Adam dragged the back of a hand across his forehead, and the gesture felt heavy, a confession of how little strength he had left.
Deep in his core, the earlier, paralyzing fear, the one that asked what is real, still lurked, a cold, sunken weight pressing against his ribs.
He felt it, recognized it, then ruthlessly shoved it down.
He layered denial over it, blanketed that with forced optimism, and cemented the whole messy pile with the pure, driven cement of desperation.
'Focus.'
The voice in his head was tight and sharp.
'One step. Just the next step! don't overthink!'
If this world is actually real, then the only option was to grab the cards he'd been dealt and play the hand.
He inhaled a shaky, deliberate lungful of the grimy air.
A thin, utterly unconvincing smile split his cracked, dry lips. The sight probably looked pathetic, but it felt like a tiny victory.
"Okay… okay, look at the bright side," he rasped, the words catching in his throat. He forced his body forward, into a shuffle that he desperately pretended was a run. It was a stubborn, hungry fast-walk, but his mind clung to the lie.
"I've seen the anime. Read the manga. I know the villains, the storylines, the major disasters. Meta-knowledge equals meta-advantage!"
Even as exhaustion tried to drag him into the pavement, his brain spun like a runaway engine, processing data.
'One for All. All for One, Future incidents, Those are all precious intelligence, If I prepare for the future now, I can clear heroic missions like a speedster!'
BOOOOOOMMMMMM
The sound of explosions resounded again. Bakugo was still resisting assimilation by the Sludge Villain with all his might. Due to nervousness, anxiety, and the life-threatening situation, his body was secreting sweat like never before, which only made his explosions more dangerous.
A cruel curl of black smoke, sharp and undeniable, spiked into the blue distance.
"Explodo-Boy, keep struggling! I'm coming! I need you alive so All Might notices my heroism and gives me a house! I swear you will be my hero, you will save me from sleeping inside the fridge!"
Adam pushed harder, ignoring the fiery protest in his ribs.
'This mission… if I nail this, it's my breakthrough, My foothold in this world.'
'I need All Might's favor. That's the only legitimate key to practice heroism in this whole damned society.'
His mind continued its frantic calculation, building towering plans upon dreams that were piled high over the bedrock of stark fear.
'The Hero System will issue me missions that needs heroic acts. Defeating Villains, nullifying dangers, saving people from incidents, etc...But the problem is, using 'quirks' without a license is a one-way ticket to prison. Vigilantes get hunted by authorities and heroes, what a waste of resources.'
'Self-defense here is just a crime in disguise.'
'So, the only path is to get a Pro Hero license.'
'To get that, I need to join a Hero Academy.'
'To get into the hero Academy, I need an identity.'
And right now? He was the ghost of Uchiha. No passport, no records, no family.
If he walked into a police station and told them: konishowa minasan, I'm Adamo Al Hantakouro-sama, Niceoo to meeto yoo, ore wa Amnesia-kun, and foundo myselfo hereow without knowing how...giveo me wader please!
there is 90% he would be arrested and interrogated, 9% to be deported back to The Morocco of this world, 1% to get sliced up on a lab table. or worse, Maybe all four!
He shivered at this possibility.
'I need a backer, A real one, A colossal, untouchable umbrella! Someone whose name alone makes the storm clouds panic and run.'
In his mind, the umbrella shimmered… then sprouted muscles… then turned blond… then flexed.
A towering All Might appeared inside his imagination, teeth sparkling, cape billowing despite there being no wind.
"Fear not, Adam-shōnen! You ask 'why?'
Because… I! AM! HERE!"
Adam's heart surged with hope.
'All Mightooo… my walking, talking government-paperwork-deleting umbrella!'
'The Symbol of Peace, His reputation alone could erase my identity problem. And if I impress him… he could put a word in for me at U.A.'
'One Detroit Smash from him and boom, my problems? Solved. My future? Launched, My homelessness arc? Deleted!!!"
His feet, driven by pure possibility instead of actual energy, finally picked up speed.
'Midoriya did it quirkless, and i have a bug tier power, and I've got the script! I'll be the one to save Explodo-boy first!'
He visualized the moment: the Sludge Villain thrashing, Bakugo suffocating, the Pros frozen, the crowd screaming. And then, him... Adam Al Hantakour-sama. Leaping in, his own power unleashed, the negation-force tearing through the sludge like divine judgment.
He Will Strike A cool, silent pose. An utterly calm expression, News cameras will be capturing every single frame.
'All Might won't even need to transform'
a proud, tiny laugh escaping him.
'I'll finish the job quickly. Then I'll just… quietly walk away, AllMight will probably follow me, I'll Pretend it was pure instinct. Something like, 'My legs moved on their own.' Hehehe.'
The grin stretched wider, sharp with cunning.
'He'll be so shocked, he'll have no choice but to like me."
A dreamy glaze covered his eyes.
'Maybe he'll even offer me One for All…'
he shock his head at this idea.
'No. No, no, keep it with Midoriya. I'm not staying forever. If I vanish from this world, OFA might vanish with me. It needs to stay here.'
He stumbled back into motion.
'But even if All Might sticks to the original plot, even if he didn't follow me, it doesn't matter! I'll make an impression today. Later, when he meets Midoriya at the Beach, they'll find me, the Poor pathetic me. Hungry, homeless me, resting between piles of trash. They'll pity me. I'll play the amnesia card, 'I woke up here and remember nothing.' Boom! adopted, and everything solved! that's how it happens in most of the novels i read, it should also happen to me, probably...i hope nothing racist happen just because i'm Moroccan and Muslim Boy.'
His eyes sparkled with the sheer brilliance of the manipulation.
He clenched a weak, trembling fist.
'Let's go. I'm tired… starving… but I'll go Plus Ultra! For the sake of not sleeping inside the freezer! For my dreams! For U.A.! For my future!'
And then, with a jarring, manic energy that came from nowhere, his grand monologue completely derailed.
'For my crushes, Momo-shwan, Ashido-shwan, Jiro-shwan, Invisible Girl-shwan, Tsuyu-shwan, your Hantakour-sama is coming!'
He pumped that fist at the sky, a hero of his own mental landscape.