The first lesson was held behind the bakery, just after sunset.
The world was dim and warm, bathed in the amber glow of the last rays of sunlight. The alley behind the shop smelled like flour, rain-damp bricks, and cooling bread. It wasn't glamorous. It wasn't a training hall. But it was private — and for now, that was enough.
Kael stood in the middle of the narrow space, hands clenched at his sides, eyes closed.
Aunt Nari leaned against the back wall, arms crossed, watching quietly. A beat-up first-aid kit sat beside her on a crate, just in case.
"You don't have to rush," she said softly. "Just start with what you know."
Kael nodded.
He exhaled slowly and reached for the thread inside him — the sensation he now recognized as borrowed power, like a candle wick burning low but steady. He'd held onto it longer this time. It was still Ren's Quirk — the glass-hard crystallization — but less volatile now. Easier to summon.
He extended his hand.
Thin glass crept across his fingertips, forming sharp, clear points that shimmered like diamonds in the light.
Nari's eyebrows rose. "Still got it."
Kael didn't smile. "Barely. I don't think I could keep it much longer."
"Good. Let it go."
He hesitated. Then focused.
The glass receded. Slowly. It felt like peeling off a part of himself — but it didn't hurt. Just… emptied him a little. The lingering ache told him what he already knew: the more he used, the more he risked slipping. Losing control. Taking too much.
"Again," Nari said.
He obeyed.
What Kael didn't know was that he wasn't alone.
Up on the fire escape above the alley, crouched behind a rusted railing, a pair of wide, curious eyes peered down through a curtain of black curls.
Yumi Hoshino was many things: a loud laugher, an overachiever, a walking burst of sunshine in the shape of a twelve-year-old girl. She was also the proud wielder of one of the most powerful Quirks in their entire prefecture — Starpulse, a cosmic energy manipulation Quirk that allowed her to generate solar flares from her body like bursts of controlled supernova.
Everyone said she was going to be one of the strongest heroes ever to live one day.
Yumi didn't care about that.
She just wanted Kael to be there with her when it happened.
So when she caught wind of him sneaking off every other evening — slipping out behind the bakery like a secret agent — she followed. She wasn't nosy. Just curious. Extremely, dangerously curious.
And now, watching from above, she finally saw it.
Kael's glowing hands. The glassy shimmer. His focused expression.
Yumi's jaw dropped.
"Kael… you liar," she whispered, grinning.
Kael wiped sweat from his brow. Nari handed him a towel.
"That's enough for today."
He nodded, panting softly.
"Still think it's worth it?" he asked, voice quiet.
Nari didn't hesitate. "I think what you've got isn't a curse. It's a test. The world needs someone like you to choose how to use it. So… yeah. I think it's worth it."
He looked away. "Thanks."
Then—
"KAELLLLL!"
He jumped like he'd been electrocuted.
From above, a figure dropped from the fire escape with a practiced roll and landed in a crouch.
Yumi grinned, hands on her hips.
"Were you seriously gonna keep this from me, you absolute doofus?!"
Kael's heart stopped.
Nari blinked. "Ah, if it isn't…"
Kael groaned. "Yumi."
"Hi Miss Nari!" Yumi waved. "Nice to see you again. Also — WHAT THE HECK, KAEL?! You can take AND give Quirks?! Since WHEN?!"
Kael paled. "I didn't mean for you to find out."
"Well I did find out," she said, bouncing on her heels. "And now you're stuck with me."
Nari chuckled and started walking toward the door. "I'll give you two some privacy. Just don't blow up the alley."
"No promises!" Yumi called after her.
Kael sat back on the crate and rubbed his temples.
"I was trying to keep this low-key," he muttered.
Yumi flopped down next to him, legs dangling.
"Why? You think I'd tell people? I'm your best friend, Kael. Not some gossip bot."
He sighed. "It's not that. It's… the more people know, the more danger it causes. People get greedy. Scared. I don't even fully understand my Quirk yet. What if I hurt someone?"
Yumi tilted her head. "What if you help someone?"
He looked at her.
Her voice softened. "I've seen you. Always holding back. Always walking careful, like the ground under you might shatter. But it won't. Not if I'm there to hold your hand."
Kael blinked.
Yumi smiled and reached over, poking his cheek. "You don't get to be the only secret weapon in this friendship, mister. You and me — we're gonna be pro heroes one day. Side by side. Got it?"
His chest ached — in the best way.
"Yumi…"
"Also," she added with a mischievous grin, "your stance is garbage. You're way too stiff when you summon the crystal stuff."
Kael scoffed. "I just started training!"
"Doesn't matter. I'm training you now!"
The next day, they met in the alley again.
Kael focused on drawing out borrowed Quirks — using Ren's crystallization to simulate different techniques. Yumi, always glowing with little flecks of solar heat around her hands, offered critique, jokes, and snacks.
She had a way of making the impossible feel like a game.
But she wasn't careless.
"Kael," she said one evening, more serious than usual, "have you tried taking from animals?"
"No," he said, frowning. "It only works on people with quirks."
"Good," she nodded. "Because if someone else had your Quirk, they probably would."
Kael nodded grimly.
"I know."
A Storm Coming
They trained together for days. Weeks.
Yumi kept him grounded. Challenged him. Encouraged him.
But Kael couldn't shake the feeling that eyes were watching.
Sometimes when he left the alley, the street lights flickered.
Sometimes he caught glimpses of dark cars idling too long nearby.
And sometimes, at night, he heard his cousin Yuto's voice in the next room — low, hushed, angry — but never caught the words.
Something was coming.
He just didn't know what.
Not yet.