These characters don't belong to me, but rather to Atlus. Enjoy the chapter.


Chapter 13

After classes had ended for the day, Akira stood waiting by the school gates. He kept his hands in his pockets, fiddling with a familiar card as he waited for Morgana's return. He noticed that many of the students and staff kept their distance of him, flinching and backing away if they saw him looking their way. He must have been terrifying if even Ann looked taken aback by him.

Realizing this, he switched his mask to that of Nigi Mitama, a Persona of the Temperance Arcana, hoping its Null-Rage skill that it inherited would help dampen his anger. Luckily, it seemed to work, as he was able to calmly let the others that ran into him by the gates know that he would meet them in the hideout after he did some preparations. Most of them, while confused agreed, Ann was the only one that still seemed to worry. This wasn't surprising since she was the only one that had seen him so soon after his encounter with the Takases at school.

Akira looked at his hand, opening it slowly before clenching it into a fist, feeling a bit more in control. He couldn't help but chuckle at the coincidence of the Persona he was using. He had fused into it so that he would have a Persona that had a number of recovering skills, not to mention some blessed and psychic damage thanks to the treasure demons he fed to it. It made up for the holes in the team's offensive capabilities. He may not have been his strongest persona, but his bonds with Sadayo certainly made it a tough little guy.

'Temperance, huh?' His mind flashed to memories of Sadayo, how her smile warmed his heart, and how happy she was when she asked him to meet with her. Sadly, those memories were ruined as the image of her in tears on the floor flashed in his head, causing him to clench his fist tightly. "Not good… I'm still pissed off."

Suddenly a weight landed on his shoulder; he didn't need to turn to know who it was. "Were you able to follow them?"

"Who do you think you're talking to? Don't underestimate my skills." The cat retorted as he slipped back into his bag. "It was difficult sneaking in and out of the trains, but nothing impossible for the likes of me."

Akira moved from the wall, his eyes glaring menacingly. "Show me."


Akira now stood in front of a two-story house. The family plate by the gate spelling out Takase was a good sign that he was in the right location. It was in a good {wealthy} neighborhood, looked generally well-kept and secure. He couldn't help but feel angry at how comfortable they seemed to be living.

As he changed more hearts, a part of him would always wonder about the reasons why people did the terrible things that they did, the justifications that they would always bring up as they begged for forgiveness. When he had learned of the Takases, he had wondered about their financial status, and considering from what he heard them say, they seem to be the type to spend frivolously. So to find out that they seemed to own a house, and a nice one at that, while Sadayo was constantly struggling to make ends meet despite how much she worked herself to the bone…

It just poured oil on the fire.

"You sure this is the right place?" Akira figured it would be, but with the risk of another household with the same family name being a possibility, he wanted to make sure.

"Positive!" Morgana affirmed with confidence. "I followed them the whole time 'til they entered this house." He noticed as Akira took out a card from his pocket; the pattern and the insignia at the front made it very obvious about what it was. "Is that a calling card? When did you get that done?"

"I had Yusuke make me a blank template, figured it might come in handy, and if not I could always keep it as a bookmark. I was able to add the message during the final period of class since it ended up becoming a study period." Akira's head lowered, a pained look on his face. "She… didn't even show up."

"Joker..."

"We will save her… even if it's just the two of us, but I rather it not come to that." He held the card to Mona. "Here, place this under their door and ring the doorbell. That should get their attention."

Mona nodded before taking the card and doing as Akira instructed. Voices could be heard from inside, Akira recognized them well enough, as they questioned what kind of prank that card was, though their voices became more concerned as they read the card further. Once that was confirmed Mona went back to Akira's side.

"Whatever you wrote there has them pretty riled up."

"Good, now let's go. The others are probably waiting."

Akira took one last glare back towards the house, staring it down. He raised his hand, gesturing it like he was holding a gun, aiming right at their nameplate. A devilish smirk bloomed on his face; he looked forward for what would to come.

"Prepare yourselves. I'll be stealing Sadayo from your greedy clutches."


Akira arrived to the hallway that had become the Phantoms' hideout, relieved to see that everyone was present. They all seemed to have preoccupied themselves in their own way. Makoto looked to be busy with a study flip note, probably filled with questions and answers. Ryuji was sitting on the floor as he scrolled at his phone. Yusuke was people-watching and Ann seemed preoccupied with something on her mind as she stared at the window outside.

He took a deep breath, preparing himself for this. He wished that it wasn't necessary, but if he was to get them understand his reasoning, he would have to disclose some of the information concerning Sadayo. He felt guilty, considering how hard it was for her to open up to him about her past, but he knew that this was a selfish request, beyond anything else he'd asked of them previously.

As he let out the air he had taken in he walked towards them. Yusuke was the first to notice him and he gestured to the others. All but Ann waved at Akira. He waved back, making sure to keep a non-murderous smile as he walked to his group and placed himself in the center, leaning forward to rest his arms on the handrail with Morgana coming out of his bag and jumping of.

"I'm sure you're all wondering why I called you here today."

"Well we have our exams tomorrow so a meeting like this wasn't exactly something I had planned for," Makoto replied, a bit annoyed, but willing to listen, much to Akira's relief.

"So, what's up? It ain't odd for us to have an emergency meeting, but I do have to agree with Makoto that it's odd for us to do this so close to the exams," Ryuji added, probably much more interested in what he had to say than the exams.

Akira closed his eyes, as his hands clasped together. "I have a target for the Phantoms. It's a couple by the name of Toshio and Hiromi Takase."

"A pair, that is quite odd indeed," Yusuke commented with curiosity.

"It's not the first time we've fought more than one bad guy. We had that gang of burglars that were targeting restaurants after all. What difference does it make?" Ryuji sounded confident, unconcerned by Yusuke's comments.

"I would remind you that while that is true, those additional threats were not our main target which was still one. The fact that it's two means that both will be equally powerful as opposed to one with a number of lackeys," Yusuke reprimanded.

"True as that may be, but why are we targeting them, and why so suddenly?" Makoto was still confused.

"Not only that, but… you've been acting kind of weird lately, Akira," Ann finally spoke up with concern.

"I'm guessing you all agree with that statement?" Akira asked, not having to turn to tell that the group was having a hard time looking at him.

"P-please don't misunderstand," Makoto commented hesitantly. "It's not that we don't trust you. It's just that—"

"We can tell that something's been eating at you," Ryuji finished up Makoto's claim.

"That obvious huh?" Akira lightly said, trying to act like it was no big deal.

"In all due respect, you did a terrible job at hiding it," Yusuke sharply explained.

Akira lowered his head in shame. "Yeah, you got me there."

He wanted to argue that he had done a fine job at hiding his concern, but he couldn't deny the remark Mona had made all those nights ago. When it came to Sadayo, he was much more impulsive, much more careless. A good chunk of it was because he didn't initially fully understood his feelings for her, getting easily swept away in a sea of emotions. He wasn't going to make the same mistakes this time though. He understood all too well what the stakes are, and he was going to make damn sure that things would work out, for Sadayo's sake.

"Won't you tell us what is going on?" Makoto asked, hoping that it wouldn't cause their leader to reject them.

"That's fair, It has to be unanimous after all. I can't expect you all to come along without explaining my reason," Akira sighed, his body slouching a bit. "In truth, the reason for this… is to help Ms. Kawakami."

All but Yusuke and Morgana stared at Akira with shock. None of them expected the name of one of their teachers to come up in Phantom Thief business or for Akira to bring it up unless as a target, especially when one considered his previous remarks about how the school treated him.

"Wait a minute! You're not talking about the nagging master fisherman, are you!? That Kawakami!?" Ryuji spoke out in shock.

"What kind of description of someone is that? And stop yelling," Makoto whispered, scolding Ryuji for his outburst.

"Sorry," Ryuji hastily covered his mouth.

"Why her though? You're calling us all up so suddenly because of her?" Ann protested, the frustration in her voice evident. "What's going on, Akira?"

"Please understand Lady Ann." Morgana jumped on to the handrail to help him meet her at eye level. "I know it's odd but there is a good reason why this is so urgent."

"Wait, you knew about this, too?" Ann glared at Morgana, causing his ears to lower.

"Excuse me," Yusuke interjected as he rose his hand, visibly perplexed by the strong reactions from the rest of the group. "From the look of things, I imagine this person is someone you're all familiar with, is that correct?

"She's one of our teachers at Shujin Academy. More specifically she is Akira and Ann's Homeroom Teacher," Makoto answered, still reeling as she tried to make sense of the situation. "But I feel like we jumped in the middle of things. How did this come up?"

"I've actually been in contact with her outside of the school for a while," Akira began explaining the situation to the group. "The situation is a bit complicated, but the gist of it is that she has been working a number of jobs outside of school because the couple that I mentioned has been extorting her.

"Extorting? You mean like Kaneshiro was doing to the students?" Makoto asked, gaining a bit of anger as she was reminded of the many acts their previous target had committed.

"Something like that..." Akira let out another sigh as he hesitated, but he continued nonetheless. "I ended up running into her during one of those said jobs, after that first encounter we ended up meeting a couple of more times and slowly started talking to one another."

"What kind of jobs are we talking about?" Ann asked hesitantly. As frustrated as she was, a part of her was curious about the kind of situation that had led to both of them talking, especially considering the previous attitudes both of them shared during his early days in Shujin.

Akira shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I promised her that I would keep that a secret. I know it's not fair, but I'm willing to answer any other questions that you have except that one." He smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry."

Ann groaned at this, but out of respect to her friend decided not to push the issue. "Fine… but she isn't just using you, or forced you to do anything that you don't want to do, right?

Akira once again smiled at Ann. "Nope, everything I did was my choice. I chose to meet up with her again after that first time. Trust me, she wasn't the happiest when I did, and I admit that part of it was because I knew it'd annoy her. Sort of getting back at her for all the times she lectured me during school."

"Real mature there, Akira," Makoto commented with a disappointed sigh at how petty her leader could be at times.

"I'm sorry, but you should've seen the look at her face when she saw me," Akira couldn't help his grin. "It was like she saw a ghost, not to mention she tried to act like she was a different person, hoping that I wouldn't recognize her." Akira placed his hand on his chin as he reminisced. "Honestly it's hard to tell who's worse at acting, her or Ann."

"T-that last comment wasn't necessary," Ann complained, red with embarrassment.

"Don't worry Ann, I believe your acting skills are quite commendable," Yusuke reassured her without missing a beat.

"That's not that point!"

"Guys, we're getting a bit side tracked here," Makoto interrupted the two's argument before it went further.

"Sorry. Anyway, the reason for this is because of some bad stuff that happened to her in a previous school, in which she was asked to convince another student named Taiki Takase to leaves cause he wasn't doing well at so school, usually missing a bunch of classes."

"Not surprising, considering how many bastards we've seen that are willing to hide any ugliness that would tarnish their pristine records," Ryuji growled in frustration.

"So wait, did the relatives decide to extort Ms. Kawakami because of that?" Ann asked, wondering why that would allow them to have such a grip on her.

Akira let out a sad chuckle. He knew that the group's views on her weren't exactly the best overall, but it pained him to hear Ann speak of her in that light. "Actually, she tried to help him. Yeah she was originally going to do as her bosses told her, but when she talked to Takase she learned about his situation. About his multiple jobs, and how it prevented him from attending classes, even though he wished he could. He did want to improve, he just wasn't given the chance to, so she decided to be that chance and started tutoring him and helping him after class."

He surveyed his Shujin schoolmates with smile. Ryuji, Ann and Makoto all looked surprised by their teacher's forwardness. "Shocking isn't it, considering how she acts at school? But sadly the reason why she is the way she is now is related to what happened next." Akira's face fell serious as he continued. "The school wasn't happy that she had gone on her own and helped him instead of having him leave, so they threatened her with firing her if she didn't stop tutoring him."

He let out a smirk, but it was one of indignation and frustration than actual amusement. "He was actually improving too, if those pricks on top would had just let her do her job and continue to help him, he would had probably done more than well to satisfy their lofty standards and then there wouldn't be any problems. But no, they would rather take the easy route of cutting anyone that needs help and keep the ones that already excelled and don't take any time or effort on their part." Akira gripped the railing tightly. "She was forced to see that reality when all her effort was treated as a nuisance and forced to do something she despised doing, just so she could still continue as a teacher. That was bad enough on it's own, but then fate decided to play a cruel joke on her, because on the same night that she told him that she wouldn't be able to tutor him, he died from a car crash on his way to one of his jobs."

"That's horrible..." Makoto covered her mouth in horror. "But wait, don't tell me she—"

"Yep," Akira quickly answered, knowing full well what Makoto was going to ask him. "She blames herself for his death. She still does even today, and it's all because of those… bastard relatives of his." He had to look away to hide his murderous grin. "They accused her for his death, blaming it on her tutoring tiring him out too much. They threatened to sue her, take things to the board of education, to the media. I'm sure you can find out from your sister about how well she would had done in court, especially in the state she was. I can tell you from my experience though, that there's very little hope. It's a very soul-crushing experience. And you know what's the worst of it all, it was their fault that he had to do all those jobs. If anything they're to blame for his situation, and yet they had the galls to accuse her because she actually tried to help and could tell that his death affected her greatly."

"But that wasn't her fault," Ann chimed in, though hesitantly. "I mean, it still sucks that she stopped helping him, but why would she believe that?"

"You said it yourself didn't you? When Shiho fell, you felt like it was your fault for not helping her, that you had failed her as a friend. Now imagine that from her perspective, I know it may be odd considering how she acts now, but she really does want to become a good teacher. So when she was made to abandon her student like that, it shattered her confidence as a teacher, and his death destroyed her views of herself as a person. The only thing that remained was her motivation to continue teaching."

"Some motivation that is..." Ann couldn't help her snide remark.

"Ann..." Akira's voice was pleading, but understanding. "You have to understand that this happened years ago, before she even started working at Shujin. That motivation has been chipped and broken slowly over time, and the Takases took advantage of that guilt and made her believe that the only way to make amends was to pay them money as an apology." Akira's fist began to clench instinctively, the anger in his voice slowly becoming apparent again. "Not once or twice, but weekly payments, payments that continue to go up even now, all the while drilling it into her head that it was her fault, that this is the only way, to make her feel like she's garbage, like she's worthless, that—" Akira caught himself. He only noticed that his anger got the best of him when he saw that the rest of the group was staring at him in utter shock. "Sorry…"

"Dude… what the heck. I've never seen you so pissed," Ryuji's mouth hung open, flabbergasted by Akira's reaction.

"Yeah. Part of it is because it hits a bit close to home," Akira rubbed the back of his head for a sheepish demeanor, but the group wasn't buying it. "She tried to show kindness to someone in need, and the world returned that kindness by spitting at her face and stomping it down to make sure she didn't even think about doing it again. I guess I can understand her because I could honestly see myself having gone that same path."

There was a surprising amount of hurt that the group hadn't seen from him before. Even when he had told them about his situation, he never really talked about how it had affected him, so they listened intently, not wanting to interrupt his train of thought.

"If I hadn't stumbled into the metaverse," he continued, "if I hadn't met Ryuji and Mona, if I hadn't awakened to my powers... I probably would've kept my head down and just focused on finishing my parole. I would've given up a long time ago and would've been gone through the motions, not caring about those around me as the world went to shit."

"Joker..." Mona spoke up, surprised at what Akira was bringing up, but touched that he included him as a positive factor, even if it meant being put alongside Ryuji. It made sense though.

Ryuji and Ann on the other hand were silent, but understood the weight of Akira's statement. They both remembered how Isolated Akira was at the beginning. How apprehensive he was with Ryuji at first about getting involved with Kamoshida, not wanting to put himself at risk. How disinterested he was when Ann first confronted him or when he sat behind her at first, his eyes distant and uncaring. Both had to admit that at times they themselves wondered what would have happened to either of them if things had been different and hadn't met Akira, or been introduced to that world.

Akira had to rely on his equipped Persona to calm once more as he ran his hand over his hair. "I saw her condition get worse and I started to fear that history might be repeating itself. That she might suffer the same fate Taiki did… And that fear became very real last Saturday, when I found out that she had collapsed in front of the station and had been hospitalized."

All but Morgana were shocked to hear about this turn of events. Then the Shujin students remembered back to how she looked that day, and none could deny that it wasn't surprising that she collapsed.

"Saturday, like this weekend." A thought crossed Ann's head as Akira mentioned her hospitalization. "Wait, then those cranes you were making on Sunday—"

"Yeah, they were for Ms. Kawakami," Akira smiled at Ann, not surprised that she figured it out. "Sorry about not explaining things back then. I had gone to visit her that night, and that's when I had the displeasure of meeting those so-called guardians. They were beyond scum, the way the toyed with Sadayo's guilt, how they belittled her and made her feel insignificant." Akira let out a shameful laugh. "I hate to admit it, but I almost lost it in front of them. I probably would've done something really stupid if she hadn't stopped me then."

'Sadayo?' Ann couldn't help but take not at Akira mentioning their teacher by first name. From the looks of it he himself hadn't even realized it. 'Are they really that close?'

Makoto seemed to had noticed that little slip up, her eyes narrowing in thought, but there were still other questions on her mind, and the situation did seem dire, considering his supposed outburst. So she pushed that subject to the side for now, focusing on the matter at hand. "But if that's true then why bring this up now? Why didn't you mention anything that Sunday?"

"Like I said, a lot happened these past few days. But it didn't end there. They showed up at school. began to blackmail her again, blackmail her with information about a dumb mistake she made because of their constant pressuring.

He finally stepped back from the railing so that he could be face the whole group. All were at a lost for words.

Akira proceeded to bow. "I had managed to get their names while she was in shock. I tried to help her break from those chains of theirs', but they just replaced them with a much crueler one. If breaking her chain won't work, then I want to strike at the hands that hold her captive. I know this is a selfish request of me, and that it's sudden. I know a number of you have your misgivings about her, but please, will you help me save her?"

"Very well, I see no problem with targeting these wreched adults," Yusuke spoke up without a second thought. He didn't show any of the confusion that the rest of the group had, instead showing interest. "Let us beat that rubbish mentality of theirs into submission."

"He has a point," Makoto gave out a shrug, deciding not to think too much on she had learned from Akira for now. A fire started to burn in her eyes as she pumped herself up. "What those two have done is inexcusable, and we will take them down."

"It's annoying how much she nags at me, but there's no way she deserves what she's been through. That's just messed up." Ryuji responded, more serious than normal, though it only lasted a moment before he sported his usual grin, giving Akira a thumbs up. "Besides, it's not like we didn't have our own selfish targets, so don't worry about that, buddy. We're here for you, Akira."

Ann remained silent, her hand busy scrunching her hair as she looked away.

"Ann..." Akira lifted his head, worried about what she would say, but before he could put another case for helping Sadayo, Ann just let out a load groan.

"I don't like it. I know you've been honest with us, and I get that she's been through a lot of pain and felt lost, but I just can't get over my frustration with her and the other teachers for not noticing what was going on, for not helping Shiho when she needed someone." Ann shook her head and pumped her fist. "Still, what that couple is doing to her is beyond horrible,. We can't just leave it alone, especially after we now know what happened. So let's go."

"Thank you..."

"No need to be so formal man," Ryuji patted Akira on the shoulder as he walked by. It's not like I was going to be doing any studying anyway."

Yusuke followed him, giving Akira a nod as he passed by.

Ann walked next, doing her best to smile for Akira, but unable to her hide her hesitation with the whole thing.

Akira expected Makoto to follow through but instead she remained at her spot by the handrail,

"Before we go, would you mind if I ask you something?" Makoto's tone didn't attempt to hide her concern.

Akira stepped close to her, leaning back down on the rail next to her. is arms dangled on them as they both faced forward to the city from behind the window. "Sure, what is it?"

Makoto looked towards Morgana this time. "Hey Mona, is it okay if it's just the two of us?"

Morgana was confused, but he respected Queen's judgment, so he joined the others. "Very well, I'll be waiting with the others in Mementos."

She waited until Morgana was out of sight before turning to Akira. "This won't take long, but I just wanted to ask if you're still okay being our leader for this mission."

"What? Want to give being leader of the Phantom Thieves a shot?" Akira asked, playfully hiding his shock.

"No! Nothing like that." Makoto took a step back, before sighing. "It's just that, this is the most upset I've seen you, and I just want to make sure that you're going to be okay." Makoto leaned on the rail next to Akira, not looking at him directly. "I know how liberating it can be to let that pent up frustration blow in one big explosion. Just riding that wave of emotion is exhilarating, but I must admit that a part of me is worried that you might do something you'd regret. Sorry, I know it sounds like I don't have any trust in you but—"

"It's okay, you're just worried about me," Akira interrupted. "Thanks, but I should be fine. I can't promise that I won't take my frustration on them, but I won't cross the line. And besides, I have all of you with me. I know I can trust you to be there for me if I ever get lost."

"Well you've been there for us… it's only fair that we do the same." Makoto turned, but then stopped as she was reminded of something. "Oh, and about Ann — she may be upset because of all this just dropping out of nowhere, but I don't think she really blames Ms. Kawakami. I mean, she forgave me after all."

"I know, but I also understand her frustration, considering I was just as upset as she was at the other staff at the time. Thanks though."

"No problem. Now, let's get to work. If we do this fast enough I might get some last minute study before I crash on my bed."


Skull, Panther, Mona and Fox went ahead into the entranced of Mementos. As they waited, Fox studied his fellow human teammates, questions filling his thoughts. "Skull, Panther. If I may have a moment of your time?"

They both turned towards him in confusion, but there wasn't much they could do until their remaining two members joined.

"Sure, what's up?" Skull asked, wondering what kind of bizarre question their eccentric artist had in mind.

"If you wouldn't mind, I would like to know more about this Ms. Kawakami you all talked about?"

"What do you mean?" Panther followed, unsure of what Fox's intentions are.

"All of you go to the same school, not to mention you all seem well acquainted with her in some way or another. I'm simply curious about this person who seemed to have garnered such a strong reaction from both our leader and the rest of you."

"There's honestly not much to say really. Like Queen said, it's mainly 'cause she's Joker and Panther's homeroom teacher. She always complained and nagged at him because he was put in her class, I was usually right there next to him since she nagged on me just as much." Skull proceeds to point his thumb over his shoulder at Panther who was right behind him. "Panther is almost always with him during classes, so she's also seen a number of times when she kept telling him to behave even though he hadn't done anything." Skull scratched the back of his head, remembering the first day that he and Joker met, the way she looked at him when he went to meet with the person who would soon become his best friend. "I mean she even told him not to go anywhere near me which he wasn't a huge fan of hearing. So to hear him defend her and talk about her like he did was kinda shocking."

"Strange that you say all of this, but you don't seem as frustrated with it as you usually are."

"Well yeah. I mean, for as many times as she gets on my case about my hair and behavior, she's still the least aggressive out of all the teachers." Skull shrugged, unsure how to explain it. "I think it's 'cause she's easy to talk to. One time me and Akira ended up running into her when we tried fishing and we were able to talk fine with her. Yeah, she kept complaining and sounding frustrated, but I never got that 'I'm better than you' vibe that I got from the other teachers. Plus, to be fair, a lot of her nagging at Akira slowed down after Kamoshida confessed." He paused "Though most of 'em did. Probably felt like shit for always telling him to behave when that kind of stuff was happening from right behind their noses."

"That's… under their noses Skull." Panther corrected him before turning to Fox. "But he's right, Ms. Kawakami seemed to have slowed down on lecturing Joker after that happened, and it actually even stopped for the most part after Madarame."

"Do you think that it was because he found out about her job?" Fox inquired.

"Maybe…?" Panther's thoughts went to what Akira had said, about how they talked and spent time together. She was then reminded of those instances that surprised her. How understanding she seemed about Akira falling asleep on her class when previously she would've been much more harsher on him, or how she yelled at those students. "Hey, Mona. Does she know… about what had happened to Joker?"

"Yeah, she asked him about it once and was horrified to find out the truth. It made her feel awful for the way she had treated him."

"So she did know then..." Panther spoke to herself, leaving her male companions to look at each other in confusion.

"What do you mean Panther?" Skull asked, wondering why her knowing about Joker's past mattered.

Panther lowered her head, as a realization came to her. "Last week I was heading down the stairs, I heard a loud bunch of students talking. They were making fun of Joker, calling him garbage and how much they would love to see him be targeted by the Phantom Thieves. It was so frustrating that I was going to storm in there and tell them a piece of my mind. But before I could I heard a loud slam from the door. Turned out Ms. Kawakami had heard them talking too and began scolding them for talking about others like they know them and to keep such comments to themselves. At first I wasn't sure if she actually meant to defend Akira, or if she was just annoyed at them for spreading rumors because it meant more work for her. Apparently some of those students said that she had been doing that a lot as of late." She looked towards her friends. "Maybe it was because she knew what really had happened to him? Maybe she really is trying..."

"Panther..." Mona placed his hand on Panther's boots, trying his best to show a gesture of comfort, but unable to do much because of his height.

"If there is a chance that she actually could change, that things at school could become better for others, then we definitely need to try it." Panther spoke up, finding her motivation and pumping herself up. The rest just smiled and nodded, and as they turned they saw Joker and Queen joining in.

"Everyone ready?" Joker asked the rest of the group. All of them gave their nods of approval. He sported his signature grin as he took out his knife, twirling it in his hand as he took the lead.

"Okay, it's showtime."


The van went through the vortex that signified a distorted individual, having become aware that they would soon be the target. Much to Joker's surprise both guardians were in the same vortex as opposed to them being separate. Maybe an effect of both their names being on the same card? They got out as the van transformed back into their furry navigator. The front line was composed of Joker, Skull, Panther and Queen. The Shujin students stepped forward together for their teacher.

"I'm guessing those are the targets. The one blackmailing Ms. Kawakami because of what happened?" Queen asked.

Joker confirmed it with a simple nod.

"Those two look pretty sure of themselves. Real smug lookin'." Ryuji commented. They hadn't even spoke yet and he already felt like punching their faces in.

"But if what Joker said is true, it's not her fault." Panther added.

"We'll stop them..." Joker spoke up, his voice shifting deeper, menacing. He turned back toward Fox and Mona. He gave a nod and made a gesture with his hand, raising his index and middle finger up and then moving them down to point forward. He was reminding them of the tactic they had discussed on their way here, one that he had come up while he played with Hifumi Togo, a famous Shogi player that he ran into at a church in Kanda. It would be the first time that it would come into practice so he wanted to make sure they remembered it.

Fox and Mona both nodded before leaping back to find cover, awaiting for his command. With that he looked at the rest and nodded as they walked forward to face their targets.

As they got closer they could start hearing them babbling to themselves. Many of Mementos Shadows did this, voicing out their twisted thoughts and desires, proclaiming them with such confidence. Joker tended to find these attempts at self-worth pitiful and rarely paid them any mind, but this was different. When he made out what the man was saying, his anger rose up quickly.

"MONEY, MONEY, MONEY! Hurry and pay us your money! It's your 'responsibility'!" the middle-aged man cried out with glee, his twisted grin open for all to see.

"Clothes, handbags, makeup… there are so many things that I want! So give us your money!" the woman proclaimed like all is owed to her, acting out that stupidly stereotypical laugh many rich women tend to do.

"Are you for real? What it's up with these two." Skull growled.

"They really don't care about their kid, do they?" Panther was saddened, imagining how bad their adopted son must have been treated.

Joker didn't say anything. He just kept striding forward, his hands placed in his pockets, a dead serious look on his face. The couple eventually noticed him approach them.

"Hm? Who are you, I feel like I've seen some of you when we went to Shujin, are you Kawakami's students…? What, did you come to bring us the money in her stead?"

"Joker?" Queen called out, concerned. He'd never gotten so close to a Shadow before a fight, usually sticking with the group, but he didn't reply and kept coming closer to the targets.

The man took a good look at Joker, his grin twisting to annoyance. "Hey, aren't you that brat that was with her in the hospital? That incompetent teacher is so worthless! Collapsing like that when we needed our payments. She should be grateful that we allowed her to continue on, going as a source of our in — gugh!"

Before the man could finish he was stopped by Joker's fist hitting him square in the face, causing the man to topple back and fall on his ass.

"Sorry… " Joker spoke in a disingenuous tone. "I've been wanting to do that to you for a while now." It was said with little fanfare or anger, just indifference in his tone as he shook his hand.

"You little..." the man growled, his yellow eyes glowing with anger as he grabbed his swollen cheek.

"Shut up! You have no right to speak about her like that! You don't know anything about her, what she went through because of you. Don't you dare call her worthless!"

Panther already knew Joker was angry, but the sheer venom made her step back. It reminded her again of when Ms. Kawakami confronted those mouthy students, telling them off for talking about Akira as they did.

"You shut up!" the middle age man staggered back. "Kawakami got in my way! I was going to use what happened to my son to get back at people!"

"I couldn't care less for your reasons."Joker simply gestured with his hand to come closer, wielding his knife at the ready. "Now get up, I'm not even close to being done with you."

The Shadows' rage was at their peak, and blood started to seep from their orifices. "I'm not gonna lose… I won't lose to an elitist like you!"

The thick, blood-like substance poured out in earnest; in seconds they were completely covered and melted into a pool, only for two beings to come bursting out. They both seemed to be dressed like royalty, the man wearing what looks like a prince's outfit with a saber and butterfly wings. His expression was similar to that of his human counterpart, sporting a wicked grin. The woman sported a green dress with gold patterns at the bottom, her wings was more dragonfly-like and she has a mischievous smirk than what the real one would normally have, along with long, flowing golden hair. Toshio and Hiromi Takase, youthfully and monstrously represented by the fairy king and queen Oberon and Titania.

"I never liked your attitude, ever since we saw you in the hospital." The man threatened him, pointing his saber at him.

"Why don't we take them out, my dear. Imagine how devastated she'd be if this one ended up dying on her, too."

Joker darkly grinned once more, challenging them on their threats. "Sorry, but I'm not planning on dying any time soon." He quickly struck the saber with his knife and lunged forward. "Let's do this!"

The rest of the group rushed forward, Queen signaled Panther to come with her as Skull went to back up his pal. Joker and Oberon parried each other's strikes and retaliated in full. Oberon may have the longer reach and the mobility of flight, but Joker was much more nimble and experienced with fighting. As they clashed their blades and tried to push the other back, Skull came from above and swung his pipe, causing their opponent to back away. Now having two opponents, the Oberon was having a hard time keeping up. The combination of Skull's wild but fierce swings and Joker's quick and precise slashes made it difficult to get a bead on them.

After their many coordinated and repeated swings, Skull took another leap. He swung his pipe from above with great force. The Oberon held his saber up to block, managing to hold the pipe back. Looking upwards toward his assailant, he noticed Skull smirking. At that point he realized that he had made a fatal error as Joker emerged from below, hand stretched forward as his mask vanished.

"Nigi Mitama, Psion!" A drop-shaped being formed behind Joker. The Persona smiled happily as Joker extended his hand forward, forming a purple orb with black stripes. The orb seemed unstable as if ready to burst, and When it made contact with Oberon, it burst in an explosion of distorted colors, painfully launching him high in the air.

"We got a weakness, Skull!" Joker crowed at the still in mid-air Skull, who nodded his way.

"You don't have to tell me twice!" Skull extended his hand towards him.

Joker leaped up in the air and raised his own hand. Their hands impacted with a loud clap that echoed in the chamber. With a heave, Joker launched him towards the still falling Shadow like a missile.

Skull swung his pipe and struck true; the Oberon smacked to the ground. Skull reached for his face, his mask which was already burning. It disappeared as a large ape riding a collared nimbus cloud with a bo staff and spiked helmet and shades appeared before him.

"Tear him apart, Seiten Taisei! Swift Strike!"

His Persona braced the bo staff and lunged to hit his target. Rapid blows pelted the Oberon from all over and caused a strong impact on the ground. A huge dust cloud formed as Skull jumped next to Joker, both grinning at one another. They bumped fists before charging forward for the finishing blow.

In the other side of the room, Queen and Panther were fighting the Titania. Panther's Hecate sent her chained dogs after her trying to pelt her down with a barrage of Agilaos, but to no avail. The Shadows had cast Sukukaja on before they had reached her and her mobility and speed were becoming annoying to the Thieves. Panther groaned as her attacks missed, but her chains continued to keep chase as she turned to her partner.

"Queen!"

"Leave it to me!"

Queen didn't need help to know what Panther was going to ask, as she proceeded to leap to Hecate's extending chains to come closer to the ever elusive fairy. She kept leaping on them with a strong ferocity, landing on one of the hounds' head and launching a punch. The Shadow managed to dodge but as she tried to regain some distance Panther shot another barrage of flames, cutting her exit. This was the opportunity Queen needed as she grabbed hold of the green dress' collar.

"DODGE! THIS!"

Queen used all her strength and she flipped the Shadow over her shoulder to throw her down to the pavement. The Shadow smiled with confidence and spread her wings to slow her descent, but Queen took out her revolver and shot them clean, causing Titania to shrill in pain before crashing down. Queen landed nearby and rushed to the grunting Titania before pinning her down.

"Now Panther!"

"Got it! Let's go Hecate—"

"EVERYONE DOWN!"

Just as Joker shouted this a large heat wave attack cut in from the dust where Oberon had fallen, barely missing everyone. Oberon took advantage of the commotion and quickly flew past Joker, Skull and Panther and struck at Queen. She was able to dodge out of the way, but it meant her losing her grip on Titania.

She jumped up to the air to join Oberon, and proceeded to cast Diarama to heal her husband for most of his wounds. Oberon let out a wicked grin as he raised his saber up above, casting Mazionga.

A large lightning storm crackled from above, before finally falling and thundering all over the room. The dust settled, and Queen was the first to recover.

"Is everyone all right?!" Queen called out as she looked around for the others. Her eyes widened when she noticed Joker down on the ground, covering a nasty wound on his side. "Oh no! Joker!"

Joker gritted his teeth, pressing his hand against the wound as he tried to stand up. Oberon flew in front of him, flashing a smug look his way as he puffed victoriously. He raised his saber to strike the finishing blow, but Joker's eyes never wavered or showed fear as he stared death down.

Suddenly, a figure leaped from the shadows and blocked the blade.

"It's going to take a weak ass static shock to get me!" Skull proclaimed behind his pipe. The standoff was causing a sharp pain on his bad leg, but he stood his ground.

At that moment Joker saw an opportunity; he raised his index and middle finger up and moved them down to point forward, the hand gesture he had done before the battle. Suddenly, Oberon was pelted with a barrage of bullets and pellets; Fox and Mona has began their assault and cover fire, just as he had hoped for.

Skulls knelt by his buddy after being given a breather when the Shadow pulled back. "Phew, that was a close one."

Titania began flying towards them, causing both to panic before chained hounds came to their aid, causing her to back away. Panther leaped forward and began chasing her down again with Hecate.

"Johanna, Median!"

With sighs of relief, both Joker and Skull felt their wounds recover. They got up to see Queen right behind them riding her bike of a Persona.

"Targeting them individually isn't working, we need to take them both out."

Joker looked on as the hail of bullets kept Oberon at bay while Panther kept Titania busy, noticing how desperate the Shadow was to dodge his teammate's attacks. "I think I have an idea. Queen, I'm going to need you to keep Titania distracted. Skull, do the same with Oberon"

"Got it!" They both yelled out, and Skull ran after Oberon while Queen revved her engine and went after Titania.

Meanwhile, Fox and Mona ran out of ammunition. They nodded at each other and vanished into the shadows, deciding to find a new place for cover in case they were needed again.

Joker got himself ready, then began running, shooting Titania with his pistol to draw her attention, luring her with each shot as Queen provided supporting fire as she drove around on her Johanna. His eyes flashed when he saw an opportunity; he used the debris to jump above Titania, reaching his hand up.

"Nigi Mitama, Psio!"

With the dark and purple energy now in hand he lunged towards Titania, but she saw him coming and she easily dodged, smirking at the look of shock on Joker's face as he passed by her. But as she followed his trajectory she saw his frown morph into a grin. The Shadow opened her mouth to shout a warning, but it was too late.

The energy orb painfully hit the unsuspecting Oberon from behind his head. Joker rode the momentum to knock the Shadow down and propel himself forward, taking the time to show off as he spun in the air with his arms held outward. On the corner of his eye, he saw a figure rushing to meet him. Joker spared a smirk at the figure and landed on his feet, sliding backwards to disperse the rest of the momentum. Still riding the force, he threw an arm back and smacked his palm with a pink glove. The loud, reverberating clap echoed through the chamber, and by the time the Shadows registered what it meant, Joker was already charging towards the downed Oberon. The tail of Joker's cloak flowed in his speed. Titania rushed in to block the hit, but as soon as she was directly in front of him, Joker simply grinned.

"You're mine now!"

"Hecate! Agilao!"

Joker jumped upwards into the air, revealing the dogs of hell as they charged in flames towards Titania. They scored a direct hit on her and she flew towards Oberon, launching them against the wall.

The chains recoiled back towards Hecate who vanished as Panther cracked her whip.

"Now's our chance! Let's do this!"

And with blinding speed the four Thieves unleashed rains of blows towards their falling foes. Both burst out blood as they crashed to the ground; their forms shattered to reveal what was left of their human shapes, beaten down.

Panther and Skull high-fived each other in victory as Queen sighed in relief. Fox and Mona joined the group. The celebrations were cut short when they all saw Joker standing silently in front of the two.

"You're just like the rest, aren't you?!" the man shouted out at Joker. "You're looking down on me, too? Deep down inside, you're laughing at me, aren't you…?"

Joker quietly clenched his hand tightly.

"Name brands… Esthetic appointments..." The woman desperately called out. "Without them, people will laugh..."

"Laugh… what's there to laugh at?" Joker finally spoke, his frustration seeping in every word.

"You know why… We're terrible human beings." The man admitted to himself.

"Not like our son, Taiki, or his real parents. They were different. They were elites, the crème of the crop. They always looked down on us..." The woman spoke in frustration, her envy at their relatives obvious.

"That's why we let our son experience what it's like to be forced to grovel!"

"It felt nice to see him gradually break down from working so much..." The woman spoke with such joy, sickening the group.

"That is just messed UP!" Skull yelled out in anger.

"Is that how they truly felt about him? That's horrible!" Panther spoke in disbelief.

Joker, though, fell silent again.

"But now that I think about it, we might have been wrong. I'm not so sure now if his birth parents really looked down on us."

"What."

Joker's voice was low but heavy. His eyes narrowed as a swirl of chains started to form around him.

"We became so obsessed with money, that I forgot how happy we were just being together," the woman explained, finally sounding remorseful in her actions.

These words fell on deaf ears though, as all Akira could see was red. Red as the room they were in, red as the gloves in his hands, red as his personal Persona. His mask dispersed in blue flames as Arsene manifested behind him, grinning malevolently down at the couple.

"What did you say…?"

Arsene lunged to grab both Shadows by their throats, slamming them to the wall behind them. Both tried in vain to escape his grasp.

"You mean to tell me that you ruined that kid's life. That you forced him to work himself to death. That you proceeded to do the same to the one person that showed him any sort of kindness and drained her of everything she had both physically and emotionally. Because you THOUGHT!?" Akira's clenched fists shook as Arsene squeezed tighter.

"Akira..." Panther could only whisper. The group as a whole could only stare in shock at this development, feeling a cold chill skitter down their spines.

"If there is anyone of zero worth here is you two. You're beyond terrible." Akira took a step forward, his fury fueling the blue flames.

"The world might be better off if you both disappeared..."

In contrast, Joker's voice was cold and distorted, causing everyone in the room to choke from the sudden heavy pressure in the air.

"Joker, wait!" Makoto started running towards him, hoping to stop him from making a terrible decision. But Akira rose a hand towards her, signaling her to halt, which she did instinctively. Something told her it was unwise to get closer.

Joker looked towards her, towards the others. He never knew he could be this pissed off, so full of rage that he could hardly believe it, but he was still possessed of enough of his mind to not to fall off the edge. "I want to, but I can't." He looked back towards the whimpering Shadows.

"You're no good to me dead."

With those words Arsene vanished, causing the couple to ungracefully fall down to the ground. They grabbed their throats and coughed uncontrollably, catching their breath. They flinched when Joker approached them.

Joker stood over them, his eyes piercing their souls. "So this is what is going to happen. You're going to go and beg her for forgiveness, grovel if you have to since you seem to be so fond of having others do the same. Then you're going to pay her back for every yen you took from her. I don't care how long it takes you. Got it?"

The Shadows simply nodded in fear, still sore from the choking.

"Good." He walked a few paces away before turning back to them. "Now that we got that settled, I think it's time for your punishment."

"What—" The man tried to protest in a hoarse voice, before going into a coughing fit. "But what about—"

"That is you making up for all that you did to her for all these years. But did you forget about what I told you? That if you even thought of harming a hair on her head that I would make you regret it?"

"Joker, what exactly do you have in mind?" Queen asked with apprehension. "They already lost and have no desire to fight. There is no reason to keep hurting them."

"Don't worry, It's nothing like that." Joker reassured Queen with the usual smirk that the rest of the group are so used to. "I just figured that since this is our only target for today, we should make it worth our while."

Joker turned back to the couple, raising his hand showing the hand sign for money. "I think I'm going to need you to show remorse for what you did to her… In a material and undeniable way.

Flames erupted again around Akira as he placed his hand over his face. His cruel grin displayed his vindictive amusement at the shock of the Shadows.

"Come, Sandman. Tetrafoo."


After that encounter with the Takases Sadayo had lost any will to do anything at the school. Once she had cried herself to the point where she was dry on tears, she got up and went to the teachers lounge, grabbing her things before excusing herself for the day. She was surprised at how hesitant they were to ask her why, but after seeing how much of a mess she was from her reflection from the train's window, she figured that they probably thought that she had found out some terrible news and didn't want to intrude. Sadly, she didn't have any jobs this afternoon, having started the process of cutting down on them since she thought they weren't needed, so all she could do was wait until nightfall before she can call Victoria once more about the other offer.

She hadn't even bothered to turn on the lights in her home, proceeding to discard everything on the floor and just curl up at her couch. Her hands still shook with frustration as she hid her head in shame.

"It's not fair… It's not fair!" Sadayo hand slowly went towards her hair, pulling it angrily. "Why was I such an idiot?! Why did I let those two manipulate me like that?! Because of that I… Because of that he..."

She hated herself for how much of a hypocrite she was. How quickly she backed down to their threats when she had promised him that she wouldn't waver. How after telling him how much she hated the Phantom Thieves, she contemplated asking them for their help just for a chance of being saved. How despite pushing Akira away for fear of how he would end up if he risked himself, she still wished for him to save her.

Even if she did go to the sister job, considering how little time she had left there was no way should could make enough money with everything else. She might have to stop coming to school and start picking up daytime requests, take from her living expenses, find a new place to live. Sadayo had worked so hard to keep her home, all the memories that she had made here.

The words of motivation that her father had given her as they said their goodbyes after helping her move, hugging her with tears on his eyes, the small celebration she had with her mother when she came to visit after she got hired as a teacher for the first time, the afternoons which Taiki would visit her as she tutored him, seeing him beaming with joy as he saw his efforts begin to pay off.

And now she would have to throw all of those away.

Just as the tears were becoming to form once more a loud banging came from her door, accompanied with loud yelling.

"Kawakami, Kawakami are you in there!?"

It had admittedly caused her to jump out of her couch, taking her awhile to realize who the voices belonged to.

"Mr. and Mrs. Takase?"

She didn't want to see them again, but Sadayo wiped her face with the cuffs of her sleeves and got up to check through the peephole on the door. Behind it were a surprisingly mortified Toshio and Hiromi Takase. Their loud shouts made Sadayo more worry than ever that they would start drawing too much attention so she opened the door.

"W-what's going on here? And not so loud, you'll bother that neighbors!" she whispered to them.

"Kawakami, we are so sorry for what we did. Please, could you ever forgive us for what we did?" the usually agitated man pleaded, with tears in his eyes. He fell to his knees, and Sadayo felt embarrassment flood her emotions.

"What are you doing?! Just… come in and we can talk." She looked at either side of the hall, before asking them to come in quietly, not wanting them to make a scene in public. They both came in and immediately bowed on the ground as soon as the door was closed. "Seriously, what has gotten into you two?"

"What we did to you and Taiki as his guardians was unbecoming of us, Ms. Kawakami," the woman sobbed, sounding devastated, and wracked with guilt. "We know how much you cared for Taiki, and how much you tried to help him, but we still put all the blame and accused you of not caring about him, even though we both knew how much he adored you and how great of a teacher you were to him."

Sadayo was at a lost of words. She had no idea what was going on, or why they were being so worried and apologetic now when just a few hours ago they were threatening her with blackmail. Though she had to admit that she blushed at hearing her say that she was a great teacher, something she hadn't heard anyone but Akira tell her in so long. She wasn't sure if she should be happy that they of all people were telling her this, considering how long they'd been telling her the opposite, or if she should be wary of their sudden changes in character.

"Um, well... thank you…?"

Mrs. Takase rose her head, as she wipe away her tears with a handkerchief. "But how did we return that kindness? We treated you so horribly and mocked you for so long, making you pay us and constantly beg for forgiveness when you did nothing wrong." She blew her nose. "I never realized how terrible it must have been for you, that we pushed you so hard that you had to sell your body just to pay us."

"I-I did no such thing!" Sadayo immediately refuted, her face turning red as a tomato.

"Oh thank god, that's such a relief," the man felt slightly more relaxed, but still keeping his head down. "Still, we wronged you for so long, and for that we deeply apologize. We promise to return you everything you paid us, even if it kills us to do so."

"Waitwaitwait!" Sadayo threw her hands up at his last statement. "I mean… I wouldn't mind you paying me back, but please don't kill yourself for it." Sadayo looked at them both awkwardly, scratching her cheek with her index finger. "Just, you know, do it when you can." She couldn't deny that the concept of her getting back the money that she had earned was beyond enticing. It would really help her out with things, especially when she considered for how long she had been paying them. But still, she had no intention of putting them through the same situation as she and Taiki had. It would leave a bad taste in her mouth if she became what had ruled over her for so long.

The two looked at her in awe before they started bawling once more.

"You really are too kind, Ms. Kawakami!" the man blurted out.

"We are so sorry!" Mrs. Takase wailed.

It took some time for both to stop crying as Sadayo tried her best to calm them down. Eventually things quieted down, and with tears still in their eyes, but much more composed looks, they bowed to her and bid her farewell.

As Sadayo closed the door, she let out a tired sigh, "What was up with that? It was so awkward to see them bawling their eyes out and begging that I just couldn't get mad at them. Well, at least it means I won't have to pay them—"

Sadayo's eyes widened. She was so preoccupied with how odd everything was that she didn't even realize what this all meant. Now though, it was all coming together.

"I… don't have to pay them anymore? I'm free…?" Tears starting forming in Sadayo's eyes, but these weren't the same as the ones earlier, these were tears of joy. She began to laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. "It's actually over. I-It's a miracle!"

She giggled uncontrollably before leaping with joy. "I can't believe it, is it really over…? I… I need to tell him!" she rushed and grabbed her phone, messaging him as she went and searched for her maid outfit, hoping to get a call soon.

[S]: Master! Are you free right now?


Akira slowly entered the empty Leblanc, his body was still aching all over from the fight, making going upstairs a chore. It was a good thing that most injuries that they received in Metaverse didn't linger once they left that world if proper healing was administered, leaving only small cuts and bruises. But sadly the phantom pains of such wounds were still very much present, a nice reminder to not let his guard down.

He wasn't the only one, since Ryuji came out limping more than usual once they got out. Luckily, Ann knew where he lived and was able to help him get there without any problems. He had apologized to all of them once again for having them come today, but they all just shook their heads and refuse his apology. Though the bumps on his head from both Ann and Makoto let him know that they were probably a bit upset with him over his actions, but they were willing to not grill him too harshly since he didn't end up trying to cross the line and they came out of it with a huge amount of cash. Enough even for them to be able to stock up on supplies for the Phantom Thieves and still have enough to split between the group happily. Though they all looked at each other with concern about how Yusuke would handle that much money. Ryuji in particular had bet that he'd spend it all by the end of the week on expensive art supplies and completely forget about food.

Akira flopped down to his couch, turning mid-fall to land face-up. Meanwhile, Morgana slipped out of his bag half-asleep, able to make it to his bed since he was carried the whole way home.

"I'm going to go to sleep… make sure you get some rest too, Joker." Morgana reminded him before doing just that.

Joker nodded to his feline companion and stretched. A smile crept from his face even through the pain as he remembered what he had witnessed just a while ago. It was hilarious to see the Takases babbling to themselves as they happily threw money into the air, acting like they were purchasing all those selfish desires of theirs. But that was nothing compared to the feeling of satisfaction when he imagined Sadayo finding out the news.

"I can only imagine how relieved she must feel. I wonder if she is jumping for joy? If she got emotional and started to tear up?" Akira looked at his palm, closing it into a fist, though with nowhere near the animosity that he had done earlier today. "I'm grateful to have been given these powers. Thanks to them I was able to save her..." he let out a huff as he shrugged. "They may be annoying at times, but I should probably thank Igor and the twins the next time I see them."

Suddenly his phone let out a ping, then another, and another. His smile grew wider.

[S]: Master! Are you free right now?

[S]: You wouldn't believe what just happened!

[S]: I just don't know what to think

[S]: Actually can you request me? Please let me know as soon as you can!

Akira was glad that the change of hearts on those in Mementos weren't as unpredictable as those with Palaces. Normally he'd feel too tired to do anything, with Morgana making sure he didn't try to exert himself. But the cat was asleep right now, and despite his sore and tired body, he wanted to see her. He wanted to hear her excitement in person rather than some distant text. After finding his second wind he stood up and sent her a message before walking back down towards the yellow phone.

[A]: I'll do just that, so be ready. I'll see you soon Becky.


"Hey, I'm so glad you requested me!" Sadayo wasted no time, as she started talking as soon as she opened Leblanc's door. "I have big news and I wanted—!" Her words stopped as she noticed Akira sitting on one of the stools next to the phone, his head buried in his arms. His glasses were nowhere to be seen.

"Are you okay?" Sadayo asked curiously, tilting her head slightly to try to get a good look at him.

Akira lifted his head, a yawn escaping as he worked some kinks in his neck. "I'm fine, just a bit tired as all." He turned to Sadayo, making sure to have a smile on his face. "So what's up? What's the big news you have?"

"Wait 'til you hear it, 'cause you'll be shocked," Sadayo teased Akira, showing the biggest grin he'd ever seen her have. "Takase-kun's guardians actually came to my house earlier today and began apologizing to me! They said that they were sorry for what they had done to me and that they were even going to pay me back for all the money that I had paid them in the past. That means I no longer have to pay them! Isn't that great?!" She couldn't contain her joy as she cheered happily.

'Yep, definitely worth it to see her like this...' Akira thought to himself, as he happily looked at his maid. Affection softened his eyes as he continued to look at her smiling and laughing. "That's great, I'm happy to hear that. It must have been quite a surprise."

"No kidding. They just came to my apartment out of nowhere and just starting apologizing and saying how terrible they were. It was like they're completely different people…" A thought crossed her mind, as she remembered something similar happening in the past, the way they acted, what they said. she'd seen it all before. "It was like what happened with Kamoshida."

She started to remember about all the madness that had happened all those months ago, before she and Akira had made their deal, before she got to know him. About the rumors of him and Ryuji confronting Kamoshida after the incident with Shiho, that he was directly involved with what had happened. Just like then, he had confronted the Takases for their actions, and then their personality changed drastically and begged for forgiveness like Kamoshida had done. It was actually scary how similar both instances were. "It's almost like they…"

Sadayo studied her ever-mysterious student curiously, possibilities running through her head. 'Could he have…. He wouldn't be, would he...'

As if he could read her mind, a look of worry showed in Akira's face. "W-Well whatever the reason is, I imagine you must be feeling so relieved right now since it's such a huge weight of your shoulders? But in all honesty I'm rather shocked. Did they really apologize to you for everything?"

"Hmm? OH yeah, they did! They apologized for how they treated Taiki-kun, and they admitted that what they did was terrible." A soft smile began to form, closing her eyes to stem the tears. Her relief was obvious as she wiped the tears with one hand while the other fisted against her chest. "They... even told me that I was a great teacher, and that Takase-kun probably felt the same way. I'm… so glad."

Akira let out a sigh of relief as Sadayo continued on. He could feel the warmth of his cheeks, his thoughts lost in her radiant face. "I'm glad to hear that. I always had faith in you."

"You did," Sadayo affirmed. A warm feeling in her chest began to expand through her whole body as she looked towards her student and master happily, finally able to feel like she deserve those words of kindness he always expressed towards her. Bolstered by this, she placed her hand on her swayed hip, a stance she took when she was standing her ground. "But I still have some ways to go, so tonight I will be officially quitting my part-time job as a maid!" Sadayo said victoriously. It didn't last long as she smiled awkwardly and looked away. "Though I'm still technically talking with my boss about things. I ended up taking so many shifts that it would cause a big problem if I just up and left. After all the help I got I didn't want to be an inconvenience to them."

She pumped herself up quickly enough though, as gesturing to herself confidently. "But now I can finally make a fresh start as a teacher. It will take a long time to earn their trust, and some may end up never fully forgiving me, but I will strive to take care of my students. Because that's the ideal teacher I promised I would become. Though considering how late I am, I'll probably be an old woman by the time I achieve my dreams, won't I?" Sadayo said awkwardly, but still smiling nonetheless.

Akira chuckled at how she kept switching between confidence and uncertainty, but it was to be expected. It would obviously take some time for her to fully get over all the things that had happened. But he was more than happy to cheer her on. "Nonsense, I've never met anyone as hardworking as you. And now that you can focus on your teaching, I'm sure that you'll be great."

Sadayo nodded. "Yeah, you're right. I'm still within the age range that is considered 'young' after all." Hearing him compliment her like that made Sadayo's heart race. She was so glad she had found such a caring and supportive friend, and in one of her students no less. "...I was always able to rely on you, Master. You were there when I needed someone to talk to, and you were there when I felt lost and alone. You always listened to me and always had faith in me. So thank you… from the bottom of my heart."

"It's nothing, I'm glad I was there for you."

They both smiled at each other happily, appreciating the bonds they had formed with one another. Sadayo then remembered something.

"Oh, right I almost forgot. How did it go again? Right." Sadayo did a curtsy, towards Akira, head tilted to the side as she smiled like a stereotypical moe maid. "Thank you for using our services, Master. Today marks the day that I graduate from being your maid."

The realization hit both of them. Tonight would be the last night that they'd spend together like this. Both of them were so excited about her not having to pay the apology money anymore that they forgot that it meant solving her problem. They would no longer have any reason to meet like this.

Akira began to feel a bit lonely. 'Graduating from being a maid. After this she''ll just become my teacher. We'll just be back to student and teacher.'

Sadayo on her end felt a bit lost. She had justified her visiting Akira as Becky, but soon Becky would be no more, and it would be harder to excuse her visiting him as his teacher. 'I won't be able to see him as often outside of class, or talk to him like this. He'll just have to be one of my many students. I mean I can see him still, but it will always be with the barrier that we are student and teacher.'

"That's a bummer... I'm really going to miss having you around, Becky," Akira said, placing his head over his arm, obviously sad that things have ended.

Sadayo was hurt to see him look so sad with the news, especially since she felt the same way. "W-well, I mean I could always be your personal maid." Sadayo blurted out without thinking, only to flail her arms in panic. "S-sorry, just kidding, that was meant as a joke, but I guess it wasn't a good one..."

She sighed. 'Why did I say that? Of course I can't be his personal maid. I mean, he tried so hard so that I wouldn't have to do this anymore. Still… will he be okay?'

Finding it much harder to let go of her Master than she thought, she moved and sat on a stool next to him. She looked upwards, imagining his storage attic of a room, of all the things that had happened between them, how things had started, and how they are now. "Ah, a lot has happened, huh? Hey…" she looked back at him "joke or not, are you going to be okay once I stop coming here?"

Akira turned his head slightly at her with what seemed to be a raised brow, causing her to blush considerably as Sadayo fiddled with her apron. Looking away to the jars of coffee beans gave her confidence. "I-I mean, your place is always so messy no matter how much it's cleaned. Sleeping there can't be good for you, and you're always so busy with your things that you rarely have time to cook or clean, don't you? I mean, I know I'm not the best at cooking, but I should have more time now so I mean..."

'What is wrong with me? I'm just worried about his health, that's all. He never puts any effort when it comes to his own well being. I'm just worried as his teacher, that's all.' Sadayo looked back at her trouble student once more, biting her lips nervously. She looked away again, unable to tell him directly, "Besides, won't you be lonely once I'm gone?"

She immediately shook her head, thinking about how foolish she must sound. "What am I thinking? Of course you won't. You have Sakura-san and all your friends."

"Actually, I would." Akira answered with little hesitation. "I really enjoyed our time together. In all honesty, I want to keep seeing you. Not just in the classroom, but like this — just the two of us."

"I-I see…" Sadayo's heart skip a beat at his words. Embarrassed, she was unable to look at him with her red face. "Well, I guess I wouldn't mind meeting from time to time as friends. Still, you shouldn't say stuff like that so casually to a woman." Sadayo smacked her cheek, trying to control herself; after a few tries, she finally turned back towards Akira. "I mean, they might misunderstand your in...ten...tions..."

Sadayo found herself face to face with Akira, closer than ever before. His eyes, usually obscured by his glasses, were gray windows that stared into hers with no hint of nervousness or hesitation.

'Lonely. Of course I'll feel lonely. There is no one who made me feel the way you do.' He didn't want to just be teacher and student, or to be just friends. He wanted to personally make her happy, to make sure that no one else tried to take advantage of her ever again. He remembered back to that rainy day that she had fled, what she had told him, and how hearing that made him feel.

To make sure that she felt loved.

"What if I meant what I said? What if there was no misunderstanding?"

Once again, Sadayo's heart thundered. Why was he so good at making her feel like this? Part of her was telling her to back off, but then a part of her wanted to stay, wondering what would happen if they stood still. "Y-You understand what you're saying, right? Our situation isn't a normal one. I'm your maid, you're my Master—" Sadayo bit her tongue for letting that thought slip, slightly shaking her head as she tried to take it back, but unable to look away from his gaze. "I-I mean, I'm your teacher, and you're my student."

Akira couldn't help smile at Sadayo's blunder, but she was wrong. Yes, their situation isn't normal, but it wasn't because of their relationship as a maid and master, or their connection as student and teacher. He wasn't just anyone — he was Joker, leader of the Phantom Thieves. And what good is a thief of hearts if he can't even steal the heart of the woman that stole his?

"Is that really all I am to you…?" Akira teased, flashing that cocky smile that Sadayo couldn't help but get annoyed by, yet made her feel at peace. "Because if so, then I'd had to disagree. To me you're so much more than that."

"W-what do you mean?" Sadayo breathed, voice weak and uncertain, unable to comprehend what was going on right now. She couldn't turn away from his gaze, hypnotized by his voice. "If this is a joke then you're being too cruel. You really shouldn't tease someone like that."

"I told you before, didn't I? I meant every word…" Akira leaned closer to her, one hand holding on to the stool and the other on the counter to keep his balance. "To me, you're more than just Becky the maid, or Ms. Kawakami the teacher…"

"Akira…" His name was a mere whisper when even as air rushed from her lungs at his proclamation. His eyes were ferocious, hungry… and as Sadayo stared into them she could feel her body shiver, her head lighter. Her eyes closed of their own volition, awaiting for what was to come, as his breath drew nearer.

Akira leaned forward, toward the anticipating Sadayo. "After all, all I see in front of me is Sadayo Kawakami, a beautiful woman." One of his hands let go of the stool. "And I'm just Akira Kurusu, a man that fell in lov—"

Just as Akira was merely inches away from Sadayo, he placed his hand on top of hers, which was resting on her lap, gripping her apron. Having closed her eyes and not knowing what was happening, this was like a jolt of electricity that caused her to leap back with a panicked yelp, toppling the stools that they were sitting on as well as causing Akira to lose his balance and fall to the ground.

Sadayo backed up against the nearest table. Grasping her chest, she hyperventilated, so lost and confused that she didn't even notice how pained Akira sprawled on the ground as he grabbed his side.

"Whoa! H-h-hold on! You don't mean… Whaaat?!"

'What was I thinking just now?! Was I really going to let him…?'

"N-no way!" Sadayo blurted, then covered her mouth as Akira stood up, head lowered. For some reason, his tangible shame caused her to panic. She flailed her arms around, clumsily attempting to take back what she just said. "Wait no, that's not what I mean by 'no way', but whaaaat!?"

'WHY am I taking that back?! Shouldn't that be the obvious response?!'

Sadayo had no idea what to think. Her heart had probably broken whatever record now for how fast one would beat by this point. And for some reason, even as she did her best to cover it with her hands, she couldn't stop smiling like an idiot.

"Wait, um. Okay… okay… okay… okay… okay..."

"Um, Kawakami?" The fall had snapped Akira of whatever idiotic logic had caused him to confess to the person who obviously would be at risk if she is seen with him. He wanted to try and take it all back, but he was unable to get a word in edgewise. He raised his hand, trying to gesture to her to calm down. "Kawakami it's fi—"

"Time!" Sadayo burst out, plastering herself further to the table digging her back, anything to be away from him. "I-I need more time!"

Even looking at him was dangerous, so she looked away from her — student? — Master? — Akira? At this point she didn't know what to see him as, and the fact that it wasn't — was? — so obvious had her freaking out beyond belief. "I mean, you're both my student and my master, while I'm a teacher and a maid. This is all so confusing! So let's save this discussion for next time, okay?!"

"Sure..." Akira blinked dumbly, not expecting this reaction, but it was obvious that it would probably be best to let her calm down before he tried to apologize. He hung his head dejectedly, regretting having told her. All he could do now is wait for her response, wondering exactly when "next time" would be — or if he was better off not knowing.

"A-anywayIshouldn'tstaytoolongImeanyouhaveexamsstartingtomorrowandyouprobablyneedyoursleepsoI'lljustleaveyoutothatanywaygoodnight!"

And with that, Sadayo fled the cafe once more. This time though, Akira didn't follow, instead standing in an empty cafe with toppled stools, a tired and pained body, and a broken heart.

"I'm such an idiot."


So this chapter ended up giving me a lot of problems, but surprisingly enough it wasn't cause of the fight scene, but the meeting with the phantom thieves. I had a lot of difficulty figuring out how to have it play out, I didn't want to repeat all the that had happened so far, but I also didn't want to gloss it over as one big "blah" and go to questions. I ended up trimming a lot of this part to find a middle ground, but still not fully sure how it turned out. Let me know what you think.

Not to say that I'm not curious about how you think the fight turned out. This was my first attempt at writing such a dynamic scene, and while I tend to enjoy my fair share of battle shonen series, I still hope that it turned out well. And of course I'm sure everyone has written the takases suffering at the hands of the confusion exploit, but after talking it over with lost, Why not. Karmic justice and all that. Plus if I'm honest, I made it a point to always drain them of every yen that they had when I got to their fight.

9 days from now marks having worked on this story for a full year now, it's kind of strange that it's been that long when it doesn't feel like it. Thank you for all of you that have been following my story since then, and all that continue to find me in the future. As such I've been wanting to go back to the older chapter and have them updated a bit and fix their grammar, as I was still learning things back then and didn't have the help I do now. Thankfully I've been getting some help from Chessicfayth on this front so hopefully it will make it easier for newcomers. The prologue is in the process right now and I'll keep you posted fo when the others get updated. and as always, thanks again for SomebodyLost for their help. As I mention this one was a bit of a headache at times so I appreciated the extra head.

Next up if everything goes write will be the end of the Temperance Confidant route. Look forward to it.