(February 20th, 1987)
Haru was sitting on the floor, legs crossed, eyes locked onto the laptop screen with fierce concentration.
On the screen, colorful balloons floated steadily down a winding path.
"Come on…" he muttered.
A dart monkey fired, followed by a cascade of flashy effects from the other towers placed along the track, explosions, flashes, and popping sounds filling the screen.
It didn't matter.
One by one, the remaining balloons slipped past everything and crossed the finish line.
Defeat splashed across the screen.
Haru stared at the screen for a moment.
"…Damn it."
He sighed and started up another round, muttering under his breath. Then his thoughts drifted. 'When are they going to get back?'
His parents had gone out for a checkup to see how the baby was progressing, and he was waiting for them to return.
CLICK! CLICK!
In the midst of playing the game, Haru felt a tickle crawl up his nose. 'Ah, shit…'
He turned his face away from the screen, bracing to sneeze.
"AH-CHU!"
But instead of a normal sneeze, something completely unexpected erupted.
FUUUUSH!!!
A sudden, powerful gust of air blasted from his mouth, rattling papers and sending the laptop tumbling. Even his bed wobbled dangerously, and the doorway flew open as if the wind itself had wrenched it from its hinges.
Wide-eyed, Haru just stared at the chaos he had just unleashed.
'What the hell was that?..'
As he struggled to wrap his brain around it, his eyes fell on a figure that had toppled to the floor, dislodged by the gust. It was red and blue, with a distinctive "S" emblazoned on its chest.
Haru froze. 'There's… no way… right?'
As he thought that he took in a bit of air and Puckered his lips as if he was gonna give a kiss and Then blew a tad bit of air out of his mouth
FUUUSHHH-
As quickly as it got going he instantly shut his mouth after seeing the gust of air being shot directly To the room making more papers fly out of nowhere
His mind raced. 'These… abilities… first it was the senses, and now this… from what I can tell, that was Super Breath right? Could I really be?'
As if daring himself to prove it, he sprang to his feet, raised an arm dramatically, and shouted, "Up, up, and away!"
He leapt into the air, well, as much as he could, and landed squarely on his feet.
He froze for a moment, contemplating his life choices. Then, with a small blush creeping onto his cheeks, he lowered his arm and muttered to himself, "Well… that was dumb."
Before he could dwell on it any longer, the sound of the front door opening pulled his attention away. Footsteps echoed through the hallway, but no voices followed.
His heart skipped. Starting to freak out just a little, Haru walked up to the doorframe and peeked down the hall, only to see nothing there.
Then, almost instinctively, he focused.
For a split second, the walls around the house seemed to vanish. His vision pushed past it, straight through the structure itself, and he saw them.
He let out a quiet sigh of relief.
"It's just Mom and Dad."
With that realization, he relaxed and started walking toward the living room.
As he got closer, he heard soft whimpering.
His heart dropped. He hurried the last few steps and stopped at the doorway.
There, his mother sat in his father's arms, quietly sobbing.
Haru froze, unsure what to do, the unease in his chest growing heavier.
Then, with a nervous voice, he asked, "What's… going on?"
His mother sniffled and then said without even looking at him with a trembling voice. "I'm… I'm sorry, Haru…"
His mother said nothing. She broke the hug with his father and walked over to him. Without a word, she pulled him into her arms.
"I'm… I'm sorry, Haru…" she whispered again.
Haru stayed quiet.
Then he looked at his father, unsure how to respond, only to see a tear run down his cheek. His father looked directly at him and shook his head, as if saying no, there was nothing Haru could do.
So, in the only way he knew he could help his mom, he hugged her back and said, softly, "It's okay… it will all be okay"
As soon as he said that, his dad pulled both of them into his arms.
*****
(A few months later)
SCRIBLE
Haru could be seen writing inside a book.
'April 7th, 1987
It's been about a month since that day. Mom has been recovering steadily, honestly, better than I thought she would be. Losing a child… it changes someone, even if they weren't born yet.
Even though she stays strong and puts up a brave front in front of me, Dad, and her friends, at night I can still hear her cry sometimes. When I do, I try to help in any way I can. Dad does the same.
but I just hope… one day it hurts less for her.
____
First day of elementary school.
Honestly not very excited, but it is what it is.'
After writing that down, he closed his book with a sigh and placed it carefully on his desk.
He walked out of his room and into the bathroom.
He grabbed his toothbrush and toothpaste, squeezed a bit onto the brush, and began to brush his teeth.
As he looked at himself in the mirror, he noticed something unusual in his eyes.
'Huh, that's weird.' His normally dark gray eyes seemed different. 'Is that… blue?'
He blinked a few times, leaning closer
And sure enough, deep within his irises, there was a soft, pale blue dot in both eyes.
Haru frowned slightly, tilting his head. 'That's… new.'
'It's probably nothing.'
After thinking that, he spat out the toothpaste still in his mouth. He reached into one of the cabinets next to the sink and pulled out a hairbrush.
He ran it through his light brown hair, styling it neatly at the front.
As he finished, he put the brush away and walked out of the bathroom toward the dining room.
His dad was at the table, reading the newspaper, while his mom placed the last plate of food down. Haru slid into his seat.
"Morning, Haru," his mom said softly, giving him a small smile. "Sleep well?"
"Yeah… I guess," he muttered, eyes on the plate.
His dad lowered the newspaper, glancing at him as he began to dig into his food. "Big day today. You nervous?"
Haru swallowed his food and shook his head. "Not really."
His dad gave him a soft smile and fixed his glasses. "Good. There's no need to be nervous. Just be yourself, and you'll do just fine."
His mother sat down next to him. "Don't worry, I know you'll make plenty of friends soon." She reached over and gently grabbed one of his cheeks, giving it a playful pinch.
In a bit of a muffled voice, he said, "I guess I'll try to make some."
Her fingers tightened on his cheek, and she said firmly, "No, you will make some."
All he did was let out a small laugh. Hearing that, Miki sighed and let go. "Hurry and eat your breakfast, or you'll be late." she said.
Haru nodded and focused back on his plate.