1 An Act of Kindness
Author's note 1: if you don't like gender-bending, then leave. No one is forcing you to read this fanfiction, take your complaints elsewhere.
Author's note 2: The MC will most likely not be involved in most of the events in Index. If you have any complaints, read the fanfic title again, this is not about Index.
"You are a failure of a son! Don't you dare take a step into this house ever again!"
"I'm afraid you are not fit for this position, we wish you well on your future endeavors."
Kota Suzuki is what the Japanese society would call "defective". He is below average in academics, does not excel in any kind of sport, and on top of that, he is an otaku. This collectivist society expects all individuals to be the same, you can't excel or fall behind too much in anything or else you would be deemed as an outcast. Unfortunately for our main character, he is in the lower end of the spectrum.
Despite the hardships placed onto him, Kota pushed on. He worked multiple odd jobs, collected cans from trash bins to turn in for extra cash, and sometimes even stealing. After 5 years, he even made enough money to rent a shitty apartment. Thing are finally starting to work out for him...or so he thought.
"If you can't pay rent by next week, then get the hell out!"
His landlord suddenly doubled the rent with no warnings. Before he knew it, Kota was 3 months behind on rent. Now, he is merely one week away before he goes back to the streets. He could consider selling the limited edition mangas he bought but those have a special place in his heart, Kota wouldn't sell them even if he has to be homeless again.
"Hah....didn't earn much today either."
After another day of work, the dejected Sota calms lit a cigarette for himself and sighs. He stares at the run-down apartment building that he's living in before opening the entrance door. Right before he is about to enter, he heard a voice behind him.
"Care to share some change for this old man?"
Behind him sat one of the most hideous and strangely pitiful old man that the boy has ever seen. The geezer was missing one of his legs, the flesh on his left cheek are all but rotten, exposing his almost non-existent teeth for all the world to see.
It would be a lie to say he was not scared of the old man, but the young man noticed something awfully familiar on the old man....his eyes. They are devoid of life yet full of determination, doing whatever is necessary to make it through one more day in this cruel world. It reminds him of himself in a way.
Kota reached into his wallet and pulled out 1,000 yen. It wasn't much but that's the most he could afford.
"We aren't so different, you and I." He hands him the money. The old man's hands shook while holding onto the money, a grotesque smile spreads onto his face.
"Selflessness...never goes unrewarded." The old man's missing leg suddenly grows back as he placed his left hand onto the boy's shoulders.
"Hey! What's your problem, old man?!" He tried to get the hands off him, but the old man won't budge
"Individuals such as yourself deserve to live a life of fortune...don't you think?"
Kota's whole body was suddenly lit aflame. He collapsed onto the floor and screamed in pain...?
"It...it doesn't hurt."
The flames that are burning him alive wasn't painful. In fact, he felt..relieved, it feels like the first few moments after he woke up after a deep slumber, there's no pain nor sadness, only himself in the world's embrace. During the final moments in his life, Kota Suzuki has finally found what he was looking for all along...peace.
.
.
.
.
The scene switches to a dorm room decorated with lots and lots of Neko plushies. A raven-haired girl with an alluring pair of dark crimson eyes slowly gets out of bed and puts down the plushie she was snuggling against a moment ago.
It has been 2 days since Kota reincarnated into this mysterious world, and he...well, she has barely any idea which world she has gotten herself into. The terms "rail gun" and "Academy City" she heard people use all the time sounded awfully familiar to her. She knows that she is in one of the mangas she had read before but couldn't quite put the puzzle pieces together.
And thanks to the reincarnation, some of her memories are mixed up together. For example, childhood. Sometimes, she remembered being adored and loved by her parents, and sometimes she remembered being abused. All she knows for now is that her name is Kazumi Himura, a student of Tokiwadai Middle School and a level 3 pyrokinetic esper that has a huge obsession with cat toys and plushies.
Just in case anyone is curious, reincarnation isn't at all what the mangas and novels portrayed them to be. Upon possessing this girl's body, she inherited her habits, thought processes, food preferences, obsessions, knowledge, intelligence, abilities, etc. She has essentially become the previous owner of this body with a bit of her previous ego mixed within it.
All things aside, Kazumi is living the dream. Everything she buys, eats, and uses are all paid for by her current parents overseas, even the hefty tuition to study at her current school known as Tokiwadai Middle School was all paid for. Never in her previous life did she receive something without giving anything back in return, not even with her previous parents. She had everything that her previous self didn't. Though there's just one thing she doesn't understand...
[The Devil Fruit System has been successfully installed! Would you like to watch the tutorial?]
[Yes] {No]
This RPG game screen has been in front of her since yesterday. She thought it was a hallucination at first since nobody else could see it except for her, but actual hallucinations comes and goes, unlike this game menu in front of her. With a bit of hesitation, she slowly reaches forward and pressed [Yes]
[Now initializing the tutorial]
[0%....21%....69%....81%....99%...100%}
[Loading complete!]
[Welcome to the Devil Fruit System! This is a brief tutorial to give you a basic idea of the system's functions. As its name implies, this system will provide you with 'devil fruits' as well as all devil fruit related items from the fictional work known as 'One Piece'. Upon the tutorial's completion, the host will receive a random devil fruit from the system as a gift.]
"One...piece? Have I heard that name from somewhere? Ugh...the damn reincarnation made my memories all jumbled up." Kazumi thought to herself.
[Let's begin the tutorial with a brief crash course about 'Devil Fruits' as well as the...small augmentations the system has done to provide the greatest experience for our host.]
[Devil fruits are mysterious and strange fruits that grants its users permanent abilities upon consumption in exchange for their ability to swim. These fruits can be split into 3 categories.]
[Logia: This type grants its users the ability control over natural elements]
[Zoan: This type of devil fruit allows users to transform into animals as well as animal hybrids to boost their physical capabilities.]
[Last but not least, paramecia: this type of devil fruit grants its users miscellaneous and strange abilities that cannot be categorized.]
[To ensure the safety of the host, the system has eliminated the devil fruits' curse and replaced it with a simple restriction.]
[In order to use the fruits to their maximum potential, the users must have an esper ability or (for level 0's only) an inherent esper ability that corresponds to the devil fruit's power. For example, only those with cryomancy can use the Hie Hie no Mi's abilities at full power.]
"These so-called devil fruits sure sounds amazing, but the system won't simply give them to me, right?"
{Now lets go over the system's functions]
[The first and most important function is "Missions"]
[Obtaining devil fruits won't be easy. Once a week, the system will provide you with an objective that you must complete within a certain time frame.]
"I knew it wouldn't be that easy. I see now, the system is like a game. Certain restrictions need to be put in place to keep things 'balanced'.
[The quality and quantity of the rewards scales with the difficulty of the mission. There are three possible rewards: devil fruits, items or equipments that can boost devil fruit powers, or miscellaneous items.]
[The second main function of the system is 'The Wheels of Fortune']
[One of the many rewards from the 'miscellaneous items' category is a 'fortune ticket' used to spin the wheel of fortune. The items you get from it ranges from absolute garbage to powerful devil fruits.]
[Finally, you have me! Your system AI.]
[My primary functions are to serve as your personal assistant as well as your 24-7 encyclopedia to ensure your academic success.]
[Thus concludes the system tutorial.]
[Congratulations! You have received-]
Before Kazumi could read the contents of the last system notification, it was quickly covered with an alert.
[Warning! Warning! Detecting an irregularity within the host's brain.]
Suddenly feeling an excruciating headache, Kazumi held onto her head and eventually passed out onto her bed once gain.
A few minutes later...
[The irregularity has been resolved]
Kazumi slowly opens her eyes. The feeling of her memories being mushed together are now gone. As if untangling countless strings inside of her head, the memories of her current and past life are now organized. Her expression suddenly darkens.
"....are you fucking with me?"
Kazumi grabbed one of the Neko plushies and threw it into the wall out of rage
"A life of fortune? In Academy City of all places?! Just when I thought I got out of one shithole, I have slipped right into another one!"
As if on cue, Kazumi snaps out of it and looked at the cat plushie that she thrown. She felt as if her heart has been broken to a million pieces.
"Oh no! What have I done?!" Kazumi picked up the cat plushie in an instant and cradled it in her arms like a baby while repeatedly apologizing. She snaps out of it and threw the cat plushie onto her bed
"THE FUCK AM I DOING?!"
"Ha....alright, let's at least be optimistic.about this" Kazumi thought to herself while pacing back and forth in her dorm room. "Think about it, I'm enrolled in the same school as the female lead, have rich parents who would spoil me rotten, and I'm a level 3 pyromancer. I have everything that I would only dream of in my previous life! The old man did say I deserve a life of fortune, so why not make the best of it?"
"Oh that's right, didn't the system gave a devil fruit to me earlier as a gift?"
The system notification appears before her once again.
[Congratulations! You have received the Mera Mera no Mi!]
[Compatibility: 100%]
