These character don't belong to me, they are the property of Atlus.
Chapter 11
"She never responded back..."
Akira stared at his phone as he sat at one of the stools near the yellow phone at Leblanc. Since the group had gathered today after school to discuss about what they should do for their celebration party, he wasn't able to check his phone till after they had parted. Luckily the meeting was quickly disbanded as Makoto reminded everyone that test where coming up next week so any party plans would have to be put on hold. He made sure to message Sadayo to let him know as soon as she was free so he could request her, but sadly, she never responded back. He would have called Victoria by know, but Leblanc ended up having one of it's more obnoxious customers staying longer than usual which made it impossible for him to do so. Not having many other options he simply sat around and stared at his phone, his expression growing more and more worried as time went on.
"I'm sure she is just busy with one of her other jobs." Morgana commented in an attempt to ease Akira's worries. Leaping out of his bag only after the last customers had left the shop and the closed sign had been turned over. "She did say that she's been working a lot more hours these days."
"That's what I'm worried about..."
Akira was already worried about the state of her health after what had happened the previous night. She had almost stumbled and fallen to the ground, and would have hit hard if it hadn't been for his quick reflexes. And then, just as he had managed to get her to smile and get her to be more relaxed, she ended suffering from a bad coughing fit. He tried to convince her to cancel her other appointments, that she didn't look well and that he was more than willing to pay for those hours and let her rest. But instead she just refused his offer and gave him a resigned smile as she told him that his time had already run out, and while she wished that she could stay longer, he was no longer her master for the night. She was also quick to remind him again that she was fine and he shouldn't just be throwing away money like that. That he should be spending his time with his friends, or people his age, instead of wasting away his evening to keep someone like her company.
He hated how easy it was for her to smile as she talked about herself in that manner, how she thought so little of herself and would always describe herself as a waste of his time, when it was so very far from the truth. When she had walked away that evening, a part of him wanted to chase after her and try to convince her one more time to stay. A feeling that he wished he had followed through after seeing her the morning after…
As Sadayo walked into class, the whole room seemed to whisper quietly in either confusion, or mockery. She looked dead, coughing constantly under her face mask, her eyes glazing over, and seemed to have trouble keeping balance. On several occasions she would have to be called by another students before she would snap out of whatever daze she was in. It would continue to occur for a couple of times, before she finally frustratingly gave up and turned the class into another study session.
It pained him to see her in this state, knowing that she was working herself to death to pay whatever money those 'Guardians' where demanding. From the look of it though, it seemed that Ann had taken notice of it as well.
"Is it me, or is Ms. Kawakami… not looking very well? She looked like like a ghost or something." Ann turned around towards Akira, with a worried expression. "I mean, I know she usually looks tired, or disinterested. But today was on a whole other level."
"Yeah..." Was all Akira could muster as he continue stare sullenly at the door from which his exhausted teacher stumbled towards. "She looks like she's about to collapse from being overworked."
"Overworked?" Ann asked, now focusing on Akira with a mixture of curiosity and confusion, noticing how concerned and worried he sounded when he mentioned it. "I mean yeah she looks terrible but, why would she be overworked?"
"Just… a hunch I guess." Akira closed his eyes, trying to sound as casual as he could about it, all the while making a mental note to request her tonight if possible.
Ann seemed lost in thought for a few seconds but shook her head as she turned around "I don't know..." She turned to look forward, a look of annoyance showing as she mumbled to herself with disdain. "It's not like she bothers to do anything..."
Akira felt his chest tighten up at hearing Ann's last comment. She had every right to be bitter towards the staff members of the school, but he wished he could had explain things more to her. Ann had a habit of worrying more about others before herself. She may not be the smartest of the group, but when it came to people, she was always a very empathetic and caring person, so she would probably be much more understanding of Sadayo's situation if she knew, about how she blamed herself for not being able to help someone she cared about, how much she is willing to do to try and make amends, even if he believed that she going the wrong way about it. Maybe she would be able to help in convincing Sadayo about the Phantom Thieves. Maybe having her show concern would mean more to Sadayo, considering what she had to go through with Kamoshida and Shiho. But he had made a promise to Sadayo that he wouldn't tell anyone about her extra jobs, and until Sadayo asked for The Phantoms' help, he couldn't bring himself to break that trust with her.
Eventually Mr. Hiruta entered the room and class continued. Akira looked around afterwards to see if Sadayo was around before he left to meet up with the group, but from what he had overheard at the teacher's lounge she had already gone home early. Sadly he knew better and figured she had gone to one of her other jobs. All he could do now was wait and see, and hope that nothing else happened.
"Having women problems kid?" Sojiro walked towards Akira with a smirk, having put his coat on and hat in hand. "You've been staring at your phone the whole time you've been here."
"Huh? Well yeah, I guess you could say that?" Akira snapped out from his thoughts, lowering his phone as he looked away in contemplation. "Just a little worried I guess."
"Have you tried getting in contact with her?"
"Well actually, she messaged me to get in contact with her, but she hasn't responded to my text message ever since."
Sojiro gave out a noticeable huff as he shook his head, which took Akira aback. "A text? That's no good, it looks like you have a lot to learn." He lectured him with a stern tone. "Listen kid, if she asked you to reach out to her, then you need to take the lead and give her a call or go see her. Something so trivial as a text won't do it."
Akira chuckled a bit, not expecting this kind of lesson from him, especially considering who it was about. "Guess you have a point about there. I'll do just that then." He responded with an assured smile.
"Just make sure that it doesn't get you into trouble. The last thing I need is someone coming here after you cause you screwed it up." Sojiro said with an exasperated tone, before putting on his hat. "Anyway I'm heading home, close up the shop for me will ya?"
Akira nodded "Sure thing Boss."
Sojiro nodded back and gave Morgana a pat on the head before walking towards the entrance. Right as he was about to open the door, he stopped and turned slightly towards Akira with a curious look. "By the way, this wouldn't be about—"
"It's not Ann." Akira quickly interjected.
"Shame, she's a good kid."
With that Sojiro took his leave. Akira waited a bit as he made sure that he was fully out of sight before going to the yellow public phone. Feeling a bit more relaxed, he called Victoria and requested Becky once more. The phone seemed to ring a bit longer than usual, but as Morgana had said, she could just be busy and attempting to reach the phone. Then the ringing stopped, and an unrecognizable voice on the other end spoke.
"Hello? to who am I speaking to?"
"Yes, hello. This is Akira Kurusu. Is this... to whom am I talking to?" Akira felt uneasy. Not knowing who the other person on the line was, he refrained from mentioning Sadayo's name, just in case.
"This is the Head nurse at the Aoyama Hospital. I'm speaking on behalf of Sadayo Kawakami."
"Hospital..?" Akira's unease slowly shifted into fear as Akira began to fear the worse. Swallowing the lump on his throat, a shaken up Akira began to inquire for information. "Why is Kawakami in the hospital? Did something happen? Is she all right?"
"It seems that she fainted in front of the train station. She had been directed towards urgent care and her emergency contact has been informed. If there is something you which to talk to her about I can take a message and make sure she gets it?"
"Where are you located at? Can I see her!?" Akira hastily whipped out his probation diary and pen and quickly wrote down the hospital's location and Sadayo's room number after getting confirmation to visit her. Why did he wait too long? He should've reached out to her sooner...
Akira slammed the receiver back, shouldered his bag, and moved to the door in one stride. Incapable of hearing or thinking of anything, his self-recrimination and worry for Sadayo circled his mind and carried his feet, even as Morgana yelled, unheeded.
"HEY! JOKER!"
Sadayo slowly opened her eyes to the bright light coming to the ceiling. She could hear a beeping sound that came from her left and felt a sharp pain coming from her head and right arm. Her vision began to clear up, and she noticed that she was in an enclosed room. The beeping was coming from a monitor that seem to be checking her vitals as a number of devices have been put on her; to her right was a liquid-filled bag with a cord going all the way to her right arm. She lifted her arm, took notice of the I.V. that had been injected into her, and began to remember what had transpired.
It was all coming back to her now. She had collapsed on her way from work in the middle of the street, and she had probably been taken to a hospital and was now in urgent care. Her body felt heavy and still ached from the pain of the fall, but she slowly pushed herself to sit up from her bed and look at her surroundings.
It was definitely a hospital room. Other than the stools, the medical equipment and a lone empty vase it was quite barren and sterile. And it looked like she had been changed to some hospital garbs. She has some bandages wrapped around her forehead and upper right arm where it was sore, probably from her fall. Finally, not to her surprise, she was alone, accompanied only by the noises coming from her vital monitor.
"I screwed up." Sadayo looked down at her her bed, her hands clenched in frustration. "This was the worst possible time to collapse. I still don't have enough money to pay them today? And what's going to happen to my other jobs." Sadayo placed her hand on her chest, grabbing hold of her shirt. "I won't be able to make enough money unless I start doing...that? Will I be able to make enough money if I transfer over? Is that really the only way...?' Sadayo's thoughts weighed heavily in her mind. The feeling of helplessness and inevitability of what she would need to do, what she would have to give away, to make amends was becoming grimly apparent.
"HEY! No running in the hall, mister!"
"Huh? What's going on, out there?" Until now the hospital had been very quiet, but someone seemed to be forming a ruckus outside. "It's no different than the commotion at school with Sakamoto-kun and— Kurusu-kun! I texted him before I collapsed, did he respond back? Where's my phone?" As Sadayo tried looking around her room for her phone, the sound of footsteps rapidly became louder. The sound of the sliding door hastily being opened grabbed Sadayo's attention, shocking her at the sight.
There he was… Breathing heavily and sweating all over, as he held on to the door frame to keep himself from falling over. He wasn't showing his usual bravado and cocky attitude, but instead looking much more concerned, though he seemed a bit relieved when he saw her as he let out a long sigh.
"Ku-Kurusu-kun?! Why are you— How did you—?" Sadayo was wide eye at encountering her student here of all places. Her words stuttered to find the right thing to say and her cheeks colored bright red.
"Sorry for taking so long." Akira replied, each word halted between breaths with his head slouched downward. After catching his breath he raised his head as he looked towards her. "I tried to call you and was told you were here, so I got here as fast as I could..."
"Young man!" A nurse yelled back at Akira, causing him to turn around as she came towards the entrance to Sadayo's room. "I understand if your concerned for the patient, but that doesn't give you the right to run all over the hospital. Please be considerate of the other patients and staff member, you could had run into any of them."
"Sorry… I apologize for my rash actions." Akira bowed, giving his apology as the nurse continued to lecture him.
'Why? Why is he here? He looks so tired, like he could fall over at any moment. He didn't have to rush all the way here like he did. He didn't have to come at all… And yet he did... because he was worried about me…?' Sadayo began to smile, her chest swelling with joy as she watched her unexpected guest getting berated by the nurse while he continued to apologize till the nurse left them alone. Just as things were starting to feel bleak for her, here he was, once again caring and worrying about her when he had no need to do so. The fact that he rushed to her aid as soon as he heard that she was in the hospital made her happy, so happy that it was hard to contain, and as they were left alone she started to laugh at the ridiculousness of it all, causing Akira to look at her with confusion.
"Sorry, sorry..." Sadayo apologized, trying her best to keep her laughter down. "You just came in out of nowhere that it caught me by surprise. You didn't have to rush in like that, you know. You really can't help getting into trouble, can't you?"
While her laughter had caught Akira by surprise, seeing her smiling like she was just now and being so lively put his heart at ease. She still didn't look the best, the bandages and the medical equipment showed that she definitely was not at full health, but she was awake, there was life still in her eyes and her voice, and after another long sigh Akira gave her a warm smile. "Sorry for being such a troublemaker."
Sadayo did her best to calm herself and took a deep breath. She gave Akira a playful smile. "Seriously... Why do you worry so much about me? It's kind of embarrassing. But honestly... I don't dislike that, so I'll forgive you. Like I said, I've gotten used to your kind of trouble making."
Akira looked towards Sadayo, the expression on his face seeming a bit calmer than he was before thanks to Sadayo outburst, but it still showed signs of concern. "They told me that you had collapsed in front of the station." Akira looked down, ashamed of his failure to help her when she had asked for his help. "I'm sorry, If only I could had requested you when you messaged me."
"Kurusu-kun it's fine. I went down only a few minutes after I sent the message, I don't think there was much you could do to stop it. Besides, I was just a little overworked. There's no reason to make a big a deal about it, so don't go making that face here." Sadayo's body was still a wreck internally. It felt heavy and it ached all over with each movement, not to mention that all previous signs of her exhaustion were still noticeable. But even with all of that though, for some reason seeing Akira rushing in to see her with such concern made all the pain that much easier to bear. She didn't want to worry him, she wanted to look more reliable to him so he wouldn't worry about her all the time. She did her best to console her sulking student, pushing her voice to sound much more cheerful and lively than she had the whole day.
"Here take a seat, you could probably use a breather. I know it's not our usual meeting, but I wouldn't mind if you'd stayed a while." Sadayo gestured at the stool by her bedside.
"Wait before that..." Akira looked around and noticed the vase by the drawer and proceeded to walk towards it. After placing his bag down he opened it and began to rummage through.
"Don't tell me you brought Mona with you? Sadayo commented with a raised brow. "A hospital isn't the place for a—" Sadayo went silent as Akira took out a small flower arrangement. 'Wait, is that a…?'
They were purple dahlia flowers, with a small assortment of plum blossoms on either side. Akira proceeded to put them in the small vase and set them up into a very nice arrangement. Surprisingly, he seemed to know what he was doing.
Sadayo stared, astonished at the arrangement, in particular the choice of flowers. "Why did you get these, and when?"
"Sadly there was a gap in time between the trains from Yongen-yaya and Aoyama in Shibuya Station. I was getting restless, so I figured I'd stop by at the flower shop. I actually got lucky and caught Hanasaki-san— oh, she's the owner of the flower shop by the way, and I asked her for some flowers. I've worked there a couple of times so she already knows me and was happy to help." Akira scratched his cheek, looking back to when he bought the flower with contemplative look. "Though the grin she gave me when I asked her about it has me a bit worried about the next time I come in for work."
"So you've been working at a flower shop as well. I think I've seen it a couple of times when I'm at Shibuya Station." Sadayo responded with a coy smile, happy to learn a little bit more about her mysterious student, before changing her focus to the flowers. "And I'm going to guess that your manager is the one that chose the flowers? Interesting combination." Sadayo was less surprised after she heard Akira's explanation, though for some reason she felt slightly disappointed.
"Actually… she picked the plum blossoms, since she said that they smell quite nice. The dahlia was my choice."
"Really?" Sadayo's shock this time was much more noticeable, which caught Akira's attention. "How come?"
"Yeah, I read a book on flowers this one time, and when I learned about them, I guess it made me think of you."
"Did it now…?" Sadayo giggled, all the while blushing at her students thoughts of her. "May I get a closer look?" Akira nodded and as he passed the vase to her. Sadayo took a nice whiff of the flowers; the plum blossoms did smell nice, but her attention was on the purple dahlias. "When I was younger I really liked dahlias. To hold grace under pressure, to make a commitment to your ideals, to make a positive change. Those were the kind of things that I aspired for as a teacher…" She held the dahlia on her right hand, her fingers softly caressing its petals fondly. "So when you said that they reminded you of me… I guess I was reminded of my dad..."
"Your dad?" Akira asked softly.
Sadayo nodded as she continued to gaze serenely at the flowers, even as memories that she had tried to repress started to bubble back up to the surface. "Yep, it was my dad that told me about dahlias. He was a teacher himself back in my hometown. He was very stern, and could be quite scary oftentimes, but he was always so passionate about his job, and cared for his students. Sadayo's expression brightened up as she began to talk about her father. She perked up as she turned to Akira. "Oh! Did you know? He was the reason that I wanted to go into teaching. I was always so curious when I was a little girl. He was very busy and came home tired, but he would still make time for me and mom. One day he came back home so exhausted, but look so pleased with himself, so I asked him why he always looked so happy even though he was tired he told me, 'Seeing others grow up to do great things, I can't help to feel pride in being a part of that growth. And that includes you Sadayo. I know you'll also grow up to do great things, and I can't wait to see how you live your life.'"
Sadayo handed Akira the vase as he put it on the counter before moving the stool closer towards Sadayo and taking a seat.
"After that, I began to really admire how dedicated my father was, and I wanted to experience that pride. I think mom was a bit jealous of dad at times." Sadayo chuckled. "Though there also was this cartoon that I used to watch when I was younger that also got me intrigued about being a teacher," Sadayo mumbled the last part, feeling a bit embarrassed in admitting such a childish motivation.
Akira chuckled. "He seems like a great man."
Sadayo nodded, but then went sullen as she let out a weak sigh. "Yeah… but he passed away for some time now." Sadayo turned her gaze to the surprised Akira, who looked a bit shocked at her bringing this up. "It was soon after I moved in to Tokyo while I was at college. I got a call from my mother. Dad had suffered a heart attack and was in the hospital, so I took some time off from my classes and rushed back home. When I arrived to the hospital I was really shocked at all the people that had come to visit my dad. Almost all his students were there and were wishing their best, and during the whole time he kept on smiling and apologizing for having everyone worry..."
Sadayo hesitated, her chest tightening as she contemplated continuing. She turned to look back at Akira — his familiar, gray eyes, warmly and solely focused on her, his eyes never darting away… and Sadayo couldn't stop herself.
"Sadly a few days later he had another heart attack, and that one… that one proved fatal. It was so painful to lose him, I wanted to show him that I could be a great teacher too, I wanted him to see him beaming with pride at what I had accomplished thanks to him and mom's care and support. Instead me and my mom had to spend the next couple of days preparing his funeral. I kept breaking down in tears at the very thought that he wasn't around anymore. Mom was also devastated, and we both were dreading the whole thing. But then we were surprised when a number of his students arrived the few days later. They offered their condolences and wanted to help with preparations. Mom and I were surprised, they were much younger than us, but they did everything they could to make things easier for us. And in the funeral day, I learned that a decent number of the people who came to pay respects were actually old students that had graduated and had grown up. It was so lively that you wouldn't have realized that it was a funeral." Sadayo's tone itself was much more lively, much to Akira's confusion and wonder.
"Everyone kept telling stories about how he caught them as they tried getting into trouble and spent the whole period lecturing them, or how he was always willing to hear them out and talk them through their problems or misunderstandings." Sadayo continued, giggling. "Apparently there was this one time, when one of his student started disagreeing with him in front of the class. The whole period turned into a huge debate between the two and the whole class was really into it. But once the period was over he patted the student on the shoulder and told him that he was quite impressed by how well he was able to hold his own, and that he had a great future in public speaking. The guy started choking up a bit by the end of his story. And then there was this woman who was so grateful to him for helping her deal with some family problems that she was dealing with at the time and how she wouldn't be around if not for him being there for her."
Akira smiled as he saw his teacher talk so happily about a funeral party. "Honestly, that sounds more like a school reunion."
"Yeah..." Sadayo smile continue to show itself as she looked back at those days, before, during, and after her father's passing. Even though she had lost her father then, she had felt like he was close by when she heard all the guests talk about him. "I had always admired my father, but he never went into specifics with his students, so I never knew how things were between them. So when I saw just how many people he had helped grow to who they were now, and how much he meant to all of them. I felt like I finally understood why he always looked so fulfilled with his job. So as I said my goodbyes to him, I made promised that I would do my best for my students, like he did his.."
Sadly, while it looked that she had gotten into a better mood, Sadayo's expression quickly turned melancholic as she lowered her head. "But look at me now… Here I am in a hospital, and I'm sure none of my students would be sad if I passed away soon. Why would they? When I did everything I could to distance myself from them. I might as well be a stranger to them. Though then a stranger wouldn't had failed them like I did. I mean when I woke up, the first thing that came to my mind was that I still don't have enough money to make my payment." She shook her head in shame. "I haven't been able to face my mother since Takase-kun's passing… If dad was still alive he'd probably die of shame."
"Kawakami…" Akira frowned, dismayed at her sadness, "that's not true. I mean, listen to what you're saying. If you truly didn't think of anything else but the money, you wouldn't be so filled with regret."
Sadayo bit her lip, ashamed for having to be comforted by the student that came to visit her. 'Why did I tell him all of that. What purpose did it serve? What good would it do to tell one of my students that? All it did is remind me about how much of a failure I am. Even with that promise I still ended up, abandoning Takase-kun to save myself. When things became complicated, I left him behind, just like they said.' Sadayo eyes once again turned towards her guest as he continue to watch over her. His gaze looked so gentle and concerned, and it honestly pained her to see him worry about her so much. 'Maybe I just wanted him to learn more about me? Maybe I wanted to see if he would finally be disillusioned by me. And yet here he is, still sitting by my side, worrying about someone like me...' "Kurusu-kun… I—"
Before Sadayo could speak up, the sliding door opened again as a couple walked in. The man seem irate, crossing his arms in disapproval, while the woman seem much more calm, but her smile was unpleasant as she leisurely tilted her head to the side.
Akira watched Sadayo grow pale, as if the couple's very presence leeched the life out of her.
"Tch, there you are!" the ugly man said. Akira didn't like him at all.
"Takase-san?!" Sadayo's eyes were wide open as the couple stood by the other side of her bed, barring the door.
"What's going on, Ms. Kawakami!?" The man yelled, slamming his hand against the table by the foot of Sadayo's bed, causing her to flinch. "I called the school but no one answered."
"You contacted the school…!?" Sadayo was mortified of hearing this. She having tried so hard to prevent anything from her previous school from reaching Shujin for fear of getting kicked out again. "You—you didn't have to do that!"
"Well what were we supposed to do then, hmmm?" The woman responded, at odds with her husband's harsh tone but equally slimy. Akira didn't like her either. "We so patiently waited for our apology, but we never received it."
"Not to mention you weren't answering your phone, so of course we called your school. I'm sure they would had been more than willing to help me out if I explained things to them!" The man seemed to take a particular glee in his assertion as he leaned forward while putting his heavy weight on the table.
Sadayo couldn't deny anything and sat quietly, her head lowered in shame as she hung on every word they said. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to make things difficult."
"You're telling me! When I thought that you had finally answered the phone, we get a nurse telling us that you were here. Don't you know how much of an inconvenience it is for us when you miss your payment? We even had to come all the way here."
"I-I'm sorry..."
"Now, now dear, let's be fair. It's not like she wanted to collapse..." The woman waved her hand at her husband as he backed off, only to turn to Sadayo with a twisted smile. "But our credit card payment is coming up soon, so we'll need you to transfer the money as soon as you can."
"I'm sorry..." Sadayo could only respond once more, her voice becoming much more distraught with each apology. She grabbed hold of her right arm tightly.
"Who are they?"
Akira's voice suddenly rang in Sadayo's ear. It wasn't the usual playful response, or his caring tone; instead it sounded annoyed, with a hint of venom similar to the tone had when he complained to her about how the school's treatment of him. She turned towards him, and noticed that he seemed to be glaring at the Takases. His arms were politely resting on his lap, but his hands were clenched tightly and seemed to be shaking a bit.
"The—these are Takase-kun's guardians, the ones I mentioned to you a while back. They're the ones that took care of him..." Sadayo tried to put up a smile for Akira, but unable to sell it as Akira turned towards the Takases again."
"Took care of him huh…?"
"And just who is this kid?" The man growled at Sadayo, clearly unamused by Akira's defiant look.
"He's just one of my students, He came here to visit me and—"
"What, you messing around with another student then?" The man mocked Sadayo as he laughed. "You never learn, do you?" His look of disgust now pointed a her as he clicked his tongue. "And after all you did to him..."
Sadayo flinched at his comments and drew back, as if a servant had been reprimanded by her master for speaking up. "I'm sorry..." She responded with shame, being the only response she was permitted to give.
"Well I think you've made us wait long enough, don't you agree? So? When are you going to transfer the money?" The woman demanded.
"I-I should be able to send it out tomorrow… So please, just give me a little more time and—"
The plastic chair beside Sadayo's side screeched, cutting through her excuses.
Akira stood tall and rebellious, putting his shaking hands coolly in his pockets. His voice echoed in the room, like a summons to war:
"Don't pay them."
Sadayo stared in shock. How much more can he continue to surprise her?
"Wha—what did you say?!" The man demanded.
"I said," Akira said slowly, like he was speaking to an unruly child, "That she doesn't need to pay a damn yen to the likes of you."
"Kurusu-kun..." Sadayo could feel her heart skip a beat which could be heard by the off beeping from her monitor, as she witnessed Akira standing up to the Takases for her. So much so that she almost didn't notice the drastic change in behavior. She quickly thought back to when she had confronted him about the Iwais. His tone of voice and expression right now were similar to that night, but at a whole other level. Unlike when he had confronted her about it, his voice sounded much more vicious, angered, yet still in control, causing the man on the other side to step back nervously with one strong glare.
"Y-you stay out of this!" The woman stumbled, as she started to nervously sweat at the young man's presence.
"Do-don't act so tough, kid!" The man retorted, trying to sound intimidated, but failing as his legs betrayed him when he took a step back. "Our precious adoptive son, Taiki, died because of this woman." The man's eyes turn to Sadayo with anger, causing her to look away, making no effort to hide his amusement in her compliance. "Honestly, she should've been fired."
"That's not… I just wanted to..." Sadayo's tried to protest the man's claims, but her voice was weak, unable to fight back against the accusations made of her.
Still, this angered the man that she even tried. "What's that?!" He turned and walked towards Sadayo, his face full of anger and condemnation as he reached out to her in anger. "All these years and you still don't know your place?"
Sadayo cowed at the mans words, closing his eyes while expecting to be reprimanded but it never came. She slowly open her eyes, looking to see Akira by her side as he tightly grabbed hold of the man's wrist with his left hand. "A..kira?" She didn't realized as his name escaped her lips, her voice was still shaken from what had just transpired, but she was truly grateful to him being here for her at this moment.
"If you even think of harming a hair on her, I'll make sure that you regret that decision." Akira darkly warned as he tightened his grip. A devilish grin then bloomed on his face, sending chills down the spine of everyone in the room. "Didn't you say that I should stop acting tough just a while ago? So how about it, he leaned towards the sweating man, teeth flashing in promised pain, want to see how much of an act it really is?"
Then he abruptly let go. The man quickly backed off, holding his tongue at him as he massaged his sore wrist. The man tried to glare at Akira before faltering.
Unfortunately, Sadayo was an easier target.
"S-so you no longer feel regret!?" The male Takase glared, seemingly gaining some power at her lack of reply. "Is that it? In that case, perhaps we should sue the Board of Education! Or should we have a chat with your school? Send in a complaint about t-this delinquent student of yours."
Akira's grin merely widened. Both Takases inched away.
But the words were enough to make Sadayo's head snap back to reality. 'No! They can't! If they complain to the school about him...!'
"Either way your days as a teacher would be over, don't you agree?" The bile from the man's words could almost be felt as he stared down at Sadayo.
"What did I tell you about—"
"Kurusu-kun, please stop!" Sadayo shouted, causing Akira to look back at Sadayo in disbelief.
"Kawakami..?"
"…I understand. I will pay you...So please...!" Sadayo desperately pleaded, her hand clenched the blanket and her body shook, but she was still doing her best to make her statement clear to the couple.
Maybe it worked or maybe it because Akira took a threatening step towards them, but the female Takase spoke up.
"N-no need to act like that with us, I'm sure this was all a misunderstanding. It's not like we're trying to extort you after all." The woman's words should normally sound understanding, but the her eyes and her smile, betrayed her malice. "But who was it that convinced Taiki to start studying when he needed to be working. The schoolwork on top of his part-time jobs overwhelmed him, which led him to that accident…" She shook her head, almost-dramatically bemoaning, "Poor Taiki… it's almost like he was murdered!" She took a quick glance to the punk beside the bed to see how he took the statement.
Akira's glare burned the woman, causing her smile to break as she became spooked by him. "Like hell she—" Akira tried to take another step forward, nearly driving the couple out to the door, but was halted as Sadayo placed her hand in front of him.
She was still feeling the effects of the woman's accusation, but was doing her best to keep herself from falling apart in front of Akira as she shook her head. "Kurusu-kun it's fine." Sadayo proceeded to face the couple and bowed in submission, as much as her position allowed her. "I understand… It's... my responsibility after all."
"Glad to hear that you still understand you position. We're gonna need you to show some remorse for what you did to him..." The man maliciously grinned even as he cradled his sore wrist. "… In a material and undeniable way. We're looking forward to receiving your payment."
With that the two immediately left through the open door, leaving a broken Sadayo and a defeated Akira.
"What am I going to do..? I have to figure out a way to make more money…" Sadayo hugged herself pitifully. As much as she hated having to admit, as much as she was dreading this decision, there was only one thing she could do that could earn her more money on time. "I guess transferring to our sister company is the only way..."
"Sister company? What do you mean?" Akira asked, doing his best to subdue the lingering frustration as he closed the door and returned to his seat.
"…It's a company affiliated with Victoria. I can make a lot more money there."
Akira looked at Sadayo with a raised brow. "So you knew of a place that paid more already, but you haven't applied to it yet? There has to be a catch."
Sadayo hesitated in telling him, especially after he had asked about the things she had done previously as a maid. She recoiled in disgust at the thought of doing that kind of work… but it was the only way for her to make enough money by this point. "You remember what you thought I was implying when I had told you about our 'special services'. Well, they're the kind of company that provides those kinds of services."
Akira suddenly felt his heart sink.
"YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS!?"
His yelling made Sadayo flinch, causing him to restrain himself before continuing. "Are you really planning to—" Akira hesitated for a second, gritting his teeth in frustration as he tried to force the words out "—sell, sell your body, just to pay those two?! It's not right! So please Sadayo, please, think this through more."
Sadayo gave a disheartened chuckle at Akira's request. "I can't believe I'm getting scolded by my student, but it's the only way that I can make enough money to pay them..."
"Then don't pay them! We could ask the Phantoms for help?" Akira could feel time was running out for Sadayo, causing him to panic. He was no longer thinking straight and he failed to notice the look of discomfort in Sadayo's face at the mention of The Phantom Thieves and how it grew worse as he continued talking. All he was thinking at this moment was getting their names now before it was too late. Once that was done, everything could be solved. "I just need their names, if I can get that then I'm sure we could—"
"WOULD YOU GIVE IT A REST ALREADY!" Sadayo yelled, still curled up and shaken.
Akira was left stunned at the volume from which Sadayo refused his offer. "But why? If we don't do anything about this then you're going to..."
Sadayo raised her head at Akira, her chest hurting as she saw the expression on his face. Her emotions where in turmoil right now, but not just because of the Takases appearance. She felt a rush at the sight of Akira defending her. It made her feel special, wanted, like one of the heroines in the stories she enjoyed so much. But the reality of it all still remained. He had almost lost his entire future, because of her. Because of her someone else that she cared about was going to lose everything again, and that realization was too painful to bare.
"Why…? Why are you so interested in helping me…? I'm not worth it… How many times do I have to tell you till you realize it!?" Sadayo drew her knees close to her chest as she wrapped her arms around them, taking care not to aggravate her I.V. "I abandoned my student and caused his death, I ignored my responsibility as a teacher and broke my promise to my father. I purposely stayed blissfully unaware as the ones I was supposed to help guide and protect suffered in the hands of that bastard! I kept myself blissfully ignorant as he-"
Sadayo covered her mouth with her hand. A sickening feeling began to build at the pit of her stomach as she remembered to what had happened to Shiho. "Suzui-chan… she ended up trying to kill herself, because I failed to notice that she was crying for help." Sadayo's grip tightened. She remembered that dreaded day, frozen in fear as she witnessed the loss of another student's future: a scared, hopeless girl standing at the edge of the rooftop.
"I treated you so harshly and with such disdain because of things I knew nothing about," Sadayo continued miserably. "When you found out about my maid job, I blackmailed you simply because I thought the worst of you, that you would do the same to me. Despite all of that you still offered to help me with requests, and I returned that kindness by lying to you and trying to use you to make my payments." She was teary-eyed by the end of it, doing her best to keep her composure as she buried her face against the blanket while sniffling.
"Don't you see? Why would the Phantom Thieves ever help someone like me...when I'm the kind of person that they would target?"
For a third time today, Akira felt like a ton of bricks had fallen of top of him. "Tha—that's not true!"
Sadayo huffed as she turned slightly to face Akira. "How can you be so sure..? You've heard everyone at school right? They'd all probably cheer if I got my heart stolen, though maybe they're right… maybe my heart does deserve to be taken."
"Sadayo, I..." Never did Akira want so much to reveal to her the truth, to ease her mind. But he couldn't get himself to tell her the truth as he bit his tongue only to be interrupted by Sadayo giggling from her blanket. "Sadayo...?"
Sadayo raised her head, a huge closed eye grin plastered on her face as she spoke in a tone similar to when she acted as Becky. "You know what? I'm gonna stop worrying about it!" She leaned teasingly, like she was a cute maid trying to please her Master instead of a woman out of options. "The money? I'll pay, I'll do everything Master tells me to do—" But before she could finish, Sadayo found herself being swept into Akira's embrace. Her head was tucked against his chest by a gentle hand. His heartbeat thundered against her ears.
"Don't lie to me..." Akira sounded torn up, as if lost and unsure about what to do, holding her close as if afraid of losing her. "Didn't we agree that you wouldn't need to pretend who you are when you're with me? That we're in this together? So please, just be honest with me..."
"...Meow." Sadayo's voice broke down, along with her barrier. She shouldn't be feeling comfort in the arms of her student, this was wrong, but she couldn't help but cling to her troublemaker. Tears flowed freely down her cheeks as her sobs crawled from her throat. Her hands trembled as they held the flap of his jacket close, hearing his heart beating in unison to the device monitoring hers. Despite how scared she was, despite how hopeless everything felt, she couldn't help but feel safe in his embrace, and thus letting everything out.
Akira knew that he was acting selfishly. Sadayo had already suffered enough without him making things complicated after all. But after having her open up to him about her father and her reasons for wanting to be a teacher, after seeing first hand what kind of treatment she had been forced to endure for so many years, after failing to help her in her time of need…
And most of all, after failing to notice how afraid she must have been while he so selfishly tried to solve things his way without considering how she must have been feeling this whole time. The only thing he could do is to let her know that she wasn't alone, that there was someone that cared about her and saw her worth and allow her a place to cry. If she was to chastise him afterwards, then he was willing to take those licks.
'You're such an idiot, you know that? Why can't you see how amazing you are, how caring and hardworking you are. Why do you have to destroy yourself just to appease those bastards.' Akira could feel Sadayo's hand clinging to his arm. Nowhere was the strength that Morgana would complain at times. Instead they felt so weak and tired, as a wet puddle begin to swell against his clothes.
"...I'm so tired." Sadayo finally spoke truthfully, choking and sniffing as she continued to clutch Akira close. "All I really want is… a way to apologize to Takase-kun. To tell him how sorry I am for being a coward and abandoning him, but no matter how much I wish it, he's never coming back. So if his guardians demand money then I just have to pay them..."
"Isn't there something else you can do? This can't just be the only way."
"But what else can I do…? Sadayo pressed her face deeper against his chest. I just don't know anymore!"
All Akira could do was hold her, He wanted to give her an answer, but at this moment he felt as if nothing he could say would be able to reach her.
"Sorry, I'm not quite fully recovered yet… so my thoughts are all over the place..." Sadayo's hands gripped Akira as hard as they could despite the discomfort that she was feeling from the I.V., not wanting to let go.
"It's fine, just rest for now. We can figure something out later..." By this point Akira had collected himself, his voice sounding much more calm and comforting.
"I'm sorry… I'm sorry... I'm so sorry…." For a while all Sadayo could do was apologize. Apologize to Takase-kun, apologize to all the students that she had failed, and apologize to the person that continued to hold her close as he comforted and reassured her while she lets out all her regrets.
Eventually things quieted down. Akira eventually pulled himself away from Sadayo, noticing a bit of resistance from Sadayo's part. "I- I should go now, give you some time to rest. Just promise me that you'll think this through a bit more after you recover."
Sadayo nodded, wiping her eyes and nose with her sleeves, her face fully red for a number of reasons. "Sorry for the mess I made on your arm." she said, with and embarrassed smile.
Akira glanced at his arm and shrugged. "It's fine, I can wash it off later. Will you be okay…?"
"I should be fine, I'm sure I'll be release first thing tomorrow, The I.V. drip here works really well after all."
'Why does the way that you say that makes me worry that this isn't the first time that this has happened.' Akira thought to himself as he stepped back as he took his bag. He turned to the door. "Okay, guess I'll be heading out now-" he cut himself off when he felt a small tug from the end of his shirt. As he turned around he saw Sadayo leaning forward to grab hold of him
"Before you go… I-I wanted to let you know that I appreciate you coming to visit me today." Sadayo's face was a mess. Her eyes were red and a bit swollen from the crying, her nose a bit runny still and her hair was even more of an unruly mess, but despite all that, Akira could only describe the smile that she gave him as she looked towards him with a look of endearment as...
'Beautiful…' Akira smiled back at Sadayo as he gave her a nod. "Sure thing. Just remember that I'm here for you." 'No matter what happens, I'll do everything In my power to protect you… I promise.' "Good night... Kawakami"
"Goodnight... Kurusu-kun" Sadayo replied, her face still quite red from her emotional turmoil, but Akira could guess that there was also an embarrassed blush coming through.
Akira proceeded to walk out of the room and close the door behind him as he walked down the hospital halls. It was late, and most of the remaining people where either in hospital rooms, in the emergency sections or the staff, which meant most of the hospital was empty. Soon enough, he found himself alone in an empty hallway.
He punched the nearest wall in frustration. "Dammit!"
"Please refrain from hitting your hand against the wall. I've no intention of treating it if you break it because of such a dumb reason."
Akira turned see as Dr. Tae Takemi walked by the corner, letting out a frustrated groan as he ran his hand over his face before taking a deep breath before putting up a cocky smile. "Something must be really be wrong with me if I keep letting people sneak up on me..."
"If that's true I could always give you another examination. I'm sure there are still a few things I could use some help in return, my little guinea pig." Tae offered, with a smile that only meant trouble.
"Thanks, but I'll pass on that…" Akira shook the pain from his hand while shifting his bag to to other arms to hide the mess that had been left behind. "What are you doing here? Checking up on Miwa-chan?"
"I was originally yes, but turns out they were low on staff, so they asked if I could stay and help out. Things have been quite busy for me since a certain someone helped clear my name." Tae teased with a smug expression towards Akira.
"Happy to be of service." Akira responded, hints of tiredness and sarcasm seeping in despite his charming facade.
"Hmm, maybe you do have a bug." Tae responded with a raised brow.
"Sorry, just came to realize something recently and I'm still trying to process things."
"That so…? Well it's not my problem, so I'll just leave you to it and take my leave." Tae was about to leave before she was halted by Akira.
"Wait!"
Tae turned, with a smile showing that she was expecting him to stop her. "Is there something that you want from me?"
Akira hesitated, causing his actual feelings to be present as he looked away and tried to figure out how to explain things to her. "You said you were helping out the staff here right? If possible… can I ask you for a favor?"
"A favor?" Tae was all ears, her curiosity peaked.
"There is a patient in room 41. She's there because she collapsed and is recovering right now. I… I want to make sure that she's taken care of, and I trust your abilities. I mean I trust you with my own body after all." Akira let out a tired chuckle as he scratched the back of his head, a bit embarrassed. "So, if it's alright with you, is there any way you can be put in charge of her?"
Tae raised her brow at Akira with a look of disbelief. "So let me get this straight. You want me to go to the other doctors and ask them to hand me one of their patients out of the blue?"
"R-right, sorry. I was probably asking too much there." Akira sighed, disheartened.
"I never said that I wouldn't do it." Tae teasingly interrupted. "I just wanted to be clear how difficult this would be for me. Tae gave Akira a look, as if a predator was staring down it's prey, causing a chill down his spine. "I expect you to work well for my assistance, my little guinea pig."
"Takemi… thank you." Akira smiled. It was a bit forced, but he did his best to let his gratitude be known to the doctor, even going so far as to give a bow.
"Umm, sure..." Tae looked quite shocked at the expression she was seeing from Akira. It was a first for her. "Anyway, you should probably head back home, it's quite late after all.
"Actually, if possible I would like to stay overnight if that's okay. I can stay in the waiting room and—"
Akira was quickly tapped on the head with a clipboard with an annoyed Tae in front of him. "Oh no you don't. Does Boss even know that you're here? Don't think he would be very pleased to hear you stayed over night in a hospital. You might make him think that you were the one that was admitted." Tae took a step back, surprised at the guilty expression on Akira's face But she was busy and needed to leave the questions for later. She sighed. "I told you that I'd go on a limb for you and I intend to honor that. So, leave things here to me."
She proceeded to playfully shoo him off with her free hand. "Now go and get some rest. Your health is my responsibility after all, I won't have you complaining to me later about something being wrong if you don't heed your doctor's advice after all."
Akira did his best to let out a small chuckle. "Thanks doc… I'll leave things to you then." And with that he turned around and took his leave, waving her goodbye as walked away. "See you around, Takemi.
Not being able to do anything else here, Akira had to accept his limitation and head back home with his head down. It was a quiet trip home as he paid no mind to the discussions going on on the train concerning a certain group, or the praise of the Phantoms Thieves from random strangers. Instead, what Sadayo had said kept repeating in his head over and over, pausing only when he tried to enter Leblanc, only to find it locked. He unlocked the door and closed it behind him without giving it much thought.
"About time you got back!" Morgana yelled as he came down the stairs and leaped at the counter after hearing the door chime. "Why did you leave me behind like that?! You went off running without thinking and without locking up the shop leaving me to take care of that stuff. You know how hard it is to lock something instead of unlocking it with these paws?!'
"Yeah, thanks." Akira responded without even turning to look at Morgana. Still lost in his thoughts, he listlessly continued upstairs.
Morgana stood there a bit confused by his response, before giving chase. "Hey don't ignore me!" As he climbed up, he saw Akira sitting on the couch, face buried in his hands. Morgana started to worry about what had gone while he wasn't around. "Hey, what the hell happened there? I heard something about a hospital, but I never heard the details."
Akira did not respond, choosing instead to just sit there in silence for some time before letting out a pathetic chuckle.
"Joker…?"
"I really screwed up Mona… I was there, but I couldn't do anything for her."
"What do you mean? What happened?"
"When I called her on the phone a while back? A nurse from a hospital was the one to pick up instead. Turned out she had collapsed in the street on her way home, and when I heard that, I just couldn't think straight anymore. I'd never been so afraid since the first time me and Ryuji ended up in Kamoshida's Palace and were about to die. I wanted to see her as soon as I could."
Akira lifted his head, turning toward his his feline audience with a sad, defeated smile. You know what happened when I arrived? She just started laughing at how worried and rushed I was, as if everything was fine. I stupidly thought that the worst had passed and I could just talk to her, try to convince her to ask us for help..." Akira smile slowly contorted as it s became a sneer, gritting his teeth as he contained his anger as best he could. "But then they showed up… Finally got a good look of those relatives that she had mentioned. They just came in, they didn't care that she had just passed out because of the work she is being forced to do because of them. All they cared about was getting their money from her and had no hesitation in breaking her spirit to do so."
Akira's hand was closed into a fist, as he punched down on the couch in anger as he remembered the way they had treated Sadayo. "From what Kawakami had told me I had a feeling they weren't good people. They forced their adopted kid to make money 'cause they couldn't be bothered to take care of him, not to mention the constant increasing of apology money, but… I didn't think they would be this cruel to her. They even accused her of murdering him. I just couldn't just sit there and do nothing as they continuously tore her down. I threatened them, I raised my hand at them, and then in a state of panic I straight up asked her for their names."
"ARE YOU CRAZY?!" Morgana chastise him at hearing his carelessness. "Why would you go do something like—"
"YOU WEREN'T THERE!" Akira snapped back at him in anger. He hit his own leg to let out his frustration, not wanting to burn Morgana with his wrath. He took a deep breath. "You didn't have to see as they emotionally tormented her and toyed with her guilt and regret. That wasn't something that they did just out of frustration. She has been dealing with those assholes for years now…"
Akira ran his hand through his hair, his chuckle sounding hollow. "But you know what's the worst about the whole thing? She's terrified of us."
"What…?" Morgana asked, mouth gaping in shock at this revelation.
Akira's shaky hands covered his eyes, paying no mind that they skewed his glasses as he gritted his teeth once more. "She's afraid that we would target her because of how much those bastards ingrained it into her that she's nothing but a terrible person. That we wouldn't give a damn about her and would go after her instead… How the hell am I supposed to explain that…?" Akira bit his lip hard, tasting blood. He lifted his hand from his face, and found it trailing with tears. "I got too cocky. I thought myself able to solve any problem by just going to the Metaverse and changing their hearts. I am such an idiot for not noticing how much it bothered her. Instead, I constantly jammed my solution to her.
Akira wiped his wet hand off his sleeve, the same sleeve Sadayo had cried on. I always thought that we were just giving courage to those that needed it. I never even considered that I was hurting her… hurting the person… that I have feelings for."
"Akira..." Morgana could only say, speechless to find out what had transpired. But most of all, stunned at hearing him admit his feelings for Sadayo.
Akira took his glasses off, as they were starting to hurt and massaged the bridge of his nose. He noticed the tear droplets on it and wiped them off. "What's wrong Mona?" Akira asked Morgana with a rough smile. "Aren't you going to say that I'm an idiot for having a crush on my teacher?"
Morgana shook his head, putting his paw on his arm. "No, you still are an idiot, but I've seen how you are around her… I know that it's more than a crush."
Akira chuckled a bit at his cat's deduction. He always joked about it, but to hear him say that he knew about his feelings for her was kind of embarrassing, but comforting to hear him being so okay with it. "Thanks, though that doesn't matter right now. All that matters is that we save her."
"We need those relative's names right?" Morgana continued, as he tried to think up of an answer. "I mean asking her is probably out of the question now, but if we take down those relatives then—"
"It won't matter." Akira shook his head. "She's been told time and time again for years by those two about how horrible a person she is. All she did when they continued to berate and accuse her was apologize, and with how far she is willing to sacrifice herself to appease those assholes, she truly does believe what they're saying to be true. Even if we take them down, I'm scared about what she might do if she doesn't have that outlet… if she is left alone without some method of showing her regret." Akira leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees as he intertwined his fingers. "I- I think Kawakami might actually need a change of heart."
"Morgana's eyes were wide open at what his leader was suggesting. "You mean that… you want to make Ms. Kawakami a target?"
"No… or at least I hope it doesn't have to come to that." His hands shook once more as they tightened their grip. "I… I want to try talking to her one more time, I want to get her to see that this isn't the only way. That she doesn't need to sacrifice herself for them and that there is a better way to make amends."
Akira closed his eyes, the image of Sadayo as she laughed at his arrival, how proud she looked when she talked about her father… how all of that was shattered and stomped on when those two came. The image of her crying in his arms was vividly ingrained in his mind. It was a sight that he promised himself to make sure that never happened again, and with a deep breath he opened his eyes once more, this time full of resolve.
"No matter what, I will save her."
Yeah... There was no way this chapter wasn't going to be a happy one.
I considered myself a passive individual, but never was I as livid and angered by a video game, as I was when those two showed up in the hospital. I had played the game with choosing the most calm, supportive and at times snarky answer. But for them I didn't hesitate to pick the most aggressive answer I was given. Never had I felt the desire to have the character slug someone in the face as I did when I heard these two talk. They were my 100% Paragon ruining Reporter punching scene. And it was at that moment that I had realized how attached and invested I had become in the happiness of this depressed, yet caring teacher. So needless to say this scene was a very special one for me.
Fun Fact: Tae's appearance in the hospital was the very first thing that I thought of adding when I started thinking about writing this story, which then fueled other ideas like Sadayo's encounter with her in the laundromat, as well as other stuff in the near future.
A big thanks goes to SombodyLost, for all your help you did. And we will be continuing next chapter to Sadayo's side, and her encounter with a third unexpected guest.
