BNHA: I am Reiji Toga

The underground training room was isolated from the rest of the campus. Not a single sound escaped its reinforced walls, not even the dull thud of a body hitting the mat or the sharp whistle of blood cutting through the air.

Reiji exhaled slowly. A white cloud escaped from his mouth, dissolving into the cold air of the room.

In front of him, six steel dummies, activated by sensors, surrounded him in a semicircular formation. The sharp starting beep echoed through the hidden speakers.

He moved.

His blood emerged effortlessly, in the form of whips and spears, dancing with impossible precision. There was no mistake, no doubt. Three of the dummies were pierced before the first could simulate an attack.

The fourth managed to launch a simulated electric shock. Reiji deflected its trajectory with a curved blade of solidified blood. He spun on one heel, dodged another blow, and struck the last dummy with a needle that pierced the slot in its mechanical neck.

Ten seconds. All knocked out.

The digital timer flashed red. It wasn't his best time. But it was consistent. Efficient.

"You're holding back again."

The familiar voice boomed from the observation balcony. Reiji looked up. Hawks was watching him with his arms crossed, leaning casually on the railing. Although he was now wearing an official uniform, his attitude hadn't changed. He smiled with the same mocking air, but his eyes were sharper. 

"I'm not holding back," Reiji said, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the back of his arm. "I'm controlling myself."

"Controlling, holding back. It's the same thing to the commission."

Hawks descended with a soft flutter of wings. His boots touched the ground with a slight crunch. He walked among the shattered dummies and nodded approvingly.

"Do you know what the Commission told me today?" he asked without looking at him. "That you can now handle advanced-level simulated cases. They even asked me if you were ready for the real field."

"And what did you say?"

"That you still don't know when to kill."

Reiji nodded in understanding, knowing that what he was doing would inevitably lead him down that path.

Three years had passed since he accepted Hawks' offer. Three years since Himiko and he had obtained that "miraculous" scholarship to a private high school, modern and equipped like no other. Three years in which his family believed he was simply a brilliant child, while he was absent several times a week under medical or academic excuses.

False excuses. All authorized by the Commission.

Because beneath that perfect school was a labyrinth of rooms, chambers, offices. A hidden world where Reiji was trained day after day to become just another tool at the organization's disposal.

"The Commission wants results," Hawks said, his tone softer now. "And I know you're capable of doing it, I'd say you're even more prepared than I am... But I'd rather you live your life a little longer, once you start taking on real cases, things really change."

Hawks paused.

"I became a professional hero a year ago," he said, without embellishment. "The Commission helped me with everything. Agency, permits, media coverage... They said my view of the world was unique. That I was the kind of asset that couldn't be wasted."

He made a gesture with his fingers, a kind of quotation mark in the air as he pronounced "asset." The gesture took away the formality, but not the weight.

"And might they replace you?" Reiji said, without a trace of sarcasm.

"No, I'll remain one as long as I'm useful to them," Hawks replied, this time smiling. "But what I want you to understand, Reiji, is that this path comes at a cost. Every time you put on the uniform, even if only symbolically... you lose something."

Reiji lowered his gaze. Hawks usually called him by his first name only for serious matters, such as this one. 

"The day I agreed to join the Commission," Hawks continued, taking slow steps around him, "I didn't know what it really meant. But they trained me to see it. To notice what traditional heroes can't see. Information trafficking. Corruption in high places. Not even the most dangerous villains are as screwed 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 casually. Reiji wasn't surprised. He knew Hawks was observant, very analytical despite his relaxed personality. But he wouldn't tell him exactly that he had lived two lives, if the first time could even be called 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 have as much affection for his parents as he did for Hawks. Unlike them, the person in front of him was someone who understood the world perfectly and how easily things change, a trusted friend, almost a brother.

"And that's why I want you to be prepared. Not just physically. Not just with your Quirk. I want you to have judgment. Because someday you're going to have to make decisions that don't have a right side."

He walked back to the sensors in the room. He touched a panel and turned off all the remaining dolls with a simple code. The light changed slightly, from a clinical white to a dimmer amber.

"Today you are stronger than ever, and that makes me proud, Reiji. But there is still something you cannot lose: your reason. Your motive." He always spoke philosophically, he had a unique gift for making him reflect.

"Himiko?"

"Her, yourself, the world you want to protect... It doesn't matter which you choose. Just make sure it's yours."

Silence returned to the room. This time it was warmer. Almost brotherly.

Reiji took a few steps and sat down on the edge of the mat. His muscles ached, but not more than his chest.

"Did you have a motive?"

"I did," Hawks replied. "And then it became part of me. The idea that I could change things without anyone knowing. To be the shadow that holds up the light."

Reiji smiled slightly. "Poetic for someone who spends his time making bad jokes."

Hawks let out a brief laugh. "Hey, poetry and sarcasm aren't mutually exclusive."

After that, they both remained silent for a few minutes. Hawks walked over to a nearby locker and took out a towel along with a bag containing fresh blood, tossing it to Reiji. He caught it in midair.

They knew Reiji's impulse perfectly well and kept it under control without any problem. For people who could make professional heroes disappear overnight, getting a little blood for their best project was not difficult.

"So?" Hawks asked. "Do you want to continue?"

Reiji didn't hesitate. "Yes."

Hawks nodded, satisfied. "Then get ready. The next stage will be different. Less theory, more fieldwork. You'll be trained in observation, infiltration, reading body language, forgery, fingerprints, digital espionage. Everything that doesn't appear in hero textbooks."

He leaned toward him.

"And when the time comes... you'll do your first real job."

Reiji didn't answer. Hawks ruffled his hair like a younger brother. "You're almost there, Reiji. Just don't rush to grow up. Believe me, being an adult comes with more paperwork than it's worth."

They both laughed softly. It was a rare sound in that room.

***

Reiji entered his house, carelessly dropping his backpack on the floor. His school uniform was slightly wrinkled and his collar was undone. As soon as he closed the door, he heard Himiko's voice behind him.

He was slightly startled; even with his senses trained and prepared for such things, he hadn't noticed her presence.

"She has a natural talent for this... No wonder she became so strong on her own."

"Did you have training again?" she asked with a frown, her arms crossed over her chest. Although she still had that concerned older sister expression, the difference in height between the two made the scene almost comical. Reiji had grown fast. Too fast.

He was twelve and she was fourteen, yet it seemed as if Reiji was the older one.

"Yes, you know that. Why do you ask?" he replied, without stopping to look at her as he made his way to the kitchen for a glass of water.

"Because you're not supposed to skip all your classes as if nothing happened..." she insisted, following him with light but firm steps.

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, leaving the glass in the sink. "The Commission covers everything. Even my homework. Besides, it's not like I don't study... I just do it in more useful ways."

Himiko looked at him silently. It wasn't anger that was building up inside her, but something else. Frustration. Loneliness. Maybe something worse.

"That's not normal, Reiji. And you know it. But you act like all this is just... part of the plan."

Reiji smiled wearily. One of those smiles that doesn't reach the eyes. This wasn't a new scene, with Himiko asking him questions and him evading everything. He had told her some things, but he couldn't tell her everything.

"I'm basically training to be an assassin, I can't tell you that..."

"Because it is."

"It's not for me," she replied without hesitation. She took a step forward and pointed her finger at his chest. "Do you know what it is for me? It's that every day you're moving further away from me, from everything..."

He looked at her then. Not as an agent in training. Not as someone on the verge of becoming a weapon. But as a twelve-year-old who had grown up too soon.

"I'm doing this to protect you."

"I don't want you to protect me like this! You're supposed to be close to do that!" Himiko shouted, and then, without warning, she bit his shoulder.

"Agh! Again with that?" Reiji complained, taking a step back as he brought his hand to the affected area. It wasn't the first time his sister had used her teeth as a method of protest. She, however, only puffed out her cheeks as if she were absolutely right.

"It's my official punishment. For acting like an adult when you shouldn't."

Reiji let out a slight chuckle, 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 welcome. But you owe me lunch for every class you skip."

"That would ruin me."

"Then start attending, silly."

Reiji had already turned around, ready to go up to his room, when he heard her voice again, this time softer.

"Reiji..."

He paused, raising an eyebrow and glancing sideways.

"What now? Another emotional punishment? An extra lecture?" he said mockingly, though his smile was sincere.

Himiko shook her head slowly, playing with a strand of her hair.

"Do you have any blood?"

The question was direct, but not uncomfortable. Almost like asking for candy before dinner.

Reiji didn't answer right away. He turned his body completely, looking at his sister. The evening light coming through the window gave her face a golden hue, making that expression of tenderness and need stick in his mind.

"Do you really need it? I thought you were more stable lately."

"I am..." Himiko looked away, somewhat embarrassed. "But today was a little harder. I don't know why."

She was silent for a second, then looked up at him with a shy smile.

"It's okay, but you should give me something to eat to replenish myself. I'm pretty exhausted today."

Reiji sighed, but not in annoyance. It was more of a resigned gesture, like someone who knew that these kinds of requests were inevitable. Himiko's eyes sparkled, nodding repeatedly as she walked over to Reiji, who uncovered his forearms. The girl frowned.

"From the neck... It comes out more..." she said, almost as a demand, blushing slightly with embarrassment.

Reiji looked at her with a mixture of disbelief and resignation. He tilted his head slightly, exhaling through his nose.

"Again with that? 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, you know? It's like... like it has nuances." Her fingers intertwined behind her back, and although she spoke confidently, the slight blush on her cheeks betrayed her deep embarrassment.

'I know perfectly well, Himiko, the neck is easier to pierce and find a blood-rich artery...'

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 excitement 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 grazed 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, leaning one hand against the counter to steady himself as his pulse slowed.

Himiko drank slowly. She was no longer the same girl she had been as a child, carried away by impulse. Now she restrained herself. She enjoyed the moment as if it were something sacred. And perhaps, for her, it was.

When she pulled away, she let out a slight sigh, her cheeks still tinged with that faint blush that wouldn't go away.

"Thank you..." she murmured, almost in a whisper.

Reiji buttoned his collar again and patted her forehead.

"I hope that's worth three lunches."

She smiled, calmer, as if that little ritual between them had restored something inside her.

"It was worth two."

"Cheater."

They both laughed softly. And for a few moments, everything else was put on hold. The world, the Commission, the secrets, the impulses, the white lies. Everything dissolved into the silent trust that bound them together.

Reiji walked toward the stairs, and before climbing them, he said without turning around:

"Let me know if you ever need it again... But promise me you won't do it with anyone else."

"I don't want anyone else."

The answer was immediate. And so firm that it hung in the air, charged with a feeling that Reiji didn't want to take into account.

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