[Evening, Aoyama-Itchome Station]

After securing the infiltration route, Akira escorted Shiho to the station before going off their own way. Knowing that once the calling card was sent, there's only one way out of this situation, he couldn't help but pinch his nosebridge. Why?

He was terrified. Scared that they would fail, they... he... Shiho would die by the hands of Kamoshida.

Before he could realize, Akira found himself in the quiet street of Yongen-Jaya again. Even though it's not late at night at all, but there were not that many people here. The music in his headphone only intensified the calm nature of the street.

-{Beneth the Mask} plays-

Walking down the street, he didn't want to go back to his apartment for the first time. Was it because of the feeling that Kamoshida would go down? Or that he and everyone could die? To be honest, he didn't know why either.

However, his train of thought was interrupted as he overheard some quiet purring nearby. Facing the direction of the purring, he found a lone puppy in a cardboard box, staring at him with puppy eyes. (Metaphorically)

"A puppy?" Arching an eyebrow, Akira kneeled down and examined the puppy. It had brown fur with a hint of white in it, and he noticed a note attached to the box.

It said, 'Her name is Paff, please take care of her.'

His eyes returned to the puppy, and he could hear her stomach groaning, followed by more purring from her. "Oh crap, she's hungry," Murmuring to himself, his eyes darted around for a place to get food for her.

And the first place which came to his mind is Leblanc.

"Let's hope Sakura-San would help me..." With that said, he picked up the cardboard box and dashed to the cafe.

[Leblanc]

Rushing through the door, Akira placed the cardboard box before Sojiro could even react. "Sakura-San, can you make something for her to eat? I'll pay for it."

Widening his eyes in surprise, the owner of the cafe stared at the cardboard box for a second, the cigarette in his hand almost dropped onto the ground. "U-uh... Something for a puppy? Now that's something."

"Y-yeah, please."

Sojiro pondered for a long moment, but he shrugged in the end. "You're gonna pay for it. And the puppy's eye is making me unable to resist it," With that said, he went into the kitchen, before coming back with a bowl of cooked meat and vegetables, all small enough for a puppy to eat.

"Here," He said, placing the bowl on the counter.

Nodding, Akira held the puppy and placed it on the counter, and it ate the food in front of it as if it had never eaten a meal before. And this surprised the two men here.

"So uh... Where did you find it?"

"Alleyway around the corner," Akira answered, resting his head in his palm as he watched the puppy eating. "She was abandoned by her old former owner, and I heard her purring."

"Poor puppy..." The older man sighed, his eyes darted between him and the puppy. "Judging from your tone, you're not gonna leave it alone, right?"

"She got nowhere to go," He said. "By the way, a puppy could make my apartment a tad-bit less quiet."

"Well, I don't really care about your decision, but take good care of it, okay?" Sojiro said with a surprisingly serious tone. "It was abandoned once, it should not be abandoned again."

"...That's odd from you, Sakura-San," Akira giggled, noting that the puppy finished eating the meal. "Anyway, how much is it? I'll pay double to compensate that it's too urgent-"

"I was kidding when I said you're gonna pay for it," Sojiro quickly replied with a shake of his head, picking the plate from the counter. "But if you really want to pay for it, take good care of... uh... what it's name?"

"From the note attached on it, she's called Paff," The amateur writer answered, holding the puppy and put her back into the boxes. "Anyway, I should get going by now."

However, before Akira could stand up from his chair, the doorbell from the front door rang. "We're back," Ren said, sighing tiredly before noticing Akira and Paff.

"Ichijo?"

"Oh, hey Amamiya," He smiled back, giving him a wave.

"You're back," Sojiro plained said, briefly glanced at him before returning to wipe the plate in his hand. "Akira, I think you should go home by now, it's late."

"Yeah, and I need to get pillows and stuff for her anyway," With that said, Akira picked up the cardboard box and exited the cafe, leaving Ren watching his back.

"He found a puppy from the alleyway, and crash into here to have some food for it," Sojiro explained, putting the cleaned plate in the drawer.

Ren only nodded, turning around and went to his room.

[22nd April]

Even though he expected it, but Akira couldn't help but sigh when he found that Ren still hadn't sent the calling card. On the positive side, at least he could upgrade their gear and bought some medicines for emergencies.

Staring at the window, his thought drifted into what would happen if Kamoshida really confessed everything. What would things play out after this? Sighing to himself again, Akira tore his gaze from the window to the lesson. "It's no use to think about it right now..."

Before he realized, the bell rang and announced the lunch. Picking up his own bento that he made this morning, Akira entered the canteen and sat down in a corner. Opening the cover and took out his chopstick, he was about to start eating when the voice of Kasumi suddenly rang beside him.

"Senpai, you can cook?" She asked, staring at the rice omelet laying in Akira's bento.

"I lived alone, it's a necessary skill," Akira shrugged, but still widened his eyes when the honor student placed her bento on the table. "...I don't know how, but I'm still surprised."

"Hmm? You mean the size of my bento?" Kasumi questioned, unwrapping the fabric cover and opened it. "Um... I'm more surprised that you would make your own bento, Senpai."

"As I said, it's a necessary skill," The amateur writer sighed, taking a bit into the omelet. "And rice omelet is the only dish I'm confident with."

"Why rice omelet specifically?"

"Well..." Trailing off, he stopped himself and reconsidered the choice of word carefully. "It's my... old friend's favorite dish, and I tried my best to make this the best one I could ever make."

"Friend..." Kasumi trailed off, a pained look filled her face before turning into a somber smile. "It must be hard to find someone to be your friend, Senpai."

"Yeah," Akira nodded, taking another bite to his bento. "But from your reaction, you don't have anyone, do you?"

"H-huh?"

"I heard some rumors about you," He somberly smiled, looking down on the rice omelet. "They are jealous of your status of an honor student... Sometimes, being the perfect person is a curse too."

"Y-you're right, Senpai," Kasumi faintly nodded. "But..."

"I know, I'm someone shrouded in rumors as well," Akira giggled, a sense of self-mocking lingered in his tone. "Anyway, my seat is always open to you. If you want to have someone to talk with, I'm here for you."

"S-senpai..." The honor student trailed off, a bright smile crept onto her face as she nodded. "Thank you... Uh..."

"Hmm? What's the matter?"

"We haven't properly introduced ourselves, and if we are going to meet again, I cannot just call you by 'senpai' only." She explained, the smile remained as she extended her hand. "I am Yoshizawa Kasumi, a first-year."

Sighing to himself with a faint smile, Akira took her hand and shook it. "Ichijo Akira, second-year."

However, his face suddenly changed into a stern look, leaning a bit closer to her. "Also, stay away from Kamoshida."

"Stay away from Mr. Kamoshida?" Kasumi blinked in confusion, an awkward smile crept onto her face as they released their hands from the handshake. "Why did everyone kept telling me this?"

"You've been told?"

"Yes, I remember it was a while back, and another senpai told me the same thing as well..."

"...Oh, at least there's someone else who- Oh, it's probably Amamiya." Widening his eyes in realization, the two decided to end their silence by returning into their lunch.

'If felt strange to have the famous 'honor student' as my friend' Akira thought as the returned their focus on their bento. Even though he thought there's only Shiho as his friend right now, but it still felt unreal that... there would be someone showing kindness and not judge him at first glance.

However, the thought quickly shifted into Kamoshida, and Akira frowned at the thought. Even though the calling card is the only roadblock between kicking that trash of a human being out from Shujin and to justice, but he couldn't help but fear the possibility that kamoshida would target Kasumi here.

She's a first-year, somewhat naive, perfect recipe of Kamoshida's victim.

"But we would definitely change his heart, for sure..." He murmured to himself, trying to shove those thoughts into the abyss.

However, he didn't saw a raised eyebrow from the first-year, nor the crimson eyes that were looking at him with curiosity.

[Afterschool, Takemi Medical Clinic]

Once the school had ended, Akira decided to pay a visit to Dr. Takemi. After all, he needed more medicines for emergencies, he couldn't risk Shiho and his life just to save money.

Of course, he still remembered the deal between them, and he was probably going to test out the medicine she was making.

"Let's hope the testing won't be too dangerous..." Murmuring to himself, he entered the clinic and greeted Takemi, who was filling in some form behind the receptionist table. "H-hi, Dr. Takemi."

Glancing up and noticed him, Takemi stopped what she was doing and greeted him with a tired look. "Oh, it's you, what is it?"

"I want to buy some medicines," Akira answered, playing with the fabric of his jacket as he hesitated to continue. "And we made a deal, right? Maybe it's time to test the medicine you're working on..."

"No need to be scared, Trial Rabbit," The doctor faintly smiled, pointing her pen to the blue door beside him. "Please enter the exam room, I'll be there in a minute."

Nodding, the amateur writer entered the exam room, and Takemi entered later. "Here, take your time," She said, giving him a form containing the list for the medicine.

Nodding, Akira took the form and picked the medicines for the infiltration and returned the form to the doctor. Taking a glance at the medicines he chose, Takemi raised an eye before walking into the curtain.

For a split second, Akira could see a machine with a biohazard symbol on it, and a... another lab coat hanging on a skeleton? Shaking his head to clear himself from those thoughts, his finger kept circling on his thigh as she returned.

"Here, this is the medicine you ordered," She said, handing him a paper bag with the medicine. However, Akira's eyes focused on a paper cup in her other hand, and the weird scent just made him more nervous.

"Um... Dr. Takemi?" He hesitantly asked, pointing at the cup. "That's the medicine?"

"Yes, what's the matter?"

"Nothing... I just imagined it to be like pills or something along those lines..."

"Oh, I didn't make it to pills because it's just a prototype," Takemi explained, pulling out a paper and clipped it to a board. "Just drink it and describe how you're feeling, it shouldn't knock you now this time."

"Knock me out?" Akira sweatdropped, taking the cup from the table. "W-what exactly happened the last time you tested it?"

"Well, guinea pig drank it at once and the taste knocked him out for an hour," She shrugged. "So don't follow his example and drink it at once."

"O-okay..." Trailing off, Akira gulped as he looked at the medicine in his hand. "Well, here's go nothing."

"Huh? Wait a minute, don't tell me-"

Before she could finish, the amateur writer took the drink at once. "...What the f-" Akira's rant was interrupted as the strong taste suddenly crept from the deepest part of his throat.

It tasted like dead fish, dead pig, dead... animal in general. And his head started to feel dizzy. Before anyone could react, darkness clouded his vision and he lost balance, the pain of hitting the ground followed.

"Trail Rabbit! You're okay?!"

The worried voice of Takemi was the only thing he heard before drifting off to somewhere else.

Blinking, Akira found himself back in his apartment, the sun shined bright from the window outside. "Uh... My head..."

"Oh! You're finally awake!" Suddenly the voice of a girl rang beside him, gaining his attention. "I was so worried for you, Akira-Chan!"

"C'mon, I just ate some chocolate, where's the problem?" The amateur writer grunted as he sat up on his couch, rubbing the back of his head. "...Kimiko, don't tell me you-"

"I...I think I bought some chocolate with alcohol in it," Kimiko murmured, hanging her head down in shame. "I'm sorry..."

Sighing, Akira wiped a lone tear trailing on her cheek. "It's okay, I don't blame you."

"You're too kind, Akira-Chan..." Tailing off, more tears started to build up in her eyes, before finally breaking out as she wept loudly. "I'm sorry! Muwaaaaaaa!"

"K-Kimiko! I'm not mad at you!" Panicking, Akira frantically glanced around and reached for a box of tissue, wiping the leaking tears on her cheek. "What should I do... C'mon Akira, think..."

"Muaaaaa!"

"...She's a real crybaby..." Sighing, the amateur writer internally hoped that it would work before bringing Kimiko into his arms, letting her head to bury into his chest. "Here, crybaby... Look, I'm not mad at you because it's you, Okay? I won't be mad at you, ever."

"Akira-Chan..."

Akira tried to say something, but he could only see that scenery around him started to glow in white, and slowly surrounded him. He tried to speak again, but nothing came out, and his surrounding glowed further.

"...Trial Rabbit? You're awake?"

Stirring, Akira struggled before opening his eyes, but the blinding light of a surgery lamp. "...W-what happened?" He asked, sitting up from the bed he was lying on. "My head hurt like shit..."

"You're out for twenty minutes, Trial Rabbit," Takemi said, writing something on the board in her hand. "So, can you tell me what exactly does it tasted like?"

"Uh..." Trailing off, the amateur writer rubbed his head as he recalled the taste of the medicine. "It tasted like dead fish, rotten peaches, mud... Basically, the worse taste I had in my entire life. But it was still somewhat tolerable."

"Tolerable?" Raising an eye, the doctor quickly wrote down more notes before asking again. "So, what made you fell into the unconscious?"

"I... I felt very dizzy, and my head felt like shaking in Mach 7..."

"So it's the dizziness this time..." Trailing off, Takemi wrote down more notes, mostly to ensure that she wouldn't put this much muscle relaxants. "Okay, don't rush it. Your body needs a few moments to readjust."

Nodding, Akira took a cup of water from her, feeling the dizziness in his brain slowly faded away. "I... feel a bit better now," Shaking his head to fully clear his mind from the dizziness, he left the bed and took the bag of medicines from the table.

"Just take some rest, Trial Rabbit," She faintly smiled, giving him a wave for goodbye. "I'll make sure that you won't be knocked out the next time, trust me."

"I'll try," Returning the smile, Akira opened the door and left.

Once the door clicked and she was alone, Takemi couldn't help but gave out a heavy sigh, looking at the note she wrote on the board. "Well, time to work."

Turning back to the worktable, a faint smile crept onto her face as she glanced at the photo on the table. Inside the plain plastic frame is a photo of three people in their early 20s, and they were smiling, as bright as the clear blue sky behind them.

In the middle of the trio was a young man with brown, short unkempt hair. A pair of dull square glasses and awkward smile only highlighted his dorkiness. On his left was a girl with deep crimson hair, leaning against his body as she wrapped her arms around his left arm. And on his right was Takemi herself, but instead of the dark blue hair she was now, she had deep brown hair and much heavier make-up, making a v-sign with her hand.

However, if look closely, Takemi's eyes were onto the young man. And it was filled with... conflicting emotions.

[About two hours earlier, Shujin's rooftop]

"So, what's this meeting for, Ren?" Ann asked, taking a sip of her chocolate milk. "Are we going to send the calling card?"

"Indeed," Ren nodded, his eyes glanced between Ann and Ryuji, who was sitting next to her. "I've been buying some medicine from Dr. Takemi, and some new weapon for Iwai-San."

With that said, he pulled out the new weapons he bought for them and placed them on the table. Widening their eyes, the two inspected their new weapons before putting them back to their schoolbags.

"Well, I can't wait to kick Kamoshida's ass," Ryuji smirked, pumping his fist.

"Me too, he needs to pay for what he has done," Ann nodded, a fire burnt bright inside her eyes. "But wait, who's going to write the calling card?"

"Ahh... right," Morgana sighed, glancing at Ren. "Ren, are you going to write it?"

"I have no personal beef with Kamoshida," The delinquent sighed, looking at the two in front of him. "Besides, I don't deserve to write it, Ryuji and Ann do."

"Then let me do it," Ryuji volunteered, his expression changed into a serious one. "If Ann writes the calling card, she would definitely mention Suzui, and Kamoshida might found out it's her..."

"I can't risk it," He finished, patting her on the shoulder with a small smile. "And don't worry, I'll try to make it as anonymous as possible."

"Well, Ryuji does have some kind of reason..." Morgana trailed off, shifting his focus to Ann. "Lady Ann, you're fine with this decision?"

Ann pondered for a moment before nodding, nudging his shoulder with her's. "Just don't disappoint us, Ryuji."

"Don't worry, it will the best effin' calling card in the history of calling card!" He exclaimed, giving the three a wide grin.

Morgana only sighed in response. "...And here's the Ryuji we knew."

"Don't be too hard on them, Morgana," Ren smiled, patting the cat's head. "Well, since there's nothing else to do here, let's call it a day then."

With a nod from everyone, they left the rooftop and the school together. However, they didn't notice a Kasumi watching them with a raised eye.

"...Did they just go to the rooftop? Why?" She murmured to herself, the memories of Akira's word surfaced in her mind. "...Everything is becoming weirder and weirder in this school..."

Sighing to herself, she continued on her way.

[23rd April, early morning]

Even though Akira expected this to happen, but he didn't expect Ren and his group would do it like this. In front of him was the school's notice board, but calling cards were covering the entire board.

Taking one of the calling cards from the board, the first thing he noticed was the logo on the back of the card. It was a face covered in a mask and a tophat, a wide grin on his face with the word 'Take Your Heart' under it.

"It gotta be Ryuji's work," Akira commented, shrugging as he turned around the card and read the letter.

"Sir Kamoshida Suguru, the utter bastard of lust.

We know how shitty you are, and that you put your twisted desires on students that can't fight back. That's why we have decided to steal away those desires and make you confess your sins. This will be done tomorrow, so we hope you will be ready.

From, the Phantom Thieves of Hearts..."

"Okay, it must be Ryuji's work," Sighing at the poor choice of word, the amateur writer took out his phone and texted Shiho. "Anyway, I need to tell her about it."

Akira: Shiho, they sent the calling card.

Shiho: It took them longer than I expected, but meet up after school, right?

Akira: Yeah, just be there ASAP.

Shiho: You can count on me, Akira.

Akira: I know.

However, Akira's focus was interrupted as Kamoshida walked up to the notice board "Who's responsible for this..?!" He yelled in rage, and his eyes laid on Akira. "Ichijo, you really have some gut here..."

Sighing again, Akira only returned his rage-filled gaze with an unimpressed look. "Oh please, I'm not that stupid to claim to be 'A Phantom Thief Heart'."

"You..." Raising his fist, the PE teacher was about to strike him when he noticed students were watching their exchange in shock. And he widened his eyes in return.

"What is Mr. Kamoshida doing?"

"Is he about to hit Ichijo?"

"I told you, don't accuse me to anything," The amateur writer said in a surprisingly low tone, glaring daggers at the teacher. "You already did it once, and now you're going to pay for it."

Knowing that it's no use to stay, Akira pocketed the calling card and walked away. However, he was interrupted as the voice of Kamoshida, or his shadow suddenly rang out to everyone who's aware of it.

"Come...Steal it, if you can!"

Watching it over his shoulder, Akira only quietly chuckled in response as he continued to walk.

"Let's do this."

Preview:

The calling card has been sent, the big heist closes.

However, with unexpected changes, the plan had changed.

Now both team has to face the demon looming over them.

To take the King's crown.

Next chapter:

"King's Fall"

Stay tuned!

And with that, Chapter 8 is done!

Now the calling card has been sent, and the king is challenging the thieves to steal the treasure... Now the battle began.

Review Response:

ZonZus:

Sorry for taking this long to finally respond to your review, but don't worry, Kasumi would join the Phantom Thief earlier than in canon. I shared the same frustration as you about Kasumi's timing of joining the Phantom Thief, she's too late.

I won't spoil why would she offer herself to join, or that Ren and Morgana would accept her offer. Since it would be a spoiler about one of the four original palaces in this fic.

As for the 'Maruki had other palace rulers' idea. I'm sorry, but there's not only no time to fit a whole new palace during the 3rd semester. Not only that, in Rumi's case, it also contradicts the whole message of the 3rd semester. And with four additional palaces in this fic, it's too much to add another one here.

In all and all, I hope you, the readers, like the fic so far!

Reviews are welcome!