Akihiko's POV:

Drumming my fingertips in a rhythmic pattern against the wooden surface of the bulky desk I sat at, I frustratingly skimmed through the small printed words on the paper in front of me. I read incoherent sentences as the terms blended together, or at times, I reread the same lines repeatedly. Or I would skip a few lines and confuse myself because they would not make sense.

I narrowed my eyes, glaring lightly at the letters I could not make left or right of. Releasing a sigh through my nose, I shook my head. I ignored the feeling of curled yet fluffy hair brushing against my cheek rather than a strip of rugged yet sleek crystal.

I twirled the pen in my other hand, shifting it through my fingers to keep myself occupied with something. I had been sitting here for about thirty minutes with no progress to show for it. At this rate, I did not believe I would be any closer to getting any of this paperwork complete. As much as I wanted to complete this, it seemed like it was not my main priority since it was not getting done.

Despite receiving Taiji's Quirk, Memorize, I could not seem to put it to full use with these papers because I could not even get through them. For the most part, I was memorizing bits and pieces of sentences that trailed off like a broken record. Not helpful at the moment. I had half a mind to jot down the slivers of information just to erase them from my brain since they were no use to me. For a split second, I expected to feel a harsh slam collide with the side of my skull, but nothing of the sort occurred.

Pressing the end of the pen to my bottom lip, my brows furrowed together in thought. Did I ask Taiji if he has had any random thumps against his head? I do not think I have. I should have brought that up the next time I saw him. It was safer to ask rather than to assume.

After a few more failed attempts at reading, I allowed the pen to slip out of my grasp. I tried not to pay attention to the short thud of it colliding with the desktop. It bounced a few times, rolling itself into a circle before slowly coming to a halt. My gaze stayed on the pen, watching the light bounce off the metal tip for a few moments. I shifted my attention back to the stack of papers, feeling as if their very presence was mocking me in such a way for not working on them.

After agreeing with my twin to come to Aru, this scenario was the least likely situation I could have imagined. Granted, such an occurrence would not even be fathomed by any student who had come along. So far, things were all right with the sudden Quirk swap. As all right as such a thing could be when the Quirk that you have been honing for so long was ripped out of you and handed to someone else like pocket change. Not to mention that some mutation Quirks made it hard to recognize who was who immediately.

I was embarrassed to admit that it was hard to even realize that Tanami would be standing next to me. It was easy to find and distinguish one another through our appearance. How many people could say that they had hair crafted of amethyst? Not many. It was easy to know the vague position of my sister just by seeing the streak of lavender flash in my peripheral vision. That was no longer the case as both of our hair was now dull and fluffy rather than shiny and sleek. Not to mention that our skin was not as translucent, nor did we have diamond-shaped irises but normal circular ones instead.

I stopped tapping, stilling my fingers above the desk's surface. How did this even happen in the first place? Everyone woke up one day with Quirks swapped, but that is not something that occurred without reason. Something must have triggered it. No, something had to have triggered it. But what exactly was it, and how to reverse it? I have no idea and have no clue as to where to start looking. Perhaps I should take this up with Rocket? We may be able to come up with a vague idea. Or go in circles. Either one could happen.

My eyes glanced over to the desk adjacent to my own. Where is Rocket anyway? I saw him earlier during breakfast, but then he disappeared after Tanami had tugged me away about a phone call that had come in. Should I look for him? We do need to discuss the topic. But he and Koto could be together, helping each other out. Illuse and Muted Medium are not the easiest of Quirks to deal wi–

A sharp squeal resonated from the auric hinges of the door that stood before me. Slightly tilting my head up, I caught the greyish strike of dimmed light. Stepping inside the office, Taiji lifted his now crystallized hand with a deadpan expression written over his features.

"Remind me again as to how I get this off?"

I withheld the urge to sigh in exasperation. I wished for this whole swap to end soon. It needed to end quickly. I was not too sure how long everyone's sanity would hold out. Pushing the chair back, I stood and swerved around the desk. I gestured with my hand for him to come forth as I rested my lower back against the edge of the wood. "What happened?"

"Koto and Tami keep handing me glass cups," the teenager pointed at his obsidian hair that still adorned that spiked-up hairstyle he had. "You think they would notice the crystal hair before handing me something made of glass. You and your sister are easy to spot no matter where you are in the room. The two of you are fairly easy to spot even before you enter a room because of the lavender glow your hair emits."

"Obsidian is not a bright crystal when compared with other gemstones. It lacks luster similar to that of lapis lazuli. Also, it is a gem crafted mainly of volcanic residue. Although it has a bit of a glassy texture, its dark color does not allow light to filter through the inclusions of the crystal as well as amethyst or diamond. It will give off certain streaks when light hits it at a specific angle, but it will not be as bright or noticeable as one would think. Perhaps the place you stand whenever they hand you a cup is where light does not flow as well as standing in a different spot? Have you tried standing next to a window where light enters?" I explained while crossing my arms over my chest.

Once again, Taiji raised his ruby-coated hand, and I did not flinch when crimson flashes invaded my vision. "As much as I appreciate a lesson in geology, I would like a reminder on how to get this off. I would like to use my hand again without the fear of breaking or scratching something."

"Oh, right," I blinked twice, realizing I ended up going on a tangent about gemstones. It was not my intention to run off on the topic but something I tended to rant on without noticing.

"First things first, although I do not believe you are nervous, it would be best for you to try to stay calm still." Drawing near him, I pressed my fingertips together and motioned for Taiji to do the same. "Now, imagine fractures running through the crystal, slowly pulling the inclusions apart."

A few seconds after I finished speaking, my ears picked up the sound of glass cracking with loud clunks every now and then. As I had instructed, thin, jagged lines started threading through the ruby. Crimson shards slid off, hitting the ground with sharp clinks. A minute or so passed by before the entirety of the gemstone collapsed onto the floor. Although they were shiny, the shards seemed to lose a bit of their brilliance while lying pitifully.

The edges of Taiji's lips tipped upward in a smile as he breathed out in relief. "I need to stop accepting glass cups from Koto and Tami."

"Perhaps it would be easier to ask for paper cups? Or ask before they give you anything? Or not grab it at all? Just a thought, unless you wish to have crystallized hands all day. Though if I did not have a fun time with that when I was young, you would have an even worse time than I did."

Swiping the chair from Rocket's desk, the teenager instantly plopped himself down on it. He propped his arm on the armrest and rested his cheek on his knuckles. "Tell me about it. I want this whole Quirk thing to be over. As much as I find your Quirk interesting, I don't find the notion of turning every single glass or mirror that I touch into crystal. I don't even have the thought of a gemstone in my head, and the next thing I know, there's a gemstone."

"Not to mention all of the crystals you have made so far are an eight and up in the Mohs scale. It would be easy to break if it was a four. Or talc. Talc is very weak," I suggested with a weak shrug. "I do not have any advice as to not crystallizing things. Think of talc."

"So chalk? That seems plausible if I concentrate hard enough. It's easy to scrape off, so there's no hassle of breaking it off with my mind when I need to. I do want my Quirk back, in any case. No offense to you, but I loathe your Quirk. You use rock polish for your hair. Rock polish." The last of Taiji's words turned airy as he stressed his point.

"You think I like using shampoo? It feels weird. Besides, between my Quirk and Tanami's, Kimbi got the short end of the stick–"

I halted my words before I could even finish my sentence. I watched with mild concern as I saw Taiji flinch. One of his hands reached up toward his head, but he stopped himself halfway from doing so. I guessed that he was going to rub his temple or the side of his head. Well, that answered my earlier question that I was thinking about. But why would he feel a thud at this moment?

All of a sudden, I was barely able to pick up the sound of footsteps rapidly hitting the ground. I tilted my head toward the door the second it slammed open. The golden door knob banged against the cream-colored wall harshly from the amount of force applied. Unwillingly, I flinched from the loud noise but mostly from hoping that the wall was not dented. However, that does not seem like the thing I should be worried about now.

Resting his hand on the frame, Akiba did not even bother to brush away the few black strands that fell into his silver eyes. "There's a hostage situation downtown. A few of us are already down there, plus the ones out patrolling. Suki called and said they're trying to diffuse the situation, but it doesn't seem like negotiations are going smoothly. I don't like the idea, but mostly everyone is on board with the 'charge in' strategy."

"That is not the brightest of strategies." Taiji pushed himself off of the chair and straightened himself up. "And it definitely is not a good idea to charge into a hostage situation without knowing whether or not the hostages are in danger."

"No, charging blindly without knowing the situation inside is a terrible idea. We need to know the hostages' situation inside. We cannot risk the lives of those inside because we got impatient. In cases like these, playing the waiting game and creating a plan is the better way. Do we know who the hostages are?" Hopping off the desk, I placed my hand on my hip.

"For what we heard in the background, a father and his daughter. We could make out other muffled voices, but we're not so sure how many in total," Akiba stated with a slightly unsure tone. "I want to say possibly eight since it's a small jewelry shop. But again, I'm not entirely sure."

Immediately, my lips pulled into a frown. "Of course, it's a jewelry shop. It's always a jewelry shop. Then, who is our best bet in talking over negotiations?"

"Wouldn't it be you?" Taiji gestured in my direction. "Either you or Blake. He knows about business, and I don't hold him in a bad light, but the business course students will pry and pry with everything they've got. But you're calmer and technically go to a school where you learn detective work."

Wrapping his knuckles against the wooden frame, Akiba glanced away briefly in thought. "Why not both? If the person holding those civilians hostage wants a ransom in exchange for those people, most of us students are broke."

"So you're saying you want to use Blake for his money?"

"No," the silver-eyed male replied swiftly. "I didn't say it. I only implied it. Blake has more experience concerning money, and you have more experience negotiating. On top of that, you're our representative."

"How about we stop wasting time and devise a plan before the two of you get into an argument? I'd rather not throw insults around, especially to those we dorm with." Taiji tilted his head, lightly glaring at the two of us to stop.

"Right we have other problems to deal with. We have a duty to this island, after all. We cannot waste any more time with this conversation."

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I ground my teeth together in frustration as I tried my best not to allow a breath of irritation to filter through the phone I was speaking into. Pursing my lips together, I hurriedly tapped my finger against the map spread out against the small table we placed outside the jewelry shop. As I lifted my hand away, Taiji marked a small 'X' near the rectangle that symbolized a window on the large sheet. At the same time, I could hear the hushed whispers of Akiba saying commands over his communication device.

My eyes flicked up to the roof of the building to where Gabi and Rose were. I could barely make out the sight of Rose's ear twitching and her lips moving. Pressing her index finger to her lips, Gabi signaled for the other to quiet down. Diverting my attention elsewhere, Kimbi and Sakura crept into the small alleyway to the left.

The black-haired teenager harshly slammed her hand downward, and Kimbi tugged the navy blue hood over her eyes. The smooth strands of brilliant white agate were hidden from view.

Standing at either side of the entrance, Suki and Rocket pressed their bodies to the firm surfaces of the building. One looked more nervous than the other as they both nodded at different intervals and spoke with hushed voices. The male kept his fingers laced together while Suki's fists seemed to stay near her chest.

Some of us had created a makeshift station where we were close enough to make a move if necessary but far enough to not seem like an immediate threat. The tent shielded the sun from above us while police cars were positioned in front of us in horizontal positions in case an attack was thrown in our direction.

Feeling a tap on my shoulder, I slightly turned my head. Drawing near my ear, Blake spoke in a hushed whisper while pressing a finger on his communication device. Most likely to make sure that his voice was muted. "Everyone's in their place. The only 'melee' people we have on hand are Rose and Suki Quirk-wise, but everyone else has a restraining, disruption, or protection type of Quirk. Everyone else and the police have sealed off all the nearby roads and alleyways in case this guy manages to slip out of our grasp. If necessary, we can send everyone in with one word from Akiba. But you're the one who makes the call depending on whether we can get through to this maniac."

I nodded, unable to speak because any wrong word could set off the abductor. Motioning to my mouth and pressing my lips shut, I firmly swipe my thumb across my neck. The blue-haired male pointed back to the phone and gestured forward. He mouthed, 'get him talking.'

Fluttering my eyelids shut, I rolled the tension out of my shoulders and tried to dismiss the bead of sweat trickling down my jaw. "How many people do you have trapped in there?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" a low and raspy voice seeped out of the speaker, followed by the sound of a short chuckle. "Does it matter? They'll be dead soon."

"And why is that? Why do those bystanders have to be involved in the crossfire?"

A short hum could be heard, and a loud tapping trickled after. I knew that sound because I was very familiar with it. It was the sound of glass shattering and muffled screams in the background. "Bystanders, accomplices, does it make a difference? More like they were in the wrong place at the wrong time? Or did fate lead them straight to the grim reaper? Who knows? Such misfortune, don't you think? Not that a child like yourself would understand. A bunch of wannabe Heroes could never understand."

"What do you want exactly? If you want money, we can certainly hand you a ransom in exchange for those lives." I forced my voice to keep steady, eyes boring into the veiled windows. "We can come to a compromise?"

"You think I want money? To hell with your Yen!" Long and breathy laughter vibrated within my eardrums. It was so high in volume that I had to pull the phone away from my ear for a couple of seconds. It was worse for Blake, who had pressed his hand over his mouth and screwed his eyes shut because he could not risk removing the communication device from his ear. "Worthless sheets of paper with words on, it is none of my concern! You should have just stayed home, kid. You know nothing."

I tapped my finger against the case of the phone. "Indulge my curiosity then? Why barricade yourself in a jewelry shop with civilians inside? I am only asking for a reason because that specific shop carries a necklace with painite stones. Painite is very expensive and the most valuable piece in that store."

"Value? Expensive? What a bore? Everything is boiled down to money, isn't it? You live to work, live to get money to survive. Can't live without it. I'm not interested in these things. This jewelry you seem so knowledgeable about. No, no, I'm here for a certain person."

"Do you intend to murder this person?"

"Your voice is trembling. Worried, or are you shaking from cowardice? Come on, aren't you Heroes supposed to save the day? Or are all of you too weak to do anything? Is this supposed to be the next generation of Heroes? Pathetic if you asked me."

"Who is this person? What have they exactly done to you?"

Short chuckles trickled out of the speakers. They were filled with amusement. As if I told a joke rather than asking a serious question. "Why it is our dear Mayor Mana, silly child. Who else is worthy of being slain by yours truly. Isn't it obvious that the highest-ranking person on this island be granted a fitting death around such wealth? You said it yourself. Painite is certainly expensive."

My grip tightened around the phone, nails digging into the side of the black case. If it was not made of plastic, I was sure indents would be left behind. My gaze darted over to meet Blake's stunned one. In an instant, the blue-haired male grabbed a pen and scribbled down the newly found information. I did not need to turn around to see everyone's expressions.

"Have I cured your curiosity? Or are you too scared to speak now? Either one is fine. I could care less about what you think. Whatever light you see me in is the farthest of my worries."

"Is it now? Why make such a spectacle if you do not care what others think?" Taking the pen out of Blake's grasp, I quickly wrote down my first thought and held it up to Koto.

Can Rocket illuse a warning to those inside even if he can't pinpoint precisely where the abductor is?

Pondering for a few seconds, Koto lifted her hands and signed, 'with the experience he has so far? I don't think so. The best he can do is illuse a harsh sound that isn't ear-bleeding if you want to incapacitate the abductor. Echolocation is too advanced for him now, and I doubt he could pull it off, let alone having Illuse for a couple of days."

"What if we have Kaito use Transmute?" Vivi commented while drawing her finger across the map. "If the dimensions are correct as stated here, it can work."

"We're back at the problem that he can't pinpoint where the abductor is. The windows and anything used to look inside have been covered with something. Rocket using Illuse is probably our best bet if we want to distract him." Taiji gestured with his head toward the entrance where Rocket and Suki stayed.

"You want a distraction and everyone to go in at once? Isn't it too risky with our current situation?" Akiba stated as he glanced over in my direction. He pressed his lips straight as wrinkles were drawn across his forehead. "But we have no choice, do we?"

Shaking his head, Blake pinched the bridge of his nose. "The guy is playing us. Everything Akihiko says is either twisted or turned into a question. He isn't listening to reason and refuses to compromise. I'm not sure how long Akihiko can even keep him entertained at this point. Unless anyone else can think of a different idea that doesn't have a high death rate?"

No one spoke. None of us have any experience dealing with situations like these. If any of us were Pros, Heroes with high rankings, perhaps this person would not be playing with us. We are inexperienced in his eyes and, thus, easy to persuade and manipulate.

"Muted Medium..." Akiba suddenly whispered. "A ghost can say how many people are inside and tell us where the abductor is. Rocket can pinpoint where the guy is and illuse around him rather than the hostages. It'll allow the people positioned outside to barge in, restrain, and protect. That works. That can work."

"Great idea, but this one is currently deaf at the moment! Write it down first, tonto! But that works! " Vivi grinned before grabbing a sheet of paper. She wrote down what was needed before shoving it in Koto's face.

The moment the orange-haired girl finished reading, she buried her face in her hands before releasing a groan. She shifted her hands into different positions with rough intent. 'I hate this swap! I forgot I could ask Cleo or Jack to go inside! Neither gave me the idea either! Edison is who knows where! I think he found some old friends or something because we definitely could have used him! You think I would realize!'

"No one likes this. We could have had this situation settled faster if we didn't have to account for everyone being inexperienced." Taiji glanced at the shop, taking in everyone visible.

"What's the hold-up, kid? Don't wanna talk anymore? Have you gotten cold feet?"

"Well, you never answered my question."

Koto's eyes shifted, and she stilled, listening to whatever ghost she had asked to go and investigate. 'Eleven in total. Three workers, seven customers, and the abductor. He's about four feet away from the main entrance. The rest of the citizens have been placed at the back of the store. His Quirk seems to be the manipulation of metal. He used the metal of the jewelry to subdue the civilians.'

I mouthed to Akiba 'go' and parted my lips to speak into the phone. "Are you going to answer me?"

As soon as Akiba's voice filtered through the communication devices with instructions, the ones we sent around the building acted. Rose brought her large tail down on the hatch high above on the roof. The sound of metal breaking resonated across the street. Once the crumpled piece of metal crashed into the store, Gabi spread open her palms, and bulky vines slipped free from her wrists and slid inside. At the same time, Rocket shut his eyes, and vibrations of violin strummed into existence. They lasted for a few seconds before halting. Meanwhile, with enhanced strength, Suki had broken through the entrance and rushed inside.

Although I could not see them, I was sure something similar was happening with Sakura and Kimbi.

Noises of struggle and Quirks colliding with one another echoed across the street, leaving the rest of us wondering what was occurring. The most we could do is stay put unless the man suddenly slipped through, and he would have to deal with us. Then, the fighting came to a stop.

Static vibrated through the speaker of the phone. I waited with bated breath, wondering if this plan had succeeded. The static instantly halted, and I was greeted with silence. I allowed my mind to wander to the worst-case scenario for a few seconds.

"Hey, Akihiko," I nearly dropped the phone in relief. Sakura's voice was the one on the other side. "Abductor is secured. For the most part, everyone doesn't seem to have any lethal or external injuries. It would be best for an EMT to look them over anyway."

Before I could even utter a word, Blake had beat me to it. "The civilians are safe! So is the mayor! They succeeded! We did it!"

The next thing I knew was that my ears were flooded with the sound of cheering coming from everyone around me. It worked out. Everything worked out.

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Once everyone was escorted outside the shop, an obsidian veil covered the sky. Sparkles of white were dotted across the dark curtain as the crescent moon hung in the center. The light emitted from the moonlight felt strangely comforting after all the stress that had fallen upon us today. I do not envy those on the night shift today.

"I never want to do that phone call ever again," I said as I walked in sync with Blake toward a specific ambulance. My hands were shoved into the pockets of the grey jacket I grabbed earlier before rushing out. "Or if I do, it better be when we all have our respected Quirks."

"Tell me about it. I was the one listening in on the conversation. You were the one talking. He spoke so weirdly too. Kind of creepy the way he was treating you and the rest of us. It's just... ugh..." the male responded as he rubbed the sides of his head with his index and middle fingers. "I can feel a headache coming on."

The two of us arrived at the ambulance that we picked out of all the rest that were attending citizens. Two paramedics were fretting over Mayor Mana. Whether they were asking questions about their health or attempting to hand the mayor another blanket or water, it seemed like the mayor was not given a second to breathe.

"Mayor Mana, excuse our interruption, but we just wanted to ask some questions. The police don't want to release their statements to us until it's in their system, and we'd like to have everything on record," Blake asked as he smiled softly at the mayor.

Their head perked up, an expression of fear laced over their face. Their ram ears flattened against their head for a moment, which would have been strange under normal circumstances. During the initial swap, Mayor Mana and Kita were the pair who had switched Quirks unlike the rest of us. It took a moment for me to be completely sure that was the Mayor given the addition of curled golden horns and coiled ringlets framing their face.

The initial terror flicering through their eyes softened after realizing we were no threat. "Chrysalis, Argent, yes... yes, of course. Ah, I visited the jewelry shop because Switch asked me if I could get a chain for a silver bracelet fixed for Toki. She mailed it to me since she still feels the Quirk Flu's effects. Switch informed me that Toki had slipped, and the chain caught onto something after getting dizzy a few days ago.

"She might be coming down with something, and on top of that, her favorite bracelet was broken as well? The fact would sadden her, especially since the bracelet is near and dear to her. Her grandfather gifted it to her."

My eyebrows furrowed together as I felt my forehead wrinkle. "Toki is sick? I thought she wasn't affected by the Quirk Flu?"

"She isn't," Mayor Mana shook their head. "But being in a household with parents that still have symptoms of a normal cold, it would make sense that she would fall ill, correct?"

"Yes, that seems to be the case. Forgive me for asking such a dumb question." I smiled as I spoke despite it being a tad bit forced.

Although I had spoken those words, I could not help but feel that was not the case? Did those without Quirks get the regular flu even though those with Quirks would have the Quirk Flu? I did not pay attention to the rest of the conversation between Blake and Mayor Mana, lost in my thoughts.

I almost felt relieved when Blake asked the same question I had been thinking about. It seemed like I was not the only one who considered the scenario suspicious.

Author's Note:

Character Spotlight: Akihiko Mochizuki
Book: Plus Minus One
Original Quirk: Reflective Crystallization 
Current Quirk: Memorize

Artwork by Juni_Penguin_