Tokyo's Phantom Thief

The rest of the school's opening events went just about how Asakura Rinto expected.

Aside from the squat, round principal—who looked like a bloated gourd and gave an annoyingly long speech—everything else was fine.

At the end, Shujin's student council president came onstage to give her address.

She was a third-year girl with a neat bob cut.

Her appearance was sharp, composed—gave off the cool, model-student vibe.

It was a far cry from the traditional image of a prim and proper class rep, which made Rinto glance her way a few more times than usual.

But aside from that? Nothing too surprising.

"Rinto-kun, want me to show you around the school?"

As soon as homeroom ended and Kawakami-sensei left the room, Takamaki Ann spun around in her seat without hesitation.

"You transferred in as a second-year, right? So this is your first time at Shujin? I could totally give you the inside scoop—like which vending machines have the best snacks!"

The way this mixed-race girl beamed at him, her blue eyes brighter than the sky, nearly set Rinto on fire with sheer enthusiasm.

He was honestly glad to have met someone this friendly on his first day.

Unfortunately, he already had something planned.

"Sorry, I've got two first-year kouhai I know. I promised I'd show them around and help them meet their teachers."

"Kouhai? You already know first-years? That's amazing, Rinto-kun."

He wasn't sure what exactly she found amazing, but Ann looked genuinely impressed.

She blinked, then grinned again.

"Well, perfect then! I'll come with you. Don't let the looks fool you—teachers around here love me. Especially the English ones, since I ace their class~!"

Which made sense. She obviously had the vibe of a returnee student.

But watching how carefree she was, Rinto realized she hadn't put two and two together.

If he was taking the twins to meet teachers, they'd inevitably have to face Kamoshida.

And she hadn't even considered that. She was too busy thinking about how fun it'd be to give him a tour.

Her intentions were kind, sure—but maybe a little too naive.

Still, Rinto smiled and accepted her offer.

"Alright, that'd be great. Mind calling Shiho-san too? I'd like to introduce the girls to both of you."

"Sure, sounds good!" Ann nodded quickly. "I want you and Shiho to get along too! I think you'd really hit it off!"

This girl was a ball of warmth—open with her feelings and never shy about showing them.

It was a refreshing kind of sincerity. Rinto hoped she'd stay that way.

After grabbing Suzuki Shiho from the next class over, the three of them headed down to the first-year classrooms.

Shiho jumped in surprise when she saw Rinto. Only after Ann explained everything did she understand.

And her reaction was identical to Ann's:

"Eh? Asakura-san, you're not an adult!? I totally thought you were like, twenty-five... Ah! I didn't mean you look old! It's just, your vibe is super mature! (.>﹏<.)"

Seriously? Now I'm a full decade older?

Rinto was starting to get a little salty. Why did everyone his age think he looked so much older?

They soon reached the classroom where the Yoshizawa twins were assigned.

Just as expected, their stunning appearance had already made waves. The hallway outside was packed tight.

Honestly, under these circumstances, Rinto figured it might be best to stay low-profile and wait for the girls to come out on their own.

But he also knew—the twins would want him to come fetch them.

So he left the clueless Ann and Shiho waiting outside and squeezed into the crowd.

"Excuse me, coming through."

Flashing his second-year badge, Rinto pushed through the wall of gawking first-years and confidently entered the classroom.

The Yoshizawa sisters were surrounded by a ring of admiring girls acting like bodyguards—some were even keeping the boys at bay.

But the moment Rinto stepped in, their eyes lit up like stars.

"Rinto-nii~!"

"Rinto-senpai~!"

Calling out to him with affectionate ease, they each grabbed one of his hands and began saying goodbye to their classmates.

The way they did it was so natural that the onlookers were stunned. The crowd instinctively parted to let the three of them through.

As they walked back out, Rinto sighed under his breath:

"At this rate, I'm gonna be public enemy number one for all the guys at this school tomorrow."

"Pfft!"

The twins burst out laughing.

Kasumi: "That's not a bad thing, right? With you around, Rinto-nii, we'll probably get harassed way less. Just think of it as helping out your adorable kouhai~?"

Sumire: "Mm, exactly! And we'll protect senpai too! If everyone knows you're ours, the creepy bugs will stay away. And if they don't... I'll chase them off myself!"

"Sumire, stuff like that isn't something you should say out loud..."

Rinto had some real concerns about the younger twin's yandere tendencies. Was she really going to act on them someday?

Still—for today at least—he'd successfully become their knight in shining armor.

No one dared interrupt the trio's private atmosphere, and Rinto rejoined Ann and Shiho without further issue.

To their absolute shock, he introduced everyone.

"...Oh! Now I get it!"

Ann smacked a fist into her palm in realization. "You two are those twin gymnasts, huh? You were already on the news even before school started. I didn't know you knew Rinto-kun though..."

She eyed Rinto up and down like he was an alien she couldn't quite identify.

But in true Ann fashion, her cheerful personality took over.

She quickly started chatting with the twins, leading them toward the principal's office.

From the gourd-like principal to the stern-faced vice principal to the subject teachers, everyone had glowing praise for the star-student twins.

And Ann? She seamlessly joined every conversation like she'd been born for it. Just like she'd said—teachers loved her. It was easy to see why.

Watching her charm every adult in the room, Rinto couldn't help but feel genuinely impressed. Her social skills were off the charts.

Even Shiho, quietly standing beside him, had to say something.

"Ann's really amazing, isn't she? She only came back to Japan in middle school, and she's been so open and bold ever since. I've never seen anyone interact with people like that."

She giggled. "Adults love her, but other students... they're a little intimidated by her. I think if people actually took time to get to know her, they'd realize how sweet she is."

"Yeah," Rinto nodded. "But you're already her close friend, right? She looks pretty happy with that. Having one person truly understand her might be all she needs."

"Ahaha... I actually feel like I owe her a lot. She always looks out for me, and I end up making her worry. I feel kinda bad about that."

Shiho looked down a little, her smile softening into something quieter.

For someone on the volleyball team, she was tall—even taller than Ann—and clearly a beauty in her own right.

But she carried herself like someone trying to shrink away from attention. Her posture always slightly slouched, as if trying to take up less space. It was a clear sign of low self-confidence.

Rinto was about to say something encouraging—

But then, out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a broad-shouldered man walking briskly toward them with a stormy expression.

"Oi, Suzuki! You look plenty healthy to me. No need for time off—get to practice, now!"

"Eek...!"

Shiho gave a soft yelp and instinctively ducked behind Rinto.

The thick-necked, barrel-chested man who'd just appeared was none other than the disgraced former Olympic gold medalist whose name and face were infamous even on the internet.

The corrupt, sadistic gym teacher—Kamoshida Suguru—was now standing face-to-face with Asakura Rinto.