Third Person's POV
The apartment room had a warm hue with nice, fine furniture. At the kitchen counter sat two brothers eating a late dinner of cup noodles. One of the brothers--a teenage boy with a black fashionable vest, long blonde hair with two red strands sprouted on either side of his head, and sparkling sky blue eyes--slurped a noodle from his chopsticks eagerly. "Scrumptious!" he beamed.
"It's only cup noodles, you know," the second, older brother chuckled politely. He wore a light blue uniform covered with a cinnamon-colored vest. His grey hair was shorter than his brother's (though they shared each other's spikeyness), and underneath his glasses there was more of a mature twinkle in his grey eyes.
The fair-haired young man turned to his older brother with a flashy grin and a thumbs up. "I still like the way you prepare it, Auggy! The egg whites, salt, and black pepper make it all the more tasty!" He got back to slurping away his noodles like a child.
"I appreciate that, Zachary." The older brother smiled, then looked out the window. The sun was already setting behind the buildings, and the orange skies were transitioning to a dark blue.
"You know," Zachary began, tapping his index fingers together, "there's something I need help on...."
"Hm? What is it?" The older brother turned to face him.
"You know I'm Japan's greatest pop star and Blader, Zac the Sunrise."
"For the last two years, why wouldn't I?"
"Well, I now have a rival." Zachary glared into his acquaintance's eyes menacingly. "Ever heard of Joshua Burns? He's becoming a famous actor, loved by fans worldwide, and there's a website stating that his Bey is statistically stronger than mine!" Defeated, he sighed and glanced at his brother. "My spotlight's being stolen. How do I get it back?"
"Hm..." The older brother put a finger to his chin thoughtfully. "There are many stars out there. Why don't you get inspiration from one of their hits? There's bound to be good ideas to borrow."
Zachary copied his brother's thinking pose. "Yeah, I guess you have a point."
"Oh yes, and you have Ginba and Yamatoga to help you as well. Perhaps you could collaborate."
"Orochi and Akira? Right!" Zachary exclaimed with a clap. "Couldn't forget about them! We would make a great trio in the music world, don't cha think, Auggy?" The latter nodded with an approving "Mhm."
"Thank you, brother! You always give the best advice! I don't know what I would do without you!" Zachary praised relentlessly.
The older brother adjusted his glasses, trying to hide his flatteredness but to no avail. "Heh heh... Just telling you what I know."
"This isn't just to flatter you..." The blonde looked his brother in the eyes with a genuine smile. "I really mean it. Even though we only meet once a week, I cherish these moments with you. I'm glad we can share the skies of life together." The older brother could only glance back, his grey eyes twinkling in delight. But upon recalling a certain memory, he felt a tiny pang of guilt in his gut and looked away.
Zachary didn't seem to notice. "You know, I kind of miss living in the same household. What if we have a sleepover?"
"When?"
The blondy abruptly put an arm around his brother. "Maaaaybe tonight?" he asked with a wink.
The older brother seemed a bit startled from this response, but he was able to suppress any reactions. "About that..."
"Oh, you have a lot of work again?"
The older brother nodded. "I'm afraid so. The workload for an accountant can be a little... overwhelming sometimes."
"So you don't want any distractions?" Zachary assumed. He smiled respectfully. "That's okay. I know you're quite the night owl, and you'll need your full concentration." He pulled his arm away and rested his chin on his hand. "Just stay well-rested, okay Auggy?"
So-called 'Auggy' nodded. "Of course I will, little brother."
"Well," Zachary stood up. "My noodles are finished!" Covering his mouth with a hand, he yawned loudly. "And it's getting late. I should go."
"Yeah, don't let me stop you from getting your rest," the older brother replied, taking the empty bowls from their small dinner. The little brother opened his eyes from yawning and took one last look at the apartment room.
Then, from the corner of his eye, he spotted something... off. A door leading to his brother's bedroom was half open. Inside, leaning on the wall besides a desk, was a peculiar artifact: a golden staff with a red jewel on its handle.
Why does this staff seem familiar? Zachary thought. Perhaps I've heard of it from somewhere?
"Zac?" The older brother's voice diverted his attention from the strange object. "See you next week? Like always?" His slightly uneasy tone implied that he now wanted his uninterrupted work time.
"Oh, uh, yes," Zachary responded, forgetting about what he saw for now. "I'll be going. Ta-ta, Auguste!" He did a fabulous dab at the door before going out into the dying evening light.
Watching him go, Auguste smiled wistfully. He always does that. He has no care in the world.
He turned to his open bedroom door. Well, I should get to work.
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Zac's POV
At last, it was time for the sun to rest and for the moon to kindly take over the skies. It was becoming quite dark out, but it didn't matter much to me. Why be afraid of the dark when you yourself are a light, am I right?
I was in quite a good mood, just strolling back to my house after a nice visit to my brother's. Ahh, isn't Auggy the best brother one could ever have? He listens to my problems, he prepares tasty cup noodles with extra ingredients, he has a nice apartment...
...Oh right, the bedroom. The mysterious staff. Seriously, where have I heard of it before? I tried to remember...
Suddenly, I heard a tiny gasp accidentally leaving my mouth.
"We are now interviewing Haruto Aota, a witness who claims to have spotted a phantom thief the same night the self-proclaimed Phantom Thieves of Beys finished yet another successful robbery. Tell us about what you saw."
"I was having trouble sleeping that night. Ya know, I lost yet another match and I, like many other Bladers, would be very frustrated! Well, I heard this very small noise outside while I was pouting in bed. Sounded like a grappling hook or something, but it was quiet for a grappling hook.
"It was kind of dark when I looked out my window, but I could've sworn I saw something golden from the corner of my eye. There was also this--I dunno--red jewel on top of the golden thing?
"I tried to take a better look at whoever was holding the thing, but I couldn't see them very clearly. And before my eyes adjusted, the figure just flew off!"
I stopped walking, letting my potential discovery settle in. Could this mean that...
Hah, of course not! A staff like that can't hold a whole grappling hook inside of it! Besides, descriptions are not as descriptive as seeing it for yourself. I reassured myself as I continued walking.
Oh, right! It's getting late! Don't want any phantom thieves coming after my Bey tonight! I scuttled on as quickly as I could. It's not really safe for a pop star to be all alone at night, come to think of it.
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Auguste's POV
So I told him I had plenty of stuff to do. I always keep my word. Well, mostly.
I went into the bedroom and continued my work at the computer until the sky was pitch black. The only light source was my white computer screen. I looked up at the clock. It was about 11:45 pm. Still too early.
Despite this observation of mine, I've decided that I've had enough work for today. I closed my computer, enshrouding the room in darkness. I sat and waited for my eyes to adjust, then went over to my closet.
You would've expected several skeletons, but there's nothing but ties, uniforms, and pants. But if you spotted the tiny knob sticking from the bottom left of the interior and pulled at it like I just did, you would've found a much more interesting taste in fashion.
I pulled out some folded, well-kept garments. I put on my smashing cloak first (it's needed for my next trick), then I skillfully swiped the cloak over myself. During that one second, I quickly attired myself with my midnight-themed phantom costume. Unfortunately, my seemingly-magical maneuver will remain a secret.
I couldn't forget the most important step: hiding my identity. When I used my cloak, I made my gray hair pure white and my smoky irises lilac. From the same compartment I got my costume, I pulled out a phantom mask and a classy feather hat and put them on. At last, I took my golden grapple-staff leaning on the wall (I should really keep it hidden from view next time Zac visits), quietly swung the window open, and launched myself into the alluring night sky.