Chapter Text
Rebirth.
A concept that Sung Jin-Woo thought was nothing but a myth.
Well, to be more accurate, he thought it was a myth because he didn't think that it would happen to him of all people.
Especially since he hasn’t kicked the bucket yet.
Not to mention the other type of rebirth he underwent as a hunter. It wasn't the best experience he had, but it got him to where he was today.
Jin-Woo could've sworn that the Cup of Reincarnation sent him back. He defeated the Monarchs, cleaned everything up, saved the world from ending twice (He can brag about that a bit, he thinks. The world was about to be destroyed by Antares twice, after all; previous usages of the Cup notwithstanding), so what went wrong?
A bug? Glitch in the Cup? Can mystical cups of time travel even be capable of malfunctioning?
The former Shadow Monarch, Ashborn, had transferred his powers over to him and passed on peacefully, or so he liked to think. He didn't know what happened to the former Monarch after briefly meeting him, exchanging life stories, then ending with him disappearing off the face of the Earth. As the new Shadow Monarch, he never expected this to happen to him since he thought he was essentially immortal. Reincarnation isn’t supposed to work like this from what he knew since, well, he's not dead, for one.
So that's one possible explanation ruled out.
Nevertheless, the moment he opened his tired eyes, he saw small, soft limbs greet his face as he wiped away the eye crust. He then paused, since he knows his hand isn’t supposed to be soft, especially his left hand.
(It should be long, slender fingers, calloused from all the fights he had encountered. Rough hands that could easily catch, fight, tear, kill. )
A single flex, and Jin-Woo felt the lack of power, the lack of strength, in one motion.
‘…What the fuck?’
His hands were small. Not small for a man, no, small for a kid.
…
Upon further examination, he still retained the burn scars on his left hand, but it appeared to be shrunken down to his miniscule size. It was at that moment he visibly startled, and made a mad dash towards the bathroom, wherever it was. Hands on the walls, stumbling as he beelined for the mirror, he threw open the door by standing on the tip of his toes (The tip! How short was he?!) and had to look up at the sink that shouldn’t be two heads taller than him. It was then he realized.
...Everything was so big.
Or maybe the room was small. It looked small enough for a child to live in.
A child.
Jin-Woo was really hoping he wasn't a child.
If he was, then he's hoping that he didn't come into possession of a random child's body. The moral and logical implications of him being a kid again—and not even in his own kid body!—are currently beyond him despite his status as an immortal and as a Monarch.
‘Oh God.’
But when he thought his luck couldn't get any worse than it already was, fate seemed to find his palpable confusion hilarious the moment he found a stool and placed it before him; standing on top of it and staring into the mirror, a young face was looking back at him with a surprised expression. A young face that didn't resemble Jin-Woo’s in his youth.
When you gaze into the abyss, someone once said.
Jin-Woo wonders if he could drown himself in the abyss so he didn't have to deal with all of this. He can vouch that a trip to the abyss would be a better experience than this. He was also sure that the shadows would enjoy spending time with him. Maybe they'd enjoy world hopping, or do some recreational activities...
Currently, he was going to lose it.
The Shadow Monarch could feel the other shadows cry out in shock and surprise. A vast majority cheered at the thought of spending time with their king, while others were left stunned by his new appearance. Beru wailed at how much his appearance had changed, and how it would take some time to add another statue of him—
He is really going to lose it.
‘Beru.’
‘Yes, my king?’
‘...’
He can vaguely hear the resounding 'Kiiieek!’ before a loud thud followed. He didn't need to know what the large ant did, used to his antics.
‘Haha. Ant. Antics.’
…
He thinks his jokes are very funny. Jin-Ah would digress while making his ears fall off if she heard that, harping about how shitty it was six ways to Sunday.
A small, sharp pang pierced his heart. Jin-Ah.
“...” He shook his head. Now was not the time to be emotional. He’ll figure out what's going on then return to his family and friends.
‘This is not my home.’ He tells himself, firm and resolute.
And it never will be.
Jin-Woo looked at the mirror and saw a kid staring back at him. Examining himself further, everything kept on getting weirder and weirder. Green hair, green eyes, and a freckled face. Chubby cheeks showing his age. A short build.
A kid.
He was a kid again.
Not his kid self though, but a strange kid with oddly colored hair.
‘Green. Like a bush.’ Was the thought that came to mind.
‘Unnatural.’ Came the next.
Sure, Jin-Woo knows colored hair exists, but those were dyed. Bright pinks, blues, and purples weren't seen often, but a lot of blondes and brunettes were, with the occasional redhead. To see genuine green roots at the kid's scalp was what solidified his claim.
Jin-Woo mentally suppressed his growing panic as he realized he's now trapped in the body of a green-haired child inside a cozy looking apartment.
Naturally, as a sane adult in a post-apocalyptic world, he had to ask himself just to be sure.
"Did I do that?"
He wasn't totally sure. The last thing he remembered was defeating Antares and supposedly returning back home. He didn’t remember any side quests that included body snatching or soul swapping.
His shadows echoed the same confused sentiment, hollering and roaring in disbelief.
Right after he asked himself that question out loud, the voice of a squeaky child resounded through the room. It was high pitched and slightly grating to the ear, unlike the deep and rich voice he had as an adult.
‘Well, that’s embarrassing.’
Good thing it's just him and his army of shadows right now.
He thinks that if someone heard him say that out loud, they would instantly send him to a psychiatric ward in the blink of an eye.
But that's not his fault though.
As he placed the stool back where he found it, he slowly walked back to what appeared to be his room, examining the items labeled on the desk and multiple books on the shelves.
"Midoriya Izuku."
At an inhumane speed, Jin-Woo shifted his head back to see who spoke.
“It's in Japanese, my liege.”
Jin-Woo could recognize that address from a mile away.
“But this place and your current appearance, my liege...Kiiiiek! Forgive this lowly one for not being able to prevent this!"
Well, it's not like any of his close companions would know what happened either. They were all left in the dark, submerged in the shadow’s depths.
It's a good thing Jin-Woo is accustomed to being in the shadows.
He slowly relaxed as he recognized that tall, familiar build. Especially that archaic form of address.
"Beru."
The ant of mass destruction happily bounded over to him, mandibles clicking together. Beru was a tall, jet-black anthropomorphic ant that had a purple glow around him. Wisps of shadows flickered about his form as the ant bounded over to him, eager to see his master. “It is I, my lord!"
“You can read it?” The Shadow Monarch sat on the plush bed, bouncing slightly on the soft mattress.
“Kiiiiek!” A happy Beru is a confident Beru. Jin-Woo could see the flowers blossoming around Beru as he continued, “It was not difficult at all!”
Jin-Woo leaned on his side on the bed, tilting his head in an inquisitive manner. “How?”
“Kekeke. The false king who dared to challenge your humble servant was well-versed in this language.” Beru struck a pose. “He dared to proclaim how powerful he was in that tiny island, yet he fell before this servant of yours in the blink of an eye!”
‘Ah, a cheat code.’
Jin-Woo forgot how bloodthirsty this guy was before he made him his soldier.
Going back to the topic at hand, he tried to recall everyone he met who was remotely Japanese involved in his life and Beru’s. All he could think of was the Jeju Island Raid where several Japanese forces lent some of their hunters. It rang a bell. ‘Goto Ryuji and his gang.’
Jin-Woo remembered that pretty well, since when he made Beru his shadow, he saw the memories that came with it.
(Beheaded in the blink of an eye. Eliminated in less than an hour.
Jin-Woo was familiar with doling out swift eliminations.)
It was all in the past now though. Jin-Woo looked around the place, seeing its barren yet homely state. He wondered how old the kid was. He couldn’t be older than five.
‘Is this real?’
He pinched himself in the arm. It stung a bit.
‘I can't tell if this is real.’
He then stood up from the bed and walked to the mirror to get a closer look at his reflection. In his daze, he stubbed his toe on something and cursed, curling in on himself slightly as he winced.
‘Nevermind. Definitely real.’ That was another way of finding out. He’d rather not recreate it.
Looking at himself in the mirror again, he observed the expression on the child-like face.
What a cute kid.
Jin-Woo didn't know how to feel about possibly stealing a child's body. He doesn't even remember how he got here.
‘Sorry, kid.’ He mentally apologized. If he could, he wouldn’t have body-jacked a kid who’s still wet behind the ears.
Besides, he thinks his current—or was it past?—self was better.
The Shadow Monarch stood up, left to contemplate his current predicament. He was debating with himself whether to quietly leave this place or to continue exploring. Seeing that he was currently powerless to change the problem, he decided that it wouldn’t hurt to examine his surroundings.
The walls and floor were clean with little to no molds. Books were stored neatly on the shelves, free from dust. Several merchandise were seen littered around the room, giving it a personal touch. Though, if he had to note, the people in the posters and toys were strangely dressed; almost like comic book characters.
After his brief investigation of the room, a flicker in the shadows caught his attention. He stared into the abyss and smiled.
A horde of soldiers, hidden in a single shadow.
It was reassuring that he retained his skills and abilities, even when he's in a new body. Though his form had changed into that of a strangely green-haired child, his eternal companions are still with him.
Good to know.
Curiosity overtook his rationality as he recalled Beru into his shadow and left the bedroom. Before he left, he remembered to put on a glove for his left hand. He then stepped out into the hall of what appeared to be a cozy apartment. Strolling past the doors to his left and right, he came across the living room and kitchen. It was there that he noticed another person inside the humble abode.
She was a slender woman with green hair, the same shade as the kid—Midoriya Izuku, his mind recalled—half-tied into a bun. An apron was wrapped around her waist as she cooked, the aroma wafting through the room.
He didn't need to think twice about the words that came out of his mouth. Surprisingly in Japanese.
“Mom.” He said, surprising even himself. He knew that word wouldn’t have left his mouth willingly, so he surmised it to be an automatic response. At least he had confirmation that the woman in front of him was this boy’s mother. He felt Beru telling him how to speak the language to make it natural since he wasn’t Japanese.
The woman turned, a bright smile on her warm, youthful face. “Ah, Izuku! Just in time. Mom made you breakfast.” She responded back in Japanese, setting up the table. ”I made your favorite meal today. Eat up!”
Jin-Woo was ashamed to admit that he needed help from Beru to translate for him. He made a mental note to study the language only to remind himself that this wasn’t permanent.
‘Then again,’ he mused to himself bitterly, sitting on the chair and eating the food after halfheartedly mimicking his so-called mother giving gratitude. ‘It’s not like I’ll be staying here for long. I’ll be leaving soon anyways.’
He blankly watched as she placed a bowl on the dining table, chopsticks to the side. The meal didn’t look anything special, nor was it his favorite food, but he wasn’t one to be ungrateful. He picked it up and ate slowly, chewing on the warm meal she prepared. “Today you'll be meeting Mitsuki’s son. I hope you both get along. I was told Katsuki was a bit of a firecracker like his mom.”
“Mh.” He grunted noncommittally, feeling oddly guilty for not knowing who these people are. He’s just thankful that Beru’s translating everything automatically for him. “Who?”
“Katsuki. Bakugo Katsuki, your aunt Mitsuki's son.” She smiled at him, ruffling his fluffy green hair gently. It was amazing how surreal this all was, especially since both his and her hair were a bright shade of green. “You’ll be seeing him at the kindergarten later.”
“I hope you'll make a lot of friends.” His mother—No, that's not his mother. His mother was waiting for him—mused to herself. “Oh, you haven't changed yet. Here, let mom get you your uniform.” She swiftly left like a hurricane that jumbled his perspective, leaving him overwhelmed while eating breakfast.
‘The day hasn't even started yet…’
He had no plans to get attached to the woman this body recognized as mother. His own mother was finally awake and healthy alongside his beloved little sister. His father, though a bit rough around the edges, was a family man at heart, and continued to be one until the end. That was his family, and nothing would change that.
He wanted to protest against it, wanted to say he wasn't her son, that he was a grown man. But the words died on his throat when she returned, smiling brightly as she handed him his clothes.
It felt wrong to say no to someone so earnest.
Jin-Woo placed down the chopsticks on top of the empty bowl. He hesitated slightly before accepting the clothes from her, putting it on. Ignoring the squeal of adoration, he fixed it to make it look neat and wrinkle-free on him. He went to the long mirror and examined himself, admiring how it looked. He ignored how she kept taking pictures of him at almost every angle.
Annoying, but he can’t fault a doting mother.
‘Would she still dote on him like that if she found out her son was replaced by a stranger?’
“Izuku, why are you wearing gloves?” He looked up at her, meeting her worried eyes. “Is something wrong? Did you get hurt?”
“Everything’s fine, Mom.” He placated her once more before she started to dig deeper. It pained him internally to use that word, but he wouldn’t want to be found out just yet. It wouldn’t do well to complicate things this early on, especially since he’s not sure if he’s in it for the long haul. “It’s just a bit cold.” An excuse should be fine. He’ll work out the kinks along the line. Maybe he’ll try to cook and say he burnt his hand when she wasn’t around?
“On one hand?” She persisted. “Where’s the other pair?”
“It got lost somewhere. Plus, I wouldn’t wanna be late.” That got him a smile from her.
Once the semi-interrogation ended, the woman packed everything up and cleaned the table. Jin-Woo assisted her in carrying the items. Once the duo finished cleaning up, Jin-Woo grabbed his school bag while Izuku’s mother gently held his hand and brought him to the school. Walking to school with her felt something new (since it was). The scenery around them was no different from Seoul; a bunch of skyscrapers and buildings the eye could see. What did get his head turning were the odd hair colors as well. Guess it wasn’t just him and the mother of this kid’s body. With the silence between them, he was thinking about everything he had seen so far, engrossed in his thoughts.
‘New house, new body, new mom.’ He mused. ‘Everything is as it should be.’
As if.
He wanted to tear his hair out from how the Rulers might’ve lied to him and tampered with the Cup, but seeing that they had used it a lot, he’s wondering what the hell could’ve happened for this to be the end result. What made this one different? He cursed himself internally as he neglected to check the dates, something to remedy soon.
‘Beru,’ Jin-Woo thought through the link between him and his shadow soldiers. The attentive ‘Kieeek!’ he got in response said enough. ‘Did anything mention the dates?’
‘Unfortunately, this one was unable to see any dates on the calendar, my liege.’ Disappointed but not surprised, he thanked Beru before continuing to ruminate about his current situation.
‘Why am I in this body?’
It was odd. The scar on his left hand ended up in this kid’s body, but it didn’t feel like possession. If anything, it felt as though he merged with it, and his consciousness won over.
Or so he liked to tell himself. That was an ongoing mystery to him under the can of worms he called his current predicament.
“We’re here.” His not-mother said to him, giving him an excited yet worried smile. “Have fun!” She kissed his cheek and waved him goodbye.
He silently bade her farewell, waving back before heading inside for what was supposed to be his first day of class. The teachers and students around the hall helped assist him in reaching his destination. He reached up, standing on the tip of his toes.
The door slid open, and he saw a ton of children running around and enjoying themselves.
It was then that Jin-Woo realized what he walked into. ‘Ah. This is hell.’
*
Jin-Woo was not ashamed to say he aimed to swiftly sit at the back of the class to be one with the wall. The room was wide enough for a bunch of kids to run around, might as well try to blend in so he wasn’t bothered.
He decided to use this time to stew over everything that has happened in the past few hours. He asked himself questions he was thinking of on the way to this classroom.
‘This body…’
He looked at the tiny hand in front of him, flexing it to his face, then at the window to his left. It was a tall, large glass that showed him how much he enjoyed being indoors. The reflection of a stranger stared back at him before he looked away. His gaze returned to his hands, particularly his left hand.
‘If this were truly the kid’s body, then why is it that the left hand has the burn mark I got from Antares?’
Had it been his body shrunken down, he would’ve understood. However, this wasn’t him as a child, but a Japanese boy with broccoli hair.
He looked out the window, mulling over everything that had occurred so far when suddenly a loud boy stood in front of him. “Hey, nerd!”
Jin-Woo had to restrain the bloodthirsty shadow army as they all yelled in outrage at the insult to their liege. The hunter-turned-child looked at the boy and noticed his red eyes and spiky blonde hair. He had a proud and bright expression on his face as he introduced himself. “I’m Bakugo Katsuki. Don’t even bother with the guys behind me. They’re just extras.” He said in a cocky manner. The ‘extras’ just smiled politely at him, introducing themselves to him, though he couldn't care less. Jin-Woo took note of that and introduced himself, remembering what Izuku’s mother said about Bakugo Katsuki and family friend Mitsuki. “And you are?”
“I’m Midoriya Izuku. It’s nice to meet you.” He gave them a slight smile, polite and unassuming.
“Ah, so you’re Auntie Inko’s kid, huh?” The blonde, Bakugo, crossed his arms, giving him a condescending smile. Jin-Woo found it amusing to see a kid express so much personality. Maybe he’ll play along and be the friend of this kid like Izuku’s mother wanted. “Yes—”
“Hah, you dress like a nerd.” The kid gave him a once-over before scoffing. “Lookin’ pretty pathetic, too.”
Jin-Woo restrained the urge to defenestrate the kid. Maybe there’s still hope—
The blonde kid looked at how his name was spelled and exclaimed, “Huh! Your name can be read as “Deku”!” He pointed in Jin-Woo’s face, his smile turning into a sneer. “From now on, a “Deku” is a person who’s totally useless at everything!”
He took it back. This wasn’t going to work.
He had to restrain the bloodlust emanating from the shadow army as they all targeted their scorn at the young boy. For a split second, it leaked out, which made the entire room cold for a second before returning to normal. Despite the short time, it seemed as though they were all affected by the pressure for that second. After that, it appears as though they chalked it up to a cold draft from the air conditioning.
Bakugo seemed to notice it as well before continuing his usual haughty attitude, going on a rant on how he’s better than everyone and how he’ll be the number one hero, whatever that meant. Jin-Woo was just relieved that their survival instincts didn’t kick in. Good. Things would’ve gotten messy if it did. It was a relief they thought it was only the air conditioning. The kid kept on droning on and on about how great he was. At that point, Jin-Woo drowned him out.
‘One ear and out the other.’ He calmly told himself. He took a deep breath and responded, cutting the blonde off. “It’s Midoriya Izuku. Feel free to pick whichever of the two.” He said with finality.
It was more so for his sanity than the soldiers since they seemed keen on eviscerating a child.
It took a while for him to calm them down. Jin-Woo could feel the lingering resentment from the insult the shadow army was feeling. Personally, he was irked at how not a lot of people contested the nickname. Then again, they were kids. He’ll be a bit more lenient since they don’t know any better.
The hours flew by with him reading the books in front of him, occasionally paying attention to the teacher. Even though it wasn’t in his mother tongue or English, the Japanese and simple images, along with Beru’s words, helped him learn little by little. It was a bit embarrassing to use a children’s book, but nobody knew that he was an adult since he was in the body of Midoriya Izuku.
Well, besides his shadow soldiers. But they don’t count since they’re dead.
If someone found out, he’d die from embarrassment.
During break times, he would be seated at the corner of the class, doodling his generals and shadow army on a piece of paper. They were simplified pencil sketches of the different monsters since he couldn’t draw them all the way he wanted to just yet. ‘In due time,’ Jin-Woo thought, smiling a bit to himself. He wanted to bring justice to their appearance despite him barely managing a circle in drawing a stickman. The shadows were all screaming at him and at how touched they were when they saw the final output, featuring the mini version of themselves. Kind of like a big, happy, dark family with glowing eyes.
‘Quite the masterpiece,’ the hunter thought. He felt the shadows agree with the sentiment despite it being a childish caricature of his loyal companions.
He noticed one of the teachers pass by him and see his work before hurriedly rushing away. Paying it no mind, he continued on with his masterpiece until a hand was slammed on his desk, smack dab on the paper itself. The hunter’s brows furrowed in annoyance at being interrupted. Looking up, he saw Bakugo and his cronies in front of him. The paper was rudely ripped away from him, held up for everyone to see. “What’s this? Looks creepy!”
“...” He just paid him no mind. If he did, then the shadows would really attack a kid. Sighing, he used Ruler’s Authority to let it slip from Bakugo’s fingers and picked it up, storing it in his notebook.
After that, he just studied, intent on passing the time.
He couldn’t wait for the day to end already.
*
The moment Jin-Woo got home, he immediately took off his shoes and made a beeline for his bedroom. He was exhausted. The children at his class were obnoxious and loud, two things he hated. In addition to that, he had to deal with them making fun of him. Normally he wouldn’t care, but it was hard to keep everything under control when you have billions of loyal shadow soldiers determined to disintegrate them all.
He’s not a child murderer, after all.
Retribution felt good though when he subtly made them all trip and fall at the same time like dominoes when it was dismissal. That got a small laugh out of him as he left.
“Izuku?” The woman—Inko, he remembered Bakugo saying—called out to him. He turned around to see her, eyes slightly wide not at the sight of her, but at the objects floating around her.
‘Uh?’
He was sent back in time, right?
Then weren’t those normally not supposed to float?
Jin-Woo couldn’t recall a single moment where five years in the past included multicolored hair and floating objects. As far as he was aware, everyone was powerless and unawakened.
He blinked out of his stupor to catch the tail end of her lecture on politeness, “—Time, you should say that you're home! I'll be very sad if something bad happens to you.” Her eyes were downcast, making him feel bad. Or maybe it was the kid’s body that felt bad.
Jin-Woo will get to the bottom of that can of worms later. For now, he’ll roll with the punches.
“...Yes. I'm sorry.” He said to placate her. He forgot what she said, too busy being lost in his thoughts. Igris gently chided him and informed him that the woman wanted him to say that he was home whenever he arrived home. Something about a Japanese custom. “I’ll do it next time.” His eyes drifted to the objects floating near her and she noticed, her expression brightening up. She walked towards him and scooped him up to seat him on his lap. Normally he would be making a fuss due to the sheer embarrassment of being treated like an actual child, but currently he was the child.
“Are you interested in Mom's Quirk?” She said, showing the inanimate objects move and hover around them. It reminded him of the Ruler's Authority skill he had, but much weaker.
He wordlessly nodded at her, watching as she demonstrated what her ‘Quirk’ was. “What's a Quirk?” It wouldn't hurt to ask someone who knew what it was.
“Oh, dear me,” she said softly, wondering how he could have forgotten something that sounded so important. In his defense, he was barely here for less than a day; of course he wouldn’t know anything. She chuckled, seeming to be amused by his lapse in memory. “Even after going on and on about All Might and his Quirk, you forgot?” Sorry for forgetting. I’m not your son. “Well, you are at that age with the short attention span and all. Don’t worry! Mom will explain it for you. A Quirk is something everyone is born with. It can change someone's shape or make them control the weather. It depends on your parents genes, though.” She planted a kiss to his forehead. “Mom’s Quirk allows her to carry small objects towards her. For you, though, we’ll have to wait and see!” She beamed at him. “I’m excited for you, Izuku!”
He looked away before focusing his eyes on the computer. Inko noticed where his gaze landed on and gave a warm smile, moving to place him on the floor as she stood up. “I’ll need to get to work soon. Don’t open the door to any strangers and sleep early, okay? Dinner is at the table.” She patted his head and left him alone in his room.
Time to get to work.
The hunter turned his attention to the open computer on the tall desk, illuminating the dark room. The sun was out, and the moon was up. He lowered the swivel chair so he could hop on to sit and raised himself up. He blinked in surprise, not expecting such a grand headline on the first tab he saw. It featured a video with the title, “All Might Saves Everyone from A Villain Attack!” The thumbnail looked exaggerated, but it didn’t seem to be photoshopped in any way.
What caught his eye in particular was a video that seemed to be paused. He used the mouse to drag it back to an earlier timestamp and watched it, observing it in great detail.
His brows furrowed when he heard a bellowing laugh amidst what appeared to be the wreckage of a district. The fire roared in the background, but the large man paid it no mind.“Never fear, for I am here!” A man’s voice boomed from the speakers as he carried a ton of people from the burning rubble around him, saving them from a grim fate. Standing tall was a bulky man with blonde hair and sharp features, a common sight in the merchandise around his room and at the kindergarten. He honestly looked like a walking American Flag with the costume and the color scheme.
“What the hell?” Jin-Woo couldn’t hold back his confusion. He looked up the name “All Might” online and saw several news articles and images of the smiling man.
Throughout it all, there was only one word used to describe him. Then Bakugo’s words from earlier rang a bell. The articles used the same words he did, and this was what made Jin-Woo question if he was truly sent back in time.
“Hero?”