Author's Note: edited the chapter for grammar and extra paragraphs that were not supposed to be there.
Chapter 3
He blinked once. Then twice. Then a third time just to make sure he'd heard correctly. Then he asked just to confirm what he heard.
"I am going to be an older brother?" he asked in utter bewilderment.
His father grinned and nodded. "That's right, champ."
His mother giggled softly, resting a hand on her stomach. "You'll have someone new to play with soon."
'A younger sibling? I don't think I'm prepared for this. I mean, I can barely make a Spider-Man playdough figure look half decent. How am I supposed to help take care of someone else? Especially a baby?'
He slumped slightly in his chair, staring at his parents as if they'd just told him the world was ending.
Gorou chuckled, walked over, knelt beside him, and placed a reassuring hand on his son's shoulder. "I know you'll make an amazing big brother, Haru."
'Yeah, sure. Just got zero idea what I'm doing,' he thought, Haruya, sighing. 'This is gonna be a disaster.'
His mother, Miki smiled softly. "You don't have to be perfect, sweetheart. Just being there is enough."
Gorou ruffled his hair. "Who knows, maybe your little brother will look up to you one day."
"Yeah, right," Haruya muttered. "He'll probably just think I'm weird."
His father smirked. "Well, you are a bit weird sometimes."
'If only you knew.'
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Five months later.....
Haruya was sitting on the couch watching Dragon-So Ball, his eyes full of disappointment.
"They've done massacred my boy Goku." he muttered under his breath, shaking his head.
On the screen, Goku was moving in ways that defied his old image stiff, awkward, and completely out of character. Haruya's small hands clenched in frustration.
'Seriously… who approved this?' he thought. 'This isn't Goku. Not even close.'
From the corner of his eye, he could see his mother folding baby clothes and his father quietly stacking boxes. He ignored them, too absorbed in the mess that the show had become.
"This is tragic." he said as a lone tear went down his face. " A pure, unfiltered tragedy."
'Man, this is boring,' he muttered, getting up and turning off the TV.
He trudged toward his room, climbing the stairs slowly, his small feet making soft thuds against the wood. As he walked, his mind wandered.
'Even after almost five years of being reincarnated, I haven't seen anything supernatural or out of the ordinary either,' he thought, leaning against the railing for a moment. 'Could it be that all I did was just travel back in time, and not hop universes like in those fanfics I used to read?'
He reached his room, pushed the door open, and stepped inside. Sunlight spilled through the window, catching the dust in the air, but it did little to brighten his mood. He fell onto his bed and thought.
'The only thing I could say is out of the ordinary is me,' he thought, lying back on his bed and staring at the ceiling. 'I can see through walls and see stupidly far. Got it under control after the Spider-Man figure incident. It took a while, but it's fine now.'
He turned his gaze toward the window, watching the rooftops of Kouh Town bathed in the late afternoon sun. Everything outside looked normal.
'Too bad there's nothing interesting to do right now,' he thought, shutting his eyes. 'It's all just so boringly mundane. Not to mention the lack of any real entertainment, no phones, no computers, just terrible TV. Hell, there aren't even any Marvel or DC comics. Trust me, I've checked. As much as a four year old can, anyway. It's not like I can just hop on a plane to America and look for them myself.'
he yawned and let unconsciousness slowly take over.
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4 Month Later...(1991 April, 16th)
A small Play-Doh Spider-Man figure swung through the air on makeshift webs, held by Haru's hands.
"Living on the edge fighting crime, spinning webs swing from the highest ledge he can leap above our head" he sang, grinning as Spider-Man's tiny fist collided with a Venom figure.
"Ah, ah, ah, ah! Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah" he added, making his Play-Doh Electro figure strike Spider-Man from behind with a spark of yellow clay shaped like electricity.
Spider-Man tumbled off the table only for Haru to catch him mid-fall with a strand of string. "Not today," he muttered dramatically, flicking the figure back up as if Spidey had just pulled off a death-defying save.
"Villains on the rise and the citie's victimized looking up with no surprise arriving in the speed of time" Haru continued, pulling a plastic Vulture figure into the fray. Spider-Man launched himself feet-first like a missile, knocking Vulture off balance.
"Ah, ah, ah, ah! Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah"
Venom swooped in, catching Spider-Man mid-air and slamming him to the table. Haru grinned as his little army of villains Electro, Rhino, Lizard, Doc Ock, Scorpion, Venom, and Sandman closed in around the webhead on the floor.
"Spectacular! Spectacular Spider-Man!"
Spider-Man struggled to his feet.
"Spectacular! Spectacular Spider-Man!"
Now Standing, Spider-Man locked eyes with Doc Ock, ready to make his final stand.
"Spectacular! Spectacular Spider-Man!"
And then they Lunged at each other fist raised and metal tentacles ready to clash.
"Spectacu-"
The door burst open.
"D-DAD!?" Haru yelled embarrassed, freezing mid-song, hands still holding the figures in mid-battle like a criminal caught red-handed.
Gorou, breathing heavily, looked at him with urgency. "Get your clothes on! Your mother's water just broke!"
Haru froze for a second to process the words. His embarrassment vanished instantly as his expression turned serious "Got it!"
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Location: Kouh hospital (9:10 P.M)
Haru sat in the waiting room, it has been over two hours since they arrived. His legs swinging nervously, hands fidgeting in his lap. Every few seconds, he peeked toward the door leading to the delivery room, hoping for a sign, any sign, that everything was going well.
'Come on… come on… please be okay.' he thought, biting his lip. His chest rose and fell quickly, anxiety gnawing at him. The waiting felt endless. After all, he had just gotten used to having parents again, had begun to form a real connection with them and he didn't want to go through the pain of losing a parent he loved once again.
And then the door opened and a nurse walked through, her expression calm and kind. Haruya straightened immediately.
"Is… everything okay?" he asked, voice tight with tension.
The nurse nodded. "Yes. Your mother and your little brother are both fine. The delivery went smoothly."
Relief hit him like a punch to the chest. "I… I can go in?"
"Go ahead," she said. "But don't make too much noise. "
With that, he opened the door and stepped inside.
"Go ahead," she said. "But don't make too much noise."
With that, he opened the door and stepped inside.
His mother lay asleep, exhausted from giving birth, while his father stood beside a crib, a soft blue blanket wrapped around something small. Haruya met his father's gaze, then moved closer to the crib. He leaned over and looked down at the baby.
"So… what did you and Mom decide on?" he asked quietly.
His father smiled, warmth and pure happiness in his eyes. In a calm voice, careful not to wake either the baby or his mother, he said, "Issei. His name is Hyoudou Issei."
At that moment looking at his brother Haru could only think 'life is truly precious. And as your older brother, it's my responsibility to keep you safe so you can grow into the best version of yourself you chose to become.'