Akihiko makes his way through the sea of black shoulders in the auditorium to attend his graduation ceremony. The whole year has come to this specific moment; a speech about their academic accomplishments before they can pursue higher studies. He'll finally move out of the dorm and get on with his life, figure out his existence, alone.

One second his fingers touch the back of a chair and the next he's clutching his head in pain, and then time stops.

It crystallizes into a single frame, suspended in the void between one heartbeat and the next. His mind is stretched then compressed, lurched sideways then backward at breakneck speed, and the pain is so excruciating he's convinced he's dying.

It fills gaps he could feel but not understand, all related to a phosphorus green hell filled with demons and screams. Akihiko recalls his fists crunching in black shapes, a gun to his forehead, the crackle of lightning singing in his blood, and then it's dominated with red.

The mere idea of that color makes disjointed flashes bubble forth as time reverses course in a nauseating heave, careening his mind finally made whole forward, down memory lane. It's the crimson of water puddles during the Dark Hour, the sanguine of SEES armbands, the dark wine oozing out of a young mother's head wound, a scarlet splash as Polydeuces skewers Castor, then it becomes a pair of scorching rubies.

That one jolts his soul, and the recall slows down. And now he remembers. He remembers everything.

"Mina!"

It's almost the Dark Hour and he's been planning to go on patrol tonight. Akihiko readjusts his black leather gloves, pulling on the seams at his wrists, absently glancing at the command room screen. The cameras are spying on the twins while Mitsuru and Takeba watch, faces and pursed lips lit by the greenish display. Their latest recruit twitches in her seat, visibly frazzled at the privacy breach into other people's lives.

He's no voyeur and this is strictly business; evaluating the potential of their two new residents so they can either transfer them to a new dorm or hopefully bring them into the fold of SEES. More people mean increased efficiency and potentially more invigorating combat just like the good old days.

Akihiko cracks his knuckles hard in both hands, forcing the slick leather to stretch and slide into place comfortably. His knee is twitching again, and he can't wait to go outside and just… move.

While he's been briefed about the incoming twins by Mitsuru in-between classes, it's the first time he lays eyes on the duo of teenagers, and it takes him by surprise. First, they are both in the male twin's room, huddled together on his bed instead of sleeping separately. Second, they're both wide awake and whispering to each other, too low for the camera's microphones to catch anything.

The weirdness of the Dark Hour flows through the building like a curtain, shutting down the electricity, dimming the lightbulbs off and filling the whole dorm in supernatural silence. Mitsuru breaks it with a few clacks of keyboard keys, focusing the camera display closer on the two juniors they're spying on.

They're definitely not coffins.

Their shoulders tensed when the distortion fell on them, but they're not panicking. If anything, this proves they're used to the Dark Hour and its aberration on time and space.

Both twins stop whispering, look around and flicker their eyes in synchrony toward the spying camera. Perhaps it's a trick of the recording in low lighting but their eyes are almost glowing; one blue flicker and two red embers, eerily giving the impression that they're glaring at their observers in accusation.

This must be a coincidence; they can't know we're looking at them.

The quick lookback causes Takeba to shiver, and she brings her arms around herself to rub down her goosebumps. The single blue gleam seems to be directed her way and she can't help but look away, distressed. Mitsuru huffs discreetly, probably feeling the same unease but barely expressing it; she knows how to keep her cool.

There's indeed something unsettling about the spectacle once the twins are not seemingly staring holes into the security camera; the blue-haired teen is staring emptily ahead, from the single orb not covered by his long hair. His sister darts hers around the room and fidgets, eventually settling down to hold her brother's hands in hers. There's a feisty energy in her that her twin lacks; he seems contemplative, indrawn. Yet, they keep waiting, murmuring with lips barely moving, hers more than his.

A contrasting set of siblings to be sure.

"I feel kinda bad, though, spying on them like this…"

Hearing Takeba's unsure voice brings him out of his contemplation at the same time the girl flashes her gaze toward the camera, surprising him. It's like she heard the words, but there's no chance of that, the mic only works one way. Akihiko absently rubs the ribbing between thumb and index to settle his glove further, tapping his foot when

Mitsuru turns her chair around to face the uncomfortable junior.

"It's necessary. Just a few more days as the chairman said, and we shall know for sure if they have the potential."

Takeba doesn't seem convinced, fingers picking at her sweater absently.

"In any case… I'm going out for a bit."

Akihiko has to speak because he can't stand it anymore; this mood is killing him and he really just wants to get out of here. Despite not glancing at the monitor anymore, that pair of red eyes is floating at the back of his mind like something he shouldn't have seen. He's not sure how to gracefully exit and taps his foot nervously, this is awkward.

Raspberry curls just nod in acknowledgement and turn back toward the screen, business-like. If Takeba glances his way when he exits, he doesn't notice, focusing all his attention to stealth while navigating downstairs to the dorm entrance. It wouldn't do to disturb their temporary guests while they're under surveillance and bring him into the mix just yet. Anyways, he has a job to do, and he intends to get to it.

The murky outside, barely lit under a sickly green moon, is empty of movement. Finally free from pretense and decorum, he breaks into a light jog to patrol around, hitching to run into trouble.

This is where he feels alive: moving, fighting, no limits and no rules. No bells to call the fight, no restraints, just pure adrenaline and pumping breaths to challenge himself beyond his limits. When your body is focused on combat, there is no time to think, nothing to ponder or dissect, no feelings to digest, no inner weirdness to second-guess. Just action, just the now, and that is how he wants to keep it.

He turns a corner, and a syrupy sound reverberates across the alley, not too far far away. Akihiko takes his time pinpointing the source and eventually finds a few black blobs making their way out of a connecting pathway shrouded in darkness.

Now you're talking!

His lips curl into a smirk, heart already hammering and electricity coursing through his veins. There's action to be had and he engages the shadows with no forethought, erasing the glowing eyes from his consciousness with a well-placed direct hit on a shadow. He's been waiting for this, all day.