The train moved slowly through the suburbs of Musutafu. Reiji sat alone, hood up and arms crossed, staring at his reflection in the window.
A couple of weeks had passed since his eting with Hawks following his third mission; his workload had increased dramatically since then, just as Hawks had told him.
This ti, from Tokyo, he had been assigned a simple mission: surveillance and search. No contact, no interference. His target was a small industrial warehouse that, according to internal reports, was being used to distribute Quirk-disrupting drugs, which caused public incidents involving out-of-control Quirks.
The Commission made it clear: "Observation only. Prioritize information. Do not act under any circumstances"
Upon arriving at the location, Reiji moved as he had done so many tis before: fast, silent, precise. He climbed onto the roof of a neighboring building and waited for a mont. From there, he had a direct view of the warehouse's side gate.
Fifteen minutes passed before a van finally appeared.
Three adult n and two young n got out. They were carrying small, sealed tal boxes. His intel revealed that this was exactly the shipnt he was looking for.
The mont his vision cleared under the nightlight, he noticed a group of four children coming out from inside the warehouse. He couldn't tell their ages, but they seed younger than him. One of them was dragging a box larger than his own body; only with a strength Quirk could he do that.
Another was coughing constantly, as if his lungs were on fire.
The other two seed to be in better shape, but he could see that their eyes looked tired.
Reiji's shoulders tensed.
He watched them in silence as he activated the thermal cara. He recorded everything. Faces, movents, license plates, even the conversations he could pick up with the directional microphone.
He was about to shift his vantage point when he noticed one of the children stumble. He fell to his knees with the box on top of him. One of the adults approached imdiately, but not to help him.
The scream ca instantly; the adult grabbed the boy's arm and forced him to get up so he could keep carrying boxes.
Reiji didn't move. But his jaw clenched so tightly it began to hurt.
Then, one of the children—the youngest, just a scrawny kid with sunken eyes—looked up at the sky, gazing at the clouds...
Until he turned his head toward Reiji; he wasn't exactly looking at the boy watching from the shadows, but his eyes showed he was completely lost and that he was asking for help that would likely never co.
Reiji felt a dry knot in his stomach. For a mont, he wasn't in Musutafu. Nor was he in Reiji's body.
He was in that white room, with tubes sticking out of his body, with scrubs walking around him, with the feeling that his life didn't belong to him.
Ethan had also been a child in the hands of faceless adults. And no one had saved him.
"Reiji, report." His trance was broken when a voice echoed through his communicator. He was still on the job and had to act the part.
"Target confird. Recording complete. Withdrawing," he repeated. His Quirk activated beside him as a small needle, but he quickly held back... He knew that acting now would likely be detrintal not only to his future as an agent, but also to all the children entangled in that damned network.
"Copy that"
He leaped from the roof minutes later and vanished down a side street. The wind hit his face. But it failed to clear his mind.
He walked toward the station with a steady stride, though inside her coat, his blood was racing with the desire to save all the children in that place.
***
Sunday brought with it a strange calm. He hadn't slept well over the past few days; the feeling that he could have done more weighed her down every night, but he put on a brave face.
The house had that warm, sleepy atmosphere that could only be achieved when everyone was ho and there were no urgent obligations. The television murmured from the dining room, the parents spoke in hushed tones in the kitchen, and the sun filtered through the curtains, giving everything a warm, hoy feel.
Reiji had spent almost the entire morning doing nothing productive. He wasn't training. He hadn't been assigned any mission. And although he should have taken the opportunity to truly rest, he couldn't help but feel a little out of place.
Sitting on the sofa, barefoot, he just watched Himiko with a cup of tea in his hand.
She had her back to him, stirring sugar into her tea with a spoon. She had just woken up, which was normal for the eldest daughter of the family. She was already fourteen, and getting closer and closer to defining her future.
In this world, adulthood began to take shape at age 16. From there, you had the option to train to try to beco a hero or continue your studies to earn a college degree.
'Maybe I just need to distract myself and stop thinking about it, just like my past as Ethan...'
Himiko returned with two cups, plopping down on the armchair next to him. She leaned against Reiji without asking permission. The boy just let her.
"Here. It's chamomile," she said, holding out a cup to him.
"Thanks."
They drank in silence for a mont.
"Did you get any sleep last night?" she asked, without looking at him.
"A little. What about you?"
"Nothing new."
They fell back into silence, but it wasn't awkward. It was the kind of pause they'd shared since they were kids, where simply breathing in sync was enough to feel each other's presence.
Reiji broke the calm after a while. Thinking about what he'd seen a few days ago, combined with his past life.
"Have you decided what you're going to do after high school?"
Himiko didn't answer right away. She set down her cup, thought for a few seconds, and then nodded.
"Yes. I'm going to apply to U.A."
Reiji blinked, nearly choking on his tea.
This was...
!I didn't see this coming at all!
He knew that inevitably, Himiko's fate would change drastically—sothing normal after noticing so irregularities in what he'd been learning lately.
But U.A. itself? As a hero?
"U.A.? Seriously?"
"General Departnt. I'm not interested in the Hero Course. I don't like the idea of shouting out weird nas or fighting in spandex…" she said with a slight grimace of annoyance, but then smiled, looking up at him as she sank into her chest. "Though I think it would suit you."
She laughed, and Reiji just sighed.
"But… yes. As an older sister, I can't let my younger brother be better than at everything, so I'll enroll and learn everything I need to, plus…"
She glanced at him sideways, almost shyly.
"…I want to be with you."
Reiji said nothing. But the way he lowered his gaze was enough.
"Don't look at like that. I'm not doing this just to follow you. It's sothing I really want. But if I can have you close… That's enough to try. If you start an agency, I can help you in many ways—not with my Quirk, since, well, you know… but there are still plenty of other ways."
Reiji looked away.
"It's not an easy academy."
"You're not easy either. And here I am."
She smiled and leaned in closer, until she was resting against his neck.
Reiji felt the warmth of her breath. Her closeness wasn't accidental. She knew what she was doing.
He felt her hand slide slowly up his arm, and her fingers gently tighten around his wrist, almost as if she were checking his pulse.
"If that's what you want. Then I hope you study hard to make it happen."
She didn't answer. She just moved closer, and without warning, ran her tongue along his neck. Then, without giving him ti to pull away, she bit him gently and sucked a small drop of blood.
Reiji stayed still. It wasn't painful. But it wasn't casual either.
"Himiko…"
"I'm sorry," she said, though her voice didn't sound regretful. "Just a little. "Your blood... It gets more delicious every ti."
Reiji took her wrist and gently pushed her away; his parents were still in the kitchen. Although the TV drowned out their conversation, it wasn't the sa visually.
"You can't do that."
"Why not? It's your fault it tastes so good."
"I'm not food."
Silence returned, thicker than before. And yet, Reiji didn't push her away completely. He liked feeling that there was soone always there for him, that figure he'd longed for so much in his other life…
How could he reject her so easily?
He wrapped an arm around her, slowly, resting his chin on her head. He didn't speak anymore. He just held her.
And as the sun stread through the windows, and the sound of the TV rose a notch from the dining room, Reiji thought about how ironic it all was.
***
The murmur of the TV continued in the background, but no one was listening to it anymore.
The whole house seed to have surrendered to silence. On the main couch, under a warm blanket and in a position more uncomfortable than he'd care to admit, Reiji had Himiko asleep on top of him.
Her breathing was soft, warm, and rhythmic. She had one leg draped over his and a hand tucked under his shirt; Reiji didn't know when it had gotten there, but she wasn't doing anything inappropriate, so he ignored it.
From the outside, it might look sweet.
Her body felt heavy, but it wasn't physical exhaustion, nor was it Himiko's weight. It was the accumulated fatigue of not having slept in days; even though his body could endure without sleep, that didn't an he didn't need it.
He closed his eyes. Just for a mont.
.
.
.
The light was white. There were no windows. Just smooth walls and a ceiling buzzing with static electricity.
He felt a chill down his spine. He was naked from the waist up, lying on a tal surface. His skin pressed against the steel. The air slled of alcohol and latex.
He tried to move, but all his limbs seed to be tied down.
A slight tug caused the tallic sound of the straps tightening.
He opened his eyes. The light blinded him for a second.
There were shadows moving around him. n and won in lab coats. None of them looked directly at him.
"The cellular pattern is stable."
The voice was flat. thodical. As if speaking of just any experint. Not of a child.
He felt a needle enter his left arm. The burning sensation was imdiate. The liquid mixed with his blood like black ink in clear water.
He tried to scream.
He couldn't.
There was sothing in his throat. A tube. No, two. One running down his windpipe. Another connecting him to a bag of liquid. He was breathing with difficulty.
Sowhere nearby, soone else was crying. A child's voice. Whimpers. Sobs. He didn't know them, but he recognized them. They were his, even though they didn't co from his mouth.
Maybe on another stretcher. Maybe another "control subject."
And then, a figure approached.
Taller than the others. Wearing gloves. Protective goggles. A surgical mask.
It had no face.
"No signs of dissociation yet," he said in a neutral tone, as he pried open his eyelids with his thumb. "Interesting."
He examined his eyes. His teeth. His tongue. His neck. Everything.
The figure leaned in and whispered sothing close to his ear:
"What's keeping you going, kid?"
"Or do you still think soone's coming for you?"
The stretcher vibrated beneath his back. His body tried to move, but couldn't. His head was buzzing. His chest was burning.
And just then, without logic, without permission, the image of the boy from Musutafu appeared in his mind.
The empty eyes. The box in his arms. The trembling voice, looking toward him.
"Were you waiting for soone, too?"
.
.
.
Reiji opened his eyes abruptly.
The ceiling was different. Low. Plaster. The blanket over his chest felt heavy, but it wasn't cold. Himiko was still asleep, nestled against him, as if nothing had happened.
Her breathing was slow. The clock in the dining room read two in the morning. It was drizzling outside.
He sat up slightly. His heart was pounding. His mind replaying the damn nightmare that had invaded him again; years had passed, more than a decade.
Yet, he still felt it vividly.
He brought a hand to his neck by reflex. Nothing. No tubes. No pressure.
Sweat ran down the back of his neck. His fingers trembled.
Himiko murmured sothing in her sleep and clung tighter to him. The contact restored so warmth to him.
Reiji stayed that way. Sitting. Still. Without moving.
He'd slept enough for today; now he'd just stay there until dawn... And that was much better than going back to that place.
***
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