Post #2715198 in Arc 4, a roleplay on RPG

(OOC: Timeskip courtesy of yours truly XD)

Old Black Rose - 6:20 PM

"Well! Strawberry cake it is then! Ah, and don't worry about compensation. I have ways to circumvent this problem!" Kazuya assures Akeno as he prepared to head on home. As he'll be departing early, he was sure he won't be chewed out by his father this time.

"3:30 tomorrow huh? A little later but it'll do. Meet me at the cafeteria around that time then! I'll be waiting. Well, see you, and good night!" With that, the young man departed, heading back to his home.

The Sagittarius - 6:20 PM

"Hmm..." Kazenari muttered to herself as she listened to Hayato's explanation, as if she was already expecting the answer.

"Yes, it's possible. Given that you guys have been busy with your little territorial dispute, I doubt you would have the time to commit any small-scale murder. However--" Kazenari sternly narrowed her gaze at Hayato's. "Your fiercest rival is that St. Gabriel's gang Enigma correct? Well, your alibi applies to them too, no?"

"Don't get me wrong Morikawa-san--I'm not siding with neither yours nor Enigma's gang. All I'm saying is that it is highly unlikely that both gangs were involved this time around--given your territorial disputes."

Kazenari finishes her dinner, wiping her mouth with a napkin as their waiter took the empty dishes away. "It may sound unthinkable but my opinion is there is an involvement of a third party."

Grand Castle Observatory - 6:30 PM

"This is--!"

"Loving the view? I think you will."

Cel had brought Makoto over to the Grand Castle Observatory; one of the tallest structures in the city, almost reaching skyscraper height. The two were on the upper observation deck, as the top floor regularly closes at 4, to deter intruders from staking the place out. There were a bunch of people sharing the deck with them, mostly teens and young adults.

"Yeah. I rarely visit Bishop's Park myself so I've never really gone up to see this up close." Makoto explained as he leaned over the railing. Cel walks up beside him, peering through the binoculars between them, seemingly searching for something.

"Found it!" Cel taps Makoto on the arm, gesturing for him to look through the binoculars. Makoto does as he was told and he spotted Sapphire Theatrica, a rather luxurious resort/villa and casino mainly populated by those from the upper class.

"Sapphire Theatrica? What's so special about it?" He asked, wondering why Cel was looking into it.

"I once watched a live performance there. Some kind of piano recital, I think. No, wait--was it a musical ensemble? I don't know. I don't really remember haha~" Cel chuckled as she tried recalling the memory. "It was as part of our little "music appreciation trip". Umm...I hope you don't think I'm some kind of social climber or anything but, I like entertainment like that. Most of my friends just laugh and mock the performers."

"Hey, don't worry about it." He assures her. "I didn't really take your taste to be...I don't know? A little uptown, I guess? I couldn't really tell just by passing you in the lobby."

"That's cause' I'm not uptown. You know that."

"I guess."

"If I have the means though, I'll probably see a concert there every time it hosts one. Hell, I might even volunteer as a performer by then!"

"Wait--you can sing?"

"Anyone can Makoto. Even you." Cel teases him lightly.

"Urghh...you know what I mean. I mean like, professionally."

"No. Never entered a singing contest in my entire life. I do have something else though."

"Mind if I ask?"

"Hmm..." Cel thinks for a moment. "Nope! It's a secret~"

"Aww..." Makoto pretends to sulk for a while at her refusal to tell him. Cel just laughed.

"What about you? If you have that kind of amount, what would you do with it?" She asks.

"Get the best private investigator in the world and track the Iron Killer. That's how much I'm bothered by the guy. Or girl. Equality of course."

"You're that stressed out about it huh? Well, that's why I brought you here." Likewise, Cel leans over the railing, watching the people below them go about their usual routines. Above them, the stars have started peering within the night sky, calming down the overall mood of the city.

"Doesn't the wind and view relax you somehow?"

"Yeah." Makoto replied as he stared at the night sky. Now that he looked around, all the young people seems to be paired up, talking on benches, looking through the binoculars together. Admittedly, he started to feel a little awkward being with just Cel in this place. Yet she was the one who brought him there.

Could it be...?

"Everything looks peaceful from up high." Makoto smiles at his companion. "Maybe I should visit this place a lot more often now."

"You know, I'm a bit surprised you don't come here seeing as how you're a writer."

"Horror writer." Makoto corrects her.

"Same. Don't you normally go to parks or the countryside to look for inspiration or something? Your "muse" as you call it?"

"It depends. Sometimes, you have it. Often you don't. The places we go to depends on what we're writing of course. For me, staying on the third floor waiting area or one of the vacant rooms in the sixth floor of the dorm does the trick." Makoto refers to the notorious areas of their dorm.

"You won't get any complaints from me."

"Otherwise, I'm more of a Castle Waterside guy myself." Makoto refers to the tourist area near the harbor where the live jazz concert attended by Aziz and the others just concluded.

"I thought you're more Stephen King than John Green." Cel teases him again.

"I am. And John Green's stories aren't really that romance-centric all the time." Makoto explained. "But why would you think that though? I usually go to Waterside for the ocean view since some of the best stories I've read normally involve the ocean."

"Wait, you hang out at Waterside? Alone? Right near where Castle Bay is?" Cel asks, trying hard not to laugh.

"Well I have some friends over sometimes but--hey, what's so funny about it? What's with Waterside anyway?" Try as he might to act a lot more calmer, Makoto felt a little irritated at Cel laughing at him. Luckily, she managed to compose herself.

"You do know Castle Bay's dubbed the most romantic spot in the city right? If you go there alone well--"

Realizing that, even Makoto just laughed--the thought of other people thinking him to be some kind of loser hanging out there alone coming off hilariously to him.

"Hey, that's a bit too judgemental. Maybe I'm just waiting for someone else to come." He tried to catch himself. "Besides, I must've heard wrong then. Didn't realize the bay had that kind of reputation." Makoto peers over the railing again. "If it's first, then what's the second best?"

Cel's lips just curved into a small smile as she looked through the binoculars again. "This place."

Hearing that from her, Makoto slowly got up to look at her. Without taking her eyes from the binoculars, Cel reached out a hand to take his. His heart nearly skipped a beat at this gesture. Slowly, he closes his eyes, taking in that fleeting fifteen seconds of time.

Snippet #2715198

located in Unnamed City, a part of Arc 4, one of the many universes on RPG.

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