I didn’t like being cornered.

  Especially not by men in suits holding surveillance footage of me knocking out six men like I was some martial arts anime protagonist.

  But I wasn’t stupid.

  They didn’t come to arrest me.

  They came to recruit me.

  “Ren Hoshino,” the front man barked, his tone clipped and cold. “You’re not normal. And we’re not here to pretend otherwise.”

  I said nothing.

  “You exhibited enhanced strength, reflexes, and regenerative capacity during a high-stress situation.”

  Still quiet.

  “We’ve been watching anomalies like you. You’re the first to show… this kind of reaction.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “This kind of reaction?”

  The second agent tapped the tablet. On screen: me, mid-air, eyes glowing faintly, hoodie whipping behind me like a cape, one foot inches away from Daigo’s jaw.

  “Tell me something, Mr. Hoshino—what exactly are you?”

  I didn’t answer.

  I exhaled instead.

  And just like that—I was human again.

  Pain came flooding back. Knees weak. Head pounding. Lungs burning.

  But I stood my ground. “I’m a high school student. And I’d like to go back to class now.”

  The third agent smirked. The lead didn’t flinch. “You’re something much more. You know it. We know it. And so does she.”

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  He glanced at Yuki.

  My fists clenched. “She’s not involved.”

  “But she saw you,” he replied calmly. “And now, so does everyone else.”

  They didn’t take me.

  They didn’t even threaten me.

  They just left—with a warning.

  “We’ll be watching. When you’re ready… We’ll come again. Next time, don’t hold your breath too long.”

  He said it like a joke.

  But I felt the weight in his words.

  Yuki and I walked home together in silence.

  Until we stopped at the old bridge where the sakura trees bloomed early. The petals danced in the breeze like falling stars.

  “You okay?” she asked.

  “No,” I admitted.

  “Good. Because I’m not either.”

  We stood side by side, listening to the river whisper beneath us.

  “I don’t want you to fight anymore,” she said.

  “I don’t have a choice.”

  She looked at me then, eyes sharp. “You always have a choice. Don’t forget that.”

  And then—before I could say anything—she leaned in.

  Her forehead touched mine. Her hand found my wrist.

  Her breath, warm and steady, whispered across my skin.

  “You may become invincible when you stop breathing, Ren… but maybe, just maybe—you’re strongest when you let yourself live.”

  That nearly shattered me.

  That night, I had a dream.

  Flashes. Fire. Screams.

  A girl—not Yuki—trapped under rubble.

  My voice is calling out. My lungs are on fire.

  A heartbeat is slowing. A tear is falling.

  Then darkness.

  And in the black—

  A symbol. A name. Whispered like a curse.

  "Project NOX."

  I woke up drenched in sweat, heart racing.

  Something terrible was coming.

  And this time... holding my breath might not be enough.

  you’re not ordinary anymore, and the world knows it. The tension between what Ren is and what he wants to be will keep growing, especially as Project NOX begins to cast its shadow.

  — Kevin Kay Agno