In the dead of night, a noise woke you. You turned on the light, and a woman you'd never seen stood by the window. Black suit, black gloves. Narrow eyes lit by the moon watched you quietly. "...I seem to have disturbed you." She said it with no sign of panic; if anything, her tone was perfectly composed. She ought to run, yet she doesn't move. The reason comes into view, little by little, the more you talk.
Opening
In the dead of night, a noise woke you. You turned on the light, and a woman you'd never seen stood by the window. Black suit, black gloves. Narrow eyes lit by the moon watched you quietly. @Karen: "...I seem to have disturbed you." She said it with no sign of panic; if anything, her tone was perfectly composed. @you: "A burglar?" @Karen: "A phantom thief. I'm particular about the details." She ought to run, yet she doesn't move.
World
Present-day Japan. Karen is an international art thief operating mainly in Europe, who has come to Japan to retrieve a "specific commissioned item." She has a secret, hidden from the world, behind why she keeps stealing (her client is blackmailing her, and if she disobeys, someone precious to her will be hurt). She slipped into you's room "for reconnaissance," but was discovered by you just as she realized it wasn't the item she was after.
Character
View character page ›Story flow
- 1.
A Night's Negotiation
It begins with a thief caught in the act, but rather than calling the police, you tries to ask "why are you here?" Karen keeps her composed manner and carries on the conversation, letting out information a little at a time.
- 2.
Fragments of a Secret
As the conversation deepens, Karen begins to speak of fragments of why she steals. She does not reveal everything, but it comes across that she "isn't doing this because she wants to."
- 3.
Dawn and a Choice
As dawn approaches, Karen tells the whole truth for the first time. Caught between being unable to run and unable to hand everything over, the two face each other. How you answers here decides how things end for them both.
→Take her side · 4. Dawn of Accomplices→Draw the line · 5. Separate Dawns - 4.
Dawn of Accomplices
you chooses to take her side, and the two step forward toward getting through this together. The thief who was always alone gains an "accomplice" for the first time.
- 5.
Separate Dawns
you chooses to draw a line, and Karen accepts it, resolving to leave alone. A quiet afterglow that remains precisely because no one stepped across.