These characters don't belong to me, but to Atlus.


Chapter 15

It was Friday afternoon, and another day of exams had come and gone at Shujin. Sadayo found herself sitting alone at the guidance room as she flipped through her phone. Since it had taken a few meetings with Akira to pierce that assumption for herself, she wasn't surprised to see so many people spoke up about how afraid they were of him. But as she heard more and more testimonies she came to realize that the "look" they all saw, the one that had dragged his name even further down, was very similar look to the one he had given the Takases when he had threatened them at the hospital.

Sadayo groaned and rubbed her face. She wasn't completely shocked at the fearful reaction from the controversial student's expression. However, something much more important was running through her mind as she waited for the last student she was to meet for the day.

'If he had the same expression after leaving the room as he did at the hospital, then I'm more than certain that he didn't let the situation with the Takases go. I'm sure of it now, he must have gotten involved despite me telling him not to.'

The first thought that came to mind was that he requested the Phantom Thieves. He had gotten their names from her, implying that those were vital for the group's help. Sadayo began browsing the Phansite forums any time she was free, reading through the posts to search for their names. Still, looking through it now, Sadayo was surprised at the amount of activity and posts that kept showing up on the site. It had only been three days since the incident, but she had to go through many pages just to reach any post that was created this past Tuesday. Many of them as she had suspected even contained people's full names, something that was a bit unnerving to her.

Sadayo continued going further and further back, searching for any mention of Toshio and Hiromi Takase. But she eventually realized that neither of the two names were on any of the posts she saw.. She even looked to see if her name would show, or even her former alter ego, Becky, but much to her relief, she saw neither present.

"Considering how insistent he was about asking the Phantom Thieves for help I was so certain that he had done just that." She reached the backlog before Tuesday and double checked the dates to be extra sure. "But it looks like their names are nowhere to be seen. Is there another way that people can get in contact with them?"

Sadayo tapped her phone against her forehead, pondering. The more she thought on how the Takases behaved, it became more and more clear on what exactly had occurred. The constant apologizing, the admittance and regret of their actions, the desire to repent to the point of endangering themselves... All of this, despite their previous signs of showing no hint of guilt, could only mean one thing...

Their hearts had been stolen by the Phantom Thieves.

"The way they acted was too similar to how Kamoshida did to be a coincidence. There is no other explanation for that drastic of a change unless the Phantom Thieves got involved." Sadayo leaned back in her chair, placing her hand on her head in disbelief. "Huh, so they actually did help me. But how could they have known? Neither mine or the Takases' name showed up on the site. The only one that knew was Akira." Sadayo crossed her arms as her eyes closed, losing herself in contemplation. "Though now that I think about it, from the way he acted, it was never as if they might help. In fact, it was almost like he was certain that they would. Hmm..." Her eyes opened as a thought crossed her mind.

"Could Kurusu-kun actually know who the Phantom Thieves are…?" She said in almost a whisper, unsure if she even believed such a thing.

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted as she heard knocking from the door in front of her. "Hello, I was told to come to the guidance room after I finished my exams."

Sadayo quickly straightened herself, putting her phone away and gathering her notes. "Yes, please come in."

The door opened, revealing a student who walked in, carrying with him an overstuffed bag with papers almost bursting out. "I was told that you called for me Ms. Kawakami?"

The boy sounded a worried, which was not surprising considering he was called to the guidance counselor's room. But more than that, his look was dismissive and annoyed. As if he rather be anywhere else than here, something that was evident when he looked at his watch. The expression he had on his face had become very much familiar with these past few days as she continued to meet with more and more of the students, though if she was honest with herself, it was a look that she had already seen from her students long before the incident with Kamoshida. Thinking back, it was very similar to the look Akira had given her on his—

'Seriously?! This is not the time! Why do I keep doing that?' Sadayo pressed her index finger and thumb hard against her forehead, leaving the student in front of her perplexed. To save face and prevent further misunderstanding, Sadayo cleared her throat and proceeded to look down at the notes that had been given to her. "Keita Iseya, from room 2-D correct?" 'Huh, he's actually in my homeroom.'

"Yes, that would be me."

"Please take a seat," Sadayo gestured toward the chair at the other end of the table, which Iseya proceeded to sit down without complaint. Probably figuring it would be faster to just comply with what he is being asked and get it over with, though looking at his watch again admittedly annoyed her a bit. "You seem a bit preoccupied. Is there somewhere you're planning to go?"

"Not really, just was hoping to take the time today to search for a summer job. So could we make this quick?"

The disinterest was the same as the others, which by this point was grating Sadayo after so many meetings having the same look on her. "I see, I'll try to get this over with as soon as I can." Though a bit of her frustration seeped through, she did her best to sound professional as she leafed through the notes. "You made a complaint about Akira Kurusu, the second year student at 2-D."

"Well yeah, he's in our class. Even you know that much, Teach. Can't we just get to the point?" Iseya spoke up in open frustration.

Sadayo could feel a headache coming on as she sighed. By this point she had enough of acting formal and just leaned on the table, letting her head rest on her hand. "Fine, then let's get to the point. The school acknowledges your complaints and understands your concern. So from now on, I will be in charge of any complaints involving Akira Kurusu."

"You?" Iseya blurted out, much more flabbergasted than Sadayo would had liked.

"Yes, me," Sadayo responded in open annoyance. "I am your homeroom teacher both so the responsibility is on me. I've already had a talk with Kurusu-kun and he's apologized and promised to not disturb the other students like that. But we understand that in light of recent events that our word isn't that comforting. So if you have any other complaints and troubles or if you feel like Kurusu-kun is getting into trouble, please contact me immediately and I'll be sure to confront him about it."

"Seriously, you're going to take responsibility for him?" Iseya responded in disbelief. "Sorry Teach, but that's not very reassuring either."

Sadayo looked at her student for a moment before letting out another sigh, straightening from her slouch. "You're right… In all my years in Shujin I have done very little to garner any kind of trust from you all. I never noticed the stuff that occurred to the other students and made an effort to avoid talking to any of you outside of class. But I want to try and be better about it. I fully understand if my words mean very little you. I don't expect you to change your view of me overnight. But despite that I still want to try. So I hope that you will give me the chance to become a teacher you can rely on and trust." Sadayo gave her student a bow. "I know I have been far from the ideal teacher to you all these past years, but I promise that from now on I'll do all I can to be there for you."

The other look that she had also become familiar with was awkwardness and confusion, currently sported by Iseya. "I don't get it though. You say you want to be there for us, but why are you defending that Kurusu? I mean, isn't he dangerous? If the school really meant all that stuff about our safety then he shouldn't even be in our school."

'That Kurusu…?' Sadayo's frustration rose at hearing Akira being called like that. Still, she let it fade as she took a deep breath. "I understand your concern. After all, from the very beginning there have been rumors about his record since he arrived. Tell me, what have you heard about him?"

"Ummm. I've heard that he stabbed a guy, just 'cause he bumped into him. That he left the guy hospitalized and is still recovering.

"But see, that's the thing." Sadayo directed her finger at Iseya. "There are no such records of him ever using a weapon, or the guy being hospitalized. All that we know is that he got into a fight. While yes, it was mentioned in his records that he did end up getting in a fight and hurting someone, it doesn't really explain what went on, and it's nowhere near the level of violence that the rumors make it out to be. I'm sure you noticed how quiet he tends to be for the most part." Sadayo took her papers. "I've been informed by his probation guardian that he's spending a number of evenings helping him out at his job, and that Kurusu-kun's actually doing some community work, he actually showed up on TV while doing so. And I'm sure I don't need to point out how hard he works on his studies; you've seen how capable he is in class yourself."

Knowing what she knew about the events involving his record, Sadayo disliked that she had to play up the misinformation of him getting in a fight. But while she believed in Akira not purposely hurting someone, the records seemed to point at him doing so. Still, that didn't mean that she couldn't play up her lie to his favor. After all, it is true that he is working at Leblanc; she just learned it from Akira as opposed to Sojiro. And she figured him helping out a politician in his campaign could be considered community work.

"You asked me why we are not expelling him? Well, that was because of my decision. Because of Kamoshida, his record was spread all over the school, and I'm sure he also had a hand in all those crazy rumors spreading. Kurusu-kun may not look like it, but he's a victim of Kamoshida too. Just like Takamaki-chan and Suzui-chan, just like the boys and girls of the volleyball and the track teams. As teachers, we failed him, just like we failed all of you, so I feel like we owe him a second chance, since it was one of our own staff that did this to him."

There was uncertainty in Iseya's eyes, but either because he didn't have an argument to her statement or because he was in a hurry that he simply let out a sigh. "I guess that's true about Kamoshida going after him. And I rather not be a part of that guy's actions."

"Thank you for your understand Iseya-kun." Sadayo bowed gratefully.

"Yeah, yeah. Anyway I have to go now. So if you'll excuse me." He quickly stood up from his chair as he grabbed his bag, the force of it causing one of his papers to fall and glide by Sadayo's feet.

"Wait Iseya-kun, you seemed to have dropped something." Sadayo leaned down to pick it up. "A resume?"

"Oh, sorry about that," Iseya turned around. "Like I mentioned, I plan to look for some summer jobs today so I made a number of copies. So can I—"

"This won't do you much good," Sadayo bluntly remarked.

"Huh?"

"There's very little information of worth here. It looks like you put stuff just to fill up space and what could be of use isn't worth printing a whole page. Actually, isn't this a copy of a template? I'm certain I've seen something looking exactly like this online. I see that you didn't put much effort for your photo. That doesn't look very good for your presentation."

"What the hell, that's uncalled for," Iseya took the paper from Sadayo's hand in anger. "I've only just started so I really don't have a lot of experience so I needed to make it look good."

Sadayo just let out a disappointed sigh. "Making it look nice is fine an all, but if you try to fluff your resume with useless information they're very likely to disregard it all together."

"Whatever, I already printed out a bunch of them so it's too late now."

Iseya still sounded angry, but the from his face Sadayo could tell that he was losing confidence in his chances. She could understand how he felt though. When she lived with her parents in Kochi Sadayo never had any problems finding a part time job during her summers. But in Tokyo when the Takases' demands had gotten to the point that her teacher's salary was not enough, she found out first-hand how difficult it could be to find a job in the big city, especially at her age. Much to her shame, there were the occasional jobs where she had lied on her resume or interview, just so that she could be hired. Those jobs never lasted long though. As she looked towards her student, a thought came over Sadayo.

"Want me to help?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I know you said you have to go, but if you're willing to delay your job searching for a bit, I can help you out build a proper resume and give you some advice on how to look more presentable."

"You… help me out?" Iseya spoke with disbelief.

"Do you want my help or not?"

"Fine, fine... I guess." Iseya lower his head in defeat.

"Very well. Take a seat."

As soon as he sat down did Sadayo begin working on his paper. She asked him questions to help him find some good points to add and removed the unnecessary parts, explaining why such things wouldn't be any good. At first the student seemed uninterested, but as time went on he started showing attention and actually asking questions. By the end of it, it was already late.

"Okay, I think that should be it." Sadayo let out a tired stretch. "Sorry for taking so long."

"It's fine." Iseya was taking a look at the new changes that Sadayo had provided, looking much more confident than he was a while ago. "I should be able to get some new ones printed and make it to one or two of my interviews. Though I'm surprised, how do you know all this stuff?"

"I was in high school too, you know," Sadayo scoffed at her student's comment. "I've done my fair share of job hunting and interviews in the past," — 'which was just a couples of days ago' — "so I have a lot experience with this. Oh, speaking of which," Sadayo quickly moved on, hoping that her student wouldn't catch on her little fib. She took out her coin purse from her bag. "Here, it's not much but it should cover for the new copies and a new set a photos. Make sure that you look professional, okay?"

"I — you sure?" Iseya responded in shock. "I mean, you don't have to. I can cover it myself."

"It's fine. Let's just say that this is my apology for taking so much of your time." Sadayo happily assured him, leaving the student speechless as he simply nodded and took the change. "Best of luck in your interviews, Iseya-kun. Make sure to remember what I told you, but don't feel discouraged if you don't get hired right away. It may take some time but I'm sure you'll be hired soon."

Her student gave her a nod in return. "Sure thing."

As she saw her student pick up his things and leave, she figured to start doing the same.

"Oh, and Kawakami-sensei?"

Sadayo turned back to her student who proceeded to give a bow, the first he'd given her.

"Thank you for all your advice. I'll promise to let you know when I get hired."

Sadayo was surprised at his actions and it took her a few seconds to get her bearings. She waved him off. "Oh, that's fine. Get home safely Iseya-kun."

As he left the room, Sadayo was left standing for a while, reflecting at the turn of events.

"He actually…" a smile began to form "actually thanked me… Huh."


"That's another one down. Just two more to go." Sadayo reminded herself as motivation while placing the graded exam next to the piles of those already done. "I'm glad to see that Takamaki-chan made it past the average grade, but I wish she'd do as good a job on her other subjects as she does English."

It was Sunday evening and she could hear the Tokyo night life begin it's hustle and bustle from the open balcony at her apartment. The life that, until just yesterday, she was a part of. It was a strange feeling to be hearing it from the comfort of her home rather than running around in hiding, and while she had no real attachment to her job as a maid, the way it just ended without any fanfare was quite odd. Just a quick call to Victoria to make sure that all her previous requests were taken care of and a formal farewell to have her officially no longer working as a maid.

Sadayo's gaze turned towards her maid uniform that was hanging from her bathroom door and let out a sigh as she rested her head on her palm. "I didn't expect them to let me keep the outfit, and after I took the effort of washing it for them, too. I would have honestly preferred a fruit basket or chocolates as a farewell gift. I mean seriously, what am I supposed to do with it now?"

Sadayo raised her hands up towards the ceiling as she did a long stretch, feeling her spine pop slightly, before grabbing the next exam. "Anyway, that's not important, now. I should finish grading these. Okay, next is… Akira Kurusu." She knew this was coming, but she couldn't stop feeling worried. "Kurusu-kun… I still haven't been able to get in contact with him since Wednesday. I know I can text him, but that's not fair to him. He deserves to hear me out in person."

Exams were finally over and done with. The deadline that Sadayo had put herself to decide had passed and she was still nowhere close to figuring out her thoughts. Much to Sadayo's frustration she wasn't able to talk to him either.

Earlier, she had finally finished her meetings with the students, so she was hoping to head over to her homeroom after exams finished and get a moment with him. When she had arrived she noticed Akira coming out of her class. Both of their eyes met for a second before he turned away, which had caused Sadayo's chest to tighten. Just as she was going to call for him she heard her name called; turns out that Iseya's interview went much better than he had expected and that he had managed to get a job on his second interview. As the boy continued talking to her she could see in the distance as Sakamoto grabbed hold of Akira by the neck and dragged him with a big grin on his face. Mishima had been following behind and was the only one of the three to notice that she was looking their way; he gave a courteous bow and followed the two troublemakers off to somewhere.

She wanted to follow them and ask them to stop for a moment. He was finally in reach and she wanted to see him alone... but she had promised him that she would do her best to become a better teacher. So as his form grew farther away, she had let out a big smile and congratulated Iseya for doing great on his interview. Unexpectedly, their discussion had brought the attention of the other students, gathering in surprise at what they were hearing. Sadayo did her best to play off their comments modestly and had simply raised her brow and told them to get in line, that she would be more than happy to share just how much she knows. As the students happily complied she looked back to where Akira was, only to see that he was nowhere to be found.

Sadayo quickly snapped her mind back to the present. Now was not the time to think about that. As a teacher, as his teacher, she still has work to do, and after a few smacks of her cheeks to keep her focused she continued on with her work, careful to not make any sort of mistake that could affect his score, both negatively or positively. When she reached the end of the test though, she couldn't help but smile at the result.

"With these results I'm sure he'll make the top ten. I can already see Mr. Ushimaru having a conniption fit when he finds out. And he'll just continue smiling that cocky smile of his. I can already hear him bragging about it, too. I'm just glad that he wasn't hindered by what happened."

Sadayo's smile quickly turned sour as she was reminded that today was her 'deadline'. She had told herself that she'd wait until tests were over before she'd reject him, and now it had passed. She could feel her chest tighten and knots form in her stomach.

"I-I should wait until school ends. I mean, what kind of encouragement is that? 'I'm really proud of how well you did in your tests Kurusu-kun! Also sorry, but I can't go out with you'?"

Sadayo could feel her frustration growing. She knew exactly what she was doing. She was stalling, running away from having to think about it, from having to confront Akira and end things with him. When she gave herself the deadline, she thought to herself that she'd be ready to tell him then, but instead she just pushed all those feelings away, acting ignorant about the whole thing. And now she was doing it again. Despite all that Akira had done for her, despite always listening to her, despite accepting her, she still disregarded his feelings because it scared her.

She grabbed her hair in anger as she growled. "WHY?!" Sadayo finally snapped. "WHY am I making this so hard on myself?!"

She jumped to her feet and started pacing, letting the papers scatter. "Why am I'm still so indecisive?! I'm his teacher, I'm older than him, I'm a coward that can't face him and give him the honest answer that he deserves." Her gaze fell to the papers on the floor, feeling bad from her carelessness. But when she picked the nearest paper, the sight of his name and now-familiar handwriting made her ire irrationally rise again.

"He probably doesn't even have any real feelings towards me. He was probably caught up in the moment after all we went through." Sadayo could feel her chest hurting, her eyes stinging, her hands shaking, but it didn't stop her from continuing on. "All of it is — is a stupid crush! From a stupid kid! On his stupid teacher! Nothing more!"

The paper in her hand didn't burst into flames from her glare. "I mean, summer break is about to start. We won't' be seeing each other for more than a month. I'm sure he'll forget all about it after I tell him. He's a stubborn, cocky brat who won't listen to you when you tell him not to do something. He's nosy, with no care about the consequences! Especially when he keeps on willfully throwing himself at risk without thinking about his own safety or how others might take it…" Sadayo sniffed, her voice shaky.

She let the paper fall to table before falling on her couch. "He's kind, accepting, always there when you need him, always willing to help out, selfless and strong." She shook her head, burying her face in her hands. "I mean, who would be happy to have someone like that confess to you? It's such an inconvenience."

Her mind went back to his confession, and what she figured he was going to say.

"After all, all I see in front of me is Sadayo Kawakami, a beautiful woman."

"And I'm just Akira Kurusu, a man that fell in lov—"

Hard as she tried, she couldn't get those words out of her mind, let alone understand his reason for telling her. "I just don't get it! Why would he be interested in someone like me?! He deserves better than me. I'm sure he'll be better of with another girl. Someone his age, someone that would be able to actually make him happy, someone who he'd be able to be with in the open and not be at risk of losing everything! Maybe then… maybe then he'll give up on me, so I can finally forget about him, so he'll finally forget me!

At that moment, amidst her tear-streaked face, Sadayo finally understood. At the prospect of losing him, not from him being arrested and jailed, but from watching him walk away with someone else, she finally realized why she had been so hesitant, why she kept running from her responsibilities, the meaning behind her smile when Akira called out to her. It was the feelings that she tried to deny for so long, but had finally broken through.

"Seriously, what is wrong with me? Why am I crying all of the sudden?" Sadayo tried to wipe her tears, but they wouldn't stop. Despite this, a smile grew from her lips as she continued her attempts to pull herself together. She couldn't deny that it felt liberating to finally come to terms with her feelings, but she knew that it couldn't be, no matter how much she wished for it.

"I… might actually have feelings for him."


Fishing had always been a reliable way for Sadayo to clear her head and think to herself. It had helped her through her awkward years in high school when she used to fish with her father, helped her through the new world of college when she had started to fish alone (and fruitlessly, sometimes with boyfriends and friends), helped her through all those years that she was being used by the Takases. And now on this Monday evening, Sadayo found herself turning to fishing once more as she tried to clear her thoughts after last night's sudden revelations.

'Okay Sadayo, it's time to admit it to yourself.' She began as she caught her first fish with ease, almost absentmindedly. 'Despite how much you denied the rumors about you and Takase-kun, and despite telling yourself that it wasn't a thing... you fell for one of your students…' She lowered her head in defeat, though still aware enough to not let her fish go. 'It honestly feels like I vindicated all those rumors about me back then.'

'But… he likes me back. Me of all people.' Sadayo could tell that a smile was forming as she thought of him, fully aware of it this time as her chest fluttered and her cheeks warmed. 'Seriously, something must be wrong with him — and me. He's just a high schooler, but just thinking back to what he said has me all flustered. I didn't even feel like this when I was dating in college.'

'But… It doesn't matter how he feels about me, or even how I feel. Even if we disregard our age difference, I'm still his teacher. Our school already had one scandal with a teacher eliciting relationships with students so I'm sure they'll be much more wary about it now. And he still has his probation. Sadayo glared at the water sightlessly. Though there are different reasons for each of us, all the parents and teachers will be watching us. If we get caught, I'll lose everything that I worked hard for, everything he's helped me regain. If we get caught… he'll be taken away...'

Sadayo could feel her body sag, heavy under the weight of fear towards the looming fate that stood over Akira's future. Any misstep, and he'd be gone, his future gone, his life fully ruined. She had taken the responsibility over him, as his teacher and friend, promised him that she would protect him no matter what.

She just never thought that it would include protecting him from herself.

With a tight grip of her pole, Sadayo gritted her teeth, forced to swallow that bitter pill. 'I have to refuse him. It's for his own good. I have to smother and kill these feelings so that I can protect him. I have to let go of him. I can't see him after school. I have to say goodbye...'

Sadayo attempted to reel in her final fish of the evening, but as she did the thread snapped, the first in a long time. 'I wonder… how would things had been if I wasn't his teacher. Would we had still met? Would we had gotten to know each other? Would he have still been there for me?'

With melancholy, Sadayo started to resign herself to her fate. Because of Akira she regained her passion to be a teacher, but in doing so she needed to close the door on the first person she has grown attached to in years. She could choose one, or risk it all to have both, but would it be worth it?

Her phone chirped, informing her that sadly, her time was up. Surprised to find that it was already nightfall, Sadayo began to pick up her things so she could head back home, planning to stop at a convenience store along the way. Apparently she was fishing for many hours now, something that became certain when she stood up, lightly kneading her lower back, sore from the prolonged sitting. After saying her goodbye to the guy in charge, who was looking a bit confused and surprised to see her here tonight, she went to the train station and made a stop at Shibuya, wanting to grab something to eat from one of the convenience store. Not that there weren't any good options at the station, but after spending so much time penny-pinching, she was more than happy to go for the more substantial options, even if still not the healthiest. When she exited the station though, Sadayo found herself surprised from the number of people that were all clustered outside.

"Right… today is the fireworks festival. I guess that explains why the pond keeper was looking at me weirdly back then. I was so busy with everything else that I completely forgot." Sadayo let out a sigh as she tried to get through the crowds to the nearest convenience store. The streets were packed with people waiting for the fireworks to start, many even wearing yukata for the event. Eventually, Sadayo was able to make it to a shop; figuring that things were going to be a bit loud soon, she grabbed a few pre-made katsudon bento and went to pay up. Just as she was about to leave though the crowds started gathering like crazy into the store. Sadayo flattened herself to the walls and did her best to not get trampled by the mob.

We are sorry to announce, but due to weather conditions, we will be delaying the fireworks. We hope that you understand and apologize for the inconvenience.

To her dismay, the now-pouring rain outside instantly made her trip back home much harder, Sadayo let out a tired groan as she held her warm food and purse close to her chest and began forcing her way through the crowds. The walkways themselves were actually clear as most avoided the rain there altogether, but sadly for her, she didn't think to bring her umbrella with her, so she had to dig through the crowds all the way to the station. After finally managing to get back to the station Sadayo sat on one of the benches. She could see a crowd forming at the gates and decided that it would be the safest and sanest to just sit and let it thin out a bit. Luckily for her, she now had a meal to indulge in while she waited. She opened her first bento box and began to dig in as she proceeded to people watch. Seeing the groups that gathered and began talking, or those that simply parted ways.

She was reminded of her social life back when she was still in college, back when she had people she would spend time with and talk through the night, whether they be friends or boyfriends. It was something that had she lost a long time ago, and she wondered if she would ever get it back, or if she was too old for it now. Though in a strange way, she could see her meeting with Akira as Becky counting as a gathering, considering the number of topics they would talk about.

The automatic smile died on her lips. Sadly, those too must go to an end. She knew that it would be rough for him to get over the rejection, and her being constantly there would only make things harder. As much as they said about wanting to meet up again afterwards, it wouldn't be possible.

"Kurusu-kun..." His name escaped her lips as she stared at what was left of her food. "Now that I think about it, didn't I run into him that one time when he was with Iwai-san? I remember how surprised I was to see him just as I was thinking about hi—"

With uncanny coincidence, a familiar face flashed by once again. It was a bit different this time though. He was walking much nearer to her compared to before, though he looked distant. He still carried his ever-present bag with him but he didn't have his glasses on. And, probably from running in the rain, he was soaking wet. "Kurusu-kun!?"

The boy stopped at the call of his name. As he turned to the direction his face quickly changed from disinterest to shock. "Ka — Ms. Kawakami?!"

Seeing him drenched as he was Sadayo took no time to walk towards him. "Look at you, you're completely soaked, are you okay?" She took out her handkerchief from her bag and did her best to pat him dry. "You shouldn't be running around when it's raining this heavily. What if you catch a cold?"

"Ms Kawakami?" While Akira didn't push her away or back off, he sounded a bit awkward while Sadayo patted his face. Soon as Sadayo realized what she was doing though, her face turned bright red.

"I-I'm sorry! I shouldn't have done that?" Sadayo backed away as she gave him an apologetic bow.

"It's fine… just caught me by surprise." Akira's eyes avoided her and darted everywhere, blatantly looking for an exit. "Anyway, I should be heading off-—"

"Wait," Sadayo's body once again reacted without her thinking it through. She forced herself to lower her arm. "It looks like the trains are going to be cramped and filled for a while. Why don't you sit with me while we wait…?"

She was kicking herself internally for how awkward she must have sounded, but she had finally managed to reach him after all these days and she didn't want to lose this chance to sit down and talk with him. Especially since it might be one of their last.

Akira himself seemed to be pondering what to do. He was trying to act like he was fine, but without his glasses she could tell that all he wanted was to be away from her..

Sadayo ignored the pang in her heart and took charge. "If you're going to think about it, at least sit down." She grabbed hold of his sleeve and pulled him back to the bench with her.

"Sorry," Akira let out apologetically, though he had a bit of a smile on him as his cheeks turned red. As Sadayo sat him down he took notice of the half-eaten katsudon that Sadayo picked up when she returned to her seat. "Were you in the middle of eating?"

"Yeah, I planned to take it home, but with how crowded it is right now, I figured I'd enjoy It here."

"I shouldn't disturb you then, I'll leave to your meal." Akira quickly tried to stand but Sadayo was equally quick to grab hold of his arm once more.

"Just sit down," Sadayo sternly remarked as she planted him on the bench. He complied, but she noticed that he placed his bag between them, like a shield. She couldn't help her frown as she took out her second box and presented it to Akira. "Here, if you're going to be that worried about bothering me while I eat, then join me."

"I think it would be best if you keep it. I mean, you need to make sure you eat." Akira remarked while pointedly looking away from her and the box.

"Kurusu-kun, it is fine. I'm no longer in dire straits financial-wise, and these aren't that expensive." Sadayo continued to hold the box in front of him, yet he continued to wordlessly refuse. "Fine, guess it's not needed." Sadayo let go of the box.

"Whoa!" In spite of his refusal, Akira quickly caught the box with his hand. He shot her a wry look. "You know, that could've ended in a mess."

"I just have faith in your skills," Sadayo teasingly remarked.

Despite his hesitation, Akira couldn't help but relax as he saw Sadayo smile. "Fine, I will graciously take my loss and your dinner."

"Happy to hear." Just as Sadayo was about to take another bite in victory she was reminded of something. "Oh yeah, speaking of sharing..."

Akira raised his brow when he saw her take a piece of the katsudon and dangle it over his half-open bag. He had an idea about what she was doing, but still tried to play ignorant. "What are you—"

"Shhhhh," Sadayo momentarily raised her pointer finger from her chopsticks when the bag started rustling. It took a while but soon enough, she heard some meowing from the bag and the head of a familiar and slightly wet black cat popped out to take the katsudon. "I knew it… you two are always together outside of school. Hey, Mona." Sadayo giggled when Mona butt his head to her hand, purring in delight.

"Hey you..." Akira looked at Morgana disapprovingly, though not able to reprimand him in front of Sadayo.

"I couldn't help it. We haven't eaten yet and it smelled really good."

"You're as talkative as ever, I see. You want another bite?" Sadayo smile was wide and playful as he continue to pet Mona.

"Please don't spoil him. He's got a big enough head as it is," Akira sighed.

"Hey! Who are you calling big head—"

"Yeah, yeah, in you go again." Akira proceeded to gently shove the cat's head inside the bag, smiling slightly as Sadayo giggled at the scene. He could hear Morgana protest a bit longer inside until he gave a huff and went quiet. Akira then opened the boxed food that Sadayo offered him, figuring that it would be easiest to just play along. Besides, he was hungry. "Thank you for the meal."

"Sure, anytime. I owe you for that lunch after all," Sadayo nodded as she went back to her food.

The two sat for a while, a quiet spot amidst the bustling crowds of Shibuya station. Both wanted to say something, trying to avoid looking at the other but wanting to know a hint of each other's mind, unsure on how to start.

Sadayo wanted to bring up his confession, but doing so in public wasn't a good idea. Considering the throngs of people and the weather, any diner or other location would probably be crowded as well.

Akira wasn't sure what to do. He was happy to be able to spend time with Sadayo again, but any encounter with her could lead to her bringing up his confession... and the rejection that would come from it. He had prepared himself for the inevitable, but it didn't stop him from not wanting to hear it.

Eventually, Sadayo finished her meal. The dead silence between the two has been steadily growing unbearable, but disturbing it seemed blasphemous. But she was the one that initiated this, so she should start. Now.. If he knew somewhere private. Leblanc. Ask if she could meet with him at Leblanc. To get this over with. Because it's her responsibility.

"Kurusu-kun?" Sadayo's throat was full of lead.

"Yeah?" Akira mechanically turned his towards her.

"I… Well, the thing is... How are things been going with you at school? I know we had that whole situation on Wednesday, but has anything else happened?" Sadayo was internally yelling at herself for chickening out at the last second.

"Oh?" Akira simply responded as he lowered his head back to his food. "It's fine. I'm still getting the occasional glares and whispers. Hallways tend to clear up for me though, so it makes it easy to walk around the school."

"Kurusu-kun..."

"What about you? You've definitely been busy on your end. I've heard a lot of students talking about how different you are. I even saw a crowd of students around you." Akira commented as he continued eating.

"You saw that, huh?" Sadayo frowned, knowing that he saw her looking his way, but simply walked away. "I managed to help Iseya-kun with his resume. Apparently, word spread around, and now I've got a bunch of them asking for advice about what to do for summer jobs and such. I honestly feel more like some sort of editor than a teacher. But it's something at least. I know I still get looks from some of the students who don't trust me, and I still don't feel like most respect me as a teacher… But it's a start."

"Yep, I've seen first hand how strong you can be. I'm sure soon enough they'll all come around as well." Akira couldn't help but smile at his teacher's complaint. It was like before, but different. Even if she was complaining about her students, her tone wasn't one of resignation or disinterest, but of confidence and drive. "I mean, you managed to win over the biggest troublemaker at school."

"Kurusu-kun..." Sadayo could feel the blush in her cheeks coming again, feel herself smiling and she made an active effort to frown. It was frustrating how much his words can affect her. How happy it made her to hear him say that. But that didn't matter.

What matters was letting him know her answer. She needed to be honest with him.

Akira was just about done with his meal, probably itching to leave. It was now or never. With a mental push, Sadayo spoke up.

"Kurusu-kun..."

"Yeah…?" Akira was feeling a bit relaxed, though confused and a little embarrassed from hearing her call his name so much. "What is it?"

"Do you… remember about what you told me? When I told you about the... news with the Takases?" Sadayo could see Akira's body visibly tense.

"Yeah..." Akira was kicking himself for letting his guard down. For a peaceful moment, he forgot about the issue between them. She always did have that effect on him. But he should had known better by now. After all, life has an interesting way of reminding him just how cruel it could be. Still, he was here now, no point in denying it or delaying it. "So..."

"There's something I want to talk to you about, but not here..." Sadayo could feel her heart hesitating, her hands wringing her shirt so much that it was probably stretched out by this point. "So, is it okay if we—"

"Ah! Akira, I see that you are still here."

Sadayo immediately straightened up in fear. She whipped towards the direction that she heard the voice from, and found herself staring at a tall but thin young man in a blue yukata. He was completely soaked from the rain that was still pouring and seemed to be carrying a red object in his right arm. He was quite attractive for his age and the yukata seemed to fit his appearance perfectly... but something about him was familiar to her.

"I'm glad to see that you haven't left yet," the young man panted when he stopped before them. He got his wind and straightened as he turned to at Sadayo, realizing that she had been talking with Akira. "Oh, my apologies for barging in like this." He gave a bow to the teacher. "I am Yusuke Kitagawa. I am a friend of Akira."

'Huh, this must be the Yusuke that he mentioned some time ago.' "Oh, sorry." Sadayo quickly stood up after realizing that she had been staring in silence for some time. She bowed back to offer the same courtesy. "I am Sadayo Kawakami. I'm his homeroom teacher at Shujin Academy."

"Ms. Kawakami...?" Yusuke's expression was pensive, before his eyes lit up from a revelation. "Ah yes, you're the one that Akirmmrggg—"

"Huh?" Bewildered, Sadayo looked at her student clamping his hand over his baffled friend's mouth. "Kurusu-kun, what is he talking about?"

"It's nothing," Akira replied, though the look of his face clearly said otherwise. "Anyway, what's up Yusuke? You sounded like you needed me for something."

"Oh, that's right," Yusuke spoke up as soon as Akira removed his hand, apparently forgetting what he was cut off to say. "May I borrow some money for the train?"

"Don't tell me you forgot your wallet again? Why didn't you tell me this sooner? How did you even get here without a wallet?" Akira remarked in exasperation. Sadayo could tell that this wasn't the first time something like this had happened.

"I have my coin purse with me so I had enough for the trip, but on the way home, I saw this marvel of a specimen so I bought it. I can already see the wealth of inspiration that will come from it." Yusuke patted the object under his arm with confidence. "I had intended to stay the night in Madarame's old shack since I figured you had all already left, but it appears that the door is broken and won't open."

"You do know that Ryuji's place isn't that far off from here, right?" Akira tiredly massaged his forehead. "I'm sure he would've helped you out if you asked, so there was no need for you to stay the night there."

"Madarame's shack? Yusuke Kitagawa?" Sadayo's eyes went wide open as she realized who the person that was in front of her was. "You're the Yusuke Kitagawa that was mentioned as Ichiryusai Madarame's pupil?"

"Former pupil," Yusuke retorted, his expression melting to sadness.

"Oh, sorry. He did end up confessing what had happened with you and your mother?" Sadayo remarked, unsure, but gave an apologetic bow. "I may not have been involved in all of that, but as a teacher I know full well how we can affect our students' lives. I'm sorry that you have to go through all of that."

Yusuke shook his head. "There's no need for that. I'm sure you've had your own challenges as a teacher yourself."

"Huh?" Sadayo raised her head in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"No need to worry about it," Akira interjected. "But anyway, what on earth did you buy?"

Yusuke chuckled, almost sounding maniacal. He gleefully presented a daruma doll to his audience's faces. "Behold!"

"Yusuke... where did you find this?" Akira asked in disbelief.

"It was in one of the secondhand shops."

"Huh, never thought I'd see someone sell one with both eyes painted," Sadayo, on the other hand seemed quite intrigued at the find. Leaning slightly, she took a closer look at the doll and tapped both of the doll's inked eyes. "I wonder if someone decided to sell it back after they completed their promise and painted the other eye."

"My thoughts exactly," Yusuke proclaimed, nodding appreciatively. "I'm happy to hear that you understand the significance of its appearance."

"Well I am his Japanese teacher," Sadayo nodded to her observant student. "I would look bad if I didn't know this." She gave a small fist pump and grinned.

Yusuke patted his daruma doll again. "This here is a symbol of one's dreams made manifest. The achievement of someone who has overcome all obstacles to reach their goals. This, my friends, is the manifestation of passion."

"So you mean that this daruma is a representation of human desires?" Sadayo pensively bit her lip. "Leave it to an artist to find meaning in things others would discard."

Akira stood there as he both contemplated the daruma's meaning and the impromptu bonding moment of his friends. "If both of you are done, we should probably get you home, Yusuke. I should probably be leaving too."

Sadayo snapped from her thoughts.

"Very well. We shall take our leave," Yusuke proceeded to bow to Sadayo. "It has been a pleasure to meet you."

"Oh!" Sadayo's head kept switching between Akira and Yusuke. She shot a nervous look specifically at Akira before quickly turning to Yusuke to bow. "Thank you. The pleasure is all mine."

The two teenagers bowed goodbye and walked off towards the gates, leaving her to worry. She wasn't sure if Akira understood what she meant, but she couldn't clarify since someone else was there. But she already pushed herself to get this far; she couldn't let the opportunity slip by.

"Kurusu-kun!"

Thankfully, Akira turned to face her, despite generally fleeing from her this week.

Sadayo forced her nervous tongue to work. "About what I told you… will you let me know?"

Akira simply nodded before continuing on with his friend.

As they disappeared Sadayo felt a bit relieved as she sat down. She had managed to bring the subject to Akira and set up a meeting with him… but the hardest part was yet to come.

She knew Akira wouldn't let her down once he gave his word, so Sadayo figured it would be best to wait. She dithered between a nearby diner or her place, but considering the latter was nearer to Leblanc, she went home. By the time she arrived to her station the rain had let up, making her trek back much easier. Once she got inside she dropped her bags on the couch and went to the fridge. Her hand went instinctively towards the beer, but she stopped herself.

She was definitely nervous about the upcoming talk, and part of her admittedly was tempted to rely on good old liquid courage to help her through it. But it wouldn't feel right. Akira deserved better than his tipsy teacher coming in to happily reject him, or worse! He deserved more than she can give him, but the least she can do is to be sound of mind.

With that in mind, Sadayo's hand moved away from the can and grabbed hold of a bottle of iced tea. She sat down on her couch, awaiting for the eventual go ahead, reflecting back at her strange encounter with Yusuke Kitagawa.

"Kurusu-kun really does know a lot of people, doesn't he? A doctor, a politician, a… shop owner," Sadayo shook her head as she tried and failed to think of a better word for the ex-yakuza. And now I learn that he's friends with Madarame's former pupil. He really can't stop himself from getting involved with others, can he?"

Sadayo sipped from her tea, only to freeze mid-way when she came to a realization, one that she had forgotten about until just now. 'Wait, how involved is he? He got involved with Kamoshida when he befriended Sakamoto-kun and Takamaki-chan. He apparently is also friends with Kitagawa-kun who suffered at the hands of Madarame, and while I'm not fully sure, I get the feeling that he was talking about Nijima-san when he talked about someone asking him for help with the student scam situation. If I remember right they managed to arrest the culprit on the news... because he confessed… because he was targeted by the Phantom Thieves.'

The bottle was hastily placed on the table as Sadayo leaned forward to grab her head for support. "Wait wait wait. That's… scary levels of coincidence. But if I think about it, the only people that he spends time in school are Sakamoto-kun, Mishima-kun, Takamaki-chan and Nijima-san, three of which were victims of Kamoshida. And now I find that he's friend with Kitagawa-kun, a victim of Madarame.

Sadayo's thoughts now went to the whole issue with Nijima-san. She had contemplated before that the student council president might've been the one Akira had mentioned when he was pressed about someone asking for his help with the student scandals. The scandals that had become well known after the arrest of the culprit, which made many students gain courage to speak up about it. When the rumors of the extortions had been first mentioned during the teachers' meeting that Nijima-san had asked her to tell Akira to see her, but the reason she gave her turned out to be false. At first, Sadayo had thought that Makoto was confessing her feelings, an idea that knowing what she feels now, seemed very petty on her part. But then what Akira had said hit her.

"Just feels like she has way more responsibilities than someone of her position should have."

The way he had said it made it seem like Niijima-san was being made to do much more than she could handle as a student. If that was the case, maybe she needed help. Help from someone whose rumors included facing down a gang and hospitalizing them. It was a ridiculous rumor, but if Niijima-san was against criminal elements... she needed someone of almost similar status.

"I'm still not fully sure about Niijima-san, but if what I'm thinking is true, then she had asked Kurusu-kun to help with the extortion problem... and sure enough the guy responsible was targeted by the Phantom Thieves..."

Sadayo vocally repeated the same information, trying to see if she misunderstood things. But the logic coming from her mouth only strengthened how suspicious it all was. She stood from her couch and paced her floor, trying to remain calm on the matter. She thought back to anything she might have missed and was reminded of an outburst that Akira had told her about his past.

"It was the same for Kamoshida and Madarame. Their victims felt alone, and unable to fight back. Because of that they felt like the only choice they had was to accept their fate. If there is anything that I can do to give them courage, then—"

Sadayo pulled her hair as the possibilities raced. 'Well, okay. I was starting to suspect that he knew who the Phantom Thieves are. These all prove to that that's a possibility. Him calling them out directly back then kind of helps with my theory as well. But why did he say that if there was anything he could do?'

She tapped her foot. 'I feel like I'm missing something. If he just knows the Phantom Thieves, then why is he possibly connected to every single target? You'd think that they would target other big targets that aren't related to him in some way.'

Sadayo crossed her arm, trying to think back to the beginning of the school year, when he first arrived. 'Now that I think about it, the group seemed to form soon after he came to Tokyo, and it did start at Shujin… with Kamoshida… a guy that he directly went against…' Sadayo was beginning to feel a bit scared at all the evidence that just suddenly started to pile up. She could see conclusion starting to form in her mind. She always felt like he was hiding something from her, but could this really be it?

Thinking that this was all just her overactive imagination, Sadayo grabbed hold of her iced tea and drank it down in one gulp. She slammed the bottle on the table with a forceful exhale, hoping that the actions would give her time to slow down her mind.

"Okay, so what? Is he like, their consultant, informant? He does seems to know a lot of people? People that he could be using to gather information, equipment? Leader, maybe?" Sadayo's eyes grew wide of such connotation. "Wait, no matter what he is, wouldn't that mean that he himself would be a part of the Phantom Thieves?"

'I mean if he was a Phantom Thief that means that he would be— wait... those times that he looked — was — injured. He wouldn't tell me why he arrived to school so injured, but could it be related. The only other times that I can think of were the day after that mafia guy was arrested, and the other one was...'

"He said he got injured yesterday. I wonder what happened to cause that...?"

"I went to Dr. Takemi's clinic on Wednesday, so the day before was Tuesday. That was when the Takases came to the school. He left after saying he would take care of it, and soon after they came back completely different people."

Sadayo was reminded of the determined expression on his face. But most of all, the lack of any sign of them being targeted. Unlike all the other targets, there was no mention of them of any kind, no news, no post, nothing. It was as if it was personal, and most of all, it was sudden. Not even a day had passed and they had already been changed. It was rushed, urgent... as if they knew the stakes.

But the only one that knew what was going on with her was….

Sadayo felt like she was losing her mind, as if she just unraveled a dark secret. She ran her hands through her hair as she did her best to remain composed. "You're kidding, right? Him?! But how did he—?! When?!" Sadayo dropped her head to her hands, mumbling incoherently.

'You have got to be kidding. So not only do I end up falling for one of my students. But he's also the part of the group of vigilantes that has been growing in popularity and infamy.'

Her face turned sullen at this realization. 'All those things I told him about them. How I thought of them, how much I hated them — I told them to him. But despite that, he didn't even hesitate to save me… He saved me… Just like he said they would, like he would...'

Sadayo let out a frustrated chuckle, trying to bury her face even deeper into her arms.

"Seriously… As if refusing him wasn't hard enough."


After making sure that Yusuke was on his way home, Akira proceeded to head to Leblanc. The trip was quiet; he was able to tell that Morgana would look at him from time to time with concern, though no word came up which was a rarity for him. The rain never stopped. That was the second time he forgot to bring his umbrella with him, though at this moment he didn't care how soaked he was, taking his time to reach Leblanc in an attempt to delay the inevitable.

When reached the door, he finally noticed that the rain had stopped, maybe for a while now. Maybe just now. As if fate or whatever it is Chihaya always spoke of was mocking him. He opened the door, finding a mostly-empty cafe with only Sojiro and a familiar lady present.

"So you won't tell me, no matter what?"

"I have nothing more to say to you about that," Sojiro retorted to the lady, his annoyance visible.

'What's going on here? Is boss in trouble for something?' Akira stood quietly, letting the door close behind him. It seemed that both were so focused on the other that they hadn't seen or even heard him come in, so he figured that he might as well hear what's going on.

The woman let out a sigh as she stood from her stool. "I see. In that case, I have ways of making you talk."

There was a moment of shock in Sojiro's face, though it was quickly overcome with anger. "Is that supposed to be a threat—?!"

"Thanks for the drink," the woman interrupted, unfazed by Sojiro's outburst. Picking up her bag she headed out, glancing at Akira as she passed him.

"H-hey! We're not done here yet!" Sojiro yelled out, but the only response he got was the jingling of the door opening and closing.

Akira peered through the door window. He could tell that the woman was going to be trouble from the first time she had visited weeks ago. The way she had just brought up the mental shutdown cases and so openly made it feel more like she was probing, and her discussion with Sojiro just now only helped to strengthen those thoughts. But why him? Could she be already suspecting him? Of what exactly? Was there something more to Sojiro Sakura?

"Hey boss, is everything okay?"

Sojiro seemed like a ticking time bomb to him, but whether because of their bonding or because he didn't want to dwell too much on what the woman said, he was able to regain his usual demeanor. "It's nothing. Just two adults talking. It's about time I close up so help me clean up." Sojiro looked at Akira now that things had quieted down, his expression slightly softening with concern from its usual hard edge. "What happened to you? You look like a drowned rat."

"If you hadn't noticed, it was raining until recently. The fireworks festival was delayed because of that, though we decided that the rain wasn't letting up so we called it early."

"No, it's more than just that. I've seen that look before. Anyway, there should be some spare towels by the shelf. Dry yourself off and come help me with the dishes."

"Yes Sir." Akira put the bag with Mona down and went to the bathroom. While his clothes were still wet and his hair still damp, he figured it was good enough. He hung the towel he used on a metal bar alongside his outer shirt before exiting the bathroom and grabbed his apron. The repetitive motions of scrubbing and washing the dishes were soothing, familiar, and most importantly, welcome distractions.

Unfortunately, it didn't last long.

"So whatever happened with that girl you talked about?"

Akira let out a long sigh. "Nothing happened, and nothing's going to happen. It's how it should be."

"So she rejected you then," Sojiro said in a deadpan tone. "That's how things are. Sometimes, the things that you wish for the most are unobtainable."

Having the issue that plagued him this week summarized in one measly sentence irked Akira. "What, you've been rejected before, Boss?" Akira snarked back.

"Listen here, you," Sojiro leaned on the counter with a confident smile. "I may be single now, but when I was younger I knew quite well how to treat a lady." His face then turned contemplative, looking around at the kitchen. "Well, I guess there was one lady..."

"So how do you get over it?" Akira asked, pausing to watch the Boss over his shoulder.

"You don't. Some things just stick with you and you always wonder about what-ifs. What would have happen if you have done things differently." Sojiro ran his hand on his head. Akira could tell that it was a hard subject for him, which didn't give him much confidence in his own situation. "But you're still young. And you know what they say, there are plenty of fish in the sea."

"Being young is part of the problem," Akira quietly murmured to himself. "And there may be plenty of fish, but there might be only one master fisherman."

"Hmmm? Didn't quite hear that."

Akira resumed his dish washing silently, letting the TV fill the silence.

On to other news… The international hacktivist group Medjed has released a statement to the Phantom Thieves...


"When it rains it pours." Akira laid down on his couch after changing to his sleepwear, wanting to get out of his wet clothes. Medjed was challenging the Phantom Thieves, asking them to change their own hearts and join them. It was obvious to Akira that the group simply wanted to use them and their methods to go after more people. To complicate the issue, Akechi put the blame on the Phantoms, causing the public to voice concern. Luckily, their good will over the previous targets' arrests meant that despite this, there were people still cheering them on.

But his teammates were worried about it, currently up in a storm over in the chatroom. Akira didn't feel comfortable with the idea of charging in because of their threats. It could be a bluff or a stunt just to catch attention, but he didn't want to target people just because they're idiots. The last thing he wanted is to have innocent bystanders fear them, just like Sadayo did.

"Sadayo..." Akira turned to his phone. Everything could be moved to the side. Sojiro wasn't going to tell him about the woman he was talking to, and Akira honestly had little interest in Medjed. Only one thing was on his mind at the moment, and he was dreading it more than any Shadow.

"Hey, is everything okay?"

Akira turned to the concerned, now-dry cat who was sitting by the workbench.

"I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"Well, you've been down ever since... we dealt with the Takases. I thought you'd be happier about it, and you looked like you were at the beginning. But the next day, you just went all quiet on us." Morgana jumped down to come sit closer to him. "I figured that you were focusing on tests and keeping your head down after that whole incident in the counselor's room, but... it's been days now, and you're still acting like this. Heck, even Ryuuji and Mishima noticed and tried to cheer you up."

"Yes, and I specifically remember someone fleeing soon after." Akira played out his confident smirk.

"That's because someone as refined as I has no business going to places like that— wait, no changing the subject!"

"I did no such thing. Just keeping my head down and avoiding any problem." Akira looked away, throwing a nonchalant shrug.

"You mean, avoiding Ms. Kawakami?" Mona noticed the small twitch coming from Akira. "Did something happen between you two? Like in the counselor room. I heard that she defended you, and she seems to be doing much better now after we helped her. But today when she wanted to talk to you, it was like you were trying to run away?"

Akira continued to look down, avoiding Morgana's blue-eyed gaze. "Just, preparing for the inevitable."

"Joker..."

Akira turned to Morgana. "Sorry, but is it okay if I talk to her alone? It's something that I need to do."

Morgana looked at him for a minute and then simply went towards the window. "Just let me know how it goes, okay?" He slinked through the frame before vanishing into the night.

Akira was tempted to close the window to make sure that he didn't come in too soon, but decided that if he came in, then so be it. He grabbed his phone.

[A]: You can come now.

[A]: It's just me and the door is unlocked.

[A]: I'll be waiting upstairs.

The room was quiet, only to be disturbed by the eventual responding tone.

[S]: I'll see you soon then.

Akira tossed his phone uncaringly on his desk, ruffling some of the cranes there. He leaned back against the couch, numb as his head hit the wall behind him, looking upwards the ceiling.

"I guess I really am 'The Fool'."


Sadayo stood nervously by Leblanc's entrance. As soon as she got the text message she freshened herself and quickly left for Yongen, mentally preparing herself on what was to come, what to tell him, what to expect. She thought herself ready, but as she reached out for the door, her hand hesitated.

"Come on, just get it over with. You have to do this. It's not fair to him. Do it for him." Sadayo told herself as her hand hovered over the door handle. One great inhale and exhale, and she managed to push herself to open the door.

It was quiet. The familiar aroma of coffee wafting her way admittedly helped to ease her mind a bit. She partially expected, maybe hoped, that Akira would be waiting for her by the counter, preparing nice cups for them to drink as they talked. Sadly, that wasn't the case. Sadayo lamented this a bit but continued on towards the stairs, figuring that the second floor was the only other location he could be at. Sure enough, she saw Akira waiting on his couch. She felt a little relaxed when he smiled at her, though she knew it wouldn't last long.

"Hey," Akira greeted, lighting up when he saw not the maid Becky, but Sadayo Kawakami. "It's been a while."

"Yeah..." Sadayo nodded, admittedly a bit happy to hear him sound much more welcoming than he was earlier this evening. She rubbed her arm awkwardly as she took her time to look at the room that she had spent many nights in. She frowned when she noticed that it was a bit dirtier than she had left it last. "Now that I think about it, this is my first time coming up here in my regular clothes. It actually feels kind of weird." Sadayo shook her head at the time she did go in regular clothes, albeit just in downstairs. "Oh did I tell you? I'm officially done with my part time jobs, and that includes the maid service."

"That's good. I'm sure it's a huge relief for you."

"Yeah, it is..."

The awkwardness from earlier returned between them. Sadayo looked away from Akira, having a hard time to look at his eyes. Her gaze then turned to the curious pile of paper behind him, origami cranes on the workbench. "Are those…?"

Akira turned behind him to where she was pointing at, and nodded. "Yeah. When you were in the hospital I figured I'd see how many I could do. Got a decent amount until I realized that it probably won't mean much once you're out." Akira looked away awkwardly as he scratched the back of his head.

"That's so sweet," Silly or not, Sadayo couldn't help but smile at the touching gesture. But it didn't help make her decision easier. She shook that thought off, trying to steel herself. "So, remember how I said I had something to talk to you about..."

"Yeah," Akira lost his momentary warmth as his voice dwindled to sadness. He took a deep breath to prepare himself for the blow. "So… what's on your mind?"

"Well, you see I… I've been thinking a lot, and there is something very important that I need to tell you. I want to be honest with you," Sadayo gripped her arm, her eyes wandering all over the room.

"I see… so, what is it?" Akira asked, a bit confused on her dawdling, but he kept himself ready.

"You see, the thing is…. the thing is..." Sadayo forced herself to look straight at Akira, pointing her finger suddenly. "You don't take very good care of yourself!"

"Huh?!" Akira gaped, flabbergasted.

"I mean, you let your clothes pile up and seem to only do it at the last moment. What if I wasn't there and you couldn't do laundry, what would you do then?! You need to manage your time better! Not to mention that you're working so many jobs; I mean I'm glad to see you be responsible and make your own earning, but you're a high schooler! You should enjoy your time! And your room!" Sadayo wildly waved her arms at the surrounding area. "I was only gone for like a week and I can already see the dust flying all over. I know you're not here often, but this is still your bedroom. Having all this dust while you sleep can't be good for you. Then there's the problem with your diet. Your curry is great and all, but you can't live just on that. And pre-mades aren't good substitutes for a healthy diet."

She didn't know why she went on this tirade. Maybe she wanted to lighten the mood, let out past grievances, or just delay the issue. Either way, Sadayo put a hand on her waist and continued her lecture. "I let all of these things go in the past because you were my Master, but you need to take better care of yourself now."

"H-hey!" Akira stood up in retaliation. "It's not like your eating habits are any better. If I remember correctly, instant and pre-mades were the only things you ate, and sometimes you wouldn't eat at all."

"I'll have you know that I'm in the middle of changing my lifestyle," Sadayo proudly proclaimed. "I'm making sure to eat well and I've been reducing my pre-made intakes. I've even started learning how to cook for myself… sort of..." she mumbled at the end.

"This coming from the person who ordered two pre-made lunches just recently," Akira deadpanned.

"Hey! I was in a rush and there were too many people. I just planned to buy and go, but then the rain delayed everything." Sadayo pouted.

The two stared down one another. Their eyes locked, anticipating who would give in first… until both burst out laughing.

"I just can't win against you, can I?" Akira commented amidst his laughter.

"Nope, you put me in this position. So I'm making sure that you go all the way to graduation. I'll support you 100%." Sadayo said with a big smile on her face. "So you better get ready."

"I don't think I'll ever be ready for what you have in store for me," Akira returned with a smile.

For that moment, everything had been forgotten to Sadayo. The fact that he was her student, that he was a Phantom Thief, that she planned to reject him. At that moment, all that Sadayo saw was Akira Kurusu. Someone she cared and worried about. Someone who felt and done the same way towards her. Someone who she felt like she could be herself and wouldn't reject her. All she saw was the student, no, the man she fell for.

Things fell quiet between the two, though the tension that had been at the start was mostly gone. Things were fine, good. Akira seemed perfectly fine to leave things as they were. He was smiling, even.

She was tempted to just end it here and then. Leave a nice, happy note to all of this.

But Akira's smile eventually faded as he lowered his head. "That's not the real reason that you wanted to talk to me, was it?"

Suddenly, that feeling of dread came back, making Sadayo turnher head once more. "No..."

Akira averted his gaze to the floor, his whole body sagging to the same direction. Not wanting to fight the crushing weight, he plopped back on the sofa. Silently waiting in defeat.

Sadayo swallowed the lump that formed in her throat, doing her best to finally let the words out. She had planned what to tell him. How to let him down. But in this moment, the only thing that came out of her was…

"I'm sorry."

"…Really?" Akira curled inward, leaning forward to rest his arms on his knees, his hands dangling lifelessly.. He had prepared himself for her answer. She wasn't the first girl to reject him after all, but he wasn't expecting it to be this heavy, considering how painful his previous attempt was. "I guess I saw that coming."

"I'm… really sorry." It pained Sadayo to see him hurt. A part of her wanted to sit down next to him and comfort him, ease him on the whole thing, but instead she continued to keep her distance.

"You have no reason to apologize. I mean, what did I expect?" Akira brushed his hair back with his hand. He tried to play it off as if it was no big deal, like it was one big joke. But it was obvious that it was affecting him. "I mean, your whole life got ruined because of dumb rumors between you and Takase-kun. You almost lost your dream job, your job that you worked so hard to honor your father's memory. And now that you finally have it back I go and tell you something like that. I even tried to kiss you. Of course you're going to hate me..."

"That's not true!" Sadayo burst, turning towards the pained Akira. "I don't hate you, and it wasn't an easy choice as you'd imagine." She looked down at her hands as they gripped her shirt. "I thought about it a lot. I was so confused about how I felt when you did that, that I couldn't stop thinking about it for days. But the truth is, when you told me your feelings," Sadayo blushed, gulping hard, "I was actually happy."

Akira raised his head to stare at her. He was at a loss about what he was hearing. It sounded like she was saying something, but he was having a hard time believing it.

"For a while now, I always felt something about you, but I always told myself that it was all in my head, that someone like him would never be interested in someone like me. That he already liked someone else. So when you confessed to me, when you told me your feelings, I was very happy, so happy that I couldn't stop smiling, so happy that it was scary."

Sadayo shook; it was both nerve wracking and relieving to say this. She turned her back on him. "I've never felt like this for anyone before. I didn't know what to do, so... I ran away. I left you alone without an answer because I was afraid of hurting you." She squeezed her shirt tightly to release her nervousness.

"So wait… You... don't hate me?"

Sadayo shook her head.

"And you actually... feel the same?"

Sadayo nodded, her face blushing bright red again.

Akira's hand was on his head, trying to comprehend what was happening, but the only thing that came out of his lips was,

"Holy shit."

Sadayo couldn't help but snicker quietly at his reaction. It was honestly very cute.

But she still needed to make things clear for him.

"But that's exactly why we can't be together," Sadayo tried to speak in a stern tone, wanting to make sure that she got her message through. "We're teacher and student, and you're already in a delicate situation as it is, especially now that the school seems so willing to throw you out if you do any sort of minor misconduct. As I teacher I'll do everything I can to protect you; I'll make sure that they don't expel you for petty reasons. But," Sadayo's lips trembled, "if we did end up together and we get caught, I wouldn't be able to protect you anymore. So I have to keep my distance, restrain myself… because you're so special to me."

'She really thought about this a lot, hasn't she...' Akira thought. He felt like a giant weight had been lifted from him. The world felt lighter and hopeful than it had been the past couple of days.

Still, he couldn't deny the truth in Sadayo's words, but he also noticed that she barely mentioned her own risks. She did care for him, there was now no doubt in that. And it made him happier than stealing any treasure he'd find in the Metaverse. "Always the responsible one."

Sadayo chuckled at Akira's comment. "I'm really not. If I was I wouldn't have developed these feelings for you. I wouldn't be so conflicted about this and would have already done the 'responsible' thing." Sadayo hugged herself, gripping both her upper arms. "I want to be with you, I really do… But I'm scared. I'm scared of losing what you worked so hard to help me regain, to make all your efforts for nothing. I'm scared of you going to prison, of you losing your future because of me."

She tightened her grip on her arms, biting her lip as she tried to stay composed. "I'm scared… I'm scared of losing you, of being the reason that you're gone. If that happened, I don't know what I'd do with myself."

"Sadayo..." Akira stared at his teacher's back, at the back of the woman he loved. He thought she was upset for what he did, that the friendship that they had built had been ruined because of his actions. But here she was, confessing her feelings to him, that she does care about him, to the point of worrying. It made him happy to hear that and he understood her fears. But he made a promise to himself that if he could make her happy then he would take that chance.

Besides, if there was anything worth breaking the rules, it was being with the person most special to him.

Sadayo just held herself tightly as she heard him call her name, awaiting to hear his response so that she could finally accept things and move on. But to her surprise he didn't respond with words; she jumped when his arms wrapped around her shoulders from behind. She gasped when he pulled her close to his chest, feeling his head rest over hers.

"Kurusu-kun…?" Sadayo whispered, her heart skip a thundering beat.

"I'll make sure that we don't get caught. I promise," Akira sweared, his determination and seriousness very clear.

Sadayo couldn't see his face, but she could imagine that look he has when he's stubborn to do something. As he held her close, she was remembered the time when he embraced her at the hospital. How warm, strong, but gentle he was. She melted in his arms, she feeling safe, assured that if anything happens to her, he'd immediately come to her side. Her hand slowly let go of her arms and moved upwards the the arms across her collarbone, up to the hands on her shoulders, grasping his hands closer to herself.

Still, she wasn't going to give up so easily.

"You shouldn't make promises that you're not sure you can keep."

"I'll do everything in my power to make sure it doesn't happen."

"Where does that confidence come from?"

"I have a lot of experience with this kind of things."

"It's because you're a Phantom Thief, isn't it."

With how close they are now, Sadayo could definitely feel Akira's body tense up. She slowly pulled his slack arms away, took a step and turned to face him. His shocked face greeted her, making Sadayo giggle.

"When did you realize—?"

"So it is true," Sadayo smiled victoriously. "Honestly, you gave me a lot of clues, but I think the big one was the whole thing with Takase-kun's guardians." Smug, she playfully poked his chest. "You always asked about their names, and when I finally gave it to you, they just so happen to have a sudden change of heart. That's waaaaaay too convenient if you ask me."

"Be that as it may, I regret that I didn't quickly take care of them." Akira looked upwards in embarrassment at the big trail that he left. Morgana was definitely right about him being reckless when it came to her.

"Yes, but it's your fault for constantly talking to me about the Phantom Thieves and the Phansite. I looked all over there and not once did the Takases' names nor mine ever showed up. You were the only one that knew about my situation, so that left you as the culprit."

"I guess you got me." Akira playfully raised his hands in surrender, before bowing like a showman. "I'm the one and only Joker of the Phantom Thieves."

"Joker?" Sadayo raised her brow at the odd name.

"It's the code name I go by as a thief."

"I see..." Sadayo placed her finger under her cheek pensively. "I'll be honest, I managed to figure who you are, but I still have no idea what it is that you do exactly."

"I'm sure you have plenty of questions, but I think that can wait. The real question now is, what will you do with that information?"

"Hmmm," Sadayo innocently pondered, "I could... call the cops. After all, the Phantom Thieves is a questionable group that have caused a lot of trouble from what I heard."

"That, is a possibility," Akira smiled nervously.

"I guess it all depends on you," Sadayo swayed in fake pensiveness before letting her mischievous grin finally show. "If I keep quiet, would you do… anything?"

"You're getting back at me for messing with you back then, aren't you?" Akira's answering smirk was similar to that incident back in June.

"You had your fun when you found out I was a maid, so now it's my turn," Sadayo pouted. "If anyone else had figured this out you'd be at risk. You need to think things more carefully."

"Fair enough," Akira smiled confidently as he raised his hands once more in playful surrender. "I'm in your hands now. If you keep it a secret, I'll do anything."

His stupid smirk made Sadayo glare back, half-astonished. Considering how hurt he looked just a short while ago, it was amazing and aggravating that he easily bounced back. "I don't get you at all! A moment ago, you look like a kicked puppy, but now you're back to your stubborn self. I told you that I figured out your identity; shouldn't that worry you?!"

"That was because I thought I had pushed you away, that you were disgusted by me," Akira explained without faltering from his position. "But now that I know your feelings, I have no intention of giving up on you." Akira's smile grew into a full-on smirk. "I'm sure you are aware just how stubborn I can be."

Sadayo scratched her head in agitation, growling, "Seriously, why are you so okay with all this? It's just not fair! I spent all this time telling myself that I needed to do this for you! That the only way to protect you was to smother any feelings I have of you! To keep my distance and simply smile as I see you walk way! Because if I didn't, I'd end up hurting you!"

She gritted her teeth, even as tears started to well. "Just seeing your cocky smile makes me feel dumb for trying back away, like I worried myself for nothing! I HAD EVERY INTENTION OF SAYING GOODBYE TO YOU!"

Sadayo's tear-filled eyes stared down the young man that stood before her. He never faltered during her outburst and remained where he was. Daring her to take him on his offer. It drove her crazy how reckless he could be at times, but she also had to admit that he had always been resourceful and confident. Akira wasn't the type of person to gloat without reason. If he was this confident even after she revealed his identity, then she was sure that he truly meant what he said about wanting to be with her.

A part of her wondered if she truly did want to end things here with him... or if in reality, she secretly hoped that his stubbornness would convince her otherwise.

He was right that she understood how darn stubborn he could be, stubborn enough that it felt contagious, like she didn't want to lose to him. Partly exasperated and vindicated, she was right in her thoughts about him when they had first met at the principal's office. Akira Kurusu was a troublemaker through and through, and he wasn't going to hesitate in giving her all kind of problems.

But now he was her troublemaker.

"Oh, fine!"

With a pout and blushing cheeks, Sadayo approached to wrap her arms around him.

Akira jumped slightly, staring in shock when Sadayo closed her eyes and buried her face against his chest.

"I'm mad at you, you know," Sadayo spoke up after a moment of silence. "You promised me that you wouldn't do anything dangerous because of me, but here you are, stealing hearts and getting hurt to help me." Her arms held him tighter,. "Why would you be interested in a woman like me anyway? You're a strange high school student with strange tastes."

While a part of Akira hoped this to mean what he thought it meant, he didn't want to jump to conclusions just yet. Still, he slowly lowered his arms to embrace her as well, closing his eyes in contentment. "That might be true, but it doesn't change my feelings for you."

Sadayo could feel her head spinning from all the blood rushing up. She kept herself hidden, hoping that he wouldn't feel the heat from her red face. She clung to his clothes, buoyed by the steady heartbeat underneath. "Promise me you'll always come back to me."

"Huh?"

"If you want me to keep the fact that you're a Phantom Thief as secret, then promise me you'll come back." Sadayo raised her bright red face up towards Akira. She didn't last from his soft, gray eyes, so she pressed her forehead back against his chest. "I don't know how dangerous this whole Phantom Thief thing is, but I can guess that it's pretty bad if you come out injured. But I know you, and despite all the rumors that are going around, I know you're doing this to help people. People like me, right? That's sooooooooo you..."

Sadayo fully settled her head under his chin. "So just, please promise me that you'll come back to me."

She wasn't running away, and she was saying those things… it took a moment, but Akira finally got what she was getting at. Every amount of self-control was exhausted for him to stop himself from jumping in joy. Eyes bright, he placed his hand over her head. "Okay, I promise. After all," half of him couldn't believe that he can say this, "I can't date you if I'm gone."

"You better," Sadayo pouted, half-amused at the abrupt quickening of his heartbeat. "If you don't, I'm telling everyone."

"In return, I simply ask that you become a great teacher," Akira slowly pulled Sadayo away, though his hands found hers. "Since our previous deal is now void, I believe."

"Yeah…" Sadayo gave his hands a firm squeeze. "It's because of you that I finally realized my path as a teacher. A new path where I'll never abandon any of my students ever again."

"I have faith that you will, and I'll be there with you the whole way."

"I'm glad to hear that," Sadayo smiled. "I promise to be the kind of teacher that my father would be proud of, for my students... and for you."

The two just stood still happily, letting the moment settle in. When they first met they were transfer problem student and unmotivated teacher, then they became master and maid. Now they were boyfriend and girlfriend. Both never would had thought that their paths would cross like this, but were grateful to have found one another.

A rush of several emotions ran through Sadayo's mind, still wrapping her head about her new… boyfriend. "Let's take a seat, okay?" She pulled him towards the couch and sat down, stretching her legs as she leaned back. "I was so nervous that I couldn't sit down. I had no idea how this whole thing would turn out." Sadayo blushed as she poked her pointer fingers together. "But I have never expected this to be the end result..."

"Life can be unpredictable," Akira commented with a smirk, happy that for once, said unpredictability lead to something good for him.

"Mhmm, life really is a roller coaster, isn't it?" Sadayo nodded as she began counting up. "I went from being a teacher to being a maid to dating a high school student. Honestly, if you told me several years ago that that's how my life would go, I'd probably think they were confusing my life with some movie."

"It would be quite an interesting movie. A real tearjerker, but the ending made it all worthwhile."

Somewhat pleased, Sadayo turned to Akira, smiling mischievously once more. "Speaking of which, I guess that upgrades you. So… as someone who went from being my master to my boyfriend, do you have any requests for me?" She leaned forward, resting her head against her intertwined fingers. Voice much more provocative and enticing than she'd ever done in a long time, Sadayo coyly added, "I'll obey them, you know… even though I'm no longer a maid. It can even be from those special services I told you about..."

Akira speechlessly stared, completely red with sweating palms. This was a side of her that he never thought he'd see. The amount of confidence she was exuding, the tone of her voice, the way she looked at him...

Even without considering what… his girlfriend... was asking, just those things alone did things to him. Things that he rather not tell her so soon after the miracle that just happened. He pushed and locked away the potential requests running through his head and went for the most chaste he could think of.

"I know you promised to protect me, but I want you to know that I'm here for you. So if you ever need me, don't be afraid to rely on me, okay?"

Sadayo pouted at hearing his response, though the color on her cheeks revealed her true feelings. "Don't be so conceited. You're younger, so you should be the one to rely on me."

After letting herself open, she felt a bit embarrassed with the answer that she got. Still, she couldn't deny that in a way, him not trying to jump too fast was a relief, even if she was the one instigating it. "But I think that answer deserves a reward." She adjusted her skirt, patting her lap expectantly. "Here... by all means."

"S-sure..." Akira boggled, but placed his head on her lap. He laid down, face upwards towards a smiling Sadayo, causing him to turn red once more.

Sadayo couldn't help but find Akira's reactions amusing, giggling at the previously-confident Phantom Thief. "I really can't tell with you. You seem like one of those that wouldn't pursue girls, but then your attitude make you seem more of a ladies' man. But here you are, so awkward and nervous."

"Sorry," Akira responded awkwardly, not meeting her gaze. He wasn't used to looking at Sadayo from this angle, and he didn't want to appear like he was staring at her chest. "I'm honestly kind of new to all of this."

"That's okay, we can take it slow." Sadayo stroked his head, the feeling of his hair between her fingers reminding her when she had placed her hand on his head in the counselor's office. Now though, she was able to enjoy how soft it felt in her hands. She chuckled as Akira let out a quiet yawn. "You sound tired."

"Yeah, haven't gotten a good rest."

"Then you should get some rest."

"What about you?" Akira looked towards Sadayo.

It was her turn to blush and look away. "I… would like to stay a bit longer with you. Is that okay? I'll make sure to wake you up before I go so—" She flinched a bit when she felt his hand gently caressing her cheek. She turned down to see Akira smiling.

"You can stay as long as want."

Her heart fluttered happily as she nodded. "Mhmm. Then get some rest. I'll still be here when you wake up."

It didn't take long for Akira to fall asleep on her lap, Sadayo herself was a bit tempted to set an alarm on her phone and lean on the couch to take a nap of her own, but her head turned when she heard meowing from the window.

"You scared me for a bit there, Mona." Sadayo whispered as the cat approached. She took a deep breath and placed a finger over her lips "Sorry, he's asleep right now, so it's probably not a good idea to meow so much."

Morgana looked at the scene with suspicion, not sure what exactly was going on. Is she having him still request her, why is he sleeping on her lap, and why does she seem more than okay with it?. Not sure what to do, Mona hopped on the table.

"You're really a smart one," Sadayo commented with surprise, not expecting the cat to comply with her request. She reached out to Mona and stroked his head, which got him to pull away. "But you continue to be very fussy about how people pet you."

Seeing that the cat actually moved farther to the desk, out of her fingers' range, she turned to Akira once more, amused at how quickly he fell asleep. "He must have been so stressed out about my response. But it must have been such a relief to him now. Still, it's so weird. I never would had thought that I'd be dating a high school student, let alone a Phantom Thief."

Morgana let out a loud prolonged meow on hearing this, causing Sadayo to jump at the sudden noise and Akira to turn in her lap.

"Shhhhh, what was with that meow?" Sadayo responded in shock.

Morgana grumbled as Sadayo scolded him. She could see him staring at his owner with narrowed eyes, and was wondering if he wanted something.

At that moment, Sadayo noticed a flash of light from the windows. She turned to the nightsky, just in time to see the light burst into an array of colors accompanied with small pops in the distance. "Huh, they must have continued with the fireworks since the rain had stopped."

Not too soon after, pings came from Akira's phone beside Mona on the workbench. Considering how frequently they were Sadayo guessed that his friends — possibly the rest of the Phantom Thieves — were reaching him about it. She contemplated on waking him up so he could meet with them, but after all that he and she went through together, Sadayo permitted herself this moment of selfishness to keep him all to herself for tonight. The window probably didn't lend itself to getting a good view of the fireworks, but from the lights still amusingly provided Sadayo her own little light show, happily enjoying the ever-changing colors on her boyfriend and his cat.

Eventually the show ended. Hours had passed by in that position, though she was used to lending her lap to some customers in her maid service. But this was the first and only time she enjoyed it, to the point that she was relaxed and ready to sleep. But Morgana's stare made her slightly self-conscious. She checked her phone and concluded that she had to leave. She shook the peacefully resting Akira. "Hey, sorry, but I should head out now."

Akira slowly opened his eyes and stretched his arms, careful not to hit the person he was resting his head on.

"Finally awake?"

Akira just laid there, admiring the sight, pleased to have her smiling face be the first thing he saw as he woke. "I don't know, I think I'm still dreaming."

"Flirt," Sadayo commented amidst red cheeks. "Come on you, up you go."

Despite his reluctance to leave his girlfriend's lap, Akira stood up quickly. He twisted his waist to stretch his middle, but then he noticed the cat on the desk.

"Is it around this time that you feed him? He's been staring at you this whole time." Sadayo stood up, shaking and stretching her legs. "Also, you got a bunch of text messages while you were asleep.

"No, I think he's just upset about… something else," Akira said dishearteningly, knowing that once Sadayo left he was going to have an earful. He then grabbed his phone near the glaring cat to check his phone to see what had occurred in the chat, hoping it wasn't something related to Medjed.

[R]: Guys! The fire works! the Fireworks are fricking starting again!

[An]: For Real!? I don't think we have time to make it!

[M]: I can sort of see them from my room, but it's not the most clear. How about the rest of you?

[R]: I'm close by so i can see them no problem!.

[An]:This is so unfair! I just got out of a bath!

[Y]: I'm wishing now that I had stayed at the Shack. I would had probably gotten a much better view from there.

[R]: Dude! Why the hell you thinking bout staying there?

[M]: Akira, Are you able to see them from your end?.

He quickly sent them all messages explaining that he needed a hot bath after getting soaked in the rain so he couldn't reach his phone.

"And yeah, they were just wondering where I was. I told them that I was busy," Akira pocketed his phone without guilt.

"If you say so..." Sadayo turned to the crane on the workbench. "Hey, is it okay if I take those cranes?"

"Sure…" Akira tilted his head in confusion. "I don't see why though. It's not complete after all."

Sadayo pick up the pile, relieved to see that they were already connected on a string. She flashed Akira with a smile. "Finished or not, you were thinking of me when you made these. It will give me something to think of you when I'm at home."

Akira rubbed his head, flustered at her open gratefulness. He couldn't meet her eyes. "If that is how you feel, then by all means."

"Thanks." Sadayo stored the origami in her bag, carefully organizing the papers to prevent them from too much squishing or from any potential rain. "I should head out. I guess... I'll see you tomorrow at school."

"I guess so. Let me know when you get home, okay?"

"Sure," Sadayo nodded.

"Goodnight, Sadayo."

"Goodnight…" Sadayo hesitated, but her blush was visible and she gave him a soft smile, "Kurusu-kun."


Sadayo turned on the lights as she entered her apartment and proceeded to look around. In her bedroom, she noticed the lamp and decided that it was a good place as any. Her bag was opened and the paper cranes were cautiously pulled out, then carefully dangle above her lamp.

"There. That should be a nice place," Sadayo smiled, then tilted her head. "Still, it is a bit sad that it's unfinished…"

At that moment, an idea took hold. She grabbed a piece of paper and wrote a message.

[May we find happiness]

The paper was folded into a crane and threaded to the string. Even with its different color and pattern, Sadayo happily nodded, satisfied.

"It will take some time, but who knows... a miracle might just come for us."


Yep, we finally reach this point. After all the hardship and struggles, Akira Kurusu and Sadayo Kawakami have chosen to be romantically involved with one another. By this point is when I'd have the Infinity ending theme from P5A send us off, as I quite enjoy, and seems fitting. (if you haven't listen to it I recommend it).

Right now I have a lot to say.

So I have to give a special shout out this time. Long before I had even thought of starting this story I was looking for content involving Sadayo, and especially stuff with Sadayo and Akira, being a bit sad that there wasn't that many. Then I ran into a link to what seemed to be a Fanfiction titled. "Temperance and Sin" from Cosmic Sky. At this point I hadn't really bothered reading any kind of fanfiction, but considering how little material I had found, I decided to give it a read. Turned out that the story was a novelization of the rank 9 and 10 of the Temperance confidant, with Akira's confession and then her accepting his feelings. I found myself really enjoying it and surprised how minor additions or changes like mentioning hre putting her hand on him when they sat together, or reading Akira actually talk to her as opposed as monthly imagining what he said, really improved on the scene in game.

It was from here that i started looking for other stories involving the two, and I found some really fun stories, but just as the art, I saw a very low number of them. It was at this point that the idea started sparking in my head for wanting to write my own. And not just a short story about them, but retelling their relationship and how they fell, as I noticed at the time how almost all of them mainly focused on after their relationship had formed. Still, as I continued to write I always had that story in mind, wanting to make sure that when I got to this point that it'd be my own telling and story and not just a copy, and I feel that in a way that motivated to really expand on the game events and I can confidently say that I'm quite happy with hos it's turned up.

So thank you Cosmic Sky for writing that story, You were basically my gateway into fanfics.

Also thanks also go to SomebodyLost, who's been a big help withe these chapters, and Chessicfayth for their continued help in fixing up the previous chapter.

But with that, We've finally finished the confidant route. Thank you so much to all that have followed along and left me their comments. I always look forward to them and make writing this all for you guys worth it. And with that we put this to a close...

At least that if what I think some of you have been wondering. I've definitely have seen a fair share of comments/reviews asking me if this is the last chapter, or if I will be continue the story. It's always been a bit of minor gripe of mine that a lot of romance story/subplot jsut end when the two characters become a couple. After all everything isn't perfect once their together. There is still a lot to learn about each other, things to adjust, and trouble to get into, but now they aren't doing it alone, but together and I always find those intriguing. It will definitely be new territory as I no longer have the nice framework of the confidant to help me organize things, so I hope that you will be patient with me, Things are really going to open up now, with both Akira and Sadayo as a couple, as well as many other around them... So To answers all guy's questions on wether this is the end?

I'll see you all in the next chapter...