『ARC TWO: CAREFUL STEPS』
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Neither Akihiko nor Tanami enjoyed the dark. It reminded them of how their parents would lock them alone in a pitch-black room with no light source. Unless you counted the soft glow emitted from their hair and the crystals they created, there was no light. When they were younger, they would simmer over the thought of creating a few pieces of citrine but a few glances at the stained bandages curled around their arms quickly shut that idea down.
An airy puff escaped Tanami's lips. Her hands hooked around the fabric of her blazer's sleeves. A chill pricked her spine and she rubbed her palms up her arms. In front of her, Akihiko had shoved one hand into his pants pocket. He raised his phone, the device's flashlight illuminating the hallway beyond them.
The eggshell wall paint was peeling and the lightbulbs clinging to the ceiling were deader than a crumpled autumn leaf. Out of curiosity, Akihiko took a few careful steps and he was met with the loud squeaking of the wooden floorboards. The noise made Akihiko's nose crinkled due to the horrible sound his ears picked up.
Raising her hand, the female twin pressed her digits against the peeling paint. Her face instantly turned into one of disgust feeling the broken paper feeling staining her skin. "Should I assume this place is still a part of the school or did we take a wrong turn somewhere?"
"No, we are still in a facility inside Mizu. But if we did not have this map," Akihiko fished out the tablet and pressed an app on the screen. A map appeared on screen and he held it up for his sister to see before tucking it away once more. "I am ninety-nine percent sure that both of us would think that we ended up in a random abandoned building. We should turn back and find a different route-"
"Wait, wait. We should go exploring." Tanami retorted as she latched her fingers around his wrist.
Her brother sent her a look of disbelief and blinked twice. He stared at her for a while before tilting his head in bewilderment. "What?"
Sighing, Tanami ran a hand through her thin, fiberglass bangs that clung to her forehead. She gave him a stressed smile. "Sorry, I should have clarified. Don't you think it's a bit odd why a place like this would be open?"
"Kohei-san had a lapse in judgment."
She lightly jabbed his arm and rolled her periwinkle eyes. "Kohei-san is not that forgetful!"
"What about the time that we were ten and he forgot us at the mall? I thought Tomo was going to stab him with a pen if Sumiko did not wretch it out of his hand."
"...remind me how Tomo and Kohei-san are friends?"
"I do not think anyone actually knows."
The two stood in silence for a few minutes before an eerily squeak caught their attention. Instantly, their muscles tensed, and their joints froze from the sound. Their periwinkle eyes met and the hair on their necks instantly stood. Neither of them had moved from their positions so they were not the ones who forced the floorboards to squeak. Before something else could be heard, Akihiko instinctively grabbed onto Tanami's wrist.
Heavy footfalls shadowed the noise of clicking ones against the noisy floorboards as the duo dashed down the corridor. The farther they ran, the different the scenery in front of them changed. The dead lightbulbs shifted into candlelit lamps. The flames flickered inside the lamp, burning the wax of the candle. The light emitted from the candle was dim, giving minimum light in the hallway the two, or possibly three, occupied.
Akihiko's grip was tight around Tanami's smaller wrist. Both sprinted at a matched pace, the male twin tugging the female down in a rushed manner. With a firm frown drawn on his face and his eyebrows knitted together, Akihiko lightly clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. Tanami threw a look over her shoulder, ignoring the smooth crystals brushing against her face. Her eyes widened, a bit of confusion laced in her irises before it quickly morphed into panic.
Without a second thought, the girl reflexively thrust her hand out. A bright stream of aqua faded with a deep wine color that emerged from her fingertips. The light collided with the tiled floor and in an instant, a barricade created of alexandrite rose six feet. A loud thud was heard. Whoever was chasing them collided with the crystalline barrier. She could hear something colliding with the crystal once but nothing more.
Their pace considerably slowed until it came to a halt. Breathing heavily, the twins' chest heavied and their hearts hammered against their ribcage. They waited, the sound of the blood rushing in their ears being the only sound that they could make out. They both stared expectantly at the two-toned crystal, waiting for the killer to emerge or break through it.
The male crystal's hand gripped tighter around his sister's wrist. He stayed still, his body urging him to continue to dash down the hallway and reach the elevator with his sister in tow. He swallowed harshly. He could feel the bead of sweat trailing down his jawline.
Suddenly, Tanami's fingers tightened with warning and not even a second had passed before she tugged him into another sprint. The moment his foot left the floor, the flames extinguished with a cold breeze sweeping across the corridor. Goosebumps emerged on their skin from the chilling gust. Their cheeks were brushed with icy claws.
A thunk followed by the sound of glass beginning to shatter echoed across the dark hallway.
"Dammit!" Tanami hissed.
Raising a hand to his hair, a quiet groan wrenched itself out of his throat. With their source of light gone, it was hard to distinguish what laid in front of them and what did not. Akihiko squinted. The purple glow emitted from their hair gave off a faint light but it was not enough to give them a proper light source. It did more harm than good as it was easier to spot them in the darkness.
"Akihiko, the tablet! It can tell us where we are, right?" Tanami's breathless voice resonated between them.
"Yeah... yeah," he replied hastily as realization struck him.
He reached into his pocket. Feeling the cool metal of the device on his fingertips, he quickly fished it out of his bag. The screen instantly lit up to display his name. He ground his teeth together lightly. It was hard to press icons one-handed.
"Let go of my hand. I cannot do this one-handed," he said while throwing a glance behind him. He did not catch anything in sight.
Her fingers unlaced from his own until the warmth of her hand vanished. With his hand no longer kept still, he pressed on the map icon. The screen shifted, displaying the layout of one of the floors of the 'hotel'. A small purple dot was shown running down one of the many corridors inside this building. He frantically looked across the screen, searching for the elevator displayed.
"Turn right, turn right!" The words slipped out of his throat in a panic. Quickly swerving toward the right, the two narrowly missed crashing into the olive wallpaper.
Elevator, elevator, elevator... there!
"The elevator is close. We need to run down this hallway and then turn left." Akihiko explained briefly. The hammering of his heart never ceased to slow down and he could feel the nervousness pooling in his stomach.
He saw the small shake of her head in confirmation.
After what felt like ages, they finally arrived at the elevator. The golden flower engravings seemed to taunt them. Pressing the button harshly, the elevator chimed and the sound of the metal ropes filled their ears.
Instinctively turning around, the two heard the sound of soft footfalls clink against the tiles coming toward them. Because the hallway was still engulfed in darkness, the two squinted attempting to make out the person who identified as the killer. Unfortunately, they could not make out the person coming toward them.
The glowing number on top of the elevator flicked to the number two. One more floor. The number needs to change to one.
The footsteps halted.
Curling her fingers into a fist, Tanami felt her fingernails digging into her palm. She could already envision the crescent scars that it will leave behind. "Well, you've got us cornered. But you can only take one of us out per day. One of us is going to end up escaping you know."
"That'd be fairly troublesome. But tell me, do you know who I am?" A voice fluttered through the air, asking a question in a mocking tone. Surprisingly, it was hard to distinguish whether or not the person was masculine or feminine. Without a face to connect the disembodied voice, it was difficult to differentiate whether it was Akio or Gin or someone else entirely.
"Of course, you can't tell, can you? Figures. Even if you heard or seen someone once, it would be difficult to connect a face to a voice right?"
Both teenagers grit their teeth. Beads of perspiration dabbed their foreheads as the two simultaneously took a step back.
"Besides, even if I take one twin out, the other one would escape. The other twin won't be able to see who I am right? It's too dark even with the soft illumination of your hair so-"
A click was heard before something hard collided with Tanami's shin. In surprise, she let out a yelp as something swept her off her feet. She landed on her back and a dull pain racked her shin. It was not terribly painful but more of an annoyance.
"Tanami!" Akihiko called out in panic.
The male leaned down and grabbed his sister's blazer and yanked her up onto her feet. He grunted as Tanami was heavier than he expected, especially since he did it one-handed. Akihiko pushed her behind him in a protective stance. His eyes flickered back and forth, searching for a sign or a movement in the darkness. He listened intently but the only thing he could hear were the frantic breaths from himself and Tanami. Shoving a hand into his back pocket, the amethyst-haired boy yanked a small mirror out of it.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the ding from the elevator resonated. The doors creaked as they slid open. Without speaking, Akihiko shoved Tanami into the elevator and stepped back himself. Swinging his arm across his body, the small mirror left his fingertips. A dim glow of blue followed by light specks of yellow was emitted from the mirror.
Exploding, the shards quickly converted into lapis lazuli and formed a jagged wall between themselves and the killer. It was small and not as sturdy as he did not give it much thought and just thought of the first crystal he could think of. At the same time, Tanami pressed a random button before pressing the close doors button rapidly. The elevator doors squeaked while they began to shut.
A loud shattering was heard as pieces of lapis lazuli broke off the wall. It was not a lot of shards but it was evident that the wall would not last long. The twins watched in fear as the wall crumbled fully like a sandcastle after a few more hits.
The elevator doors shut and a thud was heard from the other side.
Beside Akihiko, Tanami fell to the floor. She had pressed a hand to her chest, feeling the thumping sensation of her heart pounding against her ribs. Her breathing was rapid and she looked a bit paler than her already stark white skin color. Akihiko's face was instantly riddled with concern as he knelt next to her.
"Kohei-san is cruel. I totally did not want to spend my morning running away from someone I can't see." Tanami breathed out as she slumped against the wall of the elevator. She cradled Akihiko's tablet in her arm.
The periwinkle-eyed boy shook his head and placed his hand atop of his sister's head. "You are not wrong. I did not expect Kohei-san to start with that of all things."
"At this point, I don't know if we are doing an exam or for the amusement of Kohei-san. I think I prefer another escape room," she mumbled while digging her fingers into the floor of the elevator.
"Same here," Akihiko responded. "I think Kohei-san wants to frighten us to the point of petrification."
"Wait," the purple-haired amethyst's palms collided with the carpeted floor of the elevator. "If that was Gin, do you think he could have fabricated that scene?"
Out of fear, the two began feeling around the small space. They even used a bit of Tanami's Quirk to make sure nothing was attached to the ceiling of the elevator. After affirming that nothing could jump out at them or 'kill' them, they allowed the hammering in their chests to slow down to the normal heart rate.
"He's not here." the crystal-haired female stated.
"Good, we at least know that much. What time is it anyway?" Akihiko questioned as he looked at one of the lit up buttons on the elevator panel. The bottom button was lit and he rechecked the tablet to see where they were heading. It appeared that they were headed toward the basement of the hotel.
"Ten-fifty-six. We have lunch... in about an hour and a half."
Before they could continue their conversation, the elevator door slid open with a loud creak. Stepping out, they carefully and quietly traversed through the area. It was a basement, and for a basement, it looked more like an office.
Various sheets of paper were scattered across the table settled in the middle of the room. Metal cabinets were pushed against the walls with a few rectangular tables in between. A board hung on the left wall, one with various pictures of what seemed to be Himari, modeling or casual, by herself or hanging out with Akio. Multiple tools were placed on one of the tables but dust clung to the surface of them so it was easy to say that they were not used for quite some time.
Akihiko's fingertips lightly brushed against the slips of paper. Some listed the locations of hotels Himari stayed at from a year or two ago. Other sheets stated a few purchases scaling from meals to expensive jewelry made from popular companies. The last few were news articles. He would be lying if he said that the number of crystal necklaces purchased made him feel a bit uncomfortable.
Lingering near the board, the female noted that each photo had a depiction of the place and the reason it was taken. Suddenly, she was taken aback. A few pictures, three to be exact, showed Himari hanging out with a guy. Someone that was not Akio. One of the pictures even showed Himari kissing the other male on the lips with a flirtatious look.
Her eyebrows furrowed together. Himari was dating Akio...? So, why was she kissing this guy? And the date it was supposedly taken not too long ago. Did perfume and make-up models kiss others for gigs? Was that normal? Maybe she should buy a magazine some time to double-check. She took another look. Then again, perfume and make-up models do not chat flirtatiously in the back of a cafe for a job. Himari was not wearing make-up and she definitely was not specifically gesturing at a glass bottle filled with tantalizing scents.
"Hey, Aki?"
"Yes?"
"I'm mostly sure Himari was cheating with Akio," she plucked a picture off the wall and turned it around. A name was angrily scribbled on the back due to the harsh dents of pencil and odd scratch lines. "With a dude named Jo-Jon...ah.... Jonah!"
"Sounds foreign, and about right. Look." the amethyst-haired boy said. He gestured to the news article in his hand "American singer Jonah Millard has announced his engagement with Sara Himari, a well-known model in Japan. The two had met at a beach for a photoshoot and apparently hit it off quite well. Seven months of dating and they decided to seal their relationship with a twenty-four carrot ring."
Tanami pinched the bridge of her nose and her shoulders slumped. "So long story short, she dated the two of them behind each other's backs. What an assh-"
Akihiko coughed warningly into his palm. He sent his sister a leer that said 'say it and I'm telling Tomo.'
"How rude of her to do so." she readjusted with a deadpan expression.
"Besides that, we should take what can be helpful and leave. The elevator has not moved so we can assume that no one has pressed it to go back up." The periwinkle-eyed boy began to shuffle through the sheets and stack the papers in a neat pile.
Rolling her shoulders, Tanami sighed quietly to herself and nodded. For some odd reason, she felt that something was off with the room but her instincts did not tell her to run. Instead, it felt like they should linger about a bit longer. She shook her head, crystal hair clinking as she picked another picture from the board. Her fingers latched onto the last photo and a clunk echoed in the room.
The twins froze. Suddenly the floor disappeared from beneath Tanami's feet and she was hurling downward into darkness. The trap doors snapped shut, sealing the hole that she fell through.
It took a moment for Akihiko's body to react since he was stunned into silence from the unexpected incident. Then his body decided to move and the papers fluttered to the ground. "Tanami!"
He ran over to the spot she was in and slammed his heel into the floor. In a panic, he searched for anything that could have triggered the trapdoor. His eyes landed on the pictures. She took the final picture of Himari and Jonah. He raised his hand to take off a picture but the sound of slow clapping caught his attention. The voice that spoke made his heart sink and his teeth grit.
"My, my, my, you sure take your sweet time. Have a nice chat with your dear sister?"
Taking in a deep breath, the male swerved on his heel. Standing a few feet in front of him with an amused smile was none other than Junpei. His elbows were bent and his palms were touching. His magenta eye sparked with intent as he looked Akihiko up and down.
With his teeth clenched, Akihiko tried his best to sound less worried and more angered than anything at the moment. "What do you want?"
Lacing his fingers behind his back, Junpei strolled up to the table to peer at the papers. He maneuvered around the papers spilled across the floor. The teenager's expression relaxed momentarily before it twisted into one of glee. "You take after Inscribe quite a bit, you know. You both share that stubborn yet observant glint. Although yours is less subtle. Naturally, Inscribe had more experience than yourself so I suppose that makes sense, Yama. Your sister, on the other hand, I would say she had better fighting instincts."
Akihiko visibly flinched at the name. His fingers curled into fists and unconsciously, he took a step forward so he was closer to the table. "What do you want?"
"So hasty! Can't we have some small talk beforehand?" the black-haired teenager pressed a hand against his heart. He feigned a look of hurt, almost mirroring a saddened puppy. Thank the heavens he was not a puppy or else Akihiko would be having second thoughts about punching him. At least this time he would be sent to the principal's office due to hitting a prick instead of Kagemi's terrible dodging skills.
Trying his best to end the conversation as quickly as possible, he spat, "when does anyone our age use 'small talk'? You are wasting my time. I need to find Tanami."
Junpei shook his finger with a bit of tease while shaking his head. He pointed at Akihiko's pocket and as if one cue, a short vibration was felt on his thigh. Skeptically, and not tearing his gaze away, the taller male took out his phone and checked his messages.
Tanami
Hey, I'm fine. I think I fell down a modified version of the laundry shoot. I scared the crap out of Yoshimi and Daiki when I landed in a cart full of old rags. There's a second basement that isn't located on our maps. Yoshimi found it with his Quirk. I'll meet you later.
"Did you plan this?"
"You wound me!" the magenta-eyed boy said dramatically before leaning against the table. "Ahh, Yama, you are so inconsiderate! But considering your background, it's easy to guess why. After all, being slaves to your parents must have been terrible."
Akihiko's knuckles turned a worrying shade of white, and their skin is almost a paper white for that matter.
"Oh, have I hit a nerve? How careless of me."
"What do you want?" the crystal inquired once more. He did not like how his voice cracked a little at the end.
Junpei immediately raised both arms in the air in defense. Smugly, he responded, "don't look at me like I'm the villain here, Yama. I told you I wanted to play a game. Nothing more, nothing less."
"How did you get my phone number?"
"I have my ways." He whisked his hand fervently and smiled as if nothing truly mattered. "My butterflies see the past as well as objects and can give me possibilities that can be linked to create numerous futures. However, I cannot see a definitive future. My Quirk does not show me the correct, fated path such as the late Sir Nighteye's Quirk did. I can only deduct what can happen but not be a hundred percent true. Though I never am wrong and I never will be. I'm just that good at connecting the dots."
Akihiko's forehead wrinkled as he wracked his brain momentarily. Sir Nighteye? I vaguely remember learning about him in middle school. I believe Deku and Uravity mentioned him every once and a while when they give speeches. I think Nighteye's Quirk allowed him to see the future by touch? Or could he use it without touch? I do not remember. Not that it matters at the moment.
The teenager laughed heartedly and clasped his hands. "I saw it when Inscribe first gave you and your sister phones. No one changes their phone number unless they're receiving malicious texts or weird phone calls or just want to disappear off the face of the planet."
Akihiko's heart skipped a beat. "D-did... did you see everything?"
"Unwillingly and unfortunately."
"Unwillingly? What... what do you mean unwillingly?! No one permitted you to do so! I did not permit you to look through my memories! My past! Our past! The likes of you do not understand!" the crystal-haired male yelled in anger and disbelief.
"I don't understand...? Don't make me laugh, Yama. We're more similar than you think. Much, much similar. We don't have all day. Lunch supposed to take place in under... forty minutes? Somewhere along those lines. Besides, now that I have enraptured your attention, it will be easier to say this now." Junpei pressed his palms against the coolness of the metallic table. A smirk had slipped onto the shorter male's lips.
The crystal stepped back and his spine collided with one of the metal cabinets. His head was beginning to ache and he wanted nothing more than to leave. His feet refused to leave their spot as if they were nailed to the floor. "I do not want to hear you speak. Just looking at you brings unwanted memories."
"I know, I know. It must have been a pitiful and horrendous life. You two make it look like it doesn't bother you now, but you and Tanami glance around to every single person in the room. You're both waiting for someone to waltz up to you and compliment or become intrigued by the lustrousness of your hair. Even though we live in a society where abnormalities are normal, it is certainly rare to see twins with hair that shines even if the light does not strike it. You both are frightened that someone will come and ask to produce a gemstone.
"Ah, but you two will refuse, right? Come up with an excuse or immediately clamp your jaws shut and not utter a single word and try to go away. Scared that someone will come and take you both away because your Quirks can be used for profit. Isn't that a sad way to live life? Isn't it pitiful to fear the society you live in?"
"...iet,"
"Hmm, I can't hear you." Junpei leaned forward, his eye narrowing in intrigue.
Slamming his hands onto the metal desk, Akihiko choked as he began to scream the words he hated to say ever since he was little. "I said be quiet! Is it so wrong to fear the people around you?! It is normal human nature to be greedy! When someone places something of value in front of you, is it not natural to want more?! People are born selfish and greedy! It is something that manifests when you find something of value, something that can make you better than someone else, something that will force you to forget your own flesh and blood in order to bask in the wealth?!
"We were not human beings! We never were in their eyes! To them, we were easy access to a fortune! How would you feel if the moment you turned four you were forced to create detailed designs like statues, tea sets, furniture, everything made of pure crystals until your skin peeled open like cracks and spilled blood until you passed out?! How would you feel if your own sister was forcefully made to eat sugar until her head was spinning?! How would you feel if you were treated like an object, only worthy of living for the sake of being tortured and used?!"
The other teenager only hummed lowly. It was as if he only listened to bits and pieces. Junpei's forearms were pressed against the surface of the table and he stayed quiet. When he began to speak, his voice had lost its playfulness and settled into a sorrowful tone. "I don't know about that. But I know what it feels like to be used."
Junpei shoved his body off of the table. He stalked over to the trembling teenager. If he looked close enough, he could see the gloss staining his eyes. When he was two feet away, he stood on his toes since he was much shorter than Akihiko.
"I doubt you remember. We've met before. It would be absolutely disastrous if anyone laid their eyes on you twins to forget the bright shine of your hair. Not even if I prayed to the heavens will you remember the day I met the two of you? Of course not. That day, the two of you looked so pitiful. I did not think it was possible for adults to overlook the timid expressions and the trembling limbs of children. However, at that time-"
He paused and brought a hand to his chin. He mumbled a few words inaudibly to himself before nodding to no one in particular.
"Forget that last sentence. I'm rambling and getting ahead of myself. Anyway, I believe it's normal to despise society after that. The parents that are supposed to love you, used you, and the adults who saw you didn't say a word-"
Akihiko raised a hand and with his sleeve, he quickly wiped the tears building up. Taking a few deep, rapid breaths, he tried to calm the beat of his heart. His skin was already breaking out into a sweat. "W-what do you want? Are you just here to patronize me about the past?"
"It would be natural for you to say that," Junpei said with a shrug. "Alright, Mochizuki, I'll stop bringing up unpleasant memories, but, answer me this. Why did you of all people choose to become a Hero?"
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Author's Note:
Poor Akihiko, he can never seem to catch a break with Junpei.