#look i only ever managed to finish up till futaba's arc today so yea

[aria0fgold]

Glittering Red Rose

Akira wasn't really expecting anything all that exciting from his trip outside of Shibuya, perhaps just the usual of walking around the streets and alleyways, finding new stores to shop at or even eavesdroppi— accidentally listening in on bystanders talking nearby. It was just the usual routine of killing time while waiting for the most anticipated day after stealing the treasure of their target, in this instance, waiting for the day Medjed “cleanses the world.” Although it wasn't Medjed that the Phantom Thieves of Hearts stole the treasure of. It was someone else, one who is more than skilled enough to stop such a large hacker group.

So here they are waiting for Futaba to recover, specifically here Akira is climbing the stairs of a random building he snuck into all while carrying a bag that has a cat poking his head out. It wasn't for any particular reason, aside from the fact that they heard a commotion nearby and wanted to have a better look only to be stopped by the overwhelming number of police officers surrounding the perimeter. So what other way to have a better view of the situation but on a tall building's rooftop?

“That was the first time I've seen so many cops around a single area, what do you think they were after?” Morgana tilted his head, curious and excitement evident in his voice.

“Hmm… Not sure.” Akira mumbled as he neared the top of the stairs.

“They must be even worse than a mafia boss like Kaneshiro. I bet if the Phantom Thieves stole the treasure of someone like that, our popularity will soar!”

Akira chuckled at the thought of that, their popularity were already steadily rising thanks to targeting an elusive mafia boss that even the police were struggling to capture, but if they targeted someone even worse than Kaneshiro, their fame will surely skyrocket then.

With that thought in mind, Akira's steps grew a bit lighter, excited to see exactly who was at the center of all those cops, he pushed the rooftop door open, it was already slightly ajar.

He wasn't really expecting anything all that exciting from his trip, he especially, wasn't expecting to see anyone eye-catching when he pushed that door. It was strange to see it already open, but perhaps an employee simply forgot to securely close it, or perhaps another person saw the commotion and had the same idea as Akira to enter a tall building to have a better view of it.

But instead, Akira stood frozen in place as he stared at the person standing near the edge of the roof. They had their back to him, wearing a white suit, a top hat, and a cape flowing in the wind. They held a small gem above their head, holding it up to the moon illuminating the scene from above. It felt magically, almost enough to take Akira's breath away, even Morgana made sure to stay silent as they watched the other person closely.

The few seconds that passed felt like minutes, the other person then glanced back, they wore a monocle on their right eye with their lips forming a proud smirk.

“I didn't expect to have an audience here.” The person spoke, it sounded like the voice of a boy, perhaps even the same age as Akira.

He walked towards them with a confident stride, as if the entire world was a stage, he was the star of the show, and Akira was merely an audience member randomly called to the stage.

The person stopped just inches in front of him, he bowed, one that is usually done by butlers, then with a simple flick of his wrist, a red rose appeared in his hand.

“Unfortunately, the show is already over. However, you're free to attend the next, whenever that may be.”

As if in a trance, Akira mindlessly reached for the rose as the other person walked by him. And as if breaking that a trance, Akira looked back, only thing to see the mysterious person had already disappeared.

“W-who was that?!” It was then that Morgana finally spoke, with his voice helping to completely bring Akira back to reality.

“R-right?!” He said in a rather confused panic, looking at the rose and back at where that person vanished.

“Hey, wait!” Morgana jumped on Akira's shoulder, “There's something sparkling in that rose!”

Akira closely inspected the flower, right at the middle of it is a small gem, the very same one that the other person held up to the moon. It was also then that the two heard some loud thundering noises seemingly getting closer to their location.

“Do you think that the cops from downstairs already found out about that guy being in this building?” Morgana quickly went back inside the bag, “Akira, this is bad! We gotta get out of here before they see us! Otherwise they might think we're the ones that stole that gem!”

Akira nodded, he planned on leaving the gem along with the rose on the rooftop but instead chose to leave only the gem after a moment's hesitation, keeping the rose for himself. It was a good thing, that he came here today.