(1), (2), etc: these numbers mean that "please see the end of the work for author notes".

COOPERATION OF ARCANA

CHAPTER 2: THE HIEROPHANT ARCANA

In the previous chapter:

"I'm Oozora Tenshi. Let's be friends!"

"No. I won't be friends with nerds."

And so, it continues...

LOADING

[Bakugou Mitsuki's first impression]

Today, Katsuki causes her trouble again.

He refused to be friends with the kid that only moved to here recently, and worse, he did it right in front of the kid's parents. This isn't the first time that Katsuki was being rude to others. Of course, she keeps reminding him to behave, but he never listens. How much she wishes that Katsuki would inherit his father's calm nature rather than her aggressive and ill-tempered personality.

Anyhow, she has to step in before things get out of hand.

"Katsuki, where did you learn that word!" she hisses. "Seriously, don't ever call other people nerds! Say sorry, now!"

"What is wrong to call a nerd as a nerd?" Katsuki stubbornly protests. "And stop yelling at me!"

"Watch it, you little punk! If you say that again, I will–"

"Mrs Bakugou, it's okay," Tenshi raises his voice with a genuine smile. "I don't mind being called a nerd. In fact, I will take it as a compliment. (1)"

A period of silence follows until Katsuki bursts out laughing. "Wow – a compliment, you said? Seriously, what a weirdo you are!" he continues with a sneer. "You're funny, but that isn't enough to convince me. Frankly, you look boring and weak, so playing with you will be no fun at all! How about you go and play house with the girls instead?"

Tenshi frowns, but his determined eyes tell everyone that he hasn't given up yet. "You shouldn't judge the book by its cover, Bakugou. I will definitely prove to you that I'm better than you think!"

"Whatever, weirdo."

Although Katsuki doesn't seem to care, Mitsuki swears that there is a smile on his face, as if it's implying that he actually has a special interest in Tenshi. However, that smile quickly fades away as Katsuki runs back inside to watch his favourite hero show. What is wrong with him today, she wonders?

"I'm sorry about my son's behaviour," she apologises with a sigh. "I'll try to correct him later."

Mr Oozora smiles gently and says. "It's all right. We understand that Katsuki means no harm, but he has a sharp tongue there for a four-year-old. Honestly, I was a bit surprised."

"That's true. Perhaps, children tend to grow up more quickly these days..." his wife continues in a low voice, and somehow, Mitsuki has a feeling that there is a deeper meaning in that statement.

"Mrs Bakugou... May I come and see Bakugou later...?" Tenshi hesitantly asks.

She nods. "Oh, of course! Katsuki and I'll be waiting for you."

Tenshi beams when he hears her answer.

"Isn't that great, sweetie?" Mrs Oozora says. "Anyway, it's time for us to go now. Mrs Bakugou, we will see you around."

"Thank you, Mrs Bakugou. See you later," Tenshi says and bows slightly before leaving with his parents.

What a polite child, Mitsuki thinks. If would be nice if her Katsuki could learn a thing or two from him.

Looking at the three of them, she can tell that they are a happy family and good people, but her woman's intuition also tells her that there's something special about them, which sets them apart from the others. Nonetheless, she would love to talk with them more in the future. Maybe she should introduce them to Inko next time. Unlike her Katsuki, she has a hunch that Inko's kid and Tenshi would become close friends very fast.

LOADING

SUNDAY, 3RD, MARCH – WEATHER: SUNNY

MUSUTAFU CITY – DEPARTMENT STORE

11:30 A.M.

After an hour of travelling by train, we have arrived at one of the biggest department stores in Musutafu city. This place has a large variety of fancy and well-known stores, supermarket and delicious restaurants. Moreover, the price here seems to be fair and reasonable. It's too bad that I can't go shopping alone with this four-year-old appearance.

Together with my parents, I enter the bookshop on floor seventh to find art supplies or a storybook for my birthday present. I actually prefer novels, but my parents will surely ask me tons of questions if I buy a book full of kanji words. I haven't officially gone to elementary school to learn them, after all. While being praised and called as a genius sound nice, I will pass because I want to avoid unnecessary attention as much as possible.

Since the area of the shop isn't so big, I'm allowed to roam around and browse through whatever books I like. Freedom is the best! Meantime, my father is behind the science and technology bookshelves and my mother goes to check the hero weekly magazines and recent popular novels. My whole family is literally bookworms, so the bookstore is a heaven to us.

Taking a book with the title "How to make friends for Dummies" from the front counter, I start to skim through its contents. Some people say that reading this kind of book is a waste of time, but I personally think that it's interesting and useful, especially for me when I lack experience in forming a friendship.

According to this book, I can make friends easier by being an optimist. It also recommends me to develop a good sense of humour, improve my charisma and take a course in public speaking to express myself better. These suggestions kind of remind me of some maiden games that I've played in my prior world. Charm was always the most important factor in those dating games, so in order to obtain good ending with each bachelor, I had to max out the heroine's charm, along with charisma and other necessary skills such as dancing, speech or even sword-play...

...Wait a minute.

That's it! With my gamer's quirk, I can apply that method to my case! Bakugou said that I looked boring, so perhaps if I increase my Charm, he may change his opinion about me!

If my quirk and that famous game title are alike, then I can increase it by reading books or watching movies. However, I don't know exactly which books or movies can help me with that. Aside from food and drink that I consume, my quirk doesn't send me any information about things that I touch or see. My guess is that a kind of observation skill is needed for me to examine objects freely. How can I get it, though? Seriously, new questions about my quirk keep arising in my head, and it feels annoying when I can't answer any of them.

With a slight sigh, I continue to scan the book and stop at the written part about the simple ways how to interact with people well.

"Giving a friendly smile and talking in a pleasant voice... Be a good-finder, not fault-finder... The importance of great eye contact..." I mumble the words, trying to remember the advice. And when I'm done, a new notification immediately appears between my eyes and the pages.

[Reading the advice of this book has helped you to be more confident in interacting with people and attracting them. Your Charm and Knowledge have improved by 1 point.]

[You have learnt two new skills!]

Eye Contact – Passive Skill Lv.1

The target who you look at may receive a status effect. The effect is depended on your facial expressions at that time.

Examples: An alluring look will give the "Charm" effect while a menacing expression will cause the "Fear' effect.

Success Rate: 2%

Hints: Levelling up your Social Stats can help to increase the success rate of this skill.

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Memorisation – Passive Skill Lv.1

Enhances your memory and allows you to memorise something faster and remember it longer.

Hints: The effectiveness of this skill can improve further by your INT stat.

Great – two new skills at the same time, though it isn't a surprise when I can gain them from reading books with my gamer's quirk. Characters in video games can do that, too. Wait – if that is the case, maybe I can learn the skill to examine items from reading an observation-related book! That is worth a try; I consider and begin to search other bookshelves after returning the friend-making book back to its counter.

However, I soon realise that the corresponding books which I need are placed on the upper shelf, and the current me is too short to reach for them! I can ask the store staff to help me, but they will probably give me the weirdest look and wonder how this kid can even read this complicated stuff; I know, because some people have already had that kind of reaction on their faces when I was browsing the books earlier. I start to understand how the main protagonist of Meitantei Conan feels like when he has to live as a child again. It rather sucks, but then, that's not a big deal and I can think of a different way later. For now, I will retreat and make my way the counters for children.

Since heroism exists strongly in this world, most of the picture books here are about famous heroes and their battles against villains. Of course, the kids love them. I can see the sparkle in their big eyes when they look at the book about their favourite hero and constantly ask for their parents to buy it. There is nothing wrong with encouraging the future generation to be a hero, yet it saddens me that the old fairy tales are slowly forgotten and neglected, along with the history of Japan. Nowadays, people hardly discuss anything else besides quirks and heroes. Well – what else can I expect from a world where the hero is an official occupation?

Nonetheless, these superhero books aren't so bad.

Glancing over the selection of popular picture books, I pick up the one with the image of All Might on the cover and flick through its pages. Naturally, the story is simple enough for the children to follow, but the illustrations inside are detailed and wonderful, indicating that the artist must have put a lot of effort into drawing them, perhaps they are a fan of All Might. With a feeling that my explosive neighbour may be interested in this book, I decide to pick it for my birthday present.

To tell the truth, I'm not exactly a huge fan of All Might, though I don't deny that he is the strongest hero. And if someone asks me who my favourite hero is, the Turbo Hero "Ingenium" will be my answer. While he appears mainly in Vigilante – the spin-off manga of My Hero Academia, I still like him simply because he is a cool hero who values teamwork, which is something that not all the heroes out there can do it. Hopefully, I can have a chance to see him in action or get his signature before he meets the Hero Killer.

Ten years from now, Stan – the Hero Killer will injure Tensei Iida grievously and as a result, he becomes paralysed from the waist down and has to give up his hero career. My heart suddenly feels heavy at the fact of my favourite hero being suffered and ended up losing his dream. It's truly depressing. Iida Tensei's fate has already been set from the start unless something or someone is able to change its course.

Does that mean I should...?

No, his sacrifice is necessary for the story-line to proceed and I shouldn't interfere with it. That sounds cruel, but if Iida Tensei wasn't seriously wounded, he wouldn't pass the moniker "Ingenium" to his brother and that was essential for Iida Tenya to mature more in the manga. However, it feels wrong to ignore the truth that his life will be in great danger. In that case, what if I...

"Sweetie, have you decided anything yet?"

Being startled by my mother's voice, a scream almost escapes from my mouth. I was too deep in thought to notice her presence right next to me. Before she can raise a question about my strange reaction, I promptly regain my composure and reply:

"Y-Yes, mom! It's this one!"

For some reason, my mother looks rather surprised when I show her the book as if she didn't expect me to pick it. I'm worried for a second that this book is still complicated for a four-year-old and my mother will suspect me further, but she only smiles and says:

"A comic book about All Might, I see! Is he your favourite hero, sweetie?"

I shake my head. "No, he isn't. I choose this book because the pictures are nice, that's all. You are already my most favourite hero, mom."

A pinkish blush turns up on my mother's face as she embraces me and rubs her cheeks against mine. "Thank you, my sweetest angel! Your words mean a lot to me!"

"Please stop, mom. We're outside now," I say and embarrassedly push my mother away.

A small display screen then pops up.

[You have gained one new skill!]

Flattery – Passive Skill Lv.1

With graceful compliments, you can raise people's affection towards you and cause "Charm" effect on them.

The rate of Affection: 1%

Success Rate of Charm: 2%

Hints: The higher of this skill is the better of your compliments gets.

Levelling up your Charm, Knowledge and other social skills such as Eye Contact can help to increase the success rate of this skill.

This is the fourth skill of today and another passive one, but that's okay because this skill seems to be helpful enough. While we often hear that flattery will get you nothing, it actually has an important role in conversation and flirtation; at least that is my opinion. People like to hear nice things about themselves, after all.

Nonetheless, my compliment to my mother came from my heart. I love her and admire her courage. Being a hero is never easy. Aside from their harsh training, they have to face many life-threatening situations and responsibilities as the media is always watching them. That's why I have no intention to be a hero and besides, this world has had enough great heroes for me to butt in.

"Since you've decided on that one, let's go and meet up with your dad, shall we?"

With a cheerful smile, my mother takes my hand and leads me to where my father is waiting. We buy books and then have lunch in a curry restaurant. In Japan, we call curry is a drink and it's everyone's favourite food. Beef and pork curry are good, but chicken curry is my choice today, and it's super delicious. The sauce is neither too thick nor too watery, plus it has the brilliant blend of vegetable flavours; the chicken meat falls apart in my mouth and its texture is magnificent. I wish that I could order it to be spicier, though. The spiciness of kid's curry is nothing much to me.

Japanese Chicken Curry – Quality: SS

One of the most popular dishes in Japan, which is made with a wide variety of vegetables and meats. According to the myth, the smell of homemade curry can bring the men home.

Restores 60% HP and 30% SP.

EN + 8 and DEX + 6 (Duration: 3 hours)

[With your current level of Tasting skill, you need to eat this dish ten times in order to learn its recipe.]

That's what my quirk tells me. Well – I guess that I will have to visit this restaurant again sometime.

After lunch, the three of us get a few necessities from the drug store and go window-shopping for a spell before returning home. On the way, we also visit a bakery to buy strawberry shortcake for my birthday. My mother then says that she is going to make my most favourite dish today – hamburger steak with gravy sauce, which is wonderful!

This feeling of happiness and joyous, I hardly experienced it in my prior life. The warmth and gentleness when my hand is wrapped in my parent's palms, it reminds me that I am safe and nothing will hurt me anymore.

What happened in my previous world has made me become somewhat uncomfortable when being close or touched by someone, even if they are my parents. The memories of the abuse are still haunting me and sometimes, I wake up with my heart pounding because of dreaming about them. However, as long as my dear parents are here with me, I will be fine. I can definitely overcome my fears and nightmares.

Now, I should do my best and enjoy this new life. The future can be waited for later.

LOADING

SUNDAY, 3RD, MARCH – WEATHER: SUNNY

OOZORA RESIDENCE

8:30 P.M.

After brushing my teeth, I lounge on the couch while watching some television shows with my mother. My father is busy reading his new book, but he still replies my mother whenever she asks him; and the two of them talk about random stuff such as recent movies, popular dairy products or the latest news about heroes.

My four-year-old birthday party has ended. It was a small cosy party with only my parents, but I felt contented. Both of my mother's food and the birthday cake were tasty. Aside from my new comic book, I also got a new colour pencil set from my father.

Today went well, except that Bakugou Katsuki turned me down and called me a nerd. I was used to being called as a nerd in my previous world, so that didn't bother me at all. However, it seems to be a little early for a kindergarten kid to know the word "nerd" and "weirdo". At least he appeared less arrogant than I expected, perhaps since he hasn't had his quirk yet. According to the manga, Bakugou will start down the path towards "bad" when his quirk finally manifests, but exactly when – that I have no idea. I should try to confirm this information later.

Although my short-tempered neighbour is full of problems, something about him indeed attracts people, including me and thus I don't plan to give up so soon. Besides improving my Charm, maybe I should find a way to impress him as well, but what will it be?

"Mom, is there any way for me to become friends with someone quickly?" I ask on a whim.

"Hmm, are you perhaps thinking about the Bakugou's kid?" my mother replies me with another question. I simply nod, and much to my surprise, she lets out a light giggle. "Sweetie, you sure remind me of how I and your dad met. Similar to your case, he also turned me down when I asked to be friends with him."

"Really? Is that true?"

"Honey, we've promised not to speak about that–"

My father raises his voice to object, but he is quickly silenced by my mother's forefinger on his lips.

"Shhh, it doesn't hurt to tell our boy about it," she says and eagerly begins the story. "We met for the first time in elementary school and at that time, your dad was actually an arrogant boy. What a surprise, right? He kept driving me away and saying that I was too dull to be his friend, but that didn't stop me from trying. Since the two of us went to different middle schools, we didn't see each other again until our first-year internship during high school. Because of our study and training, we slowly learned how to work together. Lots of things happened between us, but at some point, we finally became good friends."

"Despite a rocky start, both of you somehow ended up together. That's amazing!" I comment. "Then how did you start dating?"

"Well – we will leave that part for later when you grow up a bit more," this time, my father says with a cough. Fair enough, I think.

Looking at me with her gentle eyes, my mother continues. "Anyway, from that story, I want to tell you that friendship happens naturally when you spend time with someone, so don't rush– take it easy and slowly because a few people will need some time to open their heart to you. Also, true friendship is built when both parties accept each other for who they are, so don't ever change yourself to make new friends. Can you do that for me?"

"Being myself..." I murmur the words. "Yes, mom."

"Oh, there is one more important thing," my father pulls my cheeks slightly to form a smile on my face. "You should smile more, Tenshi. Trust me. Your smile is able to melt the most stubborn person's heart."

"...Really?"

"Yes, that's true. I always feel light and warm when I see your smile," my mother confirms. "You do have an angel's smile, and that's why we named you Tenshi in the first place."

I don't need a mirror to know that my cheeks are blushing as red as a tomato right now. For a minute, I seriously thought that my parents were talking about someone else, not me. I mean, my smile isn't THAT special! Nonetheless, their exaggerated compliments fill me with courage and happiness.

With the brightest smile, I say:

"Okay! I will do that!"

"Good, I'm certain that you can make a lot of friends with that smile," my father grins and pats my head. "About Katsuki, I suggest that you get to know him better first, such as his favourite food or hobbies. It will be easier to become friends when both of you have something in common."

"That boy may act tough in front of you, but he isn't a bad person at heart. I believe that you two can be good friends, so don't worry too much! Have fun with your friends, sweetie," my mother adds.

"Thanks for the advice, mom and dad. I will remember them."

A mysterious voice suddenly rings in my head as I sense a family bond between us...

I am thou, thou art I...

Thou hast acquired a new bond.

It shall become the wings of guidance that showeth thou the way in the abyss.

With the birth of the Hierophant Arcana, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power...

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ARCANA HIEROPHANT – RANK 1

CONFIDANTS: Oozora Enma & Oozora Tsubasa

NEW ABILITY: Words of Guidance

Enable your quirk to send you more detailed hints, advice, and reminders.

BONUS REWARD: MP + 10, Intelligence + 1, Hierophant cards x 3

[Congratulations! You've unlocked the Hierophant Arcana!]

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.

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HOLY DAGDA! (2)

IT'S FINALLY HERE!

Using one hand to cover my mouth, I try my best not to blurt out a scream or act funny in front of my parents. Although right from the start – I've anticipated that they would have a spot in the list of my confidants, I can't help feeling exciting for my first unlocked Arcana or resist the urge to be alone to check it out!

Fortunately, my chance comes when my parents tell me to sleep early, and so I say goodnight to them and return to my room. After closing the door, I turn off the light, switch on the night-lamp, wrap myself in the blanket, and lastly, access my quirk in full-screen mode. A few notifications are waiting for me to read them.

[You have gained one new skill!]

Angelic Smile – Active Skill Lv.1

With this beautiful smile, you can raise people's affection towards you and cause the "Charm" effect on them.

MP Cost: 10

Cooldown: 10 minutes

The rate of Affection: 3%

Success Rate of Charm: 3%

Next Level: 1/4

Hints: Levelling up your Charm can help to increase the success rate of this skill.

Ten mana points for a smile, is this for real? Does this explain why I felt somewhat drained earlier after smiling? Since this is an "angel's smile", it needs to be costly, I guess... With my current mana points, I can use this skill six times a day and that doesn't sound bad; I will level it up slowly then. Nonetheless, I'm happy to have my first active skill.

Now, time to check the Cooperation!

ARCANA HIEROPHANT – RANK 1

CONFIDANTS: OOZORA ENMA & OOZORA TSUBASA

The Hierophant is the symbol of education and knowledge; its original name is the Pope, who is traditionally the mediator between God and mankind. Unlike the Magician, who simply points the way, the Hierophant is your trusted guide, who will take you by the hand and show you the path towards fulfilment. On the side note, the Hierophant Arcana has neither a positive or negative connotation. The only answer is maybe.

You will learn new skills from the confidants of the Hierophant Arcana as they have the wisdom to provide good counsel and advice. However, they will have a complex association with their past.

ARCANA BONUS

MP + 20, INT + 3

Increases 5% amount of affection when you spend time with the Hierophant confidants.

All science-related skills (including active and passive) will receive 5% extra boost and bonus EXP.

ABILITY

Rank 1:

o Words of Guidance: Enable your quirk to send you more detailed hints, advice, and reminders.

Rank 2:

o Please raise your confidants' affection in order to proceed to the next rank.

Hints: You can try these one of methods below to raise their affection.

o Helping your mother with simple household chores.

o Talking with your father about his work.

o Learning any craft or science-related skills.

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NEW FEATURE: You can now equip Arcana for different Bonus. However, you can only equip one arcanum at a time. The higher the rank of the Arcanum is the better its bonus gets.

The Fool Arcana is updated for its new Bonus:

EN + 1, INT + 1, DEX + 1

All housework and art-related skills (including active and passive) will receive 5% extra boost and bonus EXP.

After reading the new feature, I ponder for a minute and equip the Hierophant Arcana for extra mana points. About science-related skills, I wonder if I'm smart enough to learn and understand them properly. Back in the day, my score for chemistry and physics were always average, around fifty or sixty. However, I won't know until I try, and besides, I have a good teacher – my father with me! He mainly researches quirks and invented gadgets for heroes, and I bet that knowledge will be useful to me in the future. Therefore, I will definitely ask him to teach me the basic next time or borrow some of his science books.

There is still one more notification to check, and to my surprise, this one is about Bakugou.

[With the new ability "Word of Guidance", you have obtained more detailed hints that can help you to unlock new Arcana.]

POTENTIAL CONFIDANT: BAKUGOU KATSUKI

Bakugou Katsuki – your neighbour is aggressive and fearless, but as your mother has said, he isn't a bad person. Full of confidence, Katsuki believes that he can succeed at most of anything. "I can do it, so why can't you?" he is that kind of person, so you need to show him the ability to do the same. Don't lie about yourself because that will make him dislike you more.

In order to get his attention, you can try one of these methods below:

o Working your Bravery or Charm to rank 2.

o Doing requests to improve your Fame in your neighbourhood.

o Being friends with his childhood friend – Midoriya Izuku.

Oh my, Midoriya was mentioned in the hints!

If Katsuki is my potential confidant, very likely Midoriya can be one as well. And being friends with both of the protagonists, how wonderful is that? Feeling pumped up again, I can hardly sleep and thus, I continue to explore my gamer's quirk for a bit.

The confidants, who will be a part of my new life, what kind of people are they? I hope to meet all of them soon.

TAKE YOUR TIME

"Hey, did you fight again? What did those jackasses do this time? Tell me."

"They ruined my notebooks and called me a nerd..."

"And?"

"They also called you a nerd, so I fought them..."

"What? Did you seriously fight them because of that small reason? Ignore them. They aren't worth your time. Come, I will lend you my notebooks."

"...What do you mean? Being called a nerd is bad, isn't it? It refers to you as a social outcast, a fool, a contemptible person! And I... I couldn't let them insult my best friend!"

"Kiyo-chan... I understand. You're right. I would get angry if I were you, too. However, instead of fighting them, I would hack into the teachers' computer and change their exam scores! That would be fun!"

"Wait, don't do that!"

"That was a joke. By the way, do you know that people in the West view the word nerd as a compliment?"

"No, I don't. Is that true?"

"Yes. They use that word to describe people who love studying or have extremely interest in one subject, especially computers, and know a lot of facts about it. In other words, nerd is the shorter way of saying intellectual badass! That's why they don't mind being called a nerd."

"Wow! People in the West sound cool!"

"Therefore, if those monkeys call you nerd again, you should think that they are praising you for being smarter than them!"

"I will! Thanks, ******!"

"You're welcome. Anyway, we have wasted enough time here. Let's go to my house so that I can show you my new games and moves!"

"What about the notebooks?"

"Play first, study later. That's my rule."

"Fine, I can follow that, but don't forget your promise."

"Who do you take me for? I always keep my promises until the end."

"And nothing can break my promises to you."

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Tears begin to fall from my eyes as I wake up.

It was another dream from the past, I simply know that. Unlike the previous ones, this dream had a bittersweet taste – a complex mix of happiness and sadness; and for some reason, I really like it. Even so, I can't seem to remember anything about that dream. Everything was blurry, distant, and melancholic. As I try to recall it again, a static image of someone abruptly flashes in my head, and it hurts. Everything hurts so much that I can't breathe. However, that moment only lasts for two seconds and then, it's gone, leaving an invisible hole in my heart.

Somewhere in my mind, a familiar melody is playing faintly.

And somehow, I suddenly crave for a cup of coffee and doughnuts (3).

LOADING

MONDAY, 4RD, MARCH – WEATHER: CLOUDY

OOZORA RESIDENCE

6:45 P.M.

Unable to get back to sleep, I end up leaving my bed earlier than usual. This morning is cold, so I grab my jacket and tiptoe downstairs so as not to wake up my parents. Taking a seat in the dining room, I close my eyes and enjoy the quietness of the house. In my previous life, I would prepare breakfast and my lunch box at this hour. Cooking is one of my hobbies and something that I'm proud of. Nonetheless, nobody will allow a kindergarten kid to use the kitchen, so I need to wait at least two more years. Ah, right – I have to repeat my grades once more too, and seriously, I feel lazy about that. Perhaps I should try attending Yuuei High School, the top Hero Academy in this world. Of course, I won't join the Heroic Course with the main characters. Department of Support or Management would be my choice.

I continue to daydream about my future until my mother enters the room. Since this isn't the first time that I've gotten up the earliest and sat alone here, she only asks me if I slept well last night, and I always reply positively in order not to worry her. Then the two of us make breakfast together. Ten minutes later, my father shows up and says that his science reports must be done by tomorrow and thus, he won't be able to play with me today. With an understanding smile, I tell him not to mind me and focus on his work instead. As for me, I will go out to explore our neighbourhood later.

At the moment, my father stays at home with me on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday; because on those days, my mother is busy fulfilling her heroism duty. She actually planned to quit her career to raise me properly, but I encouraged her to keep pursuing her dream. My current appearance may be small, but I'm old enough inside to take care of myself. Honestly, I can't wait to go to kindergarten next month so that my parents can do their jobs with ease.

After sending my mother to work, I return to my room to change my clothes and pick a few things for my small adventure: sketchbook, pencils and eraser, handkerchief, adhesive bandages, and umbrella. Next, I open the Inventory screen and put all of them inside. Thanks to my quirk, I can carry many items without breaking a sweat and take them out easily by thinking intently.

"If you are going out, can you buy for me three cups of coffee jelly from the convenient store? Eating them always helps me to concentrate better," my father asks while I'm putting on my shoes.

SIDEQUEST 01: Coffee Jelly for concentration.

Your father wants three cups of coffee jelly. It is his favourite snack.

Quest Objective: Coffee Jelly x 3.

Difficulty: Easy.

Limit Time: Before lunch.

Quest Reward: 20 EXP & increases your father's affection (Hierophant Arcana).

Fail Penalty: None.

Hints: You can easily get it from any convenient store.

[Will you accept this quest?]

By this time, I've already gotten used to reading these sudden notifications quickly, perhaps because my Reading skill is high level.

"Sure, leave it to me," with my answer, the quest is automatically registered.

"Thank you, Tenshi," my father smiles and hands one five-hundred-yen coin to me. "You can keep the change. Remember to come back before lunch, okay?"

"I will. See you later, dad. And good luck with your papers!"

I carefully slip the money into my pocket and leave the house.

It's a little cloudy today, but the weather is quite warm. According to my quirk, light rain may happen in the afternoon. Yes, my quirk can also inform me about the weather. How convenient is that? Anyway, there are some places that I wish to check it out, so I summon my mini-map and–

"Hey, where are you going?"

A kid's voice stops me on my way, and it belongs to none other than Bakugou Katsuki, my next-door neighbour. He is wearing a red jacket, grey trousers, and black sneakers today. Overall, he looks adorable as a kid and of course, I can't tell him that.

"Good morning, Bakugou! I'm about to explore around here to see if anything is interesting."

I greet him politely and throw in my angelic smile. As a result, Bakugou flinches and blushes slightly, I notice. Nonetheless, it only takes him one second to regain his usual confident expression and he says:

"Explore? Oh, right. You're still new here, huh?" he pauses to stare at me for a bit and then continues with a question. "By the way, are you a girl?"

...What?

To be continued...

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LOADING EXTRA SCREEN 001

[A mother's secret]

A few months before her pregnancy, Oozora Tsubasa often dreamt about a certain high school girl who had a long, black hair, pale skin, and one empty eye socket. This girl wore long-sleeved clothes and black thighs all the time in order to hide her bruises and unhealable scars.

Those terrible scars were deep and they seemed to keep increasing every day. The girl was being bullied by her classmates, being neglected by her teachers and being beaten by her parents; her missing right eye was probably the main reason why they treated her differently. Tsubasa witnessed everything and yet, there was absolutely nothing that she could do for the poor girl because they were inside her dream. She also tried to find the girl in real life but to no avail. Eventually, she decided to stop looking. As a professional hero, she should have focused on saving the actual people out there rather than chasing an illusion.

Regardless, all things, good or bad, would come to an end.

With her own eyes, Tsubasa saw that the young girl fell down from the sky and dissolved into white feathers. At that moment, she looked so graceful and pure as if she was an angel. After that, the dream world quickly shattered and Tsubasa ended up waking in confusion. What exactly happened to that girl? Did she... pass away? And was everything merely a dream? Tsubasa kept asking those questions and sadly, nobody could give her answer.

From that night on, the mysterious girl has never appeared in her dreams ever again. However, something told her that the girl hasn't gone completely. Strangely enough, she could feel the girl's presence very close to her, as if she was...

"Mom," a quiet, clear voice grabbed her attention and she turned to meet a pair of pure sapphire eyes. "I've finished packing my clothes. Do you need me to help with anything here?"

Patting her son's head gently, she said. "Thank you, sweetie, but I'm almost done here. Why don't you go and help your dad? I'm sure that he will need a hand to pack all his books."

"Okay!" he nodded and ran to his father.

Looking at his small back from behind, she couldn't help feeling that the girl was there, right in front of her. There was no explanation, she simply knew it.

"It seems that I've found her," she thought. "And I swear that I will protect you this time, my little angel. I'm going to be your hero."

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LOADING EXTRA SCREEN 002

[A nerd or a girl?]

"I don't mind being called a nerd. In fact, I will take it as a compliment."

Normally, Katsuki would immediately forget things that he considered trivia, yet what that blue-haired kid said earlier still lingered inside his head. Frankly, he didn't think much about the meaning of the word "nerd"; he simply used it to call people that he deemed boring and weak.

Katsuki learnt that word from one of his favourite hero's shows. There was a side character whose one of the hero's friends, and that guy was such a wimp! Aside from studying, he couldn't do anything properly and everyone called him a nerd. Despite that, the hero thought that guy as a friend and always came to rescue him. Katsuki couldn't understand why. Was there anything fun about being friends with a nerd? Even Izuku was much more interesting than that side character! (4)

Anyway, that blue-haired kid seemed to fit the description of a nerd – dull, pale, and fragile; those traits gave Katsuki an impression that the kid spent the whole day inside his house drawing, watching television or reading some books, and that sounded super boring! Playing house with the girls would definitely be more suitable for that kid.

...Girls, huh?

That new kid might not stand out, but his eyes were big and pretty as if they belonged to a girl. His eyelashes were long too. If that kid was a girl, it would explain why he looked skinny and weak. Then why did that kid wear boy's clothes?

"I knew it! That kid is such a weirdo!" Katsuki thought inside his head. Also, that kid said something that he couldn't understand and although he didn't like it, he had no choice but to ask his mom. "Hey, mom. Don't judge the book by its cover, what does that mean?"

She pondered over his question for a few seconds before replying. "It means that you can't know the value of something or someone by looking only at their appearance. For example, someone may appear small outside, but he's actually a strong person. Well, do you get it?"

"...Yeah. Thanks, mom."

"By the way, why was that question? Oh! Let me guess. Are you thinking about Tenshi, hmm?"

"W-What? No way! Why would I?" Katsuki quickly exclaimed.

"Really?" she continued in a high-pitched voice. "Tenshi is an interesting kid, you know? He's polite and smart!"

"Then what? I'm smarter than him!" he declared.

With a giggle, his mom said nothing more and turned back to wash the dishes. That was so stupid and annoying, Katsuki pouted.

"I will definitely prove to you that I'm better than you think!"

Fine, he would be looking forward to it. Do your worst, nerd.

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Author's notes:

(1) In English, a nerd means a person who is not attractive, awkward or socially embarrassing; or people who are extremely interested in one subject, especially computers (from Cambridge Dictionary).

Meanwhile, the nerd word in Japanese is "otaku" – a term for people with obsessive interests. It's typically used to refer to a fan of anime/manga/video games or Japanese culture in general (trains, cars). Back in the 1980s, "otaku" was being considered as a negative word and people disliked it (please search on Google for the reasons). For some people, they also viewed "Otaku" as people who shut themselves in their house and watch anime/read manga all day and thus, became a social outcast. Nowadays, the "otaku" term has become less negative. The main character Izuku Midoriya is also called a hero nerd (hero otaku).

And in this story, Bakugou Katsuki was only four years old, so he wouldn't be able to understand fully the word "nerd" (otaku). For Tenshi, she thought the word "nerd" in English meaning, and so, took it as a compliment (and because of what her long-lost-friend has taught her). Of course, this word can go either way. It depends on who is calling you it, in what context, and how you perceive it.

(2) Dagda: This is about a demon in Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse. When the main character – Nanashi was killed, Dadga appeared and revived him, but in exchange, Nanashi must work for him. In Celtic mythology, Dagda is the supreme god and his name means "the good god". Instead of "Holy Christ", I used "Holy Dagda" (somewhat a silly decision here /laughs).

(3) This implies to the Vocaloid song "Donut Hole" (Singer: GUMI; Producer: Hachi).

(4) In this story, Bakugou hasn't given Midoriya the nickname Deku yet. Of course, this event will happen very soon.

A few notes about Bakugou Katsuki in my story:

In my opinion, Bakugou's arrogant personality has been shaped by his quirk and the praises that he was received because of it. In both manga and anime, Izuku pointed out that Bakugou wasn't "bad" or "good", but after his quirk manifested, he started to change and down the path towards "bad".

That's why I believe that he might be a completely different person before his quirk manifested. And in my story, Bakugou hasn't had his quirk at the moment, so I tried to describe him a bit nicer and friendlier. His ill-tempered personality is still there, but overall, he is an adorable kid and not a bully (until he has his quirk, of course).

In order to write about Bakugou, I went to study every scene about him in the manga and anime, and I noticed that he didn't swear and speak so harshly in kindergarten and the first year of elementary school. Well, I don't know exactly when Katsuki picks up that habit, but in my story, he will begin to swear and call his mother "old hag" when he is older (eight years old or more).

Anyway, please expect to see a "rather nice" version of Bakugou in my story.

How this story will go:

And now, please let me apologise for my very late update. I'm a slow writer and English is very difficult for me... Plus, I spent a whole month to collect ideas for my story such as who will be the confidants or what skills Tenshi can learn. Here is the plan:

1/ I'm going to borrow elements from all the Persona, Shin Megami Tensei, and Devil Summoner series, so whatever inside this story won't be solely based on Persona 5. Yes, we are going to have dungeons, monsters, demons, and Persona; though they will appear much later (because our main characters need to be a bit older to fight them).

2/ Lots of characters in MHA will be included in this story, including characters from the spin-off manga. Writing many characters won't be easy, but I will try my best to make them stay in their characters. Some characters will show up earlier than in the manga too, such as Overhaul & Eri (and they will be Tenshi's confidants, spoiler here I guess?).

3/ Regardless, this story will proceed very slowly and it may take more than ten chapters (or twenty) to reach the manga storyline because Tenshi needs time to build social links, train necessary skills and grind levels. I mean, there are a lot of things for her to do before she attends Yuuei High School, so we are going to have many filler chapters here.

4/ Unlike in games, the social links here will rank up slowly. In general, everything will be slow. (/laughs)

Answers to Reviews:

Thank you very much for your reviews! My story lives for them.

For the most common question, I would like to say that I haven't read "The Gamer" webtoon before writing this story (currently reading it now). I thought of the gamer's quirk from some famous Japanese light novels (Overlord, Tondemo Skill de Isekai Hourou Meshi, Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken, Nidome no Yuusha). I believe that these novels have the English translation on the internet, so you can search and read them. They are quite interesting.

Guest: Eating is going to be a skill, but it will probably provide a different effect. Tenshi will get that skill in further chapters.

Illumisee: The gender-bender topic is quite popular, so I wanted to write about it once. Besides, that will make the story more interesting in some ways.

Well, this story of mine will have many strange ideas, so please prepare yourself for a wild ride. Anyway, I will see you in the next chapter. Of course, Bakugou and Midoriya will appear more in the next one!