『A crystal can only reveal its hidden structure when fractures thread through its inclusions』
Jewelry embedded with the finest of gemstones will always capture a person's attention. Whether it be through the flurry of colors running through the glas...
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『ARC ONE: EXAMS AND MISHAPS』
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Two long hours had ticked by at a slow pace when Akihiko and Hitomi were announced to enter their zone. From the time they spent waiting, multiple teams had come out of the zone either exhausted or being hauled out by medical robots on stretchers. Some teams would ask what the zone is, but the earlier participants did not unlatch their closed jaws to speak. It meant that perhaps they were instructed to not speak a word to others.
At times Akihiko's fingertips brushed against his sweatpant's pocket to feel his phone. For some odd reason, his conscious was urging him to call or text his sister. His nose crinkled at the feeling of dread circulating through his veins. If memory served to be correct, Tanami was on team thirty-one. This meant that she went in first already. Perhaps she even completed her zone.
Suddenly, he felt something piercing through his body. His periwinkle eyes trailed upward in order to search for the person in question. It did not take long for their eyes to meet.
Leaning onto the wall near the entrance to the zone was a boy with wispy black hair that covered one of his eyes. His tan complexion complemented his calculating pink eyes. The tips of his lips were quirked up into the beginnings of a smirk. His arms were crossed over the black windbreaker he adorned. All in all, Akihiko did not enjoy the piercing stare that was being sent his way.
Fluttering around the boy were small, fluorescent butterflies coated in a lavender hue. With each flap of their wings, the illuminant insects allowed small shimmers of light to fall. The pink-eyed teen turned to what seemed to be his partner. He voiced a few words to them before shining them a small smile. Walking briskly, the male stood in front of Akihiko and Hitomi with a scheming aura tainting his small body.
Up close, Akihiko noticed he was about three inches shorter than Tanami but was taller than Hitomi who was jittering beside him. Physically, he was lanky and thin. If he had to fight hand-to-hand with someone, he would definitely lose.
Before the crystal-haired boy could even formulate a sentence in his head, the shorter male spoke. "I was right. You were going to look at me at exactly eleven-forty-eight."
Taking a quick glance at the yellow tinted clock hanging above the entrance to the zone, the hands were pointed at that exact time. He felt his stomach twist at the exactness of the time. The boy must have taken a glance at the clock beforehand, however, Akihiko did not see the male's gaze shift beforehand.
"H-huh?" Hitomi voiced. She tugged at the end of her gummy hair in anxiousness. Lines decorated her forehead in bewilderment as she teetered forward a bit.
Akihiko crooked a brow and suspiciously crossed his arms over his chest. "And pray tell, why did you come this way?"
"Oh?" the black-haired boy raised a hand to his lips in surprise. His mouth was slightly agape as he tilted his head to the left. "You have not noticed yet?"
