Beginnings

A New year for a new semester and new semesters mean new chapter. New chapters means new life and this is where Erika comes in.

Erika Hatsugawa is a girl born in a poor household and by poor, they find it hard to afford the basic necessities of life especially education. However, this girl decided to go to Seito Gakuen, one of the most prestigious schools in Tokyo where only rich people from well-known families are able to enroll. But schools such as this aren't accessible by finance alone. Some students are able to enroll through scholarships and faculty recommendations, and this is where Erika comes in again.

Erika was known to win first prize in the Japanese History Quiz Bee back in middle school. This made Shinichiro Mario, the Japanese History teacher from Seito Gakuen, be impressed by Erika's intellect. He did not only recommend her to Seito Gakuen, but also covered her finances, paving a way for a bright future but little did he know, these achievements were aimed for a reason.

In the government of Japan, the current Emperor and Empress have only one child, a boy who's meant to become the next emperor. However, due to unknown reasons, this boy was last seen by the public when he was 7 years old and beyond that, he never appeared again. Despite this unknown tragedy, Erika dreamed of becoming married to this sole prince, hoping that it'll bring comfort and leisure to her life.

Then there's this random guy from the bus who ended up crossing paths with Erika not only in the bus, but also in the way to school, in the actual school, and even in her classroom. His name is Kairo Moriyama, the guy who became Erika's first companion and housemate. One night, this desperate human being went into Erika's house asking if he could take shelter in her home. Erika, having her so-called "grace" agreed to accept him in her house, which can barely feed the two siblings, Erika plus Akito, her younger brother. It now it feeds three, Erika, Akito and Kairo.

Since they've been together for a while now, Erika thought she could shackle Kairo's neck for eternity, that's why she took him with her to apply in the Japanese History Club, to which they were accepted immediately with the help of Shinichiro-sensei.

And now in this beautiful Sunday morning, we can see an Erika roaming around town for job applications.

"Your shift will be from 6pm to 10pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays , is that okay?"

"It's okay ma'am! I'll take anything I could get."

"You'll just be cleaning floors, fixing rooms and bedsheets. Sometimes you'll do the laundry and deliver food. I cannot let you have an 8-hour shift because you're studying. It'll be bad if your studies get affected especially if you are from Seito Gakuen."

"I completely understand ma'am. Even though I wanted to, I know I cannot have it that way." Erika said while chuckling awkwardly.

"Anyway, you can start tomorrow. You'll be measured too for your uniform so, don't be late okay?" the old lady said with a smile.

"I won't be. Well then, I'll take my leave for now. Thank you very much for letting me have this job." Erika bowed lowly and left the place immediately.

"Okay... I guess this is my third job. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays huh. Lucky~! It did not get conflicted with my job in that cafe." Erika took her notebook and wrote down the schedule of her third job. The building she just left off was a hotel namely "The Chateau", located around 500 meters away from her house. This was indeed her third job, since the first job was a drive-thru agent in Mac's, a fastfood chain and the second was as an assistant librarian in Seito. All in all, she has 3 jobs that covers all her after-class hours for a whole week.

This specific Sunday had drained her more than expected. The sun was high and the walk was long so she decided to take a break by sitting on a bench in front of 7-11. She opened up her tumbler and drank water for a while, choosing to sit there because every time a customer opens the door, the cold air from the air conditioner blows in her direction, making her fanned with a cold breeze.

"Yeeees~the comfort... I pray for your business to grow, 7-11. More customers to come." she said while giggling to herself. "At least I have all days covered. This should be enough to support my daily expenses and the house necessities. I'll be fine as long as I don't get sick." She wanted to buy something from the convenience store but she doesn't have any money at the moment since she haven't started any work yet so she took her phone and texted Himari to tell her she'll come over.

"My boyfriend is here with me in our house if you don't mind." Himari replied.

"Since when did you have a boyfriend??!"

"Before the school year started! I kept on telling stuff about him but you always blabber about empress, imperial family, castles and blah blah blah. You aren't even listening to my story!"

"Tch, don't scold me now! Just tell me the guy's name!"

"Takato Mitsuki. The one in middle school."

"Takato Mitsuki?! As in headphone guy Takato Mitsuki?!"

"Yeah. Him. He asked me out after graduation in middle school."

"I can't believe I never knew about this. It's been a long time already!"

"It's you're fault to begin with so suck it up!"

"Anyway, I'm not in the mood to come anymore. I don't want your attention to be split into two while I'm there."

"You're such an attention-seaker, do you know that?"

"You still love me. You take care of me through thick and thin."

"Nah, I babysit you like crazy."

Erika just chuckled and kept her phone inside her bag, feeling a little bit bitter about the boyfriend but she cannot do anything about it. She stood up when she thought she had rested enough and decided to head back home.

While walking home, she passed by a kimono shop and she couldn't help but stop walking and look at the displays. There was a specific, sakura-printed kimono that she liked for a long time, a pink one with gold borders at every falling petal. She stared at it for too long she unconsciously carressed the glass. The store owner couldn't help but notice her.

"Are you interested in buying one, ma'am? We can fit some sets for you." the owner said smilingly.

Erika felt a bit embarrassed because even though she actually started fitting some, she wouldn't be able to buy it and it would only cause trouble to this kind owner. She responded with a slight bow and a smile. "Thank you very much but I still have something to attend to. I'll certainly consider the offer next time." she did not wait for the owner's response and just jogged her way back home.

Instead of a beautiful rest from a tiring day, what welcomed her was a disaster happening at the moment.

"WHERE'S THE PAIL SACHIKO-SAN??!! WE NEED WATER!! WATER!!! IN THE TOILET!!"

"My my.... This is a bigger fire than Erika caused when she was 5 years old."

"THE PAN IS ON FIRE! YAY~!"

"AKITO HELP ME PUT IT OUT!"

For some reason, lo and behold was a pan burning high with the fire almost reaching the ceiling. But instead of everyone panicking, Sachiko, Erika's mother, was just laughing at the sidelines, and Akito was dancing around the fire like it was some Bon Odori festival. Kairo is the only one troubled. He's panicking too much that instead of throwing water from the pail, he threw the pail by itself in the fire.

"What the hell is happening?!" Erika asked angrily while looking at everyone and the scenario.

"Kairo-nii was frying some hotdogs in high fire that's why it got burned!" Akito said excitedly, still dancing around the flame.

"Well if you know it is in high fire, why didn't you tell him to put it low?"

"He should learn by experience so that the lesson will retain in his heart." Sachiko said gently while placing her hands on her chest.

"ERIKA HEEEEELPPP!!!!"

Upon hearing Kairo's cry for help, Erika quickly pulled the table cloth. The things placed on top of the table were moved minimally so it did not fall over, kinda like the magic trick your classmates usually do to show off. She quickly went and dipped the cloth in a basin of water and threw it on the pan, slightly hissing as the fire subsides. The people clapped as they admired Erika's bravery.

"Now, Kairo-kun will remember not to cook in high fire anymore. Lesson learned through experience." Sachiko said happily.

"I think I will remember not to cook at all." Kairo said.

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"So Hatsugawa, how did your job hunting go?" Kairo asked. In the end, it was Erika who cooked their meal but Kairo took all the burnt hotdogs because it is bad to waste food.

"It was fine."

"Just fine?"

"What do you want me to say? I haven't even started yet. I don't have stories yet."

"If you say so." Kairo just said while peeling off the burnt parts of the hotdogs and giving Akito the finished product.

"Just accept what your body can handle, Erika. Okay? I don't want you getting too fatigued with work and school."

"School is not much of a problem for me mom. As long as I can maintain my grades for the scholarship, I'll be fine."

"I trust you. It's just, sometimes you take more than what you can handle, Erika." her mom said worriedly.

"Don't worry. I'll make sure I wouldn't be much of a burden."

"You were never a burden. Don't say that okay?"

"Okay."

She was reminded. Just because sometimes, she takes more that what she can handle.

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