Akechi ain't got shit on these

As Shin exited the faculty room, he immediately remembered that he had to have a talk with Saki when he saw a girl with brown hair excitedly gushing about something Thieves-related to her friend.

"...And then he just came to me and apologized. He even did a dogeza in front of the whole class!"

"Whoa! That's unbelievable." commented her friend.

"I know, right? I was there, and it still feels weird."

"Man, those Phantom Thieves really must be something."

The brown-haired girl nodded, excitedly.

"Actually, I've seen some rumours going around about them."

"Huh? What kind of rumours?" asked her friend, leaning in closer.

"I've heard..." she said, pausing dramatically. "...that their leader is supposed to be very handsome and has a-" the girl would've said more, had it not been for her friend who lightly smacked her on the head.

"I thought it was something interesting, not just some horny fangirl gossip." she said, her shoulders sagging a little.

"Just hear me out, will you? I already got a theory in regards to who might be this mysterious leader figure they have."

"Go on." urged her friend.

"Well, their first case was Kamoshida, right? Which means, that one or more of the first members went to school here, and saw what he was doing behind the scenes, and thought 'God, that guy's an asshole. Let's change his heart.' It clear so far?"

Her friend looked a bit thoughtful at what she said, before slowly nodding.

"But what about Madarame?" she asked.

"Ah, well, it's possible that they just wanted to go after a bigger target. With that exposition he had at the time, it's understandable why they'd change his heart. I mean, I can't know for sure why they went after him. It's possible that someone they encountered had known one of Madarame's pupils and pointed them in that direction."

"You know, that makes sense."

The brown-haired girl nodded her head, smugly.

"And with how they've declared they'd go against some criminal, that leaves a lot to speculate. What I can guess, in fact, is the fact that they'd probably go against someone who's known around the globe. And then keep on changing hearts of people of that level, like a popular politician or a CEO of an international company."

"I mean, that's nice and all, but that doesn't tell us much about who's their leader." said the girl's friend.

"Not quite." said the brown-haired girl. "There's only so many students in this school. And since they only changed Kamoshida around the beginning of May, then they must've transferred here some time before that. And there's one student that fits the bill... Someone most people are too intimidated to approach, except for a few individuals..."

However, as her friend waited with bated breath for the reveal, said person stepped just behind the brown-haired girl. As the pieces clicked in her mind, she opened her mouth to say something, but she had no time to say anything, as her brown-haired friend quickly spun around with her arm outstretched, possibly planning to point at the place where Shin was standing previously. But since the teen was right behind her, instead of turning fully, her hand hit Shin's side.

She instinctively stepped back, as she intended to apologize.

"Don't bother apologizing. I didn't even feel it. But more importantly, you 2 seemed to have a deep discussion about the Phantom Thieves, and I find myself engrossed by the subject. Care to continue?"

Even though it was formulated as a question, both girls knew they didn't have it in them to say no. As such, the brown-haired girl hesitantly opened her mouth.

-

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 3

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

VIII. Goro Akechi (The Justice) - Rank 1

IX. Futaba Sakura (The Hermit) - Rank 3

XI. Caroline & Justine (The Strength) - Rank 10

XIII. Tae Takemi (The Death) - Rank 5

Reaper - Rank 1

XIV. Sadayo Kawakami (The Temperance) - Rank 5

XVIII. Saki Yoshiko (The Moon) - Rank 2

XIX. Sho Minazuki (The Sun) - Rank 2

Toranosuke Yoshida - Rank 1

XX. Sae Niijima (The Judgement) - Rank 2

Shiho Suzui (The Hope) - Rank 8