The Hidden Thief

Chapter Two: Pleasant or Punk?

The next day at school, Akira found Ryuji and Ann waiting by the school entrance again. They smile and wave as he walked over to them.

"Akira, Ryuji, I have a favor to ask of you two.." Ann says. Both boys tilt their heads a bit. "Well, I want to see if I can talk to Tristin. Do you think you guys could watch just in case something happens?" Akira and Ryuji exchange glances at each other before looking back at her.

"Of course we can.." Akira says. Ann smiles at them.

"Thank you.." She looks around for the chestnut-haired boy, and spots him across the hall. "Well.. Wish me luck.." She then walks over to him, and taps on his shoulder. "Um.. Kuramoto-kun?" He turns his head slightly, and he lays his eyes on her.

"Hmm..?" Ann tensed up a bit as he looked down at her, his tired gaze staring back into her's.

"H-hello, I'm Ann Takamaki, and I was wondering if you wanted to get to know each other a bit? Maybe become friends?" He stares at her for a bit, then turns away, uninterested. Ann moves her body to look at his face again. "Well, if not now, then maybe later..?" Tristin sighs in annoyance.

"No..." He says in a deep, quiet voice. Ann put her hands together in a begging style as she inches closer to him.

"Please..?" Tristin then pushes her away.

"Keep pestering me about it and you won't have a chance.." He says coldly. Ann goes quiet and looks away. "I'm going to class.. Have a good day, Takamaki-san.." He then walks off, heading up the stairs. Ann looks back at Akira and Ryuji, who both just shrug. She walks back over to them, and sighs.

"I don't think he'll want to be friends with me after that.."

"Well you shouldn't have annoyed him so much.." Ryuji says to the lighter blonde. She flicks him on his cheek. "Ow..!"

"Just give him time, Ann. He'll open up soon. And besides, we can have Futaba do some research on him when we meet up." Akira says. He notices other students start to walk off. "We should head to class as well. We can worry about this afterwards.." The two nod at him, and they go to their classes.

~Afterschool~

The Phantom Thieves meet up at cafe LeBlanc after the school day ends. They sit down at one of the booths, and Akira looks at Futaba.

"Futaba, do you think you can do some research on Tristin for us?" The redhead looks at him with a slight gleam in her eyes.

"I was waiting for you to ask that.." She says with a smug grin, and she pulls out her laptop. She quickly types something in and clicks. "Whoa! Check this out!" The group gathers around her and looks at her computer. "This is a police site where it shows peoples criminal records, and he's on here!"

"What??"

"No way!"

"Are you for real?!"

Futaba skims through the record, and her eyes widen.

"Holy cow! Look at this record!" The group leans in closer to see. "'Arrested for assault, theft, vandalism, resisting against a police officer, and murder. Went to juvenile hall twice, each for eight months'?! There's no way that this is real!" Futaba shouts out in disbelief.

"But if this is for real, he's very, very lucky that bastard Kamoshida isn't here to expose him.. He'd be even more ruined than he already is!" Ryuji pipes up.

"I wonder if he has a palace.." Morgana murmurs. "I might be incorrect, but it doesn't hurt to make a guess, right?"

"Well, let's check, shall we?" Akira says, pulling out his phone. He opens the Nav app, and types in Tristin's name. It beeps, showing one result. "Looks like we got a hit.." Ryuji looks over at Akira's phone, and a grin forms on his face.

"Hell yeah! Looks like we found a new target! We just need to find the other two keywords and we'll be golden!" They murmur amongst each other, coming to an agreement. They then hear the entry doors open and a boy in a bright pink and green jacket walks in. That boy, being Tristin. The group immediately goes quiet as he looks at them, and then at Sojiro.

"Did I come at a bad time? I was just hoping to get a coffee to keep me from falling asleep during my shift.." He says, rubbing his eyes.

"The cafe's closed right now.." Sojiro says. He sighs a bit. "But because I'm a nice guy, we'll get you a coffee real quick.." He looks over at the group. "Akira, it's time for your friends to go home. I need you to prepare a coffee.." Akira nods and looks at his friends.

"Well, I'll see you guys tomorrow.." the others smile and give their goodbyes before walking out the door. Tristin looks over at Ann with a slight grin on his face.

"Hello, Takamaki-san.." Ann tenses up a bit as she glances at him before leaving. Tristin watched her leave, and goes to sit at the bar. Akira puts on his apron, and looks over at him.

"What kind of coffee would you like?" He asks politely. Tristin yawns and covers his mouth, and looks at him.

"Doesn't matter.. Regular, I guess..? Just whatever will keep me awake until like midnight.." Akira nods, and begins to prepare his coffee.

"If you don't mind me asking, you seem pretty tired and it's only just past four.. Why's that?" Akira asks and hands him his drink. Tristin takes the cup and quickly takes a drink before responding.

"I'm running on like three or four hours of sleep after a long night of working, getting a shitty nights sleep, and a shitty day at school.." He takes another drink. "God, I wish life didn't feel like such a prison.."

"You could always quit and try to find another job.." Akira says quietly.

"No, it's fine.. Gotta make a living somehow.." Tristin replies. He downs the rest of his coffee and sets the cup down. He gets up, pulls some money out of his wallet, and sets it on the bar. "Sorry for wasting your time, I'll be on my way now.. Thanks for the coffee.."

"Come again sometime." Akira says with a slight smile. Tristin nods and walks out the door. Akira begins to clean up the place, and thought about their conversation. How could someone who keeps up with their job with little to no sleep, as well as try to be a good student in school, be responsible for all those horrible things on that record? Some things just didn't make sense to him. Was he genuinely a good person, or a psychopath in disguise?