Chapter 11; The Starting Point

Location; Shujin Academy

The following day, Aqua still felt weak, but still went to school. Also not one of them hadn't seen Kamoshida all day. "Have you seen Kamoshida?" Ryuji said as they all met up together before heading for the roof for lunch. "No, I haven't." Aqua said and Ren and Ann soon said the same thing. Ryuji then said to them. "You really think he changed?"

"I hope so." Ren said and that's when Kawakami appeared. She then walked up to them and said. "Oh, perfect timing!"

"What's up, Ms. Kawakami?" Aqua said and Kawakami said. "Study hall will be held instead of PE today. I'm letting you know just in case you haven't heard."

"Why?" Ren said and Kawakami said. "Mr. Kamoshida has taken the day off."

"He ain't here?" Ryuji said and Kawakami said. "Don't tell anyone that you heard this from me… But we received word that Mr. Kamoshida is placing himself under suspension. It's such an important time before the tournament too… Principal Kobayakawa went to talk to him about it, but he supposedly wasn't making any sense…"

"Wait, a suspension!?" Ryuji yelled and Kawakami then said to Ryuji. "Not so loud! The talks about your expulsions may be put on hold too… I don't know too much about it though… Anyway, I've relayed what's going on to you." Kawakami then left them and Ryuji said. "Looks like something happened… At least it sounds different from a mental shutdown…"

"Yeah, but it looks like we are going to have to wait to see what will happen to us." Aqua said and they all agreed. So for the next few days, they acted like normal teenagers, studying for exams, and hanging out with one another.

And today, the principal was having a morning assembly. Everyone knew it was going to talk about Shiho jump, the Pokemon they saw, and the calling card. Of course Ren and the others were all in the crowd, but Ann was the only one that didn't feel comfortable. But everyone shut up once the Principal appeared. The Principal then said to everyone. "Let's begin this school-wide morning assembly. As you all know, a mystery event took place the other day. While we are grateful for these animals for saving the life of one of our students, they are still unknown and therefore dangerous. So if any student knows anything about these animals, or have seen any–" That's when the doors opened and everyone saw Kamoshida. The Principle then said to Kamoshida threw the microphone. "Mr. Kamoshida, what's the–"

"I… have been reborn. That is why I will confess everything to you all…" Kamoshida said before he walked onto stage. Once on stage, Kamoshida then spoke to everyone. "I have repeatedly done things that were unbecoming of a teacher. Verbally abusing students… physically abusing my team, and… sexually harassing female students. I am the reason why Shiho Suzui tried to kill herself!" Kamoshida then fell to his knees, cried, and continued to speak. "I thought of this school as my own castle… There were even students that I sentenced to expulsion, simply because I didn't like them… I will, of course, rescind those… I am truly sorry for putting innocent youths through such horrible acts… I am an arrogant, shallow… and shameful person. No, I'm worse than that… I will take responsibility and kill myself for it!"

"Mr. Kamoshida! Please get off the stage for now!" The Principle said as everyone was in an uproar over what Kamoshida said. The teacher that supported Kamoshida knew they were also worried, so they tried to make everyone go back to class, but no one moved. "Don't run, you bastard!" Ann yelled and that caused everyone to stop and look at her. Ann then said to Kamoshida, who looked right at her. "Shiho's still alive even after all the things that made her want to die! You have no right to run from this!"

"You're right… You're absolutely right… I should be punished under the law and atone for my crimes… I did horrible things to Takamaki-san, as well. In return for giving Suzui-san a position on the team… I… I tried to force her into having relations." The students gasped as they realized that the rumors were all false. "As of today, I will resign from my position as an instructor and turn myself in. Someone, please call the police!" Kamoshida said and Aqua already called the police, because she was very worried after Kamoshida said he was going to kill himself.

Soon everyone heard the police sirens and shortly after that, they saw the police take Kamoshida away. Everyone either followed the police or went back to the classroom because the teacher told them too. There were just a few students that were just walking around, and in the gym Ren and the others had moved to a middle right side of the gym and Ann said looking at the stage. "His heart really did change…"

"Yeah, but I got to be honest. I almost jumped out of my shoes when I heard he was going to kill himself." Aqua said and then Ren said. "Me too, but I'm sure that things will change around here."

"How can you be sure?" Ryuji asked before noticing Mishima, along with two girls, walking up to them. Ryuji was surprised to see them and Mishima said to Ann. "Takamaki-san… I'm sorry!" Ann was surprised to hear that and Mishima continued to speak. "We all knew… but we pretended we didn't."

"Takamaki-san. I had you all wrong… I'm sorry that I spread rumors about you!" One of the girls said before the other said. "I didn't know at all… Kamoshida was forcefully pushing himself on you… It must've been so hard for you!"

"I'm sure there's a ton of people who want to apologize to you. We're so sorry!" The first girl said and then Ann said to all of them. "No, it's okay. The same goes for me too… Besides, that's all in the past now."

"Hey, you there! Return to class at once!" A teacher in a suit said as he walked up to them. As they were all going to class, the girls and Mishima had already made it to class and the teacher had left them to find more students. As they were walking to class, Ryuji said to the others. "Looks like Kamoshida ain't the only one that had a change of heart. Man, I'm glad for you. Looks like those weird rumors are gonna go away."

"My thing doesn't really matter. We made Kamoshida apologize about Shiho… That's more than enough for me."

"Then tell after school, go to the hospital and tell her, then meet us at my place to talk about the medal." Aqua said before she broke away from them and went to her class.

Location; Aqua's House

After everyone was back in class, the Principal decided to end school early today, so while Ann was at the hospital, everyone was at Aqua's house talking about the change of heart around her dinner table, with their Pokemon eating their lunches close by. "I totally freaked out… He really did have a change of heart… And we were lucky his mind didn't get messed up either! This was an A+ job!" Ryuji said, holding the medal. Aqua took the medal and said. "I give it a B+."

"Why? It isn't like he had a mental shutdown when his Palace disappeared?" Morgana said and Aqua said. "True, but he almost killed himself. If he hadn't confessed his crime. I don't even want to think what would happen."

"Still, now we know to persuade the Shadow to return to its real self, then our target won't undergo a cognitive collapse." Ren said, taking the medal from Aqua. That's when the doorbell rang and Aqua went to the door. Aqua looked at the eye hole, then opened the door and let Ann enter. As Ann entered the house and let Litleo out, Aqua said to her. "Welcome Ann. How was Shiho?"

"She's regained consciousness!" Ann said, taking a seat. "For real!?" Ryuji said as they were all surprised. Ann then started to cry and said as she covered her face with her hands. "It was only for a little bit, but I got to talk to her! I was able to tell her that Kamoshida admitted to what he did! After that, Shiho, she… she told me she was sorry… Looks like she found out that I was flirting with Kamoshida for her sake… And here I was, wanting to apologize to her."

"Kamoshida's at fault for all of this." Morgana said as Ann removed and then Ann said. "I know… Shiho's mom is thinking of transferring her to another school after she recovers. The whole sexual harassment and attempted suicide… people will label her after that. Sounded like Shiho had the same idea too."

"It's gonna get lonely…" Ryuji said and Ann said. "But, I think it's for the best… I'm sure it'll be hard if she stays here. Besides, I won't be alone." That is when Litleo appeared next to Ann. Ann petted Litleo and Ryuji said to Ann. "Still, Shiho is alive. You can see her anytime."

"Plus, I'm sure she'll love to meet Litleo when she feels a lot better." Aqua said before Ryuji said. "That aside, I was surprised you could hold yourself back against Kamoshida's Shadow."

"It wasn't like that… I just wanted Kamoshida to apologize himself." Ann said before Morgana said. "You're so kind, Lady Ann."

[You don't know my partner, cat.] Litleo said to Morgana, who was mad at Litleo. Aqua understood what Litleo said and said to Ann. "Ann? If you didn't spear Kamoshida's Shadow out of kindness, then why did you?"

"Well, I think revenge is better served if I make him repent. Realizing what he's done, he'll grovel for forgiveness the rest of his life, you know? I just believe there are fates worse than death." Ann said, giving all of them a serious look. They all then knew that they should never get on Ann's bad side. Ryuji then said, still a little shocked. "A-Anyways, that's all setted… But you know, there was one more thing I was wondering about that castle. Why was Kamoshida the only one who had that Metaverse thing?"

"It isn't necessarily limited to him. It's something anyone could have if their heart became warped from their desires." Morgana said before Aqua said. "If that's true? Why didn't we see another Palace when we were in the Metaverse?"

"Because you all haven't seen the real Metaverse yet. Do you want to see it?" Morgana said and while all of them were wondering what was the real Metaverse. "N-Not right now. We better lay low for a while. People are still gonna be talking about Kamoshida. Then again, it's totally impossible for someone to find out what we did at his Palace." Ryuji said and then Ann said. "Yeah, about that… Weird rumors about you guys are already going around. Stuff like, you got together and threatened Kamoshida with something close to physical violence…"

"The hell!?" Ryuji yelled and Aqua said. "Make sense. People aren't going to easily believe that phantom thieves really exist. Plus the calling card's being treated like it was a prank by someone who knew what Kamoshida was doing."

"That means we need to lay low until things settle down for the time being." Ren said and the others agreed. Ryuji then took back the medal and said, pulling out his phone. "Anyways, let's check how much this medal can be sold for. It'd be better if we pawned it off ASAP. Ooh, got a hit! …Wait, thirty thousand yen!? That's all a gold medal's worth!?"

"Say? I agree on laying low and keeping an on the situation. However, it would be nonsense not to celebrate a successful mission." Morgana said and then Ryuji said. "I guess we could blow this dirty money on something fun."

"Discussion among phantom thieves are to take place over luxurious food. How about it?" Morgana said and Aqua said. "Ok, does anyone have an idea for a restaurant?"

"Well, I have an idea. There's a place Shiho and I have been wanting to go for a while." Ann said before Aqua said. "Sounds good, what about you guys?"

"Ok." The guy said at the same time. Morgana then said to Ann. "I'll leave it to your discretion as well, Lady Ann."

"I'll call and check the prices later then." Ann said before Ryuji said. "When should we go? Wanna do it soon, like tomorrow?"

"Why don't we go on Children's Day? It'll help energize us when school life starts up again the day after." Ann said before Aqua said. "Ok, but who's going to sell this thing?"

"Leave that to us. We know a store that'll buy anything. Don't we, Ren?" Morgana said and Ren knew what store Morgana was talking about. Aqua then said to Ren. "You can pick it up from me tomorrow. But for now let's have some fun with our Pokemon."

"Ok." Ren said as they all started to have fun with their Pokemon all day. But during the whole time, they didn't notice the egg was starting to flash. The next day was a weekend, so they didn't have school. This was the perfect moment for Ren to sell the medal. So he went to Aqua house to get the medal. He was surprised when Aqua didn't answer the door, but Fletchinder, who opened the door. Ren entered the house and said to Fletchinder. "Hey Fletchinder. Where's Aqua?"

[Follow me] Fletchinder said, leading the way to Aqua's basement. In the basement, Ren and Morgana saw Aqua checking out the egg. Ren walked over to her and said. "Aqua? What's up with the egg?"

"Oh? Hey Ren. You see…" Aqua stopped as everyone saw the egg flash a little. Ren looked at the egg and said. "What was that?"

"That means the egg is going to hatch."

"You mean, like right now!?"

"No, Ren. Flashes mean it's close to hatching. When it is going to hatch it will glow and stay glowing until the Pokemon inside the egg appears."

"Cool." Morgana said before Aqua said. "Yes, but there's a problem."

"What problem?" Ren said before Aqua said. "It's not smart to leave an egg unintended."

"Why would you leave the egg unintended?" Morgana said and Aqua said. "I have to work at Leblanc today, and my Pokemon is doing chores around the house today."

"Then leave it with Ann or Ryuji?" Ren said and Aqua said. "Ann is busy with a photo shoot, Ryuji is hanging out with his mom, and their Pokemon are with them."

"What about me? I can take the egg with me." Ren said and Aqua thought about it. She then said to Ren as she got up. "Ok, but always keep it close. And if it starts to glow, hind somewhere, listen to Rotom, then catch it in this Pokeball." She pulled out her Rotom Phone and one of her spare Pokeballs. Ren took them and said. "Ok, I will." Aqua then gave Ren the egg. And a few minutes later, Ren and Aqua left her house and did their jobs.

Location; Yongen-Jaya, Leblanc

After the breakfast rush, Aqua was doing the dishes and Sojiro was taking a break. "Heh, sorry I kind of pressured you into doing this." Sojiro said before Aqua said. "It's fine." That is when they heard the news on the tv say. "And now to our next topic… Fall from Grace; the story of a dishonored Olympic medalist. Just recently, a high school coach confessed at an assembly that he had been repeatedly abusing students. Given his prior Olympic achievements, this has caused quite a stir. What caused this habitual offender to suddenly confess these heinous crimes to his entire school? The police are hoping that the upcoming interrogations will bring light to this question."

"Hm? Isn't this…?" Sojiro said as the crew started to talk with the other students. First was a male student. "My friends would come back from practice with bruises all the time… It was scary, but I'm relieved that the abuse is finally going to end now." Then a female student. "He would touch me and stuff all the time… I'm glad I don't have to deal with that sexual harassment anymore…" Then another female student. "There were always rumors, sure. Not many people believed them though. Like… I'm totally shocked they were actually true. At least now I can go to school without worrying."

"I knew it. The news is talking about that school you and Amamiya go to, isn't it?" Sojiro said to Aqua. Aqua stopped washing the dashes, and said to Sojiro. "Yes, you wouldn't believe how shocked we were when Kamoshida told us his crimes in front of us all."

"With things getting turbulent at that school. I need to tell Amamiya to keep his head down when he returns."

"You know I got to ask? Are you really worried about Ren?"

"Why are you asking me that?"

"Well you say things you like you don't care, and other times you sound just like this. So what is your answer?"

"That is none of your business. Now, keep those hands moving. I've got some more stuff I need you to do." Sojiro said and Aqua sighed and realized that she just got more work to do. A few minutes later, Sae entered the restaurant. "Welcome." Sojiro said to Sae. Sae took a seat and they all heard the newscaster say. "The cause of the runaway-train incident in the subway the other day still has not been found. Police are hurrying to solve the matter as it may relate to the rise in psychotic breakdown incidents."

"Oh, is that the thing everyone's been talking about?" Sojiro said before Sae said. "Doesn't it make you curious? People who were living normal lives suddenly went mad or deranged out of the blue… Not to mention that it's happening one after another… Could they really be coincidental?"

"What will you have?" Aqua said as she walked up to Sae. Sae looked at Aqua and then said. "...I'll have the house blend please."

"Ok." Aqua said as she started to make the coffee. Sae then said to Aqua. "Are you a part-timer? I'm surprised this place can afford one."

"Yes, I am. And this place gets by."

"Are you a high school student? Where do you attend?"

"I'm a three year student at Shujin Academy."

"Oh? Someone I know goes there as well. I've heard that things are rough right now. A teacher named Kamoshida confessed his crimes like he was a completely different person, supposedly. And it happened "all of a sudden" one day… Can a person's mental state change so easily?"

"Who knows." Aqua said, giving Sae her coffee. As Sae drank her coffee and Aqua kept away from her, because she felt like Sae was bad news.

Location; Shibuya; Airsoft Shop, Untouchable

As for Ren, he reached the shop and said to the owner. "Excuse me?"

"...Huh? You again? What do you want?"

"I want you to buy this." Ren said, pulling out the medal. The owner looked at it and said. "Huh? A gold medal? Why do you have this?"

"Does that matter?"

"We don't buy any fake or stolen goods here, kids."

"Are you sure?" Ren said, putting it closer to the owner. The owner looked at it and said. "...Hold on a sec. Lemme see it." Ren gave him the medal and checked it out on his computer. The owner then said to Ren. "I'm just… not gonna ask where you got this. How's 30,000 yen for it though?"

"Works for me." Ren said and then the owner gave Ren the money. Then the owner looked outside and said. "It's almost time…" He then gave Ren a bag. "Here, take this with you. It's thanks for selling me that medal. But, uh… best not to open it. Just bring it with you next time you come back here."

"Ok?" Ren said, taking the bag, but a little worried. "Glad you're so quick to understand. …They're here." The owner said as two guys that looked like detectives. The stern looking one said to the owner. "Munehisa Iwai, yes? There are some matters we'd like to discuss with you today."

"...Go, kid." Iwai said and Ren headed to the door. But before he left he heard the stern man say. "Do you know why we're here?"

"I dunno, looking for evidence? You tell me, Mr. Detective." Iwai said before a vulgar detective said. "Watch your attitude!"

"Well, you guys gonna search me? Go on, do what you got to do." Iwai said before the vulgar detective said. "...What was that?"

"An upstanding citizen is supposed to cooperate with cops, right?" Iwai said before the stern detective said to the vulgar detective. "Hey, are you sure that lead was legitimate?"

"I could've sworn it was…" The vulgar detective said before Iwai said. "Can you two hurry it up? I got a business to run here." That caused the vulgar detective to almost lose his temper. He then looked at Ren and said. "...Hey, you! What's in the bag, huh? Show me!"

"...The kid's just a regular ol' customer. You can check the tapes if that'll convince you. They'll show everything that's gone down here today." Iwai said, and Ren didn't want the detectives to see him with the gold medal. As Ren thought about what he was going to say. Morgana whispered to Ren. "Ren!? The egg is glowing and we need to leave."

"Right." Ren whispered to Morgana and tried to leave, but stopped when the vulgar detective said to Ren. "I won't let you get away that easily! Show us what's in the bag!"

"It's none of your business." Ren said, causing Iwai to laugh. The vulgar detective lost his temper and said. "I said, show it to me!"

"Hey, you talking to a kid, remember? Besides, he's not the one we're here to see." The stern detective said to the vulgar detective. The vulgar detective cooled down a little and Iwai said. "That's right, Mr. Detective. Maybe next time try not harassing my customers, see how that goes." That made the vulgar detective temper go back up. Iwai then said to Ren. "Safe trip home, kid."

"Goodbye." Ren said as he ran out of the door. Ren then ran into an alleyway and hid for people's eyes. Ren then took out the egg and picked it up. Ren Pokemon, Morgana and his Pokemon then surround the egg and after he picked it up the whole area was full of the eggs glow. Once the lights died down, they all saw a little gray dragon, with yellow straps on his arms, a back fin, and a little piece of ice under its chin. Soon it opened its yellow colored eyes, it saw Ren, who did have a smile on its face. Morgana then said to Rotom. "What Pokemon is this?"

"Frigibax, the Ice Fin Pokemon. Frigibax absorbs heat through its dorsal fin and converts the heat into ice energy. The higher the temperature, the more energy Frigibax stores."

[Hello, Frigibax.] Rockruff said as he and Zorua got closer to Frigibax. [It's nice to meet you, little man.] Zorua said as Ren put Frigibax down. Frigibax touched them and laughed. Ren then pulled out the Pokeball and said to Frigibax. "So Frigibax? Are you ready to come with me?" Frigibax then came up to Ren and gave him a huge. Ren then touched the Pokeball to Frigibax head, Frigibax went into the Pokeball and after three shacks, stars appeared. Ren then returned to Leblanc.

Location; Aqua's House

After Ren returned and Aqua was done with work. They returned to her house and Ren let out Frigibax. "Oh? A Frigibax." Aqua said as Frigibax walked over to Ren and asked to be picked up. Ren picked up Frigibax and said. "He really likes me."

"Of course. You're his Papa after all."

"Wait? What?"

"Pokemon imprint on the first living thing they see. So to this Frigibax, he sees you as his Papa. Just like how Phanpy see me as her mom." Aqua said as she got up and walked over to a bag and gave it to Ren. Ren then said to Aqua. "What's this?"

"Baby food for Pokemon. You'll need it, until he is old enough to eat normal food."

"Ok." Ren said, taking the bag. He then returned all of his Pokemon and went home. As for Aqua, she had Rotom send pictures of Frigibax and information to Ann and Ryuji.

Location; Wilton Hotel, Buffet Venue

At the restaurant, they were not only celebrating their win over Kamoshida, but the birth of Frigibax too. They managed to score a big table, so they were able to have the Pokemon hide under the table. Frigibax was the only one that wasn't out. Because he was asleep in his Pokeball. "Mmmm… So good..." Ryuji said as he and Luxio were eating meat. Morgana then said to the others. "No wonder Lady Ann chose this place!"

"Of course it's good. This is a famous hotel, after all." Ann said as she and Litleo were eating sweets. "By the way, I heard that the police are coming to interview some people at the school." Aqua said as she and her Pokemon were eating fruits and vegetables. "That's troublesome." Morgana said as Ren fed him some fish and Nincada some soup. Ryuji stopped eating and said. "Our names are gonna come up for sure. People are spreading all sorts of rumors about us and Kamoshida… But we got them pumped up! I keep hearing stuff like. "The Phantom Thieves really stole his heart!" I think most people don't believe it, but some of them actually seem grateful. Look at this." Ryuji then pulled out his phone and showed them a website. They looked at it and Ann said. "The Phantom Aficionado Website?"

"What the heck is this, Ryuji?" Aqua said before Ryuji said. "A place where people tell us their thanks and even try to give us requests. Pretty cool, huh?"

"I was just desperate to deal with my own problems, but seeing people saying all this feels… strange." Ann said and Ryuji agreed with her. Ryuji then turned to Ren, who had already finished his current plate. "Hey… What do we do now?"

"That's a good question. I'll answer it later. We are almost out of time." Ren said as he got up and went over to the buffet. Ryuji and Ann realized that time was almost over. "Go. I'll keep an eye on the Pokemon, Morgana and stuff." Aqua said and they all left. As they were getting their food, they all heard the grown ups talking more about how they were disgusted with Ren, Aqua, Ann and Ryuji being there then what was going on in the real world. Once everyone was back, they were eating, but they lost some of their appetite. Aqua noticed this and said. "Are you guys ok?"

"My, look at that table…" An elegant woman said, looking at them. They all looked at the woman and a wealthy man. They then heard the wealthy man say. "Come now, pay them no attention. I'm sure they must not normally have the chance to eat such exquisite food."

"I can only imagine what their parents must be like." The elegant woman said before they left. "What was that?" Ryuji said, getting mad. Aqua stopped him and said. "Calm down Ryuji, Zorua is already on it." That's when they noticed Zorua getting closer to the couple. Zorua then used his illusion powers to cause the couple to crash into another couple with food. The food fell over the first couple and the woman screamed. The others were holding back their laughter, and that when they noticed a bald distinguished man in a suit with five guys that looked like goons talking to an old man in a suit. "Looks like we need to have the meeting somewhere else."

"Please, sir, reconsider." The old man said and the bald man said, looking at Ren and the others. "No. Not after you started a daycare." The bald man then left with his goons. When the old man left, Ren got a strong headache. Aqua then said to Ren. "You ok?"

"Yeah, it's passed." Ren said as his headache was gone. Ryuji then said. "Still, this place is full of crappy adults."

"Yeah. These restaurant workers all looked at us with this disapproving expression… I wonder if we're out of place here…" Ann said before Ren said. "No, we are not."

"...Hey, Morgana?" Ryuji said to Morgana and Morgana said to him. "What is it?"

"...Anyone could have a Palace, yeah?"

"Anyone with a strong, distorted desire."

"Same for them having a change of heart if their Treasure gets stolen?"

"That would be the case." Morgana said before Ann said. "Why are you bringing this up all of a sudden?"

"All these selfish shitheads who just looked down on everyone else… I was just wondering if we'd be able to change those kinds of people too."

"You mean… you wanna continue as the Phantom Thieves?" Aqua said to Ryuji and Ryuji said. "...I've been thinking. We put a lot of work into changing Kamoshida's heart, but nobody believes in the Phantom Thieves. Plus… those guys who had no other choice but to just deal with it are thanking us. Us, of all people."

"There might be even more Pokemon trapped inside Palaces. So I'm onboard." Aqua said before Ren said. "What do you think, Ann?"

"I… I agree. If we ignore people who are in trouble, I'd go back to being the same as I was before…"

"Well… that's true. But you are all under my tutelage. There's nothing we can't accomplish as phantom thieves!" Morgana said before Ryuji said. "Shouldn't we be able to help them out?"

"Truth be told, I didn't even think of such a possibility… But it is with this power, we might be able to help others." Ren said before Ann said. "But… That means we'll have to fight Shadows again, doesn't it…?"

"We'll just have to get stronger, help our Pokemon get stronger, and even find new Pokemon to help us fight them." Aqua said as she petted Brionne from under the table. Ren then said to them. "That is true. Plus I want to help people."

"Heh… Even if you guys are still just fledgling, this means we're an actual organization now." Morgana said before Ann said. "Fledglings? Haha, that's actually pretty fitting for us."

"All right, it's settled! We're gonna catch all these shitty adults by surprise, and make ourselves known to the world!" Ryuji said before Ann said to Ren. "...Are you okay being our leader?"

"Of course." Ren said before Ryuji said. "No objections here! I can't really handle all that responsibility stuff."

"Where's my say in this? But Lady Ann made the recommendation, so I'll allow it." Morgana said and then Aqua said to Ren. "So what are we going to call ourselves? I made up the name during the spur of the moment." Ren then grabbed his drink and then said, holding it into the air. "The Phantom Thieves of Heart, and I say we have a toast to our future friends, allies, and victories."

"We are going to call ourselves that?" Ann said as Aqua grabbed her cup. "It's not a bad name." Ryuji said, picking up his cup. Ann laughed a little and picked up her cup. They all had a toast and Ann said to them. "So, who's our next target?"

"There are tons of rotten adults and all… Why not just stick to targeting big names?" Ryuji said before Aqua said. "I think we should target everyone we can find, whether they are big or small."

"Agreed." Ann said before Ryuji said. "I'm not saying we ignore the small fry, but if we go after some bigwig, it's got to get on the news, right? Don't you think more people would believe in us if we did that?"

"That's not a bad idea… for you, Ryuji." Morgana said before Ann said. "True. If we become better known… we might be able to give courage to a lot more people. I don't really like the idea of just picking someone out of the blue though."

"Let's narrow it down to someone we can all agree on then." Ryuji said before Morgana said. "Hm, so we need a bigwig we decide on unanimously."

"I like that unanimous decision part! It's like we're making some kind of pact!" Ann said before Aqua said. "I also agree with the unanimous decision part."

"Now then, this is the official formation of the Phantom Thieves organization!" Morgana said as they all got excited for the future, not knowing the danger yet to be revealed.