Another ikarishipping one shot! It took me three days to make this fic (I nearly died because my mind wouldn't work properly), but I think it is all worth it. This fanfic was inspired by the latest episode in Japan, which was entitled, 'Miltank of the Maid Cafe'. And yes, Hikari/Dawn wore a maid outfit there. XD
For this fic, I had to research as to how meido cafes (maid cafe) in Japan, particularly in Akihabara, work. I haven't been to Japan myself, but my course is related to Japan, so I decided that this fic is to be based on maid cafes. Names of the two have been made Japanese because it sounds awkward if their names are Westernized, then they speak Japanese. So, just like in Terrene, I made their names Japanese.
They will also be speaking some Japanese phrases here, but not to worry. There will be a translation at the end of the story.
Dedicated to Hidan no Jashin, because he helped me out with this fic, even though I was already complaining that I was tired from all the writing. Thank you so much:3
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.
Maid Café
Eighteen year old Shinji was currently in Western Sinnoh, specifically in Eterna Forest to check out the Pokémon that inhabited the woods land. Frankly, he was bored to death. Most of the Pokémon he had raised were currently with Professor Rowan because whenever he uses them in battle, it would be too easy for him to win. He liked challenges, and the trainers who had battled with him posed neither a threat nor a challenge. He was done with the obsession with becoming strong; now, he was obsessed with training Pokémon so they would grow stronger than the average.
For today, no Pokémon had caught his attention.
It made him feel disappointed and grumpy. He was tired from all the searching and his Pokémon were also tired. He did not want to walk all the way to Eterna City because at his current location, he was far from the said city. The nearest town or city, if he remembered correctly, was called Floarama Town.
He was not really fond of flowers or the scent of it, but as long as there was a place to rest, he wouldn't mind those.
The dark-purple haired youth made his way to the town. Nothing really changed in the town since he had first went here, so there was nothing worth seeing. All he needed to do was to go to a Pokémon Center, get his Pokémon healed and head to Oreburgh City for more Pokémon searching.
Unfortunately for him, Pokémon Center was full.
Very full.
"I'm very sorry, but we can't accommodate more trainers to stay here, nor heal their Pokémon." The Nurse Joy of Floarama Town apologized, bowing deeply to the crowd of trainers that were in the lobby. "A Pokémon Contest will be held in this town tomorrow, and many coordinators are staying in the Pokémon Center right now… I'm very sorry. Please proceed to Jubilife City or to any nearby city from here if you wish to have lodgings for the day."
Most of the trainers followed her advice and left, knowing that they could not do anything about the current situation. Most had used their Pokémon's Fly ability to take them to a city where few trainers were while some took the scenic route by walking. Shinji, on the other hand, was already tired. His Pokémon were also tired.
He decided to head for Jubilife City, despite his weariness.
When he got to Jubilife City, what caught his eye was a new building beside the Pokémon Center.
He read the sign: Silver Wind Maid Café.
Oh god.
Because of his travels all over Sinnoh, he was not ignorant of how those things go. The origin of the maid café was in Solaceon Town in Eastern Sinnoh, where females were dressed in frilly short-skirt maid outfits and made the guests of their establishment feel like they're at home. For Shinji, they knew that those who would drop by the Maid Café were those who had fetish for girls who were dressed as maids serving the master, meaning the customer. But then again, cafés like those would only allow those who would be willing to spend a minimum of 460 Poke Yen for food and drinks.
No matter what the price, most male trainers still go for such. Because the maid café business was successful, a lot of cafés opened up in Sinnoh, most especially in Jubilife City and Veilstone City, which was his hometown. Whenever he dropped by in his hometown, so many male trainers were there, most probably wanting to have their very own maid café experience.
Shinji couldn't care less.
He could live without such anyway.
He would soon find out how wrong he was.
When he got to the Pokémon Center, the trainer left his Pokémon there to have them healed and checked by Nurse Joy, and once the treatment started, the trainer headed out to look for a restaurant where he would be able to eat. Unfortunately, he found none. The fast food stores were full, the microwavable meals that he loved so much were out of stock and the remaining restaurants that had vacancies were for the rich people and for the trainers who had extra cash to spend. And among the expensive restaurants were the maid café.
He needed food.
So he went against his decision of going inside a maid café. He needed food, rest and relaxation.
The young man was already desperate.
He had no choice.
Goodbye, savings. He thought sarcastically to himself as he exited the center and headed to the maid café.
The café itself looked decent enough. It was probably the size of a one-floor house. The exterior had many posters promoting the café, as well the menu list. He looked at the menu. Simple enough, and it didn't hurt his budget that much. A whiteboard hung by the wall that said, 'No pictures allowed to be taken inside.' was surrounded by various drawings of cute Pokémon like Happiny, Clefairy, Pikachu and Pachirisu.
At the entrance stood two girls dressed in the standard maid outfit that consisted of an apron that had frills for the shoulders, a dress wherein two layers of petticoats were worn underneath it to make it look poofy and black knee-high socks. They wore a cloth headpiece on top of their heads and for their footwear, they wore Mary Jane shoes. The outfit was unusual, because it was the dress was colored white while the apron was black.
Guess they did not want to conform to the standards.
"Please go on ahead." Said one of the maids, flashing a smile at him.
He entered the door to the café…
"Okaeri nasaimase, goshujin-sama!"(1)
The sight of the maid that greeted him shocked him.
It wasn't because he was not used to the service, but it was because the maid was someone he knew.
The maid who greeted him was Hikari. She wore the same outfit as the two girls by the entrance, but her apron was colored a light pink. Her dark blue hair had been styled in two high pigtails, which were held in place by a scrunchy.
He decided to play along. "… Tadaima."(2) Somehow, at the sight of her, he felt more at ease.
At the sound of his deep voice, Hikari was startled and her eyes widen at the sight of her secret crush gracing the café she was working for. "S-Shinji!? What are you doing here?!"
He gave a shrug. "The restaurants are full. I need to eat."
"R-right." she said. "Please follow me to the non-smoking area."
As Hikari led Ash's former Sinnoh rival to the non-smoking area of the café, the manager of the establishment, also wearing a maid's outfit, said to her, "Hikari, the honorific calling please."
The Pokémon Coordinator flashed a guilty smile at the manager and nodded her head. Hikari chose for him the table that had the view of a flower meadow and pulled a chair for him to sit on. The young man sat and when he was about to place his backpack on the floor, it seemed that the maid outfit-clad young woman had a basket in her hand ready. "Goshujin-sama, please place your bag here." She grinned.
What the hell happened to her?
It was strange to see her act like she was cute and all, but he knew that it was part of her job as a 'maid'. She had to act cute and be pleasing, just like a real servant.
So Shinji did what she had told him and placed his backpack inside the basket. He looked around. Not surprisingly, males were all over the place. Some maids were entertaining them, playing card games and the like, while some were being served food and drinks.
"Douzo!" Hikari grinned at him again while handing him the menu list."Shitsurei shimasu, goshujin-sama." She bowed deeply to her 'master' and headed to the bar of the café. Within minutes, she came back, holding a glass of water. "While you wait for your order, please have some water first, goshujin-sama."
He was really aghast at the 'new' Hikari. It was so unlike her to be polite and docile towards him. He was used to her violent outbursts and screechy voice. But now, she was soft-spoken and… nice?
Unbelievable.
"What would it be?" she took out a pen and paper.
"Curry rice, omelet rice and… Ice Royal Milk Tea." He was THAT hungry.
After jotting down the said meals, she said, "Kashikomarimashita!"(3) and left him to his own thoughts.
So that's how it goes here… some girl calls you her 'master', you try to feel right at home while you spend so much money for the services. He told himself in a bitter voice. Once was enough. He would never, ever set foot inside a maid café again. He would just be wasting money…
But then again… her antics suited her.
She looked… cute.
He's here… oh gods…
She, garbed in a maid outfit, walked towards the mini bar of the café, face a crimson red. She couldn't believe this was happening. Her crush… well, former crush, was here in the café… and he was going to have lunch. Will she be the one to serve him? She did not know. Maids like her were to serve every patron who went inside. Unless Shinji paid a certain amount so she could serve him, she would be serving any customer that was to grace their café.
Of course, there was no way he would spend one thousand Poke Yen so he could have exclusive service from her…
"Hikari! More customers!"
She then handed the order slip to the chef and ran towards the door of the establishment.
"Tadaima!" a group of four men said in chorus.
"Okaerinasaimase, goshujin-sama!" she said in a perky voice. "Table for four? Smoking or non-smoking?"
One of the guys suddenly let out a loud gasp, causing everyone to turn their heads at the direction of the four males. "Hey, aren't you last year's Sinnoh Grand Festival winner, the one named Hikari?!"
Oh god. They found out?! She was at a loss as to what to do.
Should I tell the truth or not…? She asked herself.
For now, she ignored the question. "Please follow me." She did a cute smile on her face, complete with the pout. Fortunately, all four of them fell for it and followed her, while one of them said, "Non-smoking please,meido-chan!" (4)
"Hai!"
While all four men gushed at her cuteness, for some odd reason, Shinji did not know how to react to it. He felt angry, and had the sudden urge to stand up, hold the chair by the legs and smash the said item against the four boys' faces until it would bleed. But of course, he wondered why he was feeling such. For gods' sake, he was here to rest and relax, not to get stressed over those idiots!
"Goshujin-sama? Are you alright?" asked one of the maids.
"Shall I get you anything?" when Shinji shook his head, the maid bowed and smiled. "Shall I entertain you for a little while, then? Until you get your order, that is."
"No need, thanks. I have a question though…"
Hikari was tired, and it wasn't even ten in the evening yet, which happened to be the closing time. Was it probably because of those four men? Probably, because they kept on switching their orders and during the duration of the order-taking, one kept flirting with her. She was used to it, but really, this one was a special case. When she finally walked away to hand over the order slip to the chef, the seventeen-year old sighed in relief. If the coordinator had stayed with them for one more minute, she would have gone mad.
"Hikari?" she turned her head at the source of the voice, who happened to be the manager.
"Yes, ma'am?" she asked.
"Please serve the man by the window until he leaves the café. He paid extra for you."
She felt her face turn red.
Was the manager joking or was she playing a trick on her?
She decided that it wasn't either of her guesses.
Maybe, just maybe, Shinji DID pay extra so he could interact with her…
"Hikari! Table 4's orders are here!"
She got the tray of drink in one hand and made her way towards the violet-haired boy's direction. "Douzo."(5) She laid the cold drink on the right side of the table from where he sat and bowed to him. "I'll be back with your meal…"
Minutes later, she came back with the curry rice and omelet rice, along with a ketchup tube container. When the dark-blue haired girl laid down the said dishes, she got the ketchup container and asked, "Any requests?"
Request? "What do you mean?"
"Any request for a particular Pokémon for me to draw on top of your omelet?" she asked him, this time, supplying him with the answer to his question.
"Your choice." Frankly, he didn't care so much with what was to be drawn on the egg.
"Hai." She thought for a while before started on her 'artwork'. While Hikari was busy drawing, the Pokémon trainer began eating his curry rice. He was hungry, and the taste of the slightly spicy meal brought comfort to him. It was one of the few dishes that he liked so much…
"Cha-raaaaan!"
Hikari's voice made him look at the omelet rice.
Sure enough, Naetoru's face was drawn over it.
To his horror, he found it cute.
Utterly cute.
Damn, where and when did she learn how to draw with ketchup!?
"… Thank you."
Hikari flashed him a smile. "May I sit on the chair opposite of you? It is custom that maids that you've paid extra for will have a chat with you, play card games with you and… entertain you until you leave the café."
Gods, she knew.
Once more, to his horror, he felt so embarrassed that he felt his face turn slightly red.
"Umm…"
"No, please, don't be embarrassed or anything. I am thankful for it. Those coordinators were harassing me, asking if I really was the girl who won last year's Grand Festival and disappeared with a blink of an eye." Hikari told him. "Well, they were right, but really, why make a fuss out of it?"
Paul took a break by sipping on the milk tea. "You've somehow become an idol for them." Though he was not familiar with the world of coordinators, he knew a great deal with what was happening, because in every coordinator magazine he came across with for the past one year, her picture would be on the front cover. If not on the front cover, an article would be written about her. "I've seen the magazines. Everyone was looking for you. You've become an idol for them. You are the idol who disappeared before they could even get to know her better."
Hikari shrugged. "I'd rather bum around first. I worked my ass off for that Grand Festival title, and I don't need any more pressure. I'm not so much of an addict for contests anymore. Once I've reach my goal, I stop."
"You shouldn't do that."
Dawn raised an eyebrow. "And why not?" she asked, curious with what 'words of wisdom' her 'master' would use on her.
"Just because you won the first time doesn't mean you shouldn't aim for another. Get away from Sinnoh and head to another region." He said sharply.
"I can't. Another reason why I can't travel yet is that I'm still saving up. Years before, I kept purchasing new outfits for contests… and let's just say that I used up most of my money for those." She sweatdropped while the person sitting opposite of her rolled his eyes. "Hey, it can't be helped! Those are the rules!"
"Yeah, sure, troublesome girl. Whatever you say." He said nonchalantly.
"Ah, so we're back to name-calling now, are we?" she asked him, trying to calm down.Do not argue with a customer. You might your lose job… she kept chanting to herself.
"Only for me…meido-san." He smirked. "You should still be calling me'goshujin-sama'."
Infuriated, she took a glance at the direction of the four coordinators whom she had led to a table, hoping that it would have been a better choice if she had been stuck with four perverts than with him. When she saw that one of them had dared to hold the hand of Hikari's co-worker and even her arms. 'Okay, I take that back… at least Shinji is not being a pervert…'
"Hey, get me more milk tea."
She stood up, bowed and walked off to order another glass. 'But he's soooo demanding.'
Two milk teas, omelet rice and curry rice later, they resumed their talk again.
"So, what happened right after your first Grand Festival?" Shinji asked her while sipping on a glass of water.
"I went home. Then mom told me to head to Hoenn because the contest season was about to start. I did what she told me, though this time, I dressed in plain clothes because formal outfits aren't required in that region." She told him. "Tried my luck in the Grand Festival, and I still didn't win. They said it was because the moves I used were too flashy. I managed to make it to the Top 4 though, and that was already an accomplishment. I travelled around some more, then I went back to Sinnoh when I was sixteen. It was contest season again, and I joined. Finally managed to win the Grand Festival last year, so now, I'm trying to relax while earning myself a living."
"I see." He said.
"How about you? What have you been doing lately?"
"Training Pokémon." When her eyes narrowed at him, Shinji sighed. "It's not what you think. I've been going around Johto and Kanto last month to look for Pokémon to train. I came home a year before. Earlier, I was in Eterna Forest to look around and see if there were any worthy Pokémon to train."
"Satoshi told me the last time he and I talked, which was a year ago, you won the Ever Grande Conference?" when he nodded hesitantly, she smiled. "Wow. Congratulations."
"… Thank you." He wasn't used to getting complimented, especially by a girl.
"You're welcome." She smiled back.
Silence, until…
"Would you like a massage?"
He almost doubled over.
What the hell?! And out of the blue too!
"M-massage?!" healmost squeaked. Thankfully, he had managed to contain his shock. Or else, he would have fainted on the floor, twitching. Damn his hormones for triggering such an effect on him.
"Hai. I mean, you just sit there, and I give your shoulders a massage." She stood up, positioned herself behind him, placed her firm hands on top of his shoulders and started kneading his tensed shoulders. "Relax…"
How could he relax?!
She was standing much too close to him.
He could inhale the light cologne she had on.
Damn it.
If he were a normal teenage boy, he would have fainted from the blood loss that would shoot out from his nostrils. Thankfully, he was normal, but his hormones were under control, or so he thinks…
"Feeling better?" Hikari stopped the rubbing, bending a bit and looked over his shoulder to meet his face. "How do you feel now?"
For once, he was at a loss for words.
So he did what he thought was best.
He turned his head to his right, leaned over and kissed the maid on the lips.
After all, actions speak louder than words, right?
Hikari was shocked to the core, to say the least. Never had she imagined someone like Shinji to kiss her in public! Not only was it unheard of, it was also embarrassing. If the manager found out about this, she might give her the boot! She didn't want that to happen!
PULL AWAY!!!
Before she could do so, however, a faint 'click!' was heard.
The maid and her master pulled away and looked at the person who had taken the picture.
It was one of the four coordinators that came after Paul. He was grinning. "I knew it. You really are last year's Sinnoh Grand Festival winner."
The remaining three friends of his were wailing in the background.
"I can't believe she's dating the Hoenn League Champion?!"
"Since when did they start dating anyway!?"
"NOOOO! HIKARI-CHAAAAAAAAAN!!!"
Hikari was torn between yelling the customer and snatching the camera to break it into pieces and to keep calm, smile as if nothing was wrong with kissing Shinji and planning evilly how to get back at them while she's out of the café.
Unfortunately for her, the one who took the picture tucked it inside his bag and smiled triumphantly. "I'll send this picture to Pokémon Coordinators' magazine! They'll love it so much!" the four coordinators then went back to their seats to resume their meal. Next, Shinji stood up, placed a hand full of bills on the table, muttering something like, "Keep the change."
He then walked away, leaving Hikari confused…
W-what was that all about…?
As soon as Shinji had gotten outside, he felt his face grow hot in embarrassment. What the hell happened to him and made him do such? Hell, how did he grow so bold and kiss that girl?! The trainer tried to think about what he had just done, but to no avail. His mind wasn't working properly.
Still in a daze, he headed over to sit in one of the benches in Jubilife City and contemplated.
He had to admit, he had been fond of her. But of course, during the age when he was obsessed with growing strong and powerful, he felt indifferent towards the only girl companion of his rival back then. As he grew older, he realized that she looked… more than just an average girl. He managed to catch a glimpse of the Sinnoh Grand Festival last year, when he had passed by a restaurant in Pastoria City. She and a male coordinator battled for the Ribbon Cup, and she barely managed to win that match.
He decided that she wasn't someone to be trifled with.
After all, they are trainers first before coordinators.
And exactly a month after that, she disappeared.
And secretly, he was looking for her.
Why would he go home just so he would seek Pokémon that he was already familiar with?
He sighed and headed to the Pokémon Center to retrieve that Pokémon that he had scheduled for a treatment.
He also made a decision to visit her tonight.
He did not care if he was going to break his promise of not stepping inside a maid café after his first visit.
Shinji wanted to see her.
Because the manager found out that one of her 'maids' happen to be a Grand Festival winner and had kissed a customer, instead of firing her, the manager had an agreement with the female coordinator that if she could fill up the whole café by tonight, she would not be fired. She agreed.
Surprisingly, she made no efforts to coax the customers to come to the café, because she knew that gossip travels fast. During tea time, which was from 3 to 5, half of the café was full, and during dinner time, many were on the waiting list. It seems that every male coordinator in Sinnoh wanted to meet their idol.
Unfortunately, the Hoenn League Champion did not let them. He made yet another surprise visit that night and it had been Hikari who had welcomed him. When he was led to a private room this time, he noticed while they went their way towards the private rooms, most of the customers that night was predominantly male. And most of them were trying to catch her attention, while the bold ones kept flirting with her.
He had a chat with the manager once more.
He paid her extra, yet again, so Hikari would serve no one but him.
Despite the fact that he was wasting money yet again for such, he knew that the money was well-spent.
It was also for a good cause: to keep away the fan boys from his girl.
"Here you go,goshujin-sama!" the pigtailed girl handed him a plate of curry rice. "And here's your drink."
He took a sip of the milk tea. "Thanks."
"Anything else?" she asked.
"Let's go to Hoenn together. Quit your job and join the contests there." He said at once. "Can you do that?"
He hoped she got the hint. It wasn't his nature to be blunt and tell her that he enjoyed her company so much that he was offering her a chance to travel with him. It was more than that. He liked her enough to consider her a prospect.
"I… I'll think about it first." Came her reply.
As soon as Hikari headed out of the private room, she leaned against the wall for support. Her heart was beating madly from excitement.
Oh my… he asked me to be his travelling companion! Calm down, Hikari! He didn't ask you to marry him anyway! Why are you so excited?!
Still, it was an accomplishment.
The blue-haired girl knew that she had managed to catch his attention. For someone like her to do such, it was an accomplishment already. It was uncommon for him to even acknowledge a trainer's abilities, and rarer still, if the trainer was a girl. Unheard of if the person was BOTH a girl and a coordinator.
Still, she was glad.
She made up her mind.
She would go with Shinji.
That night, while she and her co-workers were all cleaning up the café, Hikari approached the manager and said that she was resigning. When asked by the manager why, she simply said, "My 'master' needs me."
The older woman took the hint and let her go, wishing her good luck.
Epilogue:
A month after, she and Shinji headed for Hoenn, she for the contests so she would reach her new goal of becoming a two-time Grand Festival winner, him for the Pokémon League to defend his title as Champion.
Because of what had happened a month ago in the café, the picture of their kiss spread like wildfire across Sinnoh. Pokémon magazines began calling the two up, asking for an interview. Like everyone else, they wanted to confirm if she and Shinji were really dating, which had come true ever since the café incident. To escape from the paparazzi, they decided to head to Hoenn as soon as they can.
Hikari had no regrets leaving the café she had grown to love. Despite having not been able to reach her quota for her personal savings, she was alright with it.
Besides, her 'master'did promise that he would shoulder whatever expenses she would need for their journey.
"Thanks a lot for inviting me to come with you, Shinji." She grinned at him.
When she got 'Hn.' in return, she knew that he shared the same sentiments as she did.
"Let's go now,goshujin-sama. They're all waiting for you in Hoenn." She teased, referring to the paparazzi that kept ambushing him for the past few weeks to ask if he and Hikari were indeed dating.
"Yeah, sure." He told her. "And they'll be waiting for their idol too."
She stuck out her tongue and punched him on the arm lightly.
He smirked at her before poking her cheek in affection.
It was a good decision on his part to invite her to travel with him.
Besides, who could resist a former maid who could draw a Pokémon's face over an omelet?
Notes:
(1) "Okaeri nasaimase, goshujin-sama!" - derived from the phrase 'okaeri nasai', which means, 'I'm home'. Goshujin-sama means 'master', or in some cases,'husband' (husband of another woman, for that matter, not your own.). For this fic, goshujin means 'master'. This is quite a formal phrase to say, and is the standard greeting by maids in maid cafes.
(2)"Tadaima." - 'I'm home.' Used in everyday life, as well as the standard phrase of those entering maid cafes.
(3) "Kashikomarimashita!" - 'I got it!' Used by waitresses/maids when they get orders from customers in restaurants/cafes.
(4) "Meido-chan!"- 'Maid-chan'. -chan is the suffix used for little girls, and sometimes, little boys.
(5) "Douzo." - 'Please.' Okay, this is different. Douzo is only used when you are handing out something, like a present or a test paper.
Massage services are offered in certain cafes, but of course, when the maid does the massage, the person is fully clothed. :3 Like what she did with Shinji. Extra pay for massage services. Also, the minumum amount to be spent in maid cafes are around Y 400- 500 is true, because many just go inside the cafe to have a look at the maids. Also, in maid cafes, you have to pay a certain fee for you to be able to take a picture of a maid that you like. In Shinji's case, he paid extra to have exclusive 'rights' to Hikari so he would be the only one she would serve.
Anyways, please review:3