Kaito sighed and slammed his pen on the table.
He felt something was off, but there was something more important right now—the Pandora Gem.
"That wretched Koizumi Akako..."
The thought of that woman made Kaito's teeth itch.
Last time, he even sacrificed his mother's virtue, but the other party still refused to give him the Dark Night Star Record on the grounds that "the mission was not completed".
"Women really are all unreasonable..."
Kaito muttered to himself as he pulled a map from his bag, on which his target for tomorrow—a martial arts gym—was carefully marked in red.
Yesterday, Koizumi Akako gave him a new mission: to steal an ancient sword treasured in the martial arts dojo. Although he didn't understand why, he had no choice but to agree in order to get clues about the Pandora Gem.
"Mr. Phantom Thief..."
A voice suddenly rang in his ears, startling Kaito so much that he almost jumped off his chair. Koizumi Akako was standing in front of his desk, her red hair hanging down.
"W-What are you doing?" Kaito cautiously protected the map.
Hongzi chuckled and tapped the map with her fingertip: "Don't forget tomorrow's mission. There are clues about Pandora on that sword. Don't mess it up again this time."
Kaito frowned: "Why do you have to steal the sword? Can't you just tell me directly?"
“This is a test,” Hongzi straightened up and tossed her long hair. “After all, I don’t want to hand over important clues to a lousy thief who can’t even steal a sword.”
"Not a thief, but a phantom thief!"
Just as Kaito was about to retort, the school bell rang.
Too lazy to continue speaking, Hongzi gracefully turned around and returned to her seat—right next to Qingzi.
Kaito noticed that Aoko didn't glance in their direction once, focusing intently on flipping through the magazine. After Akako sat down, the two huddled together intimately, whispering something, with occasional soft laughter.
"What's going on...?"
Kaito scratched his head, completely baffled. He couldn't understand when Aoko and Akako had become so close, or why his relationship with Aoko had turned out this way.
Of course, he had no idea that all of this was Hongzi's plan.
Ever since she divined that Aoko and Hanyu Nan had been in contact, the witch changed her strategy—since she couldn't beat that overpowered guy, she would target the people around him.
And Nakamori Aoko is the most suitable breakthrough point.
If the enemy won't come to me, then I'll go to the enemy. The successor of the Red Magic will never give up.
"Aoko-chan~" Akako affectionately took Aoko's arm, "Want to go shopping this weekend? I know a new dessert shop opened~"
"OK."
Aoko smiled and nodded, but her gaze inadvertently swept in Kaito's direction before quickly looking away. "I was just thinking of buying some new clothes too."
Hongzi keenly noticed this detail, and her red lips curved slightly.
Aoko is currently in a contradictory state—she cannot report that Kaito is actually Kaito Kid, after all, he is her childhood friend with whom she grew up; but she also cannot continue to like someone who deceived her and fooled her father.
This conflict caused their relationship to cool down quickly, and Hongzi took the opportunity to fill the void.
"By the way," Hongzi casually brought up, "that Yuzuru Nanami you mentioned last time, did you see him again?"
Aoko's fingers paused slightly, the magazine page hovering between her fingertips for a moment, and her voice softened: "Hanyu-kun? No..."
"Yeah?"
Hongzi narrowed her eyes, "I thought you two were on good terms~"
"We met by chance." Aoko lowered her head, her voice softening. "He... is very special."
It was especially striking that she realized for the first time that not all boys are liars like Kaito.
These past few days, it was the other party who helped me out of my predicament.
The two communicated via text message, and the man became the girl's perfect confidant and mentor.
What the witch wanted to do, Yuzuru had already taken the first step.
Only one phantom thief remained oblivious to the fact that his position was being taken over.
Hongzi smiled meaningfully: "Yes, it's so special that it's unforgettable~"
Aoko glanced at her suspiciously, feeling that there was something more to Hongzi's words, but before she could think about it, the teacher had already entered the classroom and started the lesson. She could only temporarily put aside her thoughts and focus on the class.
.........
After school, Kaito finally couldn't resist going over to her with a grin and saying, "Hey, Aoko! You're not still angry about me standing you up last time, are you?"
Aoko looked up and smiled politely: "No, Kuroba-kun is overthinking it."
Her tone was calm, without her usual anger or familiar disdain, as if she were talking to an ordinary classmate.
Kaito's smile froze.
This was even more painful for him than if Aoko had punched him directly.
"Um... I really didn't mean to, something came up that day..." Kaito scratched his head, trying to explain.
"Yes, I know." Aoko nodded, her tone still calm. "Kuroba-kun is always busy, I understand."
Kaito: "......"
Something's wrong! Something's really wrong!
Logically, Aoko should have glared at him angrily and said, "You idiot Kaito! You always do this!"
What's with this polite yet distant attitude?!
Kaito was about to say something more when Koizumi Akako suddenly chuckled, resting her chin on her hand and looking at him with interest: "Kuroba-kun, Aoko said she's not angry, why are you still bothering her?"
Kaito's lips twitched uncontrollably, as if someone had touched a sore spot. "Who...who's bothering her! I just..."
"Just what?" Hongzi narrowed her eyes, a half-smile playing on her lips.
Kaito was speechless and could only return to his seat dejectedly to pack his bag, his mind still preoccupied with Aoko's unusual reaction.
"What exactly happened...?"
Although Aoko would occasionally give him the cold shoulder because he made her angry, she had never been so distant as she was now.
It was as if... she was completely disappointed in him.
Kaito felt inexplicably irritated.
Just then, his phone vibrated.
[Crazy woman: Don't forget tomorrow's mission; we must get that sword.]
Kaito pursed his lips and replied: 【Okay.】
He put away his phone and sighed.
Forget it, we'll talk about Aoko later.
The most important task now is to get our hands on the clues to the Pandora Gem as soon as possible.
Thinking of this, Douzi instantly perked up again.
He is the Phantom Thief Kid, and finding the Pandora Gem is his mission; he cannot be distracted by matters of the heart.
Women will only slow him down in his search for the gems!
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