Tokyo's Phantom Thief

"Mnyahhh... (－ω－)"

Momoka stumbled downstairs first thing in the morning, her hair a bird's nest and still wearing yesterday's tights she forgot to take off.

The wooden floor creaked under her unsteady steps.

Soon she heard the sizzling of oil in the frying pan, and her eyes cleared up a little.

"Oh hey, the sleazy delinquent high schooler came crawling back."

"Who're you calling sleazy?" Rinto snapped back immediately.

He cracked an egg one-handed over a strip of bacon, letting the two meld together perfectly.

Momoka yawned and slumped over the counter, squinting at his busy silhouette.

"Off playing house with not one but two fifteen-year-olds in a love hotel again… And on the first day of school no less. I had to make my own instant noodles last night, and when I tried to crack an egg into it, the yolk burst. This is all your fault! You'd totally make a great bassist, by the way. Wanna start learning now?"

This woman's completely unreasonable. Is she my mom or something?

Rinto shot back, "I'm not even gonna ask why it has to be bass. And fine, maybe most of what you said is technically true, but how the hell is your broken yolk my fault?"

"It is your fault."

Momoka puffed up her cheeks stubbornly, sounding completely self-assured:

"It's because you said guitarists have to protect their hands, so you took over all the house chores — cooking, laundry, everything. Now I've totally forgotten how to do basic stuff. I can't even tell the dish soap from the detergent anymore. Last time I tried to hand-wash my bras, they came out all stiff and weird — nothing like when you do it."

Rinto muttered, "That's because there's special detergent for lingerie. You're supposed to take good care of delicate stuff… Speaking of which, please take off those tights you've been wearing for two days. Don't get my chair dirty."

Honestly…

Even if Momoka acted like a twenty-year-old man-child and most of her complaints were just aimless griping that made you want to roll your eyes—

Rinto didn't find it annoying in the slightest.

Taking care of this oversized baby was oddly satisfying. Bickering with her every morning was kind of fun.

Guess that meant he had a bit of an M streak after all.

And, well, there was no denying it — this lazy rock-girl big sis was kind of cute.

The moment he slid the bacon-egg-and-sausage breakfast in front of her, the grumbling big sister instantly lit up with a "Yay~! (ﾉ>ω<)ﾉ", diving in like a happy kid.

Watching her devour it with sparkling praise made Rinto feel like he'd been paid back in full — emotionally speaking.

"Sorry I've been so busy with school starting. I probably won't have time to work nights for a while — I'll be counting on you more. But I'll still try to come home to make dinner."

"…It's fine. No need to explain."

Momoka kept her head down, eating quietly.

Her messy hair covered her face, so Rinto couldn't tell what kind of expression she was making.

She continued in a muffled voice:

"I said it before, right? We're just roommates. You're a high schooler in your prime — smart and good-looking too. You should be out there enjoying life. I just talk too much sometimes, that's all. If I ever piss you off, sorry. You don't have to come home every night or anything. It's not like we've got a curfew here. Do whatever you want."

"…Are you mad?" Rinto asked carefully.

Clack. Momoka slammed her chopsticks down. "Nope."

She finished her meal completely, didn't even wipe her mouth, and made a beeline for the bathroom — finally starting her morning routine.

Eating before brushing your teeth was definitely unhygienic, but Rinto didn't have the moral high ground to nag her right now.

It felt like she took a step away just now.

Their emotional distance had widened. A thick wall had gone up between them.

He figured it was probably because he couldn't do night shifts anymore, and she was sulking about it.

But there wasn't much he could do about that.

So Rinto decided: I'll just be nicer to her during the day.

Her old tights were worn out anyway. He'd buy her a few new pairs as a gift. Maybe sneak in a few styles he liked while he was at it.

Putting her personality aside — face and body-wise, Momoka was exactly his type. He had no shame admitting it.

After doing the dishes, Rinto got ready for the day and said goodbye to Momoka, who was busy scribbling lyrics.

Now that school had officially started, he'd told the Yoshizawa sisters they didn't need to come to his place in the morning anymore.

Instead, they'd meet at the subway station and head to school together — a routine that still felt plenty close.

"Rinto-nii~!" / "Rinto-senpai~!"

Their cheerful voices rang out from across the station, drawing envious stares from every direction. Rinto could practically feel the hate-beams.

As they made their way to school, they chatted about this and that, squeezed together in the rush hour subway car.

Rinto instinctively held the girls close, shielding them in the crowded train and carving out a little safe space in the corner of the car.

He didn't realize the sisters were silently grinning like fools.

Because this exact pose — arms protectively braced, bodies close — was what girls called a boyfriend train kabedon, the romantic cousin to the classic wall slam and bed slam.

But once they got to school, they had to part ways.

Sumire pouted a little as she waved goodbye.

"If only we were in the same class as you, senpai… But then you wouldn't be our senpai anymore, which would suck too..."

Kasumi, the ever-resourceful older sister, suddenly lit up. "Oh! I've got it! If we want Rinto-nii to be our senpai and be in the same class — all he has to do is repeat a year! I'll go talk to the principal. He totally owes our dad a favor~!"

"Stop right there," Rinto groaned. "Let's not taint the school's record just to keep me in your class. Sumire, please talk some sense into your sister— Wait, why do you look disappointed too?! You actually think this is a good idea!?"

These two were truly something else. Rinto reached out and gave both their heads a firm ruffle as punishment.

With so many students around to witness the display, Rinto had no doubt this would keep most boys from even thinking of getting close to them.

He'd become their walking wall — the bodyguard for this celebrity duo.

And honestly? That was fine. Rinto didn't mind being seen that way at all.

When he finally made it back to his own classroom—

Takamaki Ann came bouncing over, twin tails swishing as she practically sparkled with energy.

"Hey hey, Captain! Ah — I mean, Rinto! Have you heard!?"

Her eyes were practically glowing.

"Kamoshida took a leave of absence! I heard he's sick — something like chronic fatigue syndrome or whatever? …Did you do that? Did you pull something on the other side to keep him out of school?"

"…Yeah. That was me."

Rinto nodded without hesitation under Ann's look of awe.

They agreed to talk more during lunch break — just so she wouldn't explode from excitement in the middle of class.