This isn't really something that's going to develop into a story. This was a mind-worm that came as a result of me wondering what it would be like if Maya had powers. A short, fun, crackish story I decided to write down and share which can also be seen in ao3. Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy it!
Maya Kitajima, had experienced many unnatural things over the course of her life.
Hearing voices, seeing movement at the corner of her eye, seeing strange multicolored lights surrounding people to the point where she could tell which people were regular humans and which weren't. She had a growing open fascination with the paranormal way before these abilities manifested, so this development wasn't all that bad for her. Really, it made life all the more exciting!
When she told her mother about these occurrences back in middle school, her mother had made a face and explained that this could be because they came from a long line of mikos and onmyouji. Her mother had skipped out on the family business because her sixth sense wasn't as developed as their ancestors, not that she was all that interested in continuing the business anyway since she was terrified of anything paranormal thus, amusingly, making her Maya's opposite.
Her mother sat her down and said, "I just wanted you to live a normal life and be a normal girl. You're already so intrigued by the supernatural, I was worried that it would only get worse if I told you…"
Which was fair. Maya's bizarre interests were already a point of contention for her peers. For a while now, she was known as that weird girl who talked about yōkai and legends and took pictures of abandoned buildings for her Photography Club that were supposedly haunted (but they weren't "supposedly haunted" they were haunted, she'd seen the ghosts). Not to say that she was entirely friendless. She still had her two best friends, Asahi and Honoka who were both interested in ghost stories, and they were pretty weird themselves, always talking about her crush on Shuichi Minamino and getting confused by her confusion (although Asahi seemed more happy about it). Sure, there was no denying that he was a pretty boy type of attractive and interesting in a mysterious sort of way but she's sure she would remember ever having a crush on him. Her friends were so silly.
While her life was already strange, it somehow seemed to have gotten even stranger during her first year in high school when she went to Mushiyori City to photograph famous hotspots for a club project.
There were those disgusting bugs that she had seen before when there was that riot in Sarayashiki, and after she came back from Mushiyori she ended up catching the virus that she heard was going around. Boy, was that a horrible three days; she was feverish and retching up her internal organs throughout it.
In hindsight, she probably should've considered it an odd coincidence, but could you blame her for being a tad distracted? After that awful episode was over, to her gracious relief, she noticed there was something off about her, but she just couldn't place a finger on it, only assuming it to be an after effect of being violently sick until she went on a frozen yogurt date with Asahi a week later.
They were just goofing off at the time. Maya had shaped her fingers into a camera, giggling as she told Asahi to pose for the camera. Once he did, everything around her, including Asahi, froze as if someone had pressed pause on time. She was unable to move or speak as the image of Asahi in her finger camera warped and shifted into a moving first person view of him walking a street, there was a sound of screeching tires and screaming people that caused him to turn to the side and freeze and then suddenly he was hit by an out of control car, body flying then landing on the ground in a crumpled heap. She snapped out of it with a gasp, face pale and sweaty as everyone around her started to move again.
Asahi had noticed the spooked state she was in and asked her if she was okay. He insisted on taking her home even when she tried to convince him that she was fine. She really wasn't. She had no idea what just happened. Was…was that a premonition? Is Asahi going to… , was her thought process at the time. There was no other explanation for what she just saw, but she was confused: she never had premonitions before, so why now? Was her sixth sense getting stronger or was it something else?
They stopped by a pedestrian signal post. There were the only ones there. Her heart raced when she realized that this resembled her vision to a T. When the light signaled for them to walk, she grabbed Asahi by the wrist and held him back.
"Wait! Don't go!" she shouted, keeping her hold on him.
Asahi had looked at her as if she grew a second head before they both turned back to the street after hearing screams and screeching tires. A car like the one in her vision was zigzagging and swerving all over the street and crashed into a sidewalk's gate. Panicked murmurs surrounded them as Asahi crumbled to the ground with wide-eyes, trembling at the close call on his life. Unlike him, all Maya was able to do was stare at the smoking car in stunned silence, not knowing how to react to the revelation of this sudden new ability.
The minute she came back home, she nearly tripped and fell on her face slipping out of her shoes, and sprinted straight to her room, sliding to her computer like a baseball player close to home base. She turned the computer on and sat down, hands hovering over the keyboard as she thought about what could've caused her future sight. She was sick some time ago so maybe…
Premonitions Caused by Sickness
Sudden, Unexplained Premonitions
Sickness and Future Death Sight
Scary, Disgusting Bugs and Random Powers
She tested multiple combinations on Google's search engine, scrolling down and clicking every website on every page. Eyes burning red from staring at the screen for too long, she grew more exasperated with every dud, nearly considering giving up before she came across an anonymous forum about Mushiyori Disease. Reading the messages, she grinned with rapturous excitement. This was it! People were talking about gaining powers after getting sick, and the same name was being passed around: Genkai, a psychic that lived secluded from society in a temple. She had read about her years in advance from a Psychics Monthly magazine; a picture of her was never taken on account of her (literally) kicking the photographer out of her property before he could, but she knew where she lived.
Aware that her mother would have a conniption if she told her that she was planning on heading to some psychic's home in the woods tomorrow to ask about a power she got, Maya decided to call Honoka to ask her to cover for her while she dealt with this issue. Honoka, the fellow enthusiast she was, believed her right away and agreed to help, wishing her the best.
Her venture to Genkai's estate was long and arduous, and having to walk all those steps while sensing demons from the surrounding forest was totally exhausting, but it all became worth it when she reached the temple. It was even grander than she imagined! And Genkai herself was EVEN MORE badass than she imagined! Cranky old ladies for the win!
After some waiting, Genkai had called her into a room and motioned for her to sit on the cushion across from her. Maya enthusiastically matched Genkai's seiza and started to speak.
"I'm not interested in your life story if that's what you're about to do. Just tell me about your Territory," Genkai interrupted.
Territory? Must be what they call this power.
"Yes ma'am!" Maya said as she proceeded to explain what transpired yesterday. Genkai kept a straight face for the entirety of her explanation, giving a few hums here and there to show she was listening.
"Do what you did before, right now. Use me as your test subject." When Maya hesitated, Genkai scowled. "You came here because you needed help with your Territory, didn't you? Quit wasting my time and do it. Don't go worrying about hurting this old woman's feelings if what you see isn't all sunshine and rainbows, I can handle myself just fine."
"R-right!"
Lips nervously pursed, Maya positioned her hands like she did yesterday, catching Genkai's still form in the square. Like before, everything froze and she couldn't move or speak. The image changed into Genkai sleeping in a futon, expression peaceful, and the rising of her chest slowing until it eventually stopped. Snapping out of it, Maya shook her head to clear her thoughts, and she immediately told the old psychic what she saw.
Genkai grunted. "Sounds like you have the ability to tell how a person dies, or could die since you prevented the death of that boyfriend of yours."
"Really?" Maya rubbed her chin. Oh, wow! That's actually pretty useful! I could save a boatload of people with a power like this!
"Hold it. I bet you're thinking that you could be a hero with a power like that."
Maya blushed. "Am I that obvious?"
Genkai scoffed. "I met enough self-sacrificing idiots in my lifetime to spot one a mile away." She narrowed her wizen eyes at Maya, arms crossed and her gruff voice serious. "Let me bestow this word of wisdom to you: you can't save everyone. Death is an inevitable and unpredictable part of life so don't go killing yourself trying to save every person that crosses your path to satiate some hero complex. The same goes for beating yourself down for not being able to prevent a death. Just because you have the ability to do so doesn't necessarily make it your job. You understand?"
"Yes, I understand."
Genkai waved her hand in a curt manner to dismiss her. "Your Territory doesn't appear to be dangerous so you are allowed to leave. If it develops in any way that concerns you then you may come back any time. Next!"
Walking out of Genkai's temple, Maya was left alone with her thoughts. She took Genkai's words to heart. She was right that Maya couldn't save everyone, she was only one person after all, and what use was a person who exerts themself to unconsciousness? But just because she couldn't save everyone didn't mean that she shouldn't try to save as many people as she could! Clenching her fist with determination, Maya marched her way to her brand new future in stopping cruel and unusual deaths from happening on her watch!