The Yukimura estate wasn't the largest in Musutafu—but it felt that way to a six-year-old with a mind full of heroes and a heart bursting with questions. Behind its high walls and winding gardens, time moved slower. Softer. As if the estate lived in its own little world—one where tradition lingered like mist and whispers traveled farther than sound.Kaito Yukimura was born into that stillness, into a family that prided itself on legacy, secrecy, and strength. He didn't understand all of that yet. Not really. But he knew this much: people bowed a little deeper when they passed his father. His mother rarely raised her voice, yet every servant followed her like gravity. And every adult who looked at Kaito did so with expectation in their eyes.He didn't know what they expected. He just hoped it was something cool.Because Kaito loved quirks.Not in the way adults did—politically, practically, with percentages and potential. He loved them like stories. Like magic. He was the kind of kid who asked the same question twenty different ways just to hear someone describe their power again."Does it hurt when you use it?"
"Can you turn it off?"
"Have you ever used it to fight a villain?!"The staff humored him. Mostly.Some smiled politely and answered once. Others laughed and ruffled his hair. A few avoided him entirely after the third or fourth interrogation. But there was one person Kaito never got tired of watching—and never grew tired of following.Reina.She was the estate's newest housemaid. Barely out of her teens, with silver-white hair that shimmered even in the dim hall light. She moved like wind in soft fabric, quiet and graceful. Her laugh was rare, her presence gentle. She never scolded Kaito when he trailed her into the laundry rooms or shadowed her while she dusted the family portraits.But it wasn't just her kindness.It was the rumor.He'd overheard it once—two older servants whispering near the back garden while folding bedsheets."They say she has wings, you know."
"Wings?"
"Real ones. Crystal or something. Saw her float once. Thought I was imagining it, but—"That was all it took. Kaito became obsessed.He watched her every chance he got, hoping for a glimpse. A sparkle. A shimmer. Something.And that hope grew, bloomed, took root. Until one warm spring morning…He saw it.That morning, the breeze carried the smell of fresh grass and wet stone, and the sky above the Yukimura estate was a clean canvas of pale blue. Kaito crouched behind the trunk of a carefully pruned cherry blossom tree, peeking out between the branches. Reina stood in the courtyard, a basket of white sheets resting on her hip as she moved toward the clothesline with her usual grace.She was humming again. Kaito didn't recognize the tune, but it made him feel warm—like something secret passed between the notes. He held his breath and watched.She clipped one sheet. Then another. The wind teased at the corners, tugging one loose.The sheet flapped upward, dancing on an invisible current, drifting farther and farther until it snagged in the branches of a nearby tree—just a few meters off the ground. Reina sighed and looked around.No one in sight.She placed the basket down.And then she changed.It was subtle at first—her breath stilled, her body focused. Her shoulders squared, and for just a second, Kaito felt like he was watching someone far more powerful than a maid.Light shimmered at her back. Then burst outward.Wings.Not feathery, not insect-like. These were made of refracted light—thin panes of crystalline shimmer that unfolded like glass blades. They caught the sunlight and scattered it in brilliant arcs, sparkling across the garden in dazzling colors.With a single beat of those wings, Reina lifted off the ground.Kaito's jaw dropped.She moved effortlessly, gliding upward with practiced precision. She reached the tree branch, plucked the wayward sheet, and hovered for just a heartbeat longer—eyes closed, smiling faintly as the wind kissed her face.Then she descended, folding her wings mid-air. They vanished in a quiet flicker as her feet touched the ground."Whoa," Kaito whispered, his voice barely audible.But Reina heard it.She froze.Her eyes snapped toward the tree—and there he was, halfway out from behind it, wide-eyed and grinning like he'd just witnessed a miracle.Reina gasped, clutching the sheet to her chest. "Young master?!""You're like a butterfly made of light!" Kaito said, awestruck.Reina rushed over, looking left and right in a panic. "You can't be here! You weren't supposed to see that!""Why not? That was amazing!" he beamed."I—I'm not allowed to use it around the family. Please, you have to forget what you saw. Don't tell anyone, alright?"Kaito stepped forward, his hands raised in excitement. "But how does it work? Are they made of energy? Can you fly high? Is it a full quirk or just part of one?!""Wait, don't—!" she said, backing away as he reached out.But it was too late.Kaito's fingertips brushed the sleeve of her uniform.A jolt ran through his arm. His spine tingled. The world spun—And then he was off the ground.The wind roared in his ears as light erupted from his back, the exact same wings blooming behind him in perfect symmetry. For a second, he hovered in place, suspended like a dream.Then instinct—or excitement—took over."I'M FLYING!" Kaito yelled, streaking into the air.Reina stood frozen, hand outstretched as Kaito soared overhead, weaving through the air with unsteady loops. His wings shimmered, casting flickers of color across the estate walls like dancing prisms."Come down!" she called, chasing after him. "Please, young master! You can't—"But Kaito wasn't listening.He dipped over the garden hedge, whooped with laughter as he spiraled upward, then flapped hard and launched even higher, narrowly avoiding a stone lantern. His coordination was nonexistent—wings flapping unevenly, legs dangling—but the joy on his face was unmistakable."THIS IS SO COOL!" he shouted.A groundskeeper stopped mid-rake and dropped his tool. A maid carrying fresh linens screamed. Two butlers dashed outside, eyes wide as they looked up.And then the front doors of the estate opened.Akihiko Yukimura stepped onto the polished stone patio, sleeves rolled up, expression unreadable. He looked up once—just once—and then his voice cut through the rising panic like a blade."Kaito."Kaito stalled mid-dive."Down. Now."The command wasn't loud. But it didn't need to be. It carried a weight that pressed the air flat.Kaito blinked. Then descended, wings flickering awkwardly as he stumbled into a landing, nearly tumbling over his own feet. He looked up with a grin."Dad! Did you see?! I was—""Inside." Akihiko didn't look at him. His eyes were on Reina.She bowed deeply, trembling. "Sir, I—I didn't mean—""Inside," he repeated, now directing both Kaito and Reina toward the house.No more words were needed.The study was dim, sunlight filtering through slatted blinds. The only sound was the ticking of a wall clock, slow and deliberate.Kaito sat on a floor cushion in front of the family desk, fidgeting with the hem of his shirt.Akihiko stood behind the desk, silent for what felt like forever."Tell me what happened," he finally said.Kaito launched into the story—how he saw the sheet fly away, how Reina got it, how she flew, how her wings looked like crystal, and how he touched her and then boom, wings!Akihiko said nothing until Kaito finished. Then he walked to the window and stared out for a long moment."You've awakened your quirk."Kaito tilted his head. "So… it's wings?""No," Akihiko replied calmly. "You have my quirk. Copy."Kaito blinked. "Like yours?"Akihiko turned. "Yes. I can copy someone's quirk for twenty-four hours after touching them. It appears you've inherited the same trait.""But… I've been flying for longer than that. It didn't go away."His father's gaze narrowed, just slightly. "It may fade later. First awakenings can be inconsistent."Kaito nodded slowly, though deep down, he felt something different. This wasn't like a toy borrowed for the day. It felt… his. Whole. Like those wings had always been waiting.Akihiko knelt before him. "Listen carefully. You must never use your quirk in front of others without permission. Not even with the staff. Not even with Reina."Kaito's face fell. "But—why?""Because people fear what they don't understand. And quirks like yours? They're rare. Dangerous in the wrong hands. We must protect you—and the family. Understand?"Kaito hesitated, then nodded. "Okay…"Akihiko placed a hand on his shoulder. It wasn't a warm gesture. More like placing a seal. "Good."The days that followed felt different.Nothing outward had changed—Reina still folded sheets and hummed, the butlers still polished silver trays, and Kaito still had his midday lessons in the study. But everything felt heavier. Like someone had pressed a hand over the world and told it to stay quiet.Kaito kept the secret. He didn't talk about the wings, didn't draw them in his schoolwork, didn't bring them up at dinner. Not even to Reina.But inside?He couldn't stop thinking about it.The sensation still lived in his bones—how the wind had kissed his face, how the light had caught beneath him as he flew, how right it had felt.So, when curiosity itched at his fingers, he scratched it in secret.He began testing things—innocently, at first. Just questions in his mind and little experiments with his body."Maybe I need to jump really hard…"In the backyard, when the staff wasn't watching, he hopped off stepping stones and garden benches. Nothing."Maybe I have to flap…"He flailed his arms like a duck, tried diving off a small shed. He fell into the koi pond."Maybe if I believe hard enough…"Eyes shut, arms out, feet off the edge—he held his breath and willed the wings to come back.Still nothing.Each failed attempt left him feeling more confused. More alone.Because while the staff talked and smiled and carried on like nothing had happened, Kaito walked around with a secret no one else knew. No one else felt the spark inside him. And the longer it sat inside him—unspoken—the more distant he began to feel from everyone else.He still played. Still read books. Still answered his tutor's questions.But a part of him had already taken flight and never come down.At night, he would lay on his back and stare at the ceiling, the soft glow-in-the-dark stars above him twinkling in their painted constellations. He wondered what it meant to have a power you weren't allowed to use. Was it really his if he couldn't show anyone?He started drawing.First it was just wings—wide, arcing structures made of glass, or light, or cloud. Then it was different versions of himself: Kaito with flame wings. Kaito with bird wings. Kaito flying through city skylines.He kept them all in a box beneath his bed.On one page, he wrote:"What if I never get to fly again?"On another:"Reina still smiled at me today. Maybe she didn't tell either."He didn't realize it then, but these small rituals—the drawings, the hiding, the quiet thoughts before bed—were the beginning of something else.Not just his secret.But his identity.One week later, it happened again.It was a quiet afternoon, the kind where the sky seemed to sleep and the estate moved at half-speed. The air was thick with the scent of trimmed hedges and fresh laundry.Kaito had wandered out to the koi pond again—his favorite spot. He wasn't thinking about flying anymore, not really. He was thinking about dragonflies. One in particular, whose iridescent wings shimmered just like Reina's had.The little insect had perched on a lily leaf, still as a statue.Kaito leaned out across the stepping stones, arms stretched wide, trying to get a closer look.One foot slipped."Whoa—!"He flailed.And just before he could crash into the pond, he stopped.Not with a thud. Not with a splash.With a lift.The wings burst out of him like breath held too long. One beat—two—and he hovered half a meter off the water, suspended in shimmering light.His heart stopped.He looked at his reflection. At the glimmering wings behind him. At the startled koi scattering beneath him.Then, just as suddenly as they came… the wings vanished.He fell into the pond with a splash.Reina found him five minutes later, soaked and shivering, sitting on the edge of the stones with his shoes in his hands."Are you alright, young master?""Yeah," he said, coughing.She offered a towel, then paused—eyes narrowing just for a second.Had she seen?She didn't ask.He didn't tell.But when she turned to walk away, he thought he caught the smallest smile at the edge of her lips.That night, wrapped in dry pajamas and huddled beneath the covers, Kaito opened his sketchbook.He didn't draw wings this time.He drew himself—arms spread wide, eyes closed, hair blowing in the wind. Not flying. Just… ready.And beneath it, he wrote in his neatest, most determined handwriting:"I will become a hero.
And I'll do it my way."He closed the book and tucked it under his pillow like a secret.Not just a dream.A decision.