Gold wasn't inherently evil.

Akutagawa knew of that. Despite gold being something that drives men to the extremes and makes them do things that no sane person ever did, gold wasn't evil. It wasn't like it wanted to drive men insane with it's glittering allure, it wasn't as if it wanted blood to be shed just because of the temptation of riches. Gold was- gold was just gold. There was nothing deep to it and there was nothing harmful to it.

It didn't asked to be made and it didn't asked to have a useless power of allure. Perhaps, if he was pushing it, gold didn't want to be born of this world.

Akutagawa knew of that. Akutagawa knew of that well, perhaps- out of everyone, he was one who adored and shared sympathized with gold the most.

(A funny thing to note about gold is that, despite having amethyst around him, he didn't- it wasn't like he was tainted by amethyst. It was as if the amethyst gave depth to his beauty, who gave contrast to the beauty that he held. Perhaps, he didn't know he held a strange and powerful beauty which made him even more sought out by the world. How he turned weakness into something- something akin to art, Akutagawa will forever be mesmerized.)

No- he was not like gold, he wasn't anything like gold. He wasn't pure as he was tainted by black at a young age (what difference does it make? gold has been tainted with black yet- there he is. shining as bright as the moon, as if the world wasn't against him. as if the world wasn't looking for him for the treasures he hides that he doesn't even know), he wasn't of justice as his hands were dripping with blood that he spilled in his path and he wasn't perfect not unlike that shitty person who seems to be perfect in every way and who got everything Akutagawa ever wanted, who is everything Akutagawa wants. He-

Akutagawa was the farthest thing from gold. He was powerful, and perhaps he had value due to his strength; but that's it. There is nothing more and nothing less.


(Across the city and in one agency, a tiger sneezes. He frowns and looks at the purple lilacs sitting near his desk. Was he allergic to lilacs? It was a shame- the lilacs were pretty and he didn't have the heart to get rid of them.)