"Good luck!"
"Yeah, we believe in you, lil bro."
Hearing the encouraging words from his siblings, Souta paused at the edge of the engawa, the wooden threshold between their home and the world beyond. He turned around with a genuine smile playing across his face, a rare warmth behind his usually quiet demeanor. Standing there in the doorway of their traditional Japanese home were two of his older siblings - Toya and Fuyumi.
Toya stood with arms crossed, his white hair tousled and wild, the same hue as their mother's, eyes sharp but not unkind. Fuyumi, calm and gentle as ever, had her hands clasped in front of her, her smile radiating comfort. Red streaks ran through her otherwise pale hair, catching the morning sun like sparks woven through silk.
He took in the sight with a soft breath - this was his home, his family. It hadn't always been like this, not perfectly. But it was something. Something worth protecting.
"Thanks," Souta said finally, adjusting the strap of his school bag. "I'll make it in. Count on it."
Fuyumi stepped forward slightly. "Just remember to be yourself, okay? They're not only looking for the strongest, but someone who understands what it means to help people."
"And if being yourself means setting some stuff on fire," Toya added with a sly grin, "then hey, just don't overdo it."
Souta laughed, genuinely, the sound echoing lightly off the old wood panels. "No promises."
He turned and took off down the stone path leading to the road, leaving behind the warm laughter of his siblings.
---
The sun had risen just high enough to burn off the early morning mist, casting a golden hue across the sleepy suburbs of Musutafu. Souta moved quickly, weaving through narrow streets and familiar alleys. The station was just ahead, and from there, the train to U.A.
As he walked, his thoughts began to drift – not to the exam, but to the events that had changed everything just a few months ago.
For fifteen years, he'd lived as Souta Todoroki, the seemingly quirkless twin brother of Shoto. An oddity, a quiet shadow in a house of power and fire. He hadn't been treated too poorly - at least, not the way Shoto had been, with the intense training of their father - but he had always felt like... a footnote, someone forgotten.
Forgotten by his own parents.
In the end, Souta was mostly raised by his older siblings. Mainly Fuyumi, who took after their mother and Toya, who had become a solid pillar in his life.
Then, one day, it happened. A memory. No, a flood of memories, crashing into his mind like a tidal wave.
He remembered a life before this one. A world where these people were fictional, their lives inked into pages. A story called My Hero Academia. He remembered watching Shoto's arc, Toya's, or rather Dabi's tragedy, Endeavor's redemption. He remembered reading the manga on his phone, lying in bed in a different world, in a different body.
He remembered dying.
Or... maybe not. There hadn't been pain or trauma - just sleep. And then, waking up again, only this time in a bed that was too small and a room that was too Japanese.
It had taken him weeks to come to terms with it, and even now, he wasn't sure if he was reincarnated, transmigrated, or just going crazy. Even if that was the case, now he was just Souta Todoroki.
Then… came what his memories would call a 'golden finger'.
---
[34%… 76%… 99%…]
[…100]
[Assimilation Complete]
[Granting access to quirk: Copy and Paste]
[Current Quirks copied: 0/2]
---
It had appeared during a meal. From one moment to the other, a screen popped up in front of him, shocking him so much that he even dropped his miso soup which he was drinking.
This caused the others present, just his siblings, to look at him in surprise. Fuyumi instantly jumped up and checked on him, while Natsuo went to the kitchen to look for something to clean the mess up, after being asked to by Toya.
When Toya joined Fuyumi then, and patted Take's shoulder, a new screen popped up in his view.
[Quirk 'Cremation' detected. Copy?]
Souta couldn't really tell what was going on and just thought 'yes' to himself.
[Copying initiated…]
[…copying completed]
[Current quirks copied: 1/2]
- 'Cremation'
In the next moment a burst of blue flame erupted on his right hand, nearly hitting Fuyumi who fell back in shock.
This shock was shared by everyone, Natsuo even dropped the towels he had gotten from the kitchen upon seeing the flame erupt.
What followed was cheers of Gratulation, directed at Souta for having finally awaken a quirk. Though, inside, every sibling, even Souta himself, felt a certain amount of repulsion towards the flame, as it just showed their connection to their father.
In the registration they wrote down that it was a late manifestation, one finally breaking through under pressure, or by sheer coincidence. That it was a fire-type quirk inherited from Endeavor, albeit colored strangely. He hadn't corrected them.
He couldn't.
Not yet.
The truth was far more complex, and he had needed time to sort his thoughts.
---
As the train rattled along the tracks, Souta stared at his reflection in the window. His face was calm, but his heart wasn't.
The quirk he had copied from Toya – the blue fire, Cremation – was immensely powerful. But it wasn't perfect. Without the natural resistance to heat that usually accompanied fire quirks, it was dangerous to wield for long, but with his Copy and Paste, that shouldn't be a problem for long.
Still, he had learned to control it. Toya had even secretly helped him train in private - ironic, given that in another world, Toya was the danger.
But not here.
Here, he was a big brother. Protective. Rough around the edges, but loyal.
And Shoto - his twin - was still the quiet prodigy, bearing the burden of their father's legacy. But not for long from now on.
Souta gripped the seat edge tighter. This world is already different.
He had no plans of letting it fall into the same darkness as the one he remembered from the show.
---
The train slowed as the voice over the intercom announced their arrival.
"Musutafu Station. Transfer for U.A. High School."
He stood, heart pounding. Not from nerves though, but rather from excitement and anticipation regarding the school and the future.
The exam ahead would test his strength, his control - but more than that, it would be the start of everything. A path where he could shape the future, protect his family, and rewrite the story he once thought he knew.
He didn't want to be the protagonist.
He merely sought the strength to be ready. To protect what was important to him.