Cuxie: Welcome to the completion of "Trust Me"! ~-~ (sniff) Brave face...brave face...
Kazune: I won the bet. Naturally.
Karin: You totally cheated!
Kazune: I did not!
Karin: You did too!
Cuxie: Now kiddies...now's not the time. We...we've almost got to say g-goodb-Ah, I promised myself I wouldn't cry.
Kazune: There there, we can save the goodbyes for later, okay? How about we just start the chapter?
Cuxie:(sniff) O-Ok. R-rolling the l-l-last chappy! WAH!
"KARIN! What's taking so long?" Kazune sat on the couch, his feet propped up, flicking through channels absently in front of the TV. He couldn't remember the last time he'd spent a Saturday being so laidback. But then again, it was pretty easy to be laidback when you had someone to wait on you hand and foot...
"I'm coming! I'm coming!" He heard her footsteps pick of pace as she approached him. She entered the living room, carrying a silver tray with his lunch on it, and wearing a petulant little frown. She slammed the tray down on the coffee table in front of him. "Here you go, your highness," she muttered.
He smirked. "Is something wrong Karin? You seem a little upset."
She stamped her foot. "Of course I'm upset! I know you said maid, but isn't this," she swept her hands over herself, "a little much?"
He looked her over slowly. In his opinion she looked perfectly fine in the standard black and white uniform with the ruffled apron and headpiece. She even had matching white gloves with small black bows on the wrist.
Although the skirt was probably shorter than she would've liked.
"I don't see anything wrong with it," he said slowly, watching her squirm while he checked her out.
"K-Kazune-kun..."
He rose an eyebrow. "What was that?"
"Er...Kaune-sama..." She turned her face away, trying to quell her frustrations.
"Much better. Now I'd like some lemonade to go with this." He waved his hand, signaling her to go fetch his drink. She complied grudgingly.
He could at least say 'please', she thought vehemently. This week is gonna be hell if I don't do something... She grabbed a canned lemonade out of the fridge, not bothering to make any fresh, which is probably what he wanted. She breifly contemplated putting vinegar in it, but then he'd probably give her some especially hard task after that. There must be something I can do...
Walking back into the living room, she was quiet, planning her attack strategy. She stood behind the couch, staring at the back of his head for awhile. If only there was a way to distract him from the whole maid thing...
A shrill ringing sound jolted her from her thoughts. She saw a flash of something silver in Kazune's hand. "What's that?" she asked suspiciously, stepping closer and handing him the lemonade.
"A bell," he answered simply.
"You're going to ring a bell every time you want something?"
"Well, I don't feel like yelling all the time."
"You've never had a problem yelling at me before," she muttered under her breath.
"What was that?"
"Nothing," she said quickly.
He took a sip of his drink. "This isn't very cold." He handed it back to her. "Go put this in a glass with ice."
She gaped at him.
He glanced at her coolly, smirking at the look on her face. "This isn't supposed to be easy for you Karin."
xxx
"He's gonna work me to death!" Karin moaned into her pillow. She had just finished performing maintenance for Kazune's archery equipment and had taken the spare moment to vent to Himeka. "I can't take much more of this!"
Her friend patted her back consolingly. "I'm sure Kazune-chan will give you a break soon."
"That tyrant? Not likely."
"Karin-chan?" Kazusa cracked the door open and peeked inside. "I just laid Suzune-kun down for his nap." She noticed Karin was laying face-down across her bed. "Is everything okay?"
"Your brother is a diabolical fiend."
"Oh, he's just a little hard-edged," Kazusa amended lightly. "What has he done this time?"
"Karin says he's overworking her," Himeka said.
"I find that hard to believe. He's got such a soft spot for Karin-chan."
Karin lifted her head to look Kazusa in the eye. She seemed serious. "Soft spot? For me?"
"Of course." Kazusa giggled, "All you have to do is bat your lashes and he'll give you anything you want."
"Do you really think so?"
Kazusa blinked. "Well...yeah. I've seen how my brother reacts when you use that pleading look. I thought you were doing it on purpose."
Karin cocked her head, confused. Pleading look? "No, I-"
Riiinnnggg!
All the girls looked up. The sound was coming from across the hall. From Kazune's room.
"Back to my slave labor," Karin groaned, slinking out of the room.
Kazusa smiled sympathetically. "I'm sure you can figure out how to work him."
How to work Kazune-kun? Is that even possible? Karin thought doubtfully. She stopped in Kazune's doorway. He was reading one of his huge scholarly books. I guess it's worth a shot... She stepped inside, closing the door gently behind her. "You rang?"
He looked up. "There you are. Did you finish waxing my bow and taking down the targets?"
"Yes, sir."
He blinked at her, slightly surprised that she was addressing him formally. "Okay...Well, did you file the arrow points?"
"Yes, sir. And I put everything back exactly where you told me to."
"Uh...good." He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. What is she up to? "Well, come here. I made a list for you."
Karin walked closer. Kazune handed her a piece of paper with at least a dozen difficult, unnecessary chores for her to do. "You can start with straightening up the bookshelves downstairs," he said, already going back to his book.
Ok, Karin. It's now or never. "Um, Kazune-sama? This is...a lot."
"Karin-"
"It's just that..." She sat down on the edge of the bed, leaning against him. "I've been working all day." She sighed, trying to look tired.
Kazune stared at her, suddenly extremely aware of how close Karin was sitting, and exactly how short her uniform skirt was. "Uh..."
Hearing the hitch in his voice, she bit back a smile. She laid her head on his shoulder and placed her hand against his chest. "And I've done a good job so far, right?"
"Y-Yeah...you've been good." He moved over slightly and Karin pulled herself onto the bed, shifting slightly so that she was lying next to him. He stiffened, his eyes widening. Karin's skirt was riding up slightly and he wasn't entirely sure where to look. Certainly not at her legs or his brain would just turn to mush.
"So do you think I could relax for a little while? The list can wait, can't it?" she asked sweetly. She looked up at him through long lashes, sending him what she hoped was her 'pleading look'.
"Well...I-I don't know..." Kazune's face flushed. Something was going on here, but he was too busy looking and not-looking at her to attempt to figure out what. Not to mention the fact that she was being unusually sweet, and their bodies were touching, and she looked really, really good in that maid uniform...
"Please?" Karin asked, snuggling up closer to him. Feeling bold, she turned her head and started to kiss his neck. "Just for a while?" Feeling his arms go around her waist, she sat up and kissed him, pulling away before he could react. Then she looked up at him, smiling coyly. "Well?"
Red-faced and flustered, Kazune looked away feeling confused and a bit warmer than usual. "...I-I guess you can take a short break."
Karin grinned. "Oh, thanks Kazune-kun!" She kissed him quickly on the cheek before bounding out of the room. This week might just be easier than I thought!
Kazune stared as the door swung shut behind her, feeling oddly abandoned. "...What the heck just happened?"
Cuxie: Aww, Kazune-kun's such a sucker for a cute face!^^
Kazune: I feel so used. ~_~
Karin: Now you know how being your maid feels.
Cuxie: Heheh...Oh! I almost forgot. It's time to...to say g-g-goodby-WAH! TT^TT
Kazune: C'mon now. All good stories have to end sometime, right?
Karin: We can all do it together. Would that make you feel better?
Cuxie: Ehn...I-I guess.
Kazune&Karin&Cuxie: To everyone who R&R-ed, THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
Cuxie: See you in my next fic!