Chapter 6: Coincidence or Fate
Third Person POV
A girl of about ten years old, with long blonde hair, walked down a hospital corridor in Washington D.C., accompanied by a mature woman in her early twenties.
"Stupid dad," Melissa muttered under her breath. It was barely a whisper, but the woman beside her heard it.
"You know he's just worried about you, Melissa," the woman replied gently.
"Yeah, I know, Julia, but it's still annoying. It's been a week since I got rescued, and Dad has been making me go through all these medical tests. The doctor already confirmed I'm as healthy as I could be," Melissa said with a frown.
"He's just concerned about your well-being. He is your father, after all," Julia said. Melissa only huffed and pouted in response.
Julia was Melissa's bodyguard, hired by David Shield. She also acted as her constant companion, keeping an eye on her twenty-four seven.
"Here we are. Just this last meeting with the doctor and then you're free to go back," Julia said as they stopped outside the doctor's office.
Just as Julia reached for the door, it opened from the inside, and a boy with shining blue eyes and dirty blonde hair stepped out.
Melissa and the boy locked eyes for a moment—longer than either intended—before he gave a quick, awkward greeting. "Ah… hello." He then hurried away down the corridor.
Melissa didn't take her eyes off him. She stared after him as if trying to confirm something. Even when he disappeared from sight, her gaze lingered in the direction he had gone.
Julia snapped her fingers in front of Melissa's face, finally pulling her out of her daze.
"Let's go inside," Julia said, gesturing with her thumb.
"Ah, yes," Melissa replied, following her into the doctor's office.
The conversation with the doctor was brief, mostly Julia doing the talking while Melissa sat distracted, lost in thought.
"…Her scans show there will be no lasting pain. Her wrist has completely healed. She can resume her daily routine as usual," the doctor concluded with a smile.
Melissa had injured her right wrist while escaping from the villains. Fortunately, it had been a minor injury, healed completely within a week thanks to the hospital's treatment.
"Thank you for your help, doctor. We'll take our leave now," Julia said as she rose to her feet. She was about to nudge Melissa to stand when the girl suddenly spoke up.
"Um… who was that boy who came out before us? And why was he here?" Melissa asked, her big emerald-green eyes fixed on the doctor, expectant.
"That was Aaron Black," the doctor replied. "As for why he came here…" He paused, then gave her a smirk. "Well, that's something between a patient and his doctor. Confidentiality, you know."
Not satisfied, Melissa switched to the one weapon every child had—overwhelming cuteness. She blinked her big emerald green eyes and pleaded, "Oh, come oooon. I won't tell anyone."
The doctor chuckled, defeated. "He injured his right arm while practicing his quirk about a week ago. He came so I could remove the cast."
As soon as she heard that, Melissa bolted out of the office, calling back, "Thanks!"
Julia quickly bade the doctor farewell and chased after her.
'It's him, right? It must be. Those shining blue eyes, that height, the injured right arm—and it happened a week ago. That can't be coincidence.' Melissa's thoughts raced as she ran in the direction the boy had gone.
But by the time she burst out of the hospital doors, Aaron was nowhere in sight.
Julia, a few steps behind, came to a halt too. "Why did you run off so suddenly?" she asked sternly.
"No reason," Melissa said quickly, turning toward the car.
"Do you know that boy?" Julia pressed.
Melissa hesitated, then replied, "No," and kept walking. Julia didn't push further, but her eyes narrowed with curiosity.
Melissa's fists clenched as she walked, a determined smile tugging at her lips.
'I will find him. I will find Aaron Black.' She whispered under her breath.
...........
Now, in addition to the police, heroes, and villains, a little girl had decided to chase after Aaron too.
Somewhere else, Aaron sneezed. "Who's badmouthing me?"
He had no idea his trouble was about to double.
"Finally got rid of that cast. It was hella annoying," Aaron muttered, flexing his right hand.
"And that was the same girl I rescued last week, right? Thankfully she didn't recognize me. Phew." He sighed in relief, convinced he was safe.
He had no idea what kind of smart little demon was now after him.
Melissa's cleverness should not be underestimated—she was David Shield's daughter, after all. As kind as she was intelligent, she also carried the sharpness common in quirkless people, who often had to rely solely on their brains as weapons.
......…..
It took Julia and Melissa a couple of hours to return to I-Island. Melissa didn't yet attend I-Island Academy, but she lived there and was homeschooled by her father.
The moment they reached home, Melissa darted straight to her room.
Julia, unfazed, gestured for a guard to stand watch outside the girl's door before heading to David's office.
She knocked twice before his voice called, "Come in."
Inside, David sat behind his desk, adjusting his glasses as she entered.
"So, what did the doctor say?" he asked, wasting no time.
"Melissa is in good health. She doesn't need further treatment," Julia answered, handing over the file with the diagnosis.
"Hm…" David hummed as he skimmed the results. "And where is she now?"
"She went straight to her room."
That drew his attention. He looked up with a raised eyebrow. "Something happened?"
Julia recounted everything at the hospital—the boy Melissa suddenly grew curious about, her reaction, and how she had chased after him. "…I think you should look into that boy."
The gears in David's mind began turning rapidly, pulling conclusions together.
"I'll see to it. But don't tell anyone else," he said firmly. "And keep Melissa busy."
Though puzzled, Julia nodded. "Will do."
"Good. You're dismissed."
Once alone, David leaned back in his chair, his face hardening. 'If what I'm thinking is true, then it's only a matter of time before Melissa's curiosity leads her to that boy.'
He picked up his phone and dialed a number.
"Let's find out what's so special about you, Aaron Black."
.........….
Aaron's POV
"School is so boring. And I still have another four years before U.A." I groaned, sprawled across my bed.
It had been almost two years since I transmigrated into this world. From a weak start, I'd grown much stronger. That punch I unleashed to break the barrier—it had been my strongest attack yet.
By my estimate, it was about equal to 15–18% of One For All from Deku. The only problem: my body wasn't strong enough to handle the backlash.
Still, it was only a matter of time. As my body matured, I would be able to handle more. For now, I could only refine my control and technique.
At maximum Titan's Pulse, I was roughly at 7–9% of OFA Midoriya. But with Double Up and Push & Pull, I could boost myself to 15–18%.
"I'm hella strong for a ten-year-old kid. PUHAHAHAHA!"
For reference—Deku, with just 5% Full Cowling, was fast enough to keep pace with Stain (with help from his classmates). But he had only just learned Full Cowling then. For me, five years younger than he had been, to be twice as strong… yeah, that was way out of the norm. No ten-year-old should be this powerful.
'I guess that's why no one suspects "Hero" might be a kid.' I thought.
Strong quirks existed, but children rarely mastered them fully. It took years to understand and refine abilities.
Bakugo and Todoroki for example, both have ridiculously strong quirks but they didn't even really know how to use it until they joined U.A. before joining U.A. they were just going along with their instincts and used their quirks however it felt comfortable to them.
Bakugo couldn't even free himself from that weak sludge villain.
I, however, have the mind of an adult, the body of a child, and knowledge of this world like no one else. The reason why I can grow this strong.
But enough bragging. I turned my focus back to the barrier quirk. I could create shimmering blue barriers to shield myself, shape them however I wanted, and even split them into multiple forms—though that required more focus.
I'd even shaped one into a sword. It had worked, but the moment my concentration wavered, the form collapsed. The potential was clear, but training was needed.
'It'd be nice to get a super brain quirk like Nezu's. That would be sick.' I mentally added it to my "Quirks-To-Steal" list—alongside super regeneration. Of course, I'd never steal from Nezu, but if a villain had it… well, don't mind if I do.
With those thoughts lingering, sleep finally claimed me.