Accompanying the sudden, shattering crash of the second-floor window at the Itou residence, the lithe figure of Tomizawa Chikage dove through the broken glass like a fish leaping from water.
Her left hand cradled a bulging backpack against her chest, while her right hand clawed at the edge of the eaves to break her momentum, fingernails scraping harsh white streaks across the roof tiles.
Upon landing, a tremor ran through Tomizawa Chikage's slender waist. The unhealed wound on her side flared with a tearing pain from the violent movement, forcing a muffled groan from her lips.
"Over there!"
Seven or eight burly men, their skin covered in tattoos, rushed out from various corners of the courtyard. Steel pipes and daggers glinted coldly under the moonlight.
Leading them was a man with a diagonal scar across his face. He raised a pistol, aiming directly at Tomizawa Chikage.
Bang!
The bullet slammed into the window frame, sending woodchips exploding outward.
Tomizawa Chikage jerked her head to the side with agile grace. A shard of wood barely grazed the tips of her flying hair, shearing off a few strands.
The girl's pupils constricted slightly. Gritting her teeth against the pain, she bolted toward the perimeter wall.
However, more yakuza members were already flanking her from the mansion's main gate. The dense thudding of footsteps sounded like a death knell, piercing the silence of the night.
The scar-faced man raised his gun again, locking onto Tomizawa Chikage. But in that split second of imminent peril, a silver cane flew out from the shadows of the wall, striking the scar-faced man's wrist with a precise clang.
The man grunted in pain, and the pistol clattered to the ground.
The group of gangsters looked up in astonishment. A man wearing a pure white mask, a crimson cape, and a black tuxedo was strolling elegantly out from behind a tree.
"Good evening, gentlemen."
Hayashi Shuichi bowed slightly, the voice projecting from behind the mask carrying an exaggerated, theatrical tone.
The sudden appearance of this bizarre figure caused the gang members to look at each other in confusion. Seizing these few seconds of hesitation, Tomizawa Chikage accelerated toward the wall.
"Forget that lunatic! Get the woman!" the scar-faced man roared, clutching his injured wrist. "She killed the Boss!"
The gang members snapped out of their daze. Just as they were about to move, Hayashi Shuichi struck first, kicking the front two men to the ground with clean, decisive movements.
As the members behind them prepared to rush forward, Hayashi Shuichi suddenly pulled a handful of coins from his breast pocket and hurled them like a torrential rain at the crowd.
"Jackpot Barrage!"
Accompanied by Hayashi Shuichi's loud laughter, the coins pinged and clattered against the gangsters' faces, inciting a chaotic chorus of curses.
Using this opening, Hayashi Shuichi stepped forward quickly, grabbed Tomizawa Chikage's slender wrist, and pulled her up the wall.
"Don't think you can escape!"
The scar-faced man had retrieved his gun, the dark muzzle aiming at the pair.
Hayashi Shuichi reacted instantly, wrapping his arm around Tomizawa Chikage and leaping down from the wall together.
Bang!
The bullet grazed the stonework, sparking against the brick.
The two landed heavily in the alleyway. Blood was already seeping through the bandages at Tomizawa Chikage's waist, yet she still clutched the backpack tightly.
From behind the wall came the sound of chaotic footsteps and angry shouting.
Hayashi Shuichi scrambled up quickly, pulling Tomizawa Chikage along as they began to sprint.
"This way," the girl called out. "I prepared a motorcycle in advance."
Following Tomizawa Chikage's lead, they quickly found a black heavy-duty motorcycle at the end of the alley, next to the suitcase she had brought with her.
Tomizawa Chikage straddled the bike, while Hayashi Shuichi sat behind her, holding the bundle in one hand and the suitcase in the other.
"Hold on tight!" Tomizawa Chikage twisted the throttle, and the engine roared with a deafening blast.
The motorcycle shot forward like an arrow from a bow. The intense slipstream caught Hayashi Shuichi's cape, making it snap and flutter wildly behind them.
In the rearview mirror, the flustered gangsters chased them to the alley entrance, where the scar-faced man could be seen screaming frantically into a walkie-talkie.
Watching this scene, Tomizawa Chikage suddenly let out a soft laugh.
"What's so funny?" Hayashi Shuichi asked, surprised.
"I just suddenly thought..." Tomizawa Chikage chuckled, "You're actually quite suited to being a Phantom Thief."
The motorcycle weaved through the labyrinthine alleys, the sound of the engine gradually drowning in the Tokyo night.
Hayashi Shuichi could feel the girl's body trembling slightly against him. He didn't know if it was from the pain of her wound or the adrenaline of their escape.
He discreetly leaned forward, pressing their bodies closer together.
This wasn't to take advantage of her, but rather out of fear that Tomizawa Chikage might lose consciousness and fall off the bike.
The Mouri Residence.
Hayashi Shuichi carried the bundle and the suitcase, carefully supporting Tomizawa Chikage as they entered the downstairs izakaya.
"Are you alright?" Hayashi Shuichi poured her a glass of warm water.
"Nothing major," Tomizawa Chikage waved her hand. Her bangs were plastered to her pale cheeks with sweat. "Just that the movements earlier were a bit too intense. It pulled at the abdominal wound."
As she spoke, she bit her lower lip, her slender fingers slowly lifting the hem of her top.
Just as she lowered her head to check the injury, she suddenly realized Hayashi Shuichi's head was almost pressed against her lower abdomen.
The warm breath passing through the thin fabric onto her skin made Tomizawa Chikage's face flush instantly.
"You... pervert!"
"I am helping you check the wound," Hayashi Shuichi raised his head. "It's seeping a little blood, but not much. It shouldn't be a serious issue."
After speaking, his gaze unconsciously swept over the girl's taut midriff. Due to regular exercise, Tomizawa Chikage's body lines were graceful and fluid, the contours of her abs faintly visible under the light.
"Have you seen enough?" Tomizawa Chikage pulled her shirt down grumpily.
"Nice figure," Hayashi Shuichi complimented with genuine sincerity, handing her the water glass.
"Tch." Tomizawa Chikage pouted, taking the glass and draining it in one gulp.
Hayashi Shuichi stood up and opened the bundle she had shoved at him earlier. Inside were stacks of ten-thousand-yen bills. "Roughly how much is here?"
"About twenty or thirty million," Tomizawa Chikage's eyes curved into crescents. "At the very least, it's enough for little Narumi's treatment for a few months."
"What exactly happened back there?" Hayashi Shuichi asked, puzzled. "That Itou... is dead?"
"Hey, don't look at me like that!" Tomizawa Chikage widened her eyes in dissatisfaction. "I didn't kill him! I'm a Phantom Thief, not a robber. How could I kill someone for money?"
Hayashi Shuichi raised an eyebrow and remained silent, waiting for her explanation.
"Tonight was just really unlucky," Tomizawa Chikage scratched her hair in frustration. "Itou was actually at home. Usually, at this time, he's singing at the nightclub."
The girl sighed and began to recount the events.
"After I climbed in from the second floor, I started searching the house for a safe. I finally found it in the study."
"I opened the safe, packed this money, and was ready to leave. But as I passed through the hallway, I saw the door to that old geezer Itou's bedroom was open."
Tomizawa Chikage's expression turned grave. "I glanced inside out of curiosity and saw the floor covered in blood. That Sumiyoshi-kai boss was just lying there in a pool of his own blood, motionless."
"I was stunned. But what I expected even less was that there was someone else in the bedroom. A man with a diagonal scar on his face, holding a bloody katana, walked right out. We ran straight into each other."
At this point, Tomizawa Chikage shrank back involuntarily.
"I was startled and accidentally bumped into a weapon rack nearby. A suit of armor fell off and made a huge crash."
"I didn't think twice; I just ran. Then I heard that scar-faced guy yelling, 'The Boss has been taken out!'"
Tomizawa Chikage pounded the table angrily.
"Damn it! That scar-faced guy is definitely the one who killed Itou, but now I've become his scapegoat."
A man with a diagonal scar on his face... Hayashi Shuichi looked thoughtful.
Now that Tomizawa Chikage mentioned it, he recalled that the scar-faced man at the Itou residence did look familiar.
Previously, when Itou had been framed for murder and sent his underlings to surround the nightclub, the one standing guard at the door was a man named Takigawa, who had a diagonal scar on his face.
Hayashi Shuichi had even had a minor conflict with him. Upon learning that the man was a veteran who had followed Itou for over twenty years, Hayashi Shuichi had mocked him for being a failure—following Itou for so long yet remaining a mere small-time leader.
That guy... he couldn't have taken my words to heart, got angrier the more he thought about it, and finally decided to kill Itou, right?
"Hey, what are you thinking about?"
Tomizawa Chikage waved her hand in front of Hayashi Shuichi's eyes, interrupting his train of thought.
"What do I do now? I've become a murderer!"
The girl grabbed her hair in distress, messing up her originally smooth purple bob.
"It's the Phantom Lady who became a murderer, not you," Hayashi Shuichi shrugged nonchalantly. "At worst, you just stop operating as the Phantom Lady from now on."
"I really like the identity of the Phantom Lady," Tomizawa Chikage laid her head on the table, burying her face in her arms, her voice muffled. "If I'd known, I would have acted last night. This is a huge loss. Even though I got the money for Narumi, I lost the Phantom Lady identity in the process."
"Don't worry, it might not be that bad," Hayashi Shuichi shook his head. "What if the Sumiyoshi-kai doesn't call the police?"
"They really wouldn't call the police?" Tomizawa Chikage lifted her head sharply.
"The Sumiyoshi-kai is a yakuza syndicate. If a major boss in charge of Beika is taken out, their first choice will definitely be to find the killer and take revenge themselves, not to ask the police for help," Hayashi Shuichi explained patiently, refilling her water.
"As long as they don't call the police, it's fine," Tomizawa Chikage breathed a sigh of relief, patting her firm chest as a smile returned to her face. "As for the Sumiyoshi-kai... a bunch of gangsters. They might be fine bullying ordinary people, but catching me is just a pipe dream."
"I never realized before that you were so afraid of the police?" Hayashi Shuichi looked at her with amusement.
"I'm not afraid," Tomizawa Chikage rolled her eyes. "I'm a Phantom Thief. If I'm wanted by the police for murder, I turn into a robber, don't I?"
Uh... is that really the priority here?
Hayashi Shuichi was speechless. Seeing the girl's pale face, his voice unconsciously softened.
"By the way, tonight, you..."
"What?" Tomizawa Chikage immediately covered her chest vigilantly. "Even if you played Phantom Thief with me all night, don't expect to take advantage of me."
"I wanted to ask," Hayashi Shuichi's mouth twitched, "where are you sleeping tonight!"
"Oh, that," a trace of disappointment inexplicably flashed across Tomizawa Chikage's face, but she quickly recovered her energy. "Back to the hospital, of course. I have to pay little Narumi's medical fees tomorrow morning."
As she spoke, she glanced at the wall clock. The hour hand was already pointing at 2:00 AM.
"Do you need me to escort you?" Hayashi Shuichi's gaze fell on the wound at her waist. "The Sumiyoshi-kai will definitely be searching everywhere tonight."
"Don't worry," Tomizawa Chikage waved her hand dismissively. "No matter how arrogant the Sumiyoshi-kai is, they wouldn't dare set up roadblocks like the police."
Saying this, she opened the suitcase. Aside from the clothes Hayashi Shuichi had changed out of earlier, there was a neatly folded pink dress.
Tomizawa Chikage tossed Hayashi Shuichi's clothes back to him, picked up the dress, and looked around. "Where can I get changed?"
"The storage room in the back," Hayashi Shuichi pointed to the small door behind the cooking counter. "Need help?"
"In your dreams!"
Tomizawa Chikage glared at him with a blushing face, hugging the dress as she hurried into the storage room.
In the main hall, Hayashi Shuichi took off the exaggerated tuxedo and cape, changing back into his original clothes.
Just as he buttoned the last button, he heard Tomizawa Chikage's laughing voice from behind him. "Why change so soon? That outfit just now was very handsome. I haven't looked enough yet."
Hayashi Shuichi turned around. Tomizawa Chikage had already changed into the pink dress. The soft color made her skin look even fairer.
Compared to the wildness she exuded in the tight leather suit earlier, the girl now appeared gentle and lovely, though the cunning gleam in her eyes remained unchanged.
"Well? Is the change in aura significant?" Tomizawa Chikage feigned a fragile demeanor, pinching her throat to speak in a soft, delicate voice. "Feels completely different from before, right?"
"Yeah," Hayashi Shuichi nodded involuntarily.
Tomizawa Chikage took a student backpack out of the suitcase, stuffed all the cash inside, and then packed a few pieces of women's underwear on top to conceal it.
"Alright, I have to go back now," she instructed while adjusting the backpack. "My suitcase, and the things inside it, will have to stay here for now. You don't need to worry about the motorcycle; I'll handle it later."
After saying this, the girl tossed her hair dashingly, shouldered the bag, and walked toward the door.
The moment she pushed the door open, she suddenly looked back. "Tonight... thanks for keeping me company."
Tomizawa Chikage's voice was so soft it was almost inaudible.
Hayashi Shuichi went to the door and watched her get into a taxi before dragging her suitcase back to the second floor.
After shoving the case under the bed, Hayashi Shuichi lay down, but he couldn't fall asleep.
The experience of being a Phantom Thief tonight played back in his mind like a revolving lantern—Tomizawa Chikage's agile movements, the angry roars of the gangsters, the motorcycle speeding under the moonlight...
He had to admit, this robbing-the-rich-to-help-the-poor business was actually quite thrilling.
Hayashi Shuichi didn't know when he finally fell asleep, but when the piercing sound of the alarm clock startled him awake, the window was already glowing with the pale light of dawn.
He looked groggily at the clock. It was already six-thirty...
(End of Chapter)
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