I don't own Persona or any title related to it. All of that belongs to Atlus and you should go and support the official release.

"The arrest of the crime boss, Jinya Kaneshiro, has led to a dramatic decrease in reported criminal activity in the area. The man in question turned himself in to the police and confessed to the many crimes he has committed. With his sudden change in behavior, many are speculating that the notorious Phantom Thieves were somehow involved. An idea supported by the numerous calling cards found around the city…" The news report went on about the group and their previous targets. Akira and his friends were standing in their hideout in the Shibuya walkway. They had decided to meet up after school to talk about Kaneshiro's confession and discuss plans for the future.

"Man this is crazy," Ryuji pumped his fist. "Everyone's talking about us. Ever since the police announcement, People've wouldn't stopped talking about it."

Yusuke smiled, "While it is astonishing to see the public's reaction to this, it is rather unfortunate that the police are taking all the credit."

Morgana poked his head out from Akira's bag. "It can't be helped. There's no way they would openly give us credit."

Ann stood up straight and showed her phone to the group. "People online wouldn't stop talking to us."

The conversation continued as everyone showed their surprise at the public's reaction. Akira did his best to seem interested, even when Makoto called them about her meeting with the principal, but his mind was elsewhere. Since the hospital visit, Akira had been racking his brain on trying to think of a way to get through to Sadayo. To get her to stop paying those those stupid relatives. His plan was to request her tonight and try to talk to her, but it all hinged on what he said. To say he was nervous would be a massive understatement.

"Hey Akira."

Hearing his name snapped him out of his thoughts before turning to its source, "Yeah Ann?"

"You've been pretty quiet. Something up?" asked the model.

Akira put on his best poker face, "Don't worry. I'm fine just thinking about some stuff."

"What's wrong man? We just took down a mob boss. You should be more excited." Ryuji smiled while playfully punching Akira's shoulder.

"Trust me I am." He said while rubbing his shoulder. "But what Kaneshiro said inside his Palace. About the other Metaverse user." It was a genuine concern, but right now it was the best excuse for his silence.

"Madarame mentioned this person as well," Yusuke brought his fingers to his chin. "It is a bit concerning."

Ryuji placed his hands behind his head, "Eh, not gonna let it bother me. It's not like we know whether or not he just pulled that shit out of his ass." He shrugged, "Besides, even if he didn't, we don't know anything about this guy. Not much we can do."

"As much as I hate to agree with him, Ryuji's right. Since we have nothing to go on, all we can do is be careful," said Morgana.

"You do have a point," Ann leaned back against the railing.

"So, who do you think our next target should be?" asked Ryuji.

Ann shot the boy a small glare, "Don't get ahead of yourself."

Yusuke smiled, "We should lay low for a while and let all this excitement blow over."

Akira drifted back into his thoughts once again as the topic shifted to their celebration party. Looking down at his phone, he saw that it was getting close to dusk and he would be able to call Sadayo soon. He took a deep breath in order to relax a bit. Taking down Kaneshiro was easy. This is going to be hard. With how she feels about us, I can't rely on the Metaverse for this. It's going to come down to whether or not I can break through to her. I have to do this with my own strength. If I can reach her, I can save her. Otherwise...

The sound of Ann letting out a defeated sigh snapped him out of his thoughts once again. She pulled her phone away from her ear and put it on speaker. "Hello," said the voice of Makoto. "I hope you remember we have finals next week, Yusuke and Morgana excluded, of course." The mention of finals caused Ann and Ryuji to drop their heads. "For now, we should focus on studying for finals, we'll celebrate once there over… Understood?"

"Yes Queen," said Ann and Ryuji in a defeated tone.

"Good, I'll see you all at school." The line went dead and Ann put her phone in her pocket.

"It seems our celebration will have to wait," said Yusuke. "It is getting late, we should adjourn for today."

"Yeah. I should get home before Boss starts to worry." Akira said, grabbing his bag off the floor.

The group nodded and went their separate ways to catch their respective trains. Once they were away from the group, Morgana poked his head out. "You're going to call Kawakami tonight right."

Akira nodded, "Yeah. I have to try and convince her to stop paying those guardians. You're not going to object to that are you."

Morgana shocked his head, "No. I think this needs to be dealt with as soon as possible. She needs our help, whether she thinks she deserves it or not."

"Thanks, lets get home." Akira quickened his stride as he marched home to face his maid.

~Later~

Upon arriving home at Leblanc, Akira saw that Boss had already left for the night. He set his bag down on one of the tables and Morgana hopped out of it. "How do you want to do this?" asked the cat.

Akira placed his hand on the headset of the yellow payphone, "To be honest I really don't have a plan. I don't see a reason to make one since I'm sure it will completely go out the window as soon as we start talking."

Morgana nodded his head, leaping up to the bar next to the phone. "Going with 'Don't think. Feel' then huh."

Akira chuckled, amused at how the advice Sadayo gave him about fishing is about to be his plan to save her, "Yeah."

"Alright. I'll leave you to it." Morgana jumped off the bar and began to make his way towards the stairs.

"Not going to stay," Akira asked, a little surprised.

"No. This is all you Joker. Your the only one who can get through to her is you. I would hate to be a third wheel for this conversation." Morgana chuckled to himself before turning back to the stairs, "Don't worry. You can do this." With that, he went upstairs to leave out the window.

Under any other circumstance, Akira would wonder if Morgana had finally learned a little bit of compassion, but now was not the time. All right. Do or die time Akira. Speak from the heart. He took in a deep breath before exhaling slowly. Picking up the headset, Akira raised it his ear while dialing the number. He took in one last breath as the phone rang.

"Hello," said the other end.

"Hey," he said while scratching the back of his head. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling a lot better now. A good night's rest did me a lot of good," Sadayo said with a little warmth in her tone.

"That's good."

"Yeah."

Conversation fell into an awkward silence. Both sides knew what the call was really about. But starting that talk wasn't the easiest thing to do.

Akira swallowed the lump in his throat. "So I was wondering if we could talk. Are you available for a request?"

There was a beat of silence for a moment. A very long beat, at least to Akira, before Sadayo said, "I am. Do you want to request me?"

He let out a sigh of relief, grateful she was willing to listen to him, "Yeah. I'll put in a request for you ok."

"Right. I'll see you soon." Sadayo hung up the phone and Akira was transferred to the request line. Once the request was accepted, he sat in the booth nearest to the phone. Resting his elbows on the table and interlocking his hands, Akira began to try and relax before Sadayo arrived. All while repeating the words of advice he now heavily relied on. Don't think. Feel.

Meanwhile, Sadayo laid across her bed, staring at her phone's blank screen. Why? Why did I tell him he could request me? Seeing him is only going to make it feel worse. She rolled over on her back and looked up at the ceiling. I guess part of me just wants to see him. One last time. She let out a sigh as she stood up to change into her maid outfit. It's only fair to him. After everything he's done for me. As she slipped into her maid outfit, Sadayo replayed all the memories she had shared with Akira. When I realized it was him who requested me back in that empty apartment, I was so nervous. That day feels like it happened forever ago, but the two of us have only really known each other for maybe a month and a half. She chuckled, and somehow and in that time, he's become someone important to me. Buckling her shoes, Sadayo made her way to the door. Stopping for one last moment before exiting. I can never get a grasp of the way he thinks. On the surface he seems kind of aloof. But deep down he's truly something special. She gripped the doorknob and twisted it, I'm going to miss him.

~Later~

After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, a knocking at the cafe door snapped Akira out of his thoughts. Taking one last deep breath, he stood up and made his door. Showtime. Upon opening the door, he saw Sadayo dressed in the same maid outfit. She didn't meet his gaze, instead choosing to look past him or rather straight through him. "Hello."

"Hello," Sadayo said, still not meeting his gaze.

Akira motioned with his hand for her to enter, "Let's talk upstairs alright."

With a nod from Sadayo, the two made their way to the dusty attic. Akira led the way and sat down on the couch next to the work bench. Sadayo chose to stand near said couch, not really wanting to sit next to him. Once the two were settled in, the atmosphere had gotten thicker due to the nature of the meeting. This is awkward, thought the two in unison.

She looked around the room and saw that there was no cat in sight, "Hey, Where's Morgana?"

"He went out for a while. Wanted to give us some privacy." Akira said, pointing at the open window. "I'm surprised he didn't stay honestly. I think he likes you more than me."

"Well, I highly doubt that. You two seem close considering you brought him to the hospital with you."

He chuckled, "Like I said then, he was worried about you. Maybe I'm just jealous that he lets you pet him."

Sadayo tilted her head, "Is he normally particular about who pets him?"

Akira placed his hand on his chin, "Now that I think about it, He only lets girls pet him. He's a real playboy."

His words managed to get a laugh out of Sadayo to which he responded with one of his own. "I see. Maybe next time I shouldn't spoil him so much."

"So there is going to be a next time?"

Sadayo looked over to him as she realized what she had said. She cursed herself internally while she gazed at her master. I shouldn't have said that. I just gave him false hope. She looked away from him to look around the room. "I actually really like the antique feel of this place," Her smile was melancholic. "But I have to say goodbye to it all today."

"Kawakami."

"I have to quit. Takase-kun's guardians keep increasing their demands. So I'm leaving my teacher and maid job to find ones that pay better."

"Kawakami," Akira said a little louder than before.

Sadayo didn't hear him and continued to vent. "It's gotten so hard to make the payments on time. But there is nothing I can do about it. This is just what I have to do."

"Kawakami."

"It's my fault Takase-kun died. If it wasn't for all the extra work I gave him. Maybe-"

"SADAYO."

She turned quickly at the sudden call of her name. Surprised to hear Akira call her by her first name like he had done before.

Akira rose from his seat and faced Sadayo Still keeping a good distance between as to not scare her, "Before any of that, there is something I should apologize for."

She blinked for a second. "A-apologize? Apologize for what?" she said, visibly confused.

"At the hospital, when I brought up the Phantom Thieves. I failed to notice how uncomfortable you were with the topic. I should have been more considerate at the time and I just wanted to apologize for making you upset. I'm sorry." Akira bowed a little to emphasise his apology.

Sadayo watched her master bow to her with complete confusion. She waved her hands in front of her. "I-it's fine Kurusu-kun. I mean I know it wasn't your intention to make me feel bad. You were just trying to help."

"Still… I feel bad for making you uncomfortable. Especially after what they said to you. I just made you feel worse."

"Kurusu-kun. It's fine. You did nothing wrong." Sadayo smiled, pleased to see that Akira still cared about her enough to consider her feelings. Has he been worried about that all this time? I completely forgot he brought up the Phantom thieves. To be so concerned over nothing, that's so him.

"And you didn't do anything wrong either," Akira looked into her eyes with an unyielding resolve.

She blinked once again at her master's words. "What do you mean? I-"

"You tried to help Takase-kun," he interrupted. "When the school tried to push him into transfering, you gave him a chance to succeed when no one else would. You tried to do what a great teacher should do and that's what you are. A great teacher." Sadayo's eyes widen at his words and he kept up the pressure. "Takase-kun's death was in no way, shape, or form your fault. It happened by chance and I'm sure Takase-kun won't blame you for it considering you were willing to help him. It wasn't your fault and you shouldn't let those stupid guardians of his tell you otherwise."

Sadayo looked at Akira a moment longer before drawing in her arms and looking to the floor. "Still… This is for the best. Maybe I can escape all of this if I quit being a teacher. People like me have no right to be a teacher. If I quit now then maybe-"

"Kawakami," Akira interrupted once again, taking a step closer to her once more. "I want you to answer this. If you truly felt bad about what happened, if you truly felt like it was your fault, why didn't you quit earlier?"

The question made her gaze quickly turn to him. "Wha… I…" Sadayo didn't have a reply and Akira said nothing to give her any kind of hint. Why am I still a teacher? The question was simple in hindsight, but she had no answer. Despite blaming herself for what happened, she continued to teach. Despite the influence of the Takeses, she continued to teach. Despite the numerous times she had complained about the work while at Shujin, she continued to teach. Sadayo repeated the question in her head several times and as she did, feelings and memories that had long since been buried began to make their way to the surface. All of them whispering something to her. "I don't know. If I really felt bad for what happened, I would've resigned the day he died. But I didn't. I still felt the need to teach. Why?"

"Take a look inside yourself and try to remember," He didn't want Sadayo to lose this train of thought.

"Kurusu-kun." Sadayo's heartbeat soared as she looked to her student. She looked down at her hands, opening them and closing them as if trying to grab at something. "I… I remember now." She said with a look of realization. "I… I decided the way to apologize to him was to make sure there won't ever be another student like him." As she spoke, Sadayo felt a tremendous weight being lifted off her shoulders. "Because I might've been able to save him if I hadn't been afraid of rumors or lables back then. I… I wanted to become a teacher who takes care of her students. That's the mindset I had!" She shouted that last part with a new found sense of pride and determination. But her gaze drifted to the floor. "But now, I spend all my free time at part-time jobs. I put the work I valued as a teacher on the back burner so I could make 'apology' money. That's where it all went wrong. I can't make things right with Takese-kun like this."

Akira smiled, "Mistakes can be fixed, as long as you are willing to try and fix them."

"You're… You're right. I can still be the teacher I aspire to be… that's the right way for me to make amends to Takase-kun. And starting now I refuse to pay his guardians any more 'apology money'. From now on, I'm not going to give up on my students. That's my answer!" She smiled again and turned to Akira. "...Well, what do you think?"

Akira just shrugged, a satisfied grin on his face, "I don't know. You're asking a student?"

Sadayo rolled her eyes and placed her hands on her hips, "You're right. You can't get the right answers from someone else. It can only be found from within." A small blush crawled across her face. "You taught me that. In a way, you're my teacher." She chuckled a bit, "Just kidding."

Akira just smiled, he was relieved that he had managed to break Sadayo free of her chains. The maid in front of him seemed like a completely different person than the one that had walked in. She sounded happy, proud, and relieved. The feeling of seeing her smile so genuinely was indescribable. To Akira, the smile Sadayo had made him realise how worth it everything was. That drunkard, the trial, leaving his home and family behind him to move Tokyo, Kamoshida, and all the dirty rumors that followed him at Shujin. Everything that happened felt worth it because it all led him to this very moment. And he couldn't help but stare at her beautiful smile.

"I've been so worried about making money that I haven't been paying attention to my students and that included you. You were labeled just like Takase-kun and from now on, I'm going to do everything I can to protect you." I'll protect you. I will. Sadayo couldn't count the amount of time Akira had helped her or been there for her. And now she had the motivation to return the favor.

"I'll protect you too."

Sadayo's heart rate soared once again upon hearing his words. "Thank you." She shook her head as she tried to push down the swelling emotions. "I'm done running away. I'm going to speak with the Takases and tell them I'm done paying them. No more running."

The beeping of Sadayo's watch caught her attention. "Looks like our time is up. I need to get home and get things sorted so I'll see you at school." She did a curtsy, "Have a good night Master."

With those final words, Akira walked downstairs with Sadayo to unlock the door. Once the door was opened Sadayo walked out but not before giving Akira a hug. "Thank you." Before Akira could respond, She pulled away and made her way to the station with a new sense of urgency.

Akira watched her until she disappeared around the corner. He locked the door once again and made his way back up the stairs while mentally congratulating himself.

"So how did it go," Morgana asked having just returned from his late night walk through the window.

"Great. I was able to convince her to stop paying those guardians their dirty money. She also remembered why she wanted to keep teaching. All things considered, it all worked out."

The cat nodded, "Glad to hear it all worked out. I knew you could do it."

"Thanks Morgana. Now let's get to bed. With no more problems on the horizon, I could use a goodnight's rest."

"You do still have exams coming up."

Akira let out a defeated sigh as he climbed into bed. Falling asleep to thought of pig-tailed maids.

"And that's what happened." Akira looked around the room to gage his friends' reactions, which were mixed. Ann and Ryuji were smiling. Haru, Yusuke, and Futaba were smiling as well, but not as wistfully as the other two. Makoto seemed to have something on her mind. The only one who didn't react was Morgana which wasn't surprising considering that he knew everything that happened.

Haru clapped her hands together and spoke first, "It's wonderful to hear that you got your drive back Kawakami."

"Indeed. You were able to remember the vow you made to yourself." Yusuke nodded.

Sadayo waved her hand, "Thank you. But the real credit goes to Akira. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have been able to get as far as I did."

Ryuji leaned back in his chair, "I feel ya there. This guy always knows what to say."

"Yes," Haru smiled while turning to Akira. "You truly know what to say when the moment is right."

"You guys give me too much credit." shrugged Akira.

"No way. It's like you know all the paths in a dating sim," said Futaba. "Your a total wiz when it comes to talking to people. A real inspiration for people like me who have no idea how to talk to people."

"Futaba's right," added Ann. "You really are amazing. When I was going through all that stuff with Shiho, you always managed to calm me down. You don't give yourself enough credit."

Yusuke nodded, "I agree with Ann. You were a major reason as to why I was able to get over my slump. Whenever I found myself at a crossroads, your words always seemed to point me in the right direction. I think the rest of us are in agreeance."

"You don't give yourself enough credit Akira," Makoto looked over the group. "You really are quite the speaker. Even if you don't intend to. You managed to encourage me when I came to you about my troubles."

Futaba smiled, "It's the same for me. You've helped me get over all the stuff that happened to my mom and you've always managed to calm me down when I was nervous."

Haru clapped her hands together, "You're able to connect with people so deeply. Not just us, but all the people who have helped us like Iwai-san and Takemi-san. I'm sure they feel the same."

Sadayo turned to face Akira. "Their right Akira. Whenever I started to doubt myself, you would always say just the right thing to pick me back up. Especially when you reminded me as to why I wanted to be a teacher. It almost seemed like you planned it out."

Akira rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "Um… Not really. I decided a plan wouldn't really help me when we talked back then. I just kind of winged it. You know, Don't Think, Feel."

Sadayo blinked for a second before bursting out into laughter, "So you used my advice about fishing as your game plan for saving my life." She held her stomach tight, her insides hurting from laughing so much. "Y-you really are something."

Everyone laughed as Akira began to blush, which only caused the group to laugh more at their leader's characteristic display of emotion. After a minute of pure laughter at Akira's expense, it died back down and everyone caught their breath. Makoto took the reins, "before we get too far away from the story, there is something I want to ask you Akira."

"What's up Makoto?"

She leaned back in her chair, "I'll try to phrase this the best I can so I apologize if it comes out wrong. From the context of the story, more specifically when you said 'I'll protect you too', it sounds like you had already begun to think of Kawakami as something more than just a friend. Is that right?"

All eyes turned to the fuzzy haired teen as he leaned back into the couch. "Well, I guess you have a point." He placed his hands behind his head, "Looking back on it now, maybe this was when my feelings really began to develop. Even at the hospital or maybe even before that, I think there was something there that I only realise now. I just liked spending time with Sadayo. There isn't really any other way to put it. So yeah maybe by this point I thought of Sadayo as something more than a friend. I just didn't realise it till later."

Makoto smiled, "All right. I apologize if my question was inappropriate."

Akira shook his head, " Don't worry about it. If that's it, I think we should get back to the story."

"Really, Don't you have a question, Kawakami?" Asked Ann.

"I do, but I think it should wait until later." Sadayo gripped her other hand nervously. "I… I think you should all hear what happened next. It's kind of important."

Everyone picked up one Sadayo change in tone except for Ryuji. "Yeah, you haven't told us how or who confessed yet. Come on, it was Akira wasn't it," he said with a boyish wink.

"No," said Akira with a low tone. "We're not there quite yet. There is still some stuff that happened before that."

Ryuji tilted his head in confusion, "What? But what else is there. Kawakami worked up the courage to tell those stupid guardians to buzz of. What's left besides the finale?"

Makoto turned to the 'blonde', "Ryuji. Remember, we still fought those two in the Metaverse. We should just listen for a moment longer."

The boy still didn't seem to understand but he let it rest for a moment and signed for the couple to continue the story. With all eyes on them, Sadayo began the story once again, "Alright, the next day was Sunday. That's when I called the Takeses, but I didn't hear back from them until Monday at school..."

For the first time in forever, Sadayo felt she had a little kick in her step. Despite everything that happened in the past week, she felt as light as a feather. Mostly due in part to the talk she had with Akira. Because of him, she was able to find the resolve she once had and found the will to fix her mistakes. It felt like a massive weight had been lifted from Sadayo's shoulders. The day after their talk, Sadayo received a call from the Takases asking about their money. She proceeded to tell them off and to not call her anymore. Telling them that she was done paying their dirty money. A little over a week ago she wouldn't have thought that was possible. Now she was able to truly speak her mind to the couple, telling them that she would be a great teacher so no other students ended up like Takase-kun. After that, she hung up and she hadn't heard from the Takases since. They were mostly likely furious but it didn't matter. Sadayo couldn't help but smile

"You seem different Ms. Kawakami." said Ms. Chouno.

Sadayo looked away from her lunch to her fellow teacher. It was lunchtime and she and some of the other teachers were eating in the teacher's room. The two were sitting side by side at their desking eating. "What do you mean?"

Ms. Chouno sat down her chopsticks and turned her chair. "I'm not quite sure. But since you came in this morning, you seemed to have a spring in your step."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Sadayo said trying to play ignorant.

"Trying to hide it huh. That can only mean one thing." She leaned back and pointed a finger at Sadayo. "You got yourself a boyfriend."

The accusation caused Sadayo to choke on her food a little before catching her breath, "WHAT?!" Her words came out a little louder then expected and few of the other teachers turned their head to look over at what was going on. Sadayo gave an apologetic bow before turning to her fellow teacher, "I-it's not like that."

"Oh then what is it? Over the course of the weekend you went from your usually moppy self to smiling up a storm." Ms. Chouno leaned forward and put her hand to her ear. "Come on spill. What's his name?"

I didn't expect Ms. Chouno to be so into gossip. "It's nothing like that. Over the weekend, I was able to make a major lifestyle change for the better. Now I can focus on being a good teacher."

Ms. Chouno smiled at her words, "What passion. I can see that what ever happened has motivated you quite a bit. I look forward to seeing how you help your students with this new found motivation."

Sadayo didn't respond and instead thought about her co-worker's 'boyfriend' comment. Why would she think it was because I got a boyfriend? The last real boyfriend I had was in college and we only dated for a year. With everything that happened, I didn't have the time for a social life, much less a love life. I wonder if it's even possible for me to get a boyfriend. The thoughts of her romantic shortcomings caused her expression to darken. I wonder what Kurusu-kun would think? Before she could linger on the implications of that thought, Sadayo remembered she hadn't told Akira about her call with the Takases. "Oh. Sorry Ms. Chouno. I have to speak with one of my students before lunch is over. Please excuse me." Sadayo left before the other teacher could even respond, quickly making her way down the hall to call for him. All while having a small smile.

Meanwhile, Akira walked the halls of Shujin near the cafeteria, doing his best to hide the fact he was as happy. His talk with Sadayo had left him in a pretty good mood. Even Boss picked up on it and asked him why the usually aloof teen was smiling without a care in the world. He was able to get away from having to explain himself to Boss and Akira decided to take the Sunday off. Not spending it with any of his friends or working at any of his jobs and instead taking a day to decompress and let the emotions from the previous night run their course. By morning, he was able to put up his usual blank expression to hide the emotions that still lingered. Thankfully, none of his friends were able to see a difference in his demeanor, or at least if they did, they didn't say it.

The ding of the School's intercom rang in Akira's ears. "Kurusu-kun," said a very familiar voice. "Please come to the Student Guidance Office. I repeat, Kurusu-kun, please come to the Student Guidance Office."

Akira played little attention to the whisper of everyone else in the hall and began to make his way to the Student Guidance Office.

"That sounded like Kawakami. Wonder what's up," Said Morgana poking his head out of the bag a little.

"Don't worry, assured Akira. "I guarantee it's nothing. Probably just wants to talk to me in private."

"Let's head over there. Don't want to keep her waiting."

Following his feline freind's advice, Akira quickly made his way to the Student Guidance Office where he found Sadayo waiting for him. "Hello Sensei. Is there something you need?" He asked while shutting the door behind him.

"It's nothing major. Sorry to pull you away from your lunch," she said.

"Don't worry about it. What's up?" He leaned against a bookshelf near Sadayo. Setting his bag with Morgana in it on the shelf next to his head. "Something happened with the Takases?"

"Yeah," smiled Sadayo, placing her hands on her hips. "I called them on Sunday and told them I'm not going to pay them anymore."

Akira smiled, "That's great. How'd they take it? Not well I hope."

She chuckled at his comment, "They were furious. I was a little nervous, but thanks to our talk I was able to give them a piece of my mind. As a result, I'm quitting my part-time job too!"

"That's great to hear."

"I'm so happy to be done with that job. Although, I'm still talking with my manager about it. Since I asked for so many shifts, it would put them in a really bad spot if I just left. But once I'm done with those, I'll be free to dedicate myself to teaching."

Her enthusiasm caused Akira to chuckle, "I'm glad to hear it all worked out. With how hard you work, I'm sure you'll be the best teacher here at Shujin." He bowed a little and grinned, "I look forward to learning from you Sensei."

Sadayo rolled her eyes and jabbed Akira in the side, "I can do without out the sarcasm you know."

He rubbed his side before running his hand through his hair, "Hey. It's part of my charm."

That it is. "To be honest I still have a way to go. But now I'm going to be a great teacher and I won't waver from that choice." She turned to Akira and met his gaze. "I just wanted to say thanks again for helping me. I don't know where I'd be if it wasn't for you." A small tint of pink colored her cheeks, "I just wanted you to be the first to know."

"I didn't do that much," shrugged Akira. "You're the one who found the answer. I was just there for moral support."

"Geez. You go from being cocky and sarcastic to humble in the blink of an eye. Just pick one alright."

Her comment caused Akira to laugh and Sadayo began to laugh as well. Outside of the room, the two were just teacher and student. But inside, when they were alone together, the two were something beyond just a simple friendship.

However, a knocking at the door to the room silenced the two. " Excuse me Ms. Kawakami," said a female voice. "You have a guest. The Takases are here."

Both Akira and Sadayo straighten up upon hearing their names. "What?" said Sadayo. "They're here?"

The door to the room slide open to reveal the same man from the Hospital. His face practically had 'anger' written all over it and the women who followed him in was no different. "How long are you gonna make us wait," said Mr. Takase with an irritated tone.

Mrs. Takase turned her head to Akira and clicked her teeth, "Him again?"

Akira held back as much anger as he could, "You know it, lady."

"How rude," scoffed Mrs. Takase. "I guess a student is only as good as his teacher."

Sadayo stepped forward, "Leave him out of this. What do you want? I already told you I'm not going to pay you anymore."

Mr. Takase glared at Sadayo, "And you think you can get out of your responsibility by just calling and saying you're not going to pay? Who do you think you are?"

Sadayo was a little nervous but she mustered up some courage and shot a glare back at the man. "I told you that I'm done paying you. It's what I decided to do in order to honor Takase-kun. I'm going to make sure no other students end up like him. Like..."

"Don't pretend you care about him," interrupted Mrs. Takase. "You're just trying to run away. You murdered our little Taiki. If we bring this up to the Board of Education, your teaching days are over."

The women's comment was the last straw and Sadayo stomped her foot, placing her hands on her hips, "I didn't murder him. His death was an accident and you two guilt tripped me into believing it was my fault. Now I know that isn't true! If you want to sue me, go ahead! If you want to bring this to the Board of Education, go ahead! I'm not going to run and hide. Not anymore. I spent too much time worrying about your stupid money that I forgot the promise I made to Takase-kun after he died. I'm going to be a teacher who doesn't abandon her students."

Akira watched Sadayo defend herself with eminence satisfaction. She was finally sticking up for herself, fighting back against the people who tortured her for so long. It was like Sadayo was a whole different person and it made him proud to see he had helped her improve so much.

However…

Despite Sadayo's intense and passionate words, the Takases didn't seem fazed by her sudden attitude change. A strange feeling swelled in Akira's gut and thanks to his time as both a Phantom Thief and a leader, he was able to tell what that feeling was. They're hiding something. They still have a trick up their sleeve.

Mr. Takase let out an uninterested hum, "Well how about along with suing you, we tell everyone about your little secret…"

The knot in Akira's stomach began to tighten.

"...You know, about your little stint as a sex worker."

The silence that followed was louder than a gunshot. Both Akira and Sadayo's eyes widened as the man's words rang in their ear. The only thing Sadayo could say was, "How did you…"

The Man laughed maniacally, "So it's true is it. The amount you're paying us can't be played with a missly teacher salary."

Mrs. Takase laughed as well, "A teacher working in the sex industry. If this were to get out, it would cause a scandal. You really are pathetic aren't you."

Sadayo felt the world around her began to crumble. All of the confidence and pride that she gained thanks to Akira disappeared and were replaced with fear and anguish. The only thing left was a set of chains stronger than the ones from before. "Stop," her voice whimpered. "Please…"

While Sadayo's world came crashing down, Akira's vision turned red. I'll kill them. I'LL KILL THEM. If it wasn't for Morgana barking at him to control himself, he would have leapt across the room and smashed his fist into the Takases skulls. Consequences be damned.

"Do you get it now? This is what you get for trying to abandon your 'responsibility'." Mr. Takase stepped close to the teacher. "Pay up! And don't ever think about defying us ever again." The man smiled again as he turned to walk out the door with his wife behind him.

Akira and Sadayo stood motionless for a few more seconds, the latter staring as if waiting for some kind of sign telling her it was a joke.

Before Sadayo could notice, Akira turned to Morgana and said quietly, "Morgana. Favor."

"What do you need Joker?"

"I'll buy you as much sushi as you wan-,"

"No need," interrupted the cat. "This is personal now. Whatever you need, I'll do it."

Akira nodded, "Thanks. Follow those two, find out where they live ok. Meet me at Leblanc once you find it."

"Roger." Morgana leapt out of the bag and made his way to the window quietly as to not be noticed by Sadayo. He leapt out the slightly ajared window leaving Akira and Sadayo alone.

Akira turned away from the window to look at Sadayo. She was shaking like there was a blizzard. Akira didn't move to comfort her. He knew it wouldn't help at all.

"I… I can't…" her voice was breaking more and more with each word. "I can't pay them… not with my teacher's salary and Victoria. T-the only choice left is to transfer to our sister company."

"What do you mean 'sister company'?" asked Akira with a concerned tone.

"Their a company affiliated with Victoria. They'll pay more money and it's the only way to pay them on time."

He once again felt a knot form in his stomach and told him to stop, but he ignored it "Why are you just bringing this up? If you knew about a better paying job, why…"

Sadayo fell to her knees, "Do you remember when you asked me what 'Special services' ment? They provide clients with those services." She held her stomach tight as she spoke, trying her best not to throw up.

Akira felt like he was shot in the head. "You can't do that!" he shouted. "You really don't plan on… on… on selling your body just to pay those two. You can't do that. You can't give up."

"I KNOW!" Akira stopped as Sadayo shouted at him. "But, what am I supposed to do? Even after I worked up the courage to stand up for myself, all it did was blow up in my face. Look at me. I'm right back where I started." She shook her head and wrapped her arms around herself, "No. I'm worse then when I started. Now I have to leave everything to go work as a...a…" Sadayo couldn't finish her sentence. Her body just wouldn't allow it. Instead, she began to sob and wail like death was right in front of her. "I'm s-scared. I can't fight back… T-there's nothing I can do."

She cried while Akira stood motionless, for the first time, truly unable to to think of what to say in order to break through to her. All he could do was watch the women he cared about wallow in her own despair. Before he could drag any word out of his throat by force, Sadayo turned to him. Her eyes watery and nose runny, "Hey Kurusu-kun. Do you think the Phantom Thieves would really help someone like me?"

Akira swallowed the lump in this throat and crouched next to Sadayo, "Kawakami, This is important. I need you to tell me their names."

"Why?... I don't…" Sadayo didn't have the strength to finish her sentence. The fear and pressure was just too much for her. What's the point… "The husband is Toshio-san and the wife is Hiromi-san." It took a second for Sadayo to fully process what she had said, but once she did, alarms began to ring in her head. "Wait! What are you going to do!? You intend to do something, don't you!?"

Akria stood up and turned away from her, "Don't worry. I'll be-" He jumped in shock as he felt Sadayo cling to his shirt, cutting him off from finishing his sentence.

"Please don't!" she said with a frantic sob. "If you do something bad, you could be arrested. Everything you have, don't just throw it all away. Just to protect me! I'M NOT WORTH IT. You always do this. Throwing yourself into danger for others… Why?" Akira looked over his shoulder to glance at Sadayo. "Why are you trying so hard to protect me? I don't want to see you taken away because of me. I don't want to lose you!"

The look in Sadayo's eyes truly hurt Akira, worse than any wound he had gotten in the Metaverse. All it did was make him want to comfort her. To tell her that everything would work out because he was the leader of the Phantom Thieves. To tell her that he would save her and protect her no matter what. But, he couldn't…

Likewise, Sadayo saw the pain in Akira's eye. What she had said truly hurt him, even if she didn't know why. Seeing his expression caused her to look away. "I'm sorry… please just forget about everything. I called you to tell you about what I had decided and it ended up like this." She shook her head, "You should get to class… Just leave me alone. I need to be alone..."

Once again, Akira wanted to reach out his hand to her, but he knew it was impossible to reach her now. Instead, he walked towards the door to take his leave. However, just before he opened it, Akira took in one last deep breath and said…

"I'll protect you."

Sadayo didn't bother to turn around to look at him. She just listened as the door slid open and slid shut. Once she heard the door slide shut, Sadayo clasped to the ground once again. Holding herself tightly as fear, anxiety, and sadness stabbed her like needles. For years, it felt like she had nothing else to do but follow Takase's demands. And after so many years, she finally found the courage to stand only for it to be killed right in front of her. The only thing Sadayo Kawakami could do was reach her hand out, wishing, hoping someone would save her.

"Someone… Anyone… Please help me."

Akira watched through the small crack of the door. He hadn't fully left yet and watched Sadayo curl up and cling to what was left of her freedom. He clenched his fist engought to draw blood and pulled out his phone to send a message to his friends.

A: EMERGENCY MEETING. HEAD TO THE HIDEOUT IMMEDIATELY AFTER SCHOOL. IF YOU HAVE PLANS, CANCEL THEM. THIS IS IMPORTANT. I HAVE TO GRAB SOMETHING SO I'LL BE THERE AS SOON AS I CAN.

Putting his phone away Akira heard the voice of Arsense in the back of his mind.

What shall we do Master?

Akria let out a laugh, one of pure wicked rebellion. Not bothering to care and see if anyone heard him, What else? Pillage them.

Good. Let the anger fuel the flames of rebellion in thy heart, Then release thy wrath upon thy enemies.

Akira smiled at the words of his Persona and made his way to class. To wait for his time to let loose his overwhelming rage.

"And that's what happened," Sadayo held Akira's hand tightly as she finished another part of the story. Despite moving on from her troubled past, Sadayo didn't like to think about that day. All the fear and anguish she felt over having her whole world crushed wasn't the most pleasant memory. It made her sick to her stomach to think about the lengths she had almost gone too in order to pay the Takases their money.

She looked around the room to see the expressions of everyone. Ryuji and Yusuke's expressions were similar, eyes widened and their faces pale. The former clenching his knees out of anger and the usually expressive artist seemed at a loss for words. Haru and Makoto's faces were pale and their eyes were wide like the boys. Their breathing was low quite, so quiet that Sadayo wondered if they were breathing at all. Futaba had her hands wrapped around herself and her breathing was quite as well, her eyes were a little watery. Being the youngest of the group, Sadayo figured that the thought of going to work at such a place definitely frightened the girl. Next, she looked at Ann and saw that the model was green in the face, holding her stomach and taking deep breaths. Sadayo knew that Ann was one of the most sympathetic people she had ever met and her reaction was a result of that. Finally, she looked to her boyfriend. While his expression looked rather mellow, Sadayo could tell that hearing the story again made him a little angry. Despite the seriousness of the current topic, she did find a sort of comfort in not just his expression, but everyone's. It just meant that they all truly cared for her.

Yusuke was the first to speak, "That's… a lot."

"I don't… know what to say," said Haru.

"That's a lot to hear Kawakami." Makoto grabbed her arm. "I can't, no I don't want to imagine what that must have been like."

Futaba lifted her glasses and rubbed her eyes, "Your whole world came crashing down around you. I… I…"

"I can't even imagine something like that," finished Ann. "You almost s-sold yourself, just to pay those assholes. I know we've been through some terrible stuff, but hearing that makes me sick."

Ryuji slammed his fist on his own leg. "Those stupid guardians," growled the teen. "They… Just." He let out an annoyed growl as he ruffled his hair.

Akira took a breath to calm his nerves a bit. "Hey, let's take a breather for a minute and I'll make us some coffee. Do you want to come help Sadayo?"

She nodded and stood from her seat to walk with Akira downstairs, leaving the rest of the Phantom Thieves to take in everything they heard.

Morgana climbed up onto the table and looked to his love interest, "Lady Ann, Are you alright?"

"No. I'm not," she answered. "What Kawakami considred doing, just to pay those asshole guardians their stupid money. It… makes me sick."

"Ann's right," said Futaba as she wiped away the forming tears. "If it wasn't for Akira being there for her, she would have been totally alone."

Morgana nodded, "I get it. To be honest, I'm having a little trouble swallowing it myself."

"Wait. You didn't know Morgana?" Makoto asked, surprised by this little bit of information.

He shook his head, "No. I had already left to follow the Takases so I didn't hear it then and Akira never told me about it either." Morgana looked down, his expression more solemn than before. "I can't really blame him."

Yusuke nodded, "Indeed, This really does explain a lot. Both Akira's attitude at the time and the reason he kept it a secret."

Before Haru or Futaba could ask for the artist to elaborate, they heard Ann say "Hey guys." Having regained some of the color in her face, the model asked, "Can we do something?"

Meanwhile, Akira and Sadayo were behind the counter downstairs. "Are you Ok Akira," asked Sadayo, handing him a full pot of water.

"Not really," he answered while starting the brewing. "I know that all of that stuff is in the past and everything. But, just remembering it all makes me angry. How they treated you. I don't know what I would have done if you had really left too-."

"I know," she placed her hand on his shoulder, "I won't lie and say that I've fully forgiven the Takases for what they said… but it's because of what happened that were here now."

"Still…"

Sadayo shook her head and cupped his face in her hands, "Akira. You saved my life. You're the most amazing person I've ever met. And hearing how those memories make you feel only reminds me of why I love you. I know that remembering that time hurts, but we're here now because of it. And I wouldn't have it any other way." She brought his face down and gave him a quick peck on the lips. An action which caused his expression to lighten

Akira wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead, "I love you too." Over Sadayo's shoulder he could see Morgana at the foot of stairs, motioning with his tail. Taking the hint, he turned back to the brewing equipment, "I should be done in another minute. Head back upstairs and I'll be right up."

"Are you sure?"

He nodded, "Yeah, I got it."

Sadayo wanted to pressure him more, she nodded and turned to make her way back up the stairs.

Upon reaching the top, she was surrounded by everyone. All of them were still reeling from the story obviously, but something seemed off with the. "Hey, what are-." Before she could finish her sentence, Sadayo was hugged by Ann, followed by the rest of the group.

"Sorry to surprise you, but we all just wanted to do this," said Ann.

Sadayo blinked for a second and Haru explained, "You had to go through such an awful experience almost completely alone."

"Telling us about what happened brought up unpleasant memories," Futba tightened her hug, "We're sorry."

"Hey, you guys have no reason to apologize. Remember when we started this, it was my decision to tell you guys all of this and you deserved to hear the truth. But, it means the world to me that you all care about me so much. I mean it."

Makoto smiled pleased at the teachers' words, "Still, We just wanted to show you that we really do consider you to be a part of this group."

"Makoto is right. Despite the 'teacher-student' relationship you may share with most of us, even despite the difference in our age, it would be a disservice to you and the trust you've shown us to to show you that we care about you as well." Yusuke chuckled, "Ann was quite insistent on it."

Ann's cheeks blushed, "Yusuke!? Shut up."

"I'm not good with all this mushy stuff, so let's just say that we're here for you ok," Ryuji grinned just like he always did.

Sadayo smiled, "I would like that. And the same goes for all of you, feel free to come to me if you need help."

Everyone nodded and broke away from the group hug as Akira made his way back up the stairs, serving tray in hand. Once he reached the top, he saw that everyone was standing around Sadayo, "Did I miss something?"

After a few quick glances between everyone, Sadayo turned and smiled to her boyfriend, "Nope." A response which caused everyone to laugh.

Akira chuckled and figured it was best to let sleeping dogs lie, "Alright, I've got coffee for everyone, except for Ryuji. I got your soda." He passed out the drinks as everyone sat back in their spots.

After everyone had a chance to indulge in Akira's brew, Makoto took the reigns, "All right, we should get back on track. Kawakami," She said, turning to the teacher. "Do you want to ask your question now?"

Putting down her cup, Sadayo nodded, "Yes." she leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. "Before that, I just want to make sure of one thing. You all had no prior knowledge about my maid job or my connection to Akira correct." Everyone nodded, "Then Why did you all agree to help me? If Akira didn't tell you about Takase-kun, then why?"

"Yes I was wondering that as well," Haru put down her coffee cup.

Futaba smiled, "Yeah, I want to know too. Me and Haru weren't around at the time so this is something I would like to know too."

"I see, well a large part of it was due to Akira," Makoto said before taking another sip.

"I'll explain," said Akira leaning back in his chair. "It was right after school."

As soon as the bell rang for school to be let out, Akira rushed out the door to head to Leblanc. He didn't pay any attention to the strange look Ann gave him as he left. Since the incident with the Takases at lunch, Akira tried to keep his head down for the remainder of the day. Not wanting to draw attention to himself because of his anger and thanks to the Null-Rage on one of his Personas, he was able to keep under the radar. Even when it got to the last period of the day and Sadayo had failed to show up.

Now, Akira leaned against a light post and waited for Morgana to show up with the info he asked for. After a few minutes, the cat appeared from around the corner and Akira stood up straight. "Did you find out where they live?"

Morgana nodded, "Yeah, but I wasn't able to find out their names."

"Don't worry, I got their names. Toshio and Hiromi." Akira sat his bag on the floor and Morgana climbed in.

"How did you get their names? Did Kawakami tell you?"

Akira nodded, "Lead the way."

As instructed, Morgana directed Akira to the Takase's home. A quick train ride and short walk lead him to a high-end condo building near Shibuya Station. They weren't exactly luxury ones, but the exterior of the building definitely showed that the place wasn't cheap. Seeing that the awful couple lived in such a nice place was just adding fuel to the fire.

"Hey Joker," Morgana poked his head out from the bag. "Why did you want me to follow them? We already have their names. What's the point in coming here now?"

"Do you know which floor they are on?"

"Yeah, I know where they live. You're not going-"

"No," Akira interrupted. He lowered his bag from his shoulder and let Morgana out before pulling out an envelope. "Go to their door and leave this for them. Make sure they take it."

The cat tilted his head, "What is it?"

Akira opened the envelope to reveal a familiar card with the symbol of the Phantom Thieves on it.

"A calling card?!," shouted Morgana. "Why? That's not necessary unless they have a Palace. Wait, don't tell me the Takases have a Palace."

"No, they don't. As to why bother sending them a calling card, I don't know. I think it just needs to be done." Akira turned the card over to inspect it one more time. He had a few blank slates made just in case, courtesy of Yusuke. The reason he went back to Leblanc earlier was to quickly make a calling card for the couple. Sure there was no point in sending one,but it didn't matter to Akira. He just wanted the Takases to know they were coming for them. He flipped it over once again and examined the text:

Madame Hiromi Takase and Sir Toshio Takase, you unsavory couple of oppression. Your unsatiated desire for riches has caused you to value those riches over human life. You have forced others to suffer in order to satisfy your twisted desires. Thus, we have decided to make you confess your sins with your own mouth.

From, The Phantom Thieves of Hearts.

Akira placed the card back in the envelope then handed it to Morgana. "Please can you do it."

"Joker." Morgana looked at the card for a second, considering his reason for sending. But the cat nodded, "Alright give me one second." He took the envelope in his mouth and ran off into the building to deliver it. After a minute or two, the feline returned, "They got it, Don't worry, I made sure they saw it. And with all the stealth and grace of a Phantom Thief I might add."

Akira smiled, "Thank you Morgana." he lowered his bag once again. "Come on. We have a job to do."

Morgana climbed back into the bag and the duo made their way to the hideout at Shibuya station. "Do you know what you're going to say to them? Everyone I mean."

Akira shrugged a little, "Well for one, I can't tell them about her maid job. But I can't tell them about Takase-kun either."

This caught Morgana by surprise, "Why? I'm sure if you tell them what happened they would agree to help no problem."

"I know, but Kawakami told me that in confidence, it would feel wrong to tell someone about her past without her permission. Plus, I'm sure Ann and Ryuji still aren't happy with the school. I bet Makoto is too. Once they hear that this is about Kawakami, I'm certain they'll have reservations." Akira let out a sigh as the station came into view, "I know it's not fair to them, but…"

"I get it," said Morgana. "This is important to you. Even if they don't agree to help you, I have your back. I'm angry at those guardians too. Like I said, this is personal."

Akira smiled at his friend's words, "Thanks Morgana. Let's just hope it doesn't come to that." He entered the station and made his way to the walkway and as he rounded the corner, Akira took a deep breath. Showtime.

Walking towards the group, Yusuke was the first to notice him since the artist was people watching. Ann was next to Yusuke with a thinking expression on her face. She noticed the artist's attention and turned to smile at Akira. The model kicked Ryuji's shoe as the 'blonde' boy was sitting on the floor, causing him to look up from his phone and notice their leader approaching them. Makoto was the last one to notice his arrival as she was looking out the window. Only when Yusuke tapped her shoulder did she turn around to see him.

Leaning against the railing, Akira took one more deep breath. "Thanks for coming guys. I'm sure you're curious as to why I called you here."

Yusuke nodded, "Given Kaneshiro's recent confession, I thought we were going to lay low for a while."

"Yusuke's right. Exams are soon so I didn't expect a meeting like this," said Maktot, a little annoyed at the sudden meeting.

"Whatever, I'm sure it's important," smiled Ryuji. "It usually is when you call a meeting like this."

Ann rolled her eyes, "I bet you just wanted an excuse to get out of studying."

Before Ryuji could get a word in, Akira said, "Trust me this is important. We have a new target, two in fact. A couple by the name of Hiromi and Toshio Takase."

"A couple," Yusuke placed his fingers on his chin. "Quite a strange request."

"What's so special about that?" asked Ryuji. "We've dealt with more than one target before. Like those burglars posing as us."

Morgana poked his head out of Akira's bag, "This is different. Before we just took down the leader, this is actually two targets."

"Why the sudden request though?" asked Ann. "Like Ryuji said, it's usually important when you do,"

Akira adjusted his bag so Morgana could burch up on his shoulder and looked over the group. "Alright, I'm not going to beat around the bush so I'm just going to be honest. This request is for help Ms. Kawakami."

Hearing the name of one of their teacher's caused the group to be silent for a second only to widen her eyes in shock. "What do you mean Ms. Kawakami?! Master fisherman Kawakami."

"What kind of description is that? And be quiet. " Scolded Makoto but still surprised to hear the teacher's name come up in a request..

"Right. Sorry Queen."

Yusuke put up his hand, looking very confused. "Before we continue, can you enlighten me as to who you're talking about."

"She's me and Akira's homeroom teacher at Shujin," answered Ann before crossing her arms and turning to Akira. "What's going on Akira?"

"Lady Ann, I can assure you that there is a reason for this request," said Morgana.

"Wait, you knew about this Morgana," Ann said with a mild glare.

"I can explain, let me start from the beginning," Akira took a deep breath and looked out the window at the crosswalk. "Truth be told, I've been in contact with her outside of school since around the time were dealing with Madarame."

Ryuji's eyes widened again, "For real?! How the hell did that happen?"

"I bumped into her while she was working at a part-time job."

Ann shot Akira a inquisitive look, "What kind of job was it?"

He shook his head, "Sorry Ann, But I can't say. I promised her I wouldn't tell anyone." His words caused the model to grumble a little, but she relented.

Makoto leaned on the railing, "You make it sound like it wasn't just a one time thing Akira."

"It wasn't. After the first time, I went back to her work a few more times after." Akira scratched his head. "The reason I went back to see her was more to tease her and pay her back for her attitude towards me at school."

"Come on Akira. I thought you were more mature than that," Makoto said, shaking her head.

"I know, but her expression when I came back was priceless and she told me multiple times to stop," he said with a chuckle before his expression mellowed. "That's how it started at least. After a few visits, we just kind of connected. Enough for me to tell her about why I have a record."

This information definitely surprised the group. "You mean she knows about what happened back in your hometown. With that drunkard and that woman," said Ryuji.

Akira nodded, "Yeah. She knows the full story."

"I must ask. This person is your teacher? Why did you tell her this?" asked Yusuke.

"Like I said, we are just kind of connected." he smiled as he remembered all the talks the two shared. "I know it may sound weird to hear, but she's actually nice to talk to. The only reason she acts the way she does now is because of the couple I mentioned."

Makoto raised her eyebrow, "How are they involved?"

"Back before Kawakami worked at Shujin, she worked at another school. To put it simply, some stuff happened and the couple I mentioned have been extorting her ever since."

"Extortion. You mean like Kaneshiro." Makoto expression shifted at the mention of their previous target and his actions, specifically to her.

"Right, Since then, those two have been guilt tripping her into giving money to them as an apology for what happened."

Ryuji titled his head, "So what happened?"

Once again Akira shocked his head, "I can't say."

The group exchanged looks with each other and Morgana stepped in, "Listen, I know it's not fair to hide this from you guys. But trust Akira on this one, it's complicated to say the least."

Ann looked over at the cat, still having reservations "So how do you know all of this?"

"I was with Akira a lot of the time he was with Kawakami. I told him not to get involved at first, but I'm glad he didn't listen to me." Morgana's words caused Ann to gain a thinking expression. "This is important I assure you."

"The reason she had this job in the first place was to pay the couple their dirty money," growled Akira. "Since the incident, those two have been extorting Kawakami into paying them their money. And it wasn't just once or twice. Monthly and now weekly payments that have just gone up every single time." As he talked, Akira tightened his grip on the hand rail. "Because of those two, Kawakami has been working herself to the bone. It got so bad that she passed out and went to the hospital."

"Seriously?!" Ryuji said, voicing the reaction of the whole group.

"Deadly. I found out she collapsed and rushed to the hospital to see her. And that's where I meet that stupid couple," scolwed Akira. "Those two were relentless. Drilling it into her that what happened was her fault. All they cared about was their stupid money. They didn't care about the fact she passed out, they just made her feel guilty for it. And when they switched from guilt tripping to straight up black mail, if it wasn't for Morgana being there, I would have-'' Akira caught the words before they could leave his mouth.

Looking over everyone, he saw that they were all surprised at the amount of venom dripping from every word and had taken a step back from him. Ryuji spoke up once again, "Dude. What's up? I've never seen you so pissed before."

Ann nodded, "Ryuji's right. Even with Kamoshida, I've never seen you this angry before. It's a little scary to be honest."

Akira took a few deep breaths to calm down. "Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you all, it's just… Ms. Kawakami's story is similar to mine." He took off his glasses as he looked at everyone's confused expressions. "I may not be able to tell you the full story, but I can say that Ms. Kawakami tried to help someone. Someone who wanted to better themselves and deserved help. Instead of commending her for her dedication, the world stomped on her neck and made her think twice about ever doing it again." He let out a breath, "I tried to help that woman back in my hometown. Thanks to me trying to be a good person, I had my life ruined. Cast aside by people I thought were my friends, forced to leave my family behind to go to a school where everyone thinks I'm some worthless criminal. Like I said, It just hits close to home."

The group was silent at Akira's words. Their leader had never spoken about what happened with so much heart before. While he did tell them about what happened, it wasn't with the amount of emotion.

"Before you say anything, I should say that I'm still glad for what happened to me," smiled Akira. "Everything that happened led me to this and I don't regret that. Meeting all of you, forming the Phantom Thieves. All of this wouldn't have happened if I didn't help that woman." Akira's smile faded again. "Ann, I'm sure you remember how I looked on my first day."

She did and nodded, "Yeah, You looked so… numb to it all." Her tone was softer as she remembered Akira first day. How he showed up to class late and the rumors that followed.

"Yeah. If it wasn't for Me and Ryuji stumbling into the Metaverse, finding Morgana, and me awakening to my power, I probably would have given up on life a long time ago."

"Joker," said Morgana with a concerned tone.

"Don't worry Morgana, I'm fine." Akira scratched the cat's chin. Resulting in an annoyed purr. "Unfortunately, Ms. Kawakami wasn't so lucky. She was alone for years and was forced to endure everything all on her own. The reason I feel so passionately about this is because I could have seen myself ending up just like her."

"Sorry. I didn't mean to bring up what happened to Akira," Ann bowed her head in apology.

"Don't worry about it. Let me finish telling you why this request is so sudden," said Akira getting back in gear. "The reason this became so urgent is because of what happened at school today."

"Today? Wait, does this have to do why Ms. Kawakami wasn't in class after lunch," asked Ann.

Akira nodded, "Yeah. Originally, I didn't want to have to use the Metaverse to fix this because of how she felt about us."

His phrasing caused Makoto to ask, "What do you mean by that?"

"Because of the couples relentless emotional manipulation, Ms. Kawakami believes that we would come after her because she's such a horrible person" The group was once again surprised to hear Akira's explanation. "That's why I didn't want to use the Metaverse and on Saturday, I convinced her to stop paying them the money." Akira gripped the bar again, but took a deep breath to quell his anger. "Ms. Kawakami had called them on Sunday to tell them that she was not going to pay them and the couple came to the school and blackmailed her with stuff that wasn't true."

"And I assume you're not going to tell us what they said," said Makoto, seeing that Akira was withholding some info.

Akira grimmanced but nodded, "Sorry, I can't."

"Akira. That's not really a lot to go on," she continued.

"I'm sorry. I know it's not fair to you all for me to keep this all a secret. But I need you all to understand that this is important. I know I'm asking a lot here, but please trust me when I say this is serious." Akira could tell that everyone still had some reservations and he took a step away from the group to gain some space, taking Morgana out of the bag and setting him on the ground as he did.

His friends watched with utter disbelief as they saw Akira bow deeply to them. "Please, help me save her." Their leaders' actions were certainly a surprise. Ann and Ryuji just looked at each other with looks of disbelief. Having known Akira the longest, they knew better than anyone that Akira was deadly serious about this.

After what seemed like an eternity for Akira, he heard Ryuji let out what sounded like a chuckle, "What the hell are you being all serious for man? You don't have to be all dramatic about it, not like we could turn down a request from our leader."

Yusuke smiled, "Indeed, this whole endeavor seems rather important to you. As such, I think it would be best to trust you on this one. Additionally, if this couple is as bad as you say it is, I believe they need to be dealt with swiftly."

"You already know I'm in," said Morgana.

Makoto smiled too, "Given what you've told us, I'll trust your judgment on this one."

Ann stretched her arms, "Listen, I won't lie and say I've forgiven the school for what happened with Kamoshida. But, I've never seen you like this. If it's that important to you, I'll try my best."

Akira felt a wave of relief rush through his body upon hearing his friends words. "Thanks guys. This means a lot to me."

Ryuji jabbed his friend's arm, "Don't worry about it man. Let's get this done, yeah."

Everyone nodded and they all took out their phones to transfer into the Metaverse. As the world shifted around them, Akira clenched his free hand. Get ready. I'm going to steal Sadayo from you greedy clutches.

Upon entering mementos, The thieves looked over each other before turning to their leader. "So, what's the plan Joker," asked Skull.

"Keep it simple," He replied, as cool as ever. "Fox, Skull, and Queen, your vanguard. Probe for a weakness if there's one. Panther and Mona will cover the rear. Understood?"

Everyone nodded, "Right." The Thieves filed into the Mona bus, with Queen and Joker in the front with the rest spread out amongst the backseat., and began to make their way down to where Mona sensed the couple's presence.

Much to Joker's delite, there were a small number of shadows lurking and they had been able to avoid all of them as they descended. He wanted to save as much energy and anger for the fight. While the rest of the team chatted idly while Queen drove, Joker just sat quietly, his eyes closed and feet up on the dashboard, waiting for the moment he could unleash all of this bottled anger. Even as the group descended down the stairs to each floor, he said nothing. The further down they went, the more Joker's anger rose.

Finally, they came upon a swirling black void. The group departed from the Mona-bus and the cat returned into his normal form. "Alright, I sense our targets," he said, turning to the void. "They're just beyond there, You ready Joker."

He nodded, "More than you know." He led the way into the portal followed by his teammates. The blackness faded and the team got a clear view to see the Takase's shadows shrouded by an inky blackness. They stayed just far enough away to not draw their attention just yet, but we're close enough to hear the Shadaow's talking.

"Money, money, money!" demanded Mr. Takase. "Hurry and pay us all your money."

Mrs. Takases laughed maniacally, "Clothes, handbags, makeup. So many things I want, so give us your money."

Skull clicked his teeth in anger, "Those are them. Real smug looking bastards."

"Indeed," nodded Fox. "They seem so focused on money. Not even an ounce of concern for your teachers' health."

Panther stared at the couple, taken aback by their attitude. "Yeah. So you are ready, Joker." She turned to look over at their leader but he wasn't there. After a quick double take, she saw that he was walking towards the couple. Acting like it was another day at the office.

"Joker. What are you doing?" Queen called out with concern.

Joker paid no mind to the calls of his advisor and continued his stride towards their target while the rest of the group watched. This was the first time he had ever gotten so close to a target before a fight and they seemed unsure at what to do.

"What is he doing?" asked Panther, a little panic in her voice.

Skull shrugged, "No idea. Should we get in there and back him up?"

"No," all eyes turned to Mona. "He'll be fine. Trust me." The rest of the group gave the cat a strange look before turning back to watch their leader.

Mrs. Takase finally turned to notice the teen's approach. "Who are you? You look rather young. Are you one of Kawakami's students? Did you bring us money?" The female shadow scoffed.

Again, Joker continued forward. Clenching his fist as the shadows continued to bark in his ear.

"That incomptent teacher is so worthless!" shouted Mr. Takase before closing his eyes and smiling maniacally. "She sould be honored to be our source of income-." The shadow choked on his words as Joker struck him.

The thief had stepped in as close as possible and with his left foot planted firmly on the ground, realed his right leg back and unceremoniously kicked the male shadow in the groan with all the power he could, causing Mr. Takase to fall to the ground instantly.

Mrs. Takase looked down at her cloassped husband, "Sweetie!? You'll pay-." As she turned to look at her husband's assalent, she was met with the bottom of his shoe. Joker had spun on his left foot and delivered a powerful kick to the females face with his right, sending her back a few feet. Not giving the couple any time to react, he spun once again and kicked Mr. Takase in the face as well, sending his sliding on the ground towards his wife.

"Shut the hell up you bastards!" Joker shouted, bringing his foot back to the ground. "She's not worthless. You don't have any right to say that, especially after what you made her do." He cracked his knuckles, "Now get up. I'm not done with you yet."

The rest of the thieves just watched their leader with awed expressions. It was no surprise that Joker was angry or at least emotionally invested in this particular mission. However, the shear venom and wrath in his voice caused them all to take a step back. Even Morgana didn't expect to see such rage from his friend.

Blood began to pour out of the shadows mouths as the inky blackness swirled like crazy. "How dare you," snarled the man. "We won't lose to an elitist like you."

Mrs. Takase began to ooze blood as well, "If we kill one of her students, then the worthless teacher will do anything we tell her too."

"Too bad I don't plan on dying to self-entitled garbage." Joker drew his knife from its sheath and beckoned with his index and pointer finger, "Now come on."

His taunt was the final straw and the couple erupted into a plume of blood and inky blackness. The couple transformed as the rest of the group came forward to back up their the blackness faded, the couples true forms were on display. Mr. Takase adored a saber and a crown while wearing a bright red shirt with a set of butterfly wings protruding out of the back. Mrs. Takase appeared dressed in an elegant green dress fluttering in the wind as she floated with a set of wings, one more fairy like then her husbands.

The king and queen ascetic of the two was enough to make Joker want to vomit. Before Joker could vocaliz his disgust, Mr. Takase charged forward with the intent to pay back the blow he had taken earlier. Joker parried the blow dealt a shallow cut to the king's chest, but was barely able to dodge the following attack by backflipping away.

As he landed, Joker ripped off his mask to summon one of his Personas. "Anzu, Garala" he said as a barrage of wind came flying towards the king, resulting in a cry of pain for the Shadow.

Mrs. Takase chuckled, "You'll have to try harder than that to beat us." She spun around and a glittering light surrounded Mr. Takase, healing all his wounds.

Great, Thought Joker. She's got healing spells. "Skull, Fox, Take her down."

Skull smiled as he ripped off his mask, "Hell Yeah! Captain Kidd, Assault Drive." The pirate Persona sailed forward towards its target. Following his teammates lead, Fox called forth his Persona, "Goemon, Rising slash." The galient rogue charged forward as well and the two landed a powerful blow to the fairy, sending her backwards.

"We won't lose this momentum, Ride Johanna. Mafier" Shouted Queen as she called her motorcycle Persona. She revved the engine and released a powerful blast of energy toward the two shadows.

The female one let out a scream as the energy hit her, but the male shrugged off the blast while Laughing, "Stupid brats. You must be Kawakami's brats. That attack was almost as worthless and her."

"I said don't call her worthless," Joker growls and rushed forward to deliver another blow to the male shadow. Thanks to his Persona's agility, He was able to quickly close the distance between the two and deliver a powerful blow to the male's arm. Unfoutnally, Joker overextended his attack was unable to block the Rising Slash from the shadow.

"Joker," called out his teammates as he flew back clenching his teeth.

The fairy queen chuckled, "Don't think this is over yet. Take this!" She raised her hands and a barrage of ice came flying towards the team. "How did you like that?"

"You think that's going to stop me. Mazio." Skull summoned Captain Kid once again and let lightning rain down on the two shadows.

Fox too summoned his persona once again, "Mabufu." The ice stuck right as the lighting did it's thing and the two shivered as the freezing cold washed over them.

Queen pulled out her revolver and laid down some suppressing fire at the king as she made her way over to Joker, who was still getting his composure from the previous attacks. "Joker. You should heal your-"

"I'm fine." he snapped at her, venom unitnetianlly lacking out into his words. The leader ignored the calls of his advisor as he rushed forward to the shadow once again. "Fuu-ki, Sledgehammer."

Thanks to Joker's recklessness, the king like shadow easily dodged his attack and simply chuckled to his assailant, "You're such a Fool. Now you'll die." Raising his sword, a mass of electricity, flowed through it and was sent straight at Joker.

Having his current Persona's weakness, the thief let out a scream as the attack blew him back to his teammates. He could hear the faint cries of his teammates through the ringing in his ears as he kneeled on the ground.

"Now to deal with the rest of you, lets deal with them swiftly. Masukaja." The fairy spin in the air once and a green light glowed over the shadows and faded just as quickly.

"Don't think that you can stop us so easily. Let's Rampage Captain Kidd." Ripping off his mask once again, a barrage of attacks was sent towards the two. However, not a single attack met its intended target. "What the hell. They got faster!"

"It appears so," confirmed Fox and called forth his Persona. "But try and evade this, Mind Slice." Like before, the attack missed.

Queen reached into one of her poaches and pulled out one of the special medicines they had gotten from Dr. Takemi, "Here, this should help." She crushed the bottle of Takemedic- All V in her hand and instantly a wave of relief washed over the team, healing some to the wounds they had gained. "Joker, your health is really low."

"I'm fine Queen. I can take it." The thief rose to his feet, holding his side and writhing in anger. "I have too. I have-."

"You should have listened to your friend when you had the chance!" Joker looked up to the shadow and saw the king releasing a wave of energy at the team. They brace themselves just in time, but the attack was more powerful than they anticipated. Causing the team to take a large amount of damage.

"See!," laughs the fairy. "This is what you get for trying to defy us." She spun again and the healing light from earlier surrounded her.

The king laughed minalcilly, "Such arrogant youth. Believing that they could do anything but serve us. Just like Kawakami. So worthless."

Joker clenched his fist as the shadows spoke, "I said don't call-." Before he could get the words out of his mouth, a slap from his female team member struck his face. Queen made a hand signal with her hand and soon a barge of bullets came from Panther and Mona in the rear guard, keeping the shadows occupied.

"Stop being so reckless!" Queen grabbed his collar and pulled him close to her face. "I know you're mad at them. But don't lose your cool over it. If you die here, you won't be able to save her. So focus OK."

Joker stared blankly at his advisor. Finally seeing thought the red that had clouded his vision since the start of the fight. Her expression was serious but also full of concern, genuinely worried about his action. Out of the corner of his eye, Joker could make out Fox and Skull climbing to their feet, both of them nodding to him. He closed his eyes and listened again to what Queen had said. That's right, He thought, I need to focus. If I lose myself, everyone could end up hurt. I won't be able to save Sadayo. Of course I'm still angry, but I need to show restraint. I need to protect Sadayo. With his mind growing clearer, Joker thought back to them many times he had spent with Sadayo.

"You're a scary good actor, It's a little disconcerting."

"Yes, it's delicious. You're surprisingly good."

"You're a strange kid, you know that."

"Just promise me you're not doing anything dangerous so you can request me."

"It means a lot to me that rushed here to visit me. Thank you."

"I'm going to do everything I can to protect you."

With her words ringing in his ear, acting as both a call to war and a gentle melody, A single word rang in his head and in his soul.

Temperance

"You're right Queen," Joker smiled and his teammate released her grip on him. "Sorry. I let my emotions get the best of me." Rasing to his feet, he looked to his male teammates, "Sorry guys, I'll treat you to ramen when we get back."

"Don't sweat it man. You looked so pissed off," chilmed in Skull. "Ready to do this Joker."

He nodded, "Yeah, for real this time." With the raise of a hand, the bullets from the rear-guard stopped and the shadows looked towards the group.

"You damn brats. Time to end this." Shouted the male shadow as he charged at Akira, still enhanced by the magic from earlier.

"I agree." He said placing his hand on his mask, "Let's go. Jikokuten."

The king brought down his sword with all the power he could. However, the Persona standing before him simply blocked it with its sword. "What," said the king in shock before being sent flying by Jikokuten's Counter.

"Alright guys, time for our counter attack. Jikokuten, Matarukaja," The Persona raised its sword and a red light washed over the Joker and his teammates.

Skull smiled and cracked his knuckles, "Hell yeah man. Talk about a strength boost."

Mrs. Takase clicked her teeth as her anger reached the breaking point, "How dare you." The fairy waved her hands and summoned forth a massive wave of ice. However unlike before, this attack was directed at a single target. The attack hit it's mark and her expression turned to a smile only for a second.

"How utterly foolish. Had you been paying attention earlier instead of proclaiming your victory, you would have noticed that your ice attack from earlier had no effect on me." Fox pulled off his mask and shattered the ice that formed around him with his Persona.

"That speed of yours is so damn annoying. Let's fix that shall we," reaching into his pocket skull pulled out a small glass bottle marked with a cross. "Lets see how you like this." he tossed the bottle into the air and swang at the bottle like it was a baseball. Completely sharrering and spraying the Baptismal Water over the two shadows, causing their speed to return to normal.

"No no no. This can't be happening," shouted the king, visibly starting to sweat at the groups' determination.

"It's like you said right. Time to end this." Joker leapt into the air and ripped off his mask to summon another one of his Persona's. "Hell Biker." Coming back down from his jump, Joker landed with his right foot on the handlebars of the Motorcycle Persona and his left foot on the tip of the seat. The skeleton man sitting idly while revving the engine, ready to unleash hell. "Queen, Lets ride."

She nodded and called forth her Persona, "Johanna." With a few reves of her engines, the two charged forward with blinding speed toward the two frightened shadows, leaving a skid mark on the ground as they took off.

"No. Stay away!" the king shouted as he lantched a Zionga. "Don't come near us," the female raised her hand to fire off a Bufudyne. However, both attacks missed their mark. The two Persona users were just too fast for them and the fear of their impending doom caused the shadows to freeze.

Now within range of their targets, the two thieves looked at each other and nodded. Joker pulled to the right and Queen to the left, both of them letting off a powerful attack as they did. "Maragi," Joker called and the wheels of his persona burned brighter and sent forth a massive amount of fire words at his target. "Vajra Blast." Queen's attack was just as powerful as Joker's and with the two attacks combined, a massive explosion was the result, creating a large cloud of dust.

Mrs. Takase let out a bloody scream as the explosion sent her flying backwards, only for her to land and fall to her knees.

Mr. Takase reeled from the explosion and tried to look around but the dust and smoke was too much. Before he could make out anything, he was hit by the two remaining thieves' Personas.

"Get wrecked," shouted Skull. "Time to end this, '' said Fox. Together, the two put all the power they could into their attack and sent the king flying in the same direction as the other shadow.

Joker shouted, "They're both down. Time to finish this with an All-Out Attack."

Following their leader's word, everyone let loose a barrage of attacks, giving the couple no time to breath. Now behind the Shadow, Joker disembarked from his Persona and ran towards them. He lept into the air one more time and called forth Arsene, landing in the Persona's large hand.

Go forth my Master. Said the Persona. Show them the power thy have obtained all on thy own. Show them the resolve of a true Thief. Joker smiled and twirled his into an underhanded grip as his Persona reiled back and threw him with both power and accuracy. Flying through the air, Joker felt the final moments of the fight happen in an instant. His blade gliding across the shadow's necks. Him landing. Finally, him adjusting his gloves as black blood sprayed out from behind him.

With a final deep breath, Akira turned back around to face the Takases, both having reverted into their human forms and were surrounded by the rest of the Phantom Thieves.

"We're sorry," pleaded Mr. Takase with his head hung. 'You're laughing at us aren't you."

"Name brands. Esthetic appointments. Without them, people will laugh," said Mrs. Takase with the same defeated tone as her husband.

"No. No one's laughing," Joker said simply. His voice claimed as it normally would be, much to the delight of his teammates. With his voice still calm, he stepped towards the couple and grabbed them by the collar, "You will pay back all the money you've taken from Kawakami over the years. Understood."

"We will," replied the male. "We treated her so badly over the years. Even after she tried to help, she deserves better."

"Yeah. There's no way she could ever forgive us. We don't deserve her anyway."

Joker released his grip on them and the two shadows dissolved to reveal their treasure, not that he really cared about it. The real treasure was the fact that Sadayo was finally free and he was sure her smile would be worth more than every treasure in the Metaverse.

"All right, we're done here. Let's head back." said Joker to his team. They made their way to the portal they entered through and climbed into the Mona-bus. Departing to return home.

"Man that was tough," commented Skull from the back seat.

Fox nodded, "They were quite a formable pair. But nothing we couldn't handle together."

"You said it Fox," chimed in Mona. "You and Skull really put on the pressure. That was some great teamwork.

"Want to talk about teamwork. Joker and Queen ridning in like that. That was so cool," said Panther, looking at the two in question.

The team continued to banter for the remainder of the ride back. Joker, for the most part, remained quite aside from the occasional comment. Rather, he relished in their achievement and what it meant to him. When they reached the entrance Joker sat up in his seat, "Guys." All the thieves turned to their leader, eyeing him curiously. "Thank you," he said with a smile

The sudden display of gratitude from their leader did catch the team off guard for a split second, but Skull smiled, "Hey man. There's no need to thank us. We just did what Phantom Thieves did."

Everyone nodded with the boy's words and Joker chuckled, "I know. I wanted to anyway." Truthfully, his thanks wasn't just a thanks for their help, but it was more for being his friends. Joker didn't tell the team about what was happening with Sadayo. He hid the truth from them and hoped that his words were enough to convince them to help her, despite their past grievances with the school. Thanks to their willingness to help, Sadayo was now free. Joker could only smile at how fountante he was to have become friends with such an amazing group of people. Hopefully, one day he would be able to tell them the truth.

Now with the entrance in sight, the group prepared to depart for home and face whatever was waiting for them.

"And That's what happened," Akira finished the story and everyone turned to look at Sadayo to gauge her reaction. To their surprise, she was blushing.

"What are you blushing for Kawakami," asked Ryuji.

Sadayo shook her head a little to diminish the blush, "Sorry. I've never heard what happened during the fight. Hearing how Akira acted because of me. I just…" she trailed off as the blush grew once again.

The teacher's expression caused everyone to laugh and Haru added, "I understand what you're saying Kawakami. It's a little hard to imagine Akira losing his cool. " She turned the teen in question and bowed her head a little as she chuckled, "Sorry if that sounded a bit rude, Akira."

"Haru's right. You're normally such a chill guy. The thought of you going full on rage mode is a little out of charter for you," added Futaba.

He waved his hand, "It's fine. I do try to keep my emotions in check. It was out of nessiety before, but now it's become a habit."

"I must say, I can't really blame Akira for his actions." Yusuke placed his hand to his chin and began to think, "Given what we were told about what those guardians almost made you do. His anger is quite understandable."

"Yusuke's right." Ryuji cracked his knuckles. "I wish I knew so I could give them a swift kick just like Akira did."

Everyone nodded with the boys' words, an action which caused Sadayo and Akira to smile. "Yes, I wish I had been a member at the time. I would have liked to make them taste my axe," said Haru with a chuckle.

Knowing how 'sadistic' Haru could get with her axe, the Thieves shivered at the thought of her going wild on the Takases. "Haru," said Futaba. "You are one of the most adorable and scariest people I've ever met."

The fluffy girl seemed taken aback by the hackers comment, "Scary?! What do you mean?"

"You do give off a rather menacing aura every now and again Haru," said Yusuke. "Especially when we are in the Metaverse." The artist gave her a smile, "But it is one of your amazing qualities."

Haru blushed at Yusuke's words before smiling, "I guess you're right. Makoto can be a little menacing as well."

"Hey. Don't drag me into this."

Ryuji shook his head, "nah that's different. Makoto is more intimidating than menacing."

Makoto blushed, "Can we not talk about this."

Futaba chuckled with a devilish grin, "You're only getting embarrassed cause you know it's true Queen."

The emphasis on her code name caused the teen to retreat from the conversation blushing as Ann asked, "What about me?"

Akira shrugged before thinking. "I guess you're more ferocious than anything else," he said now getting into the conversation.

"Oh I can live with that." she smiled, pleased with the title she was given.

"My turn. My turn.," Futba cheered, raising her hand. "What about me?"

The group looked at each for a second, unsure of how to answer. "Defiantly mischievous," nodded Ryuji.

"What. Come on you can do better than that. I'm at least a little bit scary right," She asked, looking over the group for any sense of confirmation. The shaking head from everyone told her that she was hoping for something that wouldn't come.

"Alright we got off track," Makoto said before the conversation could go any longer.

Akira nodded, "Yeah. There is something I should say regarding what happened." All eyes turned to him and Akira continued, "I'm sorry I couldn't tell you guys about what was going on between me and Sadayo around that time. I'm sure you understand now why I couldn't. Despite that, you all were willing to help." Akira bowed his head a little, "Thank you. I mean it."

"I should thank you all as well," added Sadayo. "I know I'm repeating myself at this point but you guys have done so much for me."

Ryuji leaned back in his seat and placed his hands behind his head, "Don't worry about it. Knowing what we know now, can't really blame you for keeping this shit to yourself."

"Ryuji's right," Makoto said, setting down her cup. "It's all still a lot to process. I mean the maid thing, Takase-kun, and his guardians." She smiled at Akira, "I should say that it was because of you that we agreed to help Kawakami."

The look of confusion on Akira's face was Ann's signal to explain, "She's right. Up until then, we've never seen you so emotional before. It was painfully clear that this was important to you. I think it's safe to say that we all agreed to help you because of that." Her statement received nodds from the rest of the group who were involved with saving Sadayo.

"I'm just glad that I was able to reach you," said Akira. "But I should also apologize again for how I acted during the fight." he scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "Setting the circumstances aside, I let my emotion cloud my judgment as leader and you guys got hurt because of it. I'm sorry for what happened."

"Come on, stop acting all serious," said Ann. "I know you're upset about what you happened, but it's all in the past. Don't beat yourself up over it. All that matters is that we saved Sadayo from having to work for those guardians anymore."

Realizing what she said, Ann covered her mouth and turned to look at Sadayo, who only smiled. "Ann it's fine. Considering everything I've told you so far, calling me by my first name isn't that big of a leap. You can all call me Sadayo if you want."

Everyone, including Akria, blinked for a second at the teacher's words. "Are you sure?" asked Makoto.

"Yes," smiled Sadayo. "Just know that if you call me anything other than Sensei at school, I will give you extra homework assignments," she said half jokingly following another beat of silence before everyone laughed together. Sadayo looked around the group as she laughed, I've gotten myself involved with a strange group of kids, haven't I.

Being the first to regain her composure, Makoto wiped away a forming tear, "Alright, If you're ok with It, we'll call you Sadayo. Though, it will take some effort getting used to."

"I know," Sadayo leaned back in her seat. "I told Akira once that life was like a roller coaster. I still think that metaphor kind of fits here."

"Indeed," smiled Yusuke. "There have been many ups and downs. But the ride with you all has been rather exciting."

"Hard to imagine that just yesterday we were just students and teachers. Now we're talking to you like your old friend," Haru said with a reminacing smile.

"A lot can change in a day," Morgana piled up. "All it takes is a change in cognition."

Ryuji rolled his eyes, "Don't go making it all confusing with all that cognition crap."

Makoto clapped her hand together to stop the two from having another argument, "Alright don't tart you too. We still have the rest of the story."

Everyone turned to Saday and Akira who nodded. "Makoto right,"said Sadayo. "After what happened at the school, I went home."

Author's notes:

Oh my god this chapter was big. So many things happening back to back and so many emotions coming from it all. It's a complete miracle that I got it done in three weeks.

Before anything else, I would like to geek out for a second. I don't care who you are or what your favorite pairing from this game is, The visual of Joker and Queen charging forward on their Motorcycle Personas is SO COOL. I don't know if anyone has ever written that visual before, but it came to me in the shower one day and I knew I wanted it to be part of the story. Normally, you wouldn't have 'Hell Biker' at this point in the game, but sue me. It's a really cool visual that I would love to see animated or drawn in any sort of way. Ok. geeking out over.

One thing about this chapter is that it denfalty leanes very heavily on the events of the confidant line. Normally, I would try and make both sides around the same length but that just wouldn't be possible with a chapter this long. That's why I tried to make sure that the dialogue that was there was at least important. Which leads me into my first point:

Frst, the reveal about the sister company. I held back on the sister company until now because I thought it would be more appropriate for several reasons. Saving it until now allowed me to change the type of rage Akira had towards the guardians. I wanted it to be more raw, like an open wound. Holding back also allowed me to have the rug pulled out from under the Phantom Thieves. Everyone thought that they knew the worst of Sadayo's pain, but saving the reveal until now allowed me to metaphorically punch them in the feels. Especially Ann. To me Ann and Sadayo always had an interesting duo because they were so strikingly similar and since Ann is the most sympathetic character among the group, she would be the one to realise that and reach out to Sadayo. This leads me to the next point.

The group hug was an idea that I thought hard about. In the previous chapter, the group told Sadayo that they cared about her like they were friends. While being told that is one thing, having that shown to you is another thing entirely. The hug is the physical action of the group breaking past the student-teacher barrier, a barrier that Akira broke past before. As a result, Sadayo is comfortable to give the group permission to call her by her first name. Now they aren't teachers and students, their friends.

Now it's time for the good part. The confession.

See you all next time

:)