When I got to my classroom the next morning, something felt different. Usually, mornings were loud, with people talking to each other, but it was unusually quiet.
Hmm? Is it just me, or is everyone looking at me…
My eyes met with Misaki’s. She glanced uncomfortably toward my desk.
I turned my head to look and found…
Uh-oh!
It was Rio, sitting in my chair with her legs crossed. Even from across the room, I could feel the intense aura of anger radiating from her.
Yeah… I get why everyone is so quiet now…
Everyone was looking at me—they wanted me to do something about her.
Wh-what am I supposed to do? I’d rather not get involved if I can…but I can’t leave her like this.
All right.
I slowly approached Rio.
“Um, Rio?” I said gingerly, and she turned toward me.
Wow, she looks so scary! You know what, maybe this was a bad idea.
I’d never seen anybody so angry. I reflexively stepped back when our eyes met.
“You see the news yesterday?” Rio said, holding back the rage in her voice.
“What news…?”
The news of the fake Red flashed in my mind as I said this.
“The news about Phantom Thief Red!”
WHAM.
Rio slammed a fist on the desk, causing the entire classroom to go completely silent.
Seeing everyone’s shock brought Rio out of her rage, and her expression began to soften.
“Sorry… I have a hard time staying calm when it comes to all things Red.”
Guess she was mad at Red and not me.
Although, wait… Technically, that is me.
“Asuka, I want to talk to you later after school. Could you make some time for me?”
“You want to talk?”
Seeing as this was Rio, it obviously had to do with Red, and seeing as Kei was still doing his research, I figured maybe I could learn something from talking with her.
“Okay.”
“All right, I’ll see you in the clubroom after school, then,” she said, before quickly leaving our classroom. Nobody said anything for a little bit after she left.
“That girl’s like a typhoon, isn’t she?” Misaki said from next to me.
That’s for sure. But why was she so mad at Red? Even if it was about the news from yesterday, was there any reason to get that angry about it?
My bad feeling got even worse.
✦ ✦ ✦
I went straight to the clubroom after school.
“Coming in.” I knocked on the door before opening it.
“Oh, you’re here.”
It was Daiki. He was sitting on a chair near the door, big and stout, folding his strong arms in front of his chest.
Toward the back of the room was Kento, who looked up from the book he was reading. He had a sharp, keen look in his eyes that softened with a smile as soon as he saw me.
You know, seeing Kento read a book whenever I see him reminds me of Kei. Although, he’s also too nice to be Kei.
So where’s Rio… Oh?
She wasn’t in the clubroom.
“Sorry. A teacher needed Rio’s help for something. She’ll be here in a minute,” Daiki said, seeing me look around the classroom.
“You don’t need to stand while you wait. Take a seat.”
He pointed to a folded-up chair.
“O-okay.”
I unfolded the chair and placed in on the side of the room before sitting.
The room was quiet.
Ugh… This is so awkward…
Thinking about it, it was my first time being alone with these two without Rio. When I’d come before, Rio did all the talking, so there wasn’t a dull moment.
I’m starting to get a bit nervous.
Even though the silence was awkward, it wasn’t like I had anything to talk about, and the other two didn’t seem to mind me being there, either.
Daiki was still sitting there with his eyes closed, and Kento had his nose in a book.
Though neither of them was as independent as Rio, they seemed to enjoy doing their own thing.
Whatever the case may be, I have to wonder why these two would join such a niche club.
This one was her friend in middle school, right?
I glanced over at Daiki. He must’ve noticed me, because he opened his eyes and looked straight at me.
He tilted his head slightly to the side with a “Hmm?”
Now’s my chance to ask.
“So, um… How did you guys become friends with Rio?” I asked the question that was on my mind.
“You want to know?”
Sure do!
“When I first started at the middle school, she came up to me out of nowhere and asked, ‘You! Are you satisfied with this school?!’ At the time, I didn’t really think too much about it, but she disliked the way we had so many rules and regulations on how we were supposed to look and act, and she wanted us to use our heads and think for ourselves.”
Whoa! That’s the first thing she said to you? Yup, sounds like Rio, all right.
“Honestly, at first, I was like, ‘Who is this girl?’ but there was something true about what she said. So I started hanging out with her. I think Kento has the same story.”
I looked over at Kento, who was nodding quietly without looking up from his book.
“And once she got going, there was no stopping her. When she first ran for student body president, she won everyone over almost immediately with just one speech. After she became president, things really got interesting. She started noticing problems around the school that the rest of us never even thought about, and she found ways to solve them, even when they seemed impossible. She showed us a kind of freedom at school that we didn’t even know we wanted.”
Wh-whoa! So what President Shiori said about her changing the school from the bottom up was true.
“She’s a bit of a strange one on the day-to-day, though,” Daiki said with a chuckle.
That’s true… She’s definitely weird.
“Sorry for the wait.”
The door slid open, and Rio came in.
Her steps were loud and heavy as she walked to the opposite side of the table in the middle of the room.
“Let’s get started. I’ll tell you why I brought you all here today,” she said, looking at the three of us. The expression on her face was intense. “You guys all know about the case on Phantom Thief Red from yesterday, right?”
I knew that was why she called me over.
“About how they stole some paintings from a museum?” Daiki answered.
“Yes! Phantom Thief Red sneaked into a museum and stole expensive artwork.”
You could hear her anger in the way her voice shook.
“Phantom Thief Red always does that, if you think about it,” said Daiki.
“It’s not anything like he always does!!” Rio shouted, slamming the table with her fist. She leaned forward until she was pressed up against it. “Phantom Thief Red doesn’t steal for his own benefit. He only takes things that criminals have stolen from innocent people. But this time, he just up and stole from the actual owner! This is definitely not like always!”
“I—I know, Rio. I saw the news yesterday, too. What I meant to say was that it seems strange, is all.”
“Yeah, duh! Phantom Thief Red would never do such a thing.”
You tell them Rio! You’re exactly right. ’Cause it was a phony.
“Perhaps it was an impostor?” Kento said, looking up from his book.
There you go!
That’s exactly what I wanted to hear from one of this school’s top students. Sharp thinking!
As I thought this in my head, I gave a big nod.
But Rio shook her head. “No, it was the real Phantom Thief Red, all right.”
Whaaat? But why? How can you say that with such confidence?
“I contacted the police working on the case about it last night,” Rio said, biting her lip out of frustration as she did.
✦ ✦ ✦
You talked to the police about it? Can you even do that?
Without giving me time to question this, Rio continued, “The news claims Red used the exact same card he always uses. That a scientific analysis of the card said there wasn’t a single difference.”
That’s just like Kei said yesterday. The police think the card is the real thing.
If that’s the case, it meant that there was no way for anybody to realize that Red was a fake.
“So that means the real thing stole those paintings.”
No… You guys don’t believe in me…
“If this is the case, then there is one thing we need to do.” Rio pointed at the three of us. “If Phantom Thief Red is going to steal for himself, then he’s no long Phantom Thief Red to me,” she declared.
“But there’s no denying that it is the real Phantom Thief Red. Even if they did have a change of heart,” Kento added calmly.
“Yes… Which is why I…we have to catch him!”
Rio clenched her fist as she said this before slamming it against the whiteboard behind her.
There wasn’t the slightest hint of hesitation in her eyes. She really intended to catch Phantom Thief Red.
I glanced over at Daiki and Kento, who both shared the same expression that said, “There she goes again.”
They didn’t seem upset about it, though. They had the same eyes as Rio, filled with determination.
Rio turned to me. “You’ll help us, right, Asuka?”
“Help you”… You mean, help you catch me? No can do.
“What do you mean by ‘catch him’?”
I didn’t know how to answer her question, so I asked my own question instead.
“I have a good idea. I want you to trust me,” Rio said with a confident smile.
Evidently, she had a plan.
So Rio, the person who understands Red more than anyone else, has a plan to catch me…
How is this gonna end?!