(Takes place between the fifth and sixth palace.)
"You're not even that good of a thief, butthead!"
"What!? I've been doing this way longer than you have! Hell, I was the one who founded this!"
Morgana made a motion to raise his paw in protest before Akira quickly slapped it down. Futaba and Ryuji didn't need a new challenger to approach this battle.
A simple hororr movie night for the Phantom Thieves (chosen at Haru's insistence) had diverted into an awkward intermission as Ryuji's constant commentary had clearly gotten under Futaba's skin. One remark led to another and now the two were jabbing each other over their credibility as thieves (mostly because Ryuji had shown an inability to stay quiet - a sentiment that the rest of the group could at least agree on.)
"Just because you're been here longer doesn't mean you're better!" Futaba reasoned. "You're just way too loud. You're totally the reason we always get caught whenever we try to take anything!"
"That's not true!" Ryuji snapped back.
Ann made a motion to open her mouth and point out that it possibly was. Akira once again stepped in and nudged in the ribs to stop herself from painting a target on her head.
"Look, let's just-" Makoto began.
"Face it, Skull, you're just not built for stealth!" Futaba pressed on. "You specced into strength and endurance, not dexterity!"
"The hell are you talkin' about! This ain't a board game, y'know!"
"Actually, it's tabletop roleplaying-"
"I don't care what it is! I'm one hell of a thief and I'll prove it!"
"Go on, then!" Futaba leaned forward. "Prove it!"
Every Phantom Thief in the room turned to face Ryuji. His mind racked itself for what Futaba's most valued object could possibly be.
"I'll...!" His eyes zoomed in on the machine she clutched near her side so often. "I'll steal your laptop!"
Futaba had a panicked look for a split second before it was replaced with incredulous laughter. "As if! Joke's on you, I'm behind five firewalls and ten proxies!"
Ryuji growled. He had no idea what she was talking about, or if it even made any sense, but that wouldn't stop him.
Makoto ran a hand through her short hair. "Can we just... get back to the movie, please?"
Haru raised her eyebrows. "I thought you weren't enjoying it, Mako-chan."
The older girl grimaced. "...Yes, but if it would stop these two fighting..."
"Let's continue," Yusuke agreed, hoping to defuse the situation. "I wish to see more of the practical effects. I'm especially impressed with how they depicted the decapitation in the last scene."
Makoto fought to stop a rush of bile from soaring up her throat. Ann didn't look much better. Futaba and Ryuji were still focused on each other.
"So, uh," Morgana quietly interjected. "Let's get back to-"
Akira had already hit the play button, immediately pulling the Phantom Thieves back into the moment as a woman shrieked and an elevator dropped on top of her. Makoto made a noise somewhere between a shriek and a squeak, and buried herself into the safe embrace of the nearest person - Akira.
Ann narrowed her eyes at the black-haired boy. "Did... did you plan that?"
Akira merely pressed his glasses closer to the bridge of his nose, pretending not to hear Ann over the movie. The group soon fell back into a relative silence as the climax of the movie approached, except for the quiet grumbling of a sour Ryuji.
*
Yusuke was usually the last to arrive to any get-together for the Phantom Thieves (on account of his poor finances leaving him with little option but to walk wherever he needed to be.) As such, it came as a surprise when he arrived in the attic of LeBlanc, only to find that Ryuji and Morgana were not present amongst the assembly of his usual friends. Futaba's absence was justified - she had recently imported some candy from America from an online store that turned out to have low standards on its health and safety, leaving her bedridden at home for the time being - but Skull and Mona were MIA.
"That's odd," Yusuke said, removing his bag and setting it aside as Akira looked up and nodded to acknowledge his presence. "I had thought Ryuji and Morgana would already be here..."
Ann scrolled through her phone (a little faster than usual) as she reclined on the couch. "I know, right? They didn't leave any messages or anything!"
Makoto nodded, seated next to her. "I sent one to Ryuji a short while ago, but he hasn't responded yet..."
Haru gasped from her perch atop Akira's bed (while Akira watched the room as he leaned against a wall, trying too hard to look cool.) "You don't think they got into another fight, did they...?"
"I hope not," Makoto answered. "Although Ryuji did seem pretty riled up after what Futaba told him when we watched that movie..." Makoto's face took on a shade of green as she remembered the ghastly imagery, and made a mental note to politely ask that Haru never get to choose their movies again.
Ann furrowed her brow. "Wait... You don't think he-"
The bell to LeBlanc jingled so abruptly that it sounded like it was trying to fly off its hinges, and was followed by a particularly loud rush of footsteps down below. All the heads in the attic turned to the staircase as a very happy-looking Ryuji bounded up to meet them (nearly knocking a surprised Yusuke over in the process.) With a wide grin, he held something aloft with both arms. "CHECK THIS OUT!"
The Phantom Thieves regarded the 'treasure.' It was Futaba's laptop.
"Wow," Ann mumbled, blinking as if she expected the thin silver machine to spontaneously disappear at any moment. "Did you... did you really-?"
"Sure did!" Ryuji said, still smiling.
A small black cat quietly hopped up the stairs and brushed past the boy's ankles. "Only because you begged me to help you-"
"Hey, she never said I had to steal it alone!"
"Seriously!?" Ann remarked. "Come on, Ryuji, that's cheating!"
Yusuke tilted his head. "Are you sure? Futaba never did specify Ryuji couldn't rely on a superior thief to assist him."
Ryuji cast a cutthroat glare at the blue-haired boy. "Hey, you sayin'-!?"
Makoto stood to her feet. "Alright, let's not spiral into another pointless argument or silly dare..." Red eyes focused on Ryuji. "Ryuji, well done, you proved Futaba wrong. Now go return the laptop to her."
Ryuji clutched the 'treasure' to his chest, as if he was being asked to give up his favorite pet. "What!? No way! I worked my butt off for this! I'm takin' a peek at this while she can't stop me! I even managed to nab it while it was unlocked and everything! Her password is probably, like, a million characters long, so it's our only chance to see what she keeps on here!"
Haru frowned, fidgeting on the bed. "I don't feel we should invade Futaba-chan's privacy..."
Ryuji looked at the disapproving looks on the girl's faces. Morgana seemed indifferent to the decision, Yusuke appeared to be in approval (possibly as some sort of revenge for the constant Inara comments) and Akira was as unreadable as always. "Come on, really!?"
Ann delivered her ultimatum, crossing her arms. "Give us one good reason why we would ever snoop on Futaba like this!"
"Uh, 'cause she's totally spied on all of us? Like, all the time? And is probably spying on us right now!?" Ryuji tapped a wall, illustrating his point that the walls of the LeBlanc Cafe had ears.
Ann opened her mouth to shoot Ryuji down... only to have nothing but silence to offer.
Akira shrugged. "Good point." Even Morgana seemed to be in agreement with Ryuji (along with a state of bewilderment that the blonde boy had even raised a good point to begin with.)
"It's still not fair," Makoto said, standing her ground. "Go return it."
"How about we let our leader decide, then?" Ryuji turned to Akira. "What'd ya say?"
Everyone waited with stilled breath as Akira eyed the laptop, then to Ryuji, and then the walls of his room, no doubt filled with bugs planted by Futaba long ago. Finally, he turned back to the Phantom Thieves, addressing them as a whole. "Futaba challenged Ryuji to steal the laptop, and he did. It's only fair that Ryuji gets to decide what to do with it."
"SWEET!" Ryuji fistbumped the air (nearly dropping the laptop in the process before he quickly fumbled his arms and caught it by a corner.)
Haru sighed. "Futaba-chan's not going to like this..."
Ryuji set the laptop down on Akira's work desk (brushing aside an assortment of half-finished lockpicks, much to Morgana's annoyance) and opened up the desktop, browsing with the same energy as a kid in a candy store. The boys crowded around the desk with interest, and despite their earlier protests, even Ann and Makoto fell victim to their burning curiosity, bunching in closer to see what Futaba hid away from them all the time. Only Haru seemed content to leave Pandora's Box unopened, instead choosing to head downstairs to brew herself a new cup from the LeBlanc selection.
"Let's see what was worth all the trouble, huh?" Ryuji asked, swimming through folder after folder.
"But I did all the work..." Morgana growled before Ryuji shushed him.
"Oooooh, now what is this...?" Ryuji clicked on the first of many things to snag his interest.  indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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