The place around me was dark.
It was not the darkness of sleep. Not the darkness of unconsciousness.
This was... literally nothing. A void without form, without sound and without any sensation. It felt like I'd arrived in space.
Where am I?
No answer. Obviously, it was not like I was expecting someone to answer in a dark void.
But then, a glimmer of light appeared. It expanded. Very Fast.
Colors bled into the void and shapes formed. Sounds emerged, muffled and distant.
What is this?
I tried to move. Couldn't. My body, if I even had one, was frozen. I was floating, watching something unfold before me like a movie screen materialized from nothing.
A playground.
Bright afternoon sun. Swings swaying gently. A slide. Monkey bars. Five small children running around, their voices high-pitched and excited.
A memory?
But not mine. I'd never been here. Never seen this place. Never had the luxury to.
Then I understood.
Kaito's memory.
One of the children stood out. Dark hair. Bright eyes filled with confidence bordering on arrogance. Four years old, maybe five. He was small but radiating energy.
Young Kaito.
"Watch THIS!" Young Kaito shouted, running toward a large tire swing.
He grabbed it with both tiny hands. Pulled.
The tire—easily forty kilograms—lifted off the ground like it weighed nothing. He swung it back, then forward, sending it flying through the air.
"WHOA!" A chubby boy with spiky brown hair stumbled backward. "Kaito-kun's super strong!"
"I know!" Kaito grinned, chest puffed out. "My Quirk came in last week! Mama says I'm gonna be the strongest hero ever!"
He was loud. Confident. Nothing like how I've been acting these past months.
"That's nothin'!" Another boy stepped forward—smaller, with messy white hair and sharp eyes. Masaru. "Watch what I can do!"
He held out his hand and space in front of him rippled like water. A small circular portal opened, maybe the size of a dinner plate.
"See?" Masaru stuck his hand through. It appeared from another portal five meters away, waving. "I can make warps! My papa says it's super rare!"
"Whoa! That's so cool!" A girl with pigtails clapped. "Can you go through it?"
"Not yet. It's too small. But when I'm bigger, I'll warp everywhere! Like teleporting!"
"That is so cool," Kaito admitted grudgingly. "But I bet I'm still stronger."
Two four-year-olds comparing Quirks. How... normal. For this world, anyway.
I was probably crawling in filthy streets at that time. Not like I remember. No one wants to keep a memory of bad days after all.
"My turn! My turn!" The chubby boy—Takeshi, the name appeared on his head like a game—raised his hand. Small green flames appeared in his palm. "I got fire! Just like Endeavor!"
"Don't burn the playground, Takeshi-kun!" The girl with pigtails scolded. "Sensei will get mad!"
"I won't! I'm being careful!" He extinguished the flames quickly, looking nervous.
The girl stepped forward next. "I can do this!" She touched the swing set. For a moment, nothing happened. Then the metal turned blue, frost spreading across its surface.
"Ice!" Masaru poked it. "Cold!"
"My mama says ice Quirks are really good for heroes," she said proudly. "Like that hero on TV! The one with the big sword!"
The last boy—quiet until now, with glasses too big for his face—finally spoke. "I... I can make things sticky." He touched the ground. When he pulled his hand away, dirt stuck to his palm like glue.
"That's weird," Takeshi said.
"It's not weird!" The boy's face turned red. "Sensei said all Quirks are good!"
"It IS weird though—"
"Shut up, Takeshi!" Kaito punched the bigger boy's arm. Not hard, but enough to make him yelp. "Sticky Quirks are useful! Right, Hiro-kun?"
Hiro—the quiet boy—nodded, looking grateful.
He stood up for the weak kid. Even at four years old.
That's... that's something I should've been doing. Instead of hiding.
"Anyway!" Kaito jumped onto the tire swing, balancing on it as it wobbled. "Who's your favorite hero? Mine's All Might! Obviously! He's the BEST!"
"All Might's okay," Takeshi said, puffing his chest. "But Endeavor's COOLER! He has fire like me! And he's super tough!"
"All Might's better!" Kaito insisted. "He saves everyone with a smile! And his strength is so amazing! That's what real heroes do!"
"Nuh-uh! Endeavor's the Number Two Hero! That's almost as good!"
"Almost isn't the same thing, dummy! Number two is still below number one."
They're arguing about hero rankings. At four years old. This world is insane when you watch events unfold in front of your eyes.
"I like Sir Nighteye!" Hiro said quietly. "He's smart. And he wears a cool suit."
"Nighteye's boring," Takeshi scoffed. "He just uses paper to fight."
"He's not boring! He's strategic!"
"What's 'strategic' mean?"
"It means... um... smart fighting!"
Masaru raised his hand. "I like All Might too! Like Kaito-kun! Because he's the Symbol of Peace! And peace is important!"
"See?" Kaito pointed at Masaru triumphantly. "Two votes for All Might!"
The girl with pigtails giggled. "I like Mirko! She's so pretty and strong! And she kicks bad guys really hard!"
"Mirko's awesome," Kaito agreed. "But All Might's STILL better!"
"No he's NOT!" Takeshi shouted. "Endeavor would totally beat All Might in a fight!"
The playground went silent.
Kaito's expression darkened. "What did you just say?"
Oh no. Here we go.
"I said Endeavor would WIN!" Takeshi repeated, louder. "He's got fire! All Might just punches stuff!"
"All Might's punches are WAY stronger than fire!" Kaito hopped off the swing, fists clenched. "Take it back!"
"No! Endeavor's better!"
"He's NOT!"
"IS TOO!"
"IS NOT!"
This is the dumbest argument I've ever witnessed.
And it's about to get physical.
Kaito shoved Takeshi. The bigger boy stumbled back, then shoved back twice as hard.
Kaito fell on his butt. His face turned red—not from pain, from anger.
"You pushed me!"
"You pushed me first!"
"THAT'S IT!"
Kaito lunged. Grabbed Takeshi around the waist. They both tumbled to the ground, rolling in the dirt.
"FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!" Masaru started chanting, jumping up and down.
"Stop it!" The pigtailed girl cried. "You're gonna get in trouble!"
But they didn't stop. Tiny fists flailing, more wild than accurate. Takeshi pulled Kaito's hair. Kaito kicked Takeshi's shin.
"Endeavor's better!"
"NO HE'S NOT!"
They're literally brawling over hero preferences. These kids are ridiculous. Like seriously.
Hiro backed away, eyes wide behind his glasses. "S-sensei's gonna be so mad..."
"I'm telling!" The girl ran toward the school building.
Masaru stopped chanting. "Uh oh. Kaito-kun, you should stop—"
"Not until he takes it back!"
"NEVER!"
They rolled again, crashing into the tire swing. It swayed violently.
I don't think I've seen a fight like this between grown toddlers in the manga.
They're fighting for heroes who don't even know them, I mean, they can't even tie their own shoes properly!
This society is completely hero-obsessed from birth. I understand what was going on with Deku now.
Then—footsteps. Heavy. Fast.
"YAMAMOTO KAITO! TANAKA TAKESHI!"
Both boys froze mid-wrestle.
A teacher appeared—young woman, early twenties, expression furious. "What do you think you're doing?!"
"Sensei!" Kaito scrambled to his feet. "Takeshi started it! He said—"
"I don't care who started it! We do NOT fight at school!" She grabbed both boys by their collars, lifting them slightly. "Inside. Now. Both of you."
"But—"
"NOW!"
Kaito's confident expression crumbled. His lip trembled. "Are you gonna call my mama?"
"Yes. And your papa too."
"No! Please! I'm sorry!" Tears welled up in his eyes. "I didn't mean to fight! Takeshi just—he said All Might wasn't the best and I got mad and—"
Oh. There it is. The four-year-old breaking down because he's in trouble.
Not so tough now.
"You should've used your words, not your fists." The teacher's voice softened slightly. "What do we say about heroes, Kaito-kun?"
"Heroes... heroes protect people. They don't hurt them."
"Exactly. And what were you doing?"
"Hurting Takeshi..." He sniffled. "I'm sorry, Sensei."
Takeshi wiped his nose. "I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have pushed back."
The teacher sighed and released their collars. "You're both going to sit in time-out and think about what you did. Then you'll apologize to each other properly. Understand?"
"Yes, Sensei," they mumbled in unison.
As the teacher led them away, Kaito glanced back at his friends. Masaru gave him a sympathetic wave. Hiro looked relieved it was over.
The memory started to fade. Colors bleeding away. Sounds becoming distant.
I floated in the void again, processing what I'd just witnessed.
That was the real Kaito.
Bold. Confident. Quick to anger but quick to defend others too.
He got in a fight over All Might's honor. At four years old.
And I've been hiding for three months. Paranoid. Afraid. Nothing like him.
No wonder his final request was for me to take care of Hana. He knew I wasn't like him. Knew I'd need that push.
My body turned even more pale and silence flashed in my mind.
I.. I'm sorry. Despite knowing the story I acted like a newborn and let our sister be taken. I'm sorry.
The void shifted. Another light appeared in the distance.
It was a different memory.
How many are there? How much of his life am I about to see?
But maybe... maybe that was the point.
To understand who I'd replaced.
The light grew brighter.
I watched.
TO BE CONTINUED...