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.
After Akira left, Sadayo remained in the Students Guidance Office for the remainder of the day. Curled up in a ball and clinging to any sense of freedom left in her life. When the final bell rang, signaling the end of the school day, she somehow managed to get up and make her way to the teacher's office to grab her stuff. When she entered the room, Ms. Chouno was there with her back away from the door, talking with another teacher. She turned around to most likely scold her for her absence from class, but the anguished expression on Sadayo's face stopped anyone from speaking up. All they did was tell her to have a good night as she walked out the door with her things.
The walk home to her apartment was long to say the least. Had Sadayo been more observate of her surroundings, she would have wondered what force compelled her feet to move. However she might as well have been a zombie or a slave, thinking about nothing and forced to move by the chains that bound her. When she finally made it back to her apartment, her bed called for her and she flopped onto it. She wanted to cry, but her body was dehydrated from crying all she could earlier. And there she layed for what seemed like eternity, but in reality was just a few hours.
I don't know what to do, she thought. How could I let those two get to me, even after I just worked up the courage to face them. Sadayo let out a defeated chuckle, I'm such a joke. After everything he did for me. Finally moving for the first time in a few hours, she turned her head to look out the window. Through the shades she could tell that the sun just set beyond the horizon. She pulled out her phone to confirm that it was as late as she suspected, but looking at her phone caused her stomach to drop. I need to call Vitoria and tell them to move me to the sister company. I don't want to. But what can I do? This… this is it for me, She thought as she moved to type the number.
However, before she could, a loud pounding at her door caused her to jump in surprise. She sat up from her bed to gaze at the door, curious as to who could be there. Who is that? I'm not expecting anyone to come by, so who is it? Given all that has happened today, Sadayo was content to leave the door unanswered, but the pounding continued a second time.
"Ms. Kawakami. Are you in there?" asked a male voice.
"Please open up. We need to speak with you," said a female voice.
Sadayo immediately recognized the two voices and it caused her to grimace. Mr. and Mrs. Takase? What are they doing here? The thought of speaking to them after what they said to her didn't exactly make her happy, but she worried about what they would do if she didn't answer the door. There was also the fact that if they continued to be loud they could disturb her neighbors. Reluctantly, she rose to her feet and made her way to the door to look through the peephole. It was indeed Mr. and Mrs. Takase behind the door, but their expressions were strangely mortified.
When Sadayo opened the door, the couple immediately dropped to their knees and began to bow their heads. "We're sorry for everything we put you thought. We were horrible to you and all we can do is beg for you forgive this," pleaded the male Takase while bowing his head to the floor.
Mrs. Takase followed the actions of her partner, "Yes, What we did to you. We're sorry. We're sorry."
To say that Sadayo was confused would be a massive understatement. For one, the man who had less then a few hours ago blackmailed her and crushed her whole world was kneeling before her, begging for forgiveness with tears in his eyes. Likewise, the woman who considered her nothing more than trash was bowing her head, saying she was sorry. Sadayo blinked for a second but asked, "W-what are you too doing." She poked her head out the door to see if any of her neighbors had noticed the commotion. "C-come inside. You're causing a commotion."
The couple nodded and made their way inside, bowing politely as they entered. As they made their way into her living room, the couple kneeled again as Sadayo stood watching them. "Ms. Kawakami, what we did to you after Taki died was unbecoming of us," said Mr. Takase, sobbing with obvious regret and shame. "We accused you and made you pay us money just so we could coast through life. We're sorry."
"You tried to help Taki and we abused you for trying to do what a great teacher would do," Mrs. Takase whipped some of the tears away. "You care about Taki and tried your best to help him. We accused you of not caring about him even though you clearly did. We're sorry. Please forgive us."
Sadayo did blush a little at the 'great teacher' comment but that was just for a moment. She was doing her best to try and make sense of the couple's abrupt attitude change. "Um… T-thank you," she said hastily.
Mr. Takase pressed his head to the floor, "We're sorry. Accusing you of murder, blackmailing you to pay us out money. You even went as far as to sell yourself to pay us. We're sorry."
Sadayo blushed before she shouted, "I-i've done no such thing."
Her words caused Mrs. Takase to gain a hopeful expression, "That is a relief. We're sorry we accused you of such a thing. There is also one more thing," she reached into her purse and pulled out a sealed envelope. "Here," she said handing it to Sadayo.
She took the envelope and stared at it for a second. The expressions on the Takases face told her to open it and her eyes widened at it's contents. It contained one hundred thousand Yen and Sadayo looked to the Takases, visibly confused, "W-what is this?"
"That's some of the money we owe you," responded Mr. Takase. "We treated you so horribly and made you pay us all that money." He bowed his head again, "We'll pay you back all the money you've given us. Even if it kills us. That's the only way we can atone for what we've done to you."
"H-hey now there's no need for that," Sadayo exclaimed. The thought of getting the money she gave them back was certainly appealing, but she did want them to hurt themselves to do it. She would never stoop to their level. "Listen, While getting the money I've paid you does sound nice," she knelt down and placed her hand on each of the couple's shoulders, "Just do what you can alright."
"Y-you're too kind to us Kamakami," Sobbed Mr. Takase, starting to cry again.
Mrs. Takase too began to sob, "You're a true angel. We're sorry for everything."
After a couple of minutes of the two apologizing, again and again, Sadayo managed to calm them down enough to get them out the door. Once they were gone, She just scratched the back of her head and thought about the actions of the couple. Ok, what was that? Just a few hours ago they were blackmailing me, now they were balling their eyes asking for forgiveness. What happened to make those two change so suddenly? She walked back into her living room while staring at the envelope in her hand. Do they really intend to pay me back all the money?
The actions of the Takase caused Sadayo's head to spin and she threw the envelope on her coffee table, "Well now that that's over with, I still need to call Victoria-." Before she could finish her sentence, the realization of what happened hit her all at once.
"I… don't have to pay them." Sadayo stared blankly at the envelope she had just thrown. "I… I'm free." As the ramifications of what happened finally started to sink in, she felt the chains that had plagued her for years finally despair. "It's a miracle." Now finally free, a series of different emotions came from deep within her heart but none of them were really apparent. Normally someone in Sadayo's situation would have begun to cry at her spontaneous fortune. Or maybe jumped for joy while giggling wildly like an idiot. For Sadayo however, all she could think about was telling a certain someone about what happened. "I-i need to tell Kurusu-kun." She ran to her bedside where she left her phone and quickly typed a message to her master,
S: Hey, Can you request me? Something amazing happened.
Meanwhile, Akira had somehow managed to lung himself back to Leblanc despite his tired and injured body. They were able to heal some of his wounds from the fight before leaving Mementos, but a few phantom pains still lingered. The others offered to help him but he declined, saying that it's what he deserved for letting his emotions get the better of him during the fight. After giving another apology to the group for his actions, they all went their separate ways for the night to prepare for the coming exams.
Upon entering the cafe, Akira quickly sat his bag down so Morgana could climb out. "Man I'm tired. Let's go to sleep, Joker."
"Trust me, I'm right behind you," said Akira while rolling his shoulder to loosen his muscles. The duo made their way towards the staircase and Akira's phone pinged with a message before they could make their way up. He dug his phone out of his pocket and smiled to see that it was Sadayo asking if he could request her. The Takases must have come by, he thought.
"It's from Kawakami right?" asked Morgana.
Akira nodded, "yeah. She wants me to request her."
Morgana could tell what Akira was thinking and to be honest, the cat was too tired to really argue with the teen, "You can call her, I'll wait for you upstairs so you can have your little private time. Just don't stay up too late. Exams are coming up."
"Yes mom," responded Akira with sarcasm and genuine gratitude. The cat rolled his eyes but said nothing as he went upstairs to go to sleep leaving Akira to type out a response.
A: I can. I'll put in the request for you.
Almost immediately a response came back.
S: Great. Please wait for me master~~
Akira chuckled to himself and made his way to the payphone to put in a request for her. Once he was done with that, he took position behind the bar so he could pass the time by making coffee for the two to enjoy. Time passed quickly as he focused on making the best cup of coffee he could and a tapping on the door of the cafe drew his attention right as he was finishing the cups. He made his way to the door and opened it to reveal Sadayo, smiling as if the event back at school never happened.
"Hey," said Akira, pleased at how happy she seemed to be. "You said something happened?"
"Yeah. You won't believe it," she responded gleefully. Before she could say anything else, the smell of freshly brewed coffee flooded her nose. "Did you make coffee?"
"I thought we could enjoy a cup while we talked," he flashed his cocky grin. "Would you like some?"
"I would love some," she replied and the two made their way to the bar where Akira had prepared two cups of coffee. They sat down next to each other, Akira closest to the stairs, and both immediately took a whiff of the coffee before taking a sip.
Sadayo let out a delightful hum, "Delicious."
"I aim to please," he said with a smile. "Now what's this amazing thing that happened."
"Oh you won't believe this, The Takases came by my apartment and they apologized to me!" Sadayo was absolutely beaming.
Akira did his best to act calm but on the inside, he was smiling up a storm. Everything he had gone through in Mementos earlier lead up to this moment. Her smile did wonders for Akira's wounded body and just seeing her smile made him feel a little lighter. "Really, that quite a surprise," he responded, trying to not give away the fact that he knew.
"I know right! They banged on my door and when I opened up, they got on their knees and started to apologize for everything. About Takase-kun and everything they made me do. " She played with the handle of her cup and blushed a little, "They even told me I was a good teacher."
"That's great, must have been a big surprise."
Sadayo took another sip of her coffee, "It was. Early they were mean and horrible people. Now they acted completely differently." Thinking back on the whole interaction, something definitely seemed off about the whole thing. Someone just doesn't change like that in an instant. "It… It kind of reminds me of Kamoshida." A trail of thought led her to all the coincidences from back then. How Akira and Ryuji had been involved with Kamoshida and all of the rumors about the two boys.
Akira could tell Sadayo was starting to put a few pieces together and he interrupted her train of thought, "That must have been quite a shock. Though it is a little hard to believe. Did they really apologize for everything?"
Sadayo snapped herself from her thoughts before turning back to the conversation, "o-oh yeah they did. They even gave me back some of the money they owed me and they said they would pay it all back."
He took another sip of his coffee, "That's great. I can't imagine how it must feel to not have to pay them anymore."
"It feels wonderful. Now I can finally quit my part-time job. Though I'm still talking to my boss about it, I'd cause them trouble if I left with so many shifts."
"So considerate," chuckled Akira, grin in full effect.
Sadayo playfully jabbed Akira in the side, "Hey I'm trying to be serious here." She smiled and looked down into the coffee in her cup, "Now I can make a fresh start as a teacher. I can take care of my students and earn their trust. I can finally become the teacher I aspire to be." A small chuckle escaped her lips, "I bet I'll be an old woman by the time I achieve my dreams won't I."
"Nonsense," Akira said simply. "You're one of the hardest working people I've ever met. With your level of dedication, you'll be the best teacher at Shujin in no time. I look forward to learning from you, Sensei."
While Akira's comment did have a layer of sarcasm at the end, Sadayo could tell the first part of his comment was genuine. This caused her heart to flutter. "Yeah, Your right." She placed her hands on her hips, "I'm still within the demographic to be considered 'young'." Her comment was able to get a snicker out of Akira and she smiled at his amusement. " You're so reliable, Master. I was able to come to a lot of realizations because you were such a good listener." Sadayo turned to meet his gaze, "Thank you again. For everything."
"I'm happy to hear that. I was more than happy to be there for you."
The two smiled comfortably at each other and simply basked in each other's company.
Sadayo blinked for a second as she remembered something she wanted to do. "... Oh crap! How did it go again?" She sat down her cup in order to get up from her seat. Facing Akira, she did curtsy and smiled, "Thank you for using our service! Today marks the day I graduate from being your maid."
While they were meant to be a positive send-off, her words lingered in the air as the two understood the ramifications of those words. I… i won't be able to see her like this again, Thought Akira. After today we'll be back to being teacher and student. Despite his best efforts, he couldn't keep his disappointment from showing on his face.
Sadayo's thoughts were similar, This is the last time I'll be able to see him. Sure we'll see each other at school, but it won't be the same.
Akira chuckled nervously, "What a bummer. I'm going to miss our talks Becky." He smiled with as much sincerity as he could, "But thank you for your service."
Her master's pained expression made Sadayo feel even more lost. This was supposed to be good news and this is how it should be. We should be just teachers and students, nothing more. An unknown pain swirled in her stomach as she gazed at her master. "Hey, what are you going to do once I stop coming?"
Her question caused Akira to look at her with an eyebrow raised, "What do you mean?"
Sadayo looked past him and imagined the dusty attic that had become a comfortable place for the two of them, "Can you handle the cleaning on your own? I'm pretty worried about the state of this place. So… I could be your personal maid." A large blush crept onto her face as her mouth moved on it's own. Why did I say that? I can't be his personal maid. I-I mean I can't. He just looked so sad to say goodbye. She chuckled nervously while frantically waving her hands, "Haha just kidding I can't be your personal maid. I'm just worried about you being lonely but you have Sakamoto-san and Takamaki-san." This is for the best.
"No you're right. I would be lonely. I've enjoyed our talks and I would like to keep seeing you. Just the two of us." Akira's words had a certain edge to them as they left his mouth. Ture I may have Ann and everyone else, but none of them make me feel the way you do. You're special to me.
Sadayo's heartbeat was so loud she would have sworn the world could hear it. She played with the edge of her skirt while trying not to meet his eyes, "I-i see. Well I can stop by the cafe every now and again so we can talk as friends. But you shouldn't say stuff like that so casually, Ok?" Her blush intensified once again. "... Some women may misunderstand your intentions?"
Deep in the back of Akira's mind, a voice told him to choose his words carefully and so the teen rose to his feet. Sadayo was everything to him. The reason he was so emotional in Mementos was because he wanted to protect her like he had never done before. He didn't want to be just teacher and student, nor did he want to be just friends. As he stared deeply into Sadayo's chocolate-colored eyes, her statement for some time ago lingered, Not worth being loved. You're wrong. Deep down, Akira wanted nothing more then to make sure she was loved, "What if there was no misunderstanding."
Again, Sadayo's heart rate soared as now she met Akira's stormy eyes. Despite being slightly obscured by his glasses, she could tell there was no reservation in his words. Every syllable left no room for misinterpretation and it left her utterly speechless. Why does he make me feel like this? "D-do you understand w-what you're saying?" she stuttered out, blushing and her eyes darting across the room trying not to look at him. "T-this situation i-isn't normal. I'm a teacher, and you're my student."
Akira stepped closer to her, his demeanor unyielding, "Is that really it? Because to me, it's so much simpler than that."
Part of Sadayo's mind told her to step away from him, to back away and let things end as they were. But… Another part of her said to remain still. To wait and see what might happen, "What do you mean?" her voice almost a whisper.
Stepping closer once again, Akira was now less than an arms length away from Sadayo. "I'm a man; you're a woman. What's wrong with that?"
No words came out of her mouth as Sadayo stared into her master's eyes. His words sent waves of electricity through her whole body, shocking her brain and leaving it a jumbled mess. She tried her best to look away from him, fearing what any more exposure would do, but couldn't help it. Everything about him in this moment called her attention. The fierceness in his eyes, the smell of coffee on his breath, it was all so overwhelming that Sadayo found herself at a loss. She simply couldn't decide what to do.
"Hey Joker, are you almost done." Akira and Sadayo looked over to see Morgana at the foot of the stairs. The teen motioned with his hands for the cat to go back upstairs before quickly turning back to Sadayo.
With the sudden atmosphere change, Sadayo's mind finally managed to act for a second, "I… I don't. There's no way." Her words caused Akira to lower his head a bit and she waved her hands frantically, "Wait that's not what I meant by 'no way'." Why did I say that?! I have to turn him down. That's how it should be. "Wait, Ok… Ok…"
Akira cursed himself for letting his emotions get the best of him for the second time today. Now that he could finally see clearly, he could tell that Sadayo was trying her best to make sense of his confession. He put up his hands to try and get her attention, "Kawakami, I'm sorr-."
"TIME," she interrupted, cutting him off. "I-i need time to figure this out." she turned her back to him in order to not get lost in his eyes once again. Her mind was a complete mess. All the emotions and memories she had shared with her master/student came bursting out in a torrent. Her mind couldn't process it all at once. "I mean, you're my student and a master, while I'm a teacher and a maid. This is all so confusing." She quickly turned to Akira and gave a quick bow, "Let's save this conversation for next time. Ok bye."
And with that, Sadayo bolted out the door leaving Akira in the empty cafe. He stared at the door and then back at the stool she had sat at. Letting out a defeated sigh, he went over and locked the door before resting his forehead against the cool glass. He remained motionless for a moment before chuckling to himself, "I guess I am the fool."
…
"And that's what happened," finished Sadayo through the blush on her face. Looking up to gauge the group's reaction, she saw that many of them were staring at Akira, who had a defeated look on his face.
Ryuji leaned back in his seat, "I was right about Akira being the one to confess."
Futaba smacked the boy in the head, "Ryuji, that's not what's important."
The blonde boy rubbed the back of his while Yusuke placed his hands on his chin, "I must admit though, I didn't expect Akira to be so direct with his confession."
Morgana poked his head from Haru's lap, "Totally. You didn't have any style or grace."
"I hate to say it, You coming in at the last moment didn't make it any better," said Haru, petting the cat gently.
"Haru's right," added Ann. "You totally killed the mood and made everything even more awkward." Her comment caused Morgana to grumble and retreat into Haru's lap once again. "But in all seriousness Akira, it does sound like you were a bit forward."
"You're right. I don't know why, but I just let my emotions get the best of me and with the mood and everything." He let out a winded sigh. Even now, he was unsure as to what force completed him to confess his feelings to Sadayo then.
"That seems to be a habit when it comes to Sadayo, Akira," said Makoto, pleased to add in some uncharacteristic teasing.
Akira rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "You got me there."
Everyone got a small chuckle out of Akira's statement and Sadayo decided to add, "To be fair to Akira, I didn't handle the situation any better." She sat up straight and crossed her arms, "When Akira said he wanted to keep seeing me, my mind completely shut down and I froze. And when Morgana finally broke the tension, I locked up and ran away."
Akira reached and grabbed her hand, "It's not surprising that you did. One of your students confessed to you. I shou-."
Sadayo placed her finger over his lips with her free hand before he could finish, "I know what you're going to say, and it's alright Akira. It's because of what happened that we are here now. Despite the awkwardness of the whole thing, we can laugh about it now."
Her words caused Akira's expression to lighten and he interlocked his fingers with hers, "I guess you're right. And Makoto's right, you do bring out my emotional side."
A quick blush grew across her face and she smiled while the rest of the group did as well. Makoto turned to him, "Alright, Before we get too off track, Akira can I ask you something?"
"You're wondering why I confessed to Sadayo in the first place right." She nodded and Akira leaned back in his seat, looking back on the emotions he felt at the time. "Well, I know it may sound cliche but it was honestly a lot of things. For one, I guess the 'hero' part of me wanted to protect her. I saw first hand how much pain Sadayo had suffered in her past and I guess part of me wanted to make sure to be with her." Akira scratched the back of his head, "That really doesn't make sense does it."
"No, I think it does," replied Haru. "You wanted to be the one to show her the love she deserved right."
Akira nodded, pleased that someone was able to put it better than he could, "Yeah that's a good way to put it."
Everyone nodded at her words and Ann continued the question, "Was there anything else?"
Akira shrugged, "I guess I also liked how she made me feel just a little bit more normal."
Ryuji raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean by 'normal'?"
"Whenever me and Sadayo talked, even after we started dating, being with her reminded me of a different side of life that I forgot I could have, a real relationship. No Phantom Thieves, no stupid record, and no rumors." He gave her hand a squeeze, "With all the crazy stuff that's happened to me since day one, it felt nice to have some normalcy."
Sadayo chuckled into her free hand, "And your idea of normal is dating a teacher." Her comment got a few snickers from the group, including Akira.
"I never said it was 'completely' normal. But I guess the easiest way to put it would be that being with Sadayo made me a lot happier, as cheesy as it sounds. I'm sure I mentioned this earlier, but it was nice having someone around who didn't really have any immediate affiliation with what we did."
Ann chuckled, "It's fine Akira. Sorry to ask you all these questions."
He shook his head, "Don't worry about it. Given the context of all this, you're all bound to have questions about why I would confess to a teacher." A grin appeared on his face, "I mean aside from her natural beauty."
Sadayo's face lit up like a tomato as she tried to cover her face to hide the embarrassment, while the rest of the team rolled their eyes. "Real smooth Akira," commented Futaba.
The teen ran his hand through his hair, "I try."
"Akira's cocky attitude aside," said Makoto. "Sadayo, may I ask you a question now?"
Still blushing from her boyfriends comment, Sadayo rubbed her face a little before nodding, "Y-yes Makoto. Can I assume you want to know why I accepted Akira's confession."
The third-year shook her head, "Actually no, I think we should wait on that till we hear that part of the story. From what you said, you had already started to put the pieces together that Akira was involved with the Phantom Thieves in some way. What made you realize it?"
"Makoto makes an excellent point. Could you enlighten us as to how you uncovered Akira's secret?" added Yusuke.
Sadayo nodded and thought hard for a second, "As much as I hate to say it, it really wasn't as hard as you may think. What happened to the Takases was way too sudden to be a mere coincidence and Akira was the only person who knew about what was going on." She pulled out her phone and showed them the Phan-site. "I also checked the site to see if the Takases names got posted. Since they weren't on the site, the only explanation was that Akira went to the thieves directly."
"That will do it. I told you to be more careful," chimed in Morgana.
Akira made an effort to defend himself. "Hey, don't look at me like that. Given the situation, I really didn't have the luxury of being subtle."
"Akira's right Morgana," added Yusuke. "I honestly can't hold it against Akira for acting so rashly, all things considered."
"Yes, I believe you did the right thing Akira." Haru gave him a smile, "Besides, it all worked out in the end."
Sadayo waved her hand to get everyone's attention, "Truth be told it wasn't just the thing with the Takases that helped me figure it out." She turned to Ryuji, Ann and Makoto, "Shortly after Akria came to Shujin, he got really close to you two just before Kamoshida confessed. It was the same for you, Makoto."
"Well at least it wasn't completely my fault," Ryuji said while scratching his head.
"I suppose it was kind of obvious given the context of it all," added Ann.
"Although I had no real idea Akira was actually involved as much as he was." Sadayo crossed her arms. "The only thing I knew was that Akira was somehow involved with the Phantom Thieves. I didn't know his true involvement until he told me."
"When she did, I decided it would be best to just come clean," Akira rolled his shoulder a little. "She put the pieces together on her own so I thought it would be best to tell her the truth." he turned to give Sadayo a smile, "I trusted her."
She smiled back and Makoto turned to the cat in Haru's lap, "How did you feel about this Morgana."
He sat up from the girl's lap and placed his front paws on the edge of the table, " I gave Akira a stern talking to for revealing his identity without my input. But, all things considered, I thought it was for the best. Having a real adult with close connections to us would help us have an alibi if we needed one. Boss didn't know about us at the time so having an adult who knew about us could be useful. Plus she was your teacher, all and all it worked out."
Akira was once again playing translator for Morgana and the feline's words did catch Sadayo's attention, "Wait, you said Sakura-san 'didn't know about you at the time'. Does that mean he knows you guys are the Phantom thieves?" Akira opened his mouth for a retort, but Sadayo cut him off, "Yes, I would like to use this as my question."
Akira then closed his mouth and Futaba scratched the back of her head nervously. "Actually I can explain," she said as all eyes turned to her. "Like we said earlier, you need to send a calling card for the treasure to appear. That was also true for me. I know it may sound stupid, but I kept the calling card cause it was so memorable."
"It's not stupid Futaba," assured Sadayo. "Something like this was important to you. I understand wanting to keep something important from your past." She had done the same with her maid outfit. Despite its original purpose, it was now a reminder of how Akira and she met. Looking at the frilly uniform never failed to put a smile on Sadayo's face.
Futaba smiled, "Thanks Sadayo. After Shujin's Cultural Festival, Sojrio confronted me about the card since he found it in my room after cleaning up. I was really nervous at first, but I spoke my mind about how everyone saved me." Futaba smiled a little pridefully, "Something that I learned to do thanks to Akira."
Her comment caused him to chuckle, "Glad I to hear I'm a good influence on you."
"Don't let it go to your head mister," Futaba did her best to sound stern but it was hardly effective and everyone got a good laugh out of it. "While we were talking, it sort of slipped out that Akira was the one who saved me. Sojiro started to put the pieces together like you did. Kamoshida being a teacher at Akira's school. Yusuke started coming around after Madarame. Makoto, me then Haru. All these people connected to the Phantom Thieves in some way."
"After that, we came clean about everything," added Akira.
Sadayo was quiet for a second in order to take it all. "How did he take it?" she asked.
"Better than I expected to be honest," shrugged Akira. "I was just glad he didn't kick me out."
This comment did manage to get a chuckle out of Sadayo, "I'm glad too."
Akira smiled and her a peck on the forehead, causing her to blush as everyone just smiled at the byplay.
"Don't worry Akira. If he did, I would have thrown Morgana at him," said Futaba, giving off her signature mischievous chuckle.
"He doesn't treat me like some kind of distraction tool," Morgana said, stomping his paw on the edge of the table.
"I'm just kidding Morgana." Futaba smiled at the cat who pouted as he sat back down. "But in all seriousness, I was really nervous about coming forward about it all, but I'm glad we did considering the plan."
As the words left her mouth, Futaba covered her mouth as Akira and everyone else shot her a look before turning back to Sadayo.
She looked at everyone's expression and took the liberty to ask, "What plan?"
Eyes fell onto Akira, expecting him to explain or give some sort of retort. "You haven't told her Akira?" asked Makoto.
Sadayo raised her eyebrow as Akira scratched the back of his head. "No, I haven't. I was going to tell her last night when we were alone, but well…" he trailed off as the team seemed to catch the meaning of his words.
Sadayo looked at her boyfriend curiously. A little surprised by the sudden atmosphere change. Akira reached over and held her hand as he gazed into her eyes. Without a shred of doubt, Sadayo knew the look in Akira's eyes. They looked pained and serious. In all the time she had known Akira, serous was an emotion that only really came up when it was of dire importance. Seeing the look in his eyes made him tense a little.
"Sadayo." his voice soft and mellow, carefully conveying his emotions. "This 'Plan' is complicated. It's about our next operation and it's really important that I explain it all to you eventually. However, I think that should be done in private. I know that's not far to y-."
Before he could finish, Sadayo interrupted him by kissing him on the lips. Akira was left speechless for once as she pulled her lips away from his. "Akira," her voice too was soft. Like she was skating on thin ice, careful not to break it. "I can tell by the look in your eye that this is serious. So I'll wait. Come to me when you're ready. I won't force you."
The teen blinked for a second, processing what Sadayo had said. Once the words sunk in he smiled and gave her peck on the lips, "You're too good for me."
"I know," she said, giving him another kiss on the lips.
"Careful Akira. Your overconfidence is spreading," Futaba said with a snicker.
Sadayo blushed a little but smiled as everyone got a quick chuckle out of Futaba's comment. "Alright, We should get back to the story."
"Wait one second. There's something I just thought of."
Eyes curiously turned to Ryuji, who was staring at Akira. Ann voices everyone's question, "What's up Ryuji?"
"Futaba mentioning the festival reminds me of this. When you disappeared when they called you to the stage, you left to hang out with Ka- I mean Sadayo right?"
"Yes," Akira responded dryly, not even noticing the looks from everyone else.
Ryuji stood up from his chair and shouted, "You bastard! Cause you walked away, me and Mishima had to go up on stage for the closing festival crap. We looked like idiots."
"Oh yeah, I remember that. Sorry Ryuji, but it was hilarious to watch." Ann clenched her stomach as she laughed at the memory of Ryuji and Mishima being questioned by the MC of the event.
Everyone else laughed and Ryuji grumbled, "It's not funny."
Akira shrugged and he leaned back in his seat. "As much as I want to give you an apology Ryuji. You did leave me in an empty apartment to clean up after 'Operation Maidwatch' failed."
Ryuji opened his mouth to retort the came but he realized he really didn't have one. Instead, he sat back down and remained silent.
Now free of any more interruptions, Sadayo coughed into her hand. "Now after what happened at Leblanc, I ran home as fast as I could…"
Author's notes:
There it is. The confession.
As much as I hate to admit it, this chapter was really hard to write. This was the big moment of the story so I wanted to make sure I did it justice. Every time I finished the confident side, I would find a detail or something that fell off and I would start again or make a major change here and there. If it wasn't for the fact I was on spring break, this chapter would have taken a lot longer to do. I'm just that I reached something I'm really happy with.
I really don't have much to say about anything else. All that's left now is the final confidant event and then the epilogue. It is so surreal that I'm almost done with this story. I started this story midway through October of last year and midway through March. Six months. It's hard to believe, but I'm ready to finish what I started.
See you all next time
:)
