Chapter 3: Rebirth of a Judge
The transition from the white void was a sensory explosion. After the absolute silence of the Bailiff's court, the sudden rush of physical sensation was violent. Hiromi felt a crushing pressure, followed by a burst of frigid air that hit his new, sensitive skin like a blade. Then came the lights—sterile, blinding, and far too bright.
"He's here! A healthy baby boy!"
Hiromi tried to protest the indignity of being held upside down, but his voice came out as a high-pitched, desperate wail. As he was wrapped in warm, soft cloth and pressed against the chest of a woman radiating pure, unconditional love, his mind raced.
I'm alive. Reincarnated. Just like the stories.
As the weeks turned into months, Hiromi's adult consciousness began to piece together his new reality. He lived in a sprawling, modern estate in Minato, an area reserved for the elite. His father, Daichi Higuruma, was a titan of the legal world, but with a twist that made Hiromi's blood run cold. Daichi didn't just represent corporations; he was the primary legal shield for the Hero Public Safety Commission and several Top 10 Hero Agencies.
One afternoon, while being held in his father's arms during a high-society gala, Hiromi overheard a conversation that changed everything.
"Daichi-san," a refined voice said. "The Yaoyorozu Group is pleased with the new liability waivers you drafted for our support equipment division. My daughter, Momo, is showing great promise with her Quirk, and we must ensure her future is protected from frivolous lawsuits."
"The pleasure is mine," Daichi replied with a smooth, practiced smile. "The Yaoyorozu family has always been a pillar of Japan's economy. It is only right that the law works in your favor."
Hiromi, staring up from his swaddling clothes, felt a jolt of recognition. Yaoyorozu? Support equipment? Heroes?
The pieces clicked together with terrifying speed. This wasn't just any world of power. This was the world of My Hero Academia. He had read the manga in his previous life during late-night breaks at the law office. He knew the symbols, the looming threat of All For One, and the inherent flaws in a society that turned human beings into "brands."
But then, a stranger realization hit him.
He looked at his own name on his birth certificate: Hiromi Higuruma. He remembered another manga—Jujutsu Kaisen. He remembered a man with his exact name, a lawyer who broke under the weight of a corrupt system and awakened a terrifying power involving a gavel and a blindfolded judge.
The Bailiff mentioned giving me the 'tools' to judge this world, Hiromi realized, his tiny heart hammering. He didn't just give me a second life. He gave me the potential of 'him.'
As he grew to age three, Hiromi spent his time in his father's massive library, which was ten times the size of his old office. He wasn't just learning the laws of this world; he was testing the limits of his soul. He could feel something dormant within him—an impartial, cold presence that hovered just behind his consciousness.
He watched his father navigate the murky waters of hero politics, often shaking hands with the Yaoyorozu executives to bury "incidents" involving collateral damage. To his father, the law was a scalpel used to cut away the consequences for the powerful.
In my old life, the law was too weak to stop the shadows, Hiromi thought, watching a news report of a hero accidentally destroying a civilian's shop while chasing a purse snatcher. In this life, the law is the shadow. It's a game played by the rich and the famous.
He looked at his reflection in a glass case. He was no longer the tired thirty-two-year-old lawyer. He was a child of privilege, a boy destined to inherit a throne of legal corruption.
I won't be a fixer for the Yaoyorozus or the Pro Heroes, he vowed, clenching his small fists. If this world is built on a broken scale, then I will be the one to break the scale and start over.
He felt the pressure in his chest grow. His fourth birthday was approaching. The day the trial would truly begin.