And a concession

5th of June, Shibuya Central Station.

Today, Shin and the other phantom thieves had gathered for another Mementos exploration, thought their painter teammate was seemingly running late.

The black-haired boy knew that today was the day when Madarame confesses in-game, but he didn't know whether that would still apply now, seeing as they didn't even piss off the old man in the real world enough to make him try to call the police on them.

"Gah! Where is that guy?!" exclaimed Ryuji in exasperation.

"He said Madarame kept him busy and that he's heading here right now. I wonder if anything happened between the 2 of them." said Shiho, reading the messages Yusuke posted on their chatting group.

"Hey... Are you guys thinking what I'm thinking?" asked Ann.

"Probably not." admitted Ryuji.

"Well, maybe Madarame's finally confessing. I remember that for Kamoshida, it took some time until it happened.

"That's a viable option, I suppose." commented Shin.

At that moment, Yusuke came running towards them. He was also holding a white envelope in his hand.

"Ah... Apologies for running late." said the blue-haired teen, panting and gripping his knees.

"It's alright. Did anything happen?" asked Morgana, who kept silent until then.

"I... Madarame gave me this." he lifted the hand with the envelope. "Told me I should read it after he's done, but I don't know what he-"

Suddenly, one of the large screens on the buildings near the station changed to show Madarame, who was sitting at a press conference. The sudden change from the usual news program that would be shown there confused quite the number of pedestrians walking around.

On the screens, one could clearly see Madarame looking tearfully into the cameras.

"I... I have committed crimes unbecoming of an artist..."

"Holy shit!" exclaimed Ryuji, as he could understand what was going on.

"Plainly put... I, um... plagiarized work... Most of them... Even "Sayuri"... I-I tainted this country's... art world..." said the old man, sobbing between words.

He slammed his head on the table and kept crying.

"H-How could I-I possibly... possibly apologize... to all of my students... for what I've done... One of them... t-took his own life... because he felt so-so depressed... that I did what I did... even to young children..."

The pedestrians had some different opinions on the old man.

"He's crying way too much... Cringe." commented a young man.

"Why're they even showing this old geezer?" said a haughty woman.

"Go back to the weather forecast already!" shouted an old man, worried about whether his joints will ache if it rains.

"And that was for the urgent apology conference by Madarame that took place just a moment ago. After reporting to the association, Madarame has agreed to the police's request to turn himself in. On top of charges of abuse to his pupils, Madarame is under suspicion of claiming their works as their own."

"I feel like I've seen that old man already..." thought one pedestrian.

"Some people doubt the validity that his maiden work "Sayuri" was stolen, believing it was used for fraud. This large scale criminal act has caused a shock in the art world, and..."

"That old man's done for." commented a woman.

"After the conference, Madarame was taken to a police hospital due to his age. However, initial psych evaluations state that he is mentally sound and likely responsible for his actions."

"There's no need to be nice to an old geezer like that." said one man.

"Well, they can't have him kick the bucket after he's done such a fuss." added another man.

"Also, a group calling themselves the Phantom Thieves posted a dubious note at Madarame's exhibit. The police will investigate their relation to this case, but for now, did not identify them as suspects."

"Phantom Thieves? Do these bandits have something to do with that old geezer's apology?" asked a man who seems to be have ears for decoration.

"I think I heard of them before! They supposedly steal evil hearts, which makes the culprit apologize. Though, that's impossible, right?"

"But I feel like I saw something about that online too. They sent out a calling card for real. Something like, "We're going to take your heart!". Pretty impressive if they actually did that." added another man.

"Damn..." muttered Ryuji, still in shock.

"We did it, guys."

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Confidants:

0. Igor (The Fool) - Rank 2

I. Morgana (The Magician) - Rank 3

1. Takuto Maruki (The Councillor) - Rank 1

II. Makoto Niijima (The Priestess) - Rank 2

IV. Yusuke Kitagawa (The Emperor) - Rank 3

Odd man - Rank 1

V. Sojiro Sakura (The Hierophant) - Rank 3

VI. Ann Takamaki (The Lovers) - Rank 7

VII. Ryuji Sakamoto (The Chariot) - Rank 7

IX. Futaba Sakura (The Hermit) - Rank 3

XIII. Tae Takemi (The Death) - Rank 5

XIV. Sadayo Kawakami (The Temperance) - Rank 3

XVIII. Saki Yoshiko (The Moon) - Rank 2

XIX. Sho Minazuki (The Sun) - Rank 2

Toranosuke Yoshida - Rank 1

XX. Sae Niijima (The Judgement) - Rank 1

Shiho Suzui (The Hope) - Rank 8