Chapter 3:

Chapter 2.5: What Happened With Willow?

Super-powered Maids Showed Up Out of Nowhere, and Now I Have to Change My Otaku Lifestyle


Akira and Sakura came back from his room. With lists in hand, they were ready to head out the door to go clothes shopping.

“Alright girls, we’ll be leaving now. Willow, you’re in charge while we’re away.” announced Sakura.

“Of course. I’ll take care of everything around here. You two have fun!”

“Bye Miss Sakura! Bye Mister Akira!” said Lysia.

“See ya.” replied Akira.

Akira and Sakura left.

Willow was now in charge of keeping the place safe and watching after the other maids.

“Alrighty then, you heard what Sakura said. I am in charge for the day while they’re gone buying our new outfits. Now then, Rose, you’re in charge of taking out the trash. Yuri, stop chasing around BunBun. You might break something. Lysia, you should be looking after BunBun. Amari, you can clean the kitchen and do the dishes from breakfast. Do you all understand your given roles clearly?”

“Yes ma’am!” replied the girls in tandem.

“Why am I the one stuck with trash duty? Make Yuri do it. She doesn’t mind getting dirty anyway. You know how she’d always run around outside back home and track mud everywhere.” complained Rose.

“Don’t worry Rose, I’ll help. Besides, I don’t have anything else to do anyway.” replied Yuri enthusiastically.”

“Do I have to help too?” asked Lysia, now holding a tired out BunBun whose ears have flopped over.

“No dear, you just have to look after BunBun and make sure he doesn’t get out, ok?” replied Willow who was crouching down to Lysia’s eye level.

“Ok! Let’s watch TV!” Lysia said to BunBun, who seemed to approve of the idea.

Amari was already in the kitchen washing dishes so she could get back to reading manga.

Willow was in charge of two things. The first and main thing was to keep an eye on the girls and keep them safe. The second was to make sure the apartment got cleaned up before Sakura and Akira got back.

After a few minutes, a loud crashing sound emanated from the kitchen.

“What was that sound?” Willow asked, knowing it wasn’t going to be something good.

“I-I uh, plate, soap. Sorry!” stammered Amari, not phrasing her sentence in a cohesive way.

“Soap? Plate? I can clearly see what happened here, but I want YOU to tell me what happened young lady.” said Willow, visibly unhappy.

“T-t-the plate, I put too much soap on it a-a-and it slipped, and then it fell and broke. I’m so sorry, I’ll be more careful next time.” replied Amari nervously, bowing her head in shame.

“Oh dear, it’s alright Amari. If it is as you say, it was just a simple accident. Do not apologize to me, apologize to our master when he returns. It is, or was, his plate afterall. Be sure to clean this mess up too. We wouldn’t want anybody getting hurt on these shards.”

“Yes ma’am!” replied a nervous Amari.

Amari then proceeded to pick up all of the broken plate shards from the floor and place them in the trash. She then went back to washing the rest of the dishes, making extra sure to not let any slip from her grasp.

“Alright, we’ve got all of the other trash together. Amari, you done with the kitchen trash yet?” asked Rose, noticeably tamer than usual.

“Yes, I’m done with it.” replied Amari.

“Great, now Yuri, go get it.”

“Sure thing boss!” cheered Yuri.

Yuri grabbed the trash bag from the kitchen and added it to the rest of the trash.

“We’re taking this outside now Willow. Be back in a minute.” announced Rose.

“Ok you two. Be careful out there.” replied Willow.

The two carried the trash bags out behind the apartment building where the dumpster was. They threw the bags inside and closed the lid.

Rose lit her hands on fire for a second to sterilize them.

“Jeez, what’s with us always getting trash duty huh? I mean seriously, can’t we have the day off for once?”

“Actually, I did have the day off Rose. I just chose to help you so you wouldn’t be alone.”

Rose began to blush a bit.

“What an idiot. Working on your day off? Pathetic. Although, I do suppose you helped me out, so that itself is worthy of thanks. I appreciate it.”

Just then, an overly confident male voice called out to the girls.

“Hey hey hey, look what we have here. You two babes cosplayers or something? Or maybe you girls work at some maid cafe somewhere? Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone you like to hang out in alleys.”

This guy seemed like trouble. He wore sunglasses, despite the alley being completely shaded from the sun, a black motorcycle jacket, and he was chewing a piece of gum.

“Get lost, freak. We aren’t cosplayers or whatever, and I’ve never even heard of a maid cafe. Is that some place where losers like you hang out because you can’t get a real woman?”

“Ooo, sick burn there Rose.”

“Ah, Rose is it? Looks like you still got some thorns on you. Well, not like I mind. I like a girl who has a bit of fight in her.”

“Ah, you like a bit of a fight you say?” Rose said smirking, her hand starting to glow a fiery orange color.

“Hey, don’t. It’s not worth it. Let’s just ignore this creep and go back inside.” whispered Yuri who had placed her hand on Rose’s shoulder to stop her.

Rose’s hand stopped glowing.

“Whatever, you aren’t worth my time, loser. Leave us alone before things get ugly.”

Rose and Yuri started walking back to the apartment and were about to open the door when a hand touched Rose’s shoulder and turned her around.

“Hey, what are you-” Rose began to shout before being cut off by a fist hurtling towards her face.

The fist impacted a mysterious green barrier just a few centimeters away from Rose.

“Ah! What the?” screamed the man in pained confusion. It was the same creep from the alley.

The green barrier disappeared and the apartment door opened to reveal Willow standing there emanating with a menacing aura.

“And who might this be?” asked Willow in a threateningly calm voice.

“Some creepy loser that followed us from the alley.” responded Rose.

“My my. Do you know what we do to creeps who try to bring harm to you girls?” questioned Willow.

“We teach them a lesson they’ll never forget! Can I do it this time? Pretty please?” asked Rose, more enthusiastic than she had ever been.

“Permission granted.” replied Willow, now in a serious and authoritative voice.

Rose’s right fist began glowing a bright hot orange. Embers began floating to the ground around her, and her eyes appeared to have raging infernos burning in them.

“Alright! This is gonna be fun. Time to feel the burn!” shouted Rose.

She delivered a devastating right hook straight into the man's jaw, knocking him back a few meters, and causing severe burn marks to appear on his face. A tooth seemed to fly from his mouth and land on the pavement.

Willow now had a seemingly visible aura of pure rage surrounding her as she approached the man who was lying on the ground. Her eyes were somehow entirely shrouded in shadow, and she had a sinister smile.

“Please, don’t hurt me!” cried the man while trying to crawl away.

“Never touch my girls, EVER again!”

Willow wound up a powerful kick, and all that was heard was a shrill scream coming from the man. Birds flew from the trees nearby, frightened from the noise.

The three girls went back inside, and the man laid on the ground, seemingly unconscious, while curled up into a ball in pain.

Willow’s menacing aura still hadn’t completely subsided when they got back.

“Rose… Yuri… why was there a strange man following you two?”

“I dunno. Creep just showed up out of nowhere.” dismissed Rose.

“The guy said something about a cafe and playing or something. He also called us ‘babes,’ so that was a thing.” chimed Yuri.

“Ah, I see. So this strange man just suddenly appeared in the alley and followed you back to the apartment. Now, do you know what might have happened if I hadn’t been watching for you two?”

“Yes…” replied Rose and Yuri.

“Miss Willow? Did something happen?” asked Lysia who was carrying BunBun with her.

“No sweetie, nothing happened.” replied Willow

“I’m done with my work for today. I’m going to go to Master Akira’s room to look for some more manga.” interjected Amari.

Amari went off into Akira’s room. Rose and Yuri were still standing next to each other after having been scolded by Willow. Willow was still standing in front of the two girls, her menacing aura now subsided.

In the living room, Lysia was tossing BunBun into the air and catching him again. He didn’t seem to mind.

A few minutes later, the door opened up to reveal Akira and Sakura, both holding bags of clothes and groceries.

“We’re back everyone!” announced Sakura, walking into the kitchen to set the groceries on the counter.

Lysia ran over to her while BunBun hopped behind.

“Miss Sakura! Did you buy the thingy I wanted? Did ya?!” asked Lysia, while anxiously hopping up and down in place, BunBun imitating her.

Sakura smiled at the young girl’s excitement.

“Yes, of course I did. It’s in one of these bags somewhere. Everyone, your new outfits are in these bags. Your lists are also in there so you don’t forget anything. I’ll have to wash them first, but they should be ready by tomorrow.”

Willow walked over to Sakura to speak to her.

“Thank you Sakura. We all appreciate you going in our place.” Willow said while bowing.

“No problem. Speaking of appreciation, thanks for looking after everyone today. Nobody gave you any trouble I hope?”

Willow’s face seemed to give a slight twitch for a moment, remembering the events with the plate breaking and the strange man who had followed Rose and Yuri from the alley.

“Of course not! Everything here went perfectly fine. Nobody caused any problems for me. It was quite an easy afternoon for me in fact.”

Yuri leaned over to whisper to Rose.

“Hey, aren’t we gonna tell her about the-” Yuri whispered before getting elbowed in the side by Rose to stop her from saying anything else.

“Shut it! We were told not to say anything, remember?” snapped Rose in a quiet but angry voice.

Yuri’s face turned a bright red in embarrassment.

“Sorry!” she whispered.

“What are you two talking about back there?” asked Willow in a slow voice while slowly turning to face the girls, her gaze striking fear into their hearts. It was if she was telling them to keep their mouths shut, simply with her eyes.

“N-Nothing! I was just telling Yuri to stop being such an idiot is all” stammered Rose, trying to save the situation, and not get in trouble with Willow.

“Ah, I see. That’s good to hear.” Willow said, her gaze returning to her usual friendly one.

Rose and Yuri let out a deep sigh of relief. They were safe from punishment for now, but just barely.

Jeez, wonder what that’s all about.” Akira thought to himself.

“Rose, would you mind helping with dinner tonight?” asked Sakura.

“Sure, I don’t mind. You know I love cooking.” Rose responded.

Later that same evening after dinner had gotten over with, and after everyone else had gone to sleep for the night, Sakura sat down to talk with Willow.

“Hey Willow, can I ask a favor from you?” asked Sakura

“Of course. What can I do for you?” replied Willow.

“I’m gonna need you to look after the girls again tomorrow.”

Willow’s eye twitched again, remembering the events that transpired earlier that day.

“Oh… how come?” she said, sounding slightly annoyed.

“Akira and I are gonna go to some park to sell cards to people.”

“Cards? You mean those shiny pieces of paper? People buy those?”

“I guess so. That’s what Akira says anyway.”

“So… I’m going to be watching over everyone again tomorrow?” asked Willow, hoping it wasn’t true.

“Yeah. I hope nobody causes you any trouble.”

“Of course not. None of the girls have ever caused me any trouble.”

“Great! I knew I could count on you Willow! Thanks a bunch.”

“No problem Miss Sakura. Anything to help.”

“Well, I’m going to finish washing the new clothes for you girls now. I’d like them to be finished before we leave tomorrow.”

“I look forward to wearing them. I’ll be heading to bed now. I shall see you in the morning.”

Sakura waved and left for the laundry room to wash the rest of the new clothes.

Willow was smiling until Sakura left the room, after which she proceeded to violently beat a pillow in anger.

What am I going to do if things go poorly again? I can’t face our master if anything happens while he’s gone. If we WERE to let something happen, he might throw us out like our last master did.” Willow thought to herself in a panic.

The other girls were already asleep in the living room while all of this was happening.

Lysia heard the faint sound of Willow’s angry outburst against the innocent pillow, and it woke her up.

“Miss Willow? Is something wrong?” Lysia asked, tiredly rubbing her eyes.

“Oh, no dear. Nothing’s wrong at all. Sorry for waking you from your sleep.”

Willow's sweet and motherly demeanor was back.

“I heard an angry noise and thought you were mad at something. I don’t want you to be angry, Miss Willow. You deserve to be happy!” Lysia quietly cheered while hugging her.

Willow hugged her back. Just hearing those words completely changed her mood.

“I’m not angry dear. I could never be angry with you around. Now, go back to bed now.”

“Ok. Goodnight Miss Willow.”

Lysia went back to bed and drifted back to sleep.

Willow fluffed up the pillow she had previously been beating and laid down on the couch where she would sleep.

Meanwhile, Sakura was in the laundry room washing clothes and thinking to herself.

I wonder how long we’ll be out tomorrow.” she thought. “Oh, he did say he would take me to a cafe. I have to think about what I’ll get ahead of time so he isn’t waiting for me to order. Ah, Akira. I want to know what he thinks of me, but I’m too afraid to ask him.

Sakura lost herself in thought while washing the clothes. All she could think about was Akira and her upcoming day alone with him.