Chapter 1 — A New Beginning in Blue Flames
I woke up.
But something felt… off. Strange. Unfamiliar.
The air around me seemed unusually heavy, thick with an almost suffocating weight, pressing down on my chest. Sounds reached my ears, but they were distorted — too loud, yet muffled, as if I were submerged underwater, struggling to break the surface. My vision was a blur of harsh white lights, glowing monitors flickering in the dimness, and vague shadows moving in and out of focus. I could barely make out the hum of voices — distant, echoing, overlapping — like whispers floating through fog.
My body felt weak, unfamiliar, as if I had just been dragged out of some endless void. My muscles were stiff, every movement a strain. Confusion swirled inside my mind like a storm, blurring my thoughts and scrambling my senses.
I blinked several times, hoping to clear the haze in my eyes and grasp what was happening. But the scene refused to come into focus.
Slowly, agonizingly, I realized something important: I wasn't lying on a bed, at least not in the way I expected. I was being held — cradled in someone's arms. The sensation was surreal, almost unreal.
With great effort, I lifted my head and met the gaze of a massive face looking down at me. The face belonged to a woman with long, flowing white hair that shimmered like moonlight. Her eyes shone bright, filled with a fierce, emotional intensity as she stared directly at me.
Panic surged through my body instinctively. I tried to move, to push away, but my limbs barely obeyed. I couldn't lift my arms, my hands. When I finally managed to glance at them, my heart nearly stopped.
They were small. Tiny. Baby hands.
"No… no way. This isn't possible," I thought desperately, my mind spiraling.
A whirlwind of images erupted in my head. Scenes flashing rapidly — me returning from work, eager and excited to binge-watch my favorite anime series, headphones on, snacks ready. The screech of tires. The blinding headlights. The sickening impact.
The car crash. The drunk driver.
It all came rushing back.
"So… I died?"
The realization hit me like a thunderbolt. Yet strangely, amid the shock and disbelief, an oddly humorous thought crept in:
"Well… at least I got a free isekai."
I closed my eyes and tried to exhale a long breath — or at least I tried to. But my body felt new, fragile, as if it had only just been formed, too weak for anything beyond a faint sigh.
But what kind of world was this?
Before I could think further, the hospital room's door creaked open. The antiseptic smell hit me more clearly now, sharp and sterile. A tall, imposing man entered. His red hair stood out strikingly against the pale walls, and his stern, unyielding gaze immediately caught my attention.
He carried another baby in his arms.
The man looked vaguely familiar, but it was the baby he held that made my breath hitch. The child's hair was split perfectly in two — one side pure white, the other a blazing red. Something inside me tightened, a flicker of recognition sparking deep within.
"It can't be…"
The woman holding me smiled warmly when she saw the man and reached out to receive the baby from him.
"Thank you, Enji," she said softly.
Enji.
The name struck me like a match to dry powder.
"No… no way…"
I already knew that man. His sharp eyes, his flame-colored hair, the name.
It was him.
My heart pounded fiercely, as if trying to escape my chest. My mind raced to confirm what instinct already screamed.
The woman gently cradled the bicolor baby, pressing her forehead against his with a tender smile.
"Shoto Todoroki," she said softly, her voice filled with love and promise. "That will be your name."
Todoroki.
The world seemed to spin, a chill crawling down my spine. Suddenly, everything made sense.
Then her eyes found mine again — resting on the blue strands of hair that reminded her of the vast ocean — and her face brightened with a soft, tender glow.
"And you," she whispered, "with those beautiful ocean-like blue hair… your name will be Aoi. Aoi Todoroki."
…
And then it all clicked into place.
I had been reincarnated. Into the world of Boku no Hero.
Into the Todoroki family.
That family.
Ah, life. First death, and now… a dysfunctional home with a father who saw his children as nothing more than tools.
What luck.
But, well… I guess it was still better than being born as some insignificant background character with a quirk like… growing nails.
I closed my eyes once more, exhaustion washing over me. For now, sleep was the best refuge.
If I had truly restarted here, I would need every ounce of energy I could gather…
To endure whatever was coming next.
And I could only hope that my quirk would be worth all the drama I was about to live in this family.
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