Outside Madarame's atelier, Mikono still suffered from the shock of Yusuke's proclamation. The only time her body moved was when Akira dragged her out of the studio and across the street. He stared into her cerulean eyes before waving a hand in front of her face. "Mikono?"

Fortunately, the sound of Akira's voice elicited a response from the girl. Her eyes remained wide open, her mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. "I-I... H-He..."

"How dare that Yusuke!" Morgana growled.

"The way he said it, it's not gonna be semi, but full-on nude..." Ryuji grumbled.

Mikono, finally able to urge her body forward, dragged herself over to a nearby railing and leaned against it when she felt the strength leave her body. "I don't feel so good..."

"F-Fu-F-F-Full nudity...? Lady Mikono's gonna..." Morgana swallowed the lump in his throat.

Ann saw the state her friend was in and hollered at Ryuji and the cat. "Drop it! You two are making it worse! Look at how pale Mikono is!"

Ryuji looked at his best friend before eyeing the pigtailed girl. "You know, she won't have to worry about that if we make Madarame confess before the exhibit ends."

The girl frowned as she patted Mikono on the back to soothe her. "But Kitagawa-kun thinks he owes his life to him. Is there a need to make Madarame confess?"

Morgana stared wide-eyed at her. "Then, Lady Ann...you're fine with Lady Mikono baring it all?!"

"I am not!"

Mikono fell to her knees, hugging the railing. "N-Nude..."

Ryuji glances down at his sickly pale friend before back at the art studio. "Madarame's no different from Kamoshida. That asshole's usin' Yusuke, who doesn't have parents." His eyes trailed over to Ann, who was helping Mikono to her feet. "You're tellin' me we should just ignore how he's bein' treated horribly like the other pupils?"

"No..." Ann mumbled. "It is frustrating to leave this alone, even if Kitagawa-kun is fine with it himself..."

"She's right," Mikono finally got over her shock, but she continued to lean against Ann. "Look at how many people Kamoshida tortured. None of them said a word and the suffering only continued. It's the same with Kitagawa-kun. He tries to conceal who the real Madarame is out of fear, but I don't think he realizes his own fear. I... I want to help him and avenge everyone else who's suffered by Madarame's hands."

Morgana eyed the two girls with a sorrowful expression. "You both can't leave it be because you've endured a lot yourselves, with Kamoshida."

"Yeah..." Ann sighed melancholically.

"We can't avoid those who are suffering right before our eyes," Mikono added.

Ryuji looked down at the ground before glancing around at his friends. "Anyways, we gotta go after this guy. Madarame's the kind of target we've been waitin' for. Let's help Yusuke come to his senses too before ends up like us."

Ann and Mikono nodded, determined to stop Madarame. They both shared the same passion to save others and would do everything in their power to accomplish their goal.

"We need to look into Madarame first," Morgana stated.

"There might be tons more stuff that hasn't been exposed yet, too," Ryuji said.

"It may become easier for us to investigate his Palace if he's preoccupied with his exhibit."

"Also, there's the thing about Mikono modeling!" Ann mentioned. "Kitagawa-kun said there'd be "inconveniences" unless he submits a new piece. Maybe that's going to be announced soon as Madarame's next work..."

Ryuji's eyes widen in shock. "Does that mean the whole country's gonna see Mikky nude?!"

Mikono grabbed her bag from Akira and threw it at the blonde, smacking him in the face. "Don't you dare say stuff like that! I'm already freaked out I have to be a model in the first place! Now I have to think about all of Japan seeing me naked!"

"Ow!" Ryuji shrieked. "Don't throw shit!"

"We're not going to let that happen," Akira declared. "So don't worry about it, Mikono."

Hearing Akira say that actually calmed the girl down. His reassuring words brought peace to her, which she hadn't felt for a while. Her racing heart quelled, returning to normal.

"We must deal with Madarame, no matter what, before his exhibition ends!" Morgana proclaimed.

"Let's start after school tomorrow," Ryuji proposed. "It'll be a pain if Miss President finds us on the rooftop again, so where to meet up... Let's see..."

"How about the accessway in Shibuya?" Akira suggested.

"I was thinkin' the same thing," the blonde replied. "It'll definitely work. It's near Madarame's place, too."

"Changing our hideout periodically, huh?" Morgana smirked. "That's a plan I don't mind backing."

Out of the blue, a woman wearing a fanny pack with a camera hanging around her neck approached the group of teens and cat. Everyone fell silent as she stopped a few feet away. "Hey, can I talk to you kids for a sec?"

"Huh?" Ryuji hummed in bewilderment.

"From the looks of things, you don't seem like the ordinary, stalking fans."

"Stalking fans are...ordinary?" Mikono muttered to herself.

"Guess that makes Kitagawa your fan," Akira teased. She smacked him playfully on the arm, drawing out a chuckle from him.

"Oh, sorry," the woman smiled. "I should've been more clear. I'm actually looking for people that know Madarame's pupils. There's this painting, "Sayuri," that was supposedly stolen in the past. But there's this rumor that it was taken by one of his pupils in retaliation for being abused. Have you heard anything about that?"

"Ryuji knows," Akira responded, gesturing to the delinquent.

Said boy's eyes widen, appalled that a finger was being pointed at him. "Me?! I don't know nothing!"

"I see..." The mysterious woman exhaled in disappointment. "There's no case unless there's a victim, and if there's no proof of abuse...I can't write either. Looks like I'm back to square one. Sorry for taking your time."

"Um, it's no problem," Mikono responded.

The woman approached Akira and handed him a card. "I'm a journalist. If you ever get any leads, mind contacting me here?"

The bespectacled boy glances down at the business card. "Uh, sure."

"See you then," she smiled, walking off down the street.

Once the woman was gone, Ryuji looked at the others. "I guess we should go home for today."

"Yes, let's," Mikono sighed. "I'm exhausted..."

|| 5/17 Tuesday ||
|| Evening ||

At home, Mikono tossed herself on to the couch after making sure all the doors were locked and the blinds were closed. She had a lengthy conversation with her parents over the phone, learning she wouldn't have to work at the museum until they returned home. She asked them why and they told her it had to do with the incident that happened last month. Isaac and Ichika feared the museum would've been targeted a second time during their absence and didn't want their daughter to be put in danger.

Mikono thought her parents were overreacting, but she respected their decision. She said farewell before hanging up, immediately receiving a message from Ryuji in the group chat.

Ryuji: I found out something insane about Madarame.

Ryuji: Sounds like a student of his offed himself when he couldn't speak up about Madarame stealing his work.

Mikono: I hope that's not true...

Akira: Yeah. It's a hard pill to swallow.

Ann: That journalist was looking into Madarame too.

Ann: It could be real.

Ryuji: Someone died though.

Ryuji: No one's talkin' about it... I bet it was covered up.

Mikono: The only one who benefits from such a story being covered up is Madarame.

Akira: If only there was proof...

Ann: I wonder if Kitagawa-kun has heard anything...

Ann: It'd be great if he could help us out.

Mikono: Yeah. Having someone so close to Madarame would definitely help.

Ryuji: Ain't that asking a bit much?

Ryuji: After today, he's prolly gonna be on edge about us.

Ryuji: Well anyway, Madarame's still a piece of crap!

Ryuji: Let's meet up tomorrow. It'll be our first time at the new hideout.

Ann: It's that passageway in Shibuya, right?

Ann: Got it. See you guys tomorrow.

Mikono: Goodnight, everyone.

|| 5/18 Wednesday ||
|| After School ||

Before arriving at the Teikyu Building Accessway, the group was approached by none other that Nakanohara. The man confirmed their fears about the abuse and plagiarism because he was a former pupil of Madarame's. Without needing anymore proof, they set their sights on the elderly man.

When they reached the accessway, Akira places his bag on the ground and allowed Morgana to poke his head out to begin the meeting. "My fellow thieves, welcome to our new hideout! Our target this time is Madarame! We all saw that Palace. We'll pay dearly if we assume it's just going to be like the last one. And furthermore, Lady Mikono's chastity is on the line!"

Mikono blinked owlishly, glancing down at the feline. "...Excuse me?"

"We'll need to do what we did with Kamoshida," the cat continued, ignoring the girl. "First, we secure an infiltration route in the Palace. After that, we send our calling card. Once the treasure has materialized, we steal it."

"Ooh, I got a question!" Ryuji waved his hand in the air as he sat on the floor. "Madarame doesn't know that we were doin' stuff in the Palace yet. Why are we already gettin' treated like criminals in there?"

"You're learning, Ryuji. Well done," Morgana complimented. "It must be because he doesn't trust anyone. Any unknown person may as well be an enemy."

"Or maybe he's just super salty from all those rumors that have been spreading about him," Ann exclaimed.

"Then his Palace bein' so crazy had nothing to do with us?" The blonde boy inquired.

"Either way, we should stay on our best behavior," Morgana said. "It'll be harder for us to steal the treasure if we needlessly increase the security level."

"Hear that, Ryuji?" Mikono gently kicked his foot. "You'll have to avoid being yourself."

"What're you tryna say?" He grumbled. "I can behave!"

"We'll see about that..."

"Anyway, we need to be careful of Kitagawa-kun this time too," Ann said, interrupting the two friends before the argument could escalate. "I'm sure that whatever he sees will just get passed on to Madarame."

"That's right!" Morgana cheered.

"Hey, what is Madarame's treasure going to look like anyway? Another crown?"

"I doubt that. But my sixth sense will know when I see it."

"Oh, yeah. You go completely nuts, huh," Ryuji stated.

"If we think about it logically, there are only a few possibilities what the treasure will look like. Kamoshida's was a crown and he was the ruler of a castle. Madarame's Palace is a museum. I'm gonna guess it's a painting or a sculpture," Mikono claimed.

"You wanna bet?" Ryuji grinned.

"No, because you never pay up..."

Ann, once again, reverted the conversation to the main priority. "Our time limit is when the exhibit ends, right? That means..."

"June 5th," Akira stated. "That'll give us plenty of time to stop Madarame."

"We'll carry out the plan after we've sent out the calling card," Morgana explained. "So, our infiltration route will need to be set in stone two days prior, on June 2nd."

The pigtailed girl glanced between Akira and Ryuji. "Now listen here. We can't mess this up, NO MATTER WHAT! Okay?!"

"Why you lookin' at us?" Ryuji grumbled.

"Come on, it's time to get this mission started!" Morgana shouted excitedly.

<----------<<<<<

Arriving at Madarame's Palace, the phantom thieves followed the path they took the first time and entered the museum through the skylight. Unlike before, Shadows were prowling the corridors and extra security measures were activated. They were forced to carefully revise their path due to the infrared lasers scattered through the rooms and hallways. A few Shadows caught them by surprise, but they were able to handle them before moving forward.

The group ran through the sea of portraits before arriving at the front desk. They made their way into the SP Exhibition Room and headed through the door located in the back. Down the hallway, they came across a safe room and rested for a few minutes before continuing deeper into the museum.

The 1st Exhibition Room was a maze. Portraits were scattered everywhere, the warped faces of many strangers seeming to be watching the phantom thieves' every movement. They turned corner after corner, coming across many Shadows before finding a way out of the maze and to the second floor.

Up the stairwell, the teens and cat discovered a security room. Joker pressed the button repeatedly, but the sliding glass doors remained sealed. Skull curses under his breath at the dull clicking noise of the button before following his friends into a large room with a golden vase on display. Joker, Panther, Skull, and Sphinx walked past the vase without an issue, but Mona stopped them when he saw none of the others cast a single glance toward the treasure. "H-Hey, wait a second! You're just gonna ignore that golden sheen?" The teens stopped, glancing at the vase as the feline began drooling. "Mmm... Look at that luster!"

"We don't have time for this, Mona," Sphinx stated. "Besides, we can't exactly fit a vase in our pockets."

"She's right. Let's keep going," Joker said.

However, Mona wasn't budging. His eyes gleamed as they were focused on the vase. "I know it might be tough to take with us, but don't you think it'd sell for tons?" He leapt into the air, landing on the display. He rubbed his paw against the glistening gold vase.

"C'mon, we didn't come here to-" Skull's eyes widen when he heard a click and saw something under the cat's feet. "Hold on, you're steppin' on something!"

Sphinx rushes forward and grabbed Mona, carrying him in her arms. Panther gasped when she saw what Skull did. "Isn't this bad?!"

"Stand back!" Joker warned, performing a series of backflips to get away from the display.

Unfortunately, his warning came too late for his teammates. Panther, Skull, Sphinx, and Mona were trapped inside a grid of infrared lasers.

Sphinx held Mona close to her when they were trapped by the display. Her body was mere inches from the lasers and she had nowhere to go. Skull and Panther were luckier. They were trapped, but there was enough room for them to move around.

Unlike his teammates, Joker wasn't trapped by the lasers. He didn't waste a second as he stormed off in search of a way to free his friends.

Mona maneuvered out of Sphinx's grasp and made his way to the top of the vase to prevent his body from touching the lasers. He glanced down, noticing the girl couldn't budge an inch. "Don't worry, Sphinx. Joker will find a way to save us."

She threw her head back, glaring up at the cat. "We wouldn't be in this situation if you hadn't wanted to take the vase!"

His ears flattened against the top of his head. "S-Sorry about that..."

Sphinx lowered her head, watching Joker as he freed Panther. She felt a nervous drop of sweat trailing down the side of her face as her body shook with anxiety. She was afraid to touch the lasers and bring down an army of Shadows upon them. From the corner of her eye, she saw Joker and Panther reunite with Skull, but there was one problem-they couldn't locate a switch to deactivate the lasers around her and Mona.

"How're we supposed to get to 'em?" Skull asked.

"There's got to be a way," Joker replied.

Then, Sphinx remembered what they saw earlier. "The security office. Try to find a way inside. You can probably disable the lasers from one of the computers."

"Think you two can hang in there a little while longer?"

Mona nodded at their leader. "We'll be fine. Just hurry!"

Joker, Panther, and Skull disappeared in search of a way inside the security office. Sphinx and Mona waited patiently in hopes the lasers would deactivate soon. The sable-haired girl leaned back, startled when her shoulder knocked against the vase.

"Sphinx!" Mona hollered as the vase began tipping over. He jumped down just in time to avoid falling directly into the lasers.

Quickly but carefully, the girl avoided the lasers and turned around just in time to stop the vase from falling over. She hadn't realized she was holding her breath until after she steadied the vase before it could make contact with the lasers. She exhaled, her body slumping forward. "That was too close..."

Suddenly, the lasers were disabled. Sphinx blinked owlishly while Mona hopped off the display. The girl released the vase and turned around just as the others ran up to them.

"I-I'm sorry..." Mona apologized to the group. "That was very much unlike me..."

"Sheesh," Skull groaned. "Weren't you the one tellin' us not to go around touchin' shit in the exhibit?"

"Urgh, that is true... I can't believe I made such a novice mistake, even for solid gold." The animal turned around, gazing up at the vase. "But something was drawing me to this vase..."

"We don't have time for this," Sphinx remarked. "We need to keep moving forward. Who knows what other obstacles we'll have to face. If we spend too much time on one thing, we'll end up wasting precious time."

Joker nodded in agreement. "Let's keep moving."