"I'm heading out," said a small child wearing a light-blue kindergarten uniform, a bright yellow hat perched on his head and bobbing as he moved.
"Oh my, Masata-chan is full of energy again today," said the woman in the kitchen as she wiped the dishes, glancing over with a faint smile. "Be careful on the way."
"Got it!"
That's right—this kid is me.
I'm an ordinary, enthusiastic young man who was supposed to be entering university… except now I'm living out a second dream, trapped in the body of a four-year-old.
My Previous Life
On the way to school, Igarashi Masata's thoughts drifted back to his past.
Just like those classic transmigration stories, it all started in the most mundane way possible. Masata had been sitting in front of his computer, a bag of potato chips open beside him, clicking on the newest episode of One Piece. He took a huge gulp of sugary soda, ready to collapse back into his chair and enjoy the perfect summer afternoon.
Then the soda spilled.
The cola splashed straight into an old power socket.
The next thing Masata knew, electricity surged through his body—and everything went black.
When he opened his eyes again, he was lying in a hospital bed in an unfamiliar world… reborn as a newborn baby.
At first glance, this world didn't seem very different from his previous one. Towering glass skyscrapers, wide and orderly streets, bustling shopping malls filled with people—everything looked almost identical.
Except for one thing.
At the very beginning, in Musutafu City, located in the Kanto Region, the birth of a mysterious glowing infant marked the start of something unprecedented. Soon after, so-called "supernormal" phenomena began appearing all over the world. No one knew why.
Time, however, never waits for answers.
Before anyone realized it, "supernormal" became "ordinary," and what was once fantasy turned into reality.
Now, this world had become a true superhuman society—one where nearly 80% of the population possessed a "special physique," known as a Quirk.
And within this chaotic new era, a profession once confined to dreams and comic books finally stepped onto the stage of history.
Heroes
As Quirks became widespread, crime rates skyrocketed. Before governments could fully revise their laws to adapt to this new reality, a group of courageous individuals took matters into their own hands. They began acting just like the heroes from comics—protecting civilians, suppressing Quirk-related crime, and standing against malicious misuse of power.
They were called Heroes.
Thanks to overwhelming public support, Heroes were soon officially recognized as a profession. Their work came with tangible rewards:
State-provided income.Public prestige.
Heroes became symbols of hope—and power.
This year, Igarashi Masata was four years old.
In this world, Quirks usually manifested before the age of four. And this very morning, Masata had awakened his own.
While brushing his teeth, he had glanced at the mirror—and nearly dropped his toothbrush.
His arm was burning.
Ecstatic, Masata immediately ran to tell his mother, Igarashi Taisaki (his father had already left for work). After listening carefully, she agreed to take him to the Quirk Registration Office after school to have it officially tested.
That was why Masata was in such a good mood today.
Sitting in his seat at kindergarten, Masata couldn't help nudging the little girl beside him. "Hey, Momo, Momo! I woke up this morning and my Quirk activated! I can make fire—I'm seriously super cool! From now on, I'm definitely going to become an amazing hero like All Might!"
The girl beside him slowly lifted her head.
Her name was Yaoyorozu Momo, the first friend Masata had made after starting kindergarten. Resting her chin on the desk, she blinked sleepily before responding.
"Oh, so your Quirk awakened too?" she said. "If you can produce flames, that really is a strong ability. I heard that the No. 2 Hero, Endeavor, also uses fire."
"Well, Endeavor is strong," Masata replied, puffing out his chest and flexing an arm that had absolutely no muscles, "but All Might is the real deal! Fists and muscles—that's every man's dream!"
"You're such an idiot with muscles for brains," Momo sighed, pressing a hand to her forehead. She looked completely exasperated, clearly used to Masata's over-the-top enthusiasm.
Before long, the school bell rang.
Masata rushed out of the school gate, spotting both his parents waving excitedly at him.
"Masata-chan! Over here, over here!"
Hearing their voices, Masata ran toward them with his head lowered, his face full of grievance. He wanted to become a muscular hero someday—so why had they given him such a… gentle-sounding name?
Masata's father was Igarashi Masano, and his mother was Igarashi Taisaki. Apparently, this carefree couple had each taken one character from their own names and combined them to create Masata's.
Strangely enough, they were very satisfied with it.
Not long after, the Igarashi family arrived at a building labeled Quirk Registration Office.
In this society, anyone whose Quirk awakened was legally required to register it. This system allowed the government to monitor and regulate Quirk usage—after all, in a superhuman world like this, powerful abilities could cause unimaginable destruction.
Because it was already evening, the office was relatively quiet. Accompanied by his parents, Masata was led into a room specifically designed for Quirk testing.
"Alright, young man," said a bald, middle-aged recorder wearing a white lab coat and thick glasses. He smiled kindly. "Your parents told me your Quirk awakened today. You can use it now—don't hold back."
So this is it…Is my Quirk finally going to be revealed?Am I really stepping onto the path of becoming a Hero?
Masata's heart raced.
This kind of hot-blooded moment was something that only existed in comics—or so he thought.
"It feels like my whole body is about to burn!!!"
No.
That wasn't just a feeling.
Very quickly, Masata realized that he was actually burning.
Or rather, it felt more like instinct. Without consciously stopping himself, Masata activated his Quirk.
In his own mind, flames spread across his body.
But in the eyes of his parents and the recorder, something far more astonishing happened.
As the heat intensified, Masata's body seemed to melt.
"May I ask," the recorder said as he wiped sweat from his forehead, struggling to breathe under the intense heat, "what are the Quirks of the child's parents?"
"I can generate flames on my body," Masata's father replied, also wiping sweat away. "My wife can turn parts of her body into stone. But both of our Quirks are very weak. My flames are barely fire at all, and her stone is extremely fragile."
The recorder stared at Masata in amazement.
"Based on what I'm seeing," he said excitedly, "your son has perfectly combined both of your Quirks. And for him to reach this level on his very first activation… this child is a natural-born Hero."
"This is the first time I've ever seen a Quirk like this," he continued, his voice filled with awe. "It's both beautiful—and terrifyingly powerful."
"Lava.Burning rock."