Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid

"Another day, another dollar, another day, another dollar, another day..." The delivery van screeched to an ear-piercing halt outside the large residential apartment complex. The sun had settled a while ago, leaving the horizon steady and cold with the dim light of street lamps. It was dark and quiet, and just about everyone was at home enjoying the warmth. Except for one person... It was another day and another dollar.

The delivery driver, Ethan, slumped against the wheel, his exhaustion more than palpable. After a long day repeating the same line, missing lunch, and running over time for pennies, which barely accounted for minimum wage, he was willing and more than eager to ditch the final package and call it a night. The mounting frustration was too much for an eighteen-year-old living on his own; moving the Japan for school was a damn mistake. And with no financial aid or scholarship, he was left with a part-time job as a delivery driver for a small company to support himself, barely making ends meet.

But it's another day.. and another damn dollar. It's something he can really use right about now, with rent being due in just a few weeks. He took a deep breath, straightened up in his seat, and wiped his forehead clean. "You can do this, Ethan," he thought aloud. Heaving himself out of the truck, the young man trudged over to the back, opening the rear door. He pulled out a large cardboard box with "fragile" plastered over it and reached his gloved hands over to heft it up onto the dolly.

The box was extremely heavy, so much so that he felt it in his back even while putting all the weight onto his knees. "Gahh~! I'm gonna feel that in the morning..." he grumbled to himself. The contents clanked about as he shifted the bone-bending box down as gently as he could manage, even while hearing his joints cracking in two. It sounded like it was filled with diamonds, glass marbles, or a bunch of bricks, and knowing his luck, it was probably all three.

Regardless, Ethan didn't give a damn anymore; his body was giving out, and the paycheck wasn't going to write itself. With a sigh, he dragged the dolly along, the wheels squeaking against the asphalt road. "One, two, three, four, five," he counted. Stopping at the foot of the stairs leading up, he blinked down to the note in his hands, hoping beyond hope the apartment was on the first floor, "405... 4...0..." He glanced up the stairs, his voice trailing off, "Shit."

15 minutes later, the young delivery man's legs shook under the immense weight, his back and shoulders were sore, and the pain in his knees had grown from a dull throbbing ache to an excruciating stabbing pain. Sweat dripped from his brow, and his chest was rising and falling with each huff and puff.

"Hnnnghh..." He grunted, "Ngh...!" He seethed until... finally.

*Ding-Dong*

Ethan took a moment to catch his breath and wipe his brow after hitting the doorbell.

"I'll get it!" A cheery-pitched voice rang out, followed by the sound of footsteps growing closer and louder until the door swung open, revealing a woman standing just on the other side wearing a pink dress and skirt. "Hello~! Deliver driver!?"

Well, someone seemed cheery.

The girl before him was a cute busty blond, emphasis on the busty, wearing a full-on maid attire, a costume a bit too small with how the bulge from her large rack was very blatantly bulging out over her slim stomach and waist. She stood at least a good head taller than Ethan, almost making it natural to look directly at those boobs. The most striking thing about her, however, was the long, thin horns atop her head, poking out through her silky blond hair.

Ethan's eyes wandered up to the horns and widened. "Um... Hello," he replied, quickly shaking off his surprise, it must be some sort of cosplay or something. He had a long day. "Y-Yes, I have a delivery for..." He held out the clipboard and pen, ready to continue with his usual spiel, only to notice something behind the woman, something large, green, and...

Is that a tail?!

"Hm?" The maid's red eyes blinked curiously; she noticed the line of his gaze and quickly blushed, "Ops~!" With a flick of her finger, the green swaying tail vanished from sight, "I..."

"Who's at the door?" Another woman's voice spoke up with a yawn.

Ethan was able to see a woman with glasses and red hair tied into a ponytail approach; compared to the blond chick with horns, she was flatter than a board and looked like a generic office woman, not really the sort of girl that would stand out in a crowd. But he isn't one to judge, having zero luck with girls himself; maybe she was secretly hiding some assets, or maybe he truly is just out of it. Yes, he must be... that green tail, it was just his stress catching up to him.

"Just the delivery guy, he's a little early today." the blonde replied.

"Early? It's seven p.m., " the spectacled woman muttered. "Also, I didn't order anything." She approached, her eyes narrowing; the woman seemed fairly smart, standing behind the blonde, who, by looks alone, seemed to fit the stereotype of a dumb blond. "It's a bit late, and like I said. I don't recall ordering anything. Do you need me to sign something?"

"Er... yeah," Ethan mumbled, holding out the clipboard.

The redhead's glasses glinted as she gave the clipboard an apprehensive look, "S-Sorry, I'm not sure I want to sign for something without me even ordering anything. This seems suspicious..." She said, and then made a move to close the door, "Have a good night."

Ethan quickly interjected; he'd be penalized if he didn't empty out the entire truck. "Wait, wait! People forget ordering things all the time! A-Are you sure you or... anyone else didn't order anything?"

The woman turned to eye the busty maid-dressed blond, "Did you order anything, Tohru?"

"Nuh-Uh~!" The blonde, Tohru, shook her head, "But maybe you did and forgot! Remember Kobayashi, you forgot you invited me to live here! You forget things alllll the time!"

"I-I didn't- That was one time!" The woman Ethan now knew as Kobayashi blurted back flustered, "Sorry, I'm not signing this." She said again, turning to him, looking a bit ticked, before closing the door in his face.

Ethan's heart sank as he stared at the closed door.

"Shit... Fuck, fuck, fuck," he hissed, no longer dejected, but thoroughly annoyed, the anger bubbling inside. He was going to get in so much trouble. And that Kobayashi flat-chested bitch didn't seem to give a shit. She thought he was some scammer!? Really? Has the woman ever heard of late deliveries? So what if the sun's down, and she doesn't remember ordering anything, and she also needs to sign her name on a document before getting the package... She could just sign some random name and trash the damn thing if she was that suspicious.

But she had a nice apartment, probably a nice job, comfortable... everything, a live-in maid. Of course, these kinds of people wouldn't consider the repercussions for a teenager like him to miss a package.

Out of annoyance, he threw the box into the back of the truck without a care in the world if it was fragile or not. There was a clanking sound followed by a shattering noise. Ethan didn't give a fuck; especially since the two ladies didn't even have the decency to help him out a little and carry the box a few feet into the apartment so he doesn't lose his job.

Actually... yeah. Scew them.

They don't want their package? He'll take it.

Jumping into the truck, he pulled out a knife and cut open the box, the cardboard flaps peeling away. Not sure what he expected to see, a pile of literal rocks still caught him off guard, especially with the noises they were making. But also... rocks... rocks!? He had just lugged a heavy freakin box of rocks, not just up many flights of stairs, but down too!? ROCKS!?

Ethan was about to lose his mind, up until he noticed a faint white glow beaming from between the rocks. "What the hell?" he muttered. Pushing the rocks aside, the glow grew brighter and brighter until a shiny, smooth white cube-like box laid bare for his eyes.

"Whoa..." His anger subsided, and he found himself gazing into the glowing cube, his reflection staring back, until he noticed something else. It wasn't fully resting in his palms. It was floating. And when he removed his hands entirely, the cube remained aloft in midair.

"No way," he whispered, waving his hands back and forth, left and right, trying to find an explanation, a hidden wire, or some magnetic ****, but there was none. "How the hell...?"

First, his eyes made him see some green lizard-like tail sticking out from the ass cheeks of a hot busty blond dressed like a maid, and now this? Okay, he really needs to use his vacation hours and catch some rest. This is ridiculous.

In some half-ass attempt to see if this thing was even real, he reached out a hand to grasp the cube a second time. However, right as his palm collided with the cool-to-the-touch and marble-like surface, the cube glowed with a scanning light that flowed over his palm, giving him a soft, warm, tingling sensation.

'User identified. Ethan Anderson. Access Granted.

"Huh? What?"

'Welcome to the Voo-Cube, version 3.01, by MMT Inc. As a new user, would you like to follow the starter tutorial? Or begin operating immediately?

"Um-"

'Confusion detected. Initiating: Starter tutorial.' The cube floated further into the air, 'The Voo-Cube is the latest invention built from voodoo technology. Allowing complete dominion over the established realm, you simply need to scan a target to add a doll to your unlimited database. As of version 3.0, The Voo-Cube allows scanning by the usual flashing methodology or by adding an object closely tied to the Doll's personal scent and DNA. Would you like to be guided through a scanning example?'

Taking a seat on the edge of the truck, Ethan scratched the side of his arm, "S-Sure?"

'Excellent. Please wait... Please wait... Please wait...' The cube floated higher and higher into the air, each side of it glowing a brighter white as it seemed to scan the vicinity.

"Tohru! Did you take my..."

"Your panties!? I'm putting them with the rest of the clothes to wash!"

"I have a washing machine! Give them back. I can do it myself! How did you even get them? I just took them off."

"Aw~ But I wanna wash them! They're fresh and smell just like you... mmmm~!"

"That's gross! I was wearing that all day."

"I know~ Hehe~"

Ethan looked up to the balcony of that same apartment from before. The Tohru and Kobayashi looked to be scrambling over a simple white pantie, the maid giddy, sniffing and licking it, saying something about how her drool can clean fabric better than any machine, and the redhead was just more than a bit fed up, talking about how gross that is and reaching for the underwear.

"Oops~!" Tohru chirped as the pantie slipped from her grasp in the struggle and fell down to the ground.

"Really?" Kobayashi sighed.

"Don't worry! I have more!"

"H-Huh!?"

'Example found: freshly used panties. Please bring it over to the Voo-Cube.'

"Um, I don't know..." Still a bit frustrated and confused, he wasn't sure if he was willing to steal a woman's used underwear... Then again, it isn't every day that freshly worn panties fall from the sky.

'Please bring it over to the Voo-Cube.'

"Okay, okay, fine." Ethan hopped down and jogged over, grabbing the undergarment and running back. It was warm in his hand, and out of morbid curiosity and instinct, the eighteen-year-old brought it to his nose, taking a long whiff. It smelled fresh, musky, and sweet, yet also sweaty.

Then reality hit him again, and he realized what he was doing. Hoping no one had seen, he hopped back into the truck, closing it for good measure, and let the light of the cube illuminate the darkness as he gently placed the panty over it.

The underwear began to float on its own and sink into the cube. _'Scanning-Scanning. Scan complete.' __ _With a Ching humming from the glowing cube, it continued. 'Kobayashi-Doll was successfully added to the database.' After another Ching, it repeated itself, only altering the name, saying, 'Tohru-Doll was successfully added to the database. Would you like to edit a target?'

Before him, the cube continued its 'Tutorial,' and the digital images of Kobayashi and Tohru projected over the cube. Out of the two, Ethan's gaze settled on the woman who closed the door in his face. The redhead was T-posing like an idiot NPC from a video game, not the smart-looking businesswoman from before, with an arrow pointing towards her body and saying, 'Tap to edit.'[u]
[/u]

Ethan's finger moved, and the image began to spin with the motions of his finger, causing her t-posing body to spin in place. It was like controlling a phone, like those futuristic computer holograms from movies. He decided to tap the edit option on Kobayashi, still very much ticked off with how she acted. And, in the next moment, he was amazed by all the options that appeared before him.