The morning dragged on at a crushingly slow pace.
Reiji was sitting in his classroom, his cheek resting on his hand, his gaze lost among the scribbles in his notebook. The teacher kept talking at the front of the room, writing formulas on the blackboard, but Reiji's mind was elsewhere.
A few days had passed since his encounter with Hawks, and so far, neither Hawks nor the feeling of being watched that occasionally accompanied him had appeared. He knew it was only temporary, and he'd been continuing to practice over the past few days.
Above all, he was trying to use his Quirk precisely for simple things like picking up the pencil that had just fallen by twirling it around his finger; the task was carried out with so difficulty but successfully in the end.
When he looked up, a figure passed by the third-floor window. Quick. Light. No one else seed to notice, but Reiji did. He leaned forward a little more, and his gaze fell on a boy with tousled blond hair and dark glasses.
Hawks.
He was flying at an angle that only Reiji could see, or at least, that's what he realized when he saw how the teacher continued teaching his class as usual and the rest of his classmates remained attentive.
'I still have so much to learn...'
Reiji didn't ask how he had gotten there. Or why. He simply understood. They had finally made contact with him.
The bell signaling the end of class rang shortly after, and the room erupted into murmurs and movent. When he looked again, Hawks had vanished.
Without saying a word, Reiji grabbed his backpack, stepped out into the hallway, and turned toward the back stairs. Leaving behind all his classmates who wanted to strike up a conversation with him.
He figured Hawks would find him no matter where he went, so he decided to head for one of the less-traveled ergency exits. His school was quite large, and that was an advantage in situations like this.
It only took a few seconds for a pair of red wings to co into view, as if he'd simply gotten lost on a stroll.
"Did you know that pigeons have a better sense of direction than many humans?" Hawks said, with a carefree smile. As if what he was doing wasn't blatantly illegal.
Entering an educational facility without authorization, planning to kidnap a student, recruit him into an organization operating outside the law, blackmail him with his family's safety… And that was just the short-term plan.
But neither of them seed bothered by it.
Reiji looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Did you bring here for so bird trivia?"
"It could be worse," Hawks said, turning with a crooked smile. "I could have asked you to write a lengthy, multi-page report."
Reiji's eye twitched; his carefree and slightly comical personality didn't seem suited to the kind of work he had to do.
"What do you want to show ?"
"Sothing you won't learn in this place," Hawks replied, already walking toward the exit. "I promise to bring you back before lunch."
Reiji followed him without further questions. He was already part of this, and he had the feeling that refusing would result in tragedy. Still, he wanted to make one thing clear.
"You'd better. I don't want anyone in my family to find out what's going on."
Hawks just turned halfway around and spread his wings.
"As long as you don't resist too much, that part is settled."
***
"You know… what does it an to be a hero?"
After escaping, they had walked in silence until they were far from the school where Reiji studied. They walked in silence, so the question caught Reiji a little off guard.
Still, he simply looked at Hawks. It was a question he often asked himself, not because he didn't know what it ant, but rather because the concept in this world and in his other world was sowhat different.
"A person willing to sacrifice themselves for others." In any case, he answered based on the perspective he'd gained in his forr world. In a world where heroes as such don't exist, it was easier to have a perspective free of fanaticism.
"That's a clearer answer than I expected," he remarked with a smile, as if every ti Reiji acted, it surprised him. After all, Reiji was still only eight years old.
"What's that supposed to an? Is it part of your secret organization's attempt to recruit ?"
"Not really. What I have to show you, though…"
Hawks walked beside him with his hands in his pockets. His steps were relaxed, almost carefree. Reiji just glanced at him out of the corner of his eye and kept walking; Hawks' behavior, whether it was orders or not, was unpredictable.
They walked a little longer until they stopped at a dead-end side alley. At the far end, a sliver of artificial light flickered through a half-open door.
"Do you know where we are?"
They paused for a mont, just before crossing.
"In the Adachi district. Why?"
Reiji raised an eyebrow at the sudden question as his gaze drifted down the alley beside him, knowing that whatever he was doing, he was at the end of that alley.
"Exactly, the district with the lowest cri rate in Tokyo. Though I suppose you already know that—or else your family wouldn't live around here."
Reiji nodded slowly; he knew that perfectly well. After the incident that awakened his Quirk, his parents had tried to spend more ti in this district precisely because it was one of the safest areas in the country, with a cri rate of 0.5%.
Precisely for that reason, there were a fair number of heroes in this area—not particularly renowned ones, but rather, a training ground for rookie heroes. As he thought about it, Reiji quickly realized how strange the situation was.
"It's all a facade, isn't it?"
Hawks smiled with a touch of pride and motioned to Reiji to keep quiet. The boy nodded, and they turned to enter the alley and approach the half-open door.
They peeked in with ease, but seeing that the caras supposedly monitoring this area were turned off, he assud they must be getting more help. Either that, or Hawks was just too good at what he did and Reiji hadn't noticed yet.
"…You know how it goes, right? A couple of photos, you stop , I act surprised. In two weeks we'll do it again in another neighborhood."
A hero. He'd seen him before on the local news. On the other side, a guy with a torn jacket, yellow teeth. They spoke in hushed tones. But not quietly enough.
"Try not to act as badly as last ti. The press noticed."
The hero laughed at his accomplice as he handed him a wad of bills.
"Yeah, yeah, it's just that I'm running out of transformations. It's not easy to act like a different person every ti."
"That's not my fucking problem."
The hero turned and started walking toward the exit, adjusting his cape with a practical smile, as if he'd just given a motivational speech. The other guy stayed behind, counting the money as if nothing had happened.
Hawks said nothing and grabbed Reiji's wrist to take off toward the building's rooftop, avoiding being seen by the hero who left the place with a serene expression.
Reiji waited for the hero to get even further away before starting to speak.
"You brought here to change my worldview, didn't you?" he asked, cutting to the chase—he knew perfectly well what the Japan Public Safety Commission, the organization Hawks worked for, was all about.
"No, your worldview is exactly what we need. Instead, this is why we do what we do the way we do it."
"Are you going to get to the point?"
Hawks didn't answer right away.
"A hero is exactly what you say—soone who sacrifices themselves for others. That's the view society needs to have of them to keep the public calm." The hero gazed into the distance, where he was being greeted with excitent by so civilians, posing for a photo. "Do you know how disastrous it would be if ordinary people found out about this?"
The silence stretched between them like a taut rope.
"Your job is to clean up the heroes' image, and soon it will be my job."
A sincere laugh escaped Hawks' lips.
"You hit the nail on the head," he said at last, in a soft voice. "My job—or what I'm training for, and if you pass the tests, it will be yours too—is to keep society as calm as possible. I don't just an the Heroes. Anything that threatens Japanese society, I have to eliminate it no matter the cost."
Reiji kept his gaze fixed, his brow barely furrowed.
"I'm not like you," Hawks continued, turning to get a better look at him. "I wasn't born knowing what was wrong with this world. It took years to understand it—even with a pretty rough childhood—and I'm still not sure. But for you… all it takes is a minute and a couple of facts. You have sothing different from the rest, even setting aside your dual gift."
"And what does that say about ?"
"That you have an innate talent they want to exploit, and that makes you even more dangerous. The truth is, you don't have many options. Either you resist and they force you, or you don't resist and they don't force you."
Reiji lowered his gaze. Thinking about Hawks' words, he was clearly right. Even so, his decision had already been made.
"And what are you supposed to do now that you see this? You knew this beforehand; that's obvious." Reiji spoke again after weighing his words. He changed the subject slightly to gather more information.
"I know you know without telling you." The smile of confidence and assurance on his face made Reiji relax a little; despite being in a shadowy organization, Hawks was a trustworthy man. Back to his 15- or 16-year-old self.
"Confirm the suspicion, gather evidence… That's what you do now," he muttered.
Hawks smiled respectfully. Before he could speak, Reiji expanded on his initial idea.
"Stopping him now might an missing the chance to capture a bigger fish, right?"
This ti, Hawks looked more surprised.
"Exactly. It's not as simple as this hero paying the villain; it's also the people involved who let him go free. The police, the witnesses, the courts, and politicians. A network like this is unsustainable for just two people."
Hawks looked down at the alley below, then looked up again.
"The Public Hero Safety Commission is responsible for unraveling all of that, and I'm in charge, no matter the cost." He had finally revealed it. Reiji looked at him for a second, seeming sowhat surprised by the organization involved.
"The Commission isn't looking for child prodigies, Reiji. There are plenty of those. It's looking for individuals with judgnt. With that strange mix of empathy and toughness that makes them useful… Dangerous… Efficient. And most importantly, who have a part of that darkness inside them. These are things even All Might himself can't do."
Hawks let out a slight sigh.
"They've been watching you. You have the sa drive as your sister, but you've suppressed it… We can help you with that. We can train you and make you a great hero. Those guys have plenty of free ti and resources—it's not just empty talk."
Reiji looked up.
"Is this a formal offer?"
"No," said Hawks, without looking back. "Nothing is formal with these guys, but if you're in, they can change your life… And personally, that's what I recomnd. I like you, and you already know what'll happen if you refuse… I don't think your life and your family's are a fair price for your freedom—at least not right now."
Reiji nodded, confirming he'd understood the ssage.
"Now that that's said, let's get out of here. It's almost noon, and you can't stay here all day—keeping a low profile is one of the obligations you'll have."
Hawks grabbed Reiji's wrist again, and the two of them went down from the building to the street, blending in without much trouble among the sparse traffic in the area.
"Oh, by the way…" he said as he pulled a small folded envelope from inside his jacket. "Call this number when you're ready. It'll change your life in many ways, but I think it's a good path. You want to protect your sister, don't you?"
Reiji looked at him, sowhat puzzled.
"This is the best way, believe . I'm not saying this as a part-tir; I'm saying it as an acquaintance."
Reiji took it carefully.
"See you soon, serious guy. Go back the sa way you ca. Oh, and if anyone asks… Yeah, you skipped class today on your own."
And with a slight flutter of his feathers, he vanished, flying through the streets in broad daylight. Although using his Quirk without permission was illegal, it was highly unlikely that soone like Hawks didn't have one, so it didn't matter.
Reiji was left alone. He held the piece of paper with a number he was determined to call, but not now… He looked out at the streets and sighed.
The walk back would be long.
But no longer than the journey he had just begun.
***
The school cafeteria buzzed with the constant murmur of students, clattering trays, scraping chairs, and overlapping conversations that filled the space in a chaotic jumble.
Reiji sat down calmly, placing his tray on an empty table, choosing a spot away from the crowd to avoid as much contact as possible.
Though it didn't take them long to find him.
"Ah, there you are!"
The voice ca a second before the touch. A pair of arms wrapped around his neck from behind, leaning naturally against him.
Reiji didn't even stop chewing.
"Hi, Himiko"
She plopped down beside him as if that seat belonged to her by right. Her uniform was slightly rumpled, her backpack was loosely closed, and her hair was damp, still dripping from so of the ends.
"You missed my gym class," she remarked, settling in more comfortably as she opened her own lunch. "And I even made sure to look my best so you could see how beautiful I am."
Reiji barely glanced at her.
"I didn't know we were in the sa class. Let remind you, you're two grades ahead of ."
Himiko puffed out her cheeks, but didn't look away.
"I know perfectly well that you skipped class today," he said bluntly. "Where did you go?"
"For a walk."
"Did you skip class?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"I was hungry, so I went to buy sothing."
She looked at him, analyzing every inch of his face. As if she were waiting for a crack. A sign of a lie.
"I don't believe a word of it," she said in a sweet tone, just before biting his shoulder with a force that made him wince.
"Hey!" Reiji complained, pushing her away with a light nudge. "What are you doing?"
"If you don't tell , I'll bite you," she declared with the most absurd solemnity. "I have the whole lunch to get the truth out of you with bites, so you better cooperate."
He sighed, rolling his eyes. Still, he smiled.
"It's not important."
"Is soone bothering you, or does sothing hurt?"
"Do you really think I'd let that happen?"
Reiji looked like soone more likely to be the victim than the agressor, and thanks to his regeneration, he rarely felt pain, and when he did, it faded quickly.
She stared at him as if she wanted to pierce him with her gaze. Then she pursed her lips. Biting his shoulder again, this ti, Reiji only made a small grimace.
"Do you really have to do that?"
She didn't answer. She just bit him again, a little harder.
"Hey! Do you really want to lie to you just to get you to let go?"
Nothing. He just got another bite, this ti a really hard one, and he frowned.
"Okay! I'll tell you... I just didn't want to ruin the surprise," Reiji said as he stepped back and rubbed his shoulder, while his healing ability nded it in seconds. anwhile, Himiko's eyes sparkled.
"Surprise?! What surprise?!" she said in a much more cheerful voice, a radiant smile on her face.
"Your birthday is coming up, so just wait until then. I'll really get mad if you force to tell you."
Reiji stared at her with a frown, acting annoyed at having to 'reveal' his master plan. Though the real annoyance was that now he'd actually have to do sothing big for his Himiko's birthday—even though he would've done it anyway.
"My little brother! I adore you! You're the best thing in life! I hope you never part ways with your big sister!" As expected, the over-the-top Himiko, who never held back when it ca to showing her love for Reiji, pulled him into a tight hug and began shouting her strange affection for her little brother at the top of her lungs.
So people at nearby tables turned to look at the pair, but a single glance from Reiji was enough to keep them from interfering. Inevitably, they were quite well-known for Himiko's behavior, but Reiji made sure no one spoke ill of Himiko; they had a sowhat strange reputation.
After a while, Himiko moved a little closer, her voice now barely a whisper:
"Anyway, if you run away again, I'm going to follow you."
Her tone sounded like a threat that brooked no refusal, but Reiji just laughed. Not mockingly, but with that strange affection reserved only for her.
'My double life is going to be extrely complicated with Himiko's obsession with …'
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