Scritch-scratch, scritch-scratch, scritch-scratch, click-click. Swish. Scritch-scratch, scritch-scratch, scritch-scratch, click-click. Swish. These were the seemingly never-ending noises the constantly repeated in Sadayo Kawakami's classroom, an expected repetition after each school day, permeating and exterminating the dead silence after what was always a long day. Grading papers, making marks when necessary, sorting and stacking them with subtle sighs and groans of annoyance or vague approval. Ever since March, the days seem to have gotten longer and longer - not usually in a good way. Even then, the relationship she had formed with her student, Akira Kurusu, had given her a new lease on life and the drive to become a better teacher for her students. She lost herself in thought for a moment. That name.

"Akira Kurusu…"

She sighed. Her mind wandered, heart ablaze and stomach fluttering. 'Why…?' she thought. 'Why did it have to be him?'. She can still remember the night, the moment, the instant, all boiling down into what seemed to be the quickest memory and emotional exchange she had ever experienced.

It was that night that a student had told her he loved her.

She couldn't help but turn him away at first. She knew how taboo it was, she knew what their fates would be if they were found out, she knew she shouldn't, but… she simply could not resist - for even though she knew society's expectations, she knew that deep down in her heart, overcoming even the dark depths of the cruel society, she had loved him too. She waited to break the news to him. It had taken a while for her to do so. She finally messaged him, saying she wanted to visit the quaint cafe of Leblanc as Kawakami, and not Becky, some meaningless maid. That was the moment that had set her heart on fire, and even though he did a good job of concealing it, she knew that his held the very same fervent passion.

The two had been dating for a while now, and had recently returned from a school trip to Hawaii. With her only moment of free time at the very end of the trip, she knew who she wanted to spend it with. Feeling clingy, she fought against the urge to stay silent, and she had messaged him to see if he was willing to spend some time with her… alone. With baited breath, she waited, unconsciously standing sheepishly in the middle of her hotel room for what seemed like forever, but even then it was only an instant before he responded.

"Yes, let's."

She couldn't help but squeal in glee, an excitable noise she tried her best to stifle - but it still rang out loud and clear for her, 'Idiot…' she told herself. No use getting worked up for something that's already going to drive you crazy. The two had met on the beach, spending some time together before heading to a food stand where the owner believed them to be on honeymoon.

It was here where no one could judge them. She could finally be in love. While her outside seemed quite collected, her inside was, in fact, quite not. Her mind was scattered, her heart seemingly skipping beats, and her mind could only be set on one thing: she was truly happy.

More time had passed and the two had been sitting together on a beach, preparing to watch the sunset. The two talked about various things - catching up with each other's lives, small talk about the trip, and anything they could think of. She took in his features, she absorbed his gaze, and she pondered… Akira began to speak.

"So, you okay with all thi-"

"E-excuse me! Hold on for a moment, I'll be right back."

She had saw what was on her mind earlier during the vacation, and she knew now that this was what she had needed. A jewelry store…

Akira had been waiting for a few minutes, and he couldn't help but feel restless. Where was she? What could she be doing? His mind drifted from thought to thought as his body seemed vacant on the bench. Time seemed to slip by, until suddenly he could hear the swishing of the sand as it was trampled upon. Through gasps for air, he could hear Kawakami calling out.

"S-sorry for the wait! I'm back now…"

Red in the face, Sadayo sat back down next to her lover and attempted restart a conversation.

"So, anything interesting happen while I was-"

"What'd you go do?"

Kawakami held back a mousy squeak. 'He's onto me. Shit…' Refusing to let this fluster her too much, she sighed, hesitated, and finally spoke up.

"Surprise for later."

Akira shrugged and then nodded it off. Kawakami was stunned. She was expecting his usual seductive dogma he seemed to possess - he'd never give up, even when she wished he would. This time was vastly different.

"Is Hawaii making you more easygoing or something?"

"Aloha." Akira said with a grin. Kawakami simply smiled and laughed. She knew he hadn't changed at all, but his joke definitely lifted her spirits. Their conversation slowly shifted back to normal as time continued to pass. Every moment simultaneously felt like an eternity, and yet far too short for her liking. She found that Akira kept trying to shift his eyes to see what she had been hiding, and he began to ask more and more frequently when the surprise would be revealed. Frankly, it drove her up the wall - in the most good way she could possibly mean. Finally, the sun began to set. The two stared in awe at the beauty of something that seemingly only existed on this very beach at this very moment. Akira took Kawakami's hand in his and she couldn't help but feel a flustered dread.

'I could probably die right now…' Kawakami tried a bit to hide her face behind her hair, with a slight turn away. She could feel Akira's grip tighten ever-so-lightly in a firm gentleness, and she could hear him take in a breath to speak.

"This is supposed to be the part where I say that that isn't as beautiful as you, or something like that. It pains me to say something so drab and cliche like that, but it's true. That sunset doesn't even compare."

'Bastard… you're gonna kill me.' Kawakami finally looked back in his direction, eyes meeting as they held hands. Normally the two would find themselves doing something like this in the attic of Leblanc - her student's room and private quarters, not that she was complaining about staying in her man's room - and it was always a confined space where society couldn't cram it's dark and twisted talons. But here, they were out in the open, on a beautiful tropical Hawaiian beach, bathed in the mellow light of an astonishing sunset. It was utterly blissful. She knew now was the time.

"The surprise will happen… now."

"Hmm… Aloha. Is it a lei?"

"You can cram it with the alohas, Kurusu-kun."

Akira softly laughed under his breath as Kawakami finally turned to open the small box she had brought back with her. She removed the lid and reached inside to grab two golden rings.

"I spent a lot of money on these, y'know… It wasn't cheap, but I wanted to get something to remember our time together by."

She holds the rings in her hands, showing them to Akira. The rings were neatly engraved with four letters and a symbol. That was all that was needed to send a shock through Akira Kurusu's system.

"A.K. S.K."

He stared at the rings for what seemed like forever. Kawakami's face reddened, and she worried a bit.

"Too much…?"

"They're perfect. I love them. I wish I could wear both, but then you wouldn't have one. Plus, I'd probably look kind of ridiculous matching with myself of all people."

"...Uh-huh…" In all honesty, Kawakami was a bit lost in the confusion of the latter half of his statement, but what mattered most is that she knew he loved them. Step one complete!

"Go ahead, put it on."

Akira did as he was told, and she found the other ring was snatched from her hand before she could slide it upon her finger.

"May I…?"

"Pfft, you charmer. Go ahead."

Akira lightly held the ring in his fingers as he slid it up her ring finger. She couldn't help but blush at this act, knowing full well that she bought the rings for something like this exact purpose to happen - however, she felt some relief in the fact that she could see Akira blushing too, ever so slightly peeking out from the radiant tone of sunset shade. Step two was complete, and the time was now, she knew it was. After a bit more conversing, it seemed that the two would have to leave soon, even after pleading from Kawakami herself to stay a bit longer, and before that Akira pleaded the same exact thing. They knew trouble would occur if they stayed for too much longer. The sunset began to fade as a sea of stars took its place. Akira began to get up, and so did Kawakami - but as soon as she stood, she took Akira into a tight embrace. She could feel his muscles tense up, then loosen in comfort and content joy - just as she had felt when having to massage him for her despised maid service.

"These rings, Akira…"

"Yes?"

"These rings…"

Kawakami could feel her eyes start to water as tears began to well up. Akira could feel her breathing change and he could feel a pattering of tears - he knew it was best to hold on and let her let it out.

"These rings are a promise."

Akira let go immediately. Kawakami looked up to see an unfamiliar sight. His eyes were wide, his expression wearing that of stunned surprise… and above all, she could see his skin turn a shade of tomato red. He ran off almost immediately.

"That's the wrong way to get back to the rooms, Kurusu-kun!" Kawakami called out, tears now quickly subsiding. She laughed a bit as she saw Akira instantly shift towards the right direction, not skipping a beat - besides all the awkward ones he just hit - and not losing pace as he ran off. She walked back herself shortly after, reveling in bliss over two things - his warm reception to a 'promise' that obviously could mean only one thing, and more importantly - at least in this moment - the fact that she had managed to fluster him to the point of shyly leaving. She couldn't imagine the bold and courageous Akira Kurusu doing such a thing.

This was now only slightly in the past, but it was a memory she knew would never leave her mind. She was now nearly done grading papers, and she decided to text Akira. She wanted to meet him today. It may have been a want, but she felt it was a need. After a warm acceptance message from Akira, she went back to grading what seemed to be her final paper of the day - none other than his. As expected, the work was flawless and neat. Her eyes shifted down the page at a quick pace until she noticed an extra note at the bottom of the page.

"Kawakami-sensei…

Today I couldn't help but think of you all day. You haven't left my mind.

The next time we meet, I want to make it special.

I want to be with you in every way possible.

Take that how you will.

~A.K. S.K."

Followed by a drawn symbol of a heart, the note was finished. Kawakami's face flushed and she shrieked in flustered surprise. Nearly falling out of her chair, she regained her composure and sat back up, only to be met face to face with Ms. Chouno, the school's English teacher. Sadayo scrambled the paper into a random spot in the stack and quickly tried to compose herself.

"M-ms. Ch-chouno! Hey!"

"Kawakami. What's with the racket? I heard you from all the way in the Lounge. You're lucky there hasn't been a student on this floor since school let out. You practically woke the dead!"

"M-my… apologies. I could've sworn I saw a… spider! Yeah, I thought I saw it on my desk, but now I don't know where it scampered off to…"

"...Uh-huh. And what about that paper you put away, huh? You seem pretty apprehensive about that."

"Oh, it's nothing! I just wanted to get everything sorted out to put away!"

"Sure… regardless, just keep it down, okay? Some people need a beauty nap."

'Not doing work, Chouno? What a surprise…' Kawakami relaxed herself.

"Oh, yes, of course."

"Thank you. I'll be going." As Ms. Chouno turned to leave, she took a couple more steps before turning back around.

"That's a beautiful ring, Sadayo. What's it for? From? Getting hitched or something?"

Kawakami's heart sank. She forgot to hide the ring from the other teachers! She was sure the students didn't notice - even if they did, she knew moreso they didn't care - but now her self-proclaimed rival knew about its existence, and it was in no other place than her left ring finger.

"U-u-umm..." Kawakami was done for. Chouno's brow raised and furrowed, and she stepped back forward.

"Ooh, Sadayo! Let me see…!"

"N-no, th-that's okay!"

"But I want to-"

Suddenly, a new voice cut the air.

"Kawakami-sensei, I have a question again…"

Akira strode into the room, hands in his pockets and bag slung on his shoulder, upholding a truly cool demeanor. Kawakami was filled with utter joy. Once again, he had saved her from the dreaded grasp of the sinister Ms. Chouno!

"Oh, yes, of course! I'd love to answer it."

With an obviously displeased noise, Ms. Chouno had left the room presumably to get her 'beauty nap' - an idea Sadayo knew Ms. Chouno could never achieve - and the two were left alone.

"My hero."

With a joyfully exaggerated sigh and swoon, Kawakami 'fainted' face down on her desk, hiding her head with her arms and soon after looking back up at him with a smile. As expected, he smiled back - always so warmly and peacefully, something Kawakami felt he could hold as power over her.

"Leblanc still okay?"

"You know that's pretty much the only place we can meet anyways, Kurusu-kun."

The two were on their way, and after some coffee and curry, the two held conversation disguised as a tutoring session whilst Leblanc stayed open - Sojiro Sakura, the cafe's owner couldn't care less anyways. As long as his houseguest and his teacher were satisfied with their meal, his focus was on the patrons of the restaurant. Eventually, he left and told Akira to close up shop. The two retreated to his room as she saw a black cat slink down the stairs and towards a booth. Strange…

"Is that cat always here?"

"Would you be surprised to hear that he's almost always with me?" Akira raised an eyebrow.

"That's an interesting morsel of knowledge…"

"He stays in my desk, if you were wondering."

"Seriously? That's crazy! You haven't been caught?"

"Not at all."

"That's… absolutely hilarious." Kawakami couldn't help but break into a surprisingly joyous and girlish giggle as Akira joined in on the laughing fit.

"So, about that note…"

"Yes?"

"Did you read it?"

"Yes…"

"And?"

Kawakami wasn't sure how to answer. Her face slowly slipped into a shade of red that became more familiar to Akira as they began dating. Silence denoted the passage of time as Kawakami averted her gaze to the floor.

"...I agree with what you said wholeheartedly. But…"

"But what?"

"I'm still so worried about it, and I don't think that'll ever stop until you hurry and grow up… I'm worried about… what if someone finds out about us? What if-"

Akira put a finger up to Sadayo's lips. She froze. He brought her into an embrace that felt all too familiar. He placed his ring into her hand and guided her to sliding it up his left ring finger. She could feel the water in her eyes well up once more.

"A-Akira, I-"

She was silenced with a kiss on the lips. Akira gazed directly into her eyes, and smiled - a smile that encapsulated the sunset of that fateful Hawaiian night.

"These rings are a promise."