(Year 1-2: Ages 7-9)
Seven-year-old Hirachi Kenji's life was forcefully rebooted into a new cycle. The fierce determination to visit his parents was his sole driving force.
Kenji stepped into the private school with conflicted feelings: the brightness of the classroom was a stark contrast to the training facility. At first, he viewed his classmates merely as variables with calculable values for acceleration and momentum. However, his outstanding intelligence in Physics and Mathematics quickly gained him recognition.
After some time in school, Kenji learned that smiling when a friend made a joke was a way to reduce the perception of his anti-social personality. He began to get used to his classmates and learned to temporarily forget everything to engage in "normal" interactions—the very thing he feared the most.
One day after school, Yuta, a chubby boy who sat next to him, approached Kenji with a worried face.
Yuta: "Kenji! Help me with my math homework! The teacher wants me to find my average running speed, but I don't know how fast I should run when I've eaten so much lunch!"
Kenji: (His azure eyes quickly scanned and analyzed Yuta) "Yuta, you must first calculate your Mass, especially the things you've consumed, like the omurice and the donut you just ate."
Yuta: "Huh? What does omurice have to do with running?"
Kenji: "It has everything to do with it. Newton's Second Law states: Force equals mass times acceleration (F=ma). If Mass (your weight) increases, your Acceleration (running) must decrease proportionally for the Force you exert to remain the same to achieve the same average speed. Therefore, the weight of the food you ate slowed you down. The solution isn't calculation, it's mass reduction."
Yuta: (Looking at Kenji in awe) "Aha... I get it! You're a super genius, Kenji! I'll skip dinner tonight!"
Kenji: (Nodding seriously) "Naturally. I am excellent at this."
Kenji provided Yuta with hints, allowing Yuta to solve the problem quickly. Kenji didn't feel enjoyment, but rather a satisfaction in managing a problem. These "normal" relationships, oddly, allowed him to control his emotions better.
The Science of Infinity
(Year 3-4: Ages 9-11)
Entering his third year of school, nine-year-old Kenji began studying Newton's fundamental laws of physics and moved into the realm of Relativity and Advanced Calculus. His training to use the power of Mūkagen consequently advanced to a more formidable level. If learning Newton's Laws taught Kenji to Stop objects, Relativity and Spacetime Dynamics taught him how to Bend and Distort the space around him.
Power Development
Temporal Dimension: Kenji started to understand that distorting Distance (Space) meant playing with Time and Mass. He trained to use his power to create more complex effects, such as slowing the relative velocity of a charging Devil without completely stopping it, just making its movement infinitely slow within his frame of reference.
Creating Attraction: In the secret training room, Kishibe ordered Kenji to practice using his power to create a spatial convergence called "A-o" (Blue/Azure). Kenji could now calculate the collapse of space to compress objects from a distance, but it required high concentration and precision because a slight miscalculation could result in self-injury.
Throughout his school time, Kenji was no longer just a smart student; he had genuine friendships. His bond with Yuta and other friends deepened. Kenji no longer used fake laughter but genuinely laughed when Yuta was funny. He allowed himself to invest in things he had to do when he was with his friends.
These normal moments at school were what Kenji feared the most, for they were the new vulnerability Makima could use as a control tool. He knew that if Makima wanted it, he might have to kill these friends, and that was a limit he pondered every night.
Quantum Anomaly
(Year 5-6: Ages 11–13)
By his fifth year of school, Kenji, now eleven, had completed his study of Relativity and moved into the most complex and frightening frontier: Quantum Mechanics. This learning was the key to unlocking the highest capability of his Mūkagen power—the control over the Existence of matter.
From Kenji's perspective:
Spacetime Dynamics taught him to control Force.
Quantum Mechanics taught him to control Probability.
His attacks changed entirely. He no longer focused on a Devil's mass or speed, but on the Probability State of the Devil causing harm to him.
Training: Singularity Creation
Kishibe was tasked with training Kenji to use Quantum Mūkagen to destroy targets without leaving a trace—practicing the creation of small Singularities. A Singularity is a point where the Density and Gravity of matter are so high they become Infinite or limitless.
Kishibe: "You're not attacking with force anymore, kid! You're playing with Nature! If you miscalculate even slightly, the mission fails!"
Kenji was trained to use his power to make small Devils (like the Insect Devil) disintegrate instantly. Though the Devil didn't die immediately upon impact, the function was to calculate the target's energy center and then use the Mūkagen power to create an intense spatial compression.
The result: Kenji could utterly destroy a Devil's body, but this ability was used only on small, specific targets. He did this without causing damage to the surrounding area. His attacks were flawless in their precision—in short, he never missed.
Back at School: The Octopus Mascot
A world away from his training, Kenji was now friends with the whole class. His classmates were no longer surprised that Kenji was a genius; they were used to his quiet and kind nature.
One day during Chemistry class, Ms. Mado assigned an experiment requiring high precision. Suddenly, "BOOM!" A loud bang erupted from the desk of Miki, the class's resident clumsy girl. Murky green smoke billowed out of the beaker, as if a dragon was breathing poison into it. Everyone scrambled back, except Kenji.
Kenji didn't panic at all. He quietly stood up, walked over, grabbed his bright blue handkerchief (which he usually used to clean his glasses), and tossed it into the beaker. "Fwoosh..." The smoke instantly vanished. Miki gasped, and Ms. Mado was stunned for three seconds.
"Kenji... what did you do?" the teacher asked, half-shocked, half-impressed.
Kenji calmly adjusted his glasses and replied in a gentle voice that was barely a whisper: "This handkerchief is coated with concentrated Sodium Bicarbonate, Teacher. It's enough to absorb the acid that was boiling out... and it's washable."
The whole class erupted in applause. Miki rushed to hug Kenji, full of grateful and noisy thanks. But the fun didn't stop there...
The handkerchief heroics made Kenji famous. Friends tried to involve him in more fun activities, and for the upcoming school sports festival, Yuta, the class ringleader, proposed an outrageous idea: Kenji should be the mascot.
"You need to try new things, Kenji!" Yuta shouted. "This giant octopus mascot suit is perfect for a genius who comes with silence!"
Naturally, Kenji didn't refuse. He never refused anyone, thanks to his kindness.
On the day of the festival, the purple, two-meter-tall octopus mascot appeared. Its movements were stiff and quiet, as if it was calculating a physics formula inside.
But even in a mascot suit, Kenji was still Kenji...
When someone asked for a photo, Kenji would stand still for exactly 3.14 seconds before changing his pose.
When the final relay race was underway, and the Blue Team was about to lose because the baton slipped out of a runner's hand...
The octopus mascot (Kenji) dashed out! It wasn't human running; it was a parabolic trajectory that curved toward the baton at a perfect speed and angle. He kicked the baton precisely into his teammate's hand without making a sound.
The Blue Team won! Everyone was ecstatic, but when they pulled off the octopus head...
Kenji was beet red and drenched in sweat, but even worse...
He was wearing his glasses backward.
Yuta laughed uncontrollably. "Kenji! You're a genius who can save the world, but how can you mess up just putting on your glasses!"
Kenji was silent for a moment, then replied truthfully: "It was very dark inside the suit. I used the principle of light reflection from the rear lens to see better..."
The whole class thought: Geniuses are strange, but adorable! And that's why they had grown so used to Kenji's unique brand of quiet brilliance and occasional weirdness all along.