Disclaimer: All characters and events that take place within the story are fictional. Any relations to real people or events are purely coincidental. All copyrights belong to Atlus.

Art by Zengoro on Pixiv. Thanks so much!

Warning: Deviants explores psychological disorders, thoughts of suicide, attempted suicide, sexual assault, and emotional trauma both from an intrapersonal and interpersonal perspective. If you or anyone you know are suffering from any of the above, please seek professional help.

Monday, May 2

After School

The hum and rattling of air conditioner units on the school roof along with the ambient noise of city life might as well have been white noise. Sitting in one of the broken chairs Ren continued to stare at the golden medallion in his hand- their spoils from Kamoshida. They still had to figure out what to do with it- one of the topics of conversation today- but that wasn't what occupied his thoughts.

Ryuji sighed for perhaps the tenth time since they'd arrived, tapping the power button on his phone and flicking down the screen. Ren saw Ryuji chew his lip from the corner of his eye. Ryuji pressed the power button, sighing again.

"Will you quit that, already?" Morgana groaned, tail flicking unconsciously. "You've done nothing but sigh and turn your phone on and off."

"Yeah, I know," Ryuji replied, frustrated. He held up his phone, "But you seriously can't tell me you ain't slightly worried about this."

"She's fine," Ren ran his thumb over the medal, the grooves of the Olympic symbol tickling his skin. "Ann just said she wanted to talk."

"But she took off after the assembly!" Ryuji emphasized the last two words with vertical arm movements. "She left me on 'read!'"

Before Ren or Morgana could answer they were interrupted by the sound of the rooftop door creaking opening. Turning they saw the girl in question standing in the frame. She looked tired and puffy-eyed, but a satisfied expression was on her face.

"I was busy, okay?" Ann gave them a small smile before looking at a certain part of the roof. "Kinda weird to be up here."

Ren followed her gaze to the spot where Suzui had jumped. It wasn't the first time he'd looked there.

Ann quietly walked up to the fence that her friend had stood on the other side of and pressed herself against it. "So this is what she saw, huh?" she mumbled.

"Ann-" Ryuji started.

"I'm fine," Ann spoke clearly, her voice stronger than Ren had ever heard. More… herself, he supposed. She turned and gave them that same smile. "Thank you, though."

She brushed her skirt, her gaze falling. "So um… I got to talk to her. It wasn't for long, but I did."

Ren felt a strange sense of peace expand in his chest. An empty, satisfied hollowness. "I'm glad. I really am, Ann."

Ann nodded, her smile genuine. "Yeah… It still doesn't feel real. Like I'm in a dream. I told her Kamoshida turned himself in and she-" Ann's voice cracked. "She said she was sorry. She heard what I was putting up with for her and she apologized. I told her there was nothing to be sorry for. That I'd do anything and everything for her. And that of all things I should be the one that needs to be forgiven."

Morgana was shaking his head. "No one needs to be forgiven. It wasn't either of your faults. If Kamoshida didn't do what he did none of this would have happened. He was at fault. And we made sure he gets what he deserves."

"I understand that, Morgana. But I don't think I'm ready to accept it. I know that seems selfish but… this will take me a while," Ann admitted before continuing. "Shiho's mom wants her to transfer schools after she recovers. People will label her here now, after everything that's happened. Shiho told me she was thinking the same thing."

"It's gonna get lonely," Ryuji reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. "But just know that she's alive and awake. You can see her whenever you want!" A tinge of red spread on the back of his ears. "And we're here, too. You're not alone."

Ann nodded, looking content. "I know that now. Seems stupid that I didn't think that was true before."

Ren barked a short laugh. "Yeah, well, a lot has happened since."

They all remained silent for a few moments, remembering everything that had happened in and out of that castle.

Ryuj leaned back in his chair, hands behind his head. "I still can't believe it worked. Like, it actually worked."

"It was one hell of a way to test our theories," Ren mused. "But yeah, it worked perfectly."

"Told you," Morgana haughtily stated. "With this, we can confirm that no mental shutdown will take place if their Palace disappears. All we gotta do is convince the Shadow and send it back to its real self. No cognitive collapse triggered."

Ryuji whistled. "A confession with no bad stuff as a result, huh? Works for me."

Ann hugged herself, "Yeah… I guess so."

"What, not good enough for you?" Ryuji asked, a teasing lilt sneaking in.

"Hm?" Ann thoughtfully tapped her finger to her mouth before wolfishly smiling. "Nah, knowing he'll be living with regret for the rest of his life feels pretty good. I think that's a worse fate than death."

Ryuji's jaw hit the floor, a mixture of shock and terror on his face. "Ha… haha… all's well that ends well is what they say… right, Ren?"

"That is indeed the saying" Ren said, holding up the medal. "Moving on, we still have to figure out what to do with this."

"Can always keep it," Ryuji shrugged. "Like a memento or something?"

"Uh, no thanks," Ann made an exaggerated move of covering her eyes. "I don't want to see that thing any more than I already have. Just the idea that he held it at one point is revolting."

"Oh, come on you guys," Morgana rolled his eyes. "We're thieves and that was the Treasure. The obvious move is to sell it!"

Ann pulled out her phone and started tapping away. "Yeah, but… where? A pawn shop? Hang on, that airsoft store, Untouchables, we went to shows up when I search for 'pawn shop.' Does that mean we can sell it there?"

"Hol' up, how much is an Olympic gold medal worth anyways?" Ryuji started his own search when his eyes grew as big as the medal. "HOLY SHIT! It can go for over ¥2,000,000 at auction?!"

Ann grew a devilish smile. "Hey, Ryuji… Do you remember that time in middle school where I lent you some money?"

Ryuji gave her a blank stare. "Why are you bringing that up now?"

Ann's smile widened. "Have you heard of this thing called 'interest?'"

"Ohhhhohoho no no no, that's not how that works," Ryuji waggled his finger, "Besides, didn't I pay you back?"

"Uh… no you didn't."

Ryuji looked shocked. "I didn't? Did I just think I did?"

"Yup," Ann nodded.

"Hang on," Ren chimed in. "Technically we stole this, we can't exactly go and put it on public auction. And I doubt it's going to be that valuable now that its owner is… well… a registered sex offender."

Ryuji immediately deflated. "This effin sucks man… we coulda been rich!"

"But what do we do with the money?" Ann asked.

"What else? We have a celebration!" Morgana answered.

Ryuji lit up. "Hell yeah, I could go for a party."

"Good food?" Ren inquired.

"Good atmosphere?" Morgana added.

"Oh if we're going all out I know just the place," Ann giddily searched for something and showed them her screen. "It's a buffet. I've never been but Shiho and I have been wanting to go for a while. They're supposed to have an amazing dessert selection."

Ren admired the perfectly captured images of ribs, smiling faces, polished glasses, and immaculate cakes. "Looks perfect. I think this is the first time I'll go to such a ritzy buffet."

"Same," Ryuji looked just as enamored.

"Yes!" Ann raised both her hands in the air.

"I think that airsoft store is our best bet for selling," Morgana chimed in. "I really don't think we can get away with going anywhere else. If we go to an actual pawn shop they might start asking some questions we shouldn't answer."

"Think you can do that, Ren?" Ann pointed a thumb towards the rooftop door. "I was going to help Shiho's parents pack a bag for Shiho for her hospital stay."

"No problem. I can handle that," Ren gave her a thumbs up.

Wednesday, May 4

Daytime

"Best I can do is ¥20,000, kid."

Ren couldn't believe his ears. ¥20,000? When it could sell for a hundred times that? "Wait, are you serious?"

Iwai sighed as he slapped his magazine down on the counter and leaned forward. "Look, kid. This thing looks legit, I'll give ya that, but it's not. And let me tell ya something... I'm not gonna ask how the hell ya gotta hold of this thing. And don't think I don't remember you asking for 'realistic' airsoft guns the other day. I tell the wrong people who put two and two together and guess what? Yer in a lot of trouble. So I'm saving ya the trouble, by giving you a price I think is fair. Besides, do ya know how big the market for fake Olympic gold medals is?"

Ren shook his head. It was fake?

"Not very big. I'll be lucky to even find a seller. So ¥20,000 is the best I can do. Take it or go find somewhere else," Iwai leaned back, eyes not blinking.

Ren sighed, pinching his nose. This was turning out to be a lot more trouble than it was worth. But ¥2,000,000! "But…"

Iwai glanced at the clock and narrowed his eyes. "Hey, kid, how about you do me a favor and I'll add some change on top."

Ren narrowed his eyes. "What kind of favor?"

Iwai procured a nondescript brown paper bag and placed it on the counter. "Take this. Don't open it. Bring it back to me next time you come back. I'll add ¥10,000 for your troubles."

He counted the bills in front of Ren, placed it back into the envelope, and handed it over. "Good doing business with ya, kid."

"Yeah," Ren muttered under his breath, "You too."

The door chimed and two men dressed in suits walked in. The way they eyed the place made Ren's hair stand.

The older gentleman watched Iwai carefully. "Iwai Munehisa? We got some questions for you."

"Best get goin, kid," Iwai whispered to Ren.

Ren didn't need prompting as he brushed past the men and left the store.

The moment he stepped outside Morgana weaseled himself out. "Are you serious? You accepted that? He just made a killing off us!"

"What did you want me to do? He made a point. We can't exactly explain how we got a hold of the thing. And he said it's fake!"

"Wait, you didn't know it was fake? The real one is still with Kamoshida. You could have at least negotiated a little bit," Morgana scowled.

"I… I can do that?" Ren asked, dumbstruck. "And wait, you knew it was fake?"

Morgana groaned as he pulled his face down. "I swear… Yes, it's fake. You think money just comes out of Metaverse or something? Please, as if anything that amazing could happen."

Ren sighed and pulled out his phone.

Ren: Hey so uh… I sold it.

Ryuji: Sweet! How much did we get? Are we loaded now? :)

Ren: Well… no…

Ren: We only got ¥30,000…

Ryuji: … That's it?

Ryuji: Man… this sucks…

Ren: Sorry, guys… I didn't negotiate the price. And apparently it's not a real gold medal. It's fake.

Ann: Wow… well take what we can get, I guess.

Ryuji: Are you serious? This SUCKS!

Ann: btw are you guys good with having our celebration tomorrow? If we go at noon we get lunch prices.

Ren: Works for me!

Ryuji: Epic!

Ann: Great, I'll make the reservation then. I'll send the place's info later tonight.

Ren: Great, thanks.

Ryuji: You're the best, Ann!

Ren put his phone away and glanced at the paper back he was holding.

"So… what do you think this is?" Morgana asked.

"I have no idea," Ren hefted the back. It was pretty heavy. "But I have a feeling it's what those guys that came in were looking for."

"We'd better get out of here, then," Morgana suggested.

"I couldn't agree more." Ren took one last look at Untouchables before making his way back home.

Thursday, May 5

Daytime

Ren hurried down the steps, dressed in his outing attire. A simple pair of jeans, plain white tshirt, and a light, black blazer. His school back was replaced with a brown bag that could fit Morgana and then some.

Sakura was preparing something from behind the counter and called out to him. "Oh, Ren, perfect timing. I need you to help with some chores."

"Sorry, Sakura, I got plans right now. Could I help when I get back?" Ren checked the clock on the wall.

"Can you spare a couple minutes? That's all it will take, I promise," Sakura pushed.

The door to LeBlanc opened, the bell ringing as a tall, beautiful woman in a charcoal gray suit stepped in, black briefcase in hand. Her ashen-brown hair was parted on the right side and fell straight to her mid back.

Her sharp brown eyes glanced between them inquisitively. "Am I interrupting?" The way she asked the question was almost accusatory.

"Not at all," Sakura gave Ren one last look and gestured towards the open seats on the bar. "Take any seat you'd like."

The lady pulled out the closest bar stool and took her place, giving a cursory glance at the menu. "House blend, please."

"House blend," Sakura repeated. "Coming right up."

The woman turned her attention to Ren, "Are you a part timer? I didn't think a place like this could afford one."

Ren's eyes widened at the insult and was about to answer when Sakura answered for him. "No, not exactly."

She up-downed Ren, who shifted under her gaze. "A high school student, then? Where do you attend?"

"Shujin Academy," Ren simply answered.

"Oh," the woman sounded surprised. "What a coincidence. I know someone who attends Shujin as well. I've heard things there are rough due to recent events."

Sakura sighed from behind the counter. "This about that poor girl?"

The woman frowned. "Partially. A teacher named Kamoshida confessed his crimes against students, one of whom was that girl. Testimonies from other teachers who witnessed his public confession stated that he seemed like a completely different person, supposedly. And it happened 'all of a sudden' one day." She looked at Ren like she knew everything. "Peculiar, don't you think?"

"Yes," Ren agreed, thinking that honesty was best. "Peculiar. I'm sorry, it was a pleasure to meet you but I really should be going. Enjoy the coffee."

"House blend," Sakura placed the steaming cup in front of the woman right on cue. "Enjoy."

Ren gave Sakura a wink before stepping out.

"Oghmaghod," Ryuji looked blissful with a mouth full of food as he shoveled more in. "Dhishoeffingood."

Morgana poked his head out of the bag. "Everything is delicious! It's no wonder Lady Ann chose this place."

Ren took another bite of prime rib that seemed to melt in his mouth. "I could die right now. I don't even care."

Ann held a small plate with a slice of cake on it, taking small bites and seemingly to melt with every one. "It has to be good. This hotel is famous enough for international politicians to stay at. The food has to be top class.

"By the way, I heard police investigators are coming to interview the students at school tomorrow."

Ryuji made a visible effort to swallow. "Seriously? Man, that ain't gonna be good. For sure our names are gonna come up. People are sayin' all sortsa crap about us and Kamoshida. But on the bright side, people are even thankin' us."

Ren set down his fork. "We'd best be prepared then."

"How do you know people are thanking us? Blog board?" Ann asked before finishing her plate and picking up another.

"There's this new site that popped up. Check it out," Ryuji showed them his phone screen.

"'The Phantom Aficionado?'" Ann read quizzically. "'Well done, Phantom Thieves.' 'Thank you for giving us hope.' Huh… You know, I was desperately figuring out my own problems but it feels good to know I somehow helped other people."

"Pretty sweet, huh?" Ryuji tucked his phone away. "The whole site's filled with posts like that."

"Seemed like we accomplished more than we sought to, huh?" Ren's smile wavered as he saw a well-dressed, middle-aged woman give them a piercing, unapproving gaze from over Ryuji's shoulder.

"So what now?" Ryuji asked.

"Well…" Ren checked his watch and set down his napkin. "We got an hour left and that food isn't going to eat itself."

Ryuji stood up. "Bruh, I'm right behind you."

"Wait, hurry back!" Ann called after them. "I still haven't tried a whole area of the dessert section!"

Crumbs and bits and pieces rested on once pristine white plates, the only remains of the delightful delicacies that once laid upon them. At the edge of the table were so many plates that Ren didn't even want to count, a tower symbolizing their achievements… And their discomfort.

"Ohmagod…" Ryuji muffled behind his hand. "I don't wanna see food for the rest of the day."

"I… did it," Ann whimpered. "I tried… every dessert available."

Ren had his hands folded, elbows on his knees. He was sweating. "I don't think I've eaten so much in my life. I think… I need to loosen my belt a couple notches."

"Yup… me too…" Ryuji agreed.

"Time?" Ann asked.

Ren glanced at his watch. "Twenty minutes left."

"I think I'm tapping out here, capt'n," Ryuji waved his hand.

"Notion… seconded," Ann put her head down on the table.

"Oh my… look at that table," a voice from over Ren's shoulder muttered.

The three of them glanced over to see an up-scale looking couple leering at them. All their clothes and accessories were designer brands, and the air they held themselves with was what Ren would call arrogance.

"How barbaric," the woman huffed at their mountain of plates.

"Come now, darling," her partner attempted to sound diplomatic. "Have pity on them. I'm sure the opportunity to dine such renowned and exquisite cuisine comes far and few between."

The woman's daintily placed her hand over her mouth. "Oh my, you have a point, dear. I feel sorry for the youth. Their parents must be ashamed of themselves for not providing for their children."

Ryuji aggressively stood up, but both Ren and Ann firmly put hands on either shoulder and forced him back down.

"Not now, Ryuji," Ann pleaded. "Let's not make a scene here."

Ryuji clicked his tongue. "I've been hearin' people whisper about us the whole damn time here."

Ren had noted that nearly every patron besides them was well-dressed. Suits or dresses, blazers and black ties predominantly. Meanwhile, they were in street-wear and stook out like a sore thumb. "We aren't really dressed the part."

"Yeah well, I bet even if we were they'd still say shit," Ryuji spat. "Damn mood killers."

Ren stood. "I'm gonna use the restroom."

"I'll go too," Ryuji got up to follow, pausing. "You okay by yourself?"

"Yeah, I'll be good," Ann waved them off.

The two of them followed the signs to the restrooms, pausing when they saw the notice on the door that said "Closed for Cleaning."

"Shit," Ryuji scratched the back of his head.

Ren took a few steps and asked an employee, "Excuse me, where's the nearest bathroom?"

"I'm sorry, sir. But you'll have to go to another floor. I recommend going up one floor, the fitness center has external bathrooms."

"Great, thanks," Ren gestured for Ryuji to follow.

"We had to go up a floor?" Ryuji sighed as they waited at the elevators. "What a drag."

Ren sighed. "It is what it is."

"You know," Morgana poked his head out, addressing Ryuji. "You talked big about eating until you puked, but I'm really glad you didn't."

"Yeah," Ryuji stretched, rubbing his stomach. "Me too. It'd be such a waste, y'know?"

"That's good, cause I really didn't want to hear it," Ren shook his head.

Ren suddenly felt himself off balance as he was shoved into Ryuji. He barely managed to catch himself. "What the-"

They both looked up at the backs of a group of big men in suits, each with a wire coming out of an ear. Four of the five wore sunglasses. They stood around another big man, this one shave-headed with a goatee and sported red-tinted glasses.

Ren immediately eyed the one who had shoulder checked him.

The men went about their business as if nothing happened.

"Still no updates about the case?" Goatee asked.

Ren froze. That voice was so familiar.

"No, sir," one of the men answered. "Excuse me for asking, sir. But why are you so involved? Surely you're above-"

Goatee silenced him with a look. A dangerous look. "Did I ask for your opinion?"

Where had he heard it from? Ren didn't notice his hands shaking.

"N-No, sir! I won't make this mistake again!"

"Hey, you're cutting in line!" Ryuji only looked slightly uncertain as all five heads turned to him.

"What do you want?" A man asked, sounding more annoyed than anything else.

"We were here first," Ren stated.

"We're in a hurry," was the deadpan response.

Ryuji stepped closer. "Oh, my bad! So that means you can just shoulder check people if you're 'in a hurry'?"

The elevator dinged and the doors started to open.

Goatee sighed. "Seems like the clientele here has changed for the worse. Now we have a bunch of kids running around."

"What was that?" Ryuji directly asked.

"Shut up and mind your own business, kid." One of the men shoved Ryuji before they began to file into the elevator.

Ren shook whatever funk he was in away.

The elevator doors began to close.

"Hey, Ryuji?"

"What?"

"Think you can run?"

"Uh, I guess. Why?"

"Do you remember where the stairs are?"

Ryuji barely gave it a thought. "Yeah, left around the corner and the first right."

"Perfect." Ren hit the elevator button.

The elevator doors opened, revealing confused and annoyed burly men in suits.

They looked at Ren.

He smiled.

The doors closed again.

Ren hit the button again.

The doors opened.

The men gave him an "are you serious" look.

Ryuji took a quick step in and ran his hand down the button panel.

"Hey!"

Ren gave them the double bird.

"You fuckin-"

Ren and Ryuji were already gone, shit eating grins on their faces.

They returned to a frowning Ann.

"Yo, what's wrong?" Ryuji asked.

Ann's ire turned on them. "What took you two so damn long?"

"Woah," Ryuji held his hands up in surrender. "Sorry, jus' askin.'"

Ann immediately looked regretful and sighed. "Sorry, sorry. I just had a run-in with a woman while you guys were gone.

"She bumped into me and kept saying it was my fault she dropped her plate."

Ryuji clicked his tongue. "Sounds like a real bitch."

"Yeah, you're telling me," Ann huffed, continuing. "And all the employees looked at me disapprovingly. Like what the hell?"

Ryuji and Ren took their seats.

Ann looked at them. Then around them. "I wonder if we're out of place here."

Ren chuckled. "That's par for the course, isn't it?"

"Ha," Ann gave a short laugh. "Yeah, I guess it is."

"We had a run-in too. Bunch a shitty adults think they have a right to everything," Ryuji's hands clenched. "Hey Morgana?"

"Yeah?"

Ryuji paused slightly. "Anyone can have a Palace, yeah?"

"Well, yeah. If their desire gets distorted enough anyone can have one," Morgana answered quickly.

"Same goes for them havin' a change of heart if we steal their Treasure?" Ryuji continued.

"In theory, yeah," Morganna raised an eyebrow.

"Why are you asking all of a sudden?" Ann asked, perplexed.

It clicked in Ren's head. "You want to continue as the Phantom Thieves."

Ann and Morgana's eyes widened.

Ryuji nodded. "I've been thinkin.' I know, I know. Me. Thinking. Ha ha. But seriously, we put a lot of work into changin' Kamoshida's heart. We got people thankin' us for what we did. Us, of all people!"

Ren cupped his chin in his hand. "Thoughts, Ann?"

Ann waited for several seconds before answering. "I… agree. I can't go back to just ignoring people in trouble. Especially if it means we can prevent what happened to Shiho from happening to someone else. I can't let that happen on my watch."

"That's true," Morgana chimed in. "With all of us together, I don't think there's anything we can't do as Phantom Thieves."

"That means we'll have to fight Shadows again, huh?" Ann looked conflicted.

"It's worth the cost, isn't it?" Ren swirled his glass of water, ice clinking.

Ann's lips curled into a smile. "I suppose it is."

"Eh," Ryuji shrugged. "We managed to take care of Kamoshida's whole castle. I think we'll be fine."

Morgana chuckled. "Looks like I have a few fledgling thieves under my tutelage now."

"'Fledglings?'" Ann repeated, laughing. "That's actually quite fitting for us."

"Then it's official!" Ryuji sat forward. "We're gonna catch all these shitty adults, and make ourselves known to the world!"

Ann turned towards Ren. "So, you good with being our leader? I can't really see anyone else taking up that role."

Ren shook his head, not in denial but in disbelief. "Yeah, I guess so."

"No complaints here," Ryuji gave a light slap to Ren's shoulder. "Don't think I can manage all that stuff."

"Wait, where's my say?" Morgana looked between the three of them before relenting. "But, I guess you're as good as any."

"Great," Ann gave Ren a wink. "I'll be counting on you, Leader."

"I'll do my best not to let you all down." Ren set his glass on the table. "I want to establish some ground rules.

"First of all, we keep what we do a secret to the best of our ability. That means we take every precaution to keep our identities, activities, and details of the Metaverse from others. Not only for our safety, but theirs as well.

"Second, everything we do is a unanimous decision. This includes our marks, planning, and execution. If there's any point where a shred of doubt or disagreement occurs, we take it back to the drawing board and make sure we're all satisfied. This way we keep each other in check.

"Thirdly, keep each other informed. If something's bothering you, whether it's Thieve's business or not, bring it up. This doesn't mean you have to talk to the whole team, but talk to one of us. We're more than a team, we're all friends. We need to take care of each other. This also includes if someone grows suspicious of us. We'll handle it, and following rule two, we figure it out together. Questions?"

"Man, I kinda get number three, but is it that big a deal?" Ryuji sighed. "I mean, I don't know if I'd want to bring up whatever's botherin' me to one of you if it's something I can handle on my own."

"No, Ren's right," Ann said. "If I had just talked to Shiho about what was going on with Kamoshida, maybe we could have avoided a lot of pain. Maybe nothing would have changed, who knows? But that maybe is going to stick with me for the rest of my life. I'm done hiding from my problems. Like Ren said, we need to take care of each other."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to bring all that crap up. But you guys are right." Ryuji scratched his neck, blushing. "'We take care of each other,' huh? I… Haven't thought that way about people in a real long time. Other than my mom, ya know?"

"Can't relate to that one," Ann chortled with a roll of her eyes.

"Hey, you know what I mean! Man, now I feel stupid about saying anything."

"I'm amazed you don't feel stupid all the time," Morgana fired.

Ren cut in to avoid the incoming argument, "I'll be honest and say I may not appreciate it in the moment, but I'm counting on you all to take care of me. Rest assured, I'll do my best to take care of you, too. Even if it gets on your nerves. Scratch that, especially if it gets on your nerves."

Ryuji shared an easy, confident smile. "Same goes for me, dude. Better prepare yourselves cause I ain't gonna rest 'till we're all good."

"That's comforting," Ann commented sarcastically. "You can count me in, of course. There are a bunch of people that could use our help, but that doesn't mean we have to neglect ourselves. Whenever any of you need a pick me up I know a great crepe place."

"Lady Ann, that sounds wonderful! I can taste the whip cream already. But on a serious note, I'll do my part in making sure our missions are successful."

"Speaking of missions, who do we go after?" Ryuji asked. "I'm thinkin' big names."

Ren tapped his chin. "Like people in the news?"

"If we do that, we might be able to make a big impact on a lot of people's lives," Ann looked pleased. "We could do greater good that way."

"Let's keep an eye out for big wigs that catch our attention then," Morgana declared. "Then we can agree on our targets."

"Unanimously," Ryuji smirked.

"I like this unanimous thing," Ann smiled. "It makes it seem like we're all making a pact of some sort."

"Now then," Morgana sat as straight backed as a cat could. "This is the official formation of the Phantom Thieves!"

"Let's remember today as exactly that, then," Ren leaned back into his chair, smiling at his conspirators. "Let's go change some hearts."

A/N

I'm back, bitches.

See you all in a week or two.