Good day, and welcome to my new story!
Due to the fact that I have run into a bit of a flop with most of my other story ideas, I have been working on ways to try to get myself motivated to do them again. And what better way to inspire oneself to write a story, is other than writing another story?! (That doesn't make sense, but you get my point)
I'm not going to be following the usual format of how BNHA SI's go, so any inconsistencies and plotholes that you may run into should be taken with a grain of salt. That, and I'm taking liberties in exercising my rights to create AU elements which are not officially a part of canon.
Big thanks to my Hybrid Theory, ScriptGenius12, RoboVolcano4, and matrience for giving me their feedback and support in the construction of this!
The feeling of weightlessness is very surreal and frightening.
I mean, how could it not?
Not being able to control where you move, and any effort to try to gain some degree of mobility becomes utterly wasted. Our ability to have a firm hold on our very person gets torn from our grasp, and we are completely helpless to even struggle.
The very thought is a very exciting and yet terrifying prospect for many, something which I really was never was able to understand at all in my previous life.
Unfortunately, my understanding of this would be hammered in when it struck me head-on, right after watching a movie with my friends. What was to be a relaxing night would be transformed into a very harsh lesson, no less than five minutes after I exited the theater.
I could honestly go on and describe to you the events which eventually would lead to this very moment, but since that would take too long I'll give you the cliff notes version: hard day of work, eyes burning from looking at a computer screen for too long, having to suffer from a boss with breathtaking anger management issues, before a friend invites me to see Avengers: Infinity War.
The latest Avengers movie was truly an emotional experience for me. The feelings of excitement as events unfolded, the horror at seeing some blatantly unexpected moments, and the satisfaction of seeing the true potential of a cinematic universe culminating into this fantastic film.
By the time the film had ended, I was practically exploding with excitement at the thought of another film like this one coming out, and truly was looking forward at being able to witness the ending of Phase 3 in the MCU.
So deep I was in my musings, that I made the mistake of completely forgetting to check both sides of the road.
A mistake which I would pay for dearly.
And as fate would have it, an incoming truck would be my personal teacher in the mechanics of becoming an aerial projectile. What joy.
It even had the gall to hit me from my left! As if even I needed to suffer the Stark left arm curse!
Even as gravity starts to regain its hold on my already shattered and broken body, I can't help but feel nothing as I fall to the ground. The weight of the situation might have been too much for my mind to handle, so an apathetic mindset probably was for the best. It wouldn't do for me to exit the stage full of regret and anger at dying at the tender age of 19.
The only thing I could feel was irritation at not being able to see the sequel to that Avengers movie. What WOULD happen next?
'I knew I should have drunk my milk today…'
Then I felt a massive impact on the back of my skull, and I know no more.
It had only been what had seemed to be about a minute after my untimely demise that I noticed the distinct feeling of my head being rocked back and forth. Upon regaining more of my bodily perception, it becomes very apparent that it's not just my head, but my entire body which is getting pushed around like a piece of dirty laundry.
First, I realized that my senses were all dialed down to barely anything, meaning that I was blind, deaf, and couldn't smell worth a damn. Any attempt on my part to do anything got nary a response, and panic started to seed within my mind.
'Calm down Richard...this is fine. Evaluate your situation, and calmly continue to the next step. Good? Good.'
With my terror temporarily abated for the moment, I decided to try to evaluate my situation with what of my senses were still working, which was unfortunately only my sense of touch. Even so, the results aren't promising.
Any attempt on my part to struggle feels sluggish as if my muscles were composed of Jello, and my limbs feel restrained. I feel uncomfortably warm and wet as if my body was currently being squeezed through a massive sock.
A massive soft and wet sock to be exact. In the place I am in, friction is nonexistent!
Can't go wrong with Jojo, even in a situation such as this. And besides, a little bit of fun humor is probably necessary for me to stave off my incoming panic.
Something which is already taking root in my mind and making my already addled brain to think of the most ridiculous of theories.
'By god I better not have been abducted by aliens. I'm too young to get probed!'
Before I can get plunged deeper into a panic attack, I'm suddenly thrust into a bright room, where all I can feel is-
Cold! So cold! It's frickin freezing right now! And the UFO lights aren't helping one bit! These aliens have really terrible guest service!
My torment doesn't end there however, as the room starts to grow consistently louder with the sound of warbled voices as my ears start to pick up more sound. And without any forewarning, I get the noticeable feeling of weightlessness as my body starts to get picked up like a Pillow-pet.
Oh my god...are those massive tentacles I'm feeling?! Am I being manhandled by mini-Cthulhu's right now?! All of the tentacle doujins that I have read starting to come back to bit me in the arse...and I think it might be quite literal right now!
My composure is quickly starting to crack like an egg, and as more physical sensations continuously bombard me with barely any mercy, I start to find it very hard to keep myself from letting it all out.
Suddenly a shadow overtook the light which was burning my retinas past my eyelids, and the voices have dulled into barely anything. With a bit of hesitation on my part, I opened my eyes to potentially take a look at the being which was holding me.
It was a head. Attached to a body no less, but still. A head.
A massive. Human. Head.
And if I was correct, it was equipped with not one, not two, but three bloody eyeballs.
What-...What in the-... How in the-
Something suddenly raised their voice and a cacophony of what I perceived as literal pandemonium exploded with fresh renew, before a scream rang out and the voices became louder.
At that point, I found it really hard to care for my image right then and there. And as I started to bawl like a wuss, one major revelation stuck into the back of my mind before I passed out.
I had just been freshly born.
Happy Birthday to me.
Shinozaki Yuka weakly held her wailing baby boy in her arms with a gentle smile on her face, her tiredness from the operation being set aside for the sake of her little one. He honestly gave her a scare from his initial silence after being delivered, but fear made way for happiness when he started to bawl loudly.
"A powerful set of lungs… you'll make for a fine speaker in the future," she gently stroked his cheek with a single finger, before the pain started to clench up within herself. She gasped at the sudden deluge of hurt, instinctively grasping onto the offending area.
The nurses around her started to notice this, and alarmed yells started to ring out throughout her room. One of the nurses gestured towards her to take away her little one, but she didn't listen.
It wasn't like she had much longer to live anyways….
She grit her teeth at the sudden throbbing, the pain honestly being too much for her to bear at once. But looking at her baby boy, she forced herself to stay within the world of the living for just a little while longer.
An errant thought trailed to the forefront of her mind for a moment, as she remembered the warning Shuzenji-sensei had given to her after she had been pregnant… the image of the short, old, kindly lady making her grow a wry smile on her face. Their conversation had seemed to be so long ago, and yet it felt like she had just talked with Recovery Girl just yesterday.
"Your body is weak Yuka. I...I'm not even sure you will be able to survive the operation in your current state. Your heart is weak, and not even the medical technology that we have today holds a solution for you… I truly wish to be the bearer of much better news, but I can only say the truth as your doctor.
If you deliver your child, you may very well die from the effort of it."
'I guess you were right Shuzenji-sensei… my body really wasn't able to handle this at all…' She put a determined expression over her face, ignoring the pain which continuously assailed her to even now. '...but I'm not going to die just yet. My little one...still needs his name. A name which is worthy for the man he will be in the future…"
He was going to be special...something about him she just couldn't grasp, but instinctively she understood on a fundamental level that he was going to be special in his own way. Call it a mother's intuition...
One of the doctors was calling out to her but stopped when Yuka grabbed his wrist with an iron grip. Upon her gesturing him to come closer, she lifted her head with the last bit of her strength to speak the name of her nameless child.
"His name...his name is…'Michi'. For he will pave... the 'Righteous Way'."
Her voice was barely a whisper at that point, and the doctor nodded at her. Just before he took the now named 'Shinozaki Michi' away from her, she laid one chaste kiss upon his brow before holding his small hand.
He was so tiny...and would be unable to stand on his own by his lonesome. She wouldn't be able to be there for him, and it hurt her to no end just thinking that her child would never truly be able to know who she was.
One of her thumbs absentmindedly rubbed the back of her son's hand, who had fallen asleep a while back.
By then, the tiredness started to take its toll on her stamina, and her vision started to darken quite considerably. But as the blonde haired man walked into the room, she managed to give him one final smile before she left.
'Please take care of my son...Toshinori…"
And as if that smile was enough to convey the message she wanted to share with the current Symbol of Peace, her hand was enveloped between two strong ones, his teary smile satisfying her enough. Michi would be alright… and Toshinori would grieve...but she knew that the two of them would help each other grow much more than she could ever have.
Yuka closed her eyes in peace, regret at not being able to see her son grow with her own two eyes, but knowing that he was in the hands of one of her greatest friends.
Her final moments ended in a smile.
An older girl looked at the blonde haired boy on the swing-set, both of her hands clasped onto his shoulders. Even as she kneeled in front of him, he still felt small from her very presence alone, as if it was standing over his like a sun.
Her expression invited no room for argument, and the belittling words that the boy had for himself quickly vanished upon her shushing him with a single finger.
"You don't have to have a quirk to be a hero. All you need is the determination to help others, and the heart to take on such trials."
Why would she do this? What does she get from this?
Why would she go so far as to speak to him, and even try to comfort him despite his Quirklessness?
"...why would you do this for me? Why do you care so much?"
The girl gave a smile at this, before spreading out her legs on the ground, her chest raising higher into the air as one of her hands settled on her waist.
"Why? Is the reason not obvious?"
In one swift movement, she pointed at herself with a thumb, a cheery grin rising on her face. And as the boy looked at her, something in him started to well up in response to her actions.
It was as if his spirit was being roused from its slumber, something which was sleeping until now more than ready to act.
Ready to drive him forward.
"It's fine now. Because I am here!"
And it was on that day, that Yagi Toshinori met one of the many people who he could truly call, 'hero'.
The one who would set the foundations for his torch to be lit.