MY HERO ACADEMIA: SOLE SHIFT
Chapter 1 — "The Boy With the Watch"
In a world where 80% of humanity was born with Quirks, everyone looked forward to the moment their power appeared. Kids bragged about flames from their palms, laser beams from their bellies, or super strength that could lift playground equipment.
But for 10-year-old Devon Jackson, that moment never came.
Devon had moved from America to Musutafu with his mom when he was eight. He loved anime, hip-hop, and most of all—sneakers. The cleaner the Jordans, the happier he felt. In a classroom full of kids born with quirks, shoes were the one thing that made him feel like he stood out.
But behind the confidence, there was a quiet ache.
Because every time Quirk Doctor Shinjo checked his results, it was the same:
"No Quirk factor detected. I'm sorry, Devon."
He remembered smiling and nodding. But that night, he cried into his pillow.
In a world built for heroes, being Quirkless felt like being invisible.
---
A Struggling Dream
At Aldera Elementary, Devon sat alone during lunch sometimes, watching kids race around the yard, using tiny sparks of their quirks. Bakugo blew up gravel. A girl floated her backpack. Some kids flew.
Devon would tap his sneaker on the pavement, imagining himself racing them.
If I had a quirk… I'd be a hero too.
He never said it out loud. But he felt it every day.
His mom, Angela Jackson, was the one person who never let him give up.
"Your power will show up when it's meant to," she'd say as she tied his shoes. "And even if it doesn't, power doesn't make a hero. Heart does."
Devon believed her.
Mostly.
---
The Birthday That Changed Everything
On Devon's 10th birthday, the sky over Musutafu flashed with green lightning—strange, silent, and gone in seconds. People on the news said it was a rare weather phenomenon.
Devon didn't think twice about it.
But that night, when he went to his room, something was sitting on his desk.
A watch.
Metallic. Sleek. Dark green lights around the rim. He froze.
His mom didn't buy it. The window was locked. And he hadn't owned anything like it.
When he reached for it, the screen came alive:
SOLE SHIFT – USER IDENTIFIED
Devon jumped back. His heart raced.
"What—what does that mean?"
The watch snapped onto his wrist on its own.
"HEY! GET OFF!" Devon yanked, twisted, scratched—but it wouldn't budge. The strap felt fused to his skin, like part of him.
Panic rising, he staggered backward and collapsed onto his bed, staring at the glowing screen.
A button pulsed in the center.
He gulped.
Then—hesitantly—pressed it.
CLICK.
A flash of green light burst from the watch, racing down his legs. His plain black sneakers dissolved into shimmering particles—
and re-formed into bright red Jordan 1s.
Devon gasped. They looked real. Solid. Fresh out the box.
"What… what kind of quirk is this?"
Before he could think, his body jerked forward—
WHOOM!
He shot off the floor like a rocket, smashed into the wall, and bounced across the room in a red blur.
He didn't run.
He launched.
His heart thundered.
"Speed…?!"
He tried a step—barely tapping the ground—
ZOOOM!
He crossed the room in a blink.
He wasn't Quirkless.
He wasn't powerless.
This was his Quirk Awakening.
But unlike everyone else, his Quirk wasn't flames, strength, or lasers.
His Quirk was the watch.
Or rather—
SOLE SHIFT: A transformation-type Quirk that changes his Jordans into different models and colors—each granting a unique ability.
Devon stood in the center of his room, chest heaving, staring at the red shoes.
A laugh—shaky, disbelieving—escaped him.
"I… I have a Quirk."
Tears blurred his vision.
The world that once felt closed had just cracked open.
Heroes weren't just on TV anymore.
They were possible.
For him.
---
The First Test
Devon cracked his window and peeked outside. It was quiet. Midnight streets. Nobody watching.
He breathed in.
If this was real… if this was truly his Quirk…
He had to know what it could do.
He tapped his foot lightly against the ground—
PHOOOM!
He exploded forward, sprinting down the empty street so fast the air ripped behind him. Streetlights blurred. The wind stung his face. His heart pounded with fear—
—and joy.
He wasn't running.
He was flying across pavement.
He skidded to a stop, shoes sparking against the road.
Devon stared at his feet, amazed.
These shoes didn't just look cool.
They were power.
And if one color could do this…
What else could the watch unlock?
---
A Hero's Decision
Back home, breathless, Devon looked at himself in the mirror.
Red Jordans glowing like embers. The watch pulsing softly. For the first time, he saw a future.
Not as the Quirkless kid.
Not as the outsider.
But as a hero.
The kind who could save people.
In the reflection, he whispered to himself:
"I'm going to U.A. High."
And in that moment—clear, determined—he made the same promise countless legends had made before him:
I will become a hero.
The watch flickered, as if responding.
Its screen displayed something new:
AVAILABLE FORMS: 1/12
Devon's eyes widened.
"Twelve?"
He wasn't just beginning a journey.
He was unlocking a destiny.
And somewhere, unknown to him…
Far across Musutafu…
A pair of men in lab coats stared at a blinking signal on their monitor.
"It activated," one whispered.
"The Sole Shift prototype… found a user."
The other adjusted his glasses, eyes narrowing.
"This could change everything."