On the outskirts of Musutafu, a large mansion sat within the confines of a tree-filled compound. Inside one of the rooms, a young girl writhed around in her bed. Suddenly, a burst of steam erupts from her body, obscuring her from view.
As the steam clears away, it reveals that where once lay a cute four-year-old girl with long black hair, fox-like ears, and a black fluffy tail, now lay a boy of the same age and hair colour.
Rolling around on the bed, memories of a past life imprinted themselves into the child's mind as they regained their lost memories. Purple eyes snapping open, the child sits up with an audible gasp as, with another burst of steam, they change back into their female form.
"Wha... What happened? My head hurts so much."
Groaning, the child rubs their head as they struggled to internalize the return of their memories.
"Wait, I know—my memories are back. That means everything was real: all the weird dreams, the transformations. It all makes sense now."
Smiling widely, the child looks around as early morning light cascades through the gap between the blinds, illuminating the room.
The room featured a dual theme with lots of hero memorabilia, an obvious distinction present between the feminine side of the room and the masculine side, the contrast jarring yet smooth and natural.
Jumping out of bed, the little girl stumbles toward the nearest group of action figures. Behind her, the large fluffy tail sways in an obvious display of emotion. Picking up an All Might action figure from the ground, she casually plays with it as a small smile crossed her face.
Suddenly, a voice cuts through her thoughts as steam erupts again.
"Sage! Breakfast is ready, come downstairs before it gets cold."
Waving off the steam, the young boy blinks as memories flood to the front of his mind. Putting down his toy, he smiles.
"Coming, Mum!"
Walking out of the room, he proceeds down the long wooden hallway toward the staircase at the end. Walking down the stairs, his feet thud against the solid wood.
"Wait, what was I doing again? I'm on the stairs and it's morning, so I must be going outside."
His ADHD flaring up, his goal changes mid-step as he pivots at the bottom of the stairs and starts heading down the hall toward the front door.
Ahead of him a door creaks slightly as it opens, a well-built man standing at 180cm tall with dark hair and purple eyes stepping out. Raising his eyebrows slightly, the man rests his hand on the child's shoulder as they try to walk past.
"Where are you going, little man? It looks like you got distracted again—Mum's called you for breakfast."
Sporting a look of realization, Sage looks up at his father.
"Oh. Thanks, Dad. I got distracted. Let's not keep her waiting."
Chuckling lightly, his dad—Marcel Durand—gently guides him back toward the kitchen.
"Good morning, Inari. Guess who almost wandered off."
Sulking slightly, Sage avoids making eye contact with his mum as he pulls out a chair and sits at the table. Breaking into light chuckles, his mother Inari—a beautiful woman with a fox-based mutation quirk—gently ruffled his hair as her blood-red eyes glint with amusement.
"Oh! Why do you hurt me like this? You were going to leave me here to eat all this food alone."
Feigning anguish, his hyperactive mother twirls around the kitchen theatrically. Stopping by the kitchen bench, she grabs a dish and spins back around before placing it before Sage.
"Here you go. You've got to eat to grow big and strong."
Smiling sweetly, the air was warm with the shared bond of family connecting the three people. Smiling widely back at his mum, his eyes glinted with barely contained emotions.
"Thanks for the breakfast, Mum."
Moving along with a light chuckle, his mum places a plate in front of his dad before leaning over and giving him a kiss on the cheek.
"Morning, honey. How's the project going?"
"It's going well, darling. It should be ready by this afternoon."
Sharing a look, the two seem to share an entire conversation in that brief moment. It was broken, however, when Inari apparently gets distracted by something as her fox-like ears twitch.
Smiling in mirth, Marcel taps his wife's hand as he points to the plate of food cooling on the other side of the table. Chuckling again, she spins around the table before settling into the chair with a fluid, water-like motion.
"Thanks, hubby."
Blowing her husband a kiss, she turns to her child sitting nearby.
"Happy birthday, Sage! I hope you enjoy breakfast. I cooked your favourites."
Smiling widely, a warm feeling bubbles happily in his stomach. Reaching for a knife, he begins cutting up the fresh stack of pancakes laid out before him.
Suddenly, a burst of steam engulfs him as he loses his grip on the knife. Tumbling through the air, the knife stabs straight into her hand as the steam clears to reveal Sage in her female form.
"Oww!" Tears pooling in her eyes, she clutches at the cut on her hand as blood streams around her fingers.
Reacting instantly, Marcel moves at superhuman speed as he appears next to his daughter. Reaching for the wounded hand, he freezes mid-motion as a green light leaks from around her hand.
Blinking in shock, Sage's sobs clear up as the pain disappears from her hand. Confused, she removes her hand expecting to see a bleeding wound. Contrary to what everyone at the table was expecting, her hand was perfectly fine with no sign of the wound other than the still-drying blood.
""Huh?!?""
Dashing over, Inari grabs her hand gently, spinning it around looking for the wound. Next to Sage, her father's face slowly pales in worry as unknown thoughts swirl through his mind.
"Sage, what happened? How is your hand fine?"
Addressing the confused child in the middle of the action, the fox woman's ears twitch in all directions, concern clear on her face.
Left baffled, Sage slowly reaches for the knife absentmindedly. Turning the knife on her hand, she gently pricks her finger on the sharp tip.
Instantly, a worried look crosses Inari's face as blood pools around her daughter's wound. Reaching for the little girl's hand, she is interrupted by Sage's tiny hand wrapping around her bleeding finger, a green glow emanating outward from her hand.
Moving her hand out of the way reveals the previous wound to have closed entirely. Realizing the implications of the child's actions, Inari turns slowly to look at her husband with a concerned expression.
Sharing a wordless conversation, neither of the two notice when their child gets up from the chair in a burst of steam. Feeling the steam wash around her, Inari looks over her shoulder.
Walking toward the bathroom, Sage looks at the blood covering his hands, deep in thought. Unknown to him, each of his steps seems to distort space as the long walk shortens imperceptibly. So deep was he in his thoughts that he barely notices when he phases through the shut bathroom door.
Looking back at each other, the two parents share equally concerned expressions.
"Marcel, that shouldn't be possible, right?"
Meeting his wife's gaze, Marcel rubs his brow as his forehead scrunches.
"No. That shouldn't be possible. Her quirk should be Dual Body. It makes no sense that she has both our quirks on top of that."
"You need to contact your friend at the hospital. We need to get this checked."
Splitting up, Marcel moves into a different room to call his friend while Inari rushes over to the bathroom. Knocking twice, she hears the sound of water flowing from a tap within and decides to push open the door.
Inside, Sage absentmindedly washes his hands as his face scrunches in thought. Approaching her child, Inari hugs him while turning off the tap.
"Hey Sage, are you okay? Did the wound close fully? How do you feel? Do you know what happened?"
Frowning, he dries his hands and turns to his mum, a smile crossing his face to replace the previous gloom.
"Mum, I think my quirk awakened."
Sporting a look between happiness, resignation, and conflict, Inari gently ruffles his hair as, with a burst of steam, he returns to his female form.
Smiling widely, her tail wags behind her happily as she looks up at her mother with a wide smile.
"Honey... your quirk is why you constantly transform. Your father and I are actually quite confused about how your hand healed."
Telling it as honestly as she could, she watches as Sage's tail slows down a bit and her smile sags. Recovering quickly, Sage reaches up to hug her mum when she saw her ears drooping.
"Don't worry about it, Mum. It just means I can be more like you."
Pulling Sage into a tighter hug, Inari looks over her shoulder as Marcel leans against the doorframe, a conflicted expression on both of their faces.
"I'm not worried about you, honey; I'm worried for you. You seem to have more than one quirk at first glance, and that could make you a target for some bad people."
Pulling back, Sage looks into her mum's eyes with steely resolve.
"Don't worry, Mum! I'll become the strongest in the world so you don't have to worry!"
Voice teeming with resolve, a small ding rings in her head as a holographic panel appears just behind her mum's head. Eyes panning to the glowing purple panel, shock and confusion flash through her eyes.
To the side, her dad doesn't react to the screen and it's as if he can't see it.
'Wait? Why is there a system screen here? Can Mum or Dad see it?'
Mind temporarily blanking, she momentarily forgets about her prize from the void. Suddenly her expression shifts, transforming into a large smile as she separates from her mum.
"Come on now, Mum, Dad; let's go finish breakfast."
Skipping passed her mum, a burst of steam engulfed her in the doorway as she returns to her male form. Switching into a steady walk, each step causes him to flicker as he gets closer to the table.
Sitting down on the chair, Sage's expression saggs slightly when he noticed the small drops of blood on the table, knife and pancakes.
Walking up behind him, Marcel lifts Sage out of his chair. Raising him into the air, he places Sage on his shoulder as he carries him over to one of the stools by the breakfast bar. Behind him, Inari swoops in and grabs Marcel's plate of food along with a new set of cutlery.
Placing the plate in front of the seated Sage, the two parents smile widely as though the previous gloom didn't exist.
"You're completely right, little man. It's your birthday breakfast—we can worry about the nitty-gritty details later."
Ruffling his hair, Inari gives Sage a gentle kiss on the forehead while straightening his cutlery.
"That's right, and if you want to be the most powerful hero ever, we'll do everything we can to support you."
Smirking slightly, Sage's eyes drift to the screen still hovering just behind her.
"Don't worry, Mum. I won't just be the strongest hero; I'll be the strongest."
Smiling widely, the entire family chuckle lightly as they bicker light-heartedly over random things. Outside, the sun slowly rose as the sound of birds chirping populated the extensive forestry around their house.