| Running Out Of Time | 172732014

Happy Birthday | Riddle Me This

Fireworks decorated the sky with its bright flashes of light and colour cascading amongst the starlit night. Crowds of people marveled at the sight while they basked within the atmosphere that swam through the shrine. Musatafu's largest Inari shrine swarmed with the cheerful cries of its citizens that celebrated the coming of the new year, despite the clock yet to strike midnight. You had made it for the early celebrations made for children and the elderly, for those who couldn't enjoy the late hours of the night. You loitered up high, hidden within the bannisters of the temples while watching the fireworks in their splendor, smiling at the sight. For a while you had been hanging around for something to happen, only to spend your time watching the crowds below. It only made you think back on the past year, surprised by how much things had changed very quickly - too quickly for your liking.

For all that you held close in secret, you found yourself becoming trusting and entrusted, a feeling that felt so foreign. You had infiltrated the trust of Pro-Heroes, stealing away their hearts like the thief you were. Yet with irony, you felt something was stolen from you, seeing Hanta Sero's face in your head. He had grown a liking to your tactics, having been invited to this shrine of all places by the one thing you loved to do.

Meet me at the Inari shrine in the city centre. Don't be late for the matinee!

You scoffed with a chuckle when you first read the note, finding that he had come to stick them by tape in your usual spots around the city. At first you wondered how on earth he caught on to your common haunting grounds, but as a Pro-Hero, he probably had his methods somehow. Still, he had invited you to a shrine of all places, one that revered foxes.

And yet he was nowhere to be seen.

You sighed knowing you were always punctual, realising how late he was even in his own planning until something flapped in the wind that caught the corner of your eye. There by the edge of the temple's roof was another note, stuck securely by tape. Again that thought returned, wondering how he knew where you loitered before you snatched the note in your hand.

The words on it were... interesting to say the least.

Two bodies have I, though both joined in one,
The more still I stand, the quicker I run.

A riddle? Really?

"Can you be any more imaginative?" You questioned breathlessly, reading the words again. That didn't stop the tickle in your mind, pondering on the answer to such a riddle. This wasn't exactly how you would spend New Year's Eve, but you wondered about the answer. Perhaps it would lead you to him, like a scavenger hunt of sorts. At the very least he was having fun. You on the other hand—

"The more still I stand, the quicker I run? Is it running on the spot?" You questioned. "Two bodies as one... well it's not conjoined twins." You continued to mull on your thoughts while the echoes of people soon drowned in the background. Too focused on finding the answer, you found yourself sitting by the bannisters, cross-legged while imagining what this object was like.

The toll of the bells signaled the end of the matinee fireworks show, catching your ear towards the sound. It was a usual custom for the temple bells to make their presence known, recalling how its sound travelled through the temple. The sight of it was pretty mediocre at best, a small tower somewhere on the temple grounds that resembled—

"An hourglass!" You exclaimed. "It's an hourglass!"

Your eyes darted above the temple grounds, overlooking the spire of the bell tower across the way. Indeed the shape of it looked like an hourglass while its last chime disappeared into the air. With a ball of light in the palm of your hand, you tossed it towards the general direction of the tower, jumping into it to travel overhead the numerous swarms of people below. Your light, like a shooting star, zipped past citizens before you appeared by the bell tower, looking up at its small size compared to other buildings surrounding it. You trailed your hands along its walls, feeling every brick and cobblestone that built its foundations while ignoring the odd glance or two from passersby.

You walked around all four of its walls to find nothing in particular before glancing towards the bell, spotting something flap in the breeze. A quick leap of light upwards helped you close the distance, standing precariously on the roof tiles while you swiped the note, tearing the tape.

What force and strength cannot get through,
I with a gentle touch can do.

Another riddle? You pondered on its meaning while your eyes scoured the brilliantly lit shrine grounds. For someone who acted very nonchalant, he was proving to be a great mimic. Was he pulling your museum date on you?

"Through a door?" You questioned with concentration in your brow. "That one's easy. It's a key, Bucky." Yet what exactly did that mean, you wondered. Was it a real key? A code? A cipher? The proverbial hourglass riddle led you to the shrine's bell tower. Given that logic it would have to be a location nearby. You stood by the bell scanning across the nightly horizon of the grounds that were alive with the breath and life of its patrons, but nothing stood out from the vast amount of temples that would constitute a key. It irritated you a little while you contemplated on what the riddle meant.

You quietly mumbled under your breath before a group of laughter caught your ear, spotting friends mingling with each other by one of the major gates. You hummed while you stared, still mulling over your thoughts before your eyes languidly trailed towards the large fox statue that stood by the gate, paired with its partner on the other side. It only made you smile watching their tall figures overlook all that passed through their gates. You couldn't fault Sero for choosing an Inari shrine. It felt like home.

You continued to stare at the foxes that held onto scrolls in their mouths and paws. They were avid messengers according to myth, which in turn widened your eyes in surprise.

"Which one is it?" You exclaimed before you scoured the grounds again, attempting to spot as many of the fox statues overhead. It wasn't long until you found the one you were seeking, the large statue holding a key in its mouth shy from the myriad of stalls that were set up for the New Year's crowds.

You couldn't help that smirk from crawling in your lips before tossing another small ball of light towards it, speeding past the crowds once more before appearing in tendrils of light by the great statue adorning a key in its small mouth. You paid no mind to any onlookers who spotted you appearing out of nowhere. Instead, you admired the statue, eyeing around its vicinity for another clue. At this point it was becoming more of a challenge, wanting to outdo the Pro-Hero at his own game. A quick glance led you towards one side of its stony mass, finding the note stuck on the granite.

Hiding within treasures galore,
Glimmers a shade of green and more.
Tanti Auguri a te, Tesoro.

You stared quizzically at the note, re-reading it again just to be sure that you weren't growing delirious. He had grown a little more fluent. Since when you had no clue, but the clue itself wracked your brain.

"Treasures galore? Here?" You questioned, turning your eye towards the insurmountable canopies of stalls that lined the temple grounds. Whatever Sero could mean would result in an endless search for the next location. In broad daylight, figuratively speaking.

"Excuse me," asked a familiar voice behind you, tapping your shoulder.

Still with your note in hand, you turned to come face-to-face with none other than Hanta Sero, dressed in a plain yukata. He looked to be alone at the event while he casually greeted you, unperturbed by your thief garb still adorned. Before you could utter a word though, he held his hands out for you to see, gifting you something small in his palms - a jade bracelet, one that was probably specific to this temple adorned with a fox carving on one of many of its jade beads. It wasn't the most expensive of stones, but you snatched it from his hands before you began to twirl it on your finger playfully.

"You don't know my birthday, Bucky," you pouted.

"Until I do, may your year be prosperous," he rebut in kind, grabbing hold of the bracelet and slipping it onto your wrist.

You allowed him the pleasure, even if it was this once while you eyed the ring still on your finger. You figured he stared at it as well, recalling the Christmas that had come and gone. It was fun while it lasted, but things were turning - suddenly he was leaving you gifts, leaving you notes, instigating chases, and keeping you on your toes. But you still hated to admit that.