Hello every one, this is one idea that just kinda jumped out at me and I had to write it down. No it is not Rose of Time, but it is still something.

Disclaimer: An Irregular at Magical Highschool is not owned by me, but is owned by Tsutomu Sato.

It was a compound.

That is what the masked man's first thought at seeing the building.

Well the Yotsuba family definitely went all out with their estate. As he scanned the compound, he noticed all the small things that most would miss because they would be deemed unimportant or just never even notice it. He could tell that they were in fact traps set up by only the best of trap makers and magicians. A smile began to creep on his unseen face at the challenge set before him.

He was able to easily recall the map that his partner was able to get him of the compound, so he knew where the 'weapon' he was supposed to steal is theoretically at. He finds it strange that the one that hired him wanted to steal a weapon from the Yotsuba, but he guessed the guy was just crazy or something. The man was smart, the thief could give him that because he never got the real name of him. He knew that he couldn't be named 'Ghost' or anything like that.

He shook his head as he planned out his route that he was going to take to his target. As he moves through the compound, the thief has to make several detours due to unforeseen problems. Namely, the inhabitants still being awake at midnight. Though he understands why, those inhabitants being guards, it doesn't make him any less giddy at not getting caught.

It takes him roughly 2 hours to find his way to the room the 'weapon' is stored in. 'Finally.' The smirk on his face broadens as he breaks into the, not as secure as he thought it would be, door. As he quickly and silently enters, he notices that the room is strangely barren except for a bed and a desk, with another door he suspects leads to a bathroom.

Confusion.

If the man had one word that summed up this entire situation it would be confusion. He double checks that the map lead to this room, and finds himself no less understanding of the situation. 'Was my intel wrong? Is this really the wrong room the weapon is supposed to be stored into?' He was sure it had to be that cause there was no way that he was hired to perform a kidnapping. He didn't like the morality of this if that was what he was supposed to do here.

Before he could stop himself, he began pacing around the room. It was a nightmaric situation since he was hired for his flawless record of stealing things, albeit minor things. He was hoping with this job he could ascend himself amongst his peers as one of, if not the best thief in the world, and this was really throwing that dream off. Why was being a master thief such a bad dream!?

As his mild breakdown was occurring, he was being watched by the 'target' he was meant to steal/kidnap. It was clear that the one whose room the thief entered was that of a child. A child that held a look of curiosity and fear at the man that was clearly not from the Yotsuba family, not that they'd acknowledge him. What the thief didn't know was that the mere child, the Yotsuba weapon/guardian, was powerful enough to have killed him the moment he entered the room, nor that the child disliked that he was constantly going through tests or being left alone.

"Hey mister."

It was those words that brought the thief out of his breakdown, and to realize that the child had been watching him for a while. That left him with a dry throat, and a cold sweat broke across his back.

"Are you here to take me away from here?"

This caused the thief to really look at the boy and noticed that the boy looked average at best. It was clear the boy was young, at best 6 years old. He also didn't like the hopeful look on the kid's face when he spoke. It almost physically hurt the thief so bad that he had to ask.

"Do you want me to? To take you away from this place?"

The child stopped and looked thoughtful for a few moments before nodding his head. And the thief was wrong if he thought his throat was dry before, as it felt like sandpaper was being rubbed against his throat. It literally felt like he was drowning in quicksand at this point.

"I mean I don't think I would be missed if I disappeared. I think that I was never here to them in the first place."

The boy definitely sounded dejected at the way the other clan members acted, so it was clear to him that he was deemed a failure and ignored. He could feel it in his bones that he would probably end up regretting the decision he was about to make because for all he knew the kid could be talking about some game of hide and seek that he always loses with the other kids. This went so far against his normal morals that he felt it had to be some kind of divine intervention for him to answer the kid with how he did.

"Ok, then let's go."

Yotsuba Maya was not pleased. No she was not pleased at all. She could feel the fear that radiated the compound when it was discovered that young Tatsuya was not in his room come that morning. It was a literal manhunt for the boy, seeing as her sister Miya was near inconsolable at the discovery that he was missing.

It didn't nearly help that the boy had two of the most powerful magic at his disposal, even if he didn't know how to use consciously. Decomposition and Regrowth. She shuddered at the thought that Tatsuya end up in someone's hands like the Saegusa. She also lamented that he was supposed to undergo a special surgery today, one that would allow the boy to actually use normal magics.

Him losing most of his emotions was a small price to pay for him to be able to interact normally with others. Yes he would have most of his power sealed, and would be the guardian to his younger sister Miyuki, but he wouldn't get crucified for being so different as a magician. At least with this thought process, Maya didn't feel like she was being cruel to the boy. It honestly didn't help that most of the clan feared the boy for his power, and with most of Miya and her's time being taken up by clan matters.

She knew that they had to find the boy fast, or else their enemies may learn about him and his superhuman spells and either take him in or use him to crucify the Yotsuba family. That, had to be prevented at all costs because the clan could not afford to fall.

It had been two months since he took the boy. Two months since he decided to take the boy and to run. He knew running wasn't smart, but he couldn't justify anything to his employer. 'Ghost' would want the boy, did want the boy, and he refused to give him that. There he was, a low-life thief trying to raise a 'weapon' on the streets, and he could feel the strain on himself.

It was probably for this reason that he made a mistake. A fatal mistake.

He had decided that Tsuchiura was a good enough place to run too. In hindsight, he probably should have just left the country altogether. It would have ended so much better for the two of them. But no, in the end they didn't leave the country and it came back to bite him hard.

He could laugh at the stupidity of the whole situation, or at least he would if he wasn't four magicians with some deadly looking CADs. This was of course his biggest problem, mages. Most magicians were created via a lab, or were somehow born with the ability from having parents that were born in those labs. They were nothing but weapons made to keep non-magic people subservient and were typically monsters.

It was why the thief saw it good to steal from the Yotsuba in the first place. He knew that they were apart of the 10 main families that ruled their magical society, and were only under the government for whatever the reason. He believed it was all a ruse and that they actually controlled the government from the shadows to act like the non-magicians were in control. He at first thought the kid, Tatsuya, might have been a mage, but he told him that that was the reason why he wasn't accepted by the family. That moment had been a breath of fresh air to the thief, not out of the same prejudices filled fear that most non-mages feel, but out of a sort of spite at not being able to use magic himself.

He felt it was unfair that only some of the people had the capabilities to wield magic. It was stupid and that spite was not helping in the slightest against 4 magicians that were clearly sent to retrieve the boy. Whether they were sent by the Yotsuba or "Ghost," he'll never know. He also knows he is in a dangerous situation with the kid unconscious, and the mages using deadly magic he couldn't dodge well, since alleyway. He's not sure what the kid got hit with, but it probably wasn't anything too bad, or maybe he was just being positive that one of the two will survive the situation.

He could feel the flames licking him as he tried to keep them away from the boy. Why he cared so much for the boy, he didn't know and frankly didn't care. He knew he was going to die anyway, so what did he care if it was protecting a small child he originally kidnapped. When he began to fall and his thoughts started to blur is when he noticed something, the four mages from before were gone. It was a thought that worried him for a moment before realizing that there was a man and woman putting the fire out and calling out to him.

He doesn't know what they were saying, but that mattered little to him. He just needed for them to keep the boy safe that was the only priority in this situation. "The... boy…"

He could tell they were trying to say the boy was fine or something but he had to tell them. "Pro… protect… him…"

He hopes of course that they were able to understand as his thoughts began to slow down. His eyes were so blurry that he could barely tell you what color he was seeing. He felt something, but he wasn't sure if it was peace or Death's ice cold grip on his soul. Honestly, he smiled a pathetic little smile as his eyes shut and he was lost to the world.