Back in the underground room in the police station…
After Junko's done with her job in killing off the security guard and Keiko Amamiya and left the interrogation room, she stops and lean her back against the wall near the elevator, take out her smartphone to dial and talk to her "Old One" allies.
"Yo, I'm done with my job. What about you and your "Old One" fellows, have you guys got the host of Lythalia already, Paulie?" asked Junko mischievously and coolly to Paul/Yog-Sothoth on the other end of the line.
"The name's Yog-Sothoth, not Paul or Paulie since that's the name of the host that I'm occupying and yes, we finally got her. Even though she wasn't being cooperative at first and it took me to threaten and nearly killing and reducing the Kurusu boy to a pale and wrinkling husk that she's frighten for Kurusu's life to agreed to cooperate and come with us and soon we'll prepare the ritual that'll freed and give Lythalia full control of her host body while putting her host soul to sleep." replied Paul/Yog-Sothoth dryly to Junko on the other end of the line.
"Yeah, yeah and how perfectly cruel of you to do that to get Mallory Caelum to go with you, Paulie. Good job in finally getting the host of Lythalia in your grasp and good luck to you and your fellow "Old Ones" with the ritual and I look forward to seeing Lythalia once you let her out, Sayonara." said Junko in amusement to Paul/Yog-Sothoth before she ended the call then dial another different number. "Hello, Shido-san. My job is complete." said Junko calmly and formally to someone named Shido after he picked up the phone.
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Inside a luxurious office in a building…
"I've told you not to call me by my name. Regardless, all that's left is to deal with the remnants." said Masayoshi Shido (an olive-skinned, bald-headed, amber-eyed (with a pair of black framed glasses on his face) cold and callous-looking man wearing a short sleeve white button-up shirt with a long sleeve open black blazer shirt over it, long black pants and brown loafers on his feet) in irritation at Junko.
"I know but isn't the continued deaths of these teenagers a bit much, don't you think? I considered making it appear they had a falling out… but that would only amplify public frenzy… It would be best to have each of them meet with an unfortunate accident once the storm blows over." said Junko.
"Good and what about that Caelum wench that our "allies" said is the host of one of their kind? Did they get her already?" asked Shido.
"Yes, they did. She's in their custody now." replied Junko happily to Shido.
"Good. Also, is there a possibility they'll want to avenge their leader or try to take back that Caelum wench from our "allies"?" asked Shido.
"No chance. They're nothing but cattle anyway… They've no backbone without her guidance and even more no chance of trying to get Caelum back and away from our "allies". I will keep my eye on them just in case though." replied Junko smugly to Shido.
"I'll be counting on you, Sakurai." said Shido.
"They'll live their lives cowering in fear of death. An apt punishment for obstructing our work." said Junko more smugly to Shido.
"Make sure to kill that strange cat once you find it as well." said Shido.
"Understood. Though I doubt there's anything to worry about. It's merely a cat, after all. Hm, how about having the host of Lythalia be the one to do the deed instead of me? Think of how surprise and betrayed the cat will be once he see the Caelum girl as the one who kill him without knowing that it's not her that did it but it's the "Old One" being inside her." suggested Junko maliciously to Shido.
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"Well, that's for later on, of course. More importantly, they should be dealing with the suicide and the loss of one of their friends and teammates. Things will become quite busy once the word get out… I'll need to prepare my comments on the matter." said Junko calmly to Shido.
"I must be prepared to deal with it on my end as well. Beyond that… what of the director of the Special Investigations Unit?" asked Shido.
"Perhaps he'll be struck by a mysterious illness sometime soon…" replied Junko with a cruel smirk on her face.
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In the SIU Director office…
Another olive-skinned, bald-headed (with some grey hair behind his head), grey-eyed spectacled elderly man wearing a short sleeve white button up shirt with a greyish blue vest over it and a long sleeve dark blue open jacket over his vest and shirt, a purple necktie around his neck, long dark blue pants and black loafers on his feet is currently thinking about something as he sat behind his desk before the atmosphere around him turned distorted and purple for a moment and he suddenly stood up and clutched his chest where his heart is with a pained look on his face.
"Ngh… No… it can't… be! E-Even me!? G-God… damn it! Sh-Shid…" groaned the elderly SIU Director as his face rapidly turned pale, his eyes rolled up to the back and black ooze leaked out of his mouth onto his desk before he collapsed and lie dead on his desk.
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Back with Sae-san in the hallway…
After Sae had her conversation with both Goro and Junko and showed Junko the phone before she walked away from them, she stopped walking and decide to leaned against the wall to think about it before she heard the sound of beeping coming from Keiko Amamiya's smartphone and take it out of her blazer pocket.
"What was all that about, showing Sakurai-san the phone? …The Phantom Thief Alibaba? Who is this?" said Sae with a confused look on her face at the caller ID on Keiko's phone screen before she press the green button on it to received the call.
"I am Alibaba, a member of the Phantom Thieves. I inquire as to your justice, Sae Niijima." said the modified voice of Alibaba to Sae from Keiko's phone.
"How do they know I have this!?" gasped Sae with a surprise look on her face.
"Junko Sakurai is evil. She didn't come to interrogate and get the true story from the captured phantom thief… She came to kill her and she got Goro Akechi out of the way to prevent him from stopping her." said Alibaba concernly and seriously to Sae.
"What!? She did!?" gasped Sae in more surprise at what Alibaba just told her.
"Yes, she did. Don't believe me? Then listen to this, Sae Niijima." said Alibaba before Sae saw a voice message call being sent to her by Alibaba and she listen to it.
"We could say she stole the guard's gun and committed suicide during her imprisonment… How about that? Yes, the guard will be one of ours. We'll have to eliminate him after to destroy the evidence though…"
"…!?" gasped Sae again and as she's about to go back to the interrogation room, she stopped when she heard beeping sound coming from Keiko's phone and glance at it.
"Don't trust the guard, either. He's an accomplice as well. Now then, I'll tell you detailed steps to take. First, find and help Goro Akechi so that you two can and must save Keiko Amamiya." said Alibaba more concernly and seriously to Sae.
"You want me and Akechi-kun to… save her?" said Sae in more confusion at what Alibaba told her to do before she put Keiko's phone back into her blazer pocket, winced when her surroundings turned distorted and purple for a moment before she gasp and widened her eyes in surprise when she see the door to another empty interrogation room open outward and saw Goro stagger out of the room with a grimaced look on his face and his right hand holding and pressing the back of his head. "Akechi-kun! Are you alright!? What happened!?" demanded Sae as she swiftly walk toward Goro.
"… Junko Sakurai knock me out and drag and toss me into this room so that I don't get in her way, that's why. But I'm fine now and we need to go and save Keiko now without wasting time, Sae-san." said Goro reassuringly and concernly to Sae.
"… Alright, let's go, Akechi-kun." said Sae as she nodded at Goro before they turned, went toward and used the elevator to go down, step off the elevator and went toward the interrogation room where Keiko is and the guard that stand guard outside the room is surprised to see them.
"What is it?" said Sae.
"U-Um, nothing… Anyway, what brings you back here and with Akechi-kun? I thought you were done with your business and that he's coming with Sakurai-san…" said the security guard.
"… Did anyone else besides us stop by?" asked Sae.
"Huh?" replied the security guard in confusion to Sae.
"… Nobody?" said Sae.
"Th-There be no reason for anyone else to come down here except the ones on the phantom thieves case!" said the security guard.
"That means Junko Sakurai's not here and she fell for the trap that we, the phantom thieves prepare for her and Keiko's safe! Excellent!" thought Goro in joy and relief in his mind while Sae think back about the voice message call that she received from Alibaba.
"So it's all true…" said Sae as she take out and glance at Keiko's smartphone again.
"O-Of course it's true! Is something the matter?" said the security guard.
"Now that you mention it, there is. It's about Junko Sakurai-san, I know that you've been told that she and I are coming to interrogate the captured phantom thief further but unfortunately, Sakurai-san had to take a sudden call so she left and I ask Sae-san to take her place and come with me instead." explained Goro calmly to the security guard.
"…Huh?" said the security guard in confusion to Goro.
"That's right, he did ask me to come with him to handle things." said Sae in agreement with Goro.
"Y-You? But…" said the security guard.
"That's enough talk from you. You need to leave now if you don't want to stay here and let them get rid of you to eliminate any evidence. I suggest that you go into hiding at once if you value your life." suggested Sae calmly to the security guard.
"Y-Yes, ma'am…" said the security guard nervously to Sae.
"And don't say a word of what transpired today. Trust nobody. Forget you saw us and forget this ever happened." said Sae to the security guard and he nodded and walked away from her and Goro, who watched the guard leave before they glance back at the interrogation room.
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Meanwhile, with the others…
"And now we returned to our continued report. This morning, the police have announced that they've detained a suspect who may in fact be the leader of the notorious Phantom Thieves group. The detained suspect is reported to be a young girl who is still a minor…" said a male newscaster on a large screen TV on a building, which surprised and distracted Ann Takamaki (a fair-skinned, long twin-tailed blonde-haired, light blue-eyed girl wearing a short sleeve blue and white shirt with a long sleeve red and white jacket over it, a pair of glasses on her face, long black stockings and red heels on her feet) from her modelling shooting job outside a clothes shop with another model, a cameraman and others working with her.
"Ann-chan. Can I get you to look over here?" said the cameraman to Ann (which snap het out of her thoughts before she glance at the cameraman).
"Oh… I'm sorry." said Ann apologetically to the cameraman.
"Hm? So she got caught? That group sure was something." said the cameraman as he stood up, approach and stand beside Ann and stared up at the male newscaster reporting about the captured phantom thief suspect on TV.
"Y-Yeah…" said Ann slightly hesitantly to the cameraman.
"So, the next shoot got me thinking. How 'bout we have you do an idol theme, y'know? That cool?" asked the cameraman as he glance at Ann.
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"What a surprise. To think the one behind all this is just a female minor. But considering how quickly they announced her arrest, the police must surely be confident in the outcome of this case." said another male newscaster to the first newscaster while Ryuji Sakamoto (a tan-skinned, short blonde-haired, brown-eyed guy wearing the full Shujin male uniform and white shoes) watched the news from a TV inside a shoe store.
"Hm? Well, I'll be… Goodness, look at you now! It's been a while, Ryuji!" said a middle-aged woman in surprise and joy at seeing Ryuji standing outside the shoe store where she worked.
"Huh? Uh, yeah…" said Ryuji as he glance at the middle-aged woman.
"You stopped visiting so abruptly, everyone was worried about you. It's your second year, right? Are you still doing track and field? I'd love to see you run again." said the middle-aged woman to Ryuji (who glance at one of the track shoes in the store).
XXXX
"Also, the young girl continues to remain silent, refusing to implicate any potential accomplices. However, considering the number of charges brought against her, it's unlikely that she was working alone." said the second male newscaster to the first male newscaster from the smartphone held by a female student sitting inside an art classroom with 2 more female students sitting and watching the news with her before they glance at Yusuke Kitagawa (a fair-skinned, short dark blue-haired, grey-eyed pretty-looking guy wearing a long sleeve white shirt with a black Fleur De-Lis mark on it, long black pants and black shoes on his feet) as he sat in front of a blank white canvas.
"I wonder if something happened…" said the first female student.
"Yeah…" said the second female student.
"He's not the only one. So does Selwyn-san…" said the third female student before she and her friends saw their art teacher coming and quickly went back to do their canvas artworks.
"You seem stumped for once… Not feeling it today, Kitagawa-kun?" asked the art teacher concernly to Yusuke.
"Oh. Yes…" replied Yusuke as he glance and nodded at the art teacher.
"Oh, I'm not chiding you. Just do as normal at your own pace. With your skills, there's no need for you to worry about your future." said the art teacher reassuringly to Yusuke before the art teacher turned and walked away.
"Normal… Right…" sighed Yusuke as he glance back at the blank canvas with a sad look on his face before he heard someone knocking softly on the door, glance and smiled at his girlfriend Aglaia Selwyn (a fair-skinned, long pink-haired, purple-eyed girl wearing a short sleeve white button-up shirt with a long sleeve dark blue blazer over it and had the Kosei high logo on her blazer, a black ribbon tied around her neck, short black skirt, knee length white socks and black shoes on her feet) standing outside the door.
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"She's just a high school student. How do you think she was contacting the others?" asked the first male newscaster.
"The police here can search any online communications. Her accomplices may slip up eventually. Given the lack of physical violence, their method is still a mystery. Regardless, the police are looking into attempted murder charges." replied the second male newscaster to the first male newscaster on the TV inside Futaba Sakura (a pale-skinned, long orange-haired, grey-eyed girl wearing a long sleeve black shirt with huge white JLMK alphabets on her shirt and matching black shorts) room as she glance out the window at the sky before she glance down at her smartphone then at the computer screen showing dozens of people's messages on it.
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"You two never turned them in? That's quite a surprise. I thought I lose them this whole time! Hahahaha!" laughed the male teacher.
"We're sorry…" said Makoto Niijima (a fair-skinned, short dark brown-haired (that's in a bob cut with blunt bangs and a French-braid styled headband), red-eyed girl wearing a long sleeve white turtleneck shirt with a black halter vest over it, red and black pleated plaid skirt, long black pantyhose and black/brown ankle boots on her feet) apologetically to the male teacher.
"We'll try not to forget next time, sensei." said Keith Donovan (an olive-skinned, short pale blonde-haired, blue-eyed guy wearing the full Shujin Academy male uniform) apologetically to the male teacher as well.
"Well, both of your grades are excellent, AND you two are student council president and vice-president. I'm sure you two will be admitted to any colleges that you two apply to." said the male teacher proudly to both Makoto and Keith.
"Yeah, thanks and we know…" said Keith.
"That one phantom thief should have follow the examples of you two. Did you two know and hear about it? It seems she was caught. Some high schooler. I wonder why she turned to life of crime." said the male teacher to both Makoto and Keith as he look away from them and didn't noticed both Makoto and Keith stared and exchange sad and worry looks about Keiko.
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"We also received information that the young girl was placed on probation for assault and that she's not the only one who's on probation, so does another young girl that's a close friend of her. Because of her and her friend previous records, they had to leave their hometown. Perhaps her motive lies there and her friend must have support and go along with her motive." said the second male newscaster to the first male newscaster.
"Ugh. What blatant lies and assumptions that they think and talk about Keiko-chan and Mallory-chan as if they're criminals. They know nothing about them like we do…" said Jason Shinmei (a slightly tan-skinned, short light brown-haired, black-eyed guy wearing a short sleeve black V-neck shirt, long dark blue jeans, white socks and black loafers on his feet) in annoyance and anger at what the male newscaster say about Keiko and Mallory to his girlfriend and fiancée Haru Okumura (a fair-skinned, short wavy light auburn-haired, auburn-eyed girl wearing a long sleeve white shirt with a short puffed sleeves pink turtleneck cardigan over it, red and black pleated plaid skirt, thigh high white stockings and black Mary Jane shoes on her feet) as they sat on the couch and watched the news on the TV in the living room inside Haru's house.
"Yeah, I know and I agree with you, Jason…" sighed Haru in sad agreement with Jason.
"Hey, don't be sad, Haru…" said Jason as he raised and put his hand on Haru's hand and squeeze it gently before surprise and shock looks appear on their faces when they heard what the male newscaster say next on TV.
"We've just received a new confirmation from the police that the phantom thief suspect that's being held in custody by them has committed suicide. The police have confirmed her death, although further details have not been released. To repeat, the suspect has committed suicide while in custody. This station will continue to report any further updates as they arrive."
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Ann gasp and widened her eyes in surprise and shock at seeing and hearing what the male newscaster just said on the huge screen TV on the building.
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Futaba leaned forward and swiftly type on her computer's keyboard.
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"It can't be…" gasp Makoto as she dropped the paper files that she hold in her hands after she (and Keith) saw with a shock look on her face at the latest news update spoken by the male newscaster on her smartphone.
"Makoto!" said Keith concernly to Makoto.
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"My word…" said Yusuke with a shock look on his face after he (and Aglaia) saw the news on his smartphone.
"My goodness, Yusuke…" gasp Aglaia as she glance at Yusuke.
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"You're shittin' me… We got 'em…" said Ryuji with a triumph smirk on his face after he saw the news on the TV inside the shoe store.