Aftermath

"Now that something like this happened again, people won't be able to dismiss it as mere coincidence." said Morgana.

"If we continue doing this, we'll definitely be able to give courage to everyone who needs it!" said Ann, cheerfully.

Yusuke looked to the side and noticed a pair of cops heading in their general direction, so he coughed softly into his fist to attract the others' attention.

"We might need to quiet down a little." he said.

One of the officers, the one who had a pair of sunglasses on, stepped towards them and said.

"Hello there. May I speak with you for a moment?"

"Ah, yes! How can we help you?" said Ann.

Shin winced a little at the monotony of her acting.

"What are you all doing here? Are you friends?" asked the man with sunglasses.

"What do you think?" said Shin, sassily.

"What did you say?" asked the other officer, a stern-looking man.

"A-Ahaha! Th-That was a joke! He didn't get much sleep last night." said Ann, nervously trying to cover Shin's sarcasm.

"How would you know, though...?" muttered Ryuji, but his comment didn't go unnoticed by either the policemen or the other thieves.

"T-That's because... uh..." Ann tried to stammer out a response, but she failed to come up with anything.

"I did not need to know that..." muttered the man with sunglasses, rubbing the bridge of his nose from beneath the glasses. "Anyways, just make sure to disperse before it gets too late, okay? There have been some odd happenings lately, and the news about that artist has caused quite a stir."

"We'll be careful." Yusuke nodded his head.

After the men left, Ryuji leaned on the railing and said.

"These guys have way too much time on their hands if they're going around warning people when it's still light out."

Ann placed her hands on her waist and looked annoyedly at Shin and Ryuji.

"Don't go staying stuff like that to the police! I totally freaked out cause of it." she said, pausing to gather her thoughts. "And why did you have to add a comment like that?"

"What?" asked Ryuji, blandly. "He might've tutored you or something, I dunno."

The blond boy shrugged his shoulders.

"That's definitely not what the officer assumed..." said Shiho.

"Anyways, we need to be more careful in the future. Look at us! Right after the second Thieves incident, both prior victims are meeting up." admonished Morgana.

"Wait, you mean people might be listening to us?" asked Ann, suddenly looking apprehensive.

"Don't worry about that. I know someone who excels in cybernetics." said Shin, brushing aside a stray strand of hair.

"You mean like, a hacker?" asked Ann.

"Mmhm. You might've heard of them as "hackers of justice"." said Shin, air-quoting when necessary.

"Wha- You got Medjed of your side?!" exclaimed Ryuji.

"Well, it's only one person, really. But I assure you, their skills are top-notch. Your browsing history is in safe hands."

"I see." said Yusuke, unconcerned as ever.

Ryuji, however, was getting more pale as the seconds went by.

"H-Hey... Do you know about..." he said, trying to be as hushed as possible.

"Ryuji, if this is about the one terabyte of t-"

"STOP! PLEASE! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, JUST STOP!" shouted the blond, tightly gripping Shin's hand.

"Alright, alright. Geez." Shin smiled awkwardly. If only had the blond known that Futaba had already screenshotted all of his shameful things and kept them in a folder listed as 'Blackmail Material'.

"If we're done with that, might we get a move on. I'd like to discuss this in the secrecy of LeBlanc, if possible. A curry and coffee would be welcome as well." said the blue-haired boy, raising the hand with the white envelope.

After most of the thieves headed to the subways, Shin suddenly turned around and waved his hand in a particular direction and continued on his way. Several seconds later, a brown-haired girl was embarrassedly running away in the opposite direction.

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Confidants:

0. Igor (The Fool) - Rank 2

I. Morgana (The Magician) - Rank 3

1. Takuto Maruki (The Councillor) - Rank 1

II. Makoto Niijima (The Priestess) - Rank 2

IV. Yusuke Kitagawa (The Emperor) - Rank 3

Odd man - Rank 1

V. Sojiro Sakura (The Hierophant) - Rank 3

VI. Ann Takamaki (The Lovers) - Rank 7

VII. Ryuji Sakamoto (The Chariot) - Rank 7

IX. Futaba Sakura (The Hermit) - Rank 3

XIII. Tae Takemi (The Death) - Rank 5

XIV. Sadayo Kawakami (The Temperance) - Rank 3

XVIII. Saki Yoshiko (The Moon) - Rank 2

XIX. Sho Minazuki (The Sun) - Rank 2

Toranosuke Yoshida - Rank 1

XX. Sae Niijima (The Judgement) - Rank 1

Shiho Suzui (The Hope) - Rank 8