(This chapter is going to be written without the big space in between POV changes and timeskips. I thought the space would be good in order to avoid having big blocks of writing but someone mentioned it being annoying on Laptop.
I don't know if you guys read this on Laptop or phone. So this chapter will have shorter space. Please tell me which one you prefer. I'll go back and change the other chapters if you prefer shorter space.)
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Short reminder to give stones if you like it. It's a confidence and motivation booster. Not as good as reviews though....
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CHAPTER BEGINS:
(Pov: Narration about 5 year old Fumikage Tokoyami)
'The playground is not always a place of light.'
Such were the thoughts of Fumikage Tokoyami as he sat, brooding, at the edge of the sandbox.
Indeed, such knowledge was his, since the dawn of his arrival to this tyrannical place of blinding light.
Even as his classmates laughed and played, blind to the deeper truths of existence, Tokoyami remained vigilant. Ever watchful. Ever alone.
"And today... shadows herald hath been sent forward once more..."
An intimidating figure. A creature whose whiteness belied its dark origin and it's silence weighted down upon the world.
Fitting for such a being of the night, the creature was devoid of sight and hearing, forever basking in the stillness of the dark.'
Where eyes would have graced another, unmoving wings sprouted, as if attempting a grotesque imitation of an angel.
A strange tail trailed from the back of its head, rigid, unmoving and undeniably dangerous.
The ever-present grin on it's face unchanging.
"...to meet me..."
Tokoyami tensed. He felt his darkness stir within him, eager to clash. But he held it back.
For he knew… a battle here would reduce the world to ruin.
His eyes settled upon the approaching wheel.
'Should it ever complete its turn, he feared that the darkness within that creature would surely devour the last light of this wor...'
"Tokoyami! You're sitting on my shovel!"
A tiny hand smacked his shoulder.
He turned, slowly, face serious.
The wielder of the voice was a small boy with juice stains on his cheeks and an accusatory glare, pointing to a plastic blue shovel buried beneath Tokoyami's rear.
Silence fell. The apocalypse, momentarily postponed.
Tokoyami stood up brushing sand from his pants. "....Forgive me. I was lost in the abyss."
The boy blinked, unimpressed. "You're weird."
And with that, the child waddled off, reclaiming his shovel, entirely unaware of the cataclysm he had narrowly averted.
Tokoyami returned his gaze to the approaching figure.
The wheel remained there, unmoving.
The darkness had not yet fallen.
But it would. One day.
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Another kid approached.
"Tokoyami! You're a bird! Do you want to eat a Worm?"
Tokoyami's gaze turned complicated at said statement. 'Indeed, tis the fate of the one who saves other's from the darkness... to be spited and ridiculed by the masses.'
His gaze alternated between the small speaker and the slowly approaching creature.
'Perhaps the creature was simply... misunderstood... Perhaps it's quest in this world ravaged by fools was simply to... find a comrade in order to purge this world of its foolishness.'
Tokoyami's tiny fists clenched, before relaxing.
"Perhaps..."he murmured. "...saving others does not always need to happen through battle..."
Tokoyami's resolve strengthened as his gaze returned to the creature known as "Riku Shindai."
"Perhaps i may save the world... change the creature's mind... not through battle... but through friendship."
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Tokoyami's gaze remained deceitfully calm as he watched the legions (Legos) of his comrades (playmates) annihilate each other.
'The sacrifice of battle... for the greater good...'
His own legions (Legos) had already been destroyed through a serendipitous backstab of someone he had once thought his ally. Now, because of Kazuma Sato's unexpected alliance with the armies of evil, his own had been scattered.
But despite his loss, his calm mind understood the benefit of it. The armies of evil... incapable of coordination and loyalty, soon turned against each other and that induced a war between all remaining legions... not a single one remaining unscathed.
Thus, the common people... the princesses... were unaffected by the horrors of conflict. They were safe. For the armies... exterminated each other down to the last man.
A sigh of relief escaped Tokoyami as he stood up. Seeing his alliance suffering such a heart wrenching betrayal was difficult.... but his heart eased as he saw the figurines of princesses and commoners remaining safe.
Soon, the teacher called for the children to clean up, but Tokoyami needed to find a crucial piece of information before assisting them.
He approached the teacher.
"Hmm? Fumikage? Do you need something?"
Tokoyami gave a solemn nod.
"Indeed. I want to know how to talk to the one known as Riku Shindai."
The teacher seemed a little surprised. He smiled.
"Oh? That is very kind of you Fumikage. But speaking to him is a little bit difficult given his conditions. You'd need to learn an entirely new language."
Tokoyami's expression scrunched up.
'A difficult endeavor but....'
The smile on an All Might poster flashed before his eyes.
"A Hero needs to go PLUS ULTRA!"
The teacher looked confused before understanding dawned in his eyes.
"Hahah, very well. I'll talk to Heisuke about it."
Heisuke? Not a name he recognized. This teacher seemed to have valuable connections.
Nevertheless, he nodded and thanked the teacher, then headed to help his comrades clean up. His parents would soon pick him up. He could ask them as well.
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(Pov change: Riku Shindai aka Mahoraga)
Kindergarten was over once more. Riku relished that fact because he had come to understand that... it was boring as hell.
He couldn't read any books due to none of them being in Braille, the kids were too stupid and he had no one to talk to. It was a waste of time for him. So he usually spent that time chilling or following the bird-man around.
He trained his CE as well during the time, but only focused on widening his sensor abilities. Getting reprimanded by the teacher because he pushed an emotion onto someone with his quirk would be stupid.
'I wonder if they'd even notice that it was me.'
But well, he wasn't exactly very subtle when he shared his emotions. He usually didn't move and had to concentrate a lot, so unless the teacher was retarded, he'd probably notice.
But no matter. He could simply train his Telepathy with his dad.
Speaking of dad, the two of them were currently heading home.
They had found an Official gym, but Riku had been refused entry because of his young age. Even in a world where people ran around with superpowers, they couldn't just accept a 5 year old... which kind of made sense but remained frustrating.
So, they simply conceded and headed home. They'd be going back to the forest this evening.
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(Masaki POV)
'Weirdo is frustrated.'
It was clear as day. The kid had enough of Cardio and wanted to get to strength training.
'Well, not only strength training. Pretty sure he also wants to learn how to fight.'
The little one was technically too young to start lifting heavy weights. It simply wasn't recommended for kids his age.
But... this little freak had already started bodyweight exercises and did pretty damn well.
His body was flexible, seemed inherently tougher than that of normal kids... but he clearly lacked reflexes and skill.
'But still, he's just 5!'
He was kind of relieved that the gym had refused him. While he did support the weirdo when it came to training... he thought it'd be better to wait a little.
But the kid insisted. So they went and searched. And then got refused.
'But man... he really is frustrated.'
How did he know? Simple. He trained harder. Sprinted faster. Jogged faster. Did push-ups faster. And wore a scowl during every single one of these exercises. Even when his training ended, during his stretching.
'I might prefer that the weirdo does normal child-activities like eating boogers and play with toys, but if the weirdo wants to train... then he'll get his training.
He stood up and walked towards his son. The sun had already settled and the darkness of the night was creeping in. They should already be home at the time. He quickly sent his wife a message.
Then took his son's hand.
"You want to take a detour? We can jog."
'I'm way too thoughtful. Tired from training even though i stopped earlier than him and still proposing to run. I deserve an award.'
The kid looked at him and Masaki made sure to hide his still wheezy breath.
"Yes, please."
'Damn, i kind of hoped he'd say no.'
"Alright then. Follow me."
And so, training ensued with a light paced jog. They soon found their way out of the forest and continued through the city.
'At least the weirdo is considerate enough to let me set the pace.'
Their jog continued for a while, until the kid suddenly stopped.
Masaki stopped as well and soon found the reason for the weirdo's halt.
'A gym?'
An open garage on the opposite side of the road, led way into what looked like a small rusty gym.
His son tugged at his sleeve and pointed at the gym.
'He wants to check out that shady place?'
Calling it shady was an exaggeration. As they entered with slow steps, they soon soon saw its arrangements.
A cage in the middle, with worn out Tatami mats. An empty place with light equipment, presumably for stretching or ground exercises. Another place with equipment for strength training. Benches with drinks next to them.
Another thing Masaki noticed, was the Clientel.
Let's just say they didn't look like the kind of people you'd see at Gold's gym. Gruff looking. Not evil, just... not rich. Their expressions were intense though.
Masaki remained rather calm. He'd be more nervous here if he was with his wife. She tended to freak out too easily and that would probably attract attention. The unwanted kind.
But the weirdo? Despite his weird looks, he was a calm kid and wouldn't attract that much attention besides for his looks.
'Well, it might be a shady gym, but it's still just a gym. Let's just make sure it's not some illegal fighting ring.'
He and his son walked up to the small desk. A shorthaired guy was immersed in a video, only looking up once they stood in front of him.
Masaki grabbed his son and lifted him up.
"Hello, me and my son are looking for a gym. Mind if we take a look?"
The guy just stared at Riku with a weird gaze.
"...That freak looks a bit young, don't he?"
Masaki just shrugged. Riku tilted his head, probably sensing some emotions again.
"Hey, he's the one who's interested."
The guy just raised an eyebrow.
"We don't have teachers here, if he gets hurt, that's on him."
Masaki grimaced a little. He should probably discuss this with his wife, but...
'I'll just text her. I'm a responsible adult as well, nothing wrong with visiting haunted gyms with my son.'
And it wasn't as if he was throwing the kid into cage fights. He'd probably stick to normal training. Just to move around a little. Push-ups, bench-press and stuff. Normal monster-kid-activities.
"No problem. Kid's probably gonna figure out everything by himself anyway."
'The kid's gonna be shredded before his 10th birthday.'
The guy at the desk just shrugged.
"Suit yourself. Monthly's cheap. He breaks something, you pay for it."
"Two subscriptions then..."
'I might be an irresponsible dad, but i'm not dumb enough to let my 5 year old train here by himself.'
The kid was quick to anger after all (especially when it came to food). What if he killed someone?
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Payment was done. Both he and his son entered the gym and took a look around.
'Man, this place really is a dump.'
The gym equipment looked recycled... in fact everything here did. Even the ceiling.
His gaze turned towards his son, whose earlier gloominess had disappeared.
'...one man's dump is another man's disney-land, huh?'
Masaki sighed and then took out his phone. A quick message was sent.
[Masaki]: Be home late. Riku found a gym he likes.
He watched as 3 dots appeared on his screen. Then stopped.
Then reappeared.
Disappeared again.
'Crap.'
He quickly pocketed his phone. Kana's anger was a problem for future him. Present him had nothing to with it.
He quickly looked towards his son who had finished his inspection of the place and came back to his side.
"You like it?"
A dumb question. The kid looked like he'd shit rainbows.
As expected, the answer came in the form of an enthusiastic nod.
"Alright, but we won't train today. Let's come back tomorrow."
The kid simply nodded. Despite the kid's unearthly stamina, he probably was tired as well.
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(next morning) (Pov : Riku)
He woke up rather early. Unreasonably so. At 4 in the morning in fact.
But it didn't surprise him. Mahoraga's body already didn't need much rest. He had already noticed that his need for sleep slowly lessened over the years.
Nevertheless, he still forced himself to rest. One thing which he had learned in his first life, was that you grow when you sleep. And he still had to grow a lot. Mahoraga as a midget was unacceptable after all.
But today? It was Friday. And it was also the day after yesterday. The day his father had called "tomorrow" just the day before.
The day he'd finally be able to train for real.
His father had told him that this gym was more of an evening gym, only opening in the later afternoon or early evening. The people who frequented it were the kind of people who tended to work until rather late, so it'd be rather empty if he went right at the start of opening hours.
He still had half a day before it'd open. But he also had 3 hours until Kindergarten.
'..I'll just go a bit later... when there are more people... and i ... i mean dad... asks someone!'
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The morning passed and Riku's search history was filled with different ways to formulate the same question. "How to get buff as a 5 year old."
He was now at Kindergarten, practicing his CE control in a distracted manner.
Until someone approached him.
'Bird-man? Since when does he even approach anyone?'
He turned around to meet him. Riku sensed as Bird-Man stopped in front of him, solemnly nodded before positioning himself next to him and crossing his arms as if overseeing the Kindergarten.
'No way my friendship strategy worked. Wait... is he... nervous?'
Nervosity wasn't exactly accurate. It was more like... bashful with slight anticipation.
'It's directed at me... Did he prepare something?'
Now he was curious. Bird-man was usually a lot more... grounded.
His cursed energy whipped around and focused on the bird-man.
'Hmm.... he doesn't seem to have anything.'
The bird-man's nervous feelings gradually rescinded.
He then turned to Riku who turned to face him.
'Is he... is he looking at my hands?'
He himself wasn't sure how he knew. Just like before, he could kind of tell what Tokoyami's emotions were focused on.
'Nervosity... anticipation... yearn? If i was stupid, i'd be thinking that he wants to hold hands.'
Good thing he wasn't. He was clever after all.
'Did he learn to say something in Braille?'
So, without further ado, Riku held out his hand.
Bird-man then proceeded to messily scribble signs on his hand.
'I ... an.... Toyogami?'
He learned to introduce himself? That was ... kind of sweet. Having a guy who learns Braille just to talk with you? Honestly heartwarming.
'I doubt he actually knows Braille though. Probably just learned how to introduce himself.'
So... Riku decided to simply scribble back something simple. As expected, Toyogami's emotions immediately changed to a mix of confusion, embarrassment and weirdly enough... determination.
But well, Riku certainly appreciated the effort.
'Hmmm... today really is a good day!'
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(small time skip. back at home.)
'She is not happy.'
Indeed. His mother had been rather angry yesterday... and she did not seem much happier today.
Luckily for him, the anger was directed as his father.
And luckily for his father, the man had an innate gift of twisting nonsensical information into something which seemed thoughtful. Almost even noble.
Telling an convoluted tale about things such as "danger-preparedness-in-modern society" and "not-wanting-to-burden-his-very-lovely-wife-with-stress" he somehow spun the whole situation into an act of responsibility and love.
'That... is seriouslyimpressive.'
But in all seriousness, it hadn't been that bad of a place. Sure, the emotions of the clientele he had sensed were a little... peculiar (nothing but unending rage!) but he was sure it was just... circumstantial.
'Didn't people always say that rage was a pre-workout? Maybe these guys simply took it a bit further.'
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'Finally...'
He was at the gym. A few people were present, their emotions not much different from before. His dad's sceptic gaze systematically scanned the equipment.
'Now... i should start with a light warm up. But i already ran here... so maybe just a stretching?'
The insecurity of one's first time at a gym was indeed real.
Nevertheless, the first day was just a try-out day. Asking for help would happen if he really didn't know anymore.
'Alright, let's see how this goes!'
Benchpress first. Like every beginner.
20kg. His father simply watched as the weight moved up and down rather easily.
So he switched to 30kg...
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His arms were crushed and so was his throat.
He died before he could adapt. The end.
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CHAPTER END!
Author's note:
No... seriously, he survived.
Just... lost a little bit of his pride.
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I don't know how receptive the Webnovel community is to these jokes.
I'll delete it if you hate it.