Chapter Text
In the dark of the night, an infamous figure by the name of Akiyama Mizuki would be silently carrying out another daring mission. This time, they found themselves to be in a dimly lit museum, surrounded by priceless artifacts that begged to be taken. Mizuki moved slyly, always one step ahead of the law.
Unknown to Mizuki, a renowned detective of the name Shinonome Ena had been hot on their trail for months. Despite her young age, Ena possessed a determination and sharp instinct that had earned her fame in the industry. Dressed in a stylish brown overall dress with a ruffled white blouse underneath, covered a short brown trench coat, her short hair braided behind her right ear, Ena ventured into the museum, only guided by her will and the moonlight seeping through the door.
As she made her way deeper into the museum, Ena's heart pounded with anticipation and a hint of fear. The crimes she had been investigating were all connected, and the infamous Mizuki seemed to be the common thread. Tonight was the night she aimed to confront this thief…
Meanwhile, in the darkened room, Mizuki continued with their mischievous work, unaware of the approaching footsteps.
The door to the room suddenly creaked open, and a chill ran down Mizuki's spine as they froze in place. They instinctively reached for the hidden blade strapped to their thigh, prepared for any threat that dared to interrupt their work.
Ena stepped into the room and her eyes met Mizuki's in the dim light.
“Oh, how annoying!” The thief mumbled under her breath, looking at Ena with an unamused expression on her face. “You couldn’t just mind your own business, could you?”
Ena’s nose immediately scrunched at Mizuki’s sly comment.
“Excuse me?” She asked, grabbing into her pocket and bringing out a flashlight. As she flicked it on, the light came brightly on — exposing Mizuki and all of their looks. They certainly were not what Ena was expecting, that’s for sure.
“Well, now that you’ve caught me, I suppose I should run…” They commented, raising their hands up. Ena's eyes fell upon their outfit, which was surprisingly far from what she expected of an infamous thief. They wore a pink cape over a white blouse, complementing their hair and eyes, and a matching lighter pink skirt that contrasted with their white mid-length socks. Their black flats completed the unexpected ensemble, giving them an air of charm rather than the usual thief-like appearance.
Ena had a look of determination on her face, but a hidden layer of confusion. This thief hadn’t been caught for months! And here they are, standing and taking it?
“Hey, don’t run off,” she said, trying to give off an imposing feel. Mizuki only snickered at her attempt — her attempt of intimidation was more amusing than fearsome.
“Oh, please! What would a little detective like you do about it?” Their voice was light, filled with hints of mischief yet carrying a soft and feminine tone. They would take a step close to Ena, leaning an elbow on the gold trimmings of a priceless painting.
“If you were so determined to catch me…” They began. “You should’ve caught me whilst I was distracted.”
This only fueled Ena’s frustration. “Hey—!” She called, taking a step towards this thief. “Don’t tell me how to do my job! I know what I’m doing!” She continued, reaching into her pocket to try and capture this thief with handcuffs.
Mizuki certainly had the upper hand, laughing to themself. “Now, now… there’s no need for handcuffs. You wouldn’t tie up a beautiful girl like me, now would you?~”
“Hmph. You shouldn’t have any say in this matter!” She groaned, taking a firm hold of one of the thief’s wrists. “Is that what you do? Try to smoothly talk your way into the detective's mind? It’s not working for me, Missus.”
Mizuki couldn’t wipe the smile off of her face. In fact, her smirk only grew bigger as she spoke. She was trying to distract the detective now, but for what reason?
“I am a smooth criminal, after all… what if I did try to flirt with you in order to escape?” The thief suggested.
Ena dismissed this, "Stupid detectives..." she muttered, trying to handcuff Mizuki once again — gripping their wrist.
The thief tried her hardest to avoid being handcuffed, wiggling her free arm out of Ena’s grasp. She seemed to be getting a little irritated by the detective, and she didn’t hesitate to voice her annoyance.
“Why, what a party pooper you are! I simply wanted to flirt with the famous Ena Shinonome, that’s all…”
"You—!" She said, as Mizuki wriggled free, causing her handcuffs to drop on the floor. She looked annoyed. "You're coming with me, handcuffs or not!"
Mizuki took a small step back, their facial expression changing almost immediately once the handcuffs had dropped. As the thief took a deep breath, their eyes flickered with a hint of mischief.
“Hmmm… how about a trade instead? You catch me later, I escape now?” Their voice turned into a full-on flirt, their tone light and fun, completely changing from what Ena had seen before.
"That's..." Ena whispered, before raising her voice again. "H-Hey! I'm not compromising with you! I'm finally getting to capture such an infamous thief! I bet less than many have even seen you in action!"
The thief was tempted to stay, just to tease and flirt with the detective a bit more… but a part of them decided against it. Ena was a bit annoying… they would see how persistent she was in catching them later.
Mizuki let out another sigh, this time, a tired one. They started towards the door. If the detective was so insistent on catching them, she’d have to do it in a different way. “Perhaps we could catch each other later~”
Ena was so confused. Mizuki was just... walking away?! Why couldn't Ena do anything?!
"H-Hey! What am I even meant to say to my boss?! Come back!!" She yelled.
Mizuki smirked, turning their head at the detective.
“Tell them you were so close yet they still got away! And that a pretty girl such as me managed to do it~” They teased, taking another step closer to the door. “Perhaps they’ll realize your worth when you manage to catch me another time!”
Ena whispered inaudibly to herself, probably cursing. "You—! Arrgh!!" She sighed, annoyed with herself.
“Mhm, see you later, detective~” Mizuki glanced back slightly with a sly smirk, blowing the detective a kiss. “Oh! I forgot to say… you’re quite the cutie, you know that?”
“YOUR FLIRTS WON’T WORK ON ME!” She roared, “Get out of here before I change my mind and capture you instead.”
Mizuki chuckled, rolling her eyes as she spoke.
“Oh, don’t worry… I know my flirts are working, detective. You’re too obvious to deny them!”
She chuckled again, before blowing one more kiss, winking at her this time as well.
“Good luck catching me, Ena! Toodles~”
Mizuki was just about to shut the door, when she had an idea. She chuckled to herself… Ena had been so close yet so far. She knew that Ena would be back, and she was determined to catch the slick criminal that so many had failed to catch before… What if Mizuki gave the detective an incentive to be back? And that’s exactly what she did. The thief took out a small notebook, scribbling something inside, before tearing it out, leaving it in the doorway for Ena to find.
Ena growled, turning around and going to angrily pick up her handcuffs. Empty handcuffs. Great! At least she can tell her boss that she got close...? Ugh, why was this thief just... so annoying?! After half an hour, and after Ena looked around for any clues, and failed yet again. After she knew the thief would be gone, she exited the building and walked to her house.
As Ena stepped outside of the door, the same one the thief exited with, she stood on something. It crunched underneath her black polished shoe, and as she bent down to pick it up... it was a letter? Pink. Pink ink on the page. Of course, who else would it be? She mentally sighed, before picking it up and reading it...
Mizuki’s handwriting was quite feminine, the words written beautifully as if she were taking her time writing this letter. The letter read:
“To the beautiful and persistent detective who will soon catch me - Ena Shinonome
You’re closer to capturing me than anyone has before… I can feel it. But if you want to catch me, you must work harder… I’ll see you soon, Ena~”
It was signed with a kiss mark.
Ena held the paper tightly as she read it. Still no name? This thief signed it with a kiss mark rather than a name? How... smart, actually. No! No, it's stupid! Ena shoved the paper in her pocket, and sighed. Beautiful and persistent..? Ugh, whatever. She just hoped these letters wouldn't become daily, perhaps. It was nearly midnight, so she made her way home now.
Mizuki smiled to herself, satisfied with her plan. She knew she’d caught the detective’s attention… but did she know her actual name? No, of course she didn’t. The thief had never introduced herself to her. Mizuki knew the detective would want to know, but she wasn’t just going to hand out her name like it was nothing, of course. She put her notebook away, and left the museum, a sly smirk on her face the entire time.
When Ena returned home, she immediately slung herself onto her bed and sighed. Her cats would come up to her, which was cute. She got up and fed them, before returning to her room to change and eventually sleep. Before she slept, she wrote in her journal for the night. She slid the book into her nightstand and tried to get some sleep.