"Alright, so I misjudged that. So what? That doesn't change the fact that it's-" Fujiwara started again before Paka walked in. Ayame noticed this as well, and when she was directed outside and Paka stepped in to talk down Fujiwara she happily obliged. It was tiring and pretty depressing to see him like this, to be fair. Swiftly making her way out, she noticed Umichi standing nearby and walked over.

"I'm here. What is it that you wanted to ask?"

---------------------
As Paka began to lecture him, Fujiwara took a deep breath and stared him back in the face. Though he did bring up valid points, there was still no doubt in his mind that it would be impossible for this wannabe thief to join the party. Relaxing his fists, Fujiwara shoved his anger aside and began to speak as calmly as he possibly could, relaxing all of the tensed-up muscles that were raring to go for a round or two. His voice rapidly shifted from one on anger to one of experience and detachment.

"Alright. I get it. You're worried about seeing someone else die. But this person's been insisting on joining the party, which I absolutely do not approve of. I'm not even irritated about the first robbery at the moment; it's the fact that he's attempting to bribe us with items which he claims he hasn't stolen. If we are to assume that is true, then given his stats and the way he's acting right now the ability to obtain the katana he tried to present to me just now is out of the question. The gloves I can understand. They're not that expensive on the marketplace, after all. But on my little walk after I stormed off earlier, I noticed the exact same katana on sale. If I had bought it then and there, I would be half broke right now. No joke. If I recall correctly, it's not a monster drop from anything he can solo at this level, given what was in the guide book. Not to mention, the drop rate on rare weapons with enhancements is extremely low. That leaves two logical conclusions to draw from this, which I assume you already know. On that note, let's say we do the opposite of what I argued- we let him into the party. Now, the mobs on the first floor are all being cleaned out, and quite rapidly at that. The dungeon is rapidly becoming the only source of income and exp, which means that we'd have to drag him in there. Now, what happens if we drag someone who is level 3 into a dungeon that is clearly not meant for fresh players to enter? They die. you're so insistent on letting him join, but at the same time you're missing the fatal flaws in your argument. His obtainment of the aforementioned katana shows that he is either astronomically lucky to have not died, that he stole it, or that he stole the money to buy it. The latter two, in turn, show that he isn't truly ready to 'quit pickpocketing' as he so claims to want. Second, if he joins the group he'll be more of a liability and we might even end up being put into a very bad predicament to try and save him. If he dies with us, under Umichi, do you think any of us will be able to deal with the stress? If we see him die in front of us instead, would you be able to forgive yourself any more than if we had leave him be? And lastly, I return to the katana. you mentioned 'good equipment and potions' as things to give him before we leave him to his own devices. With the money he spent buying that sword, he could have easily bought a better set of equipment for himself. Not to mention, he had the bright idea of stealing from us in broad daylight earlier. His actions thus far have shown- to me, at least- that his decision making might get us all into trouble or worse. I honestly don't care much for the fool, but at the same time pushing him away seems to be the only reasonable thing to do. If he's going to keep making mistakes like that that might get us in trouble or worse, then I question his value and heavily question your rationale if you let him in and something goes wrong."

After finishing his argument, Fujiwara took another deep breath and, sighing, sat down on a nearby seat.
"Well, now that that's all out of my system I'm still not going to let this fool in. He's a danger if we bring him, a danger to himself if we don't... You remember how long it took for everyone to grind up to this level? We don't have that kind of time to waste on every charity case we come across, you know. Sorry if I've been sounding like a jackass for the last two hours or so, but that's the truth of it all." he said, his emotions slowly returning as he spoke. Ignoring the performers in the background, he said one more thing before Timi interrupted.
"If we let him in and some serious shit does go down, it's on your head. Not mine."

As Timi did interject, though, Fujiwara sighed and relaxed in the seat he was in.
"I'm just saying what I think is best for the team. If you think counter to that, then so be it."