, right?”
Jasmine thought about that for a moment. “Yes, that is true…”
“No,” Kazekiri said, causing Alex to look at her in surprise. In return, she smiled gratefully at hi
m. “Thank you for offering to pay for my brother’s debt. However, I will not allow you to take on the debt of someone related to me, nor will I trade one debt for another.”
“I wasn’t going to…”
“Whether you were or were not planning on having me reimburse you does not matter.” Kazekiri placed a hand against her chest. “What matters is that I would know that the only reason this debt has been paid off is because of you, and I would feel indebted regardless of what you say. I will do whatever I have to in order to pay off my brother’s debt myself.”
Appearing delighted, like a child who’d seen something awesome, Jasmine clapped her hands together. “Oh ho ho ho ho! In that case… Madison! Why don’t you show this young woman to the changing room while I show Alexander—I mean, while I show our dear Master to his seat?”
Madison, having heard her mistress’ call, looked up from her work and nodded once. She turned away from the old man, whose blush grew as he stared at her swaying backside, and stopped in front of Kazekiri. She clasped her hands and bowed.
“If you will follow me, I will direct you to the changing room.”
Kazekiri took a deep breath before following Madison.
Her brother was going to pay dearly for this.
6
“Oh ho ho ho! Master, if you would please follow me, I will show you to your table.” After speaking, Jasmine performed a picture-perfect curtsey, grabbing the hem of her dress and lifting it as she bent her knees and bowed her head ever so slightly.
“Um, okay.”
Unsure of what to do, Alex followed Jasmine as she wove through a series of mahogany tables covered by beautiful white cloth. She led him into a beautifully crafted booth, a mahogany table shaped like a rectangle and lined with red-cushioned couches. Alex scooted himself into the booth and was given a menu.
“If you will wait here, I will be back with a drink for you, Master.”
“You’re awfully good at this maid act.”
“Oh ho ho ho! Who do you think you’re talking to? I am Jasmine de Truante, the Queen of Maids! It is only natural that I would excel at being a maid. Now please wait here, Master. I’ll return with your water shortly. Oh ho ho ho!”
Alex watched Jasmine flick her blonde drills over her shoulder and strode away. He stared at her skirt, which swished as she walked, revealing hints of her porcelain thighs... until he realized what he was doing. Then he looked away.
“I never would have imagined that Jasmine would be working here as a maid, much less that she’d own a café.” He paused. “I wonder if I should introduce her to my grandma?”
Alex turned his attention back to his booth. He picked up the menu lying on the table, flicking it open and looking through. The selection was fairly simple. They only had ten items total. Most were simple confectionaries like omelets, sandwiches, and parfaits. They did have a wide selection of tea, though.
Jasmine returned with a glass of water expertly balanced on a tray; it didn’t so much as slosh as she wove between tables.
“Here is your water, Master.” She placed the water on the table.
“Thank you,” Alex said.
“I’d love to chat with you, but I have to work.” Jasmine’s shoulders slumped. Alex did notice that a few more patrons were coming in, and aside from Jasmine and Madison, there were only two more girls manning the café.
“That’s okay.” Alex grinned at her. “I like watching you work.”
“O-oh ho! Oh ho ho ho ho!” Jasmine looked away. “I-is that so? Then I shall do my best to show you my amazing work ethic. After all, I am known as the Queen of Work! Oh ho ho ho ho!”
Jasmine quickly walked away. If Alex didn’t know any better, he would have said she was walking a little bow-legged.
While he read through the items listed on the menu, each of which cost more than most people made in a month, his mind went to Kazekiri. He wondered what Jasmine planned to have her do. He could have sworn he heard something about a maid outfit, but surely, she couldn’t have been thinking about…
“G-g-g-good a-afternoon, M-M-M-Master.”
No. No, no, no, no.
Alex went into denial as a familiar voice stuttered in his ear. He must have been hearing things, surely. Yes, that must have been it. He was hearing things. Hallucinating. He would turn around and not see Kazekiri standing before him in a maid outfit.
“H-hey! D-don’t you know that it’s rude not to look at someone when they’re talking to you?!”
Reaffirming his belief that Kazekiri would not be in a maid outfit, Alex turned his head.
His breathing stopped.
She was wearing a maid outfit.
“Uh… ah…”
Kazekiri grabbed the hem of her too-short skirt and tried to pull it down. Alex idly thought about how that action wasn’t a particularly good idea, because really, all she did was draw his gaze toward her legs.
Her amazingly long legs…
Ga! What the hell am I thinking? I can’t be thinking about Kiri-Kiri like this! I—she’s just some girl I used work with! Who cares if she’s gorgeous. And what about Gabrielle? We might not be dating, but we—aren’t we still sort of together? Even if it’s only temporary? I can’t cheat on her like that…
“You could always build a harem?”
I don’t know who you are, but if you mention that again, I’m going to come in there and hit you!
“Oh, my. That sounds positively… delightful. Will you tie me down, bend me over your lap, and spank me until—kya!”
Alex blinked when the voice yelped. Then Voice Number Two spoke up. “I apologize. It appears that I cannot take my eyes off of her for even one second. Please, pretend that we are naught but static noise in the background and ignore us.”
Uh… okay…
What the hell was happening inside of his own head?
“W-would you quit staring at me like that? You’re making me uncomfortable,” Kazekiri demanded. It wasn’t until she spoke that Alex realized he’d been staring at her this whole time.
“I-I’m sorry.” Alex looked away. “I just… I didn’t expect to see you wearing, well, that…”
“D-does it look bad?”
“No.” Alex shook his head. “You look good.” His gaze flickered over to see the too-short skirt and cleavage revealing front, and then he went back to staring at the table. “Too good.”
It took Kazekiri several seconds to figure out the meaning of his words. When she finally did figure out what he was saying, her already red face began to steam like an overheating pulse generator.
“O… oh…”
The two stared at each other awkwardly for several seconds before looking away again.
7
Several hours had passed since she and her two friends had gone shopping, and all three of them had unanimously decided to grab a bite to eat. They had found a place with several restaurants and stands that sold any number of delectable treats. After ordering their food, the three of them had found a nice place to sit.
“Wasn’t this fun?” Gabrielle asked her companions.
“It was pretty fun,” Selene admitted, smiling. “I like spending time with Ryoko and Sarah, but they can be pretty, uh, rambunctious at times. It’s hard to deal with… then again, you’re really outgoing, too, but at least I don’t have to worry about being groped when I’m around you.”
“What? Grope?” Gabrielle asked.
“… Never mind.”
Shrugging, Gabrielle turned to her other companion. “What about you, Nyx? Did you have fun?”
Nyx looked up from where she was eating a crepe filled with cream cheese and all kinds of berries. The emotionless girl stared for several moments, and then slowly nodded her head.
“It was… different.”
“Different as in good different, or different as in bad different?” asked Selene.
Nyx paused again, this time to look at Selene, who shuffled like one of Gabrielle’s machines when it was on the fritz.
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“... I do not know. I have never done anything like this before.”
“Does that mean you enjoyed it?” Selene asked.
“I do not know.”
Selene’s expression became unsure. “Um, well, okay… I guess that’s fine.”
They were sitting around the table of a small café. Down by their feet were several bags of clothes. Most belonged to Nyx, who Gabrielle had taken great joy in dressing up like a doll. Even Selene had taken some perverse pleasure in seeing the emotionless girl squirming uncomfortably whenever Gabrielle told her how cute she looked. The petite girl apparently didn’t do well with praise.
Or with people staring at her.
Or with people calling her cute.
There seemed to be a lot of things that made Nyx uncomfortable.
Gabrielle also bought a new dress using some of the allowance that Azazel had given her. She didn’t really like clothes because they felt so restricting, but she had read in one of those holoweb articles that guys enjoyed seeing girls in cute clothing. If that was indeed the case, logic dictated that Alex would enjoy seeing her in cute clothing because he was a guy. It made sense to her.
“I’d say this was a very successful outing.” Gabrielle nodded to herself. “I even got to test out Mr. Map.”
“You have really odd names for your inventions,” Selene murmured.
“You think so?” Gabrielle looked at the small circular disk on the table. It was still displaying a holographic, three-dimensional map that was more detailed than anything their IDbands could create. “I thought it was a really cool name.”
“How do you even build something like that anyway?” asked Selene. “That’s way more advanced than any of the technology I’ve seen other people using.”
“Alien technology,” Nyx said.
“What?”
“Alex and I made it together.” Gabrielle puffed out her chest in pride. “We were actually trying to create a tracking device that utilizes the geothermal energy of Mars to track heat signatures. Unfortunately, Mars doesn’t have much in the way of geothermal energy—not the kind we need anyway. We had to change the original device into this, which uses the airwaves from all of the communication devices in Mars City. It basically takes in all of the signals, bounces them back in small pulses like an old-fashioned sonar, and then creates a three-dimensional image based on those pulses.”
A Most Unlikely Hero, Vol 4 Page 10