Welcome to the Shining Isekai! (Various x reader)

Chapter 7: The Jackpot

"Hmm, no service, huh?" (Y/n) flipped through the different apps on her phone, before closing them out with a huff. Looks like she'll have to rely on memory for the most part.
"I have season 3 and 4 saved on my phone...but that was because I wanted to watch the rest of the series on a road trip. I never bothered to save the first two..." she sighed, locking her phone.

"What's wrong, (Y/n)? You've been sighing a lot." Hachi, who has been concernedly listening from the kitchen for a while, finally spoke up. (Y/n) glanced over at him from her position on the couch, which she had claimed as her temporary home until Joker found her sleeping there one morning. He asked why she was staying in the living room when there's a guest room she could have used, but she simply responded that she really didn't want to intrude more than she already had. Yeah, Joker practically tossed her into the guest room after that.
"I'm alright, just stressed about future stuff, I guess."

Hachi nodded. "Ah, that's right. You haven't been able to help out since the Mermaid's Crystal heist..."
(Y/n) sighed again. "I didn't know the episodes would be so far apart! J probably thinks I'm practically useless at this point!"

"Hey, hey. Don't go putting thoughts in my head." She turned to see the phantom thief himself leaning on the doorframe. He smiled as he walked up to her, holding up a news article.

"We have a new target! How about it, recognize this one?" She glanced over at the article, expecting the same result as the last few times, but her eyes widen when she reads the words on the page.
"That's-!"

"Oh? Do we finally have a winner?" Joker was already excited for the heist, but he has been filled with anticipation for the day (Y/n) would recognize a treasure. Sure, it kinda sucked that he wouldn't have cheat codes for every single heist, but to him, holding the target up to his newest apprentice had become this kind of lottery he rolled before a heist. A little pre-heist mini game.

She nodded, holding the news article closer to her face.
"I know this one! This is the Statue of Odin! Oh wait, this is the Statue of Odin." Her excitement quickly turned into concern.

"What's wrong with the Statue of Odin? Does something bad happen?" Hachi asked, concerned. (Y/n) looked over at Joker, silently asking for permission to spill. He crossed his arms.

"Of course we want to know! What's up with this heist that's got you so spooked?" (Y/n) fiddled with her shirt hem, looking down at her lap. Eventually she took a deep breath and spoke.

"There's going to be a fire."

The other two in the room stilled.
"A fire?! But, that's really bad! We should skip this one!" Hachi immediately said, tugging on Joker's arm. Joker, on the contrary, shook his head with that confident smirk he always wore.

"Nope. We're doing it anyway. Fire or no fire, we're getting that sculpture!"

"But Mr. Joker-!"

"Nope! We already sent out an advance notice. Besides, Spade is also going after this one! To back down now would just make me look bad!" His eyes flicked to the girl on the couch, just for a moment.

(Y/n) shrugged.
"I figured you'd say that. You've been working on that balloon thing, right? We're gonna need it if we're gonna survive. Unless you're hatching a different plan in that brain of yours?"

"You guys can't seriously just be going along with this?!"

"Hachi, it'll be alright, I promise. Even in the original, everyone got out safely." She said, gently placing her hands on his shoulders and giving him the most reassuring smile she could muster.

Hachi felt his face heat up, quickly turning around and ducking his head down.
"W-Well...if you say so (y/n)......I trust you." He mumbled out.

(Y/n) smiled, happy she could reassure him, while Joker deadpanned at the ninja boy's complete 180.
"Man, where's all that trust with me? I'm the professional here..." he muttered.

"Do you think we could bring water guns or something, just to be safe?" (Y/n) tilted her head.

"Hey, that's not a bad idea! I told you you had the seeds of a great phantom thief in you! Alright, we'll have to modify the original plan a bit, but it can still work! I'll have to make a few last-minute adjustments to my balloon pump, so if you need me, I'll be in my lab!" He ruffled (Y/n)'s hair before rushing back towards his room.

"Ah, he's all fired up now." Hachi said exasperatedly.

"Well, you know what they say about fighting fire with fire. I'm gonna go get ready, we're taking the road joker if I remember correctly."

"Huh? You're coming?"

"Of course! You can't expect to just stay on the blimp, can you? If I'm not even allowed to go on the heists I actually know about, I may as well join Spade!" She laughed lightly, turning down the hall to go to the guest room.

"That's not a funny joke!" Hachi called after her.

Well, no matter how this heist goes, it sure is guaranteed to be interesting.

- - -
It was a bit surprising how quiet the road joker was. (Y/n) didn't have a phantom thief outfit yet, (the Robin Hood costume didn't count) so she currently had a cloak with a hood covering her casual clothes. The road joker was only really supposed to fit two people, but since Hachi was so small he just fit on her lap. She absentmindedly tapped at the balloon pump by her feet. Joker side eyed her.

"Hey! Be careful not to accidentally push a button! I don't want you breaking my stuff!"

"You know, it actually does break originally, but Spade fixes it."

"Wha?! Well I did last minute adjustments, so we won't even need him! Hmph!"

(Y/n) laughed softly at his antics, shaking her head.

"Look, we're here! Alright, let's park the road joker and put on our disguises! They should be in the trunk."

"Alright, I can get them for you." (Y/n) offered as the car came to a stop.

"That would be great, thanks."

(Y/n) nodded, unfastening her seatbelt. "Uh, Hachi? I need to get up. ...Hachi?" Hachi jolted, quickly scrabbling out of the car.
"R-R-R-Right! Sorry!"
Was it just her imagination, or was he more jumpy than usual? She shrugged it off, opening the trunk and handing off the outfits to their respective owners, who somehow managed to make the disguise look natural despite putting it on over their costumes? She has learned not to question it.

"You guys look cute! Alright, let's go." She offhandedly complimented them, then started walking towards the building. She turned back when she realized she wasn't being followed.

"What's up? Aren't we going?"

Joker coughed into his fist while Hachi slapped his cheeks a couple times. They both hurried to catch up to her.

"I-It's nothing, don't worry about it." Joker said quickly. Hachi nodded vigorously.

"Alright, whatever you say, J."

And then the three were in front of the building.

:~+~:
A/N: hi! Just a quick note to say sorry for the inactivity (it will not improve I update very slowly) and to tell you that I have a straw poll on my account where you can vote for which fic I should update next! This chapter happened because Shining Isekai won the vote, actually.

Anyway, that's all I had to say! Have a nice next 24 hours! ~AstroLeap