I want to start by apologizing to everyone for the long wait for this chapter to arrive. While I expected it to take a bit longer, a lot of stuff happened during the past month that made it difficult to work on the chapter. While I can't promise that the next will will be coming sooner, I am already working on it.
Most of these character don't belong to me, but to Atlus
Chapter 16
It was the start of a new day in Tokyo.
The sun slowly rose as many stores got ready to open for the day, greeting any who woke early enough to walk around the empty streets and alleys. Today was just a day like any other, a normal Tuesday as both students and adults got ready to continue the daily grind.
But for Sadayo Kawakami it wasn't just any other day. It was the beginning of her new life.
Sadayo yawned as she sat up and stretched. Idly, her hand reached for her phone to check the time; she still has an hour before the alarm goes off. She was still getting the hang of not having to wake up as early as she used to. Her body felt restless without having something to do, so she was having a hard time sleeping in, even if she wanted to.
Still, this was the first time in so long that she had a full night's sleep. So despite her early rising, Sadayo felt much more rested and energized. Dropping her phone on her lap, she twisted sideways to stretch enthusiastically. A particular angle made her notice the new ornaments decorating her lamp.
"So that… wasn't a dream. That actually happened," Sadayo numbly commented at the string of paper cranes. Inevitably, her mind flashed back to the image of lights illuminating Akira with changing colors on her lap.
She sagged back to her bed as she covered her red face, groaning, "I can't believe I'm doing this. What is wrong with me? I was supposed to reject him, not start dating him!"
Sadayo hugged her pillow and turned to her side. The view made her face another reminder of her new boyfriend — the partially wilted but still vibrant dahlia. Despite her complaints, she smiled.
"We're actually dating now, aren't we? It's all so strange that it's hard to believe. Me of all people." She sat up once more, scratching her head as she analyzed what she had learned the night before. "Then there's the fact that the person I'm dating is also part of the famous Phantom Thieves. Wait," her eyes widened, "am I an accessory to his crimes?!"
Sadayo hung her head in defeat, before shaking it. "I guess he's been the talk of the school in more ways than one—"
Energy jolted through her body. "School! I need to arrive early to drop the exams!"
Though she was rushing, Sadayo couldn't help but appreciate just how different her apartment looked and felt compared to its state just a week ago, even if it wasn't by any means perfect. Occasional empty beer cans that she sometimes forgot to dispose loitored on the table. Large numbers of fully-graded exams that fought for territory on her table whenever she had to eat. Dark corners and smudges under the sink and bathtub lurked unimaginable horrors that she needed to tackle. She wasn't fully there yet, but as she had told Akira, she had made steps to improve her standard of living, inch by inch.
One noticeable improvement was the ample space in her kitchen. And while she was no expert, both Akira and her mom's tips had considerably improved her zero culinary skills, so Sadayo was able to confidently ready the rice that would cook while she prepared for the day. On the way to the bathroom, Sadayo disposed of the loitering cans and imposed order on her table, but the dark horrors were left alone for now. In the shower, she hummed a happy tune that was a medley of the theme song for one of the shows that she had just recently caught up to. Refreshed and out of the bathroom, she dressed and made some egg rice with soy sauce and brought her meal to the living room. Settling on her sofa, Sadayo made sure that all papers were accounted for while the news played in the back.
...and so, the Sugimura family have stated to show their support to Kunikazu Okumura, president of Okumura Foods, after his statement of showing interest in running for the upcoming elections. In other news, there has been no sign of response from the Phantom Thieves yet concerning the challenge that was posted last night by the group hacktivist Medjed. Many are still debating whether this is simply a prank or a serious threat considering Medjed's track record. We will keep you posted with any updates as they come...
The moment the Phantom Thieves were mentioned, Sadayo stopped what she was doing and focused on the news, but there wasn't any new information afterwards. She swallowed her food as she stared at the assignments in her hand.
"Medjed… they're supposed to be that online group that... leak private information about people?" Sadayo looked at her phone with worry. "It's not very likely that they know who the Phantom Thieves are, but still, if they leak any info on Kurusu-kun..." Sadayo sighed, hoping that the miracle she wished for would come a early. "We only just started dating, and already we have problems. Can we really make this work?"
Suddenly her phone started to buzz, snapping her out of her thoughts. She quickly picked it up.
[A]: Good morning
With just those words, Sadayo could feel herself becoming giddy, unable to keep herself from smiling as her worries faded away.
[S]: Morning!
[A]: I can't stop thinking about last night.
Sadayo's face flushed, and she quietly grumbled about how he managed to make her red, even while he was miles away.
[S]: Same here.
[S]: I woke up to the cranes that you gave me and I immediately thought of you.
[A]: Then I'm glad I didn't get rid of them then.
[S]: Can't continue chatting though
[S]: I need to get ready.
[S]: Don't forget you still have a few more days before you start your vacation proper.
[A]: Sure. I'll see you at school.
"I'll see you at school..." Sadayo pursed her lips as she read that message aloud. Until recently, such a statement wouldn't have bothered her at all; she's a school teacher, of course she'd be there. Now though, that message made her heart race and her head blow a fuse as she slumped against her couch.
"What am I going to do with myself… Summer vacation can't come soon enough."
Sadayo knew that the moment she accepted Akira's feelings, things were going to get complicated. The whole trip from her apartment to Shujin was one lengthy mental preparation that didn't stop even after she dropped the exams at the faculty office. Now, outside room 2-D, she held a deep breath, paying no mind to the ruckus seeping through the doors. Many of her students were bursting with excitement now that exams were officially done and were making plans for vacation. Idly, she wished that she'd hear Akira's voice, but brushed that silly thought easily; he'd be keeping his head down and he wouldn't tell anyone if he had plans with his girlfriend, of course. Sadayo lightly slapped her cheeks and released her breath. She reached for the handle and unceremoniously opened the door.
"Okay, settle down everyone. I know you're excited but you're not done just yet."
During the roll call, she decided to take notice of how the students responded to her. Until recently she felt like everyone was looking at her with disinterest or scorn, though it seemed that that was abating, especially from Iseya-kun. But there were still such looks given to her from a number of students, like Takamaki-chan.
While her student's expression was softer, Sadayo could tell before even reaching her that Takamaki-chan seemed to have a look of uncertainty, as if she was trying to figure her out or something. Sadayo could only sigh at her student's continued scorn and mistrust, but she couldn't blame her for it. Of all the students in her class, she was the one she had failed the most, and she knew it would take a long time before Ann would forgive her, if at all. That concern began to weigh heavily on Sadayo as she continue calling up her students, but as soon as she reached a certain student she was overwhelmed by a different kind of emotion.
"A-Akira Kurusu."
The way he responded was so natural, as if nothing was out of the ordinary, but the smile he wore was a different story. His glasses were down, giving Sadayo a clear view of his gray-colored eyes. Eyes that were like windows from where she could clearly see the longing he had for her, causing her to become very self-conscious.
To hide her red face, Sadayo raised her notebook higher and quickly proceeded to call out the other students before turning to the chalkboard. Facing away made it possible to go through her announcements, but it was only near the end that she calmed.
She turned back to the class. Despite her better judgement, her eyes gravitated towards Akira, who seemed far too amused by her flustered reaction while being annoyingly more composed himself.
"Finally, as I'm sure you're all aware, the grades for the midterms have all been posted. For those that have passed I congratulate you in your achievement. As for the others…" Sadayo didn't let her annoyance seep through her sad sigh, "I know a lot has happened recently at school, so it might have been difficult for you to keep up with your studies, but please be more mindful of your study time. All of those that failed are expected to come to the supplementary course next week, in which we will be doing make up test by the end of it." A number of students audibly groaned at this news, causing Sadayo's expression to become much more stern. "Complain all you want, but trust me, in the long run you'll rather have gotten this second chance than keeping your present scores. If you don't want to go to these classes then be sure to do better next time."
Eventually the students calmed down, allowing her to end the homeroom. Her eyes turned to her trouble student once more, only to receive a cheeky wink. This caused Sadayo to rush out of the classroom and shut the door behind her, hastily moving away to the least populated areas.
"Geeeeez… That was much rougher than I realized," Sadayo groaned as she leaned against a wall, pulse racing. She moped, "And that dumb smile of his wasn't helping."
Sadayo held her notebook tightly. She was so happy and excited last night, but reality was fast to crash down once more. He would be frequently in her sights during her job as a teacher, a job that she could lose if anyone caught any hints of them. She needed to regain control, for both of their futures…
The plan was to meet up with Akira and talk to him during lunch period. She wasn't sure what exactly to tell him, but they needed to have a plan if they were going to survive the rest of the school year. Luckily, the classes after her homeroom announcement were easier since they didn't take place in 2-D, so she was able to concentrate on her job. And she actually didn't have a fourth period class, allowing her to take a breather at the teachers' lounge to think about what she wanted to tell him.
Or at least she would have…
"Are you sure you didn't see anything out of the ordinary?" Mr. Ushimaru persistently questioned the tired Mr. Inui.
Mr. Inui just sighed, his chopsticks still at hand. He was in the middle of eating when Mr. Ushimura started grilling him. "No, I didn't see anything. He just focused on his own test like everyone else."
"Bullshit! I'm certain he's doing something! Someone like him wouldn't hesitate to cheat to get what he wants!"
Sadayo wanted nothing more than to smugly tell him to give up, but she needed to be careful about picking her battles, lest the others start accusing her of favoritism. Besides, there wasn't much Mr. Ushimura could do but yell. He may be a stick in the mud , but he himself wouldn't try to break the rules to expel Akira; it was against his values after all. So it was probably best to not antagonize him any further.
Still, she felt bad for the others that had to deal with his constant pestering. Ms. Chouno seemed more than willing to argue back at him and she herself even more so, but poor Mr. Inui looked more tired by the questioning. After Mr. Ushimaru stormed off Sadayo made sure to clap her hands together in an apologetic gesture to Mr. Inui while mouthing a "sorry". His returning nod was fine, though he looked a bit awkward.
The rest of the lunch was thankfully peaceful, and once she was done, she disposed her trash and went off looking for Akira. She figured he'd still be in the cafeteria, and sure enough he was actually talking outside with both Mishima-kun and Sakamoto-kun, though the former seemed to be leaving. The remaining two quickly got wrapped in their talk, forgetting Mishima-kun and not noticing Sadayo meters away.
Mishima-kun gave Sadayo a polite bow as he walked by, causing her to return it, but when she turned back to call out to Akira a familiar black cat popped from his bag.
"MO—" Sadayo quickly slapped her mouth and instinctively hid behind the nearest corner . The two trouble making students were now wordlessly focused on their phones while Morgana just propped himself on Akira's shoulder. She could hear some faint meows, but from her distance she wasn't quite sure.
'Why is Mona here?! Does he bring him everywhere?! Wait... Is he that rumored cat that everyone at staff was talking about a while back? And Sakamoto-kun doesn't seem surprised. Is this normal?'
All Sadayo could do was facepalm as she exasperatedly sighed. "I really did pick a troublemaker..."
Sadayo caught her bearings as she rounded the corner towards the two students. Of course, Morgana had vanished, probably back into the bag by the time she had reached them.
"Kurusu-kun, do you have a moment?"
Akira turned towards her with a polite, mellow expression. Probably because he was around his friend, which Sadayo was grateful for. "Yes, Ms. Kawakami?"
"There is something I would like to discuss with you, concerning your exam score."
"What's this about, Teach?" Sakamoto-kun interrupted. "Don't tell me that they still think he's cheating? Akira wouldn't do something like that so can't you just lay off on him?"
"I believe so as well, but after that stunt a certain someone pulled a few days back," Sadayo made special emphasis as she gave Akira a flat stare, who looked away innocently, "the school is very antsy about him. So they want to make doubly sure that he isn't causing any problems."
"Don't worry about it," Akira reassured his friend, "I know I didn't cheat so they can't have anything on me. And Ms. Kawakami has been helping me out so I trust her."
"If you say so dude." Sakamoto-kun glanced between them with concern as he kicked the floor. "I'll let you know if we find anything."
'If we find anything?' Sadayo quelled her curiosity as she began leading Akira away, though she stopped a few steps before turning back to Sakamoto-kun. "Speaking of exams, I'm sure you already know, but I'm expecting to see you next week for the supplementary courses."
"Yes ma'am..." Sakamoto-kun lowered his head, left in defeat.
Sadayo led her student through the school, looking for an empty room. She was painfully aware of his quiet presence, reassuring yet also nerve-wracking. If it wasn't for their location, social status and even plain awkwardness, Sadayo would've reached behind her and touched him. Maybe pull him beside her, clasp his hand.
They finally reached the counselor's room but it was unfortunately occupied, so they needed to think of a new location to go to. In the end, the roof seemed like their best bet since it was prohibited for students to enter, so it was probably empty at this time. Probably, because if Sadayo was now rulebreaking — in front of her troublemaker, no less — why wouldn't the other students do the same?
Sadayo was the first to step out, shielding her eyes from the sun for a bit as it shined brightly above the clear sky. It was thankfully empty, but she noticed boxes arranged like a small garden, full of assortments of flowers and other plants. The flowers were ones she'd never seen before, and she couldn't help but crouch and take a closer look.
The metal door clanged close behind her. Sadayo turned back to her student, puzzled at his furrowed brows and shut eyes, serious and alert. Then he opened his eyes and wiped off his pensiveness with a smirk.
"So, how much l trouble am I in, sensei...?" Akira asked playfully as he strolled to Sadayo.
Sadayo pouted at her student's confidence; his momentary seriousness aside, it really was surprising how quickly he could shift his mask. But it was different than the time he came to her aid from Ms. Chouno; a softness that wasn't there before, especially from how he called her sensei.
She stood up and approached him with a stern look."It's mainly just Mr. Ushimaru. He's been questioning the other teachers, but I wouldn't be too worried about it."
"I bet he's having a conniption fit because the 'good for nothing criminal' ranked so highly."
"Kurusu-kun… I know he's a hardass, but you don't need to act so smug about it. You shouldn't do well just to prove him wrong," Sadayo spoke disapprovingly.
"You were probably thinking the same," Akira deadpanned.
"I refute those claims," Sadayo feigned ignorance.
"Fine. Is there another reason you called me?"
"What makes you think so?".
"I don't know, you tell me." Akira mischievously grinned. "I think I deserve a reward for doing so well in my exams. Don't you agree sensei—"
"Denied," Sadayo gave his head a light bop with her notebook. "That's exactly what I wanted to talk to you about. If we are going to do this, then we need to set some ground rules."
"Ground rules?" Akira straightened, pulling away from her notebook with a curious expression.
"We may be… you know… together..." Sadayo nervously fidgeted, which amused Akira to no end, causing her to snap back. "But as long as we're at school we're just teacher and student, got it? That means that we have to make sure to address each other properly. So while we are at school, you need to only refer to me as Ms. Kawakami. Do I make myself clear?"
"Shouldn't sensei be available as well?" Akira playfully asked. "I mean it's not uncommon to hear students call teachers as such."
"Not in the tone that you do…" Sadayo retorted, blush obvious in her cheeks which widened Akira's smile. "Fine, but push it and I'll prohibit it as well. Next: any sign of physical affection is not permitted. That means no hand holding, no hugs and… well, depending on how things go, others actions will be added to the list. And finally," Sadayo quickly jumped to the next topic, wanting to forestall Akira from making one of his comments. "I can't show any more favoritism towards you than I've already have. It's already dangerous enough since I'm being held responsible for your actions as your homeroom teacher now, but if we… ever get caught, I want to make sure that nothing can be held as evidence of me helping you in any manner that I wouldn't have done with my other students. And that includes rewarding you for your grades."
For a moment, Sadayo noticed some discomfort from Akira when she mentioned about them getting caught. While she hoped that it wouldn't happen, she was experienced enough to set realistic expectations for this scenario. And she wanted to make sure that his already-delicate future wouldn't be ruined, so it was best to be prepared, just in case.
Luckily, Akira bounced back immediately, acting disappointed. "Wouldn't a girlfriend to be very happy that her boyfriend did well?"
"Don't say that so openly!" Sadayo hushed Akira in a panic, looking around despite the emptiness of the roof. "What if someone was nearby and heard you?!"
"Don't worry, no one is nearby. It should be safe for us to talk as long as we aren't too loud," Akira confidently spoke.
"Why are you so sure of that?" Sadayo said with more annoyance than she intended, frustrated at how lax he seemed about the whole thing.
"Phantom Thief reasons."
"Uh huh… And is there any chance that you'd tell me what that entails at some point in the near future?"
"I don't know… I mean those are very important secrets," Akira pondered for effect, reminding her of that night when he found out about her maid job. Unlike then though this gesture of his was more amusing than threatening.
"Sorry, those two things are completely different. No matter what, in the end of the day I'm still your teacher. And as your teacher I'm very happy and proud at how well you did, but you should be working hard because you want to better yourself and work on your future, not some reward that will only motivate you to remember the answers and then forget about them. Meanwhile, you are off doing god knows what and getting into dangerous situations while I'm just left worried while I wait for your safe return. I think, considering those circumstances I at least deserve to understand what you do better. So there," Sadayo childishly stuck her tongue at Akira.
Akira took it well though, letting out a small chuckle before returning to that same look of longing he has been giving her since this morning. "I guess that's fair. But we'll do this slowly, okay? One question a visit, otherwise we'd be at it all day. And as much as I hate to admit it, even I don't have all the answers."
"I guess I can accept that..." Sadayo relented, unable to look at him directly again. "And would you stop looking at me in that way?"
"What do you mean?" Akira asked, genuinely confused by her order, but amused nonetheless.
"THAT! That's what I'm talking about!" Sadayo pointed at him, not lasting long before she needed to hide her flustered face. "Stop looking at me with that smile while we're in class! It's way too stimulating!"
Realizing what she meant, Akira laughed. "Sorry, but I can't help it. When I look at you I'm reminded of last night and I can't help but smile."
"How am I supposed to respond to a line like that?" Sadayo mumbled to herself, defeated, but also happy to hear him say that. "Just... keep it to a minimum, okay…?"
"I'll do my best."
"Thanks… We should probably head out now before someone comes up here."
"Before that," Akira interrupted, now the one who was hesitant, "I understand that we can't do anything here, but… are you available to come tonight?"
Sadayo was surprised at the request, but took little time in responding. "I should be available… You have my number so you can call me when you think I should come. Just make sure to use the public phone; can't risk having our numbers call each other directly."
"If I remember correctly someone already did that," Akira's confidence was back at her affirmative, smiling mischievously.
"I was upset at you for contacting me after everything I told you. It was a hasty move on my part and one we shouldn't risk repeating, especially now." Sadayo's glare didn't have much heat since they both knew that the call greatly helped her. "Anyway I'm heading out."
Sadayo walked past him, reaching for the door handle, but it twisted, revealing Ms. Chouno.
"Oh there you are Ms. Kawakami, I've been looking all over for you. Why are you on the roof?" Ms. Chouno curiously looked behind her paling co-worker. "Was anyone here? I thought I heard you talking when I got close to the door."
Sadayo nervously turned around, but to her surprise, found no sign of her trouble student. She quickly regained her composure as she turned back to Ms. Chouno with a smile almost similar to Becky. "Y-yeah, sorry. I needed some fresh air so I went up here for a bit. I was actually talking with my mother on the phone. She's leaving late this Thursday, so we were discussing plans to meet."
"I see. Well, sorry to bother you, but apparently Principle Kobayakawa finally decided to speak up. Seems we are having an inconvenient emergency assembly on Monday the 25th about the recent events at school."
Sadayo's face quickly turned sour. "The 25th? Really? Couldn't we do it some point this week?"
"Apparently not?" Ms. Chouno spoke with similar annoyance.
"As if the students need more reason to be upset with us," Sadayo sighed in defeat.
"Either way, I'm just letting you know. I wish you luck in passing the news to your class."
"Same..." Sadayo waved as Ms. Chouno took her leave, making sure she was out of sight before letting a long exhale of relief.
"That was a close one."
"What the—!" Sadayo jumped, swiveling at the sudden reappearance of her student. To prevent potential onlookers, she pushed him out of view from the door and resisted the urge to strangle him. "Don't scare me like that! How did you—"
"Phantom Thief," Akira immediately responded with oozing smugness. "Need to be as nimble as a cat if I'm supposed to do my thing."
Sadayo grumped at how confident he was, but had to admit that it helped out this time. "You know that response is only going to make me more curious about you… Anyway we should head before another incident happens. I'll go on ahead."
She moved back to the door before suddenly turning back to Akira with a stern look. "Oh, and speaking of cats, I expect a good explanation from you tonight for why you've been bringing Mona to school with you this whole time." Her expression quickly changed to a smug smile of her own at Akira's shocked face, feeling vindicated. "See you in class."
Akira speechlessly watched his girlfriend exit, once again marveled by her wit. He could feel Mona's disappointment, but Akira just smiled to himself in resignation.
"I just can't win against her."
Deciding that there wasn't much info about Medjed nor any of his friends needed help at the moment, Akira decided to help Sojiro a bit at the shop. Not that he was really needed today, the shop was mostly empty, and the only person that had come in in the last hour was about to leave. The place rarely had many customers, and for as long as he had lived here, the most people he'd seen at once was actually when his friends came to visit for their study session. Still, in a way, the peace and quiet was probably why he enjoyed working here.
'A nice little spot off the beaten path, where one could just sit down, forget about their problems and stress, and find some peace with a warm drink and a warm meal.' That's how the cafe was described to him and his parents by a friend when he mentioned this place to them.
When he first moved in, he hated it, hated that he was made to live in a dirty attic like some unwanted or outdated property, angry at the person that had convinced his parents that coming here was a good idea. But as time had passed he had started to warm up to the place. Then he started to work for Sojiro and gained an appreciation for coffee and the process it took to brew it.
And finally was Sadayo. When he requested her more and more, he began to appreciate the atmosphere the place gave, especially at night. The lighting, the quiet, it all provided a comforting feeling when the two of them were alone together as he served her coffee and she kept him company. Akira cherished those moments now, and wondered if Sadayo felt the same way.
'I wonder what kind of brew I should make for her this time,' Akira happily thought, his mind already going overdrive about tonight.
"What's gotten into you?"
Akira snapped from his thoughts, turning toward his guardian. "What do you mean?"
"You've been smiling nonstop since you got here. You're scaring the customers."
"You mean the one customer that left happily?" Akira joked, not bothered at all by Sojiro's comment.
"I'm starting to miss the days that you didn't talk much," Sojiro responded with a world-weary sigh.
"You're the one who agreed to take a random stranger in," Akira smirked as he wiped the vacated table.
The bell rang, causing both to turn and look at the doorway as a man with short hair and a rumpled suit came barging in, visibly tired. Akira recognized that harried demeanor anywhere.
"Hey boss, it's been a while—" The man stopped in his tracks when he saw the boy by the table, his tiredness fading as a big smile spread on his face. "Well, if it isn't Akira-kun! It's been a while!"
"Hey, Uncle Tetsu, you look exhausted as ever."
The man that had just come in is Tetsuya Sawada, someone whose Akira's parents have known before Akira was even born. He was a constant figure in his childhood, and considering that neither his parents have siblings he was the closest thing he had to an uncle. In particular, he was the one that had talked to Sojiro about Akira's situation, thus leading to his current arrangement.
He took a sit on a stool by the counter as he messed with the crook in his neck. "Well, your mother has been keeping me busy, so I've been going back and forth a lot. Anyway, how have you been? I haven't even seen you since you came here."
"Well, I'll be honest, I really wasn't in the mood to talk to you when I first moved in here," Akira spoke bluntly as he put the cup and dish of the previous customer to the sink and began washing.
"Yeah, I figured," Uncle Tetsuya slumped forward. "Boss had told me that you weren't the happiest when you first arrived."
"I'm still can't believe you didn't tell him the details on the housing arrangement," Sojiro huffed.
"I arrived thinking I'd get a room, and I end up in a decrepit old attic. You could only imagine my shock," Akira joined in.
"If you still have a problem with the arrangement you're more than welcome to leave," Sojiro snarked.
"After all the effort that I—" and Sadayo "—put into it? Not a chance. Still, it would had made things easier if I had been given all the details so I could had made preparations." Akira eyed his uncle with a flat stare over his shoulder, joined by Sojiro.
"Come on guys. What's with those looks?" Tetsu nervously laughed before perking up again and turned to Akira, studying him. "But you seem to be doing well? And from what Boss tells me you've even made friends!"
"Uncle Tetsu, I'm fine." Akira turned and leaned against the sink, smiling happily. "Honestly, I was frustrated at first, but it didn't last long; I've just been busy with a lot of things. So I'm usually not at Leblanc during these hours."
"That's good to hear." Tetsuya let out a sighed in relief at hearing this. "I know it wasn't the best arrangement and I admit I probably should've informed you about your living arrangement, but your parents and I just felt that you needed a change of scenery, but we were worried that if you knew about it then you'd straight-up refuse."
"It's not the most conventional place, but it has its advantages."
"Again, you're free to leave," Sojiro remarked, only slightly annoyed at Akira's constant remark as he brought Tetsuya his cup of coffee and curry, which he was thanked for.
"Sorry, but I already told you that you're stuck with me," Akira smugly said, which amused Tetsuya. Akira then turned to his uncle. "So… How are mom and dad?"
Tetsuya paused as he was about to dig in and looked at his nephew, confused, wondering why he was being asked. Thankfully, he was willing to answer his questions as he put the spoon down. "They seem fine the last time I was with them. I'm not sure how much you've been told, but the store is repaired, so Jou-san is back at it. Customers are still not as frequent though, but they seem to be managing. Akisa-san has been keeping herself busy, which in turn has been keeping me busy. She's doing her best not to think about it, but she's been worried about you."
"That's good. I'm glad to hear that things are moving forward for them," Akira deflated with a sigh of relief.
"You know, you could have just asked them yourself? I'm sure they'd be happy to hear from you directly rather than the occasional report I give them whenever I drop by. Sure would appreciate if a bit of that load was taken of my back.."
Akira shook his head in refusal. "Sorry Uncle Tetsu, I just don't think that's a good idea. I just wanted to know how they are doing, that's all. After everything I put them through they deserve some time without me dragging them down."
Tetsuya looked at him with a sad stare. "Akira-kun, you know that's not how your parents see things. They wouldn't have sent you all the way here if they could had helped it."
Akira chuckled at Tetsuya's concerned expression, though happy to hear him say it. He knew it was true, but admittedly it was still reassuring to hear it, even if it was not directly from his parents. "Mom and Dad didn't, but the rest of the town sure did. And don't get me wrong, I'm glad you guys convinced me to come here. If I hadn't I would still be stuck in that rut I was in back home." Akira's smile became warmer as he thought of all the companions that he's met since coming, and most importantly, Sadayo. "I wouldn't have met all the people that I've become close with."
"Sounds like you've found some good friends," Tetsuya said cheerfully. "You definitely sound much better than when I last saw you… Actually, you seem even happier than before the incident."
"You wouldn't have thought that if you saw him last night though," Sojiro added, just as curious at Akira's mood. "Last night he looked like a soaked, kicked puppy, but today he's being all smiles, which is odd considering what had happened to him. Either he's quick to bounce back or..."
A bad feeling grew in Akira as a light bulb lit over Sojiro's head as the old man began to smirk. Not liking where this might lead, he went back to work on the dishes, hoping that that will keep away questions. Part of him was starting to regret mentioning those things to Sojiro, a feeling that was only strengthened when the Boss chuckled.
"So much for 'Nothing's going to happen'," Sojiro asserted, sounding more amused than Akira would've liked.
"What? Did something happen recently?" Tetsuya asked in confusion as he stuffed himself, looking at the other two for answers.
"It's nothing," Sojiro replied, much to Akira's relief.
"Don't give me that..." Tetsuya lowered his head dejectedly. "Come on, what's with the secret? Is it a girl? Did Akira-kun get a girl? I'm sure Jou-san and Akisa-san would be more than happy if they knew Akira-kun had found someone. Especially Akisa-san!"
'I know she would. That's exactly what I'm worried about.' Akira thought worryingly. He kept his head down and focused on the dishes in hopes that the conversation would pass.
And it seemed that it did, as Tetsuya reluctantly took the hint and focused on his meal while Sojiro cleaned the equipment. Meanwhile, the news on the TV shifted from the recent incidents and mental shutdowns to the leaked information on certain companies, many theorizing it being the act of Medjed. By this point Akira was now in the process of wiping the tables as they got ready to close.
"So… I'm guessing that means that you're over Hana-chan, then?" Tetsuya finally spoke as he finished his plate.
For a second, Akira's body tensed, though he quickly regained composure and continue with his duties wordlessly.
"You know she's been coming to your parent's a lot lately, asking them about how you've been," Tetsuya continued on, either oblivious or prodding, Akira didn't face him to make sure. "She's also been asking me if I've seen you when I come over here — wanting to know if you've asked about her."
"That's strange. Why would she do that? I thought she didn't want anything to do with me." Akira couldn't hold the sarcasm from dripping with every word, making the other men audibly pause. He ran his hand through his hair with a frustrated groan. "Sorry… that was uncalled for."
"That was quite a reaction coming from you," Sojiro remarked as he walked towards Tetsuya. "What's this about?"
"Don't worry about it. Just a friend of his from back home," Tetsuya responded, not as surprised by Akira's unintended response, but saddened with how things turned out, considering how long he'd known both of them. "If it's any consolation, she told me to tell you that she's sorry. That she regrets what she did, that she wishes that she could take it back."
Akira heaved a heavy sigh, not pausing his table cleaning nor turning to face Tetsuya. Memories of that tear-filled evening having been fresh in his mind after being reminded of it when he's confession caused Sadayo to flee Leblanc. "It's fine… It was my fault as well. I snapped at her without thinking about how she must have been feeling. I was selfish and I don't blame her for anything. But…" Akira finally turned to Tetsuya, his expression not too pleased, but accepting. "I know it's not fun, but... can you please tell her that I'm sorry, but it's too late to go back to how things were."
"I see..." Tetsuya nodded as he stood, putting his payment on the table. "Sorry for bringing that up. I should be heading out." he walked by Akira putting his hand on his shoulder as he smiled. "It was good to finally see you. And I'm happy to see that you're doing well. I'm sure your parents will be happy to hear that. And don't worry, I'll be sure to let Hana-chan know."
"Thanks." Akira returned a confident smile and a nod back at him. "You take care of yourself too, Uncle Tetsu. I know how mom can get when she's deep in her work."
"No kidding..." Tetsuya body slumped down again, thinking of what awaited him. "Ever since you left your mother has been making me pull double duty." He quickly straightened himself, turning back to Sojiro to give a grateful bow. "Again, we can't thank you enough for offering to watch over him."
"It's nothing. The kid's surprisingly handy around the shop, so I guess it works out in the end," Sojiro responded, unfazed by Tetsuya's gratitude.
Tetsuya stood, chuckling before turning towards the door and walking out. "I'll see you around, Akira-kun."
The bell rang once more, signaling the departure of their last customer for the day.
It didn't take long after Tetsuya left for Sojiro to take his leave as well. Though not before asking Akira about his situation with Hana. Akira was luckily able to brush it off as something from his past and he rather not dwell on it too much, something that Sojiro seemed too willing to accept than Akira expected him to.
Meanwhile on the chat, the group continued to discuss their thoughts on Medjed and while Akira still paid attention to it, his mind was on other things. Finally done with the clean-up and the set-up for the anticipated event of the night, he hurried towards the phone. He wasn't ashamed to admit that he was on the verge of dancing when he got his girlfriend's text that she was done for the day.
"Hold it!"
Akira halted like a vinyl scratch and swiveled to Morgana sitting by the stool behind him, having been hiding upstairs until now.
"We need to talk."
"I figured you'd say that..."Akira sighed, taking a seat to face Morgana.
Morgana had been giving him a look ever since he entered the scene last night. He didn't say any disagreements — yet— but Akira had felt the displeasure that radiated from his bag the whole day, more so when he had met Sadayo in school. He had been able deflect any questions with the valid reasons that he was too tired, needed to get ready for school, and that the cat couldn't be seen in public. Akira even had to admit that part of the reason he helped Sojiro at Leblanc earlier than he usually does was because Morgana would had to stay upstairs since Sojiro didn't like Morgana being around during work hours.
But of course, Akira couldn't delay forever. It was now time to be open with his furry partner-in-crime.
"Sure, I figured you have a lot of questions in mind."
Morgana glared at Akira, not pleased by how disengaged he seemed."Fewer than you think. I think I got most of it pieced out considering how odd you had been acting after we took out the Takases and what I heard Ms. Kawakami say while you were asleep. And like I said, I could see how you felt about her, and… I could kind of see the signs on her as well."
"That would had been nice to know" Akira scoffed at Mona's last statement. "Could had prevent a lot of restless nights."
Morgana groaned. "I didn't tell you because I worried that something like this would happen! I understand why you got curious about her even though I thought that it was a bad idea. I understand wanting to help her out. Heck, I was with you the whole way when it came to taking out those two scumbags and save her, but this is beyond risky! I mean, I knew she was attracted to you, but I never expected her to actually follow through."
"Yeah, I was so shocked that it took a while to sink in what was happening," Akira sagged in relief.
"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!" Morgana burst out, getting tired of Akira's carefree attitude.
"I know…" Akira sighed, leaning on his hand as his expression became serious. "We both know how dangerous and tricky this could be for us, considering our situation. You heard her earlier today, didn't you?"
"And yet you felt the need to slip her a note when we were leaving school. And yes, I heard everything, including the part about her knowing about me being at school, or how she seems to be fully aware that you're a Phantom Thief — something that I feel is worth mentioning?" Mona's cat eyes narrowed to a suspicious glare. "You better not have told her that you're a Phantom Thief to win her over."
"I didn't," Akira replied with irritation. "She figured it out on her own. She managed to get enough clues to piece stuff together. And for your information, even with all of that in mind, she was still going to refuse."
"That still means that you let her see too much! Did you forget what I told you about you being careless? How much do you plan to tell her?"
"I know, I know," Akira said, knowing full well that he was right in that front. "But what happened can't be changed. She's already promised to keep things secret, and as for how much I'll tell her, I'm not sure. It's why I set the rule that she can only ask one thing per visit. It should give me time to figure out what things are off-limits, but you have to admit that she gave a good point. She understands that our job is dangerous and she is willing to be patient with me, but that won't stop her from worrying, and I can't blame her. I think it's only fair that she knows what exactly we are getting into. Plus, maybe having someone outside the group know could be beneficial to us, helping with alibis or excuses and such. I mean, she didn't rat us out about bringing you to school so we know she's willing to help us out if we need it."
Morgana stared at Akira for a few seconds before letting out an exasperated huff. "I'll think about it. But I will say that if you intend to tell Ms. Kawakami about it, then I think it's only fair that you let the group know that she knows about you, and might be aware of the others. This one is on you."
Akira deflated, and once again his expression changed, not looking forward to the group's reprisal and Ryuuji's teasing for letting their secret slip again. "Are we done for now?"
"Not yet. I want you to be really straight with me. I heard the talk you had with Sojiro and that Tetsuya guy. What was this about a Hana? You told us all about what happened at your school and your parents, but you never mentioned her. Why—"
"Sorry, but can we not do this?" Akira interrupted with clear agitation, yet doing his best to remain calm. "She's just someone that I thought I could trust, but that wasn't the case. Just another thing that I lost because of the arrest."
Morgana silently studied Akira's reaction, which wasn't helping. Thankfully, it didn't last long as Morgana gave a sigh, signaling the end of his interrogation. "Fine, go on and call your… girlfriend." Morgana couldn't help but roll his eyes before wandering off.
"Thanks," Akira quickly rushed towards the public phone and dialed Sadayo's number. The phone rang for some time, but eventually, the person he had been looking forward to be alone with the whole day nervously greeted him.
"H-hello? With whom am I talking to…?"
"Sorry for the wait, Becky..."
No one said that winning her students' trust was going to be easy. Sadayo knew this and had prepared herself for the long road ahead. But that didn't mean that their egghead of a principal should make things harder! As Sadayo expected, the classroom was not happy about finding out that they'd be spending the half of their first day of summer at school because of something they had no control over. A good chunk of the class was spent with her having to quiet down the class and although she understood their sentiments perfectly, all the complaining in her class irritated her.
The faculty meeting wasn't any better, with the teachers being just as frustrated about the whole thing. Tests were done, summer was about to start, so why couldn't they take the time during homeroom to do this assembly? Not to mention that a good chunk of the meeting was mostly spent trying to figure out what else to warn the students about things that were already mentioned countless times now. Watch out for any sudden runaway trains? Don't take offers from sketchy people? Don't say any irresponsible things if anyone asks about school? Was it even worth it to ask them to keep talk of The Phantom thieves to a minimum? By the time the meeting was done the day was ending and everyone was exhausted.
But despite all of this, things weren't all bad. Right before the faculty meeting, as the students were leaving, Akira had apparently decided to stay seated for a bit longer, preoccupied by something he was doing. Sadayo was about to ask him why he hadn't left, but then he stood up and left quietly, not even waving her goodbye. Sadayo had told him to keep things professional, but she admitted that it stung a bit to see him leave so indifferent. As her eyes went back to her desk she noticed a small paper crane on his table. She walked towards it and picked it up with curiosity. Was he telling her something, was this supposed to be some sign, or was he just simply zoning out? Shrugging that he left it for a some reason, Sadayo decided to unfold the crane.
[Looks like you had it rough. Message me when you're free, I'll treat you to some coffee and curry. On the house.]
"Seriously... what part of keeping things professional at school doesn't he understand?" Despite Sadayo's protest, she could feel herself smiling, holding the note close to her chest.
By the time she finished work and got home the sun was already gone. She messaged Akira and proceeded to sprawl on her couch. She was tempted to take a small nap but worried that she might oversleep if he called. Luckily for her she didn't have to wait too long for her phone to begin ringing. Sluggishly getting up from her couch, she reached for her phone when it occurred to her that she never knew Leblanc's phone number. All phone calls were transferred from Victoria, so she never could know who was calling, and for all she knew this could be someone unrelated. Still, who else would be calling her at this moment, and she had just recently messaged him. So she answered nervously, mindful of saying anything potentially incriminating.
"H-hello? With whom am I talking to…?"
"Sorry for the wait, Becky..."
It was him. That voice that she had gotten so used to hearing when it requested her. Though she wasn't sure about being called Becky even now, it did work to confirm who was calling her, which put her at ease.
"Hey..." Sadayo responded in contentedly. "I'm guessing you got my message then?"
"Yep. The store is also closed now, so feel free to come over when you want."
"Sure thing! Oh, and if it's okay with you, could you wait for me to get there before you start cooking? I would like another shot at helping out… If that is okay with you, that is."
"Sure, I'll be seeing you soon then."
"Yep, I'll be there as soon as I can Mastaaa— I mean, Kurusu-kun." Sadayo heard chuckles before nearly smashing the receiver down in her haste. She buried her red face on her couch. "I can't believe I almost called him 'Master' again."
Her thoughts went back to those nights where they played their little roles; Akira, her caring and supportive master, and Becky, his loyal and loving maid. Those nights she initially dreaded, accepted, then considered as the highlight of her days were now cherished memories. "Despite everything else about that job, when I was with him it was actually kind of fun, and when I think of him, I can't help but—" Sadayo quickly snapped at realizing what she was insinuating. "Wait, I mean it's his fault for calling me Becky, it completely messed with my head! Our relationship has moved passed that, I don't have to pretend to be Becky to be honest with my feelings. Besides, it's not like he showed any interest when I offered to be his personal maid…" Sadayo pouted before letting out a sigh. "Anyway, I shouldn't keep him waiting, so I should head over to Leblanc..."
She'd be walking to Leblanc, as herself. Admittedly, it wasn't the first time she'd done this; in fact she'd done it twice now. But in the first time she was too drunk to realize how risky it was, and in the second she thought it was prudent to reject his confession properly. There might have been some people that saw her heading over during those instances and they'd probably be curious about her, maybe even ask questions. Showing up once is just a coincidence, easily ignored. Showing up twice can turn heads, a double-taker. But if she showed up thrice and anyone saw her, they'd start seeing her coming over as a pattern and wonder about the woman entering the closed coffee shop. She also had shown up in Yongen during the day, and would continue to do so for her appointments with Dr. Takemi, which could make it easier for people to recognize Sadayo.
Sadayo wracked her brain. She wanted to see him, but as she started thinking more on it the more afraid she became. Slumping down on the armrest of her couch, Sadayo started to worry that she might need to cancel with Akira.
"Strangely, it was actually much easier when I was just a maid..." She trailed off when an idea crossed her head. She lifted her head and saw the outfit she had yet to put away.
"Becky..."
Some time had passed since Akira had called Sadayo. He had hoped to have the curry ready for her arrival, but since she asked to be a part of it, he was left with not much to do. So he went for the next best thing and began preparing her a cup of coffee. Morgana, deciding he didn't want to be grabbed by Sadayo when she arrives decided he would rest from the top of the fridge. Akira's brewing went uneventful and as he was about to be done, he heard the bell ringing from the door.
"Hey, sorry for being so late."
"It's fine," Akira turned to greet Sadayo, "I'm actually almost done here so you arrived just in—"
Sadayo felt a bit self-conscious as she blushed at his stunned silence. "Wh-what are you looking at?" IIt was no longer just a customer seeing her in a maid outfit, but her own boyfriend.
"I just wasn't expecting to see you wearing that after you quit your job. I thought you hated wearing it."
"Oh," Sadayo averted her gaze, awkwardly rubbing her left arm. "Well, it's probably for the best if people didn't recognize me coming here. My company told me that I could keep it and I had already come here as a maid before so I figured, that it'd be a good disguise…?" She looked back at Akira, starting to worry if this was the right decision. "Does it bother you that I'm like this...?"
"It's... not that. It's just that—" Akira struggled to say what he wanted, but decided to let it go. He shook his head. "It's fine, as long as you're okay in doing this then I don't have a problem with it."
'So he doesn't like me looking like this?' "I'm sorry. I know it's not the best, but it's what we have for the moment." The one guy who didn't like maids became her boyfriend, the irony. Sadayo clapped her hands, smiling in amusement and awkwardness. "Anyway, that smells amazing and I could use a bit of a wake up."
"Sure… take a seat and I'll fix you a cup." Akira went to finish his batch, beating himself up internally for what he just had — or hadn't — told her. He rounded the counter and poured her the drink before sitting beside her stool.
Sadayo eyed him, blowing on her cup. He seemed fine, but the mood was still… weird? Not a good start. "So… how are things on your end? There's been a lot of talk about that Medjed group and the Phantom Thieves. Are you going to be okay?"
"Is that going to be your Phantom Thief question of the evening?" Akira replied coyishly, riding along the attempt to change the subject.
"I'm just worried! Considering these guys work in leaking information you'd be in trouble if yours got out there," Sadayo snapped back at Akira's attempt to short-change her about her permitted questions, which strangely got a chuckle from him.
"Sorry, that was meant to be a joke. But in all honesty, I'm not worrying about them at the moment."
"Why not?" Sadayo asked back, concerned and curious.
"Well, all they've done is just yell out challenges to us on public broadcasting. They say that they can expose us, but I have yet to receive any messages from them. If they had any info that they could use against me, wouldn't they try to prove such things by contacting me directly?"
"I guess you have a point there."
"The other reason is because I didn't start to become a Phantom Thief to go and fight for dominance against another group. I just want to help people. If Medjed wants the title of real justice, they can have it."
"Taking the high road, I see," Sadayo smiled, feeling proud of her boyfriend's reasoning. "That's quite mature of you."
"Honestly it's more like laziness for not wanting to bother with them."
"Can't it be both?" Sadayo teased, smiling genuinely than earlier.
"I guess it could be," Akira chuckled a bit, feeling more comfortable now that Sadayo started to relax. He finished his cup of coffee and stood up to move back around the counter. "So, ready to cook some curry? You did come with your own apron and everything."
Sadayo rolled her eyes at his joke but nodded, standing as well. She took her empty cup with her to the sink next to Akira. "Oh, and Kurusu-kun?" Even though she didn't turn to face him, she could feel his gaze on her at the mention of his name. "Thank you for that note you left. It really helped me make it through the afternoon knowing I had something to look forward to."
Her soft smile, the blush in her cheeks... Akira was lost in lightheaded euphoria. He wanted nothing more than to embrace her again, but decided to restrain himself. It was a bold move when he held her close last night. He wanted to convey his feelings for her and show her how determined he was, and was more than ecstatic when she reciprocated his embrace.
But they were now together, and she is the first person he'd ever been with and he didn't want to mess it all up by being too forward and scare her off. After all, they already have so much going against him that he didn't want to add to the list of reasons why she shouldn't be with him. He was determined to make this work though, and that determination manifested itself as desire, and if there was anyone who knows how powerful one's desire could be, it was him. He just had to make sure to keep them tempered.
So he decided to go with a small gesture, a simple squeeze of her hand. He smiled at her slight jump and cute yelp, happy that she returned his squeeze. "I'm glad to hear that."
"Y-you shouldn't have done that though. Didn't I tell you that we needed to keep being professional at school?" Sadayo half-heartedly protested in an attempt to recover her composure. "I mean, what if someone saw that message?"
"Well then, that would be a problem wouldn't it? I shouldn't be sending such messages to my teacher," Akira gently pulled Sadayo to the kitchen, swept away by his gesture. Why was he hesitating earlier? They're alone, just her and him, and he could shower his girlfriend with affection in any damn way he pleased. So he pulled her closer as his other hand reached out to gently cup her cheek, "I guess I should be writing my messages to Becky then."
Like a deer in the headlights, Sadayo can only stare back. She could never predict nor get enough of that mischievous smile of his. Heart racing, not knowing what he'd do next ,she pouted, trying not to show how much he was affecting her. "Is that supposed to be your work around, or are you just teasing me because I'm wearing this?"
"Can't it be both?" Akira responded playfully, moving his hand to mess with one of her pigtails, though careful not to undo it.
Sadayo wasn't sure how to respond, the position and distance they were in made it hard to avert her gaze. So she just responded with another squeeze of his hand.
"Would you two get a room."
Startled, Sadayo leaped into Akira's chest, before turning to the direction of the mood-disruptor. "Oh, hi Mona. I didn't see you up there."
'Damn it.' Face bright red, Akira was thankful that Sadayo was too preoccupied by Morgana to notice his little fumble when she leapt on his chest. And he was almost successful at being cool, too.
"Smooth," Morgana dryly said, destroying any hope Akira had that his suaveness was intact.
Akira rolled his eyes, but thankfully, Morgana jumped off the fridge and went upstairs.
Finally and truly left alone, Akira had Sadayo all to himself. No longer restricted by their status or the gaze of others, just him and the woman he loves. As thoughts raced through his mind his arms slowly moved lower — but not too low — to fully wrap around his girlfriend.
Then his phone suddenly began to ring.
Sadayo jumped again, this time away from Akira, realizing just now what position she was in. "Sorry, I um… Phone! Who would be calling you at this hour?"
Akira sighed as he took out his phone, checking who the number was. "It's Iwai, I'm guessing he's asking if I can come at the shop and help out." 'All the stuff with Shuda has been taken care of, so it shouldn't be anything serious.' "I'll just call him and let him know I can't go tonight."
Sadayo let him answer his call as she pondered, then recognized, the name — the model gun shop owner. The one with the adopted son. Who was—
"Kaoru was what?! Iwai, calm down!"
Sadayo snapped from her thoughts. Seeing the vividly upset Akira, she was quickly reminded that the older Iwai was an ex-yakuza. 'I have a bad feeling about this…'
"I'll meet you there. Don't worry we'll get him back," Akira hung up and turned to Sadayo, his expression pained. "I'm sorry, I have to—"
"Just go already!" Sadayo quickly interrupted, not letting him finish his thought. "Don't worry about me and help them. I'll be here when you get back." She grabbed his hand as he turned, desperately pleading, "Just — just remember your promise, okay?"
Akira could feel her hand shaking. Hearing her say that admittedly helped him calm down a bit. He took a deep breath. "Yeah, I promised you, didn't I?" Akira turned fully towards her and raised her hand. "Just wait for me, I'll be sure to come back and make it up to you..." Keeping eye-contact, he lowered his head and planted a small peck on her forehand. Before she can say anything, he let go, discarded his apron, and went off running into the night.
Sadayo was left speechless following after him up to the door "Be safe..."
Despite knowing it would take a while, she stood there, just looking into the night, hoping he'd turn back any moment now. The sound of pattering paws rushing down the stairs interrupted her train of thought. A harried cat with its fur raised.
"Sorry, Kurusu-kun left just now," Sadayo answered the meows, guessing that Morgana was looking for his owner. For a second, she thought she'd heard the cat groan when it turned its gaze on her, somewhat annoying her. "What did I do to you? You've been acting so grumpy to me the whole night."
The cat huffed and went upstairs once more. At that moment, Sadayo realized that she was now alone at Leblanc. She couldn't outright leave now considering she couldn't lock the door, and Akira did ask her to stay. But in her rush to change and come here she didn't bring much with her. She could just wait for him upstairs with Morgana, but on seeing the ingredients prepared on the kitchen table, a light bulb lit over her head.
"Maybe I can have a nice surprise for when he comes back." Before she can chicken out, Sadayo washed her hands and planted herself firmly in front of the cutting board. Though she was willing to give it a try, she was still not confident about the plan herself. She had only limited knowledge and would had liked to get one more attempt with someone guiding her, but if she could make this work…
"Okay, let's try this! If it doesn't work out then I'll just have to apologize by treating him somewhere… When I'm not wearing this outfit." Sadayo pumped herself as she did her best to remember the process. Luckily, the beginning shouldn't be too difficult, as she began preparing the rice. Wash and strain the grains until the water cleared, then turn on the ricecooker. "That was easy enough. Next up is getting the pot and cutting the ingredients." Sadayo looked around and just realized one flaw in her plan… "Umm, where is the pot that he uses?"
Sadayo knelt down to begin searching, but it wasn't long until she found herself looking into the surprisingly deep shelves. "It shouldn't be too hard, I mean it's a small kitchen, right?"
The constant clatter of pots and pans in the long silence stretched into the night. After failing to find that one pot on any of the shelves Sadayo let out a disappointing sigh, second-guessing her decision, when a sudden noise caused her to bump her head against the shelf. "Oww."
Pulling back, she found Morgana standing on the counter above her with a perplexed look as he continued to meow at her. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. Though I guess that's all I'm doing right now."
She closed the shelf and sat on her legs, lowering her head in defeat. "I guess I could still make him some egg on rice. That should work as a nice surprise, right?" She smiled at the now-silent Morgana, as if expecting some sort of confirmation, but just shook her head. "No… he might as well have left the rice cooker by himself at that point." She sullenly picked at the frilly edge of her skirt. "It's frustrating, you know? He's always doing his best, willing to jump in to help even if it puts him at risk. He never hesitates to be there when others need him. I really admire that about him, and I wish I could be more like that. Yet all I can do is wait."
Sadayo sighed again, feeling silly yet relieved at unloading on her boyfriend's cat. "I wish I could do more for him, be able to help him, lighten that weight of his shoulders like he did for me. But I can't even prepare a meal for him." She refocused on Morgana, smiling but defeated. "I guess I still have a long way to go before I stop being so hopeless, don't I?"
Morgana's blue eyes stared at her for what seemed to be a long time, to the point that Sadayo was actually starting to feel a bit awkward. But then the cat seemed to let out what she thought was a sigh and leapt up the counters towards the fridge. Soon after, a pot crowned closer to the edge.
"Oh, that's where it is!" Sadayo quickly stood and reached out to grab the pot off the fridge. She was about to thank Morgana when the cat then walked towards one of the shelves and… opened it? Incredulous, Sadayo watched as the cat then casually slipped inside like it was no big deal, and picked up something by its mouth. Mona emerged with a small pad and placed it on the counter, meowing.
"Okay...?" Sadayo took the notepad, leafing through skeptically before it turned into surprise. "This is… a curry recipe? How did you—?"
She simply got a meow as a response as Mona jumped off the table, leaving Sadayo with no answer to her question. Still, she now has the pot, the recipe, and the ingredients to chop. It might not be the same as having someone to guide her through the process, but she has the next best thing.
"I'm… just not going to think too hard about it," Sadayo decided, refocusing on her returning motivation. "Either way, I can finally start on this!" She turned to the pad, flicking her eyes to the ingredients and back. "Okay, so next seems to be cutting up the chicken and vegetables, so I'll need the knife to—AAH!"
Wide-eyed, Sadayo backed away from the kitchen counter where the definitely-not-normal Morgana picked up a knife with his tail, coiling it around the handle. "What the—?! What are you, some kind of monkey-cat breed?!"
Maybe she was going crazy, but the look Morgana shot her seemed humanly exasperated. He neatly placed the knife by the cutting board and let out a quick, disgruntled meow before going back to the top of the fridge.
Despite the weirdness, Sadayo raised her brow, wondering if the cat was always this expressively cheeky. "It's bad enough that I have a strange boyfriend, but now I'm dealing with a strange cat too."
Morgana replied with a dry yowl.
Figuring that she should get to work, Sadayo shook her head and tried to focus again. How did Akira cut the vegetables before? Cubes, slices, dices? All she can remember was the way he twirled the knife like a magician with confident expertise. Shrugging that cut vegetables are cut vegetables no matter the shape, Sadayo decided on slices. It took her some time, but she eventually was able to quicken the pace of slicing as she got more comfortable. Until she nicked her finger.
"Oww!" Sadayo instinctively put her finger in her mouth. It wasn't a deep cut, but enough to cause some bleeding. "Seriously, how can he do all those stunts without cutting himself?"
She swore that a groan came from on top of the fridge rather than a feline meow. Mona leaped off.
"What kind of noise was that!?" Sadayo yelled in frustration at the kitty sauntering away. "If you're going to complain then why don't you come here and cut these yourself!?"
Quick to come, the anger was quick to fade as well. Sadayo deflated against the counter dejectedly, sighing, "I can't believe I'm arguing with a cat..." Before she can fall into a cycle of self-depreciation, another round of meowing again. Sadayo turned and saw Morgana behind her on the floor, nudging a first-aid kit in front of him with a paw. Sadayo just blinked at the ridiculousness of the situation, taking her some time to process before kneeling down and picking it up. "Thanks… and sorry for the yelling. I'm just really confused right now."
Morgana just mewled a couple of times.
That didn't help her sanity. "I don't even know if you understood me or not."
Sadayo placed a band-aid on her finger and put the kit nearby, just in case. She looked at Morgana once more, who seemed to be studying her back. 'Is this something Akira trained him to do? I mean, I'm sure he hasn't had Mona that long so that'll be crazy. Still, Akira is a Phantom Thief, so maybe it's some kind of ability he has? Maybe it has to do with the whole stealing hearts? Maybe I just managed to get some cat-controlling powers?'
"Or maybe I just lost my mind," Sadayo said aloud, gaining a twitch from the cat. But losing her sanity or not, she wouldn't go anywhere with the curry if she let herself get stuck. With that in mind, Sadayo returned to the recipe in hand. If she can accept that Akira can steal hearts and make villains magically confess, she can accept that his power rubbed off her to make cats magical.
Still, she didn't know how long Akira would be away, and she still was trying to figure things out; it would be impossible for her to finish alone, but with help...
She turned back to Morgana, unsure if this would even work, but it was worth a shot. "Mona, do you know where the measuring cups are?"
Morgana seemed to move his head like a nod and climbed the counter and paced around, avoiding the areas occupied by the food. He meowed as he jerked his head at a cabinet. Sadayo approached and opened it; indeed, the cups were here.
"Well, crazy or not, might as well ride this to its conclusion." She turned to Mona, still perplexed, but not willing to look a gift horse in the mouth. Still, Sadayo smacked her cheeks to make sure she was wide awake and stared down Morgana determinedly. "Okay Mona, I know I'm not the best at this, so I'm going to need your help to make this work. I'm counting on you, okay?"
Morgana meowed with what she hoped was an encouragement.
"Let's do our best for Mast — I mean, Kurusu-kun!"
"That could had gone really bad…"
Akira frustratedly stared at the whizzing nightlife as he rode the empty train cart to Yongen. When he and Iwai arrived at the location that he was informed, they found Kaoru at knife point. The guy doing so was the very one that Akira had eavesdropped on a good while back. While he managed to convince Iwai to finally trust Kaoru and open up to him, that small gesture did nothing to get rid of the dangerous man with a knife in front of him. During that moment Akira cursed being unable to using his Phantom Thief powers in the real world. In the end, they were saved not by him, but by Shuda who put the man on gunpoint and took him to whatever it is that he will be putting him through.
"Saved by a previous target… Not sure how I feel about that," Akira mumbled in annoyance, grabbing his neck as he tried to work the kinks on it. "It's a good thing I hadn't gone to the Metaverse today, or I wouldn't had been able to go… Not that I did much."
After Shuda left, Iwai seemed more than willing to move past this whole thing behind him, inviting Akira to dinner. But Akira didn't feel like he did much to deserve such a thing and he has someone waiting for him, so with a brief apology he took his leave, letting the father and son catch up on what is probably a lifetime of questions.
When he opened the door to Leblanc, he was unexpectedly greeted by the scent of curry. Curious, he went to the kitchen, surprised to find a bubbling ,curry-filled pot.
"She wanted to surprise you."
Akira turned to see Morgana sitting on the counter.
Morgana nudged his head to point at the stairs. "She's upstairs if you're wondering."
"I see." Akira nodded to Morgana and went upstairs, arriving to a very familiar scene of Sadayo sleeping on the couch. Akira couldn't help but chuckle, considering there was a perfectly good bed nearby. He walked towards her and knelt down by his sleeping maid. Her skin was less pale, and while the dark circles around her eyes were still there, they were smaller and less prominent. In general, she looked better and slept more peacefully compared to the last time he saw her like this.. What's new were the bandaged fingers; Akira made a mental note to teach her how to use a knife.
"Time to wake up, Sadayo. I'm back."
Her eyes fluttered open at his call. Drifting in some sort of half-sleeping state, Sadayo smiled when she saw who was in front of her.
"Hey… Welcome home, Master..."
Akira's smile widened at her response, figuring she wasn't fully awake and therefore hasn't realized what she has said. "I'm home, Sadayo." Akira reached out and gently stroked her cheek, which she happily seemed to welcome. "I noticed that you were busy while I was gone?"
"Huh…? Oh right, the curry. Wait!" Sadayo quickly sat up as his hand dropped from her cheek, her concern overriding her drowsiness. "Is everything okay?! Were you able to find Iwai-kun!?"
"It's fine," Akira replied, doing his best to underplay the situation. "We ran into some trouble with someone, but luckily one of Iwai's old acquaintances came to help out. Kaoru is safe."
Sadayo breathed a sigh of relief, but there was still something off… "And how about you? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Actually, I should be the one asking you that question,." Akira raised her hand, gently thumbing at the new band-aids. "Do you need me to look at any injuries? I'm honestly impressed you were able to do it on your own, considering I didn't really get to teach you the whole thing."
"Ye-yeah..." Sadayo turned her gaze from Akira, looking behind him.
Perplexed, Akira followed her gaze and saw Morgana near the stairs. "Sadayo, is everything okay?"
"Actually, there is something I want to ask you about— don't laugh!" Sadayo quickly added.
Akira blinked, not sure what she was getting at, but nodded all the same.
"Okay, soooo the truth is... I actually didn't do it on my own. I actually got a lot of help."
"Help?" Akira furrowed his brows, confused and worried by the implication of someone else knowing about her being at Leblanc. "From whom?"
"From, ummm…" Sadayo hesitated, knowing how ridiculous it sounded, but if anyone could give her answers, it would be him. At least she hoped he would and not find the whole thing crazy. She quickly braced herself for the inevitable teasing that would incur, if not outright looks of concern. " Mona, I got help from Mona."
Akira turned to Morgana, a cocky smile spreading on his face. "Did he now…?"
Morgana innocently looked away.
"Like, it was so weird!" Sadayo was glad he took it well, but... "He knew where everything was and he knew how to fetch them and when I cut my finger he actually brought the first-aid kit and his tail did this thing with—"
"Whoa, whoa, calm down..." Akira raised his hands for Sadayo to take a breather, doing his best to hide his amusement at how shocked she was, but was unable to stop a small smile from creeping onto his face. "I need to grab my bag from downstairs, but once I'm back I promise to explain everything, okay?"
"Ummm, sure?" Sadayo was uncertain why he had to look for his bag all of the sudden, but was willing to take it over mockery, which helped in making her feel like she hadn't gone insane all of the sudden.
"Okay, I'll be right back." Akira turned toward the stairs, nodding at Morgana as he went down. Morgana understood and followed him.
Once they reached the counter, Akira turned to Morgana with his usual cocky smirk, the one he sports when he knew he had the upper hand on someone. "So... what was that about letting her see too much? 'Cause that sounded like she saw you doing a lot of things that a normal cat can't do."
"I-I only did it to make sure she didn't burn the place down!" Morgana quickly protested. "If that happened then the Chief would've kicked you out for sure!"
Akira smiled, appreciative of the gesture, even if Mona's proud attitude meant that he tried to hide his kindness. "Thank you for watching over her while I was gone."
"It's good that you appreciate the efforts I go through to help," Morgana boastfully straightened his back.
"Kurusu-kun!" they heard Sadayo shout from upstairs. "Are you okay down there? Do you want me to come down and help look?"
"I'm good, I'll be there shortly!" Akira shouted in return. He turned back to Morgana. "So, what are we going to do about this? Seems like we can't brush it off very easily."
Morgana cleared his throat, as if commanding attention to him, head proudly held up. "After much thought and contemplation, I've decided that there is merit to what you suggested about having someone from outside the group know of my true existence, in case anything were to happen. While I believe Chief would be a better candidate since he is your guardian, doing so would involve revealing ourselves as Phantom Thieves. So I guess your homeroom teacher will do."
"That is what you believe what's best for the group?" Akira responded, happy to play along. On a hunch, he turned towards the stairs, catching a peeking Sadayo, who retreated back up the stairs with haste.
"She is way too curious about you for your own good," Morgana groaned as Akira chuckled.
"Well, considering she saw me talking to you I think we can't avoid it any longer." Akira proceeded to head back upstairs, Morgana on his heels. Amusedly, he noticed how Sadayo straightened and acted like she saw nothing. He grinned as he walked past her and picked up his bag under the workbench. "Sorry, turns out I had actually left it up here. But I did promise to explain everything, so please be patient with me."
"Okay…?" Sadayo responded with uncertainty and suspicion after what she glimpsed.
"So this may be a surprise to you, but Morgana over there," Akira jerked his head to the cat now sitting proudly on the table by the stairs, "is actually part of the Phantom Thieves."
"Really?" Sadayo replied, honestly less shocked and more relieved that her crazy theory was true. Lost in thought, she crossed her arms. "I guess I can kind of see that. I mean, he seems well-trained. He was actually very responsive when I asked him to get things." Sadayo quickly turned to Akira as a realization came to her. "Oh, I get it. You have him sneaking into places and getting stuff like keys or other small objects. Since he's a cat no one finds it suspicious!" She turned to their feline friend who was now quietly watching them both. "Still I must say, you mentioned getting him recently, so to have trained him so well in a short time is impressive."
"Like hell he trained me! I'm the one that's teaching him!" Morgana yelled in protest.
Sadayo jumped in surprise as her boyfriend laughed. "What was that all about?" She asked in confusion, considering Akira's response differed so much to hers.
"He said that he's the one teaching, not the other way around," Akira casually said.
"Wait… what do you mean by 'He said…?'" Sadayo was taken aback by her boyfriend's blasé attitude, unsure if she just misheard what he said.
Akira simply smiled at her apprehension and continued calmly. "Morgana is actually not a normal cat. He is able to understand people, and with certain individuals he can even talk to them. Yours truly is one of them, as I'm sure you saw downstairs."
"Kurusu-kun…" Sadayo slowly spoke, disbelief very clear as she sighed. "Okay, I see. You were just acting like you were talking to your cat a moment ago to mess with me. I mean, that sounds too ridiculous. I can understand if he's apart of your group, and as bizarre as it is, I can sort of believe him being smart enough to understand people. I mean, I can't deny that from what I saw earlier; he seemed to understand everything that I was asking him. But a talking cat? That's a biiiit too much."
"What if I can prove it?" Akira replied without skipping a beat. Grabbing a notebook and pen from his bag, Akira placed them on the table where Morgana sat and signaled his girlfriend. "Come over here."
Sadayo raised her brow, but went over anyway.
As soon as she did, Morgana picked up the pen by his mouth and began writing on the open page.
[Hello]
Sadayo just blinked. She turned to Akira. "I admit this is quite impressive, but it could simply be a trick he does."
"Just wait..." Akira responded with confidence as Morgana continued writing.
[It's not a trick Ms. Kawakami]
[Also I'm not a cat!]
[I'm a human!]
Morgana strongly tapped his paws at that last sentence.
"Kurusu-kun..." Sadayo pointed nervously at the cat, deeply concerned. "W-what does he mean by that? That he's human?"
"Morgana lost a lot of his memories when we found him. But he believes that he used to be human, but lost his form." Akira awkwardly scratched his cheek as he explained, knowing that it didn't make much sense without the context. "He also seems to remember a number of things involving thieving. He's actually the one that has been teaching us how to be Phantom Thieves."
[I don't Believe]
[I know I'm hum~~~~]
Before Morgana could finished his last sentence Sadayo picked him up as she began to shake him in panic.
"All those times I was with you! The things I told you! Did you tell him any of that!? How much does he know!?"
"I didm't saym anythimf!" Morgana pleaded to deaf ears, pen still in mouth.
Sadayo then froze as a horrible thought occurred, giving Mona a chance to leap back to the table. Face bright red as she pressed down on her skirt, she glared at the not-cat angrily. "You better have not tried peeking under my skirt!"
"I DID NOT!" Morgana yelled in protest and grabbed his pen to scribble quickly on the paper.
[I did no such thing!]
[I'm a gentleman!]
Akira was amused by the little show playing in front of him. Seeing both Sadayo acting so flustered while Morgana tried to explain himself was quite funny and he admittedly allowed it to play out for a bit as a way to get payback on Morgana for playing innocent and resting on top of her lap on occasions. Still, the last thing he wanted was for both to be unable to cooperate with one another so he decided to intervene.
"It's okay, Sadayo. I can assure you that Morgana never had any intention of purposely looking up your skirt."
"You're still not denying it!" both yelled out in unison, annoyed for different reasons.
"Point is," Akira continued on, "he needs to act like a cat to prevent raising suspicions, but now that we're together you two are probably going to see each other a lot more, and considering he knows most — not all," he assured, "—of the details concerning you, we figured that it would only be fair for you to know of his true existence. So how about it?"
Sadayo stared at Akira with cheeks flushed from both anger and embarrassment. His smile helped her to calm down but also slightly irritated her with how composed he was compared to her... and probably Mona. She let out a sigh and relaxed a bit, letting go of her skirt. "I guess he never did anything perverted like jump at my chest or rub against my leg when I thought that he was just a cat."
[Damn right I didn't! I'm human and a gentleman!] Morgana emphasized with a double-tap of his paw.
It was kind of cute, if Sadayo has to admit it. Now calm, she smiled, welcoming. "And in the end, you did help me a lot today because you knew that I wanted to do something for Akira. I honestly couldn't have done it without you." Sadayo gave a courteous bow to Morgana, "I'm sorry for my outburst It was just a lot to take in, and I panicked. I'm Sadayo Kawakami. I hope that we can get along."
Morgana huffed as he wrote.
[It's fine]
[I'm Morgana]
[It's a pleasure to finally talk to you]
Morgana dipped his head between his front paws, a bow of his own.
"Now that that is settled, why don't we go downstairs? I'm interested to see what you two managed to make while I was gone." Akira winked at Sadayo, which got a desired reaction as he walked down the stairs.
Sadayo and Morgana just watched him with exasperated exhaustion.
"He's way more amused by all of this than he should be," Sadayo muttered in protest.
Morgana meowed in — with what she assumed — confirmation. They both lowered their heads in defeat.
"I'm too tired for this," Sadayo yawned and went after her boyfriend, leaving the not-cat who seemed content to stay.
Downstairs, Akira was stirring the pot of curry to help the warmth spread faster. He turned to a yawning Sadayo with empty plate in hand. "Take a seat. I'll have us a plate ready."
"Oh no you don't," Sadayo pointed towards the stools. "You sit down, I'll be the one serving you."
"Sure thing." Bemused, Akira shrugged as he obeyed. He fondly watched his all-in-one girlfriend, maid, and teacher prepare a plate and glass of water. After all the work he did for his friends it was… nice to be cared for. He smiled in thanks when Sadayo placed the items and sat beside him, although…
"Aren't you going to have some too?"
"I… already had some, sorry," Sadayo confessed. "It just smells really good, and I wasn't sure when you were coming back. So I decided to have a taste to see how it was… and then a taste became a full plate."
Akira couldn't help but laugh at how guilty she looked from this. "It's fine, at least I know it's edible."
"I'm not that bad! Anymore..." Sadayo sulked as she mumbled the last part, anxious to hear his thoughts on it. After all, he had more experience than her in cooking, so he might find it inadequate. His spoon dug a moderate amount of rice and curry, and soon it disappeared into his mouth. Sadayo watched with bated breath, wondering if his complexion would turn green like the last guy she cooked for in high school. "So...? How was it?"
"It's good," Akira smiled back as eagerly dug for another scoop. He didn't know he was that hungry. "It's different from what I or Boss make — a different sort of kick to it — but it's not bad."
"You promise?" Sadayo glared at Akira, remembering how he replied to her first attempt at making coffee. "You're not just saying that, right?"
"No, it's good. I'm definitely looking forward to enjoying my girlfriend's cooked lunch at school."
Sadayo's face was bright red at the thought of Akira eating her — successful! — cooked meal at school. "I-I'm happy to hear that, as long as you don't try to show off." She breathed out a sigh of relief. "I admit I took some liberties from what my mother had told me, since I wasn't sure on some stuff on the recipe. So I was a bit nervous on how it turned out..."
"You okay?" Akira said at his girlfriend's yawn.
Sadayo rubbed her eyes as she did her best to stay awake. "I'm fine. Just ended up waking up really early today, plus a lot of work happened. I don't know how you can do all the work in the kitchen and not get tired from it."
"It's not so bad once you get used to it." Akira proceeded to move his stool closer to her, leaving no inch unoccupied between them. He gestured for her to come closer. "Here, you can lean on me for a bit."
Sadayo was confused by the offer, but was too tired to argue as she nodded and leaned her head against his arm, resting her heavy body. "Sorry, I just need a couple of minutes. I'll do my best to listen to you though."
"About what?" Akira asked curiously as he continued to eat his curry.
"About what happened with Iwai," Sadayo replied bluntly, too tired to filter herself. "You didn't look very happy when I asked you about it. So what happened?."
Slightly surprised, Akira chuckled at her reasoning, though considering how the frustration still ate at him, he couldn't deny it. "I just felt so useless. All I was good for was helping Iwai get over his hiccup with Kaoru and finally open up to him. In end, when it came to actually getting back Kaoru, I was unable to do anything. In the end we got saved by a guy that I targeted before. If he hadn't shown up, things could had gotten worse, and I might have been unable to stop it."
Sadayo could feel his arm tense as he spoke. In response she wrapped her arms around it and nuzzled her face to get more comfortable as she snuggled closer. "But that's not true, you actually did help, more than you think?"
"How so?" Akira responded, not quite in agreement.
"Well, you helped the other guy change because you stole their heart, right?" She lazily lifted her finger and poked his chest, grumpily adding, "Which by the way, I still have no idea how you're actually able to do."
Akira couldn't help but laugh at Sadayo's attempt to nag him for information while clinging and squeezing his arm. He placed his hand on hers, giving it a reassuring rub. "Don't worry, I'll explain things one thing at a time."
"You better…" Sadayo mumbled as her raised hand went down and wrapped around his bicep. "Anyway, you stole it so he would be a better person, and in return he helped others because of it. He only came to help in the end because of your previous action. And don't cut yourself short for helping the Iwais out. I'm sure that because of your meddling they are finally able to move past their problems and doubts and talk things out and be honest to one another."
"Did you have to call it meddling?" Akira slumped dejectedly.
"It's what you do. You're a meddler that can't stop getting yourself in the middle of other people's problems," Sadayo mumbled in annoyance. "But, that's something that I really admire about you. Something that I hope that someday, I can do as well. Even if I only really affect one student, it's okay if that student can then go on to do great things and help even more people. You've definitely saved a lot of people. I mean you changed me, and I'll be sure to help as many as I can because of that change. So don't let it get to you, okay? I just hope that someday I can help someone like that."
It was a bit silly and kind of dramatic, but Akira couldn't help but be calmed by her drowsy ramblings. It definitely helped him, as he felt all that frustration disappear. All thanks to the maid that was resting on his arm.
"I guess you're right."
"Of course I am, I'm your teacher after all..."
Akira chuckled at that last statement. "Guess you have a point there."
The only sound that came from Sadayo was from her breathing.
Gently, taking care not to jostle Sadayo, Akira extracted his arm from her embrace and wrapped it around her back, making her lean on his shoulder to secure her from falling off. He rubbed her arm warmly, enjoying the quiet atmosphere, alone with his loving maid by his side.
"You're already that kind of teacher to me," Akira whispered, placing a gentle peck on the top of her head.
"Thank you, Sensei.".
Akira should have known better than to tempt fate. While he didn't believe in its absolute existence like Chihaya did, he'd come to accept that at the very least he had something that had it against him and would take any chance to complicate things. And considering how well things were going for him recently it was no doubt that it would decide that now was the time to make things more difficult.
It all had started yesterday during lunch. He had been contacted by a hacker named Alibaba. He had confronted him by asking him if was a Phantom Thief, and said that there was someone whose heart he wanted stolen. he had even offered to give them information on Medjed, or even take care of the hacktivist group themselves. Then he had abruptly left the chat saying that he would be doing preparations, an ominous message if there ever was one.
Everyone in the group had been understandably worried when Akira showed the text. They wondered if their chat logs had been traced, though Makoto felt like there might be more to it. Unfortunately, none in the group were knowledgeable when it came to this kind of work, and thus were unable to do more than speculate.
Akira though wasn't fully sold on them having been found out yet, or at the very least, he hoped. After all, it could be possible that the message was a spam, considering it only asked if he was a Phantom Thief and asked him to target Medjed. Considering that both the existence of the Phantom Thieves and Medjed's challenge are known publicly, it wouldn't be hard for Alibaba to spam messages to numerous phone numbers, hoping for someone to take the bite. As Makoto summarized, all they have is his word, words that don't reveal any hints of them knowing anything more than the public does, and so the best course is to see where this would lead.
In the end, Akira still had no real plans of going after Medjed. But he couldn't help but be concerned about one thing: if this Alibaba did know about him being a Phantom Thief, was it possible that he also knew about his relationship with Sadayo?
Things only escalated as later that evening Medjed had begun threatening to target anyone that supports the Phantom Thieves. If it was just him, he wouldn't care less if they proclaimed their superiority and just went away, but the moment they targeted bystanders it became very difficult to ignore them. And the final entry to this sequence of events was a calling card addressed to him, but with no name on the card itself. This was more than likely the preparations that Alibaba had mentioned. While it seemed to be missing certain details,it was alarming that it was addressed to him alone.
Which meant that this wasn't just a random prank.
So here he is now, 7/21 during the afternoon, sitting around during Mr. Ushimura's class as he waited to hear back from their mysterious hacker in the hopes of finding more information. The group already had one false alarm when Ryuji texted them earlier today, and another one during lunch, which turned out to be Sadayo texting him about how she completely got sidetracked last time. Akira dreaded this discussion about bringing Morgana to school, especially since Sadayo now knew he could talk to him.
But eventually, his phone began to rumble for the third time. After making sure that Mr. Ushimura couldn't see him, Akira took out his phone.
[Al]: Good day.
'Third time's the charm it seems,' Akira thought as he responded, hoping that he would get more information this time.
[A]: Good day to you too.
[Al]: Ah, you responded today.
'Not for a lack of trying yesterday. Still, need to play it safe for now.'
[Al]: Once again, I am Alibaba.
[Al]: You are the leader of the Phantom Thieves, correct?
As much as Akira could feign ignorance, at this point there was enough evidence to point to his identity.
[A]: That's right.
[Al]: Mm, I appreciate your honesty.
[Al]: I take it you received the calling card?
"So it really was from this guy," Morgana whispered from his desk, confirming what Akira had figured out as well.
[Al]: Are you at school right now?
'What kind of question is that?' Akira thought. Despite the bad feeling in his gut, he continued to reply, needing to make sure how much this person knew.
[A]: Yes, I'm in class. What's that have to do with anything?
[Al]: Nothing, just surprised how diligent of a student you are.
[Al]: Considering your record after all.
[Al]: But I guess we both know that it's not true.
If the person had been merely poking about his record, Akira would had just passed that as someone searching for his name and finding his info the way Mishima did. But that final sentence worried him that Alibaba knew more than just that; while it made him slightly glad that someone knew about it, his innocence from the assault was something that wasn't particularly public.
[Al]: Now then, I have prepared the calling card for you.
[Al]: When are you going to steal it?
[A]: What are you talking about?
[Al]: Hm? Stealing a heart, of course.
[Al]: Aren't you able to steal a heart as long as you have a calling card?
Akira kept his frustration from showing on his face during class. 'One moment, Alibaba seems to know a lot more than we wish, and the next he didn't seem to know the basics of the cards.
Morgana was equally frustrated. "How are we supposed to steal a heart if we don't know who we're stealing from?"
[A]: I need a name.
[Al]: …A name? Is your heart thievery truly impossible without such information?
[A]: Yes
[Al]: ...I see.
[Al]: Hm, I suppose past calling cards did have names on them.
[Al]: One moment.
[Al]: Very well, I'll tell you.
[Al]: …
Akira waited….and waited. He was confused about the need of the ellipses, there. Why would they hesitate to give the name if they wanted this person's heart stolen?
[Al]: I believe her name was… Futaba Sakura.
"Futaba… Sakura," Akira whispered in shock. 'Could this person be related to Boss? Maybe that person he keeps talking to on the phone? But he's never really mentioned any family…'
[Al]: If you fail in this mission, I will expose your identity to the world.
"Wait, why the sudden aggression!' Morgana hissed.
Akira stared at his phone. The moment the name was mentioned, this whole thing went from a deal to a full-on threat and blackmail. As if Alibaba was pushing harder now that that info was out, like he didn't want Akira to dwell on it. But it still wasn't enough.
[A]: Wait a minute, isn't that a sudden turn?
[A]: Shouldn't the stuff with Medjed be enough incentive, why go this far?
[Al]: Well then, I'll be counting on you.
[Al]: I'm sure I don't have to inform you of how… inconvenient it would be not just for you, but also to a certain teacher-maid of yours.
Akira's eyes went wide, a hard lump forming on his throat as he gripped his phone tightly. 'He couldn't know...'
[Al]: We shall speak again after the change of heart.
[A]: WAIT!
Account cannot be found.
Welcome back. Once again I would like to thank you for your patience and hope that the chapter was worth the wait. This chapter marks the beginning of the new arc in the story titled "His old life, her new life." With the prologue till chapter 15 being the "confidant Arc". I'd like to thank SexyPrincessWriter for the idea, as it's helped me figure out how I want to format the following chapters and what will be happening. I'm sure you can imagine what that title entails.
Tetsuya was a character that I admittedly had planned to introduce earlier in the story, but kind of got pushed back because of the urgency that Akira had in trying to help Sadayo. He was hinted at way back through as Akira mentioned a family friend having been the one to talk to Sojiro. I always found it interesting how in game Sojiro mentions that it was a customer of his that knows his parents, and not his parents directly that talked to him. Kind of putting that extra layer of unfamiliarity between Sojiro and Akira since he's not a relative or even knows his parents.
I like to give special thanks once more to SomebodyLost. Thanks again for sticking through the long haul and helping me work out the kinks on the chapter. I owe you a lot.
Let my know your thought at the comments and review and till next time...
