Jeff Bozo was... really confused.
Well, confused might be an an inaccurate description.
He was lost. In the spiritual sense.
'So... i got reincarnated... with several disabilities...'
This was really annoying. He didn't know anything and had no way to figure out where he was.
Did he get reincarnated in another World? Or is he still on his earth? Did he even reincarnate? Is his situation unique? Or is this the natural phenomenon following death?
'Nah, probably just me. I'm just built like that.'
His soul must have been so powerful that neither heaven nor hell could take it, so the world reincarnated him instead.
'Man, i must be sharing a brain with some young master...'
But seriously... he was 85% sure that the laughing bastard whose car-wheel hit him was some kind of ...deity responsible for reincarnation. Isekai usually followed that trope. And the guy fucking laughed. Who the hell would laugh while some stranger died because of him???
'So. Evil gods exist. Noted.'
But it really didn't matter. Right now, he had to somehow find out where he was.
'...Haaahh. Alright. I'm blind and deaf. My body feels weird. I feel like there is a limb on the back of my head and my appearance is probably not human... If it's an anime i know... then i still don't know.'
He was currently laying in what he assumed to be a baby crib. There hadn't been much movement since being born, so he was probably still at the hospital.
'Maybe i wasn't reborn in an Anime but in some alternate reality where everyone is blind and deaf.'
Unlikely. But weirdly enough... not impossible.
His thoughts kept spiraling in different directions, but it was a little early to do anything. He had literally been born a few minutes ago.
Or maybe an hour? Hard to tell.
'If only i were some chinese young master. I'd already be more intelligent than anyone in this world, strong enough to fight adults and be destined to overthrow the heavens... whatever that means.'
He'd read fanfics before with a 4 year old benching 400kg. (I really did. The low-quality fanfic epidemy is real)
'Meanwhile i'm here resisting the urge to suckle on my thumb. Being a baby is emberassing.'
He did not resist for a long time and soon found himself drifting off to sleep...
...
...
...
POV: Masaki Shindai.
-
This should have been a joyous occasion. Bringing a new life into the world and all that.
Instead? Confusion. Uncertainty. Suspicion.
He may not have been a genius but as far as he knew, Genetics were a hereditary thing.
'And these genes sure as fuck aren't mine.'
He threw a glance to his now sleeping wife. Just to be sure.
'Not hers either...'
Honestly, he was restless. He knew it was unfair and even pathetic, he never had any reason to suspect her of anything and still didn't really did.
But this was just too weird. The explanation he had received from the nurse sounded logical, but he expected to have... some... trait in common with his kid.
Instead he got a statue-like kid which could fit into one of these "Buddhist temples" he learned about in history class.
'He got wings where his eyes should be... i get that the mutation is supposed to be necessary for his quirk but how could WINGS instead of EYES be necessary??? Can he even use them?'
Despite his his doubts and complaints, he did love his wife. The kid... a little bit less but maybe that'll change in the future. Maybe.
'If he doesn't grow up to be an asshole. Some kids are really rude to their parents.'
Nevertheless, he'd try his best. He didn't really know how to be a father for ...this. The weird mutation had made all his studies about that topic rather irrelevant but he'd try.
Walking over to the crib, he soon picked up the kid who immediately stirred in his hands.
"Well, hello you little... weirdo."
He squinted his eyes at the kid. More specifically, the long tail he had on the back of his head.
"That supposed to be your hair? Or an extension of your brain? You gonna be a supersmart dude?"
As he stroked the kids head (or tail?), he noticed the child having a rather strange expression.
"Is it me or are you questioning your existence? Kind of hard to tell when a newborn lacks eyes and other...human features."
He soon turned his attention away from the head-tail and instead focused on the face.
"No lips... So everyone can see your teeth...Your face is literally just wings and teeth. And the noise you make sounds like an angry Dinosaur."
Masaki sighed and put the child back down.
"Maybe we should dress you up in pink? With hello kitty stickers on your face? To avoid having people see you as a villain?"
He wasn't serious. No way his wife would agree to that.
"...we actually have a name for you. But uhh, i'm not sure if this even matters for deaf kids. Deaf and blind. But your name will be Riku."
He poked the kid a little.
"WÖÖÖGH."
"..."
He retracted his finger.
"God, this will be difficult."
...
...
...
Several weeks later.
POV: Riku (still knows himself as Jeff Bozo)
The few last weeks had been rather... easy for him. Being a baby was basically doing nothing. Especially that he still was too weak to crawl. So he spent his time chilling and pondering Life.
His past Life. The topics he pondered were mostly his families and friends.
He did have a good relationship with his parents and family and he missed them a lot. Same with his friends.
Yet for some reason, he didn't feel as sad as the thought he should be.
It made him feel worse in turn, because he thought it was rather heartless to not be sad about never seeing them again.
'Maybe it's the baby body. I don't think babies have a proper understanding of Loss.'
Yes. He had come to terms with being a baby. He knew that plenty of people would see it as weird to just... accept it, but the reality of the situation was that he was a child.
That meant his parents would expect him to play with other kids and he'd probably (happily) do so.
Why happily? Because he noticed himself behaving like a Kid. He shat a lot. Then cried. Then ate. Shat again. Cried again. Laughed when tickled. It was an emotional rollercoaster.
So spending time with kids? It'd be weird given his reincarnation... but no one knew that. And not just that. If as a parent, you saw your kid avoiding others and seclude himself, you'd be pretty worried.
It was something he wanted to spare his second parents if he could.
Call him heartless for switching family so quickly, but he wasn't the type to deny reality. These people would raise him for the next years, that made them his parents.
'And honestly? They take care of me pretty well.'
Playing wasn't really an option at his age, but he did not go hungry and was pretty sure that they didn't really leave his side that often.
How did he know? Well, it seemed he was genuinely getting used to his lack of sight and hearing as he started feeling the movements of people around him.
It may sound impressive but that honestly just meant he could feel the wind move when someone would reach out to lift him up or feel the ground's vibration when they walked through the room. He basically just could identify what they'd be doing.
"Maybe i can become like a air-bender and earth-bender hybrid. Geolocation through the earth and reflex and instincts through the air."
But he doubted it. It wasn't much different than what people could do in his first Life. He just paid more attention to it due to his condition.
But well. That aside, he was getting used to his body. He had a strange Limb at the back of his head which he could move. It was rather similar to a tail and seemed a little stretchy. Not the rubber kind of stretchy but simply like a muscle he could extend.
He also noticed that he had strange appendages where his eyes should have been.
'They feel like wings...'
The child suppressed a smile.
He knew someone who had wings on his eyes, but he didn't have a way to be sure. Especially given the fact that a certain wheel was lacking.
'Yeah, that's really fitting for Isekai. Killed by a wheel. Respawned with one above your head.'
He had not been able to feel or notice any wheel like things above his head, so he kept his hopes low.
'I don't have the sword of extermination either...'
But well. It had been described as a cursed tool, not a physical part of Mahoraga. He didn't really believe himself to be able to get it.
'But not impossible. Mahoraga's technique isn't totally explained. I should think about it a little.'
...
(WARNING: MAHORAGA ABILITY QUESTIONING! I need answers here!!!)
(The next part is how i see Mahoraga's technique. I'm questioning how to use it in the story and your input might help.)
Mahoraga is the most powerful Shikigami of the 10 shadows technique. He is capable of adapting to anything, gradually overcoming any dangers he's been exposed to.
That however, is purely reactive. It needs to hit his body in order for him to adapt. The reason for that is that the Shinigami essentially behaves like a AI in battle. He can react but not initiate.
Even as Sukuna used Mahoraga, he couldn't pre-emptively command him to adapt to something, meaning that sentience shouldn't change anything.
He needs to be hit in order to adapt.
But the reason as to why Mahoraga is so powerful, is only partly because of his technique. The sheer bulk, speed and strength he displays after being summoned makes him top tier even without his technique.
Furthermore, his Technique and bulk complement each other. Mahoraga needs to be able to tank in order to adapt. The technique would be useless in a human body or a body below a certain size, due to it's vulnerability of dying in one hit.
The bigger he is, the better for Mahoraga's technique.
That is further proven in Sukuna vs Mahoraga fight.
He steadily grows bigger underneath Sukuna's attacks, because it is simply his best way to fight. Not just against Sukuna. It's simply the best way to survive enough attacks to give him time to adapt. Tank and advance. Everything else is secondary.
So in theory, he should be able to shrinkif it was the most effective way to fight. But given his technique, there are virtually no scenarios in which shrinking would be good for him. He needs to be hit in order to attack after all. So becoming a bigger target is the way to go.
Another interesting aspect is RCT.
Can he use it? It was mentioned to be coating the "sword of extermination" after all.
But is it simply a natural coating of the sword? Or is Mahoraga capable of RCT. Given the fact that he regenerates, one might argue that he CAN use it. But couldn't it just be that he adapts his body to close the injuries? (No, seriously. I need to know. Mahoraga with RCT would be OP.)
And then comes his adaptation. How does it work? In JJK, he adapts to cursed techniques and physical attacks. But that simply implies he uses cursed energy to block better and hit harder. We don't see any meaningful true adaptation. Honestly, he seems like an "infinite regeneration type"
At the same time, it might also mean that he does have RCT and simply uses it extremely well. (idk..)
But the most important aspect would be whether adaptation is permanent. If Jeff really did reincarnate as Mahoraga, he needed to understand and get a little bit of control over the technique. Could he de-adapt? Like in case he grew too big after a fight?
(Author comment: I'm thinking of giving him rudimentary control. Just enough to decide what the best way to adapt would be.)
...
Honestly, the math in his head was simple.
Mahoraga cursed technique= Adaptation.
-Adaptation costs cursed energy.
-Adapt to use CE more effectively during fight.
-Cursed energy reserves seem nearly infinite because of that.
-Adapts to close injuries, either through RCT or simply cellular regeneration as part of his Adaptation.
-Hit not strong enough? Adapt to use more CE to hit harder.
He believed this to be the physical aspect of Mahoraga's adaptation.
But there should also be a mental adaptation.
-Blunt attacks ineffective? Let's try cutting.
-Enemy moves around too much? Block his path.
-Normal attack fails? Let's use tools. (Cars and buildings to throw.)
So his battle IQ adapts as well.
Would all of that carry over to Jeff? He wasn't a martial arts expert. Could he just be beat up by martial arts and use his adaptation in order to learn how to counter it effectively?
...
He sighed. That was a lot of thinking for something which wasn't set in stone.
'I might genuinely just be a blind and deaf kid with a head deformation...'
That thought was scary.
'I should probably just focus on learning that weird of communicating...'
Yeah, his parents touched him a lot so that helped.
...
...
No, not like that you fucking degenerate.
Deaf people have sign language. Blind people can talk but obviously can't read, so they use a system called Braille which relies on touch.
People who are both deaf and blind can't read nor hear.
So they use a touch system similar to Braille to communicate and read. It mostly consists of tracing signs on each others hands. The signs form up the Alphabet.
And it's fucking complicated. (Look it up. Just type in "Braille.")
So, his parents spend their time tracing signs on their few week old baby's hands while handing him objects and things.
And while Jeff knew how it worked in Theory... actually knowing each part of their alphabet was an entirely different endeavor.
'How the hell am i supposed to understand this.'
Braille communication worked both through hands (for those with skill), but was more common in written language. So, his parents, thoughtful as they were, bought him such a book.
'And i don't understand shit.'
It wasn't as though he could just see a picture and touch the Braille next to it. He literally just had a surface with bumps and had to decipher it...
Now, he was well aware that it wasn't the kind of thing you'd learn and master in the span of a few months. Even if you had an adult's mind.
But he couldn't even imagine himself understanding this shit.
It was like looking at Quantum Physic formulas while being a humanities student.
Nevertheless, he already knew the sign used for "a."
'Gotta praise the parents. They are probably learning this for me...'
It seemed he really would have to learn it given that he lacked a certain convenient wheel behind his head.
But well, he wouldn't be worthy of being Mahoraga if he couldn't study a little.
...
...
...
POV change: Narration about Kana Shindai.
It was a nice morning. The Sun shone it's golden rays and the air carried a nice tint of humidity to it. She and Riku were currently on a walk in a nearby park.
Riku was still in the stroller, holding on to certain "object-shaped" learning materials. For example a fake apple with the Braille writing for apple on it.
She had a gentle smile on her face as she observed her little angel seriously studying and feeling out an object while doing his best to determine what it was.
It was astonishing really. Not even 2 months old, hasn't even begun to crawl but was already studying how to communicate.
She had originally consulted a lot of people and heard that kids with disabilities such as hers often were a little behind on their development, but she believed her son to be an exception. Starting out to learn at such a early stage was far above average, maybe even a sign for a brain related quirk!
Her thoughts soon drifted into the direction of her husband. She had noticed the slight reluctance he seemed to have when dealing with their son, but did not address it given the fact that he didn't ignore or neglect him.
It wasn't as though she couldn't understand it. The fact that Riku's noise basically consisted of growling, roaring and snarling was a little bit disconcerting.
But to be so nervous to touch him near his face just because of his teeth and his big mouth was ridiculous. He wasn't some rabid dog!
Nevertheless, he did play with Riku every once in a while, so she figured he just needed time to adjust.
"Aww, you're juch shuch a wittle cutie! Aren'chu?"
She had already learned how to use Braille in order to sign "i love you" and did so on a daily basis.
Her husband had tried to teach him how to announce that he needed to go to the bathroom, but that obviously did not work.
Setting those thoughts aside, she continued her walk, looking up the Braille for basic things outside and teaching them to the best of her capacity.
She'd do her best to help him and give him a great Life!