(Rei POV)
2 months later...
The days after that… thing I saw were weird. Eerie, even.
My quirk's been acting up almost every day since. Nothing huge—no flying hands punching holes in walls or anything
but it's like my body keeps whispering that something's off. That same tingly feeling I get during training has started popping up when I'm not even trying. Sometimes when I'm just walking. Or lying down. Or thinking.
And that shadow… the one I saw before? It never came back. But I still catch something out of the corner of my eye. Just for a second. A shape. A flicker. And every time I look, it's gone. Like it was never there.
"You're going to be late for school, honey!" Mom's voice called from downstairs, sweet and sharp at the same time.
I sat up in bed. My blanket slid off my legs, and I reached for my shirt—then stopped.
My hand hovered in the air.
That feeling again. Not painful. Not even scary, really. Just… weird. Like something inside me shifted. Like a part of me moved without me telling it to.
I stared at my palm.
"Not now," I whispered, half to my quirk, half to myself. "School now. Ghost hands later."
I got dressed, trying to shake it off. But it clung to me like fog. Even brushing my teeth felt like something was watching over my shoulder.
When I headed downstairs, Mom greeted me with her usual morning smile. She handed me a piece of toast. "Eat quick, Rei. You're behind."
I nodded and took a bite, even though my stomach felt weird and twisty. I didn't want her to worry.
As I laced my shoes at the door, I glanced back toward the stairs.
Nothing there.
But it still felt like something was.
School, thankfully, helped clear my head. The noise, the chatter, even the boring math lessons—everything felt normal. And normal was nice.
I could focus on my assignments, listen to the teacher drone on about fractions, and pretend the weird feelings didn't exist. I could pretend there wasn't a shadow that sometimes felt too real at the edge of my vision. That the tingling under my skin was just nerves, not my quirk reacting to something unseen.
At recess, I sat on the edge of the yard with my juice box, watching the other kids chase each other around. I used to run around with them, but lately, I didn't feel like it.
"You okay, Rei?" one of my classmates asked, pausing with a ball under her arm.
I nodded. "Yeah. Just tired."
She didn't push. Just shrugged and ran off. I appreciated that.
I looked down at my hands. They were still. Normal. But every now and then, I swore I saw a flicker—like heat waves in the air. It never lasted long enough to prove anything. Maybe I was just imagining it. Or maybe... something was off.
I sighed and leaned back against the tree, squinting up at the sky. If something was wrong... what could I even do about it?
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A month passed.
The feeling didn't stop.
It got worse.
At first, it was just that strange tingling—like static crawling under my skin. But now it almost ached. Like something inside me was stretching, pulling, trying to get out.
Sometimes, I'd wake up in the middle of the night, my chest tight, my heartbeat loud in my ears. I'd stare into the dark corners of my room, too scared to blink, convinced something was watching me.
And then there were the hands.
Not fully—but little flashes. Like sparks. Sometimes, I'd feel a flicker near my shoulder, or across my chest, and see a ghostly shimmer appear, then vanish before I could even react. My quirk usually needed focus to activate, but now it was just... doing things.
"But if anything does happen, you tell me. No matter what it is. Got it?"Dad's voice echoed in my mind. Calm but serious. The way it gets when he's really worried.
I clutched my bedsheets and stared at the ceiling, trying to keep my breathing steady.
I couldn't keep this to myself anymore.
Even if it turned out to be nothing, even if they told me it was just part of growing with a quirk—I had to say something.
After school. After dinner. When it was just us.
I was going to tell Mom and Dad.
Dinner was quiet.
Too quiet.
The clink of chopsticks against ceramic bowls and the low hum of the TV in the next room were the only sounds filling the space. The smell of miso soup and grilled mackerel filled the air, but I barely touched my food.
Mom sat across from me, her hair tucked behind one ear as she delicately picked up bits of rice. Dad was to my left, still wearing his work shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a thin line of sweat across his brow from training earlier.
I stirred my soup for the fourth time.
Takashi noticed. "You're barely eating, Rei. Everything okay?"
My hand froze mid-stir. I hesitated, then looked down again. "Yeah. Just… not super hungry."
He and Mom exchanged a quick glance. The kind they thought I didn't notice.
"We can heat it up later if you want," Mom said gently, always trying to keep things normal.
I nodded, but the pressure in my chest wouldn't let go. I pushed my bowl slightly forward and rested my hands in my lap. My fingers fidgeted, curling into the fabric of my shorts.
"There's… something," I said suddenly.
Both of them stopped moving. The silence became heavy again.
Dad leaned slightly forward. "Something?"
I nodded, swallowing hard. "It's about my quirk."
Mom's expression shifted immediately—soft concern blooming across her face. "What happened, sweetie?"
I tried to find the words. "It's been acting weird. For a while now. Since… that day. The one with the girl and the ice cream."
Takashi sat up straighter. "Weird how?"
"I get these… feelings. Like when I train. But it's not just the tingling anymore." I placed my hand over my chest, pressing down gently. "It hurts sometimes. Not like a lot, but enough. And sometimes I see the hands. Little flashes. They come out without me trying. Just for a second."
Mom gasped softly, setting her chopsticks down. "Why didn't you tell us earlier?"
"I thought it'd go away," I mumbled. "I didn't wanna make a big deal if it was nothing."
Dad didn't say anything right away. He folded his hands together and stared at the table for a moment, thinking. When he looked at me again, his eyes were calm but sharp—focused.
"This isn't nothing, Rei. You did the right thing by telling us. We'll figure it out."
I nodded, but the nervous buzz inside me was still there.
Mom reached across the table, placing her hand gently over mine. "Has anything else happened? Anything scary?"
I thought about the shadow in the street. The man at the corner. The way the air had gone still.
I almost said it.
But something inside me held back. A small voice whispering not yet.
"Just the quirk stuff," I said quietly.
Takashi looked at me for a long moment, like he was trying to read my thoughts. Then he gave a small nod.
"Okay. We'll adjust your training. I'll talk to some specialists, see if this is part of how your quirk's maturing. Maybe even get a diagnostic scan done. Alright?"
I nodded again, this time more firmly. "Okay."
Mom smiled at me, brushing a bit of hair behind my ear like she used to when I was younger. "You're not alone, Rei. You never have to deal with this stuff by yourself."
And even though the fear still sat in my stomach like a stone… I believed her. For now.