Dear Ren Amamiya,
On behalf of the student council, I am writing to update you of the current progress surrounding your proposal regarding the adequacy of our current club infrastructure. This is an official letter from the Student Council committee and while intended for your eyes only, it is at your discretion as to whom you provide its contents to.
We have thoroughly reviewed the feasibility of your proposal and after taking into account the current climate Shujin Academy faces, it is my pleasure to inform you that we have deemed your proposal a viable and necessary means of improving the student experience within Shujin Academy. This is the first step towards a potentially lasting impact upon your school and the chance to influence the students within her walls to aspire to her goals. Please head to the student council office at the end of the day.
Given the overwhelming support from your peers, we will bring the proposal forward to the next student staff meeting and place it before the board of directors who will then decide whether to adopt this proposal. There is no need for you to do anything for now and we will continue to keep you informed. Should any further material be required, a member of the team will request this of you as soon as possible.
We will strive to prove that we dedicate ourselves to making the student experience within Shujin Academy as joyful as it is educational while also ensuring that the students voices are heard with open ears.
Thank you for finding it in your heart to trust in us again.
Yours sincerely,
Barika Onodera, Member of the Student Council Committee
This is the result of that meeting? Accepted? Nonsense. They couldn't have cared less. I haven't even kicked off anything to flip the result my way but the more important aspect: the peers. What peers? No one knew of my plans and even Arisu and Kenta can't grasp hands on their information that quickly…
"Could have just called." I muttered, choosing not to think about it further.
"You should be happy for something like this...now there's no doubt to be had over whether you have a place here." Kawakami wanted to catch up with me after the questioning to see how I was as we entered the second half of this busy week. It seemed her concerns were elsewhere. You know the deal.
"This meeting…how did it actually go?"
"Horribly."
"It couldn't have been so horrible if the proposal's to be pushed to the board." I decided to do the cooking today and changed up our dish to a pie variant instead.
"Here we are. A curry pie…" As Kawakami inspected the dish I brought to her and opened up the puff pastry to see the curry contents inside, she had a case of suspicion.
"Have you cooked a pie before?"
"Yes."
"One with curry?"
"No." Her face turned dour at that response. Considering she's had my dishes before, why the hell is it a problem now?
"Erm…I'm sorry I don't have the confidence in you, master." I took a bite of my own pie to ease her worries a little and frankly, there was no need to be so squirmish. I needed to mince the curry a bit more and find that consistency but it tasted pretty damn good.
"Well…here goes." As she took a bite of the pie, her eyes suddenly lit up. She was seemingly in love with the dish and frankly, she couldn't care less of the gravy thickness.
"This tastes awesome!"
"Maybe don't be so doubtful next time." I joked. She came with a serious response instead:
"You really can make it as a chef, Amamiya-kun." Oh jeez…why such a warm smile?
"You think so?" Eh...dunno whether I can handle the stress of that sort of work or not. Sojiro's too extreme an example but who else can I refer to?
"I genuinely do. Do you know what sort of dishes you'd like to make?" She seemed to care a bit more about my future than I would have expected. Seeing as I didn't really care for this topic, her exasperation led to another topic brought up.
"Did you ever use your old school's council?"
"Not really. While we're on the topic of the past, I'd like to find out more about that family tonight."
"I can't delay this any further? Just joking…I'll explain." After she'd said this, there was a prolonged silence that went around the room seeing as I didn't know what else to do. In came my tabby, Mona, who decided to lob his usual degenerate talk my way. He'd hopped down to the main floor and played dumb in front of Kawakami.
"You just aren't gonna quit on this one, are you?"
"Who is this? The family cat?"
"Morgana. He's quite friendly." She stroked him for quite some time and a genuine grin seeped out from the corners of her mouth. He was enjoying this too…and now I have another sensitive spot I can prod around. Excellent. She got down to his history and once she was done, it was clear just how much this guy shaped her journey as a teacher.
"A real shining example of our nation's finest. Except it's too damn much." Taiki Takase in my opinion took on a lot for little reward during his time at Shujin. Moving to Kosei University, this was a surprise to none given his grades. At least, that's what the people who only cared for his work output knew.
"I don't understand why you feel so guilty - he was no longer a student by the time he'd sadly perished."
"That folder of yours...of course it wouldn't have it stored."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"He has a kid." Kawakami lamented.
"Hold on…are you saying he was-"
"Yes. It was during my second year of teaching and Takase-kun…he'd found that special someone during his time at Shujin…no, maybe it's accurate to say he'd fallen way longer. On this one particular day, someone failed to spot the red flags. He was battling with his inner turmoil and after someone pulled him aside to talk about it, someone found out the reason why. Before the two did the deed, he racked his head over whether he should've waited or not, fearing he would end up losing that girl some point along the line. And a bright, green idiot gave him the most illogical, inane and detrimental advice ever: to follow his heart."
"Some idiot?"
"You're looking at that same idiot right now." So because Kawakami wanted him to be happy, he goes and makes a girl a teen mom becoming a teen dad in the process, wants to still work and go to school and doesn't think to slow down one bit?
"This isn't your fault. Surely he wasn't so stupid that he couldn't consider using protection. Where was the pressure? Full time study, part time work and parenting… how could he not see how stretched thin he was? Did he not have the ability to say no or something? Was he just so starved to have things going on in his life?" I barked, mostly to myself. I had no personal understanding of his circumstances, how he perceived the world around him and if that was the way he wanted to live his life until the end, that's just how it was.
"...Your cut-throat outlook would have been one that may have kept him around." Kawakami commented, still stroking Mona.
"You weren't as experienced as you are now. Plus, you gave him the advice you believed in. What's so bad about that?"
"...I ran into him again. He was nothing like the hearty young man everyone knew. Sitting right at death's door, he still had a reassuring smile and an overly optimistic viewpoint. I could've-"
"Overstepped your bounds? You pretty much did everything you could've within your limits. Don't forget his family knew of his deterioration and still let things go by. Stop making the payments." I could fill the rest out from here. That family took advantage of her grief and conned their way into money as a result of it, gradually piecing more things they could use against her.
"The investigation might be over for the students but we still have the Ministry of Education to answer to. Expect there to be more interruptions throughout the year." Oh. That's how it worked? I understood now why it wouldn't be such a smart idea to stop.
"..."
"It says a lot that I don't care whether you continue to hire maids but I can't have you worry over my problems to then act on my behalf. I will face them in my own time." As she stated her intention, the door opened to Leblanc as an unanticipated arrival was bound to throw the evening into disarray.
"Evening, Ren. I just wanted to drop in on you tonight to..." Well...this was only a matter of time.
Fuck! It had to be his girlfriend?!
"So this is why you're always busy."
"It is." I responded.
"Maids really are a thing for you, Ren? I might buy a costume for the fun of it now." She joked. I hope she's not serious…
"This one in particular…I have to admit, she's quite attractive. Nice complexion for a woman her age." Shiho commented, inspecting every inch of Kawakami with nothing but her cool gaze. Her calm in addressing me was by no means reassuring to Kawakami who made a fatal mistake to try and get out of this situation.
"She a better cook than me?" I chuckled at that.
"I think I'm going to leave, master! As a matter of fact, Becky-chan is going to take some overdue time off so you won't be able to request her for a while! Goodnight!" She hastily responded, getting up to leave. Shiho made no attempt to stop her purely because she didn't have to.
"Why are you in a hurry, mystery maid? You're here to provide a service so you should see it through to its end." Shiho stated. Her nonchalance to the situation continued to shake Kawakami up - was this what she wanted to do? She'd realise who it was and there was no avoiding it.
Was Suzui-san ever this scary?! As she locked her eyes onto me, all I could do was pray and hope with every last ounce that she wouldn't recognise who I was. It wasn't going well so far.
"Hang on…something's off. Do I know you?" Please don't…this is embarrassing enough as it is.
"I don't think so. You must be thinking of someone else! Could you please hand my bag to me, whomever you are?" I did my best to try and mask my voice.
"I'm throwin' yer words right back at ya: I don't think so. Who are ya and how long this has been going on?" Huh…her dialect changed. Cute. Even after an insult like that, Kawakami didn't let it bother her. Taking up her bag and making a brisk attempt to leave, the realisation dawned upon my girlfriend.
"Kawakami-sensei?" She asked. The person in question didn't respond back but froze on the spot, still facing away from the two of us.
"It really is you."
"No, no, you've got me confused for someone else." Kawakami vainly denied.
"...In that case, I should report this ID belonging to Sadayo Kawakami as stolen to the authorities and have you thrown in jail for trying to impersonate her." Immediately searching her bag, the adult in the room was so panicked that she hadn't realised how easily she was baited into revealing herself.
"*sigh*" Taking off her wig, she'd let her curls loose.
"You don't even bother to use a cover house?" She really knew her stuff about this sort of thing. Probably sensing my thoughts, a hasty slap came my way. Kawakami turned to me for help on what to do. She was visibly frightened of what Shiho would do. While things weren't going to get physical, it certainly didn't rule out many other things in Shiho's arsenal. It seems I need to prepare as well…
Once we were all seated again, it was crunch time for the both of us. Kawakami should hopefully show the same quick thinking she did on our interview.
"First, how long?" Shiho asked.
"Almost a month." I answered honestly.
"A month...hmm. No wonder you hold him back so often - discussing your schedules for this arrangement amongst other things."
"Where it's safe to do so, yes." Opting to keep it simple, my girlfriend's attention diverted over to me.
"You pushed our study session for this. I don't even need to ask." Of course that sort of thing would bug her. It happened to bug the teacher even more.
"That's right, I did."
"You didn't know?" Shiho asked her.
"It's news to me. We're not like that, Suzui-san."
"This is the side product of a deal we've made where I do some pest control and she gets her hands on information for me." She started chuckling for some reason.
"You think the fact you call and request maids worries me? Not in the slightest - I'm generously chalking it up as a boy's curiosity in overdrive. The homeroom teacher touch on top? I'll get over that too. I know you're not a cheat." Hold on. Was she really not bothered?
"Suzui-san?" Kawakami asked but it didn't seem like it was her turn yet.
"What is it that makes you want to keep seeing her? I really can't wrap my head around a guess outside of her looks and fantasy fuel."
"She's hardworking. Even if she flubs a job or two or she happens to be unwell, the effort is always there. Outside of the service, Kawakami has made lots of things in Shujin that much easier and I hope she'll continue to do so." I answered. The squirmish maid aside, my girlfriend had her opinion.
"...You really like her."
"How is that the conclusion, Shiho?"
"It serves me right." She lingered. Then sighed. I couldn't help but take a glance over at Kawakami who was just as surprised that this was seemingly it. Sliding over my unfinished coffee to her, she finished the rest.
"Kawakami-sensei is Kawakami-sensei. What else is there to get?" I responded back.
"You're lying to yourself. This is a grown woman who's been briefed all about you prior to your start in Tokyo tailoring how she treats you as a student and tolerating your actions because it's her job. And after spending what you've spent outside of it?"
"So you think I'm easy."
"No. I don't. I think you're too kind. Can you even be sure that the 'pests' you need to control exist? For all you know, she's swindling you for everything you've got and laughing to the bank with it." I could tell there was another side to the story and eventually, I'd need to dig into that. However, the times with this woman weren't a lie. She's seen quite a fair share and had many chances of selling me out - most notably this week.
"If that's what you want to believe, knock yourself out. I can judge with my own eyes whether she's full of shit or not, Shiho."
"The same way you judged it okay not to tell me about my bestie and Kamoshida?" The next set of words flew out of my mouth before I could think about them.
"You want to talk judgement? What sort of judgement did you have thinking you would've gotten onto the team doing the same thing over and over, damn near killing yourself?"
"*sigh* I'm not fighting over this." Shiho left the store, almost bursting into tears as I held my face in my hands and sighed. Kawakami, sympathetic to her, voiced her thoughts.
"Why treat her so cruelly? She has every right to feel how she does right now having witnessed her boyfriend's dirty business."
"What's the point in trying to hold a conversation if she's not calm?"
"And you are?" She bitterly rebuked.
"It was only a matter of time before someone found us. Just imagine if it was my guardian or his daughter."
"You're LITERALLY joking about being found out as if…as if you were planning on telling her about us! Of course you were!"
"There's nothing to feel guilty about. You're here to provide a service and Shujin stuff is on the side! There hasn't been a single time where you haven't helped me out with Shujin matters or done your responsibilities as a homeroom teacher in these walls." Kawakami ground her teeth and scowled as I said that.
"THERE HAS BEEN PLENTY! The massage, the meals for one another, the overly generous tips here and there- in fact, what the fuck do you do to get that sort of money?!" Moving on.
"Well, you're not getting an answer with that tone. If you truly feel so guilty, you'd have had me blocked from requesting after the first session. Yes or no?" I responded back. Kawakami spoke her true opinion.
"Why do you continue to call? Is it because she's right and you really do like me or is it because you are that proud a person that your ego must come first?"
"And what's stopping you from leaving right now?"
"You." She quietly answered. Oh. It seems we've gotten too close and I've led her on without noticing it.
"Okay. I'm the person stopping you? Then I'm the person who's setting you free." As she was momentarily stunned, I continued:
"I won't request you any more and you don't need to tell me anything I don't need to hear. This problem is yours alone and as you said, you're dealing with it yourself." Giving her the last 5,000 yen she'd ever get from me, she voiced her agreement.
"...I see. I'm glad that this deal is over. Thanks for inviting me to your home, Amamiya-kun. Things won't be the same but we can at least act the part of student and teacher." Rather harsh to just shove her away like that, huh? Let's be real. It was a creepy relationship which would've gotten harder to maintain over the year and who knows? Maybe I'd have fallen for her. One genuine positive is that my stalker will eventually lose interest and become one less enemy she has.
"I'm not accepting that. And you shouldn't either, Sadayo." Shiho stormed over to me and threw a heavy punch aimed at my face - I caught her hand with my left.
"So what you said about hoping she'll continue was a lie?"
"Shouldn't you be glad that this is ending?"
"I can't get over the fact you're doing the same thing as Kamoshida - making her feel the way she does for you, winning her over and then proceeding to dust your hands off of her like she's some sort of trash to you, just because you don't have things the way you want. Especially when you're denying how you feel about her." Shiho fully lost it. It was best I removed the two women for tonight.
"Goodnight, Shiho and Kawakami. This discussion is far from over." Opening the door for them both, that was the end of the night.