Based on ScruffyTurtles' Adult Confidant AU

Sadayo fastened the buckle on her well-polished black shoe. Despite their upward appearance of peak maintenance, the soles of the shoes had been wearing thin for quite some time. Not only that, they were starting to tear away from the rest of the material. Some of her co-workers had helped her glue the damage shut and find some insoles in the right size, but these 'solutions' could only do so much. She would need to replace the shoes entirely before too long, and she doubted she'd be able to afford such an expense any time soon.

Her place of work rarely allowed for advances on paychecks, but she might be able to fenagle one of her bosses into agreeing to it if she worked hard enough. After all, it would be poor practice to not help one of their hardest workers to be able to work in her full uniform. Surely, that would be preferable to having her work in stockings, bare feet or her school shoes. Then again, given the kind of clientele that tended to frequent this kind of establishment, some customers would probably get off on knowing that one of the waitresses was a high schooler.

Of course, what they couldn't know was that she was older than typical high schoolers. Sadayo was nineteen, despite still being in school. If nothing else, the shock on a creepy customer's face from that revelation might give her some small satisfaction. For now, all she could do was try to get through her shift without aggravating her already existing foot pain from the thinning of her insole. And if she could get through the evening without a customer trying to grope her, that would be great too. Maybe she could fit in some quick cramming on her break as well.

"We've got two more coming in, Kawa-chan," Tsurugi-senpai informed her as she stepped out of the dressing room. As usual, the older girl looked Sadayo over and made a few adjustments to her uniform, particularly with centring her cat ear headband and adjusting her pigtails to better cover her real ears.

"On it," Sadayo said confidently, knowing Tsurugi-senpai, as one of the more well-respected employees, could help put in a good word for her if she showed enough pride in her work.

Even when tired out from a long day at school, Sadayo could put most of her co-workers to shame with her work ethic. She had mastered the art of the power nap, and she had always been above-average when it came to retaining information during a study session. She could show her worth, get that advance, get those new shoes on the way home, and break them in while getting in an hour of study before bed. With her plan set in her mind, she steeled herself for the hardest part of the job.

"Welcome, Meowster!" she said in a tone uncharacteristically high in both pitch and energy. "Wouldn'ya like a purrfect seat over in the cornya?"

Saying these words was by far the most soul-crushing part of working at a cat-maid café. It was so antithetical to her usual demeanour, and the energy required to pull it off felt like a massive waste for someone who worked as much as she did, every single time she did it. But her ability to go all-in always managed to impress the higher-ups. Thus, she put her all into it every single time. She did close her eyes when she did it though, as doing this while looking someone in the eye was too much, even for her, to handle.

The response was a snort. Not exactly rare, given the nature of the job, but most customers at least had the decency to hide their amusement. This guy, whoever the hell he was, was going to get...well, guided to a seat, because giving impertinent customers a piece of her mind had gotten her in trouble early on, and she wasn't going to do anything to risk jeopardising getting that advance. She would be the very model of a Stray Cat maid.

Then, she opened her eyes.

Her face turned as white as the apron and lace of her uniform as her eyes were met by the barely-composed face of Sojiro Sakura, a fellow Shujin Academy student. To his credit, his hand was firmly placed over his mouth, reddening cheeks peeking over the top of his fingers as he tried to hold in his laughter. Beside Sakura-san, recent transfer, Munehisa Iwai, was barely phased by meeting a classmate working at a maid café. In fact, he seemed more perturbed by his companion's struggle than anything else.

In that instant, Sadayo could have turned into a pillar of salt and scattered to the four winds, and she would have been okay with that. It was all over. Sakura-san was a very popular student at Shujin. He was the embodiment of the 'girls want to be with him, guys want to be him' concept. He knew just about everybody, including, evidently, the delinquent transfer student. If he desired, he could tell everyone he knew and the whole school would know about her secret shame. Or, he could agree to keep it a secret, in return for a series of depraved favours that she would have no choice but to carry out like a good little maid. Her life was basically over at this point.

"'M-Meowster'?" he chortled, barely managing to keep from bursting out laughing. "Really? This is an unexpected side of you, Kawanyami-san." By now, he was barely standing anymore, as he practically keeled over from holding back his laughter.

"Dude, what's your problem?" Iwai asked, seemingly oblivious to the identity of the young woman before him. Thank God Sakura-san had brought the new guy instead of someone like Usami-san. Or worse, Chouno-san. If nothing else, she could be somewhat thankful that it was Iwai that had come along instead.

There was a slight break in Sakura-san's contained laughter and he looked up at the grey-haired boy in disbelief. "Seriously? You don't know who this is?"

"Should I?" the delinquent replied with a shrug. This only seemed to make Sakura-san struggle harder to keep his laughter contained.

Sadayo sighed. "Follow me to your seats, please." She spotted a few co-workers sending curious glances her way as she guided her schoolmates over to the corner. Even Tsurugi-san seemed to have noticed something was going on. Sadayo sighed again. She could probably kiss that advance goodbye now. But keeping the situation with Sakura-san under control had to take priority. Paranoid concern about what was being said about her would only disrupt her schoolwork, after all.

She showed the two boys to a table in the corner and produced a pair of menus for them to peruse. Once Sakura-san had calmed down, of course. For now, all she could do was try and convince him not to tell anyone. This would prove difficult, between how unusually packed the place was this evening, and her not knowing Sakura-san well enough to confidently predict his responses to her request. Plus, knowing the customer personally, playing her assigned part was going to be impossible.

"L-Let me nyao when you're ready to order, M...Meowsters..." Colour finally returned to Sadayo's face as it turned bright red in shame. She spun on her heel and walked into the back to calm herself down.

"Is everything alright, Kawa-chan?" Tsurugi-senpai asked as she followed her through the door.

"You saw that, huh?" Sadayo croaked, knowing she was going to have to put up with these broken shoes until the end of the month for sure now.

"I did. Do you know those customers?"

"One of them. The one with the glasses. He's a classmate of mine."

"Oh. I see."

Tsurugi-senpai knew most of Sadayo's situation. In particular, she knew that she was trying to support herself through high school and wanted desperately to keep her job secret from everyone at school. Tsurugi-senpai had told her once that she had also started this job while in high school and had managed to keep it a secret ever since. She had even offered a few tips to help Sadayo do the same. It had evidently never occurred to her that Sadayo might be sent up to the front, right as a schoolmate stepped through the door.

"Do you want me to take over from here?"

"N-No. I've got it. I need to win Sakura-san's silence anyway."

"Okay. You stay back here and cool off for now. I'll call for you when they're ready to order, okay?"

"Okay. Thanks, Senpai."

Tsurugi-senpai nodded and returned to the shop floor, leaving Sadayo alone to cool off. She got herself a cup of water and sat in the staffroom. It took around five minutes for her to be called back out, during which time she'd thought up a few potential approaches to the situation.

...All of which immediately took the emergency exit out of her head as soon as she laid eyes on the still-red Sakura-san. Sadayo gained very minor satisfaction from Iwai's clear irritation at his companion's demeanour. She could live vicariously through him for the ten-or-so seconds it took her to cross over to them.

"Hello again, Meowsters!" she said with as much gusto as she could manage... which, admittedly, wasn't as much as she'd initially greeted them with, but it was more than she'd expected to be capable of, at this point. "Are nya ready to order?"

"Is it a rule that you have to make a pun in every sentence," Sakura-san asked with that cocky grin that Sadayo despised, "or do you get paid on a purr-pun basis?"

"Hey, that's pretty good," Iwai complimented his companion's joke.

Sadayo rolled her eyes in disgust. "Just make your order already, asshole," she said before she could stop herself.

"Now there's the Kawakami-san we all know and love," Sakura-san chuckled. "I think I'm in the mood for some delicious pancakes. And a coffee. Black."

"As you wish. And you, Meowster Iwai?"

"You can drop the title. I ain't some yakuza boss needin' his ego stroked." Iwai seemed more annoyed by the title than Sadayo was by Sakura-san's teasing.

"Very well. Have you decided what you'd like?"

"I'll just have a milkshake," he replied, sounding as grouchy as Sadayo felt as he handed her the menu.

"You sure you don't want any food?" Sakura-san asked.

"Just a drink's fine."

"As you wish. I'll be back soon with your order."

Soon was roughly three minutes later. Sadayo returned with both drinks in one hand and the plate of pancakes in the other.

"Thank you for waiting, Meowsters," she said as she placed their orders down in front of them.

"What, no message written in syrup?" Sakura-san joked.

"You have to order that up-front. And it's an additional charge."

"Ooh, kitty's got claws."

"Just stop."

"Okay," he said, sounding slightly alarmed.

Sadayo sighed. "Look, I'm sorry if I'm being snappy. I'm just really tired right now."

"I can imagine. Coming to work here right after finishing your duties at school? I'm surprised you're still standing."

"You're not the only one," she sighed. "Look, I'll get straight to the point, Sakura-san. I don't want news about my working here to get around. I'd rather keep this a secret between us. What do you want me to do to secure your silence?"

"You make it sound like I've uncovered a shadowy conspiracy. If you don't want anyone to know, I've got no reason to refuse."

"R...Really?"

"Yeah. It'd be a dick move if I did tell anyone. Especially since I've got nothing to gain from it. If this is what you want, then my lips are sealed."

Sadayo was stunned. She'd simulated around a dozen different ways this conversation could have gone inside her head while in the back, but for Sakura-san to so readily agree... that was an outcome she hadn't expected at all. She sighed in relief and gave her first genuine smile since the two had arrived. "Thank you, Sakura-san. I appreciate that. And you, Iwai-san?"

"Same," he said simply.

"You can trust this guy," Sakura-san said. "He may look like a troublemaker, but he's actually a pretty chill dude."

Iwai glared at Sakura-san but said no more. Sadayo got the impression he was the kind of guy who spoke through his actions, rather than his words. Of course, that had always been her impression of him, only with his actions involving his fists.

"Still, I'm curious," Sakura-san spoke up again. "Why are you working at a place like this anyway? This isn't the kinda place I'd expect you to work. Or for you to even have time to work, for that matter."

Sadayo considered for a moment. She'd been holding onto this for quite some time, and she'd never had anyone she could confide in. If Sakura-san and Iwai were willing to keep quiet about the job, they were probably trustworthy enough to hear her reasons. And it might do her some good to finally get this off her chest.

"Alright. I guess I owe you that much for keeping quiet."

"Not really. If you'd rather keep it to yourself, that's perfectly fine. You've got no obligation to tell us anything." Sadayo couldn't stop her smile from growing that little bit wider at this.

She explained everything: her living situation, her reasons for being held back a year, her aspirations and her dire need for money to support herself. Sakura-san's face paled as she explained the whole thing, while Iwai seemed to take an interest in her for the first time all evening, an expression of what seemed to be concern just about registering on his face. For what it was worth, Sadayo did feel a little less weighed down by this secret once she was done.

"That's... damn," Sakura-san said, rendered speechless for once. Sadayo couldn't help but feel a little pride that she had managed to do that do him.

"You can see why I want to keep this all under wraps now, huh?"

"So you gotta do a job ya don't wanna do to make ends meet," Iwai said suddenly. "Ain't nothin' to be ashamed of. Especially if ya can support yourself through your own hard work while still goin' to school. Fuck anybody who thinks that's worth mockin'."

Sadayo was simply flabbergasted. The so-called 'delinquent transfer student', whom she had only just met, was actually offering her words of encouragement. "Thank you, Iwai-san. That means a lot to me."

"And he's absolutely right," Sakura-san chimed in. "I know first- well, second-hand, that holding down such a demanding job while you have other important things going on in your life isn't easy, especially without anything else to fall back on. I knew you were a hard-worker, but I never expected it to be to this extent. I'm impressed."

"That's nice of you to say. Now, I should get back to work. Is there anything else I can do for you two?"

"Yeah, you can tell us what this is," Iwai replied, pointing to the small round container at the centre of the table.

"That's a tip jar," Sadayo explained, trying not to sound too hopeful as she did.

"Oh, like in America," Sakura-san noted.

"Right." She leaned in so only the boys could hear. "It's an excuse to pay us less. Lower guaranteed wage, but higher potential earnings."

"Why not just work somewhere that'll actually pay you what you're worth?" Sakura-san asked.

"All I need to do is work hard enough and I can make more here than I could elsewhere," she shrugged. "Plus, regardless of my circumstances, a nineteen-year-old who needs to work around a high school schedule is going to be passed up by most places on the spot."

"Yeah, I can see how that might look, at first glance." Sakura-san seemed to consider this for a moment before putting a two thousand yen bill into the container. Iwai followed suit with one thousand.

"What are you doing?" Sadayo asked.

"Giving you a tip," Sakura-san replied.

"What for?"

"Do we need a reason?"

"You do if you're giving me money for nothing."

"Can't a couple of guys just help out someone in need?"

"I don't want your pity," Sadayo said flatly.

"You think this is pity?" It seemed it was finally Sakura-san's turn to get annoyed. "How can you expect us to listen to what you just told us and not want to help? This isn't pity or charity; it's decency."

"You can gussy it up all you want, but-"

"How are your feet holding up?"

"My- What?"

"I noticed how you were walking before - being careful not to put your feet too flat on the floor. Someone I know does that all the time. Then, I noticed that your shoes looked a little worn around the soles. That you need new shoes became pretty obvious at that point. And with how you yourself admitted to struggling to get by on your paycheck alone, it would be in your best interest to accept this tip and put it toward some new ones."

"Th-That's just ridi-"

"You're still shifting your weight around constantly," Iwai observed.

Sadayo's posture stiffened, which did, admittedly, cause her slight pain, forcing her to carry on shifting her weight.

"There's no shame in accepting people's help," Sakura-san said.

Iwai pointed to him in agreement. "The real shame's in havin' too much pride."

Sadayo sighed in defeat and took the offered money. "Oh, fine. But I will pay you both back-"

"If you do, word about your job just might get out." While Sakura-san's tone wasn't grim enough to suggest he was serious about going back on his word, it was firm enough to make clear how serious he was about not ever accepting the money back.

"You're a real bastard, you know that?"

"Someone has to be. Otherwise, you'll start neglecting your own well-being again."

"'A-Again'?"

"Everyone at school knows how often you're absent. I always assumed you just had a weak constitution or something. Now, it looks more like you work yourself beyond exhaustion until you physically can't carry on anymore. And if you live alone, who's gonna look after you if you strain yourself to the point of collapse?"

Sadayo wanted to snap back with something, anything. But she knew he was right. And while his tactic was vile, she knew he had only the best of intentions when he employed it. She sighed again in total defeat. "Okay. I'll keep the money. Thank you, both of you."

"No problem. Now, how about that syrup?"

"Go to hell. Meowster."

"Welcome, Meowster! Where would you like to si- Geh! You two again."

"What's this? You don't seem very happy to see us."

"Oh, gee, what gave it away?"

"I didn't realise this café did characters with its staff. Let me guess: tsundere, right?"

"The hell's a tsundere?" Iwai asked.

"Just follow me to your seats," Sadayo moaned as she turned and began walking towards the same corner as the previous visit.

"You see her shoes?" Sakura-san whispered behind her.

"Yeah. And her gait looks a lot smoother too."

Sadayo couldn't help but allow a wide grin to spread across her lips. Both in pride, and in thanks.

#KawakaMay continues the fifth prompt: "Maid" to celebrate Maid Day in Japan. With such a broad topic and so much already covered in previous works, I opted to switch over to the ACAU to explore an alternate take on Sadayo. I might do more with this setting some day, especially for KawakaMay content.