Azumanga Daioh Fan Fiction / School Rumble Fan Fiction ❯ Maiden for Hire: School Rumble Style ❯ Prologue ( Prologue )

Maiden for Hire:  School Rumble Style Prologue Disclaimer:  I do not own School Rumble At the house of the Tsukamoto sisters, Yakumo Tsukamoto was busy cleaning the dishes.  Suddenly, she was about to be suffered by a severe dramatic moment.  As she finished the dishes, a lone wet puddle is dripped on the floor.  As she was about to call her older sister, Tenma Tsukamoto, she stepped on the puddle and slipped; she fell to the floor with a CRASH, bending her knee backwards.  She screamed in pain.  Tenma rushed in and found Yakumo on the floor, with her left leg twisted around. “YAKUMO!” She screamed. “Tenma… Ow!  I… I think I broke my leg,” Yakumo groaned in pain. Hours later, while Yakumo was in the operation room, Tenma was feeling unhappy. “Poor Yakumo,” she thought, “I think maybe she’s been a bit overworked.  Or maybe she’s a bit clumsy.  Oh, why didn’t I help my little sister on time?” Just then, Yakumo returned from the operation room and was in a wheelchair with a plaster cast in her left leg.  Tenma ran over to hug her.  She started to cry. “It’s okay, sis,” Yakumo said, “I’ll be fine.” Tenma then blubbered, “I’m so glad!  Yakumo, I almost lost you!  If the operation was a failure, then… then…” She wailed with tears spurting out of her eyes, like a fountain. “Sis, it’s only a dislocated knee,” Yakumo responded. “I’m afraid it’s not just a knee that’s been broken,” the doctor said. “What?”  Tenma asked. She gasped onto Yakumo and sobbed, “I knew it!!!  My poor sister!!!” “Miss Tsukamoto, we have reviewed the x-rays on your sister and found that it was nothing fatal or severe,” he stated, “All we found was a dislocated knee, a fractured ligament, a sprained ankle, and a broken lower shin bone.  To be honest, I’ve never seen such a combination of leg injuries in my career as a doctor.  If the bone was completely shattered, she’d never walk again.” “WHOA!  That’s a lot of broken bones!”  Tenma shouted. The doctor then informed Yakumo, “Miss Tsukamoto, I suggest for your sake that you must rest your leg and not work around your home for the next six weeks.” “Six weeks?”  Yakumo gasped. “SIX WEEKS?!”  Tenma shrieked, “My sis can’t be sitting at home that long!” “I’m afraid there’s nothing that I can do,” he said, “Normally, it would take two weeks for your injuries to heal, but with this bizarre diagnosis, it’ll take six weeks or longer to heal.” “What should I do?”  Yakumo asked, “I usually tend to the chores every day.” “Can your sister do the chores for you?”  The doctor asked. “Well, not really,” Yakumo said. “Well, until your leg heals, I think your sister can help you out,” he stated. Tenma then asked, “Will there be garbage and laundry?” Yakumo replied, “Yes.” “Will there be cooking and cleaning?” “Of course, Tenma; but then there’s shopping for dinner.” Tenma then let out a deep and loud groan. “Miss Tsukamoto, please be quiet,” the doctor said. The following week, Tenma was at school with Eri Sawachika and Mikoto Suo.  She explained the story of how Yakumo broke her leg and that she just returned from the hospital.  Eri was relieved, except she was upset by her injury. “This disgraces every medical term in history,” she snapped, “Why would she break her leg in a freakish matter?” Mikoto then said, “Well, let’s hope your sister pulls through.” “Yeah,” Tenma pouted, “Except that I’ll be the one doing the chores for the next two months until Yakumo is better.  And I hate that job!  The only thing I like to do for Yakumo is to buy dinner for her, in case she would fall asleep.” “She does have a nasty habit of sleeping,” Mikoto said. “Well, how about this,” Eri suggested, “If you hate doing the chores, why not hire a maid?” Tenma then gasped, “WHAT?  I don’t have that kind of money!” Eri then giggled, “Well, I’ll tell you what, I’ll talk to Nakamura and he’ll lend you Misaru for one month, but only if you study with me when Yakumo is fully healed.” Tenma thought about it and imagined that Misaru Suzuki, Eri’s maid, was in her house.  When he finished with the chores, he let out a scary glare towards Tenma. She then cried out, “NO!!!” She ran under the desk and whimpered, “That’s very scary!  I don’t want to borrow Misaru!  Besides, she’s your maid, Eri!” Eri muttered, “Idiot…” “Well, there’s got to be a better way,” Mikoto suggested. Later at the Tsukamoto house, Tenma arrived with the mail.  She looked at the pile and noticed a video tape in the pile.  She read the video tape label that said, “To Tenma and Yakumo Tsukamoto, from the Maidens for Hire Company in Yagami, Japan”. She looked at the tape and muttered, “Meh…” She tossed the tape in the wastebasket and said, “Junk mail…” She returned to Yakumo, who was sitting in the kotatsu table watching TV, with her left leg outside the table. “Any mail today?”  Yakumo asked her sister. “No, just a tape that says something about Maidens,” Tenma said. She sat down with Yakumo and was upset.  She looked at her and stared at her in concern. “Sis… I’m sorry you had to go through such a misfortune,” she thought, “If it were Karasuma, or Harima, or Eri, or Mikoto, or anybody from our class, then I’d be extremely unhappy.” She then asked, “Oh, hey, how’s Harima taking the news?” “Well, he’s a bit devastated,” Yakumo explained, “But he is coming over to help me with his next comic.” “Sounds good!”  Tenma smiled, “He has my full permission.” Yakumo asked, “By the way, how was school today?  I had to walk with Sara just to get there; of course, she helped me in my wheelchair.  I’m really sorry I didn’t get the chance to walk with you.” Tenma replied with a giggle, “Oh, you know, same old day.  Do you know what was funny?  Eri suggested that I would borrow her maid to help around the house!  Of course, I didn’t find it funny.” “A Maid?”  Yakumo said, “Sis, you know that we cannot afford one.  Besides, I’m capable of doing the stuff around the house myself.  You’re okay with helping, except that you cook extremely horrible.” Tenma spun around and plummeted in her own self-pity and cried, “Thanks for reminding me!” “Although, Eri-Senpai made a rather blunt point,” she said, “Only, I wish there was a way to pay for the services.” She then remembered the tape and asked Tenma, “Sis, what was the name of the tape called?” Tenma then said, “Tape?  Tape?  Oh yeah, that junk mail!  It was some porn tape called Maidens for Hire.  I find it very disturbing and very immoral.” Yakumo then cried, “Tenma!  That’s that popular company that introduces maids to help out in your home!” “Come again?”  Tenma asked. Yakumo then walked over, with a crutch in hand, to the wastebasket and pulled out the tape.  She then showed it to Tenma. “Sis, I think this could be the answer to our problems,” she insisted. Tenma retorted, “Are you kidding?  No way am I hiring a maid in our home!  Besides, you in an injured state is the only problem than--.” Yakumo calmed Tenma down and placed the tape in the VCR. “All right, let’s get this over with; but just as long as we get a decent price,” she snuffed with her small pigtails twitching. The tape began to play: A figure is shown on the screen, sitting in her CEO chair.  She got up and looked to the camera.  She had long light brown hair with glasses on.  She was wearing a grey pinstriped business suit and black skirt. She introduced herself, “Good day to you, my name is Koyomi Mizuhara, founder and CEO of Maidens for Hire, the #1 maid service in Japan.  If you are watching this tape, you will notice that you are one of the many people chosen for our special Maiden for Hire services in your home.  But as you see this, you should be asking yourself:  What’s a Maiden for Hire, anyway?” “Yeah!  Tell us!”  Tenma cried. “Well, I’m glad you asked,” Yomi replied. She showed a presentation of each Maiden in different colors, hairstyles, and sizes. She continued, “Our Maiden for Hire services are top of the line and 100% efficient work.  A Maiden for Hire is the one-of-a-kind, state-of-the-art android maid that can help you with your home-related work.  They’re delightfully gorgeous, and they go by their motto:  “They will cook for you, clean for you, and even help you with ANYTHING you desire.”  Once these maidens are at your home, you can never again have the hassle of doing the chores all by yourself.  Although, it’d be fun if you give THEM anything they would desire.” “An android maid?” Tenma gasped, “But, why wou--?” Yakumo shushed her. Yomi exclaimed, “Each maiden comes with its own trait and personality.  They even have different bodies in shapes and sizes.  But they all act as one unit.  They are known for their bubbly and cheerful demeanor, which makes the user very happy.  But on some occasions, a maiden can sometimes break down, like your traditional vacuum cleaner; which is why we offer free repair services for your maiden, via our toll-free number, located with your purchased Maiden for Hire.” “How wonderful,” Yakumo smiled. “And we offer up to 2,000 Yen a month for each service.  Once you’ve own your maiden, you’ll never be living in a dirty little hovel again.  Let me show you a demonstration of one of our Maidens in action.” The tape switches to a maiden that looked exactly like Yomi, who is dressed in a black maid outfit.  She began to clean an entire room, which is cluttered in trash and debris.  A timer is shown, just to show how long the maiden is doing.  She cleaned the entire room in less than thirty seconds.  She bowed and said that the task has been completed. “NO WAY!”  Tenma cried. “I know!  That was awesome!”  Yakumo cried in glee. Yomi concluded, “You see, fast work and with much time to spare.  Our maidens are swift and easy to perform each task.  But some of their programming is sometimes different.  Once you’ve purchased your Maiden, of course, you’ll understand eventually, for I cannot divulge what type of programming they have, in front of children under 18.  As you are well aware, Maidens for Hire is an advanced product in the cutting edge of technology. We have many services and company offices all around Japan, and we continue to grow as the #1 service in Japan, uh, next to sushi delivery, Japanese pubs, and automobiles, of course.” The tape ended with the screen saying:  “Pick up a Maiden for Hire today.”  The address of the company is shown, with a toll-free number. Yakumo stopped the tape and asked, “Why not?  Let’s give it a try.  We can hire a Maiden for Hire and we’ll see if we can let her do all the chores for us.” Tenma then whined, “Yakumo, but 2,000 Yen?  I don’t know.  I don’t like having a robot maid in the house.  I’m better off renting Misaru.” Yakumo then pleaded with her eyes swelled up in tears, “Please?” Tenma couldn’t resist seeing her little sister with those puppy dog eyes.  So, she gave up and agreed to help. “Fine, you win,” she sighed, “We’ll buy a maiden, but only until your leg is heal.  I cannot throw away money for a Maiden for Hire that we can keep forever.” “Sis, you’re the best.  Thank you,” Yakumo smiled. Tenma then said, “We’ll do it tomorrow.  I’ll call Eri right away to pick us up in the morning.” Yakumo then let out a smile and hope that the service she’ll get will be great. However, this was just the beginning of a chain of events of what the Maidens for Hire will do for Tenma and Yakumo and their friends. Let’s begin with Yakumo’s story, in the next chapter…