『Gazing through crystal eyes』
Internships are supposed to be a taste of what a Hero was expected to take on after graduation. After struggling to get his provisional license and being a step behind his classmates, Akihiko Mochizuki finally has the o...
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Mentions of injuries are found in this chapter.
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"I decided to place a tiny camera robot near the entrance of the trail in case someone else is led through. I didn't think it would be tonight!"
"Do you know who it is?"
"Reika."
Besides his rapid footfalls, Akihiko's hearing was flooded with his pounding heartbeat. The soles of his feet burned as he and Briar trekked up what felt like a million stone steps. Beyond them laid Yoshino's temple, but to the teenager, it was nothing but a building at the moment. Two minutes had almost passed before they arrived at the first trail. The small silver robot with a giant lens as a face quirked up at Briar. Its tiny arms waved at them in alarm as it pointed at the path.
The barriers blocking the entrance were pushed aside, revealing the darkness that engulfed the cherry blossoms if someone dared to get close. But if there were any sign of Reika entering besides the footage the robot sent, the woman would have disappeared without a trace, and they would have only noticed until the next day.
Pushing her glasses up to the bridge of her nose, Briar stared at the abysm lying within the foliage. "Reika doesn't have a healing Quirk. She can soothe someone's emotions with her singing but far from healing mental or physical ailments."
"Then why would she go in?" Akihiko questioned as he tried to search for anything out of place. His Quirk did not sense any danger coming from the trail, and besides the ethereal shine of the moon, everything seemed to be as it was. Just another hiking path lit up by the moonlight and bathed in beautiful petals if it did not hold such chilling whispers.
"I believe Reika mentioned she used to work as an EMT in the city before coming to Yoshino. If it isn't because of that, then it would have to relate to her Quirk, but if you think about it from all the other missing people, her Quirk is nothing like theirs." The Hero's eyes flitted back and forth, the gears in her head moving at a rapid pace for an idea. A minute passed before a sigh left her.
She raised her head with a look of defeat crossed over her features. "If Reika goes missing as well, that will make four. It should have stopped at one. I believe our only option is to go investigating in there. I've tried to push it away as long as I could, but clearly, that is not working."
Thick saliva flooded the teenager's mouth. "If there is not any other way."
Akihiko does not like this plan but does not have it within him to oppose it. An unwavering dread plagued his body, urging him to stay away from whatever awaited them in that darkness. He may be frightened, especially from the mirages and strange words he has heard, but those people are being taken for who knows why. Yes, Briar's reasoning may prove to be correct, but in the end, they do not know.
