001 - Soul Injection
001 - Soul Injection
"All Might?"
Toma stared at the billboard, at the towering blond man, and something stirred in his chest.
"This world is... My Hero Academia."
His voice dropped as the realization settled in. He was no stranger to crossing worlds. Yesterday, his soul had awakened inside a body that happened to share his name.
The body's original owner had been Toma Hayashi. This was not the first world he had crossed into. The first had been One Piece.
The System had called it a malfunction, said the transfer had gone wrong, and compensated him with the Soul-Soul Fruit. After that, it sent him into Naruto.
That transfer had gone wrong too, so it compensated him again, this time with Wood Release. That made My Hero Academia his third world. Whether this was another mistake, he had no idea.
The System never answered immediately. It appeared exactly twenty-four hours after a transfer, and he still had a few hours left before he knew whether this world was permanent. He knew very little about My Hero Academia.
He had only watched a few episodes. As for the cast, the only names that had stuck with him were All Might and Izuku Midoriya.
He kept his eyes on the billboard for a while longer, then headed toward the market like his mother had asked. After buying groceries, he took the same route home.
His parents both had Quirks that were practically useless. His father could puff out small bursts of flame. His mother could give off a little electricity.
Compared to professional heroes, neither of them had trained their Quirks beyond the basics. That was why they wanted a hero in the family. All their hopes ended up resting on him.
The original Toma had inherited his father's fire Quirk, but whatever the System had done to fit his soul into this body had stripped that Quirk away.
"I'm home," he said politely as he opened the door and took off his shoes.
He carried the groceries into the kitchen. His parents were in the living room. The moment they saw him, they both stood, delight lighting their faces.
"Toma, you're back!"
He nodded, set the groceries in the kitchen, then stepped back out.
When they kept staring at him, he asked, "What's wrong?"
His father stepped closer and set a hand on his shoulder, suddenly serious.
"Toma, we've always wanted a hero in the family, so..."
His father gave him an oddly expectant look.
"So what?" he asked.
"Tomorrow's exam," his mother said bluntly. "Make us proud. It isn't every day you get a chance to enter U.A. High School, so don't embarrass your father and me."
Her words made the whole thing clear. His parents had failed to become heroes, so they had decided he would do it for them.
He sighed softly. "I know."
He agreed aloud, but he could feel it. This transfer might be another one of the System's mistakes. If it had gone wrong again, the System might still pull him out once the twenty-four-hour window closed.
"That's my boy," his mother said, beaming. "I'll make you something good right now."
Then she swept into the kitchen, leaving him standing there with nothing to say. After dinner, he returned to his room. He looked at himself in the mirror and slowly raised one hand. His arm turned into vines. A moment later, he changed it back.
"Looks like I can use Wood Release in this world without hand seals," he muttered.
He kept his eyes on the mirror. A pale wisp of lifespan gathered in his palm.
"Soul Injection!"
He pressed the pale wisp straight into the mirror. In a flash, the mirror grew eyes, a mouth, arms, and legs. It blinked up at him.
"So the Soul-Soul Fruit's power works in this world too," he said to himself.
"I gave you life. From now on, I'm your master. Got it?"
"Yes, Master!" the mirror said, smiling.
He had not given the mirror a long lifespan. He had only done it to test the ability. Tomorrow was the U.A. entrance exam. For the first time since arriving, he wondered what would happen if the System left him here.
x
x
x
If you're enjoying the story so far, consider supporting me on Patreon ❤️
You'll get weekly early access to chapters, along with some exclusive content:
https://www.patreon.com/cw/auroraclairevale
