Apparently, Shiina had missed out on a lot after she left the festival in a hurry, but the Phantom Thieves group chat helped fill her in.

1. Akira agreed that the Phantom Thieves would work with Akechi in exchange for not being sold out to the police. 

2. Sojiro discovered Futaba's calling card, which gave Akira and Futaba no choice but to spill the beans. 

and 3. The culprit who was the cause of all the mental shutdowns and Wakaba's death was most likely a powerful figure of authority, like a government official for example. 

There was a lot going on in Shiina's life now, and it was beginning to get too overwhelming. Thankfully, it was a Sunday so she was free from the academic stress, but still had to deal with the stress of her other life. 

As Shiina walked into the Pancake House to pick up her order, she immediately spotted the familiar chestnut brown hair and inwardly groan. Unfortunately, before she could jump to a hiding spot, he found her. 

"Kiberi-san, it's so nice to see you." Akechi said, smiling in greeting. 

Since this was the guy who could easily report her and her friends to the police, she decided to play nice. "Good morning, Akechi-kun." 

"You left in quite a hurry the last time we met. Is your brother alright?" He asked, a twinge of concern in his voice. 

"Thankfully, yes," she sighed in relief. "Actually, he wasn't even injured or scared at all. He always has such a cool exterior, I'm kind of jealous." 

"UA students are prepping up for the real world, so I wouldn't be too surprised," he chuckled. "I'm glad to hear your brother's okay." 

As Shiina showed the girl behind the counter her receipt and waited for her food to come, she shot the boy a curious look. "How'd you know my brother attended UA?" 

"Well, I know who your real father is. And everyone knows that his youngest son is attending UA. It was pretty easy to conclude." He explained. 

Shiina's order came in two plastic bags. Luckily, they weren't quite heavy so Shiina could confidently say she could carry them on the way home. 

"May I walk you home, if you don't mind?" He requested. 

"Sure," she shrugged. While she didn't trust the guy, she found no harm in having him know where she lived. Besides, she lived with Japan's Number Two Hero. What was Akechi going to do about that? 

"I've been curious about something," he began. "Why is your last name 'Kiberi' and not 'Todoroki'? At first, I guessed that perhaps it was to keep your identity a secret for your safety, but you have other siblings whose names weren't changed. So why only you?" 

"Oh," she said, the bitterness already evident. "When my shitty old man found out I was Quirkless, he couldn't have people finding out about it. So he pulled me out of school. A year later, one of my older brothers had to fight tooth and nail to get Endeavor to put me back and he finally did, as long as I got my last name changed so nobody would know I was related to him... He didn't want me tarnishing his name."

His face darkened for a moment. "Oh. I see... I guess the Number Two Hero isn't as great as everyone thinks he is." 

"I thought he was great too," she sighed. "For a very long time, I thought he was the greatest man in the world... I even loved him. But I woke up from that stupid dream and realized that I was wrong." 

"Did you have a change of heart?" He inquired. 

She nodded her head. "Just recently. And I'm glad for it." 

"I'm happy for you," he said genuinely, but something in his face showed that he was still troubled. "To think," he chuckled bitterly. "That Endeavor would be such an awful man... And society is blind to it." 

Shiina glanced at him and frowned at what she was seeing. His expression was dark and somber, and the way he spoke made it sound like he knew exactly how she felt about her situation. Hesitantly, she asked, "...You got daddy issues too?" 

He smiled weakly. "Ah... In a way, yes." 

They finally made their way to her home, and Akechi stared numbly at the gates. His eyes were glazed over, as if he was remembering something from his past. 

"Well," she sighed. "This is my stop. I'll see you later, I guess." 

"Wait," he called out to her before she could even touch the gate. "Is your father home?" 

She scowled. "Yeah, unfortunately." And he was probably going to yell at her for 'being late' on picking up their food. 

"Perhaps, I should take you to Leblanc then," he said, his words almost rushed. "I know Kurusu-kun is there. Wouldn't you like to see him?" 

She shook her head and raised the bags she was holding. "I can't. My family's probably in there starving," she attempted to joke. 

"Of course," he chuckled, but it didn't sound lighthearted like his previous ones were. He gave her a faint smile. "It was nice to officially meet you, Kiberi-san—" 

"—Shiina." She interrupted, before instantly smacking herself in her head. What are you doing?! She screamed. He's, like, the enemy! He blackmailed us! 

His smile turned more genuine. "Then you can call me Goro." 

— ❤ —

"What took you so long?" Endeavor huffed as she entered the dining room. 

"Sorry," she said unapologetically, setting the bags on the table. She knelt beside Shouto while Fuyumi started taking out everyone's meals. 

In front of the them, the television blared. 

"That concludes the speech given by President Masayoshi Shido. We now resume our coverage of the Phantom Thieves, the suspects for Mr. Okumura's death and others." 

She instantly turned her attention to the screen. 

"The police have designated the Phantom Thieves as the country's most wanted fugitives," the reporter said, and Shiina's grip on the plastic knife fell limp. The utensil clattered on the wooden table, causing Shouto to glance at her in concern. But she didn't notice. 

The Phantom Thieves were Japan's most wanted fugitives now. That seriously couldn't be it, right? How could the Phantom Thieves be worse than every other villain in Japan?! 

"Hmph," Endeavor harrumphed, also watching the news. "Every Pro Hero Agency is working to discover their identities and arrest them." 

"Even you?" Shiina asked so quickly that she almost reached a hand out to cover her stupid mouth. 

He scowled at her as if it was a stupid question. "Of course I am! I need to find them before All Might does..." A wicked smirk crawled over his face, one that made Shiina shudder in fear. "I imagine that it would boost up my ranking in the Hero Billboard Chart... I'll be Number One..." 

Shiina gulped, her hands balling over her lap. Her father was hunting her down. Every hero and every detective was hunting her and her friends down. 

"—And have decided to reward anyone with information leading to the capture of the Phantom Thieves. Those who provide information will be offered a reward of thirty million yen... And considering the high amount, it shows how extraordinary the situation has become. Reward money will be supplied by the police and the families of the victims, further—" 

Shiina stopped listening after that. 

Thirty million yen?! That's how much she and her friends were worth?! At this point, everyone in Japan would be hunting them down just to get their hands on that reward! 

"Shiina, you haven't started eating yet," Fuyumi told her. 

"Sorry," she mumbled, grabbing her fork and knife. She ate, but she had lost her appetite. Despite this, she scarfed her food down as quickly as she could and excused herself to her room, oblivious to the stares her brother gave her. 

[Have u guys seen the news yet?]

[We're in deep shit at this point...]

[Yusuke: I had braced myself for this possibility...]

[Ann: Actually having a wanted notice out for us feels kinda weird...]

[Futaba: I'm not sure we're gonna get away this time]

[It gets worse: my dad's after us too. In fact, he said every hero agency is looking for us!!]

[Ryuji: Are u serious?! We got PROS after us now?!]

[Haru: Our backs are truly against the wall now..]

[Makoto: Discussing it here won't do us any good though.]

[Makoto: Let's talk more in person.]

Everyone agreed to meet up at Leblanc right away. Since Shiina was already dressed to go out, she pocketed her phone and started for the door. 

"Shouto," she blinked in surprise, seeing him standing outside her door. "Something wrong?" 

"Are you okay, Imouto-san?" He asked quietly. "...You seemed nervous during breakfast." 

She tried not to turn pale at his statement. "Sorry, I'm just really worried about the Phantom Thieves situation. My school's going crazy about it 'specially since Akechi Goro came in and said he thinks that they're part of the student body..." 

He frowned, not liking his sister being so stressed and worried. He could tell she was terribly scared as well, though he misunderstood why. "Maybe you should transfer." He suggested. He really wanted her to. "It's too dangerous there," he said firmly. "These Phantom Thieves can easily kill whoever they want." 

She winced, hearing Shouto say that hurt her even if he didn't know the truth... "N-no," she shook her head. "I want to stay at Shujin..." 

His frown deepened. "Shiina..." 

"My friends are there," she said. Well most of her friends were. "And I don't want to leave them... I can't...!" 

Shouto stared at her intently, his frown never leaving. His sister was outgoing, she could easily make more friends at a more safer school with her dazzling personality, but something told Shouto it wasn't just about making new friends. There was truly something wrong and he had a feeling it was connected to why she was always so stressed and worried lately. 

She checked the time on her phone and gave him an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Sho-nii, but I really need to go right now." 

"To see your friends." He said, with slight envy and disappointment laced in his voice. He didn't mean to make it obvious, but felt a pang of guilt when he saw her wince. 

"Y-yeah," she replied, nodding a bit. "I'm sorry..." She said once more, moving passed him and hurrying down the hallway. 

The Phantom Thieves stole her heart and changed her for the better... so why did she still feel like a terrible sister? 

— ❤ —

"We're 'wanted' now..." Ryuji said in pure disbelief. "And the reward's thirty million yen? What is this, a comic book?" He let out a dry laugh. "Haha, it feels so unrealistic, I can't help but laugh..." 

"We're finally being treated as actual criminals..." Ann mumbled. 

Makoto stood up from her seat, hands trembling. "I'm positive now... Remember all those what-ifs I mentioned before...? All of this was truly set up. How President Okumura ranked first, the fad before that, even Medjed... It was all to make the Phantom Thieves famous. On top of that, we were lured to target Okumura..." 

"Yeah..." Morgana frowned, deeply dismayed by the discovery. "The enemy likely planned to lay the blame on us from the start, after we gained popularity." 

"Then, what about everything we've done until now?" Ann asked. "Are the people whose hearts we changed and thought were corrupt actually not?" 

Makoto shook her head. "No. Because of Yusuke and I, the Madarame and Kaneshiro cases were coincidental... Wasn't that the case with Kamoshida too? Considering what happened with the rankings, only the target prior to Shiina would have been used to lure us..." 

"What a cheap trick to use..." Ryuji grumbled. 

"Cheap...? It's nothing of the sort..." Makoto disagreed. "There's the fake Medjed and the site's altercation. They might have even engineered the fad around us. So much time and effort has been put into this... President Okumura probably wasn't their only target. Perhaps they intend to place all blame of past and future psychotic breakdowns on our group..."

Everyone was startled with that. Shiina's nerves grew even worse. She didn't want her siblings—especially Shouto—to think she was a heinous killer... 

Yusuke turned to Ryuji with a sharp glare. "That's why I said we shouldn't jump into things so carelessly...!" 

"What, so this is my fault?!" The blonde shouted back. "Even you agreed to it in the end! And there was that thing with Haru at the time. How're we s'posed to ignore that, huh?!" 

"Stop it," Shiina gripped his shoulder firmly, feeling his quake under her touch. "It's not your fault, but you shouldn't be yelling regardless... just stop, Ryuji..." 

He calmed down, but only a little. His shoulders stopped shaking with rage, but she could feel that he was still tense. She started rubbing them soothingly and gently pushed him so he could rest against the couch in a more relaxing manner. 

"...I'm sorry," Haru spoke after a tense silence. "This was all because I one-sidedly decided that my father was a criminal. All I could think about was my fiancé. If I had only been able to cope with it more calmly..." 

"Haru..." Makoto whispered softly. 

"It's not Haru's fault," Ann insisted. "I should've spoken up too when Principal Kobayakawa died...!"

Shiina jumped when Ryuji suddenly slammed his foot against the wooden floorboards. "DAMMIT!" He screamed. "This is bullshit! God! Rgh, fuck—!" He let out a hellish scream that shook Shiina to the core. The last time she had witnessed him this angry was when Kamoshida injured his leg...

"Ryuji!" Ann exclaimed when she saw Shiina was too frozen to say anything. "Taking out your frustration on things doesn't help anyone!" She scolded. 

Ryuji's shoulders slumped. "Hey... What do you think, Akira?" He asked. "...Why did we lose? What did we do wrong?" 

"...We lost sight of our goal." The noirette answered. 

"We weren't acting like ourselves." Morgana added, voice shaking. 

"...Agreed." Yusuke said quietly. "At the time, we only cared about the opinion of the general public." 

"Yeah... that really is it." Ann said, looking crestfallen. "I was... so caught up in making a name for ourselves. I'm such an idiot...! I became a Phantom Thief because I hated those same kinds of adults...!" 

Yusuke frowned to himself. "To think we had begun clinging onto fame and a place to belong that our eyes had become clouded..." 

"We were meant to be the righteous Phantom Thieves, but we lost sight of our original cause..." Haru trailed off. 

"I'm so irritated with myself...!" Makoto growled. 

"Dammit...!" Ryuji cursed again. "I know that we've been set up, and that I was a complete idiot too. But still... it's so damn frustrating! Of course I wanna do something about this..." 

"Yeah. We'll be in deep water at this rate..." Morgana stated dismally. "However, we have no idea who we're up against... and whether they're an individual or an organization. Furthermore, they must be in a position of power, or have powerful backers, if they can go so far."

"Are we really a match for this...?" Ann questioned, wrapping her arms around herself. 

"Should we... end this now?" Futaba asked. Everyone turned to her in shock. "I mean, things might get worse for everyone..." 

"What should we do...?" Ann asked Akira. 

"Let's turn the tables," he said immediately, standing up from his seat. "We haven't lost yet. We can overcome this, so we can't give up now." 

Always so determined... Shiina couldn't help but admire him and his leadership. 

"Yeah..." Ryuji said slowly, rising up as well. "Running away with our tails between our legs is exactly what they want... That's the same as dumping our aesthetics again 'cause we only care about our hides!"

"I see..." Futaba said, jumping to her feet. "I take back what I just said!" She exclaimed passionately. "I can't let it end like this! Absolutely not like this!" 

Shiina sighed in relief and stood up as Haru joined her. "Thank god you guys said that," the red head said, grinning in excitement and relief. "I joined you guys to help you out. It would be disappointing if we all gave up before I could do anything." 

"Yeah!" Ryuji shared an equally as excited grin, clapping her on the shoulder. 

"Looks like we're settled on 'what' we want to do. All that's left is 'how' we go about it..." Morgana stated. 

Makoto nodded. "Yeah..." 

— ❤ —

"You were a real maniac back there, you know!" Shiina scolded as Ryuji walked her home. She smacked his arm for added emphasis. 

"That wasn't necessary!" He complained, rubbing his arm. "Damn, ever since you got your Persona, your smacks have gotten stronger." 

She puffed her chest out proudly. "Good," her expression turned stern. "And don't try changing the subject with me, jackass. Call Akira and apologize about your brash behavior." 

He grumbled profanity under his breath but rummaged through his pockets for his phone. "Can't believe I'm fuckin' doin' this..." He muttered, tapping on his phone. When Akira answered the call, the first thing he said was: "Um... about me yellin' earlier..." 

Shiina facepalmed. 

"Bein' framed, and the added bounty... It all felt like such bullshit. I lost it... I'm sorry." He said earnestly, and Shiina nodded in approval. He rolled his eyes and nudged her in annoyance. Akira must have forgave him because the blonde brightened up. "Really? That's good... Maybe I haven't changed at all since that time we went up against Kamoshida... I wanted to be a Phantom Thief because I thought even someone like me could be a hero... It made me so happy to be depended on. Guess it all went straight to my head." 

Shiina listed quietly to his words. He had told her that he used to dream of being a hero back when he was just a kid, but she thought it was just a childhood fixation that shattered when he realized he was Quirkless. She didn't realize he was still striving for that dream... 

"I thought I could do anythin' if it was for justice. But that'd make me no different from our targets... I called them shitbags, but I must be the shittiest of shitbags. I can't even joke about it..." He turned quiet, which meant Akira was probably saying something. Suddenly, he grinned. "Akira... Heh, you're right. I can start my changin' who I am now. Thanks, Akira. I feel like I can think straight now. Oh... I scared Haru and Futaba didn't I... I'll have to apologize to them soon. See ya!" 

He hung up. 

"You know..." Shiina said quietly. "You kinda scared me back there too." 

His eyes widened. "I-I did?! You serious?!" 

She nodded. "Yeah, I haven't seen you that mad since you told me about Kamoshida and what he did... For a second... I thought of my dad." 

He flinched at that. 

"I was never scared of him before you guys changed me..." She chuckled at the realization. "I guess I was fearless back then. Fearless, but stupid." 

"I'm sorry for scarin' you," he said honestly, scratching the back of his head. "I didn't mean... I don't ever want you bein' scared of me. I'm sorry." 

"It's fine," she dismissed. "I think all this tension is just getting to me. The culprit, the framing... my dad wanting to hunt us down in hopes he'd be the Number One Hero..." 

"Seriously?" He scoffed. "That's why he's looking for us? Just so he could get a boost on the score charts?" 

She nodded grimly. "It always leads back to his stupid greed and selfishness..." 

"Speaking of your old man..." He trailed off, looking terribly guilty. "I talked to Akira about it and... He told me that you knew that we can't go to his Palace." 

"And I agreed," she stated. "It's too risky now."

He cursed under his breath. "God damn it...! You shouldn't have to live with such a bastard! You and your siblings...!" His words turned weak. "I know what's it's like to be powerless and it friggin' sucks! You shouldn't have to... shouldn't have to...!" 

His frustration and anger was evident. Shiina didn't know what else to say, she grabbed onto his arm and leaned against his shoulder and he allowed her. The two of them just stood there under minimal lighting from nearby streetlamps.

But the moment was cut off by the buzz of two phones. Shiina grabbed hers and positioned it a little upwards so Ryuji would be able to see. 

[Makoto: I got a message fro Akechi-kun. He wants us to gather at Leblanc tomorrow after school.]

[Futaba: Who does he think he is, trying to boss us around like that?!]

[Haru: Tomorrow...? That's sudden.]

[Yusuke: This is directly after the award announcement. There must be a calculated reason for this too.]

[Ann: We'll be ok right?]

[Akira: We'll manage.]

[Haru: Yeah. We're going to overcome this, together]

[Makoto: Regardless, I don't want anyone disturbing our pace anymore]

[Makoto: Let's go about this calmly. Well, see you all tomorrow.]

Akechi again... Shiina thought. 

"I wonder what we wants." She muttered. 

Ryuji was still staring at her phone, almost glaring. "...Guess we'll find out tomorrow."