She keeps herself busy until her master comes home.

All these thoughts and more swirled through her head as she stared out into the alleyway. Ms. Vermilion disappeared and so did the carriage, leaving her all alone with no idea where she was. Though she was…alone. Should she make a run for it? She very well could, the alleyway was empty, she could just…walk away. Very quickly, however, she discarded the idea. Even if she slip away without people catching on, and that was a big if by itself, she’d have no idea what she’d do next. Kioko had lived in the auction house for as long as she could remember, she had no survival skills to speak of. Sure, she’d stolen bits of food when the house was running low, but that’s not enough to make it on her own. No, she would stay and hope what Ms. Vermilion said about the boy…her new Master, was correct.

After one last look at potential freedom, Kioko shut the cricket door, latching it locked in the process. She took some time to really scan her surroundings, her new home. While it was messy, it was mostly strewn with clutter rather than everything being outright filthy, which she could live with. Maybe that’s what Ms. Vermilion bought her for, to be her son’s, well presumably her son’s, maid. However, the $1 million price tag still ate at her, as she was never given a direct answer.

Out of the corner of her eye she spotted a lone paper that looked out of place on the counter. The paper wasn’t there a minute ago, or so she thought, as the page was impossible to miss. Peering at it, she was startled to find that it was a legal document, a confirmation of ownership for a new Demi-vassal; and the name? Kioko Sterlin. They were hers, but, that didn’t seem possible. Did Ms. Vermilion leave them here? Thinking back though, she couldn’t remember her ever grabbing any papers, so how would they appear here now?

She scanned the documents over, confirming them as the real deal, there was the house’s stamp of approval and everything. In large letters on the front, it read “Kioko Sterlin, Owner: Hiro Asane.” It hit her at that moment. She had a master, she was finally a Demi-vassal, she was finally free of that auction house. Seeing the paper brought her a small inkling of joy in just the simple knowledge it represented.

She didn’t want to leave such an important paper out in the open, so she decided to hold onto it until her Master arrived home. The page was previously folded once, Kioko simply followed the creases until it was a small, card-sized rectangle. Realizing she had no pockets in a dress, she placed it in a spot she knew would be safe, slipping it between her bra and bare chest. Heaven forbid she had seen Mrs. Taki store a whole slew of objects in her bosom and not once had anything ever fallen out. Looking around, Kioko sighed at the messy room, knowing her first task. Kneeling down, she grabbed a piece of rubbish and began her work as a new vassal.

An hour or so had passed, leaving Kioko rather pleased with the result. The floors and tables were cleaned off in the main sitting room, though she did create a slightly larger pile of dishes to be washed, but she would handle that next. The tables shined with the dull luster of freshly cleaned wood, the speckles of food and drink wiped away. The trash can was overflowing, but as she didn’t know where to dump the refuse, she would simply wait for her Master to come home. Hopefully, he would be happy with her work.

Kioko eyed the dishes, giving them a small look of disdain. She never liked doing dishes at the house, as she would always come from it soaking wet. After a few moments of deliberation, she decided that it would be better to wait to finish them. I mean, she did have very nice clothes on, after all, she wouldn’t want to ruin them, right? That sediment was enough to convince her, leaving the dishes be as she explored the rest of the apartment. Though, to be frank, there wasn’t a lot to explore. It was a simple 3-room apartment, the main sitting room and kitchen taking up the largest space. Off shooting from the main room came a small hallway that contained two doors, one on either side.

She was startled to a stop as the door behind her clicked, someone unlocking it from the other side. He was home, she thought. Quickly smoothing out her dress, she turned towards the opening door to await her master. The person who walked in was a rather striking-looking young man, maybe being 2 to 3 years her senior. Remembering her lessons, Kioko clasped her hands together and bowed down, addressing the man.

“Welcome home Master.” She said with a smile on her face. This was what she envisioned, she thought. A strapping young man who would whisk her off her feet. He had cute, scruffy black hair that was messy in a charming way. His entire body was toned and considering the weapon at his hip, indicated the man was probably an adventurer, or a fledgling one at least. Kioko stayed bowed down for a moment, but when she didn’t get an answer or acknowledgment, she glanced up. Their eyes met, and she instantly melted into them. They were this startling deep blue, like the waves of the ocean, and they looked at her, but they didn’t reciprocate her allure.

“Who are you?!” He demanded, swiftly drawing his sword in a practiced motion. “How did you get in here?” Lifting the point towards her, Kioko took an involuntary step back. Her next sentence came out as a studdered, broken mess.

“I-I’m, uh, my n-names Kioko, Master. M-Ms. Vermilion bought me here, I mean, brought me here.”

“I don’t know a Vermilion, and what's with this master business?” He questioned further, still holding the sword up to her. Kioko felt her knees try to give out on her, but she managed to stay standing as she answered.

“I b-belong to you, Master. I am your Demi-vassal.” She reached into her cleavage, pulling out the folded paper and holding it out with two hands. Hiro didn’t move to grab the paper, not instantly. Instead, he eyed the Demi with a scrutinous gaze. Finally, with an eye raised, he lowered his sword, though Kioko noticed he didn’t sheathe it. Taking a quick step forward, he plucked the paper from her hand and read the contents.

“Owner? Like slaves? Wait, have I been walking past people without knowing they were slaves!? Damn this forsaken planet.” He murmured in low anger, though Kioko was thankful it wasn’t directed toward her.

“N-not slaves.” Kioko chimed in, still slightly taken aback. “Vassals, or in other terms, servants. It’s normal for demi-humans like me to be subservient to a master. It’s…in our nature.” This was not how she envisioned the first meeting with her new master. She hadn’t expected any grand ceremony or heightened emotions or anything, but this situation was on the complete opposite side of the spectrum. It was weird as well, her explaining this to him, it was as if he had no idea about the subordinate nature of Demi’s.

“No no no.” He said, muttering to himself. “I’m not going to be any part of this. Though it’s not like I can do anything about it. A system so ingrained into society that it’s become normalized, I have no chance of fighting against something like that. Guess I’ll just have to take her back and-”

“No!” Kioko blurted out. “Please don’t send me back, anything but that.” She pleaded, her chest becoming heavy with anxiety and stress. Her wobbly legs finally gave out, Kioko falling to her knees. “I can be of use, I’ll do anything. I can clean, cook, comfort, anything you desire. Just don’t send me back.”

“Wait, what?” He said as if remembering she was in the room. “What’s with the sudden panic attack? Is getting sent back really that bad?”

“Y-yes.” Kioko said, remembering her training and calming herself. “Demi’s who are returned are seen as, unfit for servitude. Those seen as unfit are then re-auctioned, but they are stripped of their Demitarian rights. They are no longer a person, as far as the law is concerned, having no more rights than some random object. As you might guess, the types of people that attend these types of auctions are…vile in the lightest terms.” Hiro hesitated, processing what Kioko had told him.

“Well...shit.” he cursed, a scowl on his face. “What the fuck am I going to do? I don’t make enough as is, let alone feeding a second mouth.”

“I can be of use, Master. I will do whatever you want, and you can do…whatever you want.” Kioko took a cautious step forward, Hiro seemingly stunned in front of her.

“I…no, it’s…no.” he muttered again, turning away. “I…look. I don’t know what to do, if sending you back is that bad then…you can stay, at least until I figure something else out.” He said, placing the paper on the counter. “Or until I die of starvation.” He murmured under his breath, unaware Kioko’s keen hearing let her hear it. Something occurred to Hiro, as he suddenly turned towards her. “This Vermilion lady, was she a young, red-haired, bombshell of a woman? Big tits, cleavage, wearing a dress worth a year’s salary?”

“Bombshell?” She raised an eyebrow, but tilted her head as she thought about the woman’s appearance. “The description fits, I suppose, though she wasn’t young. She was an older woman with greying hair, maybe the mother of whomever you’re speaking of?”

“No, it was Scarlet alright, that bitch. Couldn’t even be creative with the name, it’s just another shade of red.” A scowl reformed on her master’s face. “First she drops me off here with nothing to my name and now, deciding she hadn’t fucked me enough, drops a random girl in my lap to take care of like some damn tamagachi. Fuckin’ gods.” Kioko’s eyes widened at the last remark, a feeling of primal fear coursing through her.

“Master, you really shouldn't be talking ill of the gods like that, they could smite you for speaking such blasphemy.”

“Well then, let them strike me down where I stand.” He looked up at the ceiling, holding his arms out. After a few moments, he looked back at her. “Guess their god powers are on cooldown.” He said bemused, a devilish grin on his face. Kioko wasn’t sure if she should be horrified or intrigued with her new master. Hiro was…unorthodox to say the least. Not knowing Demi-human customs was a weird gap for him to have in his knowledge base, while at the same time spouting things she’d never heard of; bombshell, tamagachi, cooldown. They made no sense to her, though, giving it more thought, they might just have been in her master’s native language as they didn’t sound to be in Ecterian.

“Did…you clean up my apartment?” Hiro asked, just now noticing Kioko’s efforts. Smiling in recognition, Kioko nodded her head.

“Yes, Master. I wanted to make myself useful to you, so I took it upon myself to tidy up. I hope you don’t find it presumptuous of me to act without direct orders.”

“I…um, no, It’s fine. Uh…thank you, Kioko, was it?”

“Yes, Master.”

“How ‘bout you call me Hiro?”

“Yes, Master Hiro.”

“I…oh forget it.” Hiro sighed. "I'm going to go take a bath, I got dungeon filth all over me. You can do...whatever I guess, I don't really care." With those words, Hiro disappeared into the hallway, leaving Kioko alone in the main living area, bewildered about how to move forward.