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·Chapter TenJun 12Share[Echoes of the Future and Footsteps in the Present]
The sun filtered softly through the gauzy curtains of my bedroom, scattering golden warmth across my work desk cluttered with tools, wires, and glowing blueprints projected by my custom-made portable HUD.
I sat on the floor, legs crossed, half-awake, half-thinking.
My mind had been running simulations all night again.
The AI drone Mei had tested the day before returned more than 48 MBs of observational footage and micro-decisions made in real-time—slightly glitchy, slightly off—but impressive. Its self-correction rate was 43% within the first 3 minutes of deployment. By the time the trial ended, it had improved its route logic by nearly 20%.
> "You're evolving," I whispered to it.
But I wasn't talking to the drone.
I was talking to me.
---
As I dressed for school—slipping into my now-custom-modified uniform with discreet weave patches in the seams—I paused in front of the mirror.
Sometimes, I still didn't recognize the reflection.
This wasn't the awkward, glass-wearing, socially-avoidant programmer I once was in my past life. Gone was the limp brown hair and sunken expression. Now I had sharper features, neater black hair, a leaner build from consistent training, and intelligent green-hazel eyes that glinted with depth I couldn't hide.
It was a good face.
But it wasn't entirely mine.
> "Was I still the guy who died watching anime reruns at 3AM?"
"Or am I just wearing his memories like another blueprint?"
---
"Yuuji, breakfast!"
Mom's voice rang up the stairs.
I blinked out of my thoughts, buttoned the last clasp on my shirt, and headed down.
She had made miso soup and grilled fish—simple, traditional, and comforting. Dad was sipping coffee, face half-buried behind the newspaper. It was rare to catch him at home in the morning. He worked construction and often left before sunrise.
"You're still tinkering every night?" he asked, folding the paper slightly.
"Just research," I replied with a small smile.
Dad grunted. "Don't forget to live outside your head."
Mom chuckled softly and set down my bowl. "He's fine, dear. He's always had his head in the clouds—like someone I know." She nudged him playfully.
There it was again—that tug in my chest.
I was their son. I knew that. Felt that.
And yet… some part of me still struggled to reconcile the affection I had for them with the memories of another set of parents—older, faded faces I could no longer clearly see.
> "Do they miss me?"
"Do they even know I'm gone?"
---
At School –
Classes blurred past that morning. English, Math, Hero Ethics. All stuff I could fly through in my sleep.
But it was during the lunch break that the tension hit.
"I heard the U.A. entrance exam's only a month away," Izuku said, sitting across from me on the rooftop. The wind ruffled his green hair.
"Time's moving faster than I expected," I murmured. "But we're ready."
"Are we?" he asked, voice hesitant.
I looked up from my bento. "You doubt yourself again?"
He scratched his cheek. "Not… myself, really. Just the whole thing. What if we're not what they're looking for?"
"You're what they need, Izuku," I said firmly. "And I have a feeling U.A. knows it."
He smiled faintly, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.
I remembered how he used to cry almost weekly in the original series. How he felt like a speck in a sea of giants. That vulnerability was still there, even now, even as he gained confidence.
I envied that, in a strange way.
He was still himself.
I was someone rebuilt.
---
After school, I returned to the workshop. The AI data still needed processing, and the stealth generator was now 73% functional.
I activated the system interface with a thought.
> [SYSTEM NOTICE: "Advanced Recon AI Core (Tier 1)" — Task Completion: 89%]
[New Blueprint Unlocked: Compact Holographic Projector V1.1]
[Task Update: Project and Sustain Human Silhouette for 30+ seconds without distortion]
Interesting.
That was far more advanced than I expected for a Tier 1 unlock. Holograms weren't just cool—they could be game changers in infiltration, disguise, and escape.
But I needed help to test it.
Again, Mei popped into my mind.
---
The Lab –
"I think I've got just the part for your holo-projector," Mei said as she slid across the floor on a stool with wheels, handing me a translucent fiber-reed prism. "You've been using old-style dispersion filters. This? This bends light with micro-fusion channels. Cleaner shadows. No ghosting."
I took it, eyebrows raised. "Where'd you get this?"
"I built it this morning."
I stared at her.
She grinned, cheeks smudged with graphite. "What? You're not the only genius in the room."
"Apparently not."
We worked side by side, tweaking the stabilizer lens. At one point, her hand brushed mine. Neither of us moved for a second.
Then she pulled away, just a beat too fast.
> So she noticed it too.
I'd been getting better at reading people. Emotional cues. The subtle microexpressions that my system-enhanced mind could pick apart like code.
And Mei?
She was guarded in public. But in moments like this—close, focused—she let her walls down.
It made me curious.
And a little terrified.
---
Later That Night –
Alone in my room again, I sat cross-legged with the system open in my mind's eye, windows floating like silent ghosts.
> [You have pending skill upgrades: "Tactical Analysis" and "Rapid Logic Tree Recalibration"]
[Accept Update? Y/N]
I hovered over the option.
But didn't click.
I knew every time I accepted one of these upgrades, I felt… colder. Not in a cruel way. Just distanced. More efficient. More logical.
More like Batman than Tony Stark.
And I wasn't sure I liked what that meant for me.
> "What's the point of power," I murmured, "if you lose the person you wanted to protect with it?"
My phone buzzed. A text from Izuku.
[Midoriya: You up? Just wanted to say thanks for earlier. I feel better now. Hope you're getting rest.]
I smiled.
Small reminders that I still mattered—not because I was a genius, not because I was a reincarnated supermind—but because I cared.
---
As I laid in bed, staring at the ceiling, my mind spun through possibilities.
Tomorrow, I'd finish the projector test. Maybe invite Mei out for a walk after. I could see how she responded in a neutral environment. Not lab, not chaos. Just… a boy and a girl.
Izuku would want to train more next week. His moves were improving, but I could still outmaneuver him with half my brain tied behind my back.
I wondered when All Might would take the plunge and actually begin mentoring him.
> "Tick, tick, All Might. Time's running out."
I closed my eyes.
Even if the world didn't know what was coming, I did.
And I'd be ready.
With steel, with shadows, with fire and foresight.
Whatever it took.
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End of Chapter
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