W

Chapter 5: Taste?

"Yes, it was me. I have no idea how I did it, and still don't. I was wondering what to write next on my paper, and when my voice came out as yours, I was confused, but our conversation from yesterday about the w hit me so that could've been why my voice came out as yours. It must be a power I didn't know I had." Neon responded, looking down.

Was she sad? I couldn't tell.

"Well, sometimes we discover our powers sooner than later. I didn't come into my own until I was 15, and even then I had trouble using them sometimes. You and I both discovered our powers a little later than usual and you were the later bloomer between us, Neon, so it makes sense you might not have all your powers yet or know what they all are, especially because I don't know what powers your parents had." I said, rubbing her head.

"No need to look down like that."

"Yeah. Thanks." Neon said, lifting her head up from the ground.

"I wonder if I can mimic Kira too....lemme try." Yuki said, closing his eyes.

"Hey guys! Fire is cool!" He said, sounded croaky and low.

"Not bad, but that's too low and way too old sounding." I said.

Yuki shrugged. Both him and Neon turned around and began walking away. This time, I followed close behind them.

So Neon can mimic voices now....that's cool for her.
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And just like that, we were home before we knew it. With Yuki already having gone to his house and Neon and I alone in mine, there was something I wanted to ask her.

Can she mimic my Mom's voice?

If she can mimic mine, I'm sure she can, but there's only one way to find out.

During dinner, I noticed Neon wasn't eating as much. Usually she ate a good portion of food-not to the point of overeating, but enough to satisfy her-but I can't say the same about today.

"Neon, you okay?" Mom asked, earning a nod from Neon.

"But you haven't eaten much." Mom said, looking at Neon's plate, who shrugged.

"I'm not hungry. Can I be excused?"

"Uh....sure."

With that said, Neon got up from the table and walked out of the room. My Mom looked at me, an expression on her face that looked like confusion.

"Has Neon been acting weird today, Kira?"

"Not from what I noticed."

Mom shrugged and went back to eating her food.

"But, uh, there was one weird thing that happened at school today."

Swallowing her food, Mom took a sip from her cup and then looked at me.

"Like what?"

"She was able to mimic my voice perfectly. It sounded just like me."

"Well, she's been around you most of her life." Mom said, piling some mashed potatoes onto her spoon.

"No, Mom. I think this is something much bigger than that."

My Mom put her spoon down. It rested on the side of the plate, not even making a sound. She turned her head to me, looking me straight in the eyes, and then looked closer.

"You're talking about what I think you're talking about, aren't you?" She asked, still looking into my eyes, which made me nod.

Sighing, my Mom leaned back in her chair.

"Ayame told me years ago that those monsters can mimic human voices. She said something bad happened to her. A wendigo attacked her one night, she told me. I don't think she gave me the whole story, but I knew not to press her further. I can still remember the expression on her face. Whatever the true story is, it shakes her up. That much I know."