"So how was maid training? I suppose I can guess based on your current condition" Matsuko poked at my cheek as I lay on my desk trying to get a few more minutes of sleep. "So what kind of things did she have you doing? Physical labor? Cooking lessons? Trial by fire?"
She was obnoxious enough that I realized I wasn't going to get any more sleep, so I finally turned my head over and looked at her. "Lots of balance testing, coordination training, learning to take orders, learning where to hold my hands, I had no idea there was so much nuance to all of this."
"Ha ha, sounds very comprehensive. Yotaku-san is both a renowned etiquette teacher and a beautiful dancer, though she's retired from dancing for several years now. Asami's family arranged her current position at her request for a quiet place for her to build a career outside dance. All five of us have taken etiquette lessons from her in the past, so I know she will teach you well."
Our conversation was interrupted by the start of class, and we weren't able to speak again before I had to leave for training again after class.
* * *
"Ko-chan! You let the book drop again! Hold your head steady!" Yotaku yelled at me like a strict teacher.
I quickly apologized and started over the exercise. The more I trained, the more it started to feel natural, but I still couldn't complete the entire exercise in one go.
It still felt quite satisfying when I could see my own progress as I repeated the training.
In the final training, Yotaku tried a few more positions for my arms, but was unhappy with each of them. As I left the room to head up front, I heard her mutter "That's all of the positions I know, are there any other possibilities? Maybe I should ask...." I couldn't quite hear who she was intending to ask, but surely I would find out soon.
* * *
The next day I found out her "last chance" plan to avoid fidgeting. After finishing all of my other training for the day, she just sat there staring at me. "Let's try the other positions one more time before I tell you my idea." We went through the other positions again, but I still had trouble holding still. Yotaku-sensei sighed and said "I guess there's no other choice. Come over here and turn around. Relax your arms and I'll help you." I turned around in front of her, and she took hold of both of my wrists. She slowly turned them behind my back, and pulled them up between my shoulder blades. "How does this feel, are you in any pain?"
I shifted my arms slightly, then shook my head. "No, it's about as far as I can extend my arms like this, but it is not painful at all."
"Good. Try to hold your arms like this without me holding them in place. Tell me if it is uncomfortable at all." She let go of my arms and I held them in place. Because of the awkward position, there wasn't really anything for my hands to grasp, and even if there was, with my hands hidden behind my back, no one would see any fidgeting I did. "Well, it is a bit of an awkward and embarrassing position, but it seems like one you can hold without any kind of fidgeting or movement. Let's have you focus on this position from now on for your control training. Once you get used to holding it, we can begin the next step." I wasn't really happy with this development, but it won Yotaku-sensei's approval, so I guess I'll just deal with it.
* * *
My training continued as planned for the rest of the week. Even on the weekends, days I would normally sleep in and laze around, I had to come in and help in the shop for two shifts.
At the end of the day on Sunday, I was finally able to walk all the way down the balance beam without falling off. Yotaku-sensei smiled and gave me a hug, "I knew you could do it, you're doing great! Now let's combine two different trainings. I want you to walk the beam, but you have to do it without using your arms to balance. You can hold your arms in your resting position while you walk."
It was deceptively difficult to keep my balance with my arms tightly folded behind my back. I became distinctly aware of how much my arms contributed to my ability to quickly fine tune my balance as I walked. This new training sent me back to falling off after around ten to fifteen steps, but I was sure I would succeed if I just tried hard enough. What was strange, though, was that my arms started to feel a bit natural, even though I was holding them behind me in such a strange position.
I also succeeded at both the book test and the water cup test. My training was altered there as well, to keep the book from falling without using my arms for balance, and to keep the water from spilling while the cup is on a platter instead of my hand. Both were a significant step up in difficulty, but I still had plenty of time to practice.
At the end of each day, I would flop down on my bed without even taking off my uniform. It took a while to unlace and I wanted every single minute of sleep I could get, not to mention I was starting to get quite comfortable in my corset and I felt a bit empty without it.
* * *
"Ko-chan's training has been going well, she moves much better nowadays." Matsuko rubbed her chin as she watched Kogamo from the third floor balcony. "But I have to ask, Asami-chan, what is with the way she holds her arms now? Was that your doing?"
Asami flinched at the accusatory tone. "That is... body control is one of the training routines for maids at our stores. Yotaku-san told me early on that she couldn't find an appropriate position that would be comfortable for her and avoid her fidgeting. I suggested the behind-the-back position as a funny joke but I didn't think she would actually go through with it. An easy mark, as it says on the tin, huh? If she's too ignorant to realize when she's being played with, she deserves to prance around like a doll. You have to admit, it's a bit cute that she's doing it even outside practice though, right?"
"Even if that is true, someone should still tell her she doesn't have to do that. I make the decisions regarding her, not you." Matsuko returned to the business at hand. "How are the other preparations going? Are the decorations and advertisements on track?"
"Everything should be ready on time. ...If there's nothing else, I'll be going, I have other business to attend to." Asami turned to leave, but a finger in the collar of her blazer pulled her back suddenly.
"Did I say you could leave, Asami-chan? No one asked you to meddle in her training like you did. If you had said nothing, Ko-chan wouldn't be holding her arms in this ridiculous position all the time thinking it has anything to do with being a proper maid." Matsuko's cheerful voice suddenly sounded much graver as she continued speaking.
"B-b-ut, Matsuko, you said you thought it was cute and you liked it! What's the problem!" Asami's voice started to shake as she tried to defend herself.
"It is quite cute, but the problem is this: I didn't ask you to meddle, and your motives are quite impure, aren't they? In fact, this is not even the first or second time you have sabotaged her. You changed the heels on her maid uniform as well, didn't you? I warned you last time when you manipulated the calendar deadlines, right? What is your problem with her anyhow?"
"Grr... She's making a mockery of our student council, and all she does is spend time trying to find ways to embarrass the rest of us. I don't know why you are encouraging her. You already agreed that we wouldn't have to wear any of the outfits she makes." Asami's resentment finally came through despite trying to hold it back.
"I did say that I wouldn't make you wear her outfits for her, but now you're making me want to see them for myself. It seems like you still owe me for using me to lord your superiority over her in the planning meeting, don't you? Why don't we combine that debt with your punishment for this time's sabotage then? I want to see you wearing the maid outfit she designed for you while you're in the dorm at night, at least until she moves in with us."
"You can't be serious, what makes you think I'm going to wear tha---" Asami's protest was cut off by the finger in her blazer collar jerking up, choking her and forcing her to her tiptoes.
"If you're unhappy, I can tell her the uniform deadline was a mistake. I'm sure she would be happy to have you wear that maid costume every day. Now, are you going to wear it at work? or at school?" Matsuko's voice had a strange authority that Asami didn't seem to be able to resist.
"I-I-I'll do as you say, just let me down, Matsuko!" Asami struggled with her shirt collar, but Matsuko was surprisingly strong, able to nearly lift her off the ground with just a finger.
"What did you call me?" Matsuko's eyes ignited with white flames at Asami's impertinent reply, and with a quick swing of her other hand that was also engulfed in flames, landed a pair of swats on each of Asami's asscheeks while grasping her collar even tighter. The flames seemed to permeate Asami's body and dissipate within.
"P-please! Forgive me, Mistress!" Matsuko's strange aura seemed to be strangling the breath out of her as she was spanked in the middle of the third floor hall of the school, but luckily for her, no one else was there to see it. After a few more swats, she was dumped to the floor unceremoniously, with tears staining her face.
"I've changed my mind. Maybe playing maids in the cafe would be fun after all. I'd get to see you prancing around in Ko-chan's cute little outfit, and I'm sure Ko-chan will appreciate it too. Now, clean yourself up and get to class." She walked off without looking back at all at the girl laying on the floor.
Asami grit her teeth as she stumbled to her feet. "She didn't have to use her flames..." She rubbed her behind, which was still throbbing with pain from the spanking. Even though it was just her hand, and cushioned by several layers of fabric from her skirt, blazer, underwear, and shirt, it still felt like she had been hit full force by a paddle a dozen times.
"Does she think I'll just lay down and wear that ridiculous outfit in front of the whole school? I'll never accept it!" She pulled out her phone and dialed a number. "Hello? Yotaku? Yes, I need a favor from you."