Maid of circumstance

	The sting of the news still hurt like a fresh wound even a month after it all happened. She knew the call to her student was going to be a difficult one, but she couldn’t have foresaw what would happen because of her. The principal of Koyamadai High, Mr. Ichijoji, had given Sadayo an ultimatum: either stop tutoring Taiki Takase or resign to protect the school’s reputation. They couldn’t have a teacher giving special treatment to a juvenile delinquent, after all. The rumors were total fabrications, but people weren’t interested in the truth, only what made the better story to spread. She argued as much as she could that her pupil has a hard-working boy and that they could prove the rumor mill wrong about this, how such a display of strength would help the school’s standing if they could endure the initial reaction, but he wasn’t convinced.
	Taiki had been on the way for a delivery job when she called him and explained as soothingly and calmly as she could make herself sound that they had to stop their lessons. It had been hard to stop the tremble in her voice and he must’ve noticed, because he just laughed it off and said she didn’t need to feel guilty and that he would never ask her to risk her job for someone like him. It had all seemed like a clean, if sad, conclusion, but then the news came the next day. He had died that night; car accident. She knew that he had been more hurt than he’d let on, but this made her world crumble. Had she really, even if indirectly, killed such a young and cheerful soul? All the moments they spent together, all the afternoons of hard work, all the hope they poured into the tutoring…it would all be for naught now. She had given him hope of a better future and just as easily taken it away. That had to be it, right? It made sense. She had really killed her…student? Protegé? Friend? …something more? What had they meant to each other in the end? She would never know now.
	A month had gone by and Kawakami could still hear Mr. Ichijoji’s voice resound on the auditorium on that rainy morning. Fitting that the heavens cried with her the loss of such a person. The monotone voice, the echo from the microphone, the look he shot her, a disgusting mix of pity and contempt. He called her to his  He blamed her for getting too close, for “letting herself get involved with a student”.  The way he said that made her sick. She quit the next day, unable to handle working on that place another second, remembering the looks the staff gave her when they passed her by in the hallways. She looked for another job and was accepted in an up and coming school named Shujin Academy. Ever since they got some volleyball hotshot to teach P.E. there they’d become somewhat famous.
	That same night, the Takases first contacted her. She had just returned home from her first day at the new school when her phone rang.
	“Hello?” She drawled out.
	“Miss Kawakami? This is Toshio Takase.” The name nearly made her jump.
	“O-oh, hello Mr. Takase. …Is there something you want to talk to me about?” She tried to keep her breathing under control, but her body took quick, small gasping breaths due to the shock.
	“Yes, there is something I’d like to discuss, but I’m afraid it cannot be over the phone. Could you meet with us tomorrow?”
	“I guess…” She trailed off, unsure where this was going.
	“Wonderful. Do you know the small diner on the Central Street in Shibuya?” She took a moment to think it over before answering.
	“Yes, I know the place.”
	“Would it be okay for us to meet there at, say, 5 o’clock?” Her lessons ended at 4:15, so she had more than enough time to make it.
	“Yes, 5 is fine.”
	“Excellent. I’ll see you tomorrow then. Good evening.” He hung up without waiting for a reply.
	The next day rolled around and, before she knew it, Sadayo sat in a modest booth inside the diner waiting to meet Taiki’s guardians. What would they say? What would they do? Would they scream at her for taking him from them, or perhaps demand a public apology? She racked her brain trying to figure out what was the purpose of this meeting. So focused on her thoughts, she failed to notice a couple approaching her seat, being brought out of her musings when a pair oh shoes stopped on the edge on her vision. Looking up, she quickly stood up and greeted them with a small bow that they returned, before taking 2 seats on the other side of the table, facing her. She sat back down and waited for them to start whatever this was.
	“Miss Kawakami, thank you for agreeing to this.” Said the woman, Hiromi, while her husband merely nodded.
	Now that she could take a good look at them, the pair seemed well put together, all things considered. Of course, she understood. It would be unseemly for them to display such sorrow in a public setting like this. Still, outside of their identical frowns, they were very composed for a pair of grieving “parents” and it felt like Taiki’s memory was being…tarnished…someway she could not quite point out.
	“Miss Kawakami, we’ve come to talk about our Taiki.” She nodded, having figured there would be no other possible topic.
	“It’s been a very hard few weeks; everything around our house reminds us of our poor boy.” Sniffled Hiromi, trying hard to stay composed.
	“It’s true; we’re not able to have a single day go by when he doesn’t cross our minds. Unfortunately…” He trailed off for a moment, adjusting himself in his seat. “The world doesn’t care for our pain. It won’t stop turning just because we wish it to. Life goes on for those left behind, as unfair as it may be.” He looked to his wife, who picked up from where he left.
	“You see, we have been having a tough time making ends meet and our dear Taiki, rest his soul, did his best to help us keep a roof over our heads. Regretably, the funeral costs and all the bureaucratic procedures regarding his passing have cost us more than we could’ve foreseen.” A short lull was left in the talking, leading Kawakami to take that as her cue to speak.
	“I see…” She lowered her eyes, feeling sorry for the Takase couple.
	“We know that you worked closely with him, tutoring him to help raise his grades, correct?” Mr.Takase had his arms crossed, a stern expression on his face. “We believe that the stress of taking extra assignments, on top of his jobs, may have been what caused that horrible accident.” Was he implying what she thought he was?
	“On top of that, he apparently received some bad news the night he died. Do you know anything about that?”
	“W-well, I…” She stuttered, too stunned to do anything else.
	“We certainly hope there were no problems with his studies; he used to fret about his school work quite a lot, you know?”
	“Y-yes, I’m aware. Regrettably, the school board denied any further tutoring for Taiki, and I called him to let him know.” She dipped her head low to hide her pained expression.
	“Oh dear, that must’ve been awful for him to hear.” Ms. Takase stated, though her voice had no emotion. “That must have left him very distressed.”
	“I-I had no choice! The principal threatened to fire me if I kept tutoring him!” She tried to reason, her voice shaking with repressed anguish.
	Mister Takase inhaled deeply, a disappointed sigh leaving his lips as he turned to speak.
	“We understand that it must’ve been a tough position for you. However, that alone is not enough to settle the issue at hand.” Desperation clawed at her heart, leaving trails of guilt in it’s wake.
	“I-I can help you! I can help you u-until your situation gets better!” At this, the couple paused, looking at each other for a few brief seconds.
	“No amount of money could erase our suffering, but I suppose we cannot refuse a gesture of goodwill such as this.” The teacher nodded her head, repeating in her mind that she had, in fact, killed Taiki and it was her duty to pay for her actions.
	After the finer details were settled, the Takase couple bid their farewells, getting up and leaving with just as much composure as they had arrived. The new job at Shujin payed better than her previous school, so the extra money made no difference and it kept the truce between the atoning woman and the guardians of the poor boy. It seemed like everything had resolved itself neatly, which gave her a little bit of peace of mind.
	However, one day the Takases demanded more money, saying their medical bills had risen with sleeping drugs. A little bit more money was inconsequential, so she agreed to it gracefully. A few weeks after, their taxes observed an increase and so, it stood to reason, should the money they got from her. Sadayo tried to protest, but the day of Taiki’s death flashed through her mind, and she backed down. After the next increase, the leftover money had to be spent exclusively on food and basic necessities. The next time they called, she told them there was no way to send them any more money.
	“Is that how it is?” Ms.Takase sneered. “I suppose you never really felt any remorse for being responsible for Taiki’s passing, after all.”
	“B-but…!” The teacher tried to think of anything to refute the woman’s claim, but she just couldn’t. It HAD been her fault, after all. Did she really value her pupil’s life so little?
	“I…I’ll find a way, I’ll get you the money.” She finally said, defeated.
	“See to it that you do.”
	She found odd-jobs and temporary work as a waitress in order to make extra cash to pay off her debt with Toshio and Hiromi. When that proved insufficient, she took a bigger workload at school, and then an extra class to teach. The more money she made, the more the demands increased. Her life had become a never-ending cycle of ‘work-sleep-work-get paid-send money-work-sleep’ repeat. The demands kept pilling up and her work just couldn’t keep up with it. The overworked woman just physically couldn’t work any harder unless she found a way to be in two places at the same time; if possible, she would probably do it, too.
	Finally, the climbing figures and desperation led to the last place she ever thought she’d turn to: she sat in an interview room of a maid delivery company. The shame and humiliation she would normally feel in this situation had long been pushed aside by pure and simple need. She needed this so she could pay her dues, there was no other choice. Her dignity and reputation meant very little when compared to the life of her precious student and so, disregarding her own morals, she put on the ridiculous costume provided to her and entered the interview room.
	On the other side of a long desk sat a scary-looking woman and two men, none of which she wished to meet alone in the night. The lighting in the room was dim and the atmosphere was charged with tension so thick it was like being underwater. She sat herself in the rickety chair provided to her and waited instructions as she had been told to do.
	“So you’re the next applicant? Kind of old to be doing this kind of job.” She wished to speak, but the dryness of her throat held her tongue.
	“Well, I suppose there’s a market for you. Provided you can work the angle, that is.” The stare aimed at her was anything but friendly.
	“W-well, I can do anything to p-please my Master….m-meow…” She stammered, her heartbeat going full throttle.
	“You got the right attitude, but you need to work on your delivery.” The woman ground out, unamused.
	“I promise I’ll try my hardest, M-Mistress!” She forced out with a fake bubbly tone, adding a wink for good measure.
	“Hn, I see potential, now it’s your job to prove to us that you deserve this chance.” The maid took a deep breath, before plastering the best cutesy smile she could muster.
	“Don’t worry, Master, this maid will try her hardest to follow your every command. <3” Then, one of the men smirked.
	“Not bad, you may have what it takes after all. From now on, you will be Becky. Is that clear?” Becky rose from her chair, doing a cute curtsy and winking again.
	“Of course! Becky shivers with desire to fulfill her Master’s every wish!”