Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

People have always viewed you as a mature child throughout your life, and maybe it's from the apprehension of disappointing others, or letting down others, you always find yourself catching up to their expectations of you. You try your best: you smile, you become the best, you follow what your parents told you.

"It's for your own good."

You didn't know when, but your life slowly sailed into forming yourself to what people expected of you until your parents decided to take matters into their own hands and planned out your whole life since you were young. Maybe because you didn't know how to deal with it, maybe you're used to it, you just stayed silent, merely nodding and declaring an: "I'll do my best," to them.

Maybe because you thought it wasn't so bad.

Your parents cared for you, you remembered your cherished memories with them. They always tried their best to fulfill your needs, they took you to where you wanted when you were a child, they bought you everything you needed and wanted, and they're always so considerate with their words. They kept you safe, they always made sure you're at your 100% healthy.

It really is kind of them.

You were grateful for them. You were blessed with everything, really, like people said. It felt like cheating with how easy for you to be at the top with mere intelligence and personality. Teachers kept gushing over how much of a smart and good student you were, and your schoolmates marveled at you for you who were always ready to help others in need, be it for simple teaching sessions or your grades.

Your existence made everyone happy, it's enough for you.

Even if you slowly felt pressured by the honey-laced expectations that were put on you. To be smart, to be intelligent, to stand at the top, to never fail, perfection is all you are supposed to be, and if you were anything but perfect: it's not you. Those were the things you realized when you first let down your guard around people for the very first time.

"...You got 87? That's weird. Did something happen at school?"

At first, you thought that they were just worrying about your condition. It's not normal for you to lack something, to be lower than your original position. You were honest that time, you were busy teaching your classmates who had troubles with previous materials, and you helped them: you were a smart and affable classmate in the eyes of people after all.

You thought your parents would understand, and that there's a chance that they'll scold you to not teach anyone if there's a test coming. You don't know that their reply will be out of your comprehension.

"To be honest, dear. It'll be nicer if you... Have friends who are around your level. Of course, it's nice that you taught others, but it'll be better if you have people who can improve you instead of... How do I put it? Holding you down, I suppose. It's okay to be friends with them, but don't let them take too much of your study time, okay?"

You never minded when your classmates asked you to teach them, it made you feel useful: and you enjoyed the moments. Some of them protested loudly whenever encountering a hard problem, and some scolded them, saying that they should be grateful for the all mighty you to have time to teach them, then there were others who quietly asked you how to solve this and that.

But your mother was right, and you understood her worries.

Slowly, you isolated yourself from your classmates, not to the point of so close like before where they could ask you for favors, but close enough that they wouldn't think that you were distancing yourself on purpose. You didn't want to disappoint your mother one way or another: if she heard that you were distancing yourself from your classmates, she would worry even more. But if you kept on teaching them: she would worry that your grades might worsen.

Your method worked wonders to the point every time someone asked you to hang out with them, there's always that one person who would say: "[Name] will probably be busy, I heard she's going to represent our school for a contest, right?"

That person was right. The less time you spent with them, the more time you have on studying, and you're okay with that: your parents like that, after all. But because of that, you have gotten many accomplishments, more and more bouquets coming your way, and your parents keep beaming around you, never throwing that kind of word again.

"Oh my, so you spent more time studying? That's good, dear. No wonder our lovely child here got first place again at the math contest. Do you want your favorite pie for dinner?"

"Yes. Thank you, mother."

To feel grateful for anything that happened, to be reminded that no matter what you do, you need to put your parents above all. They did everything for your own good, it's because they love you, they want you to live an excellent future, and they want you to be content. All you need to do was to follow their requests (it's for your own good, they repeated).

"It's all for my own good," you remind yourself once again.

If those words are really the truth, why are you now standing on the edge of a bridge?

Until now, you don't know what happened: you don't know why are you reduced to a condition like this. Since when were you so different from what you presented?

You, who are the ever-radiant student who does good both in her studies and extracurricular activities. You, who are the pride of a school and parents who never hesitate on lending a hand. You, who are the beloved epitome of perfection in the eyes of people. You, who is the Angel who always smiles from the sun rise until the dawn breaks.

Why do you never feel anything from all those achievements?

You crouch over the edge, eyes peering down at the scenery under you. All you see is the river, water flowing peacefully. Even with you being so close to death, you don't feel fear of death, maybe because being a disappointment is much scarier for you.

For the very first time, you ran away from home at the age of 18. For the very first time, you didn't want to hear your parents' honey-laced praises and scolding. You don't know why, you didn't do anything that should have disappointed them, but you just don't want to meet them, and you can't really name this feeling aside from fear.

If your parents know that you're afraid of them, they will be very disappointed in you. They did all of those for your sake, why are you afraid of them when you are the cause of everything that happened to yourself?

"I apologize." You murmur to yourself, directing the apology to your parents.

You're sorry for not being perfect enough. You're sorry that you don't know what happened to you anymore. You're sorry that you never know that you'll be reduced to this pitiful state. You're sorry that you can't be everything people expected you to be. You're sorry that in reality, you might not be much help to people around.

You're sorry that above all the great images that they believe you are, you are nothing more than a child who doesn't want to disappoint her parents.

"I really am."

With that, you let yourself slowly fall over the edge, closing your eyes, as you are ready to embrace the death that will welcome you.

***

"The subject has opened its eyes. Since we have worked on its five senses, it should be no problem for it to see and hear clearly. As for its memories, it's still unknown. I suggest we run a test when its limbs have grown to give it enough mobility."

I'm sorry? The moment you open your eyes and your ears, you're greeted by a swarm of people with lab coats in front of you through the view of the water surrounding you.

Are you having some kind of fever dream? Or did these people find you falling over the bridge and decided to kidnap you? Since when are you a test subject or something? How many days has it been? What happened?

I feel uncomfortable. Despite the water surrounding, enclosing you. It feels rather weird that you don't feel an itch in your eyes, the suffocation from your nose, and the numbness in your ears. You can see that there are people in front of you, even if they look monochromatic blueish through your eyes. You can perfectly hear what they say, even if you can hear a few bubbles pop around you. You can feel that you're clearly in the water, alive and not dying, despite being unable to freely move your body from the stiffness.

"Subject 003, right? It's amazing..." One of the (researcher?) people steps forward a few times, getting close to the thing (probably a tank) you're in. "It doesn't seem to be harmful. With its age, is it possible to do gestures communication with it?"

Another one flips over their papers. "Seeing that it's supposed to be at the age where it can do small gestures, such as nodding its head and twitching its fingers. I suppose it won't hurt to try."

"Good." She looks up at you, now you can clearly see her face through your vision, a woman around her twenties, face neutral and eyes focused as if observing you like you're someone she should be wary of. Then, the woman researcher smiles at you, arms crossed. "Subject 003, can you hear me?"

You are perfectly human, through and through, inside and out, from the start until the end. Why do these people keep calling you 'Subject 003' when you clearly aren't one?

Huh.

You hope this is what you're thinking it is.

***

Unfortunately, it is.

After maybe days of spending time in here, your consciousness barely lasted for a few hours before getting a seemingly long nap. The only people visiting you are always the same group of people, covered in lab coats. Just like your (out-of-the-world) guess, you are being experimented on, you are an experiment, which makes things whole more unsettling.

You can't say you feel something from everything that's happening right now, even if you have a couple of questions.

They didn't hurt you, at least not yet. They simply talked to you, asking a few things but never asking for a reply, like they were talking to someone who has amnesia and is unable to do anything, and that's the truth: you feel your condition is not far from it, considering you barely can do anything in your current condition. You discern numbness spread all over your body, you could do nothing more than merely twitching your fingers and shaking your head.

Maybe they were paralyzing you through the water tank you're in. It doesn't hurt, and you don't feel suffocated, but you know it's weird. You really are an experiment, even though you don't know for what purposes.

You are called 'Subject 003,' and so far, by looking around and finding other water tanks, all you saw were small lumps of something you couldn't identify. Sometimes you wondered who are 'Subject 001' and 'Subject 002,' but seeing that you're here, maybe they both failed and you were there to serve as a replacement.

Was it because your body is in perfect condition? You rarely got sick, your organs aren't in terrible states, you don't have any allergies, and according to people around you, you are a fast learner: a genius, maybe they found out about you and had been stalking you. Seeing you jump off of the bridge, they took their chance and experimented on you.

Okay. Maybe it's a bit too much, but it's still a possibility.

"Subject 003 is well-behaved, almost in contrast to the previous subjects." You just stay quiet at the two people standing over you, seeming to note whatever you did. "It's been a few months. Should we get it out of its tank so it could train its mobility?"

"She." The other corrected. "If we want to grow it as a human, then we should treat it accordingly, so let's start with pronouns."

"Yes, yes, whatever, ma'am." The previous one sighs at the correction. "It's weird to have a homunculus with female body compositions. But I suppose it explains her behavior that differs from the previous subjects. I think she may be a success."

Then, the woman huffs, looking at you- you just stare back, head filled with much more questions than before.

"Don't bet on living beings, they express the most colorful behaviors, we can't rely on mere calculations and observations alone." Her gaze steels. Even if her eyes are on you, you can't help but feel that what she's seeing is not you, but something behind you. "Even A.I is able to have feelings despite not having an ounce of flesh in it, it won't be hard for a homunculus to have them too."

So you are a homunculus.

You learned about it out of curiosity when you were younger, and you knew of videos of someone nurturing a homunculus (and years later, you ended up knowing that person died). You think it's rather weird for you to be referred to as a homunculus. Was science behind the scene this great that they're able to turn a human into a homunculus?

I don't feel any difference, though, no power-up. You suppose they adjusted some things to your body that made you feel numb until now.

You don't really know how to react to this new piece of information. But you prefer if you become a failed experiment. All your life, you have been doing all your might to fulfill others' needs. If you reincarnate just for it to happen again, you will feel guilty again.

You've failed before because of one single mistake you've done. What if it happens again? They put their best into research, but if you failed, their efforts will go to waste. You can't let that happen.

They, who put so much effort, to the point that you, the third, have been created.

It's better if you fail rather than becoming a half-assed experiment. But for them, maybe it's better if you become the perfect masterpiece born from their hard work.

***

It takes a long time when you were out of the water tank, your memories barely succeeding you at what happened when you wake up and are greeted by the glaring lights of a white room. The room is empty, and no one bothering you, but you can feel their eyes all over you.

You look up, and there it is, a CCTV that you recognized all too well.

In this body, you can feel you aren't as restricted as before. But when you look down, all you see are short limbs that seemingly belong to you. And you, being who you are, don't have the time to dwell on such things. Maybe it's because it's to be expected, now that you are a homunculus.

Maybe your consciousness is placed in a homunculus? How did they do it, though? Maybe they injected your DNA and use your main as its body base? You don't know. You aren't one to dwell on such thoughts.

Like a newborn child you are, you try your best to stand up. And to be honest, it was hard. You can feel your legs are already wobbling from trying to do it, your old experience already betraying you because trying to stand sure is hard. In an attempt to balance yourself, you spread out your hands, like a plane.

One second, you haven't fallen yet.

Three seconds, and still haven't.

Five seconds have passed, and you still stand strong.

"...I did it." You inform yourself, your tongue feels weird and clumsy, it's almost amazing you can manage those three words from your mouth. How old is this physical homunculus body or yours?

The ambiance around you is nothing but silence as you dwell on your guesses.

You're in a child's body, it's no wonder they placed you in that water tank like those newborn homunculus. But, how are you able to survive in the air right now? It's uncanny how similar your body is to a human. Maybe you're some kind of human that's made so people can see if there's an actual human who can both breath in the air and under the water. Human slash homunculus sure is interesting.

It's not that bad, maybe.

Still, I hope they won't place too many expectations on me. If it was to study, I'll try my best. But things like this... I don't think I can. You look at your hands, closing and opening your palms to double-check that it really is a child that you're in.

Being an experiment isn't something you have ever experienced, and the results are never up to you. You can't control what kind of results you'll have. It's not like you are able to open your organs and switch them out with that of a fish to check out if you can really breathe under the water. It's all up to chance.

"Subject 003 passed the first test. Able to stand, able to talk. Pronunciation could use some work. Legs are still unstable. Ability to walk is still questionable."

It's been a while since you have heard a voice that loud.

Like the curious child you are, even if you aren't really one, you turn your body to the source of the echoing voice, trying your best to maintain your stability. Of course, your unconscious guess is correct: a speaker on the other side of the room.

I see. Your eyes flicker between the CCTV and the speaker, then, you decide to sit on the floor, not wanting your legs to grow too tired. This will probably be my room for now. It's befitting to the fact that you are an experiment, so you're fine with the solid color of your room. It could have been worse.

You start to sit down, legs folded in a seiza style, not wanting to show any rude or childish manners as their masterpiece by crossing your legs or things like that. Even if you don't want to make them expect too much from you, you still need to be polite, at the very least. They created (or re-created) you, after all.

It continues to be silent for a little while.

Then, the same voice speaks up. This time, a different mannerism, a reaction that you didn't put into consideration.

"...I didn't expect 003 would have such a manner." Her voice sounds more breathy as if she's in disbelief despite being one of the people (possibly) creating you. "Well, she's easier to handle than the previous ones alright." Another comment was added.

The previous ones.

It sometimes makes you wonder, are they dead? Did they fail so miserably? Did they not have the same condition as you? Your body right now is that of a child, so it's natural for them to fail. But if they have the same mind as you, they should be able to do the same thing as you. Then again, a lot of people would be in hysteria if they ever find out that they are experiments.

You are a little more tired than normal humans, and you don't have any reason to fight back, so you think it's normal for you to show no difference towards it. Though, if you really try your best to survive, you'll act milder, sweeter, and gentler.

But that's not what they're searching for, so you'll just stay quiet and polite, as polite as a child can.

Though... The quietness and the overall atmosphere in the room don't offer much. You gaze at the white surface in front of you. The whole room is so blank, it will probably ricochet in your eyes if you stare at it for a long time.

It only makes the questions in the back of your head more rackety, too.

Previously, you wanted to disappear, to run away from your failures. Now, with nothing of your past that ties you down, you start a seemingly new life. This time, a brand new question orbits through your head, or even through the room if you want to be delusional enough.

Do you want to live?

You don't know.

Do you want to disappear again?

You don't know.

Everything is too new, too foreign from what you've remembered. You will get used to it in the future, sooner or later, but right now, you don't. You're still perplexed about a lot of things despite not letting the questions fully load your head. Being sane enough to realize your condition will probably be considered a miracle by many.

Screaming and trashing around won't do you any good, so it's better if you stay hushed.

I'm starting to get sleepy too. You can feel the drowsiness has started to settle into your system. You've done nothing in these minutes (or hours), it's natural for you to start to get sleepy after doing literally nothing aside from trying to stand up, talk, and sit down. Even the aches in your legs don't compare to your need for sleep.

Click!

Huh? You turn your head to the sound of a door being opened. That was fast. Were they so impressed by you that they wanted to see you up close?

Coming in from outside, an old man of portly and short stature enters the room, a white lab coat over his grayish shirt. His trademark, though, is a pair of goggles that are shaped like gears along with his large mustache.

He looks unique.

And oddly familiar.

The said man offers a polite smile at you, and you reflectively smile back out of habit. He didn't say anything though, only standing in front of a door with a smile on his face, not revealing anything more.

The overall vibe he has is different, and somehow, the way he looks feels different from your previous life. You don't know what's so different, but there are these tingling feelings that let you know that these eyes of yours are seeing through a different way. It almost feels cartoonish, or was your reality mended in with the cartoon?

It doesn't help that you feel an odd sense of familiarity. You have never met him, you are sure of that. If you ever met someone like him, you are sure you won't forget such a peculiar person who has those goggles. Maybe it's a simple deja vu because of his stature and the coats? Maybe, maybe.

"Hello, 003." Now, he finally speaks: his voice sounds calm, but there are small trembles as if he's holding something back. "I am Dr. Ujiko Daruma. I will be helping you learn a lot of things from now on."

You tilt your head, the somnolence slowly leaving your system. There was no need for him to introduce himself, but okay then. It's not like you know who he is just from his name and looks alone (despite knowing a lot of doctors in your previous life). So you know that there's a chance and he isn't aware of who you are, too, which is good.

You don't want to go back to your home just yet. Everyone will question you, and you are not ready for it.

He's still staring. You noticed it seems like he is waiting for your response more than anything.

You pull back your head, straightening your form. Out of politeness, you keep up your smile, slightly widening to the point the edges of your eyes crinkle at him. "Okay." Too many words will cause unnecessary problems. It'll be embarrassing if you slip on your tongue because you want to say such long words like, 'pleased to meet you' or something.

Dr. Ujiko luckily looks decently satisfied with your reply. "Good. I'll have the others bring the books, then." He walks over to you. Just when he stands in front of you, he slowly lowers his body, sitting in a cross-leg position in front of you. "Now, let's start sitting like this first. Seiza hurts."

You blink your eyes once.

You don't really get scientists sometimes.

You follow his instruction nonetheless, standing up and then lowering your body, crossing your legs as you sit down, the numbness in them slowly decreasing (you forgot how odd seiza feels when your body wasn't used to it).

At this time, you don't know you are one year old when you first met Dr. Ujiko Daruma.

And it will take you a short time to even realize what kind of world you live in now and comprehend everything.

Chapter Text

Dr. Ujiko is pleasant company to be around, or maybe there isn't any other companion other than him for these past few weeks—or months, so you get used to his presence quickly. He's professional and obvious with his intentions of testing you out, but he's still nice, he doesn't harshly force you to do the things he wanted like those evil scientists in the movie.

"Now, our favorite, you can do something as simple as this right?" He shows you three blocks of different shapes and three rectangle blocks with empty centers of different shapes.

Ah, it doesn't take you long to know what it is. You remember when you were younger, you had seen your mother having this kind of thing with her.

You stay quiet and nod. Here, you play the role of a quiet and good child, obeying every single command given to you. Then, moving on your own, you take each block and placed it where they supposed to be, fitting the empty center every single time.

Dr. Ujiko seems to be delighted by your small actions, a wide smile overtaking his features as he gives you a pat on the head. "Good, good! You're a smart child, young one. I'm sure the Head Researcher will be proud of you, too." He praises you.

"Thank you." Accepting his head pats, you give a small yet noticeable smile at him.

Head Researcher. The one he just mentioned is someone who contributes the most points to your tests, the one who only showed up once in front of you when you were still stuck in the water-filled giant bottle. Even after you were put in this room, she never once showed herself again, only her voice was heard through the speakers.

You are not close to her, never was, but it seems like she's just like any parent, proud of the masterpiece she's created by her own hands.

Dr. Ujiko keeps up his wide smile, it even looks brighter after you expressed your gratitude as he pulls his hand away from you. "Now that we've finished our little test, I have a present for you, young one."

Tilting your head, you scrunch your eyebrows in confusion. "What is it...?"

"This." Pulling out a sheet of paper from his back and a pack of crayons, Dr. Ujiko hands out the two items to your lap. "Children like you need creativity, and the Head Researcher herself approved so no need to worry! You can draw whatever you want on this sheet. Ah, make sure don't eat the crayons and don't lick your fingers—"

 The Doctor starts to go on a small ramble as he keeps giving you instructions.

Feeling slightly warmed up at the actions, you only reply to his ramblings with a small smile—the twinkles in your eyes already telling enough of this childhood happiness of yours.

***

You don't know what's the difference between the researches and the parents from your previous body, life, incarnation, or whatever is it called.

They have the same motive, wanting to raise you to become a great person in the future. But the big difference is, the researchers raised you as an experiment, while your mother raised you as a daughter. In this case, you should have missed your mother, you should have gotten uncomfortable from the researchers' nonchalance towards you compares to your mother's sweet praises. It's only natural, right?

...Why do I feel so warm in here? You continue to draw on the sheet with your crayon, blending the colors of red, orange, and yellow like a sunset.

It has been yet another long time since you were gifted with the crayons. You don't know how long, you didn't count, and there were never signs of how long you'd spent in this empty room, but it's okay, all you know is that it has been a long time to the point you were taught Hiragana and Katakana letters by one of the researchers. At least, you know that you are able to speak clearer aside from the difficult words, and how your tongue slips from time to time. But you're satisfied.

The researchers are quiet around you, only a few of them actually tried to talk to you. The interactions are nothing more than them patting your head or praising your abilities. It's almost the same as the situation with your parents. But it's weird to know that you've never indulged too much in their praises, never feeling pressured to do better. It's unlike you in the past.

If it was your mother who praised you ever so sweetly, you would feel a sense of responsibility to do better, to at least keep up your amazing performances. But their praises are in contrast, nothing more than a few words and small, proud smiles, it's all of the minimum efforts (that's how your mother would comment on it). But, it's better that way, it sounds like they never expect the best of you, no matter how consistently amazing your results are.

It makes you feel like it's okay if you fail once in a while.

"Three." The Head Researcher calls out to you through the speakers. "Have anyone taught you to blend colors like that?" Her tone sounds like a mix of fascination and confusion as if noticing your artistic talent just now.

You shake your head. "No, but the pictures in the back of the container showed me." You take the crayon container, showing the back of it, there are indeed small pictures of colors blending together. That's a good way to make an excuse since you remember the first time you tried to blend, you followed the instructions like that.

Why does this world seem to be impressed at this kind of display? Back when you were younger, your mother said it's only natural to follow the instructions.

"I see. That's good. Your perceptiveness is something that anyone would appreciate." The Head Researcher praised you, seemingly more than pleased with your answer. "Well then, you're free to continue. The test will be paused for today, you can do it tomorrow. Today, you can focus on your drawing."

Huh.

An odd way to be given a break. Your eyes stay staring at the camera and speaker, not wanting to tear your eyes off of them just yet. You thought that you needed to do something better, something more amazing to be given a break, but it seems like this is all it takes.

Maybe it's because I'm younger and more isolated, so they think it's a good thing that a young child is able to do this without adults' guidance. You conclude, realizing a logical answer for their behavior, it's a perfect fit. You nod at the devices. "Thank you, Head Researcher."

"It's my pleasure."

As you continue to draw on the sheet, a small smile takes over your feature.

You are in an empty room, isolated with no one here, but you are more than satisfied with this kind of environment. You don't know why, but it's okay.

I'm grateful to everyone here.

***

The Head Researcher has always been fascinated by a certain experiment of hers. To be honest, she was curious, what makes this one so different from the previous failed experiments? Her attitude and mannerisms to others? The way she absorbed everything like a sponge? Subject 003 is truly her definition of perfection.

Polite to a fault despite no one teaching her manners, a cheery child who perfectly blends with humans but is not a brat, it's almost chilling how a homunculus like her acts too much like a human. Even if the small, obvious indifference of hers makes it obvious that she isn't simply a mature child, hinting at her inhuman nature.

"Subject 003 is perfection," she mutters under her breath, looking through the camera on you who are busy drawing on the sheet. "Creative yet logical, polite yet cheerful, smart yet humble. No need to focus on her intelligence, we can just skip straight to her Quirk training and she'll absorb it perfectly fine."

Only for a few years, and she can already see fruition from this one particular subject.

Her not-so-partner nods beside her, already knowing of the said subject's brightness beforehand. "She is indeed a bright one, as much as I want to focus on her Quirk training as well, she has yet to show signs of manifesting her Quirk despite the various DNA we've injected in her."

The group of researchers strongly believes in how Quirk marriages could make a mess out of the future generation's Quirks, where the Quirk itself would be too strong and the user's body wouldn't be able to handle it should it get the wrong body form from one of their parents. That's why, this kind of experiment has come into plan.

The majority of them knew that it was wrong to practice on human beings. But to know how to fit a Quirk on the perfect and matching body, they need to test it out. Injecting one self-made living being with various DNA of people with related Quirks won't count as a human experiment, they justify it in their heads because the experiment subject itself isn't a human. The DNA itself is taken from people who are, and some were, alive with their consent, even if they were a tiny bit lying to those people.

The first one was a total fail, the body being unable to handle the combined Quirks when its Quirk first manifested, it's a shame that the first seemed smart. The second one was close, very close if it wasn't for the lack of intelligence in handling its Quirk that ended up destroying its body.

There comes the third one, you, who seems to be a perfect match with your mannerism and intelligence. You definitely can handle yourself should your Quirk manifest, you will know how to use it to your advantage and control it as you want. They took proper care of you, so they know your body won't break. All of the DNA are proportioned perfectly, with no imbalance at all, everything perfectly balanced each other that there should be no error in your Quirk malfunctioning.

Still, drawbacks, and drawbacks are different things.

The Head Researcher lets out a long sigh, now her attention is on what to do with your drawbacks. "Dr. Ujiko, you know I took a lot of other people's DNA for Subject 003, right?"

Dr. Ujiko nods, knowing perfectly well the numbers. "Yes. Is there something you're worrying about? The fact that she might be filled with them?"

"No, no," she shakes her head in reply. "The drawbacks, some of them have different drawbacks with each other, hence I'm a bit worried if the drawbacks will be too excessive that she can't unleash her full potential, knowing perfectly well of the dire consequences."

"I see." Dr. Ujiko realizes her worries. "She is made to be a logical thinker, so she won't act recklessly, but that's what's flawed about her when we need her to experiment on her Quirk."

The Head Researcher nods, and crossing her arms she does. "The least I can do is to make drugs that can lessen her drawbacks. But first, I need her to awaken her Quirk." She gazes back to the display of you who had just finished drawing. Though, she can't clearly see what you're drawing.

There's a terrible chance that you may gain all of their drawbacks, which means the experiment this time will be useless. In the past, she might have given up. But now that she has such a perfect experiment, a perfect vessel to fulfill her and others' curiosity, she can't simply sacrifice you and give up that easily.

Not when you showed such amazing potential.

"I shall help you, M'lady." Dr. Ujiko replies in a light-hearted tone, crossing his arm over his chest, looking like a devoted follower.

He may have not been close with this particular group of researchers, but for All For One, he would try to test out any kind of possibilities. Now that such a person with a thousand possibilities have happened, he can't let this opportunity fades out of sight.

When Subject 003 has a perfect understanding of her Quirk, he will serve her to him.

For now, he'll watch and help, nurturing her, pleasing her, acting like a parental figure to help her grow, so she can properly grow to be a worthy vessel, a worthy part of All For One.

The image of his son passes by him.

He lets out a scoff, he has no need to compare the two, sentimental feelings aren't needed for both his son and his experimental subject. He needs to focus on his objective, doing what he can to please All For One, that's all he needed, and that's all he ever wanted.

There is no need to get attached.

***

Click.

The sound of the door being opened made you lift your head from the floor, deciding to turn your head away to the door that was being opened, showing Dr. Ujiko and a small child, seemingly a bit older than you, entering the room.

Dr. Ujiko seems to smile, probably noticing the confusion in your eyes. "You must have been confused, dear one." He speaks, pulling the child—boy, whoever it is close to you.

Like usual, Dr. Ujiko sits in front of you, and the child in front of you follows, his lips quivering and eyes directed at the floor instead of looking at you in the eye.

You nod at his words, eyes flickering at the boy beside the Doctor. His hair is messy, akin to a bush, with the color of light blue. You can't see his eyes that well, so you can't conclude. But from bits of his skin that are exposed, you can see how pale he is, almost like a sick child. "...Who is he?"

At your question, the boys seem to flinch, almost like he's afraid of you.

Suddenly, you remember having a younger sister.

It's weird, remembering that there's a part of your past family that doesn't linger like a lesson. You remember your parents' praises and suggestions, you remember how their words push you to be better and better, to make sure you don't repeat the same mistakes, to make sure you stand above every other person to guarantee a successful person.

Maybe it's because of their words that push you to forget any other thing, including your own sister. It's a shame, indeed, to accidentally repress the memories of your younger sister.

What was she like? You remember she was quiet... Other than that, none. The child in front of you acts like her when she was much younger. Maybe that's why you're suddenly reminded of her image.

You try to recall any memories of your interaction. The memories that come the most were from your childhood, the Middle School and High School days being close to none due to the lack of interaction, or maybe your memories are bad enough to not want to remember them.

"My apologies for scaring you, but he'll be your playmate from now on." Dr. Ujiko wraps his hand around the young boy's shoulders, is he his child? Probably not, considering the difference in their features. It's probably another child he needs to take care of. "His name is Tomura. How was it? Is it a cute name?"

Tomura. Tomura. Tomura.

Ah, you remember now.

My Hero Academia is a popular manga that even you know of its existence and outline, a manga that your younger sister used to like, one that develops into an anime until it gets its own movies. Of course, of course. Maybe it's a joke because your sister loved it so much, that the Gods above thought that it would be fun to throw you into a fictional world that she loves so much.

You remember your sister invited you to watch a movie about it together.

And you remember how she died the exact same day.

Her death at 17 years old isn't the topic that easily reminded you, knowing how little are you involved in her life. If anything, have your parents cared for her as they did for you? Did they give her the love she needed? You try to recall.

Maybe they did, maybe they did. Her death wasn't that far from your attempted suicide, but saying that her death is what drives you to that is a mistake. You treasure her like the little sister she is to you, but to call you heavily attached to her is another mistake. Because if you are so attached to her, the sentimental part of your mind knows that trying to kill yourself after her death will be counted as the wrong thing to do.

Your parents won't have any more children to take care of, they won't have to take care of them in the future. But here you are, already starting a new life as a homunculus in a seemingly sci-fi world.

Bits of memories pass by your head, but you keep up your smile in front of them, feeling guilt from the past starts to gnaw in your chest. Dr. Ujiko, Tomura, of course, you remember then. The villains from one of her favorite series. Your mother will be disappointed if she knows how you forgot your own sister, you know. It shows how you're lacking in some aspects.

Your silence makes Dr. Ujiko chuckles a little. "I forgot we haven't taught you name meanings, maybe later. Now, Tomura, won't you lift your head and greet your new friend?"

Trembling, Tomura nods, still looking at the floor. Only a few seconds then that he starts to gather courage as he lifts his head, and through his long bangs you can see his red eyes, now knowing full well this isn't all isn't a coincidence. "...I'm Tomura."

Of course.

Your habit of covering up things with your smile takes over your mind like a wave. Naturally, you give him a picture-perfect smile, one that fits your child's face, yet one that radiates your delight. "Nice to meet you, Tomura. I'm Three." You introduce yourself, using the name the researchers call you by.

Is it revenge because you didn't care about her enough? Because you were so caught up in impressing your parents and people around your age that her presence became secondary to you?

If that's how it is, then I'll accept it. Your smile turns a little bit apologetic, and how Tomura keeps staring at you with hesitation in his eyes. "I'm sorry... Did I scare you?"

Tomura is much older than you, yet, it feels like you are the scary one in here. But it's fine, for a child, and for Tomura, interacting with someone probably isn't something he's used to.

Your mother would want you to keep up your smile, to be able to show how you're able to take care of others yet focus on your own growth. It's okay. Right now, you can be friends with him while still keeping up with the researchers' expectations.

Tomura stays quiet at your words, now opting to stare at the floor instead once again.

I need to show my seriousness, you think to yourself, one that doesn't make you seem suspicious. Now that you're in here, you should act the best that you can for others. Your mother wouldn't want you to do things half-hearted.

And so, you take one of his fingers, earning a flinch and him trying to pull away. But you resist, now using both of your hands, you pull his index finger close to you. "Tomura," you call out his name, pulling his finger slightly again to make catch his attention.

He looks up to you just slightly.

But that's all you need.

"Let's be good friends, okay?" Until I'm able to disappear from this world, too.

Chapter Text

If you are like any other children your age, you would have found Tomura to be quite the weird playmate. He always touches things carefully, only putting one or two fingers if necessary. In fact, forget about the fifth finger, he barely put four of his fingers whenever he's holding something.

Usually, it ends up with you doing the whole thing to entertain him. You are the younger one in here, yet it feels like you take the big sister role once more to yourself.

"Tomura, look. This is you." Holding up your now-finished drawing, you show Tomura your sketch of him that you've made with your pencil.

Tomura, like the child he is, stares at the drawing with wondering shimmers in his eyes through his long bangs. "...It's pretty."

You don't really know if the standard for drawing kids is lower or the same as your previous world. But maybe, the fact that you're drawing him is pleasant to his eyes. You give him a smile, grateful. "Thank you, I like drawing your eyes."

In a lot of anime, people always draw the characters' eyes so prettily too.

The older boy in front of you tilts his head in confusion, not understanding what you find so likable about his eyes. "My eyes?"

"Mhm." You hum in answer, putting your drawing back on the floor as you point your index finger at your own eye. "Your eyes are red like rubies. Pretty." Your words are to the point. Right now, you are still young, so you don't have to use big words that'll make him even more confused and accidentally twist your tongue. So this is enough.

Out of reflexes, he touches his eye, careful not to use all his five fingers. "Really?" He breathes out, looking you straight in the eye.

You smile, the same one that always comes naturally to you. "Of course, Tomura."

You are still two years old when you start to get closer to Tomura.

***

Through this whole year, or at least that's what the scientists have been telling you, Tomura remains your one and only company of the same age in your room. To be honest, you are quite glad that even if Tomura is supposedly at the age where he barely starts his new life after his whole family died, he doesn't seem to question anything.

It's a good thing that the scientists set up a schedule so it won't crash with Tomura's occasional visits to your room. They don't know how dangerous the boy will be in the future after all. It will be scary if they become interested in him as much as they're interested in you. You don't want to be the cause of the extension in the villain's arc.

"Three." Tomura calls out to you, and you look up from your usual thing to do (drawing), seeing him holding up his own drawing of someone. "It's you."

Oh.

I didn't recognize it... You thin your lips at the realization. You shouldn't have expected much from a child with no art education. But the effort he puts into this one drawing is good.

You scoot closer, trying to observe more of the drawing, and Tomura makes no attempt to stop or to avoid you, a result of one year of getting used to your presence. He really is drawing me, he highlights my most noticeable feature, although the expression could use some work. You nod to yourself, not liking how he draws your eyes and mouth with simple lines.

Does your face look ":)" all the time? It fits the word 'scary' more than friendly.

You offer him a small smile, and the edges of your eyes crinkle just a little so you can still view the drawing he made. "It's good." A subjective opinion, but here, you are supposedly nothing more than a child, you don't need to give an unnecessarily objective point of view of his drawing.

Tomura hides his face behind the drawing, making you unable to clearly see Tomura's expression. "...Thank you."

He must be awkward, you shrug it off, Tomura has always been a quiet and shy child in front of you, after all. Well, at least he's not staying quiet at your compliments like he usually did during your early meetings with each other.

You should feel grateful for the scientists who are nice enough to know that social interaction with a child your age (although Tomura is still years older) is needed. Well, you already are, so you suppose you can let it go.

"Tomura." You call out to him once, and the boy's defense mechanism seems to flatter as he lowers down the drawing, eyes staring right at yours. Seeing how he's ready for another interaction, you offer a question. "Can I save the drawing with me?"

It's a colorful drawing, compared to your white room that's akin to a torture room (though, now it's not that white since you have put your drawings on the wall to make it less blank). And, it's a drawing of you, it should be okay if you want to save it, right? And it's not like All For One will want to preserve the drawing either.

Tomura is quiet for a few seconds before holding out the drawing, his fingers loosely gripping the drawing, careful not to use all his five fingers and crumple the paper to dust. "Mhm," he hums.

With an ever-present smile on your face, you take the drawing to your hands, holding them, and observe it a little more, even if the drawing doesn't have any concealed messages in it. It's a child's drawing, your mother from your previous life would have adored something like this (in fact, you remember how she seems to adore everything you've made for her). So, you suppose liking this drawing won't be something disapproving?

Being drawn by only a close companion of yours, hidden from everyone's sight-and maybe, in the future, you'll be able to disappear, leaving nothing behind aside from childish memories, that sounds like a befitting life for you.

Even if in the future, the scientists will be found out for experimenting, maybe around the time Tomura has become childish enough, you will still be able to disappear-the government can't afford to let an enigma like you live. And as a result of being a homunculus, there will be no need for a funeral.

The empty yet fulfilling feelings in your chest rise up again, seemingly unable to wait until you can disappear, and the smile on your face becomes a tiny bit brighter if one is observant enough. "I'll treasure this," you speak, eyes looking at the drawing as if it's the rarest treasure you could find. It's a shame that your true mind is in a whole different place.

Ignoring Tomura's body language at your somewhat compliment, you lift your head to stare at the wall near you, seeing your drawings neatly being held up on the wall. "It'll take a while for Dr. Ujiko to hold it up..." You sigh.

Or other scientists in general. They usually need to go somewhere to get nails and a hammer, since bringing in sharp things is forbidden.

"Is Dr. Ujiko, Dr. Tsubasa?" Tomura asks, tilting his head to the side. To be honest, he has been hearing you referring to the doctor with a different alias, but he never asked before, it feels odd to know that the doctor who's taking care of him (somewhat) goes by a different name in a different place.

You nod. "Yes, the doctor with big glasses." Not knowing what else to say about his unique traits, you go with the large glasses that he always wears.

"Ooh." Tomura's mouth forms an 'o' now that he knows it's the same doctor that's been taking care of the both of you separately now.

It seems like the doctor is good with kids.

Suddenly, a theory goes around Tomura's head, a theory that is akin to an imagination that a child would always have with them. "Do you think... The doctor has a child?"

You try your best not to look dumbfounded.

***

Fortunately, after indulging Tomura on his questions about the doctor's child, the older boy seems satisfied with your answer, as if he approves that you are, in fact, a smart child who can keep up with his theory like some kind of proud older brother.

You hold his drawing in your hands as your eyes move to the wall once more. Tomura follows your gaze, though, his eyes are glued more to your drawings rather than the empty wall you've been eyeing.

You grip the drawing tight in your arms as you let out a faint sigh from your mouth. If only I can move the drawing to the wall... You move your gaze toward the drawing.

Then, before you can fully comprehend what's happening, a black, round portal with a size akin to your drawing appears underneath it, sucking it into its void. You blink your eyes a few times before lifting your head up, turning your head around to see where the drawing goes.

As you move your gaze round and round, your eyes stop when the same portal appears on the wall that you eyed before. Following your previous wish, the same drawing emerges from the wall where the portal is before it falls to the floor, unable to stay glued to the wall.

...What?

You stay silent, lips pursed at the view as the portal closes itself once more. Did you just make it happen? Or did one of the scientists did it for you? But considering that the drawing ends up falling to the floor, you don't think it's their doing. They don't like to do unnecessary things, after all, unless you vocalize your wishes out loud.

Tomura, too, has gone quiet when he saw the portal opening and closing. He simply stares at his drawing which has fallen from the floor, confused about how did something happened. He's pretty sure his Master isn't around. "Three. Is it your Quirk?" Getting a sharp idea of what happened, Tomura turns his head at you, wondering if it's actually your Quirk.

You open your mouth, but no words come out. You can't come to a conclusion so quickly, not when this world is too unpredictable. "...Maybe?" You offer an ambiguous answer, much unlike your usual self.

"It is." Suddenly, the speaker speaks out. "It's your Quirk, Subject 003. A quick inspection will undergo, along with tests to calculate the minimum and maximum capabilities of the current usage of your Quirk. Tomura: Dr. Tsubasa will come inside and bring you back with him. Understood?"

Knowing better than to fight back, Tomura just nods. He always has limited time to spend with you, and it's not that he minds since you will always have time every single day for him, according to the doctor's words. "Okay."

"Good." The speaker speaks one last time before turning off as if it's truly preparing for things that it exclaimed to take place.

You pull your knees close to you, hugging them as you stare at Tomura. "I'm sorry... Your drawing fell." You apologize. Who knew that wishing for something like this would cause a ruckus on the scientists' side?

"I can draw more." Tomura exclaims, opting to stare at the drawings you've made. "I'll draw more. Master will teach me how to draw more."

Knowing that Tomura is probably referring to All For One, you sigh quietly into your knees, hoping that you won't pique his interest or something. You want to stay in the past before canon starts, so you won't have any intertwined fates with people in the future.

I really need to disappear before canon starts, or at least, before the League of Villains has more recruits. You don't want to be affiliated with the League, not only that it will make you a criminal (something that your mother disapproves of), it'll get harder for you to disappear the way you want to.

Being interrogated by the heroes is quite scary, after all.

Moments later, you see how Dr. Ujiko-or Dr. Tsubasa, whatever he prefers, enters the room, a handful of scientists behind him as he gestures for Tomura to stand up. Tomura follows after his message, standing up before walking over to the said doctor.

Dr. Ujiko gives a nod to one of the scientists before start walking out of the room, not sparing a glance at you with Tomura walking behind him.

What a cold scientist. The Dr. Tsubasa persona is much nicer, a possibly high-achiever, a doctor who has a high position in his hospital. It makes you wonder why did he use that good persona in front of Tomura, maybe because he thought that Tomura was a child of the hospital? Oh, well, it's not like it's a business of yours.

You sit calmly as the scientists start to surround you, closing the door as they take out various papers, a syringe, pens, and many necessities needed for today.

"We should begin now," one of the scientists murmurs, taking hold of your arm as he rolls up your sleeve.

You put up the usual picture-perfect smile, hiding everything you have inside of you underneath the image of an obedient test subject. "Okay."

The tip of the needle enters, and you hold back a wince.

Apparently, you are three years old when your Quirk first awakened.

***

"Accuracy isn't guaranteed. We can't test how the maximum distance between the two portals she's made since she can only open a portal from a wall to an opposite wall as the destination. It seems like closed space might be a problem...? Or it's because of the lack of places she has explored." The Head Researcher murmurs, looking at the reports.

Your room size is 5 x 10 in meters, it's not much, but being able to materialize portals with a distance of an average of 10 meters from one another is good enough for a child who has just manifested your Quirk. Not to mention, you did it carefully, unlike the previous test subjects.

She looks at your data, looking at the list of names who contributed to your DNA. She should check them out in a more detailed manner, what the drawbacks of their Quirks are, and how are they supposed to work now that you have manifested a Quirk that's close to their idealism.

"Hey." The Head Researcher looks over to one of the scientists, handing out the small stack of papers at them. "Search for their Quirks' drawbacks and how are they used. We can't afford to make one single mistake now that Subject 003 has manifested her Quirk," she commands.

All she knows about those people are the fact that they have spatial-related Quirks, ones they try to combine into one. But knowing only a gist of those Quirks can be a problem.

One is able to have an inventory inside the host's body, another one is able to make a portal to the size of the host's body as a maximum medium, and another one is only able to manifest a portal on the objects he touches with his feet and hands, and many other related Quirks who are almost insignificant to note.

Those Quirks are useless as a singular, but if we combine them into one, they'll be powerful, powerful enough that we may have a chance to transcend this world. She does not aim for world domination, nor do the other scientists, but to have such power in their hands certainly will bring satisfaction to many.

"Our masterpiece," she whispers lovingly as she looks at the CCTV screen, looking at how you start to use your Quirk occasionally out of childlike wonder. "We are proud to have you," genuine praise for their one and only successful subject.

A sick adoration that comes out from mere success.

The Head Researcher sighs. Oh, how she can't wait for this masterpiece of theirs to grow up into the perfect person. Maybe she should try raising you into a human? You would totally look adorable busting other kids with your intellect and power.

Such a shame that it's too risky of a plan.

She shakes her head in resignation.

***

Searching for the six people in your DNA is more tiring than the scientist thought it would be. They all may live in the same country, but some of them are scattered throughout the regions.

Right now, the nameless scientist standing before a hospital room where one of the people who contributed to your DNA resides, holding a brown document envelope in his hands that is filled with your file and the contributors' files.

Knock! Knock!

He knocks on the door twice, calling out the contributor's name before he opens the door, silently whispering an 'excuse me' as he enters and closes the door behind him.

As he enters, he's greeted by the sight of a smiling woman who's sitting on the hospital bed: the last of the contributor that he needs to visit.

For a second, the scientist stays still at her smile, blinking furiously as he gets flashbacks from the woman's smile, shivers intruding his senses. The edges of her lips rose up perfectly, not too wide but visible enough that people can detect it as a smile. The edge of her eyes crinkles, but not to the point that her eyes are closed. The smile is almost warm if the woman in front of him is young enough.

He gets reminded of how you, a test subject, used to smile. It's almost chilling at the precision of both of your smiles.

Weird. She's just one of the contributors, yet she feels so similar to you. Maybe it's because she's the only woman contributor? Maybe that's it. The scientist nods, taking hold of himself. It may be weird, to see someone so similar to the test subject, but it's none of his business.

He should focus on getting her data for now. That's all he needs to do. Getting distracted by a mere similarity will cause unnecessary problems.

He processes the business with the woman: unexpectedly smooth without raising any suspicion, or maybe, she's simply too kind and trusting of him (looking at how she donated a lot of her blood for something she didn't even know about contributes to this theory).

He finds her to be quite pleasant company, too. The thoughts of the similarity between you and her slowly fade away from his head as he starts to get immersed in unnecessary conversations. Her smile is warm, it can get wider whenever he cracks jokes, and the way she exclaims that it's okay if she doesn't need to know what were they doing, so long as she's doing a good job.

"Oh my-" The woman coughs into her hand, surprising him. She reaches out for the glass of water next to her, only to find out that it's empty. "I'm sorry- Can you, please, bring a glass of water?"

Without questioning her one bit, the scientist stands up, taking the empty glass with him as he hurries up. "I'll get one quickly, wait." Despite his calm words, worries laced to his voice as he gets out of the hospital room, slamming the door shut behind him.

As the door to her room shuts, the woman lowers down her hand to her lap, eyes empty as she gazes at the brown document envelope on the chair.

Like she isn't invading anyone's privacy, she puts her hand on the envelope, opening it casually as she takes out papers from the envelope, seeing her own data on it but paying no mind.

As she shifts the papers, gazing with boredom through people's information, she finds herself stopping when the last paper of a little girl appears: Subject 003. Her eyes scan from the top to the bottom, seeing how her name has the highest percentage in this little girl's paper for whatever reason it may have (though, despite being a harmless civilian, she has a gist of what's going on).

She smiles at the paper, eyes calculating everything as if she wants to memorize everything she can about this little girl she's never met yet seems so similar.

With that, she puts back the papers, careful not to mess up the orders before she places back the brown document envelope on the chair. As if nothing happened, she puts her hand back to cover her mouth, coughing as her facial expression turns into a pained one.

Seconds later, the same scientist enters the room, a glass of water in his hand. The rush in his steps is obvious, and seeing how small drops of water appear around the glass, it's obvious that he's a bit clumsy.

The woman smiles weakly as she accepts the glass of water before drinking it in almost one gulp.

The moment the scientist leaves her room, she'll make sure to not let him be, not when she sees a child so similar to her as an experiment.

She isn't interested in getting too close to the laws, nor is she interested in joining the dark side (criminals are terrible, after all). But she supposes, just this one time, she should call a Hero just in a case.

Because, if you are her child, somewhat, she needs to make sure to get back what's supposed to be hers. Not getting locked up as an experiment. She needs to make sure this Subject 003 will have a bright future instead.

She sighs into the empty cup of water. Isn't she such a savior? Saving a child from an experiment, the heroes' side should be lucky that she feels this way, or else she might have let the child be.

Somewhere, in your room, you feel yourself keep waking up in the middle of your nap, staring at the white ceiling with a faint, confused frown decorating your face. You never remember having a dream, but whatever feeling this is, you feel much emptier than before.

Chapter Text

Your Quirk is Area Space Manipulation, well, as the scientists would like to call it. It's a mouthful, but you can see why they gave it such a specific name. You're allowed to manipulate space around an object or a substance of your choice, as of now, you can only open up what you'd like to call portals that interject with one another.

I can't open up various portals that lead to different locations. You conclude as you try to open up another set of portals that have a different start and end from the currently opened one. It's either that's the limit or you have yet to grow out of this beginner phase.

Ever since you first awakened your Quirk, you have been trained in isolation. Although your room remains the same, the routine has changed almost entirely. What usually was just you studying and drawing take a turn to study and figure out your Quirk, it's just your luck both of them aren't overbearing to the point you feel heavy doing all of them.

You're just an experiment, and they're all just the scientists in your development.

Father and Mother are much closer, they take care of me better. Your gaze turns vacant when you open up a portal and its interjection, swallowing up an object that the scientists used as your target to use your Quirk on. Yet, somehow, it feels more comfortable in here.

The feeling of not having to be the best, but just do whatever you can to remain just above the passing grade is a light one.

The heavy feelings of having to pass their expectations are still there, but maybe because everything you did came so smoothly at you, the ringing in your ears, or the repeated reminders of your old failures start to get just a little fainter.

***

"She truly is perfect." The Head Scientist mutters under her breath, amazed at the results of the Quirk training that has just continued for the past few days. Of course, she tried to give you a perfect balance of relaxing and training so you would be in your best condition, but to think you can execute your powers so cleanly...

If this was a game, you would be considered a cheat.

The ability to conjure a wave-like matter around that's used to manipulate the space around you. Teleportation itself is already a rare Quirk, but for you to have even an extension of it? That's too wonderful.

You can trap people inside your space, although you said that you feel like you want to vomit whenever you're trapping one of the scientists inside your space. But apparently, trapping yourself inside it isn't a problem at all, which makes it a good choice for a hiding place.

Her Quirk is perfect with a short-ranged combatant. She hums at the thought, with the right timing, every time you have a combat with someone, everything that tries to hit you can easily be teleported outside you, making you nearly invincible unless someone caught you off-guard.

She looks back at you who's still being monitored.

Right now, you are playing around with your Quirk, probably finding it entertaining which is how you keep teleporting a certain painting all over the place with your power. She's surprised that you still have the energy to use your Quirk, considering they've never bothered with your physical education, but she supposes you're still a kid in the heart.

Not that you're a true human, though.

To be perfectly capable of acting like a normal child while executing precise control over a recently awakened Quirk. If it wasn't for the fact that she was the one who raised you, she would think of you as such a perfect child actress. In fact, the way you act reminds her of someone.

Your parents... Should she even call them that? They're all just donors. Well, from what she's learned, they've all shown different personality traits from you, except for one person.

Solemn, charismatic, polite. Three words that seem to bear the most similarities between both of you; the perfect test subject and the most similar donor. Although your interactions are limited to the scientists and the child that the doctor brought, she can see how easily you place yourself in these interactions. High social awareness for someone who's barely exposed to interactions.

As for the donor... The Head Scientist's eyes wander to the papers of observation made by one of the members who went as far as interacting with all of the donors just to get their information. She takes one of the papers of the donors, one who's most similar to you.

She's a woman in her middle twenties, her Quirk is the ability to generate heat from a wave-like matter space in her hands. It's not an amazing ability, but if cultivated, it can transform into a strong Quirk in combat. It's quite unfortunate that the said woman seems to never have her eyes on heroics, based on her history of education.

Went to private schools, scholarships, and various academic achievements. The Head Scientist merely lets out an amused hum at the data, although this is something that people would be surprised by, she isn't all that surprised, she's a scientist, and she has gone through further knowledge of whatever competitions your donor has gone.

However, that doesn't mean that she feels like the woman is a normal one. Based on her history and her current job, she has been living a fulfilling life since she was a child, how did someone like her end up being one of the donors? What if your donor found out that there's something wrong? It may have been three years, she can't help but feel suspicious.

Most of the donors were people who were desperate for money or any form of salvation, with that kind of desperation, it's easy to gain their trust and silence, even if she never went into full details about what she's going to do with their blood.

"I should consider double-checking on that woman, too." Yeah, she's decided.

***

A few months passed in the blink of an eye. If it wasn't because of the calendar and the scientists that remind you it has been four years since you were taken care of them, you would have forgotten already.

It also means that it has been a year ever since you found out about your Quirk, a manifestation of various similar Quirks mixed into one. For you who has never had a Quirk before, it takes you just a short time to get used to it, or maybe it's because you're a fast learner, that's what your parents liked to call you in the past, after all.

"...Where's Tomura?"

"He's busy."

And today also marks a few months since you've last seen Tomura.

Tomura is the only company you have in this isolated room that isn't an adult. As comfortable as you are interacting with them, it's much easier to talk with Tomura and initiate new ideas that both of you can try out.

But ever since you got your Quirk, the time you spent with Tomura has gotten lesser and lesser to the point you just stopped seeing him altogether. Although your friendship isn't something you'd like to call genuine from your side, you can see the childlike wonders in his eyes whenever you try out new activities together.

In a way, maybe it's because you were reminded of your little sister in the past.

He's much older than you, how can he remind you of your little sister? Maybe you're reading too much into it because of how much she likes reading manga. Ah, you should really leave your past life out of this.

But I guess, since Tomura, or maybe All For One himself, isn't interested in me, there's no reason for me to try anymore. "Okay." You nod at the explanation given by the scientist who's currently taking care of you for today.

You don't need to worry about leaving a mark on your existence, you don't need to worry about the impact you will cause.

The scientist seems satisfied at your compliant attitude, well unbeknownst to how much attention he paid to you, he knows that you've always been such a well-mannered kid, but it's still a great sight for him to see a kid not crying or screaming like they usually do. If only you weren't an experiment, you would have been a perfect child.

"Well then, I'll be leaving now, Three." He tugs his board closer to his side, offering you a pleasant smile.

Just like that, he turns his back on you before he starts walking out of the room, seemingly in a happy mood.

You, who are oblivious to what he's been thinking about, just blink your eyes a few times at his back before he shuts the door behind him with a soft click.

These days, everyone seems to get more and more pleased with you, and sometimes even before you start your daily Quirk training.

Whatever he prefers, I guess.

You look over to the floor underneath you, and in an instant, a portal appears, following your command as you let yourself fall inside it.

After entering the portal, you aren't surprised when your vision is enveloped in darkness, you haven't opened up another portal for you to get out, after all. However, if it was anyone else, they would probably be scared by how dark the space they got into.

Your space.

One of the abilities of your Quirk, is when only one portal is opened and there is no destination portal, any object that gets sucked into this will only be able to see this endless darkness, even if there's a flashlight, there is really no end to this darkness.

In this space, there's nothing much for you to do. You can run as much as you want, sleep as much as you want, and there will still be nothing that you can do. From what you've learned, time spent inside this space is the same as usual, and you would still get hungry and thirsty, so this place is nothing better than a hiding place for you.

If I run around here, nothing will happen to me. You look around, each piece of scenery is the same, not that you're surprised. But if someone were to run around this space, I would get nauseous and dizzy.

The space acts like your body, in a way, it can handle a lot of things, enough for your bed to enter though. But when you put the scientists or animals in there, you mostly get nauseous and dizzy, so it's pretty easy to deduce that your space can't handle things that move around a lot.

Let's just go back. You summon a portal underneath your feet once more, feeling how you fall down through it.

The darkness is immediately replaced by the shifting sight of your room as you fall to the floor softly, not fumbling or falling like a clumsy kid, which you are grateful for.

You take a deep breath when you get back to your room. You managed to do this kind of thing every single time, you wonder when will the experiment difficulty upgraded since you've done these basic uses of your Quirk.

You look at the floor, ignoring how your eyes start to get cloudy as you start to be immersed in your thoughts.

A powerful Quirk, one comparable to Kurogiri. Even if you don't know the true extent of your Quirk, the fact that you can teleport itself with your portals is already something groundbreaking. I've met Dr. Ujiko and Tomura already, but I still don't know why they went so far to have me as his company. Although everyone here is kind, I still don't know what my purpose in here.

Were you supposed to be a Nomu? All you know is that your birth already determined that you are somewhat tied to the villains' side. It's not something that you mind, but that will bring an obvious change to the story, and you are nothing more than an experiment who luckily has the memories of your past life.

It'd be nice if I just turn to be another failure before everything starts.

***

Recently graduated from a prestigious Hero School, Kamihara Shinya would've never thought that he, out of all people, would be dragged to carry out a secret invasion with many experienced Heroes. Then again, his Quirk is something that's good for surprise attacks.

He looks at the file of the person that's supposed to search for them.

Name: [Last Name] [Name]

Age: 4 years old (Estimation)

Quirk: —

Then followed by a long note more about [Last Name] [Name].

Apparently, prior to this invasion, someone had secretly reported to a Pro Hero about the existence of a child experiment that kidnapped her daughter. From what he's seen, the said kid seems to be planning to be used somewhat because of her mother's Quirk which is the ability to manipulate the space around her, although her power is rather underwhelming, if she has been a Pro Hero, Shinya would know various techniques she could have developed her Quirk.

That woman... Shinya recalls her once again. Her composure is something he should applaud for, her report about the chronology is good and arranged, so it's easy to know what happened before and after certain incidents and how long this could have gone on.

A mature demeanor, a polite smile reaching her eyes that were colored with gratitude when she thanked the people around her, and how quickly everyone got immersed in her way of presenting her story. If she was a Hero student, he was sure a lot of his classmates would immediately fall for her.

"As expected, Heroes are quick on their feet. I am more than relieved to know that a lot of people are willing to help me find my daughter. I wish all of you the best of luck."

Despite how calm the way she speaks, Shinya can't forget the hidden intense expectations in her eyes, it's like those teachers who are so used to overachiever students that they don't expect anything less from them.

Let's not think about it... He shakes his head. No matter how graceful and kind she has been, she's still a civilian, so it's no wonder for her to place expectations on Heroes.

His gaze focuses back on the paper in his hand. [Last Name] [Name], I hope you're safe there, kid. Your mother is in a lot of worry after all.

***

You cough out blood to the floor.

It has been a few weeks ever since you finished doing the basic training of your Quirk. Right now, you have been getting used to opening up interjected portals with short intervals, although it's not that short to the point that people wouldn't notice that you can't open up another portal.

So far, you have good control at opening up the portal, making you fall to your space, and quickly open up a portal in your space with a new destination while closing your entrance portal.

Although it's unnecessary since you can just open up a pair of portals that are interjected with one another, the scientists claim that opening up a portal to your space and then to a new location, gives a surprise element if you use it.

Now that you've come to test the limit of your Quirk, you've been told to place some people in your space for a while, one of the hardest things to do because of how quickly your drawbacks come at you.

Because of this command, you let three scientists enter your space and let them fall into your portal. Luckily, because they're the most active people in pursuing more knowledge about your portal and have been inside your portal a few times, they don't question you.

At first, everything went well, but maybe because it's an order from the Head Scientist, they made a ruckus in your space to the point that right now, your ears are ringing and your stomach feels like blowing up.

You can't see what they're doing, but it seems like a few actions are connected to certain parts of your body made you can feel it to an extent.

You cover your ears, the ringings are too loud. Did one of them shout so loudly that your ears can't handle it?

I've passed the basics, but passing my limit is still hard. You think to yourself, coughing out more blood as you let your body fall to the floor.

Thud.

You hold your stomach, ignoring the ringing in your ears. Ah, should you hold back a little more? Maybe this can prove that you're a failure—

"Three. Stop." The Head Scientist's voice rings throughout the room the moment the negative thoughts almost overwhelm your mind.

As if it's an automatic response, a portal opens up in the air not too far away from you, and all three scientists fall out of it, landing on top of the floor perfectly fine.

One of the scientists heaves out a sigh of relief as he lands, glad that he doesn't need to stay for long in that dark space (with his co-workers, nonetheless).

His eyes move around the room to see where you are—and he quickly chokes in his spit when he sees you lying down, a small pool of blood beside your head. "What happened, Head Scientist?!" He points to your unmoving figure as his eyes move to the speaker in the room.

"Three overused her Quirk, maybe she overestimated herself." The Head Scientist's tone is as stoic as ever when she answers him. Of course, this is not the first time that you coughed out blood from overusing your Quirk, so she gets the gist of how your drawback impacts your body.

Because of the space that acted as your body, whenever someone intends to mess up the space by running around or hitting the invisible floors, or any other things to bring harm, your internal body would feel the impact. It's not to the point that your organs would be damaged, but it's enough to hurt you.

Still... You were a bit stubborn this time, were you determined to surpass your limits? The Head Scientist wonders. You're a mature child, or an experiment in this subject, so you've been easy to handle these past four years, but seeing that you developed a sense of stubbornness after all these years is a bit unpredictable.

Was she trying to prove herself to us? The Head Scientist hums when she tries to think of an answer to your behavior.

Emotions are unpredictable, no matter how much time she's spent with you, she doubts that she can think of anything to reason with your minuscule change in behavior. But then again, it's not like you're going to die or heavily damage your body, so she doesn't need to worry.

Her eyes move to the monitors, she sees how the scientist who has just questioned her lifts your small body into his hands. Although she can't see his emotions clearly because his back is facing the camera, she can feel the concern he radiates from where he is.

Unnecessary affection.

She watches the monitors with a disinterested gaze, once again seeing how he places you on top of your bed and wipes the blood around your face with his handkerchief.

If she can be honest, she doesn't really remember who he was, but he keeps doing these unnecessary things that are laced with affection. If he gets so attached easily to the test subjects, it'll be hard if you lose your life during experiments one day.

He wasn't this attached to the previous test subjects, though. The Head Scientist recalls as she crosses her hands, unlike when it's with you, she doesn't remember if he's ever this close with the previous ones. Does he have a soft spot for young girls? That sounds a little creepy.

Well, if he does weird things, she can just kick him out, she has more than enough co-workers to replace him, and even if she doesn't, she'll just do it herself.

For now, all she's going to do is watch over you and improve your usage of your Quirk. It will be fine if it needs years for you to perfect it and use it to your advantage, as long as you don't mess up on your way there.

"An experiment? That'll be good, especially based on spatial Quirks users. I'll wait for how useful that test subject will be for our master."

She sighs.

It's quite unfortunate that she can't keep you here forever.

Chapter Text

You're exhausted, extremely so.

You let out heavy pants. Every inch of your body hurts too much, whether it's from the overuse of your Quirk or the extreme training that's been continued for the past few days.

It's only been almost two years ever since you got your Quirk, yet it seems like they're scared that you'll disappear before they manage to learn more about your Quirk.

You gaze at the faint burn marks in your palms as one of the scientists treats it. Despite the piercing coldness of the disinfectant, you don't flinch, too occupied with the thoughts swirling inside you.

Five years old. That's your current age based on what the scientists told you.

With time passing by in the blink of an eye, you started to focus on the training that everyone has given to you. No matter how much you crave to disappear, the feeling of indebtedness towards them holds you back—after all, you got into this situation because you ran away from your responsibilities.

Rather than reincarnating and starting everything from once again, you prefer to end it all.

"—And done." The scientist's voice pops you out of your daydream, and your eyes focus back to your palms which now have bandages wrapped over them tightly.

Noticing your seemingly blank state, the scientist offers a friendly smile at you. "Did it hurt, Three?"

Out of habit, you reflect his smile with one of your own as you shake your head. "It doesn't hurt." You curve your smile, turning your eyes into crescent moons. "Thank you for treating my injury."

He's one of the newer scientists, you noticed. With slightly messy hair that fits perfectly fine with his wave-shaped hair and round, thin-framed glasses, you would have thought of him as a college student rather than a scientist if it wasn't for the lab coat that he wears.

After all these years of spending time within this small space, you came to memorize those who came from time to time. Some of the older ones who were there when Tomura visited no longer showed up, while those who seemed to be close associates with the Head Scientist started to lessen their visits towards you. It's only recently that new scientists came to take care of you, fairly younger too, so they're much more friendly.

The Head Scientist doesn't mind it either, so it should be fine if I interact with them. You justify your action in the back of your head—and so, your gaze is focused on the scientist's reaction.

He has his mouth agape at you, and as inexperienced as you are, you are unable to conclude the glint in his eyes nor the faint crease of his forehead other than confusion.

"Oh—" He cuts his own mouth before fumbling over his next words. "I see, yeah—I mean, you're welcome, kid." Turning his head away from you, you watch how he scratches the back of his neck.

...Kid? That's a new nickname. You tilt your head slightly at the new nickname you just gained. For someone who has a subject number as her name, and explicitly referred to as an experiment, it's odd to call you just a kid.

Now scientists are weird.

It seems like your reaction doesn't entertain him enough that when the scientist glances at you, he just lets out a sigh at your reaction.

"Since I already finished treating your injury, you should take a small break now." Standing up from his previous position, the scientist takes the medical kit into his hands as he looks down on you. "Don't overdo it."

He's an odd one. You blink your eyes at his last sentence—there's no need for him to say things like that. You're an experiment, an artificially made human—a homunculus—so there is no need for his worry. I guess he just adores kids and feels bad.

You watch his figure walk away from you, wondering how the Head Scientist is such a unique scientist.

I need to continue to live just to succeed and then disappear. But if I fail, then I can simply disappear. It's a win-win situation for you, after all, in the end, you got what you truly aimed for.

"Three? Are you ready?" Snapping you out of your daydreaming, you look up at the face of the same scientist from yesterday. It seems like he has a unique schedule compared to the others who come every two or three days.

You nod, smiling faintly as you raise your hands, getting ready for Quirk training once more. "Yes, I'm ready."

"Good." He nods at your reply. "Then, you can get started, remember to make it as hot as you can—and once you reach your limit, quickly turn off your Quirk." With that, he holds out a pair of infrared thermometers in front of your raised hands.

Semi-transculent swirls of space appear right in front of your palms—and as quick as they appear, you increase the intensity of the heat within them, concreating to focus on the heat, but not make a full-fledged portal.

An extension of your Quirk, something that you discovered when you were too weak to open up a full portal. Unlike a portal where it can transport things thrown at you, this extension does best at blocking attacks—when it first appeared, it worked like a wall.

But of course, it's not invicible. Since it's a half-assed portal that you made, its durability is incredibly low, and even until now, all you could hold off on was a punch and things thrown at you.

Then when one of the scientists used a knife and stabbed through the semi-portal, it broke past its defense, and your hand got stabbed right through.

At the recollection, you feel heat reaches your palms, and the moment you feel how quickly the heat goes up, you quickly turn off your Quirk.

I messed up my concentration. You thin your lips, it was just one of many mishaps, yet you already lost your concentration because of it.

"120° Celcius." The scientist mutters, looking at the thermometer result. "It upgraded by 8° last time, so it's a good thing. Do you remember the breakpoint of each temperature?"

You nod, the lesson when you first learned that your semi-space can heat itself resurfaced. "52° Celcius can cause full-thickness skin burn in 2 minutes and a temperature of 54° Celcius can result in a full-thickness skin burn in 30 seconds. By assuming that after each 2°, the seconds are divided by four, 120° can cause a full-thickness burn in 4.06576 multiplied by ten to the power of negative nineteen seconds."

"...Did they teach you the last part, too?" The scientist seems stunned by your calculation, maybe because he's new, he seems to be quite oblivious to your history.

They.

He speaks like he's not one of the scientists. Was he that shocked?

You shake your head at his question. "I was taught basic math, since division and powers of numbers are some of the fundamentals, I simply piece them together."

He throws you a look as if he's in disbelief. "You're a really smart kid..." As if not knowing what else to say, he makes some sort of dumbfounded statement.

Funny.

For once, a smile makes its way to your face without your assistance as you hold back small chuckles.

"Thank y—pfft—I'm sorry, I laughed out of nowhere." You cover your mouth with your hands as you tilt your face downwards, holding back your laugh.

You don't know what made it funny. After everything, it's so weird to laugh at someone's dumbfounded expression, but you can't help it. This new scientist acts so odd compared to the usual ones that took care of you, maybe that's why you have the heart to laugh.

Too busy holding back your laugh, you don't flinch when you feel a hand make its way to the top of your head before ruffling your hair—it's warm, the feeling is warm.

"She's been well—okay, don't give me that look!" Acknowledging his colleague's threatening look that's directed at him, the man lets out a sigh before placing down his round, thin-framed glasses. "We've only met twice, but other than how obedient she is, she's extremely intelligent for her age."

As he sits down across from his colleague, he raises his head, staring at the ceiling as he recalls what happened in a span of two days. "She's able to solve basic algebra, I don't know how far, but she knows powers to number and negative powers. She has a good grasp of her Quirk, in the data, other than the ability to conjure a portal and has a personal unknown space that she didn't show to me, she's able to make some sort of attack-absorption space and able to heat it up. That's all so far."

His colleague raises an eyebrow at him. As much as that information is good, it could be dangerous if the wrong person hears it.

Noticing the look thrown at him, he immediately gets the silent message that they're telling—and in the process of rational thinking, he recalls every single detail.

An obedient child, no older than five can easily be guided to the path older people want for her. With a good Quirk like that, becoming a Hero isn't an empty dream. As smart as you are, you are still a kid to him—just one that is too gullible and naive.

An isolated upbringing, maybe because you have been taught to be obedient by the scientists, you're too trusting of everyone who comes in, especially when it regards your Quirk training. You're polite and sweet, yes, but he doesn't think it makes you any special even with your upbringing, but it does make you more lovable.

In that way, you would make a perfect Hero.

And with that mindset, at times like this, saying that you're fit to be sent to the Hero Commission to be a Hero that'll work for society is an understandable choice.

After all, even if you have your mother who's searching for you, there's no guarantee that you won't come back to this lab again or plan to revive it. You are an obedient kid, and that's good, it's just that you're obedient to the wrong group of people.

There's too much risk if they let you be, especially if you've been brainwashed to treasure the scientists who experimented on you.

But...

Covering your mouth with your hands as your face leans down, despite the fact that you're just a lab rat in the scientists' eyes and the fact that how dangerous your intelligence and obedience are, he couldn't help but find to be quite the cute kid.

And so, he made his choice.

"She has a mother waiting for her in here." Pulling back his head to face forward, locking eyes with his colleague, he continues. "I don't think she's fit to be under the Hero Commission."

The ability to conjure a pair of intertwined portals is understandable when it's accompanied by a space that only you can own. But to have the ability to make swirls of space—or semi-portals, you don't know what to call them yet—that block attack and able to heat up on command is just a bit too far for an extension.

Not to mention... You watch how the swirls of space in your palms turn into a pair of dimensional holes that connect to one another after you focus giving them enough power.

So these Quirks are tightly knitted to one another that when they're inserted into one being, they become one whole Quirk that has a new internal mechanism. But despite having a new mechanism, the drawbacks still vary depending on the usage.

Heating up the wraps too much will cause your palms to get burned in the process—and unfortunately, so far, you are unable to conjure the same type of wraps unless they're within your palms.

Opening up the portals for too long can cause nausea while having living beings or working mechanics entering your space either cause you to throw up blood or vomit. It's truly a gateway to death, it's a wonder why you're still alive.

But why is today... So quiet? You look around the room.

Even if there wasn't any Quirk training today, there would be someone who brought in your breakfast every morning. Either that or the Head Scientist informing you through the speaker that you would have free time today. Maybe something happened? There's a possibility that maybe an incident happened within the lab.

You can't get out of the room even if you want to.

Slam!

Unfamiliar with the sound of the door slamming open, your head is quick to turn to the source of the voice.

You see the scientist who has been taking care of you for two days straight walking into your room, quick on his feet yet not quite running. A river of thoughts flows across your mind to think of what scenario led t

"Did something happen—" Your words die in your throat when he suddenly wraps his arms around you, and your eyes widen when he lifts you up, carrying you in his arms—out of sheer reflexes, you immediately wrap your arms around his neck, securing your place in his hold.

Noticing how fast you secure your arms around him, the scientist slash glasses guy lets out a chuckle. Carefully, he settles you to sit in his arm while the other is placed around your waist. After making sure you're placed right, his free hand moves to ruffle your hair.

"Nothing happened, don't worry." The smile he shot you is something that you can easily discern as an odd one out. "We're just bringing you back home."

Home?

You don't have one.

In fact, in this life—in here, the lab is something you would call home.

Too confused at the word 'home,' you don't pay much attention when the glasses-scientist man leans you closer to his body, holding you tightly against him as he starts to turn around and pick up his feet once more.

With chin propped on top of his shoulder, you watch how shaky your vision is as he runs out of your room—and for the first time after the five years you've spent in here, you see how the scenery looks outside your room.

Dim lights on top of the ceiling, and the walls and floors are all white. So the color in here is still the same as your room, as expected, the lab is still lab, a classic trope in fictional stories.

"Stop him! He's bringing Three with him!"

Once the both of you make a turn, you see a handful of scientists following behind the both of you—some are just running normally, while some already used their Quirks, creating chaos in the process—and to spare yourself the ridiculous sight of this runaway, you close your eyes.

You hold on a little tighter onto your kidnapper's neck, still baffled at the sudden change of situation.

What's happening, why am I getting kidnapped? You're just an experiment, to go through high risks just to save you is odd.

Was it out of pity? Did one of the Head Scientist's enemies want to check you out? Maybe Dr. Ujiko wanted to steal you away? Did one of the donors betray the Head Scientist? Did someone want to kill you? Did a new party want to undergo a new experiment on you?

Too many possibilities rush into your head, and you can't pinpoint the exact reason, not when there's still too much—not when you're left in the dark of so many things behind the scenes of the experiments.

Holding onto him, you slowly start to open your eyes, and truth to the sound of heavy and hurried footsteps not so far away you, you see a swarm of scientists are still hot on your tail.

"Mister Glasses... What is this situation?" You whisper to him, still flabbergasted by the scientists following behind you.

This isn't a part of your plan, was something like this even supposed to happen? You didn't want to be involved in the universe's affairs—you really won't mind if you died, in fact, you're more than prepared for a scenario like that. So why can't this outsider leave it be?

"Well, you see—I'm on a mission to save a sweet lil' damsel in distress." The glasses guy lets out a short series of hearty laughs, easily widening the distance between the both of you and the scientists. "[Last Name] [Name], your mother is waiting for you, you know? We're not that cruel to deny her request."

Mother.

"I don't have a mother—I don't know what do you mean by that." Your reply comes fast despite the series of question marks popping up in your head—after all, you remember how you were born, you remember how you were floating in the water, tubes attached to your limbs.

He said your actual name, not a nickname, not a short name, not the 'Three' he usually referred to you as, he actually called you with a name that your parents in your previous life gave you, down to your last name.

Did your old parents know of your existence? How? You were artificially created, you aren't an actual human being, you aren't born through a person's womb. How did you have an actual mother? That's impossible, no matter how much you recall your memories.

"Huh? Well, I guess it's a given." The glasses guy seems confused at your reply but remains calm with his reply. You feel how his hands hold you a little tightly. "You were stolen when you were a baby, of course, you don't remember your mother."

That's a lie.

There's no way that happened. Despite every part of your brain rejecting the idea that you were stolen when you were a baby, you found no courage to speak up. After all, an artificially made human is a wonder, especially when it's a successful one—you're a homunculus, there's no way to deny that fact—so it makes you wonder just what kind of story this kidnapper hears from your so-called mother.

Your eyes focus back to the scientists chasing over the both of you, trying to get your mind off of the topic of your mother. Some of them already have ragged breathing, it's natural given their non-athletic occupation, while some are still persistent. Even with the wide distance between you and them, you can see how desperate they are to follow after you.

To think that these scientists used to be so nonchalant... You guess that's what desperation does to a person.

"Screw this...! I'm going to take Three by force!"

You watch how one of the leading scientists stretches out his hand towards you.

And your eyes widen, just slightly, when his hand suddenly disconnects with the rest of his arm with a small snap. Quickly finding its way in the air, the arm makes its way towards you—much faster than the scientists who are running behind you.

Swoosh!

Motioned to grab something, probably you, the piece of hand catches up to you faster than the glasses guy could outrun it, your gaze stays straight and unblinking when the detached hand gets closer to your face as its shadow cast over your face.

Just a few centimeters—

Thin, red fabric stabs through the hand the moment it gets so close to your face. Not giving anyone a second to react, the fabric pulls back right away, leaving a small trail of blood to splash out from the floating hand to your face before it falls down to the ground.

"Edgeshot!" You hear the shocked shout from the glasses guy as he holds your head, putting a stop to his run. "As much as I appreciate the help, you got the blood on the kid!"

Edgeshot? He's one of the Heroes, isn't he? Even though you are unfamiliar with most of the people's abilities here, you're able to recall a few names from the series if someone mentions them.

Right after the glasses guy scolded Edgeshot, you see the same red fabric making its way to your cheek.

"Huh...?" Closing one of your eyes at the odd feeling, you feel the sensation of something rubbing against your cheek, as if wiping something off. Was it trying to get the blood off of your face?

After a few seconds, the fabric lets go off your cheek before floating back into the air, and right away, the glasses guy pulls your face right into his shoulder, shielding your vision, with his free hand covering your ear.

"What is—"

Just when you want to question the reasoning behind his action, you can hear the sound of bodies falling to the ground, unfinished words, and shouts that the glasses guy's hands are barely able to conceal.

It seems like Edgeshot is knocking them out cleanly. You deduce, that even when you see nothing but a black space and the voices of other people are barely heard, Edgeshot's Quirk makes it all too obvious.

You don't know how to feel about him knocking out all these scientists.

Just a few seconds ago, mostly a minute or two, one of them tried to grab you forcibly from the glasses guy's hold.

Should you feel scared that they don't feel an ounce of guilt when they risk hurting you? Should you feel happy that these people came to 'save' you, like what the glasses guy said? Should you feel sad that they're taking you away from people who have been taking care of you all these years?

I don't know.

You don't know how to answer your own questions.

It would be better if I just disappeared. You lean your face a little deeper into his shoulders. If only you never fell into this world in the first place—if only you never made a mistake and wad never given the chance to live again, then all of this wouldn't happen.

You don't want to live.

Why can't the world understand that?

Chapter Text

The previously hastened steps slowly slow down, and the urge to get dizzy from your surroundings has started to fade away. Despite the seemingly dark tunnel, you're in right now after Edgeshot (wasn't it?) took down the remaining scientists, you can see rays of light shining upon the ground through small, perfectly circular holes in the ceiling.

Tap. Tap.

"...Mister Glasses, when are you finally going to let me down?" Not wanting him to keep holding you in his arms, you finally ask the long-awaited question, silently hoping that he'll place you down after this.

Of course, it hasn't been that long. But, the sheer silence and how the glasses guy keeps vigilant to his surroundings makes you feel odd, was it uncomfortableness? No, not quiet. But it's not a feeling you want to get used to, nonetheless.

"Oh right—" He stops for a moment, stiffly holding you in his arms. Then slowly, he kneels down before letting you place your bare feet on the ground. "Do you feel comfortable walking in bare feet? I forgot there weren't any sandals in the lab..."

You smile, in a way to reassure him, in a way you're used to. "It's okay. I feel just fine here." In an attempt to convince him even more, you circle around him, trying to show how comfortable you are. "It's my first time walking on this kind of floor! So I want to try it out..." Acting sheepishly, your smile turns clumsy as you scratch the side of your face.

"Ah." Finally recalling your current circumstances, his mouth widens slightly before he closes it back. "I see. I forgot our princess has yet to explore the outer world!" He stands up once more, picking back his sun-like persona as he extends his hand towards you.

Shooting you a bright grin, the glasses guy takes your hand in his, somewhat, he reminds you of the big brother characters in comic books that your previous younger sister would always talk about. "Here, let me be the guide to our adventure."

Politely, kindly, you smile at his words as you follow his footsteps. "Okay, Mister Glasses."

***

For a bit, you can understand the villains' distaste towards society when you are faced with one of the investigators of the situation you're in right now.

After having a mini adventure with the glasses guy,

"First of all, what's your name, kid?" The sound of the pen repeatedly being tapped on the table doesn't ease your posture nor does it give you the courage to smile.

At important times like this, smiling is weird—from what you've remembered, at least.

Your eyes are locked into his as you give your answer. "Three. Everyone calls me Three." It's the truth; you have yet to take your previous name to yourself, nor did you understand the reasoning for the glasses guy to mention your previous name just like that.

At your answer, a faint frown appears on his forehead, eyes slightly squinting as his gaze moves all over your figure, attempting to figure you out. "I see... But do you know your other name?"

You slowly, hesitantly, nod in affirmation, trying your best to look like a wary and confused child. "That uh... Glasses person... Called me [Last Name] [Name]."

The interrogator lets out a hum, and you can't pinpoint if it's out of amusement or new-found knowledge. "I see... I've heard from him that you're quite the smart kid—do you know why he did all of this?"

No. It's not like you want to know either.

You shake your head. "No—" Knowing that just a simple answer won't be enough, you throw in more words. "But he said that my mother was searching for me and that he wanted to bring me home... I don't understand." You lower your gaze, staring at your lap. The lab is your home, and you don't have a mother—if you're being honest, the Head Scientist is your mother, in a way.

You hear a harsh sigh come out of his mouth, and out of courtesy and realization, you lift your head back.

"Listen, kid. I know you're smart, so you'll understand what I'm saying." He leans his chin on top of his head, and what seems to be exhaustion fills his eyes. "You were kidnapped—that lab is not your home, no one there is your family." He emphasizes as if he knows what you're thinking about. "You have an actual mother waiting for you, she was the one who initiated this investigation and even asked for a Hero's help. She is your home."

No, this man doesn't understand.

You remember how you were created, you never recalled the fact that you were born in a hospital—of course, it's because you were created in a lab. How did they come up with these misconceptions? How were they so sure of them? Just who is this mother who spread this information?

I want to tell them everything, but I can't. You want to tell them that you're not even a real human—that you're a homunculus—but even in this universe, it seems like they don't believe that such a thing is possible and are persistent on believing that you were kidnapped as a baby and got experimented on.

You can't explain it to them, the rational side of your head pulls back the words that are stuck in your throat. This world's society is complicated and curious, once you tease them with a piece of information, they'll search for more to the point that they don't care. What will they do if they know that you remember how you were born?

They won't let me go. The only reason that it seems like you won't be taken away from a third party is because you have a mother. If it's revealed that she's not your actual mother, many sides will try to take you as their own—even the police have mentioned how intelligent you are twice now, it's obvious that he doesn't have the empathy to treat you like an actual kid.

And so, you give him a nod.

"...Can I meet my mother, then?"

His lips curve into a satisfied smile, and the glint in his eyes tells you that he's more ecstatic that you're finally replying the way he wanted.

"After a bit of questioning."

You nod once more, silently affirming his demand.

***

"That's all for now, you did an incredibly good job for a kid who's supposed to be five years old."

The questioning session after that wasn't all that hard for you with all the information you remember. He asked various questions, but those all were the questions that wouldn't put you in danger because of the scientists' tendency to keep you in the dark.

"Do you remember a few of their names?" Not at all.

"What kind of experiment did they do on you?" They were just training my Quirk.

"What's your Quirk?" They said it was Area Space Manipulation.

"Since they call you Three, where are One and Two?" I don't know.

Question after question came in, and you felt relieved that you were able to answer them all without placing yourself in a suspicious position. You showed how your Quirk worked without explaining them fully—but somehow, he's still interested in your Quirk, you guess that's just how rare a warping-type Quirk is.

After finishing the session, he gives a rough ruffle to the top of your head, messing up your hair as the old man finally flashes you a bright grin.

It's only after he lets go of your hair that you blink your eyes a few times at him, trying to be aware that this is real and not a mere figment of your imagination. Wasn't he supposed to be suspicious of you?

"...Have you ever my mother?" Not knowing what else to say about your situation, you decide to throw in some questions about your mother.

He nods, closing his eyes as he crosses his arms as if he's trying to recall the memories of your mother. "Your mother looks similar to you, she's a nice woman too, around in her late-twenties or something? She was polite, I think both of you are similar about that, though, she's much less awkward than you." He nods to himself, proud that he can recall such details. "I've heard a few gossips that she was quite the awardee when she was young, so maybe you got your intelligence from her."

That sounds like my mother. You guess that's why they're convinced that she's your real mother instead of theorizing that you're not an actual human.

Still...

You're reincarnated—transmigrated—you don't know the condition of your old body, but your consciousness being moved into a whole new body basically explains that your old body is no more. So how did someone who's described to be so similar to your mother come in here? Did she die too, and recognize your existence from who-knows-where? Did your worlds merge together?

The second suggestion seems weirder than the first one, so you scratch it out.

Knowing that you won't find an explanation until you meet your mother, you just look up to the man once more, eyes curved into crescent moons as you offer him a smile. "I see. Thank you for telling me about her, Mister."

...Hm? Why didn't you hear a reply?

You open your eyes, still plastering a smile on your face but tone it down a little, not wanting to hurt your cheeks too much.

Instead of seeing him acting all cool and coy like before, his eyes are wide open before you, his mouth slightly agape as if he can't believe what he sees—and with his gaze focused on you, it seems like you're the cause of it.

"...You." He takes a gulp of his own spit, still looking at you with those widened eyes before he laughs a little and continues his words. "You're really similar to your mother, huh?"

Is there something wrong with that?

You tilt your head in confusion, keeping up your smile. "Yes...?"

That phrase is something that you heard quite a lot in your previous life, alas, people usually mentioned it with polite smiles and covered chuckles. But instead of those flatteries, it seems like he's genuinely surprised by the similarity between you and your mother.

It makes you wonder just how similar the both of you are.

***

After all that questioning, unfortunately, you're shoved into an office in the Police Station, left with the Chief Police whom you don't even recognize, usually, there would be a canon character here, but you guess your luck isn't all that amazing.

But... Your eyes shift over to the glasses guy, sitting next to you on the chair with his legs crossed as he reads the newspaper in his hand. At least there's someone I recognize.

"Hm?" Noticing your gaze at him, he turns his head at you, raising an eyebrow. "Do you want to read the news too? I remember they taught you how to read already."

"...Mhm." Hesitating slightly, you nod before leaning your body against him, looking over at the newspaper, eyes skimming through the small words and monocolored pictures.

These are all news you don't recognize, all filled with heroic deeds or some kind of unfortunate incidents due to a villain from characters you don't recognize. You guess it'll take quite some time for you to meet one of them, aside from Tomura and that doctor, of course.

Seeing your nonchalant expression, the glasses guy turns the newspaper, showing the front page—which makes your eyes widen slightly.

All Might. You look over at the news regarding him, it's filled with words that you expected, highlighting his powers and the way he reassured those who were saved by him. It's a natural occurrence in this world, but it's still pretty amazing to see a character that a lot of people admire through your own eyes, even if it's only in the newspaper.

She would have liked it a lot. You're reminded of your younger sister once more. Such a person who loves fictional stories so much, that she even influenced you onto one of her favorite series.

It's a good thing since you can use the knowledge to your advantage. But, it's not like you have any desire to continue living in this world, so it's quite a shame as well.

Knock! Knock!

Eh? You feel a heavy feeling shift onto your shoulders after the knocking, and somehow, you don't have the strength to lift your head due to all the pressure weighing down on your small body.

It isn't anything you can see or hear. Just a sudden, heavy pressure, like thick air pressing against your chest and arms. Your body feels heavier against the chair, your hands slower to move as you clutch your shirt.

You shift slightly, but the heaviness stays, sinking deeper into your bones.

Unaware of the feelings going through you, the glasses guy stands up as he walks towards the door, opening it.

Click.

For a moment, all you can hear is silence.

No exchanged greetings, no laughs, no the sounds of fist-bumping or something like that. Just an eerie, eerie silence that you remember at the back of your head as if the whole world quiets down to make its residents feel anxious.

I should lift up my hea—

As you consider lifting your head, then, a burst of hastened and heavy footsteps of heels fill your eardrums, getting closer each second as you finally lift your head to see the source of the sound.

Then, in a perfectly-timed moment, as if the world wants to highlight it, when you lift your head, what fills your senses first is the wrapped arms around your shoulders, hugging you so tightly it's almost suffocating. Not long after, you can hear the small cries of the person hugging you, their chest vibrates with each sob, and tremble accompanying it.

"Who...?" You stay still, not daring to hug them back, afraid you'll just make yourself feel awkward in their hug. "Miss?"

Unable to see her full appearance, you notice how flowery her scent is, her hair up into what you remember as a French twist, while her clothes remain unimportant to you. Still, you want to at least see her face, considering she's still hugging you despite how many seconds have passed.

"I-I'm sorry..." Slowly, you can feel her loosening her hands around you as she pulls back. "I was just so happy to see my daughter once more."

Then, you see it.

"I will always love you, my daughter. You're my little miracle."

"I know you care a lot about your little sister, but if you mess up your grades, you know she'll worry a lot too, right? So, let's study a bit more, okay?"

"I care about you a lot, my dear. Of course, I want the best for you."

A face that paralleled yours has much more mature and sharp features, enchanted with make-up that settled perfectly to her face. Her smile is just as perfect as you remember—the edges of her lips lifted, and her eyes crinkled just enough to let people know how happy she looked.

"Mother...?" You're left in a void sense of space when you see her, a rush of memories filling your head when you see her.

The mother who always helped you to study, the mother who always bought you your favorite foods and drinks whenever you got tired from too many activities, the mother who always whispered sweet words of support every time you were getting ready for a competition or an exam. The ever-supportive mother who loves you unconditionally and wishes nothing but the best for you.

You remember how happiness was described in the past. It was supposed to bloom quietly, like sunlight unfolding inside the chest, warm and weightless, making everything feel bright and possible.

You remember how disappointment was described in the past, too. A slow, heavyweight settles in that chest, as a stone drops into deep water, a quiet sinking that pulls at the corners of the heart.

So, how is it that you feel none of any of these feelings? Weren't you happy to meet the mother who loved you in your previous life? Or were you disappointed to meet someone who became one of the reasons you left your previous life? Should you feel relief or sorrow from this encounter?

I... I don't feel anything. As if settling back to your old self, the world slowly comes back to a monotone, the previous tightness left, and the memories in this life suddenly don't seem as bright as it was anymore. What do I even want to do now...?

Just by your mother appearing in front of you, all your reasons to disappear once more are gone. The thought of possibly leaving her in such a disgraceful way feels like it's squeezing your heart with malice—and all that's left is fear of disappointing her once more.

Probably unaware of the thoughts going through your head, your mother's smile shifts slightly as she hugs you once more.

This time, it's less desperate and less tight, but the feeling of constriction remains the same. Despite infamous words that hugs are supposed to make people feel better, you recall that you've always been someone who's unfit for physical touch.

But, it's your mother. Even though she probably doesn't know that you were her daughter in your previous life who disappointed her greatly, you should at least make her happy in this life. And so, you hug her back, wrapping your small arms around her waist as you bury your face in her shoulder.

"I'm happy to see you again, my beloved daughter." With the soft voice and the intonation that you remember all too well, she whispers sweet words of longing into your ear. "I'm going to make you the happiest person in the world."

Her hug gets a little tighter, but you can feel how it's filled with relief instead of the previous desperation or fear. You remain constant with your gesture of hug, not wanting to cross the line or distancing yourself too much.

"I—" For a moment, you hesitated, but for what? It's your mother, after all. "I'm happy to meet you too, Mother."

After those words leave your mouth, it feels like a deal has been sealed.