A Kiki and her Master #6

I dreaded walking into the house today in particular. It’s not like a had a bad day, far from it, but the feeling of dread creeped upon me when I knew what would go down. I gently opened the door...

“Master Drake, you’re home! How was your day at work?” Araceli asked as she gingerly skipped to the door. She gave me a kiss as I took off my shoes and jacket.

“Work went fine, and I have some good and bad news.” I announced as I guided her to the couch.

“What is it?”

“First off, the company CEO and manager had ordered all workers to attend a seminar out in Boston. It’s a required work conference next month.” I explained. Araceli’s face lit up.

“Ooh, a trip! When should I pack? How long will it be? Do you think...” She proclaimed before I cut her off.

“Celi, it’s a workers only trip. You can’t come.” Seconds of silence flooded the room, you could hear her heart beat faster at the bad news.

“M-m-master... are you leaving?” She asked through her sputtering and choked tears. I got ready for the impact that her hug would have. Sure enough, she lunges into me wrapping her arms around my back.

“Honey, it’s not permanent. It’s just a two day trip for a meeting. I’ll come back, I swear!”

“Don’t go without me! I-I can pay for a ticket!”

“We don’t have enough money for that. The company is paying for my airfare and hotel, but not for anyone else. Even if you were allowed to come, that’s at least a thousand dollars that we don’t have.” The explinations I gave coupled with the hair strokes and hug back didn’t help with her feelings. She just hugged tighter and cried harder.

********************

The day arrived where drove to the airport to leave for two days. I handled it nicely, but Araceli (who was adamant on her coming with me to the airport) kept crying in the shotgun seat. I couldn’t help but feel bad for her, but this is what was necessary.

Baggage and security checking was a breeze aside from the mamono woman who was clinging to my shoulder the entire time. We then waited by the terminal before my plane was called.

“Drake, do you have your wallet, ID, passport, keys, cell phone, laptop, chargers, toothbrush, toothpaste, medication, work documents, and spare clothes?” Araceli ratted off her list of stuff she had packed for me like an overprotective mother.

“Yes, honey.” I turned to leave before she clung to my shoulder once again.

“Please be safe out there, master.” She sniffled. I patted her head and gave her a kiss, but she wouldn’t let go. It took an Ushi-Oni to pry her off of me as I ran to catch my flight. I looked back and saw Araceli slumped over on her knees, her teary eyes gazing up at me as she waved goodbye. It was a heartbreaking sight, but I was also kind of relieved that she wasn’t crying by my side anymore.

********************

By the time turbulence ended and we were allowed to use electronics, I had already received 6 FaceTime requests, 15 phone calls, and 24 texts.

Damn she wasn’t taking this lightly. I shot her a quick text since calls were not allowed on the flight.

“Im fine, plane just got in sky. Can’t call”

Almost immediately I got a response.

“Oh thank god you’re alive! I feared that you were mugged, or the plane didn’t leave, or the plane crashed. Enjoy the trip!” As well as a few heart emojis and a bunch of X’s and O’s.

Well then. I turned the phone off and fixed my attention to my Kitsune co-worker, Takarako, who sat next to me on the flight.

“Is she having a hard time?” Takarako  asked. I sighed.

“She hasn’t been away from me for this long before. I hope she’ll calm down.” Takarako put her hand on my shoulder.

“We all have different ways of coping with stress, Mr. Billinger. Her methods may seem extreme, but let it be known she does have heart.” Those last few words lingered in my mind as memories of Araceli treating me like a king replayed like an old VHS.

********************

The rest of the trip was nothing too exciting. As I was leaving the plane, I half expected Araceli to be waiting for me at the terminal, but to no avail. I did receive more messages, however. I decided to have a face time, and she accepted before the first ring finished.

“Master!” Her face beamed to life in the screen. I could tell she hadn’t stopped crying. “Oh you’ve made it just fine! How was your plane ride? Did anyone hurt you? Are you lost?” I shook my head.

“I’m just fine, Celi. The plane landed and now I’m heading to the hotel.”

“Great, master! Be sure to get plenty of sleep and eat a hearty dinner before the conference! And brush your teeth! And shower! And take your medication! And call when anything happens! I love you!” She demanded through her voice, which was now getting coarse.

“Will do honey. Try drinking water and taking deep breaths. I love you!” She feverishly nodded at my orders.

“Will do mater! I love youuuuu!-“ She called out before kissing the phone camera numerous times before she hung up. The day was still young, only about 2 PM, but I had some work to get through before the conference, not to mention the jet lag.

********************

After an Uber ride to the hotel and being lead to my room by a Shoggoth worker. I cracked open my laptop and began finishing the last of my PowerPoints, ignoring the excessive urge to fall asleep.

After a few hours. I kicked back, ordered room service, and watched some tv before dozing off. Making sure to update Araceli constantly.

The morning arose to even more messages. This was becoming a pattern; do something for work, relax, respond to her messages. After more updates to her, a quick shower, and a few bites of a poorly baked egg & cheese muffin, I was on my way.

Conveniently, the hotel we were booked in also doubled as a convention center. My bosses, coworkers, and I headed down to the lobby.

“Alright everyone.” The branch manager spoke out. “The alumni of the coding division will have to accompany me to a sales and profit meeting with the other branches. I expect the rest of you to get work done and or show various products to other clientele at the conference.” Most of the people dispersed into one large room while the manager, a few coworkers, and I headed to a board meeting. To say I was getting antsy was an understatement.

“Ah, Dave! Nice to see your branch has now arrived. A black-skinned succubus stood still the end of a large oval table, various human and Mamono people sat around the perimeter.

The succubus had white flowing hair and two grey horns protruding from her head. Her tacky red dress stood out in front of the giant white screen that was behind her.

“That’s the CEO of FlareBase, Winaya Penyss.” My manager whispered into our ears. “Let me do all the talking.” We all took our seats.

“Well hello there everyone, I’m so glad you all could make it on such short notice!” She greeted in a faux cheery tone. “Why don’t we cover the latest achievements made by each of the best selling branches?” Her phone rang in her pocket. “Excuse me!” She whipped out her phone and began to speak to the other end. Her ranting and screaming went on for a while, making all of us uncomfortable. She hung up with a sigh. “I just got off the phone with Jensen and Ferguson from Sturgeon & Bergen. They say their fiscal values in the esco-correspondence division have tanked.” The succubus stated to the crowd before her. A few scratched their heads looking at each other.

“What?” Some slime girl finally managed to ask.

“Henderson and Johnson need to pull in profits to a larger positive impact within the next two weeks or else their branch of the company will go under.” The CEO explained. One man from the marketing branch spoke up.

“Mrs. Penyss, why can’t we divert some of the funding to their branch instead of the others?” Dave asked.

“Mr. Putey, the very real problem is one of money. I’m afraid that the supplying branch is no longer getting the kind of support it needs. You see, there's coding, marketing, service management, divisional leaders, suppliers; they're all supposed to get the same. But last year, the government spent less on suppliers than it did on marketing and divisional leaders. Now, we get $250,000 a year, which is supposed to be spent on all our available products.” Most of the people (including me) were lost at this point. All I was told to worry about in my job was producing code. “If we were to change the funding tactics, major rifts would need to be taken into account in order to then equally distribute funding even more, which will lead to further complications. Do you understand, or do I need to cram it into your thick skull some more?”

“I got it, I got it.” He insisted.

“Good!” She rubbed her hands together. “Why don’t we get started?”

********************

The rest of the day went by in a blur. We finished the meeting with a good investment return for our branch, mingled in the lobby to speak with representatives of our sister companies, before finally leaving the place with 2 hours before our return flight took off. That gave me enough time to run to the jewelers.

“Hey there. Do you have any rings that would fit well with a Kikimora?” I asked the Dragon girl and Danuki in front of me.

After a fine selection and money being drained from my wallet, I finally made my way to the plane to end my hectic trip. I shot a quick text to Araceli.

“Conference is done. On the plane home”

Once again, didn’t have to wait long.

“That’s wonderful, Master! I cant wait to see you! XOXO” After a quick pull of the heart strings, I took a nap.

At least I tried to, a harpy baby was crying in the next row over.

********************

The plane had finally landed. I grabbed my one overpacked suitcase and headed for the terminal. I shot Araceli a quick text, knowing that she’d be so glad to see me again. I walked into the airport checking my phone for the time, when I was suddenly tackled by someone. Both of us tumbled to the ground.

“Master! Master! I’ve missed you so much!” The familiar voice shouted at the top of her lungs in between her kisses. I managed to sit upright despite the mounds of feathers clinging to my body. Most passerby’s stared at us with a look of either glee or displeasure.

“Nice to see you again, honey.” I responded. “So, how- *Yawn* did it go without me?” The long meetings and the flight took a lot out of me. “Tell me while I drive us home.”

“Oh no no no! I’m driving us home so you can get some rest!” She demanded. She grabbed my suitcase out of my hand, locked her free arm with one of mine, and frolicked off with me in tow, not forgetting to plaster me with kisses.

The car ride home was filled with too many questions about my safety and whether or not I took proper care of my hygiene. Araceli said she took proper care of everything, making sure to really go all out. She sure did, the house was in the best condition it had ever been in, I swear I could see my reflection on the tiled kitchen floor.

I made my way to our room, only to see Araceli’s open diary.

‘No no, don’t read it.’ I thought to myself as I had already picked up the book.

Too late.

“Dear diary,
Master comes back from his work trip today! I can’t wait to see him again! I hope nothing bad has happened to him, I can’t bear to see him in pain or distress. He always works for us so diligently, he needs to control himself. I’ll be sure to make his favorite chocolate-chip waffles in the morning when he wakes up. I know that will make him glad, but not as glad as when he sees me again.
Sincerely, Araceli.”

One last tug of my heart strings gave me enough energy to smile, take off my clothes, and hop into the warm bed, Araceli coming in not too far later.

“I love you, master.” She confessed while cuddling me.