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“Ah, Mistress CHU², shall I take that from you?” PAREO gestured to the empty wineglass in front of CHU². “Or shall I refill it instead?”
CHU² shook her head. “There’s no need. I believe we’re wrapping up.”
The other three girls in the room nodded. LOCK began to stand up. “I’m getting tired. Besides, I have school in the morning.”
MASKING and LAYER nodded. “Yeah, same,” Layer said. “Besides, we’ve practiced a lot tonight. I think we can call it here.”
“Why don’t I guide you to exit, then?” PAREO volunteered.
MASKING laughed a little. “You don’t need to do that. We’ve come and gone from this place hundreds of times. I could probably get out of here with my eyes closed.”
But PAREO didn’t relent. Instead, she continued to smile at those three girls, until finally, LOCK let out a humorous sigh. “Oh, alright. We can leave together.”
She said together, but really, it was just the four. CHU² stayed in her producer’s seat. In the years that the band had been together, she had grown into it a little more, but only so much; even after several years, it looked overly large for her.
PAREO led her bandmates over to the elevator, then gestured. “I trust you can find your way from here.”
MASKING laughed again. “I think we can.”
They vanished into the elevator together. Once it was closed and descending, PAREO turned back to CHU²’s unit.
Once she was back inside, she turned to CHU² and said, “Is there anything else you need, Mistress CHU²?”
But instead, Chiyu shook her head. “No more need for that, Reona.”
Reona seemed a little disappointed, but she nodded anyway. “Oh, alright. But that’s a shame. I was having fun.”
That made Chiyu feel a little bad. But she shrugged. “There will be other days.”
Already, Reona was taking off her wig. More and more often these days, she found herself forgoing it when around Chiyu. It helped to create a distinction between how they acted around the others and when they were alone.
It was almost like the difference between being in a scene or not. And so if Chiyu told her they were done, she should take it off.
Things hadn’t started that way, of course. For a while, Reona’s behavior towards Chiyu just seemed natural. She valued Chiyu greatly and subservience to her only seemed natural. But as they got older, they both began to change their attitude. Not just bandleader and maid. Not just two friends. Not just girlfriends.
So it became a game for them, of sorts. A type of fun. Reona could play the role of the maid, Chiyu the role of the servant. There was a thrill to it. And best of all, since they had been acting this way since they were middle schoolers— or at least, middle school-aged, for Chiyu— no one questioned it. None of the words or actions were different, just the meaning.
It meant they had to be more responsible, especially when around others. But it made their life more exciting. More than worth it.
Reona finished putting away her wig in her bag. For the rest of her outfit, she would only change out before leaving. If she left tonight at all. She wouldn’t mind staying the night. With Chiyu’s help, her grades were good enough that she could afford to be a little late to school.
With her bag slung over her shoulder, she followed Chiyu out of the recording studio and into the main unit. There, they both collapsed onto the couch.
“I do wish you would order me around more, sometimes. It feels nice.”
Chiyu scoffed. “I feel bad if I do that. I don’t want to be rude.”
“You’re not rude if I’m asking for it.”
“Yes, but still…”
It was a mutual agreement and they both enjoyed it but Chiyu always felt more uneasy about it than Reona did. She always felt too bad about being too bossy with her friends, in part because it came so naturally to her. So no matter how many times Reona insisted it was okay, she always held herself back.
It was difficult to find a happy medium. But that didn’t mean they didn’t try. Step by step, they were figuring it out. Even if that mostly meant Reona pushing Chiyu to be more dominant.
And to that point, Reona leaned over and whispered in Chiyu’s ear, “Mistress CHU²~”
A quick shudder ran down Chiyu’s spin. Not fear, but excitement— Still a strange feeling to experience out of nowhere.
Things like that made Chiyu wonder who was really in charge. The one issuing orders or the one insisting she be ordered around.
Seeing Chiyu’s surprise, Reona giggled. Chiyu was so cute when she was taken off guard.
But Chiyu thought Reona was cute, in return. So really, it all worked out. Whatever tension there was in the room vanished as both girls broke down into fits of giggles. At this rate, Reona wouldn't be making it home tonight.