November 19th. The day the Phantom Thief stole her heart - in the most conventional way. The Thieves had failed to steal her actual heart, but they didn't need to. She did that herself. Instead, their leader, Akira Kurusu, stole her emotional heart. For good.

She'd get her 'revenge'.

February 13th. The day the Phantom Thief received the most unexpected gift. After finally getting his justice, Akira Kurusu was released from prison, finally an unsung hero who saved the world. Former prosecutor Sae Niijima knows what he did. She was the one who got him to turn himself in - only wishing for the best. As his caretaker, owner of Cafe Leblanc and self-proclaimed ladies' man, Sojiro Sakura, brought him back to his temporary home, Akira greeted his friends as they celebrated his return - along with the return of a thought-to-be gone feline companion. After that settled down, and everyone slowly began to trickle out, all that was left was a booth, Akira plopped down in it, and Makoto Niijima, fellow Phantom Thief and sister of Sae.

"Do you mind?"

"Not at all. Sit."

Makoto joins Akira at the booth as they drink coffee.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. Never better, thanks to all of you."

"That's great to hear. I know how the prison system can work. I know… I know it's corrupt. Sis told us about all the stuff they did to you. If you ever aren't okay… please, talk to any of us."

"Of course."

"Good, good… Have a good day today?"

"Second half was better than the first." Of course, that was delivered with a smirk.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. But overall?"

"One of the best days of my life."

"Excellent. I have something to give you, by the way."

"What is it?"

"A letter. Apparently, it was supposed to be delivered to you during your stint in prison, but it got lost along the way. Sis told me it was anonymous, but important."

"Interesting… I'll be sure to read it right away."

"Hopefully it's nothing negatively important, huh? Well, I gotta go. Who knows what Sis is up to right now. Have a good night, Akira. I'm sure we'll all see you tomorrow!"

"See ya."

Makoto got up and left, leaving Akira alone in the booth with his thoughts. He could hear Morgana rummaging around upstairs, who knows what for, and the letter felt somewhat irresistible in his hands. He had to read it. Delicately tearing it open, Akira was met with a frightening sight - a red and black rectangle, with ransom-eque typeface. This was a Calling Card! Akira gripped the letter tightly.

'Akira Kurusu, warrior of kindness and selflessness,

I have deemed you guilty of stealing my heart, and I have come for revenge.

Meet me tomorrow morning at Shibuya's Central Street to decide your fate.

Your fate, 'punishment', and reward for stealing a heart in need of a true Thief.

~Lawbreaker'

"What in the…"

Akira was stunned. The Metaverse was gone, how was this person - whomever it may be - going to send this to him? 'Tomorrow morning'... if this was supposed to be sent during his stay in prison, was this meant for tomorrow then or tomorrow now? This was a risk he'd have to take. He would head to Central Street early tomorrow morning.

"Lawbreaker…"

Akira lost himself in thought from that moment on, all the way to the morning. It was still dark outside when Akira awoke and decided to leave.

"H-hey! What're you doing up? I'm losing my sleeping spot, y'know!"

"Urgent business. Gotta go. Get your sleep."

"What's up with you today? It's ju- wait… it's Valentine's Day… Mwehehehehe~!"

Akira freezes in his footsteps. He didn't even think about that.

"Y-you're right…"

"Try not to be too much of a weirdo, Akira~!"

"Try not to be so snarky next time."

Morgana laughed and mewed as Akira descended the stairs, bag in tow, once again lost in thought.

"Central Street…"

Before he knew it, Akira had arrived. Still pretty dark outside, still looking empty. He was probably incredibly early. However, he knew Iwai would probably be at his shop, so he figured he could kill time talking to him. He takes the usual cut turn into the alleyway, looking at the familiar blue cell door. As he walks past it, his hair stands on end as he hears the familiar creak of the door. Turning around, he comes to view with a small blue-clad figure.

"Lavenza."

"Trickster! You are finally free from your literal chains… how unfair of life to keep you imprisoned. However, I have come to give you my visions and advice. You have received a Calling Card, yes?"

"Indeed I have."

"The perpetrator has no malice towards you. In fact, I have seen that it was made out of love and humoring good will. They figured you would find it comical."

"I guess I'm a bit on edge."

"As expected. You have been through so much! I have seen that they will be arriving quite shortly - they have evaded the sight of the public, as to uphold the spirit you and your friends have. I have seen that they wrote this because they love you. This is a gift for the human custom of Valentine's Day. Any more advice before I depart?"

"That's all I needed to hear. Thank you for your help."

"Anytime, Trickster. Good luck. I hope you survive the day of Valentine."

Lavenza returns to the Velvet Room, and the door disappears - temporarily, probably to assist Akira in taking in his surroundings. They would be arriving shortly. Akira turns to Untouchable and begins to head to the door, then hearing the sound of feet stomping onto the ground.

"So, you came… Phantom Thief."

"So, you came… bootleg Phantom Thief?" Akira couldn't help but smirk at his response, especially after hearing the culprit stifle a laugh under their breath.

"I've come to steal your heart."

"Okay, let's see thi-"

Akira turns around to see none other than Sae Niijima, clad in black latex with a gray chestplate and fishnets covering the rest of her chest up to her shoulders. It was simultaneously reminiscent of Makoto's Phantom Thief outfit, and Sae's Shadow forms. It seemed a bit more scantily-clad and tighter than Sae would've liked, but it was over the top and gaudy.

"Snrk-"

"What? It is none other than I, Lawbreaker!"

Was she serious? Completely serious? Was she trying to be scary? Akira began to chuckle, then giggle, then full-on double over in a laughing fit.

"I'm supposed to be stealing your heart, Thief!"

"Y-haha-y-you've stole-stolen the air from my-haha lungs!"

Suddenly, the door from Untouchable opened up. Sae hid behind the trash cans - she could NOT be seen like this.

"What the hell are you doing?" Iwai stared daggers at Akira, not out of malice, but out of sheer confusion.

"S-sorry, Iwai. Thought of a joke!" Akira was still laughing, practically collapsing on the ground.

"Shut that shit up. You're scaring the hell out of me. Stop it." The door slammed as Iwai went back inside. Akira finally calmed down as Sae stood back up, going from a courageous facade to being uncharacteristically mousy and shy. Even Akira was surprised at her displaying any emotion that wasn't boldness and stoicism. He could tell she was a bit uncomfortable in her outfit.

"Come over here, Niijima."

Sae slowly plodded over, standing next to Akira, red in the face. Her whole 'dastardly' plan had fallen through, and Akira had seen it as incredibly humorous. She exposed her chest and body, she had evaded the public, she had made a Calling Card and set all this up… for this. She was utterly defeated.

"I… I wanted to do something for you for Valentine's Day."

"This is all very… youthful of you, Sae. I know you're not really even that older than I am, but you're always so mature. You've played dress-up today and put on this role… all for me?"

"Y...y-yes…"

Akira put a finger below Sae's chin and pushed her head up from below to meet his gaze.

"I like you too, Sae. Or would you rather I use Lawbreaker?" Akira chuckled.

"Another word and you're losing an arm, Kurusu."

"I couldn't resist."

Sae tried once more to be stoic and seemingly angry, but on the inside she was melted down. So, it did work after all! She hugged Akira tight, surprised at the fact Akira blushed as well.

"What's with the red face?"

"Y-you must be very uncomfortable wearing that…"

She knew what he was doing. A man can never resist looking, after all. She laughed it off. Nothing was gonna stop her at this point.

"It's worth it, if I fluster you like that. Would you mind talking?"

"Not at all."

The two slunk down the brick wall, sitting beside each other in a dark alley - not an ideal place to spend Valentine's morning, but a surprisingly good place. Time passed as they conversed - catching up on each other's lives, figuring out why the two fell for each other, all kinds of things.

"So, why'd you do this?"

"Ever since I fell for you, I wanted to surprise you with this. While you were in prison, I asked Makoto about all the details of how the Metaverse worked. I wanted to keep that alive a little bit longer. As a gift. For you. Makoto told me about the Thief outfits, and I figured I would base mine on hers and how my Shadow looked. I got help from clothing stores and tailors and eventually, I was able to create my outfit. Far too skin-tight and revealing for my tastes, but it's for Valentine's Day, so why not? I made the Calling Card shortly after with the help of the bootleg merchandise that circulated, and I set my plan into motion. Makoto told me about codenames, so I decided on Lawbreaker - makes sense for one who turned Thief from Prosecutor, no?"

"How… elaborate. Consider me a fan."

"A Phanboy, if you will?"

"Now you're the one who's gonna be losing an arm."

The two laugh as they spend the rest of the morning holding hands, talking, sometimes hugging when emotional, and enjoying each other's company. Sae finally spoke up.

"I should probably leave soon… so I won't get noticed."

"Understandable. A true thief should always be stealthy."

"Ha, ha. Can I… See you later tonight?"

"I was going to ask the same thing."

"See you soon, then."

"See you-"

Sae interrupted Akira with a quick kiss on the lips as she turned to get up, turning pink from the outfit on her as she ran away.

"Consider my heart stolen! See you tonight, Lawbreaker!"

Time slowly passed…

Akira spent the rest of his day helping a bit at Leblanc and cleaning up his room. As the day turned into evening, Sojiro looked about as he noticed the time and how dead the place had become.

"Oh right, today's Valentine's Day. No wonder there were so many guys bringing girls in here." Sojiro turned sly as he looked towards Akira, attention gained from his person of care.

"Don't you have anything exciting happening? I mean, you've been here nearly a whole year. Y'know, when I was young, hoo boy…" Sojiro chuckled at his own line and sighed slightly. Suddenly, the bell on the door rang as it opened. Sojiro, Akira, and Morgana all turned to face the sight. Morgana was shocked, Sojiro grinned, and Akira looked at the two, then at the thief who had stolen his heart.

It was time.