"Did you have fun at the Kendo's?" Suru asked Gakki while ruffling his hair.
"Yep, me and Itsuka played heroes!" Gakki replied, his voice box not portraying his enthusiasm.
Suru chuckled and turned to the Kendos'.
"He was scared of Namba at first, but he settled in after a while," Sama added, making Gakki flush a little.
"Yes, he was good the whole time," Namba said. She then leaned towards Suru and whispered. "And I think he and Itsuka make a good pair."
Suru's smile grew. "Is that so? From what I've seen, I would have to agree." Suru replied. They continued to gossip about the two kids for a little bit.
The Ginga's said their goodbyes and made their way home. When they got home, Suru stopped in front of the door.
"So I have a surprise!" Suru exclaimed to Gakki.
Before Gakki could reply, she opened the door. Sitting on the couch was a woman with pink hair and eyes. She was around 5'2" with a smile plastered on her face. But the most prominent part about her was her skin. It looked plastic, like a doll. She looked Gakki in his eyes, and a shiver went down his spine. He didn't know why, but it felt like she was just seeing his eyes and not him. She stood up and walked up to Gakki.
"Hello, my name is Ningyo Babi. And you must be the cutie that Suru has been gushing about." Babi introduced overly cheerfully.
Gakki blushed and only looked at his mom.
"She will be your new music teacher. I met her yesterday. It's a funny story." Suru said to answer Gakki's unspoken question. "I went to get you a keyboard so you could start to practice piano, but when I got there, I met Babi. One thing led to another, and now she will be your teacher." She finished, adding more questions for Gakki.
"I made some tea. Why don't we sit down and talk over cutie?" Babi asked, still looking at Gakki.
"Okay, Mrs Babi," Gakki answered.
"Mrs makes me sound old. Just call me honey." Babi told Gakki.
Gakki was blushing again and looked for answers by looking at his mom. But to his shock, his mom didn't look perplexed by what Babi requested.
"O-okay, h-honey," Gakki awkwardly said.
A big smile grew on Babi's face, and her eyes looked satisfied. She grabbed Gakki's hand and led him to the table with two cups of tea. Gakki was confused once again. Babi seemed to notice and answered.
"Your mom has something to do, so it will be just the two of us drinking."
Gakki looked toward where his mom was, and she was already heading for the front door without saying goodbye.
"Oh, well, bye, Mom," Gakki said, still getting pulled towards the table.
Suru didn't answer or look behind her. She just opened the door and left. Gakki felt weird about how his mom behaved but didn't have time to think about it as Babi planted him into a seat before she did the same. Babi took her cup. and sipped from it. Gakki did the same and was pleasantly surprised that it was good. When he looked back up at Babi, she stared into his eyes. He had the same feelings as before.
"So, how do you like the tea cutie? It's a special blend I made," She asked innocently.
"I-It is very delicious." Gakki stuttered out, still not used to being called cutie.
Babi looked into his eyes for a little too long before saying. "I said to call me honey." All the cheerfulness was gone, replaced with monotone. Gakki shivered from the switched attitude.
"Sorry, Honey," Gakki answered quickly.
Babi instantly lit up. Her attitude switched back to being cheerful. She took another sip of her tea before continuing.
"I know you have some questions, but first, I want to ask you some. Is that okay, cutie?"
Gakki nodded, then took another sip of his tea.
"Good, so first, will you explain your quirk to me? Your mother did, but I want to hear it from you." Babi asked, leaning forward a little.
"Well, from what I can tell, when I play an instrument, I can copy it. The doctor said the more I learn an instrument, the better the effects. Oh, also, the doctor said that they have a buff and debuff to them depending on if I see them as a good guy or bad guy." Gakki rambled on, not noticing Babi's eyes growing in excitement.
"He's perfect," She whispered to herself. She then cleared her throat, cutting off Gakki's rambling. "And you still haven't unlocked your eyes yet?" Babi asked more excitement in her voice than before.
Gakki shook his head. Babi then stood up and knelt to be face-to-face with Gakki. Gakki was startled by how close they were. Their noses were inches away from touching.
"Gakki, you are the one I was looking for. I will teach you a lot if you will let me." Babi said in a sincere tone, like she would make sure that everything was better.
Gakki was stunted a little by how sincere she sounded and that she used his name for the first time. A voice whispered into his ear to accept at all costs.
"I accept, honey," Gakki said with determination.
Babi had a pleased smile on her face. She then hugged him tightly. Gakki's body automatically hugged her back. Gakki couldn't see it, but Babi had a devilish smile on her face that didn't look right. 'I will make him mine at all cost,' Babi thought, coming up with plans to make it happen.
The weeks for Gakki went like this: Gakki would wake up with Babi lying in his bed, looking into his eyes. Babi and Suru made a deal that if Babi teaches Gakki, she can live here rent-free. Gakki didn't know how to feel about how his mom was behaving because she didn't care that Babi would be sleeping in Gakki's bed from now on.
Gakki would then get out of bed and use the bathroom. Once he got out and went to the kitchen, Babi would be there with breakfast on the table and a cup of tea for them. Suru would already be gone, Babi telling him that she had already gone to work. They enjoy breakfast while chatting with each other.
After breakfast, Babi would start teaching. Gakki thought that Babi was just an instrument teacher. But it turned out that Babi would be teaching him everything. So Babi would start teaching him until lunch. Babi began to make lunch as Gakki went to get an instrument she had brought when she moved in.
After lunch and tea, they started music lessons. Every day was a different instrument, from a harp to a flute and even a drum set. Gakki's throat was sore from his quirk copying all the instruments. Gakki gets used to the instrument for an hour, and then Babi hands him sheet music. It took Gakki a week to learn how to sight-read music, but once he got it down, he started to learn faster than an average person would. Babi theorized that his quirk evolved around instruments, so he had more of an understanding of how to play them than others.
After an hour of playing and sight reading, Gakki heads off to the Kendo's dojo. Gakki was told if he wanted to go to the dojo, he had to promise not to tell anyone her. Gakki didn't know why, but he promised that he wouldn't.
Gakki would spend a few hours at the dojo with Itsuka, learning and having fun. Itsuka tried to have him spend the night, but every time Sama would call Suru to ask, she would say no and devise an excuse. Both Itsuka and Gakki were saddened about it, but at least they got to hang out daily, so they weren't too low about it.
Once Gakki got home, Babi would be there making dinner. Suru's shoes would be at the front door. Babi would tell him that she was tired and already went to bed. Which always made Gakki sad that he couldn't at least see his mom. They would eat and drink some tea with it. Gakki would ramble on what he learned at the dojo while Babi would listen after they cleaned up and got ready for bed.
Babi insisted that they bathe together, which always made Gakki uncomfortable. But a voice would whisper, telling him to listen to Babi. Gakki would nod and follow Babi into the bathroom. After bathing, they would change into their pajamas and get into bed.
That was how Gakki's life was going for a few months, until one day at the dojo when they would start sparing. This day would be a turning point for Gakki and his relationships.
"So, today, we will be starting spares," Sama told his class in his instructor's voice. "So I want you to get with someone and get in your stances." He continued.
"Yes, Sensei." the class said together.
Itsuka instantly grabbed Gakki and dragged him to a sparing spot. They got into their stances and waited for Sama.
Sama smiled and declared. "Itsuka and Gakki will be sparing first. I will allow quirks for your first spare."
Gakki looked into Itsuka's eyes and saw the determination to win. Gakki felt more pumped than ever to win.
"Okay, start!" Sama yelled.
Itsuka instantly rushed forward, closing the distance. Gakki opened his mouth, and piano notes started coming out. It sounded more fluent, like a skilled player was playing it, instead of a child just hitting random notes. Itsuka felt the effects instantly. Her mind felt closed off, and she could only think of one move at a time. But she was feeling smug, like she knew she would win. Gakki's stance was open, and his arms were in front of him like he would catch a ball.
Itsuka threw a punch, aiming for his stomach. But Gakki side-stepped it and grabbed her hand in an attempt to throw her. Itsuka instantly grew her fist, which made Gakki let go and go to the ground from the force. Gakki's mouth was forced closed from the impact, so the music stopped. He instantly got up, but when he looked back at Itsuka, she was throwing a punch again. He went to grab her arm again, but she stopped instantly and swept his feet instead. Gakki fell to the ground again, but his eyes started to feel weird this time.
Gakki started to get up again. This time, Gakki charged Itsuka. Gakki activated his quirk again, but this time, instead of piano notes, it was a flute. Itsuka felt her speed start to slow down, and she felt like she was trapped. Gakki grabbed her arm to throw her, but she hit him on the side with her other fist. Gakki stubbled to the side, still playing the flute. Itsuka went as fast as she could and tried to punch his arm. Gakki grabbed her arm at the last second and looked at her legs, waiting for her to try and sweep him again. But instead, she punched his chest, making him let go and fall to the ground, making him stop playing music.
Gakki's eyes were now starting to burn and itch. When he looked at Itsuka, she paused. Her eyes were wide. Gakki started to feel better but different. He got up and charged Itsuka. Itsuka snapped out of her stooper and put up her guard. Gakki threw a punch aimed at her chest. She went to counter it, but Gakki stopped at the last second and swept her feet.
The dojo was silent. Gakki was breathing heavily, but he felt guilty for hurting Itsuka. He looked down and saw her eyes wide open and her mouth open in shock. Gakki then looked around, and everyone had the same expression as her.
"What?" Gakki asked, now looking at Sama.
Sama snapped out of his stupor and pulled out his phone. He messed with it for a second and gave it to Gakki. Gakki was confused but looked at it. It was on the camera app, and that's when he paused. What was looking back at him was not his normal eyes or hair. His eyes were now purple galaxies slowly moving. And his hair was orange with a side ponytail, the same as Itsukas.
Gakki slowly looked up and saw Itsuka giving him a big smile.
"You finally unlocked your eyes!" Itsuka exclaimed, giving Gakki a big hug.