'Weak'
That was the first thought that came to Shigure's mind when he looked at the report.
"Tier?" He muttered.
His brows scrunched up—oddly cute for a 4-year-old trying to look serious.
"Quirks are classified into 5 tiers based on their capabilities when they are mastered," the doctor clarified.
It didn't take a genius to see whether tier 5 or tier 1 was stronger by seeing Shigure's quirk.
"It's quite common to have a tier 5 quirk, Shigure. There's always a chance of awakening your quirk to make it strong," The matron said, patting the little boy's head.
"Indeed, nearly half of the quirked population has tier 5 quirk. Also, just having a high-tier quirk doesn't make you stronger. Mastery is a crucial factor, and higher quirks need higher mastery," The doctor said, supporting the matron's words.
He'd expected something rare, but the report snuffed out that hope. Still, blaming a kid for a weak quirk felt wrong.
'So much for swatting All Might and All For One like flies. Guess I'll just be a background mob character and hope Izuku doesn't screw it up.' Shigure frowned at the thought.
'I could go for One For All, but that itself is a difficult choice. First of all, I need to somehow get approval from Toshinori himself, which does sound easy when I have read a lot of fanfics or how it was portrayed in anime.
There won't be bad writing or plot holes here. This isn't fiction anymore—my presence won't fix anything by default. Unless I'm ready to go full martyr-mode, I should give up on conning Yagi into handing over OFA.
Secondly, let's say, somehow, I could even get OFA, the next point is whether my body would handle it. From what was told in the manga, if the third-year pervert had inherited it, he wouldn't have lived for long. I don't want to risk the possibility of exchanging my life span for a stupid quirk.
And thirdly, I don't need ghosts peeping in my head, thanks. Hard pass.' Shigure sighed at the reality in front of him.
"SHIGURE!"
"Huh?" Shigure tilted his head towards the matron.
"You weren't responding."
"Oh, sorry about that. I was just thinking a bit."
The matron stared at him for a few more seconds before talking with the doctor.
'Whatever. I don't need a good quirk to survive in this world. I have the tech skills I learned from my previous world, and despite this world being more technologically advanced, I could adapt.' Shigure told himself as he talked a bit more with the doctor before giving him a farewell.
'Plus, wasn't technology more significant in the latter story? I bet quirk would become irrelevant later on.' Shigure nodded to himself.
'But, isn't that just external power?' Suddenly, a counterargument formed inside his mind.
'Idiot. All it takes is that little girl's blood and his father's quirk to take away your quirk. See? That's the power of science. I might even find a way to artificially awaken my quirk with it.' Remembering Eri's situation soured his mood.
He wouldn't call himself a good person—too selfish for that—but even he couldn't ignore her situation and still look himself in the mirror.
'Need to first focus on myself. Then only I would be able to help others. Plus, she probably isn't born yet.'
He, along with the matron, returned to the orphanage.
Shigure did some chores to free his mind.
'I really have reincarnated, huh. A new world, new life, new body and new... wait, new body?' Shigure's grip on the broom loosened.
'Wait, I have a new body! A kid's body! Which means... my addiction is a thing of the past!'
Shigure's eyes widened to the size of saucers.
He might be exaggerating a bit as he only did that around 3-4 times a week, but it was still something that he couldn't stop.
"Ahahahahaha", Shigure laughed loudly.
It was one of the things that he always wanted to stop, but as if the addiction was engraved in his body, he wasn't able to escape.
The broom fell from his hand... on his leg.
"AAAAAAAHhhhhhhhh" Shigure cried out as he clutched his left foot while lying on the floor.
'It fucking HURTS, it fucking hurts.'
That's when he learned—new body, new pain tolerance. And a kid's body sucked at handling pain.
"Shigure-kun! I told you not to play around with that broom. It's the third time this week you've had the broom fall on your foot!" One of the caretakers crouched near him and placed her hands near the wound.
"I am sorr—y, I, was a... bit distr—acted"
A soft blue glow wrapped around the wound before Shigure felt something warm flow through that area, the pain subsided, and the skin regained colour.
Despite seeing this multiple times, Shigure was entranced by the display.
"Nee-chan, what is the tier of your quirk?"
"Hmm? Where did that come from?"
"Curious. Recently came to know about the tiers."
"Tier 5."
"Oh, cool."
"Anyway, go back to your room, I will complete the things here."
Before Shigure could retort, she shot him an icy glare.
He could only swallow his words and leave the area.
'It seems tier 5 quirks are not entirely useless either. I guess that's where the mastery comes from. Moreover, there was a saying I heard somewhere...
"A quirk is not strong or weak. It's the users who shape them to what they become."
Well, this is kind of arguable, but to some extent it is true.
I might not be able to become the strongest with this quirk, but in the end, I don't care.'
Shigure's lips curved into a smile.
'Just having powers is enough for me.' Shigure bounced on his feet as he prepared to play—no, experiment with his quirk.
To him who didn't have any superpowers before, just getting one is good enough for now.
He would rather cherish the things he had rather than curse about the things he didn't have.
---
Time passed, and before Shigure knew it, 4 years had passed.
He was now 8, lying on a bed in a one-room apartment.
Yesterday, he had said farewell to the orphanage.
Now, one may think, how could an orphan without money afford a place to live, especially without supervision?
To answer that, we need to go back in time, specifically a few weeks ago.
---
"Shigure-kun, you are smart, right?"
"Nee-chan, to stay humble, I would say no."
"Jeez, check this out." A lady in an apron handed the tablet to Shigure, who looked at it curiously.
'Did she fall for my charms? Will she give me the tablet to keep it safe?'
Shigure got rid of his ridiculous thoughts just as he focused on the screen.
'Blink.'
The world slowed. Then snapped back. The whole thing happened again and again.
Reflex. His quirk pulsed like a second heartbeat now—steady, automatic.
At first, it was just excitement. Then habit. Then instinct.
Now, his quirk activates on instinct every few seconds, even in his sleep.
He had not only increased the duration of how much time he could keep his quirk active, but lately, he thinks that he might be on the cusp of a breakthrough.
Of course, he'd been thinking that for months now.
After half a minute, he looked at the lady in shock.
"Is this for real?"
"Real."
"Will I still be eligible despite not having an intelligence-related quirk?"
"Yes."
Shigure's eyes shone as he thought about leaving the orphanage.
'If I spend more time here, I will go insane. Acting as a kid is not good for my mental health.'
Unknowingly, a smile appeared on his face.
However, to the lady, it looked quite a creepy smile, especially with how Shigure's entire face looked tired along with his quite long hair, which most of the time hid his eyes.
But she kept quiet—no point in breaking the kid's heart.
'I have heard that saying such things could make kids highly likely to take the villain route.'
"Did you again not get proper sleep last night?"
"Uhh, yeah. That reminds me, I am hungry."
"Already? Didn't you just have lunch an hour ago? You eat as much as 10 kids combined." She stared at him, then at his stomach as if it had betrayed her.
"I think I just have a high metabolism." Shigure combed his hands through his hair.
'If only she knew that I activate my quirk every few seconds.'
Time passed, and the day of the tests came.
He passed those tests, got most of the privileges of an adult, received the room and some money, and now he is here.
'It's quite ridiculous that geniuses like those guys exist. These people have achieved twice what I could have achieved at half my age.' Shigure was humbled deeply when he saw some people present in the exam centres.
His thoughts then went back to the head matron's disappointed gaze when he was leaving.
That look…
It reminded him of another.
Another goodbye.
Another failure.
A face that stopped believing in him.
'10 Marks'
'Rank XXXXX'
'It is what it is. I would support your decision on whatever future path you choose.'
He quickly stopped his line of thought, not wanting to delve into his memories.
He walked towards the mirror and saw eyebags under his eyes.
"Damn, the continuous quirk usage has changed me," He said while looking at his half-dead zombie like face.
"Whatever, I will just take a walk and get some groceries." Shigure left his room, took the elevator down, and walked towards the nearest convenience store.
'I need to plan my goals in more detail for the next month before tonight.' Shigure immediately scheduled the task in his calendar.
"Is that a malnourished kid? Was he put through child labour?"
"Are you sure it is not an old man who looks like a kid?"
"Mama! I am scarred."
Shigure's lips twitched at the number of looks he was getting.
He pinched his nose, trying to come up with a fix.
'It's about time I cut my hair. I don't need to hide that I activate my quirk every few seconds from others, as I would stay indoors most of the time. For outside, I would buy some contacts.'
Shigure searched for the nearest shop where he could buy contacts and headed there.
"This should be it." Shigure looked at the shop and pushed the door open.
"How may I help you, sir?"
"Contacts. I want contacts." 'Fuck, now he probably thinks I have some disability or something...' Shigure bit his lips to stop his face from changing into an embarrassed one.
He quickly bought the contacts and left as quickly as he came.
'Next, I need t—' The world slowed down around Shigure, who looked at the scene near him.
He was standing near a footpath, a man with headphones, crossing the road, unaware that the traffic signal had turned red long ago.
Moreover, a truck was heading towards the man at a blinding speed.
'He's about to get isekai'd, isn't he?'
In Shigure's head, a future started taking shape: born into a rich clan, looked down on for weak talent, gets cheated, face-slaps everyone, challenges a god, the same one who gave him his golden finger—maybe even marries her.
Then what? Realizes cheats are too common? Potentially could make an average mob rise to threaten him? Starts hunting other isekai'd guys across timelines?
'Nope. Not letting that happen.' Shigure decided in a split second.
"Huh?"
Shigure felt his quirk activating involuntarily. However, something different happened.
A shimmer pulsed from him like a heartbeat—then the air flexed, and a translucent sphere exploded outward like a ripple in glass.
'What the hell?' He could feel it—not just the light, but the pull, like time itself was bending.
And the guy… moved.
'So this is what awakening feels like...
Took you long enough.'
***
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