These character aren't mine and belong to Atlus.

EDIT: This chapter has been edited since of 10/2/2018. Thanks again to Chessicfayth for all their help.


Chapter 3

Akira wasn't really sure what he was expecting when he requested his teacher. In a way that was partly the reason he had decided to request her the night after their talk. Would she arrive playing her "Becky" act and do some house chores, or would she arrive with an utterly confused look as she tried to get him to explain himself? Either way it would be quite entertaining.

What he wasn't expecting was having his teacher asleep in his bed.

It started that evening. Dr. Takemi had done a number on his body to make sure she could finish the medicine for Miwa-chan, and it left him too drained to go out that night. As he walked into Leblanc Sojiro gave him a look. "You look dead kid."

Akira could just give a tired smile as he scratched his head. "I got asked to be on clean up duty today after class. Had to do a lot of heavy lifting, so I'm a bit winded."

Sojiro just shook his head. "Just as long as you're not getting into trouble. But don't overdo it or you'll end up hurting yourself. If you get injured, it will make it a real pain to have you working your shift."

"Sure thing Boss." Akira was going to head upstairs when Sojiro stopped him.

"One more thing. The shop has been empty, so I'm closing early. There is some leftover curry and I rather not throw it out, so you better finish it. Hate to see good food go to waste."

Akira could only smile as as he gave Sojiro a nod.

Since his arrival at Leblanc, he had disliked the way Sojiro always talked about him. Always acting like Akira was some huge burden that he was forced to take care of, even though he was the one that decided to take him in. As time went on though, he slowly came to realize that while Sojiro's words tended to be harsh, they seemed to be more out of concern than dislike. He figured that this was all just his attempt to show some "tough love".

As Akira finished up his dinner, Morgana stared at him with a bit of a scowl. "Are we really going to just stay here and not do anything tonight? Can't we at least make some thieves' tools?"

Akira took the plate to the sink and proceeded to clean it and the pot."Honestly, after what Takemi put me through today I rather not deal with that kind of precise work." Once he was done he dried his hands with the apron as he turned to Morgana, leaning against the sink. "You're free to go out if you like. But I need some R&R from time to time."

Morgana just narrowed his eyes, but he took the hint. "Fine, I'll leave you to whatever you're up to." As he went upstairs and went out the window.

Once Morgana left, Akira went to the yellow public phone at Leblanc. Calling Victoria's Housekeeping once more he was greeted with the receptionist. After requesting for Becky he was redirected with a ring tone.

"This is Becky!"

"I'm guessing you're available for a request then?" He asked, fully knowing the answer to his questions.

For a while the phone was quiet at the other end, he could easily imagine her silent frustration with the fact that he was requesting her. Eventually Sadayo responded his question. "The fee will be the same as last time, you okay with that?"

"I'm calling aren't I?" Akira responded confidently.

"Very well, I'll be there shortly."

"The door will be unlocked, feel free to come in."


As Sadayo entered Leblanc she was treated to the sight of a studious Akira finishing up some homework assignments on one of the tables. Once he took notice of her arrival, he moved his stuff to the side and stood up.

Sadayo proceeded to give a curtsy. "Greetings! Becky is ready to do her best to brighten up Master's dreary day!" Sadayo wished she could curl up and hide in a cave. She never intended any of her students to see her behaving like this. The Becky personality that she had previously used to get through her night job now just caused her nothing but embarrassment, but she had to play the part. The last time he had called was simply to continue the discussion they had started at school, but today was the first time he requested her as a customer. "What do you wish for me to do master?

"My room is a bit dirty, so if you like we can start with that." Akira asked as he pointed upwards.

"Of course!"...it will involve that dusty attic. "Leave it to me, Master!" Sadayo responded with a forced smile. She noticed though that Akira was picking up his school work. "Going somewhere?

"Boss has me responsible for the shop once he heads out, so I'll be in the same room while you work" he replied as he started heading up. "I'll be just be doing some school work, so you don't have to worry. I don't plan on staring."

Sadayo was a bit surprised at his statement, though she had to admit a bit relieved. If there was something she didn't enjoy about her work it was the looks some of her 'masters' would give her from time to time. While things never went to the point where she felt in any sort of danger, there were times where she felt ashamed as she did her work. I guess even with his mischievous nature, he can still be quite polite and respectful. She giggled to herself as she followed. "Of course, master."

Leading her up the stairs, Akira tried to figure out why he added that last statement. What the hell was up with me saying that? I mean, I meant what I said, but it made it sound like it was something I had considered doing.…

He wasn't sure what had caused him to add that clarification. Was it so that she wouldn't worry and could be a bit more relaxed? Was it so that she didn't misunderstand his intentions and get the wrong impression? Either way it was probably best not to think too much about it.

As they reached the room Akira proceeded to put his stuff by the workbench and pointed to the broom by the house plant. "The broom is right over there, if you need anything else feel free to ask."

"Very well!" She proceeded grab the broom as he turned to Akira. "I love cleaning dusty rooms like these, they give me a sense of accomplishment. If master wishes it, I'll happily be covered in dust."

Akira was trying hard to keep from laughing at her acting, but simply smiled. "No need to go that far, I just needed some help with the cleaning while I finished these assignments."

"You're so kind Master. Your room might be dirty, but your heart is so clean. Anyway I should get started." With that Sadayo began sweeping the floors.

Akira proceeded to sit down and continue where he had left off. Some time passed and the only noises one could hear where the sweep of the broom, and the scribbling of the pencil. As he continued to work Akira contemplated Sadayo's act. While he had seen parts of it when he first saw her dressed as a maid, this was the first time he saw it fully play out. While it was amusing seeing his usually jaded teacher act so cheerfully, he did wonder why she did so.

He placed the pencil down as he turned toward the still sweeping Sadayo. "Hey… Ms. Kawaka-"

"That's no good master! I'm Becky, Becky! You shouldn't forget your maids name." She hastily corrected him, trying to distance herself from the person she was during the day.

"Becky then… Mind if I ask you something?"

"That depends Master. What is it you're wanting to know?"

"Why the act…? I can understand the name, you don't want people to find out about your night job so you use an alias." Akira was reminded of Morgana talking about the use of code names while in the Metaverse and figure it was a similar situation. "But why the act, the different personality?"

Sadayo flinched at the unexpected question. She took a step back, but quickly acted like nothing had changed. "W-what do you mean Master?"

Akira exhaled in frustration and continued. "I'm just curious, that's all. We're helping each other out after all, so I would like to know a bit more?"

Sadayo bit her lower lip as she tightly gripped the broom, eventually loosening a bit as he looked at Akira. "Is it okay if sit down?"

Akira nodded as she went and sat down on his bed, about the only choice considering the limited amount of seating options. It was probably easier than yelling across the room from his makeshift couch.

"You remember how I don't get requested often?"

Akira nodded once more, "Yeah, it's why you asked me to request you."

"I always got complaints. Complaints about how I'm not young enough for their liking, or that I don't smile enough, or my mood is too dreary, or I have no motivation. I was losing customers and getting requested less and less. I was already calling myself Becky so my real name wouldn't come up, so I figured why not play it off as a different person?"

Sadayo quickly changed attitudes, Plastering a big smile on her face, as began to act lot more cheerful and happy than she honestly felt. "As Becky, I'll serve my Master with a youthful vigor and a smile. I'm kind of used to it by this point, I had to after all. I mean, if I hadn't, I would have-"

Sadayo quickly catches herself as she realized she almost said too much. She shook her head as her body slumped forward slightly, using the broom for support. "Either way, I have to keep up the image of a cheerful maid so that I can continue working."

Akira thought to himself as he listened to her explanation, noting that she had skirted some topics, but decided not to push the subject. There was one thing he was sure of though.

"That may be, but don't you think it's kind of unnecessary while you're here? We already know each other, and no amount of acting is going to make me forget our previous discussions."

Sadayo avoided eye contact from Akira. "That's true, but..."

"Think of it as an addition to our deal, when I request you you don't have to force yourself to act that way, you can relax a bit."

Sadayo contemplated his offer. She disliked having having to pretend to be Becky, but it felt like she was relying a bit much on her student. In the end though, the idea of her not straining herself, having to pretend to be someone she isn't was just too tempting to ignore. "Very well, I'll agree to your terms."

Akira smiled at her response, returning to his work. "Glad to hear it. Anyway, now that it's settled, I'll-" Before he finished what he was saying he heard the a thud of what seemed to be the sound of the broom hitting the floor. He quickly turned back around to see Sadayo lying down, her head down near the foot of the bed, surprisingly close to him. Dumbfounded, it took several moments before he reacted. Turning around in his chair, resting his arms on the chair's back, now completely facing his supine teacher. "When I said for you to relax, this isn't what I had in mind."

Sadayo just lay there, running her hand over her face as she groaned. The moment that it had sunk in that she didn't have to feign interest or keep up appearances, she let her guard almost completely down. She felt much more relaxed, but in doing so permitted all the fatigue that had been building up all day to overwhelm her, her body feeling the weight as it gave in.

"Having to act that way leaves me drained. Not to mention I've been working all day. I'm not allowed to work over-time during the weekday, so I have to rush to my part-time job right after school ends." She raised her hand in the air as she counted up. "Just today I had to clean bathtubs and walk the neighborhood dogs before I came here. I have two more jobs after this, and I don't even get much rest during my off days, since I have to work on preparing quizzes and homework assignments." She finalized as her hand slumped down by the side of the bed.

Akira just sat there, surprised by the long list of jobs she was doing."That's... a surprising amount of work you have there. I have a couple of part time jobs that I do, but not one after the other."

"By the way, you have a cat?" She had turned her head up to Akira.

"Yeah…" He responded as he looked at the open window. "He tends to wander during the night. Boss lets me keep him in hopes that it will motivate me to stay in good behavior. Why do you ask?"

"It smells a bit like cat in here. I can recognize it since I tend to feed some of the strays by my apartment…" Sadayo then realized as they both looked at each other that Akira's focused gaze seemed to have drifted from his school work to her. "Hey, I know I asked you to request me, but I didn't actually expect you to do so." As she gave Akira a glare "You weren't thinking of doing anything weird with me, were you?"

Akira raised his hands in surrender, moving back a bit. "Nothing of the sort. You mentioned needing more requests so I figured I'd help."

Her eyes narrowed, but she let out a sigh, deciding she didn't have the energy to press the subject. "As long as you understand. I may be in a maid outfit but I'm still your teacher, and I try not to get too involved with my students, so..." She was interrupted as a yawn escaped her lips, the lack of sleep was finally getting to her as she felt her eyelids become heavy. "Sorry. I'm just so tired… but don't have much time for rest..." her words went silent as she feel asleep.

"W-wait a minute, are you serious?" Before Akira could even finish his protest, he was left with a sleeping maid on his bed. He slumped over on his desk, head resting on his arms as he contemplated the odd scenario that he had found himself in. How would Mishima and Ryuji react if they saw such a scene? "Well what am I supposed to do now?"

Lifting his head from his arms, Akira glanced at his teacher. He thought back to what she mentioned about the other customers not finding her appealing, and he just didn't see it. While they might have had a point about her temperament, it was a small one. As for the rest, he took another look. Personally, he found her very attractive. While very minor she had some amount of makeup applied, probably to hide the dark rings around her eyes. Even while she slept, she didn't seem peaceful, but exhausted. He had planned on immediately waking her up, but after seeing her like this…

He looked at the window as the cold night air blew against the wind chimes. "It's probably going to be a bit chilly tonight..." He stood up from his chair, gathered his blanket and proceeded to place it over Sadayo before heading downstairs.


Some time had passed when Morgana arrived back to Leblanc via the upstairs window, and was greeted with the scene of a sleeping Sadayo in Akira's bed. "Ms. Kawakami? What is she-", he stops mid-sentence as he starts picking up the scent of coffee brewing from downstairs. Heading downstairs he runs into Akira, apron in place as he finishes a cup. Morgana leaped onto one of the chairs by the counter, where he placed his front paws, and looked up at Akira. "What is going on here?! Why is Ms. Kawaka-"

"Oh, you're back." Akira interrupted his feline friend. "Can you do me a favor and wake her up?"

"Why do 'I' have to do that?" Morgana responded, annoyed that Akira seemed to be dodging his questions.

"I'm still finishing up here, and we can't go around wasting Boss's supplies can we?" Akira responded as he continued to focus on his brewing, not paying much attention to the talking cat.

Morgana wanted to argue, but for now gave up. "Fine, but you owe me an explanation!" Quickly climbing the stairs again, he hopped on the bed he began calling out out to her, even though he knew she wouldn't understand. "Ms. Kawakami! Wake Up!"

After a few repetitions, Sadayo's eyes finally open, slowly at first. "Wha… what time is-" but as soon as her eyes focused and realized where she was, stood up rapidly "I'M SORRY!" She yelled, startled, and expecting to find an annoyed Akira. Instead she was greeted by an equally startled cat. "Oh… hey little guy, sorry about that. You wouldn't be Kurusu-kun's cat would you?" She reached out her hand towards him, but stopped as she took notice of the blanket over her. "When did this..." She was once more distracted as the bitter scent had finally registered with her nose.

She looked around realizing that besides her and her new furry companion, there was no one else up here. "Where did he go? Hey do you know where your owner is?" Sadayo asked, not really expecting an answer.

Morgana signaled behind him "He's downstairs" as he ran off.

Sadayo shook her head at Morgana's response. I must still be tired, for a moment it looked like the cat just signaled me to follow it. With a stretch, Sadayo got up and went downstairs, finding an apron-wearing Akira pouring a steaming cup. She gave him a confused look and moved forward, noticing how the cat sat on a chair nearby. "What are you doing?"

"Getting some coffee ready for you," Akira replied as he finished pouring the cup. "I figured you needed a pick me up."

Sadayo just stood by their giving him a suspicious look. "What are you plotting…?"

"Not plots, I promise. Though if you take too long it will go cold." Akira responded as he started cleaning up the equipment.

With a sigh, Sadayo decided to take him on his offer. As she sat down she picked up one of the two cups, it's aroma was already helping her wake up. Taking a sip, she almost smiled when a warm feeling began filling her body. And maybe it was the beans he had used, the atmosphere of the shop, or perhaps it was the method used, but it seemed to calm her mind as well. "This is quite good…." she responded with a soft smile, warmth feeling her cheeks.

Akira gave a small sigh. "Not good enough for the Boss. I've yet to get anything but a backhanded compliment from him." He turned to face Sadayo, a bit of a smile showing. "Still, I'm happy you enjoyed it."

"I'm going to guess that by Boss you mean Sakura-san. Are things between the two of you okay?"

Akira joined her, picking up the other cup. "I've started helping out here from time to time. He works me hard, but he's been teaching me. It's not much, but I mean he trusts me with the shop now… So I guess that's something."

"That's good" Sadayo responded she took another sip. While she had no reason to suspect Sojiro of anything abusive, she had been worried about how the two were handling each other after finding out that Akira didn't, in fact, live at Sojiro's house, but at a storage attic in his shop. As she continued to enjoy her cup she was reminded of what had happened to her just a while ago. She looked at the person in front of her, enjoying his cup, and just couldn't understand what made him tick. "You didn't do anything while I was sleep did you?"

Akira just sighed at her accusatory tone, not phased by it. "Nope. Once I noticed you were out cold, I put the blanket over you and went to work on making the coffee."

"So that was you. Why though? Why did you let me sleep?" Sadayo was getting a bit frustrated at how easy he seemed to be taking things.

"Well I guess because you looked exhausted?" He seemed confused by her confusion over the subject. "And you did say you had more jobs after this one, so I figured you could use the rest."

Sadayo raised an eyebrow at her student's response. "You're a strange kid, you know that?" She proceeded to finish her cup, much more awake than she was a few minutes ago. "Oh, also you mentioned you work a few jobs. If you know any that pays well, let me know, okay? I mean, you must be making some decent money if you're able to request me twice in a row without flinching."

"You're looking for even more jobs?" Akira had decided not to pry too much into her busy schedule, but the fact that even with how exhausted she was, she was still in search for more work? It seemed a bit much. "I might be prying a bit, but... why are you in need of so much money? Is a teacher's salary really that bad?

"Umm, no. It's not amazing, but… the thing is..." She hesitated as she toyed with the cup in front of her, deliberately looking away Akira. "I have a sick sister… Her medical bills are expensive so I do extra work to pay them."

"I'm sorry to hear that." It was Akira's turn to raise a brow as he looked at his teacher suspiciously. "Can you tell me about her condition? I know a doctor I can ask about it. I might be able to get her to help out with the treatment."

Sadayo backed away, hands waving in front of her. She wasn't expecting him to know a doctor, or to prod like he had. "N-no it's fine, I-I'm not good on the details, but the doctors working on her are specialists, s-so I'm sure it's way past the point for general doctor." Sadayo could not even look at her student as her story became all the more elaborate.

That confirms it, she's lying. Akira, always curious, wanted to poke a bit more. What could she be hiding? Still, he felt doing so at the moment would only cause her to distance herself. If he really wanted to find out, he'd have to let it go for now. He shook his head as he placed his hands in his pocket. "I see… well if that's so I'll request you some more. Will that help?"

"W-what? Are you sure?" Sadayo eyes widened at his offer.

"Sure." Akira responded with a smile on his face. If he wanted to find out the truth (and he really did), he would have to continue talking to her. And considering how things were at school, this was the easiest way to do so. "If it helps with your sister's treatment, I'm happy to help out."

"Sure, that would be a big help." Sadayo was smiling excitedly at his offer, but it suddenly caused her stomach to turn as she fully realized what she was asking of him. She quickly turned away as she grabbed hold of both her arms. "No wait… I shouldn't. If I owe money to a student, it would be the worst..."

Am I really so desperate that I'm trying to get him to request me with sob story like that? What is wrong with me!? Things are going too far, I need to end this. Her hands were gripping tightly as she looked at the Akira. "I-I think we should stop this. Just because you have the money, doesn't mean you should waste it on services like this." She retorted gesturing to herself. "Besides, I'm your teacher. If we were to get any more involved, things could get complicated.

"I just want to help." Akira messed with his hair in frustration. The way she was talking to him now was reminding him of his first day at Shujin. "Why do I feel like I'm getting scolded..."

"I know I need the money, so I appreciate you offering to request me… But you should think more carefully about things before you throw away money like that."

"Maybe so, but in the end it's my choice on how I wish to spend my money isn't it?" He smirked now, deciding to poke at her a little. "If I'm old enough to be tried as a criminal, I think it's only fair I be permitted my own independence in choosing how I do things." Akira responded with a mocking tone,

Sadayo's hair flared up a bit to her student's response, her frustration getting the best of her as she slammed her hands on the counter. "You're a stupidly stubborn kid you know that!? I'm saying this for your own good!"

"The same could be said about you! What's wrong with me wanting to help?!" Akira returned in kind.

Both of them stared at one another for a while, waiting to see who gave in first. Unfortunately for Sadayo, time was not on her side. She groaned in frustration as she stepped away from the counter, pinching the bridge of her nose before doing a quick swat at the air with her hand. "You know what? Fine!" She looked at the foolish student in front of her, baffled by his stubbornness. "You've already been warned, the rest is your own responsibility. It's not my problem if you want to waste your money." She took out her phone "Here is my contact information. I'll let you know when I'm available for request, IF you can afford it that is." She retorted with a smug look, daring him to follow through.

Thinking of his many trips to the airsoft shop, Akira simply shrugged his shoulders with a smug look of his own and proceeded to exchange their contact information. "You don't need to worry about me, I'm sure I can manage."

"I should get going, Master." Rolling her eyes, Sadayo tried to go back into the Becky act, but she was still upset. As she turned to the door...

"Ms. Kawakami, wait!" he called from the counter.

Sadayo turned quickly "What did I say about-"

"Get home safely... okay?" His expression had softened some. He was still upset, but he seemed to have calmed himself enough to give a show of concern.

His response took the wind out of her frustration, leaving her unsure on how to react. "Oh, ummm… yeah, thanks... But don't forget, it's Becky." Sadayo open that door, the bell ringing as she waved goodbye. "Goodnight, Master..."

Akira gave a small chuckle as he returned her wave. "Goodnight, Becky..."

And with the closing of the door, she was gone. Akira proceeded to take both cups and start washing them, but as he rinsed them the relative silence got interrupted by a forgotten spectator.

"Care to explain what all of that was?"

Morgana had leaped up one of the shelves as he looked at Akira sharp yellow eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"Well for starters, the fact that you requested your teacher again? I know you requested her yesterday so you could continue your discussion, but what was your reason this time."

Akira finished with clean up as he took the apron and went up stairs.

"Hey, don't ignore me!" Morgana followed him upstairs, catching up to him on the table by the stairs.

"I'm not ignoring you." Akira sat down, leaning forward as he placed his face by his entwined hands. "She seemed in need of money, and I wanted to hear her reason for it... Call it a bit of curiosity."

"Funny thing about cats and curiosity." Morgana snide. "Doing so just for curiosity seems way too risky to be worth it." Morgana glared at Akira as he interrogated him. "Besides, what I saw tonight seemed like way more than just curiosity. I found her asleep in your bed. What kind of service is that? Then there was that squabble you two just had. I've never seen you so agitated by something so minor."

"It's nothing like that!" Akira stood up, before averting his eyes from the probing feline. "You should've seen how exhausted she was! She's been working non-stop today, and she's heading to another job as we speak. I'm going to guess that it's a daily occurrence for her, given how exhausted she always looks. I just... felt like she could use a rest." He sat down once again, as he leaned back looking upwards to the ceiling. "As for us arguing there, I…. I don't know, it just got to me." Akira placed his hand over his face in frustration. "I guess I got defensive when she tried pulling the her being my teacher card when saying that I shouldn't request her. I mean it's not like she'd do anything to help me as my teacher."

Morgana looked at Akira, and started to snicker. "Oh really? Looked to me more like you've taken a liking to her, and got annoyed at the prospect that you wouldn't be able to call her up anymore."

Akira lifted his hand as he looked down to the smiling cat. "What the hell are you talking about? I just wanted to offer some help, and I'm curious about why she felt like lying about her reasoning for needing the money."

"Ever the softie… and I'm sure being able to see her in a maid outfit doesn't hurt things either."

Akira kicked under the table, causing the cat to jump and flee elsewhere though still snickering.

"Hey, I'm keeping this a secret from the rest of the group. That doesn't mean I won't mess with you."

"Whatever, I'm going to bed." He dropped on the bed in frustration, pulling the pillow over his face.

"Good night, Joker." Morgana had a feeling that it was probably not the best idea to go to the bed with Akira's mood and so went to the bench for the moment. "May you dream of pig-tailed maids." Morgana couldn't help but throw one last jab and was rewarded with a pillow thrown his way.

Akira just lay there for a moment, but looking at the phone's messaging app, he couldn't help but stare at its new addition. He put it away and attempted to sleep, but as the minutes went by, his frustration over the way he acted was getting to him. Morgana was right that he reacted way more aggressively than he should have, and was making it hard to sleep. He proceeded to grab his phone and leave a message.

[A]: Hey, Becky, it's me. I just want to say that I'm sorry about what happened there.

[A]: I still meant what I said, I don't mind requesting you some more if it will help you.

[A]: But even so, I probably shouldn't have taken it so personally when you told me not to.

[A]: I also meant it when I said that you didn't have to pretend to be someone else.

[A]: I guess that means that if you truly wish to stop coming, then it's your choice…

[A]: Just like it is my choice to continue to offer my help.

[A]: So I'll leave it up to you, to let me know when you're free.

[A]: I'll request you when I can.


Sadayo groaned when she arrived home after finishing the remainder of her jobs for the night. "What's with me tonight…. I need a drink..." She went to her fridge to grab a can of beer, then slumped down on her couch as she let her hair down.

She'd definitely had a hard time focusing on her last two jobs tonight. She kept thinking back to her time with Akira. "I can't believe I fell asleep on my student's bed, WHAT is wrong with me!?" She took a big swig from her can before slamming it on the a small table near by in frustration. "How could I be so dumb, especially after what had happened last time? That's how rumors start. I even gave him my contact info! The whole point of having him use a public phones was to avoid any connection." She bit the tip of her thumb in frustration. "It's all his fault anyway. I wouldn't have fallen asleep if he hadn't told me to relax. Why would he say that? What was he scheming? And that frustrating attitude! Acting like requesting me to be his made over and over was no big deal. He was being so stubborn, and I wanted to prove him wrong… Was he messing with me?"

As she continued to throw accusations, she heard her phone ping. Picking it up, she saw that Akira had messaged her several times. "What does he want now...?" As she read through them though, she could feel her anger slowly subside. She took a deep breath and tapped her head with her phone. "Seriously… What is wrong with me? Here I am throwing accusations at him, and all the while he went and apologized to me. Who's the adult here?" She placed down the drink as she leaned forward, resting her head on the palm of her hand. "Now that I think back… I did fall asleep, but not only didn't he do anything to me during that time, he didn't complain, and instead offered his blanket and some coffee. He's even willing to request me after doing all of that, without me having to pretend to be someone else." She remembered back to what he said to her during their argument.

"The same could be said about you! Why is it so wrong for me to want to help?!"

Thinking back to it now, she couldn't help but chuckle. "Wanting to help… Does someone like you really have the luxury of being kind? You're a much more stubborn person than me… I don't have that kind of resolve." A weak, sad smile slowly started forming. "I think I'll give him the benefit of the doubt, just this once..." As she proceeded to respond to his message.

[S]: It's fine, you're a high school student after all, you're bound to get emotional.

[S]: You're lucky to have such an understanding and forgiving maid.

[S]: Oh, I kind of left in a rush, so I forgot to say…

[S]: Thank you for the coffee, Master.


This chapter took much longer than I had anticipated it to. Here's hoping it was worth the wait.

As a note, I know that Sadayo got a call from the Takases by this exchange, I didn't forget about it. I just wanted to focus more on the two of them getting more used to each other's company, with mixed results.