"Ugh... Where am I...?" Luca growls as he rubs his head in pain. He then looks around to find himself in a....

Bed cushion???

"Huh???" Luca says, but then realizes how soft the cushion is-

"Omg- I've never encountered this much fluff before!" The mafia boss exclaims with surprise as he leans back to lay on the bed, with his arms behind his head. He laughs happily.

"It seems you're getting comfy already here, just as I thought from knowing you...." A deep, familiar voice sighs as the figure places a hand on his temple lightly.

"Oh, hey Vox!" Luca excitedly sits back up to look at the demon that is in front of him. The devil can imagine a tail wagging behind the mafia man.

"Is best not to get too comfy here... Especially when eyes are watching." Vox suggests to the golden retriever with such calm tone, concernedly looking at the surroundings of people who are looking at them curiously by their eccentric, out of place clothing. Though, there are some young women who are also gushing by their attractive looks and even have the guts to take a picture of them in their cellphones.

They're both in a modern, furniture store.

Called IKEA...-

"But oh well. It seems we're now reunited once again, boss...." Vox comments heartedly with a smile, gesturing his hand to help his friend get up from the bed. Luca gladly accepts his hand with a big smile.

"The world has brought us back together, milord!" Luca chirps as he swings his arm on Vox's sharp, wide shoulder with a big laugh.

"And about the detective who was chasing you- have you seen him?"

"Nope- Surprisingly..."

"Well, let's get out of here then- shall we?"

They both now walk out of the shop to see a bright city as the landscape from afar. It's still night yet.

"Hey, stop right there!!!" Another voice suddenly says from behind.

"Huh...? Why do I hear something familiar?" Luca says with a puzzled look. He tries to think where did he hear the voice before yet not capable to lay a finger on it.

"Oh, speak of the devil..." Vox once again says, reminding Luca of the said detective.

"Oh???"

"Vox! Luca!" A second voice is heard, a very familiar one.

"Oh? Is that Ike?" Luca questions, acknowledging the second, familiar voice from behind. They both look behind to see Ike walking towards them quickly with a relief smile. A certain orange fox was following behind the Novelist.

"Missing us this much, Ike~?" Vox teases, the Novelist just ignores the teasing with his smile unfaltering at Luca.

"Yes, it's me- I'm so glad I get to find you both in one same place- makes our job EVEN more easier..." Ike scratches the back of his neck with a small, exhausted sight as Mysta huffs proudly. With Mysta, the detective's help to keep track of smells whenever they both both hop into different timeline spawn points makes the investigation much easier as well. Ike thanks himself for still keeping one of Vox's teru teru bozu charms from last Halloween and one of Luca's spare white workout headbands.

"How are you, guys?" Ike asks thoughtfully.

"Well, things went crazy- I've never expected to get pulled into this- but pog!!!" Luca had a blank face before turning back to his golden retriever smile. Ike wouldn't understand this man's enthusiasm, but he's glad his mafia friend isn't upset or panicking or anything like that,

"I just saw a young man die from falling into a sewer hole-" Vox "It was a friend of Y/N."

"Wait what...?" Ike say, confused and concerned by the news. "Was... That catboy Yin mentioned? Alban?"

"Alban? Who's Alban...?" Mysta questions as he turns back to them with his head tilted.

"Yes, it was him... He didn't notice the hole when he was running..." Vox lowly replies, his face unreadable but he seems to be thinking about what he just saw before looking for Y/N at that moment.

'My... What a coincidence...' Ike thinks as he looks at the ground in thought.

Two people just died in the same week- but different timeline.

"Hello???? Why are you people ignoring me now???" Mysta questions and whines, waving at everyone's faces with his gloved hand.

"Also, who the f*ck is that Alban??? And how is he connected to Y/N???" Mysta interrogates with a frown. Someone must be jelly~

"Oh, right... Let me introduce you to each other properly, even though you might have seeing each other before. Mysta, this is Vox and Luca. Vox, Luca. This is Mysta."

"We've seen you once again, Mr. Detective," Vox greets with a nod of acknowledgment.

The detective can't help but let his thoughts run wild around his mind as his eyes widen in shock at the tall man who just spoke.

'D*mn, his voice is so deep and hot- what the f*ck???'

"Oh- Wait a minute! You look familiar..." Mysta says as he rubs his chin in suspicious once he turns to Luca's face. Luca is just as confused as him... Though he does remember who is Mysta unlike him- more like wondering how Mysta doesn't remember him.

"Mmm...."

"Mmmm...."

"Mmmmmmm..."

"Mmmmm....."

They both just looking at each other with the thinking looks. Luca amusingly copying Mysta's actions.

"Have... They met before...?" Ike whispers to Vox in concern, not sure of their behavior.

"The detective was chasing Luca before they both got sucked into different holes, roughly at the same time." Vox explains, Mysta's ear twitches once he hears the witness's statement.

*GASPS*

"IT'S YOU! YOU THIEF!" Mysta points accusingly before pouncing onto Luca.

"HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAD TO SAY TO TURN AROUND?!"

"FOR THE LAST TIME, IT WASN'T ME-"

"THEN WHY WERE YOU HOLDING SOMEONE ELSE'S HANDBAG??? AND WHY WAS THERE AN INJURED MAN COLLAPSED ON THE FLOOR NEAR YOU WHEN I FOUND YOU???"

"WHY ARE WE YELLING???"

"I DON'T KNOW?!"

Ike facepalms by the sight in the background, hoping no one is passing by as Vox is just eating a snack Ike just gave him few seconds ago. He must be so well-entertained by this.

"Oh right-! Luca, I think I saw Alban with you before- but he ran away from your direction- what happened?" Vox questions, making the mafia (himbo *coughs*) boss stop to look back to Vox with a confused look, while still holding Mysta underneath his arm like a sack of potato as the detective struggles from the grip with frustration.

"Huh?"

"Alban was with you, Luca."

"I honestly never met this Alban, but I remember that I saw a... Catboy? Struggling with a man who was beating him up...- And I just learned he was the one who stole the handbag-" Luca explains regretfully.

"What???" Mysta states, eyes much wider. The detective kicks Luca by the leg, making the mafia boss whine in slight pain.

As if the serious detective phase has literally now turned on, Mysta grabs Luca by the collar and starts sniffing him.

"Woah, woah woah!" Luca exclaims, surprised.

"Huh??? *sniffs* Cotton candy??? *sniffs sniffs* Not dark chocolate???" Mysta questions as he keeps sniffing to makes sure. "What is this???"

"Oh right! I was eating cotton candy before leaving the amusement park!"

"B-B-But- no way! I still could smell the dark chocolate when I got out of the amusement park!" Mysta says in disbelief.

"Like I said, I'm not the thief- I accidentally saved the thief from the victim and he ran away-" Luca explains more.

"So, Alban was the Phantom Thief...." Vox concludes, as if he already knew that since the beginning. Because of course, a demon's sharp sight never fails to be an accurate witness.

Both the mafia boss and detective look back at the demon before looking at each other with bewilderment until they got it-

___

Let's make this clear-

Luca didn't really knew Alban's looks but does heard of him from Vox and Y/N. He accidentally bumped into him- but didn't know it was Alban and just some other catboy instead-

Mysta haven't met Vox and Luca until now- Though he is having blurry memories that he did saw Luca before... until now.

___

"SH*T, I GOT THE WRONG PERSON!!!"

"OH! THAT WAS ALBAN??? HE LOOKS SOOOO TINY! I WONDER WHY DID HE RUN AWAY IF I'M ALSO Y/N'S FRIEND-"

"..."

"...."

"WHAT?!"

"What???"

"Oh my gooooooooshhhhh-!!!" Ike says while facepalming more, another fight....

"YOU'RE SAYING Y/N REALLY DID HIDE A PHANTOM THIEF FROM ME?!"

"WAIT WHAT???"

"Okay now, gentlemen, let's not get to misinterpretations or being too rash about this- Y/N has been way too obvious about it." Vox assures as he gets into the gap between Luca and Mysta. At least they both finally calm down and apologize each other at the end.

____

"Okay... so right when I was tracking the scent but wasn't able to see what really happened. That 'Alban' was right into some defensive victim's grip until Luca saved him- making himself unconsciously take the thief's place as I find Luca now the one holding the handbag-" Mysta reviews, now understanding after 20 minutes of repeating the explanation.

"Yessss..... it happened like that." Vox confirms.

"Yep..." Luca agrees, now munching pringles Ike gave him with a bag of them. He just found a favorite type of snack now.

"Oh... Now it makes sense- good to know my sense of smell hasn't failed me, my bad-" Mysta acknowledges his mistake (get it-)man's bows his head for Luca, who bows back as well respectfully.

"Come on, let's move forward. A certain friend of us is waiting for us and he is happy to meet you guys right now at a lounge!!!" Mysta gives a heads up with the 3-shaped smile, as the others put his attention on his statement.

"Who..?" Luca asks his friend.

"A sorcerer from the past." Ike answers with a smile.

____

"Oof-" You nearly fell but successfully landed in your own feet from the portal. You look around to see the modern buildings and the familiar loud, normal car sounds in a city full of

"Home sweet home...." You quickly check your phone for the date to see that you're back into your respective timeline; 2022.

"This city is quite chaotic, isn't it?" A smooth voice says along with a tiny chuckle.

"E-eep,,,,!"

You squeak quietly by surprise before looking behind to see a man with... exotic clothes and pretty unique hair...-

Wait, the sorcerer!!!

OMG, HE LOOKS SO BEAUTIFUL???

"Ah...-!"

"Hello, Y/N." The man says with his famous pointy smile- You might think it is full with mischief at first but it is more like it has a good, chill vibe in it.

You wish to fangirl at this moment....- BUT HOW TO DO THAT WITHOUT EMBARRASSING YOURSELF???

"E-Eh..."

"Ike has been telling many things, very great things about you when I arrived in this timeline." He explains as he hands out his hand. "My name is Shu, nice to meet you."

You hold his hand for a handshake, giving him a shy smile....

Omg, you're really not dreaming-

"Oh, really...? Never thought Ike would have known so many friends while time traveling to be honest..." You say with a sincerely surprised tone. "A pleasure to meet you as well, I saw you before in... one of those paintings at the museum in the timeline 1969." You're honestly not sure if you can say that but okay-

"Oh really? Never thought my past would be this hilariously famous- probably because of Ike's book about me..." Shu laughs quietly before motioning you to follow. You hesitate, but there's nowhere else to go for yourself to be honest, so you eventually follow him.

"Hilarious...?" You ask as you tilt your head, making Shu coo lightly at your soft, confused look.

"My, you're indeed cute..." Shu comments as he gently starts squishing your cheeks, never stopping his footsteps while doing that. You just got much redder over the seconds like a tomato.

"Oh...- After you~" Shu then opens a glass door for you, you thank him in return before entering. You look around to see that Shu brought you to a lounge.

"Luxiem Louge..." You read the sign that was on the wall behind the counters.

So many people here for a very late night....

"I would like to have—-"

"Hey! Don't tease me—-"

"Order for table 32—-!"

... And very loud.

The lounge seems actually big??? Why does it have multiple floors??? Why is it call lounge then???

Shu sees your reaction from your face and chuckles, now guiding you to the penthouse of the building.

"The Luxiem Lounge is an establishment Ike and I were able to build as an abode... It's pretty much like a restaurant-cafe than a lounge, just to let you know." The sorcerer explains as he pulls a comfy armchair for you to sit.

You accept the chair quietly, before checking your phone for any messages.

"Moshi moshi...? Oh Ike, are you on your way here with the others? Sheeeesh, your search is much faster when you're with Mysta that I expected—- Oh, and don't worry, I have the precious Y/N with me. She looks so worried about you~"

Shu lightly teases as he's now holding a phone in his hand while standing next your chair, taking a peek glance at your sitting figure with a smile when he mentions you.

"Is that Ike...?" You innocently ask with a hopeful look, the sorcerer can only nod back silently in reply as he's still on the call. You make a small but quiet happy noise out of relief as you're still sitting on the cozy chair. Shu cannot help but chuckle by your cute reaction.

"You're gonna have to come quickly before this adorable inventor kills me with her cuteness unintentionally...lol~" Shu lightly says as he fans himself with his unoccupied, gloved hand.

"A-Ah....I really didn't mean it...!" You shyly say as you lightly pout at the man next to you.

"Eeyyyyy...~"

___

// Meet the New Companion! //

// A sorcerer from the past with mysterious abilities. Though kind-hearted, he can call down a malediction upon those who wrong him. //