"I said no!" Yui's shrill cry echoed through the maid café. I wouldn't be surprised if the entire block could hear the chaos erupting inside.
"Yui, you must!" Bao insisted, brandishing a frilly maid outfit like a weapon.
Yui stood her ground, a desk forming the last line of defense as she inched toward the door. I stood off to the side, arms crossed.
It's official—we're going to die. Father, if you're reading this, send help. I can't take these two anymore.
It's been, what, a day since we realized we're in debt? Our brilliant solution? Open a pop-up maid café to cover most of the costs before the deadline—and hopefully boost our popularity in the process.
Meanwhile, Bao's racing for the full prize pot like her life depends on it. But there's just one problem.
"I won't be around to help, and you can't serve in casual clothes!" Bao snapped, clutching the dress like a general out of troops.
Yui shook her head furiously. "I said no!" Yui refuses to wear a maid outfit—even with the threat of total financial ruin hanging over our heads.
Bao's dragonborn features flushed with fury. She turned to me, eyes glistening, claws gripping the dress like it might combust.
"Haru, help me out here!" I turned away and started whistling like I hadn't heard a thing.
Like hell I'm getting in the way of that pseudo-dragon-slaying freak. I'm trying not to get dismembered over here!
Before Bao could even turn back, Yui blitzed for the door—a gust of wind blasting past me from the sheer force of her escape.
"That little—" Bao hissed, darting after her out of the maid café.
This is gonna be a long day…
─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ── Kaiju Kanojo ─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
"Um, excuse me, do you know anywhere that's hiring?" a girl asked just outside the village.
She was carrying a suitcase—most likely moving in. Her antlers curved gently from the sides of her head, unmistakable against the light.
She wore her hair short and tousled, slightly layered, with feathery white bangs that framed a soft, youthful face.
Deer-like ears peeked through the pillowy texture of her fluffy hair, twitching ever so slightly in the breeze.
Her lime green eyes squinted as sudden rays of light hit her gaze. "Hiring, huh," a man huffed, arms crossed as he tried to think of someplace.
He was a rather muscular fellow, often known by the few adventurers here for making gear sturdy enough for low-level quests.
He was also known for the way the sun always seemed to shine on his bald, tanned head in a way you could see from miles away.
"Let's see… Places hiring…" He scratched his chin, deep in thought, not noticing how distracted our deer friend was—her eyes locked on his head, completely dazed and still.
Even her ears had stopped twitching. "Well... there is that maid café in town," he said, voice low and steady, the kind that came from years of hard work and harder mornings.
He shook his head with a quiet huff. "Never thought I'd live to see folks runnin' a place like that 'round here."
The deer's eyes tracked the movement of his polished dome as he continued.
"They're the only ones, as far as I know. Pay might not be bad—if they ever got a customer. Shame, really. Place's got heart, but no foot traffic—"
His eyes finally landed on the girl once more. As far as he could tell, she was staring up at the sky, yet her eyes had clearly witnessed a second sun.
"You okay, miss?" the bald blacksmith asked, slight worry lining his words.
"Get back here!!" A voice tore through their conversation. Before he could recognize it—or even glimpse the source—he was covered in dust and wind, the sheer force sending both him and the girl off their feet.
"Where… am I…" the girl murmured, rubbing her head, still seeing the afterimages of light burnt into her retinas.
"What in God's name was that?" the blacksmith muttered, his eyes widening for a split second before realization hit. "Of course…"
Yui ran as fast as she could, ignoring the stunned villagers she barreled past like a rogue firework.
Her hair whipped behind her in a frenzied halo as she sprinted toward the outskirts.
"Stop running!!" Bao's voice rang out like a battle cry. And there she was—half-leaping, her body plummeting onto the open field. Chunks of dirt and rock exploded into the sky, causing Yui to lose her balance and skid across the grassy terrain.
The deer girl blinked, still dazed. "Was that… a dragon?" The blacksmith dusted himself off, staring after the rapidly fading chase trail with the expression of someone who'd just watched two natural disasters argue over fashion. "Something like that…"
"Do you yield yet?" Bao asked, her voice attempting to strong-arm her. Yui slowly stood, her body riddled with skid marks and bruises.
With her arm stretched forward, she manifested her axe of water, aiming it at Bao.
"Fine then. You leave me no choice." Bao did the same—a flaming longsword appearing in a burst of spontaneous fire.
The two stared at each other without a word before crashing forward, their weapons colliding heavily and causing sparks to fly.
Their arms shook with effort as they tried to push the other back. Bao redirected their weapons upward, pushing Yui back before charging again.
Yui's gaze snapped to her arched weapon. She quickly swung her axe to block Bao's strikes, both of them jumping back to create space.
Bao's scales began to climb her skin, her draconic pupils narrowing, her fangs lengthening.
Flames crawled up her sword, mimicking Yui's swirling water. Her tail whipped the ground as her power surged.
The earth trembled, steam hissing into the sky where fire met water in bursts of raw elemental pressure.
In the blink of an eye, they collided again. Each blow was blocked or parried.
Yui shifted her footing, turning her body sideways to narrowly avoid a piercing thrust from Bao.
Her shark-like eyes followed the flame-covered blade before she spun in place, gripping her weapon tightly.
She swung her axe skyward with practiced precision.
Bao narrowly avoided the attack, the blade grazing her cheek. The dragonborn reached for her face, feeling the cold iron sting.
Her sharp fangs clenched in frustration. With a roar, she closed the gap, her heel tearing up the earth beneath her.
Dodging Yui's desperate counterstrike, she grabbed the shark by the neck and flung her into the sky. Yui spun midair, her hair and clothes fluttering wildly.
For a moment, she paused, looking down to see Bao's sword burning brighter than ever. "Tch—" she clicked her tongue in annoyance, spinning her axe as she fell back to earth, water engulfing the blade.
The dragoness swung her sword, sending an arc of flame upward. Yui reacted instantly, her water-covered axe intercepting the attack.
She crashed down above Bao, bringing her weapon down in a mighty strike. A massive cloud of dust gushed forth, barely missing the village.
When it cleared, the two pushed against each other's weapons again, vying for dominance. The blades screeched and cracked, steam and sparks flying as fire and water clashed in a vicious stalemate.
Their eyes locked—Yui's filled with unrelenting defiance, Bao's with blazing determination. The ground beneath them was a cratered mess—charred and soaked in equal measure.
"You're still resisting?" Bao growled, her tail lashing the earth with every syllable.
"Over a uniform?!"
"It's embarrassing!" Yui shot back.
"That's your reason?!"
The two girls continued to bicker, while I stood just outside the village with a sigh. Everyone was too focused on the fight to notice me, the wind thrashing against me even now as their battle escalated.
We're not getting anywhere…