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Akira's room was a place Sadayo had grown accustomed to over the last couple of months. What had started out as the room of her troublemaker student, slowly became a safe haven for her. A place where she and Akira could sit and enjoy each other's company without the fear of being caught by the people of Shujin. It has become a place filled with happy memories of their time together: the long chats about their days, her complaining about her horrible jobs to Akira over a cup of Leblanc's soothing coffee, and most notably, His confession to Sadayo about his feelings for her and her feelings about him. So many wonderful memories that they had shared together in this coffee-scented room.

Akira felt the same way Sadayo did. Before coming to Tokyo, he had been cast aside by not only his former friends but by society itself. While Akira's mother and father tried their best to shield their son from the backlash of his action, it ultimately became too much and they decided to send Akira to live in Tokyo while on probation. Akira knew that this was for the best, not wanting his parents to be caught in the crossfire. However, it still stung a little to have to leave his parents behind. He had expected that he would just go through the motions while in Tokyo; keep his head down and finish his probation without any problems. What really happened was the complete opposite. His chance encounters with Ryuji and Ann, which lead to the discovery of the Metaverse. Meeting Morgana and becoming the leader of the notorious Phantom Thieves of Hearts, Taking down countless criminals and meeting new people who shared his aesthetics. And most importantly meeting Sadayo. While their relationship started out pretty rough, a few chance encounters lead him to discover how truly amazing She was. She was what keeps him grounded while leading the Phantom Thieves.

Both of them had been in pretty bad places before meeting each other. While they had to be careful about their relationship, neither of them would trade it for the world. And the dusty attic had become a home for both of them.

Today, however, their safe haven had become like an interrogation room. Sadayo sat with her head down and hands in her lap while her cocky boyfriend sat next to her. Before them sat all of the Phantom Thieves around the table which had been used for many of their meetings. Ryuji sat on the right side along with Futaba. While Futaba was more focused on her laptop than anything else, Ryuji sat quietly with a dumbfounded look on his face, like he was still trying to process everything. Haru and Ann sat on the left of Akira and Sadayo. Both having a hint of red on their cheeks and occasionally glancing up at Sadayo only to look away. Haru, unlike Ann, however, had a smile on her face the whole time which unnerved Sadayo slightly. Across from the couple sat Yusuke and Makoto. Yusuke was muttering to himself so quietly it was impossible to understand him. Makoto simply sat quietly with her arms and legs crossed. Almost like she was waiting for either Akira or Sadayo to speak first and explain themselves for their behavior. Morgana sat on the workbench in the corner of the room and kept his mouth shut for once as he did not want to be the one to start the conversation.

As what seemed like hours flew by nobody said anything and Sadayo frowned simply began to wonder. How did this happen...'

-Flashback-

"Mmm, delicious as always," Sadayo said sitting in the booth, sipping a cup of coffee her boyfriend had made for her.

"I aim to please, though Sojiro says I still have a long way to go before I'm any good," Akira mentioned having just finished washing the dishes and taking off his apron.

"You have my approval if nothing else."

He walked over to Sadayo and gave her a peck on the forehead, "And it's the only one I need," Turning and taking a seat at one of the stools at the bar.

Her face turned red and she said trying to keep her composure, "Cute, anyway, it has been a while since we have been able to talk hasn't it."

"Yeah. I've been busy studying for exams and preparing for our next Phantom Thief operation,"

"And I've been busy with work and helping other students prepare for exams as well. With everything that's happening, it's no wonder we haven't been able to spend much time together" Sadayo pouted for a second and looked over at her boyfriend then frowned, "I'm sorry. I know you have your other friends, but I can't help but feel like I'm not being the best girlfriend," she said turning her gaze towards the floor.

Akira stood up and placed his hand on Sadayo's head, "It's alright, it makes me so happy to hear that the other students are beginning to rely on you as I do. It just means that you're becoming the teacher, the great teacher, I knew you could be."

Sadayo looked up at Akira and smiled with blushed cheeks 'He always knows what to say in order to calm me down.'

"Yeah I guess it does," she stood up and placed her arms around Akira and brought him in for a hug. "And I guess that means that when we ARE together, we'll have to make the most of it."

Akira assumed his signature cocky grin, "That we do," he said, tilting his head downward and kissing Sadayo with pure love and affection.

Sayado responded in kind, closing her eyes and enjoying the moment. One thing she would never admit to Akira was that he was a great kisser. Any time their lips met, it was like breathing electric air. She could feel the tension and stress leave her whole body in an instant. The only thing she could do was be lost in the sweet taste of his lips and all the comfort it brought her.

Unfortunately, in the heat of their passionate kiss, they had failed to notice the door to Leblanc unlocking and opening.

"Let's just grab the game you left and go," said Ryuji with a hint of frustration.

"It's not my fault I left it," Futaba pouted, puffing her cheeks, " Inari was distracting me with his weird art talk."

"Hey!" replied Yusuke.

"Can we please just hurry and g-," Makoto said before having her sentence halted by the scene in front of them.

The other three took notice and soon Ann and Haru came into the shop behind the rest of the group. "Hmm, what's up guys you see someth-," asked Ann as she too became silent by what was happening.

"Oh my… ," Haru said covering her mouth with her hand.

Akira and Sadayo parted lips and stared into each other's eyes for a few more seconds before they both noticed the group staring at them. Time seemed to stop for everyone as silence swept through the room like a hurricane. The couple stared at the group of thieves and the group stared back. Both waiting for something to happen.

Eventually, after what seemed like minutes, the silence was only broken by Ryuji, "Duuudddee," he said with his mouth agape.

"This-… we were-, it was only-," Sadayo stammered out.'They saw us. We've been found out. What are they going to do? Will they report us to the school? Can we persuade them not to? What are we going to do? I have to say something.'

Akira, trying his best to keep his cool stated, "Guys, listen we can explain."

"Are you two dating," asked Haru not so subtilty.

"That's right, we are," she said in a panicked voice, "If you tell anyone what you saw… I'll… I'll…" She was gripping Akira's hand like a vice. "I'll make sure you get held back!"

"HUH!" everyone, including Akira, stared at Sadayo with a look of confusion.

"Tha .. that's right… I'll make sure of it," It was a miracle everyone could understand her with how much she was stuttering. "And don't th-.. think twice that I won't do it."

The group stared at the Sadayo trying their best to process what was happening, Akira only looked at her with concern.

"Sadayo," not wanting her to collapse, Akira placed his hand on her head and tried to comfort her.

She let out a small 'Eep' upon the sudden touch and looked up at the look of worry on her boyfriend's face. Seeing him so concerned for her made her stop for a second and take a breath.

Akira once again spoke in a cool and calm manner, "Guys, I know you have a lot of questions and you deserve the truth and I'll tell you, but the trains will stop soon and it would take too much time to explain everything right now. Can we save this conversation for tomorrow night?"

The group of thieves looked over at each other and tried their best to think of a response to Akira's proposition.

Makoto spoke, "That's fine with me, discussing this I think it takes priority over what we were going to do and we will need lots of time to discuss this manner fully."

Everyone nodded and hummed in agreement all while Sadayo breathed a sigh of relief from having the tension in the room dissipated.

"Thanks guys, I appreciate this." smiled Akira.

His friends nodded and soon flooded out the door and left only him and Sadayo in the empty cafe. Once they were gone, the couple both breathed a sigh of relief as they could relax for the moment.

"So," Akira said with a small grin on his face, trying to brighten the mood. "That was a thing."

"That would be the understatement of the century." sighed Sadayo, now exhausted from the whole ordeal, "Listen, I think I'm going to head home, I need some rest after all this."

"That's fine. Do you want me to walk you to the station?"

"No, I will be okay on my own." she picked up her bag and walked towards and opened the door. Before she walked out she turned and faced Akira, "I'll see you tomorrow," then left.

Akira decided it would be best to head to bed and prepare himself for tomorrow. He headed for the stairs and upon reaching the top he was greeted by Morgana who had woken up from the commotion downstairs.

"Hey, what happened down there?" asked the supposed human.

Akira quickly changed and flopped onto the bed. He stared at the ceiling and wondered what is going to happen tomorrow. "Nothing, it's just going to be a long day tomorrow," he sighed as he drifted into sleep.

-End of Flashback-

After a minute or two of silence, Akira decided to take the initiative once again, "So, I'm sorry about last night you guys."

"So am I," Sadayo said, taking advantage of Akira speaking first.

"It's alright, I know you didn't intend to be seen, I think all of us were just as surprised," nodded Makoto.

Ryuji rubbed the back of his head, "For real, it's not every day you see your friend sucking face with your teacher."

Sadayo blushed at Ryuji's vulgar statement and Akira just sighed and pushed his glasses up the ridge of his nose, "Futaba, could you please?"

"You got it," Futaba closed her laptop and gave Ryuji a good smack on the head.

"Ow, what the hell."

"If I may interject for a moment," everyone looked at Yusuke, "Everyone else seems to know who you are, but I don't believe we have met before."

"Yeah, Inari's right, I don't know who you are either so an introduction is required please," added Futaba.

"Sorry, we haven't met before," Sadayo stood and gave a courteous bow, "My name is Sadayo Kawakami. It's a pleasure to meet you…"

Yusuke stood similarly and bowed, "Yusuke Kitagawa, a pleasure."

Futaba stood and struck a pose out of 'Phoenix Ranger Featherman R', "And I'm Futaba Sakura."

Sadayo decided to just brush of Futaba's pose and continued. "It's a pleasure to meet you Kitagawa-san, Sakura-san."

"Yusuke is fine."

Futaba smirked, "Yeah, no need to be formal. That kinda went out the window last night."

Everyone hummed in agreement. Sadayo blushed and sat back down before she continued,

"Right, I guess I should also apologize for my threat about holding you back as well."

"It's no biggie, we could tell you were bluffing," Ryuji smiled.

Morgana decided to finally contribute to the conversation only at Ryuji's expense, "With your grades Ryuji, I wouldn't be surprised if you got held back anyway,"

"Shut it CAT!"

"How many times do I have to tell you, I'm not a cat!" shouted Morgana.

Sayado looked at the scene of her 'blonde' student yelling at a cat with confusion. She looked over at Akira with an inquisitive look on her face wondering what was happening. He shrugged as if telling her to just roll with it for now.

"Anyway, getting back to the topic at hand," Makoto trying to break up Ryuji and Morgana, " It should be said that I don't think any of us are angry with you Sensei."

Sadayo blinked for a second, trying to process the statement. " You aren't?" Somehow surprised by this fact.

"If anything, we were just a little shocked is all," replied Haru.

Ann nodded in agreement, "Yeah, it really was a situation straight out of a TV drama."

"If nothing else, it was a truly majestic scene. A couple enjoying each other in a passionate embrace, I only wish I could have captured the moment in my art," Yusuke placed his hand on his chin, caught in his own artistic thoughts. "Would you two like to pose for my next piece?"

"Uuuummm," Sadayo had no clue how to respond and lucky for her Akira answered the young artist question for her.

"I think we should get back to the topic at hand."

"Yes," Makoto agreed, "While none of us are angry with you two, I believe and explanation is in order."

Sadayo and Akira tensed up when the subject was brought up. They knew that they would have to explain themselves, but it wouldn't make it any easier.

"Yeah, we know you have lots of contacts around the city that help us with being Phantom Thieves, but a relationship with our teacher isn't one we expected," added Ann.

Sadayo processed what Ann had said and looked over the group. Her eyes widened as she fully grasped the statement. "Wait... Are all of you Phantom thieves?!"

Akira proceeded to plant the palm of his hand swiftly onto his forehead and Ann put her hands over her mouth after realizing What she had done.

"ANN," Shouted Ryuji, being a little happy that he wasn't the only one now who blew their cover.

"Sorry, I thought she would know considering that she and Akira are dating."

While Ann's blanket statement about her relationship did cause her to blush a little, she continued, "The only thing I knew was that Akira was the leader of the Phantom Thieves and also a few other things. While I did have theories, we agreed not to push the issue when it came up."

Akira removed his hand from his forehead and continued Sadayo's train of thought, "Sadayo found out that I was a Phantom Thief all on her own and I didn't tell her anything. I only confirmed she was right when the topic came up. However, I told her I wouldn't speak of the identities of other members, not because I didn't trust her, but because it wasn't for me to tell and it would have been a major breach in trust. I only referred to you guys in code names"

The rest of the group did their best to process this new development while Morgana simply added, "I'm surprised you guys didn't blow your cover sooner."

"I suppose it all makes sense now. You all started to hang around at the same time and, correct me if I'm wrong Kit- I mean Yusuke, but wasn't your former teacher that artist Madarame?"

"Yes, that is correct."

"Huh," Sadayo looked over at Makoto, "You to Ni-, Makoto, but weren't you investigating the Phantom Thieves."

Makoto sighed, "Yes. At the time I was, but certain interest came to align and it worked out this way."

Sadayo was having a hay day trying to process everything she had been told. Not only was her cocky, loving boyfriend the leader of the Phantom Thieves, but his close friends and her students were also members as well. "Wow."

Haru spoke and brought Sayado back from her train of thought "While I know you have questions about everything. I think it's important to get to the main reason we are all here."

"I agree," Makoto nodded then turned to the couple. "How did you meet and how did such a relationship come to pass?"

"Well, you see..." Akira simply scratched the back of his neck and wondered where to begin. While he wanted to tell his friends nothing but the truth, he was reluctant to start due to the sensitive nature of his and Sadayo's time together. Her moonlighting as a maid, Takase, and his shitty relatives, and the lengths she had almost gone to pay them their dirty money. Akira trusted his friends, but there was a lot to unpack.

His train of thought was halted when Sadayo grabbed the sleeve of his shirt and got his attention, "Sadayo?"

There was something she had to know, "First, how much do you guys know about me?"

Seemingly caught off guard everyone was silent before Ann replied " Well, we know you were blackmailed and had to work some shitty job to pay back the people framing you. That's about it." Everyone nodded at Ann's summary.

"Ok," She said and looked over at Akira.

"I think we should tell them everything," She stated firmly.

He was everything to her and right now she knew that he was trying to think of a way to explain their relationship without going into major detail about what she went through. A small part of her wanted to do the same, but it didn't feel right. These were Akira's friends, his best friends, the only people who trusted him and befriended him despite his criminal record. Not only that, they were his teammates. While she didn't know the exact danger that came from being a Phantom Thief, she knew that it was dangerous and that if they were all fighting to protect people like her, then telling them the truth was the least she could do. She knew that lying to them or keeping anything from them would only leave a bitter taste in her mouth.

Akira had not expected this response from Sadayo, "Are you sure, I me-,"

"It's alright," she interrupted, "I know what you're thinking and I'm fine. They're your friends and right now they deserve the truth. All of it."

"Are you sure?"

"Certain."

The resolve in Sayado's eyes was clear as day and he nodded in agreement. "Alright."

Akira reached down and grabbed the bag of snacks he had next to the couch and dumped the contents out on the table and sat back down. Everyone, including Sadayo, grabbed a snack from the pile and gave Akira their full attention.

"Well, If we're telling the whole truth then I guess I should start from the very beginning all the way back in May," Akira flashed his cocky grin and leaned back.

"It all started with something called Operation Maidwatch."