Hikaru grinned proudly as he surveyed his surroundings. Not a kid in sight.
He had done it.
After hours of searching for somewhere quiet, he had stumbled upon the so called "haunted" section of the school grounds. The other students spoke of it in hushed whispers, lest the forest ghost hear them. To Hikaru, though, the moment he heard of it, he knew he had found his home away from home.
The grounds stretched out endlessly, far too large for any normal school. From here, the classroom building was a fake block of red. Between him and it lay a thicket of trees, its branches sheltering him from prying eyes. The silence was only broken by the trees creaking softly in the breeze.
Perfect.
"Alright!" Hikaru exclaimed, pumping his fists skyward, his voice echoing faintly. "Silence at last."
After a few minutes spent patting himself on the back for his genius discovery, he decided it was time to test his quirk.
He cracked his knuckles and focused, clenching the strange "muscles" he had felt earlier. The sensation was bizarre – like flexing something buried deeper than flesh or bone, something buried beneath his ribs. Each "muscle" pulsed individually, making it clear the mirrors could be controlled individually.
One by one, the chords – the name he had chosen for the muscles - inside him thrummed to life. Hikaru gasped as shards of light peeled themselves from his body.
They shimmered, half-formed fragments of light, before snapping into solidity. Sixteen mirrors hovered around him, smooth ellipses of glass that caught his reflection over and over again resulting in sixteen wide-eyed Hikaru's staring back at him in disbelief.
Hikaru let out long whistle. "Damn this is cool."
He reached out and instinctively felt the chords stir in response. The chords felt like invisible strings of muscle, tethering the mirrors to him. He felt then in the way a bird could feel its wings, the way a fish could feel its fins.
He pulled them back, and all but one retracted into his body with the remaining mirror obediently hovering in front of him.
First order of business: make this thing move the way I want it to.
Flexing the chord within him, he pulled the mirror in the direction he wanted. The mirror glided sideways and then began circling him like an excited puppy. Hikaru felt his confidence surge as he made it do more complex maneuvers.
To an unaware observer, it would have looked like Hikaru was surrounded by a spinning ball of flickering light moving erratically around him.
Hikaru then attempted to make the mirror go further away from him. Clenching his teeth, he strung the chord to its very limit, causing the mirror to fly a few meters away from him. Further pushing was impossible.
A few meters is my max huh. If it's anything like a muscle, maybe I could increase it.
Still, for now it was more than enough. A grin spread over Hikaru's face as he analyzed his quirk.
I'm sure they could work as a great defense. For offense, I wonder if I can use that light I had produced earlier as a beam. That leaves mobility. Hmmm...
It was then that a figurative bulb lit up within him. Hikaru began to cackle deviously.
"Oh man that would be PERFECT." He said, rubbing his hands together. "Hikaru Amateru you are a genius."
He commanded the mirror to lay flat on the grass. Then, stepping on the shining disk, he braced himself.
"Up."
The mirror obeyed.
Hikaru rose smoothly in the air, his balance steady. He realized his body was instinctively maintaining balance, just as it would with any other muscle. The tree branches above him gave way to a brilliant blue sky, greeting him with open arms.
Hikaru spread his own arms open in response, letting the cool wind kiss his cheeks.
Once again, an excited laugh burst from his throat. His unruly hair whipped around him as he flew in circles, riding his mirror like a wizard on a broom.
He had experienced this feeling repeatedly since he had been born into this world. Freedom.
He raised one of his hands dramatically upwards and pointed downwards.
"Through out the heavens and the earth, I alone am the honored one."
He smiled to himself. The phrase felt oddly familiar on his tongue, as though he used to say it frequently.
"Oh wow you're flying!" A voice broke through his revelry.
Hikaru's surprise nearly caused him to slip and fall.
He looked down to see a pink-haired child looking up at him with gleaming eyes. She was one of the most unusual sights he had seen so far. In her hands and the belt surrounded her waist, were an assortment of tools. Hammers, screw drivers and god knows what else.
Are four-year-olds even allowed to have access to those?
The girl smiled excitedly and began jumping when she saw Hikaru lower himself towards her.
"How interesting! You're using a mirror to fly!" She stated the obvious. "Here show me!"
The moment Hikaru landed, she pushed him aside and began to inspect his mirror.
"Hey!" Hikaru began to say.
The girl grabbed hold of his mouth and pressed her face close to his.
"Flying is so cool! I'm going to make a baby that flies too!"
Huh?
Huh???
If Hikaru could see himself from third person, he was sure he would see his eyes popping out of his head.
"Since you can fly, I'm sure you can be helpful in making my baby!"
Ayo what the fuck?
The words she spouted shocked Hikaru out of his stupor, causing him to stumble backwards and fall onto the ground.
"What the hell do you mean by that you delinquent!" His voice sounded shrill to his own ears.
Hikaru could feel his face was hot.
Those words should NOT be coming out of a kid's mouth. Compose yourself Hikaru, you're a grown ass man!
"My inventions!" The girl said excitedly. "I want you to help me make them!"
The sheer amount of relief that rushed through Hikaru's body at her words was overwhelming.
Finally composing himself, Hikaru got up as gracefully as he could manage.
"So you want to be an engineer?"
The girl's smile widened beyond what Hikaru believed to be possible.
The pointed at herself proudly. "Hatsume Mei! I'm going to make inventions the world has never seen before!"
First day here and I've already met a crazy kid. Damn you chalk stick.