Home Wrecker, A Mai-HiME fanfic
Chapter 1: Last on Her List
Looking at the slip of paper one more time to be sure, the vermillion-haired woman looked longingly at the open road before tightening her face in determination, she walked the short distance to the cottage's front door. Not that it was ugly, on the contrary, it was a cute, if cozy home, well-maintained, and in a nice, if remote, neighborhood. The home's looks were the issue, but rather the home's position on her list of employment prospects; it was the last one on her list.
There had originally been eight such prospects, clients assigned to by her cooking school, and only now she was wondering if she should have just saved her money and opened her own food stand. She'd tried each client, tried to be a good employee, but something would always happen to cause her to seek anew. The first five had actually been not too bad; unfortunately, she had learned this only in hindsight. Each time she'd begin with good intent, but something about each one would become intolerable, and so either she would be dismissed (at first), or her sanity at risk, she would ask to leave. Every thing from odd schedule demands, to odd fetishes, to bizarre side dish requests, worse than her high school pal's notorious mayonnaise obsession. Now she was at the end of her rope, and while she had always been an excellent cook, a bad reputation in a hospitality field could make or break a career.
Hoping against hope, she knocked on the door, wondering what horror lay in store for her, praying that she could somehow endure, at least long enough to qualify as an official placement, and not wreck her job life before it had hardly began. The door opened, and Mai found herself face-to-face with a tired, frail, but friendly-looking, auburn-haired woman.
"Tokiha Mai-san?"
"Yes. I am honored by your consideration."
"Please, come in."
Mai entered the home, and it looked just as cozy and charming on the inside. The woman, Nakamura Hanako, was an excellent hostess. She explained her situation over tea and rice crackers, that she had been a long time in hospital, recovering from an assault, and then a coma. Her stamina was still an issue, and while she built up her body again for the rigors of life, she found the need for someone to help take care of her and her daughter, studying to be a doctor. While she insisted that housework was just the thing to get her back into condition, she needed someone to do the cooking, and she would not want to risk prevailing on her courageous daughter, who virtually had to raise herself, and who was doing so well with her studies.
By the end of her tale, Mai was in tears, weeping at the older woman's feet, and all but begging to be allowed to help take care of the two courageous women. Hanako - she insisted, since they would all be living and working so closely together - was herself touched, and finally hugged the sensitive young woman if only to stop the risk of herself bursting into tears in sympathy. They had hit it off so well from the start, that Mai had gone ahead and fixed a light supper for Hanako, and readied some noodles for a quick nourishing supper once the daughter came home. Meanwhile, Hanako and Mai continued to chat, sharing more about each other, hopes, dreams, even a few of their lived-
through nightmares.
Finally, getting close to eight o'clock, the ladies heard a rattle as the multiple locks of the door were unlocked by a key. Mai got up to heat up the noodles and add some extras to it for a tasty, light meal. While the supper was made ready, Hanako told her daughter about the cooking arrangements she had made, and the new friend that would help them out. As Mai filled the plate and placed it on the table, she was mildly happy that she'd been able to set it down, for she now knew why this home, was the last one on her list.
Hanako's daughter...was Yuuki Nao.
