[Nakahara]
by aoyagi
Domesticity
It had started a few days before when Ogata had come home early and found Miyako-san, his housekeeper, talking to his fish and giving them food unauthorized by their strict feeding regimen. He had been so furious that he’d fired her on the spot and told her to never return again. Afterwards, he had changed the water in all the tanks to make sure that none of his pets died from accidental food oversaturation. Not that he cared for the fish, really.
*
Hiring another housekeeper proved more challenging than Ogata had originally thought. All the women he interviewed either didn’t meet his standards, expected too much money or shamelessly tried to flirt with him. With such a state of affairs, he all of a sudden realized he absolutely needed to do laundry or he would have to go commando the next day. He suspected that Kuwabara would use his demonic powers to discover his secret and comment on it in front of the whole Institute. Newly determined, he packed his dirty laundry into his Mazda and sped away in search of an appropriate establishment.
*
The tiny - and stern - Korean lady looked critically at the pile on the counter.
“So, how many suits you have?” she asked.
“Seventeen white suits, two black, and one navy blue,” Ogata replied patiently for the third time in the past seven minutes. “How soon can you have them cleaned?”
“Three day,” she replied finally and took the suits. “Two more freaks also clean white suits here and I still have to start them. At least yours don’t have blood stains.”
Ogata blinked in surprise and decided against asking about her other customers. He bowed quickly and left.
*
It was beyond Ogata’s comprehension as to why the Laundromat he chose was the place for all up and coming pros to do their laundry. Unfortunately, the moment he loaded his underthings into the washing machine, both Waya-kun and Isumi-kun showed up carrying their baskets, with Shindou in tow. All three gawked at him, bowed awkwardly and immediately started whispering. Shindou went as far as to point and giggle. It took all of Ogata’s self-restraint to not get up and leave his laundry behind - which included his favorite fish-print boxers. He endured the humiliation while a plan formed in his head.
*
Miyako-san stood tall and gazed up into Ogata’s eyes with triumph. She had enough decency not to gloat openly, but he could tell by the twitching lips that she wasn’t too far away from it.
“I want a raise,” she proclaimed.
“You’ll get it,” he retorted sternly. “But you can’t feed my fish, understood? They have extremely delicate digestive tracts and...”
“Yes, Ogata-san,” she cut in without a pardon. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“All right,” Ogata said gingerly. “Your re-employment is effective immediately, I’ll adjust your pay accordingly and,” he reached into his pocket, “here’s a dry-cleaning bill. Please pick it up tomorrow.”
Domesticity
It had started a few days before when Ogata had come home early and found Miyako-san, his housekeeper, talking to his fish and giving them food unauthorized by their strict feeding regimen. He had been so furious that he’d fired her on the spot and told her to never return again. Afterwards, he had changed the water in all the tanks to make sure that none of his pets died from accidental food oversaturation. Not that he cared for the fish, really.
*
Hiring another housekeeper proved more challenging than Ogata had originally thought. All the women he interviewed either didn’t meet his standards, expected too much money or shamelessly tried to flirt with him. With such a state of affairs, he all of a sudden realized he absolutely needed to do laundry or he would have to go commando the next day. He suspected that Kuwabara would use his demonic powers to discover his secret and comment on it in front of the whole Institute. Newly determined, he packed his dirty laundry into his Mazda and sped away in search of an appropriate establishment.
*
The tiny - and stern - Korean lady looked critically at the pile on the counter.
“So, how many suits you have?” she asked.
“Seventeen white suits, two black, and one navy blue,” Ogata replied patiently for the third time in the past seven minutes. “How soon can you have them cleaned?”
“Three day,” she replied finally and took the suits. “Two more freaks also clean white suits here and I still have to start them. At least yours don’t have blood stains.”
Ogata blinked in surprise and decided against asking about her other customers. He bowed quickly and left.
*
It was beyond Ogata’s comprehension as to why the Laundromat he chose was the place for all up and coming pros to do their laundry. Unfortunately, the moment he loaded his underthings into the washing machine, both Waya-kun and Isumi-kun showed up carrying their baskets, with Shindou in tow. All three gawked at him, bowed awkwardly and immediately started whispering. Shindou went as far as to point and giggle. It took all of Ogata’s self-restraint to not get up and leave his laundry behind - which included his favorite fish-print boxers. He endured the humiliation while a plan formed in his head.
*
Miyako-san stood tall and gazed up into Ogata’s eyes with triumph. She had enough decency not to gloat openly, but he could tell by the twitching lips that she wasn’t too far away from it.
“I want a raise,” she proclaimed.
“You’ll get it,” he retorted sternly. “But you can’t feed my fish, understood? They have extremely delicate digestive tracts and...”
“Yes, Ogata-san,” she cut in without a pardon. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“All right,” Ogata said gingerly. “Your re-employment is effective immediately, I’ll adjust your pay accordingly and,” he reached into his pocket, “here’s a dry-cleaning bill. Please pick it up tomorrow.”