VOLUME 1
Season 3, Episode 3
Episode 3:
"Well then, shall we start?"
The three were gathered in the living room, and Mikoto was in "Training Mode".
She"d show that kid who"s boss, alright. And she had already come up with a brilliant plan.
Make a huge fuss of every single mistake that Rosalie made.
Then Shun will finally see that girl for the failure she is!
"I"m all yours!"
Rosalie"s usual expression of nonchalance had given way to a look of extreme concentration.
Such was her determination to be Shun"s bride.
How pitiful. That poor thing won"t even know what hit her.
"I-I won"t go easy on you!"
"You"ve read my mind!"
"Call me "Onee-san"!"
"Onee-san!"
Somehow, Mikoto doubted that Rosalie understood what she was saying.
The steely strength behind her words though - it was as if she were declaring war on Mikoto.
Shun felt a vague sense of unease stir within him.
–
"First of, we"ll start with cleaning!"
From the cupboard in the living room, Mikoto produced a vacuum.
Rosalie greeted her with confused silence.
No way. Did this girl not even know what a vacuum was?
First the television, and now the vacuum cleaner. Where in the world could this girl be from?
"W-Well, I guess I could show you the basics."
If she couldn"t use it, they couldn"t start.
Plugging the vacuum into the power point, Mikoto flicked the switch.
The motor roared to life.!?
Rosalie started, and leapt back.
What is that black thing making this horrible sound?! I"ve got to stop it before it attacks Shun!
And with that, the warrior princess grabbed her pendant and materialized her sword.
Before anyone could move a muscle, her sword had pierced straight through the hard plastic, impaling the vacuum.
"Phew!"
Rosalie wiped a bead of sweat off her forehead.
"Let"s commence the next stage of training!"
"You idiot!"
Grabbing the sword from her, Shun immediately glared daggers at Rosalie.
Oh G.o.d.
Mikoto, on the other hand, sat trembling on the ground.
She knew it!
That girl was dangerous! Over her dead body would such a girl be let near her precious Shun-chan!
–
It was quite a few minutes before the subst.i.tute vacuum was revved up and ready to go.
Grabbing the handle of the vacuum, Rosalie waved it around rather precariously.
Bang!
"Hey, be careful of the table legs!"
Mikoto was in her element, pointing out Rosalie"s faults one after another.
"You"ve got to take note of the body of the table too!"
Sweat beading on her forehead, Rosalie"s movements seemed to be getting more and more frantic.
"Hey, don"t suck up the curtains!"
Having inadvertently jammed the vacuum, Rosalie tried to pull back in fright.
The next thing to go was the side table that was conveniently located behind her.
Magazines and notepads tumbled onto the ground.
Swinging the vacuum to avoid the falling objects, Rosalie then hit the television.
A rain of small decorative plants and rocks came falling onto the carpet.
Startled, Rosalie tried to pull away again -
Cut to five minutes later, and the living room looked like the holocaust.
"She"s no good."
The vacuum had been switched off. Surveying the room, Mikoto gave her final verdict - As a girlfriend, that Rosalie chick was a calamity.
Time to put phase two of her plan in action.
Pointing to a particularly big mess on the ground, Mikoto said in her most snooty tones, "Look at this! You can never take pride in any of this!"
Rosalie"s face was unreadable. Following Mikoto"s finger, she surveyed the damage before her.
And then -
"Stop, Rosalie! Do not suck that up!"
Shun grabbed the vacuum from her. Clearly, she was going to break more than she saved.
Hmm…
"Sigh. Seeing as there is no other choice, I will clean up for you."
Time to showcase her strengths.
To a sister as brilliant as Mikoto, tidying up this room was child"s play.
As she started off, the vacuum cleaner seemed to become a mere extension of her, perfectly executing every single one of her commands to clear and clean.
In nary a few minutes, the living room looked as good as new.
Stealing a glance at the pair, Mikoto caught sight of Shun"s grateful smile.
Meanwhile, Rosalie, having noticed Shun"s reaction to Mikoto"s superb housekeeping skills, looked more than a little worried.
Perfect!
Everything was going according to plan.
–
"Next up, we have the washing!"
Faced with the washing machine, Rosalie managed to turn something as simple as mashing b.u.t.tons into a crazy, adrenaline-fueled match between her and the machine.
One of her many questions - "Is this a door between dimensions?"
As a result of all that poking, the whole laundry room was filled to the brim with sudsy water.
"You"re hopeless."
With an easy flick of her wrist, Mikoto reset the machine to "WASH".
In almost no time at all, the clothes were cleaned, soaped and wrung within an inch of their lives.
Shun was only too happy to accept her help, the smile that lit up his face seeming to say, "As expected of my Miko-nee!"
Rosalie, on the other hand, was seething. Her lips were pressed into a thin line, and she had broken out into cold sweat. Her desperation was palpable.
"Well now, I guess we"ll have to bring this to the dryer!"
Rosalie finally snapped.
"There"s no need for that!"
"What?!"
"All I have to do is dry these clothes, right?"
A smug smile tugged at the corner of her lips. It seemed as though she had found some sneaky way out.
"I"ve got something good to show you."
Rummaging around the area of her pendant, Rosalie emerged holding a small stone of a rather odd colour.
"This is a "drying stone". Once I use it, it will dry all things up immediately."
"An item?! Rosalie -"
Stunned, Shun broke off.
Mikoto tilted her head in confusion, staring at the foreign little rock in Rosalie"s fingers.
What in the world could something like that even do?!
"W-Wait, Rosalie! Was that the rock you got from Kawahijou?"
For some reason, Shun seemed keener than ever on stopping her.
"Watch this, Shun."
With an air of finality, Rosalie dropped the rock into the washing machine.
And then -
G-G-G-G-G-G-G-G-G-G-G-Gggg!
Good G.o.d, was that the washing machine?
What was that horrible sound it was making?
The next minute, right before her very eyes, Mikoto watched the washing machine turn into sand.
"W-W-What was that?"
"What is it, Shun?"
"Don"t you ask me!"
G.o.d, that Rosalie!