It happened on a Tuesday afternoon.
Aki had been playing in the bathroom, splashing water everywhere as usual, when he felt something shift inside him. The water didn't just splash when he hit it, but moved with him, following his hand like it was attached by invisible strings.
His grey eyes widened in delight.
"Fuyumi-nee! FUYUMI-NEE!" He came barreling out of the bathroom, leaving a trail of water droplets behind him. "LOOK LOOK LOOK!"
Fuyumi was in the kitchen preparing snacks. She turned just in time to see Aki thrust his hand forward. The water that had been dripping from his hair suddenly gathered in the air, forming a wobbling sphere about the size of an apple.
"See?! See?!" Aki bounced on his toes, his red hair still dripping. "I can do it! I got my quirk! Just like Shoto!"
Fuyumi's eyes widened, and despite everything weighing on her shoulders, she managed a genuine smile. "Aki, that's amazing! You can manipulate water!"
"Water man-ip-u-lay-shun!" Aki repeated the big words carefully, his chest puffing out with pride. The water sphere wobbled more enthusiastically. "I gotta show everyone! Natsu-nii! NATSU-NII!"
Before Fuyumi could say anything about maybe being careful or practicing first, Aki had already taken off running, the water sphere trailing behind him like a pet.
She sighed and followed him. One can never leave an excited Aki without adult supervision. Oh wait, she isn't an adult.
Natsuo was in his room, trying to study, when his door burst open.
"NATSU-NII! WATCH THIS!" Aki declared, striking a pose that he probably thought looked cool but mostly made him look like he needed to use the bathroom.
"Aki, I'm busy—" Natsuo started, but stopped when he saw the water floating in the air. "Wait, is that... did you get your quirk?"
"Uh-huh! Uh-huh!" Aki nodded so enthusiastically his whole body moved. "It's water man-ip-u-lay-shun! I can control water! Watch!"
He made the sphere split into smaller droplets, then brought them back together. It was clumsy, unrefined, but undeniably real.
Natsuo watched with his arms crossed. After a moment, he snorted. "Water manipulation? That's kind of weak, isn't it? Shoto can make ice AND fire. Moving water around is really unimpressive."
The words were meant as typical older brother teasing, but they hit something deep in Aki. His expression shifted, the perpetual grin faltering for just a moment before being replaced by something more dangerous.
"Weaker than Shoto's?" Aki repeated, his voice taking on a strange quality. "You think it's weaker than Shoto's, Natsu-nii?"
"I mean, yeah—" Natsuo didn't get to finish his sentence.
The water sphere shot forward with surprising speed and completely enveloped Natsuo's head, forming a perfect sphere of water that trapped his face inside. Natsuo's eyes went wide with shock as he immediately tried to inhale, only to get a mouthful of water.
"Aki—!" he tried to shout, but it came out as bubbles.
Natsuo's hands came up, frost already forming on his fingertips as his quirk activated instinctively. He was about to freeze the water when—
"NATSUO, DON'T!" Fuyumi's scream came from the doorway. She had arrived just in time.
Natsuo froze, literally and figuratively. His eyes widened with the realization: if he froze the water around his head, he'd freeze his own head too.
His lungs were already burning. Black spots were starting to dance at the edges of his vision. He fell to his knees, clawing at the water sphere, but his hands just went through it uselessly.
"AKI, STOP THIS RIGHT NOW!" Fuyumi shouted, but there was panic in her voice.
Aki stood there, head tilted to the side, watching with those grey eyes. "But Natsu-nii said it was weak. I'm just showing him it's not weak."
"AKI!"
The door slammed open again. Rei stood there, her white hair disheveled, her eyes taking in the scene instantly, Natsuo on his knees, face trapped in a sphere of water, lips turning blue.
"AKI! RELEASE HIM NOW!" Her voice cracked like a whip, sharp with terror and authority.
The command in his mother's voice finally broke through. Aki blinked, and the water sphere suddenly collapsed, splashing all over the floor. Natsuo fell forward, gasping and coughing, water streaming from his nose and mouth as he desperately sucked in air.
Fuyumi rushed to Natsuo's side, helping him sit up as he continued to cough violently.
Rei knelt beside them, checking Natsuo over with shaking hands. "Breathe, sweetheart, just breathe. You're okay. You're okay."
After a moment, when she was sure Natsuo wasn't seriously hurt, Rei stood and turned to face Aki.
The five-year-old was standing in a puddle of water, his red hair plastered to his head. But instead of looking remorseful or scared, he was smiling, that same cheerful, energetic smile he always wore.
"Mama, did you see?!" Aki bounced forward, splashing in the water. "I got my quirk! It's super strong, right?! Natsu-nii couldn't even break out of it! I'm strong like Shoto now! If you tell Daddy, he'll be so—"
"Aki." Rei's voice was ice cold. "What you just did was extremely dangerous. Your brother couldn't breathe. Do you understand that?"
Aki's smile faltered slightly. "But... but he said my quirk was weak."
"That doesn't matter!" Rei's voice rose. "You could have killed him! You almost—" She stopped herself, taking a shaking breath. "Natsuo could have died, Aki."
"But he didn't," Aki said, confused by the reaction. "And now he knows my quirk isn't weak! See? I'm strong! I can do cool things like Shoto! Aren't you proud?"
The question hung in the air like a guillotine blade.
Rei looked at her youngest son, so desperate for approval, for recognition, for praise, and saw echoes of Touya in those grey eyes. A different kind of desperation, perhaps, wrapped in cheerfulness instead of rage, but desperation nonetheless.
"Go to your room," Rei said quietly. "Now."
"But Mama—"
"NOW, AKI!"
The shout made Aki flinch. His bottom lip trembled for a moment, the first real sign that he understood he'd done something wrong, before he turned and ran from the room, water trailing behind him with each step.
Behind Rei, Natsuo was still coughing, his face pale. Fuyumi rubbed his back, tears streaming down her own face.
Rei closed her eyes, wondering what kind of family they'd become, where a five-year-old would nearly drown his brother and then ask for praise.