5

Modifying the weight of targets is an incredibly useful skill and can be useful in quite a few ways, but there is a caveat.

It's about control; Just because I make things lighter has nothing to do with my personal strength, something light can be lifted by anyone

There are cases where my quirk can be really dangerous. As everyone knows, every object has a limit, and that limit exists for a reason. If that limit is exceeded, it's simply a waste of effort.

I call this the "collapse point."

If the object doesn't collapse, then the ground or surface beneath it will.

The vast majority of objects fall to pieces when their weight is modified. I recently realized this interesting detail. I believed that when the weight was too much for the object (and I am referring to an object with a hard and solid composition), it would "explode" accordingly. I made a hypothesis about that and thought it was simply due to pressure and energy buildup.

But I was simply wrong. When the weight is too much, the object crumbles little by little, fragment by fragment. From afar, it looks like a hyper-realistic effect made on a computer.

But what about soft tissue, skin, or meat?

These do explode, especially the meat.

There was one time when Mom brought a piece of pork for dinner — very fresh and good-quality pork flesh. Mom cut a piece for the pot and told me to keep the rest in the refrigerator.

What did I do?

I opened the doors to my curiosity and simply touched the piece of meat that was on the table. The result?

It exploded.

My common sense told me that this happened because of the blood and fluids that meat contains in general. Being subjected to that type of great and sudden pressure, that liquid needs to escape quickly somewhere, It doesn't matter at that moment, he will have to get out even if that means doing it by force.

Although, of course, that's just my vague idea. I didn't study physics or any fluid mechanics courses in my previous life.

But that was just a piece of meat with no firm structure. The question is:

How does that weight act on a human?

I thought about that somewhat sinister question. Will they explode like that piece of pork?

It should be noted that after exploding the meat, my mother gave me a pretty big reprimand. It was for the sake of my curiosity. I don't regret it.

My ears sharpened, as did my eyesight, and I was paying attention to a conversation that was taking place in the main room of the apartment. one of them was my mother, and she looked quite animated while chatting with another woman next to her, both sitting at the table.

"Sho-chan, this is very difficult, help me, kero~," Tsuyu spoke to me with a somewhat frustrated voice. She had some puzzle pieces in her long fingers. I looked at her and nodded.

True, she came to visit me.

 only had to go to the park a couple of times for her to see me as her friend, something that still comes from her childish and innocent nature, something I lost a long time ago.

"Ah, I saw the piece you need here..." I didn't refuse to play with her. If she came to visit me, I don't have any problem... Now, let's see, I know I saw that piece here...

I searched through one end of the pile of puzzle pieces. After a few minutes, I found it and held it in my hands. Tsu, next to me, seemed to finally take away the frustration and seemed excited.

But unfortunately, my attention fell once again on the conversation that was taking place on the side.

"But in truth, I am deeply grateful, Ayane. I was very worried about my daughter; she is in a difficult situation..."

She was Tsu's mother. When they arrived, she introduced herself with the name Beru Asui. At first, her appearance also seemed peculiar to me. What else to say? She has long dark hair in a style similar to Tsu's, although her head had a different formation, making her mouth much wider than Tsu's. But putting that aside, she was a pretty nice woman. I didn't know much about her, since in the story I think they only showed her once.

She and my mother quickly got along well. Just a few hours of chatting and they were already speaking by her first name, something that for the Japanese is like a sign of closeness or intimacy.

I'm still learning Japanese customs. Patience.

"No problem, Beru. My son is a good boy. I know he may be different in some ways, but he has a kind heart."

My mother calmed Mrs. Beru, as if she was assuring her on paper that I would not do anything bad to her daughter. She showed a little pride when she talked about me.

I looked at Tsu next to me, She had a habit of grabbing my arm for some unknown reason., but then I thought about her situation and tried to put myself in her shoes, basically have some empathy.

Are mutants still human? Are they treated like humans?

It was clear to me that there is discrimination against them, something that does not change even when I am in another world. The different person is always questioned.

Her behavior was different due to birth issues. She may not fit with humans, but that does not mean that her actions are malicious.

But I know that time will tell differently. Now we are just children; later she will understand why things happen.

We were shoulder to shoulder trying to complete this damn puzzle. Damn, why does this puzzle have to have such small pieces? My toddler fingers still don't have as much motor skill as Tsu's. I remember before, in my old life, some pieces that obviously belonged in a certain space do not fit perfectly. Therefore, force had to be used, even a hammer if necessary.

In the distance, Beru Asui saw her daughter playing and having fun. She couldn't help but show a smile with her giant mouth. She felt relief and a feeling of relaxation. It was reflected on her face too.

"Ayame, if you don't mind me asking, where is your husband? I mean, where is Sho-chan's father?"

She approached the topic with a soft tone. It may be a delicate matter, so she took it with a grain of salt. Even so, they were both adult women; her topics may turn out to be different.

Sho's mother, Ayame, sighed slightly. She wasn't particularly bothered by the question. It's just that the memory is somewhat discouraging.

"He had problems. It all started when we met at university. At first, he looked like a healthy man in both mind and body... Although it was just appearance."

Beru understood that these topics were difficult to describe, so she followed the thread of the conversation to get a general idea.

"A strong drug addiction... But I still trusted his word and his kind behavior. He said that he had finished his rehabilitation at that time, that his mind was free. I think it was one of my biggest mistakes in having trusted in those words."

Ayame sighed, but then showed a soft smile.

"But today I feel much better, and I owe everything to my son."

Beru understood everything immediately. The story behind that tired and ruined appearance of Ayame is totally understandable. She imagined everything this woman had to go through to raise a child alone and without help.

She couldn't help but look at her with respect.

Ayame shook her head in a gesture of indifference to her situation, and then asked,

"And what about you, Beru?"

Beru smiled softly as she looked at a golden ring on her finger.

"I am happily married. My husband may be a little shy, but he is a good man, I can assure you of that."

Her husband, Ganma Asui, was a mutant, but she cared very little about that. She loved him despite everything that being a mutant entails.

The conversation between the two became very lively again, and before they knew it, the night had arrived.

______

"It was a real pleasure to meet you, Ayame, and you too, Sho-chan. Thank you for welcoming me and my daughter today."

Tsu's mother, Beru, was standing at the entrance to the apartment, with the night sky dotted with stars showing that it was late, but Tsu was not next to her.

She was still holding my arm; apparently, she wasn't ready to leave yet.

"There is no problem, Beru. You and your family can come visit us whenever you want, right, Sho?"

She, with a little push, made me talk.

"Oh, yes, of course. You will always be welcome here."

That took me by surprise. I was focused on removing my arm from Tsu's grip, and apparently, Tsu's mother smiled when she saw the scene and spoke to her daughter.

"Tsu, we have to go. We can come back another day, what do you think?"

Tsu, still holding onto my arm, responded with some hesitation.

"But Mom, I still want to play with Sho-chan..."

Difficult situation, but quite common for children. I mean, who liked the idea of stopping playing with a friend when you were little? No matter how simple the game is, it is irrelevant; what really gives the essence of fun are those friends who accompany you in every step of the adventure, for a child, it's as simple as that, and I can understand that.

I say this from experience; everyone treasures their childhood as best they can.

My mom then spoke, offering something to Tsu.

"Don't worry, Tsu. Sho can also come to your house to play with you. How about that?"

(Oh? I didn't say that at all...)

Tsu's mother also nodded and tried to persuade her daughter.

Tsu looked at me.

"Really? Are you going to come to my house to play, kero~?"

Did they just corner me? At what moment? It was too fast; I didn't even see it coming.

"I'll think about it... Ack!" A pinch on my back almost brought a tear to my eye.

I didn't want another one or to feel that pain again, so I had to rephrase my words.

"I mean, yes, I would love to go to your house to play, Tsu-chan."

She smiled and finally let go of my arm.

"It's a promise, Sho-chan. Don't forget it!"

She yelled at me as she and her mother started walking in the opposite direction.

With my mom here, I doubt I will

"I won't, see you soon, Tsu-chan."

I don't have much idea about Japanese honorifics other than the classic ones like "San" and "Kun," so I just use the one she uses with me, but only occasionally.

_______________________________________________

After all the sentimental mess that I unfortunately had to face, life must go on.

The days go by, and as I said before, time waits for no one.

The screams and laughter of the children were like a hammer hitting my skull. Playtime is important to them, and I see clearly that if they take it seriously, what about me? Today, for some reason, I feel particularly sick.

It is not physical or mental weakness, nor is it an illness or any type of injury.

It is just an unpleasant feeling that I have had since I woke up this morning, an uncomfortable feeling that makes me feel tired and frustrated. It is totally spontaneous. I have no apparent reason for my discomfort. It is simply there because it can, and because it wants to

I was sitting at some tables at the end of the classroom. This place is usually used for coloring and drawing, basically the art sector of the kindergarten. There were children here besides me. I just didn't pay attention to them. I was extremely uncomfortable and felt that everything was bad.

It was that feeling of repressing something inside you that should naturally be free. Something like not going to urinate, shit, or hold back vomit.

I put my hands to my forehead. The sweat in large drops was palpable.

What is happening to me? Is someone using some quirk against me?

I settled further down on the table. My hand was shaking as I tried to continue with the drawing I was doing. I had some chills down my spine and was losing my body temperature.

"....H-hey kid, are you okay?" a girl with pale purple hair spoke to me. She had thick glasses that showed a giant magnification, her eyes behind her glasses looked huge.

With sight like that, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that without her glasses on, she would be partially blind. But she was the one who spoke to me, so pay attention.

"I'm fine, I'm just very hot," I tried to sound as indifferent as possible. It must be twelve noon right now; the sun is already high in the sky.

But that girl didn't care what I told her, and she approached me with her eyes completely half-closed. Could she see even a little if she wanted to?

Doesn't she see that she is in front of me?

"I already said I'm fine, don't worry," she was already very close to me, so I touched one of her arms with my hand to point out where I am.

And when I touched that girl's arm, I felt a kind of current in my hand, a powerful current, very powerful.

I felt like my brain was fried in an instant and I was paralyzed on the spot.

That girl's quirk has nothing to do with electricity, so what happened?

My brain shut down, and my head fell heavily on the table.

The girl with big glasses couldn't see well (literally) what was happening. She thought that the boy just didn't want her near her, so tripping over her own feet, she went somewhere else.

But nothing changed inside the classroom. If you see it from another perspective, Sho was simply sleeping on the table, or also lazing around until he finished class as he usually does.

But no, that child was knocked out. But who would know that that happened? If the only witness who "saw" what happened doesn't even know it or pay attention to anything.

Now, all that remains is to see what happens inside his head. We will have to change the scene.

_________

Every time he stepped on the "ground," a large number of waves moved through the environment.

It was no different from throwing a stone into a still surface of water.

But there was nothing visible below my feet, only a black mist similar to smoke from exhaust pipes. It was dense, and it was all that was above and below. It was a place without form, there was no direction and no sense of anything.

(Is this my mind?)

I thought it would be real chaos. I imagined something else, but what I have in my head is just a calm black cloud, something ironic if you think about it.

I look straight ahead. The only thing that's different here, and it's in front of me.

What is it? Well, something out of place considering my situation.

There, alone and filled with coal-black dust, was a colossal structure, several meters high. I walked to my right to be able to see the sides of the structure. I wanted to get an approximate idea of how many meters long it was.

And what did I see? Nothing. I couldn't see the end at all.

(It must be miles long. I can't see any sign of an end...)

And then I saw the door. But I wasn't particularly interested in that. I was interested in what was written above, on a sign hanging at the ends.

[Sho's Warehouse]

Since... since when has this been inside my head?

It can't be..., did that girl put me under the influence of some drug?