BNHA: I am Reiji Toga Chapter 2: Reiji Toga (2)

"Let's play, Reiji"

The little girl's sweet voice echoed softly through the room, filled with that pure, uncontrollable excitent that only young children can express without a trace of shyness.

"I'm coming, Himiko," Reiji said smoothly, following his older sister as she ran across the living room.

Himiko, barely three years old, moved with clumsy but determined steps across the living room carpet. Her light blonde hair, slightly tousled and tied in a ssy ponytail that hung to one side, bounced slightly with every movent.

She wore a simple cotton dress with animal prints, stained along one edge by apple juice, and in her hands she held a doll that she dragged along without much concern.

"It's your turn to catch her, Reiji!" Himiko said, with a wide smile revealing several teeth yet to co in and a crystal-clear laugh that seed to infect the very air.

Himiko moved just enough to touch Reiji and then moved forward again, speeding up as much as she could. Her laughter didn't change; it remained constant, uninterrupted.

Reiji adjusted his pace automatically. He could catch up to her without difficulty, but he kept a controlled distance, just enough to prolong the ga.

The mother remained on the couch, in one corner of the living room, working on a pile of clothes. Her hands followed a repetitive sequence: smoothing, folding, stacking. She didn't intervene. She only looked up for a few seconds to watch them. She said nothing, just took in the mont.

"I don't even know why this amuses so much…" Reiji thought as he chased Himiko. Life as a newborn had been quite boring and slow, but thanks to his mind, he'd learned to crawl and later to walk extrely quickly.

Now he was running nimbly, giving him a slight edge over Himiko. But in the middle of his run, one of Reiji's feet tripped over the edge of the rug. His body fell forward clumsily, slamming his knee against the waxed floor peeking out from under the rug.

The impact was light, but a small reddish scratch soon appeared on his skin.

"Reiji!"

Himiko stopped imdiately and turned toward him.

Reiji sat up on his heels and examined the wound calmly. The bleeding was minimal and didn't last long. Within seconds, the edges began to visibly close, shrinking the wound until it disappeared. The skin returned to its near-original state, leaving only a faint mark that also began to fade.

'It's good to know that in this world, I'm not turned into an experint because of the sa ability I had in my original life.'

Himiko noticed it, and her eyes widened with pure amazent; even though it wasn't the first ti she'd seen it, a child's fascination with ordinary things is utterly pure and unceasing.

"Look! Your wound is gone!" she said excitedly, pointing with her tiny finger and a smile that lit up her whole face.

The mother, still from where she stood, watched the scene calmly. It wasn't that their mother didn't care; rather, she knew how it would all turn out. Reiji had unlocked his Quirk at birth, so she knew perfectly well that nothing serious had happened to him.

"Rember to be careful with the carpet," she remarked softly as she returned to her task.

"Yes, Mom."

Reiji ran his hand over the area, removing any remaining traces without paying much attention.

There was no need to worry.

"Let's keep playing!"

Himiko took his hand and pulled him along without waiting for a response, resuming their previous dynamic with the sa energy.

Reiji stood up and followed her without resistance.

Reiji liked his new life; he didn't rember much about his life before becoming an experint, but it was clear he had never experienced anything like what he was doing now.

***

'Gigantomachia! That's right, I have to write that down in my notebook.'

Reiji's small fingers clenched tightly around the chewed pencil as, with great skill, he began to write in a notebook that had beco sowhat crumpled over ti. Lit by the moonlight streaming through the window into the dark night.

On the other page, one could make out so scribbles, notes, and a drawing of what appeared to be a villain with pieces of flesh attached and blue flas.

Reiji knew perfectly well that this wasn't the world from his previous life —sothing obvious considering that the special ability from his past life was, here, just one among many. To the doctors, it was rely a passive Quirk, of the regenerative type.

A fairly weak one, at that. It could evolve as he grew, but it couldn't regenerate limbs or heal major wounds in seconds.

After jotting down in precise detail everything he could rember, he gently closed the notebook, glancing at the title on its cover.

'Events of Boku no Hero'

The irrefutable proof that this wasn't his world was the presence of a symbol of peace: All Might. A legendary hero from a fictional story he'd read before all his tornt began—fragnted mories of great stories: Naruto, Dragon Ball, Fairy Tail, and many more… Among them, Boku no Hero.

It wasn't his favorite, nor the one that excited him the most, but having had a regenerative factor in his previous life, he couldn't help but feel a connection—albeit a vague one—to this world and its characters.

And now, all of that was real.

The warmth of this house, the aroma of freshly cooked rice, his father's firm yet kind voice upon arriving ho from work, and his mother's clumsy but constant hugs when he thought he didn't need them.

Real and genuine.

Himiko was asleep in the bed next to him, illuminated by the soft light streaming through the window—the sa light that allowed him to write in the dark.

'Is she really capable of becoming an assassin?'

Reiji couldn't reconcile his sister—that sa noisy, intense, and clumsy little girl who laughed for no reason and cried over silly things—with the image of a girl obsessed with blood who, in the future, would support one of the most dangerous organizations in Japan, at the very least.

'Can I change that?' he asked himself silently. He didn't know. But... He could try. At least that much. He could be there for her. He could guide her through her actions.

Whatever the reason that had led her down that path, she could anticipate it and spare her an unwanted future.

A mory surfaced from the depths of his consciousness. The last mont with his forr father, just before closing his eyes forever.

"Even if the world doesn't know it, you are a hero to all of humanity…"

His fingers tensed slightly on the notebook's cover. He didn't know why he had rembered just that. Perhaps because it still hurt. Or maybe because part of him needed to give it new aning.

At that ti, he had been too drugged and subdued by years of experints, but now those words resonated differently.

A hero—he still wondered if that was really true. Here, in this new world, the aning of that was completely different.

And he was sure his forr father would know that. Because it definitely didn't an forcing oneself to sacrifice for the sake of everyone else. It didn't an stealing a little boy's innocence just because he had a great quality.

'Maybe I'm not a true hero to my other world. But I can be yours... Right, Himiko?'

It was strange. In his other life, he had never been afraid of dying. It's understandable when you live without a purpose. Now, however, Reiji was afraid of losing his family and all the stability he had been given. Above all, he feared that his sister might never live a normal childhood, that the sparkle in her eyes would fade.

Reiji let out a soft sigh as he put the notebook back in the hidden drawer of the nightstand beside him. He had wanted so badly to live again that now, with his wish granted, he no longer really knew what to do with his future.

Reiji's gaze lifted, and all he could think was that as long as Himiko could sleep peacefully. As long as she kept smiling without getting her hands dirty. As long as she could laugh, scream, and cry over aningless things. Then his life would be fine.

He wouldn't be a hero to the world. It was enough to be Himiko's Hero, even if she didn't know it.

He wanted to beco the very figure he had longed for in his previous life. A person who would protect him from the atrocities they inflicted on him day after day, without caring if what they did was for his own good, without caring that every act committed against his body served an even greater purpose.

He lay back down on the bed, adjusting his position without making a sound.

He closed his eyes without difficulty.

He thought of nothing else before falling asleep.

***

Reiji ate calmly, sitting next to his mother and father at the dining room table, while beside him Himiko stirred the rice on her plate with the clumsiness of a girl more interested in the voices on the TV than in the food in front of her.

"A new attack in the Musutafu area occurred this morning, leaving five civilians injured. Authorities report that the perpetrator was a 16-year-old whose Quirk generated uncontrollable sonic waves when he experienced anxiety. According to preliminary reports, the boy was subdued by local heroes and is now in custody for psychiatric evaluation"

The footage showed a cordoned-off area, with broken glass and the remains of damaged structures. Ambulances were parked, dical personnel were transporting the injured, and, in the background, a few low-profile heroes were giving statents to the press. The boy's face was covered, but the Quirk-restraining cuffs on his arms were clearly visible, tightened to limit any involuntary activation.

It wasn't an isolated case.

Scenes like that were repeated often enough to cease being shocking.

"Just another villain…" his father muttered wearily before taking a bite of rice. His mother, across the table, let out a soft sigh and nodded without adding anything.

Reiji didn't take his eyes off the TV as he finished chewing.

Villain.

The term had no strict definition in everyday practice. It didn't apply solely to those who acted with the clear intent to harm. It also included those who lost control, those who reacted badly, those who failed to fit into society's expectations.

The context didn't matter.

Only the harm caused.

That boy… He had made a mistake, yes. But that mistake would likely mark him forever. They would isolate him, point fingers at him, and condemn him to live as a monster—not for who he was, but for a mont of weakness.

Beside him, Himiko dropped her spoon into the rice bowl with a soft thud. Himiko stared at the TV with wide eyes as the news continued to report on the case.

Reiji didn't need to look to know what she was thinking. At that age, things are absorbed like sponges. The words from the news and her parents shaped her young mind with simplicity.

"Is that boy bad?"

Himiko's voice ca out a bit uncertain, unsure if what she was saying was right or wrong. Her mother leaned down and stroked her hair with a complicated smile.

"We don't know, sweetheart. He just did sothing dangerous and hurt people—that's bad."

The words echoed in Reiji's mind, knowing what they might trigger in the little girl beside him, who nodded as if she'd just grasped sothing new about the world.

"Himiko-chan," he whispered, turning toward her. "Do you think soone who hurts others without aning to… can beco good?"

The girl looked at Reiji confused, not fully understanding her younger brother's question.

"If you give them a hug, yes," Himiko replied without hesitation and went back to focusing on her food, resuming the clumsy movent of her spoon.

Reiji said nothing more.

The innocence of her answer pierced him. If only so things could be forgiven with a child's logic, everything would be simpler.

Reiji looked back at the TV.

The news segnt changed without any noticeable transition. The image on the screen focused on a recognizable figure, surrounded by caras and the public.

All Might.

The shot showed him standing tall and confident, answering questions with a presence that effortlessly commanded the space. There was no doubt in his posture or the way he spoke. Everything about him aligned with a heroic image.

Himiko's eyes lit up imdiately. Her parents also fixed their gaze on the screen, showing a different kind of attention than they had seconds before.

A small smile appeared on his face; he hoped that in the future, he himself would evoke that kind of feeling in his family. He didn't mind sacrificing his life for people who saw him as a person and valued his existence.

'I still have so much to discover…'

***

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