Chapter 5 - Arrangements of Fate

'Tomorrow is my 4th birthday already!' Dolian thought with a grimacing smile within his mind, but unbeknownst to his parents, he wore the same happy-go-lucky smile his persona—Dolian Tatori, the upbeat, kind, and intelligent boy—would have.

Unless he wanted to show an imperfect act and incur his parents' suspicions, two people who have quirks highly related to the domain of mind and psychology, and bringing him a lot of trouble and suspicions, Dolian had to constantly remind himself of his actions and make sure to remain natural and not show any abnormalities that would potentially cast him unavoidable problems.

'Even though I'm grateful to my parents, it's still nerve-wracking having to constantly put on an act to them for nearly four years. Unless I gain a quirk that also governs the domain of the mind, I'll inevitably slip up in front of them, a problem that would be hard to resolve.' Dolian inwardly shook his head and stared at the full-body mirror in front of him.

Reflected in the mirror was a young boy no older than the age of 4, with long black hair and strangely black eyes that seemed to suck the souls of whoever stared at them. With his fair skin, cute child-like appearance, and bubbly clothes, it would instantly make anyone who met him for the first time have a good impression of Dolian.

As he was fixing his clothes, he saw the door creak, and a man with a youthful appearance walked in. He wore a simple white shirt that was tucked into a pair of black pants. He wore black-rimmed glasses, and alongside his clean-shaven face, he gave off a scholarly air that would make anyone subconsciously respect him.

"Dolian, are you ready?" Ayumu—Dolian's father—asked with a gentle smile.

Staring at his child that was only turning 4, he sighed in his heart at how fast Dolian had grown up. Even though it has only been four years, he felt as if his child was already a lot more mature than his biological age.

Even though Dolian showcased childlike thinking and immature decisions from time to time, he was still a lot more mature compared to his peers. He stopped playing with toys only after a month of spending time with them, and instead hurriedly retreated back to his small library inside their home, engrossing himself in books about psychology and the human mind.

He also had a sense of care for his classmates at school, usually acting as the older brother figure that everyone depended on. Not only that, but he also had a sense of responsibility that was quite unusual for his age.

All in all, based on his and Hope's observations, they can safely assure that Dolian is no ordinary kid.

'Perhaps…' Ayumu sighed deeply inside his mind at his helplessness at the development of fate, 'Even if he were to be quirkless, he'll still live a joyful and successful life.'

'Hmm, that's something I shouldn't worry about too much. Once he is of age, he can just inherit our family business, so he can definitely live a life free of worry other than the potential risk of facing villains.' Shaking his head to dispel his thoughts, Ayumu watched Dolian run up to him with a big wide smile.

With a slam, Dolian hugged Ayumu's legs up and looked up to his father's eyes, greeting them with his shimmering eyes sparkling with joy, "Mmm!"

Chuckling over his son's response, Ayumu grabbed Dolian from the ground and said with a grin, "Then let's go already!"

…

Entering his father's car, Dolian sat on his mother's lap right beside his father who was in the driver's seat. Looking out of the windows, Dolian excitedly said, "What are we going to buy?"

Hope chuckled and patted Dolian's head, responding with a mellow voice, "Tomorrow is your big day already, your 4th birthday! Soon, you might awaken your quirk! Many of your friends, uncles, aunts, and relatives are going to celebrate with us at our house!"

"So, of course, you'll have to dress to impress!" Hope explained as Ayumu started up the car.

Turning his head to look at Dolian, Ayumu added, "Many of your dad's and mom's friends from work are going to arrive, so be sure to say hello to them."

"I will!" Dolian nodded his head in all seriousness, before he then inquired, "Is Uncle Albion going to be there?"

"Of course." Ayumu nodded his head, "He might even be more excited about your birthday than you are."

"Yay!" Dolian raised his hands to the sky, happily celebrating that his uncle is going to be there at his birthday party tomorrow.

And so, after their short chat, Ayumu drove the car away from their manor, disappearing from its vicinity to do their birthday shopping.

Arriving at a certain mall, the Tatori family walked in as Dolian looked around with glimmering eyes.

'Sigh, I'm already so used to acting as a child. Maybe I'll develop some mental illnesses if this keeps up. Fortunately, I'm a licensed psychiatrist so I'm making sure to keep my sanity perfectly fine.' Lamenting his strange fate, Dolian kept up the act and wandered around the mall with his family.

They then arrived at a certain store and walked in. Inside the shop, Dolian saw many skillfully designed and woven clothes made from high-quality fabric. Just a simple cursory glance alone made Dolian assured of the store's quality of its clothes.

'Clothes made from mutated spider silk, with durability from greater than steel and even normal spider silk. With the aid of quirks, numerous branches of human development have far exceeded my old world.' Admiring the clothes made with the usage of quirks—something was unique to this world— Dolian felt his brain ache with what was about to come.

"Dolian." Hope turned around and smiled at her kid, a smile that instantly made his heart skip a beat as if he was about to enter the flaming gates of hell, "Let's try some clothes on already."

Unable to resist his mother, Dolian let the gods decide his suffering and walked towards his mother with a wide grin, "Okay!"

Even though his carefully crafted persona as Dolian Tatori was nigh-perfect and suited well to his needs, there were still some imperfections he had no way to resolve in the present state he was in.

'Here I am, the man with great ambitions to rise his way to the apex of this world, acting as my mother's clothing doll.' Dolian laughed dryly inside his mind and remained smiling on the outside.

From one clothe to another, Dolian stared at his reflection in the mirror as tons of clothes suited his boyish looks that were full of cutesy charm.

He wore a wide array of clothes, ranging from medieval-like clothes as if he belonged to a noble family, to a modern suit crafted for children. He was made to wear cute frilly shirts, clothes similar to a sailor, and even a childish police uniform.

Finally, after an excruciating 30 minutes of trying on outfit after outfit, both of his parents finally decided on a look they found appropriate for his 4th birthday.

Standing in front of the duo, Dolian wore a long-sleeved button-up shirt along with black pants. On his chest was a cute black bow tie, accentuating his childish charms. Even though it wasn't grand, it was something both Ayumu and Hope found appropriate.

Dolian was still only a child, so wearing stuffy outfits like formal suits or tuxedos would make him act rashly after wearing them for long periods of time. On the other hand, if his clothes were too casual, they wouldn't be appropriate for an event that is held highly important throughout the world.

So they decided on his current choice of clothes, an outfit that was formal enough but was also casual enough that Dolian wouldn't feel too burdened while allowing him to look stylish as well.

"Woah!" Dolian neared the mirror with glowing eyes. "I look so cool!"

He waved his arms around and spun on the heels of his feet, fully immersing himself in the act as he let his immaturity show. Being too uptight, mature, and responsible as a soon-to-be 4-year-old child was definitely abnormal, so allowing himself to be like this was a safer bet.

Rubbing her nose, Hope smugly proclaimed, "Of course, you'll look cool. Your mother's fashion sense is simply too great!"

Chuckling softly by the side, Ayumu crouched down and patted Dolian on the head, "You better take care of your moral integrity young man. You're so young and you're such a lady killer already."

Hearing her husband's words, Hope snorted with a grin, "Hmph, of course, our son would be a lady killer. I mean, anyone who can marry me must obviously be great."

Within moments, Ayumu's cheeks turned a slight rosy tint, and he then coughed to change the topic, "Let's go. We don't have time to waste. We still have to buy other things for tomorrow."

After going from one place to another, Dolian and his family of three arrived at their car once again when the sun was already setting on the distant horizon. The sky and city around them were dyed with a soft orange-red glow, causing a tranquil mood to suffuse throughout the city.

On her lap, Hope noticed that Dolian already doze off with his eyes closed. Laughing softly, she whispered into his ears, "Rest plenty, Dolian."

"He must be exhausted." Ayumu chimed in from the side while driving the car, glancing at his baby boy from time to time when the road was clear.

"Sigh, let's just hope that the worst doesn't come." Muttering with a helpless smile, Hope caressed Dolian's head and allowed him to sleep peacefully.

After arriving at their house, Ayumu opened the door and let Hope carry the sleeping Dolian up the stairs. Standing in front of his room, Hope opened her son's bedroom and walked towards his bed, and then carefully scooted him into the bed.

Glancing at her son who slept in silence, she smiled with the gentle warmness of a mother and left the room to not disturb Dolian.

But out of nowhere, after a short while, Dolian opened his eyes in the serene darkness and stared at the shadowy white ceiling above. He remained silent for a long time, just staring at the ceiling in a daze.

Then, he could feel his heart slowly beating faster and faster with each passing second, until the only thing he could hear in the silent room was his heart which felt like it was going to explode.

Finally, he moved his hand and clutched his chest to try and calm down his rapidly beating heart.

'From my medical records, I have been born into this world at specifically 1:08 am, meaning once the clock hits that time frame, I'll officially turn 4.' Dolian fell into deep thought as he moved his gaze to the starry night outside his bedroom window.

'After more than a decade of studies, the world has already confirmed that the average age of a child awakening their quirk would be when they turn 4. The timeframe where quirks mostly awaken can range from a month before they turn 4 to a month after they 4, meaning if I'm not an outlier, I'll awaken my quirk in the next following month.'

'And if that doesn't happen…' Dolian breathed out turbid air and sighed, 'Let's just hope that I'm a really late bloomer and someday gain a quirk.'

As he tried to calm down, Dolian felt the passage of time flow when all of a sudden… His eyes widened and shimmered before turning golden in color and transforming into vertical slits; eyes that were akin to a dragon's.

Like a switch being flipped open, he shot off from his bed as he seemed to have understood something as knowledge poured into his brain like an endless stream.

He remained motionless for multiple minutes, staring at the air blankly in a complete daze. Only after processing everything that happened did he understand something, 'It seems fate has something else in store for me…'

He grinned widely as his golden vertical eyes gleamed with an ominous light, 'And it even gave me such a powerful quirk with absurd potential.'

AN: This chapter has 2066 words.

Damn, my plans for Volume 2 and the way Volume 1 would end is just so wack. I'm just saying that you should enjoy Dolian for now before things start to get goofy because a certain someone wants more, more, and more. You'll understand what I mean by around the end of Arc 2 or the start of Arc 3 when mysteries start to appear.

(March 13, 2023 - 473rd day of writing)