In Another Life
Chapter One: Yuga Aoyama: Origin
âMama, Papa, why am I different from everyone else?â
Yuga had come home from school crying again. He was five years old and still didnât have a quirk. His parents had taken him to the doctor. They did a whole bunch of x-rays and tests. Yuga was honestly a little scared. The doctors were saying some big words to each other in hushed tones. Yuga didnât know what most of them meant yet, but they sounded serious. Was something wrong with him?
The doctor eventually came back into the exam room, carefully closing the door behind him. The doctor sat down on the stool in front of Yuga and his parents, a solemn expression on his face.
âIâm sorry, but it doesnât look like Yuga is going to develop a quirk.â The doctorâs voice was grim but his eyes were kind. Yuga could tell he was genuinely sad to be telling him this. âBased on the x-rays that we did, Yuga only has one joint in his pinky toe. As you know, that usually indicates that he doesnât have a quirk gene. Thatâs why we did an additional blood test to be sure, and sure enough, Yuga doesnât have a quirk gene. Iâm sorry, but it appears that your son is Quirkless.â
Yuga felt like a knife had been twisted in his gut. He wasnât going to be like the other kids. Everyone at school was already making fun of him as it is. It was only going to get worse now. Yuga began to cry.
âThat canât be possible. Weâre fourth generation quirk users!â Yugaâs dad shouted, hitting the exam table in frustration. âThere has to be some kind of mistake! Run the blood test again! Iâm sure Yuga has some kind of quirk gene!â
Yugaâs mom tugged on his dadâs arm. âEnough, Kiyoshi. Youâre scaring Yuga.â
Kiyoshiâs eyes softened somewhat as he looked back at Yuga. âIâm sorry, Yuga. I didnât mean to yell.â
Kiyoshi turned back to the doctor. âPlease forgive my outburst. Itâs just so hard to believe that our son could be Quirkless. Neither of us have any Quirkless relatives.â
âItâs quite alright, sir.â The doctor said with a smile. âYouâd be surprised at the number of people who yell at me every day. I deliver a lot of unfortunate news to people on the regular. Such is the life of a quirk specialist.â
Kiyoshi sighed. âEven so, that was unbecoming of me. I apologize. I donât wish to set that kind of an example for Yuga.â
âLike I said, itâs alright.â The doctor said, standing up from his stool. âYouâll be happy to note that Yuga is in perfect health otherwise. Heâll be able to live a perfectly normal life. He doesnât have any dreams of heroics, right? Itâs not like heâd need a quirk for any other career, especially not with your connections.â
âOf course Yuga doesnât want to be a hero,â Yugaâs mother said, letting out an anxious chuckle. âHeâs a sensitive boy. Heroics would be too much for him, even with a quirk. Iâm just happy to hear that being Quirkless wonât be too hard on him.â
Yuga didnât talk during the car ride home from the doctorâs office. His mom tried to cheer him up, but all he could think about was the fact that he was going to be different from everyone else. He didnât want to be different. He just wanted to be normal.
At school, all of the other kids wanted to play Heroes and Villains. It was an excuse to show off their new quirks. Most of the kids had flashy quirks. Some of the students at his school were even kids of Pro Heroes. Yuga felt left out. He was already an outcast, and they didnât even know he was officially Quirkless yet. They just thought he was a late bloomer.
âYuga, once you get your quirk, you can play with us!â One of the students said. âFor now, you can just keep being our damsel!â
âIâm not going to get a quirk,â Yuga said quietly. âThe doctor said that Iâm going to be Quirkless.â
âQuirkless?â The student repeated, blinking back at Yuga with a confused expression. âWhatâs that?â
âIt means that heâs going to be lame and boring his whole life,â Another student said. âThatâs what my daddy always says. He says that everybody that has weak quirks arenât any good at anything. They should all be garbage men or something.â
âGarbage men are cool!â Another student retorted. âYuga isnât cool enough to be a garbage man. They drive those big trucks and stuff! So cool!â
âYeah, Yugaâs always been kind of a wimp, so him being Quirkless doesnât really change anything.â The first student said. âHe can keep being the damsel for now.â
âYeah, I bet itâll give him practice for real life too!â The second student laughed. âI bet the heroes are going to have to save him a lot! He doesnât have any powers, and heâs a total wimpy crybaby. Talk about lame!â
âYeah, Yugaâs never gonna be a hero or a garbage man!â The third student chimed in. âI get to be one of the heroes this time! You guys made me be a villain last time, so itâs my turn to play Hero!â
Yuga came home from school feeling defeated. Is he really just going to be a boring wimpy crybaby for his entire life? Is he going to have to live the rest of his life knowing that heâll always be different from everyone else?
âHow was school today, Yuga?â His mom asked him. The smile on her face was tighter than normal. He could tell that she was putting on an act. She was worried about him.
âIt was fine, Mama,â Yuga said with a smile. âThereâs no need to worry.â
If he was going to be forced to be different from everyone else, he was going to choose to stand out on purpose. And what other to stand out than choose a path no one could see him taking?
âMama, Papa, Iâm going to be different from everybody else. Iâm going to be a hero. The first ever Quirkless one.â
Nine Years Later
Yugaâs father brought him on a business trip to Musutafu. He was still trying to discourage him from becoming a hero. Yuga was well aware that his father didnât believe it was possible to be a Quirkless hero, but his father at least pretended to support his dream to his face. That doesnât change the fact that his father keeps bringing him along on all his business trips in hopes that learning the ropes of the family business will change his mind.
Nothing will change Yugaâs mind. He refused to be different from everyone else in such a boring way. No one would ever really respect him no matter what he did. Even with his fatherâs connections, they couldnât erase discrimination. Yuga would be an outcast no matter what he did. At least trying to become a hero made him stand out on purpose. He would force people to notice him, no matter what.
If Yuga had been born with a Quirk, he probably wouldnât even want to become a hero. Though he doubts he would ever have been content working for his father. Yuga never wanted to be that boring.
âYou should be paying attention, Yuga.â His father sighed. âI suppose you can take a break. Go buy yourself a snack or something. I have to meet with an investor soon.â
âYes, Papa.â
Yuga was walking to a nearby convenience store when he heard a loud explosion nearby. Was that a villain attack? His feet seemed to move on their own, turning around to arrive at the scene.
Fire engulfed the shopping district, a sludge monster rampaging in the center of it. Yuga covered his mouth with his hands. It looks like he took a kid hostage. The kid looked to be around Yugaâs age too. Yuga felt for the kid. What should he do? He wanted to be a hero, didnât he? He was going to stand out if he was just some bystander. He had to act.
Yuga charged at the villain without any sort of plan. In that moment, he realized what an idiot he was. How was he supposed to defeat such a strong villain with no quirk and no support gear?
Right, support gear!
Yugaâs eyes searched the area for something he could use as he ran towards the villain. His eyes landed on a pipe on the ground. One of the sludge villainâs large hands lunged towards Yuga, threatening to grab him.
Yuga slid on the ground, narrowly dodging the villainâs outstretched arm. He managed to grab the pipe on the ground as he rolled out of the way of another of the villainâs arms. Yuga leaped to his feet, thankful to the training he had done with the personal trainer that his parents had hired last year.
Yuga swung the pipe at the villainâs eye, temporarily blinding the sludge monster. The hostage used that moment to get his mouth free from the sludge, taking a much needed breath of fresh air.
âWhat the hell are you doing?â The hostage yelled at Yuga.
âIâm saving you, obviously!â Yuga shouted indignantly. âYou should be honored. Youâre being saved by the worldâs first Quirkless hero!â
The hostageâs yelling distracted Yuga for long enough for the sludge villain to strike again. Yuga didnât have enough time to dodge this time. Merde. Iâm so dead.
But the finishing blow never came. Yuga slowly looked up to see no other than the number one hero in front of him. âFear not! Help has arrived! Why? Because I am here!â
âAll Might,â Yuga whispered in awe. He wasnât a Super Fan by any means, but anyone who didnât find All Might awe-inspiring was either lying or a villain. And Yuga was neither of those things.
All Might punched the villain into the sky, the force from the punch so powerful that it even changed the weather. Yuga couldnât help but stare up at him in shock.
The heroes chastised Yuga for being reckless, which Yuga could agree with. But he wasnât going to stand out if he stood by and did nothing. While his actions were reckless, he hasnât done anything illegal so he was allowed to leave.
Yuga knew that his father would be furious with him for putting himself in danger like that. But even if he got in trouble with his father, he knew that his father couldnât ignore that he was dazzling out there. He made an impact. He managed to free the hostage, even for a moment. His training had paid off.
Yuga felt a tap on his shoulder. âYoung man, can I speak with you for a moment?â He turned around to face a skeletal looking man in a white T-shirt and cargo pants. âI work for All Might. I have a proposition for you.â
From the shadows, green eyes narrowed with concern. A proposition, huh?
