"Hey Itsuki, I know you're super smart, but it would be nice if you could get some friends around here," his father said as he steered around a corner. He smiled and glanced through the rear-view mirror, seeing Itsuki sitting there with his seatbelt on, strapped into his booster seat—simply minding his own business.
"I already said I was trying my best, but they're just so stupid," Itsuki groaned.
Oh, the curse of being too woke at a young age… or just having the memories of a twenty-four-year-old, he thought internally.
"Are you really trying, or just telling me that?" his father chuckled back. "I keep telling you—however mature you are, a friend is important no matter what position you're in during life," his father continued, almost as if he were giving one of his usual lectures.
"You say the same thing every day. I understand the importance of having a friend—it's just that I don't want my friends to be imbeciles and stupid… and as of now, they very much are."
His father sighed.
"Sometimes I really wonder if you are a four-year-old kid…"
From the very moment he was born, his father had known he was going to be a troublesome child.
He grew up too fast… literally.
It had somewhat robbed them of the normal experience of raising a child. Since Itsuki was so intelligent, many of the small moments other parents talked about simply weren't relatable for them.
Toys weren't his thing.
He seemed able to control when he needed to poop.
He had been extremely reluctant to be breastfed.
And not to mention that he could talk and walk at such a ridiculously early age.
Even though he often preferred to stay quiet and do his own thing, sometimes it genuinely felt as if they were raising a teenager instead of a newborn child.
"Alright, we've arrived," his father said as the car stopped. "Have a good day at school, kid."
He waved him off.
****
As Itsuki entered the nursery, he pondered what his father had said.
Back in the CIA, they had conducted extensive research on how to control social interactions in order to build relationships. It had been one of the more diplomatic measures he had appreciated while taking classes in that hell.
But by no means was he a manipulator.
Thinking two or three steps ahead wasn't hard… but being in control of humans was pretty much impossible. There was no way to predict human action and always stay on top.
Humans were unpredictable.
Today, for some reason, he felt like today was the day he was going to make friends with a four-year-old.
However wrong that sounded in his mind, he knew that unless he was going to grow up properly, he would have to make do with what he had.
The first step to making a friend was to find a connection—something that connected you together.
In this modern world, there wasn't a single kid alive—let alone in Japan—who didn't adore All Might. So it was best to start with that. He'd just need a moment to connect with them naturally.
Maybe talk about one of his more recent saves… like the time All Might carried one hundred people out of a burning building.
The second step was consistency.
Constantly finding things you could relate to—and repeatedly talking about them with that person. This wasn't the time to be yourself yet. You needed them to believe you were genuinely cool before their perception of you lowered.
The third step was to set boundaries and start revealing more of yourself.
This would either push them away, change them… or—if you were truly similar—you would naturally flow together.
And then, boom.
You had yourself a friend.
As he walked into the nursery, other children were being guided inside by their parents. Some still looked half asleep, rubbing their eyes lazily. Others looked excited, practically bouncing with energy.
He, however, was the only one who came in alone.
That being said, it was simply because he was mature enough not to run off.
"Hello, Itsuki-chan. How are you doing today?" one of the younger nursery workers said with a cheerful eye-smile.
"I'm doing good, thank you," he replied politely, bowing slightly.
Apparently Japanese culture revolved around humility—and if someone was more humble than you, then you simply had to be more humble than them.
She giggled.
"Have a good day!" she said, opening the door for him before returning to greet parents and children alike.
Ah… my first attempt.
Let's see who to go after.
His eyes scanned the room.
Then he remembered why he hadn't tried sooner.
Children… were genuine weirdos.
Some of them were biting glue sticks and chewing on toys. Others had snotty noses—which they were picking… and eating.
Yeah… I'm not doing this.
He immediately retreated and sat beside a chair that already had his name on it.
He was known for being antisocial and rarely talked with the other children, so the nursery had taken it upon themselves to make sure he still had a designated place to sit and enjoy himself.
And so his day continued.
He sat quietly in his chair, watching the others… occasionally drawing.
Admittedly, the drawings were terrible—but he was getting better. And for a four-year-old, he was doing pretty well.
He actually found it satisfying that his adaptation ability didn't work for drawing, meaning any improvement came purely from effort alone.
Although he still didn't know why that was the case.
Eventually, it was home time.
His dad picked him up and, as usual, asked whether he had made any friends.
The answer was still no.
The next day, the routine didn't change.
He was driven to kindergarten, greeted the workers politely… then went to sit in his corner.
**
One week later.
The routine still didn't change.
**
One month later.
Still the same as usual…
Although he had gotten better at drawing.
**
Two months later.
Nope.
Still the same.
**
Six months later…
He got a friend.
Around halfway through the day at kindergarten, he noticed a purple-haired kid being shunned.
Everyone seemed to be laughing at him.
Itsuki sensed—through his wings—that the boy was emanating a huge amount of negative energy. For a moment, it even made him think the kid had cursed energy… before realizing the truth.
The child was simply sad.
At first, Itsuki paid it no mind.
The teachers and assistants would help the kid anyway.
But the torment seemed to have been going on for a long time—and the teachers…
The teachers looked…
Scared.
Their lips were shut tight. None of them stepped forward to comfort the child.
None of them said anything.
Well… I've never been a fan of bullies, Itsuki groaned internally.
Looks like I'll have to get myself involved.
He watched the purple-haired child looking around the room with fear and confusion.
Itsuki knew exactly how it must have felt to be ganged up on like that.
***
"Woah—hello there, kid," Itsuki said, crouching down to the purple-haired boy's level. He was a bit tall for his age, so he often found himself lowering his posture on the rare occasions he spoke to children his biological age.
"Don't talk to me," the kid muttered back, his head hanging low.
Itsuki paid it no mind and leaned a little closer.
"Don't you think it's rude not to look someone in the eye when talking to them?"
He had learned that the perfect ratio when speaking to someone was the 80:20 rule of eye contact—80% eye contact, 20% simply looking in their general direction. It made you sound confident. Assured.
"Alright, I get it… my quirk is evil b-but I can do good things too," Shinso sighed out. "Leave me alone."
Interesting choice of words for a four-year-old… he's smarter than the rest, Itsuki deduced.
"How is your quirk evil?" Itsuki asked calmly.
He didn't receive the answer from the boy—but from a passerby child.
"He controls people's minds and makes them do stuff they don't want to do!" the kid blurted out. "It's really lame—and super villain-like!"
Itsuki blinked.
"Wait… where have I seen this before?" he muttered under his breath. My memory of MHA wasn't deleted evenly… it wasn't like forgetting the first twenty percent or the last twenty percent—it was scattered. Which means even prominent characters could slip through the cracks…
"Is that true? Mind control?" Itsuki asked, looking back at the purple-haired boy.
He could understand why people would call it villainous. Anything outside the norm was easily labeled that way.
Being different… was dangerous.
"No, it's not! I mean—it is—but it's not true that I do bad stuff!" Shinso exclaimed in frustration.
The other kid scoffed.
"Oh yeah? If your mom is scared of your quirk then it's definitely evil! You even used it on her!"
"It was a mistake!" Shinso snapped.
"No it wasn't!"
"I see… get lost. I want to talk with the purple-haired kid," Itsuki interrupted flatly, clearly bored of their childish argument.
"No, I won't!"
Itsuki slowly raised his wings and sharpened his gaze.
"I said… get lost."
The tone alone carried the threat.
The kid immediately scuffled away.
"Well, he hasn't been any help," Itsuki said, turning back toward Shinso. "So tell me about the quirk yourself."
"Well, I don't want to. You're just going to call it villainous too," Shinso groaned bitterly. "I don't care what people think anymore."
"Well, purple-haired kid… I don't believe any quirk is villainous."
Shinso blinked.
"If your quirk causing harm to others is what decides it's villainous then—"
"Causing harm to others?" the kid repeated quietly.
"Yes. Don't you see?" Itsuki continued, his voice calm yet firm. "Every quirk can cause harm. Every single one."
He raised a finger slightly as he spoke.
"All Might himself could become a villain if he wanted to. But he doesn't—because he's good."
Itsuki leaned forward slightly.
"A quirk doesn't decide if you're a villain."
His eyes sharpened.
"Your actions do."
Shinso stared at him with wide eyes.
"If your classmates, your family, your friends… if none of them can believe that," Itsuki continued with a confident smile, "then believe that I will."
He tapped Shinso lightly on the shoulder.
"Your quirk isn't villainous. People are just afraid of what isn't normal."
He tilted his head slightly.
"They're afraid because you're different."
"I'm… different?" Shinso asked quietly.
"Yes."
Itsuki grinned.
"You and me—we're different people. The kind others don't always understand."
He spread his wings slightly.
"But because we're different… we can understand each other."
"W-why are you doing this…?" Shinso muttered, his eyes beginning to tear up. "What do you want?"
"Me?" Itsuki shrugged casually. "I want nothing. Why would I want anything from you? Your villainous—"
"I-I've heard enough! Stop talking!" Shinso suddenly screamed.
He curled in on himself and began bawling his eyes out.
"Uhhh—"
Why is the kid crying? Itsuki thought.
But then he realized something.
He couldn't speak.
Shinso had used his quirk on him.
…Can he not control it?
Shinso looked up and saw the expression on Itsuki's face.
His stomach dropped.
He had done it again.
He thought he had practiced enough not to activate it by accident. And now… the one person who had been kind to him, the one person who had said his quirk wasn't evil—
Was under his control.
A white halo-like wheel appeared above Itsuki's head.
CLICK.
It spun.
CLICK.
It spun again.
"Calm down, kid—I'm not dead," Itsuki joked casually.
"I-I'm so sorry," Shinso muttered miserably.
"It's fine. A weak quirk like that definitely isn't villainous," Itsuki said with a relaxed eye-smile.
He gently lifted Shinso's chin.
"Hey—look at me. Don't say sorry. You didn't do anything wrong. It was just a mistake."
"B-but I…"
"What? Tried to brainwash me?" Itsuki chuckled lightly. "Don't worry—it'll never work on me."
"Are you sure…?"
"Think about this," Itsuki continued. "If you train that ability, you might be able to stop villains. You could tell them to stop running… or even make them surrender."
Shinso blinked slowly.
"I already told you, the shape of your heart defines who you are."
"My heart… defines who I am…" Shinso repeated.
"Exactly."
Itsuki smiled.
"You've been told ever since you awakened that quirk that it's evil. But what actually makes it evil?"
He tapped his head thoughtfully.
"I'd call it unique. Because every strong quirk has the potential to become evil."
He shrugged.
"But I like to believe something else."
Shinso looked up.
"Only people with evil hearts think your quirk is villainous," Itsuki said calmly. "Because in reality… a villainous quirk doesn't exist."
He pointed lightly at Shinso's chest.
"Only a villainous person."
Shinso's eyes slowly brightened.
"Hey kid," Itsuki asked, tilting his head slightly.
"What's your name?"
"…Shinso."
Itsuki smiled.
"Shinso…"
He extended his hand slightly.
"You're a good person—with a unique quirk."
His grin widened.
"You can be a hero."
****
Thank you guys for the stones, appreciate all the love. Next chapter will be an info-dump soo...
Was this chapter good or nah? I really like Shinso and male characters in general (I'm not gay) but I feel like most character interactions just end up being with female characters.