Haha, glad to know the first chapter's well-received xDDDDD
I'll do comment replies later xDDDD
And I lied.
I actually only had one chapter on standby o___O Turned out my third chapter was only half-done...
Oh well, better than nothing xDDD
ONTO NEXT CHAPTER O____O;
TWO
Face to Face with Crazy
Maimi had absolutely no idea what to think of her current predicament. Here she was, lying in her bed with her school uniform on while this mysteriously enthusiastic AND naked woman was straddling her! What was she supposed to think!? She was sure as hell that she couldn’t keep a straight face and ask the other if she wanted some tea. She did what any other person would have logically done:
“KYAAAAAAAAA!”Maimi screamed as she did the double-eye poke, sending the other woman covering her eyes in pain. As the naked woman backed off, Maimi jumped out of her bed and nearly slammed herself against her door, ready to bolt out any time soon.
“Ojou-sama! That huuurt!” the other whimpered, rubbing her eyes as if there was something caught in her eye.
I did it as hard as I could! Is she some superhuman!? Maimi gaped and widened her eyes in an almost humorous exaggeration.
“Wuh….Wha…”
“I’m your genie, Ojou-sama! Umeda Erika at your service!” the woman repeated as she bowed with her hand to her stomach and the other hand behind her back as if she was a waiter at a fancy restaurant.
“T-that’s lovely but…!” Maimi’s uneven voice sputtered, her eyes were wandering all over the other’s body.
“Yes?” Erika tilted her head in bemusement.
“Cover yourself at least!” Maimi never knew she could react so much to seeing a naked body of the same gender…
“Like this?” Erika asked, using her hands to cover her face.
“HOLDONLETMEGETYOUCLOTHES!” Maimi’s mind was reeling as she bolted into her closet once more.
Bin Bon~
“Hold on!” Maimi called out, hearing the doorbell ring. After finding a good matching set of clothes, she turned around “Here, wear this…”
There was no one on her bed.
There was no one in her room but her.
Her door was open though…
…
…
Oh snap.
She threw her clothes onto her bed and ran out of her room and down the small curving hallway. She’s seriously not going to answer the door NAKED, is she!? Maimi thought as she rounded the corner, hoping to find that ‘genie’ of her’s. When she came around, she saw that Erika was already in progress of putting her hand on the handle in order to answer that door. With a fast sprint, she yanked the taller away from the door and pushed her back into her room with haste.
“Just stay in my room…” Maimi commanded in a controlled voice, “The clothes are on the bed…” she looked down and closed her eyes, unable to look at Erika’s smiling confused face, “and just… don’t make a noise.”
“Is that your wish?” Erika beamed, waving her finger in the air which gave off purple sparks.
“No it isn’t!” Maimi batted the hand away, “It’s just something you should follow! Normal people will spazz if they see someone naked answering the door!” Maimi chided in a hissing whisper.
“Hai, Ojou-sama!” Erika saluted with a bright smile.
Maimi was having second thoughts about this … genie standing in front of her. Erika seemed more… sexy at first, but seeing her now…
Her personality seemed anything but sexy.
The high school student ran out of her room once more, having already kept the person before the main door long enough. Brushing herself off and straightening herself out, she opened the door.
Why, it was her neighbor.
“Maimi-chan, is everything alright? I heard you scream…” a concerned voice asked.
“Oh, it was nothing really, Abe-san. I just found a cockroach, that’s all,” Maimi scratched the back of her head sheepishly.
It was a very sexy cockroach, really… she began thinking, but after realizing what she had just thought, she began to grow flustered.
…But not as flustered as Abe Natsumi.
“Uwaaa!? A cockroach!? Do you want me to get it for you!? I have a good spray that should be able to kill it!! Or I can use my golf club!? Maybe I can just use a vacuum cleaner to suck it up for you or something!?” Natsumi began panicking at the thought of having to get near a cockroach.
“Abe-san… You sound like you’re the one in need of cockroach extermination..." the taller girl laughed nervously, attempting to calm down her fellow neighbor.
“Am I?” Natsumi laughed awkwardly at herself, “Well, since you’re the athlete star of your high school, and Maki kills them all the time, I guess you wouldn’t need my help…”
What does me being an athlete star have to do with anything…? Doesn’t mean I won’t be scared shitless by a cockroach… “Anywho, there’s nothing. I’m sorry if I worried you, Abe-san.”
And then Natsumi began a small lecture about how adults were always concerned with their children and wish for the best of them, leaving Maimi rather speechless and also worrying about the genie in her room. Natsumi was always like that, really. Although it may seem annoying at times, she knew that the elder just wanted Maimi to grow up to be a fine woman. Though, she wished her neighbor would be more… aware of whether to use a lecture or not.
“But yeah, I’m taking up your time… Come by if you need anything~!” the older woman smiled before walking off.
Maimi shut the door quickly and threw her back against it, sighing of relief. “That woman just loves to talk…”
Then a thought smacked her.
She ran around the hallway yet again, bursting into her room.
Erika was sitting cross-legged on her bed, in clothes, and was waiting patiently.
Thank goodness…Maimi sighed of relief again. So the genie really did obey her.
…
Oh yeah, genie.
“So uh…” Maimi began, “a genie, huh?”
“Yup! 78 years old!”
“EXCUSE ME!?” Maimi jumped in the air.
“How rude!” Erika pouted cutely, “78 isn’t THAT old… I guess in human years, I’m about 17 or 18? That’s more believable to you, yes?”
“Hmm… Yeah…” the gazelle returned to her normal posture. “But you’re a genie right? You grant three wishes and all?”
“Hmm… A lot of the story books claim that genies can do three wishes, but in reality, we don’t. There really is no limit to our power. However, we can only grant one wish before our caretaker will retrieve us and then give it to another random person.”
“Just one wish, huh?” the teen placed her hands on her hips, “Aww… what a bummer…” A caretaker? Is that the woman that gave me the lamp?
“Yeah… Sorry, but it’s the way the system goes,” Erika waved apologetically.
“Hmm…” Maimi began to think.
What should she wish for? Could she wish that Airi and her would get together soon? Should she wish for a little courage to ask her out? Or should she just do what anyone would do and wish for a trillion yen? If only she had more wishes…
“Could I wish for more wishes?” Maimi turned her head with a wry smile. Seeing Erika shake her head, she snapped with fingers with a small “Darn!”
One wish really is troublesome to think of…
She looked at Erika again, who was now reading one of the manga off of her book shelf. Had she been reading her manga while Natsumi was giving her that lecture? No matter, she needed to think of a wish now!
Or…
“How long do I have to think of a wish?”
“As long as you want, but the minute you say ‘I wish...’ that’s when my magic kicks in,” Erika said as she finished the manga and put it back in its shelf. “Do you want to think about it more?”
“Hmm… Yeah. I do,” Maimi said, walking over to sit at her desktop at the foot of her bed.
Silence.
“So you’re a genie, huh?”
“Yup I am~!”
“What were the past wishes you’ve granted?”
“Actually…” Erika scratched the back of her head sheepishly, “I’m new… So you’re the first Ojou-sama I’ve had.”
“Seriously!? Wow… How does this Genie system work anyway? How do you become genies in the first place?”
“Unfortunately, I can’t tell you that. The only thing I can do is grant your wish. Sorry~”
Maimi lowered her head, looking at her bedspread rather than the genie sitting on top of it. “Hmm… I guess you will have to wait awhile. I can’t decide what my wish is. At least… Not now.”
“Alright! I’ll be waiting, Ojou-sama~ Rub the lamp if you need me~” Erika saluted before evanescently dissipating. Maimi watched in awe as the green liquid gas was seemingly sucked back into the nozzle of the lamp next to her bed.
She blinked.
She blinked again.
“Did I drink too much apple juice before I slept…?” the high school student grasped her head, trying to stop her head from thinking too much. When she came around, she suddenly noticed how much of a jungle her room became while she had picked out some clothes for Erika.
“Well, that ruined Maki’s hard work…” Maimi sighed as she sat up, stretching before she was to venture into the sea of clothes in her room. “Maybe I should discuss with her the possibility of getting a maid… We could sure use one, and I bet Maki definitely has the money…”
After spending half an hour cleaning her room, Maimi changed out of her school uniform and into a more casual outfit. At least, her idea of casual. She was now wearing a tight tanktop and track pants which was her ideal clothing for running outside. While it was true that the athlete may be taken out of the field, the field was certainly not taken away from the athlete. Out of a habit, Maimi would always devote at least an hour of her free time to run around the city, using various mundane obstacles such as stairs to add to her training.
Even though she claimed she quit track, Maimi had always found herself wondering if she really meant it...
“Hey… Erika?” Maimi asked as she bent over, staring at the lamp on her night stand.
What surprised her was that around the edges of the tiny lid, even tinier fingers peeked out and lifted the lamp high, revealing a very… miniscule version of the genie she had met earlier.
“Erm…” Maimi’s eyes widened again.
“At a loss for words?”
Even though she’s THAT tiny, her voice remains the same!?
“Hubbadahubbadahubadaaa….”
“Relax! It’s still me! But if you really want to, you can call this version of me ‘chibi Erika!’ I find it a cute name!” the genie laughed, before accidentally dropping the lid to the side of the lamp. “Oops!” the miniscule genie said, putting a finger to her lips. Maimi watched in silence as the chibi jumped out of the lamp and waddled over to the lid, picking it up and jumping on top of the lamp again.
“So didja find your voice yet?” Chibi-Erika asked, holding the lid in front of her so that only her large eyes were seen.
Maimi could only turn around, shutting her eyes very tightly as she did so.
She’s so cute that I just want to cuddle her until her eyes bulge out…Maimi clenched her fists and brought them below her nose, her eyes about to cry because of the aforementioned adorableness that the chibi exhibited. Meanwhile, the said chibi was still in the same position, only she was confused which added an even more moe factor to her.
“U-Umeda-san…” Maimi stuttered, her back still turned to the chibi.
“Hai, Ojou-sama?”
The athlete tried her best to maintain top control or else risk killing Chibi-Erika by suffocation, “I’m going out to run for a bit, this isn’t a wish, but you have to stay inside of your lamp for the time being. I don’t want anyone to find out about you, alright?”
“Why?”
“Erm…” Maimi scratched her head, “like I said before, people will freak out if they find out about you… And then they’ll find that you’re a Genie and then you’ll be sent to the scientists to be studied and then they’ll do crazy things to you and put you through a million tests and I don’t want you to go through that! I’d rather you just stay hidden for the time being. Besides, you’re going away after I make a wish, right? So you just have to stay in hiding until I make a wish. Got it?”
“Ojou-sama is worrying about my safety! How kind!” the chibi smiled widely at the other.
“Y-yeah…” Maimi looked off to the side, unaware of the blush that crept onto her cheeks. “You’ll do what I say, right?” the teen began to balance on the heels of her feet, hands leaning backwards on the edges of her nightstand.
“Yup! I’ll stay in my lamp until you say I can come out!” a determined expression found itself on the genie as she saluted, engraving the command into her mind.
“Good genie…” Maimi said as her hands wandered over to the side of the nightstand, attempting to find the drawer handle. When she found it, she pulled it open and attempted to find her weights blindly for she did not want to see the chibi again since she would be unable to fight the temptation to fangirl over the adorable Erika. Soon, she felt the weights she was looking for and pulled them out.
“What are those?” the chibi asked aloud.
“These are 5kg weights,” Maimi said as she stretched the weights out, revealing that they were like belts with metallic plates on them. “I wear one each on my feet when I run. I do have 10kg weights too, but that’s only when I feel like I REALLY want to work out.”
“Ohhhh, I think I get it. So you’d run better when you take them off?”
“Exactly. The weights help my stamina. Although they may not be heavy at first, they will take a toll on your running when you become exhausted.”
“You must really like to run, huh Ojou-sama?”
For some reason, Maimi began thinking about how she quit track. She loved running, yes. But to quit track like that… She had her reasons for quitting, but why was she suddenly feeling the regret tug at her?
“Yeah… I love running…” she was surprised at the saddened tone her voice took as she told Erika. She hoped that the genie would be oblivious to that so she wouldn’t ask her about the details. She wouldn’t be able to talk about it now…
“That’s great, Ojou-sama! I’ve kept you here long enough! Now go on! I’ll stay here and wait for your return!” the chibi Genie grinned before lifting the lid over her head and then falling into the lamp, shutting the lid above her.
Thank goodness she didn’t notice… Maimi let out a sigh, having held her breath earlier in fear of what Erika’s response would be.
After securing the weights on her ankles, the high school student walked out of the house and began running down the street. She watched as the scenery around her became a motion blur. She wasn’t even aware that she had already reached her first set of stairs around her neighborhood. In fact, her conscience was barely registering what she was seeing. All of her concentration was focused on making her feet carry her as far as they could go.
Eventually, she came to a stop in front of a convenient store, catching a breather before going to run again. As she leaned against the wall, she felt eyes watching her every move. She wasn’t sure how she felt it, but she simply felt that the world around her was too silent and too unnerving. With wandering eyes, she scanned the area around her, searching for anything of suspicious nature.
There.
Sitting on the ground near her, watching her.
It was a black cat.
“Ahaa…” Maimi panted, “I wonder if it’s the same cat from earlier…” she recalled the black cat from the alleyway who had watched her fight the men. “Oh well… Doesn’t matter to me…” And with that she started to walk away.
As she moved, she noticed that the cat had run up to her and began walking along side with her. Wondering if the cat was following her or just walking in the same direction in mere coincidence, Maimi stopped walking. Sure enough, the cat also stopped. Its golden eyes were locked with Maimi’s dark ones.
FREAKY CAT!
Maimi bolted in the opposite direction. When she looked over her shoulder, the cat was running after her!
WHY IS IT CHASING MEEEEE!?
No matter how many sharp corners she turned, the cat still managed to follow her effortlessly! She had to lose the cat quickly or else…! Or else what, really? Oh well, who cares, the cat is chasing her like it wants to eat her! Maimi was NOT edible! Seeing a group of little kids coming into her view, she started slowing down her run before going into a jog as she reached the kids. She looked over her shoulder again, making sure that the cat was still following her. Confirming that it was, Maimi looked forward again and smirked, waiting for the ideal moment…
“LOOK IT’S A CAT!” shouted a little girl.
The black cat looked at the girl, bewildered at the sudden outburst. Before it could recognize what was happening, it was suddenly assaulted with petting and bear hugs from the other little children it suddenly was surrounded by.
Maimi turned and jogged backwards, watching as the poor cat was being assaulted by the children. Fufufufu, kindergarteners. A cat’s worst enemy. The high school student gave an evil grin, proud of her accomplishments. Afterwards, she turned around again, breaking into a full run down the street and around the corner, successfully getting away from the stalking cat.
Again, the scenery zoomed by her. However, her run was slower than usual. The weights at her ankles were slowly becoming a burden on her, becoming heavier because of her exhaustion. That was odd, she usually had better stamina than this…
“It’s all that cat’s fault! For making me use up a lot more energy…” Maimi muttered as she ran, already feeling the sweat trailing down her body. Ignoring her body’s fatique, the athlete continued running.
What should she wish for? Maimi ultimately decided that it wouldn’t be something selfish like a trillion yen or a room filled with cakes around the world, for those things wouldn’t help her in the long run. Then again, money will definitely help her out, but she’d probably spend it all going to a shopping arcade or something. And eating too much cake will make her gain weight!
“Maybe it could really be the courage for me to tell Airi how I feel…” the high school student smiled inwardly to herself. “Or maybe a gift for her? Her birthday IS coming up soon…”
Thinking of the many possibilities for her wish, Maimi did not realize that she ended up back in her neighborhood. Deciding for the hell of it that she should go back home, she headed straight back to the house. As she passed by the wall dividing her house from the street and the other houses, she heard a whine behind her. She turned around, raising a brow at the sight she saw.
The black cat had somehow followed her all the way home! Though, it was looking a little worse for wear. It was dragging itself across the floor by its front paws, looking rather haggard and exhausted.
“I commend you for coming this far. Must be tough escaping from those children huh?” Maimi smirked at the creature at her feet.
The cat could only hiss at her, eliciting a wince on Maimi’s part. “Sheesh, what’s your problem?!”
“Gotta give her credit for doing that though,” came a voice at her side.
Maimi and the cat jumped in the air, alarmed at the sudden presence appearing out of nowhere. It was that snake-like woman that gave her the lamp this morning!
“Where did you come from!?” Maimi replied in a high voice.
“Where you came from of course,” was all the woman said, bending over to pick up the cat. “What did you do to my poor cat? I couldn’t imagine that Mikitty would be exhausted from chasing you back here alone.”
“What kind of name is Mikitty?” Maimi raised a brow, noticing that the cat seemed to be… hugging the woman’s assets… Quite a perverted cat too...
“Her name was originally Miki, but Mikitty sounded cuter, so why not?” the woman smiled, kissing the black cat on its head.
“Okay… So who are you…?”
“Matsuura Aya, pleasure to meet you,” the woman smiled, petting the cat whose head was nuzzling against her neck.
“That’s lovely, more crazy people,” Maimi sighed as she walked over to her door.
“Did Erika grant your wish yet?”
“Eh? How’d you know—oh wait… You must be her caretaker, right?” the teen realized, remembering that it was Aya who had given her the emerald lamp in the first place.
“My question still stands you know. Are you finished?”
“Sheesh, blatant and straight to the point, huh?” Maimi sighed, “No, I didn’t make a wish yet. Now if you’ll excuse me…” she unlocked the door to her house, “I don’t talk to crazy people and stalking cats, bye bye!” she waved as she slammed the door shut, locked it, and threw her weight against the door with an exaggerated frown on her face complete with the lowered brow.
“I swear… It HAS to be lack of sleep that’s making me hallucinate…” she uttered under her breath, taking her shoes off and sat on the sofa, trying to calm her body down. The main door shook a bit, to which Maimi recognized as the crazy woman and the stalking cat trying to open the door.
“They won’t get in…” the athlete rested her back against the back of her sofa. Much to her horror, she watched as a hand went through the door like it was phasing through! That hand was followed with an arm, and eventually, the entire bodies of Aya and Miki.
“Y-y-you….” Maimi stuttered, pointing a shaky finger at the two.
“Walked through your door? Yes. Erika isn’t the only magical being you know,” Aya waved her hand dismissively.
“A witch! You’re a witch that’s after me, I swear! Are you going to eat me so you’d be beautiful for something!?”
Aya replied to Maimi by hitting her lightly on the head, “Are you implying that I’m ugly?”
“Er… No…”
“Well then apologize,” Aya placed her hands on her hips.
“But I didn’t say you were ugly!”
“I meant to Mikitty.”
“…What?”
Maimi looked at the cat now sitting on top of the low table in front of the sofa.
“You want me to apologize to your cat?”
“Why the fuck not? I was abused by those damn children!” the cat hissed at her.
“…………………………………….Did your cat just talk?” Maimi could not believe her ears.
“Why yes, yes it did,” Aya raised a brow.
“Aya! Don’t talk like this is new to you!” Miki glared at the woman, showing her fangs as she spoke.
“Come now, you know that was joke, Tan~” the caretaker smirked.
“So what, pointing and laughing at me while I was being attacked by those ferocious children a joke too!? You could have rescued me the second you saw me, but nooooo, ‘hey kids! Tickle the kitty and see what happens!!!!’ You are so cruel to me!”
“Mikitty? Mikitty, that was a love smack,” Aya chuckled as she patted the black cat on the head, earning a glare from the other. “Now… back to business…” Aya stood up straight to talk with Maimi.
However, something had prevented her from speaking with the younger.
Maimi had fainted.
<3