Tokyo's Phantom Thief

"…You have to input the target's name, location, and a fantasy object?"

Yoshizawa Sumire was utterly absorbed, as if enchanted, by the strange navigation app on her phone.

The app interface featured three input fields requiring specific information.

The target was [Suguru Kamoshida], the location was [Shujin Academy]—both already filled in.

Apparently, it had picked up on her mutterings earlier and auto-filled them. Surprisingly smart, this thing.

But the final field, labeled "Fantasy Object", left her completely baffled.

"Fantasy… as in what? Does it mean I'm supposed to imagine the school as something else?"

A school's a school, isn't it…? Sumire frowned in confusion.

Trying to think like an athlete, she entered terms like [stadium], [Volleyball court], [Olympic arena].

[Input error. Target not found.]

All wrong. The constant rejections left her mildly frustrated.

Then, a lightbulb went off in her clever little head.

She remembered a headline she'd seen earlier—how the media had dubbed Kamoshida "The King of the Volleyball Kingdom."

"If he's a king, then he must have a country, right? A domain? A castle? …Ah!"

As the word "castle" slipped from her lips, the voice recognition picked it up, and the app locked it in.

The very next moment, the world flipped upside down.

---

"Puhhhaaa~! Finally home!"

It was 11 PM when Rinto and Momoka trudged into their shabby rented apartment, their cozy little dump.

Momoka didn't bother keeping up appearances—she flopped onto the couch without even taking off her boots.

She propped her legs up on the armrest and swung them back and forth, whining to her younger housemate:

"Rinto, go grab me a beer from the fridge~?"

"Nope." The younger "dad" figure shot her down coldly:

"Not only would letting a minor touch alcohol be a crime, we've got an early shift tomorrow. I already turned the hot water on, go take a shower. Shoo."

Like a grumpy old father, he grabbed his "grown daughter" and tucked her limp body under his arm, dragging her toward the bathroom.

Inevitably, the process involved bumping into some soft spots—girls' bodies were always kind of mysterious.

But Rinto was firmly in disapproving dad-mode, and even Momoka didn't mind.

"Rinto, you're stronger than you look… Been working out?"

It actually felt kind of nice, being carried in those strong arms.

And for some reason… she didn't feel any of the discomfort she usually got from being touched by guys.

Not even a trace of disgust—in fact, she wanted to snuggle up closer to her roommate.

Ah, I get it now— A spark flickered in Momoka's clever little brain.

I must think of him as my little brother. That's why I'm so happy! (⁎⁍̴̛ᴗ⁍̴̛⁎)

Still, it was a bit embarrassing being carried around like this by a younger boy. Time to resist, maybe.

"Alright, alright! I'll go shower, okay? Stingy brat!" (｀へ´*)

She knew her roommate's temperament well enough—there was no winning against the one who paid the bills.

Pouting as she grumbled about "just a high schooler acting all high and mighty," she sounded more like a dime-a-dozen cartoon villain than a proper adult.

Rinto just shook his head, only relaxing once he heard the door shut and the sound of clothes being taken off.

After setting her boots by the door, washing the dishes, and tidying up a bit, he started getting ready to rest too.

Just in case Momoka tried to sneak some beer later, he considered hiding the remaining cans from the fridge…

That's when his phone rang.

The caller ID read: Yoshizawa Kasumi—the elder of the twin sisters.

Rinto picked up.

"Hey, Kasumi? What's up, calling this late?"

"Ah—sorry to bother you this late, Rinto-nii… I just wanted to ask: is Sumire with you by any chance?"

Kasumi's tone was a lot more formal than during the day—she was probably near her parents.

Rinto's brows furrowed. He replied immediately:

"She's not here. I haven't heard from her either. Did something happen?"

"Well… My mom went to look for her before bed, but no matter how much she knocked, there was no response. When we went in, she was just… gone."

"Her phone's out of service too, like she's outside the coverage area. But her shoes are still at the door, and it looks like she left in her pajamas… In that kind of state, where could she have gone? We've been looking everywhere."

Hissss…

Rinto slowly drew in a breath. A bad feeling crept up his spine.

Kasumi was holding herself together, but he could hear the strain under her words.

She couldn't say everything directly with her parents nearby, so she kept things vague.

She also knew what Rinto really was—and three months ago, she'd experienced what it was like to be brought into the other world.

Back then, they had vanished from reality just as mysteriously. It was, in a way, a kind of "crossing over."

So the moment her sister disappeared like this, Kasumi had already begun to suspect something.

Rinto replied without hesitation:

"Got it. I'll head out to look for her now. You stay with your parents and don't go wandering off. Trust me, okay?"

"Mm. I trust you, Rinto-nii."

Kasumi answered clearly, then ended the call.

Phew… Rinto let out a long sigh.

He checked to make sure Momoka was still in the shower—no one else in the house.

Just in case, he changed into outdoor clothes and shoes, and left a note on the coffee table that read "Went to buy a few things."

Then, instead of heading out, he went back to his room.

From the bottom of his only suitcase, he pulled out… a replica gun.

It was a hyper-realistic model, with a sealed barrel and no firing capability.

But the material and finish were so convincing that it would definitely cause trouble if brought outside.

He wasn't planning to scare anyone with it.

He was going to use it to travel—manually—into the other world.

"Doing it this way every time is seriously bad for your mental health."

He'd grumbled about it more times than he could count over the past few years. But it was still the most reliable method.

He pressed the replica to his temple in a reckless-looking gesture.

Took another deep breath… and whispered the trigger phrase:

"[Persona]."

—Click.

With the pull of a nonexistent trigger…

Asakura Rinto vanished without a sound.