The party of four stepped out of the SEGA building and onto the bustling streets of Tokyo's Akihabara district. Kazuya and Tomoe led Aaron and Nina to a French style café.
Nina watched in fascination as a Japanese girl clad in a French maid costume, saw them approach through the café's large window, get wildly excited and scurry out of view.
The large, ornate doors of the café opened just as Kazuya and Aaron approached them to reveal six French maid-costumed girls bowing in two rows of three each flanking the door in a sort of honor guard. A seventh maid stood at the end of the honor guard and bowed politely as well.
"Welcome home Master Zakhrov, Master Kazuya. We are at your service" she said demurely in a thick Japanese accent.
Recognition flashed in Nina's eyes. The girl was Shizuku Yamamoto! The center of the Japanese idol group 7-Star-Crossed, the idol group that Sirius Software contracted for voice talent.
"I never get this treatment when I come by myself" grumbled Kazuya.
"You come here too often Master Kazuya" giggled Shizuku as the girls straightened and guided them to an empty table.
Nina watched with a mixture of disbelief and jealousy as Shizuku tried to sit on Aaron's lap after she took his order of filet Mignon steak and mashed potatoes. A powerful urge to spring up and slap Shizuku rose within her, but Tomoe laid a restraining hand on her. "Pay Shizuku no mind. She does this to get scolded by Master Zakhrov." whispered Tomoe.
Sure enough, Aaron gently but firmly pushed her away from him. "That's enough Ms. Yamamoto. A maid cannot sit on her master's lap. Try that again, and I'll take you over my knee." he growled at her.
"Yes Master" said Shizuku contritely, blushing red and panting slightly. "Now go get my order" snapped Aaron, and Shizuku rushed off.
"You know she's going to try something even more daring next time Master Zakhrov." giggled Tomoe, as Nina wrestled with her own blush and tried to sort out her feelings.
A few months ago she would have been horrified and furious at Aaron's and Shizuku's behavior, but now she could see why Shizuku would want to experience something like that. However, a part of her was envious and worried about the implications that Aaron and Shizuku had something deeper.
"Well I wish you would reign her in a bit, since she's your kohai and your employee." grumbled Aaron.
"As co-owner of Star-Crossed Maid Café, I'm afraid I can't do that. It is house policy to ensure an authentic master-maid experience, and scolding an unruly maid is part of that." said Tomoe loftily.
Tomoe's remarks sank into Nina, and she stared at Tomoe in disbelief.
"You co-own this café?" asked Nina incredulously.
"Yes. I am also the former center of 7-Star-Crossed. Kazuya-sensei taught me how to run a business and agreed to invest in the café after I graduated, but once I started managing it, I realized I preferred working for Kazuya-sensei as his PA instead." said Tomoe blushing.
"Why?" asked Nina in disbelief, she couldn't fathom why Tomoe would prefer to work as a personal assistant instead of being an entrepreneur.
"Because I realized how brutal it can be, managing so many moving parts, being responsible for so many people's livelihood and realizing that there were people who would not respect boundaries the same way as Master Zakhrov and Kazuya-sensei do.
I lost a lot of money, had to deal with horrible fans and customers, and struggled to find good people to work for me and protect my waitresses before I begged Kazuya-sensei to buy me out and sell it to somebody more capable" said Tomoe quietly, pain filling her eyes.
"I was going through a very messy divorce at the time, or I would have offered Tomoe more support and guidance. However, thanks to Aaron, we pulled the café out of the red and Tomoe agreed to keep her ownership and work as my PA in exchange for me managing the café for her." said Kazuya, regret evident in his voice.
"Master Zakhrov came up with the idea of turning Star-Crossed Maid Café from an ordinary maid café into an idol-focused maid café.
He designed an extensive customer vetting system, which keeps the café exclusive and the girls safe from unruly customers and fans, and his friend Harry Smith rebuilt the café to keep the mobs out. All of us are extremely grateful to Master Zakhrov" said Tomoe quietly.
It was then, that Nina realized that while the café looked ordinary from the outside, there were subtle hints that there was more to it.
The walls and glass windows were thick enough to completely block the noise of the busy traffic outside.
The ornate doors were reinforced and automatic like the ones at Sirius Software, and couldn't be forced open from the outside.
Cameras were recessed into the lighting fixtures and the few scattered patrons seemed to be quiet and discreet.
This was no ordinary café. It was an exclusive club for wealthy individuals to patronize their favorite members of 7-Star-Crossed.
Hearing Tomoe's story, Nina felt a new-found appreciation for the pressures and responsibilities that were on Aaron as the founder and CEO of Sirius Software.
She suppressed a shudder as she realized that Aaron's extensive and intrusive employee contract and NDA, came not from a place of malice or arrogance, but from a desire to protect his company from bad actors.
She wondered what types of people he had encountered to cause him to be so paranoid and protective.