Inasa Yoarashi Is a Friend

I, Jilan Jiyu, had once lived in another world. I was an ordinary office worker, and my usual hobbies were watching anime and playing games.

I wasn't in the habit of making friends. Give me a phone or a computer, and I could stay holed up at home until the end of time.

What happened to the world had nothing to do with me. I only wanted to live a peaceful life in a country untouched by war, then marry an ordinary woman and live out an ordinary life.

I never took part in group activities. Whenever there was a gathering, I would find an excuse to turn it down and refuse to get involved.

There was only one exception, one I couldn't get out of. That one night of indulgence angered a god who had been watching me all along. Believing I had been corrupted by the world, the god mercilessly struck me down with divine punishment, and I departed this life.

When I opened my eyes again, I had become a baby in a different world.

The biggest difference between this world and the peaceful one I had once known was that virtually everyone had a power that set them apart, and it had all started with a baby born glowing in Qingqing City, China.

After the baby incident, all kinds of extraordinary phenomena were discovered in places across the world, and these differences people couldn't understand quietly transformed the way they thought...

Before anyone knew it, fantasy had become commonplace, and dreams had become reality.

Now, with nearly eighty percent of the world's population possessing some kind of special trait, people who had once lamented their lack of power while harboring malice toward the world stepped forward and openly proclaimed that malice to ordinary citizens.

A profession that had existed only in people's dreams-heroes-returned to the stage of history.

The most active among them, and the one people admired most, was All Might, the No. 1 hero.

He was like a symbol of peace. Wherever he went, criminals trembled at the mere mention of him. He overturned the chaos in one stroke, driving crime back into the shadows and bringing temporary peace to the world.

All Might was the hero in countless people's hearts, and the man who inspired me to become a hero.

-Jilan Jiyu

"The entrance exams are less than ten days away. Does everyone know which high school they want to attend?" The bespectacled teacher patted the lectern and spoke listlessly.

"I'm not sure yet, but I bet Yoarashi's going to U.A. High School!" a carefree-looking guy shouted to Inasa Yoarashi, who sat in the middle of the classroom.

"Ah, yeah." Yoarashi had been thinking about something when he was suddenly addressed. He quickly came to his senses and laughed. "Haha, All Might's going to start working at U.A. High School soon. I have to get in!"

Jilan Jiyu sat in his seat by the window, lost in thought. He clearly wants to get into U.A. High School, so why does he still want to give me that recommendation...? What is he thinking?

It had all started more than ten days earlier, after the school's hero festival. Inasa Yoarashi's excellent portrayal of All Might, combined with his consistently outstanding grades, had earned him the school's only recommendation for admission to U.A. High School. All he had to do was complete U.A. High School's entrance test to secure an early place in its Hero Course.

The school had only obtained the right to make that recommendation because it had a famous alumnus like Kamui Woods. It was clearly precious, yet after I spoke about wanting to become a hero, he wanted to give it to me.

"I want to give it to you, this chance to become a hero." Inasa Yoarashi stopped Jilan Jiyu as he was about to leave school with his bag. Looking at Jilan Jiyu's downcast eyes, he spoke earnestly.

Can you really just give something like that away...? With his abilities, he probably wouldn't have trouble passing the nationwide entrance exam, but this is still a safeguard. Who can say he won't have an off day?

"I don't need it," Jilan Jiyu said calmly. "Don't say anything that stupid again. The school won't agree, and neither will your family."

"They will too!" Yoarashi said, his face red, heedless of the other students around them. "You're my best friend! We've known each other since we were little! My mom's always happy to have you over at my family's home!"

Sure enough, he's a hot-blooded idiot... Jilan Jiyu sighed inwardly. Honestly, becoming his best friend had really just been a misunderstanding that wasn't exactly pleasant.

Think about it: my parents had named me Jilan Jiyu, right? Back when I was only in elementary school, if I saw a kid wearing a black leather coat and a black leather cap, wouldn't it be easy to think of Jotaro Kujo, the man who chased Yoshikage Kira down and beat him up?

At the time, several older kids had snatched a girl's doll. Yoarashi had still been very small and thin then, and his power had only recently awakened. Even so, he couldn't stand what they were doing and, regardless of the difference in strength, bravely charged at them!

And then... he got beaten up.

Even after knocking him to the ground, the kids wouldn't let him go. They punched and kicked him, and one of them even activated his Quirk, turning his right hand into a hammer that was just about to come down on him!

How could Jilan Jiyu stand by watching the show while JoJo was bullied? Well, actually, I just despised them for bullying someone who couldn't fight back at all. Besides, the girl whose doll had been stolen was on the verge of tears, asking me for help.

Oh, right, I haven't mentioned Jilan Jiyu's Quirk yet, have I?

From the moment Jilan Jiyu was born, he had been surprised that his name was so similar to that of the ordinary office worker Yoshikage Kira. When his Quirk awakened at age three, it felt even more unreal. His Quirk was actually a similar power, capable of turning anything he touched into a bomb—the one familiar to JoJo fans everywhere: Killer Queen.

Because that power was too dangerous, Jilan Jiyu lied.

Jilan Jiyu told the doctors examining his Quirk that it was Hamon, a form of life energy produced through breathing. Like Jonathan Joestar, he could naturally control this energy called Hamon, which meant he had two different Quirks.

No one doubted him. There were plenty of strange powers in this world, and a Quirk like Hamon wasn't particularly unusual.

By the time he was in elementary school, Jilan Jiyu had already developed that power to some extent. Although it only gave him strength comparable to that of a fit adult man, it was more than enough to deal with those kids.

What happened afterward was easy enough to explain. Jilan Jiyu realized that Yoarashi wasn't the JoJo he had imagined and promptly turned to leave, only for Yoarashi to cling to his leg and stubbornly insist that Jilan Jiyu be his friend.

Though he found it troublesome, Jilan Jiyu didn't leave. As they spent time together through elementary and middle school, he gradually discovered that Yoarashi possessed a JoJo spirit similar to Jotaro's-always optimistic, always passionate. Though Jilan Jiyu wouldn't admit it aloud, he had already come to regard him as a friend in his heart.

And so, in a world different from JoJo's, a low-budget Yoshikage Kira and Jotaro Kujo were not enemies, but best friends who could open their hearts to each other.

One-sidedly.