AN: So I'm NOT gonna be showing them the intro just yet since that pretty much spoils the teens identities within the first few seconds and I want the reveal to happen when they accidentally enter the Shibuya jail. I WILL show the intro right after that though. With that said, enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 2: Planning

A phone screen showed up, messages soon arriving with the accompanying name and photos.

Ryuji: Hey! It's been a while!

"Wait, what?"Ann asked, slightly confused.

"Oohhh, it's our group chat!" Futaba exclaimed.

"The phone's probably Akira's." Makoto observed, seeing the images at the top of the chat didn't include their leader's.

"I do wonder how long it's been." Akira wondered out loud.

"Why are we suddenly watching some teenagers messages after…that?" Zenkichi asked, still unsure what to even call what they just saw.

"The girl did say everyone here would be involved in one way or another." Sae theorized, although her face still showed the confusion she felt.

Ann: It only feels like that because you always forget to reply to our texts.

"That does sound like Ryuji." Ann said with a chuckle.

Ryuji: Wait, really…? I mean, I've just got a lot of stuff to do!

Haru: I suppose it's been a little while for me too, hasn't it?

'Did we lose contact?' Akira thought worriedly.

Yusuke: For me as well…I had no money, so I lost service.

Futaba cackled.

"Of course that happened to Inari!"

You: How is everyone?

Makoto: I'd say I'm doing well.

"I guess that confirms it's Akira's phone we're watching." Yusuke said.

"Hey, I haven't shown up yet! It could be mine!" Futaba chimed in only for everyone to stare at her.

"Futaba," Akira began "we all know you're way too informal to type 'How is everyone'."

Futaba tried to pout for a bit before dissolving into snickers.

"Yeah, I am."

Sojiro couldn't help but smile as he saw his daughter laughing with her friends. And to think that less than a year ago she refused to come out of her room at all.

Makoto: It's quite late though. Shouldn't you all be studying for finals?

Futaba: Nah, I'm fine! Unlike Ryuji…

Ryuji: Stop, stop! I'm already dead!

"Why is it always me?!" Ryuji exclaimed indignant.

"Cause you're normally the one messing up?" Morgana said with a teasing smiling teasingly…somehow.

"You shut up, furball!" Ryuji shot back.

Meanwhile Akane and the adults are staring at him bewildered.

"Is he arguing with the cat?" Akane said, genuinely confused.

Futaba, on the other hand, squeaked.

"F-finals?! I'm going to school?!"

Akira smiled at her.

"Congratulations."

Ryuji: Anyway! Here's what I really wanted to say…

Ryuji: Since it's almost summer vacation, why don't we get together?

Makoto: Not a bad idea.

Ann: Yeah! You guys want to go on a trip?

"It'll be my first road trip!" Futaba exclaimed happily.

Haru: That sounds like fun!

Yusuke: Perhaps Kyoto? That would be a nice place for a vacation.

"Why do I have a headache just thinking about those kids in Kyoto..?" Zenkichi muttered to himself while rubbing his temple.

Futaba: No way! Kyoto trips are for high schoolers!

Ryuji: Sweet! We should get together somewhere and plan this out!

Ann: Where at?

Futaba: Where else?!

You: Let's meet at our usual spot.

Ryuji: Roger that, Leader!

"Leader?" Sae wondered to herself, curious about Akira's title.

The screen then went black, only white letters appearing reading:

A Certain Police Department

Meeting Room

The screen then showed a police meeting room full of officers, a familiar PubSec Inspector at the very back and closest to the camera.

"My workplace?" Zenkichi wondered out loud.

"Guess we'll see how you're involved in this then." Sojiro spoke up.

"…Next on the agenda is the series of incidents involving unusual behavior in public." The Meeting Facilitator stated.

"Hmmm." Zenkichi mumbled, his nameplate simply reading 'Bearded Man'.

Futaba snorted.

"'Bearded Man…"

"Is that all I am?" wondered a downtrodden Zenkichi "Just a beard?"

"First, we have the Vice-Minister of Finance." the Facilitator listed "As you're all aware, he had some sort of episode during a Diet session Q&A and abruptly confessed to document tampering."

This caught the attention of the Thieves, as well as Sae and Zenkchi.

"Hmmm." the woman at the front of the room mumbled, her nameplate reading 'Austere Woman'.

"That's my boss," Zenkichi explained "Commissioner Kaburagi."

"Soon after, three Sapporo Central councilmen confessed to bribery and publicly resigned." the Facilitator continued "Next, the well-known author, Mr. S., held a press conference and announced he was retiring from writing, returning his books' awards, and deeming his body of work garbage."

"Then, a newscaster suddenly got down on one knee, confessed his love for his co-anchor on live TV, proposed to her…and got shot down." He droned on "Lastly…the Director-General of Criminal Affairs unexpectedly stripped off his clothing and ran around HQ until successfully detained."

"Bah-hm." Zenkichi stifled his laughter.

The Austere Woman glared at Zenkichi.

"Something amusing to you, Inspector Hasegawa?" she sharply asked.

Zenkichi sweat-dropped looking down in embarrassment.

"Ah, no. Excuse me." he mumbled.

Akane facepalmed as Zenkichi blushed at the unamused looks he got from Sae and Sojiro.

"Honestly, dad…"

Meanwhile, Futaba leaned towards their leader.

"Is it just me," she whispered "or do these sound familiar?"

"Changes of Heart." Akira confirmed with a nod.

"I was afraid you were gonna say that…" Ann groaned as she slumped against her beanbag "We're totally getting blamed for this aren't we?"

"But how do we know it's not actually us?" Morgana asked.

"I sincerely doubt we were able to travel all over Japan in a time span as short as the one the Facilitator is establishing." Makoto quickly shot down the idea "And besides, how would we have been able to target so many high-ranking people in a row without attracting prior attention?"

"I guess you're right." Morgana conceded with a nod.

"I guess now we know what this 'Incident' Lavenza talked about is." Haru added

"I suggest we keep our eyes and ears peeled." Yusuke said before motioning towards the screen.

With that, the thieves all turned to look back at the screen. Well, al except for one.

"How do you even peel your ears..?" Ryuji wondered to himself.

"Ahem." the Meeting Facilitator cleared his throat "The vast majority of these cases have been interpreted as nothing more than bizarre outbursts…But time and again, every instance involves a sudden change in personality."

"Furthermore, none of the individuals involved had any known psychological issues before their incidents. Therefore, we can surmise that these cases are the result of an external influence." the Facilitator finished.

"Looks like their catching on as well." Morgana noted.

"Aren't these just coincidences? Are you really implying someone out there's using mind control?" One of the Investigators said.

"You would think they would have an easier time connecting the dots considering what's been going on this last year." Ryuji said

"Ryuji's doing better detective words than the actual detectives…" Futaba spoke up as she blinked at him before dramatically 'fainting' "That's it! Japan is doomed!"

"Oh come on!"

"The cases I listed are only a small sample of this behavior, which appears to be happening across the entire nation." the Facilitator countered.

"Hmm…" Zenkichi hummed to himself before speaking up "Sounds like the Phantom Thieves to me."

Sae narrowed her eyes.

Zenkichi's words sparked a multitude of murmurs from the other Inspectors.

The Austere Woman then spoke up.

"I want silence." she said firmly, causing the Inspectors to quiet down, before she turned her head to the Facilitator "Proceed with the report."

Sojiro couldn't help but snicker when he saw his fellow father straighten up in his seat at the woman's voice.

'Lady must rule with an iron fist…'

"Thank you, Commissioner Kaburagi." the Facilitator thanked her before continuing "As you've realized-or, at least one of you realized-these cases are very reminiscent of last year's Change of Heart epidemic."

"The top brass have concluded that this is indeed the work of the Phantom Thieves." the Facilitator confirmed the teens fears, while also causing the Investigators to widen their eyes in surprise.

'I called it!' Ann exclaimed in her mind as she bit down on her pillow to prevent herself from speaking out-loud.

"What?!" the same Inspector from earlier exclaimed in shock.

Meanwhile, Zenkichi looked down in thought.

'What are you thinking Hasegawa?' Sae wondered as she saw the Inspector deep in thought.

"B-but what evidence is there?!" the Careful Inspector spoke up "No one's even established a pattern!"

"And we don't have any sort of motive! So far, doing it for kicks is the only thing that'd explain it." another Inspector spoke up.

"All true," Zenkichi admitted "but considering what we are her for…"

"You will investigate each of these incidents yourselves," Commissioner Kaburagi ordered them "as quickly as possible."

"What I expect from each of you are two things:" she continued

"One: to assemble enough evidence for a successful case."

"Two: to do so as quickly as humanly possible." Kaburagi finished before explaining further.

"The higher-ups are hellbent on closing this case. I do not know why; it does not matter. All that matters is producing results."

"Now that's just fishy…" Futaba spoke up.

Neither Sae nor Zenkichi could bring themselves to contradict her.

A photo of a black haired man appeared in the screen, but it was too far from the camera and the quality wasn't too good so his facial details weren't noticeable.

"Your suspect is the leader of the Phantom Thieves." Kaburagi told them "Show me a through investigation of his entire life."

'Does this mean we actually caught him?' Sae wondered as she narrowed her eyes at the blurry image 'Then why isn't he already incarcerated? Did he escape somehow?'

"Why the hell is an official mugshot this blurry?!" was all Zenkichi had to say about the matter.

The Thieves, meanwhile, couldn't help but gulp.

'Does this mean the Casino Plan was successful then?' Akira couldn't help but hope.

Zenkichi looked down and hummed in thought once more.

"So, the Phantom Thieves rise again…"

"Well that wasn't ominous at all…" Futaba chuckled nervously.