Crossover Fan Fiction ❯ Dark Sarcasm ❯ You Only Get One Angel ( Chapter 5 )

I was late, and tried to talk my way out of it. This was a mistake, because the classroom cleared rather than witness me being punched again. Sensei was very physical. I really hope this isn’t some twisted kind of affection, because I don’t go in for S&M. No, I really don’t. No, I don’t care with Ebina keeps saying. She’s a fujioshi and mad as a sack full of hammers. Trouble was I am starting to think that sensei gets off on this, and my sarcasm keeps setting her off. There’s a lesson in this somewhere, but I’m damned if I know how.

“I see you’re fashionably late again, Saki. No explanation?” Sensei asked Kawasaki. She refused, and moved toward her seat in silence. Lying on the ground and trying to recover my breath I was treated to a wondrous sight. Saki walked close by, and I could see all the way up past the Absolute Territory.

“Black lace,” I actually and accidentally said out loud.

“Are you retarded?” she commented cooly. She sat, and looked out the window.

The other students filed back in now that the excitement was over.

Later that day after club I exited one of the cram schools offering summer courses. I was holding a packet and spotted the light blue hair of Kawasaki looking in the window mournfully, sighed, and turned away. That was odd. I head to Saizeriya to study on my own for an hour and heard the bubbly voice of Yuigahama. I wandered over and found her, Saika, Yukino, and Yoshi together quizzing each other over school work. They frowned at my arrival, especially Yui for some reason. I’m not sure why she’s offended at the moment, but I shook it off. Women’s minds are not meant for men to understand. Every man who did understand women lived alone, after all.

“What have you got there?” asked Yui, noticing the packet.

“Prep schools. Lots of students start prep schools for college now. Some of the better ones offer good students tuition free. If I can get my parents to pay and tuition free the money is mine,” I said cheerfully.

“Ugh. That’s just a scam,” complained Yukino.

My sister’s voice sounded from the doorway and I turned to greet her.

“What are you doing here?” I asked her. There was a boy with her, wearing her school’s uniform.

“My friend asked me for advice.” Komachi and Taishi, apparently, got us all seated at the table and the entire group settled in for a chat. This was service club business.

“I’m Hikigaya Komachi. Thanks for taking good care of my brother,” she said in her usual cheerful voice.

“So here’s my brother surrounded by girls,” she commented, ignoring Yoshi. He hemmed uncomfortably. Saika spoke up.

“I’m a boy,” he said.

“Surely you’re joking,” Komachi laughed.

“He’s not joking,” I said.

“Seriously?” Komachi asked me. She looked across to Yui.

“Nice to meet…wait? Do I know you?” she asked. Yuigahama turned away in embarrassment and Yukino interrupted.

“I’m… hmm. I’m not his classmate or his friend, but how should I put this?” she asked herself. “It is regrettable but I suppose I am his acquaintance. This man is Yoshi, my boyfriend,” she finished, pointing across to him, now squeezed up against the window. Komachi nodded to everyone.

“So Taishi’s sister is in your class, and she’s been coming home late recently,” Komachi explained.

“I’m worried about her,” he complained.

“She’s in your school, so this sounds like a job for the service club,” Komachi decided with a cheeky smile. I had to admit this was so.

“Well try animal therapy,” suggested Yukino firmly, the following day. The day after that I brought Kamakura, my black eared white cat to school and placed it by the front gate as bait for Saki. I found Yukino trying to talk to it, which was very cute and very childish. She threatened to murder me out of shame.

My phone rang, my sister calling. I answer.

“Niichan,” said a boys voice. “Eh? Who has my sister’s phone?”

“Its Taishi!” he said.

“Don’t call me Niichan!” I responded and hung up. The phone rang again.

“I’m not your brother!” I snarled.

“Niichan, Taishi has something to tell you,” Komachi said.

“My sister is allergic to cats,” he finally got out. I sighed. This idea was a bust. I took my cat home. Later that day we tried having an adult talk to her. Sensei stepped in and was utterly crushed because she wasn’t a parent, was single, and should worry about getting married. It was a boxing combo and it was Super Effective! Hiratsuka was crying. We sent in Hayama to try his Chad moves.

“I’m not really interested in you,” she responded and left him cold. Hayama tried to brush it off, but I noted that he cancelled his dates for the rest of the week and seemed quite shaken by the experience.

“Niisan, Taishi said someone called his house for Saki, Angel something something. That might be her work,” Komachi called. We investigated using Gaagle search and found two possible places. We met at the first with Yoshi, who was familiar with it. It was a Maid Café.

The girls pretended to want to work there so were directed to the back to try on the maid costume. They came out, and Yoshi mocked Yui as a mere school girl in a maid costume, but praised his girlfriend for showing the correct poise. To be fair, she was more reserved, which had a certain charm. Yui filled out the top better.

“She isn’t here. I checked the schedule and her name isn’t on it. Since they called her house she is using her own name,” she explained. This was good reasoning, so we left. The alternative site was the the Royal Hotel downtown, 24th floor: Angel Ladder. Meeting with the girls in the lobby, me in a suit and the girls in cocktail gowns… okay I’m not going to dissemble. They looked good. I can see their potential for their futures as women. I wore glasses, which adds five years to my face and pulls the Clark Kent trick. The girls recognized me right away, but approaching the bar after a long elevator ride, Saki had no idea who I was. We got ginger ales and Yukino bantered like a hardboiled detective about Cinderella and pumpkins. I sighed.

“I think I know what’s going on,” I said as the girls retreated in defeat. “Meet me at WacRonald at 5:30 AM tomorrow.”

“Wait,” she said when I began to leave. “This isn’t enough money.”

I sighed and paid for my drink. 500 yen for a ginger ale.

The next morning I showed up with Komachi and Taishi in our school uniforms, and I explained what I thought was going on. I was right. Then I explained about scholarships. The light bulb went on so hard over Saki’s head you could feel the heat. That or from her blush of shame, which I found very cute.

From that point on, Saki at least nodded to me in the hallways and the classroom. She looked less tired and a bit more hopeful about things. That’s one family that won’t be ruined by child labor.