Chapter Text
Saturday.
Well, that was rather exhausting, but hey, Mika in those new outfits was mega adorable. She is such a perfect diva.
I open the door and enter my apartment. Still as I left it, Mum and Dad aren’t back early from their work. Well, that would have been a surprise for once.
I turn on the light and drop my purse on the nearby desk. Oh man, I’m hungry and tired, and yet…the whole apartment is a mess! How could I be so careless?
Food crumbs are everywhere, the couch is a total mess of pillows and stains, and the kitchen is just… Mum is going to kill me if she sees that.
Ok, calm down, Ann, they won’t be back until tomorrow; just have to clean up and…wait a minute.
I run to my room and my uniform jacket, and…yes, there it is.
I pull out a little pink flyer that Mishima dropped at school.
Maid services and housekeeping.
Cleaning, cooking, laundry…perfect.
I just need to call a maid to clean the kitchen while I clean the living room, and then I can handle the laundry and she some light cooking. Would that be too greedy? On the other hand, it beats ordering food again.
Hm, these are the kinds of decisions that make even the wise quiver. What would Kasumi do in such a situation…? Yeah, ok, I’m too tired to think.
A maid it is.
I check the small price list, and, realising that I have enough for cleaning and one other service, I dial the number.
Cooking or laundry?
Cooking or laundry?
Cooking or…
“Thank you for calling! This is Victoria’s housekeeping.“
Dammit, no time to think; they already picked up.
“Yes, um, hello.“
“I assume you’re interested in our services, then?
“Yes.“
“Is there anyone in particular that you’d like to request?“
“Request? Um, no, no preference.“
“Ok, let’s see here… we have a maid available in… 20 minutes. May I ask for your address?“
As I give the service hotline my address, it hits me like a truck. What am I even doing? This flyer was from Mishima and Ryuji. What could these two idiots possibly need a maid for? And besides, what would this maid think if she saw the mess I made in just two days without parents?
Ok, calm down; you have twenty minutes. Just clean as much as you can and…dammit, there is mud all over the floor now. Why didn’t I take off my boots?
I need to start cleaning immediately.
With all the speed a hungry high schooler can muster, I scrubbed the floor as best as I could, cleaned the kitchen, and collected all the dirty laundry from all over the apartment in the blink of an eye. Ok, still messy but much more presentable.
And just as I finished putting the last plate back into the drawer, I heard a knock.
~Knock Knock
“Good evening… I’m from the housekeeping service." A woman’s voice rings out from behind the door.
I look at the clock on the kitchen wall. She is a minute early, huh.
Ok, ok, this is it. Now or never, regardless of what she might think, I did my best. Not my problem that it’s too easy to just let everything slide until it’s too late.
“The door is open; please come in.“
I call out to her as I pour myself a glass of juice and gulp it down in a single breath.
The door opens, and footsteps echo down the hallway. I don’t know why, but my heart is beating fast for some reason. Is it that strange? I mean, is it really that strange to call a maid to clean and do my laundry?
I set down the glass, and with my back turned to the hallway, I hear the maid's footsteps getting closer.
“Excuse me… Oh, there you are!“
I flinch just a bit as she is suddenly standing behind me. Why am I so nervous all of a sudden?
“Welcome home, Mistress.“
I see her from the corner of my eye. She gives me a curtsy, and I have to say she looks absolutely adorable in that maid outfit.
White tights hidden under a black skirt. A short-sleeved black blouse with a generous cutout surrounded by white ruffles. A white apron wrapped around her waist and accentuating gorgeous wide hips. Damn, she looks really good. Her dark brown hair was done up in twin tails, and a cute little white bonnet was on her head.
But that voice sounds…
“I’m going to fill your tired heart full of lovely energy, Meow!
I’m Becky, and I have the pleasure of serving you today.”
That voice sounds familiar, but nah, that can’t be; she wouldn’t just make cat sounds like that. But besides, she sounds way more cutesy. Ok, if she meows, then I better play along, but being called 'mistress' felt strange.
“Um, nice to mee-ow-t you.“
“Oh, we’re going to get along so well! Meeeeeooooow!"
She giggles just a little bit, which makes me almost want to join her, but for some reason I still can’t find the courage to turn around. What is happening to me? It is just a cute cat maid. There are dozens of them in Akihabara. Hell, I was asked to wear a maid uniform multiple times during my model gigs. So, why am I feeling so nervous here?
“Oh my…how thoughtless of me! I should explain our services to you, Mistress! What would you like me to do today? The basics include cooking, cleaning, laundry… But there are other ‘services‘ we provide if you so desire.“
“O…other…services!“ I almost bang my head against the cupboard as I turn around to see her standing right in front of me.
“Mistress, are you…“
…
…
Those eyes, that hair…
The maid looks me up and down before her cheerful face drops into an exhausted mess.
“Did you request me specifically?“
No doubt this voice, those eyes.
“Wait, are you…?“
“Oh no, it’s all right. How would you know me? This is our first meeting. Yes, the first time ever, Mistress.“ She switches back to her higher, cutesy voice, but those eyes are boring daggers into me until she sighs and shakes her head.
“Ugh, this is unbelievable… Yes, it’s me… Ms Kawakami. I can’t believe I got caught by one of my own students. I should have taken a job outside of the city. But I needed it to be close to school so I could go there after I finished work.“ Great, now I feel really bad, but she still looks at me with those eyes that scream, ‘You just ruined my life.’ What do I do now? I just wanted the place to be clean so Mum wouldn’t yell at me.
“Hey, who did you hear about this from? Oh, it was Ms Chouno, wasn’t it? That damn harpy, I swear.“
“Um, what…um—“
“You know, Ms Chouno, your English teacher. She’s been snooping on all teachers ever since you know what. So, tell me, are you going to tell her about this?“
Crap, what do I say? She is pretty serious right now and so close. Dammit, be calm; you’re a Phantom Thief, you just have to act like one. Calm, cool, always in control.
…
Ok, this isn’t going to work. I can’t calm down with my teacher in a cute maid uniform staring at me like I’m the biggest scum. Think, what would…no, don’t even think of what Ryuji would do; he was probably looking for these special services or whatever.
Um, what would Kasumi say? She always has these great one-liners. Oh, I know.
“Um, that is up to you, Ms Kawakami.“
…
…
I try to keep a straight face, not really helped by the fact that Beck, I mean Ms Kawakami, has gorgeous nails. That pink colour is seriously gorgeous, but I don't think I'll have the opportunity to ask her about it.
Finally, after a stare-down that felt like ages, Ms Kawakami lets out a long deep breath before looking back at me.
“If you have to side with a teacher, could you at least side with me? I'm responsible for your class, not her. And if you promise not to tell anyone, I’ll do anything for you.“
…
…
“Anythi-“
“Hey, it won’t be any better for you if people find out that you called a maid service. I will promise not to tell anyone if you won’t tell anyone. So, why don’t we both forget this ever happened? I’ll even treat this like you had cancelled so you won’t have to pay anything, ok?“
I can only nod as she turns her back to me and walks towards the door. Oh, her maid outfit is backless too. She looks so pretty, but…no, stop thinking of her cute outfit for a second, you dummy.
I follow her as she bends down to put on a pair of black mary janes. “Don’t say a word about this at school, ok? Just forget this ever happened!“
She stands back up and looks me directly in the eyes again. “Got it?“
I again can only nod as my mouth feels incredibly dry.
Her serious expression shifts once more into a smile. “Good, now then, bye.”
As she leaves through the door and closes it behind her, I can only stand there and watch, but with the sound of the door closing, I fall to my knees.
What just happened? I mean, I know I’m into girls, but… Why was my teacher so cute?
Monday.
I think I have a problem; during her lessons I couldn’t concentrate even if I tried. I find myself constantly looking into her hazelnut-brown eyes and admiring her laid-back smile. Damn, Shiho was right when she called me a disaster lesbian that one time.
Still, I've got to get my head in the game. The others need me, and the next palace could be right around the next corner.
Anyway, Ryuji and Kasumi are out doing some track training, I think. Might as well get home and do anything but stay here. I pick up my bag and head out through the hallways of school, but just around the corner where the teachers' lounge is, I see her, Ms Kawakami.
She seems to be in a rather serious conversation with Ms Chouno. Better not interrupt them; just have to sneak past and…
“As I have already told you…just a second. Get home safely, Takamaki-chan.“
Eeep, she spoke to me. I turn around to see her smiling and waving at me. I politely wave back, but for some reason my feet won’t move a nanometre forward. My heart is beating so fast again, dammit, my hands are starting to shake. Just breathe; just concentrate on breathing.
“Well then, if you would excuse me, I have another matter to attend to.“ Ms Kawakami tries to walk past Ms Chouno, but she stops her immediately.
“We haven’t finished talking yet! There are so many scandals around here, and every teacher gets called in for questioning, and yet you leave earlier than anyone and barely make it to our faculty meetings. Explain yourself!“
I take a step back after the jelly in my legs finally disappears. Ms Chouno is really intense all of a sudden, and Ms Kawakami just looks worn out. I take another step back as the wooden floor creaks under me.
“You better get home, Takamaki-chan, or did you need anything from Ms Kawakami?”
Um, think, Ann, think what to do. What to do? Oh, Ms Kawakami is looking at me, dammit. Think, Panther, think, dammit!”
“Um, I just wanted to ask Ms Kawakami about that last lesson.“
“Huh, another question? Well, um, I guess you have to ask me again in a bit.“
“Wait, just a moment, what does she mean by another question about your lesson?“
Ms Kawakami gives me a little grin before turning back to Ms Chouno. “Oh, Takamaki-chan here just seems to always ask the most complicated questions during my lessons, and well, I help her out after school occasionally.”
“Now, just a minute, does that mean that you give individual students lessons after school?“
“Yeah, I just want all of them to succeed; after all, isn’t that our job?” She pats me on the shoulder, and I almost drop to the floor in a puddle. I can already feel the heat rising to my cheeks, and Ms Chouno looks at us with her mouth agape.
“Such passion. Truly you are an example. My apologies for suspecting you of anything; truly, we need more teachers like you. Alright, now keep up the good work, you two.“
And with that, Ms Kawakami can finally relax as Ms Chouno rounds the corner and is out of sight and out of mind.
“Well, I guess she convinced herself, more or less. But that did put her at ease, thank you.“
She pats me once more on the shoulder, and I feel ready to burst as the world starts to spin.
“Oh, um, could you come with me, please?“
How could I refuse? Of course, my legs obey her commands. What else is there for me to do? After navigating a few turns and corners, we arrive at an empty classroom.
“Ok, I can’t talk about this at school, but here, take this. This is the address and phone number of my night job.“
I wordlessly take the small note she handed me and put it into a pocket.
“Just make sure that it doesn’t show up in your call history and only call at night. Bye, Takamaki-chan.
As she leaves the classroom, I can once more only stare at her back. Why would she give me her number?
Why would she…
I look at the clock, and it is almost 8 pm. Still no sign of Mum and Dad, no message, no nothing. Even the group chat is eerily quiet. But throughout all, my heart is still pounding when I look at this note sitting on my desk.
But before something stupid might get a chance to invade my brain, my phone starts to buzz.
“Hello?“
“Hi, sweetie. I’m sorry, our flight has been cancelled, and your dad got another appointment, so, yeah, we are probably going to be gone for another month or two. Are you going to be fine? I'm going to transfer some money to you, so just be good and don't burn down the apartment. Bye, bye, sweetie.“
I look at my phone, that call lasted a whole ten seconds. Wow, she must’ve really cared.
I throw my phone into my giant pile of pillows as I simply fall down on my bed.
What even is today?
But after a few minutes of brooding and complaining about…well, basically everything, I just want to do something stupid, so…
…
…
“Hiiii, this is Becky… Oh, it’s you. Ok, listen, with the request fee, it will be about 5000 yen. Is that alright with you?“
“Yes.“
“…Very well, I’ll head over.“
I set down the phone as my hands start to shake. I am such a useless girl.
It doesn’t take her more than 10 minutes before I hear that familiar knock on the door.
And now as she stands before me dressed in her beautiful maid uniform as I can only sit on my bed, I feel it again and again. Pounding, sweating and this heat.
She looks me up and down, her hands on her hips, her brows furrowed, her painted lips drawn together as she is lost in thought about something.
“So, this is your room, Takamaki-chan? Honestly, this is probably about what I expected, but now I just want to know, what kind of girl are you?“
“What do you mean, Ms Kawakami?“
“Well, with everything that has happened, I would say you have a strong sense of justice, but you still carry this gentle kindness. So, really, why did you call a maid service, Takamaki-chan?“
“I don’t know. At first I just wanted to make sure that the apartment was clean for my parents, but now I just…felt lonely, I guess.“
“I see. Well, I guess that makes sense with everything that happened and with Suzui-chan. Ok, how about this: I let you skip a few of my classes.“
”Huh?“
”Well, I can understand not really knowing where your place is, so let’s give you a little out. However, if your grades drop and you are already far from the model student, then I will have the right to change my mind again. Are we clear?“
”Yes, but what do you—”
“And in exchange you won’t tell anyone about this uniform, this job of mine and, well, about everything that transpired these last few days. That sounds good to you?“
”Yes, I promise, Ms Kawakami.“
She extends me her hand, which I gladly take, but not before subtly wiping away any sweat that I might have had. Still, her hand is so soft, with no calluses, and her nails still look so pretty.
”Then we have a deal, Takamaki-chan.“ She smiles; she is smiling at me. Ah, I can’t help but smile back, dammit. This day is a fever dream, but I don’t want it to end just yet.
Meanwhile, in a far-off place.
A jail surrounded by smooth blue velvet, where two young guards keep watch over a new prisoner while the warden draws his deck of cards.
”How strange, a new connection, independent of the Fool’s journey. Well, the Lovers and the Temperance, let’s see how well they fare.“
And on that night after Ms Kawakami left, Ann was left to ponder her newfound connection to her homeroom teacher and her maid. She dreams of an oath binding the two of them together now.
I am thou, thou art I…
Thou hast acquired a new vow.
It shall become the wings of rebellion that breaketh thy chains of captivity.
With the birth of the Temperance Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power…