and another rarepair short thing - this time komaru and kirumi!
“So you’re a maid?” Komaru looks up at her with soft eyes. “What’s that like?”
Kirumi considers this for a moment before saying, not meeting her eyes, “Fulfilling.”
Komaru’s eyes light up. “Really?” She follows behind Kirumi like a baby chick follows its mother, hands clasped in front of her and that megaphone gun hanging at one side. (Even if she doesn’t need it often anymore, she never leaves it behind. Who knows when she’ll might need it again? It’s not good for anything other than the various Monokuma variations anyway, so it’s not like she’s a threat! (She’s not much of a threat for them, either. Jack’s far better at that. But she tries.)) “It’s not weird, is it?” Her brows furrow together. “I’ve never been around a real maid. I mean, I’ve been to maid cafés, and those are real maids, but that’s not really the same, is it?”
“No, it isn’t.” A small smile lifts the corners of Kirumi’s lips. “Maid cafés give the illusion of what a true maid does. Their maids are worthy of their titles, but their roles are specific to that job. A maid like myself doesn’t have set hours to clock in or clock out; we are at the beck and call of our master at any hour of the day or night.”
“Wow.” Komaru stops, not even realizing she’s done it. “That’s a lot! I don’t think I could do that.” She suddenly notices she needs to catch up and rushes to do so. “I thought about getting a job at a maid café once, but Makoto snitched on me. My parents were so mad.” She laughs and rubs the back of her neck with one hand, a move oddly reminiscent of her brother. “Then I told them at least I wasn’t applying to a cosplay café, and they left me alone!”
Kirumi almost laughs. “Don’t let Tsumugi hear you say that. She’ll be very offended.”
Komaru blushes. “Oh, she knows. I thought she would get the joke, but then she didn’t speak to me for a week. It was the worst! I wanted to share my Oshi No Ko theories with someone between episodes, and Toko hates it. She said I should go talk to Sayaka about it, but the last time I did, she made a face I didn’t even know she could make.”
“And you didn’t speak with Hifumi?”
“No.” Komaru makes a disgusted face. “He’s…kind of gross when it comes to Ruby and B-Komachi, and he won’t talk about what Aqua’s doing without giving me huge spoilers.” She brushes her hair back out of her face. “He forgets that I haven’t read the manga. Tsumugi never forgets.” She pouts. Then her expression shifts. “You know, you remind me of Anthy a little bit. At the beginning of the series, anyway.”
Kirumi pauses. She straightens, gently pressing her hand into the small of her back. “That’s an apt comparison, although I choose my masters and don’t take on any request I don’t think I can fulfill.” Her face grows firm. “And I don’t take physical abuse from my masters.”
I don’t take it from anyone.
“Then you don’t need an Utena to step in and protect you.”
Kirumi glances over to Komaru and reads her expression before relaxing. “No,” she says, “I don’t need an Utena to protect me.”
Komaru frowns at this. “I think you still need one. So you’re not only obeying your masters all the time. You have to take a break, you know. It’s not healthy if you don’t take breaks. Or have fun.”
“Is that so?” Kirumi meets Komaru’s eyes. “Are you suggesting you take on that role?”
“N-no!” Komaru flushes a bright red and looks away. “Someone should. That’s all!” She bites her lower lip. “Here, um. Let me help you with that!” She reaches over and takes the broom from Kirumi’s hands. “I’m actually pretty good at this!”
