Chapter Text
The city glowed beneath them stretching the length of their vision, even with glorious towers kiss the clouds from the height of their seventy-fifth apartment window Osamu and Atsumu had an unstructured view of the vast metropolis they called home, the comforting neon glow that illuminated from the building were in s a stark contrast to the bubbling unease that was developing just be beyond the the glass was of their apartment.
Inside, their living room was decorated with holographic screens protecting complex equations and diagrams of multidimensional theory into the air, the modern minimalist furniture was littered with opened books and documents obscuring every surface available, it was all a testament to their hunger in the pursuit of knowledge. The interior design was overshadowed by the thick layers of tension in the air.
Miya Osamu, a man in his late twenties, was the image of focus and determination. From behind his thin rimmed glasses his deep grey eyes studied the holographic display hovering just above his head, despite the chaos that surrounded him he managed to maintain a sense of order having only discarded the blazer of his crisp dark suit that matched his hair as his fingers danced along the controls, adjusting the variables for his most recent experiment.
Miya Atsumu, his twin, on the other hand maintained a more relaxed and dishevelled appearance as he paced the room. His tousled blonde hair and wrinkled clothes pointed to long nights of unravelling frustration, every so often he'd glance at the seemingly permanent dusk sky with his face a mixture of concern and weariness. Two cups of coffee cold and neglected on the only free surface they had.
Muttering to himself, Osamu’s was barely coherent over the drum of their equipment. “If we're able to just stabilise the quantum resonance we could actually open a dimensional gateway, a stable one hopefully.”
Atsumu paused his pacing, rubbing his temples, the strain of their predicament weighing on every movement. “This all gettin’ to be too much theory and not enough results, the states cracking down on dissent ‘Samu without something tangible I don't know how much longer we'll be able to keep this up.”
Osamu gaze moved from the screens towards his brother, his gaze unwavering. “We can’t give up now, we’re on the precipice of something revolutionary. I know it’s hard but with the state upping the surveillance our research becomes even more crucial but if they find out what we’re working on–”
Atsumu waved him of with a sigh, “they’ll do more than shut us down, they’ll make sure there won’t be a trace of us left, i don’t even want to think about what would happen if they realised we were using their money to finance these experiments.”
moved across the room placing a calming hand on his shoulder, stopping his brother from pacing, “We’re so close Tsumu, we just gotta prove the viability of our theories and we can find a way to fix this, we start rebuilding the world Ma told us about.” he glanced off through the windows. “Or at least give people an option. Better than what he could do anyway.”
It was obvious to Atsumu who Osamu was referring to, their father had left them while they were young with delusions of grandeur planning to leave without a plan break down a system that had been in place for what was nearing a century single handedly. In the end only succeeding to strengthen the resolve of those against his cause, because of the father the twin were were scrutinised higher than most of their peers as they were assumed heretics, granted the scrutiny was correctly placed but they would have a far easier time as would be revolutionaries if their father didn’t so publicly disgrace the Miya name.
And their mother also wouldn’t be deep in hiding, for trying to preserve a dying way of life.
But the twins tried not think too deeply on that, hard may it be.
Atsumu sighed staring out the window of into the city of lights, the neon highlighted his conflicting emotions, “and if we’re wrong?”
His brother sighed, “it’s not like you to be this negative, normally that’s my job.” Osamu’s jest fell flat as the tension in the air became laced with a layer of anxiety, he takes in a breath, “we’re too deep in this to go back now.”
The finality of the statement hung in the air placing itself in their posture weighing on their shoulders as thy returned to their work stations and continued with their work.
—
They knew it was a long shot but when Atsumu found reports of someone selling obsolete device of the magic era they couldn’t ignore it. Their mother had always taught them to trust their instincts and they felt they needed some sort of breakthrough.
They arrived at an estate on the outskirts of the city that was basked in the rare natural light light that was foreign to the the dwellers of the city the manor stood a relic of the a by gone time that was able to reject the encroaching modernity creeping up at the doorstep, though judging by the misuse and neglect there would be little be little value to return it to its former splendour. There was a small crowd gathered for the estate sale, the quiet murmurs and footsteps only highlighted the quiet of the unkempt garden grounds.
The twins made their way through the cluttered collection, tables filled with forgotten trinkets, dusty books and all assortment of oddities. The other consumers, like themselves, had their eyes trained to discover unknowns. Every glance was a mixture of curiosity and scepticism.
Atsumu grazed the table quietly, taking in all his surroundings with eyes laden with fatigue “I'm sure somewhere in this tat there's something worth being here for.”
Osamu ever the more reserved twin remained silent in his glance over the many antiques before him, adjusting his glasses over a brass sextant adores with engravings and words from a time long since past.
“Whatcha got there?” Atsumu asked.
Turning the item, examining the other side, Osamu hummed, “a compass? I think it's broken.”
Peering over the face of the antique it could be seen that the arrow wouldn't stop spinning, but oddly it's most frequent directions had it swinging through the angles the twins were standing.
The blonde scanned over the inscriptions they had a familiarity about the shapes but not anything that could be placed with definition.
Osamu could feel a strange pressure coming from the object as if it was calling them drawing them in. His twin took the from his hand to get a closer look.
“We should take this with us, see if we can decipher the markings.”
Osamu had no objections.
—
The sextant barely cost them anything, the organisers of the estate sale were almost anyone would have picked it up nevermind the amount the twins offered up as their initial bid.
And in all honesty, you could blame them? To the average observer the sextant is completely unremarkable. Nothing more than a forgotten trinket. And after four days of seemingly useless inspection they were inclined to agree.
Osamu, was hunched over trying to find the source of the energy pulsating out of the mechanism, looking for any abnormality that could explain why the device almost sang to them.
Whereas Atsumu was surrounded by books, dictionaries, scrolls on ancient languages, anything he could find that might help him decipher the engravings.
They kept meeting dead ends.
Osamu couldn’t figure out how this object behaved the way it did, by all he could find the device was effectively broken, the arrow spinning between the twin only pausing when one of them was holding it.
And Atsumu, though he’d managed to figure out what the engravings read, discovering the meaning behind the words were where he was floored.
“change the method and the result will remain the same.”
The words make sense; they were strung together and made a perfectly grammatical sentence. But to go to the trouble to engrave it had to be something of significance.
They were both on the verge of giving up, this was a tangent, one they’d hoped would help them with their large goals but with no fruits to bear from their labour it may be time to give it up.
That was until they received communication from the only reason the government hadn’t shut them down yet. Their sponsor, Ojiro Aran officially a public relations official that would often but heads with his higher ups on behalf of the little man, unofficially a budding revolutionary helping fund projects to dismantle current systems using government coin.
His visage appeared on the many screens in the Miya apartment, the lines of his forehead were more prominent than usual, they must have something wrong.
“11k. You spent 11k on a compass?” His voice wasn’t angry, it was tired, disappointed even.
“A sextant.” Osamu corrected.
“Don’t be smart, either way don’t think they haven’t noticed your suspicious spending habits, especially on an item they’re interested in-”
Osamu furrowed his brow, what interest could they have in that broken piece of machinery?
“I’m begging you to be a bit more discreet, I can only hold them off for so long.”
The call cut out.
The twins absorbed what they just heard, it was unfortunate that more pressure was falling on Aran but just the news that government was keeping tabs on the sextant before they had the opportunity to figure out it’s worth was something, it meant they were moving in the right direction.
It gave them an extra drive to continue working. Maybe just maybe they’d get somewhere.
A few minutes passed before a groan escaped the moth of the blonde, he unceromonisaly dropped the textbook to rub his eyes, “i’m taking a break.” knees cracking as he stood, making his way towards the door, “i’ll go insane if i stare at this any longer. I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”
“Cool, one day tell me about whoever it is who has to deal with you when you get like this, i wanna send them flowers.”
The door closed behind the blonde leaving Osamu alone in the apartment with the sextant, he felt like he needed to rest also he was getting nowhere fast and the frustration was boiling over. At this point it wasn’t even clear what they were looking for, Osamu just needed something, anything to happen.
The energy buzzed louder since his brother left, it was like it was calling him, begging him to come closer. It was like an enchanted mechanical whir the voice of machinery wanting nothing more than for him to break it apart and see.
So he did.
He was careful, dismantling the bolt and screws and the call got louder with removal of each bolt, for once it felt like he was moving towards something tangible he became blinded by the idea to the point he didn’t realise how he surrounding were unravelling around him.
Seams of time and space loosened warping the living room revealing things the hidden a moment ago, not that Osamu noticed he was too focused on the sextant to care that his reality shifted, that was until the sensation of cold metal pressed against the side his neck.
The gray haired man froze, the wisest call of action when being held a knife point.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
Osamu peered over his shoulder careful not to let the blade pierce his skin as he did so, he was met with green eyes sharper than any knife. His assailaint had a suprisingly bored expression for someone threatening a life. But those eyes, they looked like the were searching for something but what ever it was it didn’t seem like they found it
“I’ll not ask again,” their voice was dry almost bored, “What do you think you’re doing?”
Osamu wasn’t really sure how to answer, he’d only just started to realise that this was not quite his apartment living room, it was close but something was off, something wasn’t quite the same.
The knife got closer to his next, it seemed he was taking too long to answer. “Um. i’m trying to take this apart?” it came out more a question than anything.
Those sharp eyes glanced over the semi-dismantled sextant, Then back at Osamu. “Where did you get that?”
Another question.
“I bought it.”
Another answer.
They reached an impass, neither really knowing how to move forward from here. Osamu felt the blade shake slightly from how long it had been held there, it wasn’t going be long before it was dropped or the green eyed person took a swing.
But they never got the chance as a gold wisp blew past the specks matrielising to form the image of a girl.
Osamu was fascinated, what kind of technology was this? It was similar to the holograms he was used to but this seemed more real, tangible like this image could effect the world around it and maybe even feel it.
“Rin~ what’s taking you so long?” the sound quality was excellent, devoid of the tinniness often present in even the most hologram calls.
The assailant ‘Rin’ lowered their blade slightly. “I might be done if you didn’t bother me Reiko.”
The girl smiled, the visual imaging technology was so advanced Osamu could see the creases in her features even without his glasses, he could also see the resemblance between the two strangers.
“Yeah well, if you haven’t killed him yet Kita said bring him in.”
‘Rin’ lowered the blade completely and sighed. “Fine.”
A blunt pain course through Osamu, he could feel his vision blurring and before he lost consciousness he noticed just how those green eyes glistened.
—-
He regained consciousness all at once, the light wasn’t as harsh as he was used to the sterile lights of his neon metropolis felt long gone as he was surrounded a warm amber glow similar to fire. Pain panged through his skull as a his vision swelled in and out of focus.
He was thoroughly certain he was no longer in the city, the dark mable stone of the floor was a rare sight and the fabrics that draped the furniture was foreign to he him, from the high ceiling where the light was radiating from seemed to be decorated with glowing symbols not dissimilar to those that were engraved on the sextant.
He hears the dull clink echo through the room looking up to see the persian who had knocked him out though bored their eyes still sharper than blades thief figure hunched but it was to tell they’d tower Osamu if those spindly limbs were anything to go by. He was thankful for the lack of knife in had as ‘Rin’ raised an eyebrow. “You’re awake.”
Just a statement of fact, there was slight disappointment in their tone.
Osamu’s mind was spinning he place and hand to his neck to feel for any remnant of injury from when the knife rested there, “Where am I?”
‘Rin’ doesn’t answer, instead letting their gaze shift to something behind him. Osamu turned following the eyeline to see they weren’t alone here there were three strong figures stood by them in the centre was man with such a commanding precscene, two toned grey and black hair and neutral expression that almost masked the calculating intensity of his eyes.
“Who are you?” Osamu asked gathering more strength in his voice, he watched the side of this strange mans mouth twitch upward ever so slightly.
“I’m Kita Shinsuke, you’ve travelled far Osamu.”
Yes that threw him off, as far he was certain he had never met this man before.
“I apologise if Suna was rough with you, must have been quite the shock.”
Confusion clouded his mind, heard ‘Rin’? ‘Suna’? ‘SunaRin.’ breath out what sound like a laugh, he glanced at them briefly he once again noticed how those green eyes glowed. “I don’t know why you’re so confused, you’ve been researching this haven’t you?” their voice was breathy, Osamu couldn’t help but compare it to bells jangling.
Osamu swallowed hard, he thought back his theories on quantum mechanics and energy manipulation, how his apartment shifted into something similar but not the same.
So he succeeded. Okay.
What now?
Was going back even an option?
“What do you want from me?” the strength faltered slightly.
“The same as you.” Kita said. “To restore a balance. Suna take him to the lab.”
Osamu was promptly dragged out by the collar with little protest.
—-
When Kita mentioned a lab this wouldn’t have been how Osamu pictured it, it was absent of all scientific apparatus he would have expected, not to say it was vacant, there utensils he didn’t recognise, jars and bottles filled with suspicious substances he was fairly certain he’d seen something move.
One of the most curious things was how at ease SunaRin was moving around the space handling the odd substances, mixing them, noting their reactions letting the glow from the concoctions shadow their face.
“You’re staring is really making it hard to focus.”
Osamu blinked out of his unknowing trance, hadn’t realised he was staring but the unfamiliar surrondings and the sight of this person moving through it with effortless ease was both unsettling and captivating.
“Uh, sorry.”Osamu muttered, dragging his eyes along a series of glass containers holding parts he could recognise, gears and wires, they were in such stark contrast to the fantastical nature of everything else. He was trying to come to grips with all the surrealness he’d encountered in the previous 24 hours. He’d gone from the the uncertain safety of his apartment struggling with the sextant on what seemed to be another world? An alternate dimension but either way wherever he has ended up seemed to habour something different than the technology he’d grown used to.
Suna continued to work wordlessly barely acknowleging Osamu aside from the odd glance periodically. The lab smelt slightly metalic and earthy mix with scents for burnt herbs and flora, he began to recognised some of the the arcane symbols scattered around from his own research the closer he looked the symbols that were less familliar to im he noticed the placement, he’d read about the concept of magical wards before but now to see them placed and in use so casually was something he couldn’t quite wrap his mind around.
“You being here is a variable we didn’t account for.” Suna’s voice cut through the silence.
“What do you mean?”
Suna placed down the vial they were currently handling, a smirk rested on their features they were so relaxed and casual Osamu would’ve found it charming if not for the confusion about the situation. “Listen we’ve been on your and your brother's case for a while now-”
Osamu felt rocks sink his stomach.
“-let’s just say neither of our societies are fans all folk being equal,” Suna paused for moment, “magic is inherent in all but the amount you're born with is all you have and if you have below a certain level this world no longer caters to you. And the higher up happen to be putting sanctions on any reseach on science, it would really even the playing field.”
So they were dealing with the exact same problems, “Would you… like me to help?”
Suna smiled. “I’d appreciate that greatly.”