In the pitch-black underground parking garage, the elevator slowly descended.
The rescued Kurusu Akira and Togawa Sakiko were led out of the elevator by a somewhat gloomy Detective.
Outside, police sirens blared, and gang members were constantly being taken away in custody. Victims who had been forcibly assigned to work in this hotel due to debt issues were also being escorted in batches to the nearest Police Department for testimony after being comforted.
The Detective took out his car keys and pressed a button on them towards the darkness ahead.
In the depths of the lightless garage, a pale white car light immediately illuminated, dispelling the silent atmosphere.
Along with the sound of the car doors unlocking—
Click.
Light, a solitary light, shone on the boy's face.
Like a powerful flashlight in an interrogation room.
Making one instinctively narrow their eyes and shrink away.
"Name?"
The police officer responsible for taking testimony was still the somewhat gloomy Detective. He adjusted his suit collar while questioning the boy rescued from the "uncontrolled incident" scene.
"Amamiya Ren."
Kurusu Akira lowered his face, adopting a look of exhaustion, as if he could fall asleep at any moment... This was to prevent his eyes and expression from being seen clearly by the Detective opposite him.
"Age?" the Detective continued to ask.
"Seventeen."
Kurusu Akira suddenly took a deep breath, then continued.
"I live in the attic of LeBlanc Cafe in Yongen-Jaya, Setagaya Ward. I attend Shujin High School and get home by 6 PM at the latest every day. I am law-abiding, don't smoke, and don't drink. I go to bed at 11 PM, ensuring 8 hours of sleep. Before bed, I do an hour of practice problems, then 20 minutes of physical training before showering and sleeping. I can usually sleep soundly until morning, like a baby, never carrying fatigue or stress over to the next day. Even doctors say I'm perfectly normal."
After a brief silence, the Detective surprisingly caught the reference, "That's a line from Yoshikage Kira in 'Jojo's bizarre adventure Part 4,' isn't it? My daughter likes to watch that anime too."
Then, he showed a slightly helpless smile, "I know you're very tired and don't want to recall your experience, but at least please explain the full story of how you were kidnapped?"
"Are Detectives specifically responsible for 'runaway incidents'?"
"Yes," the Detective didn't mind the high schooler's question; instead, he took on this important role and continued to ask for details about the case.
"So you need to tell me what happened to you. Only then can the Police Department find a way to help you, and to help more victims who might fall into 'runaway incidents'."
"Then I'll... try to remember."
The Detective nodded, asking enthusiastically, "Do you need me to make you a cup of coffee?"
"Okay, please, sir."
"Tsk, 'sir'?... Young people nowadays really have no manners," the Detective's expression instantly darkened. In the system, he was clearly recognized as a handsome urban man.
Even so, he quickly walked out of the interrogation room, went to the hot water room next door, found a packet of instant coffee and a disposable plastic cup, and started making coffee for Kurusu Akira.
At this moment, the Phantom Thief in the interrogation room finally looked up, staring at the infrared camera opposite him with its flickering red light, and began to recall the Detective's appearance.
He had dark, medium-length hair, square rimless glasses, and a beard, somewhat resembling "John Wick," the protagonist from [John Wick], at first glance. It had to be said, he was indeed quite handsome.
He wore a standard black suit, paired with a light-colored shirt and a black tie. Perhaps for convenience during missions, he replaced the typical business leather shoes with a pair of white sneakers, giving off a very capable impression.
Perhaps this kind of mature, somewhat gloomy older man would be very popular with young girls?
Kurusu Akira took off his glasses and rubbed his sore eyes.
The Detective soon returned with a steaming cup of coffee...
Kurusu Akira looked at the light brown liquid in front of him, somewhat unwilling to admit that this hastily made sugary water could be called "coffee."
"Let's continue our previous topic."
The Detective sat down, "Why were you entangled with the yakuza?"
"It seems my family owed them a large sum of money..." Kurusu Akira's words paused, then he shivered as if in fear, "They threatened me that if I couldn't go to that hotel by the specified time, they would kill me."
This was a lie! But given Kurusu Akira's situation as a victim at the time, and his tired voice, it was impossible to detect any flaws.
The Detective's gaze immediately turned sympathetic, "You must have been at the crime scene. Did you observe how those guys suddenly started to repent?"
"I, I don't know, they suddenly seemed like different people... Oh, right! Before that, they seemed to have opened a very strange letter!"
"A letter! That's right, that's it! Do you know about the 'Phantom Thief'? Did you see how that letter appeared?!"
"...I don't know."
The excited Detective quickly regained his composure, with some disappointment in his eyes, but he didn't plan to continue questioning Kurusu Akira.
Neither the suspect nor the victim could explain how that letter appeared. Mentioning related content was as if there was no corresponding memory at all, let alone where this 'Phantom Thief' came from.
That letter was truly magical. Although the material used was ordinary printing paper, the handwriting and colors on it looked as if they were created by magic, with no traces of any machine or human hand. The only DNA residue came from Kamo Saizo, the head of the "Kamo Group," who had already turned himself in to the Police Department!
This was simply like... the product of some supernatural power.
"Well then, let's end this topic here."
The Detective stood up; faintly, a father and daughter could be heard arguing next door.
He looked at the empty disposable paper cup in front of Kurusu Akira, walked over, picked it up, and threw it into the trash can in the corner of the room. "It's very late now, and the trains definitely won't be running. Let me drive you home."
"Wait a moment!" At the same time, an urgent voice sounded from outside the door.
An elderly man with white hair stood at the door of the interrogation room, "Police Inspector Hasegawa, could I trouble you to also take this child home?"
Behind the old man, a blue-haired girl was constantly wiping away tears with her sleeve.
----------------
Police Inspector Hasegawa, or rather, Hasegawa Zenkichi.
He led Kurusu Akira and Togawa Sakiko out of the Tokyo Police Department.
Along the way, feeling the heavy atmosphere emanating from the two, he casually brought up an irrelevant topic, trying to alleviate the tension and lingering fear in the hearts of the young boy and girl who had survived the ordeal.
"Are you two from the same school? Did you know each other before?"
"I'm... a first-year student at Haneoka Girls' Academy."
"Shujin Academy High School, second year."
"How unlucky, still in school, yet caught up in yakuza disputes. Is it because your family borrowed money from those yakuza?"
As soon as these words were spoken, Togawa Sakiko, who had just stopped crying, fell silent. Kurusu Akira clearly saw tears welling up in her eyes again.
The Detective also realized he might have accidentally stepped on a landmine in her heart, and he chuckled apologetically, "It's okay, everything will be fine. It's good that you're alive."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Kurusu Akira's expression also turned strange.
Hasegawa Zenkichi immediately shut his mouth, wishing he could slap himself.
'I'm so damn dead.'
The three walked in silence for a distance in the night wind. It was very late, and there were no pedestrians to be seen in the streets.
The houses they saw all had dark windows, dozens of vertically arranged doors and windows like the eyeballs of dead people, silently staring at Hasegawa Zenkichi, who was walking in front, making his heart pound.
Only the emergency lights emitted a pale glow. After turning left at the intersection ahead, a powerful-looking jeep could be seen parked on the street.
"Get in, I'll take you home." Hasegawa Zenkichi let out a sigh of relief, looking at Kurusu Akira and Togawa Sakiko, with a hint of guilt and apology in his eyes.
"Also... I apologize for what I just said."
"Before leaving, I specifically asked a colleague responsible for related matters to help. Don't worry, what happened to you today will absolutely not reach your school, and it will absolutely, absolutely not affect your normal life!"
Hasegawa Zenkichi hadn't expected to coincidentally encounter these two children with such severe family problems.
He was so distraught now that he really wanted to light a cigarette...
Togawa Sakiko lived in Akabane Town, North Ward of Tokyo.
Kurusu Akira lived in Yongen-Jaya, Setagaya Ward.
The two places were quite far apart, so Hasegawa Zenkichi decided to take Togawa Sakiko home first.
The car started, and the scenery outside the window quickly blurred into a large, dark curtain.
Kurusu Akira turned his head to look at Togawa Sakiko, who was also sitting in the back seat. The girl had fallen asleep leaning against the car window, her pretty face, etched with exhaustion, showing an expression of bitterness and pain.
After going through so much, she was indeed exhausted.
He thought, in a few days, he would arrange to meet her and then secretly steal the sin from her father's heart.
The operation at the hotel this time was too rushed, and many details couldn't be taken care of, such as missing the big creditor who escaped in the chaos and was then surrounded by police outside the hotel.
After all, he had changed bodies, and his skills had become a bit rusty.
Sigh, if it were before, he definitely would have cleared out the entire hotel before the police arrived at the scene.
'A mere 352 thugs actually wasted so much of my energy.'
'I must increase the time budget allocated for fitness.'
Thinking this, Kurusu Akira, whose mental and physical strength had long since bottomed out, unconsciously fell asleep leaning against the seat back.
...
Togawa Sakiko had a dream.
She dreamed of a young man dressed as a Phantom Thief moving extremely fast through a hotel filled with filth and sin.
The Phantom Thief wore bright red gloves, a black trench coat, a gray-collared shirt, and black trousers, with a white bird-shaped mask covering most of his face.
The Phantom Thief came and went without a trace. Whenever a gang member tried to attack him, a specific item would be taken from their body by him, then placed into a large cloth bag.
Immediately after, those yakuza bosses or executives would stand in a daze, no longer moving, and then tears of regret would begin to stream down their faces.
Togawa Sakiko understood that those miscellaneous items like rings and katanas were probably the "sins" in their hearts.
The Phantom Thief continuously ascended from the first floor of the hotel, and the sack he carried grew increasingly bulging until it was filled with all sorts of items.
Finally, he reached the top floor, approaching herself, who stood motionless by the elevator door...
"I'll take the sin in your heart!"
The Phantom Thief's whisper fell on Togawa Sakiko's ears.
Immediately after, the last criminal collapsed beside her.
Togawa Sakiko watched as the Phantom Thief, without a trace of lingering, picked up the cloth bag full of sin, sprinted to the window on the top floor of the hotel, looked back at her, and then leaped out.
"Wait—"
She instinctively rushed out after him, then reached out to stop him.
Her hand stretched out, as if she really grabbed him...
Togawa Sakiko groggily opened her eyes and found that she was holding Amamiya Ren's right hand.
It was as if an electric current flowed from where their skin touched, instantly spreading throughout her body.
Togawa Sakiko immediately let go of Amamiya Ren's hand and recoiled, the electric-like sensation making her feel a sense of bewilderment.
In the driver's seat in front, Hasegawa Zenkichi was concentrating on driving.
And Amamiya Ren next to her was also sound asleep.
Togawa Sakiko finally breathed a sigh of relief, quietly taking out her constantly vibrating phone from her shirt pocket.
It was already three in the morning.
The first-year public chat group actually had a "999+" message notification.
She scrolled the chat page to the very top; these people had actually been chatting since one in the morning and hadn't stopped until now.
[Cute Penguin: Have you heard about the 'Phantom Thief'?!]
[Anon: As long as he sends a calling card, he can steal the sin from the target's heart and make the criminal truly repent... So cool!]
[Tea, please: He destroyed the terrifying 'Kamo Group' in Shinjuku overnight, he feels like a superhero from a manga!]
[...]
The phone was still vibrating.
The glowing white background light shone on Togawa Sakiko's face.
She stared at the chat history for nearly ten minutes.
Finally, as if grasping at a lifeline, she pressed the hot phone to her chest, and Togawa Sakiko uttered a near-dreamlike murmur.
"The hero who steals the sin from people's hearts, the Phantom Thief..."
She stared at the rapidly passing night scenery outside the window, her eyes filled with longing, gratitude, and admiration.
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