"Are we sure about this?" Number 2 asked, leaning in and trying to whisper so that only two other men in suits could hear him. "These two are dangerous. Does the government just want to let them go freely out into the world? That seems like a recipe for disaster."
Jugram leaned in subtly, and by enhancing himself with blood manipulation, he was just able to make out what was being said. He's got a point. I never would have thought that the government would completely let us go, he thought, really wondering who would have enough influence to pull the strings to adopt them.
A top 50 pro hero or some extremely wealthy families could probably do it, but the real question was why they would. Nezu was another option, but he came with too many questions and assumptions that Jugram practically dismissed this possibility outright, especially since he still did not know the timeline where they were. How old is Nezu in canon anyway? He idly wondered as Number 3 collected their stuff and got them moving.
Thankfully, the process was much faster this time, and they got moving quickly. No giant were transforming Pig men who tried to attack them, and his Threat Detection quirk didn't start warning him of any danger. So, he and Yuto just settled into the back of the car while they began driving away from the countryside and toward the city.
The car ride was silent for the first two hours. Yuto watched the countryside roll by, his head close to the window while Jugram pretended not to hear his friend crying softly. For his part, Jugram didn't feel great either. While he could bury the emotions and trauma well enough, long stretches of silence forced him to remember what had happened recently, which wasn't pleasant, to say the least.
He didn't cry like Yuto but felt like he was carrying a backpack full of stones. There seemed to be a weight on his back and shoulders that he knew wasn't there in reality. Nothing seemed the same any longer. The shock of the event had truly only worn off during their second stint in the hospital after he had killed the two grunts.
Jugram let out a deep sigh, misting the window glass, and tried to think of something else. Thus, he tried to engage the driver/government worker in conversation or get some of his questions answered.
"Where are we going?" Jugram said, breaking the oppressive silence in the car.
"Yamanashi Prefecture," The man replied evenly. "We are still a few hours away, so I'll pull over to get some food and drinks later."
"Who is adopting us?" Jugram asked, unsure who lived in Yamanashi, at least not that he could remember.
"Even I don't know who is adopting you too, but you two will find out when we get there." The man answered.
"Okay," Jugram said, "Can I ask a different question then?"
"If you must," the man sighed.
"How old is All Might?" Jugram asked, growing a bit nervous in anticipation.
The answer to this question could help him locate where he was in the timeline. While All Might's exact age was never mentioned, he should be in his mid-50s at the start of the series. So, Jugram grew a bit jittery at the prospect of knowing exactly when he was in the timeline, pushing down his latent emotions, both good and bad, to listen carefully.
"Pushhh..." The man said in the way that people do when they need to think carefully about an answer. "That's a tough question. Let me think for a minute. It's been a while since I last saw an interview with All Might."
"Just give me your best guess," Jugram said politely.
"He's been around for a while, that's for sure, but I would say he had to be in his late 30s. I would have to look up his exact age, but obviously can't do it now."
However, Jugram had already stopped listening. Late 30s, huh? he thought, beginning to do some mental calculations. Finally, he stopped when he came to an estimate of where he was in the timeline, not knowing exactly how to feel about it.
Supposing that All Might is 55 when Deku joins U.A. Even with the most conservative estimate, I am older than the main cast by 6 years. At most, I will be 24 when the main cast starts at U.A. High. Though, realistically, I am around Hawk's age.
Looks like I'll be roughly 22 when the main cast joins U.A.
In some ways, he was slightly disappointed, but he also felt that this was a good age to be when everything started to hit the fan. Especially since it is a bit unrealistic to expect high schoolers to be able to save the day in real life, Jugram certainly wouldn't let his fate rest in the hands of some hormonal teens.
That finally gave him something to think about for the rest of the ride that banished all thoughts of past trauma from his mind. After all, what is better to take your mind off of past trauma than the thought of imminent, much worse future trauma? Although, with this new revelation he had more time than he initially thought.
Even if we join U.A. and complete the hero course, we will still be graduated for a couple of years by the time the story starts, Jugram considered. Now, he began to feel a bit less stressed about the future. If he couldn't at least protect himself from the League of Villians and AFO with 17 years to prepare, then he was a complete failure of a reincarnator.
However, this timeline gap only exacerbated the question of who was adopting them. Most of the pro heroes he knew from the series likely weren't even out of high school, if they had even started high school yet. For example, every member of the Wild, Wild Pussycats hero group that Class 1A trained with is only 14 in the current day.
That instantly knocked most of his potential adopters off the list. Nezu still remained in flux, but Jugram doubted that they were going to be adopted by the mouse/dog/bear man 17 years before the start of the series. That left heroes and rich families as the likely answer, which had always been what he expected. Except now, he was sure that he wouldn't know the person or family that adopted them.
So, his mind continued to whirl as the car sped along the highway, the rural areas disappearing more and more as time passed until the countryside gave way entirely to paved streets and ever-rising buildings.
He heard Yuto breathe a bit easier as they entered the city. It would be better for both of them to get a change of scenery and adapt to an entirely new life with no distractions from their past. That may be an unhealthy outlook, but as the quote goes, "Pressing forward is not the same as running from your mistakes."
Jugram consciously knew that there was very little he could have done for the people of his village and his grandfather, but the past still weighed on him. This would be his first step in moving forward. So, he too, took a deep breath and released some of the tension in his body when exhaling.
The remainder of the car ride was silent until the driver began speaking.
"Get your bags on. We are about to arrive," he called back.
Yuto and Jugram quickly pulled on their respective backpacks filled with their meager belongings and readied themselves.
"Do you think they will be nice to us?" Yuto eventually asked quietly.
"Well—" Jugram began but looked at the red rings around the boy's eyes and corrected himself, gently patting Yuto on the shoulder. "I'm sure they will be very nice. The government is bringing us to them, after all."
"Alright," Yuto said with a quick nod.
Jugram's words seemed to assuage much of the boy's doubts. So, Jugram remained silent and waited to comment until he had seen their new situation. It wouldn't do to be overly negative beforehand. They might get placed in an ultra-good and loving family, but he doubted that deep down. Yet, who was he to say?
"Here we are," the driver said, parking the car on an average city street.
Yuto had the seat with the door opening onto the curb and opted to wait until the driver opened the door for him so Jugram had a few moments to look out the window. He didn't see much, but there was a freshly painted apartment building there. A few government agents milled around, but he couldn't see the person or family adopting them yet.
After a moment, the door popped open, and Yuto exited the car, closely followed by Jugram, who carefully looked around. It was only then that he saw who had adopted them. He froze on the spot, looking at someone he recognized. They were nearly two decades younger, but he knew them on the spot.
"Do you recognize him?" Yuto asked curiously.
"No," Jugram lied, but internally he did know who the man standing next to the government workers was.
It's Gran Torino.