Detective Kanji

Chapter 4: What's a Phantom Thief?

Begin!

~Normal POV

Today, Naoto had intended to walk home with Kanji after school again. It was getting to be a habit, in some way. But an enjoyable one. The two were chatting happily at their lockers and getting their things, when Naoto found another sealed note in her locker. This time, the card was white, and had no decorations on it. It definitely wasn't from the same person as last time.

"Where did this come from...?" Naoto wondered aloud.

Kanji looked over her shoulder. He was a little relieved to see it wasn't another love letter from someone else. "Is it that weird card guy again?"

"Yes, it must be. It's unmistakable!" Naoto nodded, smiling in a pleased way. "Judging by its appearance, it's on the same cardstock, the same size, and it's unsigned just like last time... I am almost certain this came from the same person."

"You can tell all that just from one look? That's amazing, Naoto!" Kanji complimented.

Naoto blushed lightly. "Ah, i-it's not that hard. You just notice similar details. A-Anyway, let's go talk somewhere else."

"Right!"

~...

They went to their usual spot at the floodplain gazebo to talk. Naoto clearly didn't want anyone else involved in these conversations, if she could help it. And Kanji didn't mind being a part of this "case." If it could be called such a thing yet. She opened the card up. This one had writing on it, so she held it up for both of them to read.

Dear detective,

Your prized possessions are in my hand. Can you recover them? The game is afoot.

-The Phantom Thief

"I see." Naoto said, "It seems this is the work of the figure who snuck into the Shirogane estate. I'll send this to Yakushiji-san so he can turn it into the police as evidence."

Kanji looked confused. "Uh, what's a phantom thief?"

"Well, traditionally, they're someone who steals from people for an ultimate good cause. They're kind of like the opposite of a detective. But... I can't imagine what such a person would want with my things. They're not worth anything in particular, money wise."

He nodded in understanding. "Got it."

"A Phantom Thief? How absurd..." Naoto frowned. "I haven't the time to waste on this..."

Kanji read the card over again curiously. It sounded like this person wanted to challenge her in some way. It asked her to try to recover her stuff, right? Why was she acting like this?

"If it were me, I'd be pissed. So why are you running from a challenge?"

Naoto looked up at him with a glare. "I'm not running! I'm just upholding the Shirogane name in seeing this case through to the end!" But as she thought about it, he was sort of right. It did feel like running. Her anger faded as she looked down again. "Although... he broke into our estate and sent me this challenge..."

Kanji couldn't tell what she was thinking, but she went quiet like she was mulling it over.

"Leaving this in the police's hands could jeopardize the honor of the Shirogane name..." She groaned suddenly and glared at him. "That's why I don't like this!"

He jumped a little. "Did I do something?!"

"When I'm with you, I always seem to lose my composure..." Naoto answered. But she didn't seem to direct her anger at him, more so at the situation. (Which was a relief.) "I don't want to get involved with this sort of childish game! But... to ignore only makes me angry!"

She glared at the card silently after her outburst. Kanji thought about it. What could he say that might help her feel better? There had to be something. What would- Then it hit him. He knew exactly what he could do!

"What if I help you catch him?"

She looked up. "What?"

"Well, you told me about this, so if there's some way I can help, I'd be happy to do it. Ya know, if you want me to..." Kanji added.

Kanji wanted to help her with it? He didn't even consider that it could be dangerous. But maybe that was why he wanted to do it, for her safety. And the thought didn't cross her mind at all to ask him to come along. Well, that was a given. Naoto had grown up a lonely child who didn't know how to make friends, so asking others for help was always something she struggled with. Letting herself be kidnapped and needing to be saved by the team did help with that a lot, but she still had a habit of trying to do things on her own. Maybe... Maybe Kanji could help her somehow? Besides, the best detectives rarely worked alone in fiction. Perhaps a partner would be a smart idea.

"Of course," She answered, smiling again at the thought. "You're the one who brought this to my attention..." She avoided eye contact and blushed from having to say this. "Let's work together on this..."

Kanji grinned. "Seriously? Awesome!"

Naoto was still fidgeting a little with embarrassment. But it felt good to get the words out. And his enthusiasm about it was contagious. Something about Kanji was rather cute when she saw him like this...

She was shocked at herself for thinking such a thing, and tried to focus on the task at hand to distract herself from the boy sitting in front of her.

"N-Now that that's been decided, let's re-examine the first card." Luckily, she still had that card in her school bag. "There must be some sort of hint there..."

"Oh, yeah, that one didn't have anything on it. That was weird."

"Indeed. And of course, I only intend to investigate this case in our free time... I... have something else I must do."

They decided they should head home for the day, so they got up and started walking.

"Listen, I'll contact you if I find anything out about this phantom thief business."

"Got it," Kanji replied, "I won't be too busy I bet. I can just let my mom know I'm helping a friend with something, if I need to."

"Yes, it's better to keep it vague. We wouldn't want her to think you were up to anything dangerous."

"So, catching a phantom thief is dangerous, but fighting Shadows inside a tv isn't?"

Naoto couldn't help laughing. "I didn't mean that-"

"Nah, I know what you meant," Kanji said, laughing with her.

He stared at her warmly while she laughed. She was so cute... He was happy she'd said yes to bringing him along. It meant she was opening up a little more. It was good to see. Hopefully, he'd find some way to help her with this case. If all else failed, it didn't hurt to have back-up in case this phantom thief decided to hurt her.

The bastard would have to go through Kanji first.

~End of Chapter