Title: Here I Stand
Summary: I had grown up being told death was supposed to lead to the peaceful afterlife, not a world of superheroes and "Quirks". [SI-OC/Reincarnation-fic]
A lengthy chapter this time around! Enjoy!
ALSO, yes, there is a spoiler about the current arc of the manga in this chapter. Just a forewarning!
Chapter 06: Tsuyu Asui
A great deal had ensued over the past three years.
Dad, now age 27, had risen from Rank #54 to #19 on the JP Hero Billboard; his inspiring heroic actions and personality skyrocketing him to his current spot. There wasn't a day that went by where I didn't see a commercial about his new toy line of action figures, or one of his public service announcements about being responsible with your Quirk and abiding by the law. Adding onto his commercial success, his Hero Agency had grown considerably, and the number of interns and sidekicks increased by 10% every year. Dad's good friend and intern-at-the-time, Akira, had graduated from some Hero School in the East he had been attending and gone on to be his sidekick, working under the alias of "Nailscrew".
Mom, now also age 27, had started working from home. Thanks to heightening technology, she was able to communicate with all of the designers under her and company staff via visual high-definition holograms. Around three years ago, in February, I had learned that Mom was actually a worldwide icon in the fashion designing industry, being a famous designer herself.
After Mom had given birth to me, she had been on child-care leave for an entire year to take care of me; she had assumed the role of a housewife when in reality, she was the head designer and actual Head of the design department of a fashion and support company known as "PRONTO". According to Mom, there were several branches spread throughout the globe and the company helped in collaboration with numerous Hero Schools and other support tech companies to create high-quality costumes and equipment. Fortunately for her, with the entire year she had off, she was able to produce countless amounts of completed sketches of hero costumes. Not to mention, they had a high-grossing clothing line, which currently brought in over a billion dollars a year.
Being the son of a rising Pro Hero and a famous fashion designer, life was great to say the least. Living a life as privileged as I was, it was so much of a blessing that I was unsure if I really deserved it; though with the way Mom and Dad spoiled me, if I hadn't grown up grounded the way I did, I was sure I would have turned out to be a whiny, spoiled brat.
And speaking of Mom...
...
"Wake up sweetheart," Mom said to me one morning, giving my covers a modest pull. Not one hundred percent sure of what was going on, only knowing someone was pulling at my covers, I stuck my head out from the covers; only for the outside luminescent rays to assault my eyes without warning. I retracted my head back underneath the shell that was my cover.
The deliriousness I was feeling began evaporating before I knew it, and my consciousness began clearing up. Putting two and two together, I ultimately received the oh-so-elusive four: it was morning time. If there was one thing I wanted nothing more in this life, it was for the Sun to stop being so goddamn gleeful in the morning and tone it down a couple notches. That or wait until approximately 12PM to grace me with its pleasant shine.
Despite my obvious discontent, Mom egged on. "Mirai, I'm serious, let's go. We have an important appointment in an hour, so get up," She voiced, ripping the covers off of me.
Instinctively, I went to nab my plush shield but my movement was delayed by my sluggishness, giving Mom more than enough time to pry it from my grasp.
She jokingly mimicked the frustrated frown I had on my face, "Stop that pouty face mister and get ready for Mommy. I'll be downstairs with your father finishing up a nice breakfast before we leave."
With that, she left my room, leaving me and my tired body to wallow in self-pity. I fumbled around in my bed, violently flailing my arms and legs into the air before returning back down to Earth. I heaved, my heartbeat returning to a controlled state. I batted my eyes at the ceiling and calmed myself down. I laid there for a moment, well… maybe a minute or two more, before I slowly, but surely, made my way out of bed.
Some caffeine sure would have been great right about now.
I sullenly dragged my feet across the carpet as I stifled a yawn with my right hand. It wasn't until I got to the bathroom that I finally processed her words. What appointment was she talking about? If it was a doctor's visit, I'm sure Mom or Dad would've said something about it sooner. Eh, it probably wasn't anything worth thinking long and hard over; getting ready now like Mom said was more important.
Making my way over to the bathtub, I turned on the water and let it run, before going over to the mirror. I stared at my reflection in the mirror, getting a good look at who I had become over the past three years. My pink hair had grown considerably over the years, appearing at neck-length now, gathered up in a top-knot, allowing the rest to fall around my face. My baby fat had since trimmed down to near nonexistent, and my face was lighter and my body slimmer.
I scratched the back of my head. Having this unusual length of hair was an irksome task to manage, as I wasn't used to having anything other than a low cut. Thankfully I had Mom to help me clean it up to avoid letting it get messy.
Even after four long years, I had moments where I still had trouble accepting the fact that the person I saw every day in the mirror was really me. Waking up and not seeing the person you had once been for ages… it was something that would take a long time to accept, even after all that's happened.
"Well… better get ready," I hummed to myself, stripping down and hopping into the hot bath water.
...
After finishing up my bath and getting dressed in the clothes Mom had picked out for me to wear—a black long-sleeve shirt with 'No Villains Allowed' printed in bond and two strips going around the stomach of the shirt, blue jeans and white low-top sneakers, I made my way downstairs and into the kitchen.
"Gush morwing, sun!" Dad greeted, his words nearly unintelligible from the food encompassing his mouth. I sweatdropped as I walked in to see Dad inhaling his breakfast. Seeing the chewed-up bits of rice and grilled fish spew from his mouth was enough to disgust me.
"Good morning, Dad," I said, cordoning my growing urge to vomit.
"Please show some etiquette dear; you'll rub off on Mirai!" Mom scolded, placing my bowl of rice and grilled fish on the table, "Sit and quickly eat your breakfast, we should be leaving in about fifteen minutes."
"Mom, what appointment are you taking me to?" I asked, taking a seat at the table.
"Well," Mom responded, pausing and taking a moment to give me a set of chopsticks, "Your father and I have decided to enroll you into preschool."
I looked fixedly at Mom, the notion hitting me unexpectedly; I had zero time to think about it, "Preschool?"
"Yes, dear," Mom responded, beginning to elaborate, "If you did get enrolled, then you'd be with other children your age. Doesn't that sound fun?"
I wasn't sure whether to give my actual answer or go along with it, so I just sat there for a few seconds, just to ponder. Being cooped up, and somewhat isolated without much bonding with children my 'own age' for four entire years, it could easily affect any growing child.
Humans were social creatures by nature. If we weren't interacting for years upon years, like a muscle not being exercised, the skill would deteriorate. Then again, interacting with children for more than four hours wasn't exactly on my bucket list. Then again, I couldn't spend the rest of my childhood talking with Mom, Dad and Aunt Kiyo.
I'm sure Mom and Dad noticed that too.
"Mirai'll love it!" Dad bellowed cheerfully, "And he's bound to make tons of friends, maybe even a little girlfriend with his great sense of humor and insane charisma! I mean, he is my son."
I cracked a warm smile. Not that I needed someone to make me feel special, but it always made me feel good inside to know that my Dad showed a great deal of pride in having me as his son and being a father in general.
"See!" Dad exclaimed, hurriedly gesturing at my smile, "Even he knows he's going to be popular, just like his old man!"
"Be honest dear, you weren't all that funny and popular while we were at Shiketsu," Mom giggled.
Dad loudly gawked, tripping up and crashing backwards comically. He swiftly recovered and hopped up on his two feet and defensively pointed at Mom, "A-Aiko, don't act like you weren't always laughing at my jokes!"
"I was only laughing at how hard you were trying," Mom tittered for a few seconds before replying with a sweet smile, "But it's also one of the things that made me like you, dear."
Staring at Dad and seeing how lifeless he was, it was only a matter of time before I joined in Mom's loud tittering. In the back of my heart, I felt terrible poking fun at Dad like that, but just seeing how full of disbelief he was; it was hysterical. He held his jokes to a high standard, but how? I would never be able to wrap my head around how Dad thought his jokes were humorous. Sure they warranted a chuckle here and there, but he was far from being a Dave Chappelle or Richard Pryor.
"I'll just go and—warm the car…" Dad said monotonously, exiting the kitchen and staggering out of the house. On the way out, I thought I had heard him say 'the principal thought I was funny.'
I turned to look at Mom, who had just about calmed down, "Wow. That was cold, even for you Mom."
"Maybe a little…" Mom said, tapping her chin before she smiled weirdly, "I'll just make it up to him later tonight."
Did... Mom really just say that? My stomach became knotted and a rush of nausea crept up on me as the sickening image of Mom and Dad doing it popped into my head and taunted me. I gulped, the repugnant taste of bile leaking from my throat. Yay, something else to make me gag and retch.
...
We sauntered through the vibrant corridor of the preschool I would be attending as Mom and Dad held my hands. Getting a good look at the place, I noticed the walls were yellow, with little stars painted over. The walls were decorated with colorful, children's drawings and messy scribbles of kanji; there was even a gigantic mural of a group of kids playing together by a tree that covered one entire wall.
The closer we got to the classroom, the more I felt an odd sense of urgency.
Though I was blindsided with all of this sudden news this very morning, I thought I would be ready for something minuscule like this. It was just preschool, a much simpler time. There were barely any tormenting bullies, love strifes, or high school drama. This was probably one of the first times I would spend more than three hours outside of the house in four years. I would actually be attending a school: starting my education and beginning my illustrious social life and start making new friends, or at this age: "playmates".
The comforting security which I felt with being home had been embedded deeply into my system. I felt out of place, this wasn't where I wanted to be. I just wanted to be home. This must have been what most children felt. Being away from Mom and Dad, the thought ripped me apart inside. My toddler body reacted, only multiplying the intense feeling.
I couldn't help but question why an adult such as me would be overreacting like this. I would just be away from them for a couple hours. Was I… ready to be away from my parents? I barely had any time to press my doubts and quell my anxiety as Mom and Dad came to a sudden halt. I peered at the door towering above me, a feeling of unfamiliarity impaling me.
"Are you ready, kiddo?" Dad asked, laying his hand on my shoulder.
I understood the gesture, him wanting to make sure I was fine before we entered the classroom to meet the caretakers or whatever, but I wasn't okay with this.
"...N-no," I replied, unconsciously staring down at the floor, "C-Can we go back home… please?"
I could just feel both of my parents espying me. My shame began to escalate, the thought of them wasting their time and breath to comfort me making me want to cry even more.
"Oh honey, it's okay," Mom comforted, "We understand that you'll miss Mommy and Daddy, but you'll only be here for a few hours."
"Mommy will be here to pick you up after school ends!" Dad said, "How does this sound? When I get home from work, we can all watch the GoGo-V movie you've been wanting to see."
I couldn't say that the idea wasn't inviting but dammit, I didn't want to hear about the colorful spandex warriors right now. As selfish as it sounded I wanted to go home—but you couldn't get everything you wanted in life.
'Sharpen up Mirai! If you can't handle a little preschool, then you can't even handle the dangers of being a Hero!'
I lifted my head, wiping the tears off of my face and beaming widely, "That sounds good Dad!"
"Good!" Dad replied, grasping his shirt in a dramatic fashion, "Because I don't know what I was going to do if you started crying!"
He looked back at the door, grabbing hold of the handle. I composed myself, and the door widened; little by little, the interior revealed itself. "Let's go Aiko, Mirai!"
...
"Welcome to Little Angels Primary School, sir—is that the Figurine Hero: Puppetmaster?!"
Not even a second had passed by and cheering and fanfare had already erupted throughout the classroom. Children scrambled recklessly towards Dad, not even caring about my well-being, and pushed me aside. I made out Mom's harsh glare in my field of vision, as she expeditiously caught hold of my hand to help me avoid being trampled by the stampede of kids.
"Can I get an autograph, Puppetmaster sir?"
"I want a hug, Puppetmaster!"
"You're my favorite Hero!"
"When are you and Best Jeanist going to team up again?"
"Dumb kids…" I muttered under my breath. I couldn't blame them for running up to get autographs and attention from Dad, he was a known superhero celebrity and that simply came with the game; but damn, did their parents bother to teach them manners?
"Let's settle down kids!" The female caretaker of the classroom approached the horde of children and began ushering the kids away from Dad, "Continue playing while we talk to Mr. Puppetmaster, okay?"
The kids continued to pester Dad, ignoring the gentle pleas of the teacher. That only served to infuriate me even more. Kids their age didn't know any better, but still.
"Please children, listen to the nice lady," Dad chuckled, "I'll have time to sign your autographs another time, I promise."
The atmosphere in the room sharply darkened, and the kids' hopes were smashed to smithereens. They reluctantly went back to whatever they were doing before, leaving us and the caretaker to our own devices. She bowed her head, keeping laying her arms to her sides.
"My deepest apologies, Puppetmaster and Mrs. Uh—Puppetmaster," she rose her head, "Those kids really love you and well, heroes in general."
She froze for a second, as if like she had seen a ghost, "Wait—just what is someone like you doing here? I don't think I heard any news of a Pro Hero coming to visit Little Angels…?"
"We're here to enroll our son Mirai," Mom clarified, "We scheduled for a meeting yesterday afternoon."
She squealed upon focusing her eyes on me, "Oh! The s-son of a Pro Hero?! We here at Little Angels would be honored to take such a kid in!"
She bent down to my level and began to speak in that child-friendly tone from before.
"Hi, Mirai! My name is Izuna but, please call me 'Nakamura-sensei'! You're gonna have lots and lots of fun here at Little Angel!" the lady said with too much enthusiasm for a small woman, patting my pain-haired head in the process.
"Hi, Nakamura-sensei," I replied plainly. Although I felt a twinge uncomfortable with some random lady I had just met touching me unexpectedly like that, I let the feeling go. I could tell she was a kind-hearted woman and thought quick to act, she meant no harm.
"Well, I'm running kinda late so I should be on my way now," Dad said, taking a peek at his wristwatch before tightly embracing me and delivering a kiss to Mom, taking his leave, "See ya later, kiddo!"
"Alright Mirai, Mommy has to get going too. PRONTO is hosting their annual PRONCon a month from now, so I have to send these sketches in," Mom pecked my forehead with her lips, "Mommy will be here when it's time to go, okay?"
I sniffled a bit, forcing the remaining tears back in, "Okay, Mom."
"Good," Mom smiled, "I love you Mirai."
"Love you too…" And just like that, Mom had disappeared and I was left alone, with Nakamura-sensei and my fellow classmates.
"For starters, let's get you introduced to the other children!"
Nakamura-sensei took hold of my hand, guiding me over to the rainbow carpet in the classroom which was being occupied by a trio of kids, playing with toy cars. Dear God, please spare me and make the day go faster.
...
Their broad eyes honed in on me, and their smiles grew astronomical.
With how profusely I was beginning to sweat, I had to question whether the air conditioner or central air was running properly in the room. Seeing all the children gathered up on the carpet, staring up at me with those hopeful, beady eyes: I hated it. They looked at me like they expecting something from me.
I wish I could have just snapped my fingers and made the children disintegrate into nothingness. I didn't know if that was just me thinking out of aggravation for being woken up in the morning and taken out of my comfort zone or if I really meant that, but I knew for sure that's how I was feeling right about now.
"Say hello to our new friend Mirai everyone!" Nakamura-sensei said.
"Hi Mirai!" the children greeted me simultaneously.
"We're going to treat him with love, respect and most importantly, the same as everyone else. Okay?" The female caretaker asked the group.
"Yes, Nakamura-sensei!" the kids agreed in unison.
Introductions were quickly out of the way, and actual activities continued afterward. Apparently, circle time—the first actual period of the day had ended shortly before I arrived and it was currently 'Center Time'. While staring at all the groups of children scattered at different stations throughout the room, it was safe to assume that the children were allowed to choose initially from several activity centers and then rotate from a different center and so forth.
Yet, I hadn't joined a single center or even moved around all that much. For the past three minutes, the 'center' for me had been the wooden bookshelf near the corner of the room. You'd think that with the child of a Pro Hero in their presence, they would flock to me, but they didn't; it was more like glancing over at me and whispering. I was certain that it was probably either they were too shy to come up and talk to me or they were just admiring me from a distance.
Not that it was any skin off my back if they didn't conversate with me.
I eyed the clock as it ticked mercilessly slow, and even fiddling with my fingers to help pass the time. 9:10; two hours and fifty minutes until Mom would swoop in and come to my rescue. My irritation couldn't help but worsen. That was too long of a wait for me—
"Mirai."
The delicate, yet croaky voice disrupted my lamenting, throwing my concentration off completely. I whipped around, and standing right there was a little girl. She had a boundless amount of dark sea-green hair which reached all the way to her midriff; some of her hair was gathered up and tied neatly into a pretty bow. She wore a white sleeveless sundress that was designed with green flowers and top it off, she wore green flip-flops. Her irises were coal black, her eyes wide and her mouth… strangely longer than the average kid as far as I was concerned.
"Mirai, that is your name right?" The green-haired girl repeated, pressing her abnormally long finger on her lips.
"Y-Yes, that's my name," I said, nodding my head stiffly, "Um… did you want something?"
She stared at me for what seemed like more than a couple seconds, her face utterly vacant of emotion, before beaming at me.
"I just saw you standing over here all alone and wanted to see if you were interested in playing with me," She said, turning to the side and pointing at the carpet, where a red bucket with blocks laid idle.
"Are you sure?" I asked. I was far from being in the mood to be playing with blocks, but the act of kindness from the little girl—I didn't want to be rude and refuse the kind offer. She didn't have to try to be friendly with me; she could have just left me in my little corner, but she didn't.
"Of course, I wouldn't lie," She remarked, a little wobbly smile forming on her face, "So, you will?"
"Sure, let's go play then," I said, deciding why the hell not.
But then it hit me.
"My bad for not asking until now but, what's your name?" I asked.
"My name?" she asked, once again placing her finger on her mouth, "Tsuyu, Tsuyu Asui."
...
I had accepted this world and my new life as reality, but I would've never thought I'd come into contact with one of the main characters in this unexpected way.
Tsuyu Asui.
My mind went blank, my eyes flickering in disbelief. I gazed at the little girl as she continued building her block tower and little by little, the resemblance between this child, Tsuyu, and the teenage—Tsuyu began to become striking. Seeing her, I didn't know how in the world I didn't see it at first sight; she was much younger, but the frog-like appearance should have triggered something in my head right then and there.
"So, Mirai, can I ask you a question?"
I halted my block building, directing my attention towards Tsuyu. Since moving to the 'Block Center', she hadn't been all that talkative, but neither was I; I was too busy being lost in my own thoughts to try and strike up a conversation. We just sat and went about building separate block towers, occasionally looking over at one another and smiling. This was the first time she had spoken up since coming up to me.
"Yes Tsuyu?" I responded promptly.
"It's about the hero, Puppetmaster," she said.
"What about my Dad?" I said, not really understanding what she was getting at.
"How is it?" she asked, placing her left index finger on her lip again, "Being the son of a great hero like Puppetmaster, that is."
"Well, if I'm being honest, it has its ups and downs," I answered, not beating around the bush, "I barely get to see my father sometimes since he's so busy taking down villains and patrolling. Though when I do see him, it's always great; never a dull moment!"
"That's nice," she smiled, "My dad's just a regular businessman and my mother's a veterinarian. Nothing really special to them."
Wow, even at this young age, she still never managed to bite her tongue, not even about her parents; further proof that the little girl in front of me really was indeed Tsuyu.
"There's nothing wrong with that," I replied, following up with a light chuckle, "At least you don't have to worry about your dad getting taken out by some villain."
"That's a way to look at it," she replied, steadily swaying her head side-to-side. She resumed her progress on her block tower, silence making its return. I felt a smidge awkward from how abruptly the conversation had ended, but I had to cut her some slack. She was still a child, her social skills still in development.
...
I sat crisscrossed beside Tsuyu, all of the kids once again gathered on the multi-colored carpet. Ms. Nakamura and another employee were teaching us a preschool song. The room pervaded with every children's voice, singing along in blissful coordination with the caretakers. I sat with my arms crossed in discomfort as everyone jollily danced and sang.
They never stopped to take a breath, their high-pitched neighing constantly whipping at my eardrums as they rose in volume.
I felt like a fish out of water, like I had no business being here.
At this point, I didn't even bother to peer over at the clock. I was bound to be stuck in this purgatory for an eternity.
I looked over at Tsuyu, who was also cheerfully singing along while clapping in rhythm with Nakamura-sensei's beat; I wasn't really surprised to see that her face was less animated as the other kids though. This was Tsuyu we were talking about.
At least she having fun for the both of us, but I couldn't help but envy these children, how they were able to enjoy such simple, mundane things for years of their life like building blocks or singing these cheesy songs. At one point in my original childhood, I was just like that, I was sure of it.
Maybe I longed for a second chance at feeling like a child, the innocence that was once corrupted to return all over again. To experience the blissful ignorance that came with being an actual child, inside and out; not just physically, but mentally.
Suddenly, a finger tapped my shoulder. I cracked my neck to the side and saw the person that was trying to get my attention. It was Tsuyu, with a rare smile on her face.
"Mirai," she called out, her voice straining to overpower the ensemble of kids' voice, "Sing with us!"
Her smile, it effortlessly broke through the hardy exterior I had built from my pent-up aggravation. Staring deeply into her hope-filled eyes, I submitted without much of a fight, mindlessly surrendering my soul to the music as I began dryly singing along. It was like saying no to a baby; it just wasn't possible. That was unless you had no soul and dammit curse my soul.
...
It was about a quarter past eleven when all activities concluded, bathroom and free time rolled in. Nakamura-sensei lined the girls into a single-file line before taking them on a trip to the girl's bathroom. Around that time, I found myself browsing through the selection of literature and books the class library had to offer.
I went to the library with the intent to pass along the time; however, I ended up coming across a book called "Start of Heroes". Flipping through the colorful pages of the book, it wasn't just the vibrant pictures that enhanced and painted a visual picture in combination with the information, but the actual information contained in the simple children's book.
My Hero Academia was an on-going series, and it most definitely had way more life left in it before it would die out. Unfortunately, my limited knowledge only went up to the Pro Hero Arc, which revealed the new JP Hero Billboard and the 2nd-Top Pro Hero which Tokoyami completed his internship under, Hawks. Long story short, the lore hadn't finished being fully delved into and explored by the creator, and so many things about the upcoming of Hero Society and how the world got accustomed to the arrival of Quirks, were mostly unknown to me.
The book stated that although the first appearance of Quirks started in the city of Qing Qing, China with the Luminescent Baby, the origin of heroics began in the United States. Considering the popularity of both superheroes and comic books in the US, it would only make sense for this development to take place.
Everybody, at some point, foolishly dreamed of being a superhero and thanks to the phenomenon of Quirks that followed the Luminescent Baby, something that was once fictional became nonfiction, people's once-forgotten aspirations had become reality and superheroes were born.
One of the first actual known American superheroes was not Captain America, but Captain Shakedown. He was a caped hero with an inspired 1970's, retro-disco atmosphere to his costume. His Quirk was, just like his name, Shakedown: it allowed him to trance people who witnessed his dance moves, which comprised of outdated dances like the Sprinkler, the Samba and his ultimate move, the Robot; basically coining his attacks off of iconic and cultural dances.
A ridiculous Hero if you asked me, sure fashionable, but still utterly ridiculous. He was one of the first superheroes though and saved hundreds of endangered citizens, so I couldn't knock him as badly as I wanted to. The man deserved some respect.
Another one of the first American superheroes was The Chimera. He was a whopping mess of a Hero, his body being compromised with five different animals, accompanied by a dragon's tail. By the look on his face, he looked menacingly evil, like a villain. His Quirk: Ani-Combo was a Mutant-type Quirk, and so, his normal human anatomy had been replaced with animal parts. He could switch all of his body parts to whatever animal he had came into contact with, so yeah, the combinations were endless.
More information about him was written on the next page.
Apparently, he was the most-feared Hero of his time. He didn't have much of any fans due to his villain-like appearance and his violent way of taking care of things, like causing collateral damage without much care; however, that didn't mean much to him, as he only cared about taking down evil that had threatened his hometown city: Chicago, Illinois. He gave me a Gang Orca-esque mixed with Endeavor vibe, but who knew who this man was really? Not everything written in the history books was factual.
Last but not least, there was Tai-Ling; who I might add, appeared stunningly beautiful from the picture provided. The insane part about her was that she was a Quirkless Hero. She mostly relied on her training in mixed martial arts to take down villains that had no idea how to properly utilize their Quirks. She mostly struck at the core of Villains past midnight, delivering swift justice upon evil-doers. The prospect of an actual famous Quirkless Hero, it was profound.
Quirkless people should have had little to no chance of becoming effective heroes, yet here was this woman. Maybe her effectiveness was thanks in part to Quirks being relatively new to the American society at that time, but there was no question she had to have been stupidly strong to go against super-powered human and render them useless nonetheless.
Also back then, the government wasn't too involved with the heroes and the public opinion varied from citizen-to-citizen. Some upheld and praised the people that sacrificed their lives unconditionally as heroes while the latter, mostly consisting of police officers and the government, saw them as vigilantes and thought they should be outlawed or even more drastic, killed.
"Tch, how could you be upset at people risking their own lives to save their own," was the question I kept asking myself.
The stupidity of some people never ceased to amaze me. But then I thought about it. The appearance of these Heroes, it was a shining beacon of hope of course, but it was a blindsiding turn of events; no one saw something like that coming. Their appearance affected those that also worked to risk their lives for the betterment and protection of citizens: the police force. Jobs were at stake here, followed by families that were torn apart and shattered by villains, the secondary byproduct of Quirks.
It became clear why the world would erupt into chaos over something as magnificent and held as much weight as these supernatural abilities.
Change.
It's not just that people fear change, though they undoubtedly do. It's also that they genuinely believe, often on an unconscious level, that when you've been doing something a particular way for some time, it must be a good way to do things. And the longer you've been doing it that way, the better it is. Change wasn't just about embracing something unknown but about giving up something old for something new and humans weren't ready for the sudden change.
And then I turned the last page and to my chagrin, the fantastic read had to come to a close.
Staring at the blank last page, it was left me unsatisfied. I wanted more, so I sought more. I dropped the book and scrambled back to the books inhabiting the wooden shelves. My eyes flickered, my hands roaming the books.
"What a Provisional License Can Do For You!"
"Tale of Ai: the Super Princess"
"When Will Your Quirk Sprout?"
It wasn't until I picked up the third book I planned to read, that I heard Nakamura-sensei's voice rang out, killing off my immersion.
"All boys, please line up for the bathroom!"
Of course, just my luck. I slammed the book onto the floor, alongside the first and second book I picked out, and grumpily took my place in line behind seven other boys in front of me. All positioned in a straight line, we made our visit to the bathroom.
...
"Did your Quirk manifest yet, Mirai?"
I nervously itched the corner of my nose, my eyes straying from Tsuyu's. I was at the age of four, the age where your Quirk normally was supposed to manifest and yet, it hadn't made its awaited appearance yet. Was it waiting for some big occasion to sprout of nowhere?
"No, not yet…" I responded, trying to hide my uneasiness about the entire thing. On my fourth birthday, I had hoped and prayed for my Quirk, it would have been the ultimate birthday present for me, but it didn't come. Me ending up Quirkless, it wasn't far out of the realm of possibility. Whether I would get one or not, I attempted to push the thought to the back of my head. Some nights were harder than others, but it was something I continuously prayed about. My only hope is that I would be blessed with such a gift.
However, thanks to Tsuyu bringing it up, my doubts and worries resurfaced. A wave of depression toppled me, akin to that rip current that ultimately caused my death.
"Oh…" Tsuyu said, her voice lowering, before brightening up, "I'm sorry for bringing it up. I'm sure you'll get yours soon. As my mother and father told me, being without a Quirk is really rare nowadays. Some are just born with theirs, like me, but some have to wait until the age of four, maybe even a little longer than that."
"It's not your fault, you didn't know," I said, sheltering my head with my arms, "Besides, being optimistic is about the only thing I can do until that day comes."
"You don't seem like you're being optimistic," Tsuyu remarked, "It's bad for your health if you stress a lot."
"It may not seem like it, but I'm trying," I followed up, my somber mood clearly showing from the way I spoke.
"Alright, kids!" I slowly, but surely, lifted my head, and gave our female caretaker my full attention, "Let's begin Art Class!"
Oh yeah, that's right. My eyes lazily glared down at the color pencils and blank canvas paper pads that were passed out a little while ago.
"So, last Art Class what did we talk about and draw?"
Hands hurriedly and eagerly ascended into the air, each of the individual hands attempting to overpower one another. Ms. Nakamura paced back and forth and scanned the multitude of students' hands before abruptly stopping on a dime. She extended her arm outward in front of her, pointing into the horde.
"We talked about our favorite heroes," a female kid answered.
"Good job, Hana!" the teacher praised, before continuing on her lesson, "All of you did a super-duper job with that assignment yesterday, but today we're going to bring it down to a lighter note."
She continued, "I want you all to think about your role models in your life, people that you are inspired by. It can be anyone, from your parents or family to even superheroes. Nothing is off limits… except for villains of course, but you kids know that! Anyways, any questions?"
"No, Nakamura-sensei!" the kids exclaimed. Some began breaking off from reality, completing their assignment in their own little imaginative bubble, some others talking about the assignment. I would be associated with the former, as I instantly began brainstorming. A role model was a person that you looked up to, as an example to be imitated.
Off the bat the people that have been in my life since I was reincarnated popped into my mind.
Uh, Akira? I didn't really see him as a role model, for me at the very least. No knock on him but I didn't really know all that much about him other than that he was Dad's sidekick. He was cool and all, pretty nice actually, but I didn't feel like I wanted to be exactly like him.
Aunt Kiyo, I was even surer I didn't count as a role model. I loved her and the vibe and company she always brought whenever she visited us, but she wasn't someone I felt that I wanted to emulate either. She had a knack for being too childish and joking way too much for her age, and she was about the clumsiest and most accident-prone women I'd ever seen in both of my existences.
It seemed about as fictional as it sounded, but you had to see it to believe it.
That crossed off two, leaving the biggest two candidates for what I would consider as my go-to role models.
Mom, the one that brought me into this crazy, mixed-up world. These past years, I had come to love and accept her as my new mother. She had a heart of gold and always cherished anyone in her presence. Whenever I was feeling down, or sickly, she would always be there to nurture me back to health. She always made an effort to please me, to always make sure I was happy. She was knowledgeable, beautiful and kindhearted and I've come to learn a lot about the foreign environment and customs, all thanks to her.
But then Dad, the one that actually allowed Mom to be able to bring me into this crazy, mixed-up world. It was true; I didn't really get to see Dad nearly as much as Mom, but it never fractured the tight-knit bond we had as father and son. Whether it be a good or bad day for him after he returned home from patrolling or battling hard against some villain, we could always joke around together. He brought a more wacky and uncontrollable energy to my life, as opposed to Mom's calm and serene aura. Even on his worst days, he was high-spirited and always strived to put a smile on my face.
He was also one of my main inspirations for wanting to become a hero in the first place. He embodied what a true hero was supposed to be, going out every single day and putting his life at risk, throwing all his fears to the side; all just to save someone in need. In my eyes, Dad was as big of a symbol to me as All Might was to the entire country of Japan. I truly wanted to be like him, to be someone that millions of people could look up to and rely on.
I didn't know how I had gotten so lucky to have such parents, but I didn't know what I would ever have done without them; they were both my rock. They deserved all of the credit for their parenting. Being great parents and setting your children on the right path wasn't easy, a lot of sacrifices and tough decisions would have to be made and they definitely passed the criteria necessary.
Choosing between Mom and Dad was like choosing between not being able to eat or drink for the rest of your life; it wasn't possible. And so I chose both of them as my role models. There was a chance that we would be showing our finished products to our parents, so I desired to make something worthy of showing off to Mom and Dad.
I wasn't the greatest artist by any means, but at the age of four, you can bet I could create some visionary art—of stick figures. I collected a few diverse colors to commence the creation of my masterpiece portrait of me and my parents.
I peeked over at Tsuyu, who was sitting next to me, already getting a good start on her art project.
"Whatcha' working on over there?" I asked, hoping to strike up a nice little conversation.
Her eyes didn't abandon the paper, but she did reply in a deadpanning tone, "Drawing my role models like everyone else."
Well, couldn't fault her; she got me there.
"Yeah, that's probably not the best question," I said, laughing it off, "I guess I should ask who are the role models you chose?"
Her hands stopped scribbling across the canvas paper, and she lifted the canvas pad to show me. The artwork was about what you would expect from a toddler, a bunch of colorful deformed, disproportionate figures; but it still contained the imaginative spark that could only be produced from a youngin.
"That's my papa," she clarified, pointing to the far drawing on the left. He was a tall, stocky man with short cropped black hair. His face was akin to a toad, as his name also hinted at. He wore a business suit, complete with a bubble-themed tie. If I hadn't read that extra chapter, I would not have been able to identify just who that was without Tsuyu's help.
Ganma Asui was his name if I remembered correctly. I decided to play along. It'd be super creepy if I 'mysteriously' somehow knew her father's name, especially as she hadn't revealed either of her parents' names to me yet.
"What's his name?" I asked, putting my assignment on hold.
"Ganma," she answered, bringing the pad to her eyes to check her drawing. She stared at it for a brief moment before showing it to me again.
"He's a big role model in your life, huh?" I continued asking. I was hoping she didn't get overwhelmed or rubbed the wrong way with all my questions, I was just hoping to get to know her better.
"Yes, ribbit," she answered croakily, "He's always been kind of loud and strict, but he always treats me and mama nice. He works a lot, just to make his family happy and… I love him for that."
"That's good, he sounds like a good dude," I scoured the rest of the pad and picked up on the other drawn figure on the far right.
Was she drawing both of her parents too? Guess great minds thought alike.
The other figure to the right was a female with long dark green hair in a similar style to Tsuyu's. She wore a simple sweater and had blush marks on her cheeks. As you would expect, her face was structured to look like a regular frog. Her name was Beru Asui.
"You look just like her," I pointed out, looking up at Tsuyu. It was apparent that the Frog Quirk user got more of her mother's genes than her father's, even inheriting the blush marks from her mother, one their most iconic features besides their eyes and mouths.
"That's what a lot of people say," Tsuyu gleamed, her smile widening to above average proportions, "It makes me happy because I think she's very, very pretty!"
I combatted my compulsive urge to squeal and snuggle the girl's face with mine. The last thing I needed was for her to tell the employees or her parents that the new boy in preschool tried to make an 'inappropriate' move on her. She was just that cute though.
"She's always caring for me and always protects me at night from those villains out there," she recapitulated, "She's the best Mom in the world and I want to be like her when I grow up."
"I feel the same way," I said, smiling.
"It sucks that my brother's always giving her a hard time, but I'm sure he will come around."
"Wait, you have a little brother?" I asked, knowing good and well that I knew who her brother was as well. In the current timeline of the manga, Samidare Asui was revealed to be ten years old. Using my deduction skills, that would mean that he would have to be either be an infant or still unborn and confined within his mother's belly.
"Yes, his name is Samidare," she explained, "He's so cute and small, but he's always crying. Mom and Dad don't really get a lot of sleep because of him, me too sometimes."
"Oh—you know, I've always wanted a little brother or sister, but I don't know if that'll ever happen," I informed her. It had been four years and I guess Mom and Dad didn't really seek to make another baby. Mom was still very young and still capable of becoming impregnated, but maybe they just decided one was enough.
"Again, they are cute but are a lot of work, that's what my Mom says to me," Tsuyu said, "If anything, I could share my brother with you."
Hearing her say something as nonsensical as that was laughable. I had always seen a sense of reality and rationality in Tsuyu's personality, but here, she was talking about sharing her sibling with me. Her line of thought was still somewhat that of a child but it's not like I should have expected anything less.
Learning about Tsuyu's family and actual thoughts and emotions from her instead of through a comic, it gave off a different feeling. She no longer felt like a character that felt human, but didn't really exist; but rather, an actual person. I was having a legitimate conversation with Tsuyu Asui, someone that was her own person, not just a fictional character reinstating dialogue written by some Japanese man.
"Twenty minutes everyone!"
Tsuyu seemed to have understood the clock was ticking, and faced front, refocusing her attention back on her art project.
That's right, my project! I looked back at my blank canvas. With twenty minutes left, I should have been able to finish the assignment, albeit I wouldn't have much time to refine and correct it to my satisfaction. Grasping the pink colored pencil, I went on to race against time.
...
It was 1:30PM and my "grandiose" first day of preschool had come to a conclusion. One by one, the parents arrived to pick up their children. About five minutes in, it was only a couple of other kids waiting for their parents, me and Tsuyu included. Since her mother hadn't arrived yet, she decided that it would fun to pass the time with a great game of i-Spy.
"It's a rectangle, you can play games on it, and a lot of people own them," she relayed to me.
My eyes roamed around the room, recounting the three descriptions of the object mentally. Something that was a rectangle, you can play video games on and was owned by a lot of people. There weren't really a copious number of things in a classroom that would fit the specific illustration, so it was quick work to narrow my choices down. And just like that, my eyes came into contact with the only thing that could have possibly been the answer.
"I spy with my little eye—a computer!" I exclaimed confidently.
"Sorry, you're wrong," she replied flatly, with a slight smile on her face nonetheless.
My jaw anchored to the floor in incredulity, my confidence withering away. I jumped to my feet dramatically, "What, how?! If the computer isn't the object, then what is it?"
She turned her head diagonally and pointed the TV set on the black cart, "It's a TV."
"Dam—gosh, that's crazy!" I growled, also managing to catch myself. I didn't just overestimate myself, but I definitely underestimated her; not expecting to be able to trick me like that.
"That was a good one, my turn though!"
"Bring it on then," she challenged, her voice still almost vacant of any positive emotion. I already had the perfect object in mind, our very own teacher. It was a genius idea if I did say so myself. Before I could begin to describe her, speak of the devil, she came up behind me and placed her hand on my shoulder.
"I'm sorry for ruining you and Tsu's fun, but your mother is here," Nakamura-sensei said.
I whipped around and just as she had said, Mom was there; standing in the doorway. You would have thought that I was someone seeing the light in a tunnel of darkness for the first time in years the way I bolted towards her.
"Mom!" I blurted out, jumping into her waiting arms. She took me into a warm cuddle, holding me in her arms and not letting go for a couple of seconds. Breaking it off, she caressed my cheek.
"Someone's happy to see mommy," she grinned, kissing me on my forehead, "Did you enjoy your first day?"
Once again, the decision to tell the truth or lie presented itself and I chose the latter, "I had a lot of fun today! I can't wait for tomorrow!"
"I'm so happy to hear that dear!" Mom exclaimed, her face lighting up like a Christmas tree, "Alright, let's get on home now; Aunt Kiyo's on her way to the house."
"Um… see you tomorrow, Mirai."
Tsuyu was now standing up, fidgeting around with her fingers and staring at me. There was an inkling of sadness in her eyes.
A pang of guilt hit me. I didn't do anything wrong but just to see her standing there, looking pitiful; it gave off the impression that I was betraying her by leaving off.
"Is this one of the friends that you made today?" Mom asked, "Go say goodbye to her before we leave, Mirai."
I was already on it, motioning towards her. Her eyes seemed to illuminate, a smile replacing the solemn look she had on her face. Stopping in front of her, I reached my arms out to her and embracing her. She must have been shocked, because she replied with a yelp, before returning the embrace soon after. A fleeting second and we both let go, smiling at each other.
When I woke up that day, I wouldn't have guessed in a million years that I would have met Tsuyu Asui. Throughout the entirety of my first day, we had interacted and gotten to know some things about each other. The seeds of friendship had been planted, but... did I really want to go along with it?
Me being friends with Tsuyu, this early on, would it affect the timeline in some dramatic way that I would've never guessed? One of my more constant worries is that me just being here, in this world I wasn't supposed to be in, and wanting to get into UA. That small event alone could most likely throw the entire events of the actual series out of whack. The Butterfly Effect was a bitch and could throw a lot of things out of a balance, especially accompanying that with Murphy's Law, which had a deep attraction to me and disrupting my life.
However, I had decided to go through with the risk of attending U.A. and now I was going to take the risk of being her friend. From my experience today, Tsuyu was a genuinely sweet and welcoming little girl and as long as I attended this preschool, I would be her friend. It wouldn't have sat well with me to ignore someone wanting to be my friend anyways.
"See you tomorrow, Tsuyu!" I dimpled.
Would being the friend of a main character really affect the future of this world? Not even Nostradamus himself could predict what would happen.
A/N: And that's the end folks! So, so, how did you enjoy the surprise? Like I said, it was probably obvious from the chapter's title name lol. A while back, when I was first brainstorming, I had originally planned for Mirai to meet Yaoyorozu at the age of four; but then I felt like a friendship with Tsuyu would have been a lot funnier and a set up for a bunch of hilarious, cute moments. This is the start to a beautiful friendship to put it shortly.
It's crazy though because I had just found out that Tsuyu and Momo both live in the Aichi Prefecture too.
Also, about Aiko's occupation and the entire PRONTO company idea. I have a whole bunch of ideas for the company. It'll definitely be explain more as everything continues. Will it play an integral part in the story? Time will tell. Banri/Puppetmaster has also risen up to Rank #19. This was a hard decision because I didn't want to to make him too low, but I didn't want him to be in the top 10.
Dialogue is kind of a challenge for me at the moment, so I'm lacking some confidence in that area. Just let me know how do you guys feel about it. That's all I have to say for this note. Have a blessed day/night, wherever you are! Until next time.
