\\ Original Timeline //
\\ At The Police Station //
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After the prevented incident, my parents explained to Shinso's parents exactly what I saw and what my aunty Midnight did to help. Then we told them that she would pick us up to meet with the Chief of police since he needed an explanation.
Not only for his own records, but the police had to report to the Hero Public Safety Commission and they needed a written explanation about the matter.
Since we came as a group, Shinso's parents asked if they should tag along too. But my parents talked them out of the idea since they didn't want to drag them into it directly. Hitoshi didn't like the idea of being separated from me and neither did I, but we said bye temporarily. They also said they'd wait back at the hotel until we were done so we didn't feel left out.
After we split, we met up with my aunt out front and left the grand amusement park in the undercover police car. And after a fifteen minute drive, we arrived at the station.
My parents and I went with aunty Midnight into an office. Shortly after getting settled in the chairs available, the Chief entered. He was older than my parents by a few years given the tired look he held in his brown eyes, and his blond hair had grey streaks in it.
We all silently watched as he took his seat behind his desk. And once he was settled, the discussion began.
"Chief, this is my cousin, her husband and daughter," aunty Midnight kicked off the introductions.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Aimi Otani."
"And I'm Kaito Otani."
"Nice to meet you, I'm Chief Akagi," he said respectfully.
My parents returned his greeting with respectful nods while I stared at my hands in my lap. I hadn't realized they asked me to introduce myself until my mom encouraged me with a pat on the shoulder.
"Oh, uh, my n-name is Rini Otani. N-Nice to meet you," I shyly muttered.
All the adults in the room acknowledged my soft reply and the Chief offered a friendly small smile. But as soon as introductions were done, they jumped into the reason why we were all there.
"Like I promised to explain earlier Chief, the reason I knew about the suspect's motives and apprehended him before he could do anything. . ." aunty Midnight began and caught his attention.
I played with my hands in my lap as she spoke.
". . . is all thanks. . ."
My mom placed a comforting hand over my fidgeting hands.
". . . to my niece here."
Suddenly all eyes were on me and I avoided everyone's gaze by shrinking more into myself. If that was even possible.
"How?" Was all the Chief said in response, his tone holding perplexity.
My aunt then turned to my mom and dad as a way for them to bud in, and my mom boldly took the lead.
"Well, it's because of her quirk."
"She has a perception type," my dad added quite vaguely.
But the mere mention of it stunned the Chief into an awestruck silence. I had to glance up at him to make sure he was still with us.
"A p-perception type? Those are extremely hard to come by these days. And from what I hear, they only allow the person to see the future but they can't change anything. . . Is that what happened? You saw something and prevented it from happening?" He rambled to my parents before looking down at me with a glint of something in his eyes.
I realize in hindsight that glint meant that he saw the potential and the benefits my quirk had to prevent anything from happening. But my parents and aunt recognized it immediately and quickly shut down any ideas he had brewing in his mind.
"Our daughter can prevent these events from ever coming true, like what you witnessed earlier today. But she also has to live with seeing something we can only imagine," my dad began in a somber tone.
"And based on your reaction, you see her the way everyone else would when you learn about her quirk," my mom added in a less friendly tone while wrapping an arm around me.
She clearly hinted to the fact that I could be used.
"I apologize if my words may have offended you in some way. . ." Chief Akagi started in an apologetic tone.
"But you must understand that this kind of quirk. . . This kind of power your daughter possesses can help a lot of people. She could be an aid to Heroes and the HPSC here, or abroad, and save many lives. She could be an early warning system for natural disasters, unforeseen accidents, or literally anything and she can change it for the good of mankind. She has a responsibility with that quirk to help where she can," he finished in a more pragmatic tone.
My family was having none of it.
"We understand that. But she is our daughter, our child, and she should have a chance to enjoy her childhood. She should not have to spend every moment of her life from this point forward providing information for the world," my mom firmly countered.
"We know it may sound selfish or unreasonable to keep her from preventing incidents in our society, and possibly incidents in the world at large, but you can not sit there and say to me or my wife that our six and a half year old daughter has to carry the weight of the world on her shoulders," my dad backed her up with an unwavering resolve.
"They're right Chief. As much as I want to see more cases of incidents resolved before they can even occur, it wouldn't be considerate or ethical to burden my niece with such a huge responsibility. There's nothing to debate. I only wanted to explain how we averted that robbery earlier. Nothing more, nothing less," my aunty Midnight added while crossing her arms.
At this point, Chief Akagi seemed to have received the message. Key word being seemed as he sighed and looked down at the paperwork regarding said averted robbery. He then met my parents gaze once more.
"You don't know how hard this line of work is. . . Everyday there is something to stop or respond to and sometimes you wish you could get a little heads up beforehand. . . Every second counts. . ." He trailed with a heavy hearted tone.
"Excuse me for interrupting, but I know. I'm with the Search and Rescue division," my dad disclosed.
"Really? Then you of all people should know how valuable every moment is to save a life," he replied while furrowing his brows.
He then quickly added, "Quite frankly, I shouldn't be the one having this conversation with you. The HPSC should be made aware of your daughter's quirk. This isn't a light discussion that can be dismissed so easily."
"Respectfully Sir, given the nature of my daughter's quirk, her well being is more valuable. And it's her choice alone to decide when she is older to aid where she can, when she can. Not ours, or yours, or even the HPSC's decision," my dad returned, driving the point that I was a child and my life was in my own hands.
He also hinted to the fact my quirk had a serious drawback that put me in a coma if I looked too far.
"And before you say anything more, we would appreciate you not sharing the details regarding our daughter and her quirk to anyone. Including the HPSC. It is within our right as her parents to ask of this from you," my mom delivered the final blow.
Chief Akagi had a dumbfounded look on his face. He couldn't believe my parents resolve. Or my aunts supportive and intimidating presence during the whole discussion.
The brief silence that followed made me glance up at my family by my side then at the dazed man sitting before us. However, he caught my gaze and decided to rope me directly into the conversation.
"What do you think young lady? Do you want to save people like what you did today?"
My parents gawked in surprise at his directed questions towards me.
"Chief, you can not be serious," my aunt said in a defensive way.
"I apologize for overstepping, but your niece," he started while looking at my aunt.
"Your daughter," he said while looking at my parents.
"Can share her own thoughts about what she wants to do with her own power. Perception type quirk users are statistically ninety percent more mature than those in their age group because of the experiences they have from the use of their quirk. And once again I am sorry for overstepping but she has a right to share how she feels about it too," he made a sound argument because I was more mature than everyone in my class.
My mom and dad looked at each other with similar reluctant expressions on their faces before looking down at me. They couldn't deny the fact I was more mature or the fact I could share my thoughts on the matter. So they rested a hand on either my shoulders and encouraged me to speak my mind as the Chief suggested.
And before I spoke, I felt the familiar feeling of my vision flowing the way it should with this situation. The after images briefly flashed in my head and I knew this is what was supposed to happen.
"Um. . . I don't like what I saw in my-my vision. . . It was scary and I'm g-glad I helped stop it by telling my aunty Midnight. . . I don't want to see anyone get hurt like that again. . ." I mumbled while fidgeting with my hands again.
The Chief gave a nod and was about to say something, but I quickly added while looking him dead in the eyes:
"But y-your right Mr. Chief sir that perception quirk users are more mature. . . Wise beyond their years so to speak. . . So I know too t-that if I were to agree with your reasoning and use my quirk now, it would be wrong since I'm only a child. Not only would my childhood be replaced by keeping up with the demands of authority figures like you, so would my health be at risk due to the parameters of my quirk I am not obligated to disclose," I stated with a mature tone.
Silence.
My parents were silent.
My aunt was silent.
Chief Akagi was silent.
And before anyone could say anything more, I recalled what would happen next in my vision and said it out loud.
"You reacted just like this in my vision. . . Then your detective knocks on the door and interrupts to ask how my aunty Midnight knew the villains intentions and what to put down on the file. And you are going to lie and keep this to yourself."
Before the Chief could open his mouth to challenge what I said, a knock followed by the door opening cut him off. All the adults in the room turned to look at the detective with black hair and he hesitated at the sudden attention.
"Sorry for interrupting, but Chief we just got the perp's confession that he was going to rob the bank. I added it to his file for processing. . . But how do we explain that Midnight stopped him beforehand?" He said as he walked up to the chief and gave him the file.
The Chief looked at the file. Then at me.
I tilted my chin up just a little as if to say go on.
"Midnight received an anonymous tip. Put that down in the file and bring it back so I can sign off on it," He lied before handing the paper back.
"Okay, will do," the detective didn't question him, although he had a quirked brow, then excused himself from the room.
The very silent room.
After a solid minute of silence and awkward glances, the Chief cleared his throat.
"Well. . . I won't tell the HPSC," he told my parents and aunt.
The room's atmosphere shifted into a more relaxed mood after his statement. But then he proceeded with his personal opinion on the matter.
"However, please consider sending anonymous tips whenever you can about incidents in the future. . . I still don't think you should keep this information to yourself."
My parents gave a small nod to show their open mindedness and didn't say anything more. But my aunt, just like in my vision, decided to give the old and experienced Chief some hope.
"Don't worry Chief, my little Rini here knows her own path and she intends to become a Pro Hero when she grows up."
Chief Akagi sighed happily at her reassuring words then looked down at me with a changed glint in his eyes.
"That's good to hear. I hope you reach your goal some day."
I gave him a firm, confident nod.
"I do because I saw it in my vision," I affirmed.
The old and experienced officer gave a happy and hopeful smile. One I'm sure he rarely expressed.
"I don't doubt that you do."
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\\ Back At Universal Studios //
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When we left the police station, my parents and aunt praised me for speaking so maturely and acting like a young adult during such a long and serious discussion with the Chief. They also said they will support whatever decision I make regarding the use of my quirk.
I gave a nod to show I understood and we kind of left the conversation at that. . . But I'd be lying to myself if I didn't agree with some of the Chief's comments.
By the time we got back to the hotel, I had already imagined dozens of real life situations that I could prevent with my quirk and how selfish it would be if I didn't help. I hid my pondering expressions behind a facade, but as I'd come to realize, I couldn't hide anything from Hitoshi.
"How'd it go?" He asked cautiously.
Our party of seven had just stepped out of the elevator and into the lobby when he asked me that question. Since the adults were silently chatting about the mornings earlier events behind us, they didn't hear our soft spoken conversation as we walked towards the shuttle waiting outside.
"It went alright. . ."
"You have that look on your face again," he quietly replied.
"What face?"
"That face you make when you are upset and hiding something."
I pouted and played with my long hair as we entered the shuttle and took our seats.
"You also play with your hair whenever you try to hide something," he pointed out, causing me to gawk at him.
"W-What? I do not!" I quietly protested.
"You do. . . So tell me what's wrong. I thought we promised to always be there for each other?"
I sighed then glanced at our parents and my aunty Midnight who were now talking about random things from their seats up front. I then glanced around to see if anyone was listening before turning back to Hitoshi.
"The Chief said I could save a lot of lives with my quirk and that I should be helping society now. . . But my parents and aunt said no because I'm a child. . . And when he asked me what I thought, I said no too considering I am a child and my quirk takes a toll on me. . . But I also feel like the Chief is right."
Hitoshi hummed in response as he thought deeply about it for a minute. I patiently waited for his reply since I knew he was finding the right words to say.
"What if you do help by telling your aunty Midnight what you see in your visions and then she can take it from there?"
"That's basically what the Chief asked if I could do by giving anonymous tips," I muttered, but he gave me a blank look. "Anonymous means that no one will know its me," I supplied.
"Oh."
I gave a slow nod at his single worded reply and stared out the window.
"Well then do that," he declared.
"Huh?"
"Do that then. And your aunty Midnight can say that she gets her information from anonymous tips and you can be a Hero from behind the scenes."
"How can I do that if my quirk makes me fall into a coma everytime I look too far?" I whispered with wholehearted confusion.
"What if you use it before bedtime? That way you can sleep and when you wake up in the morning you can tell your aunty midnight what you saw on the news?"
"I'd have to start watching the news every morning now though," I mumbled while seriously considering his plan.
"If that's what it takes to be a Hero then I guess that's okay?" he shrugged.
I shrugged with him since we were literally two six year olds plotting a way to help people on a shuttle bus. A moment passed between us and then I remembered what the Chief, my aunt, and parents mentioned more than once in that discussion: the HPSC.
"They also mentioned something called the Hero Public Safety Commission. The Chief said that I could help them, but my parents said no. . . I guess they're a big deal," I started with a quizzical tone.
"Hmm. . . I think I heard of them on TV once," Hitoshi mumbled while holding his chin.
"I'm gonna look them up when we get home," I stated nonchalantly.
Eventually the shuttle arrived and we entered the park once more. This time my future vision didn't get in the way and we practically ran full speed ahead at the first ride.
We spent a whole day of fun on all the rides we could go on at the grand park. Hitoshi and I were joined at the hip every step of the way, only separating when we went to the bathroom. Our parents were also enjoying themselves alongside my aunty who even offered to watch us so they could go on the larger adult rides. She also got us ice cream like she promised me earlier.
All in all, everyone enjoyed the experience.
When the sky slowly tinted from its beautiful sky blue to a lavender purple, the park announced its closing of rides and we trudged ourselves out of the park on tired feet. The shuttle picked us up and during the short distance Hitoshi and I fell asleep on each other. He had his face pressed against the window and mouth slightly open with drool threatening to escape while I had my head leaning on his shoulder.
We were knocked out cold. . . But when our parents carried us up to the rooms and tucked us in, I stirred out of my slumber without them noticing. And then I overheard my parents quiet conversation about the days events as they were backing away from the bed silently.
"She was so mature at the police station, Kaito. . ." My mom whispered.
"I know. . ." My dad muttered while he went by her side.
"I honestly found her tone and use of words chilling. . . She's barely seven and she made a rebuttal that shut a seasoned police Chief up," my moms calm voice drifted into a more concerned one.
"I hate to admit it, but hearing her talk like an adult sent a shiver down my spine too."
At my parents silent confession, I frowned under the sheet. My quirk and maturity unintentionally scared them.
"What if we aren't making the right decision by not allowing her to help people with her quirk? What does that make us?" My mom asked with sincere heartache in her tone.
I couldn't help the frown on my face at her questions. Nor could I help to sneak a peek at them.
"It makes us her parents who care about her health and wellbeing," my dad answered.
From where they stood at the end of the bed, he gave her a comforting look and rested one hand reassuringly on her waist and the other cupping her cheek. My mom leaned into his touch and closed her eyes for a moment before letting out a sigh.
"You're right. . . But why do I still feel guilty?"
My dad let out a breath and looked down at the carpeted floor. A moment of silence passed before he spoke up.
"How about we ask Rini after the vacation if she truthfully wants to help. If she says yes, we tell Nemuri and take it from there. But if she says no, we don't push. Either way, we will support her decision and see where it takes us as a family."
After another silent moment passed, my mom gave a nod and whispered an "okay" before they left the room.
As I watched them leave, I wondered what I should decide. I figured if I said yes then I'd no longer be a carefree kid. And if I said no then I'd be a selfish child.
The thought ran through my head a few more times before I recalled my moms words:
"What if we aren't making the right decision by not allowing her to help people with her quirk? What does that make us?"
I felt bad too for thinking about the possible consequences of not using my quirk for good. I also felt bad for making my mom concerned and guilty.
I didn't know what to do. In my half-awake state I couldn't focus hard enough to recall what I did in my vision. I was simply too sleepy to think. . . And then my thoughts suddenly went back to what Hitoshi said on the bus:
"What if you use it before bedtime? That way you can sleep and when you wake up in the morning you can tell your aunty midnight what you saw on the news?"
I never tried that method before, and quite frankly felt dumb for not thinking about using it that way in the first place.
So, without another second to lose, I decided to use my quirk and kill two birds with one stone. I could test Hitoshi's advice and find out what choice I make that wouldn't effect my future.
I glanced over at the alarm clock that read 9:50 PM then closed my eyes. The familiar calendar appeared and I quickly calculated how far I wanted to see. I decided two weeks would be enough and it would only make me fall asleep for roughly an hour, then once I got my answer I'll go back to sleep.
With my mind made up, I navigated the calendar and watched as two weeks worth of time flew by.
And just like that, I saw the first step I needed to take to help the big leagues.
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