--Three Years Later--
"It's up and running!" I exclaimed with triumph as I pushed my chair back toward where Nozomi was studying.
Nozomi had linked our souls during reincarnation, so whatever I gained, she gained when she woke up—and vice versa.
"Should we start it?" she asked, looking up at me. She looked like a typical seven-year-old girl—on the outside, at least.
"Let's call Mom in first," I suggested.
She turned toward Saito, who had been standing there, watching us with curiosity. He nodded.
"I'll bring her right away."
He left, and after a short while, he returned with Akihime walking behind him. Her face carried a mix of curiosity and mild amusement. She clearly didn't expect much from whatever we were doing—but she came anyway. That was about to change.
She stood next to Saito, a few feet from our monitor.
I cleared my throat dramatically. "Honored guests of this expedition, I'd like to welcome you to our first show of the day," I announced with playful seriousness.
Nozomi smiled faintly as I nodded to her.
She typed a command on the keyboard and hit Enter. The large wall monitor went dark, then flickered back to life with a loading screen that displayed three bold letters:
E.V.E.
As the loading bar completed, the letters expanded and shifted into full form:
E – EternalV – VirtualE – Entity
The screen went black again before the desktop returned. Akihime looked at us, confused, but before she could speak, a voice echoed from every corner of the room.
"I am E.V.E. Here at your service."
A calm, synthetic voice.
Akihime froze. "Nozomi, Hiro—what is this?" she asked in disbelief. Even Saito looked stunned.
"What don't you see, Mother? It's an AI," Nozomi said proudly.
"I can tell it's an AI—but where did it come from?" Akihime asked, her voice wavering between shock and amazement.
"We made it," I replied with a smug grin.
Akihime turned to Saito for confirmation.
"I can testify they built it themselves," he said in his usual composed tone, though a trace of surprise slipped through. "I've been here the entire time."
Akihime's gaze snapped back to us. "So that's why you kept asking for all those materials?"
Nozomi nodded.
"All this time, I thought you were just playing around," Akihime said with an embarrassed smile. Then, her expression flipped completely—her eyes softened, her smile turned proud. Before we could react, Mom nearly crushed us in her arms, trembling with relief as she buried her face into our hair.
That caught us off guard. Not many things do.
In these three years, we hadn't just created an AI or studied—we trained. Hard. Now we each had five tails and power enough to level a skyscraper at full force. Yet somehow…
'No matter how strong I get, why can't I surpass her?' Nozomi's frustrated sigh echoed through our link.
'I told you before, and I'll repeat it—you underestimate the power of a mother,' I chuckled aloud.
"Mom, you're gonna crush us," I wheezed.
She laughed and finally let go. "My babies are geniuses! So, what's the next surprise?" she asked eagerly.
"We figured something out," I said with a mischievous grin.
"Eve, access the previous data stored and reveal the project 'Quirk,'" Nozomi commanded.
"Right away, Miss," Eve responded.
A soft hum filled the room as holograms materialized in front of us, displaying strands of DNA. Akihime and Saito stared, wide-eyed.
"Umm… honey, I think holograms already exist," Akihime said, trying not to sound underwhelmed.
"Not the holograms—the DNA," I corrected. "This one's mine." I pointed.
"And this one's mine," Nozomi added.
"What about them?" Akihime asked, now clearly intrigued.
"They show that we have quirks," Nozomi declared.
Akihime blinked. "That's impossible. Why didn't the doctors find them?"
"Well, that's the best part," I said, excitement slipping into my voice.
"Because we—"
"—have multiple quirks," Nozomi finished, cutting me off.
"Hey, not fair! That was my line!" I protested.
She stuck her tongue out. "You snooze, you lose. Besides, it was my theory."
"I proved it—you just thought about it," I shot back.
Akihime's voice cut through our bickering. "Focus. What do you mean, you have multiple quirks?"
Nozomi gave me a look that said, 'Your turn.'
I sighed. "A quirk is the manifestation of a person's strongest trait. The scanners doctors use only detect the dominant trait among them. But if the system gets overwhelmed—like what happened on our testing day—it fails."
Nozomi continued, "So, we built a device capable of reading all traits. It confirmed our theory."
Akihime's eyes lit up with curiosity. "Then what quirks do you have?"
"It's better to show you," Nozomi said, heading toward the testing room.
"One thing you should know," she added, glancing back, "is that we have the same quirks."
"Let's start with something simple," I suggested.
Nozomi nodded.
"Saito," I said, "ask us to perform an action and count to three before we respond."
He looked a bit confused but complied. "Raise your hand. One… two… three."
Nozomi and I simultaneously lifted our right hands—without looking at each other.
"Show me a number. One, two, three."
We both held up four fingers.
Akihime's eyes narrowed. "Is it… telepathy?" she guessed.
I sighed dramatically. "I was really hoping you'd say synchronized movement so we could correct you—but yes, telepathy."
Nozomi ignored my complaint. "Next is strengthening." She tapped a button on the console.
Panels in the wall slid open, revealing mounted laser cannons. They powered up with a mechanical hum and fired, unleashing concentrated blasts at the reinforced wall ahead. Dust filled the room—but when it cleared, the wall stood untouched.
Akihime and Saito both looked stunned.
"Okay… that was impressive," Akihime admitted with a smile. Then her tone shifted to a glare. "But when we're done here, you're both grounded."
"What? Why?" I asked, utterly baffled.
"Because you built something this dangerous without permission," she said sharply, pointing at the cannons. "I doubt even Saito knew."
He lowered his gaze. "I'm sorry, Miss. I'll accept any punishment you decide."
"I'm not punishing you," Akihime said firmly. "It's clear they did this behind your back."
"Fine," I muttered, defeated.
"Let's just continue the demonstration," Nozomi sighed.
An hour later, after showcasing every 'quirk' we'd unlocked, we finally left the lab.
"What does 'grounded' even mean?" I asked as we walked out.
"It means no lab access for a week," Akihime replied after a pause.
"What?! But we just got Eve!" Nozomi protested.
"Keep arguing, and I'll make it two months," she warned. "Besides, you have your phones. You can put her there."
"Wait—you're banning us from the lab but not taking our phones?" I asked, confused.
Akihime sighed. "Let's be honest, taking your phones wouldn't change a thing. You barely use them."
Nozomi frowned. "So what are we supposed to do for a week?"
"That's for you to figure out," Akihime said as we reached the breakfast table. "Oh, and I was invited to a small gathering today. Maybe you should come—it's at a friend's house. She has a daughter your age."
I raised an eyebrow. "Who?"
"The Yaoyorozus," she replied.
Nozomi and I exchanged a look—then in unison turned back to her.
"We're in."
She blinked. "Did you two just have a conversation without speaking?" Then she pouted. "Not fair. I feel left out."
We both gave awkward smiles.
"We haven't figured out how to share it yet," I said, trying to comfort her.
"If we do, we'll let you in," Nozomi promised.
--The Next Day--
The morning light spilled through the open curtains, painting our room gold. Nozomi was already dressed, sitting cross-legged on her bed while tinkering with her phone. I was half-draped in my blanket, fighting consciousness like it was an enemy.
"Hiro," she said calmly. "Mom said to dress nicely."
I groaned. "Define 'nicely.'"
She gave me that blank expression she reserves for when I say something stupid. "You know what she means."
After a few minutes of internal negotiation, I finally got up and threw on a white shirt with black pants. Nozomi wore a soft blue dress that made her look way too angelic for someone who once vaporized a training drone for 'looking at her wrong.'
We went downstairs, where Mom was waiting near the door, radiant as always. Saito stood beside her, holding a sleek, black car key in his hand.
"Ready?" Mom asked.
"As I'll ever be," I muttered.
"Try to be on your best behavior," she added as we stepped outside. "This isn't just a social visit—it's a chance to meet people who might become important later."
"Right," I said. "Because nothing says 'important connections' like two seven-year-olds and a lab ban."
"Don't test me, Hiro," she said sweetly—the kind of sweet that carries an unspoken threat.
Nozomi snickered.
We climbed into the car, and Saito drove us through the city. The view outside was a strange mix of modern towers and traditional buildings—a world still figuring out how to balance old and new.
The Yaoyorozu estate was… enormous. The kind of place you see on magazine covers titled 'The Elite of Japan.' Perfectly trimmed hedges, polished stone paths, and a mansion so huge it looked like it was compensating for something.
We drove from the gate to the front door.
When we stepped out, the air even smelled expensive.
Inside, we were greeted by a tall woman in an elegant kimono—Momo's mother. Her posture radiated wealth and refinement.
"Akihime!" she exclaimed with pure joy in her voice. "Glad you could make it."
"I couldn't miss it, not in a million years," Mom replied with equal joy. "These are my children—Hiro and Nozomi."
We both bowed slightly.
"Such polite young ones," she said approvingly. "Momo, dear?"
A young girl peeked from behind her mother. She looked about our age, maybe a year older, with neatly tied black hair and nervous curiosity in her eyes.
"Hi," she said softly.
"Hey," I replied casually.
Nozomi gave a small, polite smile. "It's nice to meet you."
Mrs. Yaoyorozu smiled. "Why don't you kids go play in the garden?"
"Sure," Nozomi agreed immediately.
The garden was huge—filled with colorful flowers, a koi pond, and even a stone gazebo. You could tell someone spent a fortune maintaining it.
For a while, Nozomi and Momo talked about harmless stuff— hobbies, favorite foodsand quirks. I mostly kept quiet, scanning the place.
Momo eventually turned to me. "So, what do you and your sister do for fun?"
"Build things," I said.
Her eyes lit up. "Oh! Like inventions?"
"Yeah, but not the kind you should tell adults about."
She tilted her head. "Why?"
"Because last time we did, we got grounded," I said flatly.
Nozomi sighed. "He means we experiment a lot. With tech."
"That's amazing," Momo said. "I always wanted to make something too, but I never knew where to start."
Nozomi smirked. "You start by failing. A lot."
Before Momo could reply, something in the air shifted.
It was subtle at first—a faint static, like the hum of electricity under the skin. Then, for a brief second, the air shimmered behind one of the hedges.
Nozomi and I froze.
'You see that?' I sent through our link.
'Yeah,' she answered immediately. 'It's faint but definitely there.'
Momo noticed our sudden change in expression. "Is something wrong?"
Nozomi quickly masked her tone. "Nothing. Probably just the light."
But I knew she didn't believe that—neither did I.
Then, from the shimmer, came a flicker of… movement. A ripple. Like something—or someone—was trying to step through.
Instinct kicked in. I shifted slightly in front of the girls, ready to pull them back if needed.
Nozomi's tails flicked for a fraction of a second.
And just as suddenly as it appeared… the distortion vanished.
The air stilled. The garden was quiet again.
Momo blinked, confused. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah," I said, forcing a grin. "Just… thought I saw something."
Nozomi gave me a side glance—one that said we'll talk later.
A few hours later, Mrs. Yaoyorozu called us back inside.
The adults were seated in the living room, tea cups neatly arranged on the table. Mom looked relaxed, almost glowing from polite conversation.
"There you are," she said warmly. "Did you three have fun?"
"Yeah," Nozomi said, her tone even. "Your daughter is really nice."
Momo smiled shyly before speaking up."Mom, may I go to visit Nozomi and Hiro next month?"
Ms. Yaoyorozu looked a bit surprised. "I am fine with it, but where did it come from?"
"I want to go visit their lab."
"Lab?" Ms. Yaoyorozu—who is called Kengo Yaoyorozu—turned a questioning gaze to Akihime.
"Yes, my kids have a lab, but they are geniuses," Akihime tried to defend herself. "They built an AI in three years and rail guns in less."
Surprise and curiosity mixed on Kengo's face. "If that's the case, I don't mind. As long as they are supervised."
"I'm glad," Akihime said, then turned to Mrs. Yaoyorozu. "Thank you for having us."
"The pleasure was ours," she replied. "Your children are remarkable."
I swear, Mom looked a little too proud when she heard that.
As we walked back to the car, the sun was already dipping low, painting the sky in streaks of gold and crimson.
Nozomi leaned close and whispered, "We need to check that shimmer tonight."
"Already ahead of you," I whispered back.
Mom glanced back at us suspiciously. "You're plotting something again, aren't you?"
We both smiled innocently. "Of course not."
But we were.
Because whatever that shimmer was—it wasn't random. It wasn't a signal.
It was watching us.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So here I will be explaining some challenges that you might face while reading this fan fic.
1. The twins are way too OP at a young age: Though Nozomi and Hiro have the power to destroy a skyscraper at full power, it drains them and leaves them defenseless for hours.
If you encounter more, comment them and I will try my best to explain or fix them.