The sun was setting. According to reports, the activity would start up soon. Word on the forums said that near the bird sanctuary in this part of the city was frequented by a massive, unidentified bird, as dark as the night sky. This was the kind of phenomenon Riku enjoyed looking into. His mom worried about him going out at odd hours, but she encouraged his hobby, even if it was one she found odd. "Your father always liked the weird and unexplainable, too," she'd say.

Riku adjusted his baseball cap, and turned on the GoCam clipped and velcroed to the brim. A quick glance at his phone's screen confirmed that it was recording. "This is Azuma Riku, log entry number four-oh-seven. I'm currently looking into stories about a giant bird seen near Hinode Wild Bird Sanctuary. While this is possibly some kind of misidentification of a known species, such as the Japanese golden eagle, reports from witnesses indicate that it may be some unknown phenomenon, such as a UMA or something related to spiritual activity.

"As of this recording, there have been no photographs or recordings of what I will from here on out refer to as the 'Hinode Mystery Bird'." He began moving along the trail. "Hopefully our feathered friend will show up long enough for me to get a good shot of it with my GoCam. If I do, I'll put it up on MeTube and share it on the forum. If not..." Riku sighed. "Then I'm just someone who's going to spend the next two hours or so talking to a camera for nothing."

[hr]

Unbeknownst to the young man, a pair of emerald green eyes were watching him from among a pile of rocks and sand. The creature had been following him for some time, ever since encountering him in what the humans called the "Foo-koo-ee Prefecture". He was odd by human standards, but he was looking into weird phenomena all the time, phenomena that the creature was related to. Maybe there was a chance this Riku bloke could help him out.