The Yorugata

Rei Musume

The fire crackled in the room, giving off a warm light to the three figures. One a small young girl with long blonde hair and magenta eyes. The other two were brothers of opposite polars, who took in the girl's words.

Ayumu sighed, and looked into the fire. "So, through death the Yorugata has found you, and brought you to her embrace. Fine." Standing, Ayumu motioned for his brother to leave.

Akihiro nodded his head, and gave the girl another smile before leaving the room. Closing the wood door softly, he went over the girl's story in his mind.

It was a sad one at that, one that he's never heard. To have the Yorugata accept her, it truly was a miracle. Walking down the hallway, heading to his own room, Akihiro smiled to himself.

Heather looked up at Ayumu's stretched out hand. Lifting her arm, Heather grabbed his hand with her own tiny palm. Ayumu helped Heather to her feet and guided her to the bed, catching her before she fell to the floor, and keeping her steady.

When at the bed, Heather finally took in her surroundings. The room was small, with the fireplace to her right, a desk by the wall to her left, and a window seat beside her bed on the right.

"The door in front of the bed leads to the hallway. Tomorrow, you can fix the room to how you like. For now, rest." Ayumu lifted the sheets to the bed, and covered Heather with them.

Closing her eyes, Heather took in the silky feel of the sheets, and sighed at the softness of the bed. Opening her eyes, she smiled at Ayumu.

"Thank you. But, Ayumu, what is the Yorugata?" Heather asked, curious. Whenever he speaks about that word, it's like he's talking about a person.

Looking down at her, Ayumu decided to give her an answer. "The Yorugata is your new home." In all truth, it really was. She had nowhere to go, no one to look after her, and was all alone.

Perhaps that is why the Yorugata has chosen her, Ayumu thought.

"You said earlier that you were a young woman, when now you are a mere child. Through death you have been found, and reborn by the Yorugata's heart. You are no longer Heather. You are Rei Musume." With that said, Ayumu turned, walking away. Heather watched as he left the room, hearing the door softly click.

"Rei Musume. At least it isn't something too weird, I guess." Yawning, Heather closed her eyes.

Ayumu walked downstairs, where the Kissaten* resided. Ayumu walked behind the bar and passed the bottles and other assortments needed for when they were open. At the end of the bar, there was a door, taking his necklace off, Ayumu stuck the bottom half of his cross into the keyhole. Turning his hand, he unlocked the door. Ayumu pulled the key out and slipped it back over his head, and walked inside the dark room, closing the door behind him.

It was time that he prepared everything now that Rei was here.

~~~~

 Yawning, the girl sat up. Looking around, she was reminded of the previous night. Bringing her hand to her face, the young girl sighed.

"So, I died and became a cartoon. Well, I suppose worse could happen." Closing her small hand, the girl laid back down.

"That is so right Chisana-kun, it could be worse!" Jumping, Rei whipped her head to the door, where Akihiro was lazily leaning against the wood frame. Startled, she tried to figure out how she missed him earlier.

"Well, come on now, don't be shy! It's your first day at the Yorugata, and you need to get ready!" Akihiro made his way to Rei, smiling wide. Gasping, Rei scrambled about the bed and pressed her body against the head frame, holding the sheets up as a barrier.

"Get out you pervert!" Akihiro was stopped by a pillow hitting him straight in the face. Peeling the pillow off his face, Akihiro scowled at the glaring girl before him.

"I assure you, I am not a pervert. But, Ayumu is busy downstairs in the Kissaten*, and you need to get dressed. Which, brings us to the first rule for the Yorugata's new workers. Uniform. Newbies have to wear a certain outfit for a certain amount of time. The amount of time is decided by whoever is teaching you the ways of how the Yorugata works. This, for you, is Ayumu. Normally, he'd be the one choosing your outfit too, but he was kind enough to let me do that. Don't worry Chisana-kun, I have the perfect outfit for you." Akihiro kept up a one sided conversation as Rei sat on her bed in shock.

"Wait, since when did I start working for you??" Akihiro stopped mid-sentence, surprised.

"Didn't Ayumu tell you? Because the Yorugata gave you a new chance at life, you're in debt to us. And, the way to make up that debt, is to work for us! Well, mainly Ayumu, but the details don't matter." Akihiro frowned, crossing his arms.

"I really thought he told you, I guess Ayumu wanted to surprise you with the good news." He murmured to himself.

"In debt? It's not like I asked the Yorugata to save me!" Rei shouted, upset. Smirking, Akihiro bent down close to Rei's face, causing her to lean back.

"Oh, I see now, you want to go ahead and die then. Alright," Bringing out his hand, Akihiro pointed to the ceiling, and lit his forefinger on fire. "Don't worry, I'll make it as quick as possible." Rei could feel sweat on her forehead, whether from the fear of how serious he sounded, or of the heat the tiny flame was producing, she didn't know.

"N-N-No thank you, I'm fine with repaying my debt." She stuttered, eyeing the flame as he brought it closer to her hair.

"Uh? Okay!" Calling the flame back, Akihiro took a step away from the bed, holding out a bag that Rei didn't notice before. Opening her mouth, she tried to ask where it came from, but Akihiro didn't let her speak.

"Now, here's you outfit, once you're done dressing, go down the hallway and find the double doors that are to the right. There, you go down the stairs and find Ayumu. Hurry now, or you'll be late."

With that, Akihiro promptly left Rei to her own devices.

Grumbling to herself, Rei opened the bag and pulled out the "adorable outfit", as Akihiro had said during his rant, from the bag. After taking off her night clothes, Rei slipped the garment over her body.

Once looking at her reflection though, Rei felt a blush erupt on her cheeks and closed her eyes. Shaking, Rei decided she hated a certain red head.

"AKIHIRO YOU JERK!!!!!!!!" The three men at the table looked up at the balcony that the female voice came from, surprised. Turning their heads to the man who was taking their order, they gave him sly looks.

Smirking, Akihiro decided to ignore the perverted grins on the customers he was serving.  He knew Rei would take a liking to the dress.

Walking by with a tray of food and drinks, Ayumu gave his brother a look. "The last thing I need is you distracting the girl from her training with such silly pranks." With one final look from his disapproving eyes, Ayumu served his food to group who ordered it.

~~~~~

Kissaten: a Cafe, or restaurant.