Part I: Of New Jobs and New Acquaintances
What a day. What a day. Not only did you just get your papers to legally change your name from (your name) to Miryoku Katsumi (you were now a citizen of Japan and you wanted an authentic Japanese name), but, since needed a source of income and housing, today was your first day as a live-in maid. It wasn't the most glamorous job on Earth, but heck, it was better than living in a cardboard box in an alley, wasn't it?
You sighed as you walked the streets of Funbari, trying to decipher a cartoony map of the city and keep a lookout for a house labeled 'Asakura' at the same time. It was almost high noon, and the sun was beating down on your head, heating it almost to the point of discomfort. Fearing your hair would go up in flames from the intense heat, you sought the shade of a tree. Sitting down against the trunk, you glanced down the street, which had only a few houses lining the pavement. Finding nothing interesting about the houses, you leaned your head back against the tree trunk and closed your eyes. A warm breeze fluttered by, making a few stray hairs tickle your face. A few birds dove in and out of the surrounding trees. It was all so relaxing…
"KISAMA!" Your eyes shot open as the shout echoed throughout the neighborhood. You glared in the general direction of the noise, momentarily hating whoever had disturbed your peace. It just so happened that the racket had originated from directly across the street. By some stroke of luck, you spied the tiny sign that read 'Asakura,' and promptly hopped to your feet. You brushed the small amount of grass and dirt from your butt and quickly walked across the street to the large house.
Putting on an unusually happy face, you knocked on the door. No answer. But there was some commotion going on inside, as you could hear voices and various glass objects breaking. Something halfway between a sigh and a laugh escaped your lips and you shook your head lightly.
"K-Kon'nichi wa!" you tried, knocking on the door again and growing unusually tense. Thinking that you had the wrong house, you began to turn away from the door. But before you had turned all the way around, the door swung open. A panting boy with blue hair stood before you, nervously glancing over his shoulder. He looked to be about your age, give or take a few months. Before either of you could say anything, another boy appeared in the doorway, wielding a large spear and an equally as large scowl. The first boy let out a yelp, then ran off into the living room, dodging the glaive as he jumped over the furniture. You stared awkwardly.
"Anou… Excuse me?" you asked, edging into the house slowly. The blue-haired boy leapt cleanly over the couch, then glanced in your direction.
"Can you hold on a s--WHOA!" He was cut off by the blade of the spear crashing through a lamp right next to his head, shattering it. "REN! GUEST! Cut the crap!" He pointed to you, and the second boy's cheeks turned slightly pink as he refrained from slicing the couch in half. You watched curiously as the first boy, forgetting their preceding feud, whispered something to the second boy, who turned ever slightly pinker and nodded. The two boys stared at you for a few seconds before you cocked your head to the side and blinked. Sensing your curiosity, the bluenette lightly smacked the other's back and cleared his throat. The slightly shorter boy didn't move for a fraction of a second, then mumbled something unusual about peaches before disappearing into the kitchen.
"So," started the remaining teen, obviously not knowing what to say. "What can I do for ya?" You looked down at your feet, feeling the anxiety from earlier returning to the pit of your stomach.
"Is Anna-san here?" you asked. "My name's Katsumi, and I'm the new maid." The bluenette blinked, then chuckled lightly.
"Anna finally decided to get a maid," he laughed to himself before turning around and cupping his hands near his mouth. "ANNA! THE NEW MAID'S HERE! SHE NEEDS TO TALK TO YOU!" Silence. "AN-NA!" he yelled into the house. A slight rumbling was heard before the said female stomped into the living room. Blonde hair made its home underneath a red bandana, and a blue beaded necklace clinked dangerously against itself, resting upon the chest of a short black dress.
"Horohoro, how many times do I have to say it! Don't yell in the house!" the blonde shrieked. "Now, if you'll excuse us, we have business." The boy stalked out of the living room, shoulders hunched. Then Anna turned to you. "You're Miryoku Katsumi, am I right?" she asked, crossing her arms.
"Yes, Anna-san," you said, bowing slightly. This girl appeared to have quite a temper, so you didn't want to get on her bad side.
"You have quite a job ahead of you, Katsumi," she said sternly. You nodded, looking down at your feet again. "It normally takes seven or eight people to do what you're getting paid to do in a day. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Anna-san." Of course you understood. It wasn't that hard a concept. But before you could look up from your feet, Anna pulled a long list of jobs and chores from out of nowhere and began explaining everything to you, not even taking the time to draw a breath. After a minute of so of trying to keep up with the endless stream of words coming out of the blonde's mouth, the front door opened, bumping you in the butt. Before you could see the offending bumper, a voice spoke, followed by a pair of dark eyes peeking out from behind the door.
"Oh, gomen. Didn't see ya there." And with that, another boy about your age stepped into the room. This one had a pair of orange headphones on his head, a lazy smile on his face, and a pair of shopping bags in his arms. Anna glared at the new boy.
"Yoh, you're late. You were supposed to be here fifteen minutes ago. What happened?" she demanded, crossing her arms. The brunette simultaneously set the bags on the floor and closed the door with his hip. A feminine action, no doubt. He then gazed over a you, not voicing the question that shone in his eyes all too well.
"Oh, I just got hung up," he said indolently, still eyes still fixated on you. He smelled a bit like... oranges? "Who's this?" he asked, nodding towards you.
"This is Katsumi; the new maid." The brunette smiled slightly, then nodded. "Katsumi, this is Yoh. He's my fiancé, so don't try anything. But the others are free for the picking." You frowned lightly, a little offended that your new boss might think you'd try to come onto her fiancé like some sort of jezebel. "Yoh, go put the groceries away before the milk spoils. It'd be hell for you if Ren didn't get any milk."
"Nice meeting you, Katsumi," he said, smiling. With that, Yoh picked up the grocery bags and headed into the kitchen, casting you a fleeting glance and an accompanying wink.
"Should I--?" You pointed into the kitchen. You were the maid after all. It wouldn't be right if your employer's fiancé did your work.
"No." Anna shook her head. "Yoh needs to do it." You nodded slowly. "And one more thing, Katsumi," Anna said, slightly nicer-sounding. "When you start work tomorrow, I expect you to be wearing this." Despite the kinder tone in her voice, her words hit you harder than anything she'd said in the last five minutes. She pulled out a French maid's outfit from the same unknown place she'd gotten her list. You stared at the frilly black and white dress in disbelief.
"A-Are you serious, Anna-san?" you asked. The blonde stared you straight in the eye.
"Do I look like I'm not serious?" she replied. To your dismay, she shoved the dress into your hands and opened the front door to let you out. "Bring your things with you tomorrow. I've already got a room for you waiting. Sayonara." Before you knew what was going on, you were back outside the front door.
As you made your way out of the front yard, dress in hand, you shook your head. What a day. What a day.
End Part I.