Work Text:
“Do you remember Kirumi Tojo?” Kiyo asked Rantaro
“Uhh vaguely,” Rantaro took a bite from his sandwich. “Isn’t that the girl from high school you always had a crush on?”
“What? No! I didn’t have a crush on her!” Kiyo stammered.
“Yeah, sure buddy. What about her?” He put his feet up against the park table, basking in the light breeze.
“So... She’s working for one of my work buddies as his maid.”
“Which one?”
“Kazuma Hidaka. I think you’ve met him before, right?” Kiyo rested his head in his arms.
“Hidaka? You mean Milk Man? The guy with a shit ton of money and a thousand mistresses?”
“Yes... Milk Man.”
Rantaro shot up from his seat. “So, are you trying to say that you don’t want Kirumi to end up as one of his mistresses?”
“I suppose so...” he sighed. “I also... wanted to ask her out for coffee or something.”
Rantaro pulled a shit-eating grin, “Oh? You wanna ask her out on a date?”
Kiyo lifted his head, “I guess there’s no getting around this, is there? Yes, I want to ask out.”
“Woohoo! My boy’s going out on a date!” Rantaro shouted.
“R-rantaro! Be quiet!” Kiyo motioned him to sit back down.
“When are you going to ask her?”
“I don’t know... tomorrow? Depends on when I see her next....” A soft shade of pink spread across his cheeks.
“Awww. How cute! You’re even blushing thinking about her, huh?” Rantaro started giggling.
“Rantaro, shut up!” Kiyo gritted his teeth.
“Don’t worry buddy, I felt that same way when I met Angie,” Rantaro let out a sigh. “Although I don’t think it was this bad.” Rantaro grabbed his things and got up from his seat. “Aight, buddy. I need to get back home. See ya on Monday!”
“See ya, Taro,” Rantaro left the park, leaving Kiyo feeling melancholy. “Tomorrow... I’ll do it tomorrow.”
____________________________________
“Good morning, Kiyo,” Kirumi greeted him outside of the library.
“Good morning, Kirumi. Is Kazuma here?” Kiyo opened the library door.
“No, he isn’t. I was just here to get him a book...” She stared down at her feet.
“Good, there is something I wanted to tell you about Kazuma. Something important you need to know if you intend to keep working with him.”
“Hm? About Kazuma?”
Kiyo looked at her dead in the eyes. “Well, you see... Kazuma has a lot of... mistresses. I’m assuming you work at his mansion, have you seen any women there besides his wife?”
Kirumi looked back at him, disappointed. “Yes, I am aware of his...unfaithfulness. He told me not to tell anyone or else-”
“Did that scumbag threaten you? Hmph, and I thought he was my friend.”
“Truth of the matter is, he is going to be angry if he finds out about this conversation... So why did you bring this up?” Kirumi looked back at the floor.
“Well, I’m going to be blunt. I want you to work for me, Kirumi. I’ve sensed you haven’t been treated the best by your previous masters. I want to change that-“
“Kiyo, you are going too fast! I need to think about this...”
“Of course, we can discuss this over a cup of coffee at the café. How about that?”
“I can probably fit that into my schedule somewhere. Is 3 a good time?” She looked at her watch.
“Yes, that sounds perfect. Thank you, Kirumi.” Kirumi disappeared into the library. Kiyo let out a sigh “I worry about her sometimes.”
____________________________________
Kiyo sat down at a table far from the door. The steam of the coffee rising, “C’mon, Kiyo. All you gotta do is ask her to be your girlfriend. That’s all. Nothing strange or con-“
“Kiyo?” Kirumi stood next to the table Kiyo was sitting at, holding a cup of iced coffee in her hands.
“O-oh, hello, Kirumi. I didn’t notice you,” Kiyo said, trying to regain his composure.
“So...how has your day been so far...?” Kirumi sat down next to him, taking a sip of her iced coffee.
“My day has been going great. But seeing you has made it truly wonderful..”
Kirumi’s normally pale face began to flash pink. Trying to hide her embarrassment, she put her iced coffee cup over her face. “Oh...Thank you...”
“So, what we were talking about earlier-“
“You want me to become your maid, correct?” Kirumi interrupted him.
“Ah, yes. About that-“
“Are you sure you want to go through with this?” Kirumi interrupted him again.
“Oh? What’s this all of a sudden?” Kiyo was shocked at her rudeness. Why was she interrupting him?
“Well, you see...” There was a sense of nervousness in her voice. “Even though I am the Former Ultimate Maid... my skills have been deteriorating. Despite this, my prices are still extraordinarily high-“
“Are you making excuses?”
Kirumi’s eyes shot up at the anthropologist. “Hm? Excuses?”
Kiyo looked at her with a solemn expression. “It seems like you are making yourself look bad on purpose. Is there something you are hiding from me?”
Kirumi’s anxiety went through the roof. “H-hiding?! I’m not hiding anything from you! I just want you to know I am not as great as I was in high school...”
“Do you think I would care about that? Even if you aren’t as good as we're in the past, you are still exceptional. As you are still being hired by high profiled people... Unless there is another reason?”
Kirumi stayed silent, taking sips of her coffee periodically. “Kirumi?” No response. “Kirumi, there’s no point in hiding it now, so you might as well tell me.”
Kirumi sighed a ragged breath, putting her head in her hands, staring at the table. “You see... you cannot... be a maid... and have a romantic relationship... with your client....” she took another sigh. “That’s why... I... don’t want you to be my client.”
Kiyo started laughing quietly. “Are you saying...? That you have feelings for me?”
Kirumi’s face turned bright red. “What?! N-no! I- I don’t-“ Kirumi buried her tomato-red face in her hands “I was hoping you would ignore that...”
Kiyo let out a questionable sound “Amazing! I never knew that we would share the same feelings for each other. We must be truly bonded by fate!”
Kirumi stared up at him in confusion. “...huh?”
“The truth is, Kirumi, I don’t want you to be my maid. I just asked that out of panic. I... actually wanted to... ask you out on a date.”
“So, this meeting was supposed to be a date?”
Kiyo gave her a quick nod. “Yes, it was. Now that I know your true feelings, I think now would be the best time to ask you this question...”
“Hm..? You’re not-“
He took her hand into his “Kirumi... would you like to be my girlfriend?”
She looked at Kiyo’s bandaged hand, and then at his face. His eyes were sparkling with pure joy. Although she could not see his face over the mask, she could tell he was smiling. “I’ve always had a particular liking towards you, but I never thought it would be love...” she squeezed his hand tighter. “Is this what love feels like? If this is what love feels like...then I never want to stop experiencing it.”
“So, is that a yes?”
“Yes. I will happily be your girlfriend.”
They let go of their hands and stared at each other for a bit. Both of them being filled with pure happiness. “Wonderful! I can’t believe this! I can’t believe I get to have such a wonderful girlfriend!”
“Hey Kiyo, sorry to cut this short but, I need to get going.”
“Oh, no worries. I kinda figured you would have something else going on today.”
The two walked out of the café, holding hands. “Well, when shall we have our next hang out?” Kirumi pulled up the calendar on her phone.
“Sometime next weekend. Friday night works well for me.”
“Alright, Friday night it is!” She added ‘hang out with Kiyo’ onto her calendar then put her phone away. “I will see you then.”
“Goodbye,” they let go of hands and parted ways. Kiyo rushed to his car, pulled out his phone, and started typing fast.
Korky: OMG, Rantaro?! You have no idea what just happened!!