The fireworks festival was a failure of an outing. Ren returned back to Leblanc to just rest after a tiring day. But when he stepped inside the shop, he saw Sae speaking with Sojiro and it didn't sound friendly. "So you won't tell me, no matter what?" Sae questioned.

"I already told you I have nothing more to say." Sojiro replied, not budging an inch on the matter. Whatever was going on seemed serious enough.

"Very well then. I have ways of making you talk." Sae stood up from her seat and proceeded to exit the shop, only giving Ren a passing glance since he was sort of in her path anyway. "Thanks for the drink."

"Hey, wait…what are you..?" Before Sojiro could question any further, Sae was already gone. He just let out a sigh after.

"…Something wrong?" Ren was more than a little confused. Clearly he walked in on the tail end of what may have been some sort of argument. "Lovers quarrel?"

"No, you moron." Sojiro didn't have time for this. He was already a bit irritated as is. "Look, it's past closing time. Clean up the place."

"Alright, alright…" It wasn't like Ren had anything better to do.

.

.

She was in her room, on her computer, listening to the news. "Regrettably, there is still no news on the cause of the psychotic breakdown incidents. In other news, the online group know has Medjed has issued a statement to the Phantom Thieves."

"Huh…?" This actually caught her by surprise. She had no choice but to listen in.

.

.

"Ugh…" Hifumi returned home, sniffling a bit. The rain didn't last long, but she may have caught a fever from standing in it. "That could've gone better…"

"Oh, you're home." Mitsuyo was sitting in front of the TV. When she turned her attention to her daughter, her brows furrowed. "…And you're soaked. What happened? Did the rain catch the festival?"

"I…yeah…" Hifumi gave a slow nod, sniffling once more. "I didn't think it would."

"And just what were those friends of yours thinking, inviting you without thinking of the chance it would rain?" Mitsuyo's disapproving glare returned. "I hope those sniffles are only temporary. You can't afford to be sick."

"I-It's not their fault…the rain surprised everyone…" Hifumi shook her head. Surely her mother had enough sense to not blame her friends for sudden, inclement weather, right? She sure hoped so. Otherwise that fear of losing what she had only just gained would rear its ugly head soon enough. "Please, Mother…I'll be fine…"

"…" Mitsuyo didn't say anything. She just gave Hifumi a long, hard stare.

"…These are the details of the message posted on Medjed's website." The newscaster's voice broke the growing tension in the room. Hifumi was able to break away from her mother's gaze and stare at the TV. "To the Phantom Thieves causing an uproar in Japan: Do not speak of your false justice. We do not need the spread of such falsehood. We are the true executors of justice. However, we are magnanimous. We will give you an opportunity to change your ways. If you agree to a change of your heart, we will accept you as one of our own. If you do not, the hammer of justice will find you."

"What!?" Hifumi's eyes went wide. What kind of public callout was this!? "How are they…"

"…?" Mitsuyo stared at Hifumi. "Are you still on about those Phantom Thieves? I told you that they're nothing but a group who causes problems. They've been ruining everything for me as of late…" She mumbled that last part.

"But they're…" Hifumi was about to retaliate, but the announcement wasn't over.

"We are Medjed. We are unseen. We will eliminate evil. Akechi-san, why do you think this announcement was made at this time?" The newscaster asked.

"I don't know the details, but there's no doubt they were provoked by the Phantom Thieves." Akechi stated. "Whether it's a sense of rivalry, or an attention grab given recent trends, I cannot say. But it is a nuisance either way."

"….Is he serious?" Hifumi was going to let out an annoyed sound, but it instead came out as a sneeze.

"A nuisance?" The newscaster asked.

"Both Medjed and the Phantom Thieves are nothing more than groups that hold an egoist sense of justice. It's possible that more people like these will continue to appear. In that respect, the Phantom Thieves face a very serious crime." Akechi continued.

"A serious crime? Like what…?" Hifumi questioned, but she was loud enough to where her mother heard.

"What's your fixation on these Phantom Thieves? I thought I told you to stop supporting them." Mitsuyo said.

"They're helping people, what's so wrong with that, Mother…?" Hifumi just didn't understand why her mother was so against the Phantom Thieves.

"Help people? All they've done is make other people's lives difficult simply to feed their own egos. Justice? Something only a naïve group of children would act so strongly upon or evil follow. No wonder you believe in them, you're in that demographic. But I know you're better than to stick to this fad of vigilantes roaming the streets. You won't have the time to think on such things later. All you need to do is focus on you shogi, starting with your upcoming photo shoot and interview. You've a lot of matches lined up this summer as well, do you understand me, Hifumi?"

"…." Hifumi wanted to say something, anything. But she couldn't find the words. Her gaze just fell and she nodded slowly. "Yes, Mother…"

"Good girl." With that, Mitsuyo walked off.

Hifumi coughed into her arm a few times out of frustration. With how controlling her mother was getting, Hifumi was feeling her love for Shogi feeling a bit of a strain. Mitsuyo really knew how to such the enjoyment out of something Hifumi loved to do, but despite that, there was still that flicker of rebellion in her eye. "You'll see, Mother…I'll make you see…"

.

.

Ren was getting ready to turn in when his phone buzzed. As expected, it was from the group chat.

Ryuji: We gotta talk about Medjed.

Ann: You mean those guys online everyone is going nuts over?

Yusuke: Medjed. That name seems to come from one of the obscure gods of the Egypitan Book of the Dead.

Hifumi: Why do you know that.

Makoto: I saw the news too. For them to speak of justice like that…

Yusuke: Now then, what exactly did you want to speak about concerning them?

Ryuji: Welllllllll, why don't we make them our next target?

Yusuke: What a sudden suggestion.

Ryuji: I mean, they're like…bad hackers or something, right?

Makoto: Technically, they're crackers. People who use the internet illegally to access and alter data. Medjed is an organized group of such people recognized by the larger, international community.

Yusuke: So they operate on a global scale?

Ann: Global scale? That means they're even bigger than Kaneshiro!

Ryuji: That settles it! Medjed's our next target. I wonder if we'll get a hit in the Nav...

Hifumi: It doesn't work. I just tried out of curiosity. I think it's because Medjed isn't a real name…

Ren: I was worried that would happen.

Makoto: We don't even know how many people Medjed could possibly be.

Ann: Oh….

Yusuke: This is a greater problem than simply finding their keywords. Unless you have any more ideas, Ryuji?

Silence in the chat.

Ann: Hellllooo?

Ryuji: Okay, look, we can just back down! People are all excited over it!

Yusuke: True, they did taunt us publicly…

Hifumi: Yes. I can't imagine how the public would respond if we didn't attempt to combat them…

Ryuji: Okay Ren, you and I'll talk to Mishima tomorrow. Makoto, try to see if your sis has any info on them as well!

Makoto: It's unlikely, but I'll try…

.

.

July 19th.

Lunchtime. Exam scores were out and Ren's hard work paid off; he made top ten! Not too shabby at all. Meanwhile, as for Ryuji… "Look, I couldn't focus on studying. It's not my fault my scores suck, right?"

"…." Neither Ren nor Mishima would humor that with a response.

"Okay! Okay…I get it…" Ryuji slumped over. "Anyways, more importantly…!"

"You wanna ask me something about the internet, right?" Mishima said.

"I'm gonna be straight with you. Do you know who Medjed is?" Ryuji was getting right to the point.

"Wow, you weren't kidding." Mishima blinked. "I suppose the commotion yesterday did catch a lot of people's attention. They started off as hackers of justice, but now they're looking out for their own interests. but nobody really knows who they are. That's all I can really say about it."

"So…you don't know anything…" Ren said.

"Weellll, things will be exciting this summer. It'll be the Phantom Thieves world debut, no?" Mishima was sounding excited for this face off.

"Dude…" Ryuji sighed.

"Don't worry, I'll be supporting the Phantom Thieves. I'll get the forum mobilized as well." Mishima nodded. "Now, if we're done talking, I really must be going. I'll see you guys later." With that, he made his exit.

"…So that was fruitless." Morgana sighed.

"What does he mean by mobilizing the forum…?" Ren was asking the real questions.

"I wonder if anyone else found anything…" Ryuji said, deciding to text the group.

Ryuji: Mishima was pretty useless. You guys get anything?

Makoto: I tried asking my sister, but she didn't seem to know much about them. She doesn't specialize in cybercrime after all.

Ann: I tried asking around too, but I didn't get anything…

Hifumi: Same here. Nobody seems to know much and I've heard the same thing over and over. I'm still a little under the weather, so I don't think many were keen to talk to me…

Yusuke: Hm. Our opponent is truly elusive…

"Medjed, huh…it doesn't seem like we'll be able to deal with them by ourselves…" Morgana sighed. They were really backed into a corner here…

.

.

Last class of the day. As much as everyone was looking forward to summer vacation next week, Kawakami was about to deliver some very unfortunate news to her class. "I know summer vacation is due to begin next week, but there will be an emergency assembly on the 25th, everyone is required to come to school that day." As soon as she finished speaking, there was a collective groan from every student in the classroom. Kawakami expected this and she felt the exact same way. "Look, this is inconvenient for us too you know, having things to suddenly warn you about. But with all these incidents, Principle Kobayakawa wants to speak out on them."

"Well, that's great…" Ren muttered. Suddenly, his phone vibrated once more. The chat yet again.

Ryuji: How are we gonna find Medjed?

Ann: I'm not sure. No matter how hard I look online, all I find are unreliable rumors.

Yusuke: They have carried out corporate terrorism, yet they still manage to elude arrest somehow. Kaneshiro was a lot of trouble, but this is a much greater ordeal…

Hifumi: Their defenses are impregnable…

Makoto: Even if we were to find them, what would we do from there?

Ryuji: Damn, this stuff's not going so good. Did we bite off more than we can chew?

Hifumi: It's not like we had a choice.

Ryuji: This is prolly why my exams went to shit, too.

Ann: Those aren't related and you know it.

.

.

She was listening in on the group chat. How curious. So they were backed into a corner, were they? Maybe she could do something about this… "Damn, this stuff's not going so good? Mwehehehe…clues on Medjed, huh?"

.

.

June 20th.

Afterschool today was a very urgent meeting in the Accessway. Ren received some texts from a mysterious party about the Phantom Thieve operation and Medjed known as Alibaba. The strangest part is that he was unable to respond, but this was something that he couldn't ignore and had to tell everyone. He showed everyone his phone and the messages on them. "And this is what I was sent."

"…Considerin' he mentioned stealin' hearts, he knows, doesn't he…?" Ryuji said with wide eyes.

"Seems so…" Makoto said.

"How we were found out…?" Yusuke asked.

"Perhaps he traced our chat logs…" Makoto suggested.

"How careless of us…" Yusuke sucked his teeth. That wasn't a possibility they weren't cautious enough to consider.

"But that doesn't sound right…" Hifumi shook her head. "I mean, I know it's potentially possible, but how…?"

"I don't know much about it." Makoto sighed. "But it's probably not impossible."

"Why is he getting an error when he tries to reply?" Ann asked.

"The receiving end probably doesn't exist?" Makoto was making suggestions. She really didn't know a lot about this. "I really don't know…"

"Could this be referred to as hacking?" Yusuke asked.

"They could be a hacker…" Hifumi closed her eyes.

"I don't get this high tech stuff!" Morgana interjected. The topic of conversation was going over his head and he didn't like feeling out of the loop.

"An unknown hacker contacted us!" Ann said.

"I see. I still don't get it." Morgana just sighed. Nothing made sense.

"Could this person be Medjed?" Yusuke asked.

"Unlikely." Makoto shook her head. "Considering he said he wants to deal with them."

Ryuji was suddenly hit with a brilliant idea. "Hey…wouldn't it be great if we got this guy on our side?"

"But we know nothing about his identity at all. We can't trust him." Makoto turned to Ryuji.

"I think we should first stop with the assumptions if we want to get anywhere." Hifumi spoke up, causing the others to turn to her. "I mean…it's a little presumptuous to immediately deem this Alibaba as a man, right? I think we started to lean into that assumption because Ryuji started off with he."

"So it's Ryuji's fault as always." Morgana shook his head.

"Hey, that's ain't fair…!" Ryuji glared at Morgana.

"…Hifumi does have a point." Makoto nodded. "Limiting our options like that from the beginning would've proven detrimental down the line. But at the end of the day, we can't trust whoever this is until we know who they are."

"I don't think it's a bad deal though…" Ryuji said.

"Even if Alibaba turns out to be a criminal? I am not helping anyone of the sort." Yusuke told Ryuji, which was a good point.

"The 'I've prepared the necessary tool' part makes no sense either." Morgana noted.

"Is this just some kind of prank?" Ann sure hoped so. She was having a hard time wrapping her head around it.

"They know an awful lot for it to be just a prank." Makoto said and she was right. This went beyond a simple prank call.

"If they know who we are, won't we get caught?" Ann asked, worriedly.

"No, if they wanted to report us, they would've done it already." Makoto was at least sure about that. They wouldn't have to worry about being turned in, at least for the time being.

"They could contact Ren again at any time…" Hifumi tilted her head. "So what are we going to do if that happens?"

"She's right. We need a place we can stay together for a long period of time…" Ann says, rocking back and forth. They needed someplace safe without prying eyes…

Makoto had an idea and it seemed as though Ren had the same one. "What about Leblanc?"

.

.

Sojiro was looking over some mail with a furrowed brow. He was so into it, he didn't even hear the door open, or notice Ren and his friends enter the store. Not until Ren casually approached. "Hey."

Sojiro snapped to attention, looking over at everyone. He sent the letter down and gave the group his full attention. "Oh, what's with the big group?"

"Good evening." Ann greeted Sojiro. "We were just thinking about talking over plans for the summer."

"Are those new faces I see?" Sojiro's gaze went towards Hifumi and Makoto. More girls? Where was Ren finding them? He was really tempted to ask, but he didn't want to interrupt time with his friends.

"Hello." Hifumi said while stepping forward with Makoto. "Thank you for allowing us to spend time here. My name is Hifumi Togo, it is a pleasure to meet you."

"And my name is Makoto Niijima. I hope we're not being a bother." Makoto introduced herself respectfully.

"She's our student council president." Ryuji said.

"And she's our super awesome shogi player friend!" Ann pointed at Hifumi, who smiled sheepishly at the introduction.

"Niijima?" Sojiro's brows barely furrowed for a moment. What were the chances Ren would bring someone related to that woman? But…it didn't seem like she was here for any trouble.

"Is something wrong…?" Makoto asked, noticing the very slight shift in Sojiro's tone.

'Nah, it's nothing." Sojiro said. "A shogi player and a student council president, eh? I'm stunned. I hope he hasn't been causing either of you too much trouble. I'm Sojiro Sakura, but everyone just calls me Boss. By the way, that was address to you." He gestured to the letter for Ren. "This old man'll get going. The store's all yours."

And so Sojiro left, letting the group hang out in the store. They all got situated, had some food ready, and just hung out while waiting for Alibaba to contact Ren once more. The TV was on, the channel being left on as usual. "We have late-breaking news on Medjed, whose notoriety rose since their statement the other day. Just moments ago, they announced their victory over the Phantom Thieves."

"What!? It's only been two days…!" Hifumi exclaimed.

"Medjed also warns any Japanese citizens who praised the Phantom Thieves to stop doing so. We will report any further actions on Medjed as they arrive."

Ann, Hifumi, and Ryuji all pulled out their phones to check on Medjed's website. Ryuji was the first one to react. "Oh come on…it's in English…!" He couldn't read this!

"…." Hifumi just put her phone down. She couldn't read it either.

This is where Ann came in! "Let me see. The Phantom Thieves remain silent at our question. This proves that we are just. People of Japan, wake up. You must not worship the Phantom Thieves."

"What!? That's bullshit!" Ryuji cursed.

"I agree." Hifumi nodded, though she wasn't going to say anything nearly as vulgar as Ryuji did.

"Keep listening." Yusuke told the two of them. Ann clearly wasn't done yet.

Ann continued. "We will discipline anyone who worship them. The punishment is confiscation of possession. We are Medjed. We are unseen. We will eliminate evil. That's what it says."

"That's…a lot." Ren crossed his arms. "But what does any of that mean…? Targeting people?"

"Perhaps bank accounts or personal information." Makoto suggested. "Either way, it won't be pleasant."

"But that's not right. They don't have any right to drag innocent people into this." Hifumi said firmly.

"Yeah, why the hell are we being singled out?" Ryuji asked.

"Perhaps all they care about is labeling the Phantom Thieves as crooks." Makoto said. "That all this wouldn't have happened had the Phantom Thieves not existed."

"We receive enough of that on TV as is." Hifumi mumbled, thinking back to Akechi's previous statements. "But I refuse to allow people to make us look like the bad guys here. We need a plan of attack…! Which I am aware of we don't currently yet have…"

"Isn't there anything we can do?" Ann asked. They were really running out of options and time.

"This certainly isn't something we can do on our own." Yusuke conceded.

There was a moment of silence before Ryuji pointed out the letter Ren received. "So, what's that letter about? Anything good?"

"It's rare for you to get something like this." Morgana pointed out.

Ren opened the letter up…and pulled out a red calling card. "What the…?"

"Is that a calling card…?" Hifumi asked. It looked like one but…this felt off.

"Anything else in there?" Ann asked Ren, but he shook his head. "Whose this from anyway…?"

"There's no stamp on it. That means someone must've dropped it off directly into the mailbox." Makoto surmised.

"Could it have been Alibaba?" Yusuke mentioned.

"That reminds me…they did mention preparing the necessary tools. Is this what they were talking about?" Morgana said.

"What the hell is going on here?" None of this made any sense to Ryuji.

"All we can do now is wait for Alibaba's orders. We should brace ourselves for whatever comes next." Makoto said.

"Ah…" Ann sighed. What an annoying situation this was turning out to be.

Hifumi's phone buzzed. She went to answer it since she was being called. "Hello-?"

"Hifumi! Where are you right now? You're supposed to be at home, remember? We have planning for events!" It was Mitsuyo and…she was being very loud over the phone. The tension of this phone call broke up the tension of the Medjed situation.

"Er, I'm…with my friends…" Hifumi said, standing up to not have everyone hear her mother's voice on the other line. "We were discussing summer plans…"

"Summer plans? Your summer is already busy. The only plans you need to worry about are the ones I set for you. Anything else can happen once everything I need you to do is done." Mitsuyo said demandingly.

"…My friends need my help with something, so I won't abandon them just like that." Hifumi's voice was a little shaky, but she was also putting forth a bit of defiance. "We were done discussing for the day as is…"

"I see those friends of yours are becoming a bit of a bad influence on you, to talk to me like that. I bet you're with that Ann girl again, aren't you? I already told you I dislike you being around her. Get home now, I won't ask again." With that, Mitsuyo hung up.

Hifumi just let out a shaky sigh. "That…could've gone worse. Did you…hear all of that…?"

"Was that your mother? She's…." Makoto rubbed her arm, unsure of the proper words to use in this situation.

"Yeah…" Hifumi gave a nervous laugh. "I'm sorry…"

"If you think that's bad, you should see the glare she gives me…" Ann was sweating just thinking about it. If looks could kill…

"I'm really sorry, but I have to go. I'll be in touch if something happens." Hifumi said with a slight wave.

"See you later…" Ann managed a slight smile as Hifumi made her exit. But once she was gone, she let out a quiet sigh.