I swear we're moving out of the Madarame arc after this

"First Kamoshida at Shujin Academy, and now Madarame..." started Sae, as she looked at her boss, an elderly man, already fit for retirement, but still quite sharp, as his serious gaze clearly showed.

Thought, his good points were offset by the fact that he didn't stay in his job because of his personal justice. Or simply because he liked the power such a position gave him. It was obviously about the money.

Even worse was the fact that she knew someone in a higher position had helped him. She didn't know who had helped the old man, but she felt confident that he'd kick the bucket sooner or later, which would make his connections useless.

She willingly ignored the fact that another corrupt man would be shoved into the position once the spot was left open, most likely by whoever had pulled the strings to keep the current SIU director.

"I've found a number of points of commonalty between the two." she said, continuing her report. "Both, for example, were sent a "calling card" before their unforeseen changes of heart."

"I see. But isn't tying their cases to the series of psychotic breakdowns jumping to conclusions? Furthermore, the police will frown upon you stepping into this..." said the old man.

"Now isn't the time to be worrying about things like jurisdictions and honor! We need to dig deeper and find a correlation between the incidents these past two, three years."

"Very well. I leave this to you... However, you must not let this interfere with your regular duties." said the SIU director, seriously.

"Thank you, sir." said Sae, bowing curtly.

Once the woman was out of the room, the SIU director shook his head disdainfully.

"That damn woman just had to stick her nose into this!" he said, annoyed.

However, at that moment, his attention was drawn to the TV on the other side of the room, which was on a news channel. What was important wasn't the actual news' content, but rather the face that just appeared. If Shin had been watching this particular channel at this time, he'd have recognized the man as perhaps the most annoying asshole he knew, and it wasn't the kind that he could take satisfaction from.

"...And I understand that these abnormal incidents have caused some anxiety throughout our country. This situation is to be approached with utmost seriousness. I shall continue to put forth great effort so that every citizen can live with peace of mind." said the bald man on the TV.

"Not only are there these Phantom Thieves to worry about, but if that is exposed..." he clicked his tongue in response, frustration at being unable to do anything but wait and see what happens filling his body.

-INTERMISSION-

Sae had just closed the door to her home. She put her coat in the hanger, took off her shoes and put them in the small shoe closet near the entrance. Letting footwear strewn about the entrance bugged her, so she always made sure to leave it nice and tidy.

She walked into the living room, only to see Makoto already seated, but not eating yet.

"Did you wait for me to come?" she asked.

Makoto shook her head. "I just finished setting up the meal, sis."

"You've been going out often these days. Did something happen?"

The brown-haired teen didn't respond immediately, instead looking at her plate for a moment.

"...No."

"Is it about that boy, Shin, was it?" asked Sae.

Against her intentions, the ashen-haired lady couldn't help a smile when Makoto stiffened while she stretched her hand while holding a fork, causing the cutlery to graze across the surface of the place with an irritating sound.

"I-It's nothing." said Makoto, trying not to arise more suspicion on herself. It was already enough that her sister mistakenly believed she was romantically interested in Shin without her finding out that she was actually stalking him.

'*cough* Only because of the principal's orders, of course.' she thought.

The awkward atmosphere of their meal lasted until the end, since, for one, Makoto kept remembering she was making excuses for no one, and two, Sae kept probing her for more info on Shin. Thankfully for the brown-haired girl, the prosecutor didn't say anything about the time when she woke up with Shin in her house.

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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