She Is My Mistress (part 1 of 13)

If you’ve never seen He is My Master… I don’t think you really need to in order to read this. But for those of you who have, this is set around ten years after the events of Yoshitaka and his middle-school maid harem dream…

Note: Every time at the end of a dialogue, if you see no punctuation like "Anna-chan " take that to mean I tried to put in a squiggly and was refused. pout pout meanies.

Ch.1

“Anna-chan, if you help me rescue my little sister, I’ll let you sleep with me tonight!”

“It doesn’t matter to me who Anna-chan goes out with, as long as it’s not you!”

“You are my brilliant morning star. I devote all my being to you. No matter what anyone else says, I want to have you by my side.”

“Anna-chan…”

“I…zu…mi… san…”

“Anna-chan!”

“Izu…mi… san…”

“Anna-chan Wake up, or else I’ll have to”

My eyes flew open, images of the past vanishing into the air as I felt a soft, concentrated breeze being blown into my ear.

On reflex, I squealed and clamped a hand over the newly chilled ear. “Who? What…?” Still disoriented, I looked around, not seeing a soul. This room… with its white walls… its single large bed… its vases with blooming flowers… it was smaller than that mansion from my dreams. Was it only a dream…?

“Anna-chan”

I heard the voice again, from behind me, and rolled over to look. Doing so made me very aware of the arms that had encircled my waist for who knows how long. It wasn’t an unpleasant feeling but…

The woman holding me smiled once she held my gaze, though my vision was still blurry from being freshly awoken. As I studied her features, my memories of the present started to return.

“Kasumi-chan…”

The way she smiled as I tested the name was sign enough that it belonged to her. “You were dreaming of her again, you know. I heard you.”

I blinked, trying to reorient myself again. She leaned forward and kissed me before I could really register anything.

“You’re so cute when you’re half-asleep…” She removed one of her hands from my waist and brought it out from under the blanket so we could both see it. My eyes instantly went to the we- no, it was too plain for that- engagement ring. “Are you getting cold feet on me?”

That was hit me dead-on, right between the eyes.

Oh. I was getting married soon. To Kasumi.

Not to Izumi…

“If I can’t be with Izumi-san, I really will join a convent!”

I smiled at the memory, but shook it away as I leaned forward, kissing her hand. “Never. You can’t control what you dream about, can you?”

Kasumi laughed, snuggling closer to me. “I love you, Anna-chan.”

The sentiment was so short, so simple, so endearing. Why couldn’t I ever get Izumi-san to say those words to me…?

Shaking my head again, I wrapped my own arms around her. “I love you, too.”

I couldn’t see her face, but the way she slinked up my body to whisper into my ear, like so many mornings previous, I had a feeling she was smiling innocently. “Do you love me enough to cook breakfast today? It’s Saturday”

With memories of the past so vivid in my mind, memories of the days I was in love with the idea of eating entrails of some fish or another, memories of how everyone, including my beloved Izumi-san, would get sick if they ate my cooking… I could only laugh now at her enthusiasm. “You cook better than I do, Kasumi-chan…”

She leaned back, pouting before and after she kissed me. “Don’t say that! I love your cooking, Anna-chan. You’re… creative with the recipes. I like that. And since I have a tough stomach… it’s all the easier to love your cooking as much as I love you.”

I stared at her for a long moment, before poking her side with a grin. “You’re just saying that because you want the hot water for your shower, aren’t you?”

She giggled as I tickled her, still finding the concentration to pout. “O-of course not! How can you say that? I wasn’t even thinking of taking a shower… especially not alone. I just felt like eating your cooking first thing in the, the-“ As I tickled her more, she began to laugh uncontrollably, and I smiled at the cute way her face screwed itself up as tears began to squeeze out of her eyes. “Anna-ch-chan! Stop!”

“Why do you really want me to cook breakfast this morning? Saturdays are your turn to cook.” Realizing she couldn’t answer through her giggles, I paused in the attack, allowing her to recover.

Wiping her eyes, Kasumi finally admitted, “We don’t have much in stock- we’re supposed to go grocery shopping today. And you cook better things with leftovers anyway…”

While believable, I was still a little suspicious. Albeit reluctantly, I relented and let her go. “All right, all right… I’ll go make breakfast…”

“Uwah! Thank you Anna-chan!” I was already sitting up with my legs over the side of the bed when she tackled me from behind, which made it all too easy for me to note my distinct lack of clothing. Not that I minded. I was just tired still.

Grabbing an oversized T-shirt off the chair, I slipped it on before heading off to our small kitchen. At one point, I glanced back towards Kasumi, if only to see what she was up to, and I saw her curled up amongst the blankets, likely fast asleep.

So that was it… she just wanted a few more minutes of sleep. She could have just said that…

I thought back to Izumi-san, back to Mitsuki-chan and Yoshitaka-san too… Reliving the day Yoshitaka-san had freed us from our contracts, not because Izumi-san was intending to leave, or because Pochi had found happiness elsewhere, but because he said, in his usual uncaring, vulgar way,

“I wanted school-girl maids. You’ve all graduated, and though I doubt you can find an employer as giving as me, I’m letting you go. I need to find younger girls now…”

I smiled as I remember asking Izumi-san what she would do, and the way she’d smiled and said she’d stay with Yoshitaka to make sure the ‘younger girls’ knew what they were getting themselves into.

Like she tried to do for me.

As I waited for the quail eggs to finish boiling, I looked on the counter, at the single wedding invitation that hadn’t been mailed out. Izumi-san’s…

I smiled a little as I stirred the somehow-purple concoction. I’d thoughtlessly sent one out to Mitsuki-chan, for old-time’s sake, and I had told her she could bring a guest when she called to RSVP. If she finds out that her own sister hadn’t received an invite… she’ll probably bring her along ‘because it would make things fun’… like the old times…

But there was a reason I hadn’t sent out her invitation. There was a reason why I couldn’t face her now, walking down the aisle with someone else.

“If I did that, I would be betraying my love for Izumi-san…”

I shook my head vigorously, wincing as my movement caused the concoction to bubble and spit. Deciding enough was enough, I turned off the stove and started filtering out some of the purplish liquid.

Don’t think of it that way, Anna you idiot. Kasumi is the one you love now… to continue thinking of her would be betraying your fiancée…

Fiancée… I remembered my middle-school years, thinking I liked boys like every other girl… until I met Izumi…

But why… did I adore her so…? I frowned as I noticed that the quail egg shells had shed off an inner layer of insulation, giving the bottom of the pot the inky purple hue. She would knock me down like any common pervert, blackmail and trick me so she could get what she wanted, she would ignore me right up until I did something that made her flustered and hit me…

So why do I still think of her the way I do?

Kasumi didn’t deserve this ambivalence. She loved me for me, bad cooking, puppy-like adoration, and all. When she said romantic words that stole my heart away, she meant it. When she said we could sleep together, she wanted it. When I hugged her… she hugged me back.

She’s perfect for me. So why…?

As I set breakfast on our table, I looked towards the bed. The lump that was Kasumi was still present. Sighing, I walked back over, calling her name. She didn’t move, but I knew she was awake. Kasumi wasn’t a heavy sleeper. Nor did she have dreams of the past that kept her from flying back into the world of the waking.

“Kasumi-chan”

I rolled her over so that her face was pointed towards me, with her mouth slightly open and her eyes closed. I sighed softly, smiling, knowing what she was waiting for.

Closing my eyes as I drew nearer, I let my lips fall on hers, neither crushing nor penetrating until I was given permission.

Images of my first, with Izumi, with anybody, flooded my mind then, but the hands that sifted through my hair to grasp my neck and pull me in, saved me.

Unlike Izumi, Kasumi didn’t scream when I kissed her. Though she moaned teasingly sometimes.

Unlike Izumi, Kasumi kissed me back, even on the rare occasions that I caught her by surprise. Even if we were having dinner with more straight-laced people.

Unlike Izumi, Kasumi wanted me as much as… no, even more than I wanted her.

Unlike Kasumi, there was another heavy presence in my heart.

“Anna-chan…” I cursed in my mind. She’d noticed. She was intuitive that way. Or I was just like an open book that way. Still, she smiled as her eyes searched mine, for what answer, I didn’t dare ask. “If you want to see her that badly… see her. I don’t mind… so long as you aren’t so distracted on our honeymoon because of it.” Kasumi smiled and winked at me. “Resolve your past. Just remember… your future with me is healthier than returning to that life you left behind.”

I stared at her for a long time after that. Out of disbelief? Relief? I have no idea. But when I smiled at her, I smiled just for her, kissing her earnestly this time. “I’m sorry, Kasumi-chan…”

“Don’t be sorry. Just come back to me.”