MHA: Exchange

It wasn't long before the wail of approaching sirens ripped through the night, overpowering the soft crackling and pops of the burning houses. A half dozen fire engines and ambulances peeled into the village, with a few rural heroes among them, only to stop dead at the sight of the destruction. Eviscerated and dismembered bodies lined the main street of the village, while the burning building painted everything in a hellish glow. 

Many of the first responders were forced to their knees, vomiting heavily, while a few grim veterans quickly spotted the two children resting near the center of the wreckage, shouting out orders and hustling toward the two boys. The sight of two survivors kicked everything into gear, and the fire crews quickly began spraying down the burning buildings while the ambulance crews looked for survivors.

Jugram and Yuto were quickly wrapped in thermal blankets and hustled away from the desolation and into the back of an ambulance. There, they were examined in the uncertain blue and red flashing light. However, due to the sheer buildup of dirt and blood on his body, Yuto had to be sprayed with a water quirk before proceeding. 

"Wh... what...What happened here?" one of the police officers who stood beside the crew checking Jugram and Yuto over asked.

"It was a deer," Yuto said, his eyes flashing angrily.

"Uhh..." The officer mumbled, obviously confused.

"The deer manifested an explosive/flame-based quirk and damaged through the village. It was highly aggressive and seemed to go out of its way to kill as much as possible." Jugram offered, still numb but trying his best to explain coherently.

"What happened to the deer?" The officer asked, suddenly much more alert, "Did it leave?"

"Yuto killed it. That's why he was covered in so much blood," Jugram continued, a slight tremor passing through his body, but he forced the emotion down angrily. 

Everyone paused and looked at Yuto's small frame and despondent look. Undoubtedly, they were all having the same thought: We need to pay extra attention to that boy in case he suddenly snaps. 

"Are there any other survivors?" the officer asked, getting a sharp look from one of the medics.

Jugram shook his head, "Not that we know of. Some could have run into the forest, but the deer targeted those who tried to run first." 

That caused the faces around him to pale once more. It was already incredibly disconcerting and rare for an animal to gain a quirk, but for it to have that much malicious intent, too. This was undeniably and nightmare scenario. 

The questions ended, and the two were left in the back of the ambulance while the clean-up crews finished. Jugram noticed that there were always at least two people watching them, but that was to be expected after any traumatic experience, especially in the case of children who could be a threat themselves if mismanaged. 

After a few hours, the sun finally started to rise over the horizon, bathing the destroyed village in crimson rays. In the early morning light, the crews packed up as more police cars arrived, followed by a few reporters who were immediately swarmed and pushed back behind an impromptu barricade.

If Jugram had to guess, this story would undoubtedly be headline news as a national disaster by noon, but he quickly shifted his attention away from the past and toward the future. These next hours would be critical to both him and Yuto so he forced himself to be at his best. To get the desired results, things needed to be played a certain way, especially since there were so many unknowns still present, namely where in the timeline they were.

He was starting to guess that he was early in the timeline. Yet, it was impossible to be specific since reincarnating as a child naturally meant that it was hard to judge if the canon story would start in exactly 11 years or not without actually meeting one of the main characters and finding out their current age. 

Jugram shook his head and pushed thoughts of the story out of his mind for now. What mattered currently was determining and trying to influence where he and Yuto would get sent. To determine that he decided to try and ask one of the medics and or police officers that were riding in the back of the ambulance with them.

"Excuse me," Jugram said decisively, catching the two adults' attention. "Where are we going?"

"We're going to the hospital, sweety. We need to make sure that you and your friend are alright," the medic said sweetly, but she had a deep sadness in her eyes.

"What about after?" Jugram continued, causing her to flounder.

"Umm...Ughhh...I'm not so certain-" she began, but the police officer cut her off.

"You two will accompany me to the city, where we will set everything up for you." The officer said, extending a hand to shake, "I'm Akane Kobayashi,"

"I'm Jugram Van Hohenheim, and this is Yuto Ishigori," Jugram said politely.

"Hohenheim? Are you foreign?" Akane couldn't help but ask since it was rare for foreigners to live outside of the major cities.

"My father was German, and my grandfather didn't want me to share my mother's family name, so I got a full German name," Jugram said, causing the officer to scratch her head in embarrassment. 

His complicated description obviously embarrassed the officer, so when Yuto opened his mouth to ask his own question, she gratefully turned away toward him, pretending as if she had never asked about Jugram's name in the first place, making him crack a slight grin. Having her off balance would make influencing her easier. 

"Are we going to be separated?" Yuto asked silent tears streaming down his face, wiping the smile off Akane's face and wrongfooting her all at once.

Jugram added to the pressure, shifting his injured leg and causing tears to well in his own eyes as the woman struggled to answer immediately.

"Of course not," she finally said. Mean orphanage directors only exist in movies. In reality, children in orphanages are given a lot of care, and the government watches them closely for mistreatment." 

"But we are going to an orphanage?" Jugram asked, staring straight into Akane's eyes, forcing her to look away.

"Yes," she finally forced out reluctantly, "We can make sure that you stay in one only an hour from here where-" 

Before she could continue, the sound of silent sobbing began. Everyone turned to watch as Yuto broke into full waterworks. Jugram used blood manipulation to twist his injured leg internally even more, and he, too, burst into a flood of tears as white-hot jets of pain burned through his leg. 

"Miss Akane," Jugram said after he was able to speak and not pant from the pain, "Being so close will only remind Yuto and me of everything that happened. Can we go to Musutafu? Someplace away from here."

The officer squirmed slightly under his gaze, turning to the medic for help, but she was "engrossed" in a medical chart and completely "oblivious" to the ongoing conversation. 

"I'll see what I can do," she eventually said, pulling out her phone, scooting to the edge of the ambulance, and dialing.

. . .

Soon, the ambulance arrived at the hospital, and the doctors performed a battery of tests on Jugram and Yuto, who they thankfully kept together throughout the process. Jugram's leg was quickly attended to by several healing quirks in quick succession. With him holding the bone in place with Blood Manipulation, they promptly fixed up his leg.

The two boys rarely talked when there were doctors in the room, but in the brief moments they were left alone, they did talk to one another openly. 

"Do you think we will be going to the city like you wanted?" Yuto asked as the last doctor left the room to get the results of their tests.

Jugram paused for a moment, thinking, "I expect we will. Even if they don't want to take us to the city, if we both refuse to stay in the countryside, there is very little they can do. Plus, this event will become a national tragedy. They will be pressured to deal with things efficiently and quickly."

"So we make trouble if they don't bring us to a city? Or do we want Musutafu specifically?" Yuto asked, rubbing his red eyes slowly, a look of determination crossing his face. It was easier to focus on this goal than the pain and memories.

"Honestly, I say we go all the way for Musutafu at this point," Jugram said tiredly, "We can settle for Naruhata if we really need to."

"Naruhata?" Yuto asked, "What's there?"

"It's just a decent second option," Jugram said since there was no way to tell Yuto without revealing his future knowledge about the series and its spinoff Vigilantees.

"Alright, it's a plan then," Yuto said, lying back in the hospital bed.

However, Jugram instead sat up. Yuto eyed him curiously as he kicked his feet over the edge of the bed and hopped down, moving stealthily toward the door. In response, Yuto got up but paused uncertainly before jumping down, too.

"Being in this hospital is an excellent opportunity for me. Either come with me or stay and tell them that I went to find a bathroom or something." Jugram said, peeking outside the room.

There was a police officer stationed in their room, but the man was too busy chatting up one of the doctors nearby to pay attention to the room he was supposed to be guarding. He didn't need to wait long for the officer to crack a joke, making the doctor laugh and cover her mouth cutely. At that moment, Jugram moved, rushing out of the room with Yuto at his heels.

The two quickly jogged down the hallway and turned the first corner they found. Before turning away, they looked back and found the officer, none the wiser, still thrusting after the doctor. 

"What are we doing exactly?" Yuto asked as they walked down a long hallway, looking into each open door they passed.

"We are looking for opportunities for me to get us some new quirks," Jugram said distractedly.

"From sick people?" Yuto questioned.

"From dying people," Jugram corrected

Yuto gave him a look but said no more as they continued their search until Jugram found the first candidate for his plan.