Marvel-ous Ninjutsu

00197. A day with Hela. 1/2

Shopping with Tao, Agatha and Hela turned into a crazy adventure that lasted more than twelve hours. They traveled to over thirty countries and hundreds of stores as Tao and Agatha picked out everything they wanted. It wouldn't have been that bad, but whenever a store didn't have the item in stock. They would find another store with it and portal over to get it. That also didn’t include the random antique stores they visited.

If Ezekiel didn't have a large amount of storage seals, it would have been even more trips to move everything around. At least it was only Tao and Agatha who were being ridiculous in what they wanted. Hela on the other hand only wanted two things, functionality and comfort. She still ended up picking things that matched and complemented each other, but it was nowhere near what Tao and Agatha did.

Once they finished shopping for furniture, Ezekiel had to excuse himself for a few minutes to go replace his clone that was with his family. Once he had a fresh clone in place, he met back up with everyone to eat and then unload their furniture for them. By the time he was done, he was mentally exhausted and ended up laying down on the massive couch in Hela's living room.

The custom media device he created for her was also in the living room and acted as her TV. Since the thing was already large enough and worked great, Hela saw no reason to upgrade or try and replace it. Hela was seated not far from Ezekiel as she watched a Gundam show and ate some snacks they picked up. While Ezekiel spaced out as he mindlessly watched the TV, Hela said something that made him tilt his head towards her as he asked, “What did you say?”

“I want to get some more Gundam models.”

Ezekiel sat up as he asked, “You wanna get some of the cooler, higher end models that have a lot more parts and take longer to build?”

Hela looked at Ezekiel as she said, “Maybe… I'd wanna check them out first.”

Ezekiel stood up from the couch as he said, “Alright, I know the perfect place to go.”

Ezekiel led Hela out of her penthouse and towards the portal hub before he took her to Japan. When they stepped out of the portal they were in an alleyway about a block away from Akihabara in Tokyo and it was just past noon. As they approached the main street Ezekiel cast a spell on himself and Hela so they could understand and speak the language before he smiled and said, “Welcome to the best place on Midgard to buy anything anime or manga related.”

Hela looked around with interest at all of the buildings and displays but didn’t seem that excited until they walked past a window display and she asked, “What are those?”

Ezekiel glanced at the display before he said, “Figurines. People like to collect them and display them in big glass display cases.”

Hela pointed at one as she asked, “Isn’t that Char?”

“Yeah… Do you want one?”

Hela glanced at the figurine for a few moments before she said, “Yes.”

Ezekiel smirked as he waved her towards the door and said, “You have some furniture but you didn’t really buy anything else. How about you buy whatever you want here, to help decorate your house with.”

Hela nodded slightly in agreement before she walked into the store and proceeded to buy over a hundred figurines and a bench of other nicknacks. Once they were done, they headed to the next store and while she didn’t buy as much stuff, it was still close to fifty items, fifteen of which were figurines. The trend basically repeated at each store, but it was mostly for figurines and became a little less at each store they visited. Ezekiel lost count after three hundred figurines and Hela hadn’t even bought a single Gundam model kit yet. But then again, most of the places they visited only had a small selection of models she didn’t care for.

They just finished shopping at another collectible shop and as they left it, Hela noticed a maid cafe next door and asked, “What’s this place?”

Ezekiel glanced at the name and the sign board next to the entrance before he said, “It’s a maid cafe. They tend to have different themes, but the main selling point is cute girls dressed up and serving people food and drinks. They tend to do little shows, dance, sing and other stuff at the same time.”

Ezekiel pointed at the sign as he said, “This one is a cosplay themed cafe, so all the people are dressed up as anime, manga or video game characters. It also says you can pay extra for a specific character cosplay if you like.”

“Can we check it out?” Hela asked with interest.

Ezekiel smiled as he said, “Sure.”

As soon as they walked inside a girl in a bunny girl outfit greeted them and said in Japanese, “Welcome master and princess! How can I serve you today?”

Hela glanced towards Ezekiel as she asked in English, “The people of Midgard still know who I am?”

Ezekiel couldn’t help himself as he burst out laughing for a moment before he said, “No, this is just how these places are. That's why she called me master.”

The girl in the bunny suit not fully understanding English said in broken English, “Sorry, I can not understand Engrish well.”

Ezekiel smiled towards the girl and said in perfect Japanese, “It’s okay, my friend was only asking me a question. We can both speak Japanese just fine.”

Hela nodded as she said also in perfect Japanese, “It’s my first time visiting a place like this.”

“Oh, it’s your first time? We are honored to have you as a guest.” The girl said with a slight bow before he said, “Let me show you what we offer, princess.”

The girl stepped out from behind the podium she was at and pointed to the large menu on the wall as she said, “Our maid cafe is different from most places as we offer a very customizable experience for our guests. First you will pick your room theme. Most people pick a theme that will match the cosplay their attendants will be in, but it's not a set rule or anything.”

The girl pointed to another list and said, “After the room comes how many maids you want and the type of cosplay they will be in for your visit.”

As she highlighted the cosplay list she said, “Not every cosplay is available each day and only the ones posted here in green are available today.”

“Once all of that is completed, you can then customize your visit depending on your preferences. I personally recommend the karaoke package, it's one of our best sellers.” The girl said as she pointed to the package and price.

Ezekiel glanced over the menu before he asked, “What do you want to do?”

Hela pointed to the room theme which made Ezekiel raise an eyebrow but said nothing as she picked a couple of cosplay that matched the theme of the room. Afterwards she looked at the list of packages before she finally said, “The karaoke one sounds fine to me.”

“Do you know what karaoke is?”

Hela nodded as she said with confidence, “Of course I do.”

Ezekiel smiled before he turned to the hostess and said, “I think that should do it then.”

The girl smiled in return before she pointed towards a bench and said, “Please wait there and I will notify your attendants so they can prepare.”

After they sat down on the bench Ezekiel said, “So that was an interesting theme choice.”

Hela glanced towards Ezekiel as she said, “It sounded fun.”

“Just because magic was in the name, doesn't mean they will use magic to entertain us… In case that was what you were thinking.” Ezekiel said before he noticed Hela's eyes widened for a moment.

Ezekiel smirked as he said, “I thought as much… Whatever, this will still be fun.”

About five minutes later two girls dressed up in colorful costumes holding light up wands approached them. Once they were close they both did a quick little dance number before they posed together and said in sync, “We're happy to meet you both and can't wait to have a magical time together.”

The girl in the cute pink colored sailor dress stood up straight and waved her wand towards the way she came as she said, “Come along master and princess, your adventure awaits!”

The girl in the blue dress happily nodded along as she added, “We have everything specially prepared for your enjoyment.”

Ezekiel glanced at Hela who looked slightly disappointed before he stood up and said, “Come along princess, let's go have some fun.”

The theme Hela picked was called magical girl wonderland and the room itself didn't disappoint. It was colorful and filled with posters and wall scrolls depicting different magical girls. There were a few couches placed next to each other in the corner farthest from the door with a coffee table that could be shared in between them.

Against the wall near the door was a large TV that displayed a music selection list. While the highlight of the room was a small foot tall stage shaped like a starburst. It was about six feet in diameter and had LED lights installed into and around it that were currently off.

Hela wasn't that impressed with what she found in the room, but her years of training paid off as she didn't show it on her face. After Hela and Ezekiel were seated and a drink order was placed the girl in the pink costume took to the stage and struck a pose as she asked, “Are you ready to have a good time?”

“Yes!” Ezekiel said before he nudged Hela with his shoulder and she said flatly, “Yes.”

The girl pouted cutely as she struck a pose and said, “Come on, this is supposed to be a magical party! Show some enthusiasm and let's have some fun, princess!”

Ezekiel nodded in agreement before the girl struck another pose and said, “Since master and princess wished for a karaoke party, I'll get the stage warmed up with the first song!”

The girl scrolled through the song list until she found the opening theme to Revolutionary Girl Utena and Rondo-Revolution was selected. She quickly pressed some buttons on the microphone in her hands and the lights dimmed as the LEDs on and around the stage lit up. As the song started, the girl broke into dance as she sang along and the opening for the anime played along on the TV with the words to the song being displayed.

Ezekiel enjoyed the show and while Hela didn't really react, she didn't complain either. After the song finished,  the other girl came back with drinks and they went into a whole routine with how they were served and doing a ‘moe moe’ beam to make them taste better. While Hela didn't really participate, she seemed to enjoy the show a little bit. After the drinks the second maid picked a song and did her own dance routine as she sang before she handed the microphone to Ezekiel and said, “Please choose a song master.”

Ezekiel took the microphone and scrolled through the list till he found what he wanted. After he stepped onto the stage he hit play and Azumanga Daioh opening theme Soramimi Cake started to play. Ezekiel’s voice wasn’t the best and he didn't try to make it better as he sang along to the song and danced. Part way through the song the two hostess joined in dancing off to the side and singing off key like Ezekiel was.

Once the song finished Ezekiel glanced towards Hela and saw a real smile on her face for the first time since they entered the maid cafe. Ezekiel stepped off the stage and handed the microphone to Hela as he said, “Now it's your turn, princess.”

The smile on Hela's face froze as she looked from Ezekiel to the microphone and back a couple of times. Ezekiel started to smirk as he said, “Don’t be afraid now, you were the one who chose karaoke.”

Hela's eyes narrowed as she snatched the microphone from Ezekiel’s hand and said, “I am many things, but I will never be a coward.”

Ezekiel relaxed onto the couch as Hela selected her song before she got on stage and began to sing along as Colors by Flow played. She only sang at first but the longer the song went the more she got into it and even started to dance a little. Once the song ended Ezekiel and the maids all clapped for Hela before Ezekiel stood up and said, “My turn!”