Dad was smiling at Kei.
“Last month, a group of con artists was wiped out,” said Kei. “Three months ago, a bunch of people were rescued from would-be slavers overseas, and the criminals were discovered tied up on the boat. There are more examples all around the country…and the world. Red was behind every one of them.”
“Wait, Red did all that?” I interrupted. That sounded more like a superhero!
“According to what I read, Phantom Thief Red’s calling card was left behind each time. And my dad was always out when those incidents happened.”
So that’s what Kei wanted to look into. He sure is skeptical for someone who acts so apathetic—although I have to admit, it’s hard to imagine Dad and Uncle K as Red.
“Not bad for just reading the news report,” Dad said. “But did you hear about this one? Your father and I stole back some artwork that a ring of thieves took from the Louvre in France!”
I know about the Louvre—that’s where the Mona Lisa is. “I never heard about that. Have you, Kei?”
He thought for a second, then said, “…If I remember correctly, a famous ring of thieves was arrested three years ago for robbing the Louvre. The odd thing was, not a single painting went missing from the museum.”
“How? Did they make some kind of mistake?” I asked.
“Nope. The security cameras showed multiple paintings being stolen, so there’s no question they were taken,” Kei said.
“Of course not. We put them back a couple hours after the ring of thieves took them. And while we were at it, we dropped off the criminals and the evidence with the police,” Dad said, like that was the obvious thing to do.
Seriously, what’s wrong with them?
“Then everything makes sense,” Kei said. “Apparently, the thieves told the police a ‘red devil’ had come, but the police didn’t take them seriously. I suspect…that must have been Phantom Thief Red.”
Kei didn’t say anything else, so I assumed that meant he was satisfied.
But what did Dad and Uncle K do to get called a devil?
“We just had a little fun,” said Dad. “Maybe too much fun, which is why we didn’t leave a card. Even now, I don’t think many people realize Red was behind that one.”
Really? This is a big deal; why are you grinning?
“Geez, Dad, I bet even one of those famous paintings could have gotten us out of this dinky apartment and into a fancy condo,” I mumbled.
“We’re not doing this for money,” Dad answered proudly. He tried to puff out his chest and everything, but he was still lying on the tatami, so it didn’t quite work.
“Yeah, yeah. Tell me that when we don’t have to bargain with the guy at the fish stall and the produce lady anymore. Anyway, you really don’t have a job for us?”
“Let’s see… Aha! This might do.” Dad pulled two folded pieces of notepaper from his pocket and passed them to me.
“What’s this?” I opened the slips and read them out loud.
“Daikon radish, konjac jelly, fish cakes… Hey! This is a shopping list!”
“It sure is. We’re having oden stew tonight, kids!”
“Why do you think that’s exciting? Anyway, it’s almost April!”
“Picky, picky. Oden’s not just for winter.”
Uh…yes, it is.
“You can show Kei around the neighborhood while you’re at it. When you get back, I’ll give you a real assignment.”
“You will, huh?”
“Well, not if you keep treating me like a liar!”
There he goes again. He’s a total kid sometimes…
“Fine. Kei, let’s go.”
I glanced over my shoulder, and Kei sighed and followed me. He always silently does what he’s told.
“I think I’ll give you the shopping money, Kei,” Dad said, handing over our errand wallet.
“Hey, why not me?” I protested.
“Because you’d probably come back with cookies or something.”
Urk. He knows me all too well. I was definitely planning to pick up some cookies while we were out—but that didn’t make it any less annoying.
“Fine, fine,” I answered. “You don’t trust me; I get it. Then I don’t care about you. Let’s go, Kei.” I turned my back on him and marched out of the room.
“Hey, wait! Asuka! I never said I didn’t trust you…”
I tried not to smile as Dad’s anxious voice drifted over my shoulder. Maybe that was a mean thing to say, but recently, he’d been giving me a hard time.
Kei trailed after me silently as we left the apartment and stepped into the hallway outside. He was surprisingly obedient…or maybe just too lazy to resist. That was the vibe I was getting from his expression.
Meanwhile, I could still hear Dad wailing. “Asukaaaa!”
“Is he okay?” Kei asked, stopping to look back at the door.
“Uh…”
Did I go too far?
“…I’ll check in with him later,” I said.
“Okay,” Kei replied, nodding and starting to walk again.
Was he worried about us? Hard to believe.
We took the stairs down instead of the elevator. We live in apartment 503 in building B, so we’re on the fifth floor. Kei made a face when I skipped the elevator, but it’s just five flights.
“Hey, look. I made that hole,” I said, pointing out the inch-wide hole in the wall with the banister on the third-floor landing. Kei gave me a suspicious look. “During training, I was about to jump down to the ground from there, but the old mailman decided to come by right then and stop me. But then he fell over, and his motorbike helmet banged into the corner there, and the concrete broke off.”
“…”
Kei glared at me.
Come on, it wasn’t my fault!
“Blame Dad; he made me do it! Anyway, I was still in preschool. Look at me now!”
I put one hand on top of the wall and vaulted over. I felt my body soaring through the air and my hair dancing in the wind.
“Ta-daa!”
Twirling around, I nailed the landing. It was only about a thirty-foot jump. Easy-peasy.
“No problem, right?” I called up to him.
Kei narrowed his eyes and sighed. “I don’t think I should consider you a normal human being,” he said.