BNHA: I am Reiji Toga

"Onii-chan, wait!" Himiko shouted, trotting along with her backpack bouncing on her back.

Reiji stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and turned with a half-smile. "You walk too slowly, Himiko-chan."

"That's not true!" she replied, puffing out her cheeks. "I was just distracted watching that dog scratch its belly like you do in the mornings."

Reiji let out a short laugh. "Was that an insult or a poorly worded compliment?"

"A disguised compliment," Himiko muttered as she caught up to him and hung onto his arm. "Because even if you were a dog, you'd still be my favorite."

Reiji didn't respond. He just looked at her with a mixture of tenderness and resignation. It had always been this way: Himiko found the strangest ways to show affection, and over time, she had become even more attached.

She talked nonstop, jumping from topic to topic in no particular order: what they ate at school, the rumor about a teacher wearing a wig, the new weird kid who was giving her dirty looks... But every few sentences, her attention returned to Reiji. A sideways glance. A touch on the arm. An unnecessary question just to hear him speak.

He kept pace with her with the serenity of someone accustomed to a daily routine. He didn't talk much, but he didn't need to. His mere presence was enough to calm her down.

That day, her mother hadn't been able to pick them up. Nothing unusual, just a delay at work. So they were walking home alone along the same route as always, the one that skirted a row of old shops, rusty streetlights, and quiet streets. It was a safe area, at least in appearance.

But as they turned at an empty intersection, Reiji felt it.

That damn tingling sensation.

The back of his neck vibrated like a silent alarm.

"Onii-chan... why are you so quiet?"

Reiji didn't answer right away. The street was emptier than usual. Very empty. And he didn't like that.

"I'm just thinking," he said finally, without looking at her.

Himiko frowned, puffing out her cheeks as if she expected him to apologize. "Thinking about me, right?"

That made him smile. Barely.

"Not so much."

"Liar!" she exclaimed, squeezing his arm. "I know you're always thinking about me, even if you don't say it."

He didn't answer. He let her do it.

The crunch of a can rolling in the wind made Reiji turn his head reflexively.

Nothing.

Just a breeze carrying dust and enveloping the corner with heavy air.

Too quiet for such a busy street at that hour.

"Reiji..." Himiko murmured, also noticing how the atmosphere had become dense. She wasn't stupid. Maybe she couldn't read the world like he could, but she could read him. "Is something wrong?"

"Don't leave my side," he said without looking at her, his voice low.

Himiko blinked. She stopped joking. She nodded, clinging to his arm.

They took a few more steps. To their right, the alley that used to be full of trash bags and urban noise now looked like a forgotten passageway. Gray, dirty, motionless. And as they crossed in front of it, the inevitable happened.

"Hey!" exclaimed a teenager, blocking their path. The fleeting memory of his first encounter with his second Quirk flashed through his mind as he looked at the figure that had just appeared. He was about fifteen, maybe sixteen. Dark hair, a mocking expression. "Don't you think you're too young to be out on your own?"

The boy said it as if it were a joke. But his eyes said otherwise. They were assessing. Testing.

"Do you really think so?" Reiji replied neutrally, but he had already taken a subtle step forward, leaving Himiko half a step behind.

"Hey, take it easy," said another boy, appearing from the other side. This one was more burly, with weathered skin and a torn jacket that didn't hide his bandaged knuckles. "We just wanted to chat. Nothing serious."

Himiko tugged lightly on Reiji's arm. Her body and mind understood what was happening. He didn't move.

The two boys had them cornered. Front and back. They had nowhere to go.

"You look strong, but... How old are you, ten, maybe eleven?" said the first one, looking at the height and physique of the small boy in front of him, although his assumption was completely wrong, Reiji was still eight years old, about to turn nine.

"Why do you want to know?" asked Reiji, his gaze already assessing distances, heights, possible escape routes.

"To see how much it will hurt me to beat you up," smiled the older boy.

And without further ado, he attacked.

A cross punch. Fast. Well aimed. Straight to his chest.

Himiko was startled, releasing Reiji's other arm. He barely managed to put his arms up to block the punch, but the impact shook his arm. It was obvious that the strength of a teenager with his trained Quirk was going to hurt him. Having a Quirk alone adapted the body to good physical condition and strength.

But he wasn't far behind. He had never fought before, but he had trained in secret.

Reiji leaned forward and counterattacked. His fist struck his opponent's side, causing him to take two steps back, though his expression showed no pain, only amusement...

"Now!" The guy in front of him shouted, signaling to the one behind him to start running toward Himiko, who was instantly paralyzed.

Reiji barely managed to turn around before feeling his whole world spin ninety degrees, his vision changing and his legs staggering to his right, as if he were being sucked into the new gravity at his side.

"Reiji!" Himiko shouted.

He saw her out of the corner of his eye. The thinner one was approaching her from the side, taking something out of his pocket. It wasn't a knife. It was a damp cloth.

'Shit... chloroform!'

The impulse wasn't rational. It was instinct. His blood reacted.

He turned to look at his attacker, who had shifted his center of gravity. A stab came out of his forearm, enveloping the figure and causing him to crash hard into the wall beside him.

His whole world returned to normal, with his center of gravity back on the ground. He got up instantly, staring at the guy who was holding Himiko. His gaze was cold, so cold that the guy himself felt a chill run down his spine.

The second attacker wanted to continue, but when he saw what was in front of him, he stopped. He was sweating. Reiji noticed it.

Ten thin needles shot out from Reiji's fingertips, striking the second attacker, who just stared in surprise. Different parts of his body were pierced, causing him to fall in pain. 

Himiko took advantage of the situation and ran to Reiji, hugging him while her body was still shaking.

"Who sent them?" he asked in a controlled voice. He knew that the absolute silence in the streets was no coincidence, let alone this attack. Assaulting a couple of kids who looked like they were ten years old? What kind of idiot would do that, knowing they wouldn't get anything valuable out of it?

"No one! It was just... a bet, okay?" said the first attacker, as he emerged with some injuries from the wall to which he had been pinned earlier.

Reiji didn't believe a word. His blood boiled again, threatening the guy who had tried to knock Himiko unconscious, his expression of pain and terror evident.

"Enough, please! We didn't know who you were! We were sent!"

Reiji raised an eyebrow. "Who?"

"W-we don't know. They just gave us a description... they told us 'the sister of the guy named Reiji'. That's all!"

Reiji's heart stopped for a moment. A cold chill ran down his spine. 

"H-here, take it. It's all they gave us, take the money if you want!" shouted the guy who was still on the ground, as he took a note and a large amount of money out of his pockets.

"Go away!" he shouted one last time. The needles were still floating, ready to move and pierce both attackers.

The two teenagers crawled out of the street without looking back, leaving only the echo of their footsteps and their heavy breathing.

Reiji exhaled the breath he didn't know he had been holding. Then he looked down at Himiko.

"Are you okay?"

She nodded, still hugging him. But she didn't say anything. 

Then his gaze turned to the paper that the guy had left suspiciously. He was surprised to see how easily he got up, even after having his body pierced by ten different needles in non-vital areas...

"This... This smells like a conspiracy to me. Could it be the same guy who gave me the letter earlier? Why involve Himiko this time?"

He walked over with Himiko to pick up the paper and the money, ¥10,000. It wasn't a small amount for a simple favor, but because of his sister's presence, he decided to look at the note later.

Reiji put the paper in the inside pocket of his jacket without saying anything else. He carefully folded the money and put it away in another place. Then he looked at Himiko.

"Let's go home."

She nodded, holding his hand tighter than before. They walked in silence the rest of the way. Neither mentioned the fight. Neither said a word about what had just happened.

When they turned onto the last street, Reiji paused for a moment. He looked at his sister seriously.

"Let's not say anything to Mom and Dad."

Himiko looked at him with an expression that wavered between relief and anxiety, but she ended up nodding. "Only if you're okay..."

"I'm fine."

She smiled weakly, and they started walking again as if the world hadn't tried to swallow them up just a few minutes ago.

***

In an alley behind a closed soba shop, the two attackers leaned against a graffiti-covered wall. Both were bruised and panting, and one of them held his shoulder with a grimace of pain.

In front of them, a slender figure in a long coat and dark glasses watched them expressionlessly.

"Results?" he asked in a neutral voice.

"The kid... is strong," replied the one with the gravitational Quirk, moving his joints with a frown. "Too strong for his age. Instinct, reaction, surgical control of his Quirk. It's impressive."

"And a dangerous mindset," added the other. "No hesitation when they attacked the girl. He didn't react like a child. He reacted rationally, and he had noticed something was wrong before it happened." The bloodstains were still there, but his wounds had healed without any problems.

The man nodded. He took a small notebook out of his coat and wrote a single word.

"Suitable."

Then he turned around and disappeared into the darkness. Not before leaving a sum of money even better than the one they had left with Reiji earlier.

"Remember to stay alert, there is still work to be done."

***

Reiji sat at his desk, alone with only the lamp lit. His fingers tapped on the wood, barely audible, as if marking the rhythm of his thoughts.

The paper was still there.

He hadn't opened it in days, since meeting the two teenagers. He had kept it among his things without knowing exactly why. Prudence, perhaps. Or simply fear of what it might say.

Now, with Himiko gone, without the constant murmur of the day, there were no more excuses.

He unfolded it.

The same ink. The same elegant, strangely precise handwriting. There was no heading or greeting. Just a statement.

Reiji leaned forward slightly. His eyes scanned each letter slowly and tensely, as if to make sure he didn't misinterpret anything.

"If you have this, then you have passed. Congratulations!"

Reiji frowned. But he continued reading the lines.

"You used your two powers skillfully. You seem to be a prodigy, don't you? I'm sure you're wondering who I am, or who we are. You're small, but I'm pretty sure you know exactly what's going on."

His gaze sharpened. He knew exactly what was going on. It was obvious. Still, he didn't know which organization it was specifically.

"You want to become a hero, don't you?"

"Although with that bad blood habit, it might get a little complicated."

Reiji stood motionless. The paper in his hands. His heart beating with a force that was not reflected on his face.

"But don't worry, we have everything planned!"

He pressed his lips together. Uncomfortable with the way the letter was written, he continued nonetheless.

"A hero means sacrifice, acts that the world doesn't notice."

That line... that metaphor. The same one his father had used in his past life, a silent hero for humanity...

"The right eyes are already watching you. Sometimes, the quietest wings don't come from the sky. They fly low, so as not to arouse suspicion."

And just below, as if the author had hesitated to write it, in a corner in fainter ink, as if he didn't want it to be read, but did want it to be found.

"See you soon, stay alert."

A faint sigh escaped his mouth. He knew perfectly well that this time it wasn't a threat or a psychological game; he was already in it. Even though he hadn't given his permission, he was already part of the game.

"It's definitely not AFO... The Hero Commission, or the Quirk Liberation Front? I think the answer is clear..." 

He looked once more at a specific line before taking his eyes off the paper.

He closed his eyes for a few seconds. He wasn't looking for answers, not yet. What he was looking for was to memorize every word.

Because something was moving.