Hey Guys.
New Week, New Chapter.
Just wanna warn in advance, this chapter might put off a few of you and you will all come to your own conclusions pretty fast if I don't elaborate. Some will automatically condemn it with no idea what I have planned, so to save me some time having to reply constantly, I ask you guys to calm down, don't assume the worst, and wait for the coming chapters.
If you ask questions, ask instead of jumping to conclusions. If you can't wait to know how this spins, go to my patreon and find out.
I will try to answer as best as I possibly can without ruining the plot.
Also, I am feeling a bit under the weather so I might not update tomorrow till I get better.
Thank you for your time.
___
"Your change, sir."
I blinked, pulled out of my trance as the vendor handed me a neat wad of yen and a bag of takoyaki that was, in my professional opinion, five seconds from critical grease failure.
"Oh. Right. Thanks."
The man gave a nod, already turning to serve the next customer.
I slipped the food into a plastic bag and wandered down the street, the quiet hum of Musutafu's late afternoon washing over me. Not too crowded. Not too quiet. That sweet middle ground where nobody paid too much attention unless you started levitating or barking fire.
The perfect background noise for someone lost in thought.
And boy, were there a lot of thoughts.
I'd officially passed the U.A. Recommendation Exam. Top score in the practical. Top score in the written. Top in... whatever the hell that psychological gauntlet round was supposed to be.
It was like being the main character in a shounen manga — which was ironic, considering I'd tried very hard to avoid those exact clichés.
Moving on.
It had been about a month or so since then. After the Recommendation Test, the Main entrance test had commenced. Of course, the results for the recommended entrance exams had been released the following day after.
Apparently, those who failed could still line up to participate in the main entrance exams that had 36 more slots available. Made sense really.
I of course, carried the Top spot.
In second place Inasa Yaroashi. Third place, Shoto Todoroki.
Fourth place .... Juzo Honuzuki.
Yep.
My speculations came to reality. With my appearance and Inasa not defaulting to Shiketsu high, Momo didn't make it into the top four. Her name unfortunately came in at Fifth place. Followed by another Setsuna Tokage.
Meaning unless Inasa still defaulted as in canon, which was a slim possibility seeing as his interaction was with me instead of Todoroki, or she succeeded in competing in the Main entrance exams, which in all likelihood was a higher entrance possibility for someone with her skillset .... Um ... Where was I going with this?
Basically, she still had a chance to get into U.A. But I couldn't confirm that. What I could confirm however was that apart from those butterfly effects, nothing much changed for the Two primary deuteragonists.
Bakugo came out Top scorer and Deku apparently "awakened" a Quirk.
Mom and I were invited over to the Bakugo's for a celebration dinner for both family sons getting into U.A as the top scorers.
Bakugo was sulking the entire time. The thought made a smile appear on my face. A month had passed since then. Turns out, living in a hero world doesn't mean trouble always found you at every turn.
My life had been extremely mundane since then.
Aside from getting ready and handing over the Manuscript for Book 2 of Avatar to Miss Aya, I had experienced nothing beyond the ordinary. Of course that would change soon.
Why?
Because of Tomorrow. My official first day of attending U.A. High. The official start of the plot ... Well, technically I already said this twice, but regardless.
I had gotten my uniform ready for tomorrow's orientation and Hero Course initiation.
Well, as much of an orientation as you could expect from Shota Aizawa I guess.
Yep. I was in class 1-A.
Not really sure if that was a good thing or not, but it didn't really matter now at this point. Tomorrow was the big day and there was nothing I could do to change that. Today, though? Today was for nothing.
My life would probably get pretty hectic in the times to come, so I decided to enjoy the last day I had before I had to eat with the coming mess that was The MHA plot.
No training. No studying. No timeline-altering events. Just me, a bag of deep-fried octopus, and a bench near the Shoyo Overpass.
Yep. That same bench that I sat on eleven Months ago on the day I encountered the sludge villain incident and my life changed for the better.
I sat down on the warm wood and groaned — still so goddamn uncomfortable. I leaned back, letting the bag rest beside me. Thinking back to everything I had experienced so far, I had four words.
I Love My Life.
Quite literally.
Even with a few bumps, the last Ten Months had been the best ten months of both lives. If I could confirm my Transmigration suspicion, then it would honestly be even better.
But like I once told Bakugo, we can't all be winners.
So I sat there, enjoyed the silence and let my brain go blank. Greasy paper bag beside me, sky bleeding into lavender above the rooftops.
The sunset.
The wind.
The moment.
And, as always, the moment didn't last.
---
"Excuse me, young man."
The voice came from behind me — deep, polite, and perfectly modulated.
I turned halfway in my seat.
There stood an older man. Tall. Lean. Dressed in a long, dark coat that moved more like smoke than fabric. He wore a wide-brimmed hat, the shadow covering his face almost completely. Polished shoes. Gloves. The kind of person you see in the background of old movies. Stylish, but not flashy. Old-world.
Weird thing is, in this world? That didn't stand out.
You could wear a frog suit and a disco cape and still look like a low-tier support hero.
"Yes?" I replied, being as polite as possible.
He gave a small nod. "Would you be kind enough to help me locate the subway entrance? My phone's a mess today, and the signs in this district aren't terribly helpful."
His tone was calm. Measured. Respectful.
I blinked. Then pointed over my shoulder.
"Literally ten meters that way. Down the stairs, then left. Can't miss it."
He turned slightly, as if checking, then nodded again.
"Ah. Of course. Thank you young man."
I smiled a little in response then turned back to my bag. 'Snack time baby.'
It happened then.
He stepped forward, just a half-step too close — but not enough to raise alarms.
Then, with the kind of gentleness you'd expect from a grandfather brushing dust off your hair, he raised his gloved hand... and placed it on the top of my head.
A strange chill ran down my spine.
Not from the contact. From... after.
I didn't flinch.
Couldn't.
My body didn't move — not locked, not paralyzed — just delayed, like everything had shifted half a second out of sync. My limbs didn't respond the way they should've. My vision blurred at the edges. A high-pitched sound filled my ears, like television static dialed just under conscious hearing.
It was faint.
Grainy.
If there was anyone bothering to look in my direction at the moment, they would see my head being engulfed in visible radio waves.
A strange weight settled through me. Like someone had dropped a blanket over my thoughts.
It started off pitchy. Not defined in any way.
Just noise.
And for a moment, a word pushed its way into my brain like it had always been there.
> Obey.
Then—
Nothing.
I blinked again, slower this time.
My mouth was dry.
The bag of takoyaki sat untouched beside me, slightly deflated now. The streetlamp across the park had flickered on.
'Hold on. What just.'
I looked around. Then looked up.
Yep. Significantly darker.
'Did I just ... Zone out?..'
I thought with confusion as I rubbed the back of my head.
Maybe.
Why though?
'Did .... Did something happen?'
I thought as I tried to remember.
Nothing.
I couldn't tell what was going on. There was no pain. No burning sensation or tingling skin. I turned on Infinity, expecting something.
Still nothing.
It seemed .... Nothing happened. But the air felt… heavier. Like I'd just come out of a deep tunnel and the pressure hadn't equalized yet.
I stood slowly. Nothing in my body resisted. I didn't feel sore or drugged or dizzy.
I just felt...
Off.
The kind of off where you walk into your room and notice a book has been moved, but you can't prove it.
Or like... something updated in your OS while you were asleep, but the interface still looked the same.
'Ok ... That's odd.' The feeling lingered and for some reason, I couldn't get rid of it. Eventually, I shook my head to clear away the messy thoughts before grabbing the bag.
I took one bite. Cold now. Still good, though.
"Too much starch,"
The rest of the walk home was quiet.
I cut through a familiar backstreet, took the long way past the dry cleaners just to kill a few extra minutes. The air was cooling, the breeze brushing softly against my neck. Streetlights flickered on like lazy fireflies, the neighborhood growing dimmer by the minute.
But the feeling hadn't fully left.
That wrongness still sat there. Quiet. Like a stranger at the edge of my peripheral vision — someone you know isn't supposed to be there, but every time you look, there's nothing. Just empty space.
Eventually, it faded. Or maybe I just got used to it.
I reached the front gate, slipped my key into the lock — odd, the front light was off — and stepped inside.
"Mom?" I called softly.
No answer.
The house was dark.
Not creepy dark. Just... unusually quiet. No clatter in the kitchen. No TV in the background. Not even the radio she sometimes left playing when she worked late.
I closed the door behind me and frowned.
Alright. Definitely something's up.
I took two steps toward the hallway—
And the lights snapped on.
"SURPRISE!!"
Confetti flew. Streamers burst from cheap party poppers. A mismatched chorus of voices rang out from behind the furniture and kitchen counter.
I blinked. Genuinely stunned.
In front of me stood my mother — beaming like she hadn't just shaved ten years off my lifespan — and beside her, Mitsuki Bakugo grinning with all the energy of a firecracker someone forgot to defuse.
Bakugo himself stood a bit off to the side, arms crossed, clearly regretting every life choice that led him to this moment.
He was wearing a party hat.
It was pink.
And crooked.
I stared at him for a full three seconds before the absurdity hit me and a laugh slipped out. Just one.
Then another.
"Oh my God," I breathed, finally smiling for real. "You guys... actually got me."
Mom stepped forward and pulled me into a tight hug.
"Of course we did. You didn't think we'd forget your birthday, did you?"
Honestly?
Yeah. I kinda had.
With everything going on — the exams, the prep, the mental stress of surviving in a fictional timeline held together by logic glue and caffeine — it completely slipped my mind.
But right now, none of that mattered.
Warm lights. Familiar voices. The smell of fried food and too much frosting in the air. Katsuki grumbling under his breath in the corner, already peeling off the stupid hat.
I took it all in.
The unease in my chest finally quieted.
A rare, simple peace settled into my bones.
And as I stood there, surrounded by people who — for better or worse — cared about me in ways I never thought I'd have again, a small thought surfaced at the back of my mind.
'So that's what I was forgetting.'
In the days to come, I would come to see just how wrong I was.
___
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