Six years of being Akihiro Kuroyami, son of a very wealthy family… and pretending to be a normal, clueless kid.
Of course, I wasn't normal. Not even close.
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Ages two to four were simple.
I played the role of the "cute little rich kid" perfectly — polite enough to charm the guests, mischievous enough to be "adorable." I had the best food, the softest clothes, and the biggest garden in the neighborhood.
But behind all that?
I was watching. Listening.
Testing my limits without anyone noticing.
At age three, I started sneaking into my father's gym room when no one was around. I couldn't exactly do a full workout, but I could mimic old warm-ups from my past life. Stretching, balance work, and small rolls on the mat. Just enough to keep my body coordinated.
At age four, my parents threw me a birthday party that could've fed a small village. That was also the year I started paying closer attention to the world around me — newspapers, TV, overheard conversations. Because somewhere deep down, I was waiting for the moment.
The moment quirks would start to matter to me.
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Here's the thing — in my past life, I wasn't a massive My Hero Academia fan. I'd watched the anime casually, skipped a few episodes, and read a couple of manga chapters out of order. I knew the big stuff.
All Might. Symbol of Peace.
Deku, the crybaby who became a powerhouse.
UA High School. Sports Festival. League of Villains.
Shigaraki and his creepy hand fetish.
But the finer details?
Forget it. I didn't know the exact dates, every side character's backstory, or the exact timing of villain attacks.
That was both good and bad.
Good because I couldn't over-plan my life down to every second, which meant I'd stay flexible.
Bad because I couldn't predict everything.
Still, I knew enough to understand one thing:
This world was dangerous. And I had to get strong.
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By the time I was five, I'd narrowed my long-term plan into three steps:
Master my quirk and body — whatever my quirk was going to be, I'd make it lethal in my own hands. My martial arts background would make sure of that.
Decide on my public image — hero? Underground fighter? Vigilante? I wasn't sure yet, but I'd need the right persona.
Stay under the radar until I was ready — the moment the wrong person noticed me too early, my freedom would be gone.
The first step relied on one thing: my quirk awakening.
And that… finally happened.
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It was summer.
The mansion was quiet except for the sound of cicadas screaming outside. I was playing hide-and-seek with one of the younger maids, Hana, who always humored me when I asked.
The game had started normally enough. I counted to thirty with my eyes closed, then started searching. Hana wasn't the best hider, but she knew the mansion well. After a few minutes, I heard a faint giggle from the west wing hallway — the part of the house that was always a little darker than the rest.
I grinned. Easy.
The corridor was dim, the lights off to save electricity during the day. The sunlight barely reached here. I padded down the hallway, making sure my footsteps were light.
Then… something strange happened.
As I stepped into the darkest part of the corridor, I felt a weird pull. Like the air thickened around me. The shadows on the wall seemed… deeper. Colder.
I paused.
And then, without meaning to, I wasn't in the hallway anymore.
I was in the shadow.
Not swallowed, but… merged? My body felt light, almost transparent, like I'd stepped behind a thin curtain between me and the rest of the world.
"Akihiro~?" Hana's voice came from the other end of the hall.
She walked right past me.
Her eyes didn't even flicker toward where I was standing.
My heart thudded.
Not from fear, but from excitement.
I stepped forward, and the strange feeling snapped away. The world looked normal again. Hana turned, spotting me instantly.
"Ah! Found you! You weren't even hiding properly this time." She laughed, ruffling my hair.
I smiled weakly. "Guess so."
But inside?
Inside, I knew exactly what had happened.
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I didn't need a doctor or qa quirk specialist to tell me.
This was my quirk.
Shadow manipulation? Shadow blending? Whatever it was called, it was powerful. And I'd only touched the surface.
I spent the rest of that day testing it in small, harmless ways. Standing in dark corners, stepping back into the light. It wasn't consistent yet, and I couldn't hold it for long. But even a few seconds was enough.
This… opened doors.
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That night, lying in bed, I thought about the future.
The quirk gave me stealth, mobility, maybe even offense if I learned to shape it. Combined with my martial arts? I could become a monster.
But I wasn't stupid. I was six years old. If I started flaunting this now, the wrong people might notice. The government might decide I was "dangerous" and keep tabs on me.
So the plan shifted:
I'd keep it secret. Not even my parents would know the full extent. I'd play the role of a kid with a "minor" shadow quirk — something cute, nothing threatening. Meanwhile, I'd train it in private until I could use it without thinking.
When the time came — UA, or maybe before — I'd already be leagues ahead of my peers.
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A/N: I know about Fumikage Tokoyami with Dark Shadow ability, I'm not gonna make them similar or something, I have a different plan or quirk for our mc he is going to figure it out himself soon.