2400 — Musutafu Private Hospital — Musutafu, Japan
Within the walls of a clean hospital room, a woman's cries echo around her. Doctors and midwives offer encouragement as she labours and after one final scream, congratulations fill the air as the midwife takes the newborn baby and gently cleans it.
Passing the baby to the doctor, he performs a quick examination before announcing his findings.
"Congratulations Mrs. Durand, it's a healthy baby girl."
The moment he speaks, a puff of steam erupts from the baby, briefly hiding it from view. When the steam clears, the baby girl has been replaced by a baby boy.
The doctor's expression falters slightly before he regains his composure.
"My apologies, it's a healthy young boy."
Again, a puff of steam comes from the baby.
"No... it's a healthy girl?"
Once more, steam billows out as the doctor's face shows increasing confusion.
"It's... a healthy boy again?"
Tired of the doctor's indecisive announcements, the woman on the bed—Inari—gives him a sharp glare while stretching out her arms. Her message unmistakable.
Somewhat awkwardly, the doctor hands the child to its mother before stepping back. Holding her child in her arms, a deep sense of responsibility fills her as her maternal instincts surge.
"I'll name you Sage, so you may one day stand above your peers."
Smiling widely, Inari's eyes remain fixed on her child as the doctor recites medical information. Only the last part catches her attention.
"Ma'am, it seems your child was born with a mutation-type quirk that causes them to constantly transform. I want you to know that this doesn't change the fact they are your child."
Inari shoots the doctor a fierce glare for even suggesting she might abandon her baby, making him shrink back slightly. Turning to the nearby nurse, he quietly whispers in her ear.
"Could you please get Mrs. Durand's husband from the waiting room?"
With a nod, the nurse leaves as the doctor finishes the paperwork.
"Miss Durand, would you like a moment to discuss your baby's name with your husband?"
Looking down into her child's deep purple eyes, a soft smile spreads across her face as she answers.
"No we agreed on a name beforehand. They will be named Sage Durand."
The doctor nods, choosing not to upset the intimidating woman as he writes the name on the birth certificate.
"Now ma'am, you'll need to stay at the hospital for a week so we can monitor your health."
Giving the doctor another glare, she smiles with a hint of menace, her larger-than-normal canine teeth catching the light.
"No, I'll be heading home as soon as my husband gets here. We already have a personal doctor to watch over little Sage's health."
"But—"
Cutting off his protest, she wags her finger at him. Her body glows with a green light as her enlarged stomach begins to return to normal.
"See? I'm perfectly capable of taking care of mine and my daughter's health."
The doctor nods reluctantly, but any further argument is stopped when the door bursts open and a man rushes in. Seeing the woman on the bed, his eyes light up as he hurries over to embrace both her and the baby.
2404 — Durand Family Estate — Musutafu, Japan
Shaking her head, Inari clears away the pleasant memories that had surfaced. She turns her gaze to watch her sweet little child run up the stairs.
"Oh hubby, they grow up so fast."
With a sigh, Marcel pulls his wife into a side hug as they watch Sage disappear at the top of the stairs.
"They sure do, honey. We'll just have to make sure to be there while we can."
Meanwhile, the child in question races toward their room with thoughts in disarray, distracted by a holographic panel floating at the edge of their vision.
Reaching her room, Sage quickly closes the door and turns her full attention to the hovering panel.
'Yes! I completely forgot about this. Everything feels so unreal to me. Just yesterday I lived in a world without powers, and yet here I am with real, actual powers.'
Bubbling with excitement, she does a little dance around the room to release her pent-up energy. After hopping around for a few minutes, she suddenly explodes in a cloud of steam, switching back to their male body. His excitement dims noticeably.
Taking a few deep breaths, he finally calms down enough to focus. Looking around in confusion, he realizes he's forgotten what he was celebrating.
Spinning in a circle, he only remembers when the glowing panel catches his eye. His mind immediately locking onto it.
'What was it called again? Oh right! Quest System'
The moment he completes his thought, the panel appears directly in front of him. Staring at the floating panel, he absently reaches toward it, but just like in the void, his hand passes through it.
Slightly disappointed, Sage switches to controlling it with his thoughts instead. First, though, he reads the panel that has been following him for almost an hour.
[ Main Quest: The Rise to Power
Goal: Reach the peak of your world by defeating everyone else or proving you're the strongest.
Reward: 10,000,000xp, ???, ???, ???, ??? ]
"Wait, xp? As in experience points? Why does a quest system give me xp? Can I level up?"
Tilting his head in confusion, he searches his mind for answers. As if reading his thoughts, the system warps and changes to display:
[Level 1 0/10xp]
"Huh? Why doesn't it show me stats or anything like that? Shouldn't a system with level ups also have stats? I'm so confused."
Groaning softly, Sage rubs his head as a headache forms behind his eyes. With a burst of steam, she changes form and shrugs, deciding to drop the subject.
Looking around the room, boredom slowly grows as she surveys all the action figures.
"Hmm, what to do, what to do?"
Suddenly, a ding sounds in her head as a new panel appears.
[ *New* Side Quest: Make a Friend
Goal: Make a single friend within a week, bonus points for making multiple.
Reward: Skill — Appraisal, 10xp, A Friend, ??? (Bonus)]
Smiling broadly, Sage immediately sees an opportunity to learn more about the system through this quest. Besides, making a friend would be nice.
Spinning happily, she skips toward the door eager to complete the quest. Hopping down the stairs, she pivots and jogs toward the front door. Stepping out from a side hallway, Marcel catches her by the shoulders.
Confused, she looks over her shoulder.
"Dad? Do you need my help? I was about to go outside."
With a sigh and a momentarily conflicted look, he leads her back toward the kitchen.
"It's good you want to go outside, but there's someone here to see you."
Tilting her head, her ears flop loosely as she looks up at her dad while her tail sways gently.
"Someone's come to see me? Who is it?"
Ruffling her hair, Marcel looks ahead as the sound of conversation drifts from around the corner.
"I'll let her introduce herself. Hurry along now."
Gently nudging her around the corner, she explodes in a cloud of steam that clears to reveal their male form.
Grumbling under his breath, Sage decides to see who his dad invited. Peeking around the corner, he spots a tall woman wearing a long white lab coat and round glasses that catch the light.
With a resigned sigh, he steps around the corner. The sound of his footsteps draws the attention of the two women chatting by the counter.
"Sagey, there you are! Come over quickly!"
Jumping excitedly, Inari rushes over to usher him closer to the woman. His mild groan of annoyance quickly gives way to resigned amusement.
"Hello there ma'am, my name is Sage. What's your name?"
The woman studies him carefully, appearing thoughtful. Though before she can answer, a burst of steam envelops Sage. Her eyes widen behind her glasses as she turns sharply to Inari.
"Inari, I know Marcel told me you had a situation, but why did Sage's quirk just change?"
With a sigh, Inari rubs her brow while her tail flicks sharply behind her. Looking between the professional woman and her husband, she receives an encouraging nod.
"Sage was born with a condition that causes them to randomly switch between two genetically different bodies. Everyone always assumed it was their quirk, but this morning they awoke with two quirks."
Tilting her head to the side, Sage watches with growing confusion.
"Wait, who are you? And mom, what do you mean I have two quirks? Isn't my quirk some type of healing power?"
Stepping forward, Marcel crouches down to her height while gesturing for Inari to explain the situation to the woman.
"Well sweetie, this woman is a friend of mine. Her name is Doctor Chiyu Kenmei. She works full-time as a quirk analyst with her quirk 'Quirk Visualization' that lets her see the name of any quirk."
Hopping with excitement, Sage's eyes shine with childlike curiosity.
"That is so cool! How does it work?"
Looking up at her dad, she deploys her most powerful skill—the puppy dog eyes.
Sighing, Marcel ruffles her hair as he stands up. Behind him, the two women step closer.
"That's a very good question. Why don't you ask her?"
Turning to look at the woman, Sage gazes up with sparkling eyes. The woman's professional expression melts away, replaced by genuine delight.
"OMG you're so cute!… Ahem… Sorry about that. For your earlier question... I don't know."
With a casual shrug, Chiyu gives a straightforward answer. Sighing, Inari moves past Chiyu and scoops Sage up into a hug.
"Don't worry about all the complicated details. All that matters right now is how you spend your birthday!"
Carrying Sage out of the room without another word, Inari trusts her husband to handle the remaining details. As they walk, the small fox girl rests her head against her mom's neck.
Entering a wide room decorated with wooden weapons and soft mats, Inari gently sets her down. Upon touching the ground, Sage erupts in a puff of steam, returning to his male form.
"Mom, what are we doing here?"
Smiling broadly, Inari hurries to the wall and grabs two wooden swords before running back and handing one to her confused child. She steps back a bit.
"What's wrong? Don't want to spar with your mom? Oh, how you wound me."
Rolling his eyes at his mom's theatrical display, Sage adjusts his grip on the training weapon.
"We both know you just love fighting. Is there any other reason for this sudden sparring session?"
Chuckling, Inari's posture shifts noticeably as her demeanour sharpens, though her maternal affection remains strong in her eyes.
"Oh, you know me so well. But yes, there are two reasons for this sudden spar. First, your father needs some privacy right now. Second, you don't seem to have noticed your second quirk—I thought a fight might help with that."
Smiling widely, the two family members exchange glances in a silent challenge. Being the first to blink, Sage chuckles softly while raising the wooden sword.
Suddenly, a light ding captures his attention. Across the mat, his mother notices his distraction and dashes forward.
Stepping back sharply, Sage raises his training weapon as Inari's clashes against it. Despite her strength, she keeps the strike gentle, aiming to teach rather than hurt.
His eyes drift toward the panel at the edge of his vision as he tries to read it again, but Inari rushes forward again, forcing him to focus.
With a sigh, he turns away from the panel and concentrates on the fight at hand.