Tokyo's Phantom Thief

"Shiho."

Asakura Rinto called the girl's name.

"Mm."

Shiho responded with a trembling voice.

A timid girl who'd always felt insecure about her height and thought of herself as anything but cute — she had fallen for this tall, handsome boy before her.

In her heart, she wanted to speak on behalf of girls everywhere: Any guy over 180cm is a national treasure!

Shiho reached out and gently took off Rinto's non-prescription glasses.

When she saw his unfiltered, unguarded face, she let out a breathless whimper, completely captivated. Her breathing grew heavier.

Their eyes closed in sync, as if by instinct.

Under the influence of a place like this — a "love hotel" — it was all too easy for a boy and girl to make a mistake…

— Clickclickclickclickclick~!

"!?"

The rapid shutter burst of Takamaki Ann's phone startled both of them. The wave of heat rushing through their bodies instantly cooled.

On the bed, Ann looked flustered.

"Ahh… sorry, sorry! I didn't mean to interrupt! It's just, when I woke up and saw how good the mood was, I couldn't help myself… I-I wasn't trying to secretly film you or anything! It's just, this is a major milestone for my bestie — I thought it deserved to be commemorated—"

"Ann~! (＞△＜)"

Shiho threw herself onto the bed, sobbing as she hugged Ann tight.

Compared to a guy she'd only just started to feel something for, the safety of her lifelong best friend obviously mattered more.

Rinto understood. Completely. That was fine.

He let out a long sigh and chuckled to himself:

"Rinto, you fool. Lured astray by lust… how did you sink this low… From today on, I'm swearing off alcohol!"

...Not that he drank in the first place, but a little self-flagellation made him feel better.

It took a while, but Ann finally calmed Shiho down from her bawling.

After a deep, comfy six-hour nap, Takamaki Ann had fully recharged and was back to being her usual radiant, high-energy self.

And once she figured out where she was, she didn't even get embarrassed like a normal girl might have.

On the contrary, her eyes sparkled.

"A love hotel?! The kind of place couples go to do the thing? No way, that means they've gotta have those toys they normally don't sell to minors, right?!"

Thud.

Rinto felt a sinking sensation in his gut. This is bad.

The memory of Yoshizawa Kasumi — chaos incarnate — turning a previous love hotel visit into a living nightmare for him and Sumire came flooding back. He had no desire to relive that kind of trauma.

Unfortunately, in a place like this, and especially as the only guy with two girls, he had next to no authority. No matter what he did, it felt like a crime.

All he could do was stand by helplessly as Ann started excitedly rummaging through drawers and cabinets. Her chirpy, animated commentary made him question whether the hotel's soundproofing was remotely adequate.

"Whoa~! Shiho, check out this balloon! I bet I could fit three fingers in it! And I saw a documentary once that said these things can hold a whole liter of water without popping! Hey Rinto, you—never mind, I'm gonna test it in the bathroom!"

"Ooh, they've even got cosplay outfits… wait, ew, this fabric is so cheap. Look at all the loose threads. If any of the fashion models I work with saw this, they'd lose their minds. There's no point even trying this on."

"Ah, but this cup thing is wild! You can split it open and see the interior texture... is it just me, or does this really look like the real thing? I've never seen my own, Shiho, what about you? I wonder how they make these? Can they actually copy the shape that accurately?"

"Ann~~~! ( ｀д′)"

Even the usually meek and mild Shiho had finally had enough!

Using her height to her advantage, she pinned the rampaging Ann down and physically separated her from all the dangerous "adult-only" items.

Out in the hallway — where he'd wisely removed himself from the blast zone — Rinto was silently grateful to Shiho for preserving the last shred of his idealized image of beautiful girls.

Shiho, meanwhile, was bright red as she scrambled to explain:

"Rinto-kun, please believe me! This really is our first time in a place like this! That's exactly why Ann's so hyper! I swear she's not usually like this — I don't know what's gotten into her…"

"Ah, I get it, I get it. Shiho, you don't have to explain."

Seeing how desperate she was, Rinto felt bad and quickly helped her save face.

"Maybe the drug's still in her system. We don't know exactly what happened to her out there. She'll be fine — let's head somewhere else."

As he spoke, Rinto kept shooting looks at Ann, practically telegraphing his thoughts with every twitch of his eyebrows.

He had a pretty good idea what was behind her bizarre behavior — most likely aftereffects of her time in the other world.

Ordinary people who returned from that place tended to experience some kind of mental strain.

But Ann wasn't ordinary. She was a Persona user — someone who had awakened their inner self.

Which meant this kind of excessive excitement… yeah, Rinto could see it happening.

After a few exaggerated winks from Rinto, Ann blinked back at him with wide, innocent eyes, confused for a moment.

Then something clicked. Her fragmented memories reconnected all at once, and understanding lit up her face.

Thank God, Rinto thought. At least she didn't lose her memory.

He'd been this close to experiencing his first heartbreak.

If Ann had forgotten everything that happened in the other world — if her Persona was gone too…

Then Rinto probably would've snapped. Gone full "blackened protagonist" mode, run home to cry his heart out in Momoka's arms, drunkenly confessed his feelings, and had one of those thunder-and-lightning nights with that embarrassing, older rock-girl loser he lived with.

Then he'd marry her out of obligation when she got pregnant and return to Hokkaido to start over as a family man.

If it was a girl, he'd name her Nina — in memory of the girl who'd made him fall for Momoka in the first place. He wondered how she was doing now in Kumamoto.

He'd already made sure the girl who bullied her repented.

If all went well, she'd continue her studies and never again think of ending her life.

...Too bad that girl also suffered aftereffects from the other world. When she came back, she forgot all about him.

Rinto smiled, a little wistfully.

Ann: "...Hey Shiho, is Rinto totally zoning out? His brain's off wandering in outer space, isn't it?"

Shiho: "Mm, I think so. His eyes are totally unfocused. He's not even looking this way… Ah, but Rinto-kun spacing out like that is really cute. And kind of hot?"

Ann: "Mmhmm! So go for it, Shiho! Sneak a kiss while he's distracted — I'll film it for you! Don't be shy, come on, you guys were this close before I interrupted! I already told you, I'm rooting for you, so don't hold back—"

Rinto: "Sorry to disappoint, but I can hear everything."

"Eeeek~~~! (≧ロ≦)"

The two high school girls, who had been so fired up they'd short-circuited their brains, suddenly clasped hands and started hopping around in panic.

Honestly, no matter what age they are, girls always seem to do that — jump around hand-in-hand when they get excited.

But it was cute.

And Rinto, watching over them with the fond smile of an old soul, felt at peace.