Life really does come back to bite you, am I right? I felt like, for the lack of a better term...screwed.
"Now, Takahashi, Haruma. You have defied the quirk laws and have endangered not just yourself, but your family, and the citizens watching. What do you have to say for yourself?"
Oh god.
After my little stunt at the mall, pictures and videos of my fight spread like crazy and the old footage of me at the zoo was then reignited. My parents were safe, thank god. However they weren't to thrilled after they saw the news.
To put it in mom's words:
"You could've gotten yourself killed! Your literally four!"
I chuckled at that memory, which might not have been the perfect time. As I am currently in a room at the police department. My parents were at my side and a detective sat infront of me, serious look plastered all over his face.
"I had to save my mom and dad" I said shortly which seemed to irritate the detective more than anything else.
"By putting your life in danger!?" He bit back, I swear he was subconsciously channeling the lion at this point. "You ran into a hostile zone in the middle of a fight. From the footage, I can see you have a powerful quirk. But that doesn't hide the fact that you are not a hero and are four."
"That's what my mom said" I grinned, and the said parent only sighed at my antic.
"Besides." I continued "If I didn't go there my parents would've been dead. The giant pile was slowly limiting their oxygen supply. And who knows when the fire department will come since the entire court was pretty much a battle ground."
"Still you broke the law." The detective retorted, but with little pressure this time.
"Detective, I know my son did something bad, but it was all with good intention. It's true, we might've died because oxygen was running low..." My mom smiled at me, while my dad patted me at the back.
"So you can't blame my son for everything. I reckon you should thank him." My dad declared, a bright halo forming behind him.
"Excuse me?" The dective answered blankly.
"He might've endangered himself—and everyone else—but he didn't! Not only did he saved us, but he also took care of the other grunts and that jackal-head. Because of that Allmight quickly managed to round them up and sent them to jail!"
"Your right. So Thank you, but—"
"He still broke the law we know. You don't have to put his whole interrogation for him. For me, your just blowing this out of proportion!" My mom interrupted the detective and a sudden surge of confidence coursed through me.
My dad patted me again on the shoulder and I could feel he was...proud of me.
"Ok ok, enough with that. Your lucky this time. From past records, this isn't the only time your son made it to the big screen. So, I'll let you off, but please don't get into more trouble". The detective stared at me with the last part. He took his belongings and made his way to the door.
"Goodbye." He said briefly and disappeared. Dang, he wasn't the patient one.
"So—" before I could finish, both my parents hugged me. My mom tightened her grip while my dad seemed to encompass us both.
"Oh sweety, I'm sorry" My mom started to tear up "If only me and your dad were stronger..."
For that moment, everything seemed to freeze. I already knew my parents cared for me, but witnessing it and feeling it first hand, was sublime. My heart started to ache as every pent up emotion I had burst.
My non-chalant demeanor faded and all the fear I had now erupted. The pain and suffering of me fighting them and the close calls of death, which reminded me of my own.
Everything felt so surreal and I just didn't want to bother with it, but as I feel my parents embrace, my entire being just melted away. For 4 whole years with them, I could never connect with them to such a deep level, but now, I think I might be ready.
"Son, your mother and I know just how strong you are. And we are so proud of you. So we're so sorry that at such a young age you had to face the harshness of the world at such a young age" My father cried, and I just hugged him back, tears of my own forming.
"You really are a hero, Haru" My mother kissed me on the cheek and my eyes widened again.
You'll always be my greatest hero mom!
I cried once again, the distant memory I tried to repress coming back up.
"Which does begs the question..." My dad said, wiping off his tears. "How did you know how to fight like that?" My dad looked at me with intrigue, while my mom looked on with half-worry.
"Remember I summoned the Ashe of the jaguar?" My presents nodded "Well when I summon it, all of its strengths and instincts merged with my body, and martial arts just became second nature to me" I shrugged, it did feel natural, like it was the real me. My dad only glowed with my answer.
"I wonder, if we train you to actually be good without your power than you would pretty much be double the strength when you summon the jaguar"
"Tatsuki!" My mother warned.
"What!? I mean if he wants to be a hero—" My dad stopped mid-sentece "Wait, do you want to be a hero?"
My two parents stared at me as I sat there in complete silence. Everything happened so fast, that now that I had time to process it, a gut-wrenching pain came up to me.
Even though the people looked at me, interested, recording, they were still people and they were very afraid. It seems only second nature to them to be sitting ducks.
Meanwhile, Jiro and the other kids reunited with their moms brought a smile into my face, even though I didn't save them. But what if I did?
The gears in my head started turning. Ever since I arrived here I just thought it was mandatory to go to UA, but that's not the case. Should I? Or should I not? I mean my parents are fine either way.
But I grimaced. The thought of fighting those foes, feeling the power of the wild within me was...ravishing! And the idea of helping people grew more likable as I remembered the happy faces of the parents. I looked on to the most important people in my life so far and fixed my gaze.
My dad grinned widely, while my mom thinned her lips. She was worried, but even so, I knew she would support me. I stood up and for the first time in my entire life, I had a goal. And not just any goal, it was something actually worth chasing. I looked again to my parents and gave them the most confident face I could muster.
"Mom, dad, I'm gonna be a hero!"
———————————————————
"Haru!" Midoriya called to me. Ever since the video of me went viral, Midoriya has been pestering me non stop about my quirk.
"Midoriya..." I said tiredly, not removing my eyes from my sandwich.
The little broccoli sat beside me and went on to blabber the entire dictionary. Even if I don't answer, he was still almost figuring out my quirk. Although I wanted to keep the extent of my powers a secret, I knew I'm gonna have to show it, I just thought it would be at UA.
I turned my head to see the boy still blabbering on, and a slight smile went up my face.
"Hey!" Of course. I turned my gaze to the spike ball in front of us. "Just because you defeated those thugs doesn't mean your better than me, got that! I'm gonna be the next no 1 hero and you know it!"
He was practically drooling at us by now, and Midoriya...well he was about to pass out. I only sighed at how much I'm gonna be in contact with this living bomb.
"So you think you can defeat those thugs when the best thing you can do is a little firework" I teased, biting onto my sandwich. He gritted his teeth as a vein popped in his forehead. I'm shocked this kid doesn't have high-blood pressure.
"Listen here you stupid little extra! I'm gonna be the best and your useless little vermin's won't stop me!" He roared, smoke releasing from his hands.
I smiled at him, as michievious as the fox. "Then prove it..."
Those words finally flipped the switched. Bakugou's face was now red. His eyes narrowed down towards us. He clasped his hands and red sparks ignited in them. He gritted his teeth and sneered, showing his malicious grin.
He raised his hand and aimed it directly at us. I only giggled fondly, my hand tapping my chest. He shouted at the top of his lungs and released. The giant explosion raced towards us like a massive stampede.
I released the same old white wisps and surrounded me and Midoriya. It roared in response and transformed in to a majestic lion.
The lion stepped forward and stared with an unyielding gaze. It opened its jaws and roared. It's voice echoed across the playground, and it sliced through the explosion, sending it beside us. The roar reverberated all the way to Bakugou and his grunts and they collapsed.
Everyone in the playground, including Midoriya shook. Their eyes grew hollow as the dark presence loomed over them. The lion stared at everyone like a mighty king, and in one swift motion, dissipated.
Though, as the lion disappeared, the ever-presence of danger continued to linger. Not until the arrival of the teachers did the mood lighten. I could only laugh internally, after practicing my quirk, I discovered the lion's roar seemed to instill a fear effect onto its victims.
Midoriya was still shaken but I managed to calm him down. After school ended, everyone including Bakugou subconsciously stepped away from me and it was an amazing change. I said good bye to Midoriya who was surprisingly handling it better.
That night was as uneventful as ever so I just went to sleep.
The night was cold and a chilling breeze wafted through the air. The pillow swallowed me whole, my body submerging itself to my bed. I shook around as the peaceful night grew wild, my face contorted to that of pain.
I flailed around quitely as my body started to shake around the bed, silver mist escaping from my chest.
———————————————————
I found myself falling in an endless darkness. Although I should be scared, I kept myself from screaming. I desperately tried to summon a falcon but nothing happened.
"Could this be a dream" I muttered to myself.
The darkness around changed and then morphed into a sea of colors and in a blink of an eye, I was now standing in a middle of a flower field.
The place felt so surreal, as if it was more than a dream. It felt like a distant memory, something I knew but couldn't recall.
"Who are you?" A voice called out to me. I turned around to see a black woman standing behind me. Her eyes scanned me up and down.
She showed no malice but was still wary of me. I tried to reason with her when my eyes caught something. Around her neck an amulet dangled. It was adorned with fang like stones and an animal head pendant.
"The spirit totem..." I muttered, not knowing the woman heard me.
She raised her brows at my words and a sense of ease radiated from her body.
"You know about the totems, you must be a bearer. But aren't you to young?" The woman asked again, and for a brief moment I was paralyzed, my mind going a million miles per second.
"You're...." I paused, my mind still not comprehending it "You're Mari McCabe..."
"Yep, the one and only. I suppose I can get a name from you?"
"....oh yeah! I'm Haruma! You can call me Haru hehe" I rubbed my neck, I still couldn't believe it. Wasn't she in another world?
"I just can't believe your actually here" By now, I was gushing like a fanboy, which I mentally face-plamed myself.
"Likewise. It's not every day you get to meet another wielder in the spirit world. And a toddler at that." She chuckled and I was about to answer her when a strong presence alerted the both of us.
She jumped in front of me and shielded me with her arms. She scanned the environment until a ball of energy appeared in front of us. At the sight, Mari tensed but she let go of me.
"You're finally here!" The enrgy giggled, it all felt so uneasy, as if it couldn't be trusted.
"What is it that you want...Anansi" Those words echoed in my mind. Wait,Anansi!? The one who created the totems!?
"And what are you doing bringing a child here!?" Mari growled and the trickster god only chuckled, unfazed by her threat.
"Believe me Mari, I'm just as lost as you" the god said, causing Mari to raise her brow. "He managed to tap into the red without a totem"
And that, I could feel both of them stare at me, well not just both of them. It felt like all of the eyes in the spirit world were now examining me.
"How..." Mari said, looking towards me.
I sighed and finally told them everything. I started monologuing about how I died and I got reincarnated. However, I didn't tell them it was an anime world though. Anansi was just silent while Mari looked at me with sympathy.
"Incredible..." Was the word that left the vixen's mouth. She touched my chest as it glowed and released silver mist. Her totem reacted to this and it also glowed. "It seems your body shares a connection with my totem"
"From your explanation, it seems I have no power over this" Anansi said "You being reincarnated, with the power of the totem must have been done by someone more powerful than me. So I can't intervene"
Mari had a look of confusion on her face, clearly in deep thought.
"But I will warn you" Those words got both are attention "When I summoned your spirit, I managed to take a look at the world your in. It seems that the world has already a written future. I'm not saying that you musn't change it, but I will advise you to not to do it right now. If you change the timeline to much and this early...well all I can say is you might be inviting danger in to your world"
"What's that suppose to mean?" By now my mind was flashing the moments I showed my power.
"The future of the world has been written. But that future hasn't started yet. I'm just saying, if you change it now, then you might be doing far more worse damage for what's yet to come." I grimmed at that thought, but Anansi started to chuckle "Hey don't be to serious about that. Just wait, I'm sure you already know when you will change this world, so I reckon you shouldn't do anything else before that"
After Anansi said those words the spirit world started to shake like a violent earthquake.
"You should go Haru, it's seems your body isn't doing so well without your soul." Anansi said and my body glowed. I turned to my side to see Mari smiling at me.
"Haru, I know your to young for this burden, but I know you got what it takes. Now go, and become the protector your new world." Mari hugged me and my body faded away.
"I hope he will be fine..." Mari said, looking on to the distance "What you said to him, you don't think it's..."
"Yes it's exactly it" Anansi stated, and for now a sudden chill appeared. Mari prayed that Haru would be safe, as his journey will not be an easy one.
———————————————————
I grumbled as a sudden pain appeared in my back. I opened my eyes and my vision was blurry. My eyes focused until I could make out where I was, as my mind comprehended the information, my body ached and I screamed.
"What the..." I panted, I was now at the top of a building, dangling on a little pole. I looked around to see my body had summoned a giant spider. I was hanging by a thread at the top a literal skyscraper!
Instead of screaming, I calmed myself down. I focused myself and straightened my face. I closed my eyes and felt the surge of energy calm down. I opened them once again and brilliant white light surrounded my eyes.
With a deep breath, I looked below me. The entire road was filled with cars and people.
Breathing in and out, I let go.
As I fell to the ground, my body left traces of white wisps. Before I could reach half-way down, I tapped my chest and the mist enveloped me.
A mighty screech echoed in the night as the mist transformed into a giant bird. With that I flew through the skies and into the clouds, disappearing from the city.
Unbeknownst to Haru however, a little kid saw the entire feat, and that moment would be burned into the child's mind forever.