(7)->HERO SOCIETY & QUIRK MANIFESTATION

---TATSUMA RESIDENCE, OKINAWA, JAPAN---

--Author-san's POV--

Seiya: 'Ariadoa?'

Was what he intended to say but what came out of his mouth was something else entirely,

Seiya: "Ariaaaoua~?"

Shock! A huge shock! That was what everyone present felt as a newborn baby who was barely 2 weeks old spoke! Not to mention, the first person he called out to was neither his mother nor his father (A/N: And he calls himself filial! What a hypocrite!) nor his cute little 'Onesan' (A/N: Oh! How heartbroken she must be when she hears about this!) but a newborn girl who did not even have a name yet!

(A/N: This should have warned his parents about how big of a player their son would be in the future)

The first person to recover from this shock was Seiya's mother who instantly had a huge smile on her face and anybody who looked into her eyes would know that she certainly was plotting something. Unfortunately, of the people present, none of them were in the state to notice the strange flash of glint in her eyes. Well, except Ariadoa that is, but either she could not do anything about it or simply accepted what her 'mother-in-law' had planned for them.

Breaking the people out of their stupor, his mother said,

Mother: "Looks like Seiya has taken quite a liking to his new friend!"

Hearing those words, all of them had different reactions. Seiya's father gave his wife a strange look knowing full well about his wife's antics and from the smiling and jovial tone that she used, she definitely was up to something. Ariadoa's parents on the other hand had bashful looks on their faces. The fact that their young master, who would lead the clan in the future and from the look of things was undeniably a genius, had expressed an interest in their daughter. This led them to dream land and turned on their vivid imaginations.(A/N: Vivid Indeed)

Meanwhile Seiya was looking at Ariadoa as if expecting a reply from her but the suspect in question acted as if completely oblivious to his stare. He wanted to reach out to her but the distance between two people standing next to each other was like a chasm that he could not cross. All of this did not go unnoticed by Seiya's mother who was watching her boy go for the girl right off the bat.

Mother: 'That's my boy! Go for it, your mama is rooting for you!'

Making up her mind she turned towards Ariadoa's mother,

Mother: "It is decided then! Miko (A/N: Ariadoa's mother's name), from tomorrow onwards bring your daughter here everyday with you. While you go on with your duties, she could play together with Seiya with me watching over them and when I am not around, she will receive the same treatment as Seiya."

Their lady's words, especially the last part, were akin to a blessing from God. That their daughter would receive special treatment from the family and would also get a chance to get close to the young master was a heaven-sent opportunity which could be very beneficial to their daughter's future. Not wanting for such a golden opportunity to go to waste, they readily agreed.

Seiya and Ariadoa who were now listening on their parent's conversation as well did not really get what was happening but were happy nonetheless. Seiya's father, on the other hand, had well understood his wife's intention and was speechless.

(A/N: I know, she is one hell of a matchmaker)

But he did not raise any objections (not that he could anyway) for he was happy to see Seiya getting a new playmate and as for the matchmaking part, that was wholly up to the children and what they would decide in the future.

Seiya and Ariadoa were also happy but for a completely different reason. His mother's actions just ensured that the two of them would remain close to each other at all times. Not to mention, this would serve as the perfect reason for when they reveal their relationship to their parents.

Miko: "My lady, about the name...?"

To be honest, they had gotten awfully sidetracked there. They had come here for deciding upon their daughter's name but ended up, unbeknownst to them, giving their daughter away.

(A/N: LOL! They just unofficially married their newborn daughter away)

Seiya's mother was also a little embarrassed. Due to her earlier enthusiasm, she had ended up forgetting the most important thing (A/N: Another LOL. She was matchmaking her son with a girl she did not even know the name of). But something suddenly struck her and she looked towards her son who was looking back at her with a smiling face and with a smile of her own said to the steward couple,

Mother: "Hasn't Seiya already decided upon a name for her? Aria! Isn't that right, Seiya?"

Seiya only giggled in return looking towards Ariadoa who had her characteristic smile on as usual.

(A/N: She seems more like a saint than a newborn girl)

Ariadoa's parents (now Aria's I guess) were happy with the name as well. On one hand, it was a beautiful name befitting their daughter while on the other, this name was given by their young master himself, and as such held a special meaning to the both of them.

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-3 years later-

Three years passed in the blink of an eye or at least they did for Seiya. When you have nothing to do other than eating, sleeping and occasional playing, days do pass like a blur. Seiya finally got to experience how those 'NEET's, that he was always compared to in his previous life, spend their days and to tell the truth, even if he had the video games, animes and mangas, were it not for his family, he would have been bored to death.

(A/N: Hah! He just doesn't know the power of animes and mangas.)

These three years were filled with a lot of surprises too. First of all was his <Dragon Core> which truly proved to be his golden finger. His body developed at the same pace as the other babies but the difference was in the quality rather than the quantity. At the same age as Ariadoa, he was stronger and faster than her but strangely, he still could not stay awake for long, getting drowsy only after a few hours of activity.(4)

Secondly, he discovered, thanks to his constantly strengthening aura sense, that even though his dragon core was constantly releasing a azure colored energy (color is through aura sense) to strengthen his body, the total amount of energy inside it did not decrease at all even after an year. After carefully observing it for about a week or so, he finally figured out the reason behind it.

Turns out, the <Dragon Core> was capable of absorbing the nature energies present in the air and either converted it to strengthen his body or used it to replenish itself. His earlier hypothesis that the dragon core was absorbing his internal energy was supposedly wrong. The reason he felt drained was because his enhanced body required an enhanced diet too and his diet kept increasing just as his body kept enhancing.

This was a terrifying fact because he did not really know the upper limit up to which the dragon core could strengthen his body and as such by extension the upper limit of his diet was unknown too. He desperately needed to find a way to replenish his internal energy.

Thankfully, he also found that when his body does not get enough nutrition, instead of strengthening his body, the <Dragon Core> replenishes it with the required energy. However, in exchange, the strengthening process is slowed down considerably (which is already very slow). Moreover, if this continued, the process would stop with all the energy being used for maintaining his nutrition itself.

In order to find a solution to his 'growth needs' before they got out of hand, Seiya needed to get over his first obstacle since coming here and that was his severe ignorance about his new world leading him to the biggest surprise yet and making it clear that he had gravely underestimated this world and his parents as well.

One afternoon when his parents were out of their room for the preparations of a certain 'function', he got his mother's phone and started to search the Internet for his answers.

(A/N: The following part is all but a wiki that you can read in order to refresh your memory and get some finer details or you can just skip through it entirely, moving to the next section.)

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<HERO SOCIETY>

It all began one night when a newborn baby in Qing Qing City, China started glowing. That was the first manifestation of something then known as 'meta ability' and today better known as 'quirk'.

This phenomena acted like a trigger and many people around the world began to manifest different kinds of special abilities. While the cause of this phenomenon remains unknown, it has been theorized that it was caused by the spread of a virus carried by mice.

The dawn of this superhero era was marred by a breakdown of society caused by the sudden onslaught of criminals empowered by their newfound 'superpowers' soon getting them the moniker of 'Villains', those bad guys that were only a part of fiction until then and ordinary people being prejudiced against the new minority.

As chaos and unrest ensued due to the outbreak of Meta Abilities, ordinary civilians, with abilities of their own, decided to take matters into their own hands to bring order to society and thus the first "Heroes" appeared.

As society adapted to the status quo, the Police Force moved to prioritize leadership and to maintain the status quo, and as such, decided not to use quirks as weapons. To fill that void, the profession of crime-fighting quirk users, Pro-Heroes, began to exist starting in Rhode Island, USA.

Currently, roughly 80% of the people who make up the global population possess a quirk and that percentage continues to increase.

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Reading through these articles, Seiya was lost in his own thoughts.

--Seiya's POV--

To be honest, it would be a lie to say that I was not shocked. It was one thing to have superheroes but to have the entire world filled with them was just mindboggling. Here the normal people are the ones considered 'special' while the ones with special abilities are considered 'normal'.

This really messed up with my view of the normal world. Even in Olympus, every citizen is more than capable of erasing a tiny world but their origins are entirely different with all of them belonging to the various different universes throughout the multiverse.

Seiya: 'Hmm, so this 'quirk' phenomenon is the reason behind the state of this world, huh. Let's see what can I find about it.'

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<QUIRK>

Quirks are said to be the next stage of evolution in the human race. It is possible, though rudimentary, to diagnose a person as possessing or lacking a Quirk by analyzing the presence or absence of an extra joint in their pinky toe. People with only one joint tend to develop a Quirk while having two joints usually indicates that the person is Quirkless. A person's Quirk will normally manifest anytime before the age of four, sometimes even straight after birth.

Quirks are extensions of a person's bodily functions. As such, they can be trained and worn out. When a person works out their muscles, the muscle fibers are destroyed and new, stronger ones grow back; this same rule applies to Quirks. However, should a Quirk be overused, the user could suffer any of a variety of drawbacks, depending on the nature of the Quirk. These drawbacks are usually simple ailments, such as dry skin or nausea; however, in some cases, the drawback can be much more severe.

The body of a Quirk user has natural adaptations to protect itself from any damage the Quirk might do to them without these natural defenses. For example, someone who can breathe fire does not burn their mouth when using their ability.

However, there are instances where a Quirk doesn't suit the user's body and the body can't handle it in which case, the continuous use of their quirks may end up damaging their bodies, inflicting severe upon them and even shortening their lifespans.

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--Seiya's POV--

Seiya: 'So they are an extension of the human body and as such are limited by the human body's limits as well unless a person specifically trains himself to increase its capacity. Hmm, what's this?'

I clicked upon the page that was referenced at the bottom of the article which said: 'Quirk Restriction Laws'.

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<QUIRK RESTRICTION LAWS>

In an effort to preserve order in the superhuman society, there are several laws and procedures in place to ensure the conscientious use of Quirks. Public display of Quirks is against the law, except in cases of self-defense, such as when one is under attack or preventing someone else from being attacked.

During elementary school, children receive Quirk counseling in order to learn how to use their powers responsibly.

Aspiring Pro Heroes undergo special education during their high school careers and receive licenses that give them the authority to use their Quirks freely.

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Seiya: 'So there are laws regarding the usage of quirks as well, huh. Well it is kind of necessary or it can lead to some serious accidents for the public and public order would soon turn into a mess. Also, there is a school for becoming a hero? Guess living in this world is going to be very interesting. I wonder what kind of quirk I would be getting? Let's see something about that.'

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<HEREDITY>

Quirks are inherited genetically through what appears to be Mendelian inheritance. A child will either inherit the father's Quirk, the mother's Quirk, or a completely new Quirk formed by a fusion of the two. Naturally, since Quirks are inherited genetically, siblings tend to have Quirks that are similar to each other's.

Much more rarely, a child may manifest a Quirk that is entirely unrelated to their genetic lineage, akin to a mutation.

Physical abnormalities caused by Quirks can be passed on to the next generation, even if the Quirk that causes the abnormality is not passed on, for example, someone may be born with horns on their heads even though their horns have nothing to do with the quirks that they get later on.

There is also a possibility that two people with Quirks will have a Quirkless child.

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Seiya: ' Onesan's quirk is <Dragon> which transforms her body into that of a large dragon, then wouldn't my quirk be similar to her. Also, there is a possibility that I may be quirkless. Well, doesn't matter, as long as I have the <Dragon Core>, I can hold on my own in this world.'

But then my thoughts drifted towards my parents. I don't really know about their quirks all that much. Come to think of it, I don't even know what they do for a living and by the looks of it, they must really be well known if even the Prime Minister was coming here as a guest. To sate my curiosity, I turned my attention back to the phone and started searching for their names.

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<RYOMA TATSUMA>

Status: No.2 Pro Hero, Fist Hero: Blue Fist Wolf (former); President of the corporate giant, The Tatsuma Group.

Quirk: <Unknown> Super Strength and Agility, Energy manipulator

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<KYOKO TATSUMA>

Status: No. 4 Pro Hero, Dragon Hero: Tatsuo (former); Majority share holder of the Tatsuma Group and the Head of a no. of NGO's throughout Japan.

Quirk: Dragon- Transforms the user into a dragon

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They started their careers working solo but after meeting and falling for each other, they decided to work as a duo, thus forming the most successful duo in the history of the 'Hero World'. They extended their partnership in their personal life and soon got married.

Following the birth of their daughter, Ryuko Tatsuma, both of them announced their retirement simultaneously shocking the entire world but instead of criticizing them, their fans expressed their sincerest wishes for them to lead a happy life.

Following their retirement, they have founded many NGO's that work constantly for the betterment of society and its inhabitants.

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I put down the cell phone, rubbed my eyes, shook my head and picked it up again, giving the article another readthrough.

Seiya: 'It is not a dream! My mother and father who always have amiable expressions on their face whenever I saw them were actually a crime-busting fancy-dressing duo who fought against criminals and villains. Not only that but they were also the top among the pros. What happened to those avid supporters of non-violence in my previous life who grounded me for over a week just because I punched a jerk in his face?'

It took me a few minutes to come back to my senses and I slowly shook my head,

Seiya: 'Does it even matter? All that matters is that they are my parents and that they truly love me. As for them being superheroes, that's even better! Now, I wouldn't have to bear with all those no-violence speeches and they would support me in my bid to become a pro-hero.'

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--Author-san's POV--

-A few hours later-

A young boy, with chocolate brown hair and ruby red eyes, was standing in front of a mirror dressed in a traditional red-colored kimono with white satchels adjusting his not-so-usually worn dress while a young girl was standing near him in her own white kimono with flowery patterns with blue satchels.

Seiya: "What do you think Aria? How do I look? Does it look weird? Do you think this is the right way of wearing this thing? Aah! Who was the fool who wanted kimonos as the dress code damnit!"

Aria: "Umm from what I remember, it was you who wanted to do this traditionally. Sigh, I have said it over ten times already. You look great and you are dressed just fine. Seriously, if you have any doubts about dressing by yourself then why didn't you let mother dress you?"

(A/N: Okay, now even I am confused. Who is supposed to be the girl here?)

Of course by 'mother', she referred to Seiya's mother, Kyoko. When she first began speaking, Kyoko insisted Ariadoa to call her 'Mom' just like Seiya did but Miko would not have any of it. In the end Kyoko could only acquiesce to her demands but not before she asked Aria to call her 'Mother' in private when they were alone.

(A/N: Scary! Miko-san scary!)

Seiya: "You know why! Even though I am in the body of a three-year old, my mind itself is that of a middle-aged man. It is beneath me to have my mother dressing me like a baby. It was one thing before I had much control over my limbs but there is no need for it now. By the way, forgive me for saying this, but you are a 'little' older than me yourself so why are you not affected by any of this?"

Aria seemed to have paid no mind about him mentioning her 'age' and answered,

Aria: "Why would I be affected when my mother tries to dress me up? Instead I would enjoy the feeling of intimacy that we have now because as I grow up and when we can no longer be this intimate, these moments would remind us of the happy times that we spent together with each other which would, in turn, nourish our love for each other.

Seiya, if the only reason that you are being affected by this is because you cannot come to terms with your age, then I can only implore you to place yourself in your parent's shoes. How would your actions seem to them? For now such things may not be noticeable but with time these actions would inadvertently distance you from them. Do you know what is it that every person wishes for at least once in his life? It is t-"

Seiya: "It is to go back in time and live your life differently. Not to mess up the way you did during the first time and try to live all those happy moments that you unknowingly passed by without paying any heed to."

He knew what she was talking about. How could he not when he had wished for the exact same thing for over a decade.

Aria: "And now you have got the same chance albeit in a different world but you have the same parents and even a big sister too. Use your last life as an example to learn from your mistakes and to better yourself but do not let it hamper you from living your new life to the fullest."

Her words were like a wake-up call for Seiya. Initially all he wanted was to become strong, fulfill his mission and move to the Otherworld with his parents and sister where they would remain forever. But he failed to realize that there was one characteristic difference between this new world and <Ixphoria>.

This new world granted him the opportunity to live the life that he never could because unlike <Ixphoria> where he could only dream to get back to his home world. Here he had his parents, Aria and a younger sister too and a civilized world that he could call 'home' and settle into, make new friends and enjoy life as he should have originally.

(A/N: I couldn't come up with a more b.s. reason than this. Think you can do better then comment here.)

Seiya: "I get it now Aria and thanks a lot. You are right, I was clearly not thinking things through. Though, I don't know how much I can let go of this stuck-up behavior of mine but I promise to give my best and enjoy this new life to the fullest."

Aria: "That is enough for me and I am not asking you let go of former self but instead use it to create a better version of your present one. Moreover, your life experiences would surely come in handy as seeing how dangerous this world can be from what you have told me."

Looking at the clock hanging on the wall, Aria quickly reminded Seiya,

Aria: "Come on, let's get going. It would not do good for the birthday boy to be late to his own party."

Indeed, today was Seiya's birthday and the 'function' that his parents were preparing for was his birthday party. Honestly, Seiya did not really want a grand celebration and only wanted to spend the time with his loved ones but looking at his parents' enthusiasm, he couldn't really bring himself to stop them. Notwithstanding that he wanted to be more socially active and starting from such small events would help him in the future.*

Seiya: "Well, I guess this is the best that I can do anyway. Let's go, we have ourselves a party to attend."

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---MAIN HALL, TATSUMA RESIDENCE---

The <Main Hall> was filled with hubbub of the various relatives in their respective kimonos, mingling among each other. Even though he could not hold off on a grand celebration, Seiya made sure that only the members of the clan were invited (which mind you, numbered at least 50) so that he could at least enjoy his birthday without annoying and pesky paparazzies ruining it for him.

The Hall suddenly turned quiet when they saw the people arriving namely the birthday boy and his attendant followed by his parents and his older sister. Though the Tatsuma couple were no doubt the most important personages but the the one who drew the most attention was the young Tatsuma in his red kimono at the front.

Proclaimed as a 'genius' for being able to speak shortly after birth and started walking only a few months later, many already believe him to be the next head of the <Tatsuma Clan>. The only thing that kept them from already announcing him as the heir was the manifestation of his quirk, after all, a society in which quirks were prevalent, one's quirk decided one's future prospects as well.

Still, many people believed that it was only a matter of time until he became the heir considering who his parents were and as such wanted to get close to him while he was still in his infancy. Of course, there were others who were indisposed with the current situation, a result of their own devices that they had enacted for their benefits but which had inadvertently driven them away from the Tatsuma couple with no hopes of redemption. Their only hope was that if the young 'heir' suffered from some sort of 'accident'.

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-1 hour later-

The party was in full swing after the cake-cutting and the various celebrations were well underway with the adults going on with their discussions while the kids enjoyed themselves. Well, at least most of them did as Seiya was feeling more like an adult watching over the them playing than being the birthday boy. He was certainly taking part in some of the games trying to act like someone his age should, but it got tiring pretty quickly. His only respite was Aria and his onesan's company which always brought him much joy.

Looking at them now, nobody would believe that Aria and Ryuko weren't sisters but when Ryuko first met Aria, she was vehemently against her being with Seiya all the time, believing that she would drive her away from him. But with time she saw that not only did Aria not drive her away from Seiya but instead helped her to get closer to him. In addition, their similar personalities and their love for Seiya only brought them closer over time and Ryuko now considers Aria to be her sibling just like Seiya.

Ryuko: "So, what do you think about this party that I have painstakingly organized, dear ototo?"

Getting down to his height, Ryuko asked her ototo with twinkling stars in her eyes.

Seiya: "Oh, so you made all the arrangements by yourself?"

Ryuko: "Well, n-no. Miko san and the others helped me a lot as well."

Her bashful response, which looked awfully cute in her dark red kimono with yellow satchels, drew a smile on Seiya's face. It was due to such moments that he loved his dear little 'onesan' so much. She really was honest to a fault and would never try to take the credit of someone else's work.

Patting her head like good 'older' brother that he was, Seiya said,

Seiya: "That's my good onesan and I like the arrangements very much, thank you."

Ryuko: "Ooh! What are you doing ototo, I am supposed to be the older sister here!"

Seiya: "Hai Hai, now tell me onesan, where is the present that you prepared for me?"

As if she forgetting all the slight upon her honor as the older sister, she cheerfully replied,

Ryuko: "Oh right, how can I forget! Aria, come with me, let's go and get the present."

Aria: "Allright, Ryuko-neesan!"

As soon as they left, a boy who only seemed slightly older than Seiya, approached him with a smug look on his face.

Dumb Kid: "Oy Oy Oy, look who do we have here? The young genius of our clan. Ha ha ha, so tell me boy, what are you a genius of anyway? Is it peeing in your pants or crying out loud whenever you are alone?"

(A/N: Sorry, too lazy to name no-name characters.)

Seiya had already noticed the kid a while ago and from his aura, quickly judged that he was upto no good. From what he could remember, this kid had recently awakened his quirk that had led to his parents singing songs in his praise annoying him a lot in the process. He was waiting in the back for quite some time without doing much seemingly waiting for something. To test his hypothesis, Seiya sent his sister and Aria away to see if he would take the bait which he did. Surely, some of his less 'fortunate' relatives were scheming against him.

Seiya: 'If I had to guess, it is probably something like provoking me into a fight and using his newly manifested quirk, at best, to cripple me or at worst, to slightly injure me. Well, too bad, they won't be able to provoke me like this but I can't say the same about him.'

Turning around, Seiya said to the other young ones,

Seiya: "Remember when I told you that there are often dogs disguised like us just so that they can bark at us in our language? Well, we have one of them right here. Now, what did I say we should do when we come across them?"

Naturally, Seiya being the most 'mature' guy among the young ones and owing to his high status, was their de-facto leader. Even some of the slightly older children were a part of his 'gang'. This, in turn, allowed him to 'guide' and instill some moral values and ethics along with creating a feeling of kinship among them. After all, they were the future of his clan and he did not want these future clansmen to infight amongst each other.

Others: "We should avoid them!"

Seiya: "Good, then let's go!"

Dumb Kid seeing everyone else avoiding him, raged and activated his quirk which just so happened to be the ability to produce claws from his knuckles and attacked Seiya. Alas, Seiya was waiting for this very opportunity and got ready to counter him. The claws heading his seemed to be in slow motion to him and he had half the mind to perform one of those cool tricks.

Seiya: 'Looks like hanging out with the kids is rubbing off on me.'

But this thought went right through the window when he realized that he had made a grave miscalculation. His senses were as strong as before his reincarnation but the same could not be said about his body. He was certainly strong and nimble but that was compared to someone his age and he was certainly not nimble enough to follow his senses and get out of the way before the claws reached him nor strong enough to stop the claws with his bare hands.

Seiya: 'Well, I am in it for a whole lot of pain.'

(A/N: That's what you get for being corny.)

Doing the best he could, he covered the vital areas with his hands, closed his eyes and got prepared to scream as soon as he felt the pain. However, unknown to him, the <Dragon Core> reacted to his subconscious and a barrier seemed to break. In the next moment, a shriek sounded in the <Main Hall> drawing the attention of all the guests and the sight they were greeted with stunned them. The kids removed their hands from their faces and were agape at what they saw.

Seiya: "Hmm? What was that shrill shriek anyway? Sounded more like a dog to me. And why do I not feel any pain even after coming in contact with claws?"

Opening his eyes, Seiya saw the same scene as the others: His hands were covered with a red layer of skin with small scales visible on it with big nails. (see cover pic) They almost seemed like the hands of a beast and the claws that were about to stab him were now broken. Anybody could guess where the shriek came from but no one was concerned about it (not even his parents). All of them were more focused on those pair of hands instead. The silent atmosphere was finally broken by Seiya,

Seiya: "N-NAAAAANIIII!"

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