Reiji exhaled slowly. Sweat trickled down his forehead as his gaze remained fixed on the opponents in front of him.
Six Level 1 sensor-activated steel humanoid dummies surrounded him in a semicircular formation. The sharp starting beep echoed through the hidden speakers.
He moved instantly.
His blood surged forth effortlessly, taking the form of whips and spears, dancing with harmonious precision. There was no mistake, no hesitation. Three of the dummies were pierced before the first could even feign an attack.
The fourth managed to fire a simulated electric shock. Reiji deflected its path with a curved blade of solidified blood. He spun on a heel, dodged another blow, and struck the fifth robot with a needle that pierced the slot in its chanical neck.
Before the fourth could attack again, he hurled the spear in his other hand straight into its tal eye. The crimson weapon pierced it, before exploding at Reiji's command, completely shattering its head.
Reiji leaped backward, dodging the last one's sneak attack, and using only his brute strength, struck the robot's "chin," punching its skull right off along with the circuits.
Ten seconds. All out of commission.
The digital tir displayed it in red, flashing. It wasn't his best ti. But it didn't matter; he wasn't trying anyway.
He looked at his knuckles; he might have regeneration, but punching a steel dummy was no small feat either. He still had the red marks with a little blood seeping from wounds that were closing before his eyes.
"You're holding back again."
The familiar voice bood from the observation balcony. Reiji looked up. Hawks watched him with his arms crossed, leaning casually against the railing. Although he was now wearing a hero's uniform, his attitude hadn't changed. He smiled with the sa mocking air, but his eyes were sharper.
"I'm not holding back," Reiji said, wiping the sweat from his brow with the back of his arm. "I'm testing my body."
"Testing, holding back. It's the sa with the data—you can do better, but you don't."
Hawks descended with a soft flutter of his wings. His boots touched the ground with a faint crunch. He walked among the shattered dummies and nodded approvingly.
Then his gaze settled on the boy in front of him; he was a head taller, but Hawks wasn't sure how long that would last.
"I spoke with the Commission today… Or rather, they spoke with ," he said without looking at him. "They told you passed the advanced simulation scenarios with flying colors. They even asked if you were fit for real-world operations."
"And what did you say?"
"That you still don't know how to take a life if the situation warrants it."
Reiji nodded in understanding; he knew that what he was doing would inevitably lead him down that path. But he wanted to put it off as long as possible; the thought that he could beco as cold-hearted as those who had experinted on him made him reject the idea of taking a life.
Three and a half years had passed since he accepted Hawks' offer. Three and a half years since Himiko and Reiji received that "miraculous" scholarship to a private school, modern and equipped like no other.
Three and a half years during which his family believed he was simply a brilliant child, while Reiji trained relentlessly until he bled in the labyrinth of rooms, chambers, and hidden offices beneath the school.
"The Commission wants results no matter the cost," Hawks said, his tone softer now. "And I know you're capable of it—I'd even say you're better prepared than I was at your age… But I'd rather you live your life a little longer. Once you start taking on real cases, things really change."
Hawks paused.
"I beca a professional hero a year ago," he said, without embellishnt. "The Commission helped with everything. Agency, permits, dia coverage… Even so, I don't feel like I've fulfilled the purpose for which I was born; I'm still trying to see myself as more than just an asset."
He made a gesture with his fingers, a sort of quotation mark in the air as he said "asset." The gesture took away so of the formality, but not the weight.
"What's this about?" Reiji said, without a trace of sarcasm.
"Always straight to the point," Hawks replied, smiling this ti. "What I want you to understand, Reiji, is that this path cos at a cost. Every ti you accept a job, even if it's just symbolic… you lose sothing."
Reiji lowered his gaze. Hawks usually called him by his first na only for serious matters, as in this case.
"The day I agreed to join the Commission," Hawks continued, pacing slowly around the room. "I didn't know what it really ant. I was an orphan who had lost his parents and knew nothing else."
Even though he'd already told him the story a few tis, he repeated it again just to make sure the ssage was clear to Reiji.
"But they trained to see it. To notice what traditional heroes can't see. Information trafficking. Corruption in the upper echelons. Not even the most dangerous villains are as ssed up as the things hidden under society's shiny rugs."
He stopped right in front of Reiji.
"You already know that, don't you? I can't put it into words, but it was as if your mind wasn't in sync with your body; you were… You're much older than you should be." He said it casually; Reiji didn't flinch.
He knew Hawks was observant, very analytical despite his laid-back personality. But he wouldn't exactly tell him that he'd lived two lives—if you could even call the first one a life.
"You're starting to sound like my older brother, don't you think?" he asked with a crooked smile, one he rarely showed.
He didn't even feel as much affection for his parents as he did for Hawks; unlike them, the person in front of him was soone who perfectly understood the world and how easily things change—a trusted friend, almost a brother.
Perhaps the kind of person he'd hoped would save him in his previous life.
"And that's why I want you to be prepared. Not just physically. Not just with your Quirk. I want you to have good judgnt. Because soday you're going to have to make decisions that don't have a right side, and I don't want you to lose the certainty you have."
He walked back toward the room's sensors. He touched a panel and shut down all the remaining dummies with a simple code. The light changed slightly, shifting from a clinical white to a softer amber.
"What you can't lose, in simple terms, is your reason. Your motive." Hawks always spoke philosophically; he had a unique gift for making you reflect.
"Himiko?"
"Her, yourself, the world you want to protect… It doesn't matter which one you choose. Just make sure it's yours."
Silence took hold of the room once more. This ti, it was warr. Almost brotherly.
Reiji took a few steps and sat down on a nearby bench. When his body finally relaxed, he let out a low chuckle.
"That was pretty poetic for soone who's always telling bad jokes."
Hawks let out a brief laugh. "Hey, poetry and sarcasm aren't mutually exclusive."
After that, they both fell silent for a few minutes. Hawks walked over to a nearby locker and pulled out a towel along with a bag containing fresh blood, tossing it to Reiji. He caught it on the fly.
It wasn't too difficult for an organization that could afford a large animal facility to get a little animal blood to feed one of its future agents.
"So?" Hawks asked. "Do you want to move on to the next stage?"
Reiji didn't hesitate. "Yes."
Hawks nodded, satisfied.
"Then get ready. The next stage will be different. Less theory, more fieldwork. They'll train you in observation, infiltration, reading body language, forgery, fingerprints, digital espionage."
He leaned toward him.
"And when the ti cos… you'll do your first real job."
Reiji didn't answer. Hawks ruffled his hair like a younger brother's. "You're almost there, Reiji. Just don't rush into growing up. Believe , being an adult cos with more paperwork than it's worth."
They both laughed softly. It was an unusual sound in that room.
***
Reiji walked into his house, carelessly dropping his backpack on the floor. His school uniform was slightly wrinkled, and his collar was unbuttoned. As soon as he closed the door, he heard Himiko's voice behind him.
He startled slightly; even with his senses trained and prepared for such things, he hadn't noticed her presence.
"He has a natural talent for this… No wonder he got so strong on his own."
"Did you train again?" she asked, frowning, her arms crossed over her chest. Although she still had that worried older-sister expression, the height difference between them made the scene almost comical. Reiji had grown fast. Too fast.
Reiji was twelve and Himiko fourteen, yet it seed as though Reiji were the older one.
"Yeah, you know that. Why are you asking?" he replied, without stopping to look at her as he headed to the kitchen for a glass of water. Over ti, the family's view of the scholarship had shifted sowhat.
Now he was also training to beco a hero, which ant spending more ti at the academy, training for that purpose.
"Because you're not supposed to skip all your classes like it's no big deal…" she insisted, following him with light but firm steps. Reiji wasn't surprised that Himiko knew that; although he could lie to his classmates, he couldn't lie to Himiko.
Reiji drank in silence. The water was cold, just what he needed on a hot day.
"I've got it under control," he said at last, setting the glass down in the sink. "Besides, it's not like my grades have dropped. I already told you that."
Himiko looked at him in silence. Clearly annoyed by his response—since her parents had gotten a promotion, they no longer spent much ti at ho, and Himiko spent most of her ti alone.
"That's not what I an…"
Reiji gave a weary smile.
'I'm basically training to be an assassin; I can't tell you that…'
"Sorry, I'll try to get ho earlier tomorrow."
Himiko just sighed and moved away a little; loneliness was the greatest pain a person could experience, and Reiji knew it.
"I'm doing this to protect you," Reiji tried to explain.
"You're supposed to be by my side to do that," Himiko emphasized, and imdiately afterward, without warning, she bit his shoulder.
"Agh! Not that again?" Reiji complained, taking a step back while bringing his hand to the affected area. It wasn't the first ti his sister had used her teeth as a thod of protest.
She, however, just puffed out her cheeks as if she were absolutely right.
"It's my official punishnt. For acting like an adult when you shouldn't."
Reiji let out a soft laugh, his head bowed. Then he reached out and ruffled his sister's blonde hair, just as Hawks used to do to him.
"Thanks for caring, Himiko."
She snorted, though a smile crept into the corner of her lips. "You're welco. But you owe a night out for every ti you co ho late."
"That would ruin ."
"Then start coming ho earlier, silly."
Reiji had already turned around, ready to go up to his room, when he heard her voice again, this ti softer.
"Reiji…"
The boy stopped, one eyebrow raised and a sidelong glance.
"What's up now? Another emotional punishnt? An extra lecture?" he said in a teasing tone, though his smile was sincere.
Himiko slowly shook her head, twirling a strand of her hair.
"Do you have any blood?"
The question was direct, but not awkward. Almost like soone asking for a treat before dinner.
Reiji didn't answer right away. He turned fully toward her, looking at his sister. The evening light streaming through the window cast a golden glow on her face, etching that expression—a mix of tenderness and need—into his mind.
"Do you really need it? I thought you were more stable lately"
"I am..." Himiko looked away, sowhat embarrassed. "But today was a little harder. I don't know why"
She fell silent for a second, then looked up at Reiji with a shy smile. The boy had understood why; his sense of sll didn't reveal the fact that Himiko had already started her period.
As a result, she'd likely have stronger blood urges due to hormonal changes—at least that's what Hawks had told him when Reiji himself reached puberty. It made sense that it would be worse for a woman.
'Maybe this is what made her give in to her impulse in the story.'
"All right, this is my paynt for being late today."
Himiko's eyes sparkled, and she nodded repeatedly as she walked over to Reiji, who bared his forearm; the girl frowned.
"From the neck… It shows more…" she said, almost as a demand, while blushing slightly with embarrassnt.
Reiji looked at her with a mixture of disbelief and resignation. He tilted his head slightly, exhaling through his nose.
"Not that again? Didn't we agree that the arms were more practical?"
Himiko looked away, puffing out her cheeks a little with childish stubbornness.
"It's just a little… Besides, the taste changes depending on the area, did you know that? It's like… Like it has nuances." Her fingers intertwined behind her back, and though she spoke confidently, the faint blush on her cheeks betrayed her deep embarrassnt.
'I know perfectly well, Himiko—the neck is easier to pierce and find an artery rich in blood and minerals…'
Reiji remained silent for a few more seconds, then let out a final sigh and shrugged. With a single gesture, he unbuttoned the top button of his school shirt and tilted his head slightly, exposing the side of his neck.
"All right. Just a little."
Himiko nodded silently, but her eyes shone with a mixture of restrained excitent and tenderness. She approached with soft, almost reverent steps, and when she was close enough, she carefully placed her hands on her brother's shoulders.
Her fangs brushed against his warm skin before piercing it with precision. There was no pain, or if there was, Reiji didn't show it. He just stood still, resting one hand against the countertop to steady himself as his pulse slowed.
Himiko drank slowly. She was no longer the sa as she had been as a child, letting herself be carried away by impulse, taking everything as fast as possible. Now she savored the mont as if it were sothing sacred, taking the ti to relish the taste.
When she pulled away, she let out a soft sigh, her cheeks still tinged with that faint blush that wouldn't fade.
"Thank you…" she murmured, almost in a whisper.
Reiji buttoned his collar back up and patted her on the forehead.
"I hope that makes up for past delays," he emphasized, feeling a bit fatigued; it was hard to gauge how much blood he'd drunk, but he could clearly have filled a glass with ease.
Her face had grown a little paler.
She smiled, calr now, as if that little ritual between them had restored sothing within her.
"It was worth two."
"Cheater."
They both laughed softly.
Reiji simply turned halfway around and walked toward the stairs, and before going up, he said without turning back:
"Let know if you ever need it again… But promise you won't do it with anyone else."
"I don't want anyone else."
The answer was imdiate. And so firm that it hung in the air, laden with a feeling Reiji didn't want to acknowledge.
***
If you want to access all the content published so far, you can support the project on Patreon for just $2 USD. → [p4tre0n.c0m/MisterCreator]
Anyway, thanks for reading and supporting. And if you leave so good stones, I would appreciate it from the bottom of my heart.
User Comments
0 comments from readers